The Wild Alaska Pollock fishery has been recognized for its successful fishery management and sustainability results by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) with its 2021 Ocean Champion Award. Presented during the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Marketing Conference in Orlando, Florida, the annual award was established in 2017 to salute fisheries and companies engaged with the MSC who demonstrate continued leadership on sustainability above and beyond the MSC Fisheries or Chain of Custody Standards.
Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) CEO and Sustainability Committee Chairman Bob Desautel accepted this award on behalf of the entire Wild Alaska Pollock fishery, with representatives from MSC recognizing the industry’s long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship.
“The MSC US Ocean Champion Award celebrates the accomplishments of companies working toward a healthy ocean and more transparent supply chain,” said Erika Feller, regional director of MSC Americas. “I am proud to recognize the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers with this award for their years of partnership and efforts to encourage Americas to eat more sustainable seafood and spotlighting Alaska pollock as one of the healthiest and most sustainable sources of protein.”
The Wild Alaska Pollock fishery has been committed to responsible, sustainable harvest of its valuable natural resource for decades, working through a successful public-private partnership between the industry, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to continually improve practices and standards recognized by the MSC.
The industry is recognized not only for its results but the transparency provided: independent observers actively participate in the fishing process, and publicly monitored flow scales are used to verify the accuracy of scales on the harvests of Wild Alaska Pollock and the low amounts of incidental catches of other species. Observers also collect critical information that enables fishery scientists to ascertain the overall and ongoing health of the fishery. The creation of a transparent, participatory process for quota setting are just a few of the unique management measures that protect the species and the ecosystem and sets the US Wild Alaska Pollock industry apart.
About GAPP
The Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers is dedicated to the marketing of once-frozen pollock products, harvested and processed in Alaska. Formed in 2003, the non-profit Alaska corporation works to promote Genuine Alaska Pollock in major whitefish markets around the world, with a focus on Europe, North America and Japan.
