July 1, 2003

TRADE ADVISORY

THE BC SALMON FISHERY AND MSC CERTIFICATION: AN UPDATE

Vancouver, BC—Scientific Certification Systems Inc. of Oakland, California has just released the final draft of the units of certification, performance indicators and scoring guidelines developed by the evaluation team assessing the BC salmon fishery against the standards of the Marine Stewardship Council for sustainable, well-managed fisheries. The release follows several months of development work, two months of public consultation and peer review, and several more months of revision.

The BC application for MSC certification is a direct result of market pressure following the successful certification of the Alaskan salmon fishery in 2000—a practical example of the MSC’s belief that market forces can improve fishery practices. It will also be the first evaluation of a second fishery on the same species, in the same geographic area, with the same final product forms and customers. In developing the performance indicators and scoring guidelines, the evaluation team has had to consider important issues of equity and consistency as well as developments in the application of the MSC standard.

According to SCS certifier Chet Chaffee, this is one reason for the slow progress in the assessment, which has now been underway for nearly two years. Another reason Chaffee notes is “the delay in bringing all stakeholders to the table in a co-operative and participatory manner.” From the first, the industry committed to an open and transparent process with full consultation at every stage to ensure that its MSC application withstands the scrutiny of all stakeholders as well as that of the evaluation team. Convincing a sceptical NGO community of the merits of the MSC process has taken time. Chaffee commends industry for its willingness to be “forthcoming and helpful in every way.”

Chaffee now estimates that the team will complete its draft report and release it for public comment at the end of the year.

The next steps are submission of information, review by the team and extensive consultation with managers, harvesters, processors, scientists and stakeholders.

Christina Burridge, project consultant for the industry application, acknowledges that the slow progress is frustrating but achieving MSC certification is important enough to take the time to do it right. “We needed a framework for evaluating BC salmon that is comparable to the one used in Alaska but rigorous enough to satisfy stakeholders. Now that it’s in place we can get on with the job of supplying the information the team needs to assess the fishery.” The industry hopes to have some certified product available for sale from the 2004 season.

Details on progress towards certifying BC salmon, including the units of certification, performance indicators and scoring guidelines, are posted on the MSC website (www.msc.org).

For more information, contact:

Christina Burridge Chet Chaffee

Project consultant Scientific Certification Systems Inc.

Tel: (604) 377-9213 Tel: (650) 969-1366

cburridge@smartt.com chaffe3@attglobal.net