Marine Stewardship Council - Variation Request

Date submitted to MSC 25 October 2018

Name of CAB MRAG Americas

Fishery Name/CoC Certificate Number Alaska Salmon
Lead Auditor/Programme Manager Amanda Stern-Pirlot
Scheme requirement(s) for which GCR 7.5.6. The CAB shall issue certificates with a
variation requested maximum validity period of 5 years from the issue date.
Is this variation sought in order to No.
fulfil IPI requirements (FCR 7.4.14)?

1. Proposed variation
The fishery certificate validity will be extended to April 11, 2019, five months after its current
expiration date. As compensation, if the current reassessment process is successful, the new fishery
certificate will have a validity extending to November 11, 2023—i.e. 5 years from the expiry of the
current certificate before extension, meaning the most recent two certification cycles will have
totalled 10 years rather than 10.4 years if the current process concludes in April.
2. Rationale/Justification
The Alaska salmon fishery is currently in its third reassessment cycle (seeking 4th certificate) and the
report is in client-review stage and recommends continued certification. The assessment process has
taken longer than anticipated due to several factors, principally ensuring adequate commitment by
state agencies to the client action plan in line with FCR 7.11.3. This has been difficult because of
major transitions in Alaska state government personnel including retirement of the director of
commercial fisheries and resulting lack of deputy director (the deputy is now acting director); and
the end of the gubernatorial election cycle that will also likely result in major changes. Therefore,
the client action plan is competing with a number of other pressing priorities for attention by
relevant state personnel and, the current assessment will not conclude prior to November 11, when
the certificate expires. The only component of the fishery currently open is the small troll fishery for
king salmon in Southeast Alaska (capped at 45,000 fish; a miniscule fraction of the total state-wide
salmon catch). The market for this fishery is fresh product therefore holding it as “UMAF” until the
fishery is eventually certified is not practicable. The reassessment process will be concluded well
before the vast majority of the fishery opens for the 2019 season. The preliminary draft report of the
reassessment report indicates that this fishery remains sustainable according to the MSC Fisheries
Standard. The CAB will compensate for this extension by commensurately shortening the validity of
the next certificate (if awarded as anticipated) to expire November 11, 2023 rather than 5 years
from its issue date, such that the total duration of this and the next certification period is not
lengthened beyond 10 years.
3. Implications for assessment (required for fisheries assessment variations only)
In large part, the state-wide fisheries are not open until spring/summer 2019 which would mean a
lapse of certification by a few months over the winter would not be a problem. However, there is a
small troll fishery in Southeast Alaska that catches king salmon in the winter. Thus, a lapse in
certification would be an issue for this small fishery that sells fresh product to the market. The
implication of the certificate extension is therefore that the Southeast Alaska salmon troll fishery will
continue to be able to sell their salmon as certified through this season while the reassessment
process is being completed. There would be no other implications; the continued sustainability of
the fishery is not in question based on the preliminary reassessment draft; the new certificate, if

Document : MSC Variation Request Form v2.1 Page 1

Date of issue: 4 October 2016 © Marine Stewardship Council, 2016
awarded as anticipated, would have a shortened validity such that the current and future certificates
would have a total duration of 10 years. There have been no other certificate extensions nor
variations requested or given to this fishery since MRAG Americas has been the CAB.
4. Have the stakeholders of this fishery No. But we will notify them if the certificate
assessment been informed of this extension is granted.
request? (required for fisheries
assessment variations only)
5. Further Comments
N/A

Document : MSC Variation Request Form v2.1 Page 2

Date of issue: 4 October 2016 © Marine Stewardship Council, 2016