March 13, 2013 — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will once again start selling Alaska salmon, but is its decision good for Alaska’s fishing communities? State and federal politicians and industry boosters say yes; but with so many unaddressed social and ecological challenges facing our fisheries and fishing communities, I am not so sure.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Wal-Mart had a policy to purchase only seafood that carries certification from the Marine Stewardship Council. Several players in Alaska’s seafood industry, however, have decided to no longer pursue MSC certification. As such, it appeared as though Alaska salmon would disappear from Walmart shelves. However, in response to extensive lobbying by multiple state and federal policymakers, including U.S. Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski and Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, the retail giant has reversed its position. In its reversal, however, Wal-Mart has effectively accepted a type of certification that is, in ways, fundamentally different from MSC certification, and in the process, it may have done damage to the possibility of attaining sustainable fisheries and fishing communities both in Alaska and worldwide.
Alaskans do not have to look hard for evidence that our fisheries and fishing families and fishing communities are in trouble. Surely, fisheries managers in Alaska have done a great job of managing multiple and complex fisheries through great periods of growth. But there have been costs. Alaska Natives have been systematically disenfranchised of their fishing rights through transitions to quota systems. Multiple small fishing communities across the state bear the scars of fishing industry consolidation. King salmon are in trouble. Commercial seafood is marketed outside the state at the expense of local food security.
In other words, there is much more that can be done to make Alaska’s fisheries both ecologically and socially sustainable.
That more can be done is why the Wal-Mart decision is so troubling. The goal of sustainability certifications is to provide a venue for consumers, through their purchasing power, to demand that unsustainable and unjust practices be abandoned. While it is unlikely that certifications and labels can eliminate problems like overfishing or poverty, there is much evidence that they can achieve notable gains. Fair trade coffee, for example, has improved the livelihoods of coffee farmers in many parts of the world.
Dr. Philip Loring researches fisheries and food security issues in Alaska. He is also President of the Alaska Chapter of the American Fisheries Society.
Read the full opinion piece at the Alaska Dispatch