SEAFOODNEWS.COM [News Analysis] by John Sackton — Aug 4, 2014 — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has written McDonald's President and CEO Donald Thompson to begin a conversation about sourcing sustainable seafood from Alaska, saying it is important that the company engage with NOAA and the North Pacific Council to get facts about Bering Sea Canyon habitat protections.
In a letter sent last week, Murkowski said that McDonald's already recognizes in their own words and on their website, that "The Bering Sea is one of the best places to catch wild Alaska pollock."
Yet Greenpeace and other NGO's, including the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, are pressuring McDonald's to boycott purchases of Alaska pollock from portions of the Bering Sea if they are not satisfied with the work the North Pacific Council is doing.
"Since our inception as a state, sustainable use of our fisheries resources has been a fundamental principle, with the requirement that fisheries be well-managed imbedded in our State Constitution. Alaska has earned the reputation as the benchmark for fishery management, both at the state and federal level, and Alaskans are rightly proud of the seafood we produce. Wild Alaska pollock has long been recognized as one of the most sustainably managed fisheries in the world and is an essential contributor to the global supply of seafood. In fact, McDonalds' own Sustainable Sourcing guidelines highlight the fact that all of your whitefish -Alaska pollock -is "wild-caught from sustainable fisheries."
"Despite the strong history of sustainability in the Alaska pollock fishery, it is my understanding that McDonalds is being pressured by an environmental advocacy group, Greenpeace, to boycott purchases of Alaska pollock. This group's effort is not related to the sustainable management of the fishery, but rather a misleading effort to advance an agenda that is not based in science or fact. Specifically, this group's assertion is that "the Bering Sea Canyons" are at risk from mid water trawling for Alaska pollock. Nothing could be further from the truth."
"There are two entities with responsibility for federal fisheries management off the coast of Alaska: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. The North Pacific Council is recognized throughout the country for its dedication to utilizing scientific research and data when making decisions. NOAA is the federal agency charged with the sustainable management of the nation 's fisheries. In the case of the Bering Sea Canyons, both have recently concluded that this portion of the Bering Sea is not at risk from fishing activities.
The letter is significant because McDonald's is being warned not to make the same mistake that Walmart made with regard to Alaska Salmon. Following the decision of 80% of the Alaskan industry to withdraw from MSC certification, and adhere to the FAO standards for sustainabiity in the RFM system (Responsible Fisheries Management), a Walmart buyer wrote a letter to suppliers saying the company would not purchase non-MSC Alaska salmon. This put Walmart in an untenable position, sparked Congressional hearings, and ultimately led Walmart Executives to conduct an expidited review of Alaska salmon fisheries, where they concluded that yes, in fact the Alaska RFM certificaiton met their sustainability sourcing requirements and was equivalent to the MSC for Walmart.
Currently Alaska Pollock is certified both by MSC, and through the RFM system. However, the MSC is engaged in a process of reveiwing its standards, and quite possibly determining at their next five year review of Alaska pollock that the US government's stewardship of Alaska's habitat no longer meets MSC requirements. This would come about if the MSC accepts Greenpeace' and SFP's arguments that the Bering Sea Canyons are at risk from mid-water pollock trawing, a finding NOAA and the North Pacific Council, have specifically disavowed after significant scientific research.
McDonald's has made public committments to only source fish from MSC certified fisheries. Yet on the Bering Sea Canyons, their advisors could seriously mislead them, as they are hearing an agenda-driven argument; not a scientific one.
Furthermore, McDonald's has a long history with Jim Cannon and the SFP. Prior to founding the SFP, Cannon advised McDonald's on sourcing, and helped implement a very successful project in the Barents Sea to end rampant IUU fishing for Cod, with the support of Espersen, Mcdonald's main European supplier, and McDonald's itself. Canon also urged McDonald's to support the upgrading and eventual MSC certification of Russian pollock fisheries.
However, the Bering Sea Canyon issue has the potential for rupturing this relationship, in the sense that McDonald's, if it does not engage in a dialogue similar to Walmart on Alaska salmon, and does not seek to understand the issues of Bering Sea Pollock on its own terms, could find itself isolated and subject to reputational risk at the hands of the US congress and others supporting the role of NOAA in protecting and perserving US fisheries.
The North Pacific Council Process is very open, with ample opportunity for stakeholder input, public testimony, and discussion of the scientific basis and need for management actions. In the case of the Bering Sea Canyons, the scientists found that Greenpeace' claims were false; that the habitat was not unique to the Canyons, and that there was no legal basis for additional habitat protection measures without more study.
At the time, SFP urged its buyers to reject this decision of the council, and to refuse to purchase Alaska pollock caught in the area near the canyons. Murkowski is offering McDonalds an opportunity for dialogue about this issue, so the company can make an indpendent decision, and not get embarassed by being snookered for following someone else's agenda.
In this context it is noteworthy that some of the retailers who initially signed letters supporting Greenpeace's position on the Canyons have subsequently withdrawn their signatures once they understood the Council and NOAA were actively working on the issue. Wegmans, for example, initially signed Greenpeace's letter, and then subsequently withdrew their signature as they learned more.
Murkowski is giving McDonald's the same opportunity.
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.