July 2, 2013 — On 19 June, Michael Lodge, the independent adjudicator for the MSC, upheld the At-Sea Processors Association (APA) challenge to the assessment that the Russian Sea of Okhotsk pollock fishery meets MSC sustainability requirements.
The objections were centered around whether Intertek Moody Marine (IMM) gathered enough information to properly score the fishery in some areas. Lodge also found that Moody Marine’s assessment that the fishery met the MSC’s requirements “is not adequately justified” for at least one of the MSC’s scoring guideposts. On 28 June, IMM asked for an extension to provide a response to the objection, and it was granted by Lodge.
The request for extension is not so IMM can gather additional information about the fishery, but most likely due to the proximity to this week’s U.S. Independence Day and Canada Day holiday near the original 3 July deadline. There will not be any new information to present on 17 July, according to Jim Gilmore, APA public affairs director. Therefore, Gilmore doesn’t see how IMM can make their case when the proper information just isn’t there.
“What [World Wildlife Fund] and what we objected to were substantially the same issues, and that is that there is not enough adequate information about the fishery,” said Gilmore. “WWF was satisfied with an outcome where the promise of a comprehensive observer program would be created. The MSC program isn’t about promising a standard, it’s about meeting a standard.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com