VANCOUVER — Three B.C. pink salmon fisheries have been awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.
The fisheries (located in Canadian Pacific EEZ and B.C. coastal waters) were entered for assessment by the Canadian Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Society. Now, the fisheries are eligible to carry the MSC eco-label from the international sustainable fishing non-profit organization.“The industry is extremely happy to have the MSC validate the responsibility and careful management of the pink salmon fishery,” said Gigi Seals, chairperson of the B.C. Wild Salmon Council. “This provides even more opportunity to develop new markets for what is a very tasty and often underappreciated fish.”
Seals added, “We are seeing above average returns of salmon stocks in many areas, with several of the salmon species, including Sockeye, Chinook and Coho as well as the Pink.”
The certification covers pink salmon fisheries in the Fraser River, its mainstream and tributaries below the Mission Bridge; North and Central Coasts of British Columbia, including Queen Charlotte Islands; and, the Inner South Coast, including Johnstone Strait, the Strait of Georgia, Northeast and mid-Vancouver Island and Toba Inlet and Jervis Inlet. The certification covers all current commercial fisheries.
