“Trade journals indicate a premium price is gained by MCS certification,” said James Browning, deputy director of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, which is partnering with the flatfish stakeholders to gain certification.

The foundation has partnered with industry stakeholders to begin the process of certifying all sectors of the Pacific cod fishery in Alaska as sustainably managed.

In addition, the Best Use Coalition, a newly formed Alaska flatfish industry fishing cooperative, is seeking certification of Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands flatfish fisheries.

The flatfish fisheries, estimated in value at $163 million to $200 million, include more than a dozen species of sole and founders, including yellowfin sole, rock sole, rex sole, flathead sole, arrowtooth flounder and Alaska plaice. The flatfish are harvested by longline, pot, jig and trawl vessels in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska.

The MSC label is an independent, third party certification of fisheries that are managed responsibly. Alaska's commercial salmon, pollock, sablefish and halibut fisheries have already received MSC certification, a big drawing card for consumers who are increasingly demanding that their seafood come from sustainable fisheries.

The foundation, an industry-based membership supported organization based in Anchorage, is contributing funds from its own federal grants toward the roughly $200,000 certification process.

Other contributors include industry harvesters and processors and the Sustainable Fisheries Fund, based in Sacramento, Calif.

Together these entities have contracted with Moody Marine International to independently assess the cod fisheries in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska according to standards of the Marine Stewardship Council, which is based in London. Browning said the assessment is expected to take from 14 to 20 months.

Fisheries economist John Gauvin, who works on science and management issues for the flatfish industry in Alaska, is leading the effort for the Best Use Coalition, a newly formed Alaska flatfish industry fishing cooperative, to get MSC certification.

“Flatfish like sole and flounder may have a lower profile, but they are an important part of Alaska's groundfish catch, worth $163 million in 2006, third in value behind pollock and cod,” Gauvin said. “Most importantly, flatfish are managed by the same strict, science-driven standards that have made Alaska fisheries known as among the best managed in the world.”

According to Gauvin, the flatfish harvests are held at or below scientific limits, none of the stocks are overfished under the National Marine Fishery Service guidelines, and the fisheries are regulated to prevent excessive incidental catch of other species.

Flatfish are harvested by catcher boats 60 feet to 90 feet in length, that deliver fresh fish to shoreside processors, and larger catcher-processors, 110-feet to 270-feet long, that are equipped to head, gut and freeze the fish.

Catcher boats fish predominantly in the Gulf of Alaska, while catcher processors fish in both the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.

Over the last decade, fisheries scientists have set the allowable catch at about 1 million metric tons annually, but the actual catch has been much lower, ranging from 200,000 metric tons to 250,000 metric tons a year. This is due primarily to management actions, such as overall groundfish harvest and bycatch limits, Gauvin said.

Groundfish harvest limits in Alaska mean that the total combined harvest of groundfish species must not exceed 2 million tons for the Bering Sea. This has meant that the pollock catch quotas have been set between 1.3 million and 1.5 million tons annually, and the remaining fisheries for flatfish, cod and other species have made up the rest.

Bycatch limits mean that limits are placed on the incidental catch of halibut and crab, so once the limit for these species has been reached, the flatfish fisheries are closed, regardless of how much flatfish is left in the quota.

Management of bycatch is a major concern of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Observers placed aboard vessels fishing for flatfish monitor bycatch levels, and collect biological data for stock assessments. Observer data helps harvesters avoid hot sports for incidental fish harvests.

Gauvin said that halibut bycatch has been more difficult to avoid, because halibut and other flatfish share the same areas for most of the year, but that modifications to trawl gear have resulted in reduced halibut bycatch in some flatfish fisheries.

To address the incidental catch issues, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted new incentives. When implemented in 2008, an amendment to the Bering Sea fishery management plan will allow flatfish vessels to divvy up the flatfish quotas and bycatch limits among cooperatives like the Best Use Coalition. Making each group responsible for its own target catch and incidental catch will provide a strong incentive for co-ops to keep bycatch rates low and reward those who fish cleanly and efficiently, Gauvin said.

To support this cooperative program, observer coverage of flatfish vessels has been doubled and motion-compensated flow scales are now required to better determine the actual amount of catch, Gauvin said. The increased cost of monitoring will be borne by the fleet.