The MSC decision renews the certification Alaska salmon was initially granted in 2000, when it was the first U.S. fishery to get this significant designation.

This gives an advantage to producers of Alaska salmon products, whose customer base includes a growing number of consumers who demand that the seafood products they buy come from sustainable fisheries. The processors can now continue to carry the MSC's blue ecolabel in markets around the world, identifying them as coming from a fishery that is well managed for sustainability and environmental responsibility.

“The MSC label helps Alaska's salmon harvesters and processors tell people around the world that Alaska takes good care of our marine and freshwater environments, while providing millions of wild fish to health conscious consumers,” said David Bedford, deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “MSC has acknowledged that the re-certification process needs improvement, and that this assessment took months more than originally expected, but our sustainable commercial salmon fisheries will benefit from this endorsement.”

He added that the Fish and Game Department will work with MSC to help make the re-certification process better in the future.

Re-certification was approved after an extensive, science-based assessment by independent experts who, in close consultation with staff at Fish and Game, reviewed technical information, management policies and stakeholder input, concluding that Alaska's commercial salmon fisheries are sustainable and well managed.

Alaska's commercial salmon fishermen caught more than 200 million salmon last year, making it the fourth year in the last decade with a catch that high. Commercial fishing is one of the largest employers in Alaska, and an important component of the overall state economy.

Alaska's salmon fishery was one of the first major commercial fisheries in the world to go through the MSC's program, and to be certified as meeting the MSC criteria for sustainably managed fisheries. Widely recognized as well managed, Alaska's salmon fishery was selected by the MSC eight years ago to test the organization's newly developed principles and criteria. After a final assessment and certification process, Alaska's salmon fishery was certified as meeting the MSC's sustainability standards in September 2000.

The certification was granted initially for a five-year period that was extended twice to October 2007. The re-certification will give the salmon fishery the MSC label for the next five years.