SUSTAINABILITY
FOR THE FUTURE
LEADERSHIP IN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
40
Alaska communities with working waterfronts
5-6 billion
pounds of annual harvest
in Alaska
#1
in global sustainable
fisheries
SEAFOOD: THE ULTIMATE
SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE
With the continued responsible management of the billions of pounds of wild seafood harvested in Alaska waters every year. Alaska's fisheries will continue to be sustainable. For decades our fishery managers have earned a reputation for optimizing harvest while preventing overfishing, allowing us to continue to benefit from this renewable resource.
Alaskans had the vision to adopt sustainability as a mandate at statehood: “Fish, forests, wildlife, grasslands, and all other replenishable resources belonging to the state shall be utilized, developed and maintained on the sustained-yield principle, subject to preferences among beneficial users.” – Article VII, Section 4, Alaska Constitution
The Magnuson-Stevens Act, pioneered by Alaska’s Senator Ted Stevens, carries this same conservation ethic into fisheries management in federal waters. It requires a continued commitment to science-based, sustained-yield management of both state and federal waters and research on the effects of changing environmental conditions.
Because of these strong governance systems, Alaska's fisheries are considered among the best managed in the world, and strategies have been developed to cope with the uncertain cycles of the industry, including diversification and development of new markets.
HABITAT PROTECTIONS
Healthy ocean habitat is essential for maintaining fishery productivity and is a key component of ecosystem-based management. Alaska has 40 marine protected areas encompassing nearly 1 million square miles.
ONGOING RESEARCH
Continued investment in fisheries science, including marine surveys, stock assessments, monitoring, and ecosystem indicators is necessary to maintain data on which to base management decisions.
SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT
Open and transparent management processes supported by science are at the core of sustainable seafood in Alaska and the U.S.
AN INNOVATIVE MOVE TOWARD LESS WASTE
Alaska’s seafood industry strives to fully utilize its harvested fish. PSPA member companies’ investment in research, processing technology, state-of-the-art equipment, and value-added product development has resulted in utilization of more than 99% of the fish processed in the pollock fishery, as well as production of a wide array of products from salmon, crab, halibut, cod, pollock and many other species. Our companies also produce fish meal and bone meal, as well as high quality food-grade fish oil for nutritional supplements.
Creating fish oil for fuel to power fish processing plants is another innovation, resulting in a more sustainable and inexpensive fuel source in remote Alaska communities. Watch the video to learn more about how fish oil can power Alaska’s processing plants.
CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE
ALASKA SEAFOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) is a marketing organization with the mission of increasing the economic value of the Alaska seafood resource. It is a public-private partnership between the State of Alaska and the Alaska seafood industry; the majority of funding is from an industry self-assessment.
ASMI also owns the Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) standard, an internationally accredited standard for sustainable fishing and supply chain traceability.
CERTIFICATION SITES
Nearly all of Alaska’s major commercial fisheries, such as Alaska salmon, Alaska pollock, Pacific cod, sablefish, flatfish, crab and halibut are certified sustainable under the Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) standard and/or the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard. Being certified sustainable means the fishery has been independently assessed and meets internationally recognized benchmarks of sustainability, minimizing environmental impact, and effective fisheries management.
PARTICIPATION / CERTIFIED FISHERIES
See the following lists of certified fisheries to see which fisheries meet the widely accepted sustainability standards.
NOAA FISHERIES FISHWATCH
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) oversees the U.S. database on sustainable seafood.