October 2013
| Business World Magazine | 145
operate catcher-processors of 110 to 295
feet; each is equipped with the composite
of implements to both process and freeze
catch. AKSC members supply seafood to
markets throughout North America, as
well as markets in Asia and Europe.
MSC CERTIFIED AND
ECO-SENSITIVE
The Alaska Seafood Cooperative’s op-
erational practices have garnered distinc-
tion in earning certification by the Ma-
rine Stewardship Council (MSC). As an
independent, non-profit organization, the
MSC helps identify fisheries that operate
in an environmentally responsible way,
without contributing to the global envi-
ronmental problem of overfishing. MSC
certification requires a thorough review
of the fishery through a transparent and
systematic process and applied scientific
principles which assess stock assessment
methodologies, the measures it deploys to
mitigate the environmental effects on tar-
get and by-catch species, and the manner
in which the fishery affects ecosystems.
Anderson says MSC certification helps
distinguish the operational and environ-
mental practices of flatfish fisheries of
Alaska from the practices of other fisher-
ies around the world. He also says some
markets have grown increasingly consci-
