Sustainability Certificates

The Alaska fishing community, both in catching and processing the products, follow various standards implemented by the State to ensure that all seafood from Alaska is certified as Wild, Natural, & Sustainable.

These are the main sustainability certificates:

RFM Certificate

Purchasing seafood from Alaska’s RFM-certified fisheries provides a documented third-party assurance of responsible seafood sourcing practices.

THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATION

Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) is a third-party certification program for wild capture fisheries, similar to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) on the aquaculture side.

INDEPENDENTLY EVALUATED

Fisheries are independently assessed and scored based on a set of criteria and must meet these criteria to be certified. The certification is valid for five years with annual surveillance audits.

CREDIBLE STANDARDS

Like other wild-caught seafood certification programs, Alaska RFM provides credible standards for sustainable or responsible fishing and supply chain traceability.

TWO STANDARDS

Alaska RFM has two certification standards:

1. Fishing rule
2. Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard

PROFITABLE CHOICE

RFM offers Alaska seafood customers a credible and cost-effective option in seafood certification.

AUDIT

Supply chain organizations must undergo a CoC audit to receive their CoC certification, which is valid for three years with annual surveillance audits.

DEMONSTRATED LIABILITY

RFM enables companies to demonstrate responsible sourcing to their customers. This is important; as today’s retailers and foodservice operators must ensure that they offer their customers seafood from certified fisheries through credible certification programs.

KEY ATTRIBUTES

Key Attributes of Alaska RFM Certified Seafood:

• Based on internationally recognized criteria of the FAO of the United Nations.
• Consumer Oriented Ecolabel – Alaska RFA Certified Seal has no logo license fees.
• The RFM Certified Seal enables companies to highlight certified sustainable seafood and preserve Alaska’s origin.
• Third-party accredited program provides fairness.
• Solid governance structure.
• Stakeholder participation.
• Chain of Custody certification provides traceability through the supply chain to its origin.
• Transparent and collaborative evaluation process.
• Recognized by credible organizations – First to be recognized by GSSI.

MSC Certificate

The MSC certificate is used to verify whether a fishery is being well managed and sustainable. Once the certificate is obtained, your catch can be put up for sale with the blue MSC seal.

What is it evaluating?

1. Sustainable Populations: The fishing activity must be carried out at a level where the continuity of the populations is guaranteed, in a productive and prosperous way.
2. Minimization of environmental impact: What impacts are caused? Fisheries must be carefully managed so that other species and habitats within the ecosystem remain healthy.
3. Are the fishing activities well managed? MSC certified fisheries must comply with relevant regulations and be able to adapt to any variation in their environmental circumstances.