Walmart Threatens To Stop Selling Alaska Salmon

From the Kodiak Daily Mirror: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has sent suppliers a letter saying it will stop selling  Alaska salmon that isn't certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game dropped its sponsorship of the salmon industry's MSC certification in 2010, saying it was too expensive, and processors then pulled out, also citing the program's complexity.

Wal-Mart Inc. spokesman Chris Schrader on Thursday … confirmed that Wal-Mart is buying Alaska salmon products only from salmon sectors with specialty MSC certificates, and not from all of the state’s salmon fisheries. 

For those not MSC-certified: “At this point, they would need to have a (plan) in place to bridge that,” Schrader said.

In its letter to sellers, Wal-Mart Inc. suggested one way to skip MSC certification: supporting public fishery improvement projects coordinated by a nongovernmental organization.

To read the rest of the story, please go to:  Anchorage Daily News