Fish buyers are set to lose a major source of MSC-accredited fish after the shock departure of the Alaska salmon fishery from the scheme.

The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, which represents the fishery, announced last week that it intended to withdraw from the scheme.

In a statement, AFDF executive director James Browning said MSC certification had been “welcome and valuable” for over a decade, but support for MSC among AFDF processors had started to decline.

“The majority of processors now feel it is time to redirect their resources toward a broader marketing message,” he added.

The loss will be a major blow for UK seafood brands and the mults, which have been increasingly using wild Alaskan salmon in added-value products because of its ‘wild’ point of difference from farmed salmon. At present, the MSC website lists 55 products containing wild Alaskan or Alaska salmon as being available in the UK, of which Sainsbury’s stocks 15.

The withdrawal also threatens to undermine sustainability targets. In 2010, Findus Group pledged to buy all wild-caught fish for its Young’s and Findus brands from MSC fisheries by 2012. Young’s told The Grocer it was on track “for a high level of attainment… despite the fact that a small number of major fisheries have recently exited the MSC scheme.”

The Alaska fishery withdrew during its assessment towards a third five-year certification. The existing certification runs until 29 October, after which the use of the MSC logo will only be permitted on fish caught before that date.

MSC Americas regional director Kerry Coughlin said the fishery had been “an early and important leader in the MSC programme” and that she hoped it would re-enter the scheme in the future.

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