Duties performed by VA-Delta Western Kamchatka workers. (Photo Credit: VA-Delta Western Kamchatka)
RUSSIAN FEDERATIONFriday, March 20, 2015, 23:00 (GMT + 9)
The Russian firm VA-Delta Western Kamchatka salmon fishery has entered assessment for sustainability and its fishing operations on stocks of pink salmon, chum salmon and coho salmon will be assessed to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard.
The fishery is located in the western part of the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Sea of Okhotsk coast and the lower reaches of six large coastal rivers. The Vityaz-Avto - Delta group was founded in the late 1990s and its Ozernaya river sockeye salmon fishery was the first in Kamchatka to be MSC certified in 2012.
"From the very beginning of our work, - the policy of Vityaz-Avto - Delta was aimed at the sustainable and well-managed fisheries,” pointed out Alexander Tarasov, Director General of the company.
Tarasov also commented: “With the entering into the new MSC assessment, - we realise that we are getting more environmental commitments, since we recognize the importance of sustainable fishing of salmon for our region.”
The director expressed hopes that their previous experience with MSC certification of sockeye salmon will allow them to get certified for other types of salmon - pink, chum and coho salmon and enter the global and domestic markets with MSC-certified products.
If successful, the fishery will be able to display the MSC's blue ecolabel on its products, showing consumers that the fishery operates under strict standards of sustainability.
The main commercial markets for Vityaz-Avto -Delta’s products are US, Europe, Asia and Russia.
Referring to this assessment, Camiel Derichs, MSC Regional Director for Europe remarked: "I'm delighted to welcome the Western Kamchatka salmon fisheries into full assessment. This announcement shows that an increasing number of Russian fishing companies have embraced sustainability certification against credible standards.”
Derichs also explained that this assessment covers fisheries for most of salmon species in West Kamchatka thereby positioning the region and client group as champions of salmon certification in Russia.
MSC informed that the assessment is expected to take at least 12 months and will be carried out by the independent certifier MRAG Americas.