In some February posts I discussed some that needed to be sent out — mainly to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) which apparently certifies “sustainable fisheries”. This includes a pending “eco-certification” of British Columbia sockeye fisheries. Yes, this is an “eco-certification” of a “sustainable” fishery, that on the Fraser River, hasn’t actually happened for the last three years.
There is another certifying body out there that the MSC apparently modeled their approach after — the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The FSC eco-certifies wood and wood products from sustainable sources and logging practices. The certification is also a branding strategy that opens various markets for these products — specifically for more environmentally savvy consumers that are demanding “sustainable” consumer products. For example, some retail outlets suggest they will only sell wood and wood products that are FSC-certified.
This is now the case with seafood — with retailers like Wal-Mart apparently turning over a new “eco” leaf.
I tend to draw a comparison between the Marine Stewardship Council deeming Fraser River sockeye fisheries “sustainable” with the Forest Stewardship Council deciding that wood from massive clearcuts is “sustainable” — after the logging is already done (not that they’ve done this yet).
It’s warped thinking.
It’s “air pie” thinking; as I call it… as in:
“What’s for dessert?”
“Air pie”. A nice way of saying: “nothing”.
Worse yet — the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is fully complicit; they participated in the certification process and will play a big part in maintaining certification as they are the managing-body for the sockeye fishery. (That is, if current objections to the certification fall by the wayside, which is what has happened to every objection filed on the over 60 fisheries that the MSC has eco-certified worldwide to date.)
Thus… the federal department responsible for ensuring the future of wild salmon in British Columbia (the same federal department that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in salmon farming on the BC coast) is in full support and agreement that Fraser River sockeye fisheries are “sustainable” and should be “eco-certified“.
Maybe the multitude of folks that work within the federal department are just really hopeful?
Maybe the “air pie” sockeye fishery of the Fraser – will no longer be “air pie”?
Maybe they are really hopeful that last year — when only 1 million sockeye returned to spawn in the Fraser River– was a “one-time only event“? (which is what I have heard on several occasions over the past few months from various DFO staff)
Look at this graph of productivity (from Pacific Salmon Commission biologists) — it’s the slowest train wreck ever seen. As I’ve mentioned with this graph before: the bare minimum for sockeye runs to replace themselves is two adult returns per spawner. In 2009 productivity is less than one adult return per spawner. This suggests that Fraser sockeye runs, on a whole, could be shrinking by half each life cycle.
I keep hearing folks talking of a “collapse” last year. Yeah, it’s a “collapse” like an old house collapses.
In the early 1990s cracks started showing in the foundation — but no one paid attention. By the end of the 1990s the foundation was crumbling, rafters were sagging, the roof past needing replacement, windows leaking….
By the early 2000s, doors falling off hinges, floors caving in, roof simply cosmetic, wind blowing through walls…
And then last year the entire house falls in a pile of splinters, rubble and dust.
“It collapsed!” people shout. “The house has collapsed!!”
Well… yeah… it’s been in a serious state of disrepair for almost 40 years. Twenty years ago it started showing signs of deterioration.
The curious thing is that government departments would have certified that house….
certified it: condemned.