“Pink Shrimp is #1 in Washington”
Washington pink shrimp is the first fishery managed by the state of Washington to achieve third-party certification from global Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard for sustainable, wild-caught seafood. The Washington pink shrimp fishery was independently assessed as a scope extension of the MSC certified Oregon pink shrimp fishery, which achieved MSC certification in December 2007 and attained recertification in February 2013.”
“Washington state’s pink shrimp fishermen are proud that this is the first Washington state-managed fishery to earn certification to the MSC standard,” said Charles Kirschbaum, Pacific Seafood Group’s product manager. “Efforts by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, working closely with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, to develop and adopt reference points, and implement bycatch reduction measures are key to making the fishery one of the most sustainable shrimp fisheries in the world.”
Pacific Seafood is proud that one of our senior managers, Charles Kirschbaum, fully engaged the Pacific Seafood Group, its associated team members and himself into a focused drive to deliver MSC certification for the Washing State pink shrimp fishery. Charlie managed to carve out the time, energy and dedication from his already frenetic schedule to take over the leadership role in this project.
Moreover, he was able to successfully reach out to other stakeholders such as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to establish a working partnership between stakeholders and government, which was necessary to complete this project.
In particular, Charlie and Pacific Seafood wish to recognize Lorna Wargo, Senior Fisheries Biologist, Dan Ayres, Biologist, Michele Culver, Region 6 Director, all with WDFW and Bob Hannah, Biologist with ODFW for their assistance and input in this project. This simply would not have happened without their involvement. We thank both departments for taking the time to work with the industry on this project.
In a US market dominated by seafood imports this accomplishment will make our fishery more competitive and a standout for sustainable best practices. Pacific Seafood believes that in order to fulfill our mission we must adhere to our keystone tenets defined in our social responsibility initiatives, which are comprised of sustainability, self-governance and community. Charlie and his Team Members’ efforts to deliver an MSC shrimp certification for Washington State exemplify our belief in these principles. This program will help Washington state bring more value from a sustainable and renewable public resource and help guarantee the future of that resource.
About Pacific Seafood
Pacific Seafood launched in 1941 as a small, fresh seafood retail operation in Portland, Oregon. Over the years, the family-owned business expanded to become a vertically integrated seafood processing and distributing company to meet customers’ needs and a growing market. Pacific Seafood produces seafood products from Alaska to Mexico, has facilities in seven Western states and participates in the global seafood trade market. It is a member of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association and is active in promoting a healthy and sustainable seafood industry by supporting fisheries awarded Marine Stewardship Council eco-labels. Pacific Seafood is under the leadership of Frank Dulcich, the founder’s namesake and grandson. Visit Pacific Seafood’s website, Facebook or Twitter to learn
more.
