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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2013-58M Suggested by: Mayor Pat Porter CITY OF KENAI RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -58 (SUBSTITUTE) A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT WAL -MART STORES, INC., PROVIDE CONSUMERS WITH A CHOICE TO PURCHASE SUSTAINABLE ALASKAN SEAFOOD PRODUCTS. WHEREAS, the State of Alaska, since its inception, has managed its fisheries under the Constitutional mandate that all fisheries shall be managed under the principle of sustainable yield, for the conservation of our fish and their habitat and for the maximum benefit of fishing families, communities, and businesses; and, WHEREAS, the City of Kenai agrees with the importance of promoting sustainable seafood management and harvest; and, WHEREAS, Wal -Mart Stores, Inc. has decided to no longer purchase salmon from sources not certified to be sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC); and, WHEREAS, several major Alaska seafood processors have decided to discontinue their affiliation with MSC due to concerns about MSC's inability to maintain a consistent standard definition of sustainable management, MSC's monopolizing influence acting as a barrier to trade, and MSC's undermining State and national governance of fisheries; and, WHEREAS, the State of Alaska has supported the Alaska seafood processors in their decisions to allow their MSC certifications to lapse and have encouraged the development of a new U. N. Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) based Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) program that provides meaningful guarantees of responsibility and sustainable management to conscientious consumers, but does not subject Alaska's science based fisheries managed by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service to an ever - changing definition of sustainability or subject the Alaska seafood industry to an ever - increasing labeling cost to access traditional markets. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, the City of Kenai respectfully requests Wal -Mart Stores, Inc., recognize the standards of the FAO based RFM program and provide consumers with a choice to purchase sustainable Alaska seafood. Resolution No. 2013 -58 (Substitute) Page 2 of 2 PASSED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, this 7th day of August, 2013. PAT PORTER, MAYOR ug' gested by: Mayor Pat CITY OF KENAI RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -58 A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NAI, ALASKA, RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT WAL -MART STORES, INC., PROVIDE CONSUMERS WITH A CHOICE TO PURCHASE SUSTAINABLE SKAN SEAFOOD PRODUCTS. WHEREAS, the State of Alaska, since its inception, has aged its fisheries under the Constitutional mandate that all fisheries shall be m aged under the principle of maximum sustainable yield, for the conservation of our ish and their habitat and for the maximum benefit of fishing families, communities d businesses; and, WHEREAS, the City of Kenai agrees with the ' ortance of promoting sustainable seafood management and harvest; and, WHEREAS, Wal -Mart Stores, Inc. has deci d to no longer purchase salmon from sources not certified to be sustainable by Marine Stewardship Council (MSC); and, WHEREAS, several major Alaska seafo processors have decided to discontinue their affiliation with MSC due to concerns about MSC's inability to maintain a consistent standard definition of sustainable anagement, MSC's monopolizing influence acting as a barrier to trade, and MS s undermining State and national governance of fisheries; and, WHEREAS, the State of decisions to allow their development of a new meaningful guarantees c consumers, but does Alaska Department #f Administration's N 'on sustainability or pirbjec cost to access traditional Alas a has supported the Alaska seafood processors in their 4 SC certifications to lapse and have encouraged the 4 0g SC indexed to the standards of FAO that provides responsibility and sustainable management to conscientious subject Alaska's science based fisheries managed by the Fish & Game and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric al Marine Fisheries Service to an ever - changing definition of t the Alaska seafood industry to an ever - increasing labeling al markets. NOW, THER ORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, City of Kenai respectfully requests Wal -Mart Stores, Inc., recognize the standard of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and provide onsumers with a choice to purchase sustainable Alaska seafood. Resolution No. 2013 -58 Page 2 of 2 PASSED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, this 7th day 2013. PAT PORTER, ATTEST: Sandra Modigh, City Clerk M 11VI'�laye with a Past, C# with a Future /' 210 Fidalgo Avenue, Kenai, Alaska 99611 -7794 Telephone: 907 - 283 -7535 / FAX: 907 - 283 -3014 i'IIII 1992 MEMO: TO: City Council FROM: Mayor Pat Porter DATE: August 1, 2013 SUBJECT: Resolution 2013 -58, Requesting Wal -Mart Stores Provide Consumers With a Choice to Purchase Sustainable Alaskan Seafood Governor Sean Parnell has taken a pro- active position to protect the business interests of Alaska Seafood harvesters, processors and marketers by corresponding with Wal- Mart Stores, Inc. to request that they continue to provide consumers with the choice to purchase Alaskan Seafood. More than most communities, Kenai knows how important the seafood industry is to our local families, businesses, and the overall health and well -being of our City and the entire Kenai Peninsula. My resolution is meant to support the Governor's efforts in protecting and enhancing business opportunities for Alaskans. I have spoken with Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre and believe the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly may consider a similar resolution in the near future. thank you in advance for your consideration of, and support for, resolution 2013 -58. Press Release - Alaska Governor Sean Parnell Page 1 of 1 Wal -Mart Urged to Reconsider Salmon Decision July 18, 2013, Juneau, Alaska - Governor Sean Parnell is urging the president and chief executive officer of Wal -Mart Stores to reconsider the company's decision to no longer purchase salmon from sources that aren't certified to be sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Several Alaskan seafood processors elected to discontinue their affiliation with the MSC citing concems about the MSC's inability to maintain a consistent, standard definition of sustainable management; concerns about brand erosion; and concerns that the MSC's monopolizing influence undermines state and national governance of fisheries. In a letter to Wal -Mart CEO Michael Duke, Governor Parnell said, "Although your commitment to source only MSC seafood may have been sensible when first declared back in 2006, that policy is now sorely dated and is serving only to deprive your customers of high quality products produced in America, and forcing your company to source salmon from less sustainable fisheries in foreign nations. "I encourage you to reconsider ways you can help Alaskan processors continue to bring the best frozen wild salmon in the world to consumers by adjusting your evaluations and Sustainability Index to reflect the real -world quality of our salmon products and responsible, sustainable salmon management program." Governor Parnell welcomed the opportunity to meet with Duke to discuss Alaska's commitment to sustainability. Alaska's seafood industry is the state's largest private sector employer, providing more than 70,000 jobs annually. A copy of Governor Parnell's letter to the president of Wal -Mart is available at: http: / /gov.alaska.gov /parnell media /resources files /walmart_071613.pdf rYk# 2012 State of Alaska **]C, ,** http: / /gov.alaska .gov /parnell/press - room/full- press - release.html ?pr =6554 7/25/2013 STVF CAPIT01. PO IRor 110001 luncau AK998 1 1 -0001 90' -I65- 300 iaA 907- 465 -i3? Governor Sean Parnell STATE OF ALASKA Judy 16, 2013 Mr. Michael Duke president and Chief Executive Officer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 702 Southwest Lighth Street Bentonville, AR 72716 -8611 Dear Mr. Duke, 550 IPest .Scernlh Avenue Suite 17011 And oci,,c AK 99501 907 -'.G9 ' -ISO t,m 907-- '69 -74I11 (men tor: ' Nhi3O Gnr It was with great disappointment that I learned recently of Wal -Mart Stores, Inc.'s (Xlalmart) decision to no longer purchase salmon from sources not certified to be sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). I understand that Walmart's decision was based on a broadcr company plan to source products based on a comprehensive Sustainability Index which is being used to gauge the environmental impact of products and the processes used to create them. While I commend Walmart's desire to source its products responsibly and exemplifv corporate leadership in driving progress in sustainabiht.v, I believe this decision was based on incomplete information, may needlessly prevent \C4dmart customers from accessing sustainable, high quality Alaskan seafood products, and will undermine consumer confidence in Walmart's commitment to its "Bin Amenca" campaign. As I informed you in the enclosed letter I sent in February 2012, several major Alaskan seafood processors have elected to discontinue their affiliation with the DISC due to concerns about the MSC's inability to maintanh a consistent, standard definition of sustainable management, concerns about brand erosion, and concerns that the NISC's monopolizing influence acts as barrier to trade and severely undertnincs State and national governance in fisheries. In addition, the high cost of participation in MSC is unnecessarily burdensome for the processing industry. Alaska has been in the business of sustainabilit lung before the MSC's existence, managing salmon fisheries to high standards since statehood. We have strongly supported the processing industry in this decision to allow their DISC certification to lapse, encouraging instead the development of a new program, indexed to the standards of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), that provides a meaningful guarantee of responsible, sustainable management to conscientious consumers but does not subject our science -based fisheries management by the ,Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service to an ever-changing definition of sustainabilm or subject our seafood industry to an ever- increasing labeling cost to access traditional markets. In a speech delivered to an audience in China last vrar, you announced that W'ahnart has been °acr% pleased to work with suppliers who have answered the call and share our commitment to being Mr. Michael Duke July 16, 2013 Page 2 more socially and environmentally responsible." Alaska's Constitution mandates that all fisheries must be managed under the principle of maximum sustained yield, for the conservation of our fish and their habitat and the maximum benefit of fishing fare lies, communities, and businesses. Since 1959, Alaskan fishermen have clearly answered this call by bearing the burden of conservation through management measures that have at times deeply cut into short -term profits or even taken away an entire season's income and subsistence harvest. No one understands more than Alaskans what it takes to protect fish stocks and their habitat. Because we have chosen, as a state, to put sustainability above profit, our historic fisheries have thrived famously, and the Alaska model serves as an example to other regions. In addition, we have gone a step beyond mere sustainabilin in protecting the integrity of our wild stocks and their habitat by banning fish farming in our state. Alaska's reputation has in most cases spoken for itself, and even as other states' fisheries struggle to compete with farmed salmon, Alaska salmon continues to be in high demand across the globe. I have personally witnessed this preference for our higher - quality product in my travels abroad, where culinary schools, restaurants, and retail stores showcase our prized Alaska salmon. I understand that Waltmart is operating in a global economy and is striving to develop a sustamabilin platform that is simple and understandable. However, I encourage you to recognize that sustainable labeling has grown beyond the days when domination by a single eco -label was a viable option. In today's seafood sourcing, Alaska and several major seafood producing nations have moved to an alternative certification based on FAO standards. Although your comthutment to source onh ,MSC seafood may have been sensible when first declared back in 2006, that policy is now soreh dated and is serving only to deprive your customers of high quality products produced in America, and forcing your company to source sabmon from less sustainable fisheries in foreign nations. I encourage you to reconsider ways you can help Alaskan processors continue to bring the best frozen wild salmon in the world to consumers by adjusting your evaluations and Sustainabihty Index to reflect the real - world quality of our salmon products and responsible, sustainable salmon management program. 1 would welcome the opportunity to meet with you, along with members of my cabinet, in Alaska to discuss our state's commitment to sustainabilirv. If you visit Alaska in the summer, you will be able to witness firsthand the quality of our salmon — from biologists enumerating salmon escapement for all species on individual rivers across the state, to the families carefully harvesting salmon from our fresh waters, to the processors whose cleaning, freezing, and packing systems are state-of-the-art, to the communities whose existences are still built around the salmon indusrv. I encourage you CO contact Hxecutive Director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Mike Cerne at 9C-465-5-560 or 800 -478 -2903 or Commissioner Cora Campbell of the Alaska Department of Dish and Game at 907 -465- 4100, to discuss the qualin' and sustainabilin' of Alaska salmon further. Best regards, Sean Parnell Governor }Enclosure Mr. Michael Duke July 16, 2013 Page 3 cc: The Honorable Lisa Murkowski, United States Senate The Honorable Mark Begich, United States Senate The Honorable Don Young, United States House of Representatives The Honorable Charlie Huggins, President of the Senate, Alaska State Legislature The Honorable Mike Chenault, Speaker of the House, Alaska State legislature The Honorable Susan Bell, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Commerce, Communin,, and Economic Development The Honorable Cora Campbell, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Mr. Mike Cernc, Executive Director, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute p4r. John !Moller, Senior Advisor for Rural Affairs, Office of the Governor i\•Is. Stefanie Moreland, Special Assistant for Fisheries, Office of the Governor .ENE STATE CAPITOL PO Bat 110001 Juneau. Alaska 9981 1 -0001 907 -465 -3500 fax: 907- 465 -3532 Governor Sean Parnell STATE OF ALASKA February 14, 2012 Mr. Michel Duke President and Chief Executive Officer Walmart Stores, Inc. 702 Southwest Eighth Street Bentonville, AR 72716 -8611 Dear Mr. Duke, 550 Wesl 711r Avenue # 1700 Ancnorage. Alaska 99501 907.269 7i50 fan 907- 269 -7463 mm.GmAlaska.Goe Goacrnor,@, AlaSka,Ga, I am writing to express my personal appreciation for Walmarc's ongoing support of Alaska's fisheries, working families, coastal communities, and cotnmitted scientists at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF &G) and the National Matine Fisheries Service by carrying Alaska Seafood products in your stores. You may have heard that Alaska's major seafood processors are pulling back from paying for the Marine Stewardship Council's (64SC) certification of Alaska's salmon. This business decision by Alaska salmon processors does not change Alaska's commitment to intensive, science -based management of our salmon fishery. You may have also heard some troubling misinformation coming from a number of special interest environmental groups regarding Alaska's fisheries policies, salmon producers, and due Food and Agriculture Organi2ation (FAO) -based Responsible Fisheries Management Certification by Global Trust now that the industry has announced its withdrawal from the MSC program. I do not wish to dwell on them here, but would welcome the opportunity to meet with you personally to discuss the bright future of Alaska's salmon fishery, our ongoing commitment to responsible management and why Alaska Seafood should continue to be a part of Walmarr's Commitment to Sustainable Seafood. Unfortunately, this debate over sustainability is running into an issue of market access and governance where one party seeks control, which concerns me greatly. Those of us responsible for managing our fisheries, along with our fishing industry, cannot, as a matter of principle and form, tolerate a situation where a single private entity, on the basis of a changeable private standard, has sole authority to decide who can sell seafood to the public and who cannot. Alaskan waters produce over half of the seafood from the U.S. and over 95 percent of U.S. wild salmon. The Alaska seafood industry is the state's largest private sector employer, providing over 70,000 jobs annually. Alaska seafood is Alaska's largest export, with over one million metric tons of seafood worth $3,870,000,000 exported in 2010. Additionally, Alaska's bountiful ocean resources provide tremendous economic opportunities in communities along the west coast of America and overseas. We cannot allow a foreign -based private organi2adon to be the gate keeper and only arbiter of what fish is and is not sustainable; there is just too much at stake for the health of the oceans and the communities that depend on them. We need reasonable options for the marketplace so a monopolistic situation does not develop. Mr. Michael Duke February 14, 2012 Page 2 Fortgmately, there is another credible certification for Alaska fisheries available for those customers requiring independent, third party verificauon of what we have known for many years: Alaska's fisheries are some of the best managed in the world. That is the ISO -65 certification for the FAO - based Responsible Fisheries Management that we are now using in Alaska. I have asked our Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) to submit this model on behalf of the State of Alaska to Walmart's Sustainable Seafood Committee for inclusion as part of Walmart's Commitment to Sustainable Seafood. I am sure your team will find it meets both the intent and the spirit of your commitment. For more information and updates on the Alaska certification program, please visit the sustainability section of the ASMI website at htt p:// sustaiiiabiliry .alaskasenfood.or.g /, or call them any time at 907 -465 -5560 or 800 -478 -2903. Alaska has been held up as a model of fisher- sustainability long before the sustainability movement was even born. Since Alaska became a state in 1959, the Alaska State Constitution has mandated management of fishery resources on the sustained yield principle — the only state in the country with such explicit conservation language in its constitution. Please be assured of my personal commitment to continue our long history of responsible fisheries management in Alaska. Again, thank you for your leadership in supporting healthy oceans and Alaska's fishing families. Best Prs, Sean Parnell Governor cc: The Honorable Cora Campbell, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and Game