More than two hundred years ago, Russian explorers and fur hunters landed on the Aleutian Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the North Pacific, and learned of a land mass that lay farther to the north. 200 多年前，来自俄国的探险家和狩猎者来到了 Aleutian 岛上，一个位于北太平洋上的火山岛，同时他们也发现了位于更远的北部的大陆块。 The islands' native inhabitants called this land mass Aleyska, the ‘Great Land'; today, we know it as Alaska. 居住在岛屿上的当地居民称其为 Aleyska, “广阔的土地”，也就是我们今天所熟知的阿拉斯（Alaska）。

The forty-ninth state to join the United States of America (in 1959), Alaska is fully one-fifth the size of the mainland 48states combined. 作为第 49 个加入美国的州（1959 年），阿拉斯加的面积为全美 48 个州总面积的五分之一。 It shares, with Canada, the second longest river system in North America and has over half the coastline of the United States. 它与加拿大共同拥有北美第二大水系，并且拥有美国大半个海岸线。 The rivers feed into the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska - cold, nutrient-rich waters which support tens of millions of seabirds, and over 400 species of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and molluscs. 这些河流都流向了白令海和阿拉斯加湾，那里冰冷、营养物质丰富的海水孕育了数以万计的海鸟，超过 400 种的鱼类、贝壳、甲壳类和软体动物。 Taking advantage of this rich bounty, Alaska's commercial fisheries have developed into some of the largest in the world. 利用这一丰富的资源，阿拉斯加的商业性渔业已经发展成为世界上规模最大的水产业。

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Alaska's commercial fisheries landed hundreds of thousands of tonnes of shellfish and herring, and well over a million tonnes of groundfish (cod, sole, perch and pollock) in 2000. 根据阿拉斯加渔猎部（ADF&G）的统计，在 2000 年，阿拉斯加的商业渔业捕获了数百万吨的贝类、鲱鱼和底栖鱼（鳕鱼、鲽鱼、鲈鱼和青鳕）。 The true cultural heart and soul of Alaska's fisheries, however, is salmon. 然而，阿拉斯加渔业真正的核心却是三文鱼。 ‘ Salmon,' notes writer Susan Ewing in The Great Alaska Nature Factbook, ‘pump through Alaska like blood through a heart, bringing rhythmic, circulating nourishment to land, animals and people. 作家 Susan Ewing 在她的《大阿拉斯加地理通鉴》中写到，三文鱼对于阿拉斯加的重要性就如同血液对于心脏的重要性一样，它们不断地为土地、动物和人类提供规律的、循环的养料。 ' The ‘predictable abundance of salmon allowed some native cultures to flourish,' and ‘dying spawners* feed bears, eagles, other animals, and ultimately the soil itself. 这些可以预测到的大量三文鱼的存在带动了当地养殖业的发展，同时那些垂死的产卵鱼也成为了熊、鹰及其他动物的食物，最终也成为了土地的肥料。 ' All five species of Pacific salmon - chinook, or king; chum, or dog; coho, or silver; sockeye, or red; and pink, or humpback - spawn** in Alaskan waters, and 90% of all Pacific salmon commercially caught in North America are produced there. 产自太平洋的 5 种三文鱼都在太平洋内产卵，它们分别是奇努克鲑鱼（王鲑）、 秋鲑（狗鲑）、 银大马哈鱼（银鲑）、 红大马哈鱼（虹鳟）和虹鳞大马哈鱼（粉鲑）。并且在太平洋捕获的 90% 的三文鱼都产自阿拉斯加水域。 Indeed, if Alaska was an independent nation, it would be the largest producer of wild salmon in the world. 假如阿拉斯加是一个独立的国家，那么它将会成为世界上最大的野生三文鱼产地国。 During 2000, commercial catches of Pacific salmon in Alaska exceeded 320,000 tonnes, with an ex-vessel value of over US260 million. 在 2000 年，产自阿拉斯加水域的三文鱼超过了 32,000 吨，渔获船边交易额超过了 2.6 亿美元。

Catches have not always been so healthy. 然而，对于三文鱼的捕猎并不总是带来益处。 Between 1940 and 1959, overfishing led to crashes in salmon populations so severe that in 1953 Alaska was declared a federal disaster area. 在 1940 年与 1959 年间，过度捕捞导致了三文鱼数量的急剧下降，因此在 1953 年阿拉斯加便被定为了国家级灾区。 With the onset of statehood, however, the State of Alaska took over management of its own fisheries, guided by a state constitution which mandates that Alaska's natural resources be managed on a sustainable basis. 然而，在加入美国之后，阿拉斯加以州宪法为依据接管了本地的渔业，这一宪法规定政府应该以一种可持续发展为基础的模式对阿拉斯加的自然资源进行管理。 At that time, statewide harvests totalled around 25 million salmon. 那时，全州范围内的三文鱼捕获量大约为 2500 万条。 Over the next few decades average catches steadily increased as a result of this policy of sustainable management, until, during the 1990s, annual harvests were well in excess of 100 million, and on several occasions over 200 million fish. 在接下来的几十年里，由于可持续性管理政策的实施，三文鱼的捕获保持了稳步增长。20 世纪 90 年代，丰收之年三文鱼捕获量都在 1 亿条以上，个别时期超过了 2 亿条。

The primary reason for such increases is what is known as ‘In-Season Abundance-Based Management'. 实施大规模应季休渔管理成为了三文鱼捕获量增长的主要原因。 There are biologists throughout the state constantly monitoring adult fish as they show up to spawn. 许多生物学家在全州范围内对成年的产卵鱼进行了长期监控。 The biologists sit in streamside counting towers, study sonar, watch from aeroplanes, and talk to fishermen. 他们利用河边地带的计数塔、声波定位仪、飞机及与渔民交谈来获取信息。 The salmon season in Alaska is not pre-set. 三文鱼的产卵期并没有提前。 The fishermen know the approximate time of year when they will be allowed to fish, but on any given day, one or more field biologists in a particular area can put a halt to fishing. 渔民们知道每年开放捕鱼的大致时间，但是任何领域的生物学家都可以发布禁捕令。 Even sport fishing can be brought to a halt. 即使是休闲型垂钓也是不允许的。 It is this management mechanism that has allowed Alaska salmon stocks - and, accordingly, Alaska salmon fisheries - to prosper, even as salmon populations in the rest of the United States are increasingly considered threatened or even endangered. 虽然美国其他州三文鱼的数量在不断地遭受威胁并面临灭绝，但正是实施了这样的管理机制，才保证了阿拉斯加的三文鱼产量及相应产业的繁荣。

In 1999, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)* commissioned a review of the Alaska salmon fishery. 1999 年，海洋管理委员会MSC*审查了阿拉斯加的三文鱼业。 The Council, which was founded in 1996, certifies fisheries that meet high environmental standards, enabling them to use a label that recognises their environmental responsibility. MSC成立于 1996 年，它给符合环保的企业进行认证，这些企业可以有 MSC*环保商标的使用权。 The MSC* has established a set of criteria by which commercial fisheries can be judged. 同时，MSC 还颁布了一系列渔业行业标准。 Recognising the potential benefits of being identified as environmentally responsible, fisheries approach the Council requesting to undergo the certification process. 意识到作为环保型企业存在的潜在利润，它们便积极配合 MSC 来完成自己的环保认证。 The MSC* then appoints a certification committee, composed of a panel of fisheries experts, which gathers information and opinions from fishermen, biologists, government officials, industry representatives, non-governmental organisations and others. 因此，MSC*指派了一个渔业专家组认证委员会，他们从渔民、生物学家、政府官员、产业代表、非政府组织及一些其他组织那里收集信息和建议。 * MSC: a joint venture between WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and Unilever, a Dutch-based multi-national *MSC:世界野生动物基金会(WWF)与联合利华(总部在荷兰的国际公司)的合资企业。

ome observers thought the Alaska salmon fisheries would not have any chance of certification when, in the months leading up to MSC's final decision, salmon runs throughout western Alaska completely collapsed. 在 MSC 得出最终决策前，有些观察家认为：在活跃于阿拉斯加西部的三文鱼彻底消失之前，三文渔业将得不到任何的认证机会。 In the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, chinook and chum runs were probably the poorest since statehood; subsistence communities throughout the region, who normally have priority over commercial fishing, were devastated. 在育空地区和卡斯科奎姆河流域，王鲑和狗鲑可能是在阿拉斯加加入美国之后数量最多的鱼类。而在整个区域对商业渔业享有优先权的保留区也将遭到破坏。

The crisis was completely unexpected, but researchers believe it had nothing to do with impacts of fisheries. 这场危机完全出乎人们的意料，但研究人员认为这与渔业的影响有关。 Rather, they contend, it was almost certainly the result of climatic shifts, prompted in part by cumulative effects of the el niño / la niña phenomenon on Pacific Ocean temperatures, culminating in a harsh winter in which huge numbers of salmon eggs were frozen. 他们认为这是气候变化导致的结果，厄尔尼诺和拉尼娜现象的出现，导致气温的变化，在某种程度上导致了危机的出现，只有大量的三文鱼卵在严冬被冰冻时影响才会结束。 It could have meant the end as far as the certification process was concerned. 这时才可以认为完成了认证过程。 However, the state reacted quickly, closing down all fisheries, even those necessary for subsistence purposes. 然而，州政府迅速做出了回应，他们关闭了所有的渔场，包括那些必不可少的维持生计的渔场。

In September 2000, MSC announced that the Alaska salmon fisheries qualified for certification. 2000 年 9 月，MSC 宣布阿拉斯加的三文鱼产业达到了认证的标准。 Seven companies producing Alaska salmon were immediately granted permission to display the MSC logo on their products. 7 家生产阿拉斯加三文鱼的公司也在第一时间被授予使用 MSC 商标的权利。 Certification is for an initial period of five years, with an annual review to ensure that the fishery is continuing to meet the required standards. 而此商标只适用于认证初期的 5 年，之后每年 MSC 都会进行年检，以适应不断完善的标准。