American Seafoods CEO Einar Gustafsson is calling for more robust supply chain monitoring to combat banned Russian products from being deceptively marketed as coming from the US state of Alaska.

The US banned Russian seafood imports following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. There's been pressure for European authorities to follow suit, as reported by Undercurrent News.

"Often, retailers are overly focused on price, overlooking important factors like sustainability, quality and, importantly, the geopolitical ramifications of their purchases," wrote Gustafsson in an opinion piece published Monday in the Anchorage Daily News.

He charged in the pages of Alaska’s largest newspaper that the Russian pollock industry employs offshore companies to buy supplies and then offloads the product in China and Norway. Some of that fish ultimately makes its way to US consumers to circumvent the Russian seafood ban, he said. 

"These actions hurt true Alaska fisheries, and in turn threaten Alaska’s economy and high-quality jobs," he wrote.

The CEO of the Seattle, Washington-based company called on consumers and wholesalers alike to take an interest in the source of their seafood and for imported fish to follow the same standards as US domestic products.

“We’re pretty much an open book when it comes to sharing key metrics and data with consumers and the government,” Gustafsson wrote.

Russian pollock producers have accused their US counterparts of using politics as a foil to leverage out competition, Undercurrent reported. Russia’s wild pollock harvest reached 1.96 million metric tons -- the highest level in 25 years -- and continues to perform well in Asian markets, the All-Russian Fishery Association has said.

US seafood companies "do not care about consumers" and only focus on their profits, association president German Zverev told Undercurrent in relation to similar comments made by Gustaffson reiterating his call for the Marine Stewardship Council to revoke its certification of Russian cod, crab, pollock and haddock fisheries.