Saving Seafood

Conservation & Environment

Global Deals to Save Oceans Were In Reach. Then Covid-19 Hit

June 9, 2020 — Before 2020 became the year of Covid-19, it was set to be the “year of the oceans.”

With only a small portion of them protected by law or agreement, expectations were high that bold steps to preserve biodiversity, rein in overfishing and bolster social responsibility were within reach. Then the coronavirus arrived, and high-profile meetings from the High Seas Treaty (the first global agreement to police and manage international waters) to the United Nations Climate Change Conference were postponed.

The oceans are critical to any effort to slow global warming. Delay in global agreements, given how little time is left to avoid catastrophe, has only made matters that much more desperate.

Waters more than 200 nautical miles from national shores are of critical importance to both fisheries and climate mitigation. The Global Ocean Commission estimates the high seas account for up to $16 billion in annual gross catch and between $74 billion and $222 billion in annual carbon storage. As the world struggles to cut emissions to zero by 2050—a goal scientists say is required to avoid massive planetary shifts—the ocean’s ability to store CO₂ will increasingly diminish, according to new research published last week in the journal AGU Advances.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Study: Marine heat waves will decimate fish at twice the rate climatologists previously predicted

June 9, 2020 — Over the last decade, two massive marine heatwaves, better known as “blobs” swept the North Pacific Ocean, raising surface temperatures more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit causing blooms of toxic algae and major die-offs in the ecosystem. A new study from the University of British Columbia reports that as these heatwaves continue, they may have far more devastating implications to fisheries than previously predicted.

Climate scientists have known for years that global warming would have devastating long-term impacts on marine species. Already, fast-melting Bering Sea ice is threatening spotted seals and other marine mammals. Warming Gulf of Alaska waters wiped out cod eggs in 2019, causing a crash in cod stocks. Record warm waters in the Yukon River last summer killed thousands of migrating salmon with heat stress.

While climate change is steadily warming oceans all over the world, marine heatwaves, like the two North Pacific “Blobs,” are causing more dramatic swings in surface temperatures. In 2014 and again in 2019, ocean temperatures in Alaska rose as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

Gulf ‘dead zone’ costing seafood industry, environment $2.4 billion in damage each year, study says

June 9, 2020 — The massive “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is causing up to $2.4 billion dollars in damage to fisheries and marine habitat every year, a new report says.

Covering an area about the size of New Hampshire, the 6,700-square-mile zone of low dissolved oxygen has long been the bane of shrimpers and other fishers off the coasts of Louisiana and eastern Texas. A report released this month from the Union of Concerned Scientists offers the first comprehensive assessment of the dead zone’s economic impact, and warns the root problem — agricultural pollution from the Mississippi River — is likely to grow in severity as the world’s climate changes.

“Gulf Coast communities know that the dead zone impacts their livelihoods, but research has never put a dollar value on its damage to the fishing industry,” said Rebecca Boehm, a UCS economist and the report’s author. “This study quantifies both the amount of nitrogen flowing to the Gulf from farms upstream, and the toll it is taking economically on the foundation of the Gulf fishing industry.”

Read the full story at NOLA.com

FAO releases latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report

June 8, 2020 — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has released the latest addition of the biannual “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture” report, a flagship publication in the United Nations’ “State of the World” series.

The 2020 edition of the publication is devoted to “Sustainability in Action” as the organization continues to focus on meeting Sustainable Development Goals established back in 2015. Comprised of 17 separate actionable goals, the current progress, according to the FAO, hasn’t been fast enough.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

World Oceans Day: Marine Stewardship Council Encourages Consumers to Look for the Blue Fish Label to Protect our Big Blue Future

June 8, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a non-profit whose sole mission is to make sure wild seafood is around forever, is celebrating UN World Oceans Day (June 8) by kicking off its ‘Little Blue Label, Big Blue Future’ campaign. Through aspirational messages and a compelling video, the eight-week MSC campaign runs the duration of US National Oceans Month and demonstrates how daily decisions as simple as meal planning impact the ocean and its inhabitants.

High levels of concern for our ocean are driving a new wave of consumer activism, new research for the MSC reveals, as consumers increasingly, ‘vote with their forks,’ to safeguard our ocean. Conducted by independent research and strategy consultancy, GlobeScan, the MSC recently conducted the largest survey of its kind involving more than 20,000 people across 23 countries. The survey revealed 65% of Americans believe supermarkets should remove all unsustainable fish and seafood products from their shelves. 

“More than ever, we see an increased passion from consumers and companies alike to take steps that protect the ocean, including choosing sustainable seafood,” said Brian Perkins, regional director for the Americas at the MSC. “The MSC has been on a mission to end overfishing for more than 20 years. In honor of World Oceans Day and National Oceans Month this year, we’re asking Americans to keep our ocean healthy for future generations by shopping sustainably when buying seafood and other products. The little choices we make have a big ripple effect.”
 
Monday, June 8 is World Oceans Day, the United Nations day observed in 140 countries to celebrate the role of the ocean in our everyday life and to inspire action to protect and sustainably use marine resources. The ocean contains up to 80% of life on Earth. However, a third of fisheries around the world have been fished beyond sustainable limits, and a further 60% are fished to their maximum capacity. Because seafood provides an important source of protein to more than 3 billion people on our planet, it’s crucial to adopt habits that ensure the ocean and seafood will be around for generations to come.
 
“Though some of us might live far from saltwater, our lives on land are intrinsically tied to our ocean through the choices we make, particularly when we’re choosing to eat seafood,” said Gabby Petrelli, conservation action coordinator at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and lead for Shedd’s Sustainable Seafood Program. “At Shedd Aquarium, we’re studying vulnerable fisheries in the Caribbean to help inform better management practices. Locally, we empower consumers and restaurants to make choices that keep the future of our big blue planet in mind and preserve the habitats of our beloved penguins, whales and sharks in the wild.”
 
In the same GlobeScan study, 55% of U.S. seafood consumers agreed that in order to protect the ocean, we have to consume fish and seafood only from sustainable sources.  
 
“One of the bright spots of this current global crisis is that the interest and willingness from consumers to try fish from a can is an at an all-time high, and many canned products are MSC certified sustainable options, too,” says Bart van Olphen, chef, author, sustainable fish advocate and founder of the Fish Tales brand. “There are so many delicious meals and snacks to be made with the varieties of canned fish, and people all over the world are experimenting not only with canned tuna, but also sardines, mackerel and salmon. My advice as people continue to expand their tinned fish repertoire is to look for the MSC blue fish label across every fish variety.”
 
To learn more about how we all can help protect our one shared ocean, and for additional recipes featuring delicious, sustainable seafood, visit the MSC US website and follow @MSCBlueFish on social media.

US scallop company Northern Wind forges ahead with traceability tech

June 5, 2020 — Scallop producer Northern Wind is partnering with fellow Massachusetts company Legit Fish to make its products traceable to the source.

The technology provided by Legit Fish, which the company is making available to any interested foodservice and retail customers, will track Northern Wind’s product supply chain from its vessel to the processor.

Northern Wind’s Co-CEO George Kouri told IntraFish the technology has been more than a year in the making, and is customized for the seafood business.

“We now believe as things begin to open up, and we’re in the early stages of the new scallop season, that now is the time to make this announcement,” he said.

Read the full story at IntraFish

As NOAA predicts larger than average Gulf dead zone, study reveals billions in damage to fish stocks

June 4, 2020 — NOAA scientists announced on 3 June that the forecast for the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic area, more commonly referred to as the “dead zone,” will be larger than average in 2020.

The current forecast of the dead zone – an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life – predicts an area of roughly 6,700 square miles, which is larger than the recent average measured size of the dead zone of 5,387 square miles. For comparison, 6,700 square miles is roughly the size of the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC faces NGO criticism in Atlantic bluefin hearing, new report

June 2, 2020 — In a hearing taking place 1 and 2 June, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is questioning the merits of the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) certification of the first Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery, citing a “questionable evaluation process that has repeatedly ignored the fragile status of the stock.”

According to WWF, MSC’s current certification of the bluefin tuna fishery has dismissed “the best available science and therefore produced a evaluation of the fishery that does not reflect the reality at sea.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

2020 Species Recovery Grant Awardees Announced

June 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries is announcing the award of $6.5 million in funding to states and tribes through its Species Recovery Grant Program. These grants promote the recovery of species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

States and tribes play an essential role in conserving and recovering species. Threatened or endangered species under NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction may spend all or part of their lifecycle in state waters. Successfully conserving these species depends largely on working cooperatively with states and tribes. This year’s funding support our state and tribal partners in a range of activities, such as:

  • Designing and testing new fishing gear to reduce or remove significant sources of mortality and injury.
  • Assessing and monitoring species presence, status, and movement, and collecting genetic information to improve understanding of population distribution, foraging ecology and habitat use, population structure, and restoration efforts.
  • Engaging the public in conservation of Endangered Species Act-listed species.

In the Greater Atlantic Region the funding will support one new award and the continuation of seven multi-year projects that were approved in prior grant cycles.

Read our web story to learn more or visit the complete descriptions of funded projects to states and Tribes.

American Lobster, Sea Scallops Habitat Could Shift Off the Northeast

May 29, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Researchers have projected significant changes in the habitat of commercially important American lobster and sea scallops on the Northeast U.S. continental shelf. They used a suite of models to estimate how species will react as waters warm. The researchers suggest that American lobster will move further offshore and sea scallops will shift to the north in the coming decades.

Findings from the study were published recently in Diversity and Distributions. They pose fishery management challenges as the changes can move stocks into and out of fixed management areas. Habitats within current management areas will also experience changes — some will show species increases, others decreases, and still others no change.

“Changes in stock distribution affect where fish and shellfish can be caught and who has access to them over time,” said Vincent Saba, a fishery biologist in the Ecosystems Dynamics and Assessment Branch at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and a co-author of the study. “American lobster and sea scallop are two of the most economically valuable single-species fisheries in the entire United States. They are also important to the economic and cultural well-being of coastal communities in the Northeast. Any changes to their distribution and abundance will have major impacts,” he said.

Read the full release here