August 8, 2014 — The season opened Friday and runs until October 8.
Lobster Fishing Area 25 lobster fishermen at Howard's Cove participate in their annual fall setting day ritual.
Watch the video at the Journal Pioneer
Thai consumers take steps to embrace sustainable fish, says Rockefeller Foundation
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Nation] by Pariphan Uawithya — August 8, 2014 — Makro, Tesco Lotus and Tops supermarket chains recently became the first retailers in Thailand to stop selling parrotfish, after receiving an overwhelming number of petitions from environmentalists and concerned consumers.
It is remarkable how an online campaign calling on Thai and international retailers to stop selling parrotfish drew huge consumer and media attention, gained public momentum, and achieved results in a matter of days. One of the retailers, Makro, even posted a message on its website reaffirming its commitment to environmental protection.
It is evident that consumer pressure can quickly and effectively shape corporate behaviour to become more responsible towards the environment that we all depend on. This most recent call to action indicates a growing interest and awareness among Thai consumers in a do-no-harm policy for the environment and the need to protect our coastal ecosystem.
Each Thai consumes an average 33 kilograms of seafood per year, almost twice the global average. While demand for seafood continues to grow, supply from domestic waters is decreasing at a rate of 1.7 per cent per year. Of the total marine catch, 60 per cent is caught in Thai waters and the rest from waters outside the Thai Exclusive Economic Zone. The colourful parrotfish plays a unique role in maintaining the health of coral reefs by grazing reef crust, eating algae that threaten growth and beauty of coral reefs, and producing coral reef sand. When parrotfish are overfished, and polluted wastewater is released into our ocean, algae overgrow and threaten both coral reefs and the health of our marine ecosystem.
Retail grocers are one of the main sources of consumer seafood purchases in urban areas and thus have a strong connection to the health of Thai waters and oceans. While removing parrotfish from the shelves is a step in the right direction, retailers could go to the next level by creating sustainable seafood purchasing policies, requiring their suppliers to deliver seafood products that are caught sustainably, and placing sustainable-sourced seafood products in their stores. There are already efforts underway in the US and Europe, where retailers source and sell sustainable seafood products in their stores. How did it happen? Consumers demanded it and retailers seized the business opportunity.
On the other hand, banning the sale of parrotfish will affect the income level of fishers who catch and sell it. The state of our coastal fisheries is so severe that fishing folk are often forced either to catch parrotfish to make ends meet, as fishery stocks are declining due to unregulated overfishing, or fish in protected areas and coral reefs. Independent fishers represent 90 per cent of the world's fishers and catch half of the world's fish, but because their operations are small, they are unable to tap into new market opportunities and benefit from the price premiums that certified sustainable seafood can command. A long-term solution to this problem is to support fishery improvement efforts that restore the marine and coastal ecosystem, allowing fish stocks to bounce back to sustainable levels while providing livelihood support to fishers so that they can afford to adjust their catch practices. To drive more significant change now, establishing industry-wide, not just company-wide, sustainability commitments are important.
In Thailand, there are some positive changes that offer hope for dwindling coastal fisheries. Just last year, two start-up sustainable and safe seafood stores opened to fill this market demand. These sustainable seafood entrepreneurs buy fish from coastal fishers at premium price in exchange for improved fishery practices, such as replacement of the routinely used formalin, a chemical preservative that causes many health risks, with cold-storage as the means for preventing spoilage. The entrepreneurs sell their fish to restaurant owners, urban consumers, hotel operators, and others who demand safe and sustainable local seafood. Already, some aquatic species in the fishery areas are reportedly bouncing back after applying improved fisheries management practices. In addition, fishers are able to earn a better income while consumers are able to purchase safe, formalin-free seafood products and have more access to information about seafood that they consume.
These early success stories are grounded on the work of NGOs and researchers, committed local authorities, strong advocates, and fisher groups who organise themselves to negotiate with larger commercial interests, emerging sustainable seafood entrepreneurs, and rising domestic demand for safe and sustainable seafood. Through funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, we are also exploring solutions to replace unsustainable fishing practices with innovative approaches that build the resilience of coastal fisheries, while improving the economic and social conditions of the poor and vulnerable people whose well-being depends on it.
If consumers make their voices heard, and retailers listen, there is a high potential to grow the sustainable seafood market in Thailand. At the policy-level, governments must also promote ecosystems that incentivise lasting partnerships between small-scale fisher communities and the rest of the industry in order to promote sustainable management. With so much attention on the industry now, collective action can help build a future in which profits derived from fish are more equitably and responsibly earned and shared. In doing so, you not only improve the state of the ocean, one of our most precious natural resources, but also enhance the sustainability and profitability of fisheries.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.
Russia’s Boycott Worries Iceland’s Fishing Industry
August 8, 2014 — According to the Russian Embassy in Reykjavík, Iceland is not included in the boycott list, but the embassy’s representatives would not comment on whether that could change.
Helgi Anton Eiríksson, CEO of Iceland Seafood International (ISI), one of the biggest exporter of Icelandic seafood, stated that Iceland must be careful in its relations with Russia in the coming days and weeks so that Russia’s importation ban on products won’t include Iceland.
“To land on the list would be a shock for us and for the interests of Iceland and our seafood companies. [Russia] is our most important market for pelagic seafood and especially for mackerel, now that we find ourselves in the middle of the mackerel season,” Helgi said in an interview with Fréttablaðið.
Russia yesterday placed a ban on the importation of various food products, including seafood, from the European Union, Norway, the U.S., Canada and Australia as a response to sanctions placed on Russia by these countries following Russia’s interference with internal affairs in Ukraine.
Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson commented that Russia’s move does not in any way impact Iceland’s support for Ukraine.
Read the full story at Iceland Review
Feds’ cutback of observers aboard trawlers plying Alaska waters questioned by judge
August 8, 2014 — A federal court judge has questioned whether the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is doing enough to protect salmon and halibut from trawlers whose massive nets strip mine the ocean off the Gulf of Alaska coast.
District Court Judge H. Russel Holland's opinion comes in the wake of a decision by the agency that led to a significant cut in the number of independent observers tracking salmon and halibut bycatch on Gulf trawlers. NOAA, which oversees the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, two years ago went along with a North Pacific council plan that ended up halving the number of people monitoring the trawl fisheries.
Trawlers are 100- to 250-foot-long fishing vessels that drag large nets to catch tons of pollock, Pacifc Ocean perch and other species. They operate with bycatch limits designed to force closures if too many salmon or halibut are caught. Lacking observers to track bycatch, there is nothing to stop trawl skippers from rolling salmon and halibut overboard and pretending like they were never caught in order to ensure fisheries remain open.
Most trawl-caught fish dumped back into the sea die.
When observer coverage fell from about 30 percent of the trawl fleet to less than 20 percent because of program changes, a group called The Boat Company sued NOAA. The Boat Company is a Southeast Alaska-based nonprofit funded by sport fishing and eco-tourism interests that wants to clean up the Gulf fisheries.
Read the full story at Alaska Dispatch News
Canadian Judge Rules NHL Team Owner’s Home Renovation Harmed Local Fish Populations
CANADA — August 8, 2014 — A judge has ruled the owner of the NHL's Dallas Stars and the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League broke federal environmental laws while renovating his waterfront vacation home in Kamloops.
Tom Gaglardi was found guilty in Kamloops provincial court on Thursday of two counts of harmful alteration of fish habitat.
Gaglardi is president of the firm Northland Properties, which was convicted on the same charges.
His father Robert, who is chair of the company, was also facing the same charges but found not guilty.
Read the full story from The Vancouver Sun
Thousands of stranded fish rescued in dry Nevada
RENO, Nev. — August 8, 2014 — Volunteers joined Nevada wildlife officials this week in a rescue mission to save thousands of stranded trout and other fish from irrigation ditches that have been cut off from Truckee River water supplies due to drought in the Reno area.
Two dozen wader-clad rescuers splashed through the knee-deep ditches that soon will be going dry, netting an estimated 6,000 fish over two days.
Most were returned Wednesday to the Truckee River near Verdi, just west of Reno, where a rare stretch of wet August weather helped boost flows the past few days with more than an inch of precipitation.
Wildlife officials say the moisture helped, but it doesn't put much of a dent in the lingering drought, now in its third year.
"We're trying to make sure the fish in there get a second chance," Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy said.
Read the full story from The Associated Press at Fox News New York
Proposed Data Collection Program for Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery
August 8, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is proposing an information collection program for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fishery. The intent would be to collect more detailed information about individuals and businesses that hold fishery quota allocation in the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog individual transferable quota programs. This action is necessary to ensure that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has the information needed should it develop a future management action to establish an excessive share cap in this fishery.
The deadline for providing public comments on these proposed measures is September 8, 2014.
Click here to review the proposal rule and draft forms.
ASMFC American Eel Management Board Delays Action on Draft Addendum IV until October
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — August 7, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Management Board met to consider final approval of Draft Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Eel. Draft Addendum IV proposes a suite of options to address the commercial glass, yellow, and silver eel fisheries along the Atlantic coast. Management options under consideration include glass and yellow eel quotas, a catch cap for the yellow eel fishery, and a seasonal closure and license cap for the silver eel fishery in the Delaware River in New York. The Draft Addendum also includes glass eel harvest allowances for aquaculture purposes and as credit for habitat restoration programs.
The Board reviewed public comment from state public hearings conducted along the coast and written comment submitted to the Commission. After lengthy deliberations of the extensive proposed management options and in recognition of the states’ varying interests and needs, the Board decided to postpone final action on the Draft Addendum IV. In the interim, Board will convene a subcommittee of its members to identify preferred management measures to be considered by the Board for final action at the Commission’s Annual Meeting in Mystic, Connecticut the week of October 27, 2014.
The Draft Addendum is the second phase of management action in response to the 2012 American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment indicating the American eel population in U.S. waters is depleted. Causes of decline are likely due to a combination of historical overfishing, habitat loss, food web alterations, predation, turbine mortality, environmental changes, toxins and contaminants, and disease. The stock has declined in recent decades and is currently under consideration by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
ASMFC American Lobster Board Approves Habitat Addendum and Initiates Development of Management Plan for Cancer Crabs
August 6, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Addendum XXIII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Lobster. The Addendum updates Amendment 3’s habitat section to include information on the habitat requirements and tolerances of American lobster by life stage. The Addendum focuses on habitat components that play a vital role in the reproduction, growth, and the sustainability of commercial and recreational fisheries by providing shelter, feeding, spawning and nursery grounds for lobsters to survive. While the Addendum does not implement any changes to the lobster management program, it is intended to advance our understanding of the habitat needs and requirements of American lobster and provides the most current information to inform management decisions.
The Board also approved the Public Information Document (PID) for Cancer Crabs for public comment. The PID was initiated in response to concern about increasing targeted fishing pressure for Jonah crab and rock crab (collectively referred to as cancer crabs). Both species have long been considered a bycatch in the lobster fishery, however, growing market demand has doubled landings in the past seven years. Landings of both species in 2012 was over 12 million pounds and estimated to be worth over $9 million. Given the absence of state and federal management programs and stock assessments for cancer crabs, there is concern the current harvest may compromise the sustainability of the resource.
As the first step in the development of a FMP, the PID seeks public input on information concerning cancer crab fisheries, including the identification of major issues and options relative to the management of these species. It is anticipated that several states will be conducting public hearings on the PID; a subsequent press release will announce the details of those hearings once they become finalized.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the PID either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The PID will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input by August 18, 2104. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 3, 2014 and should be forwarded to Kate Taylor, Senior FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at ktaylor@asmfc.org (Subject line: Cancer Crabs). For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board Approves Draft Addendum V for Public Comment
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — August 7, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Board approved Draft Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes requiring fins remain naturally attached to spiny dogfish through landing in order to ensure consistency with the Shark Conservation Act of 2010. The Act was signed into law to close loopholes in the U.S. shark finning regulations. Specifically, the Act prohibits the removal of any fins of the shark (including the tail) while at sea (with an exemption for smooth dogfish). Fins must remain naturally attached to the corresponding carcass through landing of the fish (including while aboard a fishing vessel or transferred at sea from one vessel to another).
Currently, the Interstate FMP allows removal of the fins of spiny dogfish at-sea as long as the corresponding carcass is retained. The wet weight of fins on-board may not exceed 5% of the dressed weight of carcasses on-board (a 5-to-95 fin-to-carcass ratio). Maine, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida already require fins to remain naturally attached to the fish through landing. The Board will review and consider final approval of the Draft Addendum at the Commission’s Annual Meeting in October 2014.
The Board also approved increasing the commercial possession limit from 4,000 to 5,000 pounds for the northern region (Maine to Connecticut) for the 2014/2015 spiny dogfish fishing season. This action will be effective beginning September 8, 2014 and is consistent with recently adopted measures for federal waters.
It is anticipated that several states will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum; information on those hearings will be released when it is finalized. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website (wwww.asmfc.org ) under Public Input by August 18, 2014. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on September 30, 2014 and should be forwarded to Marin Hawk, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Spiny Dogfish Draft Addendum V). For more information, please contact Marin Hawk, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mhawk@asmfc.org .