Saving Seafood

Conservation & Environment

Seafood Watch Removes Gulf of Mexico Commercial Red Snapper Fishery From “Red List”

AUSTIN, Texas — September 17, 2013 — The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program – the most well-known sustainable seafood program in the United States –announced this week that it has removed the Gulf of Mexico commercial red snapper fishery from its “Avoid” list and now classifies it as a “Good Alternative."

“The removal of red snapper from the “Avoid” list is an important step for red snapper fishermen in the Gulf,” said Tim Fitzgerald, Sustainable Seafood Director for Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans Program.  “In addition to drawing new consumers to try Gulf red snapper, this recognition will open the fishery to new markets and major buyers that have made a commitment to sustainable seafood.”

The announcement by Seafood Watch comes as a result of major management changes to the commercial red snapper fishery over the past seven years.  Facing a dwindling stock after years of overfishing, a community of the Gulf’s small, family-owned commercial red snapper fishing operations, fishery managers, and conservationists worked together to design a new program for the fishery.

Read the full story at the Environmental Defense Fund

Massachusetts Working Waterfront Festival Friday Concert Features Music, Poetry and Stories from Fishing Communities

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., — September 17, 2013 — The following was released by the organizers of the New Bedford Working Waterfront Festival

The Working Waterfront Festival presents a Festival Sampler, Friday, September 27th from 7:30-9:00 pm at the New Bedford Whaling Museum Theater. The ten dollar ticket helps support the free Festival. Seating is limited; tickets will be sold at the door, with advance tickets available through the Festival web site.

jon campbell.jpgDesigned to whet the appetite of festival goers, the evening will feature songs, stories and poetry presented by ten performers who hail from fishing communities in Newfoundland, New England, Alaska and the Chesapeake Bay: Anita Best (traditional songs and stories from Newfoundland), Calico Jack (music and poetry celebrating the people, places and history of the Chesapeake), Janice Marshall (parodies drawn from a life in the Maryland crab fishery), Daisy Nell & Captain Stan (traditional and original songs about the seafaring heritage of Essex, MA), Jon Campbell (original poetry and songs about commercial fishing and coastal communities), Jon Broderick, Jay Speakman, and Dave Densmore (poetry and songs about the Alaskan fishing industry). In addition, a retrospective slide show chronicling the first nine years of the event will be shown.

As always, the Festival brings together a unique array of music, storytelling, and poetry.  Performances include traditional sea chanteys and music reflecting the fishing industry’s ethnic diversity as well as songs, stories, and poetry about commercial fishing and the sea often performed by musicians who work in the industry.  In addition to the performers taking part in the Friday concert, the Festival line up includes: Sharks Come Cruisin’ (sea chantey punk), Joao Cerilo & Pilon Batuku (Cape Verdean funana and batuk), Ana Vinagre (Portuguese fado), SAMspill (Norwegian music), Souls of the Sea (folk-rock), New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus. Songwriters Michael Troyand Joanne Doherty, and poet Charlotte Enoksen will also perform. Performer bios and a full festival schedule are available on the festival web site.

The Working Waterfront Festival is a project of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern MA, a non-profit organization. The FREE festival, a family friendly, educational celebration of New England's commercial fishing industry, features live maritime and ethnic music, fishermen's contests, fresh seafood, vessel tours, films, author readings, cooking demonstrations, kid's activities and more.  It all takes place on working piers and waterfront parks in New Bedford, MA, America's #1 fishing port, on the last full weekend in September. Navigate to us at www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org.

 

World Wildlife Fund Canada Launches Controversial ‘We Don’t Farm Like This’ Video

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — September 17, 2013 — World Wildlife Fund Canada has launched a controversial video entitled "We Don't Farm Like This" which is currently available on YouTube. The animated video depicts wild animals being hooked on a line that snakes through a forest, and being caught up in a giant net pulled through the air and across the land. It also shows a giant land-based version of a fishing trawl destroying everything in its path. The video poses the question: "We don't farm like this, why do we fish like this?"

A number of commenters on the YouTube page have raised objections, including University of Washington professor of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Trevor A. Branch, who wrote "There is very little comparison between fishing and farming. Farming cattle involves the clear-cutting of forests like the Amazon, with loss of almost all species. Farming crops results in 100% habitat destruction and basically 100% loss of species. Fishing on the other hand leaves almost all species in place, some reduced in numbers. No comparison whatsoever."

The description of the video on YouTube states "Our oceans are in crisis because of unsustainable fishing practices and it's more important than ever to choose products from sustainable sources."  It urges viewers to choose Marine Stewardship Council certified sustainable seafood.

The video was produced by the John Street Agency in Toronto (+1 416-348-0048).  The credits list the creative directors as Angus Tucker (atucker@johnst.com), and Stephen Jurisic (sjurisic@johnst.com).  It is set to the song "Happy Go Lucky Me" by Paul Evans, released by Sony Music Publishing.


Watch the video here

ASMFC American Lobster Draft Addendum XXII Released for Public Comment

ARLINGTON, Va., — September 16, 2013 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has released Draft Addendum XXII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster for public comment. The Draft Addendum presents additional options for management of the Southern New England lobster stock. These options, which were previously considered under Draft Addendum XXI, address the issue of single and aggregate ownership caps in Lobster Conservation Management Area 3 (offshore waters). Draft Addendum XXII makes two corrections (see Tables 2 and 3) to the options that were considered under Draft Addendum XXI in order to accurately reflect the trap reduction schedule. Draft Addendum XXII also adds one additional option for consideration under Section 3.2 (Aggregate Ownership Cap) that would allow a single company or individual who holds more than five times the single ownership cap prior to the selected control date, to increase each permit's allocation up to the approved trap cap.

The states will not be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 17, 2013 and should be forwarded to Kate Taylor, Senior FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or ktaylor@asmfc.org (Subject line: Lobster Draft Addendum XXII).For more information, please contact Kate Taylor. 

          

NH Joins Lawsuit to Block ‘Onerous’ Fishing Regulations

September 16, 2013 — To protect the small businesses in New Hampshire’s fishing industry who create jobs and provide important contributions to the state’s economy, Governor Maggie Hassan and Attorney General Joseph Foster announced today that the State of New Hampshire has joined a lawsuit against the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and other U.S. officials challenging substantial new catch limits on many types of groundfish in New England. The regulations, Frameworks 48 and 50, were issued earlier this year by the Secretary of Commerce under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens).

“Fishing is a time-honored trade in New Hampshire, with small-boat fishermen relying on cod, haddock and other groundfish to support their livelihoods,” Governor Hassan said. “The onerous restrictions and reduced catch limits put forth by the federal government could have a dire effect on the economic viability of New Hampshire’s fishermen, placing one of our state’s oldest and most treasured industries at grave risk and undermining an important sector of our economy. Joining this lawsuit will help us stand up for the future of New Hampshire’s fishing industry by fighting back against these severe restrictions.”

The lawsuit, which was filed earlier this year by the State of Massachusetts, makes clear that the new regulations would have a “devastating impact” on families and small businesses throughout New England who earn their living through fishing by reducing the allowable catch for certain New England groundfish by 77 percent. The complaint claims that, in addition to threatening the extinction of the groundfishing industry, Frameworks 48 and 50 are in violation of Magnuson-Stevens.

Read the full story at the Hampton-NorthHampton Patch

Read the full press relase from the office of Governor Maggie Hassan

 

Final MSC decision made on Russia pollock fishery

September 17, 2013 — Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk pollock fishery has been cleared to be certified to the Marine Stewardship Council standard as a sustainable and well-managed fishery.

Independent Adjudicator (IA) Michael Lodge on Monday released his final decision in the objection filed by the At-Sea Processors Association (APA) in the fishery, and accepted the responses of the Conformity Assessment Body (CAB).

Consistent with MSC requirements, the CAB will have to submit its amended report to Lodge to confirm that the changes made during the objection process are correctly reflected. Once that happens, the public certification report will be published and the CAB will certify the fishery.

“The objection process is completely independent of the Marine Stewardship Council and underscores the impartially and scientific rigor of the MSC program,” said Dr. David Agnew, MSC standards director. “WWF and APA objected to the certification. WWF withdrew its objection earlier in the year, following changes made to the fishery’s plans for data collection. As a result of the additional work required by the Independent Adjudicator under the APA objection, the scientific basis of the determination has been improved and the client action plan further strengthened. With this final decision, the CAB and independent adjudicator have determined that the fishery passes the MSC standard. MSC recognizes the importance of the contributions made by all parties and their commitment to sustainable fisheries.”


Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

SBA loans may be on line for fishermen

September 17, 2013 — In a step that could lead to the first federal financial assistance to Massachusetts’ fishing-related businesses, Gov. Deval Patrick has officially certified the widespread economic hardship imposed on Massachusetts fishing communities by the fishery disaster proclaimed a year ago by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

That assistance, if recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration, would come in the form of low-interest loans to approved Bay State fishermen and fishing-related businesses.

In a letter to Frank Skaggs, the director of the SBA’s disaster assistance office, Patrick certified that small businesses in six Massachusetts counties, including Essex County, “suffered substantial economic injury as a result of the fishery resource disaster.”

Patrick also pointed out that the degree of economic injury to fishermen and commercial fishing-related businesses is so severe “that financial assistance at reasonable rates and terms is not otherwise available, thereby creating the necessity for federal involvement in the form of subsidized loans from the Small Business Administration.”

The low-interest loan program, if approved by the SBA, would be the federal government’s first firm commitment of financial assistance to the industry that has been ravaged by NOAA’s Draconian cuts to to the allowable catch quotas for many of the ground fishing species traditionally fished by the Gloucester commercial fleet.


Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

New Hampshire joins fishing regulation lawsuit

September 16, 2013 — CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire has joined a lawsuit to block “onerous” regulations that officials contend could have a “devastating” impact on the state’s small boat fishing industry.

The N.H. attorney general’s office is seeking to intervene in a lawsuit filed earlier this year by the commonwealth of Massachusetts against officials of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the federal government.

The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts challenges Frameworks 48 and 50, the new catch limit regulations on many types of groundfish in New England. The regulations were issued earlier this year by the secretary of Commerce under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The lawsuit states that a 77 percent reduction in the catch limits on certain groundfish species is “threatening the extinction of an industry that for more than a century has been part of the commercial and social fabric of New England.”

Read the full story at Seacoast Online

Patrick seeks SBA help for Massachusetts fishermen

September 17, 2013 — BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has taken a step toward making his state’s battered fishing industry eligible for federal disaster assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Earlier this month, Patrick officially certified that Massachusetts fishermen who chase bottom-dwelling groundfish had suffered ‘‘substantial economic injury.’’

He cited the poor health of key fish stocks and this year’s devastating cuts in the allowed catch.

Patrick wrote further in a letter to the SBA that the industry has been so economically damaged, that federal subsidized loans are essential.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

Gloucester weighs waterfront makeover

September 13, 2013 — After suffering from another plunge in fishing-industry business tied to federal catch limits, Scott Memhard wonders how much longer his Cape Pond Ice Co. can remain open.

A half-mile away on Gloucester’s waterfront, Sheree DeLorenzo Zizik wonders when she can finally start work on a new 101-room hotel at the site of a former Birds Eye food plant to serve the influx of tourists this city has seen over the past few years.

The plights of the two companies — a struggling ice maker serving fishing boats since 1848 and a partnership hoping to build a gleaming new hotel hosting out-of-town visitors — shows how this city of nearly 30,000 residents is slowly transforming amidst a depression-like downturn in the local fishing industry.

The transition hasn’t been painless or simple. The industry’s decline has prompted city officials to explore changes to the allowable developments within its port area, in anticipation of potentially opening up some of the land to non-fishing uses. These efforts have raised concerns that city officials could go too far and permanently alter the waterfront’s character, making it tougher for the fishing industry to rebound if the strict catch limits are eventually lifted.

For now, though, the fishing industry seems more concerned with survival. Commercial fishermen are reeling in the wake of new groundfish restrictions that took effect on May 1. “It’s horrible,” said Russell Sherman, owner of the 72-foot Lady Jane trawler in Gloucester. “My catch is way down (by more than 20 percent), and I’m trying to sell my boat. We operate on only a 10-percent margin. But I can’t sell the vessel because no one wants it. There’s no way out of this business, except maybe just to bail out.”

Read the full story at the Boston Business Journal