Saving Seafood

International & Trade

Cooke employees and equipment helping extinguish Saint Andrews wildfire

May 30, 2023 —The following was released by Cooke Aquaculture:
Cooke Aquaculture has sent trucks, a side-by-side ATV, a support trailer with three high pressure water pumps, sixty communications radio batteries and other relief supplies to help local fire fighters extinguish an out-of-control wildfire near the Town of Saint Andrews.
 
We thank the brave local fire fighters and first responders, including nearly a dozen Cooke Aquaculture employees who are volunteer fire fighters battling the intense blaze around Saint Andrews to keep community members safe. Charlotte County is home to many of our employees, and we will be supporting any who have been displaced. 
 
Those that have been evacuated are asked not to go back to their homes until further notification. The W.C. O’Neill Arena Complex in Saint Andrews is still open for emergency services and the Red Cross is on-site for support. Emergency Update Centre news here:https://www.townofsaintandrews.ca/update-emergency-centre/

Blue Harvest Fisheries’ Newest Vessel, Nobska, Successfully Completes First Series of Fishing Trips

May 30, 2023 — The following was released by Blue Harvest Fisheries:

The newest, most modern vessel in the New England groundfish fishery, the F/V Nobska, has returned to port after its successful inaugural deployment. The vessel was acquired earlier this year by Blue Harvest Fisheries, as part of the company’s investment in the future of its groundfish operations.

The Nobska embarked on four back-to-back trips between April 7 and May 10, and landed 335,000 pounds of fish in its home port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, with additional landings in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The catch included several groundfish species, including monkfish, flounder, haddock, Acadian redfish, hake, and pollock. A series of three to four back-to-back trips, followed by a short break for maintenance and crew rest, is a typical operational plan for this vessel.

The Nobska sailed under the leadership of Captain Aldie Leeman, and with the same crew as before the Blue Harvest Fisheries acquisition.

“We’re very pleased with the performance of the Nobska on its maiden voyage, and are excited to see its future potential,” said Chip Wilson, CEO of Blue Harvest Fisheries. “We are confident in the future of the groundfish fishery, and vessels like the Nobska are an important part of that future.”

Blue Harvest Fisheries acquired the Nobska in February from Maine, where it previously operated as the Francis Dawn. Built in 2019, it is a state-of-the-art vessel that replaces an older Blue Harvest Fisheries vessel, also named the Nobska. It includes features like a modern electronics system, and a slurry ice/vat system for the fish hold that allows it to keep groundfish fresher for longer.

“This is the first step in implementing our long-term investment strategy for groundfish,” said Wilson. “With these investments Blue Harvest Fisheries will be able to consistently offer high-quality groundfish, like those just landed by the Nobska.”

Blue Harvest is also making plans to launch a sixth groundfish vessel, the Schelvis (named after the Dutch word for haddock). With a registered length of 85′, and gross tonnage of 175 tons, Schelvis was purchased as part of the company’s 2020 acquisition of 12 vessels and 27 fishing permits from the Carlos Rafael family. The vessel, which never fished under the Rafael family ownership, will make its first Blue Harvest Fisheries voyage upon completion of a $1.9 million upgrade. The Schelvis will be run by Captain Luke deWildt, who has 25 years of industry experience. He was previously captain of the F/V Teresa Marie III for 18 years, the last four under Blue Harvest Fisheries ownership.

Captain deWildt stated that he is “looking forward to the utilizing the upgrades on this newly renovated vessel,” which represents the newest class of vessels in the fishery. It will be safer for his crew, and with state-of-the-art equipment and electronics, he expects the Schelvis to be among the top performing vessels in the fishery.

Read the release here

 

US Supreme Court deals blow to EPA’s reach under Clean Water Act

May 30, 2023 — The United States Supreme Court rolled back the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act, ruling that the law only applies to wetlands that are indistinguishable from “waters of the United States.”

Environmental groups have condemned the court’s decision as a limitation on the ability of communities to protect waterways and the fish that live in them, but others argue that it’s a necessary curtailment of federal overreach and state bodies can better balance environmental protections and local needs.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: Don’t make this mistake about Maine women who catch lobster

May 30, 2023 — When Ali Farrell was doing press for her book, “Pretty Rugged: True Stories From Women of the Sea,” reporters would often ask her why she used the “wrong” word when referring to women in the lobster industry.

“One hundred percent of the women I talked to called themselves lobstermen, and some people asked me why I used what they said was an inappropriate word,” Farrell said. “I had to explain to them that female lobstermen aren’t lobsterwomen, or lobster fishers. They are lobstermen.”

Across the board, lobstermen is the preferred term for anyone who works on a lobster boat in Maine. It doesn’t matter what age, background, sexual orientation or gender you are: If you’re working on a boat, you’re a lobsterman. Same goes for sternman, if you’re prepping bait and sorting through the day’s catch.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Troubled American Aquafarms project spawns bill limiting aquaculture in Maine

May 30, 2023 — Legislators in the U.S. state of Maine have proposed a new bill that would put density limits on salmon farms in state waters, a move made in response to the troubled American Aquafarms project.

The new bill, LD 1951, “An Act Regarding Marine Finfish Aquaculture,” would amend state law to add maximum stocking densities for salmon net pens located in state waters. The state’s Committee on Marine Resources unanimously voted ought-to-pass on 25 May on an amended version of the bill requiring salmonid net pens to remain under a density of 30 kilograms per cubic meter.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

FLORDIA: Post-Hurricane Ian: Funding Rejected for Florida Fishermen

May 26, 2023 — Florida fishermen all around the state are on the edge of their seats, hoping to gain some good news about the fishing industry’s future. Those in Lee County are furious that the federal agency NOAA Fisheries has rejected DeSantis’ fishery disaster request.

In late September 2022, Hurricane Ian destroyed nearly all of Lee County, which led to mass destruction of the fishing industry within and around Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, and Pine Island Sound. The western side of Florida has been devastated by the damage that Ian had caused. On October 15, 2022, Governor DeSantis was joined by fishing captains from southwest Florida to show his support for the fishing industry’s road to recovery.

To get the fishing industry back on its feet, DeSantis requested the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to issue a federal fisheries disaster. The request would have provided federal funding to allow offshore, nearshore, and inshore fisheries to rebuild. “Florida’s fisheries are vitally important to the State’s economy through their impact on commercial and recreational fishing and tourism,” DeSantis stated in his official request.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Broad alliance of seafood sustainability groups call for more international action on IUU fishing

May 26, 2023 — A group of seafood sustainability organizations is calling on national governments across the globe to take more action to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

In a joint statement, SeaBOS, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) , the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), the Global Tuna Alliance (GTA), and Sea Pact called for nations to ratify and implement the Port State Measures Agreement; fully implement the Global Record; adopt the Voluntary Transshipment Guidelines agreed in FAO; and agree to the Roadmap for Combatting IUU Fishing adopted by the Economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina joins East Coast states’ effort to establish regional fisheries mitigation for offshore wind development

May 26, 2023 — Gov. Roy Cooper has just announced that North Carolina has joined other East Coast states involved with a joint project to support fisheries mitigation in the development of sustainable and responsible deployment of offshore wind.

“It is important that we work to meet our state’s offshore wind energy goals while still protecting our marine fishery industry,” said Governor Cooper. “We are committed to collaborating with other states in this effort to make sure we achieve both goals.”

According to a press release, “North Carolina is working with Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware.”

The Special Initiative on Offshore Wind is focused on establishing a framework to compensate commercial and for-hire fishermen, if faced with economic impact due to offshore wind development.

Read the full story at WECT

US senators say SIMP expansion is too narrow

May 26, 2023 — A half-dozen U.S. senators say that NOAA’s plan to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) doesn’t go nearly far enough and are asking the agency to revise its proposal.

“The proposed rule is far too narrow in scope,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to U.S. regulators. “As SIMP currently only requires catch documentation and traceability for approximately 45 percent of seafood imports, there is a need to include all imported seafood according to the U.S. government’s intent.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource