Other News Archives - Saving Seafood

Yearbook: Fishing fleets flex

March 8, 2021 — With revenues up 3 percent in January and February of 2020, the industry was looking ahead to another strong year in the global marketplace.

In March, when restaurants across the country shuttered quickly under covid-19 outbreak restrictions, seafood supply chains ground to a halt in the early days of the pandemic. Fishermen who had been out harvesting to supply the once-solid market were stuck with their catch left unsold and their boats tied up.

In early March, New Jersey fisherman Gus Lovgren was headed to port after a Virginia summer flounder trip when his wife called him, “saying they’re shutting the country down, basically,” he recalled.

“We had been getting $1.75 to $2 (per pound). In the end we got, I think, 60 cents,” said Lovgren. “The market was flooded, and there was nothing we could do.”

Right out of the gates in April 2020, the Hawaii Longline Association worked with others in Hawaii’s fishing industry to donate 2,000 pounds of fresh seafood to Hawaii Foodbank, and planning larger deliveries.

The initial donation, coordinated with the with United Fishing Agency’s Honolulu auction, the Hawaii Seafood Council, Nico’s Pier 38, and Pacific Ocean Producers, “is the beginning of a new pilot program with the Hawaii Foodbank,” the association said.

“Through the partnership, Hawaii Foodbank plans to purchase $50,000 worth of seafood landed by Hawaii longline vessels,” according to a statement from the association. “The purchase will ensure that Hawaii Foodbank will be able to meet the needs of Hawaii residents facing hardship as a result of covid-19. It will also support Hawaii’s longline fishermen.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

A Look at Women in Top Seafood Management on International Women’s Day

March 8, 2021 — Monday, March 8 marks International Women’s Day. To celebrate, we’re taking a look at women in top seafood management roles.

This past October the International Organisation for Women in the Seafood Industry (WSI) compiled data on how many women have leadership positions in the seafood industry. The study was only the third time that WSI had compiled data, but according to their findings, in 2020 women at top positions (including executives and board) grew to 14%, which is the “highest ever recorded.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

Alliance for Meat, Poultry, Seafood Innovation & NFI Comment on Cell Cultured Labeling

March 8, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Today, the Alliance for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation (AMPS Innovation), an industry coalition representing the makers of cell-cultured meat, poultry and seafood products, and the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), a trade association that represents companies throughout the seafood production supply chain, jointly submitted comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to the agency’s Labeling of Foods Comprised of or Containing Cultured Seafood Cells Request for Information. The letter calls on the agency to support a framework that labels these new products descriptively, accurately, and consistently to represent what the products actually are, how they are made, and ensure robust consumer transparency.

Accordingly, the two groups believe that labeling of seafood products produced using cell-cultured technology should be thoughtfully based on the following key criteria:

Truthful, non-misleading, descriptive, and clear, communicating to the consumer what the product is and how it is produced, in line with FDA’s regulatory requirements,
Signal potential allergenicity and nutrition for consumer safety and transparency,
Non-disparaging to either cell-cultured or conventional seafood products, and
Differentiated from conventionally produced wild or farmed seafood products through a qualifier that modifies the conventional name of the product.

Based on peer-reviewed research carried out by Rutgers professor Dr. William Hallman, NFI and the super-majority of AMPS Innovation, including all of the cell-cultured seafood companies, urge the FDA to adopt and memorialize the sole use of the term “cell-cultured” to support uniform labeling within the seafood category.

Full text of the letter can be accessed here.

Under a joint framework for regulation of cell-cultured meat, poultry and seafood products, which was agreed to by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the FDA in March 2019, the two agencies will work together to ensure the safety and labeling of cell-cultured meat, poultry, and seafood products.

Among other provisions of the framework, FSIS will have oversight of the labeling of cell-cultured meat and poultry, as it does for all meat and poultry sold in the United States, while FDA will oversee the labeling of cell-cultured seafood, as it does for most seafood sold in the United States. In a public presentation last summer, the agencies committed to joint principles for product labeling and labeling claims across cell-cultured meat, poultry and seafood products.

This is the second instance in which AMPS Innovation has partnered with an organization representing the conventional food and agriculture industry to align on labeling-related policies. In October 2020 AMPS Innovation and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) sent a letter to FSIS calling for the agency to solicit input on what labeling for cell-cultured meat and poultry products should look like through an Advance Notice of Public Rulemaking.

About the Alliance for Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation
The Alliance for Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation is working to advance new methods of producing real, high-quality, safe meat, poultry and seafood products directly from cells, which, in partnership with the broader agricultural community, will help meet the demands of feeding a growing global population. AMPS Innovation advocates for our industry through sharing our collective expertise, providing insight into our innovation, and committing to safety and transparency with all stakeholders, including industry partners, policymakers, advocates and consumers. To learn more about the Alliance for Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation, visit www.ampsinnovation.org.

About the National Fisheries Institute
The National Fisheries Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to education about seafood safety, sustainability, and nutrition. NFI and its members are committed to sustainable management of our oceans and being stewards of our environment by endorsing the United Nations Principles for Responsible Fisheries. Our investment in our oceans today will provide our children and future generations the health benefits of a plentiful supply of fish and seafood tomorrow. From responsible aquaculture, to a marketplace supporting free trade, to ensuring the media and consumers have the facts about the health benefits of fish and shellfish, NFI and its members support and promote sound public policy based on ground truth science. Learn more at www.aboutseafood.com.

World-renowned Mote shark scientist retires

March 5, 2021 — The following was released by Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium:

After more than 40 years of shark science with profound conservation impacts, Dr. Robert (Bob) Hueter retired from his role as Director of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research in December 2020, becoming a Mote Senior Scientist Emeritus.

Hueter’s shark research has spanned six of Earth’s seven continents, and lately he is best known for trailblazing work in Cuba—including satellite-tagging the first sharks in Cuban waters—and the U.S., where he has combined his roles as Mote Senior Scientist and Chief Scientist for the nonprofit organization OCEARCH to lead groundbreaking studies of great white sharks.

Hueter’s research has produced more than 200 published scientific articles and reports, and his career exemplifies Mote’s mission—conducting world-class research and translating it to benefit the oceans and society. He has testified before the U.S. Congress three times on shark research and conservation and has spearheaded landmark developments—including promotion of the first shark fisheries management regulations in Florida in 1991, and the first international shark fisheries management and conservation conference, held at Mote in 1993, where the first U.S. federal shark fisheries management plan was announced.

Over the years, the exceptional research led by Hueter and his team has included: sweeping surveys of sharks along Florida’s Gulf Coast to document long-term changes in their populations; a satellite-tagging study of record scope with whale sharks, Earth’s largest fish species, that documented their migrations spanning over 5,000 miles; through collaborative expeditions with OCEARCH and partners, successfully tracking 70 great white sharks with satellite transmitters and proposing a model of their life history and migrations in the Northwest Atlantic; leading field research identifying nursery areas for 16 shark species in the Gulf of Mexico; and groundbreaking studies on intensive shark fishing in Mexico’s Gulf of California that documented 160,000 sharks and rays in the fishery over years. He also played leading roles in: providing the first scientific documentation of a shark nursery area in Cuban waters, for the lemon shark; gaining new insights on sharks caught in northwest Cuba’s open-water longline fishery; documenting shark bycatch to support development of fisheries electronic monitoring systems in the Gulf of Mexico; contributing data and expertise to massive, global studies of shark-fishery interactions, reef shark conservation and declines; and more.

Read the full release here

GAA partnering with Thai Union, Devi Seafoods on traceability data-sharing project

February 26, 2021 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program is collaborating with seafood companies Thai Union and Devi Seafoods – along with traceability firms Wholechain and Legit Fish – to promote traceability in supply chains.

Their partnership is developing real-time digital solutions that will facilitate direct transfer of data from BAP-certified facilities to BAP’s internal data systems to support tracing of products in companies’ supply chains. This integration program is expected to meet traceability data requirements from seafood companies, the marketplace, regulators, and BAP itself, BAP said in a statement.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

PNG FIA, UNIDO partnering with GSSI in 2021

February 25, 2021 — The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) has seen its ranks grow in 2021, with the Papua New Guinea Fishing Industry Association (PNG FIA) recently coming aboard as a funding partner and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) joining as an affiliated partner.

PNG FIA, which provides “a united voice for the fishing and associated industries in Papua New Guinea,” has been forging stakeholder partnerships on the basis of sustainability for years, according to FIA Director of Sustainability Marcelo Hidalgo.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Meet Sheila Stiles, Research Geneticist

February 24, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Back then we children played outside most of the time, and we explored nature. My early interest in the natural world led me to study science as I got older. My mother was a teacher, and a great role model. She valued education, and told me and my four siblings that if we studied we could become whatever we wanted to be. All of us ended up graduating from college.

Where did you go to school and in what subject did you get your degree(s) in?

I attended St. Augustine/ Father Bertrand High School in Memphis. I studied hard and graduated as class valedictorian. I went on to Xavier University in Louisiana, where I earned my B.S. degree in biology. Later on, I attended the University of Connecticut in Storrs, and received a master’s degree in zoology and ecology. I then earned a Ph.D. in fisheries and genetics from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

How did you come to work at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center?

After graduating from Xavier, I was recruited by a representative from the Department of the Interior to work for the summer at the Milford, Connecticut lab. The lab was then part of the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service. At the end of the summer I was asked to stay on. I was the first full-time African American woman hired at the lab and soon became a fisheries biologist. When NOAA was created in 1970, the lab was transferred to the Department of Commerce and became part of NOAA Fisheries and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. That was more than 50 years ago, and I am still here!

Read the full interview here

Scientist Profile: A Career Spent Saving Sockeye Salmon in the Pacific Northwest

February 23, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In the fall of 1991, Snake River sockeye salmon hovered on the brink of extinction. Thousands of the distinctively red fish had once returned more than 900 miles from the Pacific Ocean. They swam up the Columbia, Snake, and Salmon rivers to Redfish Lake in Idaho every year. They passed eight major dams along the way.

Only four made it in 1991.

The dire situation galvanized regulatory and stakeholder groups. That same year, the Redfish Lake Sockeye Captive Broodstock Program was formed. The program pooled the expertise and efforts of NOAA Fisheries and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. They collaborate with the Bonneville Power Administration, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho. The program endeavors to help save the signature species by protecting its remaining genetic diversity.

The next step was to revive the species by reproducing them in hatcheries.

Along came Carlin McAuley, a scientist with a rare blend of fisheries experience. For the next 29 years, Carlin led fish culture operations for NOAA Fisheries Redfish Lake sockeye captive broodstock program. He retired in December, but he has left a lasting legacy. While hard work remains, he helped halt the decline and set these sockeye on a path toward recovery. But he wants everyone to know he didn’t do this alone. He played a role amongst a group of very talented, hard-working people at NOAA.

We recently sat down with Carlin to reflect on his career.

Read the full interview here

Fishing Industry Association (PNG) Joins GSSI

February 23, 2021 — The following was released by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative:

The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative is pleased to announce Fishing Industry Association – Papua New Guinea has joined GSSI as a Funding Partner.

Fishing Industry Association (PNG) provides a united voice for the fishing and associated industries in Papua New Guinea, and facilitates and encourages their promotion in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere.

“The partnership with GSSI is a milestone for us to improve and increase our commitment to the conservation of the ocean ecosystem as well as protect people working in the fishery with holistic approach included in the FIA (PNG) Responsible Sourcing Policy which includes the Marine Litter and Fishing Gear (Ghost) Management Practices and Labour Onboard Improvement (crew welfare, improving working conditions of the crew on board fishing vessels). This partnership is also a great opportunity to collaborate with global stakeholders to ensure sustainability, transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain”, said Sylvester Pokajam, President/Chairman, Fishing Industry Association (PNG).

Read the full release here

Acme Smoked Fish Co-Chairman Eric Caslow dies

February 19, 2021 — Acme Smoked Fish Co-Chairman Eric Caslow has died, the company said in a press release issued 18 February. The company did not announce the cause of death.

Along with his brother, Robert Caslow, who remains company co-chairman, Eric Caslow was the third generation of his family to run the Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.-based fish smoker, which was founded in 1906 and has grown into one of the largest fish-smoking companies in the United States.

Read the full story at Seafood Source