Saving Seafood

Virginia menhaden fleet files motion to dismiss lawsuit

July 15, 2024 — Virginia-based Ocean Fleet Services and Ocean Harvesters filed a “motion to dismiss” a $2 billion lawsuit against seafood giant Cooke Inc. of New Brunswick, Canada, that claimed the firm violated U.S. foreign ownership laws with the acquisition in 2017 of Omega Protein in Reedville, Va.

The lawsuit, filed on July of 2021 by plaintiffs W. Benson Chiles and Chris Manthey and unsealed in April 2024, alleges Cooke Inc., Omega Protein, Alpha Vessel Co. Holdings Inc., Ocean Fleet Services, Ocean Havesters, have been violating the American Fisheries Act (AFA) of 1998 and the 1920 Jones Act that allow only U.S. citizens to fish in U.S. waters.

The suit stems from an approximately $500 million purchase of Omega Protein of Reedville in 2017 by Cooke Inc. The lawsuit alleges that part of the deal was an illegal arrangement that gave Cooke improper control of the company and the fishing vessels.

The fishing companies’ motion to dismiss, filed July 9 in U.S. District Court in New York, alleges that the suit “lacks factual basis, are speculative, and are quite simply inaccurate.”

 “From the moment we became aware of this case, we have been eager to show that the allegations are inaccurate,” says an Ocean Harvesters spokesman. “Our legal filing underscores several key misstatements from the complaint and offers concrete evidence that they are false.”

The lawsuit alleges Cooke Inc. was involved in a “figurehead fraud scheme” creating a Delaware shell corporation to avoid violation of the AFA citizenship requirement and that “instead of simply acquiring Omega and owning its vessels (Cooke) restructured the entire acquisition to create an illusion of compliance with the AFA citizenship requirement.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman 

Success of Alaska Pollock Fishery is focus of SeaWeb Seafood Summit Panel

SEATTLE (Saving Seafood) — June 7, 2017 — The success of the industrial pollock fishery in the Eastern Bering Sea, which generally harvests in excess of one million metric tons each year, was the focus of a panel at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit on Tuesday. The panel, “Moving Beyond Fishery Certification: Using Collaboration, Technology and Innovation to Further Improve Sustainability” was moderated by Tim Fitzgerald of the Environmental Defense Fund. Panelists were Allen Kimball of Trident Seafoods, Richard Draves of American Seafoods, and Karl Bratvold of Starbound LLC. Trident Seafoods is a large, vertically integrated company, which processes Alaska pollock at shoreside facilities. Vessels owned by Starbound and American Seafoods harvest and process Alaska pollock at sea.

Panelists discussed the development of the Alaska pollock fishery: from before extended jurisdiction through the period of transition to a fully domestic fishery, to the years before rationalization when catcher-processors and catcher vessels competed in an Olympic-style race for fish, to the advent of an effective and efficient enterprise with the establishment of catch shares under the American Fisheries Act (AFA). Under the AFA, quota share is permanently allocated between the at sea and shoreside processing sectors, and among cooperatives (groups of fishing companies) within each sector. AFA provisions encourage cooperation and collaboration within and between sectors and cooperatives, which has brought about many improvements.

Examples of successful collaboration and cooperation include avoidance of salmon bycatch, which is facilitated by comprehensive observer coverage, daily electronic communication of catch and bycatch information that is shared across the fishery, and binding agreements that require vessels to relocate to avoid bycatch or suffer substantive financial penalties. Similarly, collaboration on development of selective gear, development of gear with reduced drag, and other shared innovations have been effective in reducing bycatch and greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing operating efficiency. All of the panelists highlighted their commitment to science-based management, their support for federal government science, and the extent to which they collectively fund scientific research. They also spoke about the importance and value associated with Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.

Additionally, the panelists emphasized the extent to which rationalization through catch shares has improved the harvesting and processing processes, as well as increased safety and operational efficiency.

This session told the story of Alaska pollock and illustrated the benefits of a well crafted and well implemented catch share program, as well as MSC certification. Other fisheries can learn from this experience, but it’s important to note that this is not a “one size fits all” solution that is immediately applicable in all types and scales of fisheries.

Adak’s Seafood Plant Not Processing Bering Sea Cod Because of Damage, Not Over Deliveries Lawsuit

February 24, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Yesterday morning National Marine Fisheries Service closed the “A” season for Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) effective today at noon, Alaska time. The TAC had been reached which prompted the closure on the earliest date ever for the “A” season. In 2016, the A season trawl P-cod fishery remained open until March 9.

The early closure is a defining note in a fishery that has historically included deliveries to Adak’s cod processing plant since it opened in 1999.

Those years were also marked by the American Fisheries Act, the BSAI crab rationalization program, and Amendment 80 to the BSAI groundfish plan, actions that changed the face of Alaska fisheries. Each of those landmark laws rationalized vast sections of pollock, cod, and crab fisheries. All three species have been delivered to and processed at the Adak plant over the years.

Rationalizing a fishery means putting management tools in place that, among other goals, eliminate the race for fish and protect historic users both onshore and offshore. But until last fall, shoreplants in the Aleutians west of 170 degrees longitude were not included in any of the rationalization plans in the area.

There are only two plants in the area: Atka and Adak. Atka has only processed halibut and sablefish.  Adak, which since it opened in 1999 has been reliant on cod, but has also processed crab, halibut and sablefish and limited amounts of pollock.

Since 2008, the North Pacific Council has been aware of the need for “fishing community protections in the Aleutian Islands” precisely because of the rationalization schemes.

Then last October, the Council passed Amendment 113 to respond to the issue, noting the “…increased risk that the historical share of BSAI cod of other industry participants and communities that depend on shoreplant processing in the region may be diminished. The BSAI Pacific cod TAC split and relatively low Pacific cod stock abundance n the Aleutian Islands further increase the need for community protections.”

Amendment 113 set aside 5,000 mt of Pacific cod for delivery to the Adak plant, but it is not a ‘guarantee’ of deliveries.  AM 113 creates a time-limited priority for shoreside processing in the Aleutians until March 15, but only if the Aleutian shoreside processors have taken at least 1,000 tons by Feb. 28.

Prior to the rationalization of the AI cod fishery, Adak processed on average 8,000 – 10,000 mt of cod per year, but the ability to plan for even 5,000 tons has been made difficult by factors related to fishing behavior that eventually led the Council to adopt AM 113.

One of the factors is that catcher processors who are part of the rationalized fisheries can also act as motherships and accept deliveries from other catcher vessels to process only. AM 113 does not prohibit this, but obligates deliveries under certain conditions to shoreplants during the A season.

There are three triggers in the amendment that would relieve vessels of the obligation. First, if the plants notify NMFS by December 1 that they will not be taking deliveries, catcher boats can deliver anywhere. Second, if the plants have not taken at least 1,000 mt by February 28, then the 5,000 mt set-aside will become available for any other processors, including motherships. Third, by March 15 the restriction to deliver shoreside is lifted.

Shortly after the amendment was adopted, The Groundfish Forum, representing six companies and 20 trawl catcher processors, along with United Catcher Boats, B and N Fisheries, and the Katie Ann LLC, filed suit against NOAA Fisheries saying the amendment violated national standards and other laws. Part of their position is the “harvest set-aside” part of the amendment is unlawful.

“There are trawl catcher vessel owners, who have delivered a fair amount of cod to the Adak plant over the years when it was operating, that would be willing to deliver to another renovated shore plant if it was in operation,” said Brent Paine, executive director of the United Catcher Boats, a plaintiff in the suit. “They just want the option to deliver their catch to multiple markets, onshore or offshore.”

Since the filing, the Adak Community Development Corporation (ACDC), the Aleutian-Pribilof Island Community Development Association (APICDA), and the city of Adak have joined as intervenors in the lawsuit, supporting AM113. The cities of Adak and Atka may also join as intervenors.

“NMFS did an excellent job in responding to comments on national standards in the Federal Register comments,” said Dave Fraser, board member for ADCD. “I think the record is good.”

The amendment is the result of nearly a decade of consideration, during which Amendment 80 and 85 were passed. Those regulations created community development quota entities and cooperatives in the groundfish fisheries and amended cod allocations in the BSAI. It was also the time of sea lion protection measures, and a version of AM 113 was included in the proposed mitigation regulation. In the end, Fraser believes the process has developed an amendment that has “passed muster” on all the national standards and requirements.

“Amendment 113 does not change by a single pound any of the fish allocated under AM 85,” said Fraser. “The only thing that will change is who processes it.

“The set aside for Adak is less than our historic average annual plant production,” he noted. Prior to 2010, Adak received 3-6 percent of the total BSAI allocation, with an average of 4.7 percent. Figuring 4.3 percent of the aggregate of 2015’s TAC, according to NMFS analysis, is 10,836 mt.

“It’s a minimal program because the Council had to balance competing interests,” Fraser notes.

The Adak plant has been out of commission since a severe 2015 winter storm damaged portions of the roof. The city sent a letter to NMFS, according to AM 113 protocol, notifying them they would not be buying cod this winter, last fall. The plant is expected to be in full operation by 2018.

The lawsuit was filed in the D.C. District Court.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

DICK GRACHEK: Catch Shares

May 4, 2016 — The problem with catch shares is not in their “design”.  The problem with catch shares is in their existence.

Except for a few “winners” perhaps, it’s a problem for all concerned that this flawed and destructive privatization scheme was even considered, no less established as a management approach.

Catch Shares management has proven to be A Bad Idea:  Catch Shares have done nothing to help the fish. Catch Shares have done nothing to help the fishermen and the fishing communities. Catch Shares have done nothing to help the fish consuming public. Catch shares were not put to the referendum vote as statutorily mandated by the MSA. Catch Share Sectors were not “voluntarily” joined by the majority of the fishermen—the common pool was not a viable “option”.  The NOAA/NMFS Individual Transferable Quota initial allocation data base was admittedly flawed and inaccurate. Catch Shares had been “ramrodded” through the council process without due deliberation or adequate planning.

Finally catch Shares or ITQ’s are just a tool like any of the others that have been tried; but this one, as it fails, jeopardizes the entire independent small-boat fishery, their shoreside support businesses, and their iconic and much touted communities which could be lost permanently.

Fleet “consolidation” through ITQ’s and the consequent collapse of shore side support facilities, possible factory ship cartels, (legal under the American Fisheries Act 1998), and the transfer of fishing “rights” into the “wrong” corporate hands, are some of the irreversible consequences of this plan.  And, as is occurring wherever they have been instituted worldwide, catch shares or Individual Transferable Quotas ultimately spell the end for the independent fisherman and their communities and their shoreside support businesses.

Read the full story at the Center for Sustainable Fisheries