Saving Seafood

ASC to tackle “one of biggest threats to aquaculture’s reputation” with new feed standard

June 15, 2021 — After years of development, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) launched a new feed standard on Tuesday, 15 June, seeking to “tackle one of biggest threats to aquaculture’s reputation.”

Recognizing that “unsustainable and irresponsible practices across the aquaculture feed-supply chain risk undoing the positive impact of the farming industry,” ASC’s new standards requires feed mills to meet a series of “strict environmental and social requirements; source ingredients from socially responsible suppliers; and use environmentally responsible raw materials.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Dong Shuanglin: China’s marine ranches represent new approach to aquaculture

June 14, 2021 — China has rolled out a national policy with a new approach toward aquaculture, according to a leading Chinese researcher in the field.

Dong Shuanglin, a professor at the Key Laboratory of Mariculture at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao, has spent much of his career researching mariculture along the coast of Shandong Province, currently an area of focus for numerous companies seeking to develop mariculture initiatives in China. He said such efforts are now being guided by China’s National Marine Ranch Demonstration Area Construction Plan, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which has prioritized the construction of large-scale, integrated multitrophic systems, many of which include leisure facilities.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Oyster Farmers Who Feared Going Broke Brace for a ‘Bonkers’ Summer

June 14, 2021 — A year ago, oyster growers who farm New Jersey’s marshy coastal inlets and tidal flats were fighting for survival.

Restaurants were shut down by the pandemic, and the oysters they had nurtured for two years were growing past their prime. The pricey seafood that should have been sold in raw bars or served at weddings was instead submerged in cages and racks in Barnegat and Delaware Bays, crowding out a younger crop of oysters.

“When Covid hit, that market disappeared,” said Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society, a nonprofit dedicated to the study and conservation of marine life and habitats.

Unable to pay for boat fuel or the following year’s seed, some small aquaculture farmers in New York and New Jersey, struggling to revitalize what was once the country’s pre-eminent oyster market, braced for the worst.

But a year later, against long odds, the industry is poised for a summertime boom.

Read the full story at The New York Times

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation assisting sustainable aquaculture in developing markets

June 11, 2021 — Fish is climbing the global agenda for food and nutritional security, and the seafood sector has the scope to provide much more essential protein as long as industry and small-scale producers can find ways to come together and create shared value, according to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Explaining the Gates Foundation’s interest in fish at this year’s North Atlantic Seafood Form (NASF), its deputy director for agriculture development, Samuel Thevasagayam, said that its vision is “a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.” The foundation aims to achieve this through its six different divisions of global health, global policy and advocacy, gender equality, global growth and opportunity, global development, and U.S. programs that focus on education.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Eight aquaculture projects slated to receive USD 11 million through NOAA grant program

June 9, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries has recommended more than USD 11 million (EUR 9 million) for 43 projects under the 2021 Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Competitive Grants Program – eight of which are aquaculture initiatives.

The eight aquaculture-related projects recommended by NOAA include a number of scientific research projects examining topics ranging from pathogens to work on monetizing industry byproducts. Of the projects recommended for funding, five of them are examining subjects relevant to shellfish and bivalves.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Murkowski and Colleagues Stand Up for Wild-Caught Salmon

June 8, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK):

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) reintroduced the Genetically Engineered Salmon Labeling Act, which will allow consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing salmon. The bill works to ensure that any genetically engineered (GE) salmon products sold in the U.S. are clearly labeled “genetically engineered” in the market name. This requirement would apply to the entire lineage of salmon modified via recombinant DNA technology. The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

“It is absolutely essential that consumers be fully informed about what they are buying and feeding their families—especially when it comes to purchasing a genetically engineered salmon product. As an Alaskan who knows the tremendous benefits of eating healthy, wild Alaskan salmon, it’s imperative that Americans have the information to make that choice. When you splice DNA from another animal and combine it with farmed salmon, you are essentially creating a new species, and I have serious concerns with that. If we are going to allow this fake fish to be sold in stores, there must be clear labeling. We owe it to American consumers to ensure that any labeling of GE salmon is clear, effective, and understandable.”

Background: Through her role on the Appropriations Committee, Senator Murkowski has included language in previous appropriation bills to prevent the introduction of GE salmon to the U.S. market until the completion of a consumer study to determine the effectiveness of USDA’s labeling guidelines for bioengineered foods. USDA’s labeling guidelines did not require mandatory labeling of GE salmon, but instead allowed producers to use QR codes or 1-800 numbers for more information, which Senator Murkowski stressed were inadequate. Senator Murkowski’s years-long fight to ensure that any salmon that is genetically engineered be clearly labeled goes back to November 2015, when the FDA made the decision to approve GE salmon for human consumption.

Global Seafood Alliance launches Best Seafood Practices standard

June 3, 2021 — The Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) – formerly the Global Aquaculture Alliance – has announced the launch of Best Seafood Practices (BSP), a third-party certification standard for wild-capture fisheries.

The new standard, GSA said, will be the world’s only standard that links responsible wild capture fisheries, Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS)-certified vessels, and Seafood Processing Plant Standard (SPS)-certified facilities through the Chain of Custody standard. The new standard will be the equivalent of the organization’s Best Aquaculture Practices third-party aquaculture certification program.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Applications for aquatic farming in Alaska drop due to pandemic, and kelp is favored over shellfish

June 2, 2021 — Alaska interest in growing kelp continues to outpace that of shellfish, based on applications filed during the annual window that runs from January through April.

The number of 2021 applicants for aquatic farming dropped to just seven, reversing a steady upward trend that reached 16 last year, likely due to a “wait and see” approach stemming from the pandemic.

“We had people whose personal situations changed because of COVID. They became home-schooling parents, things like that, where they can no longer dedicate the time they thought they were going to have out on a farm site,” said Michell Morris, permit coordinator at the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. The agency partners with the Dept. of Natural Resources, which leases the lands where aquatic farming takes place.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

MAINE: ‘Next-gen’ tech or industrial destruction? Salmon farm proposal advances, but groups protest

June 2, 2021 — The Department of Marine Resources has accepted applications for consideration of two lease sites in Frenchman Bay where a Norwegian company wants to grow Atlantic salmon.

But the applications from American Aquafarms were immediately met with opposition from several groups of local residents.

“We are opposed to growing 30,000 metric tons of salmon annually, covering over 100 acres of Frenchman Bay,” Kathleen Rybarz, president of Friends of Frenchman Bay, said in a news release.

“One cannot overstate the destructive impact of this large-scale proposal on a bay that already strives to balance multiple fisheries, heavy recreational use, cruise ship visitors and increasing ocean warming.”

Read the full story at MaineBiz

MAINE: Mussel farm sees potential in scallops

June 1, 2021 — In mid-May, Alex de Koning climbed down into the hold of the Stewardship, the former military landing craft that he and his family have used for years to help grow mussels in Frenchman Bay, and sat at what looked like a giant sewing machine.   

He grabbed a pair of scallops that had just been pulled out of the farm’s nets, lined up the small notches near the bivalves’ hinge and stepped on a foot pedal.  

A drill bit dropped down and pierced through both shells. When the bit pulled up, a black pin followed back up through the holes and attached the scallops to a rope. Then a claw pulled the rope a few inches, setting up a spot for another pair of scallops to be attached.   

This small three-act play took only a couple of seconds but could revolutionize the industry in Maine and cement scallops alongside its more famous farmed counterparts in the state.   

What the machine does is quite simple, but it mechanizes what would otherwise be an incredibly labor-intensive process. It also speeds up the farming to a point where it could become more economically viable for sea farmers as well as other members of the working waterfront who might be looking to diversify their work during turbulent times.  

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander