Saving Seafood

MAINE: Fishery group pans proposed salmon farm off Gouldsboro

January 21, 2021 — A Portland-based fishery group is expressing concerns about the proposed site and size of a salmon farm in waters off Gouldsboro.

Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation said the area proposed by American Aquafarms, in Frenchman’s Bay, is heavily fished by lobstermen.

American Aquafarms is an aquaculture startup backed by a Norwegian investor that has under contract the purchase of the 100,000-square-foot Maine Fair Trade Lobster processing facility in Gouldsboro. The company hopes to develop a salmon-farming operation there.

American Aquafarms was launched in Portland last year by Mikael Rones, CEO of Global AS, which is based in Trondheim, Norway. The proposal calls for building a salmon hatchery as well as farming and processing facilities on the site and operate closed deep-water pens for raising fish.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Opposition arises to American Aquafarms’ net-pen proposal in Maine

January 21, 2021 — An group of residents of the U.S. state of Maine have announced their opposition to an American Aquafarms proposal to grow up to 30,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon in closed net-pens located near the town of Gouldsboro.

American Aquafarms President and CEO Mikael Rones told SeafoodSource soon after the project’s announcement he chose Maine due to its natural resources and the aquaculture industry’s potential in the state. The company purchased an East Coast lobster facility in Gouldsboro, Maine, in October 2020, with plans to establish a hatchery, fish farm facilities, and a processing plant.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC’s Brian Perkins joining GAA as its new chief operating officer

January 19, 2021 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has hired Brian Perkins as its chief operating officer.

GAA announced on 18 January that Perkins, who has more than 40 years of experience working in the seafood industry, will be joining the organization as its chief operating officer. GAA said the COO role was created with the intent that the seat-holder will eventually transition to the position of CEO, lining Perkins up to eventually take over leadership of the organization.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Veramaris becomes first ASC-MSC certified microalgae for feed

January 19, 2021 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Veramaris® has become the first microalgae oil producer for feed to achieve certification to the joint ASC-MSC Seaweed (Algae) Standard. The company responsibly and sustainably produces EPA & DHA Omega-3 algae oil [1] for use in the aquaculture industry as fish feed and pet food and is the first American producer to achieve the ASC-MSC certification.

Veramaris’ certified sustainable facility, which is entirely land-based, adds an estimated 45% to the global supply of MSC certified EPA & DHA Omega-3 [2] and covers approximately 15% of the global requirement for EPA & DHA in farmed salmon feeds.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), aquaculture is instrumental for meeting the increasing global demand for nutritional food while restoring the health of our oceans. To meet this growing demand sustainably, fish farms need responsibly-sourced fish feed – an ASC-certification requirement. This feed must contain the two key Omega-3 fatty acids EPA & DHA, which are vital for animal and human health and mostly come from wild-capture fish. One ton of Veramaris algae oil provides as much EPA & DHA as from 60 tons of forage fish.

The certification is good news for pet owners who want to provide their pets with optimal nutrition while reducing the environmental paw-print of their dogs and cats. Consumer research conducted for Veramaris has shown that 75% of pet owners are willing to pay more for pet food brands containing algae Omega-3. By including Veramaris algae oil in their products, pet food producers can offer customers a sustainable option for keeping their four-legged friends healthy and happy.

Patricia Bianchi, ASC-MSC Seaweed Account Manager said: “Congratulations to Veramaris on becoming the first producers of algae-derived Omega-3 to be certified against the ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard. This certification confirms that the operation minimizes the impacts on the environment, with good labor conditions and positive impacts for the community.

“Our oceans are under great pressure to supply fish both for direct human consumption and for feed in the aquaculture industry. We are hopeful that the sustainable and responsible production of Omega-3 from algae will help to relieve some of this pressure on wild stocks and help reduce the risk of overfishing.”

Karim Kurmaly, Veramaris CEO said: “This achievement is an imperative milestone on our journey to expand the world’s access to sustainable EPA & DHA Omega-3. We are committed to working with partners along the value chain to bring transparent and sustainable solutions to the industry that results in healthy fish, healthy food and healthy oceans for generations to come. I extend my gratitude to the global Veramaris team that has worked very hard to bring us to where we are today with this great achievement.”

Gaining the ASC-MSC certification required a rigorous audit process against dozens of requirements for good management practices. An in-depth audit over many days was carried out by an independent company, SAI Global that checked records, took measurements, and interviewed operators to assess whether the facility met every requirement in the standard. These requirements include responsible energy use, minimal impacts on biodiversity, fair treatment and pay for all staff and involves a public consultation period.

Find out more about the ASC-MSC Seaweed & Algae Standard

Sysco tightens seafood sustainability policy to require more MSC- and ASC-certified seafood

January 14, 2021 — Foodservice distributor Sysco will significantly increase its purchases of certified responsible seafood by 2025, as part of an enhanced commitment with its partner, World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The Houston, Texas, U.S.A.-based distributor will also expand its current responsible sourcing program for its U.S. broadline business to include sourcing for its specialty and Canadian broadline business, Sysco said in a press release. It is adding new commitments to prohibit the sale of endangered species, advance its traceability work, and help address deforestation.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

First vessel attains GSA’s Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard

January 14, 2021 — The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Global Seafood Assurances (GSA) venture – launched in 2018 – has had its first vessel reach its Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS).

The Antarctic Discovery, which belongs to Australian Longline Fishing, is a longliner operating in a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fishery for Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. The vessel, which is 56-meters long and carries a crew of between 20 to 25 people – plus two observers – was awarded the RFVS certificate by Lloyds Register, the GSA announced.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Latest F3 challenge offers USD 300,000 in prizes for aquaculture feed innovators

January 13, 2021 — The F3 Challenge – Carnivore Edition, designed to accelerate the development of fishmeal and fish oil substitutes in aquaculture feed, has officially started, with a USD 100,000 (EUR 82,193) prize available to the winner of each of three categories.

The F3 Challenge, which stands for “fish-free feed,”  launched in November 2015 to encourage the innovation of alternative protein sources for aquaculture fish-feeds. The latest challenge targets three categories – salmonids, shrimp, and other carnivorous species – with the prize awarded to the team that uses the greatest portion of F3 feed in the category at the conclusion of the challenge’s sales period.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Researchers offer approaches for the sustainable expansion of the U.S. seafood industry

January 8, 2021 — The “Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth,” issued by the Trump administration in May 2020, lays out a plan to expand the U.S. seafood industry, especially aquaculture, and enhance American seafood competitiveness in the global market.

The goals of the directive are focused largely on growth and expansion of the industry, which includes wild-caught fisheries and farm-raised products, as well as recreation, processing and other industries that rely on fishing.

“The seafood industry in general is worth about $200 billion and accounts for 2 million jobs in the United States,” said Halley E. Froehlich, a professor of fisheries and aquaculture at UC Santa Barbara, who with her colleagues finds that the executive order “ends up being a complicated and opaque ask,” given the complexity of the seafood industry and the headwinds it has been experiencing of late.

“We started having some deep conversations about policy implications and what they meant relative to some massive disruptions,” she said.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Cooke Aquaculture gets key permits for steelhead transition in Washington

January 7, 2021 — Washington’s Department of Ecology has revised four water quality permits to Cooke Aquaculture to farm steelhead in net-pens it formerly used to raise Atlantic salmon.

Cooke had already received approval from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, though conservation groups have sued to block their issuance. The facilities are located near Bainbridge Island and La Conner, and are now permitted for steelhead, also known as rainbow trout.

Read the full story at Seafood Source