Saving Seafood

Cooke settles lawsuit with NGO over 2017 collapse of Washington salmon pens

December 2, 2019 — Canada’s Cooke has reportedly paid $2.75 million to settle a lawsuit with NGO Wild Fish Conservancy, brought after the collapse of 10 Atlantic salmon pens in the US state of Washington in 2017.

The lawsuit — brought in November 2017 by the Northwest arm of the NGO — was set to go to court in Seattle on Dec. 3. On Nov. 27, myclallamcounty.com reported comments from Kurt Beardslee, executive director of the NGO, announcing the settlement. Cooke then confirmed the settlement to Undercurrent News.

“This afternoon, Cooke agreed to a settlement over the Clean Water Act violations with us. It was a $2.75m settlement,” said Beardslee. About half of the settlement will pay for legal expenses, he said.

The rest of it’s going to the Rose Foundation, which is going to be opening up to receive grant opportunities “for helping to save wild salmon and killer whales”, said Beardslee.

“Out of respect for the judicial process, we will not comment on the settlement contents given that this agreement takes effect upon entry by the court,” said a spokesman for Cooke.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Researchers to explore pre-permitting approach to aquaculture in New England

December 2, 2019 — The labyrinthine process of obtaining the proper permits to establish fish farms in federal waters has been frequently cited as a major obstacle to the advancement of the U.S. aquaculture sector.

Currently, an application to start an aquaculture operation in federal waters is reviewed by a plethora of federal agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA Fisheries, and the Environmental Protection Agency, along with a collection of state agencies if the proposed site is located near state waters. The long review process is often cited as being too complex and costly, according to Hauke Kite-Powell, a research specialist at the Marine Policy Center of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ASMFC Seeks Proposals for Regional Pilot Projects in Support of Sustainable Aquaculture: Proposals Due January 15, 2020

December 2, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission), in partnership with the NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP), seeking marine aquaculture pilot projects focused on sustainable aquatic farming techniques and regional business practices to grow U.S. domestic seafood. The geographic scope of the proposed projects is the U.S. East Coast states from Maine to Florida. The primary location of the proposed projects must be in the marine/estuarine environment. Examples of the types of pilot projects being sought through the RFP follow:

  • Research and development related to the production and distribution of shellfish seed stock.
  • Finfish, shellfish (other than oyster*), and seaweed farming systems, especially for those species new to aquaculture in the region or that use novel production systems.
  • Identification and development of Aquaculture Development Zones with pre-planning and pre-permitting for a range of aquaculture activities.
  • Resolution of issues (e.g., enforcement, water quality, public trust concerns or impacts) related to open water finfish farming in state waters.
  • Business incubators
  • Regional market and economic impact studies

NOAA Fisheries, through the Commission, is making available $625,000 for the funding period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Individual proposals should not exceed $200,000 or be less than $50,000. It is anticipated that approximately 4-6 projects will be funded. Eligible applicants include researchers at U.S. academic institutions, research laboratories, forprofit companies/firms, nonprofits, and state agencies. Applicants seeking to apply to the RFP must submit, as a single file, an electronic proposal by email no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on January 15, 2020. Please see the RFP for complete proposal details, qualifying requirements, and submission instructions. The RFP is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/RFPs/ASMFC2020PilotAquacultureRFP_Nov2019.pdf.

Read the full release here

Challenges in Southeast Asia’s fisheries addressed by IFFO, GAA, and SFP in new reports

November 22, 2019 — The Marine Ingredients Organization (IFFO) and the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) have released a full report on Southeast Asian fisheries, containing data not previously released.

In 2017, IFFO and GAA commissioned a study highlighting Southeast Asian fisheries and their fishmeal relevance, producing a final report that was delivered to Fish Matter’s Duncan Leadbitter and published recently. The initial report championed “a requirement for accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date information as being of prime importance to the management of the sustainability of the aquaculture supply chain,” IFFO explained in a press release. Ultimately, the report concluded that “an integrated approach, based on the concept of collaboration” was the best route to positive impact.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAINE: Dutch company chooses Down East town as home for its multimillion-dollar fish farm

November 21, 2019 — A Dutch company has reportedly selected the Washington County town of Jonesport for a multimillion-dollar, land-based aquaculture facility to grow yellowtail, a type of fish beloved by chefs and sushi aficionados.

Kingfish Zeeland settled on the historic fishing community roughly 20 miles from Machias after exploring other potential sites along the Maine coast, according to reports in local and seafood industry media. Kingfish Zeeland’s envisioned yellowtail facility is at least the fourth major land-based aquaculture operation proposed in recent years in Maine, which is experiencing a surge in “farming” for fish, shellfish and other marine products.

Company representatives were expected to discuss their plans Wednesday night during a special town meeting in Jonesport. The company did not respond to a request for additional information Wednesday, and a member of the Jonesport Board of Selectmen said town officials are waiting for Wednesday’s meeting before commenting.

“We are anxious to hear their presentation,” Selectman William Milliken said.

Read the full story at The Portland Press Herald

FAO leaders assess state of the world’s fisheries at sustainability symposium

November 20, 2019 — The number of overfished stocks has been growing for years, but the commonly cited statistic that 90 percent of stocks are in peril doesn’t accurately reflect the health of the world’s oceans.

Manual Barange, the policy and resource director at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Fisheries and Aquaculture division, carefully differentiated maximally fished stocks and overfished stocks during his keynote address at FAO’s International Symposium on Sustainable Fisheries in Rome, Italy this week.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

GSSI Public Consultation on the ASC Shrimp Standard Scope Extension

November 15, 2019 — The following was released by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative:

On 23 October 2019, GSSI launched a 30-day public consultation on the Interim GSSI Benchmark Report for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Shrimp Standard Scope Extension.

In early 2019, the ASC applied to extend the scope of its GSSI recognition to include its Shrimp Standard, having already obtained recognition for the scope of its Salmon Standard in August 2018.

The Independent Experts and the Benchmark Committee found the ASC Shrimp Standard V1.0 – March 2014 to be in alignment with all the GSSI Essential Components for Section C (Aquaculture). The Independent Experts and the Benchmark Committee also confirmed the Governance (Section A) and Operational Procedures (Section B) have been appropriately applied to the ASC Shrimp Standard V1.0 – March 2014.

GSSI now invites comments from all stakeholders on the recommendation of the Benchmark Committee to include the ASC Shrimp Standard in the GSSI scope of recognition for the ASC.

Following the public consultation, the Benchmark Committee, Independent Experts and ASC will process the feedback received. GSSI’s Benchmark Committee will then provide the GSSI Steering Board with a final recommendation on extending the scope of recognition. The Public Consultation feedback will be made publicly available after the GSSI Steering Board’s decision.

Fish 2.0’s Global Innovators Forum honors cutting-edge developments, from robotic fish to barley-based feed

November 8, 2019 — At Fish 2.0’s Global Innovators Forum, the top innovators in six categories spanned the seafood industry, from packaging materials to blockchain.

Among the featured creations this year were: A fish transport box that replaces polystyrene containers; a barley-based fish feed; an antibiotic-free crayfish hatchery; a robotic fish outfitted with sensors to monitor offshore fish farms; an online B2B wholesale marketplace; and a blockchain-based traceability solution.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Lerøy testing project to detect salmon health with implanted sensors

November 7, 2019 — Farmed salmon company Lerøy Seafood Group has launched a pilot project in Norway that would attach sensors directly to the bodies of salmon in cages, then use an underwater wireless network to capture data in real time from the sensors about fish behavior and transmit it to farm managers on the water’s surface.

The technology would be a major advance from current monitoring systems, which can’t directly measure fish health in the water, and would give salmon farmers the kind of detailed information about the fish in their cages that so far has eluded them.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

First offshore aquaculture farm proposed for Gulf of Mexico

November 6, 2019 — A Hawaii-based fish farming company is proposing the first offshore aquaculture for the Gulf of Mexico, a pilot-scale project off Florida.

Kampachi Farms LLC proposed a single-net floating enclosure where up to 20,000 Almaco jack — yellowtail amberjack, also known as kampachi or kahala — would be reared about 45 miles west-southwest of Longboat Pass and Sarasota Bay.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft permit in August and concluded a public comment at the end of September before issuing a final permit.

Kampachi Farms pioneered open-ocean fish culture off Hawaii, and the gulf venture could be the first in federal waters off the continental United States. The new project, dubbed Velella Epsilon, requires other permits from multiple federal agencies, including NMFS and the Corps of Engineers.

An interagency working group prepared a draft environmental assessment to look at potential environmental impacts of building and operating the fish farm. Commercial and recreational fishing advocates along with environmental activists are raising objections, saying introducing dense assemblages of non-native fish will harm the local ocean environment and the existing fishing industry.

Read the full story at National Fisherman