Saving Seafood

US Senate committee rejects most of Trump’s proposed cuts to NOAA

August 8, 2017 — The appropriations committee of the United States Senate has voted to reduce the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s 2018 budget, but the cuts are less severe than those requested by President Donald Trump.

The Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations subcommittee agreed to a USD 85.1 million (EUR 72.3 million) cut to NOAA’s budget to USD 5.6 billion (EUR 4.8 billion) – much less than the nearly USD 900 million (EUR 764 million) in cuts requested by Trump, according to a press release put out by Senate Republicans.

The committee voted to fully fund NOAA operations including ocean monitoring; fisheries management; coastal grants to states; aquaculture research; and severe weather forecasting, according to the press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Poached eels: US strikes at illegal harvests as value grows

Law enforcement authorities have launched a crackdown on unlicensed eel fishermen and illicit sales along the East Coast.

August 7, 2017 — BREWER, Maine — Changes in the worldwide fisheries industry have turned live baby American eels into a commodity that can fetch more than $2,000 a pound at the dock, but the big demand and big prices have spawned a black market that wildlife officials say is jeopardizing the species.

Law enforcement authorities have launched a crackdown on unlicensed eel fishermen and illicit sales along the East Coast.

Although not a well-known seafood item like the Maine lobster, wriggling baby eels, or elvers, are a fishery worth many millions of dollars. Elvers often are sold to Asian aquaculture companies to be raised to maturity and sold to the lucrative Japanese restaurant market, where they mainly are served grilled.

But licensed U.S. fishermen complain poaching has become widespread, as prices have climbed in recent years. In response, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies are investigating clandestine harvesting and sales.

Operation Broken Glass, a reference to the eels’ glassy skin, has resulted in 15 guilty pleas for illegal trafficking of about $4 million worth of elvers. Two people are under indictment, and more indictments are expected.

In Maine, more than 400 licensed fishermen make their living fishing for elvers in rivers such as the Penobscot in Brewer and the Passagassawakeag in Belfast every spring. They say law enforcement is vital to protecting the eels and the volatile industry.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WTOP

MASSACHUSETTS: A meeting of the minds on the future of the fisheries

August 3, 2017 — For some, the focus was on collaboration and the need to build sustainable seafood partnerships.

“Much of what we have already learned comes from the farming sector,” said Jack Wiggin, head of the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Urban Harbors Institute. Opening a Wednesday morning conference on the seafood industry at The Gloucester House, he noted cited parallels between harvesting America’s farms and seas.

To Anamarija Frankic, however, the future of the seafood industry is tied to a more basic approach.

“It’s like the chicken and egg,” said Frankic, a UMass-Boston teacher of biomimicry — the science of seeking solutions based on time-tested patterns and models. “How can you have aquaculture? How can you sustain seafood without protecting the ocean (waters), not just in the harbors but in watersheds? Much of what we do is very specific, protecting and rebuilding specific species or specific habitat, but we have to work to sustain the entire coastal habitat.”

Those were just two of the ideas raised over the course of the daylong conference, which was funded by the state’s Seaport Economic Council and drew more than 50 experts representing government agencies, fishermen, seafood processors and community leaders.

“This is a summit — I would call it that,” Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken said in welcoming the group to Gloucester. “We haven’t truly had something like this in 20 years.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Gulf Seafood Leaders Find Aquaculture Doable in Gulf of Mexico

August 1, 2017 — Growing shell and finfish in an aquaculture setting is certainly doable in the Gulf of Mexico according to Sebastian Belle, Executive Director of the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA). The association recently hosted 20 members of the Gulf seafood community who ventured to the Pine Tree State to examine its innovative aquaculture program.

The tour, organized by the Gulf Seafood Institute and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was designed to showcase the success of Maine’s 40-year-old aquaculture program and give Gulf visitors new insights.

In 2016, NOAA filed a final rule implementing the nation’s first comprehensive regulatory program for aquaculture in federal waters. The rule allowed for the establishment of a regional permitting process to manage the development of an environmentally sound and economically sustainable aquaculture industry in federal waters of the Gulf.

Throughout the process, NOAA Fisheries has worked with stakeholders to address questions and help policy makers understand the challenges and opportunities in aquaculture. By traveling to Maine, Gulf of Mexico fishermen, scientists and state officials were able to explore real-world examples of successful aquaculture companies and seafood farmers and have meaningful discussions with researchers, policy makers and growers.

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Foundation

Head of Maine Aquaculture Association named to federal marine panel

July 14, 2017 — The head of the Maine Aquaculture Association has been named to a federal marine advisory panel.

Sebastian Belle, executive director of the aquaculture trade association, has been appointed to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee. As a member of the advisory committee, Belle will advise the Secretary of Commerce and NOAA on issues related to living marine resources that fall under the purview of the Department of Commerce, according to a joint release from U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins announcing the apointment.

“Sebastian has established himself as a national leader in the aquaculture industry, and his expertise will help guide the Department of Commerce and NOAA as they shape important policy relating to our marine resources,” said the senators in the statement. “Sebastian brings with him a deep understanding of Maine’s diverse marine ecosystem that supports our state’s coastal communities, creates and sustains jobs, and helps drive the economy.”

Belle was formerly a lobsterman and state aquaculture coodinator. He helped found TAAG, which specializes in aquaculture investment and consulting, and is also the president of Econ-Aqua, a consultancy that focuses on farm management, financial due diligence, and risk and analysis control.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

NORTH CAROLINA: Senate passes Marine Aquaculture Development Act

June 29, 2017 — Amended changes to a marine aquaculture bill were unanimously approved in the Senate on Wednesday, meaning that a growing ocean-based business may soon have a bigger impact on the North Carolina coast.

Senate Bill 410, the Marine Aquaculture Development Act, was sponsored by Sen. Bill Cook (R-District 1), Sen. Norman W. Sanderson (R-District 2) and Sen. Jerry W. Tillman (R-District 29). The bill will next be sent to Gov. Roy Cooper.

Marine aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production methods in the world, and SB 410 is designed to attract global seafood companies to the state, according to a Thursday afternoon news release.

In October 2015, Wilmington hosted the annual BioMarine International Business Convention. It was the first time the convention was held in the United States.

Approximately 300 business executives, researchers, entrepreneurs, and economic development officials from more than 16 countries attended the event.

“With a large abundant natural water resource along our state’s coastline, North Carolina is a prime location for deepwater aquaculture facilities,” Cook said. “Aquaculture is, indeed, among one of the fastest growing segments of food production worldwide, and with this bill, North Carolina will be appropriately positioned to join the market.”

Nearly one-half of all fish consumed globally are harvested from aquaculture facilities, according to the release, and by 2030 over 145.5 million metric tons of aquatic food will be needed to meet global demand.

Read the full story at WECT

MAINE: Midcoast lobster pound co-op sees a promising future in aquaculture

June 12, 2017 — The Bremen Lobster Pound Co-op on Keene Neck has been a fixture of Bremen’s working waterfront for decades. After a merger between the fishermen’s association and Community Shellfish LLC, the co-op’s new owner is looking to keep it that way.

Boe Marsh is a Bremen selectman and owns Community Shellfish LLC, a dealer in lobster, clams and shrimp. The company buys from harvesters at its processing and distribution center at 656 Waldoboro Road in Bremen and at the co-op.

The co-op will continue in its current role as a base of operations for local lobstermen and other commercial fishermen, and Marsh is reintroducing aquaculture, a field the co-op first experimented with in previous years.

Marsh hopes to repurpose the co-op’s two lobster pounds for aquaculture space, particularly the growth and harvesting of oysters and clams, while keeping the co-op open and available to local lobstermen and commercial fishermen.

According to Marsh, co-ops across Maine have long used lobster pounds — roughly 50 are spread along the state’s coast — to house and nourish lobsters during the height of the crustacean’s season. The co-ops used plentiful groundfish to sustain the lobsters when a seasonal surplus tends to drive prices down, saving the lobsters for a time of year when they are more valuable.

Marsh said this practice has changed in recent years because of the rising cost of groundfish, such as herring, and the development of technology to keep the lobsters indoors. Some tanks use thermal elements to keep the lobsters in hibernation for two to three months.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

SeaWeb Seafood Summit Panel Tackles Impact of Climate Change on Fisheries and Aquaculture

SEATTLE (Saving Seafood) — June 7, 2017 — Conference sessions on climate change generally include lots of tables and figures illustrating projected changes in greenhouse gas emissions, ocean temperatures, ocean pH, etc. under a range of scenarios. But while projections were discussed at Monday’s session on climate change at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit, “Adaptation and Infrastructure: Fisheries and Aquaculture in a Changing Climate,” the panel emphasized the reality that we are already seeing marine ecosystem changes, and that these changes can only be expected to become more severe. In different ways, each of the four speakers began with this premise, and discussed strategies for adaptation.

Two of the speakers, John Norgren of the Climate Resilience Foundation and Lara Hansen of EcoAdapt, spoke directly to the strategic challenges posed by climate change. Mr. Norgren discussed the process of initiating and maintaining change; the need to be intentional and holistic; and the importance of considering human dimensions and responses, both to change itself and to actions intended to address climate change. He highlighted issues such as changing baselines (when the past is a poor predictor of the future), the importance of monitoring and adjusting approaches, and the value of online resources.

While similarly concerned with strategy, Ms. Hansen focused on the marine sectors and fisheries. She spoke about adaptation strategies, changes in distribution and abundance of fish stocks, and concerns about future access to ports and processing facilities. She drew the audience’s attention to work by NOAA and other agencies on the vulnerability of marine populations and coastal communities to climate change. Ms. Hansen emphasized the importance of building capacity, addressing broad policy challenges, establishing priorities for conservation and natural resource management, and the necessity of fully recognizing infrastructure needs in the planning process. She shared a positive outlook on processes already underway as well as future opportunities, and recommended two important online sources: The State of Climate Adaptation in U.S. Marine Fisheries Management and the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange.

Bob Young of the Center for Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University spoke about failures by the U.S. government to rebuild and protect eroding shorelines. With sea level rise and increasing storm activity, shoreline erosion will only increase. Across the U.S., but especially along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico, erosion and retreat of shoreline has been addressed through beach nourishment, which moves large quantities of sand from offshore to replace sand lost at the shoreline. This destroys benthic habitat. Furthermore, rebuilding coastal infrastructure following major storms precludes any possibility of allowing marsh and wetland development inshore of the current coastline, as would occur naturally. Ultimately, important nursery areas for marine stocks are lost, and coastal fish stocks and fisheries are harmed. Mr. Young emphasized the need for greater understanding and awareness of this process, which is greatly exacerbated by climate change.

Joseph Gellins of the Port of Seattle spoke about the Port’s strategies and actions to address climate change. He described the engineering and hydrological challenges associated with increased storm surges and sea-level rise and how this is taken into account in daily operations and future planning. He discussed the importance of tracking how other Pacific Rim ports, many of which are trading partners, adapt to the impacts of climate change, since changes to these ports could directly impact operational demands on the Port of Seattle itself. He also mentioned the importance of Seattle as a home port for many Alaskan fishing fleets, although one member of the audience pointed out that many of these vessels dock at Fishermen’s Terminal, which is protected from seal level change by the sea locks between Puget Sound and Lake Union.

Even though the audience for the climate change session was small, an energetic discussion followed. The conversation addressed topics like the impact of climate change on fish stocks and ecosystem dynamics, including the potential consequence of reduced catch levels due to reduced productivity and increased uncertainty. An audience member also raised, and the panel discussed, the impact of shifting distributions on regional fisheries, and the associated need to adjust regional and fleet allocations of harvested stocks.

Trump calls out US seafood trade imbalance

June 5, 2017 — U.S.  President Donald Trump’s declaration that June is National Ocean Month – and his stated desire to grow the country’s seafood exports – was praised by seafood industry groups.

“The fisheries resources of the United States are among the most valuable in the world. Growing global demand for seafood presents tremendous opportunities for expansion of our seafood exports, which can reduce our more than US 13 billion (EIR 11.6 billion) seafood trade deficit,” he said.

The American Shrimp Processors Association welcomed President Trump’s call-out of the domestic seafood industry, the organization’s executive director, C. David Veal, told SeafoodSource.

“The American Shrimp Processors Association welcomes any recognition from the Trump administration of the significant problems caused by the trade imbalances of imported seafood. The USD 4.5 billion (EUR 4 billion) trade deficit from shrimp alone has had devastating impacts on communities in the Gulf and South Atlantic regions for the last two decades,” he said. “Any effort to reduce the trade deficit is appreciated by those who make their livelihoods in the domestic shrimp industry and their associated communities.”

In his remarks commemorating the declaration, Trump also said that the country’s offshore areas are underutilized and often unexplored.

“We have yet to fully leverage new technologies and unleash the forces of economic innovation to more fully develop and explore our ocean economy,” he said.

Gavin Gibbons, vice president of communications for the National Fisheries Institute, said it was “good to see the White House taking notice of the seafood community and focusing on the importance of resource utilization.”

“Safe, sustainable expansion of underutilized areas may present an opportunity for expansion of things like aquaculture. We look forward to seeing any administration plan for such an effort,” Gibbons said.

The key to successful expansion of U.S. seafood production will be maintaining the rigorous sustainability oversight of NOAA, according to Gibbons.

“Initiatives that seek long-term growth solutions should continue to observe the tested, science-based system based on total allowable catch,” he said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Trump administration pledges to do more with less for U.S. aquaculture

June 5, 2017 — “Aquaculture is not the future of oyster harvests. It’s the present,” said Mark Luckenbach – Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Luckenbach, based at the VIMS lab at Wachapreague, told me those words 11 years ago, when I wrote my first story about oyster aquaculture. Since then, I’ve written more than 100 stories on the topic, and someday, I hope, I’ll write a book. One thing is sure: the present has taken a long time to arrive – not just in the Chesapeake Bay, but all over the country.

Eighty to 90 percent of the seafood eaten in the United States is imported, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In Baltimore, where I live, the crabmeat at my local grocery store is not from the Chesapeake Bay. The salmon is not from this country. And striped bass? Never seen it there, though I live just an hour from where one could catch some of the nicest rockfish you could find anywhere.

NOAA officials want to change what they’re calling a $14 billion seafood trade deficit. At a webinar last week, agency officials said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees NOAA, is committed to “eliminating barriers” to growing aquaculture here in the United States.

In Maryland, we know well some of these barriers as they relate to growing oysters. Would-be growers have spent years awaiting permission to put oysters in the water, even though the bivalves filter the water, increase biodiversity, and even spur recruitment for the Bay’s long-troubled wild oyster population, which is less than 1 percent of historic levels.

On a conference call during the webinar, federal officials touted Maryland’s permit innovations as a success. (They didn’t mention that oyster farmers have blamed NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service for some of those delays, relating to the possible impact of oyster farming on endangered marine turtles.) Maryland worked with the Baltimore District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to streamline the permit process. State and federal officials, as well as oyster farmers, report it is working more smoothly now. (NOAA officials said they had an “ombudsman” role in the process.)

Read the full story at the Bay Journal