Saving Seafood

Feds eye improved fishing monitoring off East Coast states

November 12, 2018 — Federal ocean managers are looking to increase the amount of monitoring that goes on while fishing boats are out at sea.

Many fisheries are subjected to monitoring, which collects valuable data that inform regulations and catch quotas. The New England Fishery Management Council says it’s looking at ways to beef up monitoring in some fisheries to get an idea of the amount of catch and reduce uncertainty about estimates.

The Federal Register states that the goal of the effort is to “ensure consistency in industry monitoring programs.” It’s also aimed at increasing monitoring in the Atlantic herring fishery, which is a major source for bait fish and food on the East Coast.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WBNG

Electronic monitoring has smooth first year; human observer costs rising

November 1, 2018 — After the first year of electronic monitoring on fishing vessels in Alaska, the National Marine Fisheries Service is expanding the pool for boats that want to get in on it.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has been working on implementing an electronic monitoring program for commercial fishing vessels in Alaska for several years. The devices, essentially small cameras and sensors, replace a human observer and take note of the bycatch and total catch on eligible vessels. In 2018, the first year of the program, the council approved 145 vessels to participate.

At its meeting Oct. 4 in Anchorage, council staff member Elizabeth Figus said things went so well on those vessels that not a single one had to be removed from the pool for a violation of the Vessel Monitoring Plan, or VMP.

“That was really good news,” she told the council.

In June, the council approved an expansion of the program to allow up to 165 vessels to participate. The deadline to register through the Observer Declare and Deploy System was Nov. 1.

The small boat fleet in particular pushed for the implementation of electronic monitoring equipment after the council changed the requirements for observing to include small vessels — boats 60 feet or shorter— because it’s harder for them to provide the space and gear for another person besides the crew.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

NOAA Fisheries to Reimburse Vessels for 2018 At-Sea Monitoring Costs

September 28, 2018 — NOAA Fisheries has announced a plan to cover the 2018 costs of at-sea monitoring for ground fish sector vessels in the Northeast.

The agency also plans to contribute more reimbursements to vessels for the 2017 at-sea costs, bringing the total reimbursement for that year up to 85-percent.

The at-sea monitors participate in a series of sector trips to estimate the total catch of quota of the species kept and discarded by the vessel. NOAA says at-sea monitoring also helps groundfish vessels keep track of the pace to which they fill their quotas for each species.

“Effective at-sea monitoring is essential to the success and sustainability of this fishery. This $10.3 million increase from Congress for groundfish at-sea monitoring provides additional economic stability for the sector vessels,” said Northeast Fisheries Science Center Director Jon Hare.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Feds say few commercial fishing trips are monitored

September 27, 2018 — Federal officials revealed Wednesday that most of the New England fishing cooperatives that catch cod, haddock, flounder and other groundfish failed to meet the minimum standards for having observers on their boats.

Known as sectors, these cooperatives are groups of fishermen who come up with their own fishing plan and enforcement measures to manage their shares of the overall quota.

National Marine Fisheries Service regional administrator Michael Pentony sent letters to 14 of 19 sectors informing them that they were below the required 15 percent of their trips accompanied by fishery monitors and federal observers. Ten sectors were below 10 percent. Observers count and identify the fish caught and discarded, which helps scientists estimate impacts on fish populations.

“We are not trying to point fingers or lay blame,” Pentony told the New England Fishery Management Council at their meeting Wednesday, calling it a systemic problem.

“This report illustrates in bold type the core failure that has left the New England groundfish fishery in crisis: it is essentially unmonitored,” Johanna Thomas, director of the Environmental Defense Fund, wrote in an email. “This is not fair to fishermen, who need to have trust that decisions on their fishing activity is based on good information, and who need to know that there is a level playing field, that everyone is playing by the rules.”

Conservation Law Foundation senior attorney Erica Fuller said her organization has advocated for 100 percent observed trips either by humans or onboard cameras.

“Understanding budget constraints, NMFS should do everything in its power to get effective coverage that can provide accurate data and rebuild overfished stocks,” Fuller said.

The outcry for better observer coverage was especially intense following the arrest and conviction of New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael, known as “The Codfather,” who was able to illegally catch, process and sell fish, escaping detection for many years.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Losing grounds: Self-report or report by force

September 21, 2018 — Effective lobbying by anti-fishing NGOs leading to public concern about the environmental impacts of fishing, are leading to increasing restrictions on commercial fishing far beyond any regulation needed to assure the sustainability of the fishery. Commercial fishing as a livelihood and economic activity is under threat in much of the world.

No country illustrates this better than Australia, where anti-fishing groups have allied themselves with recreational fishing interests to have more and more of the country declared as No Commercial Fishing zones. Pressure from environmental NGOs caused the Australian government to pass a law specifically banning an individual large fishing vessel. A similar alliance in New Zealand is also being very effective at demanding more restrictions on fishing and the public relations by these groups has caused the New Zealand public to believe that marine fish are more threatened with extinction than the native terrestrial animals where roughly half have gone extinct.

In Europe, anti-fishing groups have great power in the European Parliament, successfully banning trawling in waters deeper than 800 meters, enacting a no-discard ban that could cripple commercial fishing, and recently banning electrofishing with trawls, which largely eliminates bottom contact and reduces fuel use.

At the international level ENGOs are pushing for 30 percent of oceans to be declared no-take marine protected areas. The ENGO argument is that commercial fishing uses a public resource for their own profit largely without oversight and is riddled with illegal practices, such as fishing in closed areas, discarding protected species, and misreporting catch. Recent convictions of well-known fishermen for these crimes reinforces the public view of fishermen as pirates.

The commercial fishing industry is losing the battle over the social license to operate.

To maintain the social license to operate, I believe fishing industries worldwide need to step forward and accept levels of transparency in fishing activities that were unimaginable a decade ago. If fishermen were to have detailed position monitoring for all vessels available to government regulators, and 100 percent at-sea coverage of catch and discards by cameras, there would be no argument that fishing is taking place in closed areas, or that discards and bycatch are not being recorded.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

The role of big data and AI in the seafood industry

September 14, 2018 — People love seafood. It’s a delicacy in many parts of the world, with different preparations and varieties on the menu.

However, good fish is difficult to buy. Whether it is New York, Chicago, or London — restaurants and supermarkets rarely have healthy, wild-caught fish to offer.

Instead, customers end up buying farmed and maybe drug-laden varieties of the fish they truly desire. There’s definitely a trust issue in the seafood market.

Further, reports of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing are rising every day. In fact, some experts believe that as much as 20 percent of the global seafood catch is IUU and costs the global economy US$23 billion annually.

Finally, according to Reuters, global marine catches have declined by 1.2 million tonnes a year since 1996 — making IUU fishing even more challenging.

Does that mean the era of fresh, delightful seafood has come to an end? Maybe not. It seems like technology has an enterprise-grade solution to this problem as well.

Read the full story at Tech HQ

NOAA to Fully Fund At-Sea Monitoring Program in New England for 2018, Reimburse More Costs for 2017

August 16, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — NOAA announced on Tuesday that they will fund 100% of New England At-Sea Monitoring costs for 2018, as part of an additional $10.3 million added to the budget by New England congressmen, including NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

In addition, they will provide an additional 25% subsidy for 2017 costs, based on the money they saved from Carlos Rafael’s fleets not fishing. Since there was less need for monitoring, the overall program cost was lower.

The cost to vessels for an at-sea monitor is about $710 per day. This can have a significant impact on the profitability of smaller trips.

In 2016, NOAA supported 80% of this cost. In 2017 that dropped to 60%, with NOAA making the argument that the costs eventually had to be fully paid by fishermen. However, with the additional funds from 2017, the subsidies for that year will now be 85%.

For 2018 NOAA will cover 100% of the costs.

Part of the additional money will be used to further develop electronic monitoring and less costly systems.

“This is very welcome money and good news all the way around,” Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition told the Gloucester Times. “It’s a lot for groundfishermen to pay for, especially as quotas decline and they lose access to key stocks.”

Senator Jeanne Shaheen said “Our state’s commercial fishing industry is operating on razor-thin margins and urgently needs relief from these burdensome fees, which is why I’m thrilled that funding is now available to cover the costs of at-sea monitoring.”

“Relieving our fishermen of these fees has been a top priority for me since NOAA unfairly shifted the responsibility for at-sea monitoring costs on to the backs of our fishermen. The commercial fishing industry plays a role in New Hampshire’s economy, history and culture, so ensuring its longevity will always be important to me. Negotiating this federal funding was one of my top priorities in the government spending bill.”

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

NOAA will cover groundfishing at-sea monitoring

August 15, 2018 — NOAA announced Tuesday that it will fully reimburse at-sea monitoring costs for Northeast groundfish sector vessels for the 2018 fishing year.

The reimbursements will extend to the 2017 fishing year at an additional 25 percent, raising the total reimbursement to 85 percent for last year.

“Effective at-sea monitoring is essential to the success and sustainability of this fishery,” Jon Hare, director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, said in a statement.. “This $10.3 million increase from Congress for groundfish at-sea monitoring provides additional economic stability for the sector vessels.”

In the past, NOAA has funded or subsidized the costs of monitoring, however, 2017, marked the first year funding wasn’t available to cover the full costs, the agency said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA to pay fishermen’s at-sea monitoring costs

August 15, 2018 — Commercial groundfishermen will not have to pay any at-sea monitoring costs in the current fishing year and will be reimbursed for an additional 25 percent of their 2017 fishing trips that included monitor coverage, NOAA Fisheries said Tuesday.

The expanded at-sea monitor funding, fueled by an additional $10.3 million secured by New Hampshire’s U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in the current federal budget, means fishing vessels in the Northeast Multispecies groundfishery are eligible to be reimbursed for about 85 percent of their 2017 trips with at-sea monitors aboard.

“Effective at-sea monitoring is essential to the success and sustainability of this fishery,” Jon Hare, the director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center said in a statement. “This $10.3 million increase from Congress for groundfish at-sea monitoring provides additional economic stability for the sector vessels.”

The additional $10.3 million was part a $22.5 million appropriation to NOAA to fund both at-sea monitoring and court-mandated bycatch reporting requirements.

The increased funding will relieve commercial fishermen of a significant financial burden — estimated at $710 per day for boats with monitors — for at least this fishing year. It also halts — at least for now — NOAA Fisheries’ strategy of increasingly shifting the costs of at-sea monitors onto fishermen until industry bears the full cost of monitor coverage.

“This is very welcome money and good news all the way around,” said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition. “It’s a lot for groundfishermen to pay for, especially as quotas decline and they lose access to key stocks.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

AIS awarded $47m contract to monitor fishing in Northeast US

June 19, 2018 — The US National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has tapped AIS Inc., a Marion, Massachusetts-based company, to monitor fishing in the Northeast US for the next five years, the company said in a press release. The contract is worth $47 million.

The job will entail employing 80 to 100 observers riding on commercial fishing vessels all along the northeastern coast of the US, from Maine to North Carolina, covering 10,000 sea days per year, the company said. All observers must have a bachelor of science degree in biological or ecological services and pass a three-week training to test before becoming certified.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News