Saving Seafood

At-sea Processors Association Celebrates Landmark FISH Crew Certification of its Catcher-Processor Fleet

August 25, 2022 — The following was released by the At-sea Processors Association:

At-sea Processors Association (APA) announce today its catcher-processor fleet has been certified using the FISH Standard for Crew, an independent third-party certification program for labor practices on fishing vessels. The certification covers 14 catcher-processor vessels operating in the Alaska pollock and Pacific hake fisheries, which annually provide product for billions of seafood meals enjoyed by American and global consumers.

“Our employees are at the core of our operations,” said Jim Johnson, who serves as APA President and is also President & CEO of Glacier Fish Company, one of APA’s five members. “It is incumbent on all of us to ensure that crew members are treated with the utmost fairness at every stage of the recruitment and employment process. We are proud to have voluntarily committed to this additional layer of scrutiny, which should give buyers and consumers continued confidence that we are doing right by the men and women who produce our seafood.”

The exhaustive audit process included inspection of vessels; private interviews with crews; review of company recruitment practices, pay records and grievance logs; examination of safety protocols; and scrutiny of many other aspects of catcher-processor vessel operations relating to crew welfare.

“APA members have long-standing commitments to safety and responsible treatment of crews, and now their catcher-processor vessels are independently confirmed to be operating in accordance with rigorous crew welfare standards,” said Stephanie Madsen, APA’s Executive Director. “There is a lot of momentum right now—from governments, industry, and civil society—to address instances of unethical treatment of workers in global supply chains. We believe the FISH Standard for Crew can be one important tool in those efforts as they relate to seafood. Through this certification, we are proud to be helping raise the bar on what should be expected globally from those who operate fishing vessels.”

The certified APA vessels are operated by American Seafoods, Arctic Storm, Coastal Villages, Glacier Fish, and  Trident Seafoods.

The At-sea Processors Association is a trade association representing five member companies that own U.S.-flag catcher-processor vessels operating in the Bering Sea / Aleutian Islands Alaska pollock fishery. This abundant and well-managed fishery provides product for billions of seafood meals every year, more than any other fishery on Earth.

Analyst says China not meeting US seafood purchase commitments under trade agreement

May 17, 2021 — China is not living up to its commitments to purchase U.S. seafood under the 2020 trade agreement between the two sides, according to a trade analyst at a U.S. fishery trade body.

The U.S. China Economic and Trade Agreement, also known as the “phase one deal,” was signed in early 2020 and bound China to USD 200 billion (EUR 164.5 billion) in purchases from the U.S. through increasing orders of certain commodities, including seafood. The increase was based on figures for 2017 – the last full year before the trade war began.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Biden’s “30 by 30” order could close-off 30 percent of US ocean to fishing

January 27, 2021 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden announced on 27 January that the president plans to sign an executive order that commits to a “30 by 30” goal first envisioned in the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act that was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020.

The “30 by 30” plan aims to commit 30 percent of lands and oceans to conservation by 2030, which in the House version of the bill entails a complete ban on “commercial extractive use” in areas of the ocean conserved. The planned executive order, according to a White House statement, is intended to “tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New Organization To Provide Labour Certification for Fishing Vessels

January 5, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Developed by a diverse group of experts in fish harvesting with consultation from labour non-profit organisations, the FISH Standard for Crew is developing a voluntary, independent and accredited third-party certification program for labour practices on vessels in wild-capture fisheries. The name “FISH” represents the scope of the standard: Fairness, Integrity, Safety and Health.

The FISH Standard is designed to ensure that fish sold in markets, grocery stores and restaurants around the world is harvested by crews who are recruited and hired ethically, treated with respect on the vessel, paid properly, and have fair processes to address grievances. The FISH Standard certification will be open to wild-capture harvesters of all sizes.

FISH has an eleven-person Board of Directors, Chaired by Fridrik Fridriksson, Chief Human Resources Officer at Brim. FISH also has a nine-person Standards Oversight Committee (SOC) that developed and updates the audit standards. The FISH Standard draws on the experiences of individuals who helped develop international agreements on labour practices. Members of the FISH Board and SOC represent nearly every corner of the globe, bringing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences in fisheries and labour to the table.

“While most seafood companies work ethically and in line with various labour standards and protocols, both legal and voluntary, to ensure proper treatment of crews, there have been challenges and bad actors in the industry,” said Fridriksson. “Media reports have shined a spotlight on these issues and highlighted the fact that everyone harvesting seafood deserves fair and equitable treatment. The FISH Standard provides a credible, worldwide standard to ensure proper treatment of crews, like you see with third-party certifiers of food safety.”

The FISH Standard supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, which promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

“Governments, industry participants and civil society all have critical roles to play in ensuring that people are treated fairly and have safe and decent working conditions,” said FISH Board member, Matt Tinning, Director of Sustainability and Public Affairs for the At-sea Processors Association. “In tandem with other initiatives, we believe the development of a uniform labour standard that seafood buyers can trust is an important step, and has the potential to become a key component of global seafood assurance.”

The FISH Standard provides a needed independent, third-party global certification that makes fair labour a key component in any sourcing discussion. Look for more information on the 60-day public consultation period for the FISH Standard opening soon.

Russian intimidation of Bering Sea fishermen shows gap in Arctic investment, Sullivan says

December 10, 2020 — The second-in-command of the U.S. Coast Guard shouldered some of the blame on Tuesday for incidents in August in which the Russian military intimidated Bering Sea fishermen out of American waters.

Admiral Charles Ray told a U.S. Senate panel the Coast Guard knew Russia was conducting a military exercise in the area and failed to tell the Bering Sea fishing industry.

“This was not our best day, with regards to doing our role to look after American fishermen — the U.S. Coast Guard,” Ray said. “I’ll just be quite frank: We own some of this.”

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

Alaska pollock industry asks US Senate for military back-up after warplanes buzz American Seafoods, Starbound vessels

December 9, 2020 — Stephanie Madsen, executive director of the At-sea Processors Association, testified Tuesday at a US Senate subcommittee hearing that US fishing vessels have been shaken by a spate of incidents involving Russian military vessels in the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that significantly disrupted operations the Bering Sea in August and September.

“The feeling of certainty and safety has been shattered by recent confrontations initiated by Russian military warships and warplanes with US-flagged fishing vessels operating lawfully within the US EEZ,” she testified.

Earlier this summer, the Russian Navy conducted its largest war games exercise since the Cold War near Alaska, according to the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Russia has also reopened over 50 previously closed Soviet military facilities and positioned early warning radar and missile systems near Alaska.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Fishermen, Seafood Companies Come Together to Defend Their Industry

November 16, 2020 — The following was released by the At-Sea Processors Association:

Ahead of tomorrow’s House Natural Resources Committee hearing on legislation entitled the “Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act,” a coalition of more than 800 members of the seafood community say Title II of the proposed bill is not backed by science and is a direct threat to an iconic American industry.

“United States fisheries management is the envy of the world,” said Matt Tinning, Director of Sustainability and Public Affairs at the At-sea Processors Association. “Science-based management under the Magnuson-Stevens Act is a remarkable example of bipartisan policy success. It is achieving exceptional environmental outcomes, preserving vital cultural traditions, creating jobs in communities across the United States, and delivering food with one of the lowest carbon footprints of any protein on Earth. Title II of the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act will jeopardize that remarkable record of success.”

“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is among the world’s very best fishery managers,” said NFI President John Connelly. “This bill appears to ignore that expertise and process and just walls off parts of the ocean to fishing. It disregards generations of science-based work and community consensus. Drawing arbitrary lines on a map is not science, it’s politics. Lines on a map don’t actually promote sustainability but they can harm livelihoods that depend on real sustainability work.”

The proposal calls for massive Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that would prohibit all commercial fishing activity across at least 30 percent of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by 2030.

“The 831 signatories of this letter hail from different regions and participate in different parts of the seafood supply chain,” said Robert B. Vanasse, Executive Director of Saving Seafood. “However, we are all united in our commitment to using defensible, quality science to ensure that our nation’s fisheries are harvested sustainably for the benefit of this and future generations. ‘30 by 30’ is a campaign slogan, not a scientific proposal. The legislation would undermine the Magnuson-Stevens Act and its fundamental principle of using the best available scientific information to inform our fisheries management decisions.”

“High-value benthic habitat, such as deep-sea corals, are important parts of the marine ecosystem and worthy of science-based protection,” said Leigh Habegger, Executive Director of Seafood Harvesters of America. The current system is working to deliver exactly those protections to hundreds of thousands of square miles of sensitive habitat through the Regional Fishery Management Council process. We should build on what is working, not create a new, parallel process.”

The coalition letter can be viewed here. The Committee hearing is Tuesday, November 17, at 12:00PM Eastern and will be live-streamed here.

US fishing fleet in Bering Sea rattled by Russian military exercises

October 23, 2020 — The U.S. Coast Guard has vowed to ramp up notifications of Russian military exercises in the northern Bering Sea after U.S.-flagged fishing fleets were driven off fishing grounds there the end of August.

At-Sea Processors Association (APA) Executive Director Stephanie Madsen said U.S. boats were fishing for pollock in the Bering Sea’s U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) when they were startled by the nearby activities of Russian warships, submarines, and aircraft.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Alaska pollock, groundfish sector demands ‘non-negotiable’ military protection after run-ins with Russian warships

October 6, 2020 — The At-Sea Processors Association (APA) says US military protection of the Bering Sea groundfish fleets should be “non-negotiable” after a spate of incidents involving Russian military vessels in the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Bering Sea in August and September.

Recent confrontations initiated by Russian warships and warplanes against US-flagged fishing vessels operating lawfully within the US EEZ have caused fishing boat captains and their crews to fear for their safety, disrupting the business operations of fishing companies at a critical point in a very important fishing season, Stephanie Madsen, executive director of the At-sea Processors Association wrote in a prepared statement for a US Senate hearing, which was postponed at the last minute.

Read the full story at IntraFish

At-Sea Processors’ Jim Gilmore announces retirement

March 1, 2019 — After 30 years with the At-sea Processors Association, Jim Gilmore, its director of public affairs, has announced that he will retire on June 30.

During his tenure at the association, Gilmore directed public affairs and corporate social responsibility programs, which helped to establish the Alaska pollock industry’s leadership position in global seafood sustainability.

“We are very grateful to Jim for his years of staunch advocacy and unwavering commitment to strengthening the Alaska pollock industry, and we couldn’t be happier to announce Matt’s coming onboard,” said Executive Director Stephanie Madsen.

Among Gilmore’s accomplishments are his work to enact the landmark American Fisheries Act, which paved the way for a catch-share program for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Alaska pollock fishery. The advent of catch-share management enabled the Alaska pollock catcher/processor sector to optimize food production, further minimize fishing effects on the environment, and strengthen the fleet’s international market competitiveness, according to the organization.

“Matt’s been a leader in the NGO community, promoting precautionary, science-based fisheries management. We are excited to have him put his considerable talents to work at APA,” said Madsen.

Read the full story at National Fisherman