Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: Squaring off over selling directly from boats at Fisherman’s Wharf

June 5, 2017 — Should local seafood be permitted to be sold straight from the boat in San Francisco?

That’s what some local fishermen are arguing, though their efforts are meeting resistance from some of the city’s oldest seafood families, who say the new proposal would hurt their established businesses and present a public health risk.

The would-be seafood mongers say that selling their wares from their boats would put the “fisherman” back into Fisherman’s Wharf, and could provide locals and tourists with a new shopping option.

“People in San Francisco do want whole fish,” said San Francisco fisher Sarah Bates. “This is a new market that the fishermen are uniquely situated to serve — especially when the fishing is slow or the weather is bad, and you have product and you have a couple days at the boat. This is value added directly to the fisherman.”

Fishing-boat operators and seafood wholesalers presented their points of view at a public meeting held by the Port of San Francisco on Friday. The 90-minute meeting got contentious at times, with some of the city’s seafood processors arguing that the proposal would put their businesses at a disadvantage. On the other side, individual fishers said that there’s no comparison between the wholesale seafood business and independent fishing entrepreneurs making a few hundred dollars when they have extra fish to sell.

Though most of the state’s harbors allow direct retail sales from the boat, it hasn’t been permitted in San Francisco since a brief trial period in 2000. The proposal the Port is considering — and will decide on this summer — is to allow fishers who have berth assignments at certain parts of the wharf to sell whole halibut, salmon, tuna, rockfish and bycatch from their boats. No Dungeness crab would be allowed.

Read the full story at the San Fransisco Chronicle

Tuna Traceability Declaration 2020 seeks traceability, social commitments from tuna industry

June 2, 2017 — A new “Tuna Traceability Declaration” is seeking to encourage the tuna industry to improve sustainability and social conditions in the tuna-fishing industry.

The Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration was created in advance of United Nations Ocean Conference, taking place 5 to 9 June in New York City. The declaration is not legally binding, but is meant to encourage actions and partnerships from and between tuna harvesters, processors, retailers, traders and related nonprofits and concerned governments, to improve the health of tuna populations worldwide. The initiative is in response to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources.

The declaration is being promoted by the nonprofit World Economic Forum, which brings together global leaders from diverse backgrounds, including business and government to aid the organization’s mission of being “committed to improving the state of the world.”

According to the World Economic Forum, The declaration requires the following commitments from its signees:

  1. Tuna traceability commitment
    1. Pledge that all tuna products in our supply chains will be fully traceable to the vessel and trip dates, and that this information will be disclosed upon request at the point of sale either on the packaging or via an online system.
  2. Commitment to a socially responsible tuna supply chain
    1. Pledge to eliminate any form of slavery and ensure suppliers at least meet minimum social standards in management practices as recommended in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s conventions and recommendations.
  3. Commitment to environmentally responsible tuna sources
    1. Pledge to source from tuna fisheries that have implemented: a) Robust science-based management plans, including harvest strategies that can maintain stocks at, or restore them at least to, levels which can produce maximum sustainable yield; and b) Measures to ensure that impacts of fisheries on the environment are sustainable, including bycatch mitigation techniques.
    2. Put this pledge into effect by continuing to explore new opportunities to support the multi-stakeholder initiatives mentioned above, and work to continually increase sourcing from tuna fisheries certified by schemes that are internationally recognized by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Mexico extends gillnet ban to help save endangered porpoise

June 1, 2017 — Mexico’s agriculture and fisheries department says it is extending a ban on gillnets in much of the upper Gulf of California as part of an effort to save the endangered vaquita porpoise.

A Wednesday statement from the department says it will continue to provide monetary and other support for fishermen affected by the measure.

Despite Mexico’s campaign to help the porpoise species, estimates of remaining vaquitas have dropped below 30.

Vaquitas are often caught in nets illegally set to catch totoaba fish, whose swim bladder is prized in China.

The World Wildlife Fund says the measure won’t be enough to save the vaquita. It says a permanent ban and recovery efforts are needed.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Southern Illinoisan

ISSF Annual Report Focuses on Tuna Fishing Best Practices and Participating Company Conformance with Science-based Conservation Measures

May 23, 2017 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) released its 2016 annual report today, Best Practices, Better Solutions, which outlines tuna sustainability achievements and argues for continuous improvement of global tuna fisheries through collaboration and advocacy.

“ISSF marked its seventh anniversary in 2016, and I’m proud to have been part of this unique organization from the beginning,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson in her opening letter. “Through our many activities and partnerships over the years — made possible by progressive tuna companies and other funders — we have deepened our understanding about what it takes to ‘be’ sustainable, and to advance the cause.”

Best Practices, Better Solutions focuses on ISSF’s collaborations on “best practices” in tuna and ocean conservation sustainability with fishers, tuna companies, retailers, regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), and other governing bodies, working closely with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), scientific agencies, and charitable foundations.

Report Highlights

The report offers these special features:

  • Spotlights on fish aggregating device (FAD) management, electronic monitoring and reporting, and harvest control rules — including timelines that track best-practice milestones 2009-2016 as well as graphics showing RFMO proposal activity
  • Graphics documenting skipper acceptance of best practices, including bycatch mitigation techniques
  • Charts showing tuna stock status based on catch and abundance
  • Table with Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) performance indicator averages for global tuna fisheries
  • Summary of ISSF advocacy efforts, including joint letters, blogs, and RFMO side events
  • Graphic showing how RFMO proposals track with ISSF advocacy priorities
  • Reflections from outgoing ISSF Board chair Juan Corrales

It also covers these notable ISSF achievements:

  • Five new tuna companies joined as participating companies in 2016.
  • ISSF Skippers Workshops were held in China and Vietnam for the first time; a record 343 vessel crew were trained in 2016 workshops.
  • In North America, Europe, and Africa 32 retailers that purchase tuna have incorporated ISSF guidelines in their procurement policies.

Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report

ISSF’s annual report also serves as the platform to share the organization’s annual Conservation Measures and Commitments Compliance Report. The report shows a conformance rate of 97.5 percent by 28 ISSF participating companies as of March 31, 2017 — up from 95.6 percent in November 2016 — across 21 ISSF conservation measures in effect in 2016. Twenty-two of 28 companies were fully compliant across all measures.  

The report tracks ISSF participating companies’ progress in conforming with measures like these:

As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, ISSF engages third-party auditor MRAG Americas to audit ISSF participating companies — assessing their compliance with ISSF’s conservation measures. MRAG Americas conducts independent auditing based on a rigorous audit protocol.

In addition to a summary report, MRAG Americas issues individual company reports that document in detail each organization’s compliance with ISSF’s conservation measures. ISSF publishes these individual company compliance reports on its website.

ISSF Participating Companies account for about 75% of the global canned tuna market.

New tuna measures target IUU, bycatch

May 19, 2017 — New conservation measures from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation aim to reduce incidental capture of sharks and marine turtles and reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Two of the new measures are the first to affect longline vessels, since longline fishing accounted for 12 percent of the tuna catch globally in 2015, according to ISSF.

The new measures go into effect on 1 January, 2018.

ISSF-participating seafood suppliers include Thai Union, Bumble Bee Seafoods, Chicken of the Sea and Starkist.

“With about 75 percent of the world’s canned tuna processing capacity conforming to multiple ISSF measures for sustainability best practices, and with major tuna companies being transparently audited against those measures, we have a real opportunity to make changes on and off the water,” ISSF President Susan Jackson said.

Moving forward, tuna companies that do business with large-scale longline vessels must conduct transactions only with long-liners whose at-sea transshipment activities are 100 percent monitored by human observers, either onboard the main vessel or onboard the transshipment vessel.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

Implementation of Stronger Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Is Top ISSF “Ask” for Sustainable Indian Ocean Tuna Fisheries

May 18, 2017 —  The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its position statement in advance of the 21st Session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, May 22-26.

ISSF’s highest priority item is for IOTC to improve its implementation of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) tools. This need is particularly key as the Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) continues its work to stem the overfishing of yellowfin tuna occurring in the ocean region.

ISSF urges IOTC to: strengthen the collection and reporting of catch and effort records; adopt the Scientific Committee guidelines for electronic monitoring and a 100% observer coverage requirement for large-scale purse seine vessels; and enforce the minimum 5% observer requirement for longline vessels. ISSF further urges other key steps that address the region’s information gaps, like reforming the transshipment measure to address loopholes and strengthening the IOTC’s compliance assessment process.

“The IOTC showed great leadership last year by adopting harvest control rules for the region’s skipjack tuna stock, and the Commission headed in the right direction by beginning to reduce catches of yellowfin tuna,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “But effective enforcement of agreed-upon conservation and management measures must be supported by strong monitoring, control and surveillance systems if the positive impact of such measures on Indian Ocean tuna fisheries is to be fully realized. That’s action we need to see progressed this year.”

Additional asks from ISSF this year include:

  • Stronger support of data collection, and the full implementation of harvest strategies
  • FAD management through science-based measures and full implementation of provisions for the use of non-entangling FADs
  • The adoption of a new level of longline observer coverage that would provide reasonable estimates of total bycatch, such as 20%
  • Strengthening the IOTC IUU Vessel List, including to clarify listing and delisting procedures, adding common ownership as a listing criterion, and ensuring that flag States cannot veto IUU listing decisions for their vessels
  • Developing a regional, best-practice satellite-based vessel monitoring system (VMS) 
  • Strengthening the IOTC Resolution on shark finning by requiring that all sharks be landed with fins naturally attached  

Read the full position statement.

ISSF’s goal is to improve the sustainability of global tuna stocks by developing and implementing verifiable, science-based practices, commitments and international management measures that result in tuna fisheries meeting the MSC certification standard without conditions. Therefore, ISSF’s appeal to the IOTC and RFMOs in all ocean regions align with performance indicators that comprise the principles of the Marine Stewardship Council certification standard: Principle 1, Sustainable fish stocks; Principle 2, Minimizing environmental impacts; and Principle 3, Effective management. 

About the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF)

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is a global coalition of scientists, the tuna industry and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world’s leading conservation organization, promoting science-based initiatives for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks, reducing bycatch and promoting ecosystem health. To learn more, visit their website at iss-foundation.org.

Could controversial North Carolina shrimping rules be stalled?

April 5, 2017 — A bill introduced by the state senators from two of North Carolina’s heaviest-shrimping districts would keep the state from adopting controversial shrimping rules until an ongoing study could be completed.

If approved, Senate Bill 432 would prevent the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission from proposing or adopting rules related to any petitions made during its Feb. 16 meeting until a shrimp gear study has been finished and results have been reported. The bill has been referred to the senate’s rules committee.

At question is a controversial N.C. Wildlife Federation petition that would see the fisheries commission limit shrimping to three days on the Intracoastal Waterway and sounds and four days on the ocean up to 3 miles out. The proposal would also limit the time a trawl could stay in the water to 45 minutes.

Shrimpers have been adamant the petition, which was approved by a 5-3 margin at February’s meeting, would devastate their industry if the rules went into effect. Environmentalists say the rules are intended to help protect juvenile fish from being caught in shrimp trawlers’ bycatch.

Read the full story at Star News

Whole Foods’ New Canned Tuna Policy: Only Pole-and-Line, Troll, or Handline Caught Tuna By 2018

March 20, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — By January 2018, all canned tuna sold at Whole Foods Market must come from fisheries using only pole-and-line, troll, or handline catch methods, all of which take fish one by one, preventing bycatch and creating more jobs in coastal communities.

Whole Foods Market is the first national retailer to create such stringent standards for canned tuna, which is among the three most consumed seafood items in the United States.

The policy’s aim is to reduce overfishing and bycatch, and support fishing communities. The new sourcing policy includes canned tuna items sold in the grocery aisle as well as the prepared foods department.

Whole Food’s new canned tuna policy requires that the fisheries be certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council or rated green or yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and The Safina Center.

Every supplier must also use Trace Register, traceability software that tracks each lot of tuna at every point from vessel to can. The traceability data are continuously crosschecked to help verify sourcing and prevent illegally caught or unauthorized fish from entering the supply chain.

“We created this new policy for canned tuna because we want to lead by example in sourcing only the highest quality, sustainably caught tuna,” said Carrie Brownstein, global seafood quality standards coordinator for Whole Foods Market.

“Combined with better international fishery management, overfishing and bycatch can be greatly reduced when tuna is caught by these low-impact fishing methods. We are honored to be working with suppliers and partners who are driving positive change.”

Leading brands that already source canned tuna from one-by-one fisheries, including 365 Everyday Value®, American Tuna, Pole and Line, Henry and Lisa’s, and Wild Planet, are updating their operations to meet the policy’s traceability requirements. These measures will also help importers get ahead of the traceability provisions in NOAA’s Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which has a deadline for mandatory compliance by Jan. 1, 2018.

Over the coming months, remaining suppliers will shift their operations and fishing practices to use the approved one-by-one catch methods, which are more environmentally friendly and offer more employment opportunities for fishermen worldwide.

“Since America is the largest canned tuna market in the world, shifts toward greater sustainability in this category can create a meaningful, positive impact on our oceans and our global fishing communities,” said Adam Baske, director of policy and outreach for International Pole and Line Foundation. “In some cases, these one-by-one fisheries are one of very few sources of local employment. The boats also make relatively short trips, enabling crews to return home frequently, compared to large industrial tuna vessels that may spend multiple months or even years at sea.”

Whole Foods Market’s new canned tuna policy expands on the retailer’s existing sustainability standards for fresh and frozen seafood, which also require that all seafood must either be certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council or rated green or yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and The Safina Center. Additionally, all of the retailer’s farmed seafood must meet its industry-leading aquaculture standards, which include third-party on-site audits.

In 2016, Whole Foods Market introduced the retailer’s first Fair Trade certified yellowfin tuna, a designation which ensures better wages and working conditions for fishermen, and provides additional funding to their communities for improvement projects and investments. Fair Trade certification also verifies full supply chain traceability.

These continual advancements in policies and sourcing are part of Whole Foods Market’s mission to create a model that moves the seafood industry toward greater sustainability.

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

NOAA calls for more groundfish monitoring at sea

March 16, 2017 — NOAA Fisheries will increase its target level for at-sea monitoring to 16 percent of all groundfish trips in 2017 and expects industry reimbursements to continue, but at a lower level.

The target level for at-sea coverage, based on at-sea monitoring data from the 2013-15 fishing seasons, is a 2 percent increase over the 14 percent of all groundfish trips that included at-sea observers in 2016.

NOAA Fisheries, however, said it expects fishing sectors will pay for less than the full 16 percent because coverage from another federally-mandated monitoring program will mitigate the expense being passed to the fishing industry.

“Federally funded observer coverage provided by the Northeast Fishery Observer Program to meet the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology requirements will partially satisfy the 16 percent coverage requirement,” NOAA Fisheries said. “Sectors will therefore actually pay for at-sea monitoring coverage on less than 16 percent of their groundfish trips, but the total will depend on the SBRM coverage rates, which are not yet out.”

The news that NOAA Fisheries would continue to reimburse fishermen for the expense of at-sea monitoring was surprising.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

NOAA Fisheries Announces 2017 At-Sea Monitoring Coverage Levels for Groundfish Sector Fishery

March 15, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA: 

NOAA Fisheries announces that for fishing year 2017 the total target at-sea monitoring coverage level is 16 percent of all groundfish sector trips. 

This target coverage level is a 2 percentage point increase from the 2016 coverage level (14 percent). As the target coverage level is set based on an average of at-sea monitoring data from the past 3 full groundfish fishing years, this level is set based on data from the 2013-2015 fishing years.

Federally funded observer coverage provided by the Northeast Fishery Observer Program to meet the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) requirements will partially satisfy the 16 percent coverage requirement. Sectors will therefore actually pay for at-sea monitoring coverage on less than 16 percent of their groundfish trips, but the total will depend on the SBRM coverage rates, which are not yet out.

We expect to be able to reimburse sectors for some portion of their ASM costs. We do not yet have the information we need to determine the reimbursement rate. We were able to reimburse 85 percent of at-sea monitoring costs in 2016, but expect the 2017 reimbursement rate to be lower.

Certain sector groundfish trips, those using gillnets with 10-inch or greater mesh in Southern New England and Inshore Georges Bank, are also excluded from the ASM requirement due to their low catch of groundfish species. This further reduces the portion of sector trips subject to industry-funded monitoring and better focuses monitoring resources.

For more information, please read the Summary of Analysis Conducted to Determine At-Sea Monitoring Requirements for Multispecies Sectors FY 2017available on our website.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov