Saving Seafood

How ‘ghost’ fishing gear affects at-risk species and fisheries’ bottom line

August 5, 2021 — Southwest Nova Scotia is one of Canada’s most productive lobster fishing region, spanning more than 21,000 square kilometers and contributing a significant portion of the country’s lobster supply.

With a busy fishery, though, has come the growing challenge of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing  (ALDFG)—a collection of , ropes, hooks, cables and other fishing-related equipment that drift through the water column or litter the ocean floor. It is a global problem, but one that hasn’t been widely quantified.

Researchers at Dalhousie University wanted to find out how much gear might be in the Southwest Nova Scotia (SWNS) fishing zone and how it might be affecting the existing fishery. Their recently published  provides the first preliminary assessment of environmental and economic impacts of ALDFG on the commercial  industry in the area.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Canada announces big cuts to commercial fishing to protect wild salmon that Washington’s orcas eat

June 30, 2021 — Canada is slashing and closing commercial coastal fishing on more than 100 salmon stocks and permanently downsizing the fleet through voluntary license buybacks in an urgent effort to protect wild salmon from extinction.

Stating Pacific salmon are in long-term decline with many runs on the verge of collapse, Bernadette Jordan, minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced Tuesday that bold action is needed now to stabilize and rebuild stocks before it is too late.

Salmon managers on the U.S. side of the border also are taking steps in an effort to respond to dwindling salmon stocks upon which endangered southern resident orcas rely, including increasing funding to certain hatcheries to increase production.

Some of the Canadian reductions announced in a video news conference Tuesday went into effect immediately. The cutbacks are part of a broader $647 million initiative to save wild salmon, including habitat improvements and a reconsideration of Canada’s aquaculture industry in B.C. waters.

The closures and reductions affect commercial salmon fisheries and First Nations communal commercial fisheries.

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

Canada launches C$647 mln strategy to stave off Pacific wild salmon collapse

June 9, 2021 — Canada launched a C$647.1 million ($535.10 million) strategy on Tuesday to restore Pacific wild salmon stocks that are on the brink of collapse due to climate change, habitat degradation and harvesting pressures.

The investment, first announced in the federal budget in April, will be the largest ever government contribution to efforts to save the species, which has huge cultural and ecological significance on the west coast.

“Many Pacific wild salmon are on the verge of collapse, and we need to take bold, ambitious action now if we are to reverse the trend and give them a fighting chance at survival,” Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said in a statement.

The government’s Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative will focus on stronger science and habitat restoration, stabilizing and growing the salmon populations, modernizing fisheries, and deeper coordination between stakeholders including indigenous people and the fisheries industry.

Read the full story at Reuters

High Liner struggles in Q1 as pandemic seafood-buying surge wanes

May 18, 2021 — Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada-based High Liner Foods reported weaker sales and profits in the first quarter of 2021, while acknowledging “global supply challenges.”

The value-added seafood company recorded USD 243.4 million (EUR 199 million) in sales in Q1 2021, down USD 25.2 million (EUR 20.6 million) from Q1 2020. By volume, the company’s sales decreased by 7.5 million pounds to 69.8 million pounds. Its gross profit shrunk by USD 1.1 million (EUR 900,000) to USD 57.7 million (EUR 47.2 million) and its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) declined by USD 2.9 million (EUR 2.4 million) to USD 27.8 million (EUR 22.7 million).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Feds enforcing fishery, distancing rules to protect southern resident orcas

April 15, 2021 — For a third year in a row, the federal government has ordered fishery closures and imposed limits on vessel movements to protect the critically endangered southern resident killer whale population.

The measures by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans focus on the main threats to the orcas: lack of access to Chinook salmon stocks, acoustic and physical disturbance, and contaminants.

The commercial and recreational salmon fishery will be closed in a portion of Swiftsure Bank from July 16 to Oct. 31, and in Juan de Fuca Strait from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31.

DFO is also enforcing a new closure for commercial and recreational salmon fisheries in the southern Gulf Islands, where closures will be triggered by the first confirmed presence of southern resident killer whales in the area.

Monitoring will begin in the area on June 1. If a southern resident killer whale sighting is confirmed, the fishery will be shut down and remain closed until Oct. 31, the department said.

Distancing measures will also be enforced. For a second year, vessels will be prohibited from coming within 400 metres of any orca in coastal waters between Campbell River and Ucluelet, including Barkley and Howe Sound. This is in effect year-round until May 31, 2022.

Read the full story at The Times Colonist

Regulatory approaches differ for burgeoning offshore aquaculture sector

April 5, 2021 — As offshore aquaculture becomes a more viable enterprise globally, a variety of regulatory approaches have emerged that reflect conflicting perspectives of the sector as either an economic opportunity or an environmental threat.

The governments of Canada and Denmark have both taken aggressive actions to curtail offshore aquaculture, with Denmark banning any new projects as of December 2020 and Canada adopting increasingly restrictive policies on net-pen aquaculture.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Canada launches “dark vessel” program to combat IUU

March 24, 2021 — Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has announced the launch of a new CAD 7 million (USD 5.5 million, EUR 4.7 million) program designed to track vessels deliberately avoiding automatic location devices.

The program, called the Dark Vessel Detection Program, is being launched in collaboration with Canada’s Department of National Defence, Defence Research and Development Canada’s Centre for Security Science, Global Affairs Canada, and MDA, DFO announced. The goal is to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by tracking around the world by identifying vessels that are deliberately turning off automatic tracking devices.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

BC salmon farmers ask for more time as farm closures estimated to cost CAD 390 million

March 2, 2021 — Salmon farmers in the Discovery Islands – located in British Columbia, Canada – are asking for more time in a planned phase-out of all net-pen farming in the area in order to alleviate some of the economic impacts.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced on 17 December, 2020, it plans to completely phase out all net-pen salmon farming in the Discovery Islands over the next 18 months. Salmon farmers and the B.C. communities – which say they were blindsided by the decision – are asking for an extension to give them more time to prepare for the shift and to avoid the euthanization of salmon.

Read the full story at Seafood Source