Saving Seafood

Fever pitch: Alaska implements new covid-19 mandates for the fishing industry

April 29, 2020 — Strict new rules are now in place for Alaska fishermen and their vessels to protect against and prevent the spread of covid-19 during the 2020 salmon season.

Effective April 24, Gov. Mike Dunleavy provided 11 pages of mandates that specifically apply to those who have not “agreed to operate under a fleet-wide plan submitted by a company, association or entity” representing them.

Developing Vessel Procedures and Performing Symptomatic Crew Assessment in the Midst of COVID-19.

Among other things, each independent skipper must sign a Health Mandate Acknowledgement Form prior to going fishing. They are required to maintain a written or time-stamped electronic log acknowledging that they will comply with the mandates, along with a clear description of which protective plan they are enforcing on their vessel. Skippers also must certify that crew members have been screened upon arrival and that they have completed self-quarantines.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Fishing industry group wants Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire offshore wind planning postponed during pandemic

April 29, 2020 — A group representing the fishing industry has written to New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker asking for a six-month pause in planning Gulf of Maine (GOM) offshore wind development amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter from the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) seeks to ensure that fishermen have a say in the early stages of any proposed projects, RODA executive director Annie Hawkins told The Center Square.

“The idea behind the letter was the Gulf of Maine is at the beginning of planning for offshore wind. Given how important it is to fishermen’s work routes and interactive site mapping, it has to be done when everyone can be at the table,” Hawkins said. “And right now, the fishing industry is dealing with their own things brought on by the pandemic.”

Hawkins said in other regions of offshore wind development, fishermen haven’t had enough of a voice in the planning process because work commitments often preclude them from being at meetings.

“What we’re seeing in other regions, fishing interests are brought in late in the game,” Hawkins said.

Read the full story at The Center Square

Alaska steps up COVID-19 safety measures ahead of summer salmon season

April 29, 2020 — Governor Mike Dunleavy’s administration released an extensive new health mandate laying out the latest guidelines for Alaska’s upcoming fishing seasons last week, amidst concerns of the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas of the state.

Health Mandate 17 – which went into effect on Friday, 24 April, and which will be reevaluated on 20 May – is designed “to ensure a safe, productive fishing season this year, while still protecting Alaskan communities to the maximum extent possible from the spread of the virus,” according to the document.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood prices have dropped, but Southcoast fishermen still fish amid pandemic

April 29, 2020 — Though the coronavirus pandemic has limited some seafood markets and lowered prices, SouthCoast fishermen are still going out on trips when the stormy weather isn’t keeping them ashore.

“We’re still going out, everything’s running right along for us,” groundfisherman Antonio Cravo and co-owner of F/V United States said on Monday.

Cravo, who is based in New Bedford, said the prices have dropped and he’s getting less money for the fish he catches, but it’s still worth going out on trips.

“We offloaded last night and just got paid today, the prices dropped, but it’s still worth it to keep going,” Cravo said,“We still get a paycheck, not as much, but we still get a paycheck to keep up with our bills.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Silence is golden for whales as lockdown reduces ocean noise

April 28, 2020 — In cities, human lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic have offered some respite to the natural world, with clear skies and the return of wildlife to waterways. Now evidence of a drop in underwater noise pollution has led experts to predict the crisis may also be good news for whales and other sea mammals.

Researchers examining real-time underwater sound signals from seabed observatories run by Ocean Networks Canada near the port of Vancouver found a significant drop in low-frequency sound associated with ships.

David Barclay, assistant professor of oceanography at Dalhousie University, the lead author of a paper reviewing the phenomena, examined sound power – a way of measuring “loudness” – in the 100 Hz range from two sites, one inland and one farther offshore. He found a significant drop in noise from both.

Generally, we know underwater noise at this frequency has effects on marine mammals,” Barclay said.

“There has been a consistent drop in noise since 1 January, which has amounted to a change of four or five decibels in the period up to 1 April,” he said. Economic data from the port showed a drop of around 20% in exports and imports over the same period, he said.

The deep ocean site, around 60km from the shipping lanes and in 3,000 metres of water, also showed a drop in average weekly noise of 1.5 decibels, or around a 15% decrease in power, Barclay said. “This gives us an idea of the scale over which this reduction in noise can be observed.”

The reduction in ship traffic in the ocean, which Barclay compares to a “giant human experiment”, has had scientists racing to find out the effect on marine life.

Read the full story at The Guardian

Canada allocates $62.5M for fish and seafood processors amid COVID-19

April 28, 2020 — Canada’s fish and seafood industry is getting new funding in an effort to keep grocery shelves stocked amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund, which was announced by Prime Minister Justine Trudeau on a live broadcast on April 25, is aimed to provide fish and seafood processing plants access to short-term financing to pay for maintenance and inventory costs, and adapt operations to respond to changing requirements and new market demands.

“As we fight COVID-19, people who work in fish and seafood processing plants across the country are playing a crucial role when it comes to getting food to our tables. This fund will help ensure that they can safely continue to their important work,” said Trudeau during his Saturday broadcast.

Read the full story at Aquaculture North America

ALASKA: Mandate restricts movement of fishing vessel crews

April 28, 2020 — With May just around the corner, Kodiak Island is gearing up for salmon fishing season, and captains and their crew from off-island will soon join local fishery participants.

However, a recent health mandate released by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, which requires boat captains to implement new protective measures aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus, will restrict where crew members can go.

Mandate 17, which went into effect Saturday, affects independent commercial fishing vessels, defining them as “all catcher and tender vessels that have not agreed to operate under a fleet-wide plan submitted by a company, association, or entity that represents a fleet of vessels.”

The new mandate adds screening and quarantine requirements for crew, and also limits their movement.

“I’m glad to see that the governor is focused on the protocols for the independent fishing vessels,” said Duncan Fields, the chairman of the Kodiak Salmon Work Group and a member of the Kodiak Economic Task Force. “I appreciate that the administration worked with the United Fishermen of Alaska Matt Alward to vet their plan and to receive input.”

Read the full story at the Kodiak Daily Mirror

Commercial fishermen struggling to sell seafood amid restaurant closures

April 28, 2020 — Restaurant closures due to the coronavirus pandemic continue to cause a major disruption in the seafood supply industry – and as a result, some commercial fishermen have turned to new ways to sell their catch.

“Everything is just being devastated because of the coronavirus,” said Wes Townsend, a full-time commercial fisherman in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Townsend has been fishing for about 44 years.

“Black sea bass is the main thing that we have. We also do lobster, certain times of the year we do rock fishing,” Townsend said.

This season, though, he’s catching a lot less — and not because of a lack of fish.

“This year, with the coronavirus, we have actually had buyers tell us, ‘Don’t go, we do not want your fish. We have no markets,’” Townsend added.

It’s something he said he’d never experienced before.

“We have never had the buyers tell us don’t go,” Townsend said.

With most restaurants closing their doors, the seafood supply industry has been suffering.

According to the most recent data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than two-thirds of seafood has been served at restaurants.

Read the full story at Fox News

Deadly shrimp virus has farmers in China fearing the worst

April 28, 2020 — A virus that has plagued shrimp farmers in China since 2014 may be rebounding with a vengeance, this time in Guangdong Province, a crucial hub for aquaculture production in the country.

The South China Morning Post reported on 12 April that Decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) had been detected once more in a number of shrimp farms in the southern province of Guangdong, along the Pearl River Delta, as of February 2020. According to the newspaper, about a quarter of shrimp farming operations in the province have been infected by the current outbreak, which previously struck stocks in China at the start of 2019 before summer temperatures prevailed.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

China cites historical precedent in resisting WTO talks on ending fishing subsidies

April 28, 2020 — Historical subsidization of the fleets of developed countries have become a stumbling block for Chinese negotiators during World Trade Organization talks on ending harmful fishery subsidies.

The talks have dragged into 2020 despite an effort by negotiators to culminate a deal by the end of 2019, and have been further delayed due to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story at Seafood Source