Saving Seafood

Seafood2030 hosting virtual sustainability forum in September

July 20, 2020 — Seafood2030 and SeafoodSource will be hosting a virtual event on 9 and 10 September highlighting the evolving relationship between the seafood industry and governments on the sustainability front.

The Seafood2030 Virtual Sustainability Forum will look at real-world examples where better alignment of industry and government efforts can improve the sustainability, social impacts, and economic viability of fisheries, event organizers said. It will also focus on identifying opportunities to better align sustainability efforts “to improve the global management of seafood and seafood supply-chains.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Report indicates Pacific tuna fisheries weathering COVID-19 well

July 20, 2020 — The fishing effort in the tuna-rich waters of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) does not appear to have been significantly impeded by the COVID-19 crisis, according to a report prepared by Brisbane, Australia-based resources consultancy MRAG Asia Pacific.

The report, which was completed in April, stated that travel restrictions as a result of the pandemic “has not resulted in a widespread decline in fishing effort.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Reminder: Complete the COVID-19 Economic Survey

July 20, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

If you received a survey in the mail from NOAA Fisheries and our partner, the University of Florida, please complete it. The results will help us assess  the impact of COVID-19 on commercial/for-hire fishing operations and on seafood dealers and processors.

Survey participants were selected as part of a carefully designed random sample. If you received a letter, your response is very important to the success of this survey. It will take less than 6 minutes, and the information you provide is strictly confidential.

We are using this multi-region survey to inform NOAA Fisheries, the Department of Commerce, Congress, fishery management councils, state fishery managers, and stakeholders about the economic and social impacts that the recent economic downturn has had on the fishing industry.

NOAA Fisheries will draft reports for the public detailing the revenue losses and recovery of fishing-dependent businesses over the past few months.

If you have further questions regarding the survey please contact Eric Thunberg.

MASSACHUSETTS: Markey touts $15 million he steered to New Bedford’s North Terminal

July 20, 2020 — Senator Ed Markey brought his senatorial campaign to New Bedford Friday afternoon, touting his efforts to secure waterfront infrastructure and fisheries disaster assistance funding for the city.

Markey made the stop in the Whaling City as part of the launch of his statewide bus tour, the “Leads and Delivers Tour,” designed to spotlight the accomplishments the senator says he has made for the state on Capitol Hill. The focus of the stop at City Pier 3 was highlighting the $15.4 million in Department of Transportation funding to improve the New Bedford port’s infrastructure and the $28 million in fisheries disaster assistance from the CARES Act that Markey says he advocated for.

“In the last few months, COVID-19 has transformed our cities and towns across Massachusetts as many of our small businesses have been forced to close or turn to online sales. Usually bustling Main Streets are quiet as our residents choose to safely practice social distancing. Beaches and parks have emptied, and many cities and towns are unrecognizable,” said Markey, who described how the economic impact of COVID-19 has squeezed New Bedford’s fishing industry.

“With restaurants shut down, the fishing community has lost a major consumer. Despite this lack of income, these fishermen must still put food on the table at the end of the day, find a way to cover their boat costs and search for ways to make ends meet,” he said “These brave men and women need to feel like their government has their back, and that’s why I fought so hard in the CARES Act to include a historic $20 million U.S. Department of Agriculture procurement of Atlantic Seafood.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Crowds removing sea creatures from San Pedro tide pools put delicate ecosystem at risk

July 20, 2020 — It was against the backdrop of a pounding surf one recent morning that almost 30 people had gathered on the cragged and slippery folds of White Point tidal pools in San Pedro and set to work with gardening spades, buckets and bags.

As ocean water rippled about their knees, they collected mussels, black turban snails, purple sea urchins and even a lobster. Then, as the tide began to rise, they trundled back to their cars hauling sacks, backpacks and five-gallon buckets filled with intertidal creatures.

“It’s a fun way to spend the day and grab a free dinner,” said Lisa Yan, 55, an unemployed casino card dealer. “Especially for those of us who lost jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic…. All you need is a fishing license.”

Area residents and officials say that ever since beach restrictions were lifted at this popular Palos Verdes Peninsula spot, an unprecedented number of people have been harvesting edible sea creatures — animals that had, up until recently, enjoyed relative solitude during the coronavirus lockdown.

In prior years, animal harvesting was far less common, and tidal pool etiquette held that creatures should not be disturbed.

Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times

Alaska’s emerging mariculture industry suffers setback from market losses in pandemic

July 17, 2020 — For the past few years, mariculture has been the hot topic of innovation in fisheries in Alaska. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, many of the budding farms took a huge financial hit to their operations.

In the past five years, Alaska has seen a boom in the number of applications for mariculture operations, focusing on oysters, geoduck clams and kelp. Their main outlet has been in restaurants and wholesale food service, where they’ve been able to carve a niche for sustainably grown Alaska seafood and supply markets both in the state and the Lower 48.

But the coronavirus pandemic closed restaurants across most of the United States in March, and large events or group cafeterias that required catering or food service remain mostly off the table. That left the mariculture farms in Alaska with a much more limited market but still a lot of product to move.

For Ketchikan-based Hump Island Oyster Co., it’s going to be a tough year. Owner Trevor Sande said the company has mostly sold its oysters to wholesalers who distribute to food service businesses and retailers, with some going to local sources. They also grow a small amount of kelp, but the majority of the farm produces oysters. With seven years of shellfish growing under their belts, Hump Island has been increasing its business size every year, and this year’s plummet leaves them with a lot of oysters that don’t have anywhere to go.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

US restaurants seek more help as COVID-19 struggles continue

July 17, 2020 — The United States government needs to take immediate action to stabilize restaurants, an industry group said, even as seafood restaurants shut down or stop paying rent.

On 15 July, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) sent its “Blueprint for Restaurant Revival” to Congress. The comprehensive policy and legislative plan outlines “specific and immediate action the federal government should take to stabilize the industry in the short-term and set the foundation for long-term rebuilding,” the NRA said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Japanese studies advance use of eDNA in estimating fish populations

July 17, 2020 — A recent test in Japan using environmental DNA (eDNA) to survey eel populations in rivers achieved similar detection rates to electro-shock fishing – without killing eels – and another test, on jack mackerel, improved estimation accuracy.

Molecular analysis of DNA left in the environment has proven to be an effective tool for detecting the presence of species, and is being applied more frequently in place of traditional survey fishing. It usually uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process – a process also used in the COVID-19 antibody test – to rapidly duplicate genetic material to a quantity that can be effectively detected and identified. It has the advantage that it does not disturb or kill the fish – important for endangered species.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NPR: New Bedford’s COVID safety measures could become best practices

July 16, 2020 — When the meatpacking industry in the U.S. started seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, local officials in New Bedford, Mass., worried that their city was next. But the city took action, issuing emergency orders that safety experts say should be a model for workplaces across the U.S., if those orders can be properly enforced.

Jon Mitchell, the city’s mayor, issued two COVID-19 orders on May 6 in a city where nearly 15% of the population works in manufacturing and 20% is Latino.

The first measure requires companies to report workers who have, or may have, the coronavirus to the local health department. The second requires industrial facilities such as fish houses to provide personal protective equipment, disinfect work areas and abide by social distancing rules. Every facility is mandated to have a health and safety officer who takes workers’ temperatures at the start of every shift.

Read the full story at The Public’s Radio

RHODE ISLAND: Fishing industry creates seafood cooking classes that will also feed families in need

July 16, 2020 — Local fishermen have had to figure out ways to stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The industry has been impacted the closure of local restaurants and limited reopenings, which followed a COVID-19-driven slowdown in worldwide markets which began even before the virus hit American shores.

But fishermen, who have had excess supply because of the limited markets, have seen an even greater need locally: Families struggling to put food on the table because of sudden income loss due to the pandemic.

“They had extra fish they were willing to donate, but they didn’t have a way to get it to people in need,” Eating with the Ecosystem Program Director Kate Masury told Providence Business News. “In order to get it to the food pantries, it had to be processed and packaged in a certain way because seafood is perishable.”

Read the full story at Providence Business News