Saving Seafood

Russia’s salmon season facing coronavirus complications

July 15, 2020 — The Russian Far East salmon fishery, which runs from 1 June to 1 August, is facing a new set of challenges in 2020. With projections predicting the lowest harvest of recent years, the fishery is expected to see a reduced value even if prices maintained normal levels – all while necessary measures needed to tackle COVID-19 are increasing expenses.

According to Russian fishery science, the season’s catch is going to be only 384,000 metric tons (MT), 36.7 percent less than in 2019, and almost half of record-breaking 2018, which saw a catch of 667,000 MT.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US shrimp market still hard to predict amid “COVID-19 chaos”

July 15, 2020 — Several months into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. shrimp market remains hard to nail down, as ever-shifting market conditions continue to make it difficult to predict where prices and demand will end up.

As early as April, experts were predicting that the shrimp supply chain would see impacts into the summer months as COVID-19 related lockdowns and disruptions hit both supplies and the amount of shrimp demanded in the U.S.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Public hearings slated for fish monitoring amendment

July 15, 2020 — With COVID-19 still looming, the New England Fishery Management Council has crafted an array of digital alternatives to help commercial fishermen understand the options contained in the long-discussed and critical Amendment 23 that will set monitoring levels in the groundfish fishery.

The council, which expects to take final action on the measure at its September meeting, has moved the Amendment 23 public hearings to online webinars and has produced an online tutorial to help the webinar uninitiated participate and develop informed comment. It plans a narrated digital presentation on the measure and has scheduled “Amendment 23 outreach office hours” when fishermen can call in or participate via webinar with questions for council staff.

Given the complexities of the measure, however, fishing stakeholders said the council should continue to search for a way to safely hold at least some of the remaining public hearings in person to accommodate industry members not as well versed with the digital world.

“This is such an important and significant action that we hope the council will do everything possible to hold traditional public hearings, but with safe distancing and all the other precautions we need to take,” said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition. “Taking it all online might be fair to some members of the industry, but not to all.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Coronavirus has Americans hooked on canned tuna, and producers are playing catch up

July 15, 2020 — Tuna fish has surged in popularity thanks to pantry loading during the coronavirus pandemic, but producers of the canned fish are dealing with higher prices and other challenges that are making it difficult to keep up with the increased demand.

Americans have been buying more canned tuna during the economic downturn, in part because it is one of the cheapest proteins on the market, costing as little as $1 for a 5-ounce can. Bumble Bee Foods said sales of canned and pouched tuna jumped as much as 100% from mid-March to early April, while Costco Wholesale Corp. put limits earlier this year on how many tuna containers a customer could purchase.

Even after the initial feeding frenzy, canned tuna producers say sales for these products have remained significantly higher than a year earlier.

Companies have been able to keep retail prices steady for tuna so far, even though average wholesale prices for tuna were up 41% from a year earlier in the year through May after reaching decade lows late last year, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Prices vary depending on where the fish is bought. Skipjack tuna purchased in Bangkok cost $1,200 a metric ton in June, up 14% from December 2019 but down from a peak of $1,500 in March, according to data from Thai Union Group, a global seafood-based food producer that owns the Chicken of the Sea canned tuna brand.

Read the full story at Fox Business

Ocean investment could aid post-Covid-19 economic recovery

July 14, 2020 — As many countries roll out bailout packages to counter the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the report says investment in these four key ocean intervention areas could help aid economic recovery both now and in the future:

  • Conservation and restoration of mangroves
  • Decarbonization of the shipping industry
  • Scaling up offshore wind production
  • Increasing sustainable protein from the ocean close dialog

“They give jobs and livelihoods to people and communities and you’re doing so by investing in making your environment more sustainable,” said Manaswita Konar, lead author of the report. The study found that these four areas all give between five and 10 times the return on investment in terms of economic, environmental and health benefits, and could provide minimum net returns of $8.2 trillion over 30 years.

The report builds on research last year from the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy showing how ocean-based climate action can provide a fifth of the carbon emissions cuts needed to achieve the Paris Climate Accord goal of only 1.5 degrees of global warming.

Read the full story at CNN

Aquaculture’s Role in Nutrition in the COVID-19 Era

July 14, 2020 — Aquaculture, the relatively young but fast-growing industry of farming of fish and other marine life, now produces around half of all seafood consumed by humans.

A new paper from American University published today examines the economics of an aquaculture industry of the future that is simultaneously environmentally sustainable and nutritious for the nearly 1 billion people worldwide who depend on it for health and livelihoods.

Of the scenarios the paper discusses, included are two approaches that illustrate what aquaculture might look like if nations refocus inward for food and nutrition security in the COVID-19 era.

“Seafood is essential to meeting global food and nutrition security goals,” said Jessica Gephart, the paper’s primary author and an assistant professor of environmental science at American University. “Under what circumstances, and with what policies, can we maximize aquaculture for its nutrition benefits and sustainability for all who rely on seafood?”

This is a challenging question to answer, especially in the COVID-19 era. As the pandemic is still unfolding, the full scope of long-term damage to food systems is unknown, the paper notes. Yet, the aquaculture industry is suffering major setbacks, as some exports are being halted, workers are being laid off, demand has dramatically decreased, production units are incurring large losses and some countries are reconsidering their reliance on foreign seafood. The authors note that such setbacks “can be particularly long-lasting for a budding sector, with many young farms that potentially lack the capital to weather the storm and the political clout to secure sufficient recovery aid.”

The demand for seafood is expected to increase significantly by 2050, the paper notes, if historical trends in income and population growth, urbanization, and diets are maintained. This has prompted researchers to contemplate the future role of aquaculture in meeting demand and supporting nutrition needs. “Nutrition sensitivity” refers to the multiple benefits derived from diverse foods, including improving nutrition, valuing the social significance of food, and supporting livelihoods.

Read the full story at Environment Coastal & Offshore

Health & Economy: The Eat Oregon Seafood Initiative

July 14, 2020 — The #EatOregonSeafood initiative is intended to give the coastal seafood economies a boost as they recover from restaurant closures and other issues related to COVID-19.   

A rich source of lean protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B-12 and D, iron, and minerals like zinc and iodine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that non-vegetarian adults consume two, four-ounce servings of seafood per week.   

Amanda J. Gladics, Assistant Professor of Practice at Coastal Fisheries Extension at Oregon State University, says that just about “any seafood is good for you.”  

In addition to the health benefits of seafood, choosing Oregon-caught seafood supports small businesses and the regional economy. Additionally, many Oregon coast fishers use sustainable fishing methods.  

Read the full story at The Corvalis Advocate

ALASKA: Bristol Bay sockeye running strong as markets remain murky

July 14, 2020 — After a slow start to the season, Bristol Bay, Alaska – home to the world’s largest sockeye run –is seeing fish hit hard and fast, with a string of historically strong days spiking catch numbers and overloading processors.

The run lagged several days behind schedule, with slow fishing across all four major districts into July dragging down statewide salmon numbers. The season has also had a rocky start as preparations for the season were impacted by COVID-19, in some instances leading to calls for the season to be closed entirely in the first months of the pandemic’s arrival in the United States.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood Harvesters calls on NOAA Fisheries to apply observer waiver consistently for all regions

July 14, 2020 — Seafood Harvesters of America is calling on NOAA Fisheries to develop a more consistent policy in issuing waivers for observers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bob Dooley, the organization’s president, and Leigh Habegger, its executive director, signed a letter sent Monday, 13 July, calling for NOAA to rethink the agency’s current policy regarding at-sea observer coverage. The letter – which was sent to Dr. Neil Jacobs, the acting undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere in the U.S. Department of Commerce; Chris Oliver, NOAA Fisheries’ assistant administrator; and two other NOAA Fisheries officials – is calling for the federal agency to amend the “inconsistent and unequal” process of applying waivers by extending them to all regions where observers and at-sea monitors are mandatory.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Help for Hawaii’s Fishing Industry

July 14, 2020 — When it comes to Hawaii’s homegrown food sustainability, farming operations usually come to mind. But beyond farm aid, fish aid can’t be forgotten. That’s particularly true in Hawaii, the source of coveted quality catches such as tuna, billfish (swordfish and marlin), and open-ocean fish (mahimahi, ono and opah).

Just as farmers have been hard-hit by the months-long pandemic shutdown, so, too, have fishers and related operations. The shuttering of restaurants, seafood markets and other fish outlets have left some vessels inactive in Honolulu Harbor for 3-1/2 months, with about half of the workforce laid off. The COVID-19 lockdown has caused a 50% reduction in revenue for Hawaii longline vessels over the last four months, totaling losses of more than $20 million so far.

Read the full opinion piece at Seafood News