Saving Seafood

Scientists to global policymakers: Treat fish as food to help solve world hunger

January 20, 2021 — Scientists are urging global policymakers and funders to think of fish as a solution to food insecurity and malnutrition, and not just as a natural resource that provides income and livelihoods, in a newly-published paper in the peer-reviewed journal Ambio. Titled “Recognize fish as food in policy discourse and development funding,” the paper argues for viewing fish from a food systems perspective to broaden the conversation on food and nutrition security and equity, especially as global food systems will face increasing threats from climate change.

The “Fish as Food” paper, authored by scientists and policy experts from Michigan State University, Duke University, Harvard University, World Bank and Environmental Defense Fund, among others, notes the global development community is not on track to meet goals for alleviating malnutrition. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the number of malnourished people in the world will increase from 678 million in 2018 to 841 million in 2030 if  continue—an estimate not accounting for effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fish provide 17% of the animal protein consumed globally and are rich in micronutrients, essential fatty acids and protein essential for cognitive development and maternal and childhood health, especially for communities in developing countries where  may be the only source of key nutrients. Yet fish is largely missing from key global food policy discussions and decision-making.

“Fish has always been food. But in this paper, we lay out an agenda for enhancing the role of fish in addressing hunger and malnutrition,” says Abigail Bennett, assistant professor in the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University. “We are urging the international development community not only to see fish as food but to recognize fish as a nutrient-rich food that can make a difference for the well-being of the world’s poor and vulnerable. What kinds of new knowledge, policies and interventions will be required to support that role for fish?” she adds.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Hope for the oceans in a time of COVID-19

April 14, 2020 — The following was released by the Environmental Defense Fund:

The global COVID-19 pandemic gives us all pause about what the future holds. Our focus and attention are on all those hurt by this terrible disease. But for many of us, this is also a time of deep reflection about society and the world we’ll inhabit when this scourge is over. So for me, it’s also a moment to reflect on the prospects for the ocean, one of the planet’s fundamental life-support systems — making it vital to human health and well-being.

A just-released article in Nature, by Professor Carlos Duarte of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia and colleagues, argues that the global ocean can once again return to abundance, rebounding from overfishing and pollution by 2050, if humanity puts its shoulder to the wheel and redoubles efforts across all types of threats. We emphatically agree.

Here, we dive into what such lofty ambitions might require, through one of the key lenses that Duarte and company identify: sustainable fishing.

First, peer-reviewed research shows very clearly that sustainable fisheries management works.  That should come as no surprise. Our own work with University of California, Santa Barbara and others (Costello et al., 2016) modelling the world’s fisheries showed that the “upside” of informed and effective management rapidly outweighs the downside of unsustainable fishing (which would otherwise deplete more than 85% of fish populations). Our modelling shows that such management approaches would allow full rebuilding of most stocks (and total global fish abundance) in less than a decade — restoring fish as a valuable asset both for nature and human needs. This exciting finding was recently underscored by a deep and systemic analysis (Hilborn et al., 2020) showing that, in fact, when good management is put in place, fish and fisheries respond impressively.

Read the full release here

Environmental groups urge Americans to eat more fish while hunkering down against virus

March 23, 2020 — Environmental groups have long fought for animal rights, rallied against pollution and pushed back on overfishing, but a new message this week urged the nation to eat more seafood as it hunkers down during the coronavirus pandemic.

Specifically, many are asking you to please buy American-caught seafood.

“Over the past 20 years, American fisheries have become some of the best managed and most sustainable in the world thanks to policy reforms and the hard work of fishermen,” said Eric Schwaab, senior vice president for the Environmental Defense Fund’s oceans program. “But now fishermen need our help. By incorporating more seafood into our diets, we can support fishermen and coastal communities that depend on seafood harvesting as a way of life.”

The global spread of COVID-19 has triggered widespread economic chaos, and American fisheries are suffering due to restaurant closures and the collapse of export markets, advocates say.

Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times

In Mexico, gains from fishery management reforms could surpass losses from climate change

October 25, 2019 — Abalone along the Pacific coast in northern Mexico have declined dramatically in the last decade because of lower oxygen levels prompted by climate change. But despite that, the Pacific Federation of Fishing Cooperatives (Fedecoop) has been able to prevent overfishing by limiting the total catch, according to Laura Rodriguez, the associate vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Latin and South American Oceans Program.

It’s the type of proactive governance that Mexico and Latin America need more of as climate change grows more severe, warping ocean conditions from temperature to acidity, salinity to oxygen levels, all while altering the life histories, distribution, and productivity of marine species, according to Rodriguez.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Smart boats show promise to lower fishery monitoring costs

August 27, 2019 — Cheap cameras, low-cost sensors, further-reaching data transmission networks and rapidly improving artificial intelligence algorithms have the potential to both reduce the cost of catch monitoring and increase profitability for fishermen.

It’s a new world of fishing that the Environmental Defense Fund is pursuing with its Smart Boat Initiative, first announced in March 2019. The initiative aims to benefit both fish and fishermen by leveraging technology to document activities on deck, gather data about oceanographic conditions, and connect fishermen with buyers – even while they’re still on the water.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New study suggests Japan could sustainably increase profits by billions

August 21, 2019 — New research published Aug. 19 in the journal Marine Policy suggests Japan’s fishing fleets could generate an additional $5.5 billion in annual profits while supporting a 30% increase in populations of fish in Japan’s waters by 2065, if they adopt policies that promote conservation and offer fishermen the right incentives.

Authored by scientists at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Iwate University, Norwegian School of Economics, and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, the study examines the potential effects of different approaches to managing Japan’s fisheries on catch, profits and the amounts of fish left in the water to support healthy ecosystems. The results suggest that adopting policies that incorporate science-based fisheries management into Japan’s current rights-based management system could increase profits compared to the status quo, the group said.

In December 2018 Japan passed the most significant reforms to its fisheries laws in 70 years. This new research could help shape the implementation of that law, EDF claimed.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NOAA Fisheries publishes final rule to allow electronic monitoring on some Pacific groundfish vessels

June 27, 2019 — Starting in 2021, fishermen in segments of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery will have the ability to use electronic monitoring devices to record what they catch for reporting purposes.

The measure, published in a final rule last week by NOAA Fisheries, gives the option to midwater trawl vessels in the Pacific whiting fishery and for fixed gear boats in the individual fishing quota fishery. Vessel owners will be able to receive an exemption from the 100-percent observer requirement as long as they use an allowed monitoring system.

“This action is necessary to increase operational flexibility and reduce monitoring costs for vessels in the trawl fishery by providing an alternative to observers,” NOAA Fisheries said in its final rule statement. “Data from the (electronic monitoring) program will be used to debit discards of (individual fishing quota) species from IFQs and mothership cooperative allocations.

It comes after some vessels participated in a pilot program testing the monitoring equipment. That pilot was pushed by some environmental organizations, including the Environment Defense Fund.

Shems Jud, the West Coast director of EDF’s Oceans program, said the rule will help improve conservation efforts.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Eric Schwaab Joins Environmental Defense Fund as Senior VP of Oceans Program

June 19, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has hired Eric Schwaab, former head of National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as their new Senior Vice President of the Oceans program.

“Eric’s passion for the oceans, his deep technical and management expertise on fisheries issues and his experience as a leader makes him a perfect fit,” said Amanda Leland, EDF’s Executive Vice President in an announcement yesterday. “Over more than two decades, he has worked in nearly all aspects of conservation and he understands what is required to drive impact at scale.”

Schwaab rose through the ranks at Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources from fisheries enforcement officer to become Deputy Secretary. In 2010 he was appointed head of NMFS, serving two years before moving to Acting Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Management at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

As the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, he focused on rebuilding the Nation’s fisheries stocks, ending overfishing, enhancing protection of endangered species, marine mammals and sea turtles and improving aquatic habitat conditions on which these resources depend.  He led efforts with the regional fishery management councils and the fishing industry to establish annual catch limits for all commercial fisheries, and to protect the jobs and livelihoods that depend on our nation’s fisheries by promoting management approaches that achieve both sustainable fisheries and vibrant coastal communities.

In June 2013, Schwaab left government service to become Senior Vice President, Chief Conservation Officer for the National Aquarium, where he led coastal, ocean and fisheries activities for the nation’s ocean science and management agency through 2015. He was hired by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to lead their conservation grants programs for the next three years, followed by a a short tenure as Chief Program Officer for the Naitonal Park Foundation.

Schwaab’s conservation credentials were earned throughout his career along with a reputation for crafting solutions that address concerns of various sectors.

“Eric was critical to the success we achieved during my time as NOAA Administrator,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, University Distinguished Professor, Oregon State University and former EDF Board Trustee. “His unflappable get-it-done approach makes him notably effective working with a range of stakeholders from fishermen to global leaders.”

As EDF’s new Senior Vice President for Oceans, Schwaab leads a team of scientists, economists and advocates around the world who are partnering with fishing communities, academics and government leaders to achieve EDF’s vision of creating thriving, resilient oceans in our lifetimes.

“I’m excited about the opportunity for what we can achieve at EDF,” said Schwaab. “This team and the global network it is building have the tools and passion to reverse overfishing and make our oceans – and all those who depend on them – more resilient, even in the face of climate change.”

Internationally, Schwaab has represented the U.S. in global fishing treaties like the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as well as in bilateral negotiations with other countries and on U.S. fishing operations on the high seas. A hallmark of his career has been a drive for win-win solutions to environmental problems.

“I joined EDF because its mission is focused on people and nature,” said Schwaab. “I have always believed in the power of ideas that benefit both. What EDF does so well is to put those powerful ideas into action in a way that creates a brighter future for all.”

Schwaab holds an undergraduate degree in biology from McDaniel College and a master’s degree in environmental planning from Towson University.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Former NMFS chief replaces McGinty in EDF’s top oceans role

June 18, 2019 — The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has hired Eric Schwaab, the one-time head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), to serve as the new leader and senior vice president of its oceans program.

He replaces Kathleen “Katie” McGinty, a former US Senate candidate who held the post for less than a year after serving as an environmental advisor to former vice president Al Gore and president Bill Clinton, an EDF spokesperson confirmed to Undercurrent News. Johnson Controls, a $32 billion multi-national conglomerate specializing in electronics and HVAC equipment with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announced last week that it had hired McGinty to serve as its head of global relations.

Schwaab rose through the ranks at the US state of Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources to become its deputy secretary in early 2007, serving three years in the position before being named assistant administrator of fisheries for NOAA in February 2010, a position he held for almost two years.

EDF’s press release credits Schwaab for leading a transformation at NMFS, including the “widespread adoption of science-based catch limits and catch shares,” efforts advocated for by EDF.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Moving to TAC system, Japanese fisheries managers get lessons from US experts

March 25, 2019 — Japanese fisheries officials heard from their international counterparts about methods for incorporating more data into their fisheries science and management at a recent workshop in Tokyo.

The workshop,“New Resource Management Based on Data Innovation: Current State of the United States and Future Vision of Japan,” took place at the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries building on 7 March. The event was co-sponsored by the Fisheries Agency, the Fisheries Research and Education Organization, and the U.S.-based non-governmental organization Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Japan’s Fisheries Reform Act, the first major reform of Japan’s fishing laws in 70 years, was approved in the Diet at the end of last year. The law will move Japan from a total allowable effort (TAE) system – in which the number, size, and period of operation of fishing boats, and the types of gear allowed, are regulated – to a total allowable catch (TAC) system with vessel quotas for most species.

In comparison with other countries, Japan has so far set a TAC for only a few species. Those include saury, Alaska pollock, sardines, mackerel, Southern mackerel, horse mackerel, squid, and snow crab – and recently for juvenile bluefin tuna. But with the reform, Japan will have to set TAC for many more species and fisheries, some of them data-poor, and also monitor and enforce the TACs. To accommodate the move, the government is planning an expansion of the country’s stock assessment system and an expansion of the use of data from fishing operations.

Masanori Miyahara, president of the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency (FRA), said under Japan’s current slow paper-based system, scientific assessments and quotas are made based on two or three-year old data. That leads to complaints from fishermen that stock assessments do not reflect what they are actually seeing when they fish. When a stock is recovering, this results in a TAC that is too low, and so it is bad for the fishermen. He also said that computerization of survey and landing data is becoming a global standard and may be required in future for sustainability certification schemes. Japan may find itself at a disadvantage in global markets if it cannot meet these standards, Miyahara said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source