Saving Seafood

SEAN HORGAN: Swedes still fighting lobster imports

February 27, 2017 — Our travel budget here at FishOn is just about enough to get us over to McDonald’s on Maplewood Avenue for a vegan Happy Meal, but we don’t let that dilute our international sophistication or our global reach.

So, let’s go to Sweden, where the Swedes continue to pour their Nordic angst all over our American lobsters by trying to label them an invasive species and ban their importation by the entire European Union. 

The Swedish effort continues, but an interesting analysis by the Atlanta-based King & Spalding law firm specializing in international law says Sweden’s request to ban the lobsters most likely violates rules of the World Trade Organization.

“The EU ban on American lobster, based on the risk allegedly posed by 32 lobsters that escaped during transportation, would seem to require the WTO to look very carefully at the proportionality of the measure to determine whether it is maintained without sufficient scientific evidence, as well as examining the necessity of the measure in light of alternative measures, such as stricter controls on transportation and more effective enforcement of existing relevant laws and regulations,” the analysis stated.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Fishing resumes after Iceland strike ends, but damage has been done

February 23, 2017 — Heavy fishing has been reported in the cod and capelin grounds off of Iceland following the end of a labor strike that lasted more than two months.

A close vote in the early morning hours of Saturday, 18 February, resulted in several fishermen’s unions coming to an agreement with Fisheries Iceland, which represents the country’s commercial sector. The deal, which tackled a number of issues but particularly focused on falling pay for fishermen, was approved with 52.4 percent of the vote, with 53.7 percent of voters participating, according to the Iceland Review.

Iceland’s fleet wasted little time setting sail, with some boats leaving port Saturday evening and the remainder heading out on Sunday, 19 February. Fishing was excellent for HB Grandi, with both its Venus and Vikingur quickly catching their holds full of capelin, the company said. But HB Grandi, which controls 18 percent of Iceland’s capelin quota, only has a few days to catch as much of its 33,423-metric-ton quota before the season ends. Garðar Svavarsson, manager of HB Grandi’s pelagic division, said it would be tight.

“It’s clear that we are going to have our hands full for the next few weeks to catch the company’s quotas, but we’re confident that we can do it,’” he said in a blog post on the company website.

Svavarsson said the strike had hurt some markets, but that roe prices in Japan were currently high and that most of its product would be sourced for that market.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Brussels tightens controls on EU fishing fleet

February 13, 2017 — Updates to the EU’s fleet register is to be made available in real time following the adoption of a new regulation by the European Commission (EC).

The regulation makes it easier for EU member states to update the fleet register, while giving the Commission the necessary tools to crosscheck the data that member states submit.

All fishing vessels flying the flag of a EU member state must be registered. The EU Fleet Register database is managed by the EC and is a compilation of information on the EU fleets.

The Commission said the register is a necessary tool to manage the balance between fishing capacity and opportunities in line with the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), as well as being a useful instrument for fleet monitoring and control.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

Norway’s Per Sandberg provides post-Brexit insight for the seafood sector

February 6, 2017 — Britain’s seafood industry will be radically transformed once it uncouples from the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), with much more emphasis placed on establishing management agreements and eradicating trade barriers, according to Per Sandberg, the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries.

Sandberg, who has now held the minister position for 30 months, was in London to discuss his country’s fisheries management with delegates at a new whitefish conference organized by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC). In his speech, he shared tales of his experiences working alongside the CFP from the perspective of being a non-E.U. member state.

“Being outside the CFP has naturally had an effect on how fisheries management has developed in Norway,” he said. “Although we have a good record of cooperation with the EU, being outside opens the door to more adaptive fisheries management. For instance, if we find that a measure is not having a desired effect, we can just change it without lengthy procedures. This makes our decision making process simpler and more transparent.”

Sandburg also addressed Brexit and how it will affect Norway.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

Sweden leads the pack with new fishery management system

January 13, 2017 — This month, the Swedish Marine Agency (SWaM) will introduce a new fisheries management system, based on individually allocated fishing rights, in a radical move away from the country’s previous regime.

The catalyst for this transition was Swedish fishermen, who identified that changes would need to be made in order for the industry to successfully implement the European Union’s Landing Obligation (LO). The LO – or discard ban – which is a central part of the reformed Common Fishery Policy (CFP), is gradually being introduced across the major commercial species. By 2019, fishermen will have to land 100 percent of all quota species caught.

Previously fishermen had been free to discard their unwanted catch, or species for which they did not hold quota, so the introduction of the discard ban represents a significant challenge to fishing businesses.

As industry identified, the existing collective quota management system in Sweden meant that under the LO, national quota could quickly become exhausted for certain “choke” species. This would result in all vessels using a gear type that could catch those species having to remain in port, regardless of whether they had quota left to catch other fish.

The potential consequences for large parts of the fleet and for processors, caused ripples of concern throughout the industry, and inspired the Swedish Fishermen’s Producer Organization (SFPO) and others, to seek a workable solution.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

EU Tightens Fishing Rules in North Atlantic, Ups Some Quotas

December 14th, 2016 — European Union nations have reached a deal to tighten some fishing rules in its Northeastern Atlantic waters and the North Sea to edge closer toward a fully sustainable industry by 2020, but environmentalists said lenient quotas still allowed for far too much overfishing.

After marathon talks that started Monday and finished only early Wednesday, EU fisheries ministers said more stocks will be fished at maximum sustainable yield in hopes of pushing more species to within safe biological limits after decades of overfishing.

Ministers from fisheries nations such as Britain and France came away happy enough with increased quotas for some stocks of cod and mackerel, a sign environmentalists and maritime scientists would be left grumbling about the slow recovery of the EU’s vast eastern waters.

“We worked constructively to put people’s livelihoods first,” Scottish Fisheries Secretary Fergus Ewing said, adding he had “secured crucial increases for the majority of our key species.”

However, what sounded appealing to many of the fishermen left a bad taste in the mouth of environmental organizations.

The EU has about 145,000 fishermen, many of whom have struggled as overfishing depleted stocks and increasingly tight quotas were imposed. The EU is legally bound to return to sustainable fishing by 2020, but faces an uphill task to get there in time.

That task only will become tougher if fishing quotas are set too high as the deadline approaches.

The EU said that under Wednesday’s decision, 44 stocks will now be fished to maximum sustainable yield compared to only 36 last year.

“Overall, more fish stocks are being fished sustainably,” EU Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella said.

Read the full story at The New York Times 

New deal gives EU fishermen access to Cook Islands’ tuna

December 6th, 2016 — The EU and the Cook Islands have agreed on all the elements of a new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA), which gives the go ahead for EU vessels to conduct certain fishing operations in waters around the South Pacific island country.

On 29 November, the first Joint Committee in the framework of the SFPA between the EU and the Cook Islands came to an end. The parties defined the financial support to be granted by the EU for the development of the Cook Islands’ fisheries sector and discussed fisheries matters to allow for the start of fishing operations.

The new agreement will allow up to four EU vessels to fish for maximum 7,000 metric tons (MT) of tuna per year and other highly migratory species in the Cook Islands’ fishing area.

In return, the EU will pay the Cook Islands EUR 2.87 million (USD 3.1 million), of which EUR 1.47 million (USD 1.6 million) is in exchange for access to the resources. Remaining funds are specifically earmarked for the local fishing sector.

Over the next four years, the Cook Islands will invest EUR 1.4 million (USD 1.5 million) on improving the living standard of small-scale fishermen, reinforcing control and surveillance operations, strengthening the food safety authority and sharpening the sustainability of its fisheries policies.

The Joint Committee also reviewed the procedures for issuing fishing authorizations and catch reporting, as well as the boundaries of the fishing area accessible to EU vessels.

Read the full story at Seafood Source 

Time at sea limits canned for North Sea cod fishermen

November 23, 2016 — North Sea cod fishermen will be able to land every catch – not just cod – more easily following a decision by European Parliament to remove limits on the number of days a vessel can spend in a fishing area.

An update to European Commission (EC) Council Regulation No. 1342/2008 to establish a long-term plan for cod stocks and the fisheries exploiting those stocks in the Kattegat, North Sea, the Skagerrak and eastern Channel, west of Scotland and the Irish Sea, and fisheries exploiting those stocks makes it fully compatible with the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by applying the obligation to land all catches in full.

MEPs removed the rule for calculating fishing effort – i.e. power of each vessel in kW plus the number of days it is present within a given area – as this led fishermen to discard unwanted catches by hampering further adaptation of fishing patterns, such as the choice of area and gear.

Under the new rule, fishermen will face no obstacles to landing all their catches as they will no longer be subject to time limits.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Catch quota implemented to protect swordfish

November 23, 2016 — A world body of fishing and shipping nations approved a catch quota yesterday to protect the overharvested Mediterranean swordfish, the EU and conservation group Oceana said.

The limit was set at 10,500 tonnes for 2017 at a meeting of the 51-member International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in Vilamoura, Portugal.

It will be reduced by three per cent per year between 2018 and 2022.

“It’s done. Finally, ICCAT on its 50th anniversary moved a step forward on this too long-neglected stock,” Oceana’s Ilaria Vielmini said in the coastal town where the commission held its annual meeting.

Read the full story from AFP at NT News

Lobstermen, scientists concerned about sea level, temperature rise

November 10, 2016 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Lobstermen and scientists are concerned about rising sea temperatures and sea level rise in the state’s Seacoast region.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, went out on a lobster boat out of Portsmouth harbor Aug. 30 to talk to fisherman about concerns they have for the potential for temperature rise in the waters and how it could impact the state’s prized, $23 million a year fishery.

Waiting for her on the dock as she returned were officials from the Rockingham County Planning Commission to discuss a related issue: sea level rise and its impacts on the seacoast.

The two go hand in hand because they are both linked to climate change.

The largest high tide of the year, the King Tide, is expected on New Hampshire’s seacoast Nov. 15.

It will give residents a glimpse into the future, where high water could be the norm. Hopefully, there will not be a weather event late that morning which would possibly impact low-lying structures.

Scientists predict that the average high tide in New Hampshire could rise by two feet in the next 35 years and be six feet higher by the year 2100 due to climate change.

These tides could damage homes, infrastructure and the tourist economy of the state.

Both Shaheen and her Republican counterpart, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, together worked successfully last month to fight off an effort by Sweeden to ban the import of the American lobster. The European Union rejected Sweden’s request on Oct. 14.

Read the full story at WMUR