Saving Seafood

Fish 2.0 Awards Second Round of Prizes in 2017 Competition

December 13, 2017 — CARMEL, Calif. — The following was released by Fish 2.0:

Fish 2.0 today announced the winners of its 11 ICX (Industry Connection) prizes, the final awards in the Fish 2.0 2017 competition for sustainable seafood businesses.

The competition’s cash prize winners were announced Nov. 8 at the close of the Fish 2.0 2017 Innovation Forum at Stanford University. Those awards went to the eight seafood ventures—one in each of the competition’s six regional and two global tracks—that earned the highest scores from investor-judges.

All of the 39 finalists from around the world who presented at the Forum were eligible for ICX prizes. These prizes are unique opportunities for ventures to gain market insights and expertise from industry leaders who support growth and innovation in sustainable seafood. Offered by investors and buyers, intermediaries and other seafood companies, ICX prizes include invitations to work directly with industry leaders on investment structures and growth plans or developing branding and market penetration strategies; to attend investor and industry events; and to meet and present to retail and wholesale partners in Europe and the U.S.

“It’s important for us to support the growth of the sustainable seafood sector as well as innovations in this sector,” said Guy Dean, vice president and chief sustainability officer at Albion Farms & Fisheries. “Fish 2.0 does just that, and their results have been fabulous. As a successful protein company, we are happy to help coach and mentor entrepreneurs because they will ultimately create positive impact for our industry and for future generations. In addition, this is a great opportunity for us to learn about new initiatives. In fact, we gain as much value in learning about the prize recipient’s innovation as we hope the prize recipient gains from our input and work with them.”

ICX prize recipients were chosen based on fit with the prize criteria and ability to take full advantage of the prize.

“Given Alltech’s ACE principle commitment to agricultural solutions that benefit the animal, consumer and environment, and to improving aquafeed specifically, we were eager to partner with Fish 2.0 in identifying companies that might be able to complement our core competencies and capabilities,” said Dr. Sasha Tozzi, algae technical manager at Alltech. “We are very excited to meet NovoNutrients to learn more about their technology, which could have many applications in Alltech’s animal nutrition. ShellBond’s capability to use swine waste as a source of a natural carotenoid antioxidant is another compelling match.”

Here is the full list of ICX prizes and winners, by prize sponsor:

Albion Farms & Fisheries
Prize: A full day of expert consultation with the Albion Farms & Fisheries senior leadership team and CSO, including advice and insight on opening new market opportunities and business growth strategies.
Winner: Fish Extend of Santiago, Chile, whose product extends the shelf life of fresh fish using natural ingredients, reducing production losses due to spoilage.

Alltech
Prize: Two passes for ONE: the Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, in 2018, and private meetings in Lexington with members of the Alltech team.
Winners: NovoNutrients of Sunnyvale, California (also the competition’s Supply Chain Innovation track winner), which is using food-grade bacteria to make fish food from industrial carbon emissions; and
ShellBond of Wilmington, North Carolina, whose technology solves problems in oyster habitat restoration, spat sedimentation, oil cleanup and nonorganic antioxidants in salmon farms.

Australis Aquaculture
Prize: One-day consultation with the Australis CEO and leadership team on how to introduce new products to market and/or scale an aquaculture enterprise.
Winner:VakSea of Baltimore, which has developed a patented oral vaccine delivered via fish feed that promotes healthier fish and decreases antibiotic use in aquaculture.

Calvert Impact Capital (formerly Calvert Foundation)
Prize: Half-day expert consultation with Calvert Impact Capital lending staff who lead its Women Investing in Women program, including mentorship, guidance and information on accessing financing.
Winner: American Unagi of Thomaston, Maine (the competition’s short-pitch winner), which grows locally harvested glass eels to market size in a land-based aquaculture system.

FishChoice
Prize: Two half-day meetings or one full-day meeting for up to three people with the FishChoice leadership team, who will share FishChoice’s expertise on sustainable seafood ratings and certifications.
Winner: Fair Agora of Bangkok, whose Verifik8 monitoring and verification software collects data from fish farms and cooperatives to help seafood buyers make safe and responsible choices.

IntraFish
Prize: Two tickets to the IntraFish Seafood Investor Forum in either New York or London.
Winners: ColomboSky of Verona, Italy, whose Aqua-X technology for the marine aquaculture industry uses satellite images, in-situ data and expert supervision to monitor and forecast water quality; and
TunaSolutions of Sydney, a fair-trade online marketplace for the tuna industry that connect fishers with buyers and facilitates real-time trading through a series of online auctions.

Rabobank International
Prize: Half-day meeting and consultation with the Rabobank North American seafood lending team, and a consultation with Rabobank’s global seafood analyst.
Winner: SmartCatch of Palo Alto, California, whose flagship product is DigiCatch, a remotely controllable video, lighting and oceanographic catch monitoring system.

RSF Social Finance
Prize: One-day visit to the RSF Social Finance offices for coaching sessions with the social enterprise lending team and the RSF marketing team.
Winner: Real Oyster Cult of Duxbury, Massachusetts (also the competition’s New England track winner), which ships fresh oysters from all over North America direct to consumers overnight.

Stavis Seafoods
Prize: Half-day consultation with the Stavis Seafoods CEO and responsible sourcing manager, including mentorship, guidance and information on accessing new market opportunities.
Winner: OneForNeptune of Santa Fe, New Mexico, which offers healthy, high-protein snack foods made from underutilized and undervalued U.S. groundfish species and industry offcuts.

TomAlgae
Prize: Two-day consultation with specialists from TomAlgae, who will offer advice and expertise on successfully scaling oyster aquaculture production.
Winners: Panacea Oysters of Spring Creek, Florida (also the competition’s South Atlantic and Gulf Coast Shellfish track winner), which is restoring oyster farming in Apalachicola Bay by creating a unified brand and guaranteeing purchases to farmers; and Pensacola Bay Oyster Company of Pensacola, Florida, an oyster farm producing premium oysters for the half-shell market, with the goal of restoring the Gulf Coast’s environment and working waterfronts.

Wabel
Prize: The Wabel Retail Prize includes an invitation to the Wabel Summit, at least eight meetings with fish buyers from Europe’s largest retail groups, and more.
Winner: Northline Seafoods of Sitka, Alaska (also the competition’s U.S. West Coast track winner), whose unique floating processing facility eliminates waste and extends the shelf life of sustainable wild salmon.

“Our team is thrilled to receive the Stavis Seafoods ICX prize,” said Nick Mendoza, CEO of OneForNeptune. “We’re introducing seafood products to a consumer market dominated by non-seafood meat snacks, which is both a challenge and an opportunity. Guidance from a company that is nearly 100 years old could be pivotal to our success, helping us to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that can derail young companies. This prize gives us an invaluable opportunity to learn directly from Richard Stavis, a seafood innovator who has successfully grown a large company while continuing to focus attention on fishing communities, sustainable sourcing and enhancing consumer awareness.”

Fish 2.0 founder and executive director Monica Jain said the prizes and the spirit behind them exemplify what Fish 2.0 is all about—growing the sustainable seafood industry through connections and learning. “We’re grateful to these forward-thinking prize givers for offering their time and resources to these ventures and to the field,” she said. “Over the past years, these prizes and the partnerships that result from them have led to extraordinary growth acceleration for the winning ventures and the prize givers. These are golden opportunities.”

The prize givers benefit along with the entrepreneurs. “Participation in Fish 2.0 gives us fantastic insight into the sustainable seafood sector—it’s a great way to build our network and learn about the range of innovation and investment activity that’s happening to support sustainable oceans,” said Leigh Moran, senior officer, strategy, at Calvert Impact Capital. “Offering an ICX prize is a great way for CIC to be more involved in Fish 2.0 and continue learning about the sector.”

About Fish 2.0

Fish 2.0 is a Carmel, California–based social enterprise that connects investors and entrepreneurs to grow the global sustainable seafood sector. Working through Fish 2.0’s expanding global network, regional workshops and other events, and online competition platform, Fish 2.0 participants collaborate to drive innovation, business growth and positive impact. Everyone benefits: Entrepreneurs meet potential investors, partners and advisors. Investors and advisors get early access to investment opportunities and learn about emerging technologies and trends. Industry leaders gain direct access to sustainable seafood suppliers and partners.

 

SAFMC Fishery Managers Address Multiple Issues at December Meeting

December 11, 2017 — ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council wrapped up their weeklong meeting today in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, after considering management measures for several species including Atlantic cobia, red snapper, red grouper, and golden tilefish. The Council also held a workshop on recreational reporting and received an update on the pilot electronic recreational reporting project MyFishCount underway for red snapper. The red snapper recreational mini-season reopens today and continues over the weekend. Members of the public thanked the Council for taking measures to open the fishery in 2017 but also acknowledged that weather conditions are keeping fishermen off the water during the mini-season. Recreational anglers, including charter and headboat fishermen, unable to make their trips this weekend are encouraged to report cancelled trips using the pilot reporting program at MyFishCount.com.

If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, an interim catch level for red snapper proposed by the Council in September may allow for a red snapper mini-season beginning in July 2018. Efforts are underway to establish an acceptable biological catch for red snapper and scheduled for review by the Council during its June 2018 meeting. The Council moved forward with proposed measures to improve data collection and reduce bycatch of red snapper and other species in the snapper grouper management complex through actions in Amendment 46. Public hearings on the measures will be held in 2018.

Atlantic Cobia

Atlantic cobia are currently managed in federal waters from Georgia to New York. The recreational fishery closed in federal waters in June 2016 after landings estimates exceeded the annual catch limit the previous year and the recreational fishery was closed in January of this year in federal waters, as states landings were expected to exceed the federal catch limits. The fishery primarily occurs in state waters. In an effort to provide more flexibility in management, the Council requested that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) develop an Interstate Management Plan for Atlantic Cobia.

The Council, through measures proposed in Amendment 31, is considering options for transferring management of Atlantic Cobia to the ASMFC as well as complementary management with the Commission. Public hearings on Amendment 31 will be scheduled for January 22-24, 2018. The public will also have the opportunity to provide comment on timing for the measures, with consideration given for an upcoming Cobia Stock Identification Workshop scheduled for 2018 and a benchmark stock assessment scheduled for 2019.

Red Grouper

A recent stock assessment for red grouper showed the red grouper stock is still overfished and undergoing overfishing. Under requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Council is required to take measures to end overfishing. During this week’s meeting, the Council approved measures to significantly reduce both commercial and recreational annual catch limits for red grouper. The total catch limit would be reduced from 780,000 pounds to 139,000 pounds beginning in 2018. There are concerns that recruitment for red grouper, or the number of young produced each year, has been poor for several years. Landings in the commercial fishery have been lower than the current catch limits. Based on average landings from 2014-16, it is predicted that the recreational fishery for red grouper will close in July 2018 with the reduced catch limit of 77,840 pounds.

Golden Tilefish

A 2016 update to the golden tilefish stock assessment, a popular deepwater species primarily targeted by commercial fishermen, indicated the stock in the South Atlantic is undergoing overfishing. To meet mandates to address overfishing, the Council proposed an interim rule in June 2017 to reduce the annual catch limit from 558,036 pounds (gutted weight) to 323,000 pounds (gw). NOAA Fisheries has reviewed the measures and it is expected they will be implemented January 1, 2018. The interim rule would be in effect for 180 days and may be extended for 186 days. During this week’s meeting, the Council decided to move forward to develop a framework amendment to revise catch levels of golden tilefish and consider modifications to management measures with approval of the amendment in June 2018. Public hearings will be held prior to the Council’s June meeting.

Final Committee Reports, a meeting Story Map, Meeting Report, and other materials from this week’s Council meeting are available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/2017-december-council-meeting/. The next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is scheduled for March 5-9, 2018 in Jekyll Island, Georgia.

About the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, one of eight regional councils, conserves and manages fish stocks from three to 200 miles offshore of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and east Florida. For more information, visit: www.safmc.net

 

Florida Fishermen’s Group Sues Over 40% Cut in 2018 Golden Tilefish Allocation

December 6, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Florida fishermen are fighting an emergency ruling that would impose a 40% reduction in allowable golden tilefish harvests in 2018.

On November 29 the Southeastern Fisheries Association’s East Coast Fisheries Section (SFA-ECFS) filed the suit, which alleges that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) “committed procedural and substantive violations of federal fisheries and administrative law.” The organization claims that NMFS used “flawed scientific methods” in their 2016 golden tilefish assessment.

“This was supposed to be a simple update – adding new data to the stock assessment model that was thoroughly vetted and peer-reviewed,” SFA-ECFS fisheries consultant Russell Hudson said in a press release. “Instead, NMFS made major model changes behind closed doors without required scientific, industry expert and public oversight required when such changes occur.”

NMFS’ 2016 golden tilefish assessment found overfishing. However, Hudson added that overfishing was not discovered using the original SEDAR 25 peer-reviewed model. The golden tilefish assessment for 2017, which was conducted in October, used “new ‘best’ methodology identified by NMFS.” SFA-ACFS says that the assessment “failed to produce any scientifically useful results.”

The government has 45 days to answer or seek dismissal.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

 

Southeastern Fisheries Association’s East Coast Fisheries Section Sues Over 40 Percent Cut in Golden Tilefish Allocation for 2018

December 4, 2017 — ORLANDO, Fla. — The following was released by the Southeastern Fisheries Association: 

Fishermen of Florida filed suit in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. over an emergency rule imposing a forty percent reduction in allowable golden tilefish harvests next year. The suit alleges that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) committed procedural and substantive violations of federal fisheries and administrative law.

The suit, filed on November 29, was brought by the Southeastern Fisheries Association’s East Coast Fisheries Section (SFA-ECFS). The SFA is an advocacy group for fishermen that has represented harvesters, dealers, and processors participating in Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic regional fisheries for more than 60 years.

The rule being challenged was requested by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council in June because it faced a looming 2018 deadline to end overfishing identified in a controversial 2016 golden tilefish assessment. Under federal law, fishery managers have two years from such a finding to adopt measures to end overfishing.

The suit alleges the 2016 assessment, which found overfishing and triggered the events leading up to the emergency rule, used flawed scientific methods that never should have been introduced. “This was supposed to be a simple update – adding new data to the stock assessment model that was thoroughly vetted and peer-reviewed,” said SFA-ECFS fisheries consultant Russell Hudson. “Instead, NMFS made major model changes behind closed doors without required scientific, industry expert, and public oversight required when such changes occur.” He also noted that the assessment runs using the original SEDAR 25 peer-reviewed model did not find overfishing.

According to the complaint, the use of emergency procedures to adopt the rule was also flawed. It alleges that NMFS failed to make a finding that there was “good cause” to waive the regular process of seeking public comment before making a rule final, a step skipped with the golden tilefish rule. It alleges that there was ample time between the Council’s June request for interim measures and the start of the 2018 golden tilefish fishing year to go through normal notice-and-comment rule making.

The 2016 “update” assessment that found overfishing has been subject to significant debate and criticism not only by the industry, but also by Council members and some of its scientific advisors. The biggest change it introduced was the use of a statistical methodology meant to account for potential bias. Since its use was accepted by the Council’s panel of experts on its Scientific and Statistical Committee, NMFS said that method had been superseded by another approach. The head of NMFS Beaufort Lab, which oversaw the assessment, Dr. Erik Williams, called this an “evolving” field of research.

In light of the questions raised about the 2016 update, the Council took the unusual step of asking for a revised update to the golden tilefish assessment to be conducted this year using the new “best” methodology identified by NMFS. That new assessment, conducted in October, failed to produce any scientifically useful results.

“While NMFS keeps focusing on this one issue it can’t seem to get right, the industry is concerned about a whole host of other changes that never should have been made in the 2016 assessment,” said Jimmy Hull, who heads SFA-ECFS. “An update is supposed to be a simple plug-and-play exercise. Instead, a small group of scientists incorporated a bunch of assumptions that don’t fit the real world. That wouldn’t have happened in a more thorough and open process.”

Shaun Gehan, an SFA attorney who brought the case, said that this is a matter that should be settled. “Both the industry and the Council believe there is no justification for the cuts made in the interim rule,” he said. “What should happen is that the SSC should be asked if the model runs that used the peer-reviewed model are the ‘best scientific information available.’ That would lift the overfishing finding and allow the Council to take measured steps without a legal hammer hanging over its head.”

Once the government is served with the suit, it has 45 days to answer or seek dismissal.

Learn more about the SFA by visiting their site here.

 

The Oyster Bed Partners with Gulf Seafood Foundation on Donation Program

November 27, 2017 — Two brothers in Louisiana are giving a whole new meaning to the term “Surf and Turf.” A new product launched by their company, The Oyster Bed, will not only benefit steak lovers at the dinner table, but also oystermen across the Gulf who have suffered through the two devastating hurricanes.

With the launch of a new steak plate able to withstand extreme thermal shock called “The Steak Bed,” Tommy and Adam Waller are teaming with the Gulf Seafood Foundation to assist oystermen across the Gulf devastated by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

“In the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, hundreds of us reserve Marines were mobilized to help the citizens of Florida and Louisiana,” said Tommy Waller, a Marine Major Reservist and the outgoing Executive Officer at 3d Force Reconnaissance Company. “As recent oyster seasons opened across the Gulf, a large number of oyster fishermen are still struggling to recover from the damage they sustained during the storms. We felt it imperative to find a way to help.”

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Foundation

 

Red snapper anglers are sources for data

November 2, 2017 — Recreational anglers returning with catches of red snapper during this month’s back-to-back mini seasons will be greeted by researchers with clipboards and questions at the docks and ramps.

For the sake of some sound and reliable red snapper data, fishermen are urged to participate in the surveys and sample studies by representatives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The data seekers, including law enforcement personnel and volunteers, will be working at Port Canaveral and in the Sebastian Inlet vicinity, plus seven other Atlantic Coast sites among them Fort Pierce and St. Lucie inlets and Ponce Inlet at New Smyrna Beach.

The dates for the two mini seasons are this weekend, Nov. 3-5, and Nov. 10-12.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council announced the special seasons on Oct. 27 after it received approval from National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration officials.

A limited commercial season from Nov. 2 through Dec. 31 also was approved but it may not run to duration because of a commercial catch quota.

Read the full story at FloridaToday

NOAA about-face on red snapper revives overfishing debate

October 31, 2017 — Reversing course, NOAA Fisheries said it will allow anglers in the South Atlantic to catch red snapper for the first time in three years.

Calling it an “emergency action,” the fisheries service said it would create two mini-seasons over the next two weekends for recreational anglers in federally controlled waters off the coast of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Commercial fishermen may be allowed to catch red snapper until Dec. 31.

“NOAA Fisheries has determined that the limited harvest in 2017 is not expected to result in overfishing and will not prevent the continued rebuilding of the red snapper population,” the agency said in a statement released late Friday.

Coming only four months after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross extended the red snapper season in the Gulf of Mexico, the decision revived a long-simmering debate about how much fishing should be permitted and the federal government’s management of the popular species (Greenwire, Sept. 20).

Read the full story at E&E News

SFA Members Speak Out on New, Impractical Catfish Rules

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — October 25, 2017 — The following was released by the Southeastern Fisheries Association:

Southeastern Fisheries Association (SFA) members have joined catfish fishermen and dealers across the country opposing a new catfish inspection program recently launched by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The new program imposes rules designed for fish farms and imports on wild caught fisheries, creating impossible compliance situations. The wild-caught catfish industry maintains the program is unnecessary, inefficient, and would needlessly harm dealers, processers and harvesters of wild-caught domestic catfish.

The new inspection program, to be conducted by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), was initially intended to provide additional inspections to farm-raised foreign catfish in competition with domestic farmed catfish. However, the new inspection program unnecessarily includes domestic wild-caught catfish.

“Wild-caught catfish harvesters and dealers will have extreme difficulty complying,” said Bob Jones, Executive Director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association. “These new regulations are onerous and unnecessary.

SFA members testified at a public hearing in August before the regulations went into effect in Webster, Florida, where representatives of the USDA and FSIS invited fishing industry stakeholders. SFA voiced its position that fishermen and fish houses that sell wild-caught catfish must be exempt from the FSIS program that will cost hundreds of jobs because the small fish houses that only buy smaller quantities of saltwater and freshwater catfish cannot meet the requirements of a plan designed for factory farms.

Unlike seafood farms, and imports where fish can be harvested or defrosted on a specific schedule, fresh wild-caught seafood is often landed in large quantities when the boats come back to the dock. “How can you clean 10,000 pounds of fish in an eight-hour day?” voiced Okeechobee catfish fishermen Tommy Ayers. His concerns were echoed by Ted Brozanski, President and COO of Stokes Fish Company.

“Tommy has been fishing for 58 years and you guys have cut his income by 38 percent because he can no longer fish on weekends or holidays,” Mr. Brozanski said.

He raised other issues with the new inspection program, including the fact that limited inspection hours can reduce the quality and value of product for fishermen and fish houses. For example, fishermen will not be able bring in fish that have to be cleaned over the weekend or outside normal hours, as many fish houses will be unable to afford the cost $70-per-hour overtime pay that FSIS inspectors are paid for working weekends and holidays.

FSIS representatives at the hearing indicated that a potential exception from the program was possible for wild-caught, domestic catfish. SFA urges FSIS to implement this exception.

About the Southeastern Fisheries Association
The SFA has served the commercial fishing industry for 65 years. SFA’s mission is to defend, protect and enhance the commercial fishing industry in the southeastern United States for present participants as well as future generations through all legal means while maintaining healthy and sustainable stocks of fish. SFA is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.

 

FLORIDA: Scallops show signs of recovery; restoration effort to begin

October 23, 2017 — PORT ST.JOE, Florida — Scallops in the St. Joe Bay are showing signs of recovery based on anecdotal evidence from the short Gulf County season this year.

“We’re still in recovery, but we’re much improved over last year,” said Captain Phil Cox, who led several guided trips. “They were thick enough to keep people interested.”

Thick enough to keep scallopers interested is a big improvement over the 2016 season, when the devastating effects of a red tide shortened the season and made scallops hard to find. And while the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) doesn’t yet have hard data about this year’s recreational harvest, they also believe the situation has improved.

“We’ve had pretty consistent comments … the season went well,” FWC spokeswoman Amanda Nalley said. “Several people told us they met their bag limit.”

That’s not to say this year’s season didn’t have its own set of problems. A rare algae bloom, called pseudo-nitzschia, forced FWC to delay the start of the season for months. The algae, while not harmful to the scallops, can make them unsafe for consumption.

Read the full story at Panama City News Herald

Stone Crabs Offer Second Chance For Keys Commercial Fishing Industry

October 16, 2017 — MIAMI — Tourism has been the focus of a lot of attention — and $1 million in emergency advertising — in the Florida Keys since Hurricane Irma.

But the Keys have another major industry. The island chain makes up the most valuable commercial fishery in Florida — and ranks 10th in the nation, up there with ports in New England, Alaska and Louisiana.

At Keys Fisheries in Marathon, Gary Graves was getting ready for big crowds as the opening of stone crab season approached.

“People know stone crab season like football season,” he said. “Hey, Oct. 15th — it’s stone crab season.”

A few days before the season opened, Daniel Padron was working on stone crab traps at a marina on Stock Island.

“We’ve got some traps in the water, trying to get the last couple ready to go,” he said. “Been backed up because of Irma.”

Read and listen to the full story at WLRN