Saving Seafood

Florida company’s new traceability policy “raises the bar” for seafood distributors

November 8, 2016 — Florida-based Sea Delight has released a new policy on traceability that reflects the company’s commitment to improving transparency along the supply chains it sources from as well as along those across the industry at large, it announced on 2 November.

The new protocol works in tandem with Sea Delight’s Sustainable Seafood Policy, and will be applicable to all seafood that the company purchases. The latest policy combines commitments to both traceability and social responsibility, and underscores the importance of improving the company’s business practices to allow for more robust tracking of product information throughout the supply chains it engages with, according to Sea Delight.

“This is such an exciting moment for our company,” said Adriana Sanchez, sustainability director at Sea Delight, in a news release. “We are setting an industry-leading precedent among North American seafood distributors by publically committing to work towards best practices in traceability, address critical issues such as legality and social responsibility, and engage our supply chain partners in collaborative and long-lasting improvements.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

25 years ago, the crew of the Andrea Gail was lost in the ‘perfect storm’

October 31st, 2016 — At the heart of Gloucester, America’s oldest seaport, visitors will find an eight-foot-tall bronze fisherman at the wheel of his ship.

Engraved at the base of the Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial are the names of more than 3,000 residents who were lost at sea and the following words: “They that go down to the sea in ships, 1623-1923.” Twenty-five years ago, one ship in particular gained national fame when it was lost during the “perfect storm” of 1991.

The “storm with no name” claimed the lives of six fishermen and the captain and crew of the Andrea Gail, a disaster that was later chronicled in Sebastian Junger’s bestselling book and a film starring George Clooney.

The storm left a trail of destruction from Nova Scotia to Florida, killing 13 people and causing close to $500 million in damage as it lashed the coast from Oct. 26 through Nov. 1 of that year.

Winds upwards of 70 mph “tossed [boats] like beach toys [in] the surf,” The Boston Globe reported on October 31, 1991. A small Marshfield home was even lifted from its foundation, floating in the water and endangering moored boats.

“At 3 o’clock Wednesday my mother was upset because there was salt water on her lawn,” a Chatham resident told the Globe. “At 6 o’clock there was no lawn and she was worried there’d be no house. Our house escaped by some miracle.”

Read the full story at The Boston Globe 

Virginia’s 2017 Harvest of Atlantic Menhaden Will Increase

October 28th, 2016 — At a meeting in Maine this week, Atlantic coast fisheries managers agreed to increase the catch for menhaden, a fish considered crucial to birds, other fish and by commercial watermen to catch crabs. It’s also key to the remaining fish oil plant on the East Coast here in Virginia.

In August, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission members couldn’t decide how much harvest to allow. The tiny schools of fish travel from Florida to Maine., stopping to spawn in places like the Chesapeake Bay. On Wednesday, menhaden management board chair Robert Ballou  made it clear this time a decision would be made.

“Now, if any board member wishes to pursue a different course of action. That can happen and the process can go on and on and on. But my hope is that the board will see fit to proceed in the manner just described.”

Read the full story and listen to the audio at WVTF

Reports: Gulf population of menhaden, prey of game fish, thriving

October 26th, 2016 — A commission that assesses the health and viability of the menhaden population in the Gulf of Mexico says despite massive commercial hauls, the menhaden population is sound.

The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission calls it a stock assessment for menhaden.

Steven J. VanderKooy, a fisheries coordinator with the commission, which has an Ocean Springs, Mississippi office, told The Sun Herald despite the fact that millions of pounds are hauled in each year, they are thriving.

The fish is caught for cat food and fish oil supplements and is a favorite food of large game fish.

The assessment was completed as a cooperative effort of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Decatur Daily

Latest report says menhaden thriving in the Gulf

October 25th, 2016 — A commission that assesses the health and viability of the menhaden population in the Gulf released a report this week that says despite massive commercial hauls, the menhaden population is sound.

It’s called a stock assessment for menhaden — a fish caught for catfood and fish oil supplements and a favorite food of large game fish. If fact, there’s been controversy this year over how many redfish commercial menhaden boats in the Gulf should be allowed to keep in the bycatch while fishing for menhaden.

Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission evaluated the status of the Gulf menhaden in U.S. waters and concluded the “Gulf of Mexico’s menhaden stock is not experiencing overfishing,” said Steven J. VanderKooy, a fisheries coordinator with the commission, which has an Ocean Springs office.

The assessment was completed as a cooperative effort of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Menhaden catches support the second largest commercial fishery by weight in the United States. Menhaden are small filter feeders that don’t grow much longer than a foot and only live for three or four years.

Despite the fact that millions of pounds are hauled in each year, they are thriving, VanderKooy said. “They are really, really resilient. It’s a great fish and short-lived.”

Read the full story at the Sun Herald  

New law for lobster harvest aims to deter poachers

October 18th, 2016 — The following was released by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: 

On Oct. 1, an amendment to the Florida statute pertaining to lobster harvest went into effect, giving authorities more latitude in prosecutions for those who harvest undersized spiny lobster.

The new legislation, SB 1470, sponsored by Rep. Holly Raschein and Sen. Jack Latvala, and championed by many in the Keys, specifies that each undersized spiny lobster found in a violator’s possession may be charged as a separate offense.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) hopes this change will encourage lobster harvesters to really pay attention and measure any lobster they harvest from Florida waters.

No one wants a small lobster for dinner, so make sure you check the size. Measuring devices are required, and lobsters harvested while diving must be measured while they are in the water. If its carapace length is not larger than 3 inches, the lobster must be left in the water. Size and bag limits exist to conserve the resource and ensure that lobsters are around for the next generation to enjoy.

For more information, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater Fishing,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Lobster.”

Small delivery “reefer vans” making inroads in seafood distribution

October 13th, 2016 — Gary Graves’ business, Keys Fisheries, is quickly gaining a following around its home state.

But with growing success came a logistical problem: how could the processor and distributor of lobster and stone crab, based in Marathon, Florida, in the state’s southern tip, quickly and efficiently make deliveries to all of its new customers across the state?

Many of these first-time orders are small, test orders, and are coming from restaurants or retailers located in urban locations in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville. After much thinking, Graves said he decided to buy a Ford Transit 350 extended-height freezer truck.

“This truck can get into tight spaces, like restaurants in the middle of cities. You can get it anywhere you can take a car,” he said. “If I got a bigger truck, I would have been restricted in how I could make deliveries.”

Graves said he wants the focus of his job – and his company – to be on seafood and not the intricacies of delivery driving. So his goal with the small truck is to build up a loyal customer base and then pass off distribution onto someone else, he said.

“The whole idea of the small vehicle is that we don’t want to manage a whole fleet of trucks or the complication of hiring and managing a bunch of drivers,” Graves said. “We want to establish some good business and then find other ways to distribute, working with other people already driving the route if possible.”

Stephen Mullin, the vice president of marketing for Bush Specialty Vehicles, which sold Graves his van, said the popularity of “reefer vans” like the one Graves purchased is one the rise.

Read the full story at Seafood Source 

ALEX RILEY: The Shark Fin Ban That Should Be Banned

September 23, 2016 — Every year, fishers haul up to 73 million sharks onto boats across the world’s oceans and trim their fins. In many cases, the rest of the body is thrown overboard to swim without propulsion. And without propulsion, no life-giving water flows over the sharks’ gills. They drown.

This is shark finning, a cruel practice that feeds the demand for the Chinese delicacy of shark fin or fish wing soup. From boat to bowl, it is tasteless.

To curb the death toll [of sharks], the US Congress plans to introduce the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016. The bill was originally outlined to Congress by the advocacy organization Oceana* as part of a growing movement to outlaw all shark fins across the US. If passed, to sell or possess shark fins would be a punishable offense. It’s the ultimate protection from being made into soup.

Strange, then, that people who dedicate their lives to protecting sharks are vehemently opposed to the bill.

In a letter to Senator Bill Nelson, Bob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, outlines his objections. At best, it’s unnecessary, he says. At worst, it harms rather than helps shark populations.

For one, shark finning is already illegal in the United States (as well as in Canada, Australia, and Europe). Returning to shore with fins that have no corresponding body is like docking straight into a court hearing. According to Lindsay Davidson, a PhD candidate from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, this fins-attached policy “is the gold standard for ensuring finning is not occurring.”

But fishing for sharks within a set quota is completely legal, at least for now. This allows commercial fishers to sell the meat just like any other fish, as well as the skin, liver oil, and, yes, the fins. It’s not finning, it’s heavily managed fishing; a practice that is sustainable and makes use of the entire shark rather than just its most coveted cuts.

The proposed ban would change that. The meat could still be eaten or sold, but any fins would have to be tossed overboard, thrown into the trash, or used for display or research purposes by a museum, college, or university, to avoid breaking the law. “It’s going in the opposite direction from the goal of any fishery,” says Hueter. That is, to “utilize as much as you can, and throw away as little as you have to.”

Read the full opinion piece at Hakai Magazine

Gulf council seeking input from fishermen for coral reef protection

September 23, 2016 — Fishermen will be able to provide input for coral protection areas in the Gulf of Mexico at a workshop Monday hosted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott, 142 Library Drive, Houma.

The council’s scientists recommended protecting 47 areas in the Gulf, but with the help of the Coral Advisory Panel and Shrimp Advisory Panel, the number has been narrowed to 15 priority areas.

The meeting is to get feedback from fishermen who use bottom-contacting gear in federal waters in the Gulf before the council begins its public scoping process. Another meeting is to be held in Alabama.

“Most of the areas, no one fishes in, but there is one area off the boot of Louisiana and several off Texas and Florida where there is some fishing activity. They want to get feedback from fishermen to see how much impact it would have to fisheries,” said Julie Falgout, seafood industry liaison with Louisiana SeaGrant.

Generally, fishermen won’t trawl in areas where there are coral reefs as it would damage gear, Falgout said. But when a reef area is protected, there is an additional boundary area that surrounds the reef that may impact fishing.

“The council wants feedback from the fishermen to see if it’s going to be a big problem for a lot of fishermen or for one or two fishermen and see if they need to go back to the drawing board to rework the maps,” she said.

Read the full story at The Daily Comet

FLORIDA: Red Snapper Season Reopens In September

August 31, 2016 — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is opening up weekends in September and October for recreational red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Residents will be able to fish Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting Sept. 2 and on Labor Day.

The daily bag limit is two fish per person with a fish minimum size limit of 16 inches.

In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration kept commercial and recreational red snapper fishing in South Atlantic federal waters closed. This was due to exceeding the allowable catch limit in the 2015 season.

Read the full story at WFSU