Saving Seafood

Is your cell phone safe for whales?

June 7, 2018 — The following was released by Friend of the Sea:

In occasion of the World Oceans Day, international NGO Friend of the Sea calls both the shipping industry and consumers to take actions to prevent ship strikes.

The time you scroll down the news on your smartphone commuting to work, numbers of whales are killed or seriously wounded in the ocean. Chances are high that the vessel which shipped your brand new phone from the other side of the globe impacted whale populations on its way. The day the world celebrates marine life, collisions between vessels and cetaceans – commonly known as ship strikes – are still unnoticed and unreported.

“Consumers are mostly unaware of the connection between the goods they consume daily and whale mortality from ship strikes”, explains Paolo Bray, Director of Friend of the Sea. “This is probably the reason why the international shipping industry hasn’t really felt the need to solve the problem yet, although affordable technology is available to prevent the collisions.”

Several critical areas worldwide are experiencing an unsustainable number of ship strikes. The Mediterranean Sea is among the most affected areas. Every year, fin whale and the sperm whale are forced to dodge 220,000 ships greater than 100 tons, which constitute 30% of international seaborne volume. Other whale populations at risk are in the Hauraki Gulf, one of the busiest shipping passage in New Zealand, home to a semi-resident population, the bryde’s whale; in the Bering Strait, a nexus of trade between North America and Asia for millennia, where maritime traffic is increasing and seriously threatening a population of bowhead whales, and in the waters off Oman where a genetically distinct group of humpback whales risks extinction because of different causes including ship strikes.

Due to their size and speed, major shipping vessels are often unaware of the occurrence of the strikes and consequently are not able to report collisions. Nevertheless, most scientific studies conclude that ship strikes are likely the main cause of whale mortality globally.

Friend of the Sea, a non-governmental organization whose main mission is the conservation of the marine habitat, since 2015 has campaigned internationally for the shipping industry to consider measures to reduce ship strikes.

“Although some major international shipping companies and associations are showing willingness to collaborate on the issue”, comments Bray “the greatest majority of the shipping lines and industry associations have not implemented the existing measures to spot presence of whales, report and undertake measures to prevent strikes yet”.

In order to allow consumers, as well as cruise and shipping lines tourists to be able to select only those operators which have implemented whale ship strikes prevention measures, Friend of the Sea promotes a sustainable and whale-safe shipping certification. Friend of the Sea logo will allow environmentally aware customers to make a choice safe for whales. The proposed solution is simple and effective. Shipping companies need to:

– Have in place an on-board full-time marine mammal observation program on all vessels;

– Share real time observations of whales through an online platform;

– Have a procedure in place to react to and avoid nearby marine mammals.

Friend of the Sea overtakes MSC as world’s largest wild catch eco-label by volumes

May 29, 2018 — The Friend of the Sea (FoS) certification has become the single largest source of certified-sustainable wild catch on the global market, according to the last United Nations (UN) State of Sustainability Initiatives review, FoS said in its annual report published last month.

Its certified volumes have “grown at a rate of 91% per annum between 2008 and 2015, reaching 9.3 million metric tons of FoS certified wild catch seafood in 2015”, it said, referring to data from the last UN State of Sustainability Initiatives, which dates back to 2015.

Of total global wild catches, about 14% is certified, according to the UN. FoS accounted for 6.2% of certified volumes, while Marine Stewardship Council for 5.7% (see table).

About 770 companies are now certified under FoS, including both farmed and wild species. One hundred and fifty commercial species, 44 approved fisheries and fleets and 3,000 products have been certified by FoS.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Indonesian, Portuguese companies secure eco-labels for Pacific Ocean tuna

January 13, 2017 — PT Karyacipta Buanasentosa (PT KCBS), the Indonesian tuna catch and processing company that is wholly-owned by Yamako Pacific Pte Ltd., has obtained Friend of the Sea certification for its skipjack and yellowfin tuna.

All of the company’s tuna species are fished by pole-and-line by Friend of the Sea-approved vessels in the Western Central part of the Pacific Ocean.

“Achieving the Friend of the Sea certification is an important step forward for PT KCBS and it reinforces our sustainability efforts,” said Masayuki Takaku, general manager at PT KCBS. “It sends a very clear message to our customers and suppliers regarding our continual commitment to sustainability. We are very proud to have achieved this recognition.”

Another company to secure Friend of the Sea certification for its skipjack and yellowfin tuna this year is Freitasmar, a Portuguese company specializing in canned seafood production.

Friend of the Sea certified supplier Frabelle – a fishing company from the Philippines – catches all of Freitasmar’s tuna. The fish are caught by purse seine in the Western Central part of the Pacific Ocean.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Pew Vs. Pew: A Tale of Two Stories

June 3, 2016 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

WASHINGTON (MFC) — On May 16, the Pew Charitable Trusts published an article (“Mid-Atlantic Council Poised to Take Historic Action for Forage Fish”), on their website, authored by Peter Baker, Director of US Oceans, Northeast, falsely claiming that “Many forage fish, such as … menhaden, are fished in large numbers for use in fish oil, bait, and livestock feed, with no limits on how many can be caught[.]”

The truth? Atlantic menhaden are actually closely monitored and responsibly regulated.  It’s curious for Pew and Mr. Baker to claim there are “no limits” on the catch, since in a May 15, 2014 Pew story, “Atlantic Menhaden Catch Cap a Success,” Mr. Baker himself wrote that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) “voted into place a cap that reduced the overall catch of Atlantic menhaden by 25 percent from the previous year.”

It is not clear whether Pew has changed its mind, or if they are experiencing institutional amnesia.  In their most recent release, they claim “at this scale, industrial fishing could dramatically reduce the numbers of forage fish, potentially destabilizing the entire ocean ecosystem.” Yet, two years ago, they stated that the “commissioners should be proud that that they’ve established an effective management system for the largest fishery on the Atlantic coast.” This is yet the latest example of misinformation from Pew regarding menhaden management.

Pew’s sudden forgetfulness notwithstanding, the fact is that rather than being unmanaged and unrestricted, the menhaden fishery operates under the responsible oversight of the ASMFC, which manages fisheries in state waters from Maine to Florida. The ASMFC sets coastwide harvest quotas for menhaden based on the best available science.

With the release of the most recent assessment of the Atlantic menhaden stock in 2015, the ASMFC found menhaden to be neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. In another indicator of stock health, the assessment also found fishing mortality to be at an all-time low. Combined with the fact that fecundity – a measure of the stock’s reproductive ability – is at an all-time high, the science clearly supports the fact that menhaden are not only well-protected, but are well-positioned for the future.  In fact, as testament to the successful efforts undertaken by menhaden fishermen to ensure stock health, in 2015 the ASMFC even raised the harvest quota by 10 percent.

These conclusions have also been supported by several independent organizations. In a report last year, the non-profit Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) rated menhaden as one of the best-managed forage fish species in the world. In their report, menhaden was cited as one of only four fish species to have improved its status from previous years. Corroborating SFP is a certificationfrom the third-party sustainability certifier Friend of the Sea, which independently rated Atlantic menhaden as sustainable.

The evidence is clear – menhaden is a healthy, well-managed stock, not the unmanaged fishery Mr. Baker claims.

Peruvian Acuapesca Farmed Scallops Certified Sustainable

January 20, 2016 — PERU – The Peruvian company Acuacultura y Pesca Group (Acuapesca) has been confirmed Friend of the Sea certified for scallops from sustainable aquaculture.

After an independent assessment audit Acuapesca was found compliant with Friend of the Sea strict criteria of sustainability.

Acuapesca has been operating since 1989 in the remote and pristine areas of Guaynumá Bay and Nunura Beach with 5 farms and one processing plant.

Water parameters are checked periodically. The development of the facilities has not damaged critical ecosystems. The species (Argopecten purpuratus) is a native species, whose broodstocks are captured in the bay and induced to spawn in laboratory, for later reintroduction in the bay to continue the growth process. The scallops are grown in long line cages.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

 

Friend of the Sea Will Host Major Retailers in Bangkok to Discuss Seafood Supply Chain Improvements

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] September 17, 2015 — Major retailers will have an opportunity to improve their seafood sourcing policies at a meeting in Bangkok this autumn.

Organised by Friend of the Sea, in cooperation with the Earth Island Institute and the support of the Thai Tuna Industry Association, the One to One Meeting will run from 9-12 November.

The event, including keynote presentations from Infofish, TTIA, Global Gap and much networking, is a unique opportunity for delegates of major retailers and catering chains to meet certified international seafood suppliers.

Retailers are invited to participate, free of charge, as Friend of the Sea recognizes their crucial role in motivating suppliers to implement sustainable practices.

The first edition of the One to One Meeting, held in Venice in November 2013, brought together 16 retailers and representatives of 38 certified companies from all over the world.

“We are truly delighted to see that many executives have already confirmed their presence at the One to One Meeting,” comments Paolo Bray, Director and Founder of Friend of the Sea and Director of the Dolphin-Safe project in Europe.

“This is a clear sign that Friend of the Sea and Dolphin-Safe represent reliable and valuable certifications to retailers and catering. Our event is the only one to one for sustainable seafood and companies should not miss this opportunity”.

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