Saving Seafood

Global Salmon Initiative publishes annual sustainability report

May 20, 2021 — The Global Salmon Initiative has published its annual sustainability report and launched a resource hub designed to offer data and materials to document the impact the organization is having upon the industry.

GSI was created in 2013 as a collaborative effort by many of the world’s largest farmed salmon producers to push for collective efforts on sustainability initiatives. The group, which now includes 13 companies comprising 40 percent of the world’s total salmon production, has established goals including minimizing its environmental footprint and continuing to improve its social contributions.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Global farmed salmon producers significantly reduced antibiotic use over seven years, GSI report finds

May 12, 2020 — Seven years of data from more than 50 percent of the world’s farmed salmon sector is featured in the latest annual sustainability report from the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI).

Released on 11 May, the report’s data covers 15 key indicators – 10 environmental and five social – impacting salmon aquaculture operations worldwide. The new issuance, which highlights data through 2019, reveals some promising sector trends, GSI said, including a 50 percent reduction in the use of antibiotics over the past seven years, as well as a more holistic, collective approach to preventing and managing sea lice.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Mowi CEO: GSI will continue to be a game-changer

May 30, 2019 — The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) recently published its annual Sustainability Report, providing six years of data across 14 indicators for more than half of the global salmon industry. The report identified a number of key trends within the salmon farming sector and its membership, including:

  • A 50 percent decrease in the use of sea lice treatments, coupled with a 120 percent increase in the use of non-medicinal methods – due both to technological advancements and best-practice sharing;
  • The amount of fishmeal and fish oil in feed has reduced by 17 percent and 9 percent, respectively, resulting in an overall 11 percent decrease in the sector’s use of marine ingredients;
  • Farmed salmon continues to be one of the most eco-efficient forms of animal protein production, with the lowest carbon footprint, lowest feed conversion ratio, and lowest land-use;
  • More than 620,000 metric tons (MT) of salmon farmed by GSI members are now certified to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standard. Coming from over 185 farms worldwide, this represents almost 60 percent of their total production.

In an interview with SeafoodSource, Alf-Helge Aarskog, CEO of Mowi and co-chair of GSI, explained how the group’s collaborative endeavors and focus on transparency will continue to drive improved sustainability across the industry for a long time to come.

SeafoodSource: Has GSI achieved what you hoped it would over the past six years, and what have been its defining moments so far?

Aarskog: Having been involved in the GSI since it began in 2013, I am very pleased with how far the group has come. There is still a lot for us to work on, but in only six years to see the progress the industry has made in improving its transparency, focusing more on its sustainability challenges, and the speed at which we have approached the ASC standard, I think it is well beyond what any of us expected.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Launches New Website on Atlantic Herring Area 1A Spawning Monitoring System

October 6, 2017 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

In May, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved the continued use of the GSI30-based forecast system to predict when the population will be spawning and when spawning closures should be set based on the development of herring gonads (reproductive organs) in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine). GSI stands for gonadosomatic index and in its simplest terms assesses the onset of spawning based on the ratio of the weight of a female herring’s ovaries to its body weight. This new system, which was successfully piloted in 2016, uses the observed rate of increase in GSI to predict when spawning will occur and when the fishery will be closed. This replaces an earlier system that simply closed the fishery when the observed GSI was above a threshold value.

Stakeholders can see the spawning forecast model in real time here: https://www.massmarinefisheries.net/herring/.

Atlantic herring spawn in the late summer or early fall of each year. The timing of this event can vary by several weeks, which necessitates sampling the population each year to determine when the spawning closure should occur.  Once three samples have been collected that show a positive progression in gonadal development, a forecasted closure date can be determined by projecting forward when the population is likely to cross the spawning threshold. This forecasted closure date is continuously updated as new samples are acquired, and the closure is finally set within 5 days of the forecast date.

If not enough samples can be collected to forecast a closure date, a default closure date will go into effect. This date varies slightly by region:

  • Eastern Maine: August 28th
  • Western Maine: October 4th
  • Massachusetts-New Hampshire: October 4th

Whether initiated by the forecast model or a default date, the spawning closure lasts four weeks. If more than 25% of sampled fish are still in spawning condition when the fishery is reopened, the fishery will reclose for another two weeks. For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Read the release at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

Sustainability rising for farmed salmon, says GSI report

May 16, 2017 — Farming salmon is more sustainable than growing land animals in several key ways, according to the Global Salmon Initiative’s (GSI) latest sustainability report.

And some of the biggest future improvements in sustainability will likely result from more efficient feed, say salmon industry experts.

The third annual GSI sustainability report, released in late April, contains four years of data and tracks 14 indicators determined by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). It was the first to include data verified by independent auditors.

The 12 GSI member companies account for roughly half of global farmed salmon production. Nearly a quarter of all GSI farms have been certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, an increase of 60 percent from 2015. GSI has a goal of having all farms certified by ASC by 2020.

Compared to other sources of animal protein, salmon did well on sustainability indicators such as fresh water use and carbon emissions.

Salmon also have a low – and falling – feed conversion ratio, meaning that farmers efficiently retain the protein and energy in feed while converting it to food for people. That ratio is now 1.3 to 1. By contrast, the ratio for chicken is 1.9 to 1, while for pork it’s 2.8 to 1, and for beef it’s 7.5 to 1.

Still, less total weight of salmon is farmed than other major protein sources, with 3.1 million metric tons produced annually, compared to 96.1 million tons of chicken, 113 million tons of pig products, 64 million tons of cattle products and 8.6 million tons of sheep products.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

GSI Newsroom Update: GSI’s Walk On The Hill 2017

February 13, 2017 — The following was released by the Gulf Seafood Institute: 

As certain as the pageantry of Mardi Gras infuses the party circuits each February on Capitol Hill, early February also marks the annual Walk on the Hill by the Gulf of Mexico’s primary seafood industry advocate.

Earlier this week, Gulf Seafood Institute commissioned a three-person lobby —GSI founder Harlon Pearce, founding board member Stan Harris, and executive director Margaret Henderson — to meet key Members of Congress, Senators and staff in 21 legislative offices about the fishery issues that impact their home states along the Gulf coast. 

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute

GSI Responds to Impact of Federal Fisheries on Small Businesses Hearing

March 4, 2016 — The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Chaired by Louisiana Senator David Vitter, recently held a hearing on “The Impacts of Federal Fisheries Management on Small Businesses”. In a letter to Chairman Vitter and Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Gulf Seafood Institute urged committee members to keep in mind the myriad benefits this landmark legislation has had on Gulf coast fisheries.

Witness at the hearing included; Ms. Pam Anderson, Operations Manager at Capt. Anderson’s Marina in Panama City, FL, Mr. Hughes Andry, Regional Manager of Sportco Marketing, Mr. Brad Gentner, President of Gentner Group Consulting, Mr. James Hayward, President ofXI Northeast Fisheries Sector and Dr. Joshua Wiersma, Managerof  Northeast Fisheries for the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Thousands of fishermen and millions of consumers nationwide depend on robust, sustainably‐managed Gulf of Mexico U.S. fisheries,” said Harlon Pearce, GSI’s President and NOAA Marine Advisory Committee member. “Commercial, charter-for-hire and recreational anglers in the Gulf of Mexico are a regional economic powerhouse; protecting the public’s access to these resources for every American must be paramount.”

Read the full story from the Gulf Seafood Institute

ASMFC Approves Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring

February 8, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Herring. The Amendment refines the spawning closure system, modifies the fixed gear set-aside, and includes an empty fish hold provision contingent on federal adoption. The Amendment consolidates prior amendments (and associated addenda) and recent management decisions into a single document; it is now the comprehensive document for Atlantic herring management in state waters.

The Amendment allows for the use of a modified GSI-based spawning monitoring system to track reproductive maturity in an effort to better align the timing of spawning area closures with the onset of spawning. This new method will be tested and evaluated for effectiveness during the 2016 fishing season. If found to be ineffective the Section has the option to revert back to using the prior monitoring system. Default closure dates have been modified to late August or early October depending on the area. The spawning closure period remains four weeks.

Previously, the fixed gear set-aside was available to fixed gear fishermen through November 1, after this date the remaining set-aside became available to the rest of the Area 1A fishery. The November 1 date had been established because, typically, herring have migrated out of the Gulf of Maine by that time. Anecdotal evidence suggests herring are in the Gulf of Maine after November 1, therefore, fixed gear fishermen requested the set-aside be made available to them for the remainder of the calendar year. Under Amendment 3, fixed gear fishermen will now have access to the quota as long as the directed fishery is open.

Amendment 3 also requires fish holds to be empty of fish prior to trip departures. This measure, which is contingent on adoption in federal waters, seeks to minimize wasteful fishing practices and encourage harvest based on market demand. The New England Fishery Management Council has included a similar provision in its Framework Adjustment 4 to the Federal Atlantic Herring FMP. Framework Adjustment 4 is currently under review by NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office.

For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Electronic Reporting and Red Snapper Top Gulf Council Agenda

February 4, 2016 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recently met in Orange Beach, AL, home to miles and miles of sugar-white sand beaches, as well the largest charter-for-hire recreational fishing fleet in the U.S. equipped with electronic data collection, to discuss numerous fishery issues, including electronic reporting for for-hire vessels, regional management for recreational red snapper, and the shrimp permit moratorium.

Regional Management of Recreational Red Snapper, or Reef Fish Amendment 39, was at the top of the agenda for the 17 voting members of the Council which is comprised of the directors of the five Gulf state marine resource management agencies, or their designees, and 11 members nominated by the state governors and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. Amendment 39 would affect recreational fishing for red snapper in federal and state waters.

Amendment 39 was developed to divide the recreational red snapper quota among regions to allow region-specific management measures. After reviewing the Amendment and public hearing summaries, the Gulf states’ marine resource directors rejected the amendment leading the Council to postpone further discussion while they explore other options for recreational red snapper management.

Both charter-for-hire and commercial representatives sitting on the Council fought for the private recreational sector to establish a management plans to no avail.

“It is sad to see the five Gulf State directors fail to reach an agreement with each other and foster a real solution for private recreational anglers,” said Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) member Captain Troy Frady of Distraction Charters in Orange Beach. “If this amendment had not been abandoned, it would have created a path to provide much needed relief for private recreational angler’s short federal fishing season. Now, there is nothing meaningful in the works that is being done for recreational fishermen.”

Commercial fisherman and GSI Florida Board member David Krebs, president of Ariel Seafood, said that he also was disappointed in the Council and that the recreational representatives did not pursue working on the amendment to protect the recreational interests.

“We are once again seeing an assault on the commercial IFQ’s (Individual Fishing Quotas) filled with lies and mistruths,” he said. We are hoping the Council will appoint a recreational advisory panel to work through the details to give recreational fishermen some relief in flexibility and sustainability.”

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood Institute

 

GSI’s Walk On the Hill Important For Survival of Gulf Fisheries

January 25, 2016 — Even before members of the Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) took their first steps toward Capitol Hill, they realized this year’s “Walk on the Hill” would be extremely important for the survival of commercial fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

“The surprise that state boundary limits for all fisheries going to nine miles introduced into the Sportsman’s package has dire consequences for a lot of seafood sectors that haven’t been vetted,” said GSI Florida Board Member David Krebs, president of Ariel Seafood. “I think we are all surprised these amendments have been attached to an Environment and Public Works bill instead of through the Commerce Committee. Hopefully GSI will be able to circumvent the damage before it is done.”Hours before GSI members were scheduled to leave their D.C. headquarters at the Hotel George, GSI received word that two amendments would be offered to the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act being heard at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that would negatively impact the harvesting of commercial seafood in the Gulf of Mexico. One of these amendments would have permanently extended state waters in the Gulf of Mexico to nine miles, effectively rescinding the Magnuson Stevens Act for all commercial, charter-for-hire and recreational fishing out to 9 miles – an outcome that would imperil consumers’ access to Gulf fisheries.

With a telephone glued to his ear, GSI President Harlon Pearce, owner of Harlon’s LA Fish in New Orleans, made call after call to other organizations to raise awareness of the proposed amendments. The organization made last minute changes to its legislative agenda as it prepared to meet with the Gulf Congressional Delegation, as well as Maryland’s Senator Barbara Mikulski and Alaska’s Senator Dan Sullivan.

“We often meet with legislators outside of the Gulf,” said Pearce. “It was a stroke of luck that we were in the right place at the right time to bring this important information on the proposed amendments to their attention. We also thanked them for all they have done for our industry in the past. It is important to meet with legislators outside of the Gulf to educate them that what affects our fisheries eventually affects their constituents.. We want to keep Gulf fish available for all Americans.”

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood Institute