Saving Seafood

AUDIO: Cause of Action & Plaintiffs Discuss At-Sea Monitoring Lawsuit

December 10, 2015 (Saving Seafood) — This afternoon, Cause of Action, a government accountability organization “committed to ensuring that decisions made by federal agencies are open, honest, and fair,” held a media call with David Goethel and John Haran, the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the Department of Commerce to overturn the Department’s decision to have the commercial fishing industry pay for the cost of at-sea monitoring.

According to Cause of Action, “a large majority” of the commercial fishing operations in New England “will be forced to shut down if the government forces those who fish for cod, flounder and other ‘ground fish’ to pay out of pocket for at-sea monitoring, a program the government has traditionally funded.” The industry is expected to begin paying for the cost of at-sea monitors sometime in 2016.

According to Cause of Action, NOAA estimates that up to 60 percent of the groundfish fleet will be unable to afford the cost of at-sea monitoring. Among other reasons for the challenge, Cause of Action noted that “Congress has directed NOAA to use its appropriated funding to cover the cost of these at-sea monitors,” and “NOAA is specifically required by statute to implement regulations that allow fishing communities sustainable prosperity and ‘minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities.'”

Listen to the call here

 

Fishermen sue to block impending fishing monitor costs

December 10, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A group of East Coast fishermen is suing the federal government over a shift in the cost of at-sea fishing monitors that they say will cripple the fishery during an already difficult time.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have said money for monitors in New England groundfisheries such as cod and haddock will be gone by early 2016. The monitors are trained workers who collect data to help determine future quotas on certain species of commercial fish.

Under the new rules, fishermen will have to pay for the monitors, which can cost about $800 per trip. Fishermen have spoken out for months against shifting the cost, saying it will sink many who are already dealing with the dwindling New England cod population and choking cuts to quotas.

A group including more than 20 groundfishermen is suing the federal Department of Commerce, which includes NOAA, in federal court in New Hampshire with a contention that the cost shift is illegal. The group is from New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia and it is seeking an injunction to protect fishermen from having to pay up.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at San Francisco Chronicle

 

New England fleet could see haddock quota double

December 4, 2015 — The annual catch limits for Gulf of Maine cod will increase slightly in 2016, while the quota for haddock will more than double if recommendations passed this week by the New England Fishery Management Council are approved by NOAA Fisheries.

One year after slashing total cod quotas by more than 75 percent to 386 metric tons, the council voted at its three-day meeting in Portland, Maine, to raise the total cod annual catch limit (ACL) to about 440 metric tons, with 280 metric tons designated for the commercial fishing industry in each of the next three fishing seasons.

The commercial industry’s Gulf of Maine cod ACL this year is 207 metric tons.

“It’s a slight increase and of course that’s always good,” said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition. “But it doesn’t come close to reflecting what fishermen — commercial and recreational — are seeing on the water and it’s certainly nothing that’s going to sustain the fishery.”

The council voted to increase the commercial quota for Gulf of Maine haddock in 2016 to 2,416 metric tons from the current 958 metric tons, or an increase of 152 percent.

“Haddock is going up substantially, like through the roof,” Odell said.

The news was not good on Cape Cod and Gulf of Maine yellowtail flounder, with the commercial ACL falling 26 percent in 2016 to 341 metric tons, and witch flounder, which will have a 50 percent decrease in its 2016 ACL to 302 metric tons from the current 620 metric tons.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

New England’s struggling cod fishery to see new quota cut

December 2, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishing managers on Wednesday recommended a shift in the amount of fish New England’s beleaguered cod fishing businesses should be allowed to catch for the next few years, which would reduce the limit for some fishermen.

The New England Fishery Management Council met to consider quotas for several important food fish, including the Gulf of Maine cod, which once was the backbone of the New England fishing industry and is now in decline. The council recommended a slight rise in quota for Gulf of Maine cod along with a steeper quota cut for Georges Bank’s cod.

Tough quotas and low availability have made local cod difficult to find in New England, and when it is available, customers must pay more for it than they would for foreign cod. Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, called the reduction in Georges Bank quota “a substantial cut to the industry.”

Inability to catch cod also prevents fishermen from landing species such as haddock, pollock and hake that live in the same areas, Martens said.

“It’s going to be hard for boats of any size to go out there and run a groundfish business,” he said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Cronicle

 

 

NOAA: Haddock flourish, while cod stocks dwindle

November 21, 2015 — The groundfish stock updates released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reflect what the agency says is the continuing deterioration of the Gulf of Maine cod stock, while showing that other stocks such as haddock, pollock and redfish appear to be flourishing.

The operational assessment updates were performed on 20 Northeast groundfish stocks, with the results corresponding to the state of the individual stocks through 2014.

The news for cod, according to the update, is really no news at all.

“Based on this updated assessment, the Gulf of Maine Atlantic cod stock is overfished and overfishing is occurring,” the authors of the report wrote in their executive summary.

The results show the GOM cod spawning biomass to be hovering between 4 percent and 6 percent of what is necessary to sustain a well-managed stock despite three years of Draconian cuts to cod quotas and the more recent shuttering of the Gulf of Maine to all cod fishing.

While the update’s results continue the trend of NOAA data that show the GOM cod stock near total collapse, they also continue to fly in the face of the season-long insistence by Cape Ann fishermen — commercial, recreational, fin and lobster fishermen — that they have seen more cod this season than in many years past.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

MSC certified Pharma Marine launches sustainably sourced CodMarine Oil in North America

November 18, 2015 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Norway’s Pharma Marine AS, a leader in the production of premium quality fish oils and omega-3 concepts, and Healthy Directions, a direct-to-consumer nutritional supplement retailer and wholly-owned subsidiary of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ: HELE), have launched the sustainably sourced supplement, Dr. Williams CodMarine® Oil, for the first time in North America. The omega-3 sources in the oil product are fully traceable to sustainable and well-managed Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fisheries. The MSC is the world’s most recognized certification program for sustainable, wild-caught seafood.

Pharma Marine’s CodMarine Omega-3 Fish Oil

MSC certification underscores Pharma Marine’s core values of caring for natural resources and people in a responsible and sustainable manner and supporting healthy oceans. Based on the west coast of Norway near a region where marine oil production dates back more than 130 years, Pharma Marine, an innovator in marine lipids, recently expanded its technologically advanced facility to enable the increased production of premium quality EPA and DHA products from fresh or frozen wild-caught fish. Pharma Marine’s sustainably sourced fish oil product, CodMarine, is traceable to MSC certified fisheries including North East Arctic cod, haddock and saithe.

Leif Kjetil Gjendemsjo, owner of Pharma Marine, said, “We are proud to introduce our sustainably sourced CodMarine product to the U.S. market and help consumers to make a difference and contribute to the health of the world’s oceans. The blue MSC ecolabel on each bottle provides assurance that there is complete traceability of CodMarine fish oil to sustainable and well-managed fisheries.”

Healthy Directions

Pharma Marine’s CodMarine Omega-3 Fish Oil is available in the U.S. through Healthy Directions’ Dr. Williams brand. In line with Healthy Directions’ mission of helping people to lead healthier lives through the core values of responsibility, integrity, and continuous innovation, Dr. Williams has added CodMarine Oil to his product line to offer a sustainable omega-3 fish oil solution to his customers. The expanded line of sustainably sourced supplements offers options to support cardiovascular and other health benefits.

Connie Hallquist, President of Healthy Directions, said, “We are pleased to offer Dr. Williams’ CodMarine Oil to the U.S. market as we work to ensure we are providing innovative and sustainable solutions for consumers. The blue MSC ecolabel enables consumers to make a difference by choosing fish oil that can be traced back to a sustainable fishery.”

MSC certification ensures traceability

The MSC maintains two global standards, one for evaluating the sustainability of fisheries and one for ensuring that seafood products carrying the blue MSC ecolabel are traceable to MSC certified fisheries. To ensure traceability through every step in the chain, Pharma Marine earned MSC Chain of Custody certification, which provides assurance that MSC certified seafood is not mixed with or substituted for non-certified seafood. MSC certification also ensures that seafood products that bear the blue MSC ecolabel can be traced back to a fishery that has been certified as sustainable and well managed against the global, science based MSC Fishery Standard.

“We congratulate Healthy Directions and Pharma Marine on the introduction of the sustainably sourced CodMarine fish oil supplement product to the U.S. market,” said Michael Griff, MSC senior commercial manager, Americas. “By looking for and choosing the blue MSC ecolabel, consumers are able to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for this and future generations.”

Fishing Quotas Proposed for Atlantic and North Sea

November 11, 2015 — The Commission proposes to maintain or increase the fish quotas for 35 stocks, and reduce catches for 28 stocks on the basis of the scientific advice received.

Some of the stocks facing increases include megrim in the North Sea and West of Scotland and horse mackerel in Northern Spain.

Due to a lack of improvement, stocks with cuts include Celtic Sea and English Channel cod and haddock by up to almost 30 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.

The Irish Sea sole fishery has a huge proposed cut of 100 per cent which would effectively close the fishery, said Europêche.

The Commission has also proposed a complete ban on the fishing of sea bass from 1 January to 30 June and a limitation to 1000kg per vessel per month in some areas only from 1 July.

Quota Top Ups

The EC is also proposing an increase in fishing opportunities to help fishermen in the transition to the new obligation to land all catches. This is the first time the Commission proposes so-called quota “top ups” for all the fisheries under the landing obligation as of 2016.

This extra quota aims to compensate fishermen for the extra fish they will have to land. On the basis of scientific advice to be received by mid-November the Commission will, later in the month, propose the catch increase including all the quantities that need to be landed.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

Money for New England fishing monitors to end by Dec. 31

November 10, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Federal officials say money for some at sea fishing monitors will run out by Dec. 31 and the cost will then transition to industry.

The monitors are trained workers who collect data to help determine future quotas on certain fish. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say the money for monitors in New England fisheries such as cod and haddock is going to be gone by the end of the year.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at San Francisco Chronicle

 

EU looks into reports of fake fish labeling in Brussels

November 3, 2015 — BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union is looking into reports that cheap seafood is often mislabeled as choice fish in some of the Belgian capital’s fine restaurants and even in EU cafeterias.

The Oceana environmental group said Tuesday it found that 31.8 percent of seafood it tested in and around EU institutions in Brussels was a different fish than what was labeled on the menu. In the cafeterias of the EU, which sets fishery policies for the 28-nation bloc, the total amount of falsely labeled fish stood at 38 percent.

“We take this very seriously,” EU spokesman Alexander Winterstein said of the report.

Oceana said 95 percent of what was labeled Bluefin tuna – a fatty, sublime sushi favorite – was actually a less expensive species, served to make a hefty profit. In 13 percent of the cases, cod was also mislabeled and people sometimes were fed pangasius instead, a freshwater fish farmed in southeast Asia.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at New Jersey Herald

 

New England fishermen fear looming costs for at-sea monitors

October 21, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — New England fishermen, running out of time before the federal government hands them the cost of monitoring the industry at sea, say emergency intervention is needed or many of them will be out of business.

The monitors are trained workers who collect data on commercial fishing trips that help fishery managers with things like setting quotas on catches in future years. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the money it had been using to pay for monitors who work in New England fisheries such as cod, pollock and haddock is going to run out around Dec. 1.

Fishermen will have to pay for the monitors, which can cost more than $700 per trip. The new cost is almost certain to put people out of work in a struggling fishery that is already challenged by declining fish stocks and tough quotas, said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

“It’s really scary. At the same time, we have problems with our resources right now,” Martens said. “We need to make sure we have better and stronger business not just next year, but three and five years down the line.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Chronicle