Saving Seafood

New poll finds US voters want assurances merchants are selling legally-caught seafood

March 25, 2022 — The Walton Family Foundation, in collaboration with Morning Consult, recently released a poll that found Americans would eat more seafood if they had greater knowledge of its health and environmental benefits.

The poll’s main focus was on Americans’ views on climate change, and what solutions towards its impacts respondents preferred. Overall, the poll discovered U.S. residents are unified on climate change and see urgent connections between it and the economy, agriculture, and health, according to Teresa Ish, the Oceans Initiative Lead and Senior Program Officer at the Walton Family Foundation.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Insurer nixes coverage for Atlantic tuna fishing fleet following IUU investigation

March 23, 2022 — Norway-based marine and energy insurance firm Hydor has decided to put an end to its contract covering a fleet of ships that were found participating in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) tuna fishing, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) reported.

The fleet of three ships – currently named Israr 1, 2, and 3 – has operated in the Atlantic for years and was blacklisted in December 2021 by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), following an EJF report detailing the fleet’s illicit activities. EJF’s attention was first drawn to the fleet when satellite monitoring of the vessels’ movements demonstrated they were long-lining for tuna without registering with ICCAT, the regional fishery management organization that oversees the Atlantic tuna-fishing sector.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

The Wild West of global fisheries

February 28, 2022 — While the term “Wild West” may conjure up images of outlaws acting with impunity in faraway outposts, it’s an apt metaphor for what’s taking place on the high seas just outside our 200-mile exclusive economic zone and around the world.

Too much of the world’s seafood – including seafood imported into the U.S. – is caught using slave labor used onboard vessels operated by Chinese, Taiwanese, and other nations’ companies. Global Fishing Watch estimates the number of enslaved seafood workers as reaching well into the tens of thousands. From a humanitarian perspective alone, this is outrageous. From an ocean-conservation perspective, the effects are devastating. Slave labor is the leading cause of overfishing for the simple reason that when you use slave labor, you can afford to deploy thousands more fishing boats and replenish them at sea, keeping them working 365 days a year.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

More than 100 scientists call on Congress to end illegal fishing, human rights abuses in seafood supply chain

December 13, 2021 — More than 100 scientists on Monday called for federal action on illegal fishing, fraud and human rights abuses in the seafood industry.

In a letter to Congress, scientists called on representatives to end harmful practices along the seafood supply chain, including illegal, unreported and unregulated — or IUU — fishing and abuses like forced labor and human trafficking.

Human rights abuses and IUU fishing typically go hand in hand, scientists write, because unsustainable fishing practices push vessels further out to sea for longer periods of time, meaning some fishing companies rely on forced or underpaid labor to turn a profit.

“The interconnected issues of IUU fishing and human rights violations demand the United States take action to ensure that only safe, legally caught, responsibly sourced, and honestly labeled seafood is imported into our domestic market. The human rights abuses prevalent in the seafood sector make it clear that the United States needs to build in labor protections for those working at every stage in the seafood supply chain,” the letter’s authors write.

Read the full story at The Hill

 

United States Wins New Conservation Measures for Pacific Tuna and Backs Inspections to Curb Illegal Fishing

December 7, 2021 — Tropical tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean gained renewed protections and science-based catch levels under resolutions advocated by the United States. They were adopted by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission at its virtual meeting in October. The IATTC also established a framework for foreign fishing vessels to face spot inspections when they enter the port of another member nation.

The IATTC’s actions will help conserve and sustainably manage tuna and other highly migratory species that cross international boundaries. They also improve oversight of international fisheries to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, a U.S. priority. The move furthers the effort to close the world’s ports to illegal fishing and give consumers additional confidence that their seafood is safe and sustainable.

“This is a critical step forward for the conservation of species that support important commercial fisheries and play a prominent role in the marine ecosystem,” said Ryan Wulff, who leads the U.S. delegation to the IATTC, and serves as Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries for NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region. “We worked through challenging negotiations—all in a virtual setting. In the end, we achieved consensus on a number of important conservation and management measures for the eastern Pacific Ocean.”

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

 

Seafood2030: How technology, government efforts, and market action are aligning to address IUU fishing

December 6, 2021 — The direct economic impacts of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing on the seafood industry are becoming better understood, as is the reputational risk that these practices cause for the entire seafood industry.

These impacts can be most harmful for developing nations struggling to manage their fisheries sustainably. According to the Stanford Center for Oceans, nearly one billion people worldwide rely on fish as their main source of protein.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Blitz at sea: Boats burnt, crews escape sanction as illegal fishing off WA skyrockets

November 12, 2021 — The joint ‘Marine Border Command’ operation was announced after the ABF was alerted last month that Indonesian fishing crews were pillaging marine life at the pristine, previously untouched Rowley Shoals, a protected coral reef 260 kilometres west of Broome.

Their presence and aggressive tactics left local charter tour companies in WA’s North West fearful for their safety and livid at the lack of authoritative response.

Exclusive drone footage obtained by WAtoday showed an influx of foreign ships in the sanctioned Rowley Shoals marine park zone, their crew members walking on the coral reef and fishing illegally.

Local boat skippers said it was the first time they had seen Indonesian crews at Rowley Shoals, as new data above showed 103 vessels were intercepted in the first three months of 2020-21 alone.

One tourist operator reported illegal finning in the area, with sharks spotted still alive, lying on the water’s surface, while another charter boat skipper saw Indonesian-marked plastic rubbish for the first time within the sanctioned marine park.

Read the full story at News Nation USA

 

Planet Tracker analyst calls for increased observer coverage on distant-water fleet

August 25, 2021 — If one percent of global fisheries subsidies were redirected to onboard monitoring, the proportion of wild-catch fishing monitored by observers could create a meaningful impact in reducing illegal fishing and bycatch, according to Planet Tracker Financial Analyst Francois Mosnier.

Mosnier, a financial analyst covering seafood companies at the financial think tank, said he believes an additional USD 222 million (EUR 190.2 million) is needed to expand observer coverage to 20 percent across all regional fishery management organizations, which cover the cost of observers through a levy on fisheries. Currently, observers cover just 2 percent of all catches recorded by RFMOs.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood fraudster targeted US Foods, other distributors and restaurants

August 18, 2021 — A man in the U.S. state of Rhode Island has been accused of bilking nearly USD 1 million (EUR 855,000) from major broadliners in the U.S. by fraudulently purchasing seafood from them.

Paul Diogenes, also known as Paul Dejullio, created a fictitious catering company – LePage Catering – in order to obtain credit from US Foods, Performance Food Group, and other distributors to purchase more than USD 831,700 (EUR 711,000) in product. Diogenes bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of lobster, sea bass, shrimp, scallops, filet, ribeye steak, and wild boar, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New US report shows dozens of countries failing to police illegal and unregulated fishing

August 16, 2021 — NOAA has released its annual report to US Congress to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing and human rights abuses in the seafood supply chain.

The report identifies 31 nations and entities for IUU fishing activities and bycatch of protected marine life on the high seas, where nations lack conservation measures comparable to those of the United States.

The report contains several key findings, according to NOAA, including evidence that China, Costa Rica, Guyana, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Senegal and Taiwan all operated vessels engaged in IUU fishing activities between 2018-2020.

Several other countries and blocs, including the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea were all identified as lacking a regulatory program comparable in effectiveness to the United States to reduce the bycatch of protected marine life in their fishing operations.

Read the full story at IntraFish