October 23, 2019 — Thailand Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan has confirmed his country will continue to reform its seafood industry, despite mounting pressure from domestic fishing groups..
Wongsuwan made the statement in an 18 October meeting with Environmental Justice Foundation Executive Director Steve Trent, according to EJF.
October 16, 2019 — Kent Alexander Quinn Downs, a 33-year-old commercial spiny lobster fisherman from Marathon, Florida, was arrested Oct. 10 and charged with 11 counts of possessing undersized lobsters on his vessel as well as a felony charge related to destroying evidence, the Miami Herald reports.
Quinn Downs and his boat, That’s Right, were spotted in the East Bahia Honda Channel by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) officer Joshua Peters in the afternoon and hailed for an inspection. Peters said he then noticed a man dumping half a basket of undersized lobsters into the water.
Quinn Downs later admitted there were about 15 undersized lobsters in the basket and that he dumped them when he saw the officer’s blue lights, according to the arrest report.
October 16, 2019 — NGOs and retailers are seeking to distance themselves this week from a new report prepared by the Dutch-based Changing Markets Foundation, which claims to have found links between them and unsustainable fishing operations in Africa and Asian countries that supply feed ingredients for aquaculture.
Changing Markets undertook a comprehensive mapping exercise of fishmeal and fish oil supply chains from sea to plate, which is set out in the report “Fishing for Catastrophe.”
October 11, 2019 — A Keys fisherman was jailed Wednesday after police said his commercial boat, called “That’s Right,” had more undersized lobsters than he was allowed to keep on his boat temporarily.
Kent Alexander Quinn Downs, 33, of Marathon, was arrested on a felony charge of destroying evidence, and misdemeanor charges of interference with an officer and 11 counts of possession of undersized lobster.
Quinn Downs on Thursday remained at the Marathon jail without bond. He has a court date set for Oct. 24.
At about 1:45 p.m., a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Joshua Peters was patrolling the East Bahia Honda Channel off Big Pine Key and stopped the lobster boat for a marine inspection.
October 8, 2019 — NOAA Fisheries has released its 2019 report to the U.S. Congress, identifying the organization’s efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing internationally while also rebuking three countries for lack of sufficient enforcement against IUU.
The biennial report on improving international fisheries management – made to Congress as part of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act – identified Ecuador, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea has three countries that failed to sufficiently comply with agreed-upon regulations related to IUU. The report also credited Ecuador, Mexico, and the Russian Federation for earlier work to react to IUU allegations made in NOAA’s 2017 report to congress.
October 8, 2019 — A group of companies representing multiple levels of the tuna supply chain have joined together to launch a new alliance that will seek to improve tuna sustainability, raise respect for the human rights of fishermen and prevent illegally caught tuna from reaching the market.
The Global Tuna Alliance, which was announced 2 October, is open to retailers, food service companies, suppliers, and brands. It will leverage the power of the supply chain to compel change in fisheries, including pushing for reforms at Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs).
October 2, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The NOAA Office of Law Enforcement is offering a reward of up to $20,000 in exchange for information leading to the successful prosecution of individuals suspected of being involved in significant unreported or misreported landings of summer flounder (fluke) in New York and New Jersey.
NOAA officials seek information from anyone who may have details of these incidents.
Anyone with information is asked to please call OLE’s Northeast Division at 908-339-1148, or the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-853-1964.
Tips may be anonymous, however anyone providing information must leave their name and contact information to be eligible for the reward.
September 26, 2019 — Eleven scallop boats from the fleet of convicted fisheries violator Carlos Rafael will keep working out of New Bedford under local ownership, a victory for industry advocates.
The Quinns paid about $40 million, said Michael Quinn. Mitchell, who with other Massachusetts political and industry leaders pushed to keep the boats in New Bedford, said the other five vessels and their permits are also now going to new owners based in the city.
Rafael is serving a 46-month federal prison sentence for tax evasion, falsifying fisheries landing reports and related offenses. The so-called “Codfather” controlled a large share of the groundfish and scallop fleets, until he was brought down by undercover federal agents.
September 25, 2019 — American researchers are calling for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Committee to ban trans-shipping.
The Pew Charitable Trust said tens of millions of dollars each year was lost to the practice of offloading catch before it reached its final destination.
A 2016 survey found that dozens of vessels were likely carrying out unauthorized trans-shipment in the Pacific.
September 24, 2019 — A father-and-son team from Massachusetts and other buyers are acquiring scallop fishing boats owned by a disgraced fishing magnate nicknamed the Codfather, signaling the beginning of the former mogul’s forced exit from fisheries.
The sale of Carlos Rafael’s 11 scallop boats, and their associated permits, is part of a civil settlement Rafael agreed to with the federal government that will result in his permanent removal from the U.S. fishing industry.
Rafael, once the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing operations in the U.S., was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for dodging quotas and smuggling profits overseas.
Scallopers Charles Quinn and son Michael Quinn are buying seven of Rafael’s scallop boats and selling one of them, their attorney, Andrew Minkiewicz, told The Associated Press. Court documents state the Quinns paid about $46 million for the boats.
Rafael’s attorney, John Markey, of New Bedford, confirmed the other boats have also sold, but declined to disclose the other buyers or purchase prices.