Saving Seafood

Data noose tightening on “handful” of nations responsible for overfishing

January 24, 2019 — Tony Long is the CEO of Global Fishing Watch, a freely accessible and near real-time digital map of the global ocean aimed at exposing illegal fishing. With Japan, Peru, and Indonesia all recently agreeing to share data with Global Fishing Watch as part of an effort to combat illegal fishing, Long is now pushing for more countries to contribute data. Additionally, Long’s office is working with governments and NGOs to make the Global Fishing Watch map more complete and allow the tracking of vessels guilty of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

SeafoodSource: How important are the ongoing World Trade Organization negotiations on eliminating fishing and fuel subsidies in the fight against IUU fishing?

Long: Cutting or eliminating fuel subsidies are an important fisheries management measure because … fuel subsidies are part of the overcapacity equation – especially for distance fleets and also high-seas fishing. People following the negotiations closely tell me that there are disagreements within the WTO as to whether this is the case. It is vital that this matter can be resolved during the negotiations.

SeafoodSource: You point to a “handful of wealthy countries” as being culpable in IUU fishing. Is this a corporate or a government problem?

Long: It’s both, but ultimately, governments are the ones that allow IUU fishing practices in their fleets to continue. There are many factors beyond harmful subsidies, including weak penalties, poor enforcement and licensing flags of convenience that allow IUU fishing to occur. That said, individual corporations also have huge responsibility. In particular, they can help drive out practices such as bonded labor and slavery at sea, they can demand cleared provenance to their catch by demanding complete and proper tracking of vessels, catch documentation and open licensing as part of their contract with the supply chain. The recent green card given to Thailand is a good example of government, corporations, and NGOs working together to improve a dire situation.

SeafoodSource: According to an article in Science Advances, “On the high seas, 97 percent of all such fishing effort detectable by AIS is conducted by vessels flagged to higher-income nations. Dominance of this high-seas industrial fishing effort at the level of flag nation was highly uneven. The vast majority (86 percent) of this effort can be attributed to only five higher-income countries/entities, in rank order high to low: China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Spain.” Have rich countries also been willing to work with you and to share information?

Long: We have a [memorandum of understanding] signed with Japan to improve research and understanding of IUU fishing in the North Pacific and share data. We have staff in Korea and Taiwan to take forward the benefits of transparency. [And] we are in the very early stages of working with a coalition of European Union-based NGOs to look at the E.U. fleet and coastal states where [those vessels] fish. We are engaging with NGOs and foundations interested in China in order to identify a strategy on working with China.

Read the full Seafood Source

Report finds seafood mislabeling “rampant” in New York

December 18, 2018 — The New York Attorney General’s office may take enforcement action against some supermarket chains after it found “rampant” seafood mislabeling at grocers across the state, according to a recent report.

The report, from New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood, found that around a quarter of the seafood sampled at New York grocery retailers was mislabeled. These findings are the result of the first major U.S. government investigation of seafood fraud at supermarket chains.

The incidence of mislabeling popular species was “rampant” among New York retailers, the Underwood’s office said in statement. For example, 27.6 percent of species sold as “wild” salmon were mislabeled, oftentimes being substituted for farmed salmon.

A significant 67 percent of red snapper samples were mislabeled, the report found. Approximately 87.5 percent of lemon sole was also discovered to be mislabeled.

“The substitutes were often cheaper, less desirable, and less environmentally sustainable species,” the AG office statement said. “This includes farm-raised salmon sold as wild salmon, lane snapper sold as red snapper, and swai sold as lemon sole.”

Ray Hilborn, a professor of marine science at the University of Washington and a member of the International Fisheries Innovation Network steering committee, said the report showed the mislabeling was at times intentional and at times accidental.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

‘Wild’ Salmon May Be Straight From the Farm, NY Report Finds

December 17, 2018 — That wild sockeye salmon in the refrigerated aisle may be straight from the fish farm, New York’s attorney general said in a report released Friday.

The report from Attorney General Barbara Underwood found that more than one-fourth of the seafood her office sampled in a statewide supermarket survey was mislabeled, typically as a more expensive or more sustainably fished species.

“We’re taking enforcement action, and consumers should be alert and demand that their supermarket put customers first by taking serious steps to ensure quality control at their seafood counters,” Underwood said.

The report was based on DNA testing of fish samples performed by the Ocean Genome Legacy Center, an academic laboratory at Northeastern University.

It found that farmed salmon was frequently sold as wild, and fish sold as red snapper or lemon sole were more often different varieties.

The investigation is not the first to uncover fish fraud.

A 2017 study from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and Loyola Marymount University found that almost half the sushi from 26 Los Angeles restaurants that they tested between 2012 and 2015 was mislabeled.

An Associated Press investigation into seafood fraud published in June linked one national fish distributor to widespread mislabeling and other deceitful practices.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

Fishing crew charged with shark fin trafficking

December 12, 2018 — The owner and officers of a Japanese-flagged fishing vessel were charged in federal court Tuesday with aiding and abetting the trafficking and smuggling of nearly 1,000 shark fins into and out of Hawaii last month.

During a year-long tuna-fishing expedition, the crew of a Japanese fishing boat —the M.V. Kyoshin Maru No. 20 — allegedly harvested fins from about 300 sharks, at least some species of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

One of those species, the oceanic white tip shark, has declined in population by about 80-95 percent across the Pacific Ocean since the mid-1990s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, the crew cut the shark fins off, “in some instances while the sharks were stunned but still alive, and discarded the finless carcasses into the ocean,” all under the supervision of the captain and at the direction of the ship’s officers.

The illegally-harvested fins were discovered in the luggage of 10 Indonesian nationals, who had been employed as fishermen on the boat. The Indonesian fishermen had been dropped off from the fishing boat at a port in Honolulu and were intending to catch a flight to Jakarta.

Read the full story at The Garden Island

Mislabeled seafood in the U.S.

December 7, 2018 — The 2018 Oceana Canada study was only the most recent of a series of similar studies published by Oceana (see my earlier piece here). In 2016, Oceana released a report that summarized and mapped seafood fraud from, “more than 200 published studies covering 55 different countries, on every continent except Antarctica, in order to reveal the global scope of seafood fraud.” Oceana found relevant studies by searching Google Scholar and Google News with relevant search terms. Further, legal cases involving seafood fraud in the United States were collected in NOAA Law Enforcement or Department of Justice press releases and archives. The final collection was displayed on this map.

In this post, I will attempt to contextualize Oceana’s findings in the US specifically. I aim to challenge the report title that this map study “reveal[ed] the global scale of seafood swapping”, and instead suggest that it provided an unrepresentative view of mislabeling in the context of actual seafood consumption trends in the U.S.

The vast majority of the studies collected by Oceana (>75%) were from Europe or the US and, “the bulk of the studies [were] conducted after 2005.” Globally, Oceana reported the weighted average mislabeling rate was 19%, but in the U.S., it was 28%. The most commonly mislabeled species in the US studies referenced were snapper, grouper, and salmon. Across all studies referenced (US and abroad) Oceana reported mislabeling in “all 200+ studies reviewed except one.”

Pins were placed on the world map to indicate the location of each mislabeling study collected for this report. The pins were color coded to indicate the extent of mislabeling, and to indicate if the study was an Oceana study or a study from another source like news media or peer reviewed literature. Dark red indicated studies showing mislabeling rates from 75%-100%; lighter red indicated mislabeling rates from 50%-75%; dark pink indicated rates from 25%-50%; light pink indicated rates from 0%-25%; a white pin with black pinstripes indicated a study featuring “other examples of fraud”; and a blue Oceana logo pin indicated an Oceana study.

Read the full story at Sustainable Fisheries UW

New Bedford Fishing Boat Captain Sentenced

November 29, 2018 — The former captain of a New Bedford fishing boat owned by Carlos Rafael, a/k/a “The Codfather,” was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for interfering with a U.S Coast Guard (USCG) inspection of a fishing boat off the Massachusetts coast.

Thomas D. Simpson, 57, of South Portland, Maine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to two years of probation, with the first four months to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring, and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. In August 2018, Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of destruction or removal of property subject to seizure and inspection.

Simpson was the captain of the fishing vessel Bulldog, a New Bedford based commercial fishing vessel and one of several fishing vessels owned by Carlos Rafael. On Sept. 25, 2017, Rafael, often referred to as “The Codfather,” was sentenced in federal court in Boston to 46 months in federal prison on a variety of charges related to the operation of his commercial fishing business.

On May 31, 2014, the Bulldog was engaged in commercial fishing off the cost of Massachusetts when the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) boarded the vessel to perform a routine inspection of the Bulldog and its fishing equipment. At the time of the boarding, the Bulldog’s net was deployed in the water and the crew was actively fishing. The USCG Boarding Officer encountered Simpson in the Bulldog’s wheelhouse and instructed Simpson to haul in the fishing net for inspection. The fishing net is controlled from the wheelhouse by an electric winch, which Simpson activated, but instead of hauling the fishing net onto the vessel, he let out more of the cable which attaches the net to the vessel. When the USCG Boarding Officer realized that Simpson was letting the net out, he instructed Simpson to stop and to haul the net in. Simpson ignored the order and continued to let out cable until the net became detached from the Bulldog and sank.

Read the full story at WBSM

 

Judge returns two vessels to Carlos Rafael’s wife

November 29, 2018 — The wife and another business partner of Carlos Rafael will retain ownership of two of the four fishing vessels seized by the federal government as part of the penalties for the array of crimes committed by the man known as “The Codfather.”

U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young, in his final order of forfeiture, said the F/V Lady Patricia and the F/V Olivia & Rafaela — and all federal fishing permits associated with each vessel — will be forfeited to the federal government as part of the final seizure agreement.

Young also ordered the forfeiture of $306,490 to the federal government in addition to the $17,500 judgment already paid by Rafael as part of his plea agreement.

Two of the other forfeited vessels — the Bulldog and Southern Crusader II — will be released to corporations that include Rafael’s wife, Conceicao Rafael, as an owner.

The 75-foot Bulldog will be released to B & D Fishing Corp. and Conceicao Rafael. The 81-foot Southern Crusader II is set to be released to R and C Fishing Corp. The corporation, according to the order, includes Conceicao Rafael and Joao Camarao as owners.

The convicted and currently incarcerated Carlos Rafael, according to the order, ceases to hold any “right, title or interest” in either the forfeited or released vessels. The order, however, retains Carlos Rafael’s ability to defend himself against any future claims from NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Only $720 of $10K fine paid for illegal lobsters

November 15, 2018 — When James A. Santapaola Jr. got nabbed landing 183 illegal lobsters at a local lobster wholesaler two years ago, the Gloucester lobsterman eventually cut a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to 20 of the counts and pay two fines totaling $10,050.

Later, the state Division of Marine Fisheries suspended his state lobstering license for three months.

Now, nearly two years after the plea deal, Santapaola Jr. — who was arrested again last week on charges of possessing 47 illegal lobsters — has paid only $720 of the $10,050 in fines, according to the clerk’s office at the Gloucester District Court.

Melissa Teixeira Prince, chief court clerk, on Wednesday said Santapaola Jr. is scheduled for a status review with court officials on Monday, Nov. 19, to discuss the outstanding balance on the fines from the previous offenses.

Last Friday afternoon, the Massachusetts Environmental Police, operating with Gloucester police and officers from NOAA Law Enforcement, arrested the 42-year-old Santapaola Jr. for possessing five crates and one tote of illegal live lobsters which law enforcement officers estimated collectively to weigh between 500 and 600 pounds.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

US, others make commitments for sustainability at Our Ocean

November 8, 2018 — At the Our Ocean 2018 conference held last week in Indonesia, the United States pledged its support for 15 initiatives that would affect fishing communities across the globe.

In addition, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Indonesian Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti during the two-day conference in Bali to reaffirm their nations’ commitment to encourage sustainable fisheries management worldwide.

Kerry, who also served as a conference presenter, commended Indonesia for its role in combating illegal fishing.

“I believe there is big crime committed in relation to [illegal, unreported and unregulated] fishing and this should be addressed by countries around the world,” he said. “To ensure sustainability, one of the ways is to maintain the volume of catch, making sure there is no overfishing.”

Another way the U.S. will work to combat illegal fishing is by working with The Waitt Foundation to hold a February 2019 summit in San Diego, California, U.S.A. with leaders from other countries to identify pilot projects that can be implemented online.

Peter Horn, who heads the Ending Illegal Fishing Project for The Pew Charitable Trusts, said he’s looking forward to the summit.

“We welcome the broadening of the debate of the governance issues behind current levels of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, and its second and third order consequences,” he told SeafoodSource in an email. “IUU fishing is often seen as purely an environmental crime with any absence of compliance with the rules countering it a management issue rather than what it really is: The tip of an iceberg of criminality which is directly linked to maritime safety and security.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Former captain in Bristol sheriff’s department gets one year probation in Codfather smuggling case

November 6, 2018 — He got caught in the net, but he avoided prison.

A former captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced Monday to a year of probation for helping the infamous New Bedford fishing magnate dubbed the Codfather smuggle profits from his overfishing scheme to Portugal, prosecutors said.

The convict and former captain, Jamie Melo, 46, of North Dartmouth, learned his fate during a sentencing hearing in US District Court in Boston, according to US Attoney Andrew E. Lelling’s office.

A jury in that courthouse convicted Melo in June of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and structuring the export of monetary instruments, Lelling’s office said in a statement.

Melo was acquitted of bulk cash smuggling, the release said. He’ll be confined to his home during the first eight months of his yearlong probation, according to Lelling’s office.

“During the trial, evidence showed that while at Logan International Airport Melo asked his friends and travel companions to carry envelopes of cash for [Codfather Carlos] Rafael on a flight to the Azores in Portugal,” the release said. “At the time, Melo was an Administrative Captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office and was traveling to the Azores with Rafael for a charity event sponsored by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to the flight, Melo asked three of his travel companions to follow him into the men’s bathroom at Logan Airport before going through the TSA Security Checkpoint.”

Read the full story at The Boston Globe