Saving Seafood

African countries fighting back against illegal fishing

September 18, 2018 — One in four fish in Africa is still caught illegally, despite the efforts of many African nations to overcome the problem.

According to the organization Stop Illegal Fishing, an independent non-profit based in Africa dedicated to ending illegal fishing in the continent’s waters, ongoing efforts are being made by the majority of African maritime states to end illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, but greater momentum is needed if the “New Frontier of African Renaissance” – hailed by the African Union earlier this year – is to come to fruition.

IUU fishing is threatening the sustainability of fish stocks, damaging the ecosystem, depriving governments of income, and African people of their livelihoods, according to Peter Thomson, United Nations Special Envoy for the Ocean. And the scourge of IUU is affecting a majority of African nations; 38 of the 54 African countries have coastal borders and many inland countries have vast lakes, which are also affected by illegal fishing and poor fishing practices.

The issue of IUU in Africa has been well-studied, and numerous solutions have been proposed. A report in 2016 by the Overseas Development Institute and Spanish research and journalism group PorCausa used satellite tracking to monitor the methods and scale of the problem, pointing out that transhipments, lack of inspection of containerized shipments, inadequate legal frameworks, poor technology, and a lack of political will were all partly to blame. The report estimated that by developing and protecting Africa’s fisheries, around USD 3 billion (EUR 2.6 billion) could be generated in additional revenue and some 300,000 jobs created.

China, which is the largest fishing power in West Africa with more than 500 industrial fishing vessels operating in the region’s waters, must play a bigger role in stamping out illegal practices in its fleet, including the widespread use of illegal nets and frequent engagement in the practice shark-finning, according to Greenpeace. But spurred by growing intolerance on behalf of the governments of many African nations, China is taking action. Since 2016, China has cancelled subsidies worth USD 111.6 million (EUR 99.3 million) for 264 vessels caught fishing illegally. China has also revoked the distant-water fishing licenses of several companies and blacklisted others, alongside their ships’ captains.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

The role of big data and AI in the seafood industry

September 14, 2018 — People love seafood. It’s a delicacy in many parts of the world, with different preparations and varieties on the menu.

However, good fish is difficult to buy. Whether it is New York, Chicago, or London — restaurants and supermarkets rarely have healthy, wild-caught fish to offer.

Instead, customers end up buying farmed and maybe drug-laden varieties of the fish they truly desire. There’s definitely a trust issue in the seafood market.

Further, reports of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing are rising every day. In fact, some experts believe that as much as 20 percent of the global seafood catch is IUU and costs the global economy US$23 billion annually.

Finally, according to Reuters, global marine catches have declined by 1.2 million tonnes a year since 1996 — making IUU fishing even more challenging.

Does that mean the era of fresh, delightful seafood has come to an end? Maybe not. It seems like technology has an enterprise-grade solution to this problem as well.

Read the full story at Tech HQ

What is the Global Footprint of Fishing?

September 5, 2018 — Thanks to Global Fishing Watch, a new partnership between Oceana, SkyAtlas, and Google, scientists may be getting closer to figuring out how much of the world’s ocean is fished—but discrepancies in the scale of data are producing wildly different answers.

Global Fishing Watch launched in 2016 as a way to track fishing boats around the world. The core data comes from boats’ automatic identification system (AIS), a GPS system that pings out its location every 30 seconds to satellites. Most large boats around the world (not just fishing boats) are required to have AIS onboard for monitoring purposes and safety. Global Fishing Watch collects AIS data on all boats around the world to “determine the type of ship (e.g., cargo, tug, sail, fishing), its size, what kind of fishing gear (e.g. longline, purse seine, trawl) it’s using, and where and when it’s fishing based on its movement patterns.” It is an impressive way to collect fishing data and shows some promise for curbing illegal fishing. You can read more about it here.

One of the first major publications to come out of these AIS data attempted to map the ‘global footprint’ of fishing. It concluded that 55% of the global ocean was fished. However a recent paper, using the exact same data, concluded that only 4% of the global ocean is fished. An order of magnitude difference! What is going on here?

Read the full story at Sustainable Fisheries UW

MSC addresses forced labor, process issues in standards update

August 31, 2018 — The Marine Stewardship Council has announced an overhaul of its certification process after a review that lasted more than two years.

The changes include a new requirement that MSC-certified fisheries declare they are free from forced labor and child labor, and changes to the timeline of both when stakeholder input is accepted and to the dispute resolution process between parties seeking an MSC certification and those who have objections to an individual certification.

MSC Fisheries Standard Director Rohan Currey said introduction of updates to MSC’s Fisheries Certification Process and General Certification Requirements came after an organizational review that began in late 2015.

“The Marine Stewardship Council is a listening organisation and this review began in response to feedback from partners and stakeholders on the complexity of the assessment process and the resources required to engage with it,” Currey said. “To address this feedback, we aimed to reduce complexity and increase effectiveness of stakeholder engagement whilst maintaining the credibility and robustness of the whole process.”

Most prominent among the changes is MSC’s new requirement that by 31 August, 2019, all fisheries in the MSC program must complete and submit a Certificate Holder Forced and Child Labour Policies, Practices, and Measures, detailing the measures they have in place to mitigate the presence of forced or child labor. If the deadline is not met, the fishery will no longer be eligible for certification and any existing fishery certificates it has from the MSC will be suspended.  Fishing and supply chain companies and their subcontractors that have been successfully prosecuted for forced labor violations will not be eligible to participate in the MSC program for two years after their conviction.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: Senate hopeful Lindstrom visits the New Bedford fishing industry

August 30, 2018 — The New Bedford fishing industry rolled out the red carpet Wednesday for Beth Lindstrom, one of three Republicans locked in a primary battle to see who will go up against incumbent Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Lindstrom’s first visit to the fishing industry was arranged by Saving Seafood, a Washington, D.C.-based industry advocacy group founded by New Bedford native Bob Vanasse.

The half-day-long visit began at the BASE seafood auction on Hassey Street, owned and operated by Richard Canastra. There, buyers and the general public can watch as fish are auctioned off electronically, a far cry from the old system of chalk on a blackboard.

Lindstrom, former executive director of the Massachusetts State Lottery, mainly asked questions and listened to fishing industry representatives who told her of the difficulties they have with federal regulations.

An added concern, they said, is the pending construction of huge offshore wind energy farms that they say will keep fishing boats at bay to avoid the risk of entanglement.

The case of Carlos Rafael, known as The Codfather, was also brought up because of the hardship that the government imposed on fishing boats in sectors 7 and 9 and on-shore services who weren’t involved in Rafael’s misdeeds. Rafael is serving a 46-month federal sentence on charges including conspiracy, false labeling of fish, bulk cash smuggling, tax evasion and falsifying federal records.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Massachusetts raises fines as it updates fishing rules

August 29, 2018 — It’s going to cost you more to run afoul of the law out on the waters of the commonwealth beginning this November.

The state has doubled the civil fines and simplified and modernized the criminal fine system to run between $400 to $10,000 and as much as 30 months of jail time for offenders.

“It was really a big cleanup, especially on the criminal side, where we got rid of a lot of sections of penalties because they really reflected past enforcement priorities that just didn’t match the priorities of today,” said Jared Silva of the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

The revisions emerged from a two-year effort by DMF staff, Massachusetts Environmental Police and others to bring the state’s marine fine and penalty system into the 21st century, eliminating outdated enforcement measures and consolidating wherever possible.

“We repealed several sections,” Silva said.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Ex-New Bedford fishing captain pleads to hindering Coast Guard inspection

August 24, 2018 — A former New Bedford fishing boat captain pleaded guilty Thursday to interfering with a U.S Coast Guard inspection and faces sentencing Nov. 28, federal prosecutors said.

Thomas D. Simpson, 57, of South Portland, Maine, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of destruction or removal of property subject to seizure and inspection, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Simpson was the captain of the Bulldog, a New Bedford-based commercial fishing vessel and one of several fishing vessels owned by Carlos Rafael, the news release said. On Sept. 25, 2017, Rafael was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Boston, to 46 months in federal prison on charges related to the operation of his commercial fishing business.

On May 31, 2014, the Bulldog was engaged in commercial fishing off the coast of Massachusetts when the USCG boarded the vessel to perform a routine inspection, the news release said. 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 wheelhouse and instructed him to haul in the fishing net for inspection, the news release said. Instead of hauling the fishing net onto the vessel, he let out more of the cable attaching the net to the vessel.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New York clammer gets deferred-prosecution deal in fisheries case

August 16, 2018 — A Northport clammer who was the first Long Islander to challenge at trial charges growing out of the federal government’s ongoing fisheries probe has accepted a deferred-prosecution agreement that could see his case dismissed in a year.

Thomas Kokell, a former commercial trawler-boat captain, was indicted in 2016 on four counts of mail fraud, conspiracy and filing false fishing reports in connection with an alleged scheme to illegally harvest nearly 200,000 pounds of fluke in 2011 and 2012. The fish were valued at nearly $400,000.

Kokell was released Tuesday on his own recognizance after a court appearance in which the deal was approved by a federal judge, according to federal court documents and Kokell’s attorney. He will not enter a plea and the charges will be dismissed, avoiding prison time and fines, if he “avoids future misconduct” over the next year, according to his attorney Peter Smith and court documents.

The company affiliated with his fishing operation, however, will pay a fine of $5,000, according to Smith and the documents. Other fishermen caught up in the federal probe have seen several years of prison time and fines over $900,000.

Read the full story at Newsday

High seas fisheries play limited role in feeding the world

August 14, 2018 — A recent study undertaken by a team of fisheries and social scientists found that fishing fleets operating outside of national waters contributed to less than 3 per cent of the world’s seafood supply.

Scientists from Dalhousie University, New York University and National Geographic paired a global database of marine catches developed by researchers at the University of British Colombia with a seafood trade database maintained by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. They analysed the data, considering the amount of fish and marine invertebrates produced by marine capture fisheries and comparing it to those produced by freshwater fisheries and aquaculture.

The team found that a much lower volume of seafood was produced by the high seas fisheries, with most of the catch destined for upscale EU, US and Asian markets. China and Taiwan account for one-third of the total high seas catch.

Lead author Laurenne Schiller, PhD student at Dalhousie University said: “I think many people have the misconception that because the area is so large, the high seas must be contributing a massive supply of food to the world, but that’s just not the case. Only a handful of countries are fishing in the high seas and the fish they catch are not feeding those most in need”.

The findings of this study are against the common misconception that high seas fisheries are important for food security. Less than 40 species are targeted by fisheries in the high seas, and only one species, the Antarctic toothfish, is exclusively caught in this are of the ocean. Marketed as Chilean sea bass, this fish can easily sell for over $50 per kilogram.

Read the full story at New Food

ALASKA: Salmon ‘seized’ by Troopers sold to processors, state holds harvest ticket

August 8, 2018 — The 16 tons of salmon alleged to have been illegally harvested in Lower Cook Inlet were sold to a processor so they wouldn’t be wasted, with the state of Alaska now holding the harvest ticket. Wildlife Troopers say while illegally driving salmon from closed areas to open ones isn’t unheard of, this case is particularly egregious.

Four fishermen were charged for the incident on July 20, in which Troopers say five vessels were used in varying roles to drive the chum and pink salmon from an area closed to fishing toward an open fishing area. The fishermen then delivered 33,328 lbs of the illegally-caught chum and pink salmon to a processor. It was then processed as any legal catch would be, so it wouldn’t go to waste.

State Troopers charged the four men, who live in Homer and Anchor Point, and confiscated the harvest ticket, which tracks the weight and date of a delivery. Processors use the ticket number to pay fishermen from the season, and Fish and Game uses the ticket number to track how many fish were harvested, where, and by whom.

The outcome of the court cases will determine whether the money goes back to the fishermen, or is forfeit to the state.

Eric Winslow, Paul Roth, Robert Roth and Mark Roth were charged with crimes including driving salmon, commercial fishing in closed waters, failure to provide information to a fish transporter, failure to obtain a fish transporter permit, failure to complete fish tickets, unlawful possession of commercial fish, and failure to display vessel license numbers.

Read the full story at KTUU