Saving Seafood

Nine of world’s biggest fishing firms sign up to protect oceans

June 9, 2017 — Nine of the world’s biggest fishing companies have signed up to protect the world’s oceans, pledging to help stamp out illegal activities, including the use of slave labour, and prevent overfishing.

The initiative will be announced on Friday, as part of the UN Ocean Conference this week in New York, the first conference of its kind at which member states are discussing how to meet the sustainable development goal on ocean health.

Goal 14 of the roster requires countries to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources”. However, little has yet been done to set out concrete commitments on meeting this target. The UN is hoping countries, companies and organisations will set out voluntary plans this week to work on issues such as pollution, overfishing, the destruction of coastal habitats, and acidification.

The Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) initiative, supported by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, marks the first time that companies from Asia, Europe and the US have come together aiming to end unsustainable practices. Although the fishing industry is highly fragmented at the local level, with millions of small boats and subsistence fishermen, about 11 to 16% of the global catch goes to just 13 companies, who are thought to control about 40% of the most valuable and biggest species.

Henrik Osterblöm, deputy science director at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, which brought the initiative together, said: “Sustainable marine ecosystems will be essential to feed a growing population, but the oceans are at risk. Seafood makes up 20% of the global intake of animal protein.”

Read the full story at The Guardian

Indonesia makes its fishing fleet visible to the world through Global Fishing Watch

June 8, 2017 — This week, at the United Nation’s Ocean Conference, the Republic of Indonesia becomes the first nation ever to publish Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data revealing the location and activity of its commercial fishing fleet. The new data being made public on the Global Fishing Watch public mapping platform reveals commercial fishing in Indonesian waters and areas of the Indian Ocean where it had previously been invisible to the public and other nations.

Susi Pudjiastuti, the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Affairs for the Republic of Indonesia, is taking a bold step toward increasing in her country’s . Today she urges other nations to do the same.

“Illegal fishing is an international problem, and countering it requires cross border cooperation between countries,” says Minister Susi. “I urge all nations to join me in sharing their vessel monitoring data with Global Fishing Watch. Together, we can begin a new era in transparency to end illegal and unreported fishing.”

Also at the UN Ocean’s Conference, Global Fishing Watch has committed to host any country’s VMS data, calling on other governments to follow Indonesia’s lead. “We believe publicly shared VMS will become a powerful new standard for transparent operation in commercial fishing,” says Paul Woods, Global Fishing Watch CEO and Chief Technology Officer for SkyTruth, a founding partner of Global Fishing Watch along with Oceana and Google. “SkyTruth has been collaborating with the Indonesian government for the past two years to really understand their VMS data and find new ways for VMS to enhance their fisheries management.”

Working closely with Oceana toward a united goal of transparency at sea, Peru becomes the first nation to follow Indonesia’s lead. Vice Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Hector Soldi, announced Peru’s intent to publicly share their VMS data in Global Fishing Watch.

“We applaud the commitments made by Peru and Indonesia to publish their previously private vessel tracking data and encourage other countries to follow their lead,” said Jacqueline Savitz, Senior Vice President for the United States and Global Fishing Watch at Oceana. “Together, with forward-thinking governments like these, we can bring even greater transparency to the oceans. By publishing fishing data and using Global Fishing Watch, governments and citizens can unite to help combat illegal fishing worldwide. With more eyes on the ocean, there are fewer places for illegal fishers to hide.”

Read the full story at Phys.org

Meet the 5 Seafood Champions of 2017

June 6, 2017 — Ned Bell, the Ocean Wise executive chef at Vancouver Aquarium, founded Chefs for Oceans in 2014 to raise awareness about sustainable seafood.

The organization is “creating a movement that is impacting the way people think about the seafood they eat,” according to Bell’s nomination as a Seafood Champion finalist in March 2017.

On Monday, 5 June, Bell was named one of the winners of the Seafood Champion Awards for Advocacy (the award will be shared with the International Pole & Line Foundation).

“I am so honored to be considered a seafood champion,” Bell told SeafoodSource. “I’m a proud of being a chef, and my community is the one I want to engage.”

Prior to working at the Vancouver Aquarium, Bell was the head chef at Lumiere and at YEW Kitchen in the Four Seasons, both highly regarded restaurants in Vancouver. In both restaurants, Bell championed local and sustainable seafood.

“Ned’s vibrant personality, infectious enthusiasm and commitment to improving the health of Canada’s lakes, oceans, and rivers have made a significant impact on those around him,” Four Seasons Vancouver General Manager Martin Sinclair said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood Champion Awards – global winners announced!

June 6, 2017 — The following was released by SeaWeb Seafood Summit:

A fearless fisheries minister who’s led a high-profile campaign against harmful fishing practices, a collective effort to combat large-scale illegal fishing in East Africa, two chefs who step far outside their kitchens to promote sustainable seafood, and a foundation breaking new ground in preemptive protection of Indian Ocean tuna are SeaWeb’s 2017 Seafood Champions.

The annual Seafood Champion Awards, presented at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit, recognize individuals and organizations for excellence in promoting ocean health and responsible practices with honors in four categories: leadership, innovation, vision and advocacy.

“The 2017 Seafood Champions demonstrate that courage and creativity can drive progress on seafood sustainability worldwide,” said Mark Spalding, president of SeaWeb and The Ocean Foundation. “These Champions have made smart use of strategies and tools tailored to their unique situations. Some employed teamwork and diplomacy to patiently overcome resistance. Others took bold actions. All have shown the determination and leadership that are the core qualities of Seafood Champions.”

The Seafood Champion Award for Leadership went to Susi Pudjiastuti, Indonesia’s Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries since 2014. She has banned the use of bottom trawlers and other unsustainable catching devices; led the fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in her geographically dispersed island nation; and fought against the use of forced labor on fishing vessels.

FISH-i Africa, a partnership of eight East African countries, received the Seafood Champion Award for Innovation for sharing information and taking collective enforcement action to combat large-scale illegal fishing. FISH-i’s string of investigations and prosecutions has created a strong deterrence to illegal activity and promoted legitimate operators.

Matthew Beaudin, executive chef of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, earned the Seafood Champion Award for Vision for leading the shift to local and sustainable seafood within the Monterey Bay restaurant scene. In 2016, Chef Matt visited more than 20 cities to promote Seafood Watch and responsible sourcing. He is a regional and cross-border leader, having also developed aquaponics programs to support HIV-positive orphans in Mexico.

Sharing the Seafood Champion Award for Advocacy were the International Pole & Line Foundation and Ned Bell, Ocean Wise executive chef at the Vancouver Aquarium and founder of Chefs for Oceans. IPNLF earned its place at the top for spearheading Indian Ocean tuna fisheries reform, most notably the adoption of a precautionary harvest strategy by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission—a huge leap forward for global tuna management. Chef Ned has made sustainable seafood his mission. In 2014, he rode his bike 8,700 km across Canada, hosting 20 events alongside some of the country’s best chefs to raise awareness of sustainable seafood.

“This year’s Seafood Champions show an important trend: providing practical and affordable solutions for small-scale fishers and developing nations is now a priority,” said judge Katie Miller, sustainable seafood project lead for UK-based ClientEarth. “I’m looking forward to seeing how these play out on the water.”

The judges chose winners from a group of 16 finalists doing remarkable work in their home waters or in multinational coalitions. They winnowed the finalists from an outstanding group of 115 nominees working in 43 countries, reflecting a sector that is increasingly global, collaborative and distributed throughout the supply chain.

The Seafood Champions were honored June 5 at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit kickoff reception, sponsored by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Seafood sustainability leaders from around the world attended the event, which was held at Chihuly Garden and Glass.

For more information on the awards, go to www.seafoodchampions.org.

About SeaWeb

SeaWeb accelerates the adoption of sustainable practices and products in the global seafood industry through communication, convening and facilitation. SeaWeb is a project of The Ocean Foundation, and produces the Seafood Summit in partnership with Diversified Communications.

Read the full release here

Pelagic Data Systems honored as SeaWeb Seafood Champion Finalist; FISH-i Africa Wins Innovation Award

June 6, 2017 — The following was released by Pelagic Data Systems:

Pelagic Data Systems (PDS) was honored as a finalist at the Seafood Champion Awards, held yesterday at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in Seattle. FISH-i Africa, a partnership of eight East African nations, was presented with the Seafood Champion Award for Innovation for their low-cost information-sharing solution to combat illegal fishing in the Western Indian Ocean.

“It is an honor to be recognized as a finalist among such innovative and forward-thinking organizations and individuals,” said PDS Chief Scientific Officer Melissa Garren. “Pelagic Data Systems thanks Mark Spalding and the entire SeaWeb team for bringing together such a passionate group of people united by a common goal of seafood sustainability. We’d also like to offer our congratulations to FISH-i Africa on their victory and their exemplary, collaborative work fighting illegal fishing.”

FISH-i Africa was established in 2012 when eight East African nations – Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania – united with the goal of halting large-scale illegal fishing. By bringing together national enforcement authorities, as well as technical and legal experts, FISH-i Africa is proving that regional cooperation and information-sharing can be powerful tools to stop illegal catch from getting to market.

This is the 11th year that SeaWeb has presented Seafood Champion Awards at its annual Seafood Summit. The Seafood Champion Awards program features four categories – Innovation, Vision, Leadership, and Advocacy – with four finalists in each category. The awards were created to honor organizations and individuals that promote environmentally sustainable seafood.

The Seafood Champion Award for Innovation recognizes those who identify and apply new solutions to ecological challenges, market needs, or sustainability barriers. In addition to PDS and FISH-i Africa, finalists included Karl Warr of Better Fishing, who has improved the sustainability of bottom trawling with a new cage mechanism, and Alan Lovewell of Real Good Fish, a California-based community-supported fishery (CSF).

PDS recently formed a partnership with Mr. Lovewell to outfit fishing boats working in his CSF with PDS’s vessel tracking technology. PDS’s technology provides Real Good Fish subscribers with a detailed look at where, when, and how their fish was caught.

About Pelagic Data Systems

Pelagic Data Systems (PDS) is the creator of ultra-lightweight vessel tracking systems for boats of all sizes. PDS’s innovative vessel tracking system is completely solar-powered and affordable, and helps fishers and regulators alike collect the fishing data that they value most. PDS is active in Southeast Asia, Africa, and throughout the Americas where its technology is being used to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and help fishers maintain their livelihoods.

Lawsuit takes aim at kings of the tuna industry

June 5, 2017 — Clandestine phone calls. Surreptitious emails. In-person meetings to avoid a paper trail.

The purpose of all the secrecy? To keep the price on packaged tuna — the quick source of protein found in cans and pouches — artificially high.

New details of exactly how the country’s three largest tuna companies, including Pittsburgh’s StarKist Co., allegedly spent years sharing information and collaborating are included in a pile of amended complaints submitted last month in federal court by numerous grocers, restaurants and suppliers.

It’s the latest round in an ongoing court battle alleging price fixing in the packaged seafood industry. Bumble Bee Foods and Tri-Union Seafoods, which trades under Chicken of the Sea, both based in San Diego, are also named.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which is conducting its own investigation into alleged price fixing in the industry, announced in early May that Bumble Bee Foods agreed to pay a $25 million fine after pleading guilty to conspiring with competitors to fix prices. The DOJ said the company also is cooperating with the antitrust investigation. It’s the third charge to be filed in the investigation.

The DOJ had released information that triggered the amended complaints, according to one attorney.

A spokesperson for Starkist, Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee declined to comment on pending litigation, but in 2016 attorneys representing StarKist urged the court to dismiss the case. They argued that it’s not unusual for people working in the same industry to know each other and to meet at industry gatherings.

But a lot of retailers are arguing that the evidence shows the exchanges were not so innocent.

The latest court documents — which are heavily redacted — include details such as Walmart and Ohio-based grocer Kroger charging that executives “used misleading subject lines on emails to affirmatively conceal the conspiratorial nature of their communications from those not involved in the conspiracy.”

Read the full story at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Tuna Traceability Declaration 2020 seeks traceability, social commitments from tuna industry

June 2, 2017 — A new “Tuna Traceability Declaration” is seeking to encourage the tuna industry to improve sustainability and social conditions in the tuna-fishing industry.

The Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration was created in advance of United Nations Ocean Conference, taking place 5 to 9 June in New York City. The declaration is not legally binding, but is meant to encourage actions and partnerships from and between tuna harvesters, processors, retailers, traders and related nonprofits and concerned governments, to improve the health of tuna populations worldwide. The initiative is in response to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources.

The declaration is being promoted by the nonprofit World Economic Forum, which brings together global leaders from diverse backgrounds, including business and government to aid the organization’s mission of being “committed to improving the state of the world.”

According to the World Economic Forum, The declaration requires the following commitments from its signees:

  1. Tuna traceability commitment
    1. Pledge that all tuna products in our supply chains will be fully traceable to the vessel and trip dates, and that this information will be disclosed upon request at the point of sale either on the packaging or via an online system.
  2. Commitment to a socially responsible tuna supply chain
    1. Pledge to eliminate any form of slavery and ensure suppliers at least meet minimum social standards in management practices as recommended in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s conventions and recommendations.
  3. Commitment to environmentally responsible tuna sources
    1. Pledge to source from tuna fisheries that have implemented: a) Robust science-based management plans, including harvest strategies that can maintain stocks at, or restore them at least to, levels which can produce maximum sustainable yield; and b) Measures to ensure that impacts of fisheries on the environment are sustainable, including bycatch mitigation techniques.
    2. Put this pledge into effect by continuing to explore new opportunities to support the multi-stakeholder initiatives mentioned above, and work to continually increase sourcing from tuna fisheries certified by schemes that are internationally recognized by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Ramped-Up Efforts to Protect Mexican Fisheries Netting Results

June 2, 2017 — Criminal charges filed against a father-son duo accused of illegally importing sea cucumbers from Mexico for huge profit by selling the seafood delicacy for $17.5 million in Asia have highlighted the tension between keeping fishing sustainable and ensuring fishermen can maintain their livelihood off the ocean. Courthouse News took a deep dive into the current state of Mexican fisheries and found while some depleted fisheries have been restored in recent years, the stakes have been raised for those who make their living selling the prized delicacies.

Last week David Mayorquin and Ramon Torres Mayorquin were arraigned in San Diego’s federal court on charges related to the illegal trafficking of sea cucumbers through San Diego’s port of entry. The two owned and operated Arizona-based seafood company Blessings Inc. and had a legal permit to import the sea creatures – which are related to sea urchins and starfish.

But the Mayorquins skirted international rules on importing sea cucumbers, which allow them to be fished only in season. The animals must also be a certain size and caught in limited quantities to maintain the population in Mexican fisheries like the one in Yucatan where the sea cucumbers purchased by the family were allegedly poached from.

Since the U.S. Attorney’s Office began investigating illegal quantities of sea cucumbers coming through San Diego’s port of entry, the border city has seen a stark drop in imports of the sea creature: over 90 percent in the past three years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Science and Technology.

In 2013, more than 2.4 million pounds of sea cucumbers worth over $27 million crossed San Diego’s border from Mexico. By 2016, only 155,000 pounds of imported sea cucumbers worth $1.1 million was declared at San Diego’s port of entry, according to NOAA.

While enforcement efforts on both sides of the border appear to be deterring illegal poaching and overfishing of protected species such as sea cucumbers, the stakes are higher for those who stand to make millions off delicacies prized in Asian markets.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

Global Ghost Gear Initiative welcomes Pelagic Data Systems (PDS) as new member


June 2, 2017 — The following was released today by the Global Ghost Gear Initiative and Pelagic Data Systems:

Pelagic Data Systems (PDS) has joined the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) as a new member. GGGI and PDS, both finalists for the 2017 SeaWeb Seafood Champion Awards, will team up to align approaches and collaborate on projects to reduce ghost fishing gear and remove it from the world’s oceans.

Pelagic Data Systems deploys ultra-lightweight, solar-powered vessel tracking systems to help fishers and regulators collect valuable fishing data for boats of all sizes. PDS works extensively in Southeast Asia, Africa, and throughout the Americas, where its technology is used to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

As a participant in the GGGI, PDS will bring valuable field experience from fisheries in Indonesia and the Pacific, which will inform and support efforts by the GGGI to address ghost fishing in upcoming projects in those regions. Their technical experience will be invaluable in the current development of projects focused on the marking and tracking of fishing gear to enable gear recovery and reduce gear discards.

“We look forward to working together with the committed and talented array of GGGI members to develop creative solutions that support healthy fisheries and fishing communities, and reduce the detrimental impacts of ghost gear,” said Melissa Garren, Chief Scientific Officer at PDS.

Launched by World Animal Protection in 2015, the GGGI is a cross-sectoral alliance committed to driving solutions to the problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear, known as ghost gear, worldwide. GGGI members collaborate to improve the health of marine ecosystems, protect marine animals, and safeguard human health and livelihoods. IUU fishing, which PDS works to combat, has been shown to contribute to the accumulation of ghost gear in the world’s oceans.

“We are so excited to have Pelagic Data Systems, with its innovativeness and technological leadership, join the Global Ghost Gear Initiative,” says Elizabeth Hogan of World Animal Protection and the GGGI. “The unique expertise they bring will augment the GGGI’s global efforts to mark and track lost fishing gear.”

Ghost gear is fishing equipment which has been abandoned or lost and is now causing harm to fisheries and ocean ecosystems. Each year, an estimated 640,000 tons of fishing gear is lost or abandoned in oceans, estuaries, and bays. Whether intentionally discarded or accidentally lost, this gear persists for hundreds of years, and it catches and wastes targeted marine species, entangles marine wildlife, adds to ocean waste, and presents additional expenses and hazards for fishers and marine communities.

PDS was founded in San Francisco in 2014 with the goal of increasing transparency and traceability in the global seafood supply chain. Its vessel tracking system, roughly the size of a typical smartphone, records a vessel’s location multiple times per minute, and automatically and securely transmits stored data within network range. Using this data, fishers and regulators can track vessel and fleet fishing activity, confirming the legality and location of catch and the type of gear that was used.

To learn more about the GGGI, visit www.ghostgear.org

To learn more about PDS, visit www.pelagicdata.com/

About Pelagic Data Systems:

Pelagic Data Systems (PDS) is the creator of ultra-lightweight vessel tracking systems for boats of all sizes. PDS’s innovative vessel tracking system is completely solar-powered and affordable, and helps fishers and regulators alike collect the fishing data that they value most. PDS is active in Southeast Asia, Africa, and throughout the Americas where its technology is being used to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and help fishers maintain their livelihoods.

About the Global Ghost Gear Initiative:

Founded in 2015 by World Animal Protection, the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) is a cross-sectoral alliance committed to driving solutions to the problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear (ghost gear) worldwide. The GGGI aims to improve the health of marine ecosystems, protect marine animals, and safeguard human health and livelihoods. Members include TriMarine, Sainsbury’s, Young’s Seafood, Northern Prawn Fisheries, and the International Pole and Line Foundation.

MASSACHUSETTS: Black sea bass poachers on Buzzards Bay return with the season

May 28, 2017 — Harbormaster and shellfish employees waded knee-deep in the Wareham River last weekend, fetching dead, floating fish and dropping them into black plastic trash bags.

Each fish would serve as evidence. An angler had spied Environmental Police seizing 225 black sea bass from another boat and dumped his own illegal catch to avoid arrest.

On the same sunny Sunday, beach-goers snapped cellphone pictures of boats that buzzed to the shoreline to drop off coolers, which Wareham Harbormaster Garry Buckminster believes were filled with illegal fish. The boats then motored back offshore to catch more.

“It’s really a wild west in some of these areas,” Buckminster said.

Black sea bass season had officially begun.

Hundreds of anglers converged on Wareham, Mattapoisett and other SouthCoast communities to take advantage of the pristine fishing conditions and haul sea bass from close-to-shore shallow waters. Most began the recreational season bagging the limit of five per person. But others hauled in 30 times that much, likely with their eyes on the black market, where black sea bass can sell for $5 a pound.

“As long as you have people buying the stuff, people are going to poach it,” Maj. Pat Moran of the Environmental Police said.

Smugglers stow the bass in hidden compartments within their boats, using false bottoms, plastic bags and beer coolers to collect their catch. Then it’s a rush to shore and out of town before they’re spotted by environmental police.

“They’ve really got their racket put together,” Buckminster said. “They’d going to do whatever they can. They’ve got a plan in place and they’re trying to make it happen.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times