Saving Seafood

Fish caught by slaves may be tainting your cat food

January 3, 2017 — Crack open a can of seafood-flavored cat food and whiff that fishy broth. Now try to guess where those gloopy bits of meat originate.

It’s a futile task. Oftentimes, no one knows quite how they got there, or who hauled those fish aboard which boat. Not even the multinational corporations who sell it on supermarket shelves.

Sure, pet food conglomerates can tell you which factories ground up the fish. They know who mixes in the additives, like tricalcium phosphate, and then dumps it into a can.

But the men who actually yanked it out of the sea? They’re usually anonymous, obscured by a murky supply chain.

That’s unfortunate. Because much of the pet food sold in the West is supplied by a Southeast Asian seafood industry, centered in Thailand, that is infamous for its use of forced labor.

For years, this industry has been scandalized by reports of human trafficking and even outright slavery. The victims are men from Myanmar and Cambodia, duped by human traffickers.

Here’s how the scam works. Traffickers promise desperate men a job on a factory or farm in Thailand — a relatively prosperous country compared to its poverty-stricken neighbors.

But there is no legit job. The victims are instead forced onto squalid trawlers. Once the boats leave port, they enter a lawless sea, and the men are forced to toil without pay — sometimes for years on end.

Read the full story at PRI

US cracks down on a global crime: Illegal fishing

December 20th, 2016 — There’s a good chance that the tuna sushi you ordered last week wasn’t actually tuna – or that it was caught under illegal circumstances. To help bring down those chances, last week, the Obama administration passed a final rule to combat illegal fishing and seafood fraud.

 Under the rule issued on Dec. 8 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), importers will be required to track and report key data on a preliminary list of seafood imports at risk of illegal fishing and fraud. This means that at-risk imported seafood will be tracked from its point of origin to the U.S. border.

The rule is intended to help even the playing field for domestic seafood companies, since illegal fishing and seafood fraud have hurt U.S. fishermen who adhere to more stringent rules than in some other countries. However, illegal fishing and seafood fraud affect far more than just American fishermen’s bottom lines. In fact, they are symptoms of a rampant problem that spans the globe: illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU).

IUU undermines efforts to conserve and sustainably manage fish stocks and represents a threat to fisheries worldwide. It is estimated that global costs related to IUU reach up to $23 billion annually and up to 20 percent of seafood is illegally caught. In addition, IUU comprises a host of interconnected problems, including piracy, organized crime, drug trafficking, slave labor, exploitation of migrant workers, and mislabeling of catches.

 Read the full story at The Hill 

Major seafood companies come together to crackdown on illegal fishing, improve industry transparency

December 20th, 2016 — Eight big fishing companies, which combined catch more than 40 times Australia’s total seafood production, have signed a joint agreement to crack down on illegal fishing, improve traceability and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

The companies also said they would address antibiotic use in aquaculture and plastic pollution.

Meeting in Sweden recently, the companies agreed to use more cutting edge technology, including DNA barcoding and satellite surveillance to monitor the volume and types of fish species they catch.

The companies account for 15 per cent of the total global catch.

Australian company Austral Fisheries, which is 50 per cent owned by signatory Maruha Nichiro Corporation, believes the agreement marks a major milestone for the global industry.

General manager of environment and policy, Martin Exel said consumers around the world have pushed the companies to act.

“Secondly, there is a genuine desire to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. There’s a real awakening in the seafood industry akin to the canary in the coal mine, where we see climate change impacts on a daily basis.”

The conversation among the companies was led by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, which researched the most influential companies to bring to the table.

A lack of financial disclosure from Russian and Chinese companies meant they were not a part of the initial agreement, according to Mr. Exel.

Read the full story at the Australian Broadcasting Company

Congressmen Seek Investigation Of Hawaii Fishing Practices

December 14, 2016 — Four Democratic congressmen have written to officials at the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration claiming that Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet is operating illegally by employing — and in some cases possibly abusing — foreign fishermen.

The congressmen said fishing boat owners who are not in “compliance with the law” should not be allowed to sell their products.

Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva’s staff convened a forum about the matter on Capitol Hill last week. Activists at the event, who described what was happening as modern-day slavery, advocated a boycott of tuna until the alleged abuses stop.

The letter was signed by Grijalva, ranking Democratic member of the Natural Resources Committee; Jared Huffman of California, ranking Democratic member of the Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee; Peter DeFazio of Oregon, ranking Democratic member of the  Transportation Committee and Infrastructure; and John Garamendi of California, ranking Democratic member of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee.

It was addressed to Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Kathryn Sullivan, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, and was delivered Monday.

“This illegal activity does not represent American values and has dealt a blow to U.S. credibility as a global leader in fighting (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing and human trafficking,” the congressmen wrote.

John P. Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute, a trade group, told Civil Beat the industry is looking forward to the response by the Coast Guard and NOAA, saying that it would allow a “clarification” of employment law affecting foreign fishermen working in Hawaii.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

The White House Just Made It Easier To Know The Fish You’re Eating Is Actually Fish

December 9, 2016 — The Obama administration took a massive step in the fight against seafood fraud and illegal fishing on Thursday, introducing a rule that will help Americans know the fish they’re eating is truly what they paid for.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will oversee the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which will require about 25 percent of imported seafood to be traced from the boat or farm it comes from to the U.S. border. The rule is meant to curb the mislabeling of fish before it enters the U.S. (about 90 percent of fish we consume is imported) and cut down on overfishing. Businesses will have until the beginning of 2018 to comply.

“Today’s announcement is a groundbreaking step towards more transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain,”said Beth Lowell, a senior campaign director for the environmental group Oceana, in a statement. “For the first time ever, some imported seafood will now be held to the same standards as domestically caught fish, helping to level the playing field for American fishermen and reducing the risk facing U.S. consumers.”

Read the full story at the Huffington Post

Obama finalizes stricter monitoring of seafood imports

December 9th, 2016 — The administration U.S. President Barack Obama has announced the implementation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program to qualified enthusiasm from environmental groups.

The fruits of the Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud, authorized by Obama in June 2014, the program will require “at-risk” seafood that is imported into the United States to be tracked to its source and properly labeled.

Studies by ocean conservation watchdog Oceana found that around one-third of market and restaurant seafood products were mislabeled, while the organization estimates that up to one-third of the wild-caught seafood being imported into the United States is the result of IUU fishing.

Oceana’s senior campaign director Beth Lowell released a statement today saying the program should help protect U.S. fisherman from being undermined by illegally caught imports.

“For the first time ever, some imported seafood will now be held to the same standards as domestically caught fish, helping to level the playing field for American fishermen and reducing the risk facing U.S. consumers,” Lowell’s statement said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source 

French retailers, companies guided on avoiding illegal fishing

December 5th, 2016 — NGOs Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), SeaWeb Europe and WWF-France have issued a joint advisory note in collaboration with retailer Carrefour to inform French industry, retailers and brands of the risks associated with illegal fishing.

Following the positive acceptance of a similar guide issued to the U.K. supply chain last year, the French adaptation offers expert advice on source risk assessment and mitigation, and encourages action to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishery products entering French supply chains.

Presented in Paris, France, the new advisory sets out key recommendations, including:

  • Strengthened transparency and traceability of supply chains
  • Support for the effective ratification of the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) and ILO Conventions relevant for fisheries
  • The introduction of IMO numbers or alternative unique verification identifiers linked to a global record of fishing vessels
  • Promote harmonization of import verification procedures across all EU member states, including an electronic catch certification system

According to EJF Executive Director, Steve Trent, there is a growing appetite for information on where seafood is coming from.

“Knowing where, and under what conditions, seafood is caught is vital for building legal and sustainable fisheries, and companies have a right to demand suppliers provide information on where products come from,” he said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Tech solutions to tackle overfishing, labor abuse at sea

November 28th, 2016 — Fishing boats used high-tech systems to find vast schools of fish for decades, depleting stocks of some species and leading to the complete collapse of others. Now more than a dozen apps, devices and monitoring systems aimed at tracking unscrupulous vessels and the seafood they catch are being rolled out — high-tech solutions some say could also help prevent labor abuse at sea.

Illegal fishing, which includes catching undersized fish, exceeding quotas and casting nets in protected areas, leads to an estimated $23 billion in annual losses, according to the United Nations. Meanwhile, overfishing close to shore has pushed boats farther out, where there are few laws and even less enforcement to protect workers from abuse. Slavery has been documented in the fishing sectors of more than 50 countries, according to U.S. State Department reports.

Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said using technology at sea could eventually mean “there is not one square mile of ocean where we cannot prosecute and hold people accountable…”

However, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, cautions that catching human traffickers goes beyond finding boats.

Read the full story at WRAL

Update to ISSF Participating Company Compliance Report Shows Improvement Across All Measures

November 21, 2016 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

WASHINGTON — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its Update to ISSF Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report, which shows a conformance rate of 95.6 percent by 25 ISSF participating companies as of October 31, 2016, across all 20 measures then in effect. ISSF Participating Companies account for about 75% of the global canned tuna market.

The November 2016 Update is based on audits conducted June 2016–October 2016 on measures where some companies had “minor” or “major” nonconformance. Improvements noted since the June 2016 ISSF Conservation Measures & Commitment Compliance Report was published include:

  • 14 companies were found to be fully compliant with all 20 measures.
  • 19 companies were fully compliant in 17 or more conservation measures.
  • “Minor” non-conformance with measures dropped from 11.6% to 4.4%.
  • All 6 “major” non-conformances have been corrected, resulting in the first 0% “major” non-conformance rate since the report has been published.

The ISSF Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report is published annually to track ISSF participating companies’ progress in conforming with ISSF conservation measures like these:

In addition to these summary reports, third-party independent auditor MRAG Americas issues individual company reports that document in detail each company’s compliance with conservation measures. This year, for the first time since ISSF started tracking and reporting company compliance in 2013—and in response to requests for deeper information—ISSF now publishes the individual company compliance reports on its website.

“That many of the tuna industry’s key players are conforming to science-based conservation measures, opening their books to independent auditors, and reporting their findings publicly, would be accomplishment enough,” said ISSF Board Member Dr. Bill Fox, Vice President, Fisheries, WWF-US. “But efforts to improve participating company conformance within the audit year—increasing the conformance rate by seven points in just five months—raises the bar for the industry and the market as a whole. And it represents continuous improvement in action.”

ISSF continually expands and refines its science-based conservation measures, which now number more than 25. New measures passed by the ISSF Board of Directors in October 2016—some taking effect in 2016, and others in 2017 or later—cover non-entangling FADs, product traceability, and fishing capacity management.

More Information about ISSF Conservation Measures & Compliance

For long-term tuna sustainability, a growing number of tuna companies worldwide are choosing to participate with ISSF, follow responsible fishing practices, and implement science-based conservation measures. From bycatch mitigation to product traceability, ISSF participating companies have committed to conforming to a set of conservation measures and other commitments designed to drive positive change—and to do so transparently through third-party audits.

“We recognize that transparency underpins all of the initiatives we tackle, and all of the collaborative efforts we undertake,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “Transparency reinforces the understanding that we are not only committed to making a difference, but to clearly demonstrate ongoing improvement in meeting that commitment.”

As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, ISSF engages third-party auditor MRAG Americas to audit ISSF Participating Companies—assessing their compliance with ISSF’s Conservation Measures and Commitments. MRAG Americas conducts independent auditing based on a rigorous audit protocol.

Satellite, cellular technology starting to catch up to IUU scofflaws

November 10, 2016 — Technological advancements in satellite and cellular technology are being brought to bear in the international fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, enabling greater levels of surveillance and policing in the vast – and previously mostly lawless – open ocean.

An article in Business Insider details the story of how the tiny island nation of Kiribati successfully used satellite imaging provided by Global Fishing Watch, a partnership between Google, Oceana and SkyTruth, to catch a commercial fishing vessel fishing illegally in a no-catch zone. Central Pacific Fishing Company, the owner of the vessel, Marshalls 203, was fined USD 2 million (EUR 1.8 million) as a result of the investigation.

Another group that is pushing the envelope when it comes to using tracking technology onboard fishing vessels is Pelagic Data Systems. The company, based in San Francisco, California, has developed a cellular vessel tracking system specifically designed for small-scale fisheries and small-boats, which compose as much as 95 percent of the world’s fishing fleet.

The smaller, solar-powered units that Pelagic Data Systems has designed are much cheaper than an AIS system, and have been successfully implemented on a variety of vessel sizes and types. The units record a geolocation every few seconds, stores it on the vessel after compressing and encrypting it, and uploads data when it comes into contact with a cellular network, according to PDS chief scientific officer Melissa Garren, who presented as part of the SeafoodSource webinar “Small vessels, big data: Silicon Valley takes up the fight against IUU fishing” on Thursday, 20 October.

“The challenge is to put all vessels on the map using a combination of all different sorts of technology,” Garren said. “Whatever it takes to improve fisheries management, the livelihood of fishermen, and the environmental sustainability of our marine resources.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source