Saving Seafood

Hawaii-based longline fishermen allowed to keep catching ahi

November 28, 2015 — HONOLULU (AP) ” Hawaii-based longline fishermen have exhausted multiple catch limits for ahi this year, but federal regulators said Friday a new agreement will ensure the fish will be available in the state through the holidays.

Regulators have approved a deal allowing Hawaii fishermen to attribute up to 1,000 metric tons of bigeye tuna catch to Guam, said Mike Tosatto, National Marine Fisheries Service regional administrator for the Pacific Islands.

The agreement will enable Hawaii fishermen to keep catching ahi as usual and deliver their haul to Honolulu. In exchange, Hawaii fishermen will pay $200,000 toward the development of the fishing industry on Guam.

“We want to inform the public that fish will continue to be available through the holidays,” Tosatto said.

Environmentalists say the arrangement contributes to the overfishing of bigeye tuna in the western and central Pacific.

“There’s just absolutely no way to reconcile that behavior with what the science says, which is that all fishing nations ” including the United States ” need to show some restraint. And need to reduce catch, not increase catch, which is what the fisheries service is allowing to happen here,” said David Henkin, an attorney for Earthjustice.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Bedford Standard – Times

 

How Restaurants and Fisheries Are Saving Edible Seafood From the Trash

October 22, 2015 — As demand for seafood rises, chefs have their seafood supplier on speed dial. And while species like tuna, cod, and halibut are popular, these days, the daily catch on the blackboard might be something unfamiliar — squirrel fish or the banded rudderfish. Don’t be scared off. Most likely it’s bycatch or trash fish. While perfectly edible and quite tasty, these fish are so named because they might otherwise be thrown overboard or ground into fishmeal because they aren’t the intended catch on commercial fishing boats.

If they had a choice, fisherman would rather not have to deal with bycatch, but fishing nets aren’t particular about what they scoop up. Bottom trawlers have little discretion when they drag along the seafloor. Longlines with baited hooks extend for 50 miles or more, which attracts anything that swims by — including unwanted edible fish as well as sea turtles, sharks, and other sea mammals. Opportunistic seabirds flock to longlines in hopes of an easy meal, often getting snagged.

All in all, it’s an inefficient way catch fish, and even the fisherman dislike it. The most recent tally from Johns Hopkins University estimates that in United States-controlled waters, 573 million pounds of fish are lost due to fisherman bycatch every year. This pales in comparison to the even-more striking fact that 51-63 percent of seafood is wasted at the consumer level.

Read the full story at Eater

 

Hawaii’s $100 Million Fishery Reopens In The Western And Central Pacific Ocean

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — October 13, 2015 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: 

After a closure that lasted more than two months, Hawaii’s longline vessels can fish again for bigeye tuna in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. Since Aug. 5th, the 145 active vessels in the Hawaii longline fleet have been prohibited from catching bigeye tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), i.e., waters east of 150 degrees West longitude. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determined that the fleet had reached its 2015 US bigeye tuna limit of 3,502 mt, developed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, to which the United States is a party.

Today, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced through the Federal Register that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has a 2,000 metric ton (mt) catch limit of longline-caught bigeye tuna and can allocate up to 1,000 mt each year to US longline fishing vessels in a specified fishing agreement that is consistent with established regulations. Additionally, NMFS notified CNMI Governor Eloy Enos that an agreement between the CNMI and Quota Management, Inc., of Honolulu is consistent with the regulatory requirements.

The news was especially welcomed for approximately three dozen Hawaii longline vessels that are larger than 24 meters in length. These larger vessels have been banned from fishing not only in the WCPO but also in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since Aug. 12, 2015. According to another international agreement to which the United States is a party, the US longline fleet has a quota of 500 mt in EPO after which US longline vessels less than 24 meters in length only can operate in those waters.

In a few weeks, after vessels provision and return from fishing, consumers of locally caught sashimi-grade tuna should see a relief from the high prices (reaching nearly $40 per pound for chu-toro, or “ahi with fat”) at retail outlets. Filets comprise about half the weight of a whole fish.

“The US longline fleet had not increased its effort,” noted Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, “but it experienced a bumper crop of bigeye, apparently as a result of the El Nino weather.” Simonds also noted that the majority of the bigeye tuna is caught in the equatorial Pacific, far from the Hawaii fishing grounds, and no other country has reached its quota.

“Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives kept our boats tied at the docks,” Simonds said. “The struggling vessels and small businesses they support accumulated millions of dollars in debt each month, causing untold anxiety for our local fishing community and consumers.”

“The Hawaii fishery lands only 1 and a half percent of the bigeye tuna caught in the Pacific Ocean,” Simonds added. “Our fishery was being unfairly penalized for a problem it did not create.”

The Hawaii longline fishery is unique. The fish are packed in ice and brought fresh to the dock for mostly Hawaii consumption. Only 3 percent is exported. The value of the fish landed by the Hawaii fleet is about $100 million, resulting in the port of Honolulu consistently ranking among the nation’s top 10 ports in landed value, according to the NMFS Fisheries of the United States annual reports.

With limited supply during the closure, prices for bigeye tuna (`ahi) skyrocketed at the Honolulu fish auction. At $13.70 a pound, this 214-pounder was worth nearly $3,000 off the boat.

The five Commissioners who represent the United States on the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission will meet in Honolulu tomorrow and Thursday with its advisors, known collectively as the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC). Among other items, the PAC will provide the Commissioners with input and advice on issues that may arise at the Commission’s next meeting to be held Dec. 3 to 8, 2015, in Bali, Indonesia.

“The US government must commit to protect the Hawaii longline fishery,” Simonds said. “The alternative is US dependence on foreign imports and the irrevocable loss of Hawaii’s iconic fishery.”

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: Appointees by the Secretary of Commerce from nominees selected by American Samoa, CNMI, Guam and Hawai`i governors: Michael Duenas, Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association (Guam) (vice chair); Edwin Ebisui (Hawai`i) (chair); Michael Goto, United Fishing Agency Ltd. (Hawai`i); John Gourley, Micronesian Environmental Services (CNMI) (vice chair); Julie Leialoha, biologist (Hawai`i); Dr. Claire Tuia Poumele, Port Administration (American Samoa); McGrew Rice, commercial and charter fisherman (Hawai`i) (vice chair); and William Sword, recreational fisherman (American Samoa) (vice chair). Designated state officials: Suzanne Case, Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources; Dr. Ruth Matagi-Tofiga, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources; Richard Seman, CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources; and Matt Sablan, Guam Department of Agriculture. Designated federal officials: Matthew Brown, USFWS Pacific Islands Refuges and Monuments Office; William Gibbons-Fly, US Department of State; RADM Vincent B. Atkins, US Coast Guard 14th District; and Michael Tosatto, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office.

View a PDF of the release from the WPRFMC

View a Federal Register notice for the Oct. 14 Permanent Advisory Committee meeting online

Quota troubles for Hawaii’s longline fisherman impacts ahi prices

October 11, 2015 — A government council says Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet is suffering a big economic impact because of quotas and that in turn means consumers are paying a high price at the market.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council says about one-fourth of the 145 longline boats in Hawaii haven’t been able to catch ahi, or bigeye tuna.

It says arbitrary quotas have them tied to the docks and accumulating debt.

The council also says the rest of the Hawaii fleet is being forced out of its primary fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific and have to travel farther into the Eastern Pacific.

Part of the problem some say is that young ahi are incidental catches for other fishers.

Read the full story on Khon2

 

Environmentalists ask court to stop Hawaii tuna quota shift

September 25, 2015 — HONOLULU (AP) – Environmentalists on Friday asked a federal judge to stop the National Marine Fisheries Service from allowing Hawaii-based fishermen to attribute some of the bigeye tuna they catch to U.S. territories.

They argue the agency is enabling the fishermen to circumvent international agreements aimed at controlling the overfishing of a popular tuna species known as ahi.

Earthjustice attorney David Henkin told U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Kobayashi the fisheries service acted illegally when it created a framework allowing Hawaii longline fishermen to record some of their catch as having been caught by fishermen in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

“This is allowing them to fish without limits,” Henkin said of Hawaii fishermen during a hearing in federal court for a motion Earthjustice filed on behalf of the Conservation Council for Hawaii and other environmental groups.

Bradley Oliphant, a U.S. Justice Department attorney who argued on behalf of the fisheries service, said the agency carefully studied the environmental effects of the quota transfer. He said the arrangement meets the requirements of U.S. fisheries and environmental laws.

The 26-member nation Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which regulates fishing from east and southeast Asia to waters around Hawaii, set a limit of about 3,500 metric tons for Hawaii longline fishermen this year. That’s about 7 percent less than last year.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at New Jersey Herald