Saving Seafood

Appeals court hears arguments on NOAA’s authority to regulate aquaculture

January 9, 2020 — The fight over whether offshore aquaculture should be allowed in US federal waters and which agency should regulate it is back in court with lawyers for a group of fishing and food safety interests arguing that new legislation is needed for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to regulate it.

In September 2018, US district court judge Jane Triche Milazzo, in the Eastern District of Louisiana, granted a motion by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and a coalition of fishing and public interest groups it represented to grant a summary judgment in its lawsuit against NOAA’s National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) to block its efforts to establish aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico.

CFS had successfully argued that the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), which gives NOAA and NMFS much of their legal authority, gave the agencies authority over only wild-capture fisheries, not aquaculture.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

The World is Your Sustainable, Traceable Oyster

December 19, 2019 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Prestige Oyster Texas and Louisiana private oyster fishery achieved MSC certification today, marking a first for a wild oyster fishery in the Americas to achieve certification. The certification comes following a rigorous 10-month assessment carried out by independent, third party assessor MRAG Americas, to ensure the fishery meets the MSC fisheries standard, including ensuring sustainable fish stocks; minimizing environmental impact, and ensuring there are responsive management systems in place. MSC certification recognizes and rewards sustainable fishing practices and is helping create a more sustainable seafood market.

“Oysters play an integral part in a healthy ocean environment, so having an oyster fishery committed to the long term health of the wild oyster population by gaining MSC certification is a win for a healthy ocean,” said Brian Perkins, MSC Regional Director, Americas. “This is especially timely given the threats facing the ocean from climate change. Congratulations to Prestige Oysters on this achievement.”

“Prestige is proud to lead the industry in sustainable oyster harvesting. MSC certification is a testament to our fishery, for the past two years we have gone up against the rigorous standards of the MSC and to be the first certified oyster fishery in the Americas is an immensely proud feeling. I want to thank both Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for their assistance through this process. A special thank you to Laura Picariello at Texas SeaGrant for her guidance and commitment to this project. Certification would not have been possible without the dedicated, hardworking men and women of these institutions. Sustainable harvesting has always been at the core of my company, and now with MSC certification, consumers can trust that Prestige Oysters are harvested in the most sustainable practices. Over the past decade, we have seen initiatives from foodservice to retail customers to source MSC certified seafood, and I excited to offer that demand.”

The American cupped oyster (Crassostrea virginica) are wild oysters native to Texas and Louisiana and are harvested by boat dredges on private leases. Private leases may contain oyster reefs that are either natural or constructed from deposition of cultch (oyster shell, limestone, concrete, etc.) placed on soft bottom in suitable depths for oyster growth. Without additional cultch or natural growth of oysters that provides dead shell, the reefs would disappear over time, leaving little impact on the marine environment.

Oysters play an important role in the marine ecosystem, as both a habitat for a variety of sessile plants and animals and free-swimming fish and shellfish, and as filter feeder because they feed upon phytoplankton (algae)i. The Texas and Louisiana Oyster fishery is certified through 2024 and can enter reassessment after the five year period. During the five-year certification, the fishery must undergo annual surveillance audits in order to ensure their ongoing compliance with the MSC requirements.

The MSC standard was established in 1997 and is the only wild caught seafood standard and ecolabeling program to meet United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) guidelines as well as meet Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) benchmarking criteria. The standards used to evaluate fisheries have been developed in deliberation with scientists, industry, and conservation groups, and reflect the most up-to-date fisheries science and management practices.

The MSC fishery standards are based on three core principles that every fishery must meet:

  1. Sustainable fish stocks: Fishing activity must be at a level which ensures it can continue indefinitely.
  2. Minimizing environmental impact: Fishing operations must be managed to maintain the structure, productivity, function, and diversity of the ecosystem.
  3. Effective Management: The fishery must comply with relevant laws and have a management system that is responsive to changing circumstances.

Senator Doug Jones introduced bill to protect red snapper population in Gulf

November 27, 2019 — Recreational and commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico may soon have to have on board their boats devices that could help ensure the population of reef fish remain healthy for generations to come, thanks to a bill introduced by U.S. Senator Doug Jones, D-Ala.

Jones and cosponsor Sen. Bill Cassidey, R-La., introduced a bill that would require boats to carry on board venting tools and descending devices, which reduce barotrauma in reef fish, such as red snapper, a condition that kills fish when their brought to the surface rapidly from deep water. If a fish is too small, nor the correct species or over a fisherman’s limit, they release them back into the water, but without the use of these devices many of these fish die, unable to return to the deep water where they thrive.

The Direct Enhancement of Snapper Conservation and the Economy through Novel Devices (DESCEND) Act has a companion bill a companion bill recently introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Garrett Graves, R-La., and Jared Huffman, D-Calif.

Read the full story at the Alabama Political Reporter

Senators Cassidy, Jones Introduce Bill to Improve Red Snapper Numbers

November 25, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Doug Jones (D-AL) introduced a bill earlier this week that aims to improve the health of reef fish (red snapper) populations in the Gulf of Mexico.

A common issue when catching red snapper is barotrauma, a condition that kills fish if they are caught and rapidly rough to the surface from deep water. Barotrauma kills fish because they cannot readjust to deep water upon release. Fishermen can venting tools and descending devices to reduce the impact and save fish harvested for both commercial and recreational uses.

NOAA and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council are prepping an eight-year, $30 million project to further reduce barotrauma. However, current regulations prevent the Council from both requiring fishermen to use venting tools and other methods to return fish and providing federal dollars to study the issue, Senator Cassidy’s office said in a press release.

“I’ve been fishing all my life, so I know how important it is to protect Gulf species like red snapper,” Jones said. “The use of descending devices and venting tools is one way we can help maintain healthy populations of reef fish, which is crucial for the economy of Alabama and for ensuring that future generations can continue to enjoy red snapper season.”

The Direct Enhancement of Snapper Conservation and the Economy through Novel Devices (DESCEND) Act would force commercial and recreational fishermen to keep descending devices onboard vessels. It would also allow the study to continue after new regulations are implemented to comply if the DESCEND Act were to become law.

“Louisiana loves to fish. We’re at risk of there not being enough red snapper for recreational and commercial fishing to continue,” Dr. Cassidy said. “This increases the number of red snapper for now and for future generations.”

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Louisiana fishing industry suffers USD 258 million in losses

November 20, 2019 — The Louisiana fishing industry suffered an estimated USD 258 million (EUR 233 million) in losses due to historic flooding this year and the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, a new analysis said.

The fisheries disaster economic impact analysis, conducted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, was submitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to help the state qualify for its portion of the USD 165 million (EUR 149 million) in fisheries disaster assistance available from the federal government.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Plan would protect 21 coral hot spots in Gulf of Mexico

November 15, 2019 — A plan to protect corals in the Gulf of Mexico is close to becoming a law, drawing cheers from environmental groups who believe leaving the corals alone would help vulnerable ocean ecosystems to grow.

The plan would create 21 protected areas off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Thirteen of the areas would carry new commercial fishing restrictions, and that has attracted the attention of fishing groups, who want the government to take a cautious approach.

Pew Charitable Trusts has characterized the plan as a way to protect nearly 500 square miles of slow-growing coral “hot spots,” and is championing the protection plan as a way to spare vulnerable corals from fishing gear. The proposal would prohibit gear such as bottom trawls and dredges that can disrupt the corals.

Sandra Brooke, an oceanographer and coral ecology expert at Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory, said it’s important to spare the corals because of their importance to the marine environment and because they can have value for the development of new medicines.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WRAL

Gulf Oysters Are Dying, Putting a Southern Tradition at Risk

November 14, 2019 — For the people who harvest, sell, shuck and serve the bivalves, that’s a worrisome prospect: Oysters, traditionally cheap and plentiful, are more central to the restaurant and cooking culture of the Gulf Coast than to that of any other region.

“Oysters are part of who we are,” said Mr. Sunseri, whose ancestors founded P & J in 1876. His family is hoping to rent part of its production house here to a restaurant in an effort to stay afloat. If not for his good health and lack of debt, Mr. Sunseri said, “We’d be closed.”

In September, the United States Department of Commerce determined that Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi were suffering “a catastrophic regional fishery disaster,” making businesses in those states eligible for federal assistance.

Louisiana normally accounts for a third of the nation’s annual oyster harvest. The current season isn’t over, but losses reported so far are so severe “that we’re likely to not remain the largest oyster producer in the United States,” said Patrick Banks, an assistant secretary in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Heavy rain and snow in the Midwest caused the Army Corps of Engineers to open the Bonnet Carré Spillway, about 33 miles northwest of New Orleans, for a record 118 days last winter and spring. The spillway protects communities near the Mississippi’s mouth from flooding by releasing water from the river and reducing pressure on the flood-control system.

But it also reduces the salinity of surrounding waters, endangering oysters, which can tolerate brackish water but can die if the salt content is too low.

The river was so high that even areas unaffected by the openings were flushed with freshwater.

Read the full story at The New York Times

Economist says coastal restoration projects would pump billions into southeast Louisiana’s economy

October 17, 2019 — Two projects planned by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority will have a multibillion-dollar economic impact on southeast Louisiana, according to a report presented to the CPRA board Wednesday.

The CPRA expects to spend $1.8 billion over seven years on two controversial diversion projects that would redirect land-building sediment from the Mississippi River to Barataria Bay and Breton Bay.

“That’s a non-trivial sum of money, obviously,” said Loren Scott, an economist who studied the potential economic impact for the Restore the Mississippi Delta Campaign and The Environmental Defense Fund.

In the four-parish region that includes Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Orleans and Jefferson parishes, sales at businesses would increase by more than $3.1 billion while household earnings would increase more than $809 million, according to Scott’s projections.

Read the full story at KPVI

Record low Gulf Coast supply could jolt oyster prices

October 10, 2019 — This spring’s record-shattering flooding from the Mississippi River has wreaked historic havoc on oyster production in the Gulf of Mexico, which could reverberate for years to come with scant supply and hard-to-digest prices.

Louisiana, which bore the worst of the damage from too-low salinity and smothering algae blooms and historically accounts for 75 percent of Gulf harvests and 34 percent of U.S. harvests, is all but out of commission for this fall’s oyster harvest season.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US Commerce declares fishing disasters for 7 states

September 26, 2019 — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has declared fishing disasters for seven states on three coasts.

“Fishing is the cornerstone of countless coastal economies and has been a way of life for generations of Americans,” he said in a brief news release Wednesday. “This determination acknowledges the critical role fisheries play in our communities, and the risks they face from natural disasters and other causes beyond their control.”

Ross’ action makes people and businesses eligible for NOAA fisheries disaster assistance. Congress has appropriated $165 million for such help for fiscal 2019 and the Commerce Department decides allocations to eligible fisheries, the statement said.

The statement said a regional disaster occurred for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama because of “extreme flooding events in the Gulf of Mexico.” Alaska and California each had multiple requests approved; one for both Georgia and South Carolina will help shrimpers and shrimp processors. An unusually cold spell in January 2018 killed the vast majority of shrimp overwintering in estuaries, Erin Weeks, spokeswoman for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said in an email.

Read the full story at The Star Tribune