Saving Seafood

Northeast herring: As catch limit screws tighten, bait dealers seek alternative sources

April 5, 2021 — New rules in the herring fishery aimed at improving sustainability for the important lobster bait fish are impacting fishermen, dealers and others.

The fishery, mostly centered in Massachusetts and Maine, grew in the 1960s but has been in decline since the 1980s. In 2018, 43,878 metric tons were landed. But by 2019, 12,998 mt (valued at $9.72 million) was landed. 2020 landings were 9,368.5 mt (valued at $6.77 million), according to NOAA economist Min-Yang Lee.

The 2021 fishing season started Jan. 1, with an annual catch limit of 11,571 mt, divided among four herring management areas. However, once Framework 8 to the herring management plan is implemented, the total ACL will be set to 4,128 mt. The 2020 stock assessment shows spawning stock biomass to be at its lowest value since the late 1980s.

Wayne Reichle, president of Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May N.J., calls the quota reductions “a disaster for the region’s herring fishery.” Reichle says fleet has stayed within quota the last few years, so the low biomass and poor recruitment is “attributable to the stress of a cold-water fish being challenged by a warming ocean.” Many say it is too early to predict to what extent herring supplies will impact prices, given the newest reductions. In mid-March, herring prices in Maine were about $250 per barrel at the docks.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Members Call on ASMFC for a Fair and Equitable Reallocation Process

February 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

As the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) undertakes a performance review of the Atlantic menhaden fishery, members of the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) are urging the Commission to consider, as part of its decision-making, the importance of historic landings records and the impacts to the fishing industry of the recently implemented ecosystem-based management.

The call came in a letter to ASMFC Menhaden Board Chair A.G. “Spud” Woodward, signed by several organizations in the menhaden bait and marine ingredient industries, representing several states including New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland.  The signatories of the letter include New Jersey’s Lund’s Fisheries, Virginia’s Omega Protein, Reedville Bait, and Kellum Maritime, and Delmarva Fisheries Association based in Maryland.

While it is currently unclear whether the ASMFC will initiate an action to revisit current menhaden quota allocations, the letter asks the Commission to recognize in any possible decision factors such as changing patterns in landings, strong demand for menhaden products, and the need to ensure that the fishing industry has a fair opportunity to harvest their quota.

Specifically, the letter highlights the disparity between how the quota is currently distributed among states and where the harvest is occurring, impeding efforts to fully harvest the quota. The letter asks that if the Commission pursues quota reallocation, that it recognizes the few states that have already sacrificed some of their historical quota share, and that it ensures that the burden of any new cuts is fairly distributed throughout the stock’s range. Traditionally, both current use and a state’s fishing history are key determinants in resource allocations made by the Commission.

“Since the menhaden quota was established in 2012, cuts have come almost entirely at the expense of New Jersey and Virginia fishermen,” said Wayne Reichle, President of Lund’s Fisheries. “Now that the Commission has decided to reduce the quota for ecological reasons, the conservation burden needs to be fairly shared throughout the fishery, not by taking allocation from the two states with the largest historical fisheries.”

The menhaden fishery has changed significantly since the ASMFC passed Amendment 3 to its menhaden Fishery Management Plan in 2017. The Commission has adopted Ecological Reference Points (ERPs) to better account for the role that menhaden play in the ecosystem and has instituted a 10 percent cut in the coastwide quota. Also, a significant new bait fishery has developed in Gulf of Maine states, which join Virginia and New Jersey as a top harvesting region.

According to the letter, these changes have resulted in “a significant mismatch between the total menhaden catch allocation (TAC) and its actual use.” For this reason, the Coalition urges the Commission to focus any possible reallocation decisions to ensure the fishery can reach its optimum yield. It argues that “provid[ing] a reasonable opportunity for the bait and marine ingredients fisheries to fully harvest the amount of menhaden [the Commission] has determined to be sustainable” is particularly important as fishing communities have suffered economic harm by pandemic-related reductions in demand for other seafood products.

The ASMFC’s Menhaden Board takes up its review of this fishery tomorrow afternoon.

Lund’s Fisheries expands with new executive hires

January 15, 2021 — Lund’s Fisheries has hired four new senior executives and two additional sales and marketing staff, with an eye to growing sales of its Lund’s Fisheries and Sea Legend brands in the retail and food service markets, the company said this week.

“These new hires, in our sales, cold storage/logistics and quality assurance departments, are key to the company’s focus on continued growth of its production capacity and sales of innovative seafood products in the retail and food service sectors,” said Wayne Reichle, president of Lund’s, based in Cape May, N.J.

Joining the company are Mark Fratiello as its new director of sales and marketing; Mike Wallace and John Fee as national business development managers; Federico Sehringer as compliance officer and quality assurance director; Joshua Farinella as director of compliance and quality assurance; and Gene Taormina as general manager at Shoreline Freezers, located in Bridgeton, N.J.

Fratiello comes to Lund’s with an extensive sales background, including 10 years of experience in seafood sales and marketing. He will lead Lund’s sales team, of Jeff Miller, Mike Wallace, Rick Marino and John Fee, to grow their fresh and frozen scallop, calamari, shrimp, finfish and value-added lines, working with a national broker to drive national sales to broadline distributors, restaurants, wholesale distributors, and retail.

“I’m excited to be with a company that’s looking to expand its reach in volume, sales channels, and infrastructure,” said Fratiello. “It’s great to get in on the ground floor to help build the brands and create new opportunities for the company to grow. Lund’s investments in vessels and shoreside infrastructure provide an incredible foundation to build successful national seafood programs and bring consumers direct to the source.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Lund’s invests heavily in foodservice despite COVID-19 challenges

January 14, 2021 — While many seafood processors are struggling to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lund’s Fisheries is expanding its storage and processing space, and hiring a slate of executives to fuel growth of value-added lines – primarily to foodservice.

The Cape May, New Jersey, U.S.A.-based company, which owns 19 fishing vessels and has production facilities in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California, will break ground on a 90,000-square-foot cold and dry storage facility to its Shoreline Freezers facility this summer. It also plans on adding processing capabilities at the plant, Mark Fratiello, the company’s new director of sales and marketing, told SeafoodSource.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Lund’s Fisheries Announces New Hires as Part of New Investments in Consumer Brands

January 12, 2021 — The following was released by Lund’s Fisheries:

Lund’s Fisheries is excited to announce the hiring of four new senior executives and two additional sales and marketing staff.  The hires are the company’s latest investment in sustainable seafood production and marketing through its Lund’s Fisheries and Sea Legend brands.

“These new hires, in our sales, cold storage/logistics and quality assurance departments, are key to the company’s focus on continued growth of its production capacity and sales of innovative seafood products in the retail and food service sectors,” said Wayne Reichle, President of Lund’s Fisheries.

Joining the company are Mark Fratiello as its new Director of Sales and Marketing, Mike Wallace and John Fee as National Business Development Managers, Federico Sehringer as Compliance Officer and Quality Assurance Director, Joshua Farinella as Director of Compliance and Quality Assurance, and Gene Taormina as General Manager at Shoreline Freezers, located in Bridgeton, New Jersey.

Mark comes to Lund’s with an extensive sales background, including 10 years of experience in seafood sales and marketing.  In his role at Lund’s, Mark will lead the company’s seasoned sales team, comprised of Jeff Miller, Mike Wallace, Rick Marino and John Fee, to grow their fresh and frozen scallop, calamari, shrimp, finfish and value-added lines, working with a national broker to drive national sales to broadline distributors, restaurants, wholesale distributors, and retail.

“I’m excited to be with a company that’s looking to expand its reach in volume, sales channels, and infrastructure,” said Mark Fratiello. “It’s great to get in on the ground floor to help build the brands, and create new opportunities for the company to grow.  Lund’s investments in vessels and shoreside infrastructure provide an incredible foundation to build successful national seafood programs and bring consumers direct to the source.”

With its Lund’s Fisheries, Seafood Market and Sea Legend brands, Lund’s Fisheries is already a leading provider of sustainable, wild-caught sea scallops, calamari and finfish; the company harvested over 75 million pounds of seafood last year alone. Atlantic sea scallops and East Coast squid fisheries are certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which is an important selling point for consumers in a market increasingly interested in sustainability.  Additionally Lund’s is one of just a few domestic processors that clean calamari domestically, and offers customers products that have been both caught and processed in the U.S.

“Onboarding a national broker with a company that has more than 65 years of vertically integrated seafood experience is an exciting time in my career and a great opportunity to achieve Lund’s Fisheries strategic goals,” said Mike Wallace.

“I am happy to be associated with Lund’s, a company focused on sustainable fishing practices and centrally located in the Mid Atlantic, and geared towards producing the highest quality seafood for the food service industry,” said John Fee.

Federico and Joshua will be part of an expanded quality assurance team, where they will ensure that the products processed at our SQF-certified facilities continue to meet all regulations and standards, and that the high quality of our consumer products are maintained. Both bring years of experience in quality control to Lund’s. Federico has 18 years of food safety and quality control, both in the U.S. and Argentina. Joshua has 14 years of experience in several quality assurance roles.

“I’ve worked in retail, storage and distribution, and production. I’m glad to have the opportunity to work with a company that is able to do all of these things under one roof,” said Federico Sehringer.

“I’m ready to help the company take things to the next level,” said Joshua Farinella. “We have a strong foundation and reputation for quality to build on, and the right building blocks for continued success.”

While 2020 has been challenging for many, Lund’s Fisheries has continued investing in growing shoreside infrastructure to support sustainable fisheries, fishing vessels, and generational relationships with fishing families home-ported in Cape May, New Jersey. In mid-2021, Lund’s looks to break ground on a new 90,000 square foot cold and dry storage addition to its Shoreline Freezers facility. This investment will include additional processing space as well, which will help facilitate growth in sales.

“Lund’s methodical approach, vision and investment in state of the art equipment and facilities will advance the company’s distribution of sustainable seafood,” said Gene Taormina.

With production facilities in New Jersey, Massachusetts and California, 19 fishing vessels owned directly by the principals of the company, as well as the many independent owner/operated vessels the company works with, Lund’s welcomes its new team members and looks forward to continued growth in the harvest, production and marketing of sustainable seafood.

‘Dark cloud of uncertainty’: Seafood executives, fishermen give dire warning against bill banning fishing in huge swath of federal waters

November 16, 2020 — Leaders from all segments of the US seafood industry are opposing an ocean climate bill that would create massive Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) prohibiting commercial fishing across at least 30 percent of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by 2030.

On Monday 800 members of the seafood industry, including Trident Seafoods CEO Joe Bundrant, Silver Bay Seafoods CEO Cora Campbell, Arctic Storm Management CEO Doug Christensen, Lund’s Fisheries President Wayne Reichle, Fortune International President & CEO Sean O’Scannlain and dozens of associations and independent fishermen, signed off on a letter sent to Democratic Arizona Rep. Raul M. Grijalva that said the legislation “puts the viability of our industry under a second dark cloud of uncertainty, for no discernable reason attached to meaningful improvements in conservation outcomes.”

Grijalva introduced the 300-page package of legislation to invest in ocean-based energy solutions, including offshore wind.

“This bill appears to ignore that expertise and process and just walls off parts of the ocean to fishing,” said John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), who also signed the letter.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Fishing industry leaders flag offshore wind concerns to Trump interior secretary

July 21, 2020 — Today, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt met with representatives of the commercial fishing industry to discuss their concerns with offshore wind at a roundtable organized by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities. The roundtable included representatives from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and North Carolina:

Members of New England’s commercial fishing industry who feel they’ve been cast aside in the rush toward offshore wind took their concerns straight to the top of the Trump administration Tuesday in a Seaport sit-down with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.

“The fishing industry is not anti-wind. But the fishing industry’s not been part of this process from the beginning,” said Lund’s Fisheries Chairman Jeff Reichle. “Let’s do it the right way.”

Industry representatives voiced a raft of concerns with offshore wind, including the safety of commercial and recreational boaters navigating the waters, issues towing fishing nets through the farms and the potential for disrupting marine life.

Bernhardt said he’s not looking to “whack people with an unnecessary burden if we can avoid it” but noted he’s “very eager” to pursue offshore wind “in a way that works.”

Read the full story at the Boston Herald

WTAS: Re-opening of the Northeast Canyons, Marine National Monument to Commercial Fishing

June 5, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT):

Today, President Trump announced the re-opening of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument for commercial fishing. Below is what they are saying:

“American fishermen work hard to support their communities, provide food security to the nation, and protect the environments where they make their livelihoods. President Obama swept aside a public, science-based fishery management process with the stroke of a pen. That was a mistake. Ranking Member Bishop deserves thanks for his work in opposing that sort of misuse of the Antiquities Act. We applaud today’s presidential proclamation on the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Monument for restoring the open, collaborative, and science-based council management process that has made our fisheries a model for the world.” – Robert B. Vanasse, Executive Director, Saving Seafood

“We want to thank President Trump for recognizing the prior Administration’s actions pursuant to the Antiquities Act to unilaterally close nearly 5,000 square miles to commercial fishing operations were harmful to U.S. fishermen and their coastal communities and undermines our country’s seafood production.” Mr. Reichle added that “While everyone seems to agree our Nation’s fisheries management system achieves sustainability and our seafood production some of the safest and healthiest in the world — it is remarkable that anyone would prohibit access to large productive fishing areas with no scientific justification and the stroke of an executive pen. This President got it right and our industry appreciates the support.” – Jeff Reichle, Chairman, Lund’s Fisheries, Inc.

“Seafreeze extends our sincere thanks to President Trump for re-opening the Northeast Monument to our commercial fishing vessels. Our vessels have sustainably harvested product in the Monument area for over 30 years, and its closure meant a loss of millions of dollars a year to our company. We applaud President Trump’s decision to support our American commercial fishermen and the world’s most sustainable fisheries.” – Meghan Lapp, Fisheries Liaison, Seafreeze Ltd.

“Today, President Trump acknowledged the tremendous social and economic contributions our American Commercial Fishing Industry and the small businesses that support us provide to the American public. This Presidential support comes at a critical time for our Industry and the Nation as a whole. For this, Mr. President, we are grateful.” – Eric Reid, Rhode Island

Lund’s Fisheries Supports President Trump’s Order Promoting American Seafood

May 8, 2020 — The following was released by Lund’s Fisheries:

Jeff Reichle, Chairman of Lund’s Fisheries, Inc., issued the following statement on President Trump’s “Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth”:

Lund’s Fisheries has been in business since 1954; I myself have been with the company since 1974. This is the first time in my memory that a sitting President has taken the time and initiative to recognize the hard work and value of this country’s fishing industry and its importance in feeding Americans.

Fishermen are notoriously independent people, seldom looking for help, and most often overlooked by their government. It is refreshing, to say the least, that the President has chosen to recognize our industry in this time of national crisis.

We at Lund’s Fisheries are extremely grateful to this Administration for this recognition and Executive Order. With 5 processing companies employing over 300 people in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California, we are ready to continue to meet the country’s needs during this crisis.

We are especially grateful to hear that the Administration will help us with trade barriers and inequities in our international import/export business. Far too often trade barriers have been put in place by foreign nations against our products with no pushback from the U.S. government. We cannot thank the President enough for his tough negotiations on these matters, and look forward to working with his Administration on these issues following his welcomed announcement yesterday.

We further look forward to working with the Administration to ensure that the commercial wild fishing industry is able to stay healthy and vibrant without being impeded by the installation of wind turbines on historical fishing grounds. We hope that the opening sentence in section 1, which states “America needs a vibrant and competitive seafood industry to create and sustain American jobs, put safe and healthy food on American tables, and contribute to the American economy” will include safeguarding this historic industry by ensuring that our ability to produce seafood into the future will not be lost in a rush to produce subsidized wind energy at any cost.

NEW JERSEY: Feeding with Fish Through a Crisis

May 8, 2020 — Fresh and frozen seafood has been leaving Lund’s Fisheries Inc., in Cape May, despite an initial slowdown from COVID-19 restrictions closing many restaurants and other food establishments.

The company received federal funding to help offset expenses during the pandemic and has been able to keep its five facilities operating.

“I can’t say we’ve been necessarily profitable during this time,” said Wayne Reichle, president and owner, “but it was important to us that our employees and their families knew they could depend on us during this time. “The federal funding will help offset costs such as labor, leases and other expenses.”

No employees were laid off as a result of the virus, according to Reichle. There are 150 employees between their facilities in Cape May and Bridgeton. They have two facilities on the West Coast and another was recently added in Bedford, MA.

The virus and restrictions occurred during, what Reichle called, their “transition period,” when the winter fishing season ends and the summer fish and scallop season begins.

Read the full story at the Cape May County Herald