Saving Seafood

Coast Guard Searches for Poachers From Mexico Stealing Fish From U.S.

May 24, 2022 — At Hooked on Seafood, red snapper fetches a premium price. For fishermen, the tasty fruit of the Gulf of Mexico is like striking gold.

“Red snapper is the hottest commodity in the U.S., here in this border,” Hooked on Seafood owner Chris Johnson said.

But its high demand attracts schools of poachers from across the border.

“They’re taking our money out of our waters and selling it right back to us, and we’re paying to do it every day,” Johnson continued.

He’s a fishmonger and fisherman on Texas’ South Padre Island. He bellows a decades-long lament — illegal fishing operations from Mexico zip through the boundary waters poaching red snapper, shark, and shrimp by the thousands.

Read the full story at Seafood News

How marine heat waves in Hawaii have ripple effects all the way to Arizona

May 12, 2022 — In 2019, about 4,600 miles from Arizona, a marine heat wave cranked up the temperature in the waters around Hawaii. For several sweltering summer months, a low pressure system sat over the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California and led to decreased cooling winds and sea surface temperatures 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit higher than normal.

Scientists called it “The Blob 2.0.” The original “Blob” developed in 2013 as a strange pool of warm water off the coast of Alaska, then quickly expanded all the way to Mexico in a meteorological phenomenon that lingered until early 2016 and “was so persistent and unusual that it initially defied explanation,” according to NASA.

Marine life suffered in both “Blob” events. In the mid-2010s heat wave, higher ocean temperatures fueled the growth of less-nutritious types of algae. Populations of salmon and other important fish species plummeted, straining the Pacific fishing industry. Fin whales and sea otters started washing up dead while baby seals starved on shore for all to see. And nobody quite knew what was going on.

Read the full story at AZCentral

 

Gulf of Mexico commercial fishing groups sue US government over red grouper reallocation

May 11, 2022 — Gulf of Mexico commercial-fishing groups have filed suit against the U.S. government, alleging a reallocation of red grouper catch shares illegally favors the recreational-fishing sector.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, 6 May, challenges the National Marine Fisheries Service’s implementation of Amendment 53, which was announced on Monday, 2 May and which is set to come into effect 1 June, 2022. The new rule amends the fishery management plan for reef fish resources in the Gulf of Mexico so that the allocation of the red grouper catch to the commercial sector is lowered from 76 percent to 59.3 percent, while increasing the recreational catch-share from 24 percent to 40.7 percent.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

US requests discussions with Mexico over vaquita protections

February 15, 2022 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has asked the Mexican government to provide environmental consultations regarding its efforts to protect the critically endangered vaquita.

U.S. Trade Representatives Katherine Tai said in a press release on Thursday, 10 February, the request is tied to making sure Mexico “lives up to” the environmental commitments laid out in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

US files 1st USMCA environment case on Mexico over porpoise

February 11, 2022 — The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office filed the first environmental complaint against Mexico Thursday for failing to protect the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world’s smallest porpoise.

The office said it had asked for “environment consultations” with Mexico, the first such case it has filed under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade pact. Consultations are the first step in the dispute resolution process under the trade agreement, which entered into force in 2020. If not resolved, it could eventually lead to trade sanctions.

Mexico’s government has largely abandoned attempts to enforce a fishing-free zone around an area where the last few vaquitas are believed to live. Nets set illegally for another fish, the totoaba, drown vaquitas.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that “USTR is committed to protecting the environment and is requesting this consultation to ensure Mexico lives up to its USMCA environment commitments,” adding “We look forward to working with Mexico to address these issues.”

Read the full story at AP News

U.S. blocks Mexican fishermen from ports, cites years of illegal fishing in U.S. waters

February 9, 2022 — Along the U.S.-Mexico maritime border, the incursions occur almost daily. The boats are outfitted with small outboard motors, powerful enough to flee pursuing Border Patrol and Coast Guard vessels.

The Mexican skiffs are loaded not with drugs or migrants, but with red snapper, sea turtles and sharks.

U.S. officials say the threat posed by Mexican fishermen casting their nets illegally in U.S. waters has grown so acute that for the first time in years, they’ve banned Mexican fishing vessels from entering U.S. ports.

“These vessels … will be denied port access and services,” said Lauren Gaches, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She said the sanction was being applied in response to Mexico’s “continued failure to combat unauthorized fishing activities by small hulled vessels in U.S. waters.” It took effect Monday.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

US to ban port access to Mexican boats fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

January 18, 2022 — Starting in February, NOAA Fisheries will enact a ban prohibiting port access for all Mexican fishing boats that operate in the Gulf of Mexico.

The federal agency said in a statement that the move, which will become effective Monday, 7 February, comes as the U.S. issued a “negative certification” against its southern neighbor for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in a report to Congress last August. American officials noted that they made the determination in 2019 after making similar determinations in 2015 and 2017.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Mexican diplomats petition US to end shrimp embargo

August 17, 2021 — Mexican officials recently met with their U.S. counterparts in Washington D.C. to formally request a lifting of the U.S. embargo on Mexican wild-caught shrimp.

In April 2021, the U.S. State Department withdrew Mexico’s certification under Section 609 of Public Law 101-162, barring Mexico from exporting any of its wild-caught shrimp to the United States. In a statement at the time, the State Department said Mexico’s efforts to protect sea turtles were “no longer comparable to that of the United States.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

A Battle On The Gulf Pits The Coast Guard Against Mexican Red Snapper Poachers

July 19, 2021 — It’s the hidden U.S.-Mexico border war.

For years, Mexican fisherman have crossed into U.S. waters to illegally catch high-priced red snapper. It has become a multimillion-dollar black market, a Mexican cartel is involved, Texas fishermen are outraged and the federal government can’t seem to stop it.

The U.S. Coast Guard on South Padre Island has a one-of-a-kind mission among the 197 stations along the nation’s seacoasts. Its chief enforcement activity entails bouncing across the swells of the Gulf of Mexico near lower Texas in pursuit of wily Mexican fishing boats filled with plump, rosy fish destined for seafood houses in Mexico City and Houston.

These are the red snapper poachers.

“United States Coast Guard! Stop your vessel! Stop your vessel!” yells a Coastie into his bullhorn as the 900-horsepower, fast-pursuit boat pulls alongside the Mexican lancha. Four Mexican fishermen tried to outrun it but thought better and throttled down. The fishermen are handcuffed, their catch is confiscated and the boat is towed back to the Coast Guard station.

Read the full story at NPR

MSC aims to increase activity and drive sustainable fishing in Mexico

February 25, 2021 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) plans to increase its presence and activities in Mexico, rolling out a strategic plan for the creation of a community of producers and commercial partners, while also implementing a communications campaign on the importance of sustainable fishing and the benefits of getting certified.

To increase environmental stewardship in Mexico’s fishing industry, MSC will work with key industry players to drive its chain of custody certification and its eco-labeling program of certified products in stores, which allows consumers to recognize fisheries that use resources rationally with a minimized impact on the ecosystem. and reward those fisheries with their purchases.

Read the full story at Seafood Source