Saving Seafood

MSC announces two new director appointments for North America

July 21, 2021 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) said it’s strengthening its presence in North America with the appointments of Erika Feller and Kurtis Hayne.

Feller, formerly of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, assumed the role of regional director of the Americas for MSC on 12 July, the organization announced in a press release. She brings more than two decades of experience to the position, specializing in fisheries and cross-sector partnerships, and will be based in Washington, D.C., U.S.A., MSC said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC strengthens its presence in North America with senior level appointments

July 20, 2021 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announces two new senior appointments in the Americas strengthening its position as a leader within the sustainable seafood movement. Erika Feller joins the MSC as Regional Director of the Americas from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where she oversaw its ocean and coastal conservation efforts. She has more than two decades of experience working on marine issues, with a focus on fisheries and cross-sector partnerships. In Canada, Kurtis Hayne has been appointed Program Director to lead the Canada strategy. He most recently was the Senior Commercial and Fisheries Manager, Canada West and brings almost a decade of experience working for various organizations in seafood market analysis, fisheries, and ocean conservation.

Feller joined the MSC senior program management team on July 12 and is based in Washington, D.C. In her role as Regional Director she oversees the MSC’s work in the Americas, continuing to expand the MSC’s work with fisheries, the supply chain, and consumers. She leads a team of approximately 30 staff in Canada, the US, and Latin America, working closely with Program Directors: Cristian Vallejos in Latin America, Eric Critchlow in the US, and Kurtis Hayne in Canada.

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of MSC, said: “I am delighted to welcome Erika to the MSC. Erika brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the sustainable seafood movement, as well as multistakeholder and solutions focused coalition building that will accelerate MSC’s work across the region to recognize and encourage sustainable fishing practices that support healthy marine ecosystems. I’m also pleased to recognize Kurtis Hayne, recently appointed as Canada’s Program Director. There is a huge opportunity to grow public awareness of sustainable seafood in the Americas and I look forward to working with Erika, Kurtis and the broader team in achieving that.”

“Sustainable fisheries help to keep oceans healthy and seafood on our plates; both are important to me,” said Feller. “I’m looking forward to being part of the MSC and for the opportunity to help fishermen and communities who are adopting sustainable practices on the water, as well as connect with consumers who care about where their food comes from.”

Feller brings a breadth of experience in ocean and coastal conservation. Most recently, she directed programs for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, guiding investment in improved fishery monitoring, coastal resilience, and helping to recover resources in the Gulf of Mexico impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. She began her career as a legislative and policy adviser on natural resource and environmental issues in the US House of Representatives, and later joined the Nature Conservancy where she led a North America-wide initiative to promote sustainable fisheries. She also served at the White House Council on Environmental Quality supporting interagency efforts on large scale ecosystem restoration around the U.S. Feller currently serves as the Chair of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, which advises the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on all living marine resource matters that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce.

The new appointments come as the sustainable seafood movement builds momentum in the Americas with fisheries continuing to engage in the program, strong supply chain commitments, and increased visibility of the MSC blue fish label on seafood products. The vast majority (82.31%) of commercially landed seafood in the US, and more than half (57.6%) in Canada, is engaged in the MSC program, accounting for 4.25 million metric tons of seafood caught every year*. A further 1.4 million metric tons originate from fisheries engaged with the MSC program in Latin America* (*figures accurate as of July 2021).

Massachusetts launches ropeless gear study

January 22, 2021 — A year-long feasibility study to assess using ropeless trap gear in the New England lobster fishery has been launched by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

Funded in part by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with NOAA, the “accelerated timeline” project “will interview dozens of fishermen, technologists, policy experts, and scientists to fully evaluate the challenges and opportunities of the new gear type,” the state agency said in a Jan. 21 statement.

Ropeless gear – sometimes known as pop-up gear, or as Massachusetts officials call it, on-call gear – are designs that seek to replace the traditional floating buoy line gear used in lobster, crab and fish trap fisheries.

There’s high interest in these alternatives as a potential solution to prevent marine mammal entanglements in gear – especially the highly endangered northern right whale, with an East Coast population now estimated to be less than 400 animals.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

$2.8 Million in Grants Awarded in New England to Improve the Health of Long Island Sound

December 9, 2020 — The following was released by the Environmental Protection Agency:

Today, top federal and state environmental officials from New England announced 24 grants totaling $2.8 million to local governments, nongovernmental organizations and community groups to improve Long Island Sound. The grants are matched by $2.3 million from the grantees resulting in $5.1 million in funding for conservation around the Long Island Sound watershed.

Work funded through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) has shown how projects led by local groups and communities make a difference in improving water quality and restoring habitat around the Long Island Sound watershed. The grant program combines funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).

“Long Island Sound is vital to local communities, economies and ecosystems, and these grants will greatly benefit the Sound for years to come,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel. “Protecting and restoring Long Island Sound requires a watershed-wide approach and EPA is proud to again support diverse and innovative projects in five of the states that comprise the Sound’s watershed.”

The LISFF 2020 grants will reach more than 670,000 residents through environmental education programs and conservation projects. Water quality improvement projects will treat 5.4 million gallons of stormwater, install 23,000-square-feet of green infrastructure and prevent 3,000 pounds of nitrogen from entering Long Island Sound. The projects will also open 3.7 river miles and restore 108 acres of coastal habitat for fish and wildlife.

Representative Rosa DeLauro, Co-chair of the Long Island Sound Caucus, added: “The Long Island Sound is one of our most treasured natural resources, and it is vital that we continue to support programs and services that maintain its health and vitality. Having grown up on its shores, the Sound has always held a special place with me, and I am so proud to have the opportunity to work to ensure that its beaches and waters remain places for children and families to enjoy. We have made extraordinary strides, but issues with sewer overflows, stormwater runoff, and other climate change issues challenge us to do more – and so we will. As one of the Long Island Sound Caucus leaders, and the incoming Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, which is the committee that has jurisdiction over all discretionary funding, I am thrilled to have helped provide this funding for a revitalized Long Island Sound. I remain committed to working with NFWF and EPA and with my Congressional colleagues, and the many Long Island Sound advocates here today doing this critical conservation work.”

Read the full release here

U.S. investing $500,000 to help reduce threats to North Atlantic right whales

November 23, 2020 — There has been a recent spray of positive news for the beleaguered right whale.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in the United States announced nearly $500,000 in investments to help reduce threats to the North Atlantic right whales and other marine life off the coast of New England.

NFWF said in a release that it is working in partnership with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Shell to provide funding to support gear advancement and to improve the region’s ability to transition to on-call gear that does not require a buoy-line.

Marine animals such as right whales often become entangled in lines used to mark the location of fishing nets or traps in the ocean.

Innovative technology can offer a viable alternative to track gear while reducing risks to whales.

Read the full story at SaltWire

Russia-Alaska seafood trade remains a one-way street benefiting Russia

February 19, 2020 — Lost in the headlines about the hits to seafood sales from the Trump administration’s trade war with China is another international barrier that’s been going on far longer.

In August 2014, Russia placed an embargo on all U.S. food products to retaliate for sanctions the U.S and other Western countries imposed over the invasion of Ukraine. The ban included Alaska seafood, which at the time accounted for more than $61 million in annual sales to Russia, primarily pink salmon roe.

But here’s the bigger hurt: For the nearly six years that the embargo has been in place, no corresponding limits have ever been imposed on Russian seafood coming into the U.S.

At first, Alaska seafood companies and the state’s congressional delegation made some “tit for tat” noise about imposing a ban on Russian seafood. But in fact, the value of Russian imports has grown nearly 70% since 2014 — and it all comes into the U.S. almost entirely duty-free.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Electronic monitoring projects across US boosted by USD 3.9 million in grants

December 26, 2019 — Electronic monitoring projects across the United States recently received grants worth USD 3.9 million (EUR 3.4 million), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced.

The grants aim to modernize fisheries data management, monitoring, and reporting by creating tools that lower the costs of collecting and reviewing data.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Nearly $670,000 in grants will help endangered orcas

November 21, 2019 — Nearly $670,000 in conservation grants will go toward the recovery of endangered Southern Resident killer whales, also known as orca whales.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and its partners made the announcement at an event Wednesday.

NFWF said the grants will generate $610,600 in matching contributions for a total of more than $1.2 million.

Though the 74 orcas eat salmon and other fish, they prefer Chinook salmon, which recent research showed are having low survival rates in early stages of life.  Because fewer fish are making it to the ocean, there are fewer fish of the size that killer whales need to feed, NFWF said.

NFWF said six grants announced Wednesday will support projects throughout the food chain and help habitat that’s important to both young Chinook and their prey.

In addition to the grants, a public campaign supported by the Killer Whale Recovery and Conservation Program and its partners  – “Be Whale Wise” – will help educate local boaters about how they can better protect orcas.

Read the full story at KIRO

Student-developed app will help public remove derelict crab traps

October 16, 2019 — The following was released by William & Mary:

Kirk Havens of William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science says a question regularly asked by community clean-up groups is whether they can remove derelict crab traps from the Chesapeake Bay. Research shows these “pots” both harm marine life and cut into watermen profits.

To date, the answer has been no — in Virginia, it requires special permission to recover derelict traps, even if they are clearly abandoned or illegally present during the fishery off-season. Scientists estimate that baywide, tens of thousands of traps are lost or abandoned each year.

Now, funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Covanta, and NOAA’s Marine Debris Program will allow Havens and colleagues to address the derelict-trap issue by working with local high school students to develop a “Crab Trap App” for the cell phones of trained and authorized users. The project will also re-animate an earlier program that paid watermen to find and remove derelict traps from crabbing “hot spots.”

“Having students, trained citizens, and conscientious watermen working together to address lost, abandoned, or discarded crab pots is a great way to help lessen the impact of these pots on the Chesapeake Bay,” says Havens, assistant director of VIMS’ Center for Coastal Resources Management. Joining him in planning and implementing the project are VIMS Asst. Professor Andrew Scheld; Research Associate Professor Donna Bilkovic, Kory Angstadt, Karen Duhring, Dave Stanhope, and Dave Weiss of CCRM; and Cara Simpson, a master’s student at W&M’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business.

Read the full release here

Fishing for Energy marks 10 years of recycling derelict fishing gear

April 22, 2019 — Fishing for Energy, a partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, and Covanta and Schnitzer Steel Industries, celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year.

Fishing for Energy collects derelict fishing gear that otherwise would have become marine debris, and then recycles that gear and converts it into energy. So far, more than 4 million pounds of derelict gear have been kept out of the ocean.

“In the 10 years since the Fishing for Energy partnership was launched, participating ports have played a key role in promoting this free program to fishermen and local communities,” NFWF CEO and Executive Director Jeff Trandahl said in a release. “Together, we have created a solution that benefits wildlife, people, and local economies, and we look forward to continuing our efforts in the future.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source