Saving Seafood

How much U.S. Seafood is Imported?

June 4, 2019 — This week, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) is convening Capitol Hill Ocean Week in Washington, D.C. Additionally, President Trump has declared the month of June “National Ocean Month” in recognition of the importance of the ocean to the economy, national security, and environment of the United States.

For the duration of Ocean Week, Saving Seafood will share materials related to the sustainable and economically vital U.S. commercial fishing and seafood industries, including information tied directly to events being organized as part of the NMSF conference.

Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. EDT, as part of Capitol Hill Ocean Week, there was a panel “Addressing the US Seafood Deficit.” The following article looks at a new study that concluded more of the seafood eaten in the U.S. is produced domestically than previously thought. It was published last week by Sustainable Fisheries UW:

The commonly quoted statistic that “90% of seafood consumed in the United States is imported” is out of date and should stop being cited. In this post, I explain the origins of the 90% myth, the scientific paper that produced the updated numbers, and the implications for U.S. trade and seafood markets.

Where did the 90% statistic come from and why is the new estimate more accurate?

A lot of seafood farmed or caught in the United States is sent overseas for processing, then sent back. Due to varying trade codes that get lost in the shuffle of globalization, these processed seafood products are often mistakenly recorded as ‘imported,’ despite being of U.S. origin.

For example, pollock, the fish used in McDonald’s Filet-o-fish sandwich, is caught throughout U.S. waters near Alaska. Once onboard, a significant portion is sent to China (the U.S.’s largest seafood trade partner) to be cleaned, gutted, and processed into filets. After processing in China, the fish is sent back to the U.S. and sold in restaurants and grocery stores. Pollock is not a Chinese fish, but the trade codes used when sending them back from China signify them as Chinese-origin and they are recorded as imported or foreign seafood.

Recording fish caught in the U.S. but processed in China has led to a significant overestimation of Americans’ so-called ‘seafood deficit’, or the ratio of foreign to domestic seafood consumption in the U.S.

Unfortunately, the misleading 90% deficit statistic has become commonplace, mostly due to coverage of Oceana’s seafood fraud campaign that stoked consumer anxiety about imported seafood. Distorted import data had been taken at face value for several years because no one had pieced together the conversion factors that account for processing and return export/import—until three scientists, Jessica Gephart, Halley Froehlich, and Trevor Branch, published their work in PNAS in May 2019.

Knowing the conversion factor for seafood products caught or farmed in the U.S. is the key to accurately estimating the amount of domestic seafood processed abroad. Froehlich describes a conversion factor as a number that can be used to back-calculate a processed seafood item to its pre-processed weight. Basically, when pollock are sent back to the U.S. after being processed in China, a conversion factor can be applied to estimate how much fish was originally sent and domestic seafood statistics can be corrected. When U.S. seafood is processed abroad but consumed in the U.S., it should be counted as domestic seafood consumed domestically.

Read the full story at Sustainable Fisheries UW

Saltonstall-Kennedy 2020 Grant Application Now Open

June 3, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is pleased to announce the 2020 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant competition is currently open.

The goal of the Saltonstall-Kennedy program is to fund projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable. The FY20 solicitation seeks applications that fall into one of two priorities:

  • Promotion, Development, and Marketing.
  • Science or Technology that Promotes Sustainable U.S. Seafood Production and Harvesting.

Application Process

This year’s solicitation consists of two steps:

1. All interested applicants must submit a two-page pre-proposal to the Federal Funding Opportunity posted on Grants.gov by July 30, 2019. Please be sure to submit your pre-proposal to the “Pre-proposals FY20 Saltonstall-Kennedy” link.

2. Applicants submitting a full application after the pre-proposal review process must submit it to the “Full Proposals FY20 Saltonstall-Kennedy” link on Grants.gov by November 12, 2019.

Be sure to read the Federal Funding Opportunity and follow the directions closely, and take advantage of our checklist and guidance for applicants.

2019 Southeastern Bering Sea Shelf Bottom Trawl Survey Gets Underway

May 30, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On May 31 the Southeastern Bering Sea Bottom Trawl Survey will depart Dutch Harbor to collect data on the distribution and abundance of crab, groundfish, and other bottom-dwelling species in the southeastern Bering Sea. These data are used to estimate population abundances to manage commercially important species in Alaska. NOAA Fisheries has conducted this survey annually since 1975.

As we did last year, we intend to provide regular updates on water temperatures collected near the seafloor at all of our survey stations. When we conduct surveys for fish and other species, we also collect information about the environment in which they live — their habitat. For fish and other species water temperature is important. It affects their spawning, access to food, and growth rates.

We had another unusually warm winter and expect to see a reduction in the cold pool. The cold pool is a natural, thermal barrier created by melting winter sea ice. It tends to separate Arctic species, usually found in the northern Bering Sea, from commercially important pollock, Pacific cod and other species, typically found in the southeastern Bering Sea. Last year after a similar warm winter, a partial survey of the northern Bering Sea was conducted. Large numbers of pollock were found there.

Once scientists complete this year’s survey of the southeastern Bering Sea, they will move northward to conduct a full survey of the northern Bering Sea bottom-dwelling community. Additional surveys are planned in the northern Bering Sea using surface trawls and hydro-acoustics to monitor key components of the marine ecosystem and environmental conditions. Be sure to check back here for regular updates on ocean temperatures collected during the Bering Sea bottom trawl surveys.

The southeastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey will be conducted from approximately May 31 to August 2.  The northern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey will be conducted from about August 3 to 25.

Read the full release here

Red tide could wipe out a generation of stone crabs

May 28, 2019 — Red tide algae can take a toll on the future of the stone crab industry, Mote Marine Laboratory researchers discovered.

Intense concentrations of the toxic red algae potentially can wipe out a generation of stone crabs, Mote scientists reported this week.

The loss could be cataclysmic to Florida’s seafood industry. The health of stone crabs is commercially valuable to the health of Florida’s economy.

More than 105 million pounds of stone crabs were harvested between 1996-2016 and is ranked fifth by the National Marine Fisheries Service among the commercially harvested Florida seafood. Pink shrimp ranks number one. Nationwide, Florida’s seafood industry ranked 11th in the United States, producing more than 87 million pounds of seafood harvested in 2016 and with a dockside value of $237 million, Marine Fisheries reported.

Mote scientists are trying to help figure out why the stone crab catch in Southwest Florida has seen a 25 percent decrease since 2000, and trying to determine the influence of red tide could be a key.

High concentrations of Florida red tide — Karenia brevis — caused 100 percent mortality in stone crab larvae in a four-day study, Mote reported in a press release. Medium concentrations had a 30 percent mortality rate, and many of the surviving larvae had impaired swimming behavior.

Read the full story at the Englewood Sun

Adak Groups, NOAA, and Secretary of Commerce Ross Appeal Decision to Rescind Amendment 113

May 22, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — On Friday the City of Adak, its regional development groups, and the Aleut Corporation filed an appeal to reverse a March 21 decision that vacated Amendment 113. Yesterday Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the National Marine Fisheries Service joined the Aleut groups to appeal the decision from three months ago.

That ruling was in response to a challenge from the Groundfish Forum to the Secretary of Commerce asserting that Amendment 113 did not meet the standards in the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Defendant-intervenors in that challenge were the City of Adak and the City of Atka, along with the Adak Community Development Corporation, the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association (APICDA), and the Aleut Corporation.

The May 17 filing by the Adak groups opens a 14-day window for other parties to join the appeal. Briefs from all appealers will be filed later this summer, likely before the end of June.

AM113 included a set-aside of Pacific cod for the plants in Adak and Atka. Golden Harvest Alaska Seafoods, the plant based in Adak, has relied on deliveries of Pacific cod in recent years as a significant part of their annual revenue.

“The Aleutian Islands Pacific cod landed over a few short weeks in February and March has become the economic engine that sustains the local economy and allows Golden Harvest Alaska Seafoods to invest in new products and markets and the development of year round fisheries for the Adak community,” said Steve Minor for Golden Harvest.

“Golden Harvest serves a variety of federal and state water harvesters and species — including pot boats, longliners, trawlers and jiggers operating in the crab, halibut and sablefish fisheries,” Minor said.

“The loss of Amendment 113 puts all of these shore-based fleets and fisheries at risk.”

In the March 21 decision, the judge noted that “Although the Court finds that the Service did not exceed its statutory authority in imposing a harvest set-aside with an onshore delivery requirement, it nonetheless determines that the Service failed to demonstrate that the amendment satisfied the requisite standards for such regulatory measures set forth by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

“Accordingly, and for the reasons explained below, Plaintiffs’ motion will be granted, and Defendants’ and Intervenors’ motions will be denied,” US District Judge Timothy Kelly wrote.

Kelly asked NOAA Fisheries to reconsider the amendment with some guidance on where changes were needed.

That process, or the work begun within the North Pacific Council addressing the Pacific cod set-aside, will not be done by January 2020, when the plant would be begin taking deliveries for the new season.

Minor noted that at least one of the original plaintiffs in the Groundfish Forum challenge has decided to join the appeal and that “several other entities” are in discussions on filing amicus briefs.

The North Pacific Council will hear a discussion paper at their June meeting, which will include a status report on Amendment 113 litigation, a description of the Council’s December 2018 revision to Amendment 113, and a summary of AI Pacific cod fishery conditions since the implementation of Amendment 113 in November 2016.

The discussion paper will also identify potential regulatory approaches that could be used to provide opportunities for trawl catcher vessels harvesting Pacific cod in the AI delivering to AI shoreplants.

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

GLOUCESTER DAILY TIMES: NOAA fixes proposed haddock rules

May 20, 2019 — Gulf of Maine haddock: NOAA Fisheries is recommending an increase in the daily bag limit to 15 from 12 in 2018, with the minimum size remaining at 17 inches. The recommendation for the open season is May 1 to Feb. 29 and April 15-30;

Gulf of Maine cod: NOAA Fisheries is recommending partially reopening the fishery that has been closed for several years to all fishing by allowing recreational fishermen to catch one GOM cod per day during the limited seasons of Sept. 15-30 and April 15-30. The recommended minimum size is 21 inches.

Georges Bank cod: NOAA Fisheries is recommending a status quo daily bag limit of 10, but with the proposed 2019 minimum size shrinking two inches to 21 inches. The fishery would be open to recreational fishing all year.

Interesting negotiating tactics

You know how it is with bosses and employees. They don’t always get along, but Forrest Broyles may have taken employer-employee animus to a new level.

Broyles, from the Hawaiian island of Kauai, has pleaded no contest in court “after telling police he was under the influence of a hallucinogenic when he used a machete to wreak havoc on his former boss’ home because of a fish dispute,” according to story by the Associated Press.

Broyles was angry at his boss, claiming he didn’t get his share of the choke ahi they caught together. So, on Dec. 3, while cruising at altitude on the hallucinogenic brew of ayahuasca (apparently a local favorite along the Amazon River), Broyles broke into his ex-boss’ abode and made his case in high-charged fashion.

“Broyles ex-boss told police he was at home watching football with his wife when he heard a horn honking and then a loud bang,” according to the report. “He then heard glass shattering from his front door and saw Broyles headed to the living area carrying a machete.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Fisheries Revises 2019 Summer Flounder Specifications

May 16, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, we are announcing increases to the summer flounder catch and landings limits for the 2019 fishing year in response to new information from a benchmark stock assessment.

Final assessment results became available to managers in February 2019. The assessment included the incorporation of revised Marine Recreational Information Program estimates of recreational catch, which has an important impact on estimated spawning stock biomass for summer flounder. The assessment determined that the summer flounder stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, enabling us to increase catch and landing limits for 2019 .

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces 2019-2021 Spiny Dogfish Specifications

May 14, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are approving and implementing the final 2019 and projected 2020-2021 specifications for the spiny dogfish fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils.

The specifications for the 2019 spiny dogfish fishery are a 46-percent reduction from fishing year 2018 to ensure overfishing does not occur. However, these quotas are projected to increase in 2020 and 2021 as the spiny dogfish biomass is expected to increase and the risk of overfishing declines. Below is a summary of the specifications. All other fishery management measures, including the 6,000-lb federal trip limit, will remain unchanged for fishing years 2019-2021.

For more details read the rule as filed in the Federal Register or the bulletin posted on our website.

New Research Reveals Clearer Picture of Upwelling That Feeds West Coast Marine Ecosystem

May 13, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Great volumes of nutrient-rich water welling up from the deep ocean fuel the West Coast’s great diversity of marine life. Now scientists using satellite images, research buoys, ocean models, and other ocean monitoring tools have brought the upwelling into much sharper focus, measuring even the velocity of the water and the amount of nutrients that it delivers.

Scientists described new “upwelling indices,” which represent a breakthrough in understanding the biological engine that drives the West Coast marine ecosystem.

“Upwelling is vital to marine life along the West Coast, but the tools we were using to monitor it hadn’t changed much in almost 50 years,” said Michael Jacox, a research scientist at NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center who developed the new indices. “Now we’re bringing state-of-the-art tools and the latest science to bear to help us understand how upwelling supports and shapes the California Current Ecosystem.”

Given the ecological importance of upwelling, scientists and managers are eager for indices that allow them to monitor its variability and understand its impacts on coastal ocean ecosystems.

Jacox, of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory, and other researchers from NOAA Fisheries, and the University of California at Santa Cruz, recently published the new upwelling measurements new upwelling measurements in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans and the indices are also available online. Maps based on the indices reveal through color-coding where upwelling is most pronounced, such as off Cape Mendocino in California.

Upwelling occurs along certain coastlines around the world where winds and the Earth’s rotation sweep surface waters offshore, drawing deep, cold, and salty water full of nutrients up to the surface. These nutrients fuel growth of phytoplankton that form the base of the marine food web, and ultimately nourish the West Coast’s ocean ecosystem from sardines to sperm whales.

Read the full release here