Saving Seafood

Some Alaska seafood exports escape China’s retaliatory tariffs

July 13, 2018 — It appears the blowback from President Donald Trump’s trade dispute with China will fall on some but not all of Alaska’s seafood exports to the country.

The Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on an estimated $34 billion of goods imported to the U.S. that took effect July 6 prompted Chinese leaders to respond with their own 25 percent tariff on U.S. goods headed for their country, including seafood, Alaska’s primary export.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Director of International Affairs John Henderschedt said June 28 that seafood products destined to be reprocessed and re-exported from China will be exempt from the tariffs after agency officials discussed the issue with the U.S. Embassy there.

While a positive development for Alaska fishermen and processors, the cumulative impact the tariffs could have on the commercial fishing industry in the state is still unknown, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Technical Program Director Michael Kohan said in an interview.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Shifting fish giving New Jersey an early global warming challenge

July 13, 2018 — The slow warming of the Earth someday will require difficult adaptations in many sectors of society, for example farming, energy and insurance.

One challenge already is here — fish. They are voting with their fins, moving northward out of warming ocean waters and into cooler temperatures they prefer. And that is disrupting fisheries management and quotas, which only recently had achieved stability and acceptance.

Earlier this year, a study led by a Rutgers University marine biologist predicted two-thirds of the 700 ocean species it analyzed would be forced to migrate — some more than 600 miles — in the worst warming scenarios.

A 2016 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study found half of the Northeast’s fish and shellfish were highly vulnerable to climate change. It warned that fisheries dependent on a single valuable species, such as New Jersey is on scallops, are at particular risk.

And global warming might shrink fish as well. A pair of University of British Columbia scientists last year reported the size of fish is likely to decrease by 20 to 30 percent for every 1 degree Celsius increase in water temperature, as their metabolisms speed up and the oxygen content of the water diminishes.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

After slow-paced 2017 season, albacore trollers hope landings pick up

July 13, 2018 — West Coast albacore trollers saw a slower paced fishery in 2017. Landings at the end of the year stood at 7,470.7 metric tons, according to data from PacFIN. Ex-vessel prices of $2.12 per pound brought fleet revenues to $34.87 million. In 2016, landings for the South and North Pacific regions tallied up to 10,266.23 metric tons at ex-vessel prices of $2.10 per pound for revenues of $3.73 million.

Last year’s harvest came in significantly lower than the 20-year average.

“West Coast fishing was pretty slow,” said Wayne Heikkila, executive director of Western Fishboat Owners Association, in Redding, Calif. “The harvest was about 40 percent down.”

Fishing for albacore in the South Pacific proved equally slow. It wasn’t that the fish weren’t there, according to Heikkila. They were just spread out and hard to find.

“They got fish pretty much everywhere,” said Heikkila. “Some boats went all the way west to the dateline, but it was like 2005, when it was hard to catch 40 to 50 fish a day.”

The scattered schools in both the South Pacific and nearshore waters of the West Coast dashed hopes of a large harvest.

“A lot of the catch was late,” said Heikkila. “But it ended up a little better than we thought it would.”

As the fleet readied for this year’s season, questions remained whether last year’s sparse concentrations of albacore would go down as an anomaly or part of a trend — and whether ocean conditions making the swing from El Niño toward La Niña would play an optimistic hand in returning the catch closer to its 20-year average.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Rescue team saves entangled humpback whale off New Jersey coast

July 13, 2018 — A rescue team has saved a juvenile humpback whale that had been entangled in a line for months in an operation Wednesday off the New Jersey coast, the federal fisheries agency said Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries agency said the whale was the same one that was seen swimming in Raritan Bay on July 4.

The first report of the entangled whale came last November, but a team’s attempt to cut the line was only partially successful, and a tight wrap of line remained around its upper jaw, NOAA said, adding that it was “wrapped around especially sensitive locations, including the eye and blowhole.”

On Wednesday, a team from the Cape Cod-based Center for Coastal Studies was able to make a delicate cut to disentangle the whale off Sandy Hook.

“If left alone, the animal had no chance,” David Morin, NOAA Fisheries’ Atlantic large whale disentanglement coordinator, said in a statement. “The whale would have died a slow and painful death. Even in response, the tight wrap left such a small area — about a foot or two wide — that we could cut.”

Read the full story at The Philadelphia Inquirer

Reprocessed state seafood exports exempted from Chinese tariffs

July 12, 2018 — It appears the blowback from President Donald Trump’s trade dispute with China will fall on some, but not all of Alaska’s seafood exports to the country.

The Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on an estimated $34 billion of goods imported to the U.S. that took effect July 6 prompted Chinese leaders to respond with their own 25 percent tariff on U.S. goods headed for their country, including seafood, Alaska’s primary export.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Director of International Affairs John Henderschedt said June 28 that seafood products destined to be reprocessed and re-exported from China will be exempt from the tariffs after agency officials discussed the issue with the U.S. Embassy there.

While a positive development for Alaska fishermen and processors, the cumulative impact the tariffs could have on the commercial fishing industry in the state is still unknown, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Technical Program Director Michael Kohan said in an interview.

Overall, Alaska exported more than $4.9 billion of goods in 2017, of which more than $2.4 billion was seafood, according to the state Office of International Trade.

China bought $1.3 billion worth of Alaska’s exports last year, including $796 million — nearly a third — of the state’s total seafood exports.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

 

US hits back at China with more tariffs; most seafood hit with 10 percent duty

July 11, 2018 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on USD 200 billion (EUR 170 billion) of Chinese goods on Wednesday, 11 July – the latest escalation in the ongoing trade war between the two countries.

The move will add 10 percent tariffs to a wide assortment of Chinese goods, with seafood featuring prominently. The 6,031 items included in the list published by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer include a litany of seafood items, including many categories of shrimp, tilapia, salmon, pollock, tuna, flatfish, crab, scallops, squid, and fishmeal.

“As a result of China’s retaliation and failure to change its practices, the President has ordered USTR to begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional USD 200 billion of Chinese imports. This is an appropriate response under the authority of Section 301 to obtain the elimination of China’s harmful industrial policies,” Lighthizer said in a press release. “USTR will proceed with a transparent and comprehensive public notice and comment process prior to the imposition of final tariffs, as we have for previous tariffs.”

If and when they are imposed – scheduled for 60 days from their announcement – the new tariffs will cover almost 40 percent of the USD 505 billion (EUR 430 billion) worth of products China shipped to the United States in 2017. Retaliatory tariffs recently put in place by China on USD 50 billion (EUR 42.6 billion) worth of U.S. goods equate to about 38 percent  of the USD 130 billion (EUR 111 billion) worth of goods the U.S. sent to China in 2017.

According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. imported USD 2.7 billion (EUR 2.3 billion) of Chinese seafood in 2017, while sending USD 1.3 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) worth of seafood to China.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Reminder: Review Continues for Red Snapper Opening in the South Atlantic for 2018

July 10, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Fishermen are reminded that harvest and/or possession of red snapper is prohibited in federal waters off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the east coast of Florida. The fishery remains closed as NOAA Fisheries and the Secretary of Commerce continue final review of Amendment 43 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan for the South Atlantic Region. A Fishery Bulletin regarding approval is expected from NOAA Fisheries and the Secretary within the next two weeks. Given the timeline for the review process, it is likely that, IF the amendment is approved, a red snapper season would begin in August 2018.

The amendment specifies a total annual catch limit (ACL) for red snapper of 42,510 fish, with 29,656 fish allocated to the recreational sector. The bag limit for red snapper would be 1 fish per person/day with no minimum size limit. The recreational season would be weekends only (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The number of weekend openings for the recreational fishery would be determined by NOAA Fisheries and announced in advance. The commercial fishery would open with a 75-pound trip limit (gutted weight) with no minimum size limit, and close when the commercial ACL is met or projected to be met. The Council approved Amendment 43 for Secretarial review in September 2017. A benchmark stock assessment for red snapper will be conducted in 2020.

Sign up for E-News from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s website at www.safmc.net and receive Fishery Bulletins from NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Office at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.html.

Feds might allow fishermen to catch more skates

July 10, 2018 — The federal government is looking to allow fishermen to catch more Northeastern skates, which are caught for use as food and bait.

Skates are bottom-dwelling fish that are often sold in fish markets as “skate wing.” The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proposing to increase the annual catch limit for skates by about 8 percent, to nearly 70 million pounds.

The proposed rule changes would apply to a management plan for Northeastern skate fishery.

The biggest skate producing states are Alaska, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, though the fish are brought to land as far south as California on the West Coast and North Carolina on the East Coast.

The full proposed rule may found at https://bit.ly/2NDexjm

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Daily Times

ALASKA: Working out details on salmon disaster funds

July 9, 2018 — The following was released by Rep. Louise Stutes:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I wanted to provide you with a short update regarding the 2016 pink salmon disaster relief funding distribution.

It was recently announced that over $56 million of the $200 million appropriated for fisheries disasters will be allocated to Alaska. Naturally, I am pleased that out of the nine West Coast disasters and three hurricanes, we received such a large proportion of the funding.

Cordova has been awaiting the arrival of this funding for almost two years and it is critical that the distribution is executed correctly with as little delay as possible.

What types of entities will be eligible and how much each category will receive remains unknown. Currently, the governor’s office, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), and the Department of Commerce are working with NOAA to make those determinations through a spending plan.

One of my main concerns is who will be eligible. NOAA identified shoreside infrastructure as a potential recipient category and I am working with the State to ensure that, along with our hard-working fishermen, processing workers and direct-support businesses are afforded the relief that they are entitled to. I am in daily communication with the Governor’s Office and DFG to offer input and stay as up-to-date as possible about the timeline and details.

Read the full letter at the Cordova Times

US Senator Roger Wicker files bill to further aquaculture industry

July 9, 2018 — U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) has filed a bill that he said would further develop the aquaculture industry in the country.

S. 3138, named the “Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act,” calls for the creation of the Office of Marine Aquaculture within NOAA Fisheries. That office would oversee regulatory issues within NOAA and push for development opportunities to spur aquaculture’s growth, especially within the country’s exclusive economic zones.

“Aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector of the agriculture industry,” Wicker said in a press release. “This bill would give farmers a clear, simplified regulatory path to start new businesses in our coastal communities. The AQUAA Act would also fund needed research to continue the growth and success of this important industry.”

The bill itself twice mentions it aims to address the U.S. seafood trade deficit. It notes that the country imports about 90 percent of the seafood Americans consume, with half of those imports coming from aquaculture.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) is listed as a co-sponsor, and a trade group has started a letter-writing campaign to land additional co-sponsors.

Read the full story at Seafood Source