Saving Seafood

JOHN PAPPALARDO: What justice looks like for our fisheries

May 20, 2017 — The high-profile arrest of Carlos Rafael followed by his guilty plea to lying about the fish he caught and sold is final proof of the existence of a devastating rogue wave that has battered the historic New England fishery.

Rafael tainted an entire industry, making fools of hardworking, honest fishermen who have been playing by the rules under increasingly difficult circumstances.

It’s entirely possible that his illegal reporting distorted the scientific analysis that powered our fish population assessments. By mislabeling depleted species and selling them as abundant species, Rafael kept scientists from making honest estimates of how much fish actually was in the water. Public policy was built on bad assumptions, which in turn created double damage — lowering limits on the amount of fish honest fishermen were allowed to bring to shore while at the same time stealing the resource we are all committed to rebuilding.

Now comes the crucial question: What does justice look like in the aftermath of an admitted economic and environmental crime of this magnitude?

First, Carlos Rafael should be banned from commercial fishing, forever.

Second, the fishing quota he owns (pounds of fish allowed to be landed each year) should be redistributed to all of the fishermen in our region, because they are the ones most damaged by his criminal enterprise.

Third, additional revenue on his assets, whether from outright confiscation and sale, or fines and penalties, should be used to fund major improvements in how our fisheries are monitored and studied. This is the only way to assure that the same thing won’t keep happening over and over again, to protect honest fishermen and to revive fish populations.

While most fishermen are hardworking and law-abiding, making a living in a dangerous but gratifying way, we need to acknowledge that Rafael is not the only person to game the system (though he’s likely the worst). This is the moment to learn from what he was able to pull off and shut the door on anyone who aims to steal public resources from the ocean, other fishermen and the American public.

By Rafael’s own estimation, his fleet is worth between $75 million and $100 million. In the plea bargain proposed in return for his guilty plea, only 20 percent of his holdings (13 vessels and permits worth about $15 million) would be confiscated. This would leave him with $60 million or more of assets.

Read the full opinion piece at the Cape Cod Times

Warming water threatens fishing ports

May 22, 2017 — The continued warming of the Gulf of Maine is expected to pose additional threats to the region’s commercially important species of seafood — and by extension to the fishing communities that harvest them, according to a new study.

The study, jointly compiled by researchers at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Nature Conservancy, draws the link between the region’s unprecedented warming and concerns about the ability of species to find new, sustainable habitats.

“These changes will directly affect fishing communities, as species now landed in those ports move out of range, and new species move in,” said the authors of the study that appears in journal Progress in Oceanography.

The migration of a spectrum of species could create “economic, social and natural resource management challenges” throughout the region, according to the study.

“The projections indicate that as species shift from one management jurisdiction to another, or span state and federal jurisdictions, increased collaboration among management groups will be needed to set quotas and establish allocations,” the researchers concluded. 

At the heart of the concern is the startling rate at which the Gulf of Maine is warming.

Previous research has shown the region’s surface waters are warming faster than 99 percent of the Earth’s oceans and the study’s researchers project the region will continue to warm “two to three times faster than the global average through the end of this century.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Gulf of Maine will become too warm for many key fish, report says

May 22, 2017 — A new study by federal fisheries scientists predicts the warming of the Gulf of Maine will cause a dramatic contraction of suitably cool habitat for a range of key commercial fish species there. On the other hand, lobsters are more likely to find hospitable areas.

The study by seven scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, used a high-resolution global climate model and federal fisheries survey data to model how key fisheries species would likely be affected by predicted warming over the next 80 years.

The results confirmed previous research using other models and methods that found that the Gulf of Maine can be expected to become increasingly uncomfortable for many of the cold-loving species that have thrived here for all of recorded history but are at the southern ends of their ranges. Those include cod, haddock, redfish, plaice and pollock.

“The main message here is how important it is to understand the potential magnitude of the changes that you see when you get a finer, higher-resolution view of the implications of changing sea temperatures,” says co-author Michael Fogarty, chief of the ecosystem assessment program at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

The scientists caution that the research analyzes just one factor – albeit an important one – the distribution of thermally appropriate habitat for each of 58 species. Their results predict the changes in the amount and location of such habitat but don’t account for many other factors that can influence the future populations of the species themselves, such as what happens to what they eat or what likes to eat them, or how the increasing acidity of the ocean – another product of climate change – will affect each.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Groups Praise Oliver as likely NMFS assistant administrator

May 19, 2017 — Pacific Seafood, fishing organizations and other groups, praised the likely appointment of Chris Oliver, executive director of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, as the next assistant administrator for Fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States.

Oliver, who was championed for the position by major U.S. seafood processors and organizations, confirmed the appointment in an email to SeafoodSource, which was also sent to his staff members.

“I have been contacted by the Department of Commerce, offered the position, and have accepted the position, with a tentative start date of June 19,” Oliver wrote.

However, Oliver stressed that the appointment is not final yet, since it is still subject to the White House vetting and approval process.

“I, and Commerce, would have preferred to keep this information close hold until the full appointment process is indeed finalized; but, given the timing involved, and the necessary transitional aspects involved, I feel it is incumbent upon me to let everyone know the status of this,” he said.

Oliver has served as the executive director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for the past 16 years. Prior to serving as executive director, Oliver also worked as the deputy director of the council and as Gulf of Alaska Fishery Management Plan Coordinator.

Since January, Pacific Seafoods, American Seafoods Company, other processors, and several fishing groups, have pushed for Oliver’s appointment. Other candidates for the job included LaDon Swann with the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and Robert Barham, who previously served as wildlife and fisheries secretary in Louisiana.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NE Fisheries Scientists Expect Drastic Changes as Gulf of Maine and Georges warm 7 to 9 degrees

May 19, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — A new paper by a number of scientists formerly with NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center suggests that there will be drastic changes in fisheries and the ports that depend on them during the next 60 to 80 years. Among the predictions for specific species, lobster and dogfish are likely to thrive. Also mid-Atlantic Fish like croaker and striped bass will find more suitable habitat in New England. The “changes will result in ecological, economic, social, and natural resource management challenges throughout the region,” said Kristin Kleisner, the lead author of the study. “It is important to understand large-scale patterns in these changes so that we can plan for and mitigate adverse effects as much as possible.”

The USDA said domestic catfish processors operate similarly to meat and poultry processing-only operations and can be subject to inspections just once per production shift. When the USDA adopted catfish inspections last March, inspectors practiced continuous inspection procedures so the agency could understand the fish slaughtering and production process. But the USDA said it is adopting the FDA’s definition of fish processing, which combines the slaughter and processing steps. This will exempt domestic catfish operators from continuous inspections once the program takes full effect this September.

In other news, Russia plans to significantly increase exports of cod and pollock to the Latin American market in coming years. Russia’s Federal Fishery Agency said demand for white fish in the domestic market is relatively low. Meanwhile, demand for white fish is up significantly in such countries as Brazil, Argentina and other Latin America states. To date, there are already several agreements to supply Russian cod and pollock to Brazil.

The season’s first catch of Copper River salmon will arrive in Seattle straight from Alaska this Friday. As per tradition, the Alaska Airlines Boeing “salmon 30 salmon” will deliver the fish to the Sea-Tac Airport. The seasoned opened this morning.

Finally, The Ecology Action Centre (EAC) said the suspension of the offshore Marine Stewardship Council certificate for the Newfoundland cod fishery in the 3Ps region confirmed its initial concern and objection to the designation. The EAC was among a group that objected to the 3Ps certification last year. “While we fully support efforts to both achieve and celebrate improvements in sustainable fisheries, we had deep concerns about this cod stock throughout the certification process. Suffice it to say we are not at all surprised that the issues we raised last year, including low bar for recovery, evidence of poor stock health and a high rate of mortality,” said Susanna Fuller, Senior Marine Conservation Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre.

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

NOAA Warns of Continuing Species Shifts Due to Warming Oceans

May 19, 2017 — Scientists using a high-resolution global climate model and historical observations of species distributions on the Northeast U.S. Shelf have found that commercially important species will continue to shift their distribution as ocean waters warm two to three times faster than the global average through the end of this century. Projected increases in surface to bottom waters of 6.6 to 9 degrees F (3.7 to 5.0 degrees Celsius) from current conditions are expected.

The findings, reported in Progress in Oceanography, suggest ocean temperature will continue to play a major role in where commercially important species will find suitable habitat. Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Maine have warmed faster than 99 percent of the global ocean over the past decade. Northward shifts of many species are already happening, with major changes expected in the complex of species occurring in different regions on the shelf, and shifts from one management jurisdiction to another. These changes will directly affect fishing communities, as species now landed at those ports move out of range, and new species move in.

“Species that are currently found in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and on Georges Bank may have enough suitable habitat in the future because they can shift northward as temperatures increase,” said lead author Kristin Kleisner, formerly of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)’s Ecosystems Dynamics and Assessment Branch and now a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund. “Species concentrated in the Gulf of Maine, where species have shifted to deeper water rather than northward, may be more likely to experience a significant decline in suitable habitat and move out of the region altogether.”

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire 

FISH FACTOR: Seafood values stable, new crab surveys and a fish promotion

May 17, 2017 — The U.S. seafood industry’s contribution to the nation’s economy sank a bit, while Alaska’s output increased slightly and dollar values held steady.

An eagerly anticipated annual report released May 9 by NOAA Fisheries measures the economic impacts of U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries.

It highlights values, jobs, and sales for 2015, along with a 10-year snapshot of comparisons. A second report provides the status of U.S. fish stocks for 2016.

The Fisheries Economics Report shows that including imports, U.S. commercial fishing and the seafood industry generated $144 billion in sales in 2015, a six percent decline from the previous year, and supported 1.2 million jobs, a 15 percent decline.

“However, it’s important to consider these figures are still above the five-year average. In fact, 2015 represents the second-highest level during that period,” Alan Risenhoover, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs said at a May 9 press teleconference.

For Alaska, commercial fishermen landed more than 6 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2015, a 6 percent increase from 2014, while the value of the catch held steady at $1.7 billion.

Fishing and processing in Alaska generated $4.4 billion in sales in 2015 and 53,400 jobs, of which 38,000 were fishermen.

Other highlights:

Pollock accounted for 54 percent of the total Alaska harvest volume.

Alaska crab values totaled $284 million, the highest level since 1999. Halibut received the highest dock price at $4.85 per pound in 2015; herring fetched the lowest price, averaging just one penny a pound.

Alaska pollock ($509 million), salmon ($413 million), and crab ($284 million) dominated landings revenue.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

Out at sea, under the watchful eyes of cameras, fishermen work as the government monitors catch

May 16, 2017 — Chris Brown has grown used to the five video cameras that record every move he and his two crew members make aboard the Proud Mary.

Since installing the equipment in January on the 45-foot otter trawler, whenever Brown steams out of Galilee in search of flounder and other groundfish in the Atlantic Ocean waters off Rhode Island, the electronic monitoring system kicks on.

And as Brown engages the boat’s hydraulics to haul in its nets, the cameras track everything he and his crew catch, all the fish they keep and all the fish they discard over the side.

The cameras may seem intrusive, but then Brown has an easy answer when asked about them.

“I’d much rather have a camera overhead than an observer under foot,” he said.

Brown is one of three Rhode Island fishermen who have signed on to a program that is testing out electronic surveillance as an alternative to human monitors that the federal government requires to be on board one in every seven fishing trips in the Northeast in an effort to stamp out overfishing.

The new program being led by The Nature Conservancy offers the potential for closer observation of commercial fishing, enhancing compliance with quotas and deterring misreporting.

Its supporters say it also provides more accurate data that will lead to better science and better regulations, all with the aim of supporting a fishing industry that is sustainable for years to come.

“There’s a mismatch between what fishermen say they see on the water and what the science says,” said Christopher McGuire, marine program director with The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts. “We’re trying to bridge that gap.”

Electronic monitoring on fishing boats is nothing new. It’s been in use in British Columbia, in Canada, for more than 15 years, was eventually adopted by American fisheries in the Pacific Northwest, and was tested by Cape Cod fishermen as far back as 2005.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

Barry Myers, AccuWeather chief executive, emerges as front-runner for NOAA’s top job

May 15, 2017 — Nearly four months into his administration, President Trump has yet to name the next leader of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But several individuals in the weather community say Barry Myers, chief executive of AccuWeather in State College, Pa., is the leading candidate.

Myers, who holds business and law degrees, has served as AccuWeather’s chief executive since September 2007 and has overseen the company’s strategic initiatives and global expansion. His strong business background is viewed as a major asset for an administration that has placed a great deal of value on private-sector experience.

The job of NOAA administrator is seen as a critical for advancing the nation’s weather forecasts and understanding climate change. The agency runs the National Weather Service, conducts and funds weather and climate research, and operates a constellation of weather satellites as well as a climate data center.

NOAA also has enormous responsibilities in understanding and protecting the nation’s coasts, oceans and fisheries.

Members of the weather and climate community, aware of Myers’s likely selection, said they think that he would bring strong corporate leadership to the position. But others were worried about his nontechnical background and a rocky relationship with the National Weather Service.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Proposed Federal Budget Would Eliminate Sea Grant Program

May 12, 2017 — In late March, President Trump proposed a budget that would slash the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s funding by 17 percent and eliminate several educational and research programs, if Congress approves. One of the proposed cuts would eliminate NOAA’s $73 million National Sea Grant College Program, which supports coastal research conducted through 33 university programs across the country, including every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico, Lake Champlain and Guam.

The Sea Grant program, according to Trump’s budget plan, is a low priority that primarily has a state and local impact. “Mr. Trump is trying to eliminate us, but we are one of the solutions,” says Paul Anderson, director of Maine Sea Grant. “It’s pretty evident the process the administration has gone through to identify these cuts was not articulate. It was just line-item mathematics.”

Anderson says he is “mystified” by the Trump administration and feels its decision to cut the program puts the nation’s health and safety at risk. “The things we have created in this nation are through lessons learned — from creativity and mistakes,” he says. “You create electrical safety standards because someone was electrocuted. There’s a role government has. Trump’s approach is so naive to any of those structures that it puts our nation at risk for all kinds of things. Health, well-being and good, safe, clean domestic food and water are important.”

Read the full story at Soundings