Saving Seafood

MSC certificates to be suspended for all Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting fisheries

December 1, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The independent assesssors responsible for certifying fisheries to the MSC Fishery Standard have today annouced that Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting fisheries will be suspended from the program on 30 December 2020.

The suspension affects eight certificates covering fisheries from the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Russia, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and most recently the United Kingdom, which claimed independent Coastal State status in 2020.

Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting caught on or after 30 December 2020 cannot be sold as ‘MSC certified’ or bear the blue MSC label.

The Atlanto-Scandian herring fisheries that will be suspended land between 600,000 to 700,000 tonnes per year, which is around 50% of the total MSC-certified herring catches landed annually. MSC labelled herring is sold to consumers via supermarkets and fishmongers throughout Europe.

The landings of the soon to be suspended blue whiting fisheries are predominantly used to produce fishmeal for farmed salmon, a small quantity is sold as surimi to consumers in Japan, Australia and France.

Lack of an international quota sharing agreement

The reason for the fisheries´ suspension is the lack of an international agreement on how to manage catch levels between different nations. The absence of an effective stock management – in particular, a quota sharing agreement between the involved nations in line with scientific advice – has led to the combined catch exceeding the recommended catch levels for a number of years.

In 2019, Atlanto-Scandian herring fisheries collectively caught 32% more than the scientific advice for the year. Following the catch quotas announced by the individual states, the same will happen in 2020 [1].

The annual meeting of the Northeast Atlantic Coastal States held in October 2020 did not reach a solution to this stock management problem.

The MSC’s Northern Europe Director, Erin Priddle, said:

“We urge nations to commit to a quota-sharing agreement in line with the scientific advice. Only through effective stock management can we ensure the health of the herring and blue whiting stocks in the short, medium and long term. While individual fisheries often make great efforts to improve their sustainability, ultimately, they cannot do it alone. Migratory species like Atlanto-Scandian Herring do not observe national boundaries, so we need international agreements to manage whole ecosystems in an adaptive, scientific way, rather than managing fish resources based on national interest.”

No sustainability without effective stock management

The MSC is focused on securing and maintaining the long-term health of fish stocks. Avoiding the boom-bust cycle of overfishing and recovery is a fundamental principle of the MSC’s Standard for sustainable fishing. This is even more important in the context of climate change which is already impacting on the productivity and distribution of fish stocks [2].

Independent assessors identified that the absence of a quota-sharing system could threaten the health of the stock and set a condition that nations must reach an agreement by 2020 for continued MSC certification. This was stipulated in 2015, giving fisheries a five-year time frame to work towards. Due to a lack of progress on this condition, the fisheries are now having their MSC certificates suspended.

For the same reason MSC certified mackerel fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic were suspended in 2019 and have not yet been reinstated due to ongoing concern about how catch is managed in response to scientific data on stock levels and inability to agree a quota share arrangement between the relevant fishing states.

Fisheries facing suspension from MSC certification

Atlanto-Scandian herring: 

Blue whiting:

A dead right whale calf found on North Carolina shore bodes ill for species birth rate, according to experts

November 25, 2020 — Scientists with National Marine Fisheries Service found a North Atlantic right whale calf dead on Friday, Nov. 20, at Cape Lookout National Park in North Carolina, boding ill for the birth rate of a critically endangered species.

The newborn likely died during birth or very soon after, according to a government report issued Monday.

The species’ birth and death rates are under extended scrutiny with an overall population decline to under 400 animals, with a possible threat of extinction.

Right whales visit Cape Cod Bay in the late winter and early spring as part of their annual migratory pattern along the Atlantic coastline from Florida to Canada. The calving season for the whales takes place in the winter off Florida and Georgia.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

No-deal Brexit could reignite ‘cod wars’, fishermen warn

November 18, 2020 — A no-deal Brexit could lead to a repeat of the “cod wars” between Britian and Iceland across the EU, an Irish fishing group has warned.

Seán O’Donoghue, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, said he was hopeful that “common sense” would prevail and Britain and the EU would reach an agreement on fisheries in the coming days.

“We’ve had the Icelandic Cod Wars in the past,” he told The Times. A no-deal Brexit “would be similar to that”.

Mr O’Donoghue said that there could be disputes in the Irish Sea, around the northwest Irish coast near Scotland, in the English Channel where waters are shared with France, and the North Sea, where some waters are shared with Denmark.

Read the full story at The Times

UK and Iceland sign fisheries agreement, stepping up cooperation

November 13, 2020 — The United Kingdom and Iceland are to increase their collaborative efforts on fisheries matters through a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) that has been signed by U.K. Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis and Icelandic Minister of Fisheries Kristján Þór Júlíusson. It is the first fisheries agreement ever made between the two countries.

According to the U.K. government, the MOU, which will come into effect on 1 January, 2021, will establish a U.K.-Iceland Fisheries Dialogue, whereby both countries share best-practice and cooperate on a range of issues, including product innovation and food waste reduction. It will also provide a platform for businesses to exchange knowledge on the adoption of new technologies, and ways to enhance the value, traceability and marketing of seafood products.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Indigenous people in Nova Scotia exercised their right to catch lobster. Now they’re under attack.

October 27, 2020 — When Mike Sack handed out lobster licenses to Indigenous fishers in Nova Scotia last month, he expected some pushback from commercial fishers. But the Sipekne’katik First Nation chief did not foresee the violence to come.

Mi’kmaq fishers say non-Indigenous commercial fishers in the Maritime province have threatened them, cut their lines, pulled their traps from the water and formed flotillas to intimidate them on the waters of St. Mary’s Bay.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Northeast Atlantic herring fisheries at risk of losing MSC eco-label

October 6, 2020 — A lack of international agreement between Northeast Atlantic coastal states on the management of catch levels have left four Atlanto-Scandian herring fisheries with “a high risk” of losing their Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificates on 30 December, the eco-label program has warned.

The MSC-certified fisheries in question are: ISF Norwegian and Icelandic herring trawl and seine (Iceland); SPSG, DPPO, PDFA, SPFPO, and KFO Atlanto-Scandian purse-seine and pelagic trawl herring (E.U. and United Kingdom); Faroese pelagic organization Atlanto-Scandian herring (Faroe); and Norway spring spawning herring (Norway).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

SCEMFIS Research Provides New Insights on Gray Seals; Suggests Alternatives to Current Management

September 28, 2020 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

Decades of strict conservation and management have led to a rebound of gray seals in the North Atlantic. Now, research from the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) is providing new insights into this population, how local fisheries interact with them, and better options to manage them.

The study, led by Drs. Doug DeMaster, Paula Moreno, Andre Punt, and John Brandon of the Independent Advisory Team for Marine Mammal Assessments, is evaluating how interactions with regional fisheries, specifically the New England sink gillnet and bottom trawl fisheries, affect the gray seal population. Revising estimates for key parameters such as abundance, levels of bycatch, and the proportion of seals crossing between the U.S. and Canada, the study is providing alternative approaches for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to estimate Potential Biological Removal (PBR) levels. PBR determines the number of gray seals that can be removed annually by human activities without threatening the conservation status of the stock.

Preliminary results from the study find that calculations made by NMFS to determine the PBR threshold are likely too conservative. Specifically, it finds that NOAA’s estimate of gray seal productivity, a key metric in determining PBR, is too low by approximately 17 percent. It also finds that NOAA is likely being overly conservative in how it classifies at least one fishery, based on productivity, bycatch levels and assumptions regarding transboundary movements of gray seals between the U.S. and Canada.

Under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), bycatch is strictly managed based on PBR levels, and fisheries are often required to adopt burdensome mitigation strategies as a result. Having an accurate estimate of the seal population that is interacting with commercial fisheries, and setting an appropriately precautionary estimate of PBR, is critical not just for seals, but for the fisheries that interact with them.

“With the gray seal population continuing to grow, the fishing industry is increasingly concerned about bycatch and other issues that come from seal interactions,” said Greg DiDomenico, a member of SCEMFIS’ Industry Advisory Board. “The results of this study will provide options for managing gray seals that are both consistent with federal conservation goals and may be helpful in avoiding unnecessarily burdensome regulations on fishermen.”

Read the full release here

Finders keepers: New trawl technology helps fleets fish smarter and managers track biomass, despite covid disruptions

September 15, 2020 — In trawl fisheries, vessels usually spend costly amounts of time and fuel searching for fish. Even with advanced technology, the cost of finding fish comes with the price of investment. To increase efficiency, Kongsberg Maritime of Norway has developed an unmanned surface vehicle that can hunt for fish at a fraction of the cost of a fully manned fishing vessel.

“The vessel is equipped with high-definition SX95 omnidirectional sonar,” says Richard Mills, head of marine robotics sales at Kongsberg. “Then there is a moon pool in which we can put other equipment. We just put an EK80 echosounder in one for a company we can’t name, and we are hoping to demonstrate it next year for NOAA.” According to Mills, the USV can search large expanses of ocean and transmit data to land-based receivers and fishing vessels. “We sit down with our customers and look at cost benefits,” says Mills, noting that the USV could operate for as little as 15 percent of a manned vessel’s crew costs and fuel costs.

The 26.5-foot USV has a 7.3-foot beam and draws 2.3 feet. For receiving commands and transmitting data, the vessel has a mast that reaches 14.4 feet above the sea surface. The vessel can run autonomously or be operated from a laptop PC or radio control with data telemetry via a Kongsberg’s K-MATE control system, with communication through Maritime Broadband Radio and Iridium satellite (VSAT optional).

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Norway Rediscovers Taste For Whale Meat As Local Demand Rises

September 4, 2020 — Following several years of decline, the demand for whale meat in Norway is rising. A distribution deal with a national supermarket chain and an increase in domestic tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic are believed to be responsible for the uptick.

Supply has also increased. To address a shrinking fleet, the Norwegian government eased the requirements on whaling vessels this year, a move that has angered conservationists.

Vacationing Norwegians trying out whale

Parts of northern Norway including the Lofoten islands benefited from this year’s travel restrictions that saw Norwegians more accustomed to Mediterranean resorts forced to vacation in their own country. “More and more Norwegians are opening their eyes to whale meat,” reported trade publication Fiskeribladet.

Hopen Fisk in Kabelvåg sold out of their whale meat supply earlier this year. General manager Ernst Iseli said sales “exceeded all expectations”, adding that the demand could be linked to a rising national interest in local cuisine.

While not commonplace elsewhere in the country, whale meat is a speciality in many northern restaurants. The meat is also available in selected Rema 1000 supermarkets across the country.

Read the full story at Forbes

New Online Tool Launched to Track Ship Speeds in Areas Frequented by Right Whales

July 22, 2020 — Oceana has released a new online tool that allows anyone to track ship speeds in speed zones designed to protect North Atlantic Right Whales along the east coast of the U.S. and Canada.

Using Global Fishing Watch data, which is a component of the new tool called Ship Speed Watch, Oceana Canada tracked ship speeds in the Cabot Strait from April 28 to June 15, 2020.

During the 49-day period, Transport Canada asked vessels longer than 13 meters to slow down to 10 knots.

Only a few complied, with 67 percent of the ships (464 out of 697) traveling faster than the 10-knot limit, and some traveling 20 knots or faster.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com