Saving Seafood

Fishing interests fight ocean closures bill

November 20, 2020 — A national coalition of seafood industry and commercial fishery stakeholders is mobilizing against congressional legislation that would exclude commercial fishing from wide swaths of the nation’s fisheries.

The House bill, filed in late October by U.S. Rep. Raul Grivalja of Arizona, seeks to use “marine protected areas” to ban all “commercial extractive use” across 30% of the nation’s exclusive economic zone by 2030. The closures would be part of the so-called “30×30” strategy to conserve 30% of ocean habitat worldwide by the 2030 target date.

In a letter to Grivalja, more than 800 fishing stakeholders, including the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, framed the conservation-fueled proposal as an undermining threat to the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and an assault on the economic viability of fishing communities from New England to Alaska.

“Members are the commercial fishing industry are very concerned about the attempt to undermine the Magnuson Act via these proposed pieces of legislation,” said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Fishermen Groups Concerned About At-Sea Monitoring Expansion

September 30, 2020 — Fishing organizations including the Northeast Seafood Coalition are concerned about the potential of universal at-sea monitoring requirements for commercial groundfish vessels the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) is currently mulling.

The Coalition, the Associated Fisheries of Maine and other Northeast organized seafood sectors have raised issues about the cost and effectiveness of the monitoring expansion. Groups submitted public comments on the NEFMC’s Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fisheries Management Plan, which deals with changes to the monitoring requirements, the Coalition explained in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Nation’s Fishery Management Councils Recommend Ways to Support American Seafood, Improve Coordination with National Marine Fisheries Service

September 28, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Leaders of the nation’s eight Regional Fishery Management Councils concluded their second biannual meeting in 2020 yesterday by videoconference. The Council Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting provides the Councils and heads of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, also known as NOAA Fisheries) an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to all of the Councils. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), each Council is authorized to develop, monitor and amend fishery management plans for federally managed fisheries in its region. Once approved by the Secretary of Commerce, these plans are implemented by NMFS. The two-day meeting was open to the public and hosted by the Western Pacific Council. Among its recommendations, the CCC addressed President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 13921 on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth, new National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) measures issued by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and NMFS coordination on a proposed National Seafood Council and on overfishing technical guidance.

EO 13921 aims to strengthen the American economy, improve the competitiveness of American industry, ensure food security, provide environmentally safe and sustainable seafood, support American workers, remove unnecessary regulatory burdens and ensure coordinated, predictable and transparent Federal actions. At its May 2020 meeting, the CCC released a preliminary joint statement, and, subsequently, each Council provided its own regional recommendations or status in the process of identifying potential changes to regulations, orders, guidance documents and other similar agency actions. The May 2020 CCC letter highlighted the consequences of marine national monuments on the Nation’s fisheries and can be found at www.fisherycouncils.org/ccc-correspondence. Yesterday, the CCC requested that NMFS continue to brief the CCC and the individual Councils on the review and implementation of their recommendations.

EO 13921 also includes actions for more effective permitting related to offshore aquaculture and long-term strategic planning to facilitate aquaculture projects. Taking this into account, the CCC yesterday recommended that its consensus statement on aquaculture be revised and considered for review at the next CCC meeting planned for May 2021.

The CCC also recommended that NMFS coordinate with the Councils to release the aquaculture programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) for public comment. The EIS assesses the impacts of siting aquaculture facilities. The CCC further recommended that NMFS, prior to identification of Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA), provide the spatially referenced data used to identify the AOAs and that the Councils be included on the AOA implementation teams.

Another initiative to support and increase the value of sustainably managed U.S. fisheries is an industry-led National Seafood Council that the NMFS Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee recently recommended. In regard to this proposal, the CCC requested that NMFS evaluate the NOAA FishWatch criteria for the purpose of serving as an equivalent to third-party certification deeming U.S. fishery products as sustainable. The CCC requested that NMFS report on the utility of FishWatch for this purpose and any possible alternatives by the May 2021 CCC meeting. Information on NOAA FishWatch can be found at www.fishwatch.gov.

Several other recommendations by the CCC focused on improving coordination between the Councils and NMFS.

The CCC moved to create a CCC subcommittee to make recommendations to NMFS in developing guidance on the new NEPA rule announced by CEQ on July 15, 2020. Such guidance could include determining and implementing the functional equivalency provision of the new rule, which would address current duplication in MSA and NEPA requirements. Signed into law in 1970, NEPA requires Federal agencies to consider the environmental effects of proposed major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.

The CCC requested that NMFS circulate draft reports of its National Standard 1 Technical Working Groups through the Councils with sufficient time for the Councils to consult with their Scientific and Statistical Committees and develop a response through their full Councils. The MSA contains 10 National Standards. Standard 1 says conservation and management measures must prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, optimum yield from each fishery for the U.S. fishing industry. The issues addressed by the Working Groups were estimating fish population reference points, quota carry-over and phased-in catch limits, and alternative management approaches due to data limitations.

The CCC also requested that the NMFS Office of Sustainable Fisheries form a working group comprised of NMFS and Council staff members to determine alternative approaches to the use of annual catch limits (ACLs) to manage data limited stocks. The 2006 reauthorization of the MSA mandated that overfishing be addressed through enforceable ACLs that cannot exceed scientific recommendations. Alternative approaches identified in the CCC recommendation include those that are based on fishing mortality rates, fish lengths and fishing trip limits, among others.

For more information on the CCC meeting, go to http://www.fisherycouncils.org/ccc-meetings/september-2020-ccc-meeting.

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing group asks Baker to fight ‘crippling’ monitor measure

September 23, 2020 — The Northeast Seafood Coalition is trying to enlist Gov. Charlie Baker in its campaign against the monitoring measure that it charges has the “strong potential” to financially cripple the state’s commercial groundfish industry.

The Gloucester-based coalition sent Baker a letter last Friday laying out its case that Amendment 23 — which will set future monitoring levels for sector-based, Northeast commercial groundfish vessels —  is highly flawed and should be withdrawn by the New England Fishery Management Council.

The council, which has been developing the monitoring measure for more than two years, is scheduled to take final action on it next Wednesday during the middle day of its three-day meeting that will be conducted via webinar.

“The letter is really a cry for leadership,” NSC Executive Director Jackie Odell said Tuesday. “We’re looking for leadership on this issue. We’re looking for attention on this issue.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Exports crashing, Norway vows to maintain seafood supply

March 23, 2020 — Seafood producers in Norway, spanning both the wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture sectors, will strive to maintain supplies to domestic and overseas markets, with borders and air freight routes remaining open for the transport of goods, the country’s government has said.

Norway has taken drastic steps to halt the spread of COVID-19, with schools, cinemas, restaurants and bars told to close and citizens encouraged to stay at home as much as possible. However, the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries issued a formal letter on 14 March identifying the value chain supporting food production and delivery as critical functions to society.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Statement from the Northeast Seafood Coalition on FY 2020 Appropriations and At-Sea Monitoring Funding

January 3, 2020 — The following was released by the Northeast Seafood Coalition:

Calendar year 2020 has begun with some positive news for commercial groundfish fishermen.

Thanks to the hard work of Senator Shaheen and fellow members of Congress, full funding has once again been secured through the FY 2020 federal appropriations legislation to cover at-sea monitoring (ASM) expenses for commercial groundfish fishermen!

Even better, for the first time, this legislation includes specific directives for NOAA Fisheries to improve the quality and utility of ASM and other fishery dependent data for the purpose of improving groundfish stock abundance estimates, along with the necessary funding to support implementation of these directives. 

It has become clear that the future of the groundfish fishery depends on improving the apparent limitations of current stock assessments given their disconnect with the observations of fishermen on the water.  It is likewise clear that until an understanding of true stock abundance is achieved, the groundfish fishery will not be sustainable under the financial burden of ASM expenses.   

Consequently, securing this funding and these Congressional directives has been among the top priorities of the Northeast Seafood Coalition (NSC), and so we are profoundly grateful to Senator Shaheen for her effective leadership and enduring commitment to our fishery.

Our work is not over.  Senator Shaheen’s appropriations legislation also directs NOAA to submit to her Committee a ‘spend plan’ for these funds.  It is critical that NOAA Fisheries strictly adheres to the intent and directives of Congress and does not seek to misuse these funds to pursue their own objectives.  NSC will be watching this closely.

Finally, it is critical that NOAA Fisheries and the New England Fishery Management Council understand that there is absolutely nothing in Senator Shaheen’s appropriations legislation suggesting that it was intended to support any specific measures to revise the monitoring program as are being contemplated within ongoing development of Amendment 23.   NSC will be vigorous in objecting to any misrepresentations of Congressional intent in this regard.

For additional information contact Jackie Odell, Executive Director, Northeast Seafood Coalition, Cell (978) 836-7999, jackie@northeastseafoodcoalition.org

After census debacle, White House to knock out senior Commerce official

July 18, 2019 — The White House is pushing a top aide to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross out of the Trump administration, the first round of house-cleaning after the 2020 census debacle and clashes over tech policy.

In recent months, Commerce policy director Earl Comstock has angered Trump’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, White House lawyers, members of the National Security Council and officials at the National Economic Council, according to five current and former administration officials. The irritation extends to the highest staff level of the White House, several officials stressed, citing both Comstock’s handling of the 2020 U.S. census’s citizenship question and the internal debate over spectrum policy as key areas of disagreement.

One former administration official said he could not think of anyone who “had pissed off as many senior White House officials” as Comstock, who critics allege often tried to exceed his own authority as a top Commerce policy staffer. Comstock also clashed with officials across federal agencies, according to one administration official.

While officials said the process of forcing out Comstock through a firing or resignation is underway, the date of his actual departure remains unclear. He was at the agency until the end of the day on Wednesday.

Read the full story at Politico

Millions of Salmon in Norway Killed by Algae Bloom

May 24, 2019 — About eight million farmed salmon have suffocated in northern Norway over the past week as a result of persistent algae bloom, an industry body estimated on Thursday, a blight that some experts suggest has been aggravated by climate change.

Norway is a dominant producer of farmed salmon, and the economic impact of the bloom is significant.

A statement from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries estimated the amount of salmon lost at 11,600 metric tons, worth about 720 million kroner, or more than $82 million. An industry group, the Norwegian Seafood Council, suggested the total could be much higher.

“Preliminary numbers point to eight million dead fish — corresponding to 40,000 metric tons of salmon that won’t reach markets,” Dag Sorli, a spokesman for the council, said in an email on Thursday. He put the value of the losses at 2.2 billion kroner.

Read the full story at The New York Times

Norwegian Seafood Council rep: Industry must “raise voice” about plant-based imitation seafood products

April 8, 2019 — There is a growing appetite among younger consumers, particularly millennials, for food and seafood that has an authentic story to tell, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), which has been working directly with American consumers in recent years – through various focus groups – to understand what drives and deters modern seafood purchasing.

With the primary aim of helping Norwegian fisheries and the country’s aquaculture industry to develop new markets, NSC has been keeping a pulse on the consumption trends dominating in the United States, and has found that when it comes to seafood and other proteins, a good origin story can go a long way.

“Origin matters for the end-consumers,” Egil Ove Sundheim, the U.S. director of NSC, explained to SeafoodSource.

This seems especially so for millennials, the generation responsible for overhauling the ways in which food and mealtimes are experienced, and the demographic set to acquire the majority of purchasing power within the next decade, Sundheim said.

“In five, seven, 10 years, [millennials] will be the most important purchasers of food, as they start to build families,” he said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Record first-quarter revenues for Norway’s seafood exporters, but volume plummets

April 4, 2019 — Norway exported 640,000 metric tons (MT) of fisheries and aquaculture products worth a record NOK 25.6 billion (USD 3 billion, EUR 2.7 billion) in the first quarter of this year. While the volume represented a decline of 18 percent, the value was 7 percent or NOK 1.8 billion (USD 210.6 million, EUR 187.3 million), higher than in the corresponding period of 2018.

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) highlighted that the volume drop would be just 2 percent if the pelagic category is excluded from the statistics.

“The volume decline in the pelagic category is due to lack of capelin this year, in addition to delays in the reporting of blue whiting from direct landings abroad,” Paul Aandahl, analyst with the NSC, said.

Fellow NSC analyst Ingrid Pettersen confirmed that the value of seafood exports in the first quarter reached a record high, and this was mainly driven by increased prices for some of the country’s most important species.

“There are good, stable market conditions, increased demand in our key markets, and a weak Norwegian kroner against both the U.S. dollar and the euro sets a record price for seafood exports,” she said.

The Scandinavian country exported 247,000 MT of salmon with a value of NOK 16.7 billion (USD 2 billion, EUR 1.7 billion) in Q1 2019, with the volume and value up 1 percent and 7 percent respectively year-on-year. The average price for fresh whole salmon through the quarter was NOK 68.78 (USD 8.05, EUR 7.16) per kilogram, up from NOK 67.45 (USD 7.89, EUR 7.02).

Read the full story at Seafood Source