Saving Seafood

Challenge to Bycatch Rule Looks Likely to Sink

October 22, 2018 — The D.C. Circuit appeared primed Monday to uphold how the government counts bycatch — a term for various sea life unintentionally swept up in commercial fishing.

Led by the nonprofit Oceana, the challengers take issue specifically with procedures by which the National Marine Fisheries Service monitors for bycatch with less intensity than Congress allowed it.

But the arguments by Oceana attorney Lide Paterno before the D.C. Circuit this morning seemed unlikely to sway the court’s three-judge panel.

“I mean, no agency has enough money to do everything they would like,” U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins said.

Congress required the government to develop bycatch tracking methods in 1996 to address the concern that even those fish that are thrown back from the nets do not survive the ordeal.

The agency came up with a new procedure to cover the Greater Atlantic region three years ago after a plan from 2008 was found to have improperly given the agency “complete discretion” to depart from procedure.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

California Swordfish Fishery Faces Sustainability and Market Pressures Following Driftnet Ban

October 16, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — With the scrawl of Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature and the unanimous backing of both the California State Senate and Assembly, California has officially banned the controversial drift gillnets used to catch swordfish.

Senate Bill 1017, signed into law on Sept. 27, will phase out driftnet fishing over a four-year period that includes both buyouts and incentives for commercial fishermen to revert to gear and practices that result in less bycatch — the dolphins, sea turtles, whales and other species that get entrapped in the nets and sometimes killed while fishing for swordfish and thresher sharks.

Ashley Blacow, Pacific policy and communications manager for Oceana, wrote in a statement, “Ocean waters off California are some of the most productive and ecologically diverse in the world … . Pulling large drift gillnets out of the water for good while transitioning to cleaner gear means countless marine animals will continue to thrive off the California coast and Californians will have access to sustainably, locally caught swordfish.”

There are 20 commercial driftnet boats still operating in the state — a marked decrease from 129 boats in 1994, according to reporting by The Mercury News. The fishing occurs mostly between San Diego and Big Sur. The bill’s buyout program will compensate fishermen $10,000 for their state drift gillnet permit and an additional $100,000 for surrendering their nets.

California is the last state in the nation to allow such drift gillnets.

While the impending ban will probably be looked at as “a defining moment,” according to Geoff Shester, Ph.D., California campaign director and senior scientist at Oceana, “there are still many battles to go.”

Shester pointed to the renewed push from fishermen to make pelagic longline fishing legal again in California. That fishing practice uses hundreds, and sometimes more than 1,000, baited hooks that hang near the water’s surface to catch species like swordfish and tuna. Like driftnets, longline fishing results in significant amounts of bycatch.

“Why take the approach of pick your poison when you don’t have to choose poison?” Shester asked. Instead of indiscriminate fishing practices with high levels of bycatch, Shester hopes fishermen, with the help of government policies and environmental research, will adopt sustainable practices like deep-set buoy gear.

A local scientist, Chugey Sepulveda, Ph.D., director and senior scientist at the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research (PIER) in Oceanside, came up with the concept for deep-set buoy gear in 2009.

With this method, a fishing line of one to three baited hooks is dropped to the depths where swordfish feed. When there’s a bite on the hook, the buoy on the surface moves, alerting the fishermen. The gear typically consists of up to 10 lines that fishermen monitor in real time.

Sepulveda explained in an email to The Coast News, “The idea was based primarily on our swordfish tagging studies which showed that California swordfish segregate from other bycatch species at depth during the day — they tend to hang out well below the thermocline and feed on deep forage with only occasional surface basking.

“This daily dive pattern seemed like an ideal opportunity for targeting swordfish and avoiding sensitive bycatch like sea turtles and marine mammals, species that predominantly remain within the surface waters.”

Sepulveda worked with PIER research biologist Scott Aalbers to modify typical hook and line methods for a gear design specific to the West Coast that would effectively catch swordfish and greatly reduce bycatch.

According to data from a PIER-led, seven-year study of commercial and experimental deep-set buoy gear trials off California shores, fishing with buoy gear resulted in a catch that was 83 percent swordfish, 12 percent bigeye thresher shark and 98 percent marketable. Non-marketable species, like blue shark and two elephant seals, were released alive.

The swordfish caught was also more profitable, as people will pay a premium for sustainably caught fish that is not mangled and makes it to market faster. Blacow said, “Last year, drift gillnet vessels targeting swordfish made $52,000 per vessel and those vessels targeting swordfish with deep-set buoy gear made $81,000 per vessel.”

Nonetheless, Sepulveda, who is also a fisherman, said deep-set buoy gear “was designed to provide fisherman with an additional opportunity, not to replace one of the few options our local fishermen have.” As such, he explained that commercial fishermen are disappointed by the passage of SB 1017 “as it means that they have one less tool available to harvest local swordfish.”

Sepulveda noted that domestic fisheries are much more regulated than the foreign gillnet and longline operations that the U.S. imports the majority of its swordfish from. Those imports “flood our markets at reduced prices,” Sepulveda wrote, which makes it hard for local fishers to compete.

In response to such concerns, Blacow wrote, “We acknowledge that an array of regulations have been put in place over the years in attempts to clean up the fishery. However, despite gear modifications and special closed areas the fishery continues to have unacceptably high amounts of waste — throwing back more than half of what is caught … . Just because an activity is regulated doesn’t automatically mean that activity should be occurring in the first place.”

Blacow pointed to a 2018 National Marine Fisheries Service study that estimates that “between 2001 and 2016 the California drift gillnet fishery captured 1,602 protected marine species including whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles and seabirds.”

Furthermore, Blacow believes that restricting seafood imports that do not meet U.S. environmental standards would be a step in the right direction in ensuring food sustainability and the livelihoods of U.S. fishermen.

Sepulveda shared similar thoughts, stating, “Our ultimate goal is to enhance domestic sustainable swordfish operations, improve the availability of jobs in the fishing sector while reducing our reliance upon foreign under-regulated and substandard product.”

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

After the driftnet ban, swordfish fishery faces sustainability & market pressures

October 12, 2018 — With the scrawl of Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature and the unanimous backing of both the California State Senate and Assembly, California has officially banned the controversial drift gillnets used to catch swordfish.

Senate Bill 1017, signed into law on Sept. 27, will phase out driftnet fishing over a four-year period that includes both buyouts and incentives for commercial fishermen to revert to gear and practices that result in less bycatch — the dolphins, sea turtles, whales and other species that get entrapped in the nets and sometimes killed while fishing for swordfish and thresher sharks.

Ashley Blacow, Pacific policy and communications manager for Oceana, wrote in a statement, “Ocean waters off California are some of the most productive and ecologically diverse in the world … . Pulling large drift gillnets out of the water for good while transitioning to cleaner gear means countless marine animals will continue to thrive off the California coast and Californians will have access to sustainably, locally caught swordfish.”

There are 20 commercial driftnet boats still operating in the state — a marked decrease from 129 boats in 1994, according to reporting by The Mercury News. The fishing occurs mostly between San Diego and Big Sur. The bill’s buyout program will compensate fishermen $10,000 for their state drift gillnet permit and an additional $100,000 for surrendering their nets.

Read the full story at The Coast News Group

Japan, Peru using cutting-edge technology to combat IUU fishing

October 2, 2018 — Japan and Peru, two of the world’s biggest players when it comes to seafood, are hoping to crack down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in their exclusive economic zones through increased use of cutting-edge technology.

A key player in both countries’ efforts is the Global Fishing Watch, an international nonprofit organization with the goal of “advancing sustainability of the oceans through increased transparency.” Its mapping platform, which can be found on the GFW website, allows anyone to view or download data and investigate global fishing activity in near real-time, for free. GFW was founded in 2015 through a collaboration between Oceana, SkyTruth, and Google.

Global Fishing Watch’s tracking of automatic identification system (AIS) messages from ocean-going boats is now being used to fight illegal transshipment inside and near Japan’s exclusive economic zone. GFW recently signed onto a collaboration with the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency (FRA) and the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong to investigate IUU fishing and strengthen transparency and governance of fisheries within the region.

To detect pairs of vessels meeting at sea, GFW and analysts at SkyTruth and Google applied machine learning algorithms to more than 30 billion automatic identification system (AIS) messages from ocean-going boats to find tell-tale transshipment behavior, such as two vessels alongside each other long enough to transfer catch, crew, or supplies. AIS is a collision avoidance system that constantly transmits a vessel’s location at sea. These transmissions are collected by satellite receivers and delivered to GFW for automated processing. Nearly all refrigerated cargo vessels carry AIS and those ships receiving fish can be identified and their activity plotted on the map.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

We can help you fight fish fraud – for starters, buy local

October 1, 2018 — The path most of the seafood imported into the United States travels from its source to the consumer is long in terms of distance, complicated in terms of the number of middlemen and women and transformative because whole fish become fillets, shrimp become scampi and crab become cakes.

Seafood fraud happens when somewhere along the way, the fish, shellfish and their parts get intentionally mislabeled, swapped out or plumped up for the seller’s gain. In the massive international seafood market – some estimates value it at $130 billion – seafood fraud happens a lot.

In 2013, the seafood industry watchdog group Oceana found that one-third of the 1,200 seafood samples it tested were mislabeled.

In 2015, an INTERPOL–Europol investigation reported that fish traded internationally was the third highest risk category of foods (alcohol and red meat beat it out) with the potential for fraud. And Oceana’s most recent study in Canada last year revealed that 44 percent of 382 seafood samples tested from five Canadian cities did not meet the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s labeling requirements.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

California bans giant ocean fishing nets blamed for killing sea turtles, whales

September 28, 2018 — Ending years of controversy and debate, Gov. Jerry Brown late Thursday signed a new law phasing out the use of giant ocean fishing nets used to catch swordfish, but blamed for accidentally killing sea turtles, dolphins and other sea creatures.

The bill, SB 1017 by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Redondo Beach, requires the state to set up a program to buy back nets and fishing permits from commercial fishermen who work in the state’s drift gill net fishery.

The nets — giant nylon curtains that can stretch one mile long and extend 100 feet underwater — are used mostly by fishermen between San Diego and Big Sur. Although they are intended to catch swordfish, thresher shark and opah, studies have shown that they entangle dozens of other marine species, including whales, dolphins, sea lions and sea turtles, fish and sharks. Those animals, known as bycatch, are often thrown back overboard, injured or dead.

“There is no longer room in our oceans for any fishery that throws away more than it keeps,” said Susan Murray, deputy vice president for Oceana, an environmental group with offices in Monterey that pushed for the new law.

Read the full story at Mercury News

 

Over 150 scientists warn of Mediterranean ‘overfishing crisis’

September 24, 2018 — More than 150 international scientists have signed NGO Oceana’s “Mediterranean Statement” urging the EU and its member states to end what it calls an environmental crisis in the Mediterranean, it said.

It cited a recent report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calling it the world’s most overfished sea.

“This environmental crisis is not just a warning – it’s the harsh reality of the Mediterranean Sea. Europe has for decades turned a blind eye to this situation, and this passive stance has brought us today to almost the point of no return,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana in Europe.

“The EU must curb overfishing to avoid the worst-case scenario — the collapse of fish stocks — by adopting a science-based management plan in the western Mediterranean,” he said.

Overfishing in the Mediterranean affects around 90% of evaluated fish stocks, with average exploitation rates exceeding more than double the recommended sustainable levels, said Oceana, citing the EU’s own Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

African countries fighting back against illegal fishing

September 18, 2018 — One in four fish in Africa is still caught illegally, despite the efforts of many African nations to overcome the problem.

According to the organization Stop Illegal Fishing, an independent non-profit based in Africa dedicated to ending illegal fishing in the continent’s waters, ongoing efforts are being made by the majority of African maritime states to end illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, but greater momentum is needed if the “New Frontier of African Renaissance” – hailed by the African Union earlier this year – is to come to fruition.

IUU fishing is threatening the sustainability of fish stocks, damaging the ecosystem, depriving governments of income, and African people of their livelihoods, according to Peter Thomson, United Nations Special Envoy for the Ocean. And the scourge of IUU is affecting a majority of African nations; 38 of the 54 African countries have coastal borders and many inland countries have vast lakes, which are also affected by illegal fishing and poor fishing practices.

The issue of IUU in Africa has been well-studied, and numerous solutions have been proposed. A report in 2016 by the Overseas Development Institute and Spanish research and journalism group PorCausa used satellite tracking to monitor the methods and scale of the problem, pointing out that transhipments, lack of inspection of containerized shipments, inadequate legal frameworks, poor technology, and a lack of political will were all partly to blame. The report estimated that by developing and protecting Africa’s fisheries, around USD 3 billion (EUR 2.6 billion) could be generated in additional revenue and some 300,000 jobs created.

China, which is the largest fishing power in West Africa with more than 500 industrial fishing vessels operating in the region’s waters, must play a bigger role in stamping out illegal practices in its fleet, including the widespread use of illegal nets and frequent engagement in the practice shark-finning, according to Greenpeace. But spurred by growing intolerance on behalf of the governments of many African nations, China is taking action. Since 2016, China has cancelled subsidies worth USD 111.6 million (EUR 99.3 million) for 264 vessels caught fishing illegally. China has also revoked the distant-water fishing licenses of several companies and blacklisted others, alongside their ships’ captains.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Is a Splashy Fishing Statistic Misleading?

September 10, 2018 — How much of the world’s oceans are affected by fishing? In February, a team of scientists led by David Kroodsma from the Global Fishing Watch published a paper that put the figure at 55 percent—an area four times larger than that covered by land-based agriculture. The paper was widely covered, with several outlets leading with the eye-popping stat that “half the world’s oceans [are] now fished industrially.”

Ricardo Amoroso from the University of Washington had also been trying to track global fishing activity and when he saw the headlines, he felt that the 55 percent figure was wildly off. He and his colleagues re-analyzed the data that the Global Fishing Watch had made freely available. And in their own paper, published two weeks ago, they claim that industrial fishing occurs over just 4 percent of the ocean.

How could two groups have produced such wildly different answers using the same set of data? At its core, this is a simple academic disagreement about scale. But it’s also a more subtle debate that hinges on how we think about the act of fishing, and how to measure humanity’s influence on the planet. “I think this discussion really shows how little we know about the world’s oceans and why making data publicly available is so important for stimulating research,” says Kroodsma.

As ships traverse the oceans, many of them continuously transmit their position, speed, and identity to satellites. This automatic identification system was originally developed to prevent collisions, but by training Google’s machine-learning tools on the data, the Global Fishing Watch (GFW)—an initiative led by the nonprofits Oceana and SkyTruth—can identify different kinds of fishing vessels, and work out where they’re dropping their lines and nets.

Read the full story at The Atlantic

 

California assembly passes driftnet ban, bill heads to governor’s desk

September 6, 2018 — A bill that would end the use of drift gillnets for harvesting swordfish and thresher sharks in California now only needs the governor’s signature to become law.

Last week, the California Assembly voted 78-0 to pass SB 1017, which calls for eliminating the controversial nets over a four-year period. The nation’s most populous state is also the only one that still allows the use of the nets to collect swordfish and thresher sharks.

In June, the bill passed the state senate by a 33-0 margin.

Under the bill, the state would create a transition program by 31 March, 2020, to enable driftnet permit holders to use alternative gear. The transition program would include a buyout program created through a public-private partnership. Fishermen must surrender their nets in order to get compensation.

“Finally we have found a way to phase out their use and transition to a more humane alternative – without harming the commercial fishing industry in the process,” said State Senator Ben Allen, the bill’s sponsor. “This is a significant win for our ocean and for the California economy. We look forward to the governor signing it into law.”

According to data from NOAA Fisheries, there are approximately less than 20 active license holders using driftnets in California.

Conservation groups have long opposed the use of the mile-long, nearly invisible nets because they have been known to kill or injure dozens of other marine species, including whales, sea lions, and turtles. According to Oceana, the nets are responsible for killing more dolphins that all other American west coast fisheries.

Read the full story at Seafood Source