Saving Seafood

Zinke backs shrinking more national monuments and shifting management of 10

December 7, 2017 — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Tuesday called on President Trump to shrink a total of four national monuments and change the way six other land and marine sites are managed, a sweeping overhaul of how protected areas are maintained in the United States.

Zinke’s final report comes a day after Trump signed proclamations in Utah that downsized two massive national monuments there — Bears Ears by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly 46 percent. The president had directed Zinke in April to review 27 national monuments established since 1996 under the Antiquities Act, which gives the president broad authority to safeguard federal lands and waters under threat.

In addition to the Utah sites, Zinke supports cutting Nevada’s Gold Butte and Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou, though the exact reductions are still being determined. He also would revise the proclamations for those and the others to clarify that certain activities are allowed.

The additional monuments affected include Northeast Canyons and Seamounts in the Atlantic Ocean; both Rose Atoll and the Pacific Remote Islands in the Pacific Ocean; New Mexico’s Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande Del Norte, and Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

 

LED Lights Show Promise for Decreasing Salmon Bycatch in West Coast Whiting Fishery

November 10, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Light-emitting diodes – LEDs – are proving effective for lowering bycatch in fisheries besides West Coast pink shrimp.

A study by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center shows that LEDs are very effective in directing Chinook salmon to escape windows in Pacific hake trawl nets, according to a statement from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Chinook salmon bycatch in the hake fishery, the largest groundfish fishery on the West Coast, can be an issue; if too many Chinook salmon are caught, management measures may be implemented to conserve salmon stocks.

NMFS requested an Endangered Species Act Section 7 re-consultation on the take of salmon species in the West Coast groundfish fishery in 2013. Now, four years later, the biological opinion or “BiOp” and accompanying incidental take statement is scheduled to be completed in December.

However, avoiding salmon bycatch is an ongoing issue for the whiting fishery and the midwater rockfish fishery. The use of LEDs on the nets, similar to how they are used in the pink shrimp fishery to channel eulachon smelt out escape holes, may prove useful in the future. The LEDs researchers and fishermen used for this project were developed for use on longlines, designed for rugged use in the ocean environment.

The development of efficient, cost-effective LED technology has led to a growing list of innovative residential and industrial applications, according to the statement from NMFS. With NOAA Fisheries’ Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program funding, researchers found LEDs can play an important role in productive and sustainable fisheries as well.

Data show that Chinook salmon are much more likely to exit the nets where lights are placed—86 percent of escaped salmon used the well-lit, LED-framed openings. While further research is underway, the data suggest the LEDs can increase the salmon’s escapement overall, NMFS said.

Mark Lomeli, a researcher at the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, said the challenge was to develop a salmon excluder design to lower incidental salmon bycatch. He and other researchers worked with fishermen to use two sets of large, open escape windows that allowed salmon to swim out.

“Our data and video observations indicate that at deeper, darker depths where trawl nets go, light from the LEDs are enhancing the salmon’s ability to perceive the escape areas and the areas outside the nets,” Lomeli said in the NMFS report.

The key to keeping hake in and guide Chinook out is fish behavior. Salmon are stronger swimmers and can escape. By the time the whiting get to part of the net where the excluders are positioned, they are too fatigued to swim out.

Researchers said the technology could also be adapted for other fisheries, such as for reducing salmon bycatch in the Alaska pollock fishery.

“Many fishermen are aware of this technology now and use it if they think Chinook bycatch will be an issue,” Lomeli was quoted as saying in the statement. “It’s easy to use, relatively cheap, and widely available. You can easily clip the lights to the webbing of the net around the escape openings. With these research results in hand, the lights are on the shelf for them when they need them. We think these LEDs are low-hanging fruit for contributing to the recovery of this species, and can also play an important role in the stability of this fishery.”

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

 

Eight Sustainable Seafood Businesses Win Top Honors at Fish 2.0 Finals

November 8, 2017 — PALO ALTO, Calif. — The following was released by Fish 2.0:

Fish 2.0 closed out its 2017 Innovation Forum today by awarding cash prizes to the eight seafood ventures earning the highest scores in this year’s Fish 2.0 business competition. The winners are simplifying supply chains while increasing income for fishers and farmers, bringing to market creative approaches to aquaculture production and traceability, and getting consumers excited about seafood.

Diverse panels of investor-judges chose the cash prize winners from among 22 presenters who came out on top in six regional and two global tracks. Judges picked the strongest business in each track based on the presenters’ 3-minute pitches and 5-minute question-and-answer sessions on stage at Stanford University. The winners by track are:

Sustainable Fishery Trade (Chile and Peru), a Lima, Peru­­–based social enterprise that works with artisanal fishers to provide high-quality, traceable seafood direct to restaurants.

Real Oyster Cult (New England), a Duxbury, Massachusetts, business that ships fresh oysters from all over North America direct to consumers overnight.

Didds Fishing Company (Pacific Islands), a Solomon Islands social enterprise that enables island communities to fish for premium bottom-water species offshore, relieving pressure on in-shore fisheries.

EnerGaia (Southeast Asia), a Bangkok-based company that farms spirulina, an algae superfood, on urban rooftops and in rural communities for use in a variety of food products.

Panacea Oyster Co-Op (South Atlantic and Gulf Coast Shellfish) of Spring Creek, Florida, which is restoring oyster farming in Apalachicola Bay by creating a unified brand and guaranteeing purchases to farmers.

Northline Seafoods (U.S. West Coast), an Alaska-based company whose unique floating processing facility eliminates waste and extends the shelf life of sustainable wild salmon.

ThisFish (Transparency and Traceability) a Vancouver, B.C., company whose traceability software helps seafood enterprises around the world record key supply chain data and improve business efficiency.

NovoNutrients (Supply Chain Innovation) of Sunnyvale, California, which is using food-grade bacteria to make fish food from industrial carbon emissions.

“We’re elated that we won and also humbled—there are so many bright lights in the industry right now, and so much innovation going on,” said Eric Enno Tamm, CEO of ThisFish. “Many of those companies approached me about our technology. It’s helpful to connect with the early adopters.”

Saumil Shah, managing director of EnerGaia, and Simone Pisu, CEO of Sustainable Fishery Trade, also cited the value of connections—and welcomed the attention of the global marketplace.

“Being in a competition with such a strong presence in the U.S. market is going to be a real launching point for us,” said Shah. “We are making great connections not only with investors but also with partners and buyers.”

“The Fish 2.0 award gives us the possibility to have the spotlight of the sector on us,” said Pisu. “Our mission is to improve the fishery sector in the region. We now have more potential to inspire other companies.”

Prizes include $40,000 cash, ICX (Industry Connection) awards
Each winner received a $5,000 cash prize. They and all the other finalists are also eligible for ICX (Industry Connection) prizes: unique opportunities for ventures to gain market insights and expertise from industry leaders that support growth and innovation in sustainable seafood. The Fish 2.0 advisory panel will announce the winners of those prizes in December.

“I was impressed with the range of businesses and innovations,” said Leigh Moran, senior officer, strategy, at Calvert Impact Capital, which is sponsoring an ICX prize. “This was the strongest group yet at Fish 2.0; I noticed more focus on brand and more sophistication, combined with a commitment to building the sustainable seafood sector overall.”

Participating in Fish 2.0, she added, “is a great way for us to stay up to speed on what’s going on in the sector. It’s an entirely unique event in terms of the different actors it brings together, the topics it addresses, and the focus on both good impact and good business.”

Audience chooses favorites in short-pitch session

The 17 remaining finalists delivered 90-second pitches directly to the audience of about 250 investors, business leaders and government representatives, who voted for the company they most wanted to follow up with. The top vote-getter was American Unagi, a Thomaston, Maine, company that grows locally harvested glass eels to market size in a land-based aquaculture system, providing a sustainable eel option for the domestic market while creating economic opportunity in a rural area.

The 39 companies presenting at the finals emerged with top scores from an initial field of 184 and prevailed in a particularly strong semifinalist field of 80 ventures. During Fish 2.0’s seven-month competition program, which took place online up to the finals, businesses received feedback from investor-judges and worked with business and impact advisors to develop their strategies, integrate positive impacts and metrics into their plans, and position their enterprise for investment. At least six judges scored each competitor that reached the finals.

“The power of this event is seeing a lot of different companies approaching similar problems with a variety of technologies,” said Dan Pullman of Fresh Source Capital, a judge on two panels. “I can compare their presentations, talk to them and get to know them. I’m impressed—the entrepreneurs are very well prepared. They are ready to be communicating to investors.”

Five global trends are driving innovation
Leading up to the Innovation Forum, Fish 2.0 analyzed the market demands that companies in the Fish 2.0 network are responding to and found that five accelerating global trends are driving transformation in the seafood industry: the need to predict and understand climate change impacts; wild fish stocks nearing maximum yield; product globalization and the rise of online sales; the worldwide growth of a health-conscious middle class; and aquaculture’s rapid expansion. These five trends are opening up new markets in the seafood sector, and ventures around the world are racing to capture a share of the opportunities.

“Innovation in the seafood sector is growing like never before,” said Fish 2.0 founder and executive director Monica Jain. “Rapid technology advances and new players are coming to this previously traditional sector. We’re seeing creative products, services and business models that solve problems and remove barriers to both sustainability and growth of the seafood supply. These innovations are poised to create significant changes in the way seafood is produced, harvested and marketed over the next decade.”

Learn more about Fish 2.0 by visiting their site here.

 

Updated ISSF Status of the Stocks Report Shows Tuna Stock Abundance and Fishing Mortality Improvements

November 2, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released  by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

Of the total tuna catch, 78% comes from stocks at “healthy” levels, an increase of 2% since last reported, according to a November 2017 International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) Status of the Stocks report. Eleven percent of the global catch came from overfished stocks, and another 11% of the catch is from stocks at an intermediate level of abundance. (See “Key Questions” below for definitions of overfished and overfishing.)

Updated several times per year, Status of the Stocks ranks the 23 stocks of major commercial tunas around the world using a consistent methodology. The report assigns color ratings (green, yellow or orange) on stock health, alternately noted as “abundance” and “spawning biomass”; fishing mortality; and ecosystem impact.

There are some encouraging changes in tuna stock status since the previous February 2017 Status report. The November 2017 report reflects new data from 2017 tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) meetings:

  • Abundance ratings improved for Eastern Pacific bigeye, Western and Central Pacific bigeye, Mediterranean albacore, and Western Atlantic bluefin.
  • Fishing mortality ratings improved for Western and Central Pacific bigeye, North Pacific albacore, and Indian Ocean albacore.

In contrast, two bluefin stocks (Southern and Pacific Ocean), one yellowfin stock (Indian Ocean), and one bigeye stock (Atlantic Ocean) remain overfished. See Tables 1 and 2 in the report for specific rating changes.

Inadequate bycatch monitoring and/or bycatch mitigation measures — represented by separate “Environmental Impact” scores, the third rating area — still are a concern in many of the tuna fisheries studied.


Key Findings in Updated Report
Other notable statistics and findings include:

  • Total catch: In 2015, the total major commercial tuna catch was 4.8 million tonnes, a 4% decrease from 2014. More than half of the total catch (58%) was skipjack tuna, followed by yellowfin (28%), bigeye (8%) and albacore (4%). Bluefin tunas accounted for only 1% of the global catch. These percentages did not change from the February 2017 report.
  • Abundance or “spawning biomass” levels: Globally, 57% of the 23 stocks are at a healthy level of abundance (an increase of 5% from the previous report), 17% are overfished, and 26% are at an intermediate level.
    • Stocks receiving orange scores, indicating overfishing or overfished status, include both Southern Hemisphere and Pacific Ocean bluefin, Indian Ocean yellowfin, and Atlantic bigeye.
  • Fishing mortality levels: 65% of the stocks (an 8% improvement since the previous report) are experiencing a low fishing mortality rate, and 13% are experiencing overfishing.
  • Largest catches by stock: The three largest catches in tonnes are Western Pacific Ocean skipjack, Western Pacific Ocean yellowfin, and Indian Ocean yellowfin.
  • Tuna production by fishing gear: 64% of the catch is made by purse seining, followed by longline (12%), pole-and-line (9%), gillnets (4%) and miscellaneous gears (11%).

For the first time in Status of the Stocks history, the November 2017 report features an appendix with a list of fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

“The MSC fishery certification scheme is the most widely recognized indicator of seafood sustainability,” explains Dr. Victor Restrepo, Vice President of Science, ISSF. “The list helps us to track the tuna stocks and fishing gears that are certified.”

About the Report
There are 23 stocks of major commercial tuna species worldwide – 6 albacore, 4 bigeye, 4 bluefin, 5 skipjack, and 4 yellowfin stocks. The Status of the Stocks summarizes the results of the most recent scientific assessments of these stocks, as well as the current management measures adopted by the RFMOs. In addition, this report ranks the status and management of the 23 stocks using a consistent methodology based on three factors: Abundance, Exploitation/Management (fishing mortality) and Environmental Impact (bycatch).

ISSF produces two reports annually that seek to provide clarity about where we stand —and how much more needs to be done – to ensure the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks: the Status of the Stocks provides a comprehensive analysis of tuna stocks by species, and the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to Marine Stewardship Council Criteria provides a review of the health of tuna fisheries by region. The MSC-certified fisheries list (Appendix 2) in Status of the Stocks complements the Evaluation report.

Together, these tools help to define the continuous improvement achieved, as well as the areas and issues that require more attention. Access the newly updated ISSF stock status ratings here.

Key Questions Answered by the Report
Status of the Stocks answers three key questions about each tuna stock:

  1. Is the stock overfished?
    A. The report measures the abundance of fish that are able to reproduce each year, called the spawning stock biomass (SSB), and compares it to an estimate of the biomass that would produce maximum sustainable yield (SSBMSY), which is the spawning biomass that results in the highest average catches in the long-term (this is a target of fisheries management). When SSB is below SSBMSY the stock is in an “overfished” state.

Overfishing doesn’t necessarily mean that the stock is in immediate danger of extinction or collapse — it means that currently, the fish aren’t being allowed to grow and reproduce at their most productive level. If a stock is overfished, the report will note any corrective measures being taken by the relevant fisheries management organization (RFMO).

  1. Is it in danger of becoming overfished?
  2. The report measures the fishing mortality rate (F), a measure of fishing intensity, and compares it to the fishing mortality that produces maximum sustainable yield (FMSY). When F is above FMSY, the stock is in danger of becoming overfished in the future. This is called overfishing. If overfishing is taking place, the report will note any corrective measures being taken.
  3. Are the methods used to catch the tuna also catching significant numbers of non-targeted species?
  4. The report also measures the environmental impact of fishing in terms of “bycatch” rates. Bycatch is any species caught by the boat that is not the kind of fish the skipper is searching for. All fishing methods result in some bycatch of non-target species. The report identifies the relative bycatch rates by fishing gear and reports on mitigation measures adopted by the RFMOs for various species groups.

About the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation
The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is a global coalition of scientists, the tuna industry and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) — the world’s leading conservation organization — promoting science-based initiatives for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks, reducing bycatch and promoting ecosystem health.

To learn more visit their website at issf-foundation.org.

Orca Killed by Satellite Tag Leads to Criticism of Science Practices

October 7, 2016 — They bounced around the coast in a 22-foot Zodiac, a team of federal scientists with a dart rifle trying to nail the dorsal fin on a killer whale. The seas had been calm when they came across the pod of orcas along the Pacific Ocean near the U.S. border with Canada. But then the winds exploded and the waters turned rough, and the satellite tag and dart they fired missed the mark and smacked the water.

It was February 2016, and the scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had been trying to attach tiny satellite transmitters to the endangered cetaceans to track where they go in winter, to help see why their populations are so depressed. So the researchers retrieved the dart, reloaded the rifle, and took another shot, this time hitting the animal, a healthy-looking 20-year-old male known as L95.

The darting seemed “routine in all regards,” a report would later state, until the orca wound up dead and that dart became the prime suspect. On Wednesday, an expert panel of scientists agreed that efforts to attach the satellite tag to L95 likely paved the way for a rare fungal infection that killed the endangered mammal, leaving only 82 orcas left in that population.

The accident and findings left whale scientists reeling. NOAA is “deeply dismayed that one of their tags may have had something to do with the death of this whale,” said Richard Merrick, the agency’s chief scientist, himself a former whale researcher.

Read the full story at National Geographic

Fishers balk at proposal to designate Pacific Ocean national monuments

July 8, 2016 — West Coast fishers, including those that supply Los Angeles and Long Beach with local seafood, are incensed at a “secret” proposal from environmentalists asking President Barack Obama to create new national monuments in the Pacific Ocean.

Dozens of California fishing businesses and their representatives signed a letter this week asking Obama to ignore suggestions to block fishing in open-ocean areas rich with sea life by designating them as offshore marine monuments.

Environmental groups made the proposal in a “secret effort” to lobby the president to declare that many Pacific Ocean seamounts, ridges and banks are national landmarks, according to the letter.

The five-page environmental proposal, “The Case for Protecting California’s Seamounts, Ridges and Banks,” argues that these parts of the ocean should be preserved for scientific research. Seamounts and ridges are craggy underwater mountains, and banks are shallow areas near deep ocean drop-offs.

“These special places are home to thousand-year-old corals thriving against all odds in the dark, cold depths,” the proposal states. “And they attract a remarkable variety of migratory predators such as sharks, tuna, billfishes, seabirds, and endangered sea turtles, which congregate to fuel up on the food produced by nutrient-rich upwelling currents.”

Read the full story in the Daily Breeze

ISSF and PNA Establish Framework for Cooperation to Achieve Mutual Sustainability Goals

May 5, 2016 — Washington, D.C. — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) and the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a framework for mutual cooperation. The three-year MOU will establish a mechanism for working more closely together on shared activities to promote the sustainability of tuna fisheries, as well ecologically healthy and productive marine ecosystems, in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

ISSF and PNA share the view that there is a need to improve the conservation and sustainable use of tuna resources in the WCPO. ISSF and PNA also acknowledge the role that the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) plays in assessing and managing tuna populations in the WCPO. ISSF further recognizes that PNA members are responsible for implementing the decisions adopted by the PNA Ministers and WCPFC within waters under their national jurisdiction.

“The PNA has been committed to the adoption of harvest control rules in the WCPFC, has achieved the first ever Marine Stewardship Council certification of a purse seine tuna fishery, and has put into place strong monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) measures like 100% observer coverage, VMS and FAD tracking,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “We applaud and support these activities by the PNA, and advocate for similar programs across all tuna RFMOs and tuna fisheries. It is a natural next step that ISSF and PNA, who have worked alongside for some time now, have formalized a cooperative relationship,” Jackson continued.

Read the full press release at the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

West Coast fisheries are at risk as climate change disturbs the ocean’s chemistry

April 20, 2016 — The West Coast’s abundant fisheries are at risk as the region’s waters become more acidic, a group of scientists warn.

Researchers from the West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel released a report this month that projects dire changes to ocean chemistry and marine life, and recommends ways to avert it, including restoring kelp forests and eelgrass beds and combating marine pollution.

The panel convened in 2013 to study how global carbon emissions are lowering pH and reducing oxygen levels in the ocean off the West Coast.

“Although ocean acidification is a global phenomenon, emerging research indicates that the U.S.-Canadian West Coast will face some of the earliest, most severe changes in ocean carbon chemistry,” the report says.

Because of the way the Pacific Ocean circulates, the West Coast is exposed to more acidic water than other areas of the globe. Oyster production in the Pacific Northwest has already declined, as changes in ocean chemistry tamper with shell formation, and scientists warn that popular game fish and other species are also at risk.

Read the full story from the Los Angeles Times

Pacific salmon may be scarce, pricy in stores this summer

April 18, 2016 — FRESNO, Calif. — Salmon caught off the Pacific Coast may be harder to find in stores this summer and cost more with tight restrictions imposed on fishermen who anticipate pulling fewer of the prized catch into their boats, officials said Friday.

Four years of bruising drought in the West has strained inland rivers where salmon spawn, putting the fish in sharp decline.

Restrictions announced this week leave fisherman nearly half of the opportunity to catch salmon compared to last year, under the recommendations of an industry oversight body.

“If you like the good stuff, it’s going to be harder to find this year,” said Dave Bitts, a Eureka, California, fisherman and adviser to the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald

Federal regulators: Don’t even think about fishing for these forage species

April 7, 2016 — No one’s fishing in large numbers for lanternfish, bristlemouth, pelagic squid or a handful of other forage-fish species targeted for protection in California by federal regulators this week.

And no one will be fishing for them anytime soon, under the new rule, which has been the subject of debate among fishers and environmentalists for more than five years. It aims to proactively protect the Pacific Ocean ecosystem by banning commercial fishing of round and thread herring, Pacific saury and sand lance, and certain smelts across the West Coast that are preferred meals of predators commonly fished here.

“The fishery management council wasn’t interested in being surprised by a potential new fishery,” said Yvonne deReynier, a NOAA spokeswoman. “Because of this rule, now people can’t just decide they want to go fishing without checking in and getting permission from fishery management. This is a big-picture concern of our council. The council wants to ensure there are going to be enough prey for mid- and higher-level trophic species that feed on these.”

Before the rule was finalized Monday, new forage-fish commercial fisheries could start relatively easily. Now they can’t begin without extensive study, regulation and permission by the Pacific Fishery Management Council to ensure they’re not overfished or otherwise harmed.

Read the full story at The Long Beach Press-Telegram