Saving Seafood

The slow death and uncertain future of California’s swordfish fishery

April 13, 2023 — After decades of public scrutiny, legal battles, and many regulatory changes that constricted the fishery, large-mesh drift gillnets for swordfish in California will be phased out by 2027. Deep-set buoy gear, now being employed under federal exempted fishing permits, is set to become the primary method to harvest swordfish off the California coast, with harpoons continuing as a supplemental fishery.

After years of debate and with plenty of bad blood some between primary stakeholders, there is one thing the fishing industry, fisheries managers, and environmental groups agree on: There will be less bycatch from catching swordfish, but unless new technology can be scaled up there will also be less swordfish landed out of California ports.

“It’s not a replacement fishery for large mesh drift gillnets,” says Chugey Sepulveda of deep-set buoy gear. Sepulveda is director and senior scientist at the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research and is the person who first developed deep-set buoy gear in the Southern California Bight. The buoy gear “was brought online to capitalize/augment the existing harpoon fishery, which supports a market that receives a higher price-point for its catch.”

Deep-set buoy gear has shown to be effective at catching swordfish efficiently with minimal bycatch, yielding a higher market price per pound, but Sepulveda and fishermen currently using the gear under federal exempted fishing permits say it was developed for smaller boats and doesn’t yield the volume of fish needed to cover the costs of larger vessels.

Furthermore, bycatch was still part of the catch for drift gillnets. Fishermen using large mesh drift gillnets earned additional income from retained thresher shark, louver, and other species, that will be lost with deep-set buoy gear.

Deep-set buoy gear consists of a vertical mainline around 150 fathoms in length with a flagpole outfitted with a light or radar reflector at the surface and a heavy sinker to keep the line anchored vertically. Attached to the mainline are typically 1 to 3 circle hooks with a light attached to shine below the thermocline at 20-70 meters (65 to 230 feet) in California waters. The gear is also designed to be actively tended with strike indicators at the surface to alert fishermen when a fish is on.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

HAWAII: Though often overlooked, fishermen say swordfish has a place on your table

April 8, 2023 — Spring time is swordfish season in the pacific and Hawaii fisherman are reeling them in.

While many local fish buyers look for the best price and quality when it comes to Ahi, many in the industry say swordfish is often an unappreciated and under-utilized commodity for the region.

It’s often shipped out, away from the islands. But fishermen are trying to change that — they say swordfish has a place at your table.

Read the full article at Hawaii News Now

HAWAII: Hawaii longliners land swordfish under new MSC certification

March 7, 2023 — Hawaii’s longline fleet has been in full swing since January, in the first season since the fishery was certified sustainable by the globally recognized Marine Stewardship Council, according to the Hawaii Longline Association.

“Hawaii-landed swordfish has always been a high-quality option for seafood lovers,” said Mike Goto, auction manager of United Fishing Agency Ltd., according to a statement from association this week. “The landed quality and size of fish, as well as the diverse culinary preparations for swordfish, really make it a premium seafood product.”

“The fishery is among the most highly monitored and strictly regulated fisheries on Earth,” said Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaii Longline Association. “We have 100 percent federal observer coverage, satellite-based vessel monitoring, daily at-sea electronic reporting, and other requirements including protected species mitigation measures. With our recent MSC certification, consumers can be more confident than ever that the Hawaii swordfish they enjoy is harvested in a responsible and sustainable manner.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

HAWAII: Hawaii’s swordfish season gets underway; NOAA rejects fishing proposal for marine monument

March 6, 2023 — The Hawaiian swordfish longline fleet’s first season since it achieved Marine Stewardship Council certification in September 2022 “is in full swing,” according to the Hawaii Longline Association (HLA).

The Hawaii longline shallow-set swordfish season runs from January until June, primarily in international waters around the Hawaii Archipelago, supplying fresh, ice-chilled fish to Hawaii and U.S. mainland markets.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

HAWAII: Have you tried the other (other) white meat? … Swordfish

February 13, 2023 — Hawaii’s commercial fishing industry is asking Hawaii families to consider (or reconsider) a fish that’s fallen out of favor over the years.

While Hawaii is known for its ahi and other tuna, swordfish is actually a big part of the commercial fishing industry in the islands. So much so that the Hawaii Longline Association says its fleet provides about half the country’s demand for swordfish — caught more than 1,000 miles north of Hawaii.

Read the full article at Hawaii News Now

How to keep conservation policies from backfiring in a globally connected world

March 13, 2019 — For many years environmentalists have urged the public to “think globally, act locally” — consider the health of the planet, then take action in your own community.

But this approach can have unintended consequences. In a recent study, I worked with colleagues from academia, government and the nonprofit world to gather examples of fishery, forestry, agriculture and biofuel policies that appeared successful locally, but on closer inspection actually created environmental problems elsewhere, or in some cases made them worse.

For example, in my field of fisheries ecology and management, one strategy for managing the problem of bycatch — when fishermen accidentally catch non-target species, such as sharks, sea turtles, and dolphins — is to reduce local catch limits. But when the United States curtailed Pacific swordfish catch between April 2001 and March 2004 to protect sea turtles, U.S. wholesalers imported more swordfish from other countries’ fleets operating in the Western and Central Pacific.

Read the full story at GreenBiz