Saving Seafood

NOAA’s Paul Doremus: Seafood aligns well with Biden’s sustainability goals

March 22, 2021 — Senior officials from NOAA Fisheries speaking at the Seafood Expo North America Reconnect event on Thursday, 18 March, said U.S. President Joe Biden’s emphasis on action on climate change could align well with support for the domestic seafood industry.

The new administration has not even been in office for two month and still have several political appointments waiting to be confirmed. However, NOAA Fisheries Acting Assistant Administrator Paul Doremus told the audience numerous synergies exist between the fishing industry and climate interests in Biden’s “building back better” resiliency plan.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Plays Pivotal Role in Combating Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing Globally

March 15, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is a top priority for the United States. NOAA Fisheries is proud to be a leader in the nation’s comprehensive approach to this battle. It includes many government agencies working in concert to identify bad actors, suspect vessels, and ports that have no interest in protecting the integrity of the seafood supply. IUU fishing damages nations’ economies, threatens marine resources, and harms U.S. fishing fleets and consumers. Due to the inherent nature of IUU fishing, it is almost impossible to accurately quantify the full global economic impacts resulting from these activities. However, there is little disagreement that it is in the billions, or even tens of billions, of dollars each year.

The scope of IUU fishing can also be broad, occurring at various points throughout the world’s massive seafood supply chain. That means our efforts to combat IUU fishing must be multi-pronged. We work with U.S. and state agencies to promote compliance with import requirements that help prevent IUU fish and fish products from entering U.S. markets. We also work with foreign governments and regional fisheries management organizations to promote international cooperation to achieve effective, responsible marine stewardship and ensure sustainable fisheries management.​

In 2018, NOAA Fisheries established the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program. SIMP mandates permitting, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements for importers of certain seafood products. It supports the identification of IUU fish and fish products and misrepresented seafood while complementing existing NOAA traceability programs for imported seafood products. The program requires documentation from the point of harvest to the point of entry into U.S. commerce for 13 seafood species. These species were identified as particularly vulnerable to IUU fishing and/or seafood fraud. SIMP seeks to trace seafood entering our domestic supply chain—deterring and combating IUU fishing and seafood fraud. Our continued implementation of SIMP includes:

  • Modernizing and integrating the technology system that supports SIMP
  • Focusing on the interplay between audits and enforcement
  • Making any necessary changes, both programmatic and regulatory, to more effectively implement the program 

Read the full release here

Yearbook: Fishing fleets flex

March 8, 2021 — With revenues up 3 percent in January and February of 2020, the industry was looking ahead to another strong year in the global marketplace.

In March, when restaurants across the country shuttered quickly under covid-19 outbreak restrictions, seafood supply chains ground to a halt in the early days of the pandemic. Fishermen who had been out harvesting to supply the once-solid market were stuck with their catch left unsold and their boats tied up.

In early March, New Jersey fisherman Gus Lovgren was headed to port after a Virginia summer flounder trip when his wife called him, “saying they’re shutting the country down, basically,” he recalled.

“We had been getting $1.75 to $2 (per pound). In the end we got, I think, 60 cents,” said Lovgren. “The market was flooded, and there was nothing we could do.”

Right out of the gates in April 2020, the Hawaii Longline Association worked with others in Hawaii’s fishing industry to donate 2,000 pounds of fresh seafood to Hawaii Foodbank, and planning larger deliveries.

The initial donation, coordinated with the with United Fishing Agency’s Honolulu auction, the Hawaii Seafood Council, Nico’s Pier 38, and Pacific Ocean Producers, “is the beginning of a new pilot program with the Hawaii Foodbank,” the association said.

“Through the partnership, Hawaii Foodbank plans to purchase $50,000 worth of seafood landed by Hawaii longline vessels,” according to a statement from the association. “The purchase will ensure that Hawaii Foodbank will be able to meet the needs of Hawaii residents facing hardship as a result of covid-19. It will also support Hawaii’s longline fishermen.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Paul Doremus takes over as acting head of NOAA Fisheries after Chris Oliver departs

January 25, 2021 — Paul Doremus has taken over as acting assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries following the departure of Chris Oliver, who had served as NOAA Fisheries’ assistant administrator since June 2017.

Doremus has worked at NOAA for the past 16 years, including as chief strategy officer from 2005 to 2011, assistant secretary for conservation and management from 2017 to 2018, and chief of strategy and operations, as well as lead for seafood production and aquaculture from 2011 until his recent promotion.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Alaska sees nearly half-billion dollar loss in commercial fisheries revenue

January 20, 2021 — A federal agency has put some dollar amounts to the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial and charter fishing industries nationwide in the first part of last year.

On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report on the economic impact on the seafood catch and recreational fishing nationwide through last summer. NOAA Fisheries deputy assistant administrator for operations Paul Doremus called the report a snapshot of an industry in transition.

“We’re trying to account in great detail with the data and information in this report on the bearing of COVID-19 on the sector as a whole and provide this in a way that can help businesses and communities understand what has happened, where the losses have been concentrated and to inform long-term recovery and resilient strategies,” Doremus said during a conference call with reporters.

Nationwide, the commercial fishing industry started off 2020 with increases in revenue from seafood sales. But as the pandemic hit in March, that income dropped off 19% compared to the most recent five-year average. Those declines swelled to 45% by July.

Read the full story at KTOO

NMFS reports fishing revenue crashed 29 percent in pandemic

January 19, 2021 — The U.S. fishing industry lost nearly one-third of its revenue in the first seven months of 2020 as the covid-19 pandemic vaporized its major markets, according to a new analysis by NMFS.

The year started on a high note, with revenues up 3 percent in January and February – before diving 19 percent in March and cratering at 45 percent less in July, said Paul Doremus, deputy administrator for operations at NMFS, in a telephone conference with reporters Friday.

Cumulatively, “over those seven months we’re looking at a 29 percent decrease,” said Doremus.

The agency mobilized its economic experts and government and academic partners in March to document the impact of the pandemic and begin preparing “as comprehensive an account as we could,” said Doremus.

The findings were compiled in a report with more than 100 pages of supporting documents, including detailed region-by-region breakdowns, by authors and economists Rita Curtis of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science & Technology and Steve Kasperski of the agency’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

While the report only documents the industry’s situation up through July, “we’ve already initiated the work to do that next update,” said Curtis. The goal is to continue monitoring economic impacts and fishermen’s response, drawing lessons and strategies for making fishing communities more resilient, said Doremus.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

SNP Announces New Board Leadership, New Member from H-E-B

January 11, 2021 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:

Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) is pleased to announce new leadership of its Board of Directors with the appointment of Jim Motos of Rich Products Corp. as the Chair of the Board and Paul Doremus of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the Vice Chair. Steve Hart of Global Aquaculture Alliance will move to Immediate Past Chair and Judson Reis, formerly of Gorton’s Inc., will remain as Treasurer. The Board welcomes Jason Driskill, Senior Director of Seafood for Texas-based retailer H-E-B.

Full press release can be found here 

NOAA Appoints Alexa Cole as Director for International Affairs and Seafood Inspection

November 15, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA announced the appointment of Ms. Alexa Cole as the new Director for NOAA Fisheries’ Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection. She will officially assume this role in the coming weeks and will work out of agency headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

As the Director for the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, Ms. Cole will lead the office’s work to ensure sound management of global marine resources. She will promote international engagement and cooperation to achieve effective, responsible marine stewardship and ensure sustainable fisheries management on a global scale. She will also oversee the office’s seafood inspection services, which support seafood safety.

“We are incredibly pleased to announce Alexa as our new director for the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection,” said Dr. Paul Doremus, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries. “She is a skilled negotiator and has ably represented the agency at high stakes international fisheries science and management meetings and treaty negotiations. Her unique experience as an attorney and a negotiator gives her the perfect skill set to take on this new role and lead this office into the future.”

Ms. Cole has held various positions within NOAA for more than 15 years, winning multiple awards over the years for her leadership and exceptional performance. She has served as Acting Director of the Office since May 2019. Prior to this role, Ms. Cole held leadership positions as Acting Chief and Deputy Chief in the Enforcement Section in the NOAA Office of General Counsel. In these positions, she supervised the Section’s unified and consistent enforcement of NOAA’s marine resource statutes through international, legislative, legal, and regulatory work. She also served as Senior Enforcement Attorney in the agency’s Pacific Islands Region. In this position, she prosecuted civil and criminal cases involving international and domestic fisheries and protected resources.

Read the full release here

Michael Rubino takes on new role as NOAA Fisheries’ senior advisor for seafood strategy

April 30, 2019 — Dr. Michael Rubino has been appointed as the new senior advisor for seafood strategy at NOAA Fisheries, the agency announced on 29 April.

Rubino, who has served as the director of the Office of Aquaculture at NOAA Fisheries since 2011, will be in charge of leading the development of markets for U.S. fisheries products and oversee the expansion of new domestic aquaculture production in his new role. With a plethora of experience in seafood production and the science behind it, Rubino is an ideal fit for the new expanded position, according to NOAA Fisheries.

“We are thrilled that Michael is stepping into this new, expanded role,” Dr. Paul Doremus, the deputy assistant administrator for operations at NOAA Fisheries, said in a press release. “He has a wealth of experience leveraging partnerships across the seafood spectrum and will now play an even bigger role in the expansion of U.S. seafood production, economic growth, and new jobs.”

There will be two major responsibilities in store for Rubino as NOAA Fisheries’ new senior advisor for seafood strategy: First being to expand U.S. aquaculture production by forming partnerships with seafood companies, fishermen, seafood famers, scientists, government agencies, tribes, and others to support the adoption of sustainable aquaculture practices nationally; and secondly, helping to develop new markets for U.S. wild-capture fisheries, the agency said. To help fulfill these core responsibilities, Rubino will work closely with the Office of Aquaculture as it continues to lead the NOAA Fisheries’ work on aquaculture, and the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, as it continues to focus on market access and international trade.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Statement from Paul Doremus, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries on Recent Press Regarding Relocation of NOAA Fisheries Woods Hole Laboratory

December 24, 2015 — The following was released from NOAA Fisheries:

On December 23, 2015, the Falmouth Enterprise published a story that NOAA “is exploring the possibility of relocating the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to a new facility outside of Woods Hole.” While the story suggests that relocation may be imminent, we are in fact very early in the process of considering how best to update the buildings and associated operations of the 54-year-old Woods Hole complex. The Enterprise story also contains statements from a Science Center employee that do not represent the views of the agency. At this point, NOAA has not made a decision to relocate the laboratory and will only pursue a recapitalization option after extensive analysis and consultations with the Administration and Congress.

Right now, NOAA is conducting a large-scale study that will evaluate all of our options for upgrading the Woods Hole complex. Studies like this are a normal business practice for long-term planning. This type of study requires the agency to evaluate multiple options to inform the overall decision-making process.

While NOAA Fisheries is fully committed to maintaining its scientific capabilities in the Northeast, the condition of that laboratory, built in 1961, will make it increasingly difficult for NOAA to continue its tradition of world-class fisheries science in the region into the future.

The current study will be completed sometime in the spring. Starting with this study, Fisheries will continue to work with NOAA and the Department of Commerce to ensure they have everything they need to evaluate our options, including information on potential community impacts, costs and benefits to our mission, and the ability for our Agency to continue to do our scientific work in the Woods Hole area.

We look forward to working further with the Administration, with Congress, and with all of our partners in the region as we evaluate our options for upgrading our facilities and providing the best long-term support for our scientific work in the Northeast.