Saving Seafood

Fish 2.0 evolves to fight industry fragmentation

April 25, 2017 — The business competition Fish 2.0, now in its third installment, is evolving into a nexus of communication that is helping fight fragmentation in the seafood industry, according to its founding director Monica Jain.

Held every two years after an inaugural 2013 edition, Fish 2.0 is an open call for entrepreneurs and business owners in the seafood industry to propose their projects and get feedback from investors and industry professionals, as well as possible financial backing.

The four-phase competition pares the proposals it receives down to a group of finalists that present at Stanford University to a room full of investors, consultants and other businesses owners.

Jain said her original motivation behind creating the competition was to stimulate private investment in sustainable seafood, and the competition has certainly done that— companies that presented at the 2015 Stanford finals have raised more than USD 30 million (EUR 27.6 million), and include starts-ups including LoveTheWild and Acadia Harvest Inc.

But the competition has also created an unforeseen meeting point in a dispersed industry.

“The thing that we’re seeing is that more and more businesses are interested in our competition not just to meet investors, but to meet each other. There’s a lot of benefit for them meeting each other because the seafood industry is fragmented,” Jain said.

For the 2017 edition, Fish 2.0 held six workshops in different regions; Southeast Asia, Chile and Peru, the Pacific Islands, New England, the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and the U.S. West Coast.

At the U.S. West Coast workshop early this month in Seattle, entrepreneurs from California to Alaska discussed innovations and business ideas that ranged from submarine robots for patrolling aquaculture farms to salmon-based baby food to innovative fish handling techniques.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

Peru shuts down major anchovy fishing areas

December 7th, 2016 — Peru’s Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) have shut down 20 anchovy fishing areas after fishermen landed more anchovy than allowed.

The government is also recommending the temporary suspension of four additional fishing areas, based on the recommendation of the Instituto del Mar del Peru (IMARPE).

“The volume of discharged anchoveta was higher than the 416 thousand tons, equivalent to 20.81 percent of the catch quota allocated to the second fishing season,” said PRODUCE in a statement. The Ministry of Production “maintains constant vigilance” to ensure sustainability of the fishery, the agency said.

More than 600 inspectors monitor compliance with conservation measures of anchovy in its second season. They found that the weighted average number of anchovy in smaller sizes to 12 centimeters was 11.24 percent with greater frequency in sizes of 13.5 cm.

“Given the presence of youth and based on the behavior of catches, to date, has arranged PRODUCE precautionary closures of fishing areas 20 through 13 reported, four of which are in force,” PRODUCE said. The latter areas are Huacho, Huarmey, Barranca, Chepen, Trujillo, Guadalupito (La Libertad) and Callao.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

In California, Squid Is Big Business. But Good Luck Eating Local Calamari

December 1, 2016 — The following is excerpted from an NPR story published today, written by Clarissa Wei:

More than 80 percent of U.S. squid landings are exported — most of it to China. The rare percentage of that catch that stays domestically goes to Asian fresh fish markets or is used as bait.

Ironically, the lion’s share of the squid consumed in the United States is imported.

“It has to do with the American desire for a larger squid,” explains Diane Pleschner-Steele, executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association. “A lot of squid that is shipped overseas stays overseas because they prefer it. They eat it over there. Our consumers typically prefer a larger squid, and so there’s just a ton of squid imported into this country that comes in at a far lower price.”

In the U.S., the squid that ends up on our dinner table is typically Patagonian squid from the Falkland Islands or Humboldt squid — a jumbo cephalopod fished predominantly in Mexico and Peru.

California market squid isn’t usually desired because of its smaller size.

“Our squid is a learning curve,” Pleschner-Steele says. “If you overcook it, it can taste like a rubber band. But in my opinion, if you do it right, it tastes more like abalone than any other squid. It’s nutty, sweet and delicate.”

All Californian fish processors are capable of dealing with squid, Pleschner-Steele says. However, it’s not a money-making operation because people aren’t willing to pay for it.

“It has to be on request,” she says. “We simply can’t compete with the cost of other imported squid. ”

Supporting the local squid industry is much more than just helping the local economy – it’s helpful from a sustainability angle as well.

Even with squid being sent on a round-trip journey across the world, the California market squid fishery has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry.

“California squid fishing fleets are one of the most energy efficient in the world because [they’re] so close to port,” Pleschner-Steele says. “Our boats can produce a ton of proteins for about six gallons of diesel fuel. … Efficiency is key.”

Further efficiency, she says, could be achieved if consumers would be keen to fork over $1.50 a pound more for California-caught and processed squid.

But the “truth is that Americans aren’t willing to pay for it,” she says. “If people were willing to pay the price, we can definitely feed the demand.”

Read the full story at NPR

Satellite Tracking Spots Suspicious Activity from 12 Chinese Fishing Vessels in Peruvian Waters

October 17th, 2016 — At least a dozen Chinese vessels have illegally fished inside Peru’s national waters between January 2015 and September 2016, according to data analyzed by the satellite tracking platform Global Fishing Watch. This data suggests that over the course of the last year, Hong Pu5, Shung Feng 002 and several other vessels entered Peruvian waters at least once to fish in violation of international law.

Global Fishing Watch — a joint initiative of Oceana, SkyTruth and Google — uses navigation technology known as the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to track the movements of nearly 40,000 commercial fishing vessels around the world. AIS transmits a vessel’s identity, type, location, course and speed. Global Fishing Watch’s algorithm uses this information to identify fishing patterns, which helps fisheries officials and enforcement agencies spot potential criminal activity.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), illegal fishing in Peru is responsible for $360 million in losses each year. Peru is something of a “paradise” for pirate fishing, said Juan Carlos Sueiro, Oceana Peru’s fisheries director.

While neighbors Colombia, Chile and Ecuador have ratified a new FAO treaty aimed at curbing the trade in illegal fish in port cities, Peru has dragged its heels. As a result, Sueiro said, Chinese and other foreign vessels suspected of illegal fishing can freely dock, refuel, buy food and offload their catch in Peru.

Read the full story at Oceana 

How unstable supply is forcing Japanese fish farmers to get creative

June 23, 2016 — Fishing for anchovy started late this year in the main producing area of Peru, and the supply of fish meal used as an ingredient in feed for farmed fish is unstable.

In the main producing area of Peru, catches were poor at the end of 2014 and no quota was allocated for the 2015 season. The poor catches are attributed to the El Niño phenomenon, which changes ocean currents and water temperature.

In Peru, the season for catching anchovy for fish meal is usually from April to July and from November to February. Trial fishing was conducted before the season, to determine the total allowable catch. Usually the quota is announced in April, but this year no announcement was made until well into June, so fishing is only getting started. As it is rare for the fishing the season to be extended into August or later, it is likely that the season will simply be shortened, resulting in a continued supply shortage.

The good news is that the El Niño may have ended. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on 9 June reported that El Niño indices were near zero by the end of May. Based on surface and subsurface water temperatures NOAA reported, “For the first time in 2016, atmospheric anomalies over the tropical Pacific Ocean were also consistent with ENSO-neutral conditions.” (ENSO stands for El Niño–Southern Oscillation.)

Spot prices for prime fish meal were at a high point of USD 2,390 (JPY 248,966; EUR 2,119) per metric ton in December 2014. Currently, the price is at USD 1,530 (JPY 159,379; EUR 1,356). So, it is less a problem of price than of unpredictable supply.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Peruvian Acuapesca Farmed Scallops Certified Sustainable

January 20, 2016 — PERU – The Peruvian company Acuacultura y Pesca Group (Acuapesca) has been confirmed Friend of the Sea certified for scallops from sustainable aquaculture.

After an independent assessment audit Acuapesca was found compliant with Friend of the Sea strict criteria of sustainability.

Acuapesca has been operating since 1989 in the remote and pristine areas of Guaynumá Bay and Nunura Beach with 5 farms and one processing plant.

Water parameters are checked periodically. The development of the facilities has not damaged critical ecosystems. The species (Argopecten purpuratus) is a native species, whose broodstocks are captured in the bay and induced to spawn in laboratory, for later reintroduction in the bay to continue the growth process. The scallops are grown in long line cages.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

 

US scallop prices only expected to rise with no supply relief in sight

October 27, 2015 — As landings continue to come in a little shorter than had been predicted for 2015, US sources see no easing in prices for domestic scallops, which are back up near the all-time high levels seen before this fishing season began.

The agreed outlook is for prices to remain where they are now, with limited landings expected between now and Christmas, when demand traditionally picks up from October.

One executive with a scallop catching firm told Undercurrent News that boats landing in Newport News, Virginia, last week, saw U12s earn $15.75 per pound to the boat, and as much as $16 a few days later.

10/20s sold for $12.03 – $12.05. A second source, also operating out of Newport News, confirmed the largest sizes were going in the $16 range. He put 10/20s in the high $11 area, and in the low to mid $12 too. Both sources added these were typical of recent developments, and that they expected prices to remain similar for the rest of 2015.

Meanwhile David Cournoyer, general manager of Marder Trading in New Bedford, Massachusetts, put prices for fresh, dry U10s at $17.50 to the boat, $18- 18.50 sold on the street.

10/20s were $14 sold on the street, give or take 40 cents, he told Undercurrent.

“October demand was down, as it generally is this time of year. Demand tends to increase in November, December, and early January usually.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Former Dutch Harbor Fisheries Observer Keith Davis Missing At Sea Off Peru

October 26, 2015 — With crab season under way in the Bering Sea, some 70 crab boats are bobbing around Alaska’s Bristol Bay and the Aleutian Islands. About a dozen of those boats have a fisheries observer on board. The observers keep tabs on what the boats haul up from the deep.

Keith Davis was supposed to be one of those observers, but he went missing in September while working on a boat off the coast of South America. KUCB’s John Ryan reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Davis has been a fisheries observer for more than 15 years. His employer says he was planning to return to Dutch Harbor this winter to do more observing work.

But Davis vanished while working on a transshipment vessel about 500 miles off the coast of Peru. He disappeared one afternoon while a boat was offloading tuna to the Taiwanese ship that he was working on. The ship sailed under the flag of Panama.

The Panamanian government, the U.S. Coast Guard and the FBI are investigating his disappearance. Davis’s friends suspect foul play.

Goodman: “Absolutely do.  For a number of reasons.”

Lynn Goodman is a fisheries observer and a friend of Keith Davis.

Goodman: “I met Keith in our Dutch Harbor bunkhouse while we were both observing on crab boats.”

She says Davis was exceptionally safety conscious and there’s no way he would have been on board a ship without a life jacket, let alone just fall off unnoticed.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at KUCB

 

Coast Guard looks for missing American

September 21, 2015 — U.S. authorities are investigating the disappearance of an American marine biologist who went missing at sea while serving as a monitor on a fishing boat off the coast of Peru.

Keith Davis, 41, was aboard the Panamanian flagged Victoria No. 168 to collect data and ensure the crew was adhering to international fishing guidelines. He was reported missing Sept. 10 when the boat was about 500 miles offshore.

Detectives from the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and FBI agents were waiting for the Victoria when it docked in Vacamonte, Panama on Sunday evening, said Michael Berkow, director of the investigative service.

Berkow said the U.S. investigators are assisting with the probe at the request of Panamanian officials.

He said there is very little preliminary information surrounding the circumstances of Davis’ disappearance.

“He’s just gone,” Berkow said.

Friends, family and co-workers described Davis as a big-hearted, upbeat adventurer who was passionate about the ocean and conservation. They said he was also a seasoned sailor who, over nearly two decades as an observer, spent time on boats under all conditions in oceans around the world.

They have expressed skepticism that he was the victim of an accident and have been pressing for an investigation since learning of his disappearance.

Read the full story at CNN