Saving Seafood

Assessors must reconsider parts of potential bluefin MSC certification

June 29, 2020 — An independent adjudicator, analyzing formal objections to the potential Marine Stewardship Council certification of the Usufuku Honten East Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery, has upheld one of the four objections presented.

The objections were presented by the World Wildlife Fund and The Pew Charitable Trusts in January, after the assessment body, Control Union Pesca Ltd., recommended that the fishery be certified in December 2019. Of the four objections, the independent adjudicator upheld objections to the evidence used to conclude how long bluefin tuna take to grow and reproduce, according to a release from MSC.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Gov. Mills asks Trump administration to reject right whale protection proposal

June 29, 2020 — Gov. Janet Mills has asked the Trump administration to reject a petition from the Pew Charitable Trusts that proposes tight seasonal regulations for some lobster fishing areas to protect endangered right whales.

The proposal “not only fails to provide additional protections for right whales, but contrary to Pew’s assertions, it will cause significant economic impact to Maine’s iconic lobster industry,” Mills wrote in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Pew, a national civic engagement and public affairs nonprofit, submitted a petition this month to ban traditional lobster fishing in areas where whales feed during their annual migration. The nonprofit wants alternating three-month periods when only ropeless fishing is allowed in areas including waters off Mount Desert Rock, Jordan Basin and Jeffrey’s Ledge, and year-round ropeless fishing off the coast of Nantucket.

The restrictions to protect the remaining 400 right whales would only minimally impact Maine’s $483 million lobster fishery because most fishing takes place closer to shore, Pew said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Maine’s governor objects to petition requesting vertical-line prohibition

June 26, 2020 — The U.S. state of Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, has written a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross objecting to a recent petition that aims to prohibit the use of vertical lines in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries in four areas off the New England coast.

The petition was submitted by The Pew Charitable Trusts earlier this month, with the intention of protecting the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale. Right whales are one of the most endangered mammal species in the world, and entanglement with vertical lines have led to new regulation that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association has objected to.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Pew petitions for vertical-line fishing closures off New England “to protect right whales”

June 18, 2020 — The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted a petition for rulemarking to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on 18 June urging him to take immediate action “to protect North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in federal waters off of New England.”

In a letter to Ross, Pew proposed a series of fisheries closures it says are “designed to afford the greatest protections for right whales, while minimizing the impact on fishermen.” The organization identified four areas off of New England where fisheries employ high-risk gear – such as lobster and crab traps with thick vertical ropes – and suggested that Ross designate closures during times when right whales are likely to be present.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Pew requests area closures in the name of right whales, suggests trap and line limits as next step

June 18, 2020 — On Thursday, June 18, Pew submitted a petition to the Commerce Secretary requesting an immediate shutdown of some federal waters off the coast of New England to commercial lobster and Jonah crab fishing. A letter signed by Peter Baker of Pew Charitable Trusts and attorney Purcie Bennett-Nickerson accompanied the petition.

“Specifically, we request that you designate one year-round closure south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and three seasonal offshore closures in the Gulf of Maine in which the use of vertical lines in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries is prohibited,” the letter states. “The proposed areas have been scientifically identified as posing the greatest risk of entanglement to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.”

U.S. lobster fleets and fishery leaders have long been leaders in reducing interactions with marine mammals, often voluntarily implementing expensive gear changes, and time and area closures. The fleets targeted by the petition have also been working through NMFS’ Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team to develop a NOAA-mandated 60 percent reduction in vertical lines in the water.

“Why are they bringing these proposals forward at this point?” asked Dave Borden, executive director of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association and an Area 2 lobsterman. “Pew as an organization never offered a comprehensive fix that I know of.”

Atlantic commercial lobstering organizations are also working on a deadline to provide material for a federal case and did not receive notice on the petition from Pew.

“They did not distribute a copy to us,” Borden said. “I’ve been working on the depositions for the right whale case that are due tomorrow.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Hawaii marine monument expansion’s impact on fishing debated 5 years later

April 15, 2020 — Tensions flared fast as the proposed expansions of national marine monuments near Hawaii in President Barack Obama’s second term set fishermen and conservationists against each other.

The Hawaii Longline Association, representing about 150 permitted vessels, objected to fishermen being locked out of fishing grounds. Conservationists aligned with The Pew Charitable Trusts, which advocates for marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world, and rallied for the preservation of coral reefs, unknown life in the deep sea, and the area’s natural and cultural resources.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Researchers are now fighting marine poaching with GPS-equipped sea birds

January 31, 2020 — Illegal fishing is one of the biggest threats to oceans today, responsible for roughly 20 percent of the global seafood catch, according to estimates by Pew Charitable Trusts. It devastates marine ecosystems and causes billions in economic damage, injuring and killing untold dolphins, sea birds and turtles, and pushing some species to near-extinction.

Marine poaching is so widespread, in part, because it’s fiendishly difficult to locate illegal vessels in the vast expanses of sea. But a team of researchers from France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom recently discovered a novel way for pinpointing the exact locations of such ships. And in a bit of poetic justice, the method relies on one of the animals at the greatest risk of harm from illegal fishing: the albatross.

Every year, thousands of albatross are inadvertently killed by legal and illegal fishing vessels. The massive birds are particularly vulnerable to longline fishing, which involves dragging thousands of baited hooks behind a boat. Albatross and other birds attempt to eat the bait and get caught on the hook and dragged underwater, drowning in the process.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

West Coast fisheries took steps to protect whales, turtles in 2019

January 6, 2020 — West Coast fisheries cleaned up their act in 2019, with new rules to promote sustainable fishing practices and new alliances to protect ecological and economic interests.

The changes include approval of new gear that reduces unwanted catch, safeguards for delicate bottom habitat, and guidelines for managing whole ocean ecosystems, instead of handling species separately.

Those regulations reflect input from regulators, conservationists and fishermen and represent unprecedented compromises among groups that often have been at odds.

In September, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council approved new “deep set buoy” gear for swordfish, to avoid snaring turtles, marine mammals and other unintended catch. Swordfish have typically been caught using vast drift gillnets set overnight, which often ensnare other fish species, sharks, and marine mammals. The new method allows fishermen to drop hooks into deeper waters where swordfish forage during the day, catching the prized fish without ensnaring other animals.

Then, in November, the body voted to uphold an existing ban on longline fisheries on the open ocean off the West Coast. That fishery had been closed to West Coast fishermen since 1989 because of the high numbers of non-target fish and other animals that were caught.

Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times

ICCAT lowers catch limit, reduces FADs for bigeye tuna

November 29, 2019 — At its annual meeting earlier this week, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas took steps to reduce fishing effort for bigeye tuna.

The regional fisheries management organization lowered the total allowable catch for bigeye tuna in 2020 and 2021 from 62,500 metric tons (MT) to 61,500 MT, and reduced the allowed maximum number of fish aggregating devices (FADs) from 500 to 350 in 2020 and to 300 2021. It also implemented a FAD fishing closure period for the entire Atlantic area for two months in 2020 and three months in 2021. In addition, ICCAT increased coverage by its observer program from 5 percent to 10 percent and moved to develop minimum standards for electronic monitoring.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Conservation groups criticize US, EU for ICCAT inaction on shortfin mako sharks

November 27, 2019 — The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas ended its annual meeting on Monday, 25 November, with members unable to approve a recovery plan conservationists believe is essential for the long-term survival of shortfin mako sharks.

At least two groups pinned the blame on the United States and the European Union. During the weeklong meeting in Mallorca, Spain, it was decided that the commission would continue to use guidelines passed two years ago that some fear will lead to further population declines.

Read the full story at Seafood Source