Saving Seafood

Rep. Suzan DelBene Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Put U.S. Seafood in School Lunches

February 25, 2016 — The following was released by the Office of Congresswoman Suzan Delbene: 

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today introduced bipartisan legislation to require fish products purchased for federally subsidized school lunches be domestically harvested.

“The Pacific Northwest produces some of the world’s best and healthiest seafood. We should be supporting our local industries, especially when they are producing a superior product for our nation’s children,” DelBene said. “I want to ensure school district funds stretch as far as possible, but not at the expense of child nutrition. This bipartisan bill is not only good for our fishermen, but also our children, who will be receiving more nutritious fish as a result.”

Current law has unfortunately resulted in fish products caught and processed in foreign countries being included in school lunches at the expense of fish caught in America. For example, 60 percent of the pollock served in the school lunch program comes from Russia and is often processed in China because the Buy American requirement is only “to the maximum extent practicable.” This allows cheaper, but less nutritious Russian pollock to replace Alaska pollock. The bill would strengthen the Buy American provision in the National School Lunch program by stating “without exception” that federally subsided school lunches should use domestically sourced fish, or fish from a U.S. flagged vessel in the case of tuna.

DelBene serves on the House Agriculture Committee, which has part jurisdiction over the National School Lunch program. Reps. Don Young (R-AK), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Adam Smith (D-WA), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Denny Heck (D-WA) joined DelBene in introducing H.R. 4617, which has a companion measure (S. 2529) in the Senate from Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

“We appreciate Congresswoman DelBene and her House colleagues’ continued support for the region’s seafood industry, especially this legislation to restrict federally subsidized seafood purchases by school districts to fish harvested in the U.S.,” said Joe Bundrant, CEO of Trident Seafoods Corporation. “Alaska pollock is a versatile, nutritious and affordable seafood product, ideal for the school lunch program. This legislation can help ensure that our children get the best choice at a good value for school districts.”

Read the release online

MSC labelled products reach 20,000

February 23, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

LONDON – Today the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) reached an important milestone with the launch of the 20,000th MSC labelled product, Las Cuarenta Paella. The ready-made frozen meal is now available in Netto stores across Germany. The paella contains pollock from Alaska and Russia, blue shell mussels from Denmark, and shrimps from Suriname. 

A growing trend in new seafood products

The paella’s seafood mix comes from a diverse range of fisheries, from a developing world fishery in South America, to some of the world’s largest fisheries in North America and Europe. Each of these fisheries is committed to ensuring the health and sustainability of the fish stocks they harvest

“The 20,000th MSC labelled product, Las Cuarenta Paella, illustrates the growing trend in new seafood products. Over the last decade, we’ve seen new and novel ways MSC certified seafood is being used. From ready-made meals such as paella to sandwiches, pizza and baby food. Las Cuarenta paella is a fine example of how retailers and manufacturers are exploring new trends to attract more sustainable seafood lovers,” said Nicolas Guichoux, MSC’s Global Commercial Director. 

Thanks to the efforts of these and over 280 other certified fisheries, consumers in over 100 countries can choose from a variety of MSC labelled products covering more than 100 different species. Consumers can also be assured that MSC certified seafood has an effective, traceable supply chain which ensures the integrity of MSC labelled products.

“Nine years ago only 1,000 labelled products were on the market globally. So we celebrate this new important milestone, and honor all fisheries and retail partners whose commitment to sustainability has contributed to the growth of the MSC program around the world and played a part in securing a healthy future for our oceans,” added Nicolas Guichoux.

MSC in Germany

Germany is the MSC’s most developed market in terms of certified sustainable seafood consumption, with over 4,000 MSC certified products on sale. Netto is one of many retail partners committed to sourcing and selling MSC certified products in the country. The discounter offers a wide range of responsibly sourced seafood with more than 100 MSC-labelled products in store. Netto has made a long-term commitment to only source and sell seafood– from MSC certified sustainable fisheries. 

“We are very proud that the 20,000th MSC labelled product is a Netto product. With the growing availability of MSC certified seafood from a variety of species, we’ve been able to expand our range of products so that our customers can buy their favorite seafood in the knowledge that the environment is being safeguarded. MSC certified products play an important role in our corporate sustainability agenda,” said Christina Stylianou, Corporate Communications Director at Netto.

A label you can trust

The blue MSC label assures consumers that the fish they are buying comes from a sustainable and well-managed fishery that has been independently certified, ensuring that the fish populations and the ecosystems upon which they depend remain healthy and productive.

Any organization selling or handling MSC certified seafood must ensure that it is correctly labelled and kept separate from other non-certified seafood at all times. This ensures that MSC labelled seafood can be traced back to a sustainable source.

You can find these products in-store, online and in restaurants.

ALASKA: Scientists draft fish management plan as Bering Sea changes

February 17, 2016 — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council heard a draft plan for addressing climate change in the eastern Bering Sea earlier this month.

The plan was put together by scientists at the Seattle-based Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which is part of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Mike Sigler, program leader for the habitat and ecological processes research program at the science center, said the plan pulls together work scientists there are already doing, and research they’d like to undertake.

“We have a clear understanding of species like walleye Pollock, northern rock sole, red king crab, what will happen to them, and we can make quantitative forecasts of where they’re going. They’re not completely certain, but we have some good ideas of ecological processes,” Sigler said. “But then, we don’t have such good understanding for other species, like yellowfin sole, and we’re making a qualitative assessment of their vulnerability to climate.”

Eventually, the group wants to provide fisheries managers, like the North Pacific council, with a better look at what might be coming in 10 years – or even farther down the road. One of the first parts of the plan is just putting together that qualitative assessment for more than a dozen species, which he expects to happen this year.

Read the full story at KDLG

BANGOR DAILY NEWS: How a groundfish disaster today can spawn a different-looking fishery tomorrow

January 27, 2016 — The federal government declared the Northeast groundfish fishery a disaster in 2012. But disaster arguably struck the region’s groundfishing fleet, particularly in Maine, long before that.

In 1982, there were 328 vessels from Maine actively fishing for groundfish. By 2012, the number had fallen to 63 vessels participating in the first true industry that took root in colonial America — fishing for cod, haddock, flounder, pollock, hake and other ocean bottom dwellers. In 2014, 52 Maine vessels held groundfish permits.

The disaster declaration paved the way for Congress to provide disaster aid, and Congress followed suit in February 2014, granting $32.8 million to New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

But the funding the states have distributed so far has largely gone to those who have continued to land groundfish — not the dozens of vessels that have been forced out of the fishery, arguably those most affected by the fishery’s disastrous state. In Maine, 50 groundfish permit holders qualified for $32,500 each in disaster relief because they had caught at least 5,000 pounds of groundfish in at least one of the past four years.

In the coming weeks, Maine has a small opportunity to use its remaining disaster funds in a different way — to help set the groundfish fishery on a sustainable path for the future and make it a viable and affordable option for new and small players, including lobstermen looking to diversify beyond the booming crustacean.

Read the full editorial at Bangor Daily News

A Canadian Threat to Alaskan Fishing

January 23, 2016 — SITKA, Alaska — From fall through spring, the fleet of commercial fishing boats here in the panhandle of Alaska stalk winter king salmon. In the mornings prisms of ice sparkle beneath the sodium lights of the docks, where I live on a World War II tugboat with my wife and 8-month-old daughter. This winter I’ve been out a few times fishing on the I Gotta, catching pristine wild salmon, torpedoes of muscle. But the work is slow, five fish a day, and my skipper recently traveled down to Reno, Nev., for knee surgery.

Carpeted in rain forest and braided with waterways, southeast Alaska is among the largest wild salmon producers in the world, its tourism and salmon fishing industries grossing about $2 billion a year. But today, the rivers and the salmon that create these jobs — and this particular way of life, which attracted me from Philadelphia to Sitka almost 20 years ago — are threatened by Canada’s growing mining industry along the mountainous Alaska-British Columbia border, about a hundred miles east of where I now write.

At least 10 underground and open-pit copper and gold mining projects in British Columbia are up and running, in advanced exploration or in review to be approved. These operations generate billions of tons of toxic mine tailings stored behind massive dams, creating an ecological hazard at the headwaters of Alaska’s major salmon rivers — the Stikine, Unuk and Taku, which straddle the border with Canada.

Despite being subjected to the environmental and health risks of these upstream mining projects, Alaskans have no say in their approval. Which is why fishermen, Alaska native tribes, local municipalities, tourism businesses, our congressional delegation and thousands of individual Alaska residents have been clamoring for the State Department to refer this issue to the International Joint Commission, an American and Canadian advisory body established in 1909 to ensure that neither country pollutes the waters of the other.

Read the full opinion piece at The New York Times

Largest US fishery (Alaska Pollock) proves it’s sustainable, again

January 14, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Seattle, WA – The largest fishery in the U.S. and the largest certified sustainable fishery in the world1, Alaska Pollock has again achieved re-certification to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard. This science-based standard is the world’s most credible and recognized standard for environmentally sustainable wild-caught seafood. The Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Pollock fisheries have been certified to this standard since 2005.

Alaska Pollock is among the top five most consumed fish per capita in the U.S2. Its mild flavor and flaky texture make it popular for consumers around the world. Primary markets for Alaska Pollock products are the U.S., Europe (where it is Germany’s most consumed fish) and Japan. The U.S. and Europe are the main markets for fillet-type products, which are used for fish and chips, fish tacos, fish sandwiches and fish sticks. Japan is the principal market for Alaska pollock surimi, which is used as the primary ingredient in a wide range of surimi seafood products (kamaboko).

Jim Gilmore, At-sea Processors Association, the fishery client for the Alaska Pollock reassessment emphasizes, “We are proud to be one of the 10 fisheries globally to be certified as meeting the MSC’s rigorous sustainability standard three times. Alaska Pollock continues to earn among the highest certification scores of any fishery in the MSC program. This re-certification reaffirms the Alaska Pollock industry’s continued leadership in responsible fishing.”

The 2016 Alaska Pollock season will begin on January 20. A federal fishery advisory body, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, recommended to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce a precautionary 1.34 million metric ton annual quota for the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands, which is several hundred thousand tons less than federal fishery scientists determined can be sustainably harvested. The Gulf of Alaska Pollock fishery is set at 257,872 metric tons, a 30% increase from the 2015 quota and within the safe harvest level determined by federal fishery scientists. 

Pat Shanahan, Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers, the marketing trade association for Alaska Pollock said: “The fishery management system is known for its conservative management practices, so these quota increases indicate an exceptionally healthy Alaska Pollock fishery in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Seafood buyers and consumers can rest assured that Alaska Pollock is one of the world’s largest and most sustainable fisheries.”

The internationally recognized blue MSC ecolabel will continue to assure consumers that Alaska Pollock products can be traced back to a certified sustainable source. 

Brian Perkins, MSC regional director – Americas, said: “The MSC’s vision is for oceans to be teeming with life for future generations. Alaska Pollock has successfully created and maintained new markets, especially in the U.S. and Europe, over the past decade. We are extremely pleased to see this fishery succeed in the MSC process yet again.”

The independent assessment of the Alaska Pollock fisheries was conducted by MRAG Americas, an accredited third-party conformity assessment body. MRAG Americas assembled a team of fishery science and policy experts to evaluate the fishery according to the three principles of the MSC Fisheries Standard: the health of the stock; the impact of fishing on the marine environment; and the management of the fishery. The MSC process is open to stakeholders and all results are peer reviewed.

US Congress Changes Market Name of the Nation’s Largest Fishery

January 4, 2016 — The law, which currently only applies to the USA, requires that the geographic descriptor “Alaska” be used only on pollock harvested from the state of Alaska changing the market name of the nation’s largest fishery from “Alaska pollock” to “pollock”.

The new law corrects decades of consumer and market confusion over the use of the market name “Alaska pollock” on the species Gadus chalcogrammus regardless of its origin.

Before the law was enacted, pollock from both Russia and Alaska were sold in under the name “Alaska pollock,” making it impossible for consumers to determine product origin and to make a choice between the two sources.

Alaska pollock is the eighth most consumed fish in the United Kingdom being a favorite for children in the form of fish fingers, with some 15,000 tonnes being used annually in the UK Russian pollock, which has a different quality profile can be sold in the UK as “Alaska Pollock.”

Read the full story at The Fish Site

 

Sen. Maria Cantwell Secures Key Provisions to Protect Pacific Northwest Seafood

December 15, 2015 — The following was released by the Office of Senator Maria Cantwell:

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell today announced that her bipartisan bill—which will change the market name of “Alaska pollock” to “pollock”—will be included in the Congressional spending bill, also known as the ‘omnibus.’ The bill will legally change the acceptable market name essentially outlawing Pollock harvested in Russia from being passed off as “Alaskan Pollock” in the supermarket. Representative Jamie Herrera Butler (WA-3) sponsored the bill in the House.

In 2012, 113 million pounds of Russian Pollock—which is less sustainable and lower quality than pollock from Alaskan fisheries—was sold to U.S. consumers as “Alaska pollock.” 

“Alaskan pollock is one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world,” said Cantwell, a senior member of the Commerce Committee, “And American consumers deserve to know whether they are purchasing this high quality product or a cheap alternative with a misleading label. By changing the acceptable market name to pollock, it will be illegal to label pollock caught in Russia, as Alaskan. Americans will be able to shop with confidence, knowing that they are buying the real thing and not a knock–off.”  

The Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) supports these efforts and have previously cited several reasons for the requested change:                          

• The use of “Alaska pollock” as an acceptable market name is misleading to consumers;

•“Alaska pollock” is understood by consumers to connote a geographic origin, not a particular kind of food from any geographic origin;

• The use of “Alaska pollock” as an acceptable market name is inconsistent with other similar fish species; and

• U.S. government programs support other efforts to provide accurate information to consumers about the seafood they purchase.

Wellfleet, Mass. shellfisherman charged with illegal sales to restaurants

December 2, 2015 — WELLFLEET, Mass. — A Wellfleet man had his state commercial shellfishing license suspended and was charged with 45 violations of state shellfishing regulations after he allegedly was caught selling oysters to at least two Outer Cape restaurants without having a wholesale license.

The evidence also indicates that David Paine, 57, may not have complied with regulations that protect the public from infections from the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Paine was arraigned in Orleans District Court on Monday on violations of state shellfishing regulations between July 2014 and June of this year. His girlfriend, Kristi Johns, 41, who is a co-owner of Paine’s aquaculture grant, was arraigned Oct. 26 on four counts of violating fisheries regulations in arranging for sales of the oysters to The Whitman House in Truro.

Neither Paine nor Johns could be reached for comment. The phone number listed to them has been disconnected.

According to a report by Massachusetts Environmental Police Officer Daniel McGonagle contained in court documents, Paine sold oysters directly to The Whitman House and The Lost Dog Pub in Orleans. McGonagle wrote in his report that on June 22, he and Environmental Police Sgt. Kevin Clayton were notified of a possible oyster violation by a state Department of Public Health inspector who was investigating The Whitman House for allegedly selling striped bass before the season opened and marketing it as pollock.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

New England’s struggling cod fishery to see new quota cut

December 2, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishing managers on Wednesday recommended a shift in the amount of fish New England’s beleaguered cod fishing businesses should be allowed to catch for the next few years, which would reduce the limit for some fishermen.

The New England Fishery Management Council met to consider quotas for several important food fish, including the Gulf of Maine cod, which once was the backbone of the New England fishing industry and is now in decline. The council recommended a slight rise in quota for Gulf of Maine cod along with a steeper quota cut for Georges Bank’s cod.

Tough quotas and low availability have made local cod difficult to find in New England, and when it is available, customers must pay more for it than they would for foreign cod. Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, called the reduction in Georges Bank quota “a substantial cut to the industry.”

Inability to catch cod also prevents fishermen from landing species such as haddock, pollock and hake that live in the same areas, Martens said.

“It’s going to be hard for boats of any size to go out there and run a groundfish business,” he said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Cronicle