Saving Seafood

Scottish minister calls for removal of link between seafood trade and access to waters

December 12, 2018 — Scotland Fisheries Secretary Fergus Ewing has written to the U.K. government raising serious concerns about the current Brexit Withdrawal Agreement’s failure to ensure tariff-free access to European markets for Scotland’s seafood exports.

Ewing warned Environment Secretary Michael Gove that non-tariff barriers like customs delays at ports could be catastrophic for an industry that relies on frictionless passage across borders, particularly for fresh and live products.

Ewing wrote that despite the Prime Minister Theresa May’s claims, a direct link between seafood trade and access to waters has been conceded, allowing for exclusion of fisheries and aquaculture from tariff-free access through a temporary customs union, if a fisheries agreement acceptable to the European Union cannot be achieved.

“Worse still, aquaculture has been included in this linkage despite having no connection to access to waters or quota,” Ewing wrote. “Salmon farming alone was the [United Kingdom’s] largest food export in 2017. Its inclusion is profoundly disturbing, risking the imposition of tariffs, which will inevitably increase the cost of exports, and perhaps even more importantly the spectre of non-tariff barriers hangs over Scottish seafood exports, which absolutely rely on frictionless passage across borders.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Nutrition researcher: The human diet needs more shellfish

October 29, 2018 — Numerous studies have shown that eating seafood is good for human health, but Professor Baukje de Roos, deputy director of the Rowett Institute at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen and an internationally recognized nutrition scientist, believes that shellfish are some of the most important contributors of essential nutrients and should be given a great place in the diet.

Professor de Roos, who is currently researching the effects of farmed seafood on heart health and micronutrient status, updated delegates at the recent Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers conference in Oban, Scotland, on the major health benefits of seafood and outlined the important involvement of shellfish.

Professor de Roos reminded her audience that omega-3 fatty acids help to protect against stroke and lower the risk of mortality from coronary heart disease, while vitamin D is essential for the growth and maintenance of healthy bones; and vitamin B12 is involved in the functioning of the nervous system, the formation of red blood cells, and in energy production.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

French and U.K. Fishing Boats Clash in ‘Scallop War’

August 30, 2018 — It’s been called the “scallop war” — a simmering rivalry that spilled out into the open again this week when French and British vessels clashed in the English Channel, French fishermen tossed what appeared to be smoke bombs at their rivals, and the British called on the Royal Navy for protection.

Video footage on French state television and on social media showed about 35 small French fishing boats menacing five larger British vessels early Tuesday morning in a stretch of international waters that separates Britain from the rest of Europe, just off the northwest coast of France.

At least one French boat slammed into the side of a Scottish vessel.

A French official said no one had been injured in the clash, but called the encounter “extremely dangerous.”

The French argue that British fishing vessels have an unfair advantage. The French government does not allow fishing for scallops to begin until October, in order to preserve the stock.

Read the full story at The New York Times

Adjudicator rules that controversial Shetland scallop fishery can be MSC certified

June 21, 2018 — An independent adjudicator appointed to oversee the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) re-certification of Shetland’s inshore brown crab and scallop fishery has ruled that NGO Open Seas failed to establish grounds for its objection in the first place.

Open Seas brought its objection in March, saying, “it is with some regret that we are challenging the proposed re-certification of the scallop dredge fishery in Shetland”.

“Unfortunately the possible re-certification of scallop dredging here, under its current management regime, risks green-washing an important certification standard that should represent a benchmark for sustainability,”

Adjudicator Eldon Greenberg stated the objection was dismissed in its entirety, after seeing Open Seas’ written submissions and hearing its oral evidence.

In essence, Open Seas’ objection boiled down to the fact that, in its view, the scallop fishery causes “serious or irreversible harm” to habitat structure. The NGO was unable to prove this statement though. Greenberg found that “what matters is not so much the damage wrought by the fishery in the areas fished, but the scale of damage compared to the range of habitat”.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Breakthrough in omega-3 understanding could revolutionize feed industry

May 31, 2018 — A new study, led by the University of Stirling in Scotland, has led to a major discovery about the way in which omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are produced in the ocean.

According to lead scientist Oscar Monroig from the university’s Institute of Aquaculture, the breakthrough challenges the generally held principle that marine microbes, such as microalgae and bacteria, are responsible for virtually all primary production of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for human health, and have been proven to be particularly useful in combating and preventing cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases.

Instead, an international team of scientists from the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, Japan, and Australia found that omega-3s can be created by many marine invertebrates.

“Our study provides a paradigm shift in understanding, as it demonstrates that a large variety of invertebrate animals, including corals, rotifers, molluscs, polychaetes and crustaceans, possess enzymes called ‘desaturases’ of a type that enable them to produce omega-3, an ability thought previously to exist almost exclusively in marine microbes,” Monroig said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

California: Offshore wind farms coming to California — but the Navy says no to large sections of the coast

May 7, 2018 — Fans of renewable energy anticipate a bonanza blowing off the coast of California.

But a map released by the U.S. Navy puts large swaths of the state off limits to future offshore wind farms — including all of San Diego and Los Angeles, extending up to the Central Coast.

The military does not have the final say in the matter, as federal and state officials — as well as wind energy companies and at least one member of Congress — are working with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a more flexible plan.

But the back-and-forth adds an extra layer of complexity to the nascent industry on the West Coast, where geographic features make it harder to construct wind farms in the Pacific than those on the East Coast.

“There’s a lot at stake here” for California to meet its ambitious clean energy goals, said Robert Collier, a policy analyst at the Green Energy Program at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. “California is going to need a lot more renewable energy from all sources. Offshore wind is not the only potential solution, but it is part of a multi-pronged strategy.”

Why offshore wind must float on the West Coast

The sight of wind turbines anchored into the ground, their blades turning like giant pinwheels, has become more common in recent years.

But it’s rare to see a wind farm looming over open water — at least in the United States. European companies with projects in places like Denmark and Scotland have taken the early lead in offshore wind energy.

Read the full story at the San Diego Union-Tribune

 

Divers uncover ‘illegal scallop dredging’ in Scottish marine protected area

February 7, 2018 — A team of divers claims to have uncovered evidence of illegal scallop dredging in a protected area on the west coast of Scotland, reports the BBC.

Broken shells, dislodged boulders and fresh scallop meat were all filmed on the seabed in the Firth of Lorn.

Environmental group Open Seas said it showed that marine protected areas (MPAs), where fishing with gear is banned, are not effectively policed.

“Illegal dredging is unfortunately not a rare event, fisheries sources have told us they have had multiple reports of illegal activity in this site over the past year,” said Phil Taylor, head of policy for Open Seas.

“Meanwhile, supply chain traceability only goes as far as to a vessel in port, meaning customers and businesses within the supply chain are not able to determine where their scallops are coming from – including whether that is inside an MPA or not,” said Taylor.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Slavery risk warning over UK’s scallop fisheries

Register singles out industry with retailers told to check suppliers are clear of any link to bonded labour

February 2, 2018 — Marine conservation campaigners have warned there is a critical risk that slaves are being used on British scallop fishing boats, and urged retailers to be on their guard.

A new slavery risk register published in the US on Thursday has singled out the UK’s queen and giant scallops fisheries as the most at risk of modern slavery after a Guardian investigation found allegations of bonded labour in the industry.

Nine African and Asian crew were taken off a pair of British scallop trawlers in Portsmouth in December as suspected victims of modern slavery, and two skippers, one from Scotland and the second from Merseyside, were detained by police.

The register, compiled by Monterey Bay Aquarium – one of the most prominent conservation campaigns in the US – the anti-slavery group Liberty Asia and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, also cites other alleged cases of suspected slavery involving migrant labour in Scotland and southern England in 2017, 2014 and 2012.

Read the full story at the Guardian

 

MSC certifies North Sea cod, signaling fishery’s recovery

July 19, 2017 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced its certification of cod caught by Scottish and English boats in the North Sea on Tuesday, 18 July, saying shoppers and diners “can finally buy the popular fish with a clear conscience.”

Cod stocks in the North Sea cratered around 10 years ago, with the annual catch dropping from historical highs around 270,000 metric tons (MT) in the 1970s to 44,000 MT in 2006. However, MSC said in its announcement that the fishery was brought back from the brink of collapse with the creation and implementation of a recovery plan formed between industry and the Scottish and E.U. governments.

“This is a huge accomplishment and the perfect example of what the MSC aims to achieve,” MSC Nort East Program Director Toby Middleton said in the release. “Thanks to a collaborative, cross-industry effort, one of our most iconic fish has been brought back from the brink. Modified fishing gear, catch controls, well-managed fishing practices – all these steps have come together to revive a species that was in severe decline.”

The “Cod Recovery Plan” closed spawning areas to fishing and introduced a system of fishing limits, with the goal of decreasing cod catches by 25 percent in 2009 and 10 percent every year thereafter, according to MSC. It also encouraged the development of better nets and the introduction of remote electronic monitoring using CCTV cameras onboard fishing boats. As a result, cod populations in the North Sea have risen fourfold since 2006.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Queen’s Speech confirms UK plans to control access to waters, set own quotas

June 22, 2017 — The UK will take control of access to its waters and setting quotas once it has left the European Union, according to the Queen’s Speech.

In the speech, delivered by Queen Elizabeth II in parliament on June 21, beleaguered prime minister Theresa May outlined a fisheries bill as part of legislation she plans to push through a hung parliament.

The aim of the fisheries bill is to “protect access to UK waters which are so important to Scottish fishermen” as it comes out of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), according to the document.

It will be “complemented by legislation to ensure that the United Kingdom makes a success of Brexit, establishing new national policies on […] fisheries”.

This will “enable the UK to set our own quotas once we have left the EU, which will both help ensure prosperity for a new generation of fishermen as well as preserve and increase fish stocks”.

There has been concern from the fisheries sector that access to UK waters could be “traded away” in negotiations.

Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations, said the fisheries bill is no guarantee this won’t happen.

“This [the bill] provides for a legal framework for UK fisheries post-Brexit. It is not the negotiations, where all that needs to be said on fisheries is that the UK will, by default, no longer be subject to the provisions of the CFP, including the principle of equal access to a common resource,” he told Undercurrent News.

“There will be subsequent discussions on the form of international agreements between the UK and the EU on the management of shared stocks, access arrangements and quota shares and it will be important that the commitments made by ministers to the UK industry are secured in full,” he said.

Responding to the detail of the speech, Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, welcomed the direct mention of its fishermen.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News