Saving Seafood

Benchmark maintains strong start to 2021

May 18, 2021 — Stirling, U.K.-headquartered aquaculture biotechnology business Benchmark achieved higher revenues and percent earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization and impairment (adjusted EBITDA) of GBP 59.5 million (USD 84.5 million, EUR 69.2 million) and GBP 7.9 million (USD 11.2 million, EUR 9.2 million) for the six months ending on 31 March, 2021, citing a strong performance in its advanced nutrition division and solid trading in genetics and health.

Overall, the company posted a first-half operating loss of GBP 4.6 million (USD 6.5 million, EUR 5.3 million), compared with a loss of GBP 3.9 million (USD 5.5 million, EUR 4.5 million) in H1 2020.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Reminder: Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment Webinars – Today @ 2:00 p.m. and Thursday @ 6:00 p.m

May 11, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold two scoping webinars to gather public input on a management action to consider potential modifications to the allocations of the black sea bass commercial quota among the states of Maine through North Carolina. Learn more about this action in the scoping announcement or at the links below.

Webinar Schedule

Both scoping hearings will be conducted by webinar.

  1. Monday May 11, 2020, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EDT
  2. Thursday May 14, 2020, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EDT

To join the webinar, go to http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/bsb-com-allocation-scoping/. Audio connection instructions appear upon connecting, or you can call 800-832-0736 and enter room number 5068871#.

Written Comments

In addition to providing comments at either of the scoping hearing webinars, you may submit written comments by 11:59 pm EDT on Sunday May 31, 2020. Written comments may be sent by any of the following methods:

1. ONLINE: http://www.mafmc.org/comments/bsb-com-allocation-amendment

2. EMAIL: jbeaty@mafmc.org

3. MAIL: Dr. Christopher Moore, Executive Director

    Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council

    800 North State Street, Suite 201

    Dover, DE 19901

4. FAX: 302.674.5399

Please include “Black Sea Bass Commercial Allocation Amendment” in the subject line if using email or fax, or on the outside of the envelope if submitting written comments. All comments, regardless of submission method, will be shared with the Commission and Council and will be made publicly available on their respective websites. It is not necessary to submit the same comments to both the Council and Commission or through multiple channels.

Read the full release here

US supermarkets seeing record seafood sales

March 26, 2020 — As Americans rush to stock their pantries due to shelter-in-place orders in numerous states and cities, U.S. grocers are realizing record seafood sales.

Grocery retailers and delivery companies are also on a major hiring spree, as demand for food and non-food items such as toilet paper outpace supply. Total U.S. sales of consumer packaged goods soared 44 percent for the week ending 14 March, compared to the same week last year, according to new Nielsen data.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Study: Ocean fish farming in tropics and sub-tropics most impacted by climate change

February 13, 2020 — Diners may soon find more farmed oysters and fewer Atlantic salmon on their plates as climate change warms Canada’s Pacific coast.

In a study published in Global Change Biology, researchers at the University of British Columbia looked at how  could impact 85  of fish and mollusks that are most commonly farmed in seawater. They found that certain species like Atlantic salmon, European seabass and cobia, and certain areas like the tropics and the Arctic, could be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Take Canada’s Pacific coast: by the mid-21st century, the region is projected to lose between 60 to 84 percent of area currently suitable for Atlantic salmon farming under a strong mitigation, low greenhouse gas emissions, and no mitigation, high emissions scenarios, respectively.

In contrast, the region would gain 46 percent more area for Pacific cupped oyster farming under the high emissions scenario by the 2050s, while Norway and Sweden could respectively see gains between 48 and 100 percent in areas suitable for Atlantic salmon farming.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed 2019 Recreational Rules for Summer Flounder

May 17, 2019 — The following was published by NOAA Fisheries: 

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on proposed recreational fishery management measures for the 2019 summer flounder fishery.

We propose to continue the conservation equivalency approach for the summer flounder recreational fishery, in which states or regions develop minimum sizes, possession limits, and fishing seasons that will achieve the necessary level of conservation. Both the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recommended continuing conservation equivalency.

The proposed rule contains additional details on conservation equivalency, including what measures would be put in place if conservation equivalency is not ultimately recommended by the Commission.

Note that black sea bass and scup recreational measures for 2019 are unchanged from 2018.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today.

Comments are due June 3, 2019.

Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal or by mailing: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Emily Gilbert, Regional Office, 978-281-9244

Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Seafood Fraud Investigation: 20% of Fish Mislabeled Nationwide

March 12, 2019 — Seafood fraud is prevalent in the United States, according to a new investigation that finds 20 percent of the fish we buy may be mislabeled.

A nationwide investigation by ocean conservation group Oceana tested more than 400 seafood samples from 250 locations, including restaurants, small markets, and big chain grocery stores. Oceana found one in five of the fish were mislabeled, and an even larger one in three businesses sold mislabeled seafood.

Oceana tested popular seafood between March and August 2018. It found that the most frequent mislabeling turned up at restaurants and small markets (26 percent and 24 percent, respectively), while only 12 percent was mislabeled at larger grocery store chains. The investigation uncovered imported seafood being sold as regional favorites, leading customers to believe the seafood was local. It also found vulnerable species mislabeled as more abundant species. And some fish was also given generic labels like “sea bass” and “catfish” which Oceana says disguises lower-value species or masks health and conservation risks.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Scientists Say Black Sea Bass Behavior Could Be Affected by Offshore Wind

October 1, 2018 — WOODS HOLE, Mass. — Scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center say that offshore wind energy construction could affect the behavior of Black Sea Bass.

Black Sea Bass live up and down the east coast from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, providing a significant ecological and economic importance.

The fish are also attracted to structurally complex habitats, often found around rocky reefs, mussel beds, cobble and rock fields, and artificial habitats like shipwrecks.

Scientists, commercial and recreational fisherman have expressed their concerns about how the sounds that come with the development of offshore wind energy overlapping with the natural habitats of Black Sea Bass.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

 

Financing aquaculture: The cash is there, but information is lacking

July 18, 2018 — Finance can “drive change on the water,” according to Neil Sims at Kampachi Worldwide Holdings. But for aquaculture projects, it’s still hard to come by.

Speaking at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in Barcelona, Spain in June, Sims told the story of his company. He said it took 10 years to raise enough funds to initiate his marine aquaculture project in Hawaii. There was a temptation to put one pen out while he raised the rest of the cash.

“But that would be throwing money down the rat hole,” he said. “In mariculture you need scale, you need to have the cash together.”

There’s plenty of money waiting to invest in aquaculture, according to Trip O’Shea, vice president at New York, U.S.A.-based investment house Encourage Capital. But first the sector needs to offer would-be investors data and models to profitability.

“There are several pillars of sustainable development but where is financial sustainability on the list? Otherwise how do we get it off the ground?” he said. “We need a set of principles for aquaculture investment, so that investors can quickly understand what to benchmark to. Right now there are so many metrics quoted. We have to compare apples to apples.”

O’Shea cited feed conversion ratios as an example.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Announces Recreational Rules for Summer Flounder, Black Sea Bass & Scup

June 1, 2018 — HYANNIS, Mass. — NOAA Fisheries has announced the 2018 recreational rules for summer flounder, black sea bass and scup.

Federal officials are continuing “conservation equivalency” for summer flounder and have waived the recreational bag limit, minimum fish size and fishing season for the fishery. Fishermen are subject to regulations set by the state where the fish land.

Read the full story at Cape Cod

ASMFC: April/May 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available

June 1, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The April/May 2018  issue of Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5b103db7FishFocusAprilMay2018.pdf.

Upcoming Meetings

page 2

From the Executive
Director’s Desk 

Black Sea Bass: Seeking Solutions through Compromise

page 3

Species Profile

Atlantic Sturgeon

page 4

Fishery Management Actions 

Atlantic Menhaden

Black Drum

Black Sea Bass

page 6

Science Highlight

ASMFC Habitat Committee Revisits 20-Year Policy on Submerged Aquatic Vegetation

page 7

On the Legislative Front

page 8

Comings & Goings

page 9

Proposed Management Action

American Eel

page 11

In the News: Maine’s Elver Fishery Shuts Down

page 11

ACCSP Update

FY19 Proposals Due June 11

ACCSP Releases 2017 Annual Report

page 13

Employees of the Quarter Named

page 14