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.
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 climate change could impact 85 species 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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
May 29, 2018 — DEERFIELD, Mass. — The state has awarded $10,000 to a local seafood marketing campaign.
Our Wicked Fish in Deerfield said the funding will help them get more restaurants and consumers access to the state’s local seafood.
Our Wicked Fish is a non-profit organization that connect restaurants and residents with New England’s local seafood.
Our Wicked Fish Founder Amanda Davis told 22News the money will fund evaluations of restaurants in Massachusetts that offer local seafood.
They will also determine whether the restaurants have access to red fish, hake, the black sea bass and other underutilized fish.
May 18, 2018 — Climate change is making oceans warmer and the fish are taking flight.
And that could have a big impact on New Jersey’s $7.9 billion fishing industry according to a new Rutgers-led study published Wednesday.
Aquatic life has a narrow tolerance for temperature range, so as the water heats up species populations are shifting northward to find suitable habitat according to Malin Pinksy, a co-author of the study and an assistant professor in Rutgers’ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources.
By 2100, the Atlantic’s temperature off the Jersey Shore could rise to levels currently seen in Virginia. That could lead to species like black sea bass and summer flounder, both staples of New Jersey’s fishing industry, leaving the area and being replaced by more southern species like Atlantic Croaker.
Pinsky said the most dramatic example of a shifting fishery is the Atlantic Cod. The species could lose 90 percent of its habitat in U.S. waters by 2100 in a worst case scenario.