Saving Seafood

Korean researchers reveal effects of a common pollutant on scallops

June 2, 2022 — Researchers from Korea Maritime & Ocean University, in Busan, South Korea revealed that exposure to higher levels of benzo[α]pyrene (BaP) slowed immune response in bay scallops and lowered their capacity to deal with oxidative stress and DNA damage.

BaP is a carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), and one of the most common pollutants released into the sea. They are formed by incomplete combustion of organic matter, including wood and fossil fuels. They are not water soluble, but attach to fine silt at the ocean bottom, where they may be consumed by shellfish.

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Russian crab flows to South Korea amid sanctions, China’s lockdowns

April 12, 2022 — Exporters from Russia are shipping more crab to South Korea after being locked out of other international markets.

Many of the world’s biggest markets for crab, including the U.S., the E.U., the U.K. have announced bans on Russian seafood imports in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Simultaneously, Chinese government has imposed lockdowns in Shanghai and several other cities to control a COVID-19 outbreak, a move expected to hinder inflows of seafood to China.

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Study links 59 percent of industrial fishing offenses to Chinese vessels

March 30, 2022 — At least one-third of all recorded fishery offenses are associated with industrial fishing vessels – specifically just 20 companies and 450 industrial fishing vessels – and over half of the industrial offenses have Chinese beneficial ownership.

According to “Fish Crimes in the Global Oceans,” prepared for ocean conservation group Oceana and published in Science Advances, 59 percent of offences in the industrial fishing sector are related to Chinese owned vessels. Fifteen percent were tied to Indonesian vessels and 12 percent were associated with South Korean vessels.

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Investigation alleges worker abuse on South Korean fishing vessels exporting to US, EU

February 3, 2021 — An investigation by the Advocate for Public Interest Law (APIL) and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has found that migrant workers onboard South Korea’s distant-water fishing fleet – which fishes for products eventually shipped to the U.S., European Union, and United Kingdom – are subject to abuse.

The investigation of 40 vessels – of which 29 are authorized to export to the E.U. and U.K. – found that the crew of many vessels reported “violent attacks and illegal activities,” a release from the two organizations said. Of 54 Indonesian former crew interviewed, more than a quarter reported experiencing physical abuse, and 63 percent reported verbal abuse.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Working group of nations go after China’s flags of convenience

October 22, 2020 — Fisheries officials from the European Union, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States have met to discuss cooperation on limiting the use of flags of convenience by distant-water fishery companies involved in illegal fishing.

The online meeting, which took place 15 October, follows a report by the advocacy group Environmental Justice Foundation criticizing the process whereby fishing companies buy flags from flag states, which are then unwilling or unable to monitor the activity of problem trawlers. The report, “Off the Hook: How Flags of Convenience Let Illegal Fishing Go Unpunished,” details the damage that flags of convenience cause to fisheries and how they are used to conduct illegal fishing. In the report, EJF calls for sanctions to end the practice and more transparency surrounding the registration of fishing vessels.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Coronavirus causing trade disruptions between Russia and major trading partners

March 13, 2020 — Russia’s seafood industry is facing a serious threat from the COVID-19 pandemic, with two of its biggest export markets, China and South Korea, essentially shut down.

China and South Korea are crucial to Russia, accounting for a vast majority of the country’s seafood exports. In 2019, Russia exported 1.7 million metric tons (MT) of seafood, with 1.2 million MT, or 70.5 percent, going to China. Half of this volume was pollock, according to the Russian Customs Service.

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US removes South Korea from potential IUU list

January 30, 2020 — The United States has removed South Korea from a preliminary list of countries that had potential for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU)  just four months after it was put on the list, according to a report in Business Korea.

The country had been listed back in September, and was identified in NOAA’s “Improving International Fisheries Management”  report as a country that had failed to sufficiently combat known IUU incidents. That listing was coupled with a first-ever complaint by the U.S., which consisted of a request for environment consultations under the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

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Japan, South Korea compete to obtain higher Pacific bluefin quota at WCPFC meeting

September 5, 2019 — A rift between Japan and South Korea over increases in catch quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna is likely to put a spanner in the works at the current international conference to control tuna stocks Jiji Press reported.

The annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which is responsible for setting Pacific bluefin catch limits, is taking place in Portland, US, from Sept. 4-6.

Japan and South Korea each seek a quota expansion, citing a recovery in stocks, a proposal that is opposed by conservation NGOs.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Pew seeks US, EU help in rejecting Japanese proposal for Pacific bluefin catch increase

August 29, 2019 — From 2-6 September, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)’s Northern Committee will meet in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., with proposals from Japan and South Korea for increased Pacific bluefin catch limits on the agenda.

Pacific bluefin is in the first few years of a recovery plan, which aims to restore the stock to 20 percent of its pre-fishing levels by 2034. Japan, citing a recovery in the stock of juvenile fish in 2017 and 2018, is calling for a quota increase of 10 percent for juvenile Pacific bluefin tuna (weighing less than 30 kilograms) and 20 percent for adult tuna. Last year, the Northern Committee rejected a similar proposal from Japan that would have raised the quota 15 percent across the board.

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10 nations to jointly study marine resources of the Arctic

June 19, 2019 — A two-day conference of scientific experts from Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway, South Korea, China, Sweden, Japan, and the European Union in the Russian city of Arkhangelsk resulted in an agreement to conduct more research on Arctic fisheries.

The April meeting was the first after an agreement between the 10 countries was signed in October of last year. The legally binding accord prohibits all commercial fishing in the Central Arctic until the nations additional surveys of stocks, their sizes, and how the region’s ecosystems operate. The agreement also included a draft of a joint research plan, with details to be discussed later this year and with implemented stalled until all the participating states ratify the agreement.

There is almost no data on high Arctic stocks, as nearly all the Arctic countries have only surveyed their own 200-mile exclusive economic zones. The only known study of the high seas was conducted by scientists from the Stockholm University. Its results presented at the conference brought some surprise and made it clear that more extensive research is needed, according to Vasily Sokolov, deputy head of the Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries.

“The Arctic Ocean was supposed to contain no great marine biological resources to be of interest for commercial fisheries. But it turned out that stocks of Arctic cod seem to be there, which means that fishing there may be commercially attractive,” Sokolov said. “The density of stocks increases toward the polar cap.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source