Saving Seafood

86% of Global Tuna Catch Continues to Come from Stocks at Healthy Levels, But Some Stocks Remain Overfished

April 4, 2019 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

Of the total tuna catch, 86% came from stocks at “healthy” levels — an unchanged share since last reported in October 2018 — according to the March 2019 International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) Status of the Stocks report. Skipjack tuna stocks — which remain at healthy levels in all ocean regions — still comprise over one-half of the total catch.

ISSF publishes its signature Status of the Stocks report at least twice each year using the most current scientific data on major commercial tuna stocks.

The fishing mortality rating was changed for two stocks since the previous report: The Fishing Mortality rating for both Mediterranean albacore and Western Pacific yellowfin was modified from “yellow” to “green.” The ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) determined that this change was needed to harmonize those ratings and the report’s ratings methodology.

Though many of the recent broad indicators of overall global tuna stock health are positive, there are several stocks of concern that should be noted:

  • The Indian Ocean yellowfin stock has again been rated both as overfished and as suffering overfishing after a new stock assessment presented by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Scientific Committee in late 2018.
  • Similarly, the Pacific Ocean bluefin stock is also considered to be overfished, and overfishing of this stock continues.
  • Eastern Pacific bigeye is experiencing overfishing. Fishing mortality for this species is high.
  • Two consecutive assessments have concluded that Atlantic Ocean bigeye is overfished and that overfishing is still occurring.​

Key Statistics in the Report

  • Total catch: In 2017, as reported in the new report, the total major commercial tuna catch was 4.8 million tonnes. More than half of the total catch (58%) was skipjack tuna, followed by yellowfin (28%), bigeye (8%) and albacore (5%). Bluefin tunas (3 species) accounted for only 1% of the global catch. These percentages changed only slightly from the October 2018 Status of the Stocks report.
  • Abundance or “spawning biomass” levels: Globally, 65% of the 23 stocks are at a healthy level of abundance, 13% are overfished and 22% are at an intermediate level. In terms of total catch, 86% come from healthy stocks, 10% from overfished stocks and 4% from stocks at an intermediate level. Unchanged from the last report, the stocks receiving orange scores — indicating overfished status — were Atlantic Ocean bigeye, Pacific Ocean bluefin and Indian Ocean yellowfin.
  • Fishing mortality levels: 78% of the 23 stocks are experiencing a well-managed fishing mortality rate, 18% are experiencing overfishing, and 4% have a high fishing mortality rate.
  • Largest tuna catches by stock: The five largest catches in tonnes, unchanged since the previous report, are Western Pacific Ocean skipjack, Western Pacific Ocean yellowfin, Indian Ocean skipjack, Indian Ocean yellowfin and Eastern Pacific Ocean skipjack.
  • Tuna production by ocean region: More than half (52%) of the world’s tuna is harvested from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, followed by the Indian Ocean (20%), Eastern Pacific Ocean (13%) and Atlantic Ocean (11%). Catch from Pacific-wide stocks accounts for around 3% of the global catch, while catch in the Southern Hemisphere accounts for less than 1%.
  • Tuna production by fishing gear: 65% of the catch is made by purse seining, followed by longline (11%), pole-and-line (8%), gillnets (4%) and miscellaneous gears (12%). These percentages have changed only slightly since the October report.

About the Report

There are 23 stocks of major commercial tuna species worldwide — 6 albacore, 4 bigeye, 4 bluefin, 5 skipjack, and 4 yellowfin stocks. TheStatus of the Stocks summarizes the results of the most recent scientific assessments of these stocks, as well as the current management measures adopted by the RFMOs. Updated several times per year, Status of the Stocks assigns color ratings (green, yellow or orange) using a consistent methodology based on three factors: Abundance, Exploitation/Management (fishing mortality) and Environmental Impact (bycatch).

ISSF produces two reports annually that seek to provide clarity about where we stand — and how much more needs to be done — to ensure the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks: the Status of the Stocks provides a comprehensive analysis of tuna stocks by species, and the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Criteria provides scores for the stocks and RFMOs based on MSC assessment criteria. The MSC-certified fisheries list (Appendix 2) in Status of the Stocks complements the Evaluation report.Together, these tools help to define the continuous improvement achieved, as well as the areas and issues that require more attention.

In addition, ISSF maintains a data-visualization tool based on its Status of the Stocks report. ​The “Status of the Stocks Tool” is located on the ISSF website and accessible through the Status of the Stocks overview page; users can easily toggle through tuna stock health indicators and filter by location, species and other key stock health and catch factors.

Bakkafrost joins Ocean Disclosure Project

April 1, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce that Faroese salmon farming company Bakkafrost has become a participant in the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP).

Bakkafrost has published a seafood sourcing disclosure to coincide with the publication of its latest Healthy Living Sustainability Report. The disclosure contains a list of the main wild-catch fisheries from which Bakkafrost sources marine ingredients for use in its fish feed, which is produced in-house for its salmon farming operations. The source list is published alongside information on fishery management, catch method, and environmental impact.

“Good access to local marine sources has enabled us to maintain a high nutritional content in our feed. Ensuring these sources are sustainable is a priority for us. We are very pleased to be increasing transparency about our sourcing through the Ocean Disclosure Project,” said Odd Eliasen, Managing Director of Havsbrún, the Bakkafrost subsidiary that produces the fish feed.

SFP started the ODP in 2015 to provide a valuable information resource for responsible investors, seafood consumers, and others interested in sustainable seafood. To date, 18 other companies in North America and Europe have participated. Other ODP participants include fish feed manufacturers Biomar Norway, Cargill/EWOS, and Skretting Norway.

“We are pleased to welcome Bakkafrost to the Ocean Disclosure Project,” said Tania Woodcock, ODP Project Manager. “Thanks to its fully vertically integrated value chain, Bakkafrost has full control over production and is able to trace its use of marine ingredients from North Atlantic fisheries to feed to the final salmon product. This enables them to be completely transparent about their sourcing.”

Bakkafrost’s full profile can be viewed at: https://oceandisclosureproject.org/companies/bakkafrost

Bakkafrost’s latest sustainability report can be viewed at: https://www.bakkafrost.com/media/2012/2018-sustainability-report.pdf

Seattle Shrimp & Seafood Company Joins GSSI

March 26, 2019 — The following was released by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative and Seattle Shrimp & Seafood:

The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative is pleased to announce that Seattle Shrimp & Seafood Company has joined the GSSI Global Partnership as a Funding Partner.

Seattle Shrimp & Seafood Company is a global supplier of shrimp and shellfish. Seattle Shrimp & Seafood Company works with GSSI recognized schemes BAP and MSC.

“Seattle Shrimp & Seafood Company is proud to be partnering with the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative and its supporters as an acting member and Funding Partner. We are extremely excited for the opportunity to collaborate with organizations from industry and NGO sectors that are committed to the long-term preservation, sustainability and growth of global fisheries,” said Atsushige Amano, President of Seattle Shrimp & Seafood.

Tesco joins Ocean Disclosure Project

March 26, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce that UK retailer Tesco has become the newest participant in the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP).

Tesco has published two seafood disclosures, containing a list of the main wild-catch fisheries from which Tesco sourced in 2017 and 2018, along with information on fishery management, catch method, and environmental impact.

Giles Bolton, Responsible Sourcing Director for Tesco said: “We want our customers to be able to enjoy sustainable and affordable fish now and long into the future, so we’re determined to play our part in protecting the world’s oceans and fish stocks. Publishing data as part of the Ocean Disclosure Project underlines our commitment to transparency right across our supply chains, as we continue to drive up standards in environmental sustainability.”

SFP started the ODP in 2015 to provide a valuable information resource for responsible investors, seafood consumers, and others interested in sustainable seafood. To date, 17 other companies in North America and Europe have participated.

Other ODP participants include UK retailers Asda, Co-op Food, Lidl UK, and Morrisons, and US retailers Publix Supermarkets, Walmart, Giant Eagle, and Meijer.

“By participating in the Ocean Disclosure Project, Tesco has demonstrated its commitment to responsible sourcing of seafood,” said Tania Woodcock, ODP Project Manager. “Tesco’s disclosure represents a significant proportion of the seafood consumed in the UK. We hope that other UK retailers and seafood suppliers will also be encouraged to support transparency in the seafood sector by disclosing their seafood sourcing.”

Ian Rolmanis, SFP’s Buyer Engagement Director, UK & EU, added “SFP and Tesco have been working together for many years on the sustainability of their seafood supply chain, and the release of their wild sourcing information through ODP is a very exciting move towards increased transparency and should be commended.”

Tesco’s full profile can be viewed at: https://oceandisclosureproject.org/companies/Tesco

New RISE website helps seafood companies “turn concern into action on labor rights”

March 21, 2019 — Sustainable seafood consultancy and non-profit FishWise launched the Roadmap for Improving Seafood Ethics (RISE) website during Seafood Expo North America 2019, with the goal of creating a resource to streamline guidance and actionable steps seafood companies can take to understand the labor conditions throughout their supply chains.

The platform, which was developed in partnership with the seafood industry and leading conservation and human rights experts, also aids companies in making improvements to protect workers and to mitigate their own regulatory and reputational risks, according to FishWise.

“Seafood companies understand that their success depends on the well-being of the people who catch, raise, process, and transport the fish they sell, and they want to do the right thing,” Aurora Alifano, director of the social responsibility division at FishWise, said in a press release. “RISE offers the help many need to turn concern into action on labor rights.”

Conversations with seafood industry leaders revealed the high-priority status of labor rights and social issues for many companies, however, “capacity constraints and an abundance of information served as obstacles to getting started,” FishWise said.

“FishWise has worked on social issues in seafood for many years, even prior to revelations of forced labor in shrimp supply chains,” FishWise CEO Tobias Aguirre told SeafoodSource. “So, we pulled together and shared relevant information, allowing seafood companies and NGOs to better understand the issues. In 2017, we heard from companies that this was a hot-button issue, there were too many resources, they felt paralyzed, and didn’t know where to start. Last year, we set out to solve that problem by building RISE.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Joins GSSI

March 19, 2019 — The following was released by Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative and BJ’s Wholesale:

The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative is pleased to announce that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (BJ’s) has joined the GSSI Global Partnership as a Funding Partner.

BJ’s Wholesale Club is a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States. By joining GSSI’s Global Partnership, BJ’s joins more than 90 stakeholders industry-wide in addressing the seafood sector’s sustainability challenges.

“BJ’s Wholesale Club is committed to providing sustainably sourced seafood to our members,” said Scott Williams, Vice President, Own Brands and Quality at BJ’s Wholesale Club. “We’re excited to join The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative to deepen our commitment to responsible sourcing and helping the industry find solutions.”

Seafood importers backing groups in protecting vaquita

March 18, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce eight US importers of Mexican seafood—Aquastar, Artisan Catch (Orca Foods LLC), Del Pacifico, Inland Seafood, Meridian Products, Ocean Garden Products, Santa Monica Seafood, and Seattle Fish Company—have joined together to donate $12,000 to VaquitaCPR to fund removal of illegal fishing gear from the upper Gulf of California.

All eight companies participate in a Mexican Seafood Supply Chain Roundtable (SR) facilitated by SFP for managing ongoing sustainability improvement efforts.

The vaquita porpoise in the upper Gulf of California is critically endangered. The most recent population estimate (2018) indicates, at most, only 22 individuals. Though gillnets were banned from the upper Gulf of California throughout the vaquita’s native range in 2017, illegal use of gillnets by totoaba poachers and shrimp fishermen has continued and is threatening the existence of the vaquita.

“Unless this decline can be stopped by eliminating mortality in illegal gillnets, the vaquita will be extinct in a few years,” said the authors of a 2017 report from the 10th meeting of the Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita.

Through VaquitaCPR, conservation organizations such as Museo de la Ballena and the World Wildlife Fund are working with the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Mexican Navy as well as local fishermen to remove the illegal gillnets from the water on a continuing basis. This gear removal program is critical to the survival of the remaining vaquita.

“The seafood community has a long history of supporting the environmental and social needs of our community. None of these needs have been more important than the conservation, protection, and recovery needs of the vaquita porpoise,” said Lance Leonard, President/CEO of Ocean Garden Products, Inc. “The industry stands united in working with government, NGOs, and environmental groups to identify ways to save this unique mammal. We support the activity of VaquitaCPR and hope to bring attention to the cause with our customers and consumers.”

These companies, along with a number of other Mexican Seafood SR participants, have also sent a letter of support for alternative gear development to the Mexican government and upper Gulf of California shrimp fishermen. In this letter, they request that the Mexican government improve enforcement of the gillnet ban, but also expedite the processes necessary to develop and approve a viable alternative gear for small-scale shrimp fishermen.

“We would like to further express our willingness to collaborate in this important effort through the purchase, distribution, and marketing of the shrimp captures resulting from the adoption of fishing gears other than gillnets and or entanglement nets, which do not represent risk of bycatch to the vaquita marina,” participants wrote in the letter.

The importers are pledging future support to develop a market in the U.S. for “vaquita-safe” shrimp, once it becomes available. The letter was sent to the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, National Commissioner of Aquaculture and Fisheries, and the National Commissioner of Natural Protected Areas, as well as shrimp producer cooperatives in the upper Gulf region.

According to Megan Westmeyer, SFP Senior Improvements and Strategy Manager, “When the permanent gillnet ban went into effect without a viable alternative gear for the artisanal shrimp fishery, the supply chain lost the ability to use its purchasing power to affect change. Fortunately, these suppliers are determined to see that the upper Gulf of California can be home to both the vaquita porpoise and a sustainable artisanal shrimp fishery, and are taking action to ensure this vision becomes reality.”

SFP notes progress, work ahead for squid sector in new report

March 5, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

The global squid sector has made notable progress in the past year toward sustainability goals, but much work remains to be done, according to the latest Target 75 sector report from Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).

The report is an update of the same sector report released last year, with updated data and conclusions. SFP will be updating this and other sector reports until the end of 2020, the deadline for achieving the T75 goal—to get 75 percent or more of global seafood production by volume to be classified as sustainable or improving toward sustainability.

According to the report, a confirmed 14 percent of global production is now recognized as sustainable or improving. Much of the improvements can be traced back to efforts by the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the Southern Pacific Jumbo Flying Squid (CALAMASUR). The group has been working on key projects such as the Peruvian Jumbo Flying Squid Fishery Improvement Project (FIP), and negotiations with the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) to address stock structure issues, improved data collection, and other issues.

SFP also credits the development of a preliminary stock assessment model presented to the RFMO, as well as the launching of a FIP covering Japanese flying squid. “The current FIP volume reflects a relatively small percentage of global production, but the total Japanese flying squid production across China, Japan, and Korea makes up a significant volume and is essential to the T75 goal,” said Sam Grimley, who leads the Global Squid Supply Chain Roundtable for SFP.

The report notes there is potential for much more of the sector to meet the T75 criteria.

“There are, fortunately, a number of fisheries making incremental improvements that are not yet publicly recorded under FIPs,” the report’s authors wrote. “It is possible that existing supply chain leverage and interest may be able to influence an additional 43 percent of global production.”

Management of fishing fleets in international waters will be the key. The report recommends working with Chinese and South Korean fisheries operating in waters off the coast of South America by leveraging market demand.

“SFP has always operated from the philosophy that industrial stakeholders can drive change by using the markets themselves,” said SFP CEO Jim Cannon. “Here we see a prime opportunity to demonstrate the real power the industry has to work toward more sustainable seafood production.”

Read the full report here

Cooke, Martha Stewart partner on value-added seafood range

February 26, 2019 — Diversified seafood group Cooke is partnering with US retail and lifestyle entrepreneur Martha Stewart on a new range of value-added seafood products using raw material from its global farmed and wild supply companies.

Cooke, under its True North Seafood sales arm, is teaming up on the range with Sequential Brands Group, which licenses a range of consumer brands, including Martha Stewart’s, the seafood company told Undercurrent News. The range will launch next month and will be on show at the upcoming Boston seafood show, held in the East Coast US city from March 17-19.

The product line offers a range of True North products accompanied by a Martha Stewart signature butter flavor or spice blend. Packaging will also include an easy to follow recipe created by Stewart’s “test kitchen” team, the company said. These include Atlantic salmon with lemon herb butter; sockeye salmon with miso butter; pollock with a southwest spice blend, and a seafood medley – using pollock, salmon, and bay scallops — with a herb spice blend.

“Knowing where my seafood comes from is very important to me, and I’ve enjoyed and served True North Seafood to family and friends for years,” said Stewart, in a statement.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

FishChoice, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership to cross-list companies disclosing sourcing info

February 8, 2019 — A new collaboration between the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the environmental nonprofit FishChoice will result in members of its supplier program becoming Ocean Disclosure Project participants.

FishChoice, which encourages seafood suppliers to publicly share information – including product sources, certifications, and sustainability ratings – has named the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) as its newest Sustainable Seafood Affiliate. The designation will result in data-sharing between the two programs, with suppliers that list their full source list for wild-caught seafood on the FishChoice website being recognized as ODP participants, with their listings in the ODP portal linking to their FishChoice profile.

FishChoice supplier members Albion Farms and Fisheries, North Atlantic Inc., and Tradex Foods are already listed on both websites, with their profiles containing product pages for each species sold, “giving seafood buyers instant access to up-to-date product sustainability information,” SFP said in a press release.

“We are very happy to be collaborating with FishChoice on the Ocean Disclosure Project, to help one another work with the seafood industry to deliver more sustainable seafood production,” ODP Project Manager Tania Woodcock said. “Companies that report their full list of wild-caught seafood products into FishChoice’s supplier directory meet with the ODP’s requirements for transparency in seafood sourcing.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source