Saving Seafood

Can North Carolina’s Local Seafood Movement Help Save its Fishermen?

November 16, 2016 — North Carolina’s commercial fishermen—who work primarily in independent, small-scale operations—landed 66 million pounds of fish last year, but rather than ending up on North Carolina plates, the majority was whisked out of state to markets where it could fetch a higher price.

“I think more New Yorkers eat North Carolina seafood than North Carolinians,” says Ann Simpson, who grew up in a small town on the coast and currently directs North Carolina Catch, a partnership of smaller organizations working to strengthen the state’s local seafood economy.

To fill the void created by the export of its catch, North Carolina—like most states—ships in seafood from abroad. Today, around 90 percent of the seafood Americans eat has been imported from places like China, Thailand, Canada, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Ecuador, and the average fish travels more than 5,400 miles between the landing dock and point of sale.

“People come to the coast looking for fresh seafood, and for the most part, they’re getting seafood from halfway around the world, which they’re eating in a local setting,” says Noelle Boucquey, assistant professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College, who studied North Carolina’s fisheries while at Duke University. Patronize a vendor at the Outer Banks Seafood Festival in Nags Head, and you’ll face the same conundrum.

Read the full story at Civil Eats

First-Ever Fishery Improvement Project Launched in Japan

November 10, 2016 — The following was released by Ocean Outcomes:

Sustainable seafood movement takes a big step forward in East Asia as industry, fishermen, and NGOs come together to launch the “Tokyo Bay Sea Perch FIP”, the first project of its kind in Japan.

Tokyo, Japan — In 2016, the market value of sustainable seafood reached an all-time high of $11.5 billion USD, placing further incentive to increase the sustainability of fisheries across the globe. Asia’s share of global seafood production is up to 69%, by some estimates, but only 11% of this is certified as sustainable seafood production including Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certifications. As such, implementation of Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) in Japan will ensure the growth of the Asian sustainable seafood market.

Ocean Outcomes (O2) and Kaiko Bussan Inc. today announced its launch of the “Tokyo Bay Sea Perch FIP”, Japan’s first Fishery Improvement Project (FIP). The project was introduced by Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd. to Seiyu GK, a subsidiary of Walmart Stores, Inc., the American multinational retail corporation and global leader in sustainable seafood, who have decided to support this project that will improve the sustainability of the sea perch fisheries in Tokyo Bay. As part of the project, at the end of October 2016, Seiyu test marketed the “Tokyo Bay Sea Perch FIP” product in 4 stores in the Kanto area and received positive feedback from customers regarding the quality, freshness and the reasonable price of the products. Going forward, Seiyu will discuss its support for this project including continued “Tokyo Bay Sea Perch FIP” product sales in stores and project grant contribution.

  • About Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs)

A Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) is a collaborative project between fisheries stakeholders, such as fishermen, businesses, distributors, and NGOs, to improve the sustainability of a fishery. Two-thirds of the top 25 North American retailers, comprising 90% of the global seafood market, have committed to supporting FIPs. Projects like the “Tokyo Bay Sea Perch FIP” are vital if fisheries want to improve and access global markets.

Tokyo Bay is a major fishing ground for sea perch and a historically and culturally important sourcing region for edomae sushi, the style of sushi created during the late Edo-period (late 19th century) that influenced the nigiri sushi that is common today. The “Tokyo Bay Sea Perch FIP” will ensure sustainable fisheries management and the enjoyment of sea perch for generations to come.

As a first step in the project, Ocean Outcomes collaborated with Kaiko Bussan to complete an assessment of current fishing practices calibrated against internationally recognized best practices standards. The assessment found opportunities to modify fishing practices and gather additional data as steps which could better inform fisheries management and lead to more sustainable practices overall. These opportunities, described in detail in the FIP work plan, include plans to better monitor bycatch of endangered, threatened, and protected species, plans to collect fishery data to better evaluate and monitor stock abundance, and a commitment to work towards a more collaborative management plan.

Below are comments from each organization regarding the launch of the FIP.

Shunji Murakami (Ocean Outcome / Japan Program Director)

“Launching the Tokyo Bay Sea Perch FIP is a monumental moment for the sustainable seafood movement in Japan. Improving fisheries practices benefits both marine resources and fishing communities.”

Kazuhiko Oono (Kaiko Bussan, Inc. / President and CEO)

“Fishery improvement, while a new concept for Japanese fishermen, makes sense. We harvest, process, and sell the sea perch we catch, so our business is completely reliant on abundant sea perch resources. As the resource declines, so does our fishery. This project will ensure we’re harvesting the optimal amount of sea perch while not negatively affecting the amazing environment in which we work.”

Wakao Hanaoka (Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd. / CEO and Founder)

“Our hope for this project is to invigorate the Japanese market in a way that encourages cooperation amongst retailers and producers in the implementation of more sustainable fishing practices. This will benefit ocean ecosystems, businesses, fisheries, and local communities.”

Kumie Wama (Seiyu GK / Vice President of Corporate Affairs)

“Responsible and sustainable fishing practices, which the participants of “Tokyo Bay Sea Perch FIP” have committed to undertake, are very important for the future of marine resources in Japan. As a company that relies on shared marine resources, we consider it our corporate social responsibility to provide environmentally friendly products to our consumers.”

Florida company’s new traceability policy “raises the bar” for seafood distributors

November 8, 2016 — Florida-based Sea Delight has released a new policy on traceability that reflects the company’s commitment to improving transparency along the supply chains it sources from as well as along those across the industry at large, it announced on 2 November.

The new protocol works in tandem with Sea Delight’s Sustainable Seafood Policy, and will be applicable to all seafood that the company purchases. The latest policy combines commitments to both traceability and social responsibility, and underscores the importance of improving the company’s business practices to allow for more robust tracking of product information throughout the supply chains it engages with, according to Sea Delight.

“This is such an exciting moment for our company,” said Adriana Sanchez, sustainability director at Sea Delight, in a news release. “We are setting an industry-leading precedent among North American seafood distributors by publically committing to work towards best practices in traceability, address critical issues such as legality and social responsibility, and engage our supply chain partners in collaborative and long-lasting improvements.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NEIL ANTHONY SIMS & BRIDGET OWEN: America needs a blue revolution

November 1, 2016 — America needs another revolution. We need a Blue Revolution, to start to grow fish in the open ocean, where they belong. And we should lead the world in this initiative. This is an economic opportunity: we must reverse our $12.9 billion seafood trade deficit. We have the technologies, we have the investment capital, and we need the jobs and the working waterfronts. It is also a moral obligation: over 90% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. America controls the largest ocean expanse of any nation on earth, yet we import more seafood—by dollar value—than any other country. This means that if we quash the development of aquaculture in the U.S., then we are simply exporting the environmental footprint to other countries, where environmental standards may be more lax.

Leading conservation groups such as WWF, Conservation International and Ocean Conservancy now recognize the global imperative for expansion of aquaculture, and are actively working to encourage best practices. Yet Marianne Cufone, of the Recirculating Farms Coalition, (The Hill, October 17, 2016, 01:40 pm) asserts that the “Feds must end push for ocean aquaculture.”

Cufone and her fellow anti-aquaculture activists cling tenaciously to data that is two or three decades old, or cite no data at all, to support their position. This continues the pattern of deliberate distortion and misrepresentation of the impacts of ocean culture on the environment. Growing this industry is vitally important for the health of the planet, for the health of the oceans, and for the health of American consumers. Consider, please:

Planetary health: A 2012 study by Conservation International, titled ‘Blue Frontiers’, conducted a full Life-Cycle Analysis of all water, land and feed resource use, and impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, and concluded that aquaculture was, far and away, the least impactful of all animal protein production systems. We should therefore be growing more seafood to meet the increased demand for proteins. If the 3 billion people that are projected to rise into the middle class by 2050 are eating farmed fish, then the prospects for managing global climate change, and our other ecological challenges, are far brighter.

Read the full opinion piece at The Hill

Why Is Fish Good for You? Because It Replaces Meat?

October 7, 2016 — Articles often mention that eating any kind of fish (not just fatty fish) twice weekly reduces various health risks. Is this because it replaces red meat, or is there some other reason?

Many fish, especially oily, darker-fleshed fish like salmon and herring, are rich in heart-healthy, polyunsaturated, omega-3 fatty acids, but healthful fats are not the only reason to eat fish. Dietary guidelines in the United States encourage adults to eat eight ounces of a variety of fish and seafood each week – roughly two meals’ worth – because of the “total package of nutrients in fish,” which includes lean protein, vitamins A and D as well as B vitamins, and a host of minerals such as iron, iodine, selenium and zinc.

Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding are urged to eat as much as 12 ounces of seafood to improve infant outcomes, but should steer clear of fish that’s high in methyl mercury. (The Food and Drug Administration recommends avoiding king mackerel, tilefish, shark and swordfish and limiting tuna; the nonprofit Environmental Working Group advises against a broader list of fish in its Consumer Guide to Seafood.)

“Fish is very low in saturated fat and low in cholesterol,” said Jennifer McDaniel, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and people who follow a Mediterranean style diet that incorporates seafood appear to be at lower risk for obesity, “but a lot of people don’t think about that and just focus on omega-3s.”

Read the full story at The New York Times

Thanks To Technology, You Might Soon Know Where Your Seafood Actually Comes From

September 16, 2016 — Millions of people worldwide depend on seafood to survive. An estimated 450 million people get their primary source of food from the ocean, and according to the World Bank, fishing makes up at least 10 percent of the global economy.

But for all its popularity and importance, the seafood industry’s supply chain is notoriously opaque, complex and plagued with problems, including illegal fishing and seafood fraud, which can seriously deplete fish populations and harm marine habitats.

Seafood lovers often have no idea where their fish or shrimp were caught, and even whether or not their snapper was the real McCoy.

Thanks to improved technology, together with the efforts of businesses, nonprofits and governments, however, “ocean-to-table” visibility is fast becoming a reality. And this, experts say, may help save our ailing seas.

Read the full story at the Huffington Post

Aquaculture Stewardship Council – setting global standards for responsible farming

September 15, 2016 — The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is a global, independent non-profit organisation established in 2010 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) to manage the global standards for responsible aquaculture with the aim to transform seafood markets towards responsible practices.

The ASC works with aquaculture producers, seafood processors, retail and food-service companies, scientists, and conservation groups around the world using its global influence to fulfil its mission to transform aquaculture towards environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

The ASC certification programme recognises and rewards responsible farming activities focusing on the preservation and quality of water resources, preservation of biodiversity and the diversity of species, no misuse of antibiotics,  compliance with strict feed requirements and social responsibility.

The ASC logo is a globally recognised mark for responsibly farmed seafood that is fully traceable to a farm that has been independently certified to the ASC standard and cares for the environment, its workers and the local community.

A growing number of companies are making a stand to encourage responsible farming and consumers can be part of that change through their shopping choices. By choosing ASC labelled products consumers can help ensure the health of the oceans, the livelihoods of local communities, and the availability of seafood for the future.

Increased consumer demand for certified seafood influences lower performance farms in greater numbers to undergo the rigorous assessment against the ASC standards, thereby improve their farming practices and reducing adverse environmental and social impacts.

Read the full story at Aquaculture Magazine

Find that fish: Chicken of the Sea launches traceability initiative

September 14, 2016 — Chicken of the Sea’s owner, Thai Union, has been at the center of controversy lately, particularly following reports of ongoing slavery and trafficking in the Thai fishing industry. Investigations from The New York Times, Associated Press and Guardian linked many of these human rights abuses to Thai Union and Chicken of the Sea, according to a Greenpeace report.

Chicken of the Sea’s traceability efforts are a start on its path to increased transparency and sustainability throughout its supply chain. But knowing where a fish was caught or how it was processed doesn’t necessarily solve human rights abuses occurring on the other side of the world.

Increasing numbers of consumers consider a company’s labor practices in their brand purchase decisions. Consumers today demand transparency, ranging from ingredients to fair labor practices. Manufacturers that embrace consumers’ hunger for transparency can achieve better whole chain visibility and traceability.

That effort offers more information about ingredients, suppliers, processing and other company practices that the brand can then share with consumers. Transparency can also help foster brand loyalty among the vast majority of consumers and convince others to pay more for completely transparent products, according to a recent study from Label Insight.

Read the full story from Food Dive

Hillary Clinton Reveals Her Ocean Policies

August 30, 2016 — In response to a letter sent by 115 ocean leaders to the leading presidential candidates, Secretary Clinton has released a two-page response on what she will do to protect our coast and ocean. With just over two months until the election this marks the first time in the campaign where a candidate has fully addressed the daunting issues confronting America’s public seas.

In her letter on August 27 she lays out a range of solutions she says she will act on if elected including growing the “Blue Economy,” supporting coastal adaptation to climate change, ending international pirate fishing, expanding sustainable and transparent U.S. fishing and seafood practices and ratifying the Law of the Seas Convention that has been held up by the U.S. Senate for over 20 years.

Read the full story and letter at Blue Frontier

Sea to Table: There are plenty of fish in the sea

August 17, 2016 — Overfishing and illegal behavior in the seafood trade is a serious issue in many fisheries around the world. A recent study found that the annual global catch was roughly 30 percent higher than reported in 2010. This means that approximately 109 billion metric tons of fish go unreported each year.

In the United States, the picture is a lot brighter. Thanks to the Manguson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act that went into effect in 1976, many fisheries in the U.S. have been rebuilt over the past 40 years. As of 2015, 84 percent of federally managed stocks were not on the overfished list, indicating that the population sizes are at sustainable levels.

The problem? “Over 90 percent of all seafood consumed in the U.S. comes from outside the U.S.,” says Michael Dimin, the founding director of Sea to Table. “The U.S. has the world’s largest fisheries, we have the largest exclusive economic zone in the world, and we have the best-managed fisheries, yet we only want to buy cheap fish.”

Dimin’s business, Sea to Table, is working with chefs across the country to address this dichotomy. The concept is inherently simple: Sea to Table passes fish from the nets of fishermen directly to the hands of chefs and diners. Fish that land on a dock anywhere in the U.S. can arrive at a kitchen the next day. Making the logistics work is a little more complicated.

The Sea to Table team has spent years cultivating personal relationships with small-scale fishermen to provide a lucrative market for their wild, domestic, responsibly caught fish. “The seafood supply chain is kind of long and opaque and doesn’t really create value so much for fishermen, but creates value for the middle of the chain,” Dimin explains. “We thought it would be a good idea to figure out how to get a little better market for fishermen, and to get better quality fish to diners.”

Read the full story at DC Refined