Saving Seafood

West Coast swordfish landings hit slight dip in 2018

May 15, 2019 — West Coast swordfish stocks are on the upswing, but Homeland Security stipulations could mean fewer of them will be offloaded at docks in California.

According to a recent stock assessment report to the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-Like Species in the North Pacific Ocean, in 2018, swordfish biomass increased from 51,000 metric tons in 1998 to an estimated 71,979 metric tons in 2016.

The U.S. fleet working the waters in the Western and North Central Pacific Ocean harvests but a fraction of what the fleet from Japan catches in a year. According to data from the stock assessment report, Japan’s average catch has hovered around 3,500 metric tons in recent years, and the U.S. harvest has come in at around half of the landings posted by fleets from China.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Good News for California Fisheries Seeking to Test Extended Hook and Line Fishing Gear in U.S. West

May 10, 2019 — The following was released by the California Pelagic Fisheries Association:

The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP or “permit”) to allow two U.S. fishermen to test extended hook and line (both deep set and shallow set) fishing gear in Federal waters within the U.S. West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). A primary function of the testing is to determine if the U.S. fishermen can help to increase America’s reliance on domestic seafood.

Currently the U.S. imports 90 percent of its seafood. The new permits could increase reliance on local seafood, particularly where swordfish and tuna are concerned. The North Pacific swordfish population, for example, is very healthy and would support a substantial additional harvest according to all international fisheries experts and published reports. Any increase in U.S. fisheries production improves America’s seafood security as well as provides for a sustainable ecosystem footprint often lacking in the weak environmental oversight of foreign fisheries.

“NOAA’s decision is a huge win for American fisheries, fishermen and ultimately, the environment,” said Dave Rudie, owner of Catalina Offshore Products and President of the California Pelagic Fisheries Association. “It will greatly benefit San Diego and southern California and our consumers as well.”

The EFP excludes any fishing within 50 miles of the coast or offshore islands and requires that a U.S. Government approved fisheries observer be present during all test fishing. Additionally, it requires a full suite of verified mitigation techniques be used during all test fishing. These techniques are known to reduce or eliminate interactions with sea birds, sea turtles and marine mammals.

About the California Pelagic Fisheries Association

The California Pelagic Fisheries Association (CPFA) was formed in 2015 by a group of American fishermen and seafood processors with the function of representing their interests in developing high seas (pelagic) fisheries in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. As a result of CPFA’s ongoing efforts at both a local and national level, American consumers have more opportunities to enjoy the very best quality tuna, swordfish and similar species knowing they were harvested by American fishermen using proven environmentally friendly fishing techniques.

About Catalina Offshore Products

Founded in 1977, Catalina Offshore Products was once exclusively a sea urchin wholesaler in both domestic sales and exports. Today the company is one of the largest buyers of local seafood in San Diego, specializing in species found off the West Coast, from Baja and Southern California to the Pacific Northwest. Its business has expanded to include an online store and walk-in fish market and proudly remains family owned and operated. Recognized as an industry leader, Catalina Offshore Products is committed to providing high quality seafood choices from responsible fisheries or farms. For more information, visit catalinaop.com.

The Surprising Story of Swordfish You May Not Know

May 1, 2019 —  The following was published by NOAA Fisheries:

Today’s North Atlantic swordfish population is a great fishery rebuilding story.

Twenty years ago, this predatory fish was in trouble. Their population had dropped to 65 percent of the target level. This means there wasn’t enough North Atlantic swordfish in the water to maintain their population in the face of fishing by the many countries who share the resource.

Fast forward to 2009 and the international commission that manages species like swordfish declared the Northern Atlantic stock fully rebuilt. That announcement came a year ahead of the 2010 target date set in the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna’s (ICCAT) 10-year rebuilding plan.

“If it’s U.S.-harvested swordfish, consumers can feel confident it’s a smart seafood choice,” said Rick Pearson, NOAA Fisheries fishery management specialist. “We should reward our sustainable stewardship practices at the seafood counter.”

Rebuilding an Important Population

Efforts to restore a dwindling population of North Atlantic swordfish date back to 1985 when NOAA Fisheries implemented the first U.S. Atlantic Swordfish Fishery Management Plan. This plan reduced the harvest of small swordfish, set permitting and monitoring requirements, and launched scientific research on the swordfish stock. Minimum size limits and enforcement processes came shortly after when ICCAT issued its first recommendation on swordfish in 1990.

Despite these and other management strategies implemented over the next eight years, the stock continued to suffer. By the late 1990s, the average weight of swordfish caught in U.S. waters had fallen to 90 pounds, a drop from the 250-pound average fishermen enjoyed in the 1960s. This was in part because the population decline meant fishermen were catching younger fish.

What ultimately reversed their downward course was the broad suite of actions built up by the beginning of the 21st century.

“There is no one measure that could have brought this population back from the decline,” said Pearson. “Sustainable fishery management requires a comprehensive science-based approach that considers the biological needs of the fish population, the health of fisheries, the fishing industry, and coastal communities.”

In the United States today:

  • A limited number of vessels can target swordfish commercially with longline gear.

  • All fishermen must abide by minimum size limits, and many must also abide by retention limits.

  • Closures prevent pelagic longline fishing in waters with historically high levels of bycatch species, including undersized swordfish.

  • Satellite tracking systems are mandatory on some vessels that target swordfish.

  • The use of circle hooks is required in commercial fisheries to increase the survival of sea turtles and other animals caught accidentally.

  • Commercial fishermen must attend workshops where they learn to properly handle and release bycatch, including undersized swordfish.

  • Observer programs provide fishery scientists and managers with needed data.

Leading the International Community

Some of these measures can be traced back to the ICCAT rebuilding plan, but many are the result of U.S.-led efforts to protect swordfish, reduce bycatch of other species, and sustainably manage fisheries that interact with swordfish.

Pearson and others also point to the key role the U.S. commercial fishing industry played in helping to establish these domestic efforts and supporting greater international collaboration.

“The United States led the charge internationally to adopt measures to recover North Atlantic swordfish,” said Christopher Rogers, director of International Fisheries. “We pressed our international partners to adopt measures U.S. fishermen were already practicing, such as catch limits, minimum sizes, recording and reducing dead discards, and appropriate observer coverage. Strong U.S. leadership helped ensure the international community shared the burden for rebuilding this iconic species.”

Support for a Valuable U.S. Fishery

In the decade since ICCAT first declared that North Atlantic swordfish are not being overfished, the United States has seen a fall in its total annual catch. In 2017, U.S. fishermen caught just 14 percent of the total swordfish catch reported to ICCAT.

There are several reasons for this decline, says Pearson, including rising fuel prices, an aging commercial fleet, and competition from often lower-quality imported frozen products.

To help more U.S. fishermen take advantage of our national ICCAT-allotted quota, NOAA Fisheries has made several changes in the last decade to commercial and recreational restrictions, such as:

  • Removing vessel size and horsepower restrictions on pelagic longline permits.

  • Increasing retention limits on some permits.

  • Launching a hand gear permit, allowing fishermen to participate in the fishery without spending more to buy a longline permit from another vessel.

  • Making it easier for fishermen to get and renew permits.

But there is more work to be done to ensure our regulatory program is effective in both maintaining swordfish populations and supporting the fishing industry. We are currently examining whether some area-based and gear management measures that affect swordfish fisheries could be modified in light of the success of a program that has reduced bluefin tuna bycatch.

“The U.S. fishery management process is a dynamic process,” said Pearson. “Protecting the North Atlantic swordfish population from overfishing while ensuring fishing opportunities for our recreational and commercial fishermen requires the best available science and responsive management.”

Read the story at NOAA Fisheries

Trump administration opts not to pursue appeal of driftnet ruling

April 23, 2019 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has decided against appealing a federal judge’s ruling that NOAA Fisheries illegally withdrew a proposal that would have placed hard caps on the bycatch of protected species caught in California’s swordfish drift gillnet fishery.

On Monday, 15 April, when its brief was due to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the administration instead filed a notice to dismiss its appeal voluntarily. As a result, NOAA Fisheries will begin talks with the Pacific Fishery Management Council to determine the limits that should be placed on such species as humpback whales, loggerhead turtles, and leatherback turtles.

The PFMC initially worked with key stakeholders to establish caps on nine species, and NOAA Fisheries published the draft review for implementation in October 2016. However, eight months later, after Trump was elected president, the agency reversed its course.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

How Scientists Are Using Real-Time Data to Help Fishermen Avoid Bycatch

April 15, 2019 — From 1990 to 2000, fishermen seeking swordfish off the coast of California accidentally caught and killed over 100 leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles, and injured many more.

In 2001, the federal government established the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area, a 250,000-square-mile region off the coast of California that is off-limits to fishing boats from August through November.

Since then, the number of turtles killed as bycatch has plummeted, but a handful of animals still die from being entangled in fishing nets each year—too many, environmental advocates say. And at the same time, the closure of the giant oceanic region means the once-$15 million swordfish industry has become a $2 million industry, and the number of boats plying the waters has decreased significantly.

Scientists and ocean advocates are hoping to find a way to both protect sea turtles and other threatened species and help fishermen make a living. To this end, many are looking at dynamic ocean management, a strategy that uses advances in real-time data collection to help fishing vessels meet fish where they are—and avoid all other bycatch.

Read the full story at Smithsonian.com

HAWAII: Swordfish season could re-open later this year

April 10, 2019 — A sudden end to the “Swordfish Season” for Hawaii long-liners, but not because the fish stock is running low.  Instead, it is because of run-ins with another ocean creature.

While those fishing boats are now idle, Hawaii’s swordfish season could get a second wind.

Alicia’s Market in Kalihi is known for its seafood, including the swordfish it sells.

“I dry my swordfish. I have smoked swordfish, and I use a lot of the fresh nairagi,” said Leonard Kam, the owner of Alicia’s Market.

Hawaii’s longline fishing boats are no longer reeling them in as swordfish season has come to an end.

“This year the swordfish industry is closed, it closed about two weeks ago,” stated Eric Kingma the Executive Director for the Hawaii Longline Association.

Read the full story at KITV4

 

US proposes tariffs on European Union goods, seafood products considered

April 9, 2019 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday, 8 April, it will consider adding new tariffs on products from the European Union, and seafood imports are on the list for potential duties.

The action stems from a World Trade Organization ruling that stated E.U. illegally subsidized airplane-maker Airbus, creating an unfair trade advantage. As a result of that ruling, the U.S. is contemplating tariffs on USD 11 billion (EUR 9.76 billion) in goods from the 28 member nations in the union.

“The E.U. has taken advantage of the U.S. on trade for many years,” President Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning. “It will soon stop!”

The announcement from Office of the U.S. Trade Representative gives a list of nine products from four E.U. members. The products include helicopters, aircraft, fuselages, and associated parts originating from France, Germany, Spain, and Great Britain.

However, a second list of products the Trade Representative is considering includes products from all member nations. The products include salmon fillets, swordfish steaks, crabmeat, clams, scallops, and other seafood items.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Managers, Fishermen Grapple with Federal Pace, Definitions Leading to Fishery Closures

April 5, 2019 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

At 9:40 a.m. yesterday, minutes after Kitty M. Simonds completed the executive director’s report to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, the Hawai’i-based fishery was closed due to the fishery’s interaction with a 17th loggerhead turtle this year. The Hawai’i-based shallow-set longline fishery for swordfish has a federal observer on every vessel for every trip. The North Pacific loggerhead population is growing annually at 2.4 percent, but a court settlement in May 2018 reduced the fishery’s allowable interaction with the species from 34 to 17. The interaction cap of 17 cannot be modified until the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) completes a new biological opinion (BiOp) for the fishery.

The Council, which is mandated by Congress to develop management measures for offshore US fisheries in the Pacific islands region, has been waiting for NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) to deliver the new BiOp so the Council can move forward with proposed new loggerhead limits and other turtle interaction mitigation measures for the fishery. The shutdown reinforced Simonds’ core message, that the “pace with which NMFS PIRO responds to federal and legal procedures has left all of the region’s major fisheries at risk.”

Upon hearing the news of the shutdown, Roger Dang, whose family has fished with longline vessels out of Hawai’i for more than 30 years, immediately sent a message to the Council. Council member Michael Goto read the statement to the Council.

Read the full release here

Hawaii longliners counting on new biological opinion to save swordfish season

April 4, 2019 — It doesn’t matter that all of the 17 loggerhead turtles that were accidentally caught in the first three months of the year by shallow-set swordfish longliners off the coasts of the US’ Hawaiian islands were released and swam away alive, or that the loggerhead population in the area has actually been growing at a steady rate of 2.4% annually.

Thanks to the terms of a court settlement reached nearly a year ago by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) with three nongovernmental organizations, that number of interactions with an endangered species forced the longliners to shut down immediately for the season on March 19, leaving much of what they say is a healthy fishing stock untouched.

Now the harvesters are counting on a regular meeting by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC), scheduled for April 12, in Honolulu, to help get them back on the water as soon as possible.

That’s when an advisory panel is expected to review NMFS’ new draft biological opinion (BiOps) for handling both loggerhead and leatherneck turtles in the fishery and advise the council, which that same day could pass along its own recommendations to NMFS.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News