Saving Seafood

HAWAII: Fish prices plummet as coronavirus pandemic cripples industry and idles boats

March 27, 2020 — As the coronavirus pandemic ripples through Hawaii’s economy, the state’s fishing industry is taking a severe hit.

But the downturn has provided consumers with an unexpected benefit: Lower fish prices.

Since the city and state banned sit-down services at restaurants, fishing boats have been idle on the docks as the wholesale price of ahi and salmon has plunged from about $4 a pound to as little at 20 cents a pound.

Many of the boats won’t go back out because the price for fish won’t even pay for fuel costs.

“We’re sitting side-tied waiting for about a four or five day wait to offload. I have 12,000 pounds of fish right now,” said Mike Wild, captain of the longline vessel the Kilauea.

“It’s going to hurt all the owners in their pockets and it’s hurting the crews. It might put a few guys out of business.”

Skip Gallimore, who owns three fishing boats, thinks the pandemic’s impact on the fishing industry is even more severe. “It’s a shame. I don’t think anyone has realized what’s happened to our fishing industry. It’s gone.”

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now

Warmest Oceans Ever Force Tuna Titan to Start Protecting Fish

March 24, 2020 — Helping the canned tuna industry cope with climate change tops an already lengthy to-do list for Darian McBain, chief sustainability officer at the Thailand company that owns the Chicken of the Sea and John West brands.

In a business long accused by activists of abusing workers and killing dolphins, McBain’s responsibilities at Thai Union Group Pcl typically focused on improving labor rights in the supply chain and reducing the abandoned fishing gear on the high seas.

“Climate change hasn’t been the No. 1 topic,” she said. “Now, the climate emergency has to be a lot stronger part of the dialogue.”

The industry hasn’t yet confronted the magnitude of the problem, McBain said.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

As Canned Tuna Fly Off Shelves, Operations of U.S. Boats Are Compromised

March 19, 2020 — Consumers bracing against Covid-19 have raised demands not only for health and safety products but also for many food staples, including tuna. According to a recent National Public Radio report, tuna sales were up more than 31 percent last week compared to the same time last year.

StarKist Samoa, located in the U.S. Territory of American Samoa, supplies tuna for the U.S. market.

Read the full story at Seafood News

StarKist, fleet lament US fishing restrictions amid surge in canned tuna demand

March 19, 2020 — US tuna canner StarKist & Co and the fleet that catches its tuna are lamenting fishing restrictions in the American Samoa region they say will make it difficult to continue to supply tuna at a time when shelf-stable product sales are up sharply due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

StarKist, according to a press release published by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, is seeing higher demand for its products, which is creating more work for its StarKist Samoa plant in American Samoa.

“The StarKist Samoa operation relies on the US tuna fishermen, and direct fish deliveries to the cannery are a major component of our business model,” the company said. “We have seen an increase in sales that has been attributed to the Covid-19 impact, and we are doing our best to keep up with the demand. It’s important to note that the global impact of Covid-19 highlights the importance of keeping US suppliers and producers in business to ensure we can sustain the tuna supply for US consumers.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

For signatories to Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration, progress is tangible

March 19, 2020 — Seafood companies across the tuna supply chain are making strides toward meeting the four commitments that are part of the Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration.

The Global Tuna Alliance – a consortium of companies seeking to improve the tuna supply chain – surveyed the 66 companies that signed the declaration in 2017 to assess their progress, compiling the results in a report to be released soon. About two-thirds of companies responded.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

As Canned Tuna Fly Off Shelves, Operations of U.S. Boats Are Compromised

March 18, 2020 — HONOLULU — The following was released by the American Tunaboat Association, StarKist Samoa, and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Consumers bracing against Covid-19 have raised demands not only for health and safety products but also for many food staples, including tuna. According to an NPR report yesterday, tuna sales were up more than 31 percent last week compared to the same time last year.

StarKist Samoa, located in the US Territory of American Samoa, supplies tuna for the US market.

“The StarKist Samoa operation relies on the US tuna fishermen, and direct fish deliveries to the cannery are a major component of our business model,” said StarKist Samoa in a statement today. “We have seen an increase in sales that has been attributed to the Covid-19 impact, and we are doing our best to keep up with the demand. It’s important to note that the global impact of Covid-19 highlights the importance of keeping US suppliers and producers in business to ensure we can sustain the tuna supply for US consumers. It continues to be a struggle for the US tuna fisherman to stay in business. The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, as well as the continued burdens of the international fishing restrictions, has had a detrimental impact on both our US tuna fishermen and the American Samoan economy. In addition, these measures have had little or no impact on tuna conservation or the protection of sensitive marine habitats. Any interruption to the StarKist Samoa supply chain impacts our company’s ability to provide healthy seafood products to our US customers.”

Under US law, American tuna purse-seiners are stringently managed under regulations and enforcement regimes that are far more robust than those of other nations. Among the regulations for US purse-seiners is the requirement for vessels to carry fishery observers.

“The current situation poses critical problems for the operation of the US tuna purse-seine fleet on almost every level,” notes Bill Gibbons-Fly, executive director of the American Tunaboat Association (ATA). The nonprofit organization, established in 1917, represents the owners and operators of the US Pacific tuna purse-seine fleet and is the last true distant-water fishing fleet operating under US flag. “Most Pacific Island countries that provide observers have pulled those observers off boats and called them home,” Gibbons-Fly adds. “We expect others to follow. The increasing travel constraints throughout the Pacific are complicating efforts to get crew, repair parts, technicians and supplies to boats in a timely fashion. And some ports where the boats would offload or transship fish are simply closed to them. This combination of factors not only puts the immediate operations of the fleet at risk, but also raises questions about the ability of this industry, along with many others, to overcome the broader economic and social disruption caused by the current pandemic.”

For further information contact Gibbons-Fly at (410) 940-9385 or wgibbons-fly@atatuna.com; Archie Soliai, government and community relations manager, StarKist Samoa, and chair of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) at Archie.Soliai@StarKist.com; or Sylvia Spalding of the WPRFMC at (808) 383-1069 or sylvia.spalding@wpcouncil.org.

Western Pacific Council Recommends 2020 Bigeye Tuna Catch, Allocations for U.S. Pacific Territories

March 17, 2020 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council in Honolulu recommended that the federal catch limits for longline-caught bigeye tuna for the U.S. Territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for fishing year 2020 remain at 2,000 metric tons each and the allocation limits be up to 1,500 mt each with a cap of 3,000 mt overall.

Previously, the allocation limits were up to 1,000 mt for each Territory. The new allocation limits and cap ensure that the potential environmental impact remains the same while allowing the territories more flexibility in their allocation choices. The Council’s recommendation from last week’s meeting will be reviewed by the Secretary of Commerce for approval, according to a press release from the Council.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Meeting on Management of US Pacific Island Fisheries Next Week Allows Web Participation

March 9, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Members of the public concerned about the coronavirus can participate in next week’s 181st meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council by web conference. The public may also participate in person in the March 10 to 12 meeting 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the YWCA Atherton Hall, 1040 Richards St., Honolulu, and the associated Fishers Forum on Hawai’i fisheries from 6 to 9 p.m. in the upstairs ballroom at Aloha Tower Marketplace, 1 Aloha Tower, Honolulu.

Key agenda items for the meeting include annual catch limits for the bottomfish fisheries of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for fishing years 2020-2023; revisions to the list of federally managed bottomfish species in American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI; catch and allocation limits for longline-caught bigeye tuna in the US Pacific Island territories for fishing year 2020; and marine conservation plans for Guam, CNMI and the Pacific Remote Island Areas.

To participate by web conference: Go to https://wprfmc.webex.com/join/info.wpcouncilnoaa.gov. You may connect to the audio via the computer or telephone. If you use the telephone for the audio, sign into Webex via your computer first and look for the “call in” prompt to obtain the call-in instructions and a participant number.

Instructions for making public comment via Webex: Public comments will be taken at the end of each agenda section for items relevant to the applicable agenda section only. Comments on non-agenda items will be taken at 4 p.m. on March 10. To make a public comment, send a private chat message via Webex to the “host (Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council)” prior to the start of the public comment period of the applicable agenda section. Your name will be added to the public comment queue. Keep your audio connection muted until you are acknowledged by the chair to speak.

For more information on the meeting and Fishers Forum, go to www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars/ or contact the Council at info@wpcouncil.org or (808) 522-8220.

Bumble Bee pushing past scandal and bankruptcy with new partnerships and products

March 6, 2020 — Bumble Bee has emerged from years of tumult with a splash: A new owner, new product packaging, new product lines, and, perhaps most significantly, an industry-first partnership with a plant-based food producer, Good Catch.

The San Diego, California, U.S.A.-based tuna company’s travails of the past couple years are well-known. The company was fined USD 25 million (EUR 22.3 million) after pleading guilty in a tuna price-fixing scandal in 2017, then entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past November. In January, the company was bought by the Taiwanese company FCF Co. for USD 928 million (EUR 826 million), with which it has a 30-year business relationship.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Scientists to Address 2020 Bottomfish and Bigeye Tuna Catches for US Pacific Territories

March 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Scientists from throughout the Pacific will meet March 3 to 5 in Honolulu to discuss acceptable catch of bottomfish in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and catch and allocation limits for longline-caught bigeye tuna in Guam, CNMI and American Samoa. The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400. The meeting is open to the public.

Guam and CNMI Bottomfish Fisheries: The SSC is scheduled to set the acceptable biological catches (ABCs) for the Territories of Guam and CNMI bottomfish fisheries for fishing year 2020-2023. The ABCs will be based on the 2019 stock assessment of the fisheries, which is the best scientific information available. The assessment found the Guam bottomfish to be overfished but the fishery is not experiencing overfishing, and the CNMI to be neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. The ABCs will be based on the overfishing limit (OFL) reflected in the stock assessment minus any scientific uncertainties and will be used by the Council to set the annual catch limits (ACLs) for the fisheries. The Council is scheduled to meet March 10 to 12 in Honolulu to recommend the ACLs and address other matters.

Guam, CNMI and American Samoa Longline-Caught Bigeye Tuna: Conservation and management measures for Western and Central Pacific bigeye tuna are developed by the international Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). The WCPFC has developed specific national quotas for longline-caught bigeye tuna for six member countries, including the United States. However, no quotas are specified for small island developing states (SIDS) and territories (including American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI) in recognition of their aspirations to develop their fisheries. Although not required by the Commission, the Council developed quotas for the US Pacific Territories. Also established was a management framework that allows the US Territories to allocate a portion of their catch limits through Specified Fishing Agreements with US vessels permitted under the Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the purposes of responsible fisheries development in the Territories. The current catch limits are 2,000 metric tons (mt) per Territory of which up to 1,000 mt can be allocated. The SSC will review the bigeye longline catch and allocation limits and may make recommendations to the Council to adjust them.

Other items on the SSC agenda

  • American Samoa, Guam and CNMI Bottomfish Management: The original Bottomfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Western Pacific Region listed 20 fish species that dominated the landings, which included both shallow and deep-water species. The bottomfish were grouped into a single complex for management purposes. In 2009, the bottomfish management unit species (BMUS) were amended as part of the restructuring of the Council’s FMPs into place-based Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs). American Samoa, Guam and CNMI each had its own BMUS list, which continued to be treated as a complex for management purposes. The BMUS lists for the territories were most recently revised in 2018 when some MUS were designated as Ecosystem Component Species, which do not require ACLs. The territory bottomfish fisheries have evolved over time, which may warrant further amendments of the BMUS.
  • Rebuilding Plan: The release of the 2019 benchmark stock assessment for the territory bottomfish fishery triggered the development of a rebuilding plan for the American Samoa and Guam bottomfish that were considered overfished. This is the first rebuilding plan that will be developed for the region. The SSC is scheduled to discuss its role in the rebuilding plan development process and determine the scientific information needed to develop the plan.
  • Electronic Reporting: The SSC will review and make recommendations to the Council on reporting requirements, cost allocation, and data management of electronic reporting in the Hawaii longline fishery.

Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets March 10 to 12, 2020, at the YWCA Atherton Hall, 1040 Richards St., Honolulu. For agendas and briefing documents for the SSC, Council and related advisory body meetings, go to http://www.wpcouncil.org/public-meetings/ or contact the Council at info@wpcouncil.org or call (808) 522-8220.