Saving Seafood

PNA Tuna Fishery Receives MSC Recertification After IPNLF Objections

March 29, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The PNA tuna fishery has received their MSC recertification following concerns raised by the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF).

As we reported earlier this month, an independent adjudicator confirmed that the PNA skipjack tuna fishery continued to meet the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) standard for sustainable fishing. This inspection came after IPNLF presented 24 objections against the sustainable fishery, including that the fishery was involved in shark finning, a practice that the MSC had banned in 2013.

“This highlights the strength of the MSC process,” MSC Science and Standards Director Dr. David Agnew said in a press release following the Independent Adjudicator’s findings. “As a result of this objection, more information is now in the public domain about the PNA fishery, adding to the information in the published assessment report, and improving the transparency of the fishery’s management. This confirms that the PNA skipjack tuna fishery is a sustainable and well-managed fishery that has made considerable improvements over the course of its first MSC certificate. People buying labeled PNA tuna can be confident that their purchase is making a positive difference to the sustainability of our oceans.”

The MSC certificate is good for five years and confirms that the PNA free-school fishery meets the “robust criteria of the MSC.” In addition, free-school tuna caught in the Exclusive Economic Zone off Tokelau is now eligible for MSC certification under the new MSC certificate.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

 

Fight begins over fate of leatherback sea turtle

March 23, 2018 — Leatherback turtles are nature’s U-boats, 1,500-pound reptiles that can dive to depths of more than half a mile, snatch a jellyfish and stay submerged for more than an hour before resurfacing.

Protected as endangered species for nearly half a century, their Atlantic population soon may lose that status, in what is becoming a fight between commercial fishermen and conservationists.

The Blue Water Fishermen’s Association, which represents longline fishermen who catch swordfish, tuna and other big fish along the east coast, has petitioned the federal government to reclassify from endangered to threatened the northwest Atlantic population of leatherbacks, which crawl up on Florida beaches every spring and summer to lay eggs.

With the Pacific leatherback population crashing, they say the northwest Atlantic population should be classified separately so U.S. fishermen aren’t penalized for the failure of other countries to protect them.

“Right now the leatherback population of the Earth is considered to be one stock of turtles,” said Jack Devnew, president of the Blue Water Fishermen’s Association. “Things happen in a different part of the ocean, and our fishermen pay the price.”

European, Canadian and Pacific fishing fleets operate with fewer of the restrictions imposed by the U.S. government to prevent the accidental catch of sea turtles, he said. U.S. longline boats, for example, must use circle hooks, sharply curved hooks that are harder to swallow and have reduced their swordfish catch by 30 percent, he said.

Although leatherback populations in the Atlantic are generally increasing, with some fluctuations here and there, their outlook in the Pacific is far grimmer, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. In the western Pacific, they have declined more than 80 percent over the past three generations, and in the eastern Pacific, they have declined more than 97 percent. In Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico and other Pacific rim countries, people routinely dig up leatherback nests to eat their eggs.

Read the full story at the Sun Sentinel

 

Premium scallop line, rebranding effort part of the next chapter for Northern Wind

March 15, 2018 — New Bedford, Massachusetts-based seafood supplier Northern Wind, celebrated a milestone 30-year anniversary at the 2018 Seafood Expo North America event in Boston, Massachusetts. Company founders Ken Melanson and Michael Fernandes, along with Northern Wind’s co-CEO George S. Kouri, said they look forward to blossoming the success of Northern Wind even further in the years to come.

“We’re looking forward to the next chapter, because the first 30 years have been so robust and fruitful for the company,” Kouri said. “The next chapter for this company brings a lot of different opportunities for us – it brings opportunity for change; it brings opportunity to increase channels of distribution; it brings opportunities for new product sourcing; it brings opportunity for our re-branding efforts in packaging, re-facing the company in the image we want to project. It goes on and on, including Fair Trade.”

Besides scallops, the supplier has established a wide-ranging portfolio including ahi tuna, Atlantic salmon, North American lobster, monkfish, headfish, skate, and value-added seafood offerings. But the business has made its name with scallops.

“We have strict and strong historical relationships with vessels. We have state-of-the-art facilities with very well-financed capital improvements that enable us to process and produce probably more scallops than anyone in this industry,” Kouri said. “We’re very much known for our quality, our credibility, our loyalty to our supply side, and our customer service.”

A year ago, the company was the first scallop producer in the nation to receive Fair Trade certification. Building off demand from the foodservice sector for premium scallops, the company has launched its Captain’s Call Five-Star Premium Scallops.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

ISSF Skipper Workshops Reached Record-High Number of Tuna Fishers in 2017

March 15, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) Skippers’ Workshop programmarked its most successful year on record in 2017, reaching 794 participants, with tuna purse-seine skippers (457) and crew (238) comprising the majority (88 percent) of attendees. Other workshop participants included vessel owners and officials.

Since 2009, ISSF has been conducting workshops worldwide that unite fishers from tropical tuna fleets with scientists and other stakeholders to discuss methods for reducing shark and other bycatch, especially during Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) fishing. ISSF partners with Azti-Tecnalia, a Spanish technological research center for marine and food innovation, to conduct its skippers workshops.

Last year, ISSF added new workshop locations, including Zhoushan, China and Ambon, Makassar, and Manado, Indonesia. Eighteen skippers workshops were conducted across 10 different countries, covering fleets in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Eastern Pacific Ocean. Since their inception, ISSF workshops have attracted more than 3,000 participants — including more than 1,700 skippers, enough to put nearly two ISSF-trained fishers on each large purse seine vessel operating today.

Notable activities in and findings from 2017 workshops include:

  • Rising acceptance of biodegradable FADs to reduce marine debris, with initiatives like the one in the Indian Ocean, Project BIOFAD, with participation from Spanish and French fleets
  • Continued success in advancing the use of lower-entanglement-risk FADs and non-entangling FADs by fleets in three out of the four major tuna fishing regions
  • Wide acceptance of best bycatch release methods, with some fleets applying them daily
  • Fisher support for technology to remotely identify the presence of small bigeye and yellowfin tuna at FADs
  • Discussion of options to reduce FAD impacts, including limiting FAD numbers, FAD closures, or prohibiting supply vessels

Now in its second year, ISSF’s “Train-the-Trainer” program in Indonesia reached small-vessel tuna purse-seine captains in seven workshops. These local trainers will enable the program to reach more skippers in remote locations across the archipelago.

“Our skippers workshops continue to be the best method for ensuring that our research findings on FAD management and bycatch reduction result in positive shifts on the water,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “Not only are we able to share best practices as we gain more scientific knowledge, but we are also able to gain valuable insight directly from the fishers who spend their working hours fishing for tuna. It’s education that goes both ways.”

All 2017 successes are outlined in the recently published ISSF Technical Report ISSF Skippers’ Workshops Round 7. The report includes details on each 2017 workshop, photos, and graphs showing fisher participation and acceptance of best practices. It also features a “Novel ideas and improvements for mitigation activities” section.

Skippers’ workshop attendance fulfills the requirement for ISSF conservation measure 3.4.

About the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is a global coalition of scientists, the tuna industry and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) — the world’s leading conservation organization — promoting science-based initiatives for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks, reducing bycatch and promoting ecosystem health. To learn more, visit iss-foundation.org, and follow ISSF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (@issf.official).

 

Climate change threatens coastal life as we know it

March 9, 2018 — The Gulf of Maine is getting warm — quick. From 2004–2013, sea temperatures there rose faster than almost any other location on Earth.

Why it matters: The Gulf is home to a number of endangered species, and the fisheries there bring in several billion dollars per year to the U.S. and Canada, but the Gulf’s future hangs in the balance. Researchers are scrambling to understand what the warming water means for the people and animals who rely on the ecosystem, particularly as the changes there provide a glimpse into the future of coastlines around the world.

Why it’s warming

The Gulf of Maine lies at the intersection of several major ocean currents, including the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, which moves dense, cold water down and toward the equator. Fresh water from melting sea ice seems to be weakening this current, which could be causing the Gulf to warm faster than other regions.

A combination of cold winters, warm summers, and dramatic tides make the Gulf one of the most productive ecosystems in the ocean. It’s a critical habitat for right whales, seabirds like puffins, humpback whales, bluefin tuna and other species.

Read the full story at Axios

 

State of Tuna Stocks Worldwide Assessed in Comprehensive ISSF Report

Global tuna catch stays at 78% healthy level

March 8, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

Of the total tuna catch in 2016, 78% came from stocks at “healthy” levels, unchanged since last reported, according to a February 2018 International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) Status of the Stocks report. Skipjack tuna stocks — at healthy levels in all ocean regions — constituted more than one-half of the 2016 total catch.

One notable change in stock status in the February 2018 Status report is for Southern bluefin tuna, a stock that has moved from orange to yellow in abundance ratings. Stock abundance is low, about 13% of the unfished level. However, the stock is rebuilding continuously as a result of the implementation of a robust Management Procedure (a Harvest Strategy) by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, the regional organization in charge of managing the stock. In contrast, the Pacific bluefin stock, along with the Indian Ocean yellowfin stock and the Atlantic Ocean bigeye stock remain overfished. See Tables 1 and 2 in the report for specific rating changes.

There were no dramatic changes in tuna stock status since the previous November 2017 Status report; the updated report reflects new data made available at late 2017 tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) meetings.

Updated several times per year, Status of the Stocks assigns color ratings (green, yellow or orange) on stock heath, stock management, and ecosystem impact. The report ranks the 23 stocks of major commercial tunas around the world using a consistent methodology.

Key Statistics in the Report

  • Total catch: In 2016, the total major commercial tuna catch was 4.9 million tonnes, a 2% increase from 2015. More than half of the total catch (57%) was skipjack tuna, followed by yellowfin (30%), bigeye (8%) and albacore (4%). Bluefin tunas (3 species) accounted for only 1% of the global catch. These percentages changed only slightly from the Nov. 2017 reporting period. 
  • Abundance or “spawning biomass” levels: Globally, 57% of the 23 stocks are at a healthy level of abundance, 13% are overfished, and 30% are at an intermediate level.
  • Stocks receiving orange scores, indicating overfished status, include Atlantic Ocean bigeye, Pacific Ocean bluefin and Indian Ocean yellowfin.
  • Fishing mortality levels: 65% of the 23 stocks are experiencing a well-managed fishing mortality rate, and 13% are experiencing overfishing (with no change from the previous report).
  • Largest catches by stock: The three largest catches in tonnes are Western Pacific Ocean skipjack, Western Pacific Ocean yellowfin, and Indian Ocean skipjack.
  • Tuna production by ocean region: Most (53%) 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 (10%).
  • Tuna production by fishing gear: 65% of the catch is made by purse seining, followed by longline (12%), pole-and-line (8%), gillnets (3%) and miscellaneous gears (12%). These percentages changed only slightly from the Nov. 2017 reporting period.

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. The Status 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. This report ranks the status and management of the 23 stocks 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 Criteria (MSC) 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. Access the newly updated ISSF stock status ratings here.

 

Ray Hilborn: New study provides no new information on global fishing footprint

March 7, 2018 — University of Washington fisheries researcher Ray Hilborn said that a new study using satellite data from industrial fishing vessels to map global fishing effort fails to provide any new insight, despite media reports indicating otherwise.

The study, published in Science in February, used messages transmitted between 2012 and 2016 from the automatic identification systems (AIS) of more than 70,000 industrial fishing vessels to create a global footprint, concluding that “industrial fishing occurs in over 55 percent of ocean area,” according to the abstract.

But Hilborn said the vessels monitored for the study were in large part tuna boats over 100 feet, which have been monitored for decades.

“Most of the footprint data they have is from high-seas tuna fishing, because that’s really the only thing that goes on on the high seas. Maps of the tuna long-lining and seining distribution have been distributed as part of the standard operating procedure by the tuna RFMOs [regional fisheries management organizations] for decades. I remember looking at them 30 or 40 years ago. There’s nothing new about this – that tuna fishing goes on across much of tropical oceans and some of the temperate oceans,” Hilborn told SeafoodSource.

Not only is this not new information, Hilborn said, but it does little to measure the impact of trawling on certain ecosystems, which Hilborn said can be much more severe than high-seas fishing.

“A place that has had one long-line for albacore or big-eye tuna in five years is obviously not very heavily fished, he said. “But if you go to Southeast Asia, we can calculate how often the average piece of bottom is trawled a year. In the U.S., depending on where, it’s about once every three years. In Southeast Asia or India, they are trawled 10 to 20 times a year. That means the impact of fishing there is probably 1,000 times higher than it is on the high seas where someone once visited with a long-line boat.”

Furthermore, the trawling data provided in the new study, Hilborn said, overestimates the proportion of the sea-bed that is affected by 10 times. Hilborn and his team have just completed a five-year study that attempts to provide a finer-grained look at the impact of trawling by aggregating data from vessel-monitoring systems, logbooks, and on-board observations.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Blockchain Could Help Restaurants Make Sure the Seafood You Order Is Actually What You Get

March 6, 2018 — Fraud runs rampant in the seafood industry, but blockchain (the technology supporting the growing cryptocurrency market) could help ensure the fish you order in a restaurant is the fish that finds its way onto your plate.

In 2016, Oceana, an ocean conservation advocacy group, compiled a report drawing from 200 published studies on seafood fraud. Based on their findings, a whopping 20 percent of seafood is not labeled correctly. The problem extends to all corners of the globe and at all levels of the supply chain, from the people catching the fish to those distributing and selling it.

The seafood mislabeling infractions detailed in the report ranged from the relatively minor (a restaurant advertising wild salmon but serving a cheaper farmed salmon) to the downright disturbing: sushi chefs purposely mislabeling endangered whale meat as fatty tuna in order to smuggle it into the U.S.

The consequences of mislabeling pop up in global health, the economy, and conservation efforts. According to the Oceana report, the best way to combat them is by increasing traceability. The report asserts that a more detailed and transparent record of information about the fish as it moves along the supply chain could help decrease instances of mislabeling.

Blockchain could provide this record.

Tracking Seafood
Though most commonly associated with money, blockchain’s utility isn’t limited to the world of finance. At its core, the technology is simply a secure, transparent way to record transactions. A number of companies are looking for ways to apply it to the seafood supply chain.

In April 2017, Intel released a demonstration case study showing how Hyperledger Sawtooth, a platform for creating and managing blockchains, could facilitate seafood supply chain traceability. That study used sensors to track and record information about a fish’s location, temperature, and other characteristics as it moved from boat to restaurant.

In January 2018, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) announced their appropriately named Blockchain Supply Chain Traceability Project. Through that project, the WWF and their partners are cracking down on illegal tuna fishing by recording every step along the supply chain on a blockchain.

“Through blockchain technology, soon a simple scan of tuna packaging using a smartphone app will tell the story of a tuna fish — where and when the fish was caught, by which vessel and fishing method,” said WWF-New Zealand CEO Livia Esterhazy in a press release. “Consumers will have certainty that they’re buying legally-caught, sustainable tuna with no slave labor or oppressive conditions involved.”

Of course, getting everyone along the supply chain to agree to a new recording system might not be easy, and that’s why a blockchain-based seafood solution like Fishcoin could be useful. The idea behind that project is to reward people all along the supply chain for providing valuable data directly to those at the end of it.

For example, fishers in developing nations might send a restaurant or grocery store information on the seafood they caught. This triggers a smart contract that transfers a certain number of Fishcoins into those fisher’s crypto wallets. The fishers can then exchange those Fishcoins for something of value to them, such as prepaid cell phone minutes.

Most of these projects are still in the development stages, but should they take off, it could have far-reaching implications for global health, the economy, and, of course, your dinner plate.

Read the full story at Futurism

 

MSC: Ocean Naturals and Kraft Heinz Offer Sustainable, Traceable Tuna from Ocean to Plate

March 6, 2018 — SEATTLE — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Food service restaurants who serve Ocean Naturals brand tuna from Kraft Heinz are serving seafood that supports the fishermen and fisherwomen who are working hard to meet the world’s most rigorous standard for sustainable fishing. Kraft Heinz has achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody (CoC) certification for their skipjack and albacore tuna, which is sold to food service operators in the United States for tuna sandwiches and tuna salads.

Kraft Heinz has obtained Chain of Custody (CoC) certification demonstrating their commitment to the sustainability of the fishery. With CoC certification, they can provide restaurant operators with confidence in the sustainability credentials of the Ocean Naturals tuna supplied by The Tuna Store, a part of the Tri Marine Group, that they use in their sandwich and salad recipes.

“This is tuna with not only great sustainability credentials but also a very rich and compelling story about tuna dependent island communities catching and producing quality tuna products for the U.S. market, ” according to Joe Hamby CEO of The Tuna Store.

The MSC is an international non-profit organization, established to safeguard seafood supplies for the future. Recognized as the world’s leading certification program for sustainable, wild-caught seafood, the MSC works with leaders within the fishing industry and seafood sector to create a more sustainable seafood market.

All tuna served at dining institutions in the U.S. market that use Ocean Naturals tuna is sourced from a sustainable and well-managed fishery. Ocean Naturals Skipjack tuna now comes from the Solomon Islands and island cannery Sol Tuna while the Albacore is sourced from the Cook Islands fishery. Roughly 13 percent of the annual global harvest of wild-capture fisheries are MSC certified.

“We congratulate Kraft Heinz on attaining MSC Chain of Custody certification and joining The Tuna Store in providing sustainable tuna options in the U.S.” said Brian Perkins, MSC regional director, Americas. “The MSC sets robust and credible requirements for organizations handling MSC certified seafood, and we’re proud that The Tuna Store and Kraft Heinz are among those taking the lead in seafood sustainability.”

Because Ocean Naturals tuna is offered in food service establishments (i.e. – delis, cafeterias, food service restaurants, etc.), consumers may not be aware that they’re eating certified, sustainable seafood. Kraft Heinz intends on focusing on chefs, food operators, and buyers who can feel good about serving MSC-certified tuna and in turn passing the benefit on to the consumer.

About the MSC

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization. Our vision is for the world’s oceans to be teeming with life, and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations. Our ecolabel and certification program recognises and rewards sustainable fishing practices and is helping create a more sustainable seafood market.

The MSC ecolabel on a seafood product means that:

  • It comes from a wild-catch fishery which has been independently certified to the MSC’s science-based standard for environmentally sustainable fishing.
  • It’s fully traceable to a sustainable source.

More than 300 fisheries in over 34 countries are certified to the MSC’s Standard. These fisheries have a combined annual seafood production of almost nine million metric tonnes, representing 12% of global marine catch. More than 25,000 seafood products worldwide carry the MSC label. For more information visit www.msc.org

 

Independent Adjudicator Finds No Shark Finning Issue in PNA Tuna Fishery

March 2, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Following concerns brought up by the International Pole and Line Foundation, an Independent Adjudicator has confirmed that the PNA skipjack tuna fishery “continues to meet the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) standard for sustainable fishing.

Although the International Pole and Line Foundation raised a “number of concerns,” one of the bigger issues revolved around the group’s claim that the PNA skipjack tuna fishery is involved in shark finning. MSC had banned the practice of shark finning in 2013, and a ban was also put in place by the PNA governments. According to the MSC, shark finning now only occurs in “isolated cases.” The Independent Adjudicator dismissed the claims of shark finning in the fishery, saying that it is “unrealistic” to make a fishery ineligible for certification based on a single incident. An auditor has recommended that the PNA continue to prosecute shark finning offenders and maintain enforcement actions.

“This highlights the strength of the MSC process,” MSC Science and Standards Director Dr. David Agnew said in a press release. “As a result of this objection, more information is now in the public domain about the PNA fishery, adding to the information in the published assessment report, and improving the transparency of the fishery’s management. This confirms that the PNA skipjack tuna fishery is a sustainable and well-managed fishery that has made considerable improvements over the course of its first MSC certificate. People buying MSC labelled PNA tuna can be confident that their purchase is making a positive difference to the sustainability of our oceans.”

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.