Saving Seafood

Tuna lab leaving Gloucester, Mass.

Lutcavage, colleagues to work out of UMass Boston

October 6, 2017 — For the first time in almost seven years, the highly-regarded Large Pelagics Research Center affiliated with the University of Massachusetts no longer has a Gloucester address.

The center, which has performed groundbreaking and internationally acclaimed research on the spawning habits and habitats of Atlantic bluefin tuna, closed up shop Thursday at its most recent home — the Americold-owned building at 159 E. Main St. in East Gloucester.

Americold has been actively shopping the site for months and recently informed the center it would have to vacate its office space by the end of October. Molly Lutcavage, the founder and executive director of the center, and Tim Lam, an assistant research professor, didn’t bother waiting until the end of the month.

“It’s sad to think that we won’t have a Gloucester presence anymore,” Lutcavage said. “For now, I guess we’ll be working out of our houses and garages.”

The center has been forced to navigate some rough seas in the past few years, changing its affiliation within the University of Massachusetts system and being forced out of its original facility at Hodgkins Cove, where it had been housed since 2011.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Copepods: Cows of the Sea

October 6, 2017 — If you look very closely at a glassful of water from a bay or the ocean, you would probably be surprised by the life inside. You might see miniature crustaceans the size of the period at the end of this sentence or baby crabs and fish that spend only a short span of their lives this small. These creatures are zooplankton, aquatic animals that drift with the currents.

It’s the Little Things 

These tiny animals form the basis of the food web of estuaries, coastal waters, and oceans. Zooplankton feed on microscopic plant-like organisms called phytoplankton, which get their energy from the sun. Tiny crustacean zooplankton called “copepods” are like cows of the sea, eating the phytoplankton and converting the sun’s energy into food for higher trophic levels in the food web. Copepods are some of the most abundant animals on the planet.

Fish such as anchovies cruise through the water with their mouths wide open, filtering copepods and other zooplankton from the water. Anchovies and other planktivores (plankton-eaters) are prey for bigger animals, like tuna, sharks, marine mammals, and seabirds.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries GARFO

Trump Plan to Open Up Monuments Draws Industry Praise, Environmentalists’ Ire

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is also moving to expand fishing, hunting at national monuments

September 21, 2017 — More than 100 miles off Cape Cod, a patch of the Atlantic Ocean conceals four undersea mountains, three canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, and serves as a refuge for the world’s most endangered sea turtle.

It also supports a buffet of tuna and swordfish vital to the livelihood of New Jersey fisherman Dan Mears, whose lines have been banned from the zone since former President Barack Obama designated the area as the Atlantic’s first federal marine preserve last year.

But the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts could reopen to commercial fishing if President Donald Trump enacts the recent recommendations of his Interior Secretary to reduce protections of land and sea preserves known as national monuments.

“I couldn’t believe it when they cut that off,” said Mr. Mears, 58, of Barnegat Light, N.J., who owns the 70-foot fishing vessel Monica, and estimates he lost about one third of his catch after the area was closed to him and other types of commercial fishing last year. “It’s going to be huge if we can get that back.”

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, whose department manages federal lands, is making major moves to open up protected swaths of land and ocean to industry, recreational hunting, shooting and fishing.

In Hawaii, Mr. Zinke’s recommendation to allow fishing in the Remote Pacific islands about 300 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands could increase the catch there by about 4%, said Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longline Association.

“That may not sound like much, but if you cut your salary by 3% or 4% it’s a big deal to you,” Mr. Martin said. “Certainly this will have economic importance to us.”

Read the full story at the Wall Street Journal

MASSACHUSETTS: Abundant Peanut Bunker Contributes to a Great Season for False Albacore

September 15, 2017 — Anyone who’s been walking down by the water these days along the south side of the Cape, or on the Vineyard, has probably noticed a lot of boat activity on the water and plenty of fish action. What’s it all about? Most likely, it’s false albacore.

False albacore arrive in our waters in the late summer. They’re fast fish, related to tuna. We see them in the size range of 8-12lbs.  They’re notorious for their good eyesight, for being very picky about what they strike, and for driving fishermen crazy.

It’s been a great season so far for albies.  One likely reason is the plentiful numbers of baitfish known as peanut bunker. Peanut bunker are juvenile menhaden, and false albacore love to eat them.

Read the full story at WCAI

Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna earns MSC certification

September 7, 2017 — The following was released by the Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna

After an in-depth assessment by independent auditors, the Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna (PAST) –  comprised of four leaders in the Mexican tuna industry Grupomar, Herdez del Fuerte, Pesca Azteca, and Procesa – has achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. The assessment, which included detailed stakeholder consultation and independent adjudication, concluded that the fleet of 36 purse seine vessels meets the high bar of sustainability set by the MSC Fisheries Standard.

Widely recognized as the world’s most rigorous and credible assessment of wild fishing sustainability, the MSC Fishery Standard is founded on three principles: healthy fish stocks, minimizing impact on the wider marine environment, and effective fishery management.

The detailed sustainability assessment of the Northeastern Tropical Pacific purse seine yellowfin and skipjack tuna fishery was carried out by the accredited third-party certification body, SCS Global Services, and included extensive review by scientists, peer review, and stakeholder consultation.

Brian Perkins, MSC regional director – Americas, said: “Nearly 30 years of actions to minimize impacts on the oceans by the Northeastern Tropical Pacific purse seine yellowfin and skipjack tuna fishery have been recognised through the MSC assessment process. PAST’s bold actions to address tough environmental challenges have been transformative. We believe this is the kind of progress that MSC was designed to inspire.”

Sustainable fishing practices

The fishery operates in compliance with all requirements of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the Regional Fishery Management Organization. Importantly, the fishing fleet adheres to the Agreement on International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP), a legally binding multilateral agreement between fishing nations within the IATTC with conservation objectives.  All of PAST’s fishing vessels have an independent observer on board to ensure continued compliance. Additionally, in June 2015 PAST withdrew voluntarily from fishing Pacific Bluefin tuna, a species that is overfished, for a seven-year period.

Each team of fishermen works proactively to minimize impact on the ocean ecosystem including aiming for 100% live release of all non-target species. Their efforts include using a specially designed net that incorporates a fine mesh safety panel, known as the “Medina Panel,” which allows non-tuna species to swim clear of the net. The industry also employs highly specialized and trained divers to assist any remaining dolphins with escaping the net prior to lifting the net.

Mariana Ramos, Executive Director of the Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna said: “Our members – Grupomar, Herdez del Fuerte, Pesca Azteca, and Procesa – are driven by sustainability and dedicated to providing ocean-safe tuna to their customers and to continuing to make a difference for oceans. The MSC certification is one more way we can demonstrate to our customers that our tuna is fished in a highly sustainable manner.”

Commitments to safeguard the environment and livelihoods

As part of achieving MSC certification, PAST has committed to a comprehensive sustainability action plan, which includes: further dolphin protection measures including investments in regular net alignment practices as a means to reduce the risk of dolphins becoming entangled, and other training in best practices across the fleet; significant financial investment in an international research program to assess dolphin populations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean; zero retention and maximum live release program for all sharks and rays; and active stakeholder engagement in building more transparency in fisheries across Mexico.

The fishery provides over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and economic opportunities in many communities in the Americas and US$ 750 million in productivity to the Mexican economy.

30 years of actions

Since the 1980s, concern for the impacts of purse seine fishing in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (EPO) drove international governments and NGOs to sign a series of transformative conservation agreements focused on sustainability. One of the most significant of these is the 1999 Agreement on the AIDCP, focused on the sustainability of fishing in the EPO and the protection of dolphin populations through science-based regulation, concerted improvement of fishing practice, and independent monitoring by onboard scientific observers.

The AIDCP was awarded the Margarita Lizárraga Medal by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2005 for its “unqualified success” in protecting dolphins and ensuring the sustainability of fishing in the EPO. Under this agreement, which requires 100% coverage by onboard scientific observers to monitor compliance, fishers work proactively to ensure the live release of non-tuna species including dolphins. Data shows that between 1985 and 1997 dolphin mortalities as a result of purse seine fishing in the EPO fell by 99%.

Objections process

In the final stage of this assessment an independent adjudicator (IA) reviewed the certifier’s determination in light of concerns raised by World Wildlife Fund Germany (WWF). The IA upheld the certifier’s determination that the fishery met the MSC Fisheries Standard.

Download factsheet and timeline

Download assessment documents from msc.org

Video about the AIDCP

 

WCPFC committee, IATTC reach agreement to rebuild Pacific bluefin tuna population

September 5, 2017 — Representatives from countries that fish for Pacific bluefin tuna have reached an agreement on a long-term plan to restore the species’ population.

However, while conservationists applauded the pact, they said they now want to see the countries follow up their words with action.

The pact between members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s Northern Committee and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission was announced at the conclusion of the Northern Committee’s 13th Regular Session the morning of Friday, 1 September in Busan, South Korea. Details include:

  • Establishing a target goal of 20 percent of Pacific bluefin tuna’s historic population by 2034. Conservation officials said that would represent a seven-fold increase in the biomass over the next 17 years.
  • Maintaining catch quotas for the next seven years, and approving any increases in the limit only if there was a high probability it would not impact the targeted population goal.
  • Developing a plan by 2020 to reduce the amount of illegally caught Pacific bluefin tuna from entering the market.

The Northern Committee will recommend the WCPFC approve the measure at a meeting in December.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Study negates concerns regarding radioactivity in migratory seafood

September 5, 2017 — When the Fukushima power plant released large quantities of radioactive materials into nearby coastal waters following Japan’s massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami, it raised concerns as to whether eating contaminated seafood might impair human health—not just locally but across the Pacific.

A new study by an international research team shows that those concerns can now be laid to rest, at least for consumption of meat from migratory marine predators such as tuna, swordfish, and sharks.

The team focused on cesium, a silvery metal with a large number of radioactive isotopes. Two of these, 134Cs and 137Cs, form when uranium fuel breaks down in nuclear reactors. The cesium isotopes are of particular concern because they were discharged in large quantities following the disaster, exhibit relatively long half-lives (2.1 and 30 years respectively), and tend to accumulate in the muscle tissues that people like to eat.

However, the team’s sampling of tissues from predatory fishes and other large vertebrates collected across the northern Pacific between 2012 and 2015 revealed no detectable levels of 134Cs, and 137Cs concentrations that were generally consistent with background levels from aboveground nuclear testing during the 1940s and 50s. They collected the animals from waters near Japan, Hawaii, and California.

Read the full story at Phys.org

Tuna-fishing nations agree on plan to replenish severely depleted Pacific bluefin stocks

September 1, 2017 — TOKYO — The world’s Pacific bluefin tuna won something of a reprieve Friday, when tuna-fishing countries reached an agreement to gradually rebuild severely depleted stocks while still allowing nations such as Japan to catch and consume the delicacy.

Japan — by far the world’s biggest consumer of bluefin, eating about 80 percent of the global haul in the $42 billion tuna industry — had been resisting new rules, while conservationists have warned about the commercial extinction of bluefin in the Pacific Ocean.

Proponents of limits hailed the deal as a compromise that everyone could live with.

“It’s definitely a good first step towards the recovery of the species,” said James Gibbon, global tuna conservation officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts. “But it is only the first step. There are a lot of commitments that the countries agreed to, and we need to make sure they stick to them.”

At the week-long meeting in Busan, South Korea, the two bodies charged with shared management of Pacific bluefin — the northern committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission — hammered out a plan to try to put the fish back on a path to sustainability. Countries represented at the meeting included the United States, Canada, China, South Korea and Japan.

The Pacific bluefin population has been depleted by more than 97 percent from its historic high, because of overfishing.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Nonprofits ramp up campaign to increase protections for Pacific bluefin tuna

August 25, 2017 — Ahead of an international conference scheduled next week to discuss rebuilding the Pacific bluefin tuna population, several organizations and influential leaders have urged countries to act quickly to stop what they claim is a steep decline in the species’ numbers.

For years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch initiative has urged people to avoid the fish because of its low numbers, but the campaign has picked up steam in advance of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s Northern Committee 13th Regular Session in Busan, South Korea, scheduled to begin on Monday, 28 August. Those involved in the week-long talks centered on conservation measures for the Pacific bluefin tuna include the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan, with the latter country being the most dominant market for the species.

Among those speaking out included former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who said the current situation not only threatens the ecology but the economy as well.

“Unsustainable fishing isn’t just the enemy of conservation, it’s the enemy of fishermen everywhere,” said Kerry in a statement on the aquarium’s blog. “We know we can do better. That is why we should all be invested in the difficult task of turning things around and getting Pacific bluefin tuna on a path to recovery.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

It’s Not Okay To Sell Tuna Under The Radar Or Without A Permit

August 24, 2017 — The following is excerpted from an article published Tuesday by Fissues.org, a project of the Marine Fish Conservation Network:

As we get into the thick of tuna season right now, and plenty of “large-medium” and “giant” class bluefin tuna are being caught by anglers around Cape Cod, and “small mediums” as well as good-sized yellowfin in the New York Bight, I thought it more than appropriate to say this…

It’s not okay….

It’s not okay for an angler to take his or her bluefin, or yellowfin, or bigeye or any fish for that matter and sell it to the local restaurant through the back door… for freak’n gas money. Unfortunately, this kinda thing happens pretty regularly up here. Don’t tell me that it doesn’t, because I hear the bragging frequently.

And don’t tell me that it’s a victimless crime. The hard-working full-time commercial fishermen are the first to get screwed. But it’s the consumer as well, who ends up eating a fish that hasn’t been properly cared for without knowing the risks (in the case of tuna, it needs to be flash frozen so as to get rid of parasites). And the fish? Well, none of that backdoor stuff gets reported so we have no idea the scale of such removals… And that affects how these fish are managed and ultimately the long-term sustainability of the stock.

Let’s be crystal clear about one thing. You cannot legally sell tuna to anyone but a federally permitted HMS (Highly Migratory Species) dealer and you aren’t supposed to do so without the proper federal permits and state landing permits.

Under no circumstances are those backdoor sales legal.

But really, that’s not the main reason I felt compelled to write this.

What’s starting to become a big problem is the HMS “Charter/Headboat” permit, which inexplicably allows anyone with such permit running a charter to sell their bluefin, as long as they are of commercial size (73”-plus).

So here’s the deal… If I understand the intent of the permit correctly – and I’ve discussed with NOAA HMS, so I think I do – you can’t run both a commercial and charter fishing trip at the same time. Directly from HMS Permit FAQs site: “This permit allows a vessel to fish both commercially for tunas and recreationally for HMS, although not on the same day.” 

Read the full story at Fissues.org