Tuna Archives - Page 49 of 58

US tuna fishing company fined USD 1.6 million for illegal waste dumping

November 3, 2016 — U.S.-based tuna fishing company Pacific Breeze Fisheries, LLC, has been accuised by the U.S. Department of Justice of discharging oily waste into South Pacific waters near American Samoa and of maintaining false records of the events, leaving the company on the hook to pay a USD 1.6 million (EUR 1.44 million) fine, according to a report from Ship and Bunker.

The tuna company admitted that on two separate occasions, one in 2014 and the other in 2015, its engineers released oily bilge water into American Samoan waters, and then failed to properly document the acts. Pacific Breeze also admitted that its senior engineers did not properly document instances of oil waste disposal in the ship’s Oil Record Book from the period between October 2014 and July 2015, according to court documents.

Pacific Breeze will pay USD 400,000 (EUR 360,644) to the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, in addition to the USD 1.6 million (EUR 1.44 million) fine. While the company does not currently manage any active fishing vessels, it has vowed to implement “an ‘extensive’ environmental compliance plan should it resume operations,” reported Ship and Bunker.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

International Seafood Sustainability Foundation Announces New & Amended Conservation Measures on FADs, Product Traceability, Fishing Capacity Management

November 2, 2016 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

Washington, D.C. — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) announced today the adoption of new and amended conservation measures to facilitate continuous improvement across global tuna stocks and to reflect ISSF participating companies’ commitment to driving positive change. The measures address the use of non-entangling fish aggregating devices, or FADs; product traceability; and fishing capacity management — directly impacting how nearly thirty global seafood companies do business with vessels on the water, at the processing plant, and in the marketplace.

“When it comes to the global tuna fishing, industry must play a leading role in ensuring the long-term sustainability of global tuna stocks,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “With as much as 75 percent of the world’s tuna processing capacity conforming to multiple measures for sustainability best practices — and being transparently audited against those measures — ISSF can make real progress toward its goal of sustainable fisheries for the long term.”

Non-entangling FADs: Mitigating Bycatch in Tuna Fisheries

Scientific studies show that FADs, when constructed with materials such as loose old netting, can entangle vulnerable species such as sharks. To address this issue, ISSF scientists developed the ISSF Guide for Non-Entangling FADs. Research indicates that vessels fully implementing non-entangling FADs can completely eliminate shark entanglement — saving many thousands of sharks across ocean regions. While some tuna fisheries management organizations have already made the transition from traditional FADs to non-entangling FADs, others have not.

To support of the global transition to non-entangling FADs, ISSF adopted Conservation Measure 3.5 Transactions with Vessels that Use Only Non-entangling FADs. The measure stipulates that ISSF participating companies “conduct transactions only with those purse seine vessels whose owners have a public policy regarding the use of only non-entangling FADs” and that the policy should refer to the ISSF Guide for Non-Entangling FADs. The measure became effective October 18, 2016 and vessel owners have six months from that date to develop and publish their policies, which must require deployment of only non-entangling FADs within twelve months.

Product Labeling: Expanding a Commitment to Tuna Traceability

Adequate tuna product traceability records are necessary to enforce compliance with existing and future conservation measures, and also to eliminate illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. Formalizing a commitment by the world’s leading tuna companies to make this information publicly available strengthens industry transparency.

ISSF adopted Conservation Measure 2.3 Product Labeling by Species and Area of Capture, which states that participating companies will identify 1.) all species of tuna and 2.) the ocean of capture for tuna contained in a product on all labeling or through a publicly available web-based traceability system, for all branded tuna products. The measure applies to all product labeling as of January 1, 2018.

Committed to Effective Capacity Management

“Unmanaged fishing capacity is the quickest path to overfishing. We continue to be concerned that there are too many tuna fishing boats on the water, causing overfishing of some tuna stocks,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson.

“That’s why ISSF has refined and expanded its capacity management conservation measures, through which the tuna industry — following scientific and environmental group recommendations — is urged to do business with only those vessels that already are on the water, unless new vessels are replacing existing boats that are taken completely out of service.”

ISSF announces new conservation measures in support of its existing capacity measures 6.1 Transaction Ban for Large-Scale Purse Seine Vessels not Actively Fishing for Tuna as of December 31, 2012 and 6.2(a) Requirements for Inclusion in Record of Large-Scale Purse Seine Vessels Fishing For Tropical Tunas. The new measures address investments in and purchases from purse seine vessels not in compliance with the preceding capacity measures.

The first of those new measures, 6.2(d) Investment in Purse Seine Vessels Not in Compliance with ISSF Conservation Measures 6.1 and 6.2(a) states that ISSF participating companies that are investors in any new vessel that does not meet all of the conditions in Conservation Measures 6.1 and 6.2(a) shall buy out and scrap existing capacity of large-scale tuna purse seine vessel(s) that corresponds to the full capacity of the new vessel. “New vessels” includes vessels owned, partially or fully:

Directly or indirectly by any ISSF participating company, or
Directly or indirectly by any individuals who hold controlling interests of any ISSF participating company.

The second of the new capacity measures, 6.2(e) Purchases From Purse Seine Vessels in Fleets With Other Vessels Not in Compliance with ISSF Conservation Measures 6.1 and 6.2(a), states that participating companies shall refrain from transactions in tuna caught by large-scale purse seine vessels owned by business organizations or individuals that also own large-scale purse seine vessels not in compliance with measures 6.1 and 6.2(a).

Finally, in additional support of efforts toward capacity management, ISSF amends one of its conservation measures regarding the ISSF ProActive Vessel Register (PVR). If purchasing tuna from large-scale purse seine vessels, ISSF participating companies must ensure that 100% of those vessels are on the PVR. Further, measure 7.2 Threshold Requirement for PVR Listing states that to be listed on the PVR, all large-scale purse seine vessels must be in compliance with all ISSF capacity measures and listed on the ISSF Record of Large Scale Purse Seine Vessels.

Amendments to Measure 7.2 Threshold Requirement for PVR Listing now stipulate that, in order to be listed on the PVR:

All large-scale purse seine vessels owned by the same business organization shall be in compliance with all ISSF capacity measures and listed on the Record.
If a large-scale purse seine vessel is not in demonstrated compliance, any and all large-scale purse seine vessels owned by the same business organization will not be eligible to be listed on the Record, and if those vessels are already on the Record, they will be removed.

All ISSF conservation measures are available for review in full at: http://iss-foundation.org/knowledge-tools/publications-presentations/conservation-measures-commitments/

HAWAII: Fishermen Catch 11% More Bigeye Tuna Despite Overfishing Status

October 27, 2016 — U.S. commercial fishermen hauled in 2.5 million pounds more bigeye tuna last year than they did in 2014, landing almost all of it out of Honolulu, according to a federal report released Wednesday.

Bigeye landings in 2015 totaled 25.8 million pounds, an increase of nearly 11 percent compared to last year.

And that tuna was worth a bit more too, averaging $3.17 per pound in 2015, up from $3.08 in 2014, according to the most recent Fisheries of the United States report by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Overall, U.S. commercial fishermen landed 32 million pounds of seafood last year operating out of Honolulu, the 27th highest nationally by weight.

But that seafood — mostly bigeye tuna, which fetches top dollar in local sashimi markets and high-end restaurants — was worth $97 million, making it the sixth-highest catch in the country by value.

Bigeye tuna continues to be subject to overfishing, however. It’s one of 28 stocks on the federal overfishing list. Only 9 percent of fishing stocks monitored by the feds are subject to overfishing, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

13 Benefits of Taking Fish Oil

October 20, 2016 — Fish oil is one of the most commonly consumed dietary supplements.

It’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are very important for your health.

If you don’t eat a lot of oily fish, taking a fish oil supplement could help you get enough omega-3 fatty acids.

Here is an evidence-based guide to fish oil supplements and their health benefits.

What Is Fish Oil and Why Should You Care?

Fish oil is the fat or oil that’s extracted from fish tissue.

It usually comes from oily fish such as herring, tuna, anchovies and mackerel. Yet sometimes it’s produced from the livers of other fish, as is the case with cod liver oil.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends eating 1–2 portions of fish per week. This is because the omega-3 fatty acids in fish provide many health benefits, including helping protect against a number of diseases.

But if you don’t eat 1–2 portions of fish per week, fish oil supplements can help you get enough omega-3s.

Tuna fisheries can be profitable and sustainable, MSC says

October 7, 2016 — On 14 September, SeafoodSource published an article reviewing a scientific paper written by Producers’ Association of Large Tuna Freezers (OPAGAC), a Spanish industry organization, criticizing the policies of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in regard to fish aggregating devices (FADs). MSC responded with a letter to SeafoodSource addressing the reasons behind its policies. SeafoodSource replied to MSC to ask three follow-up questions regarding issues not explicitly discussed by the organization in its letter. Here are MSC’s responses:

SeafoodSource: Does MSC consider the use of FADs an “unsustainable” method of fishing?

MSC: Certification to the MSC Fisheries Standard is based on comprehensive assessment of the impacts of a particular fishery and the environment within which it operates. Therefore, because of the variations in the impacts that different FADs and fishing techniques can have in different marine environments, the MSC Fisheries Standard does not include specific requirements for FAD use, nor does it prohibit the use of FADs. However MSC requirements that any impacts on bycatch species are sustainable mean that fisheries using FADs with high or unknown levels of bycatch can struggle to achieve certification. There are currently no purse seine fisheries certified to the MSC Fisheries Standard for tuna caught using drifting FADs. However, there are some purse seine fisheries on free schools (“unassociated” with floating objects) that are certified, and two MSC certified fisheries which catch tuna associated with anchored FADs.

Read the full interview at Seafood Source

Marine Reserve Expansion Shuts Out Commercial Fisheries

September 29, 2016 — With the stroke of a pen on a proclamation backed by the authority of the 110-year-old Antiquities Act, President Barack Obama on August 26 created the world’s largest marine reserve off the coast of Hawaii’s northwestern islands.

The process leading to the controversial designation drew pods of politicians, colonies of conservationists and preservationists, schools of commercial fishermen, a siege of lobbyists, and runs of followers on both sides into a territorial showdown. It was hailed as a United States ocean policy triumph, but Hawaii’s commercial fishermen – the longline tuna fishery in particular – lost a sizeable chunk of their traditional fishing grounds.

“This is a hallowed site and it deserves to be treated that way from now on,” Obama said in announcing the expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. “It will be preserved for future generations.”

While the strand of tiny islands and atolls within Papahānaumokuākea are uninhabited, the sweep of ocean surrounding them teems with life, and is vital to native Hawaiian culture.

Originally created in 2006 by President George W. Bush and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 – the only such US site and one of only 35 worldwide – the expansion boosts the protected area from 139,797 to 582,578 square miles by extending most of the boundary to the 200-mile limit of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). It provides what supporters deem “critical protections” for pristine coral reefs, deep sea marine habitats, and important ecological resources. Researchers say the site is home to more than 7,000 species of flora and fauna, with 25 percent of its creatures found nowhere else in the world’s oceans. The area is also a center of significant traditional and cultural resources for native Hawaiians, and historically contains shipwrecks and downed aircraft from the Battle of Midway, which marked a major shift in the war in favor of the Allies.

Read the full story at Fishermen’s News

How Foreign Crews Are Able To Work Aboard US Fishing Boats

September 22, 2016 — Foreign crew members reportedly working in slave-like conditions for monthly wages as low as $350 would not have found their way onto Hawaii’s longline fishing boats without an exemption carved into the law almost 30 years ago, according to longtime industry leaders, federal officials and government records.

Today, almost all the vessels in the longline fleet have entirely foreign crews.

It wasn’t always that way.

As the Cold War was coming to an end in the late 1980s, there was a push to “Americanize” the country’s fishing fleets by instituting requirements similar to those imposed under the Jones Act on vessels engaged in coastwise trade — namely, that U.S.-flagged ships be built in the U.S. and crewed by U.S. citizens.

Congress passed a bipartisan bill to that effect, and President Ronald Reagan signed it in 1988 as the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Anti-Reflagging Act.

But the legislation exempted commercial fishermen fishing for highly migratory species, such as tuna and swordfish, from the law’s requirement that U.S. citizens comprise at least 75 percent of each crew.

At about the same time, the longline industry — then comprised of just a few dozen vessels — and more established purse seiners were leaving the West Coast to set up shop in Hawaii and Pacific Island territories.

They left because of depleted stocks and, in the case of purse seiners, pressure to stop killing so many dolphins.

The purse seiners were setting their huge nets, up to 500 yards deep, around schools of tuna near pods of dolphins. It created a national controversy that led to new restrictions and “dolphin-safe” tuna.

The longline boats, which catch fish by extending miles of line with thousands of hooks, initially remained strictly crewed by U.S. citizens. This changed as the fleet grew and it became harder to find local residents willing to work on the boats. Fuel prices also soared after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, adding to operational costs.

This spurred the longliners to take advantage of the foreign-crew exemption that had been pushed by members of Congress from the West Coast who were looking after the purse seiners’ interests, said Jim Cook, who co-owns several longline fishing vessels, a marine supply store and fish restaurant at Pier 38 in Honolulu.

“It slowly infiltrated our fleet,” he said.

The longline industry now includes roughly 140 vessels, nearly all of which are ported in Honolulu, and most have entirely foreign crews, according to industry leaders and federal officials.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

The Majority of the Tuna Catch Comes from Abundant Stocks, But Overfishing of Some Stocks Continues

September 22, 2016 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The global commercial catch of tuna — a valuable, natural protein food source — reached 5 million tons in 2014, an increase from 4.6 million in 2013, according to the ISSF Tuna Stock Status Update – 2016 (Status of the World Fisheries for Tuna) report just published by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). The report can be downloaded from the ISSF Status of the Stocks page. Tuna accounts for approximately 6% of the world’s 81.5-million-ton marine catch.

The skipjack tuna species accounted for 57% of the tuna catch, followed by yellowfin (27%), bigeye (9%), albacore (6%) and bluefin (1%). Purse seine vessels harvested 64% of the tuna, followed by longline methods (12%), pole-and-line (9%), gillnets (4%) and miscellaneous fishing gear types (11%).

The ISSF report indicates that 77% of the total volume of tuna catch worldwide in 2014 was from stocks at a “healthy level of abundance.” Previous Tuna Stock Status Update reports showed 78% of tuna catch from healthy stocks in 2014 (from a preliminary report in February 2016), 87% in 2013, 86% in 2012, and 94% in 2011.

From a perspective of tuna stocks, 44% of tuna stocks globally are at a healthy level of abundance, and 39% are overfished. Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) bigeye tuna, for example, continues to be slightly overfished and was downgraded from a Green (healthy abundance) rating to a Yellow (intermediate) rating since the previous February 2016 report. Other overfished stocks were Western Pacific Ocean (WPO) bigeye, Atlantic Ocean (AO) bigeye, and Indian Ocean (IO) yellowfin.

Tuna Stock Status Update also reports on tuna management measures recently enacted by tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). Significant newly adopted measures covered in the report include the adoption by the IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) of harvest control rules (HCRs) for skipjack tuna, as well as a plan for rebuilding the overfished IO yellowfin stock. The IATTC (Inter-American-Tropical-Tuna-Commission, in the EPO) also adopted an HCR for tropical tuna species.

“While 77% of the world’s tuna catch comes from healthy stocks, it is important to remember that there are four stocks — representing 13% of the catch — that are being overfished,” explains Dr. Victor Restrepo, ISSF Vice President, Science. “Even though there are management measures in place for them, these measures are proving to be insufficient to end overfishing — and a greater effort is required.”

Presidential Proclamation — Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument

September 16, 2016 — The following was released by the White House:

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

For generations, communities and families have relied on the waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean and have told of their wonders. Throughout New England, the maritime trades, and especially fishing, have supported a vibrant way of life, with deep cultural roots and a strong connection to the health of the ocean and the bounty it provides. Over the past several decades, the Nation has made great strides in its stewardship of the ocean, but the ocean faces new threats from varied uses, climate change, and related impacts. Through exploration, we continue to make new discoveries and improve our understanding of ocean ecosystems. In these waters, the Atlantic Ocean meets the continental shelf in a region of great abundance and diversity as well as stark geological relief. The waters are home to many species of deep-sea corals, fish, whales and other marine mammals. Three submarine canyons and, beyond them, four undersea mountains lie in the waters approximately 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod. This area (the canyon and seamount area) includes unique ecological resources that have long been the subject of scientific interest.

The canyon and seamount area, which will constitute the monument as set forth in this proclamation, is composed of two units, which showcase two distinct geological features that support vulnerable ecological communities. The Canyons Unit includes three underwater canyons — Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia — and covers approximately 941 square miles. The Seamounts Unit includes four seamounts — Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever — and encompasses 3,972 square miles. The canyon and seamount area includes the waters and submerged lands within the coordinates included in the accompanying map. The canyon and seamount area contains objects of historic and scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government. These objects are the canyons and seamounts themselves, and the natural resources and ecosystems in and around them.

The canyons start at the edge of the geological continental shelf and drop from 200 meters to thousands of meters deep. The seamounts are farther off shore, at the start of the New England Seamount chain, rising thousands of meters from the ocean floor. These canyons and seamounts are home to at least 54 species of deep-sea corals, which live at depths of at least 3,900 meters below the sea surface. The corals, together with other structure-forming fauna such as sponges and anemones, create a foundation for vibrant deep-sea ecosystems, providing food, spawning habitat, and shelter for an array of fish and invertebrate species. These habitats are extremely sensitive to disturbance from extractive activities.

Because of the steep slopes of the canyons and seamounts, oceanographic currents that encounter them create localized eddies and result in upwelling. Currents lift nutrients, like nitrates and phosphates, critical to the growth of phytoplankton from the deep to sunlit surface waters. These nutrients fuel an eruption of phytoplankton and zooplankton that form the base of the food chain. Aggregations of plankton draw large schools of small fish and then larger animals that prey on these fish, such as whales, sharks, tunas, and seabirds. Together the geology, currents, and productivity create diverse and vibrant ecosystems.

Read the full proclamation at the White House

Tarr: Marine monument punishes fishermen

September 16, 2016 — Creating the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument is a needed response to dangerous climate change, oceanic dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices, President Barack Obama said Thursday.

But state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, said the designation “singled out commercial fishing for more punishment.”

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains about 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod.

Gov. Charlie Baker said he is “deeply disappointed” by Obama’s designation of an area off the New England coast as the first deep-sea marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, a move the Swampscott Republican’s administration sees as undermining Massachusetts fishermen.

The monument area includes three underwater canyons and four underwater mountains that provide habitats for protected species including sea turtles and endangered whales.

Fishing operations

Recreational fishing will be allowed in the protected zone but most commercial fishing operations have 60 days to “transition from the monument area,” according to the White House. Red crab and lobster fisheries will be given seven years to cease operations in the area.

Tarr said the designation marked a missed opportunity to “balance conservation and support for commercial fishing.”

“In New England, we have one of the most highly regulated fishing industries in the world, and we have had a steady decline in the amount of area available to fish, and it should be a last resort to take away more area as opposed to trying to carefully draw the lines of this monument area,” Tarr told the State House News Service.

The marine protections will hurt red crab, swordfish, tuna, squid, whiting and offshore lobster fisheries, according to the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, which said industry representatives offered White House aides alternative proposals that would have protected coral habitat while still allowing fishing in some areas.

“The Baker-Polito Administration is deeply disappointed by the federal government’s unilateral decision to undermine the Commonwealth’s commercial and recreational fishermen with this designation,” Baker spokesman Brendan Moss said in an email. “The Commonwealth is committed to working with members of the fishing industry and environmental stakeholders through existing management programs to utilize the best science available in order to continue our advocacy for the responsible protection of our state’s fishing industry while ensuring the preservation of important ecological areas.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times