Saving Seafood

Why Freezing Didn’t Keep Sushi Tuna Safe From Salmonella

September 2, 2015 — A recent outbreak of Salmonella in frozen tuna might have sushi lovers wondering if it’s safe to eat that raw fish.

The outbreak in question began in California in March. All told, it sickened 65 people in 11 states. There were 35 cases in California, with another 18 in Arizona and New Mexico. The rest of the cases were scattered across the country, including four in Minnesota.

Most of the victims interviewed by public health investigators said they’d eaten sushi made with raw tuna in the week before they became ill. It was the Minnesota Department of Health that discovered the outbreak strains of Salmonella in some frozen raw tuna imported from Indonesia. The California importer, Osamu Corp., had shipped the frozen tuna to sushi restaurants and grocery stores that make sushi throughout the U.S.

In late August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the outbreak was over. But the agency warned that some of the recalled tuna might still be lurking in the freezers of restaurants uninformed about the outbreak, so people could still get sick.

Read the full story at New York Now

Tuna Fishermen and Boaters Advised to Watch Out for Whales

August 19, 2015 — NOAA Fisheries reminds all fishermen and boaters to keep a safe distance from whales. Whales can get hooked in tuna rigs or tangled in monofilament line. We recommend boaters keep a distance of at least 100 feet from all whales (and at least 500 yards from endangered North Atlantic right whales, as required by federal law).

 In recent years, we have received increasing numbers of reports of tuna fishermen trolling their gear too close to humpback whales. This can result in injuries to both the whales and the people.

 Humpbacks create bubble clouds to corral their prey, and then lunge through the center to swallow the small fish. Fishermen or boaters in these bubble patches run the risk of colliding with a massive 79,000-pound humpback whale as it rapidly approaches the surface. When a whale collides with a vessel, it can be gravely injured and die from its injuries. Collisions with whales have also thrown boaters from vessels, causing injuries and even death.

 In addition to the potential risk of a collision, the close proximity of a boat may cause a whale to stop feeding. All whales in U.S. waters are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which makes it illegal for people to harm, injure, kill, chase, or harass whales or any other marine mammal. Harassment includes any activity that results in changes to the whales’ natural behaviors, such as feeding. Penalties for Marine Mammal Protection Act violations are fines of up to $20,000 and up to one year in prison. In addition, some whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act, such as North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales, and fin whales.

 Get more information on safe boating near whales.

‘Wicked Tuna’ fisherman pleads not guilty to fraud

August 10, 2015 — A Gloucester fisherman featured on the reality show “Wicked Tuna” pleaded not guilty Monday in Vermont to federal fraud charges that he collected government benefits while claiming to be disabled.

The indictment handed down last month says Paul Hebert, 50, of Gloucester, and Barre, Vt., accepted more than $44,000 in Social Security and Medicaid benefits between 2010 and 2013.

Prosecutors say while Hebert was seen manning big fishing rods and harpooning huge fish on the National Geographic Channel reality show, he was at the same time claiming he was unable to work, with no income, no vehicle and no assets. They say during that period he was actually living with a woman and his child, owned a vehicle, and, at one point, a home.

Hebert appeared in court Monday in Burlington, Vt., where he entered the plea.

If convicted Hebert faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each of four counts in the indictment.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

Powerful typhoon kills 11,000 farmed tuna in Japan: reports

Tokyo, Japan (AFP) — July 24, 2015 — A powerful typhoon which lashed Japan last week has killed more than 11,000 farmed bluefin tuna, costing over $10 million in damage, local media said Saturday.

Typhoon Nangka made landfall in southwestern Japan on the night of July 16 and slowly moved northward before turning into a tropical depression.

Torrential rain and gusts of wind wreaked havoc in various parts of western Japan, also causing high waves and clouding sea water in the fish farm near the Pacific coastal town of Kushimoto, Kyodo News and the Asahi newspaper reported.

Read the full story from the Agence France-Presse at Business Insider

‘Wicked Tuna’ star steps up for charter fleet

July 17, 2015 — Say what you want for the potential for over-exposure after four years chasing large fish on the small screen, but the “Wicked Tuna” brand still holds a certain cache.

Just ask Tom Orrell of Gloucester-based Yankee Fleet.

On Wednesday, for the second consecutive year, Orrell ran a special Yankee Fleet charter fishing trip featuring “Wicked Tuna” mainstay and Beverly native Dave Marciano. And for the second year in a row, it was a raging success.

“It really went wonderfully,” Orrell said Thursday. “Everybody caught a lot of fish and everybody came home ecstatic. We’ve already booked it for next year.”

Orrell said he had about 50 fishermen aboard the 100-foot long Yankee Freedom and they spent much of the day catching haddock and redfish. They even got up close and personal with a porbeagle shark.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

Pew Wants Global Trade Ban on Pacific Bluefin After IATTC Fails to Agree on Conservation

SEAFOODNEWS.COM — July 6, 2015 — The Pew Charitable Trusts wants global fishery authorities to explore the possibility of banning the international trade for Pacific bluefin tuna after no additional conservation measures for the fishery were agreed to during the 89th meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) that took place between June 22 and July 3 in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

According to Pew the Pacific bluefin tuna population remains in a severely depleted state: It is overfished, and overfishing continues on a stock that is at 4 percent of its unfished levels. The Group has repeatedly called for IATTC to develop and mandate the use of a cost-effective tool to combat IUU fishing among member the countries. However, no progress was made on gaining consensus during the meeting.

“The failure the IATTC to agree to reduce catch limits or adopt a long-term rebuilding plan for Pacific bluefin tuna leaves the species at risk of population collapse,” said Amanda Nickson, director of global tuna conservation for The Pew Charitable Trusts. “It is high time to look at the prohibition of international trade through the Convention on International Trades in Endangered Species [CITES] as a means to protect this highly depleted species.”

There were a few regulatory measures agreed to during the meeting that Pew did support.

Mexico announced it will reduce its catch of Pacific bluefin by 250 metric tons next year, which would bring the overall harvest closer to scientifically recommended levels according to Pew. Other countries could also choose to act outside of the Commission process and implement additional conservation measures.

IATTC members reached consensus on a proposal to protect mobulid rays, which are vulnerable to overfishing. The measure prohibits the retention of rays caught incidentally – with exemptions for some artisanal vessels – and outlines a range of techniques that help fishers with live release.

“This is a good week for mobulid rays in the eastern Pacific,” Nickson said. “Overfishing is a major threat to the survival of these important populations and the measure that is now in place will increase the opportunity for rays to survive getting caught up in fishing gear.”

Meanwhile, IATTC members had been discussing proposals on a regional standard for port State measures since 2010 but have not reached an agreement. Port State measures are a highly efficient and cost-effective tool to ensure transparency in the sector and dis-incentivize illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

“Right now the government agency responsible at any given port has no international obligation to inspect a vessel known to have engaged in nefarious activities. This is a major loophole and it has been left wide open for too long. While individual nations can take action, only regional cooperation will bring about measurable change,” Nickson said.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.

Fed fishery council calls for better terms for tuna catches

June 23, 2015 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is calling for improved terms in the South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT) for the Pago-based purse seiner fleet. Winding up its 163rd meeting on Thursday in Honolulu, the Council made several recommendations to address increasingly restricted catch limits on US purse seine and longline vessels in the Western and Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

In a press statement made over the weekend, the Council recognized that the combination of the US high seas purse-seine effort limits by the international Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the removal of historic levels of fishing days in Kiribati waters available under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT) may be resulting in reduced supply of tuna offloaded directly to the Pago Pago canneries by US purse-seine vessels.

The Council recommended that NMFS and the State Department improve the current terms of the SPTT with regards to Pago Pago-based US purse seiners. The Council also recommended that NMFS consider developing regulations that would allow fishing effort or catch from Pago Pago-based US purse vessels to be attributed to American Samoa but without an increase in bigeye landed by these vessels.

Read the full story at Samoa News

 

International Seafood Sustainability Foundation Releases Annual Report, Shares Results of Diverse Stakeholder Collaboration

June 25, 2015 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) released its annual report today Driving Change through Collaboration, which outlines progress and achievements for tuna sustainability in 2014 and lays out the various needs for continuous improvement of global tuna fisheries through collaboration and advocacy. The report also emphasizes efforts to encourage industry engagement, including efforts by ISSF participating companies to comply with ISSF conservation measures and commitments.

“Important steps were taken in 2014 to help ensure the longevity of tuna stocks and the greater marine ecosystem, but we also saw inaction in some fisheries that could have distressing impacts on stocks down the road,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson.

“In order for ISSF to continue to work towards its mission and encourage better management, we’ll need to continue to collaborate with stakeholders and governing bodies to get things done from a policy perspective and to move forward on market incentives, strengthened compliance and monitoring and data collection tools – in addition to other efforts capable of changing the status quo.”

Read the full release here