Saving Seafood

Low consumer awareness of microplastics in fish, finds survey

April 15, 2019 — Forty percent of consumers are aware of the issue of microplastics in fish, according to a new survey conducted by land-based salmon farming company Pure Salmon. The recently-launched company’s analysis also found that 36.5 percent had knowledge of antibiotic use in sea-farmed fish.

The results are part of a survey of 2,000 consumers in the United Kingdom and United States. Consumers in each country were asked their opinions on issues ranging from microplastics in seafood to food miles and purchasing habits.

Pure Salmon said that while awareness levels around the environmental impact of sea farming were low, two-thirds of consumers in the same survey said they would be more likely to purchase fish that has been sustainably farmed. Sixty percent of those surveyed also said they would also pay more for fish with strong sustainable and environmental credentials.

The survey also found that when it comes to awareness of microplastics, U.K. consumers were ahead of the curve (55 percent awareness) compared to Americans (37 percent). Furthermore, 81 percent said it was either important or very important to understand where fish comes from when making purchasing decisions, and that 72 percent would be more likely to purchase fish if they knew it was produced close to their home, reducing food miles.

Pure Salmon was developed by investment firm 8F Asset Management Pte. Ltd.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Scottish minister urges seafood to grab trade opportunities, irrespective of Brexit

April 2, 2019 — While the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union will inevitably have an impact on Scottish seafood – with a lot of uncertainty surrounding trading relationships and the practicalities of exporting products – Fergus Ewing, cabinet secretary for the rural economy, is urging the sector to overcome these challenges and seize opportunities as they are presented.

Delivering the keynote address at the Scottish Seafood Summit in Aberdeen, Ewing stressed the importance of seafood to Scotland’s economy, and also the success of its exports, which have increased by 111 percent over the past 10 years.

Today, seafood accounts for 60 percent of Scotland’s food exports, compared to England’s 6 percent, he highlighted.

“We have a marvelous industry worth a huge amount of money – GBP 3 billion [USD 3.9 billion, EUR 3.5 billion] – it’s world-leading, as is the reputation we have for the quality of our produce and the cleanliness of our waters,” he said.  “This fuels success in the fish sector, but also spreads out to other parts of the food and drink sector; it enables other businesses to build on [the seafood industry’s] success worldwide. The seafood demand across the world is increasing – consumption has more than doubled in the past 50 years, and that can only increase [because] the amount of arable land is finite, and in almost every case is already being used. The potential to create more protein lies in the world’s seas and oceans.”

Ewing pointed out that almost 5,000 people work on Scottish-registered fishing vessels, while seafood processing provides over 8,000 jobs, and aquaculture, including the supply chain, supports more than 12,000 jobs, many of them in rural areas.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood import, export guidance issued for “no deal” Brexit

March 23, 2019 — Seafood importers and exporters in the United Kingdom have been told how catch certificates and export health certificates (EHCs) would operate if the country leaves the European Union without a withdrawal agreement in place.

Compiled by U.K trade body Seafish in response to enquiries from the industry, the advice relates to how catch certificates and EHCs will operate in the event of the so-called “no deal” scenario.

According to Seafish, the new catch certificate advice and changes to the EHC system may provide some flexibility for seafood imported to the United Kingdom from the E.U. and also for products exported to the bloc.

A catch certificate and supporting documents will be required, which must be validated by the country of export, for most consignments of wild-caught seafood imported from the E.U. or elsewhere and for direct landings of non-U.K. caught fishery products.

If the seafood imported to the United Kingdom has been stored, then a storage document from the exporter will be required. And if the seafood has been processed, a processing statement from the exporter is required that must be filled in by the processor and endorsed by the authority in the country of processing.

To ensure efficient clearance of a consignment, the original paper catch certificate to the port of entry in advance or at the time of the consignment’s arrival should be provided. If this is not possible, the importer should check with the port of entry, with Seafish advising that some ports may agree to release consignments if they are supplied with electronic catch certificate documents, provided that hard copies of those documents follow.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Failed Brexit vote cranks up uncertainty for seafood sector

January 16, 2019 — The crushing defeat of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed package for leaving the European Union has edged the country closer to the so-called “no deal” Brexit – the scenario most feared in seafood circles.

Members of parliament (MPs) yesterday rejected May’s deal by a majority of 230 (202 for and 432 against), inflicting the largest House of Commons defeat in British political history. And with just 72 days to go until Brexit, opposition MPs demanded that she extend Article 50 to give time for consensus to be found, while opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence in her government that will be voted on today, 16 January.

With May’s deal dead in the water and a solution to the deadlock proving elusive, the growing concern is that a no deal Brexit becomes more likely, and Jean-Claude Junker, president of the European Commission (EC), has said that such an outcome is looming. Meanwhile, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, has hinted at the need to reverse Brexit with a second referendum.

Should the current government survive the vote of no confidence, it might instead propose a new departure deal, which would probably require a complete renegotiation and a deadline extension. However, if nothing else happens then the default position is a no-deal Brexit.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

UK fishing industry faces ‘grave’ threat from new EU policy

January 2, 2019 — The United Kingdom’s fishing industry faces a “grave” threat from a new European Union policy due to be introduced on Tuesday, a House of Lords committee warned after hearing evidence on how fishing quotas will be enforced.

The new rules alter how discarded fish affect the quotas for each species. In the past, fish that were discarded would not count towards the total haul by crews. The new regulations mean that fishers must bring back their total haul, in a measure designed to reduce waste caused by dumping dead but unwanted fish.

Barrie Deas, the chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, described the rules, which will be phased in over a four year period, as “badly designed.”

According to evidence presented to the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment sub-committee, crews could reach their quotas for each year much earlier than before. That would mean they would have to stop their fishing until quotas were renewed.

Read the full story at Yahoo

The top seafood M&A stories of 2018

December 28, 2018 — Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is a topic that we’ve really developed our coverage of in the past couple of years, having seen the strong interest from our readers in the developing deals in what is surely one of the world’s most dynamic sectors.

Through the creation of our seafood M&A report in 2017 we developed a number of excellent sources, thanks to whom our coverage has come on leaps and bounds, as can be seen from the stories below, which were among our most-read of the year.

As mentioned in my rundown of our most-read retail and foodservice stories of 2018, two of the biggest stories of the year concerned M&A; one rumored, and one done deal.

In July, multiple sources told our Matilde Mereghetti that US broadline distributor Sysco Corporation was eyeing a deal for Italy’s largest seafood importer, MARR. The deal, if it goes ahead, would add a strong southern European component to Sysco’s business, sources said.

Sysco, based in Houston, Texas, moved into Europe in 2016, announcing a $3.1 billion acquisition for UK-based Brake Bros, which had previously snapped up France’s Davigel.

Sysco representatives had even visited Rimini-based MARR earlier in the year, according to Undercurrent News sources. The sources were not sure whether negotiations were going ahead or, if so, at what stage they were at. This may be one to keep an eye out for in 2019. MARR, however, recently denied there is a plan to sell.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Marine life worse off inside ‘protected’ areas, analysis reveals

December 27, 2018 — Destructive trawling is more intense inside official marine sanctuaries, while endangered fish are more common outside them, a startling analysis of Europe’s seas has revealed.

It shows that far from conserving sealife, many legal marine protected areas (MPAs) are being damaged by industrial fishing. The work has exposed “the big lie” behind European marine conservation, experts say, with most MPAs completely open to trawling.

The researchers were able to assess the activity of fishing vessels in great detail thanks to satellite tracking equipment that is now compulsory on ships. They compared this with scientific data on the health of sea areas and looked at more than 700 MPAs, covering 16% of Europe’s territorial waters. In total, MPAs cover 29% of Europe’s waters.

This revealed that commercial trawling activity was on average almost 40% higher inside MPAs than in unprotected areas. Furthermore, endangered and critically endangered fish species such as sharks and rays were five times more abundant outside the MPAs.

“It should be the reverse,” said Prof Boris Worm, at Dalhousie University in Canada, who led the research. “When something is called a protected area, it actually needs to be protected. We know that when areas are actually protected they deliver: species recover, biodiversity increases and fisheries benefit as well, as fish become more abundant and spill outside these areas.

Read the full story at The Guardian

EU fishing deal ‘far from acceptable’ to Scottish industry

November 20, 2018 — The industry had expected the UK to withdraw from the Common Fisheries Policy on the day of leaving the EU.

But the UK government has now agreed to be “consulted” on arrangements with the EU continuing to set quotas.

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation said it falls “far short of an acceptable deal”.

The UK government has denied betraying its promise to “take back control” of the UK’s fishing waters after Brexit.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said: “We have secured specific safeguards on behalf of British fishermen.”

He said the deal specified that in 2019 “there is a commitment that the UK’s share of the total catch cannot be changed”.

The spokesman added that, from 2020, “we’ll be negotiating as an independent coastal state and we’ll decide who can access our waters and on what terms”.

The UK and the EU said they had agreed on a “large part” of the deal that will lead to the “orderly withdrawal” of the UK.

Brexit negotiators Michel Barnier and David Davis said they had agreed terms for a transition period, calling the announcement a “decisive step”.

The transitional period is set to last from 29 March 2019 to December 2020, and is intended to smooth the path to a future permanent relationship.

Both the UK and the EU hope the terms of an agreement on the transitional period can be signed off by Prime Minister Theresa May’s fellow leaders at the EU summit this week.

Bertie Armstrong, of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said the Scottish industry did not trust the EU to look after its interests.

Read the full story at BBC News

 

Report: UK buyers fail to support coastal communities amid ‘sustainability’ concerns

June 13, 2018 — The lack of sufficient work on monitoring and certifying UK fish and seafood supply chain’s sustainability forces the country’s buyers to go overseas for species that could be sourced locally, according to Sustainable Fish Cities.

The report, also published in the Independent, claims UK fishers are losing out on markets worth an estimated £62 million because companies are buying-in sustainable fish from overseas, said Sustainable Fish Cities, pointing out that UK species not considered sustainable include some scallops, nephrops, seabass and halibut.

UK fish buyers are importing more sustainable varieties of fish traditionally caught in British waters from the US, Turkey, Greenland and South America rather than risk selling fish that is unsustainably caught from UK waters, Sustainable Fish Cities claimed.

“What a travesty that our fishers are losing out on so much business. Caterers in the UK want to buy UK fish and support our coastal communities but for some species they have no choice but to import from across the world to ensure that what they buy is sustainable,” said Ruth Westcott, co-ordinator of Sustainable Fish Cities.

“The government simply hasn’t invested enough in research, data collection, and monitoring of fishing vessels. Even if boats are operating sustainably, if there isn’t a good enough understanding of the fish stocks and impact on the environment the fishery can’t achieve sustainability certification or be considered ok to eat according to the Marine Conservation Society.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Will Alaska learn from salmon’s history?

April 5, 2018 — Fifteen years ago when I researched and wrote the book “King of Fish: The Thousand Year Run of Salmon,” I spent a lot of time looking at where societies got it wrong on salmon. That has made it all the more refreshing every time I have come to Alaska to enjoy a place that has gotten it right — so far. More than anywhere else in the world, Alaska has enabled its people to enjoy the rich and varied benefits that come with healthy salmon runs.

But it’s also clear to me that Alaska is at a crossroads in its salmon history. While many Alaskans can still depend on strong fisheries, the first serious signs of decline in locales across the state raise critical questions about the long-term health of Alaskan salmon. And if there’s anything to learn from the history of places where people have lived with salmon, it is to beware another “death by a thousand cuts” playing out in a blind march toward degraded habitat and dwindling runs.

Over the last 1,000 years, humans inadvertently conducted several full-scale experiments on how salmon fare when people make big changes to rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. The takeaway? A slow-motion train wreck with grim results for salmon in Great Britain and across Europe, then New England, and finally California and the Pacific Northwest.

Read the full story at the Juneau Empire