June 8, 2021 — America’s maritime economy is firmly in the black, according to the first-ever ““blue economy” report from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
According to the report, released Tuesday, 8 June, the marine economy generated USD 397 billion (EUR 326 billion) to the United States’ gross domestic product in 2019. That sector grew at a 4.2 percent clip from 2018, nearly double the growth of the country’s entire GDP over the same timeframe.
June 8, 2021 — The following was released by the United Nations:
An unprecedented analysis of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) events worldwide over the past 33 years was launched today by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
The first-ever global statistical analysis examined roughly 9,500 HABs events over 33 years and found that the harm caused by HABs rises in step with growth of the aquaculture industry and marine exploitation and calls for more research on linkages.
Conducted over seven years by 109 scientists in 35 countries, the study found that reported HAB events have increased in some regions and decreased or held steady in others. A widely-stated view that HABs are on the rise throughout the world, perhaps due to climate change, isn’t confirmed.
However, the study, “Perceived global increase in algal blooms is attributable to intensified monitoring and emerging bloom impacts,” published in the Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment, creates the world’s first baseline against which to track future shifts in the location, frequency and impacts of HABs, which differ depending on which of the 250 harmful marine algae species is involved and where, requiring assessment on a species-by-species and site-by-site basis.
Databases mined
The scientists mined both the global Harmful Algae Event Database (HAEDAT), consisting of 9,503 events with one or more impacts on human society, and the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) database, containing 7 million microalgal observation records, including 289,668 toxic algal species occurrences.
The study found that regionally-recorded HAB events, after being corrected for higher levels of monitoring effort, have
Increased:
* Central America/Caribbean
* South America
* Mediterranean
* North Asia
Decreased:
* West Coast America
* Australia/New Zealand
No significant change:
* East Coast America
* South East Asia
* Europe
The 9,503 event impacts on humans break down as follows:
* 48% involved seafood toxins
* 43% high phytoplankton counts and/or water discolorations with a socio-economic impact
* 7% mass animal or plant mortalities
* 2% caused other impacts (including foam and mucilage production, prominent in the news in recent days: Turkey struck by ‘sea snot,’ The Guardian: https://bit.ly/2RnBRs2)
(As well, in 11% of events, a single incident had multiple impacts, e.g. both water discoloration and mass mortality)
Of the event records linked to seafood toxins:
* 35% were Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PST)
* 30% Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxins (DST)
* 9% Ciguatera Poisoning (CP)
* 9% marine and brackish water cyanobacterial toxins
* 7% Amnesic Shellfish Toxins (AST)
* 10% others, including Neurotoxic Shellfish Toxins (NST), Azaspiracid Shellfish Toxins (AZA), and toxic aerosols
By region, the largest number of records came from, in order:
* Europe
* North Asia
* Mediterranean
* The east and west coasts of North America
* Caribbean
* Pacific/Oceania
* Southeast Asia
With more limited data sets for South America, and Australia/New Zealand
All geographic regions were impacted by multiple HAB types, but in varying proportions.
* 50% of regional HAEDAT records in the Caribbean, Benguela, Mediterranean Sea, North and South East Asia related to high phytoplankton density problems.
* Seafood toxins and fish kill impacts dominated in all other regions
Among toxin-related impacts:
* Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PST) prevailed in North America, the Caribbean, South America, South East Asia, and North Asia
* Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxins (DST) were the most frequently recorded in Europe and the Mediterranean (and are an emerging threat in the USA)
Neurotoxic Shellfish Toxins (NST) were confined to the US State of Florida, with a single outbreak also reported from New Zealand
* Human poisonings from Ciguatera were prominent in the tropical Pacific, the Indian Ocean, Australia and the Caribbean.
For the most part, however, the impacts were confined to shellfish harvesting area closures; rarely to human poisonings. The exception: Ciguatera event records are almost exclusively based on medical reports of human poisonings.
HAB events over time
Eight of nine regions used in the study showed increases in reports logged via HAEDAT of harmful events per year, of which six were statistically significant.
The OBIS dataset, meanwhile, generally showed an increase in sampling effort in five of the nine regions.
When all the information was combined, the researchers could find no statistically significant global trend overall.
They also found, however, that aquaculture production increased 16-fold from a global total 11.35 million tonnes of seafood in 1985 to 178.5 million tonnes in 2018, with the largest increases occurring in Southeast Asia and South America/Caribbean and Central America, with North America and Europe stabilising.
The number of recorded harmful algal bloom events over time was strongly correlated with intensified aquaculture production in all regions with data suitable for the study.
However, says lead author Gustaaf M. Hallegraeff of the University of Tasmania: Intensified aquaculture clearly drives an increase in HAB monitoring efforts essential to sustaining the industry and protecting human health.
“And, just as clearly, a secondary effect of aquaculture is nutrient pollution. But a major data gap exists here. Conducting a meta-analysis of HABs vs aquaculture we had data on HAB monitoring efforts using OBIS records as a proxy but data on nutrient pollution is inadequate. The relationship between aquaculture-related nutrients and HABs therefore represents an important direction for further research.”
Greater monitoring efforts
The study revealed:
* A 4-fold increase from 1985 to 2018 in observations of organisms mainly responsible for Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (84,392 OBIS records)
* A 7-fold increase in observations of organisms mainly responsible for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (128,282 OBIS records)
* A 6-fold increase in observations of organisms mainly responsible for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (9,887 OBIS records)
(Note: Some observations may include non-toxic species or strains.)
In each case, the clear increase in the number of observations of problematic organisms paralleled an increase in records of associated toxic syndrome impacts.
They also found that the presence of toxic HAB species doesn’t always accurately predict cases of human shellfish poisonings, which the study credits to the food safety risk management strategies in many affected countries. Some 11,000 non-fatal events related to Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning were reported worldwide, mostly from Europe, South America and Japan, with impacts consisting mostly of shellfish harvesting area closures.
Also, the study says, despite widespread distribution of the responsible algal species, there have been no human fatalities from Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning since the original 1987 incident in Prince Edward Island, Canada (150 illnesses, three fatalities). But ASP-associated mortalities of important marine mammals are of growing concern in Alaska and other parts of western North America, and ASP toxins have been linked to marine mammal calf mortalities in Argentina.
Of the world’s 3,800 human Paralytic Shellfish Poisonings from 1985 to 2018, the largest number (2,555 from 1983 to 2013, including 165 fatalities) occurred in the Philippines, which depends strongly on aquaculture for human food protein.
DNA and other advanced detection methods have improved knowledge of the global distribution of ciguatera- causing organisms. Ciguatera poisonings, rarely fatal but annually affecting 10,000 to 50,000 people, have been decreasing in Hawaii and remained stable in French Polynesia and the Caribbean but constitute a new phenomenon in the Canary Islands.
Farmed fish killed by algal blooms largely a human-generated problem
Aquacultured finfish mortalities account for much greater economic damage than HAB-contaminated seafood. Notes the study: wild marine finfish can simply swim away from blooms but those held captive in intensive aquaculture operations are vulnerable. Recorded losses include US $71 million in Japan in 1972, $70 million in Korea in 1995, $290 million in China in 2012, and $100 million in Norway in 2019.
A 2016 Chilean salmon mortality event caused a record $800 million loss, causing major social unrest.
Again, the presence of fish-killing HAB species doesn’t accurately predict economic losses, the study shows. For example, Heterosigma blooms occur on the west and east coasts of Canada and the US, but fish mortalities are mostly confined to the west coast. In large part, the difference reflects the differences between sites where blooms occur and the relative location and size of aquaculture operations.
A harmful algae species that caused no problems in Australian lagoons killed 50,000 caged fish in Malaysia in 2014. It is now also known in Japan and the Philippines.
The authors note that some troublesome algal species may thrive, others decline, as ocean waters warm and acidify.
Commentary
“There has been a widely-stated contention that HABs worldwide are increasing in distribution, frequency or intensity, so a quantitative global assessment is long overdue,” says lead author Prof. Hallegraeff of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania.
“While some of the HAB literature over the past 30 years has handpicked selected examples to claim a global increase and expansion in HABs, this new big data approach shows a much more nuanced trend,” he adds.
“Our study concludes that the health and economic damages caused by harmful microalgae — seafood poisoning, water discolouration that blights tourism, and the death of finfish in aquaculture operations, for example — differ between regions.”
Adds co-author Adriana Zingone: “We also found that overexploitation acts as a natural multiplier of the effects of HABs, leading to an increase in impacts independent of an actual trend in HABs.”
“It should be noted that over the last 40 years capacity and monitoring efforts to detect harmful species and harmful events have also increased, thus increasing the reporting of harmful events across the world’s seas,” she says.
“The absence of events and decreasing trends, like all negative results, are rarely published. Whether or not HABs are increasing globally, however, their impacts are a growing concern all around the globe.”
Says co-author Henrik Oksfeldt Enevoldsen: “As the human population continues to increase in tandem with resource demands, HABs will predictably constitute a serious threat in terms of seafood safety and security, a hindrance to recreational uses of the sea, and a problem for the tourism industry.”
“Occurrences of harmful species over time and their human impacts can be expected to change locally, regionally and globally alongside the effects that climate, hydrography and human pressure impose on the coastal environment.”
“Understanding the trends and distribution patterns of harmful species and events at multiple spatial and temporal scales will help predict whether, where and when to expect HABs, their frequency and intensity. This knowledge is fundamental for effective management of HABs and to optimise the uses and values of the maritime space in coastal areas.”
Johan Hanssens, Secretary-General Flanders Department of Economy, Science and Innovation, a sponsor of this report, concluded: “This status report is a very timely reminder, at the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, that a thorough understanding of natural and ecological processes in the ocean is crucial for the development of the blue economy, now that many coastal countries are turning to the sea for additional resources, including food provisioning. International scientific collaboration is essential and most efficient to address the associated challenges.”
June 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Every day, the United States works with our partners across the world to confront illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. IUU fishing activities hurt law-abiding U.S. fishermen and their consumers, damage economies of developing coastal nations, and threaten marine resources. The global economic impact resulting from these activities is in the billions, or even tens of billions, of dollars each year. Furthermore, IUU fishing is sometimes linked to criminal activity, such as human trafficking, including forced labor, drug trafficking, smuggling, and other forms of transnational crime. Wherever it occurs, IUU fishing undermines global maritime rules-based order, which has been essential to global prosperity and development for the last 70 years.
June 5 marks the annual United Nations International Day for the Fight Against IUU Fishing. This day raises awareness of the impact of IUU fishing as one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of the world’s ocean resources. IUU fishing refers not only to illegal fishing activities, but also the often overlooked, but equally important U’s in IUU fishing activities. Unreported and unregulated fishing refers to fishing activities that are not reported, insufficiently regulated, or are misreported to relevant authorities. This hinders the ability for scientists to fully assess the health of fish stocks and endangers our food security.
Tackling all these issues requires particular, concerted action by different agencies and different operational and legal frameworks. It also includes a large net of coordination among regional fisheries management organizations, foreign governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Department of State recently began implementing a law which advances a “whole-of-government” strategy to fight IUU fishing.
The Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act (SAFE) Act was passed in December 2019. It directed twenty-one federal agencies to establish a central forum to coordinate and strengthen their efforts—the U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing. This Working Group set up mechanisms for agencies to:
During its first year, member agencies developed an initial set of priorities and activities that included creating specific sub-working groups to collaborate on issues such as maritime intelligence, public-private partnerships, and human trafficking. The Working Group continues to conduct a series of outreach engagements with industry and the private sector. Moving forward, the Working Group will engage with various public and private stakeholders on building coordinated approaches in the priority regions where the Working Group has determined that IUU fishing issues are prevalent.
Combating IUU fishing is a top priority for the United States, and communication, collaboration and strategic coordination will be key in bringing about tangible results. The efforts of the Interagency Working Group now sit at the heart of our government’s coordination on tackling IUU fishing practices and setting the conditions where IUU fishing is neither accepted nor commonplace in the future. We are committed to continue working together on best practices and sharing results across agencies and partnerships to encourage their further adaptation and replication.
June 2, 2021 — The following was released by The White House:
The world’s ocean basins are critical to the success of our Nation and, indeed, to life on Earth. The ocean powers our economy, provides food for billions of people, supplies 50 percent of the world’s oxygen, offers recreational opportunities for us to enjoy, and regulates weather patterns and our global climate system. During National Ocean Month, we celebrate our stewardship of the ocean and coasts, and reaffirm our commitment to protecting and sustaining them for current and future generations.
My Administration is dedicated to improving our Nation’s public health by supporting resilient ocean habitats, wildlife, and resources in which all Americans rely on. Through our “America the Beautiful” initiative, we are working with State, Tribal, and local partners to conserve at least 30 percent of United States lands and waters by 2030 — so that our natural world can continue to supply the food, clean air, and clean water that every one of us depends on to survive. We are also committed to supporting safe, plentiful, and sustainable seafood harvesting for domestic consumption and export, and reducing public health risks such as harmful algal blooms that have proliferated as a result of climate change and the acidification of our waters.
The ocean has always been essential to our economy, and that will remain true as we build back better and develop the clean industries and good jobs of the future. My plan to dramatically expand offshore wind energy over the next 10 years will provide good-paying union jobs and a sustainable source of clean energy. Investing in resilient, reliable coastal infrastructure — including modern ports and waterways — that can withstand the impacts of rising seas and powerful storms will keep our economy competitive in the global marketplace while making our families safer. Conserving and restoring coastal wetlands and habitats will also strengthen our efforts to tackle climate change, improve the resilience of coastal communities, and help restore nursery areas that are important to our fisheries. Investing in our fishing communities and supporting local seafood supply options will also be critical to helping us build a climate-resilient, sustainable ocean economy.
Climate change is a global challenge that is integrally linked to the ocean. By protecting our ocean and coastal ecosystems and resources, we are also protecting the worldwide economies and people that depend on them. To address these challenges, we are building on our Nation’s long legacy of ocean exploration and research to gain new insights into ocean ecosystems and biodiversity and ways the ocean can sequester and store carbon. Marine life, changing ocean conditions, and plastic and other pollution pay no attention to national boundaries. That is why we must focus on a worldwide approach to conservation and sustainability. In collaboration with our international partners, my Administration will continue America’s global leadership in ocean science, stewardship, and conservation. Our engagement in international efforts, such as the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, reflects the priorities and values of my Administration to ensure that ocean science delivers greater benefits for the American people, the people of the world, and international ocean ecosystems.
My Administration is also committed to delivering climate justice, including ensuring equitable access to our ocean and coasts for all Americans — and working to ensure that Indigenous Americans, Black Americans, and other people of color are no longer forced to shoulder disproportionate climate and environmental burdens, as they historically have. My Administration will work hard to further break down the barriers many communities of color face by creating new opportunities to diversify ocean-related access and workforces. We will also equip educators with tools to teach our Nation’s youth how to become a powerful generation of ocean stewards.
It is imperative that we take proper action now to ensure that the ocean continues to thrive. During National Ocean Month, we recognize the central role of a healthy ocean in sustaining all of our lives, and pledge to find innovative ways to conserve, protect, and restore our ocean.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2021 as National Ocean Month. I call upon Americans to take action to protect, conserve, and restore our ocean and coasts.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty‑one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.
May 27, 2021 — Global Fishing Watch, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the sustainability of our ocean through increased transparency of human activity at sea, is seeking to improve science-based management of marine protected areas with a new digital tool aiming to “revolutionize [the] ability to dynamically monitor and conserve marine ecosystems.”
On 27 May, it formally launched its Global Fishing Watch Marine Manager, a technology portal that will allow regulatory authorities and researchers to monitor vessels involved in commercial fishing and other activities, such as vessels involved in tourism, oil drilling, and shipping. Vessel information can be overlaid with other datasets in the portal, including environmental such as salinity and sea surface temperatures, according to Global Fishing Watch CEO Tony Long.
May 20, 2021 — The Second World Ocean (WOAII) Assessment, launched in April, serves as an important tool to aid in policy making for world leaders. As part of the United Nation’s Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the States of the Marine Environment, the effort behind creating the assessment relies on the expertise of hundreds of co-authors and leading experts worldwide.
The report details new research, gaps in knowledge, and current knowledge about the state of the world’s oceans and the many pressures they are under, as described by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his speech for the launch event for the report.
Peter Auster, UConn Research Professor Emeritus of Marine Sciences and Senior Research Scientist at Mystic Aquarium, was one of the expert co-authors of the report. He recently met with UConn Today to answer some questions about the latest state of the ocean assessment.
May 13, 2021 — According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one-third of fish stocks are overfished while another 60% cannot sustain increases in fishing, a problem exacerbated by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It doesn’t have to be this way, and a recent study suggests that States can better detect and curtail IUU fishing through improved sharing of fisheries information.
One reason overfishing is such a persistent problem is that fishing vessels frequently operate across international boundaries, and many governments lack the technological, operational, and institutional capacity they need to collect, analyze, and share information about what’s happening in their waters.
The benefits of information sharing
The study, by the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), found that sharing fisheries data—including which vessels are operating where and how—can make the involved States both more aware of and more able to combat IUU fishing. This finding holds even when only one government shares such information, unreciprocated.
Such cooperation could be enormously helpful, for example, when a vessel flagged to one country fishes in another’s waters and then offloads the catch in the port of a third State. The benefits grow as countries increase the amount of information shared.
May 5, 2021 — The following was released by FishWise:
FishWise, a non-profit sustainable seafood consultancy, released an enhanced Roadmap for Improving Seafood Ethics (RISE) today, an exciting stride toward socially responsible seafood.
Labor issues are a significant and growing concern for the seafood sector, and protecting workers is essential for maintaining public trust and resiliency in supply chains. Overlooking human rights impacts in supply chains can create devastating consequences for the workers impacted and the businesses’ value and viability.
The RISE website (RiseSeafood.org) offers businesses a free one-stop-shop to:
1) learn about human rights risks;
2) find easy-to-use guidance tailored to their operations;
3) and identify organizations that can support them in their journey.
“The seafood industry stands at an inflection point, with social responsibility becoming a business imperative,” said Lori Bishop, Social Responsibility Division Director at FishWise. “Businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights, and RISE provides clear pathways to protect workers and lead positive change.”
RISE was created two years ago by FishWise to help the seafood industry build robust social responsibility programs and develop decent work opportunities across the sector. Since then, the Roadmap has supported retailers, suppliers, producers, and the non-profits that guide them. “RISE covers a wide range of recommended actions, which was exactly what we needed when developing the Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration Social Responsibility Toolkit. Going beyond commitments, companies now have the guidance they need to improve business operations, implement worker-centered solutions, and build responsible tuna supply chains,” said Tom Pickerell, Executive Director of the Global Tuna Alliance.
“As an employee-owned company, care and compassion for those who produce products for Hy-Vee are essential to our business strategy. RISE gives clear guidance for this, providing the foundation for our due diligence efforts going forward. RISE also serves as an important resource to guide our suppliers – so we all remain the best partners we can be within the food chain,” said Jason Pride, Vice President of Meat and Seafood, Hy-Vee, Inc.
Labor rights and associated social issues are also a priority for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with industry to improve responsible sourcing practices. “In working with one of our longest-standing global partners to update their sustainability standard, we used RISE as a resource to build new, social responsibility components being rolled out within the company and to suppliers. The RISE tool offers helpful guidance for companies looking to better integrate social responsibility into their seafood sustainability work,” said Dave Martin, Deputy Division Director, Programs at Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
Notably, the Roadmap also outlines three ‘Foundations’ (Responsible Recruitment, Worker Engagement, and Decent Work at Sea) – three core issues that all seafood companies have a responsibility to investigate and address to protect rights, mitigate risk, improve conditions, and empower seafood workers.
“Meaningful worker engagement and continuous improvement throughout business operations help create access to decent work – and a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The RISE Foundations are opportunities for real expression of fundamental labor rights and each one is essential to the development of ethical and resilient seafood supply chains,” said Aidan McQuade, Former Director of Anti-Slavery International and RISE consultant.
As seafood companies of all sizes work to raise the bar on social responsibility, RISE offers clear actionable guidance and features a new suite of user-friendly features. Upgrades include:
“Human Rights at Sea continues to support the development of the RISE platform. We note its increasing functionality as a hub for key information, enabling clearer understanding of headline topics supporting welfare, worker voice, and social justice improvements within global fisheries supply chains as set against international legal standards,” said David Hammond, CEO, Human Rights at Sea.
FishWise developed RISE with grant funding support from Walmart Foundation, which focuses on strengthening worker dignity for people in supply chains by promoting the responsible recruitment of workers and fair and responsible labor practices.
“Enhancing the RISE platform and resources for greater clarity, efficiency, and accessibility comes at a critical moment for the seafood industry to advance actions towards social responsibility and improve conditions for seafood workers,” said Rebecca Westover, Senior Manager, Walmart Foundation. “We are encouraged by FishWise’s efforts to enhance RISE to better meet the needs of seafood stakeholders and drive system change in the seafood supply chain.”
With RISE, companies can build proactive and resilient supply chains equipped to uphold decent work in seafood – ultimately resulting in strong brand integrity and consumer trust.
Visit RISEseafood.org to learn more.
April 30, 2021 — A recent benchmarking study by WSI, the International Association for Women in the Seafood Industry, found that seafood supply companies underperform significantly when it comes to gender equality compared to public-facing companies in retail, foodservice, and hospitality.
The organization has long suspected that there is disparity within the supply chain in the way that seafood companies relate to and act upon gender issues, WSI Executive Director Marie Christine Monfort told SeafoodSource.
April 26, 2021 — About 100 miles off the coast of Thailand, three dozen Cambodian boys and men worked barefoot all day and into the night on the deck of a purse seiner fishing ship. Fifteen-foot swells climbed the sides of the vessel, clipping the crew below the knees. Ocean spray and fish innards made the floor skating-rink slippery.
Seesawing erratically from the rough seas and gale winds, the deck was an obstacle course of jagged tackle, spinning winches and tall stacks of 500-pound nets. Rain or shine, shifts ran 18 to 20 hours. At night, the crew cast their nets when the small silver fish they target — mostly jack mackerel and herring — were more reflective and easier to spot in darker waters.
This was a brutal place, one that I’ve spent the past several years exploring. Fishing boats on the South China Sea, especially in the Thai fleet, had for years been notorious for using so-called sea slaves, mostly migrants forced offshore by debt or duress.
Two-thirds of the planet is covered by water and much of that space is ungoverned. Human rights, labor and environmental crimes occur often and with impunity because the oceans are vast. What laws exist are difficult to enforce.
Arguably the most important factor, though, is that the global public is woefully unaware of what happens offshore. Reporting about and from this realm is rare. As a result, landlubbers have little idea of how reliant they are on the sea or the more than 50 million people who work out there.