Saving Seafood

Surging Demand for Lobster Meat Changing Canadian Processing Patterns

August 26, 2016 — SEAFOOD NEWS —  If there was one thing lobster processors were thinking about during the first part of this year’s lobster season, it was lobster meat.

Surging foodservice demand for lobster meat is changing lobster processing patterns, both in Canada and the US.

The government of PEI recently released a summary of the May-June lobster season.  Volume was down 13.5%, to 23.5 million pounds, vs. 27.2 million pounds last year.  But the landed value was $148 million, an increase of 22% from the spring 2015 season.   The average ex-vessel price in Canadian dollars was $6.30, based on these figures.

So the season was characterized by a slower pace of landings and a higher raw material cost.  This combination supported processors’ move to pack lobster meat.

New Brunswick processors say that both CK (claw leg) and CKL (claw leg knuckle) meat is moving as fast as they can produce it.

One packer, when asked what was supporting the strong demand said “we think it really has to do with the US consumer absorbing the increased cost on core volume meat items like lobster rolls while continuing to purchase at a similar rate to last year. Some of the portion sizes may have been reduced (last year’s 6oz roll is now a 4oz) but overall velocity is there. ”

Another processor commented that Chefs are being more creative in using lobster meat as an ingredient, and they have adapted to high prices and are keeping lobster items on the menu due to their popularity.

“Many items made from other proteins (chicken, beef, pork etc) are now being recreated with lobster.  It’s likely that additional meat volume is being absorbed in this category.”

Lobster meat imports to the US have been the highest in years, with each month of 2016 exceeding the volume of any of the past four years.

The warmer temperatures and an early start to the season meant that May lobster meat imports were up ten-fold, from 216,000 pounds in 2015, to 2.23 million pounds in 2016.

However, US market prices have not moderated.

The run up in lobster meat prices that began last summer is showing no signs yet of moderating.  Furthermore, the spread between meat and 4 oz American tail prices has never been higher.

In this situation, it is natural that meat production will surge.  One place it may be coming from is live lobster.  Live lobster imports to the US from Canada were down 50% in June from the prior year, at only 6 million pounds, vs. 13 million the year before.  Some of this is the late season opening last year, but some of it also is likely a switch from live lobster to meat processing.  Canadian live lobster exports to China appear to be higher this year also, so the increased volume is not coming from any slowdown in sales to China.

The same pressures are being felt on the US side of the border, where a significant lobster processing industry has developed.  This week, the Mazzetta Co. announced they were suspending fresh fish production in their Gloucester plant to focus exclusively on lobster.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

One Man’s Passion: Catching Fish in the Act of Spawning and Sharing Their Secrets

July 7, 2016 — Will Heyman is a fish stalker.

The Texas marine scientist is obsessed with finding and watching groups of fish that gather in special places to spawn.

While this may seem an odd passion, witnessing breeding behavior is part of a critical mission to help save marine life. By working with fishermen, scientists, fishery managers, and others to document what he sees, Heyman hopes to persuade leaders to protect these mating meccas, thus giving a boost to fish populations and helping depleted species recover.

“Do we go to sea turtle nests and destroy all the eggs?” asks Heyman, a senior marine scientist for the consulting firm LGL Ecological Research Associates. “Humans have learned to respect and protect these vulnerable places for some species, but for some reason we still catch fish where they aggregate to spawn. It’s not an ethical way to interact with a species that we depend upon. And from a practical view, if you want to keep eating some of these delicious fish, we’ve got to act.”

Heyman’s findings have helped build the case to protect spawning grounds in places such as the southeastern United States, Belize, Mexico, and Honduras. Most recently he has documented spawning in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Read the full story in the National Geographic

Regional fishing body opposes expansion of Hawaii monument

June 14, 2016 — A regional fishing body is opposing the proposed expansion of United States protected waters around Hawaii.

Members of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council have raised their concerns about the sustainability of local fishing if Hawaii’s Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument was expanded.

The proposal would increase the protected zone fivefold and could reduce the available fishing grounds in the US exclusive economic zone waters around Hawaii from 63 percent to 15 percent.

Read the full story at Radio New Zealand

From Ocean to Plate: Ensuring Traceable Supply Chain in the Seafood Industry

May 18, 2016 — In 2013, the ‘horsemeat scandal’ sent tremors through the European food industry. The fraudulent replacement of beef with cheaper equine alternatives in burgers and convenience food left consumers and retailers reeling, alarmed that they had fallen victim to the largest food fraud in decades.

The scandal not only highlighted the shortcuts being made by food manufacturers in their attempts to compete for the lowest price, it emphasized the complexity of global food supply chains and the challenges in monitoring every step. Almost overnight, the importance of traceability—the ability to track any food through all stages of production, processing and distribution—became high on public and political agendas.

‘Food scandals’ can leave consumers feeling duped, misled and distrustful of retailers and brands. They can also lead to people eating foods that violate their religious or moral values; or worse still   have impacts on their health.

Recognizing the negative impacts of incorrect labelling, governments around the world have responded. The Food Standards Agency in the UK, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Food Safety Authority and Food Standards Australia New Zealand, to name a few, commit extensive resources to ensuring the safety and correct labelling of our food. But the problem persists—and responsibility is often laid at the feet of food suppliers.

Read the full story at Food Safety Magazine

United Nations Treaty to Fight Illegal Fishing Will Take Effect

May 17, 2016 — The Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), an international treaty intended to help stop illegal fishing, will enter into force now that it has been ratified by more than the 25 governments needed.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced May 16 that six countries—Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga, and Vanuatu— had ratified the binding agreement, bringing the total to 30. They join other governments large and small around the world, including the United States and the European Union, and demonstrate the broad range of support for the PSMA.

This is a critical step in the global fight to end illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU)  fishing and  should lead to more governments signing  on to the treaty.  That would strengthen the PSMA and extend its reach to new regions.  We know that more countries are in the process of ratifying the pact, and we expect the numbers to grow.

Read the full story at the Pew Charitable Trusts

Nations negotiate fishing in Arctic high seas

April 29, 2016 — Last week, delegates from six Arctic nations and other countries with major fishing fleets met in Washington, D.C., to discuss plans to prohibit commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean until scientists can find out more about the fish stocks and how they are changing.

“Fishing shouldn’t occur up there until we have the science and the rules in place,” said Scott Highleyman, director of the International Arctic Program at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

No commercial fishing occurs in the high seas of the Arctic Ocean yet. The 2.8m square kilometer area (1.08m sq. mile) region surrounds the North Pole. It is referred to as the high seas because it lies beyond the 200 nautical mile limit of the Arctic nations. Without regulations, it is permissible for fishing fleets to cast their nets within these waters.

Until recently, the area has been largely impenetrable to fishing fleets. According to satellite records spanning 1979-2000, this high seas area remained ice covered throughout the year, even during the summer. But in the past decade, summer sea ice has retreated dramatically.

During the summers of 2007 and 2012, as much as 40 percent of the Central Arctic Ocean – particularly the waters adjacent to Canada, Russia and the United States – was open water, Highleyman said. Permanent ice has given way to navigable seas and seasonal ice, he added.

In August 2015, the five Arctic countries with coastlines bordering the Arctic Ocean – Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States – signed a voluntary agreement to bar commercial fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean.

Read the full story at United Press International

US tuna tie-up causing skipjack prices to firm further for February

February 9, 2016 — Skipjack tuna prices for delivery in February to the Asian tuna hub of Bangkok, Thailand are firming up on the previous month, sources told Undercurrent News.

With the US vessel tie-up continuing, prices for January deliveries firmed somewhat, a trend that is looking set to continue.

A deal has been done at $1,175 per metric ton between a trader and a canner, sources in the US and Asia told Undercurrent.

The large tuna traders, a US-based executive said, are holding out for $1,200/t for the rest of the deals.

“They [the traders] are only offering around half of the usual contract monthly tonnages,” he said. “Canners tell me that $1,300/t or $1,400/t for March is talked of, but I don’t see them able to pay that.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Study: Ropes that break more easily could save some whales

December 15, 2015 — BOSTON (AP) — A study published in a scientific journal says life-threatening whale entanglements could be reduced by using ropes that break more easily under the force of the enormous animals.

Whales become entangled in commercial fishing gear almost every week along the East Coast of the United States and Canada. A coastal study in conservation biology examined ropes retrieved from live and dead whales entangled in fishing gear from 1994 to 2010.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Gloucester Daily Times 

Iran seeks revival of caviar industry in post-sanctions era

November 13, 2015 — GOLDASHT, Iran (AP) ” On the shores of the Caspian Sea, an ambitious project is underway to produce a pricey delicacy that could boost Iran’s economy as sanctions ease: caviar.

Iran, once the world’s biggest exporter of the luxury food, sold over 40 tons of sturgeon eggs in 2000. Exports plunged to just 1 ton last year due to dwindling fish stocks and economic sanctions imposed by world powers in response to Iran’s nuclear program.

After Tehran struck a landmark deal this summer to curb its nuclear ambitions in exchange for lifting sanctions ” including those on caviar ” some in Iran are now counting on a revival in exports of the exclusive eggs.

“We hope that as a result of the Iranian government’s interaction with the world, the path will be opened for us to export our products abroad and bring in foreign currency earnings. It does not make a difference where we export to, the United States or Europe,” said Ishaq Islami, manager of the private Ghareh Boron Caviar Fish Farm in the coastal village of Goldasht.

The farm and two nearby facilities are breeding half a million sturgeon fingerlings a year, filling its pools with water pumped in from the Caspian Sea.

Islami began the $100 million project in 2005 but it takes at least 12 years for sturgeon to mature and produce caviar. About 110,000 are beluga species that produce prized silver-gray eggs, the world’s most expensive caviar.

The fish farm aims to export 30 tons of salt-cured caviar and 2,000 tons of sturgeon meat in three years. Islami expects to earn $90 million a year based on an average price of $3,000 a kilogram (about $1,360 a pound) for caviar. The United States, Europe and Japan have traditionally been Iran’s biggest export markets.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Bedford Standard-Times