Saving Seafood

How the blackbelly rosefish from South America could help Maine lobstermen who are short on bait

July 10, 2019 — The state for the first time has approved using fish raised off the coast of Uruguay as lobster bait to help offset a bait shortage that could increase lobster prices.

Cooke Aquaculture USA of Machiasport announced the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ decision on Wednesday, saying it could help lobstermen weather a drop in the population of their primary bait source, herring, off the Maine coast. The New England Fishery Management Council in June cut the amount of herring fishermen can catch off the New England coast in 2020 and 2021.

The decision will allow Cooke to sell whole blackbelly rosefish for use as bait to lobstermen dealing with the herring decline. It could also open a lucrative line of trade for Cooke, which employs more than 200 in Maine at its Atlantic salmon marine farms, freshwater hatcheries and processing plant in Machiasport.

The lobster industry has enjoyed large hauls in recent years, but it is dependent on bait to lure lobster into traps. A spike in bait prices could hit consumers in restaurants and fish markets, which have already seen increases in lobster costs over the past few years.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MISSISSIPPI: Vessel built at Moss Point shipyard christened, set to head to Uruguay

July 8, 2019 — The Southern Star, a ship built at Omega Shipyard in Moss Point, has been christened and is now ready to head to South America.

A christening ceremony featuring local dignitaries and executives from Omega Protein was held Monday at the Moss Point shipyard. Following the christening, invited guests took a short river cruise on the Southern Star, admiring the vessel.

The newly retrofitted vessel will head to Uruguay next, where it will be used by a sister division of Omega Protein. The state-of-the-art ship is going to be a quantum leap into the future compared to what’s currently available in the Uruguayan fishery.

Renovations to the vessel include a completely rebuilt propulsion system and state-of-the-art digitally controlled equipment designed to reduce the amount of manual labor necessary to catch and land red crab.

With its new equipment, the Southern Star will be able to stay at sea for up to 30 days per trip. The vessel will also have facilities to process, package, freeze, and store red crabs on-board, allowing the vessel to sell directly to retailers and wholesalers. Those amenities will allow for better quality and fresher product.

Read the full story at WLOX

Latin American nations beef up naval power to fight IUU fishing

December 14, 2017 — As pressure on fish stocks increases worldwide, countries are scaling up their military responses to threats posed by both local and foreign fleets fishing illegally in their territorial waters.

A Huffington Post article noted that Ecuador’s navy and the Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) have been patrolling the Galapagos Islands together for some years now in joint operations to combat illegal fishing there.

“Their collaboration did not stop with traditional patrols,” the article went on to note. “In 2009, they established joint-control centers and deployed satellite vessel monitoring transceivers aboard all vessels of 20 gross tons to stop illegal fishing of the national commercial fleet.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Marine Stewardship Council: Argentine anchovy fishery proves it’s sustainable, again

January 10, 2017 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Argentine anchovy fishery has achieved re-certification to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard. This science-based standard is the world’s most credible and recognized standard for environmentally sustainable wild-caught seafood. The Argentine anchovy fishery has been certified to this standard since 2011.

This fishery, which operates in the waters of Argentina and Uruguay, was the first anchovy fishery in the world to achieve MSC certification. When originally certified to the MSC standard in 2011, there were two companies, Delicias S.A. and Centauro S.A., operating five vessels, representing 10 to 15 percent of the total catch of the assessed fishery. Today, 13 companies operating 24 vessels have been assessed for the recertification.

The fishing vessels are: Mercea C; Canal de Beagle; Belvedere; Padre Pio; Teson; Jupiter II; Centauro 2000; Raffaela; Don Raimundo; San Genaro; Don Carmelo; Orión I; Messina I; Franca; Maria Gracia; Marta S; Rocío del Mar; Nuevo Viento; Argentino; Atrevido; Victoria II; Florida Blanca; Nono Pascual and Don Nicola. The fishers use semi-pelagic mid-water trawling nets. The net is made of 4mm diameter nylon and has a total length of 60-70m, kept afloat by 60 buoys.

“We are committed to fishing in a responsible and sustainable manner, and protecting the natural resources of the ocean is a key component of our business. As the first MSC-certified anchovy fishery in the world, we are proud to have the MSC process again validate the sustainability of our well-managed and healthy fisheries.” – Carlos Rodriguez, manager, Centauro (fishery client)

The internationally recognized blue MSC ecolabel will continue to assure consumers that Argentine Anchovy products can be traced back to a certified sustainable source.

Brian Perkins, MSC regional director – Americas, said: “When people purchase MSC certified seafood, their choice supports fishermen around the world – like the Argentine Anchovy fishers – who are working hard to meet the world’s most rigorous standard for environmental sustainability. We are extremely pleased to see this fishery succeed in the MSC process yet again.”

The independent assessment of the Argentine Anchovy fishery was conducted by Organizacion Internacional Agropecuaria (OIA), an accredited third-party conformity assessment body. OIA assembled a team of fishery science and policy experts to evaluate the fishery according to the three principles of the MSC Fisheries Standard: the health of the stock; the impact of fishing on the marine environment; and the management of the fishery. The MSC process is open to stakeholders and all results are peer reviewed.