Saving Seafood

News for the Western Pacific Region

NTSB: Poor crew training, oversight led to tuna seiner fire

February 14, 2020 — On 6 December, 2018, the 228-foot tuna seiner Jeanette sank off Tutuila Island, a part of American Samoa, after being on fire for nearly 23 hours. The estimated damage exceeded USD 15 million (EUR 13.8 million). There was no loss of life.

The Jeanette, which was built in 1975 and owned by C & F Fishing LTD in San Diego, California, but home ported in America Samoa, caught fire and sank as a result of inadequate crew training and oversight, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s marine accident brief.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Reps. Huffman, Case Announce Honolulu as Next Stop on Congressional Fisheries Listening Tour

February 13, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA):

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) Chair of the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, and Congressman Ed Case (D-Honolulu) will be hosting the next stop on a nationwide fisheries listening tour Friday, February 21, at 10:00 a.m. HST in Honolulu, Hawaii. Congressman Case will moderate this discussion on federal fisheries policy in the context of the Western Pacific fishery management region, with Chairman Huffman joining remotely.

Members of the press interested in attending should submit their RSVP to Nestor Garcia with Congressman Case’s office at nestor.garcia@mail.house.gov.

WHO: Congressman Ed Case, Congressman Jared Huffman (will appear via video conference), fisheries and oceans experts

WHAT: Discussion on federal fisheries management

WHEN: Friday, February 21, 2020 @ 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. HST

WHERE: The Atherton Hālau in the Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI, 96817

This panel discussion with experts and stakeholders will include a detailed, technical examination of current and future challenges in federal fisheries management and will explore potential solutions. Guests will be able to ask questions during the roundtable and provide public comments at its conclusion.

The ideas Huffman receives from this listening tour, and from other stakeholder outreach that is already underway, will inform his introduction of a reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing fisheries management in U.S. federal waters.

More detail on Huffman’s listening tour, which was first announced in July, can be found here.

NOAA to bring new research ship to Hawaii with $200M in federal funding

February 12, 2020 — A new ocean research ship is heading to Hawaii after more than $200 million in federal funding has been secured for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.

NOAA announced Tuesday that it is acquiring two new ocean research ships, one of which will be homeported in Honolulu. The Oceanographer is expected to replace NOAA Ship Hiialakai, which retired early due to extensive corrosion.

The new ships will continue to support NOAA’s missions of ocean research, marine life exploration, and climate and ocean ecosystem studies.

“These new ships will make sure NOAA can continue to do the critical research work we need to protect our oceans and Hawaii’s natural resources, including Papahanaumokuakea,” said Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Star Advertiser

International seafood buyers urge Thailand to stand strong on fisheries reforms

February 11, 2020 — Several retailers and buyers sourcing seafood from Thailand have called on the Southeast Asian nation to preserve major regulations in the fisheries sector amidst fears that recently-made reforms may be rolled back.

In an open letter posted on the website of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) last week, the buyers said they “urge the Royal Thai government to continue the path of reform and work constructively with national actors to achieve a transition towards a legal, ethical and sustainable fishing sector.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Offshore aquaculture firm, formerly known as Kampachi Farms, rebrands as Ocean Era

February 10, 2020 — The Kona, Hawaii, U.S.A.-based offshore aquaculture company formerly known as Kampachi Farms, LLC, is rebranding as Ocean Era, LLC, the firm announced on 10 February.

The move is intended to position the company to better address both opportunities and challenges facing modern aquaculturists and the planet at large, according to Neil Anthony Sims, the firm’s co-founder and CEO.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Coronavirus forces Chinese seafood chain to shift to home delivery

February 10, 2020 — One of China’s fastest-growing seafood restaurant chains and a big pangasius buyer has battled through the coronavirus crisis by ramping up home deliveries and promising customers “real-time monitoring” of the body temperatures of delivery staff.

Foot traffic has plummeted at Yu Guo Tian Qing restaurants due to fears about the coronavirus, which has killed more than 900 people in China as it has spread to more locations after first being detected in the city of Wuhan in December. More than 40,000 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in China since the outbreak.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

China’s aquaculture modernization effort hampered by corruption

February 10, 2020 — A colorful corruption case in China’s seafood region, involving speed boats and cash bribes, has shone a light on the scale of China’s fisheries subsidy regime and how it’s open to abuse by Communist Party officials who administer it.

Wang Ji Shan, former head of the Ocean and Fisheries Bureau in Li Jin County near Dongying on the east coast, has been charged with funneling millions of yuan in licenses and subsidies to the Luxin Ocean Development Co.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Summary of Action Items for the 181st Meeting of the WPRFMC

February 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The 181st meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene March 10-12, 2020, at the Laniakea YWCA, Fuller Hall, Honolulu, Hawai’i. The Council will consider and may take action on the issues summarized below, including any public comments on them. Click here for a complete PDF version of the 181st Action Item Summary Memo.

  1. Specifying Annual Catch Limits for the Mariana Archipelago Bottomfish Fishery
  2. Options Paper to Amend the Bottomfish Management Unit Species in American Samoa and the Mariana Archipelago
  3. US Territory Longline Bigeye Catch/Allocation Limits
  4. Marine Conservation Plans for Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Pacific Remote Island Areas/Hawai’i

Written public comments should be received by the Council’s executive director by 5 p.m. (Hawai’i time), Thursday, March 5, 2020, by postal mail, fax or email as indicated below. After March 5, it is the submitter’s responsibility to provide at least 40 copies of the written comment to Council staff at the Council meeting.

Read the full release here