December 4, 2018 — Hawaii’s longliners caught their quota for bigeye tuna early again this year. But that may not be an issue going forward if U.S. officials can negotiate a higher limit next week with an international fisheries commission.
ISSF: WCPFC December meeting is chance to review tuna measures
November 30, 2018 — All of the tuna stocks under the oversight of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), except for Pacific bluefin, are at “green” or healthy levels, the International Sustainable Seafood Foundation (ISSF) reports.
However, the WCPFC meeting scheduled for Dec. 9-14, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a chance to review supporting measures proposed by ISSF and also the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to better preserve tropical tuna species, suggest Claire van der Geest, an ISSF strategy policy advisor, and Bubba Cook, the WWF’s western and central Pacific Ocean tuna program manager, in a blog posted this week by ISSF.
Those include strengthening the management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) by using non-entangling designs and also improving the management of at-sea transshipment practices to reduce Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities as well as bad labor practices.
Food chain disruption eyed in Hawaii whale sighting decline
November 29, 2018 — Research into the decline of humpback whale sightings in Hawaii points to a food chain disruption likely caused by warmer ocean temperatures in the whales’ feeding grounds in Alaska, federal officials have said.
U.S. and international researchers, wildlife managers and federal officials were meeting in Honolulu on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the decline in sightings of humpbacks that traditionally migrate each autumn from Alaska, where they feed during the summer months, to Hawaii, where they mate and give birth during the winter.
Data presented at the meetings shows a strong correlation between warming oceans and the missing whales, said Christine Gabriele, a federal wildlife biologist who monitors humpbacks at Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.
Three factors have warmed the ocean in Alaska since 2014, the same year scientists noticed a decline in sightings in Hawaii.
There was a change in an ocean current known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a warm El Nino period in 2016, and a massive “blob” of warm water in the region.
The Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a current that switches between cool and warm periods over the course of many years, switched to warm in 2014.
Data shows that “it was more favorable for the whales when we were in a cold period, and then less favorable when the (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) switches to warm,” Gabriele said.
Ghost gear a growing threat
November 26, 2018 — KAPAA, HI — There’s more haunting the humpback whale migration from Alaska to breeding grounds in Hawaii than shipwrecks — ghost gear also litters the 6,000-mile journey.
These lost or abandoned nets, lines and traps can get caught on migrating whales and other marine animals, causing drag and exhausting them or cutting into their bodies after becoming wrapped around tails or fins.
Dozens of organizations worldwide work to reduce ghost gear in the ocean and Surfrider Kauai has spent the last two years partnering with federal, state and nonprofit organizations to remove more than 369,393 pounds of marine debris from circulation.
The Hawaii Nei Marine Debris Removal Project just wrapped up and, since 2016 team members and volunteers have conducted 137 community cleanup events and 668 derelict net recovery patrols to remove line, plastic, nets and other debris from Hawaii oceans.
Major Chinese fish oil producer and exporter Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical approved Friend of the Sea
November 19, 2018 — The following was released by Friend of the Sea:
Chinese manufacturer Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has obtained Friend of the Sea certification for refined fish oil and softgel from Engraulis rigens sourced from FAO Area 87 (Southeast Pacific).
Friend of the Sea’s standard for sustainable fish oil and Omega-3 certifies that the oil originates only from fisheries that are compliant with Friend of the Sea’s sustainable fishing requirements, including good fishery management, selective fishing gears and social responsibility, and that a full chain of custody is in place throughout the supply and production chain.
Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ldt., which processes 20000 tons of crude fish oil and produces 10000 tons of refined fish oil, is one of the largest world’s manufacturer of refined fish oil. While being exported to America and Europe, the finished fish oil also guarantees material supply of stringent standard’s fish oil preparation and products for Yuwang itself.
“We decided to join the Friend of the Sea project because we are eager to give our contribution in conserving the marine habitats and protecting them for future generations,” claims Albert Ho, Business Manager at Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical.
“The approval of Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical as a Friend of the Sea certified company consolidates the presence of our certification in China and is the confirmation that more and more fish oil manufacturers are committed towards environmental sustainability” comments Paolo Bray, Founder and Director of Friend of the Sea.
Divers haul in large amount of debris from marine monument
November 13, 2018 — A team of divers hauled in nearly 165,000 pounds (75,000 kilograms) of abandoned fishing nets and plastic waste during a cleanup expedition at Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, federal officials said.
The 18 divers left Sept. 19 and returned Oct. 29 from a trek to the chain of isles and atolls located 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) northwest of the main Hawaiian islands, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which runs the expeditions.
The divers hauled in about 82 tons (74 metric tons), which is comparable to the weight of 45 mid-sized cars or one space shuttle, NOAA said.
The team of divers from NOAA Fisheries and University of Hawaii’s Joint Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Research sorted out the debris Friday.
The group split the debris into categories such as plastic laundry baskets, fishing nets, tires, buoys and smaller personal-care items such as plastic toothbrushes and combs.
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is uninhabited by humans. But due to its central location in the system of circulating currents called the North Pacific Gyre, the debris has been carried by currents to its shores for decades.
NOAA’s marine debris team has been going on expeditions to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands almost yearly to survey and remove litter since 1996. Cumulatively, including the last mission, teams have collected about 2 million pounds (0.91 million kilograms) of debris.
The litter does ecological damage at Papahanaumokuakea, said NOAA’s Kevin O’Brien, who served as chief scientist for the mission this year.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Illegal shark finning probe nets criminal charges against ten international fishermen
November 12, 2018 — HONOLULU — Federal investigators have charged ten fishermen with trying to smuggle nearly a thousand shark fins out of Hawaii.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said they are all Indonesian nationals and worked on the Kyoshin Maru, a longline fishing vessel from southern Japan.
“They have no clue what they were doing here. All they could tell me was ‘ikan,’ which means fish in Indonesian,” said Gary Singh, an attorney for one of the fishermen.
This comes eight years after Hawaii became the first state to ban possession of shark fins. The following year, the federal government strengthened its existing ban and the trade largely went underground near Hawaiian waters.
Protecting Paradise: Marine Debris Team Does the Heavy Lifting
The team removed more than 160,000 pounds of lost or abandoned fishing nets and plastics from the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, an ecologically and culturally significant area, part of the Papahānaumokuāea Marine National Monument.
November 12, 2018 — Stretching 1,200 miles northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands, a chain of remote islands and atolls known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are hundreds of miles from the nearest human populations. Yet, these beautiful coral reefs and uninhabited shorelines are centrally located in the North Pacific Gyre, where currents gather marine debris from all around the Pacific Ocean.
NOAA’s marine debris team travels from island to island by ship and small boat, carefully pulling derelict “ghost” fishing gear off of underwater reefs and collecting plastic debris from shorelines. They clean up nets and other debris that damage coral reefs and threaten wildlife, including endangered Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles. Hauling debris is often a dirty, exhausting, and sometimes fly-filled task, but the team loves its work.
Using Artificial Intelligence to Identify Humpback Whales
November 9, 2018 — Artificial Intelligence has been used for everything from teaching computers to play chess to helping speed ride-sharing services on their way. And now one government agency is using it to track humpback whales in the Pacific.
For more than a decade, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been tracking whales by recording them.
But there are challenges – like the sheer volume of data. Researchers have to sift through years of audio. Literally. Years.
“So far we’ve collected over 170,000 hours of data. Let’s put that in real terms. If you were to sit and listen straight, not sleeping, not eating, taking no breaks, it would take you 19 years to listen to all that data,” says Ann Allen, a research oceanographer with NOAA’s Cetacean Research Program at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
US, others make commitments for sustainability at Our Ocean
November 8, 2018 — At the Our Ocean 2018 conference held last week in Indonesia, the United States pledged its support for 15 initiatives that would affect fishing communities across the globe.
In addition, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Indonesian Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti during the two-day conference in Bali to reaffirm their nations’ commitment to encourage sustainable fisheries management worldwide.
Kerry, who also served as a conference presenter, commended Indonesia for its role in combating illegal fishing.
“I believe there is big crime committed in relation to [illegal, unreported and unregulated] fishing and this should be addressed by countries around the world,” he said. “To ensure sustainability, one of the ways is to maintain the volume of catch, making sure there is no overfishing.”
Another way the U.S. will work to combat illegal fishing is by working with The Waitt Foundation to hold a February 2019 summit in San Diego, California, U.S.A. with leaders from other countries to identify pilot projects that can be implemented online.
Peter Horn, who heads the Ending Illegal Fishing Project for The Pew Charitable Trusts, said he’s looking forward to the summit.
“We welcome the broadening of the debate of the governance issues behind current levels of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, and its second and third order consequences,” he told SeafoodSource in an email. “IUU fishing is often seen as purely an environmental crime with any absence of compliance with the rules countering it a management issue rather than what it really is: The tip of an iceberg of criminality which is directly linked to maritime safety and security.”
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