SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton with material from Ocean Trust — November 5, 2014 –NEW ORLEANS — Senior scientists and fishery managers from leading fishing nations concluded three days of talks on the status of fisheries and sustainability of seafood at the fourth annual Science and Sustainability Forum (SSF) and called for the re- evaluation of seafood ecolabeling guidelines. Many guidelines are being misapplied in small scale fisheries and coastal communities. A major concern expressed is that ecolabeling is creating market barriers for coastal fisheries and communities.
“What we have seen is that many of these [ecolabeling] schemes are eliminating access of small scale fisheries particularly in developing states to international markets, ” said Fabio Hazin, Chair of the UN Food & Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Committee on Fisheries. “This is a very worrying trend and we have to come up with a solution for that. ”
Forum participants noted that even in developed countries there are many well-managed fisheries which simply do not have funds to go through a private third-party ecolabeling schemes. Some of the scientists and managers and government officials at the forum questioned the need and additional costs of ecolabeling especially when many management systems already have a thorough scientific review process.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on fisheries management which involves extensive data collection, stock assessments, and teams of scientists and managers. Several forum participants discussed new programs at the national and state level to provide assurances that fisheries in their juristictions are sustainably managed and in conformance with the principles within the FAO guidelines for ecolabeling.
"Only ten percent of global fisheries have gone through private ecolabeling programs, " said Thor Lassen, president of Ocean Trust a co-convener and principle organizer for the forum. "There simply is not enough money to certify all fisheries in the world, nor does it make sense. We have to be more pragmatic when it comes to the ecolabeling of seafood products. "
Lahsen Ababouch, FAO’s Division Director for Policy and Economics presented a global review on the management and status of fisheries and aquaculture. Globally, fish production has been steadily increasing for many decades and per capita fish consumption has more than doubled since 1973 with an estimated average 8.3% yearly growth in aquaculture during the period 1970 – 2010, making it the fastest growing food production system.
Ray Hilborn, University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences reported that where we have data and fisheries are actively managed, stocks are being managed sustainably refuting many claims expressed by environmental Non-governmental Organizations (eNGOs). As Hilborn noted, “In each case, science supports the ability of the existing management systems to sustain food from the sea:
– Overfishing is declining where fisheries are managed
– Marine Protected Areas do not improve fisheries yields where fisheries are well managed
– Environmental impacts of fishing are less than alternative food production systems
– Certification no longer seems to be about sustainability, but eNGO values of “acceptable” environmental impact”
In light of this progress, John Sackton, SeafoodNews.com asked: “Why are the public and media so wrong about fisheries?"
Steve Cadrin, president of AIFRB noted, “Misinformation needs to be corrected because an imbalanced agenda threatens the human aspects of sustainability”.
Several speakers challenged misleading information from NGOs regarding menhaden fisheries, the status of stocks, and bycatch in particular Oceana’s 2014 bycatch report which the Regional Fishery Management Councils said should be retracted and Benny Gallaway, LGL Ecological Research Associates suggested should be “carefully evaluated, especially when many of the claims are complete fabrications without any basis in fact”.
NOAA's by catch reduction data process was highlighted, including monitoring bycatch in 573 US fisheries by 2017, and a substantial committment of funds. By contrast, many certified fisheries in other parts of the world have no by-catch reporting mechanisms whatsoever. At the conference it was pointed out that the Regional council's had asked Oceana to withdraw its bycatch report as being seriously wrong.
The councils said Oceana should retract the report until it has the time and/or resources to develop a better understanding of the data summarized in the National Bycatch Report and that Oceana should consider adopting a standardized peer review process to ensure reports like this accurately and objectively represent the best available science.
Defining sustainability is a large part of the problem. As Brian Rothschild, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology pointed out “the language of sustainability is fuzzy…a concept that is constantly changing rather than a well-defined goal. What we need”, Rothschild continued “is a concrete definition with clear performance measures and minimum ambiguity that tracks environmental change.”
Dick Beamish former AIFRB (American Institute of Fisheries Research Biologists) president and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientist expanded upon in the link between macro changes in the environemnt and fish abundance. His discussion focused on the link between Pacific salmon abundance and climate regime shifts in the ocean. The Cohen Commission, which spent upwards of $40 million investigating why the 2009 Fraser River Sockeye run was the lowest in decades, only to be followed by a record run the next year, actually concluded "that marine conditions in both the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Sound in 2007 were likely to be the primary factors responsible for the poor returns in 2009. Abnormally high freshwater discharge, warmer-than- usual sea surface temperatures, strong winds, and lower-than-normal salinity may have resulted in abnormally low phytoplankton and nitrate concentrations that could have led to poor zooplankton (food for sockeye) production.”
Most NGO evaluations of fisheries have no mechanism to address large scale climate factors.
How we measure sustainability was further discussed by many speakers who pointed out that sustainability is a process more appropriately tracked by evaluating the management and stock assessment system rather than the status of a stock (overfished) or fishing level (overfishing) at any given point in time. Programs for assessing the conformance of management systems to FAO sustainability criteria where presented by Ocean Trust, NOAA and others.
Speakers also noted the mismatch of standards developed for data-rich, large-scale, single- species fisheries and small-scale, coastal, mixed fisheries often characterized as highly productive, short-lived and environmentally driven.
“Many sustainability standards in the National Standard 1 Guidelines of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and many guidelines for the ecolabeling of fishery products developed for large-scale, commercial fisheries are not suited for small-scale, coastal fisheries”, concluded Steve Cadrin, AIFRB. “These mismatched standards jeopardize all aspects of sustainability. Alternative standards that reflect and recognize the successful cooperative management of coastal fisheries are needed”.
The forum also reviewed the status of Gulf of Mexico fisheries and management systems that are producing sustainable seafood. “The overall status of stocks in the Gulf are in the best shape they have been in the last 20-30 years, ” said Roy Crabtree, Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office. “The stocks seem to be responding to management and are coming back. ”
At the state level, Louisiana presented an innovative approach to sustaining its coastal fisheries. Randy Pausina, Assistant Secretary for Fisheries at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and his staff illustrated through several presentations how coastal states can integrate international sustainability criteria and tools into a comprehensive program for the sustainability of its seafood products and fisheries though partnerships, public outreach, product assurance, professionalism and traceability.
The Ocean Trust Science and Sustainability Forum was the fourth in a series, and was sponsored by Ocean Trust, American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists, Bonefish Grill, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, Omega Protein and Sea Port Products.
A number of the international scientists attending had participated in the conference for multiple years.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.