Conservation & Environment

Customers focused on buying only seafood from sustainable species like wild Alaskan salmon may be doing just the opposite, a new report said, and overpaying for it too.

Oceana, a nonprofit that focuses on protecting oceans, announced last Wednesday that its scientists found commercial seafood is often mislabeled to sell cheap fillets at the cost of expensive ones and also to pass off overfished species for abundantly available ones.

In "Bait and Switch," Oceana reports that $10 billion to $23.5 billion is lost annually on illegal fishing.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California publishes "Seafood Watch" lists for U.S. regions. According to its 2011 guide, wild Alaskan salmon and scallops farmed off the ocean floor rank among the most sustainable species. Atlantic cod, imported shrimp and monkfish made the least sustainable list.

Read the complete story from New Jersey On-Line.

 

 

 

 

 

The Obama administration said on Friday that it had declined to grant Endangered Species Act protections to the Atlantic bluefin tuna, whose numbers have declined precipitously because of overfishing on both sides of the ocean.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the fish, whose fatty flesh is prized by sushi aficionados, would be classified as a species of concern, however, effectively placing bluefin on a watch list as the agency awaits new data on the impact of a stricter international management regimen.

“The future of this species relies on sound international management,” said Larry Robinson, NOAA’s assistant secretary for conservation and management. The agency’s scientists are also continuing to assess the effect of last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill on bluefin spawning grounds in the Gulf of Mexico, officials said, and the agency will revisit its decision by early 2013.

Read the complete story from The New York Times.

Read a letter from several lawmakers to NMFS' Schwaab about the matter, dated April 29, 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vineyard Gazette reported that last year’s springtime sea worm hatch in the island’s coastal ponds — “an event that historically attracts stripers by the thousands — had just about failed after years of under-performance.” The Massachusetts division of marine fisheries has seen a 75-percent drop in the catch of small stripers in the past four years.

For the past two, the SurfMasters surfcasting tournament with contenders among the more expert casters found anywhere on the coast, has had to make do with shorter and shorter periods during which 30 to 50-pound fish get within range. A noticeable downturn.

“Last year, it never rose to a high note. It happened for about two days, a short period. Last year and the previous year were two of the worst in the past decade. Very little action. If you caught a 20-pounder it was something special,” said Fred Kalkstein, one of the SurfMaster tournament’s annual organizers.

Read the complete story from The East Hampton Star.

 

 

 

 

 

The numbers are startling: Hundreds of sea turtles have begun washing up into bays and onto beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Six hundred of the mottled, soup-plate-shaped reptiles came ashore in just four states in 2010, six times the annual average. This year, 563 have been stranded.

Blame the oil that fouled those waters after the BP spill?

No, government scientists say, there is a more mundane local culprit: shrimpers who are ignoring regulations to prevent endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles from becoming ensnared in their nets.

The tale of the turtles illustrates the complexity of establishing cause and effect in assessing the ecological impact of the spill.

Read the complete story from The Washington Post.

 

 

 

 

 

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) encourages the live release of North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) due to overfishing occurring on the population.  In order to promote the live release of shortfin mako sharks, NMFS has developed a web page where commercial and recreational fishermen can contribute information about shortfin mako shark releases and populate an interactive web map.  The shortfin mako live release web page contains current information on shortfin mako stock status and regulations, along with details on tagging programs and safe handling and release guidelines.  You can find the main shortfin mako live release webpage and web map at the following links.

Main Page: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/shortfinmako/index.htm

Web Map: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/shortfinmako/Map/index.htm

Press Release: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20110523_shortfinmakosharks.html

For further information on the web page, or to request outreach materials, please contact the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division by phone at 301-713-2347, or by email at shortfinmako@noaa.gov

 

 

 

 

NOAA’s Fisheries Service today launched a voluntary program to encourage commercial and recreational fishermen to safely release Atlantic shortfin mako sharks alive and report the releases to NOAA for posting on an online map.

The new program is designed to encourage the conservation of North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks. Scientific research shows many of these sharks are being caught and kept, damaging the long-term sustainability of the population. The most recent assessment of North Atlantic shorfin makos found that the population had declined about 50 percent from the 1950s.

Commercial and recreational fishermen can submit an online form to NOAA with information about where and when they release shortfin mako sharks, and their information will be posted on an online map. The map will enable fishermen to see how they are making a difference in the conservation of shortfin mako sharks and encourage others to release sharks. By charting how and where fishermen release sharks, NOAA hopes to encourage other fishermen to do the same.

“We are working with the fishing community to encourage fishermen to voluntarily release these sharks alive to help sustain the shortfin mako population,” said Eric Schwaab, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “By releasing sharks that are unintentionally caught or caught for sport, U.S. fishermen will be leaders in encouraging fishermen from other nations to conserve this shark species.”

Shortfin mako sharks, like other shark species, grow slowly, mature late, and produce few young, making them vulnerable to fishing. The average female shortfin mako shark becomes sexually mature at 18, while males are mature at 8. This highly migratory species is managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, to which the U.S. is a member. The U.S. has been a leader in urging the international commission to adopt conservation measures to help rebuild the species.

Shortfin makos are often caught unintentionally by commercial fishermen who are targeting swordfish and tuna with longline gear. They are also caught by recreational fishermen and are a popular catch in shark tournaments. An increasing number of these tournaments encourage the live release of sharks to promote conservation. It is legal for commercial and recreational fishermen to retain the sharks. However, recreationally caught sharks must not be smaller than 54 inches from the tip of the shark's nose to the fork of its tail. While some fishermen continue to retain shortfin makos for food, fins, and jaws, NOAA’s Fisheries Service encourages fishermen to consider the effect on the stock in the long-term and choose to release them.

Capt. Mark Sampson, who runs a charter fishing business that specializes in shark fishing and runs a shark fishing tournament, is interested in reporting live releases of shortfin mako sharks to NOAA so they can be posted on the new interactive webmap.

“I plan on making this a part of my daily routine if we catch and release any shortfin makos,” said Sampson, who operates the charter vessel, Fish Finder, from Ocean City, Md. “I’ll encourage fishermen who may not want to take home the shark they catch for food to consider releasing it.”

NOAA encourages fishermen to learn how to safely release sharks so that they are not injured and the sharks are released in good condition. Fishermen may obtain a brochure at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/Compliance_Guide/index.htm on the safe release of sharks and other highly migratory species.

For more information about the program, to view the interactive map and learn how to submit information on a live shark release, go to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/shortfinmako/index.htm

 

 

 

 

One star who is definitely making a difference for the conservation movement is Ted Danson.   I just read Ted’s book Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them. While Ted may be best known for his role in Cheers and Bored to Death, this book will solidify his position as a conservationist.

The book is a tour de force. Ted does a great job of highlighting, clearly and concisely, the wide range of issues facing the world’s oceans – from overfishing to acidification. Ted makes great use of artwork and graphics to clearly demonstrate how trawling is damaging sea beds and how aquaculture works for both better and worse. And Ted’s dry sense of humor makes this a fun read.  

Read the complete story from The Mother Nature Network.                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the beginning of each year, North Atlantic right whales travel near New England, but after appearing in record numbers this year near Cape Cod, they have all departed. Because of their recent departure, the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game has lifted the advisory for boaters to avoid the whales, a spokesman for the department said in a statement.

An aerial survey on April 25 documented 124 whales in Cape Cod Bay, a record high for the area, the statement said.

Read the complete story from The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

Last week the Center for American Progress broke down the sustainability of fast food fish. As it turns out, sustainability is perhaps more prevalent at the drive-thru than it is on a white tablecloth at a high-end restaurant. But what about the supermarket with its endless glass doors keeping Mrs. Paul’s and Gorton’s in their blissful deep freeze and its fish counters of artful displays of tuna steaks, shrimp of every conceivable size, and pink filets of salmon glistening ‘neath the fluorescents? Is it safe to dip into these waters?

Increasing seafood sustainability mostly focuses on consumers, but the buying power of vast chain stores makes them a primary target for establishing sustainable practices. After all, a company with billions of dollars in annual sales can afford to hire people to investigate the finer points of a complex issue like seafood sustainability, while the average Joe shopper doesn’t have the time.

Consumers must ultimately take responsibility for their purchases, but it’s a whole lot easier if we can pick a retail outlet that already made the good decisions for us.

Fortunately, much of the seafood in the freezer section is already fairly high on the sustainable scale. Both Gorton’s and Mrs. Paul’s use pollock in their fish sticks and non-species-specific “filets.” The U.S. pollock fishery, as discussed in last week’s column, is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Worth noting, however, is that foreign pollock fisheries are not certified, so make sure what you buy is labeled “product of USA.”

Read the complete story from The Center for American Progress.

 

 

 

 

 

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton – May 20, 2011 – Major changes are coming to the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch program.

There is a new director of Seafood Watch – Jennifer Dianto, who has returned to lead the program this year after a three year absence. The Aquarium has a new foodservice contract with Aramark, replacing Compass and Bon Appitit who served the aquarium for many years. And most importantly, according to Jennifer, the program is now aggressively focused on partnering with seafood buyers, and adjusting its priorities in terms of research to those seafood products most important to its corporate partners.

All of this came out at the tenth annual Cooking for Solutions conference, where the Aquarium highlights awards to celebrity chefs and puts on a program for national media focused on sustainability.

At a panel discussing seafood watch, with three people from the Aquarium, and one from EDF, Sheila Bowman, outreach manager, said that use of the Seafood Watch wallet cards had peaked, and was now declining.

She said that a survey of 19,000 people done for the aquarium showed that although they had distributed over 36 million cards, most people looked at it once or twice, and then did not use it. Only 500,000 used it on a regular and continuing basis.

Further, the number of cards distributed annually peaked, at around 4 million, and is now declining.

Jennifer Dianto was very direct. The program had primarily been aimed at consumers over the past years, but now the Aquarium has major business partners at the table, and they need much more specific and granular sourcing information.

They are working with Aramark, Compass, Disney, Whole Foods, Santa Monica Seafood, HighLiner, and Icelandic, for example, whose sourcing needs are going to drive the information gathering priorities for the program.

Jennifer said that instead of 70 or 90 items on a card with green, yellow or red recommendations, they now have a database of over 2400 fisheries, with evaluations that help their partners source from fisheries that are either currently exhibiting best practices, or are improving.

In short, the Aquarium is shifting from a buy / don't buy approach to a fisheries improvement approach. They are doing this because there has been a major change by the industry and major buyers committing to sustainable seafood.

The experience of Icelandic is a good example. Aramark, one of the largest foodservice distributors in the U.S., partnered with Monterey Bay and Seafood Watch on their seafood purchasing program. Icelandic is a major supplier to Aramark, and wanted to support their customer's initiatives. So according to Chuck Spencer, Icelandic USA, they sat down together and looked at which species Aramark depended on that were most problematic in terms of sustainability.

Some of these species were on the 'avoid' list. Instead of dropping them, Seafood Watch made more detailed site visits, put more effort into researching and understanding specific fisheries, and also noted where improvement plans were in place. Jennifer said that needs of partners like Aramark would drive their efforts to evaluate fisheries, as they have limited resources.

High Liner also is a major partner with Seafood Watch, and has had the same type of discussions.

The result is a win/win for both the Aquarium and their partners. This is a far cry from the wallet cards, which often elicited industry outrage because they were so broad brush as to be misleading, and sometimes failed to account for the complexity of many fisheries.

By focusing with more granularity and looking in more detail at actual sourcing problems, the Aquarium is adopting a business facing, rather than a consumer facing approach.

One other aspect of this, that will be developed over the coming year, is greater equivalence and acceptance of work done by other credible NGO's, such as MSC, in the Aquarium's rating scheme. They are committed to the common vision, the joint statement by 17 NGO's who are all working with retail partners in the US, and who see the need to agree on standards for sustainability. They are also building a more transparent database and process with their partners.

The wallet card was produced twice a year; often not keeping up with changes and improving conditions in fisheries. Under the new data driven system, with currently over 2400 fisheries in their evaluation database, the recommendations can be updated weekly and made available through the iphone app, and through buyers guides that are detailed and up to date.

Chefs have loved the wallet cards. It is the buy-in by the chef community that has made Seafood Watch one of the most used sustainability rating systems, and the Aquarium is not abandoning this approach – there will still be wallet cards with buy / don't buy advice. But they are adjusting to the idea that consumer behavior has 'plateaued' and that further gains in sustainability for seafood will come through partnerships with the industry.

Interestingly, this is the same conclusion reached by Waitrose in the UK, as we reported from Brussels.

Two of the most welcome statements made at the conference were, first, that the Aquarium's guide is focused on the science and ecological health of the fishery. It does not account for, and is not designed for, social measurements of things like income distribution, carbon, or other aspects which for some groups keep moving the bar on sustainability, making it an impossible target to reach.

I asked the group whether Monterey graded on a curve – ie. wanted to maintain a balance of acceptable and unacceptable practices, so that each year there would always be species on the red list. Jennifer said unequivocally no. They would be successful if all the fisheries they rated were Green.

This attitude is in fact the basis of a partnership, because the aquarium is saying that their program does not depend on defining an opponent who will always be on the wrong side. Unlike some sustainability groups whose existence depends on conflict, the aquarium is saying that for them, the most important aspect is partnerships that improve fisheries.

This is very much in the mainstream of groups like SFP, WWF, and MSC all of which have made multiple commitments to industry partners in a constructive manner.

The switch over to Aramark in foodservice for the Aquarium also illustrated change.

For the first time, last fall, the Aquarium put its foodservice contract out to bid. Before that they had partnered exclusively with Compass and Bon Appitit. Aramark came in with a proposal that featured hiring a new executive chef, Cindy Pawlcyn, who ran well known restaurants in Napa valley. Th aquarium was pleased and surprised that Aramark would make such a big commitment with a well known chef. Aramark also offered plans to revamp the entire foodservice operation at the Aquarium that gets millions of visitors per year. Aramark also agreed to promote their partnership with Seafood Watch with their other major customers, and made a commitment for sustainable sourcing.

For the cooking for solutions event, Aramark bought about a dozen of their top chefs from resort and park properties around the country.

Also, this year, the program went far beyond seafood. One keynote speaker was Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of the USDA. She said her goal was to grow organic production by 25% a year in the U.S.

And the panel on ecolabels did not have a single representative from the seafood industry, or from any of the NGO's that use ecolabels. Instead, a professor from the Univ. of Arkansas who is developing an academic sustainability consortium, and Dr. Urvashi Rangan, head of technical research at Consumers Union were two of the panalists Rangan said ecolabels were not a silver bullet, because they are one dimensional and address only one or two issues of concern.

The panel thought it would be too complex in terms of standards and data for an ecolabel to represent the entire lifecycle of a product – including things such as carbon, waste, and ecological impact.

Overall, given the speakers and the program, it appears that the Aquarium and Julie Packard are looking at broader issues of food production on land, waste streams, carbon footprints, and a range of issues that go far beyond the basic sustainability of the seafood industry. This is a recognition that there are real improvements going on in fisheries, and that the types of efforts needed to create a sustainable food system go far beyond fisheries, where the industry has largely moved ahead of land based agriculture and meat and poultry production in terms of adopting sustainability.

This article is re-published with permission from Seafood.com News, a subscription news service.