International & Trade

BRUSSELS (AP) — October 23, 2013 — The European Parliament has voted down proposals to subsidize the construction of more fishing vessels and has set caps on public spending on fleets in a move by the legislature to contain overfishing.

European Union fisheries chief Maria Damanaki said that Wednesday's vote will instead allow for "funding projects which promote a sustainable future for the fishing industry."

The parliamentary vote centered on the 6.5 billion euros ($8.9 billion) in fisheries subsidies and how they should be spent during the 2014-2020 period. Campaigners have argued that building up and modernizing the EU fishing fleet with public funds would only add to the overfishing that depleted EU waters over the past decades.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

COMBRIT, France — October 22, 2013 — A vote by the European Parliament, set for Oct. 23 in Strasbourg, France, could determine whether those subsidies continue to support the big-fleet approach or, instead, help pay for changes meant to steer the European Union’s saltwater fishing industry toward a more environmentally sound future.

In a world of giant trawlers and fish-farming operations, Gwenaël Pennarun still sets out most days from this Breton village to catch sea bass the old-fashioned way, with baited hooks.

It is a way of life, and work, that he hopes the European Union will continue to support, depending on a coming vote on its fishing policies.

Early on a crisp and windy morning recently, Mr. Pennarun, 50, was a few miles offshore in the Bay of Biscay, hooking minnows and playing out several dozen long lines with an efficiency born of 30 years on the job. Though the risk of a fatal fall overboard is always present for someone working alone, he nevertheless appeared oblivious to the tilt of the deck and the soaking spray as his 8.5-meter, or 28-foot, aluminum boat climbed and plunged with each wave.

A kilogram — or 2.2 pounds — of line-caught sea bass fillets, known in French as “bar de ligne,” can retail for more than 100 euros, or $137, in a Paris fish market, about double that of trawled fish and perhaps four times that of most farmed. The line-caught fish reach the dock fresh, and often alive, not frozen like trawled fish, and many customers prefer the taste and texture of the wild fish to that of farmed. Eco-conscious consumers may also be willing to pay more for fish caught according to a method that groups like Greenpeace endorse for “sustainability.”

While he is able to support his family, like many “artisanal” fishermen and women here Mr. Pennarun worries that his livelihood is at risk from industrial fishing operations subsidized by the European Union. Even the Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, has acknowledged that the subsidies, worth hundreds of millions of euros each year, support a fleet that is two to three times as large as is ecologically or commercially sustainable.

Read the full story at The New York Times 

FAROE ISLANDS — October 21, 2013 — Queen scallops from the Faroe Islands have won the coveted blue MSC ecolabel after a 14 month independent assessment by certifier Vottunarstofan Tún ehf. The certification follows a five year effort by fishery managers to win MSC certification for their fishery.

With fishing licenses granted to a single vessel, the scallop fishery has a long history of low-impact, fishing and it scored well on its environmental impact and management. However, it had previously suffered do to a lack of scientific data on scallop stocks.

By using the MSC’s risk-based framework (RBF), the auditors were able to establish the sustainability of the stocks by taking a more precautionary approach to ensure that stocks are sustainable and there is very little risk of stock and habitat harm from fishing practices. As part of the certification, managers have committed to further improvements to build scientific data available on scallop stocks and how quickly fishing grounds recover.

Jógvan Martin F. Joensen from the fishery said: “Based on long-term stable catches we have always been convinced that our queen scallop fishery is sustainable in every sense and now customers and consumers can easily verify that by seeing the MSC logo. The certification process took a long time as fishery evaluators needed scientific information, which was not immediately available. Having achieved the MSC certification is a positive development in our fishery and has already proven to be advantage when marketing the products abroad.”

Read the full story at The Fish Site

October 15, 2013 — "The potential to enhance a reputation is huge, but the potential to damage reputation is also massive. Anyone minded to do so can start a campaign and we have a real job to do to make sure these campaigns are not about seafood integrity, or the lack of."

"We need to engage with consumers in the right way, we need to make the most of social media, of Facebook and Twitter, shout about positive initiatives that are going on and instill trust in our customers," said Hannah Macintyre, fisheries and aquaculture manager for the £9.5-billion retailer.

"We need to build relationships in both directions in the supply chain and understand the challenges faced on a daily basis. As an industry we need to be leading the way in integrity and make sure this time next year we are not going through our own horse meat scandal and ensure the next generation of seafood lovers."

Marks and Spencer is developing a web-platform to guide customers around the fish aisle.

"Trust is in Marks and Spencer's brand, and we need to remember that," she said. "We stock 37 different species and there will be a web-page for all of them to 'meet the fish'. People can visit the website, learn how it was caught, where it was caught, learn the Latin name and get recipe ideas. I will be really fantastic."

Marks and Spencer sells products in 766 U.K. and 418 international stores. Their Simply Food franchise partnerships sell in convenience-oriented locations including railway stations and motorway service locations.

Read the full story at the Scunthorpe Telegraph

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [seafoodnews.com] — October 16, 2013 — Chilean Sea Bass shipments to the US are currently not eligible to enter the US as NOAA is unable to process the proper paperwork due to the ongoing government shutdown.

Chilean Sea Bass shipments to the US are currently not eligible to enter the US as NOAA is unable to process the proper paperwork due to the ongoing government shutdown.

Importers have confirmed that Chilean Sea Bass shipments have been denied entry to the country because NOAA cannot process the Dissostichus Catch Document (DCD) required to clear Customs.

According to F.W. Bryce importer Ian Moore, NOAA sent an email to industry participants on Sept. 30–the day before the shutdown–that said the agency's National Seafood Inspection Laboratory will not be operating and not be able to process DCD applications for Chilean Sea Bass. 

"We are sure you are aware of the potential lapse in government appropriations to occur at midnight on September 30, 2013 if Congress does not enact a resolution.  While there is still time for Congress to prevent the lapse, we have been advised to prepare for all contingencies, including a shut down of government services.  Should this occur, the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory will be closed on October 1, 2013 and we will not be available until the government is funded.  We are hopeful that this will not occur, but want you to be prepared for a potential lapse in availability of services.  We will update you when we know more," said NOAA's Kim Dawson-Guynn and Lori Robinson in the email.

Moore added that importers are not allowed to place containers in bond under cold storage to wait out the shutdown either; a move used by importers to secure products on US soil while they sort out any necessecary paperwork to clear Customs.

Moore said he had not seen other memos relating to the hold up aside from the early October note.

Another importer said some industry participants were prepared for NOAA's shutdown and placed Chilean Sea Bass orders ahead of time to secure their supplies before the halt to the application process.

However it's been reported that some US importers are holding onto limited Chilean Sea Bass supplies as their shipments have been denied entry amid the DCD processing stoppage.

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

October 15, 2013 — In an unprecedented decision the federal Conservative government is allowing one of the region's largest seafood processors to hire a foreign vessel to catch its Canadian fish quota.

The move is being described as a temporary solution to a shore-based disaster, but it is raising questions for some.

"It sets a dangerous precedent," said outgoing Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Sterling Belliveau. "I'm amazed. When I look at rural Nova Scotia I see boats tied up because they have no access to resource."

Earlier this month federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea approved a request from Premium Seafoods in Arichat, to use the Icelandic factory freezer trawler Venus to catch and process 1,500 metric tonnes of redfish.

In August the company was hit with a devastating fire that destroyed its processing plant.

That's why the company approached Ottawa looking for an exemption to the rule requiring Canadian vessels to catch Canadian quota, said Premium Seafoods president Edgar Samson.

Read the full story from CBC Radio Canada

TOKYO — October 10, 2013 — The head of the U.N. nuclear agency urged Japan on Thursday to work harder to address international concerns about leaks of contaminated water at its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant and said his agency will jointly monitor radiation levels in the nearby ocean.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano told Japan’s top nuclear regulator in talks in Tokyo that it is crucial that the country share data with the international community about the safety of Japanese waters and marine life. South Korea recently imposed a ban on fish from the area.

Japanese officials acknowledged in July that the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has been leaking radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean since soon after its March 2011 meltdowns. Repeated leaks of contaminated water from storage tanks at the plant have added to the international concerns.

‘‘Ocean monitoring is extremely important, and the IAEA would very much like to provide as much support as possible,’’ Amano told Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shinichi Tanaka at the start of the talks. Monitoring methods and other details will be discussed when a team of IAEA experts visits Japan next month, officials said.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe 

October 8, 2013 — Big difficulties, one after another, have come to seafood processing companies. Chinese businessmen jumped into the domestic material market, scrambling for materials, thus rushing up the shrimp prices by two folds. Meanwhile, farmers recently have refused to sell shrimp, because they believe the prices would increase further.

Shrimp export companies have been put on tenterhooks as they are seriously lacking materials for processing.

The farmers in the coastal districts of Tra Vinh province, including Duyen Hai, Cau Ngang, Tra Cu and Chau Thanh began the shrimp harvesting in mid- September, expecting a bountiful crop.

However, the local seafood processing companies remain thirsty for materials. The merchants from other localities have come to collect shrimp in large quantities. The “war” between the local companies and the merchants has made the shrimp prices increase day by day.

The representative of the Cuu Long Seafood Processing and Export Company said though the company sets a relatively high price, which is half as high against the last year’s price, it still cannot collect shrimp.

The more the shrimp prices increase, the less shrimp products are available on the market. The upward trend in shrimp price has prompted farmers to hoard shrimp for selling later, when the prices go up.

Read the full story here

October 7, 2013 — An invasive species of mussel has arrived in British Columbia, carried over by a boat that appears to have been pushed across the Pacific Ocean by the massive Japanese tsunami of 2011.

The six-metre boat, which washed up on Vancouver Island's Long Beach on Sunday, appears to have faded Japanese writing on the hull and is encrusted with Mediterranean mussels and large pelagic barnacles.

John Chapman, an invasive species biologist who studies tsunami debris at Oregon State University, said the mussels could threaten the local B.C. habitat.

"These things that are coming from Japan have the enormous potential to bring parasites and pathogens and diseases with them," he said.

Read the full story at the CBC