International & Trade

May 10, 2013 — Fish piracy – seafood caught illegally, not reported to authorities or outside environmental and catch regulations – represents as much as $10 billion to $23 billion in global losses each year, a non-profit conservation group estimated Wednesday.

Since pirated fish is sold on black markets, specifics of the economic impact are tough to decipher. But Oceana, a Washington-based organisation, looked at the records of fish catches by country as reported to the United Nations, then compared those statistics to seafood sales in various world markets.

When these numbers didn't match up, the group estimated the amount lost through fish piracy, a practice that US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator Jane Lubchenco has called "one of the most serious threats to American fishing jobs and fishing communities."

The report said illegal trade could account for 11 million to 25 million metric tons of seafood, a minimum of 20 per cent of seafood worldwide.

Illegal fishing targets some of the most expensive species, including shrimp, fugu pufferfish, lobster, whole abalone and sea urchin uni. Penalties are often a fraction of potential profit, the report found. In one US case, an illegal catch worth up to $1 million brought a $3,5000 penalty.

The report estimated that illegal trade threatens 260 million jobs dependant on marine fisheries.

For example, the shark fin trade in Hong Kong suggests that three to four times more sharks are being killed than official reports say, with $292 million to $476 worth of shark fins sold.

Read the full story here

 

May 4, 2013 — Wearing life jackets and bobbing on the gentle waves of the Arabian Sea, supporters of a candidate in Pakistan’s upcoming nationwide election held a waterborne rally to highlight the challenges faced by their embattled fishing community.

Backers of independent political candidate Haji Usman Ghani took to the water Friday on a flotilla of fishing boats. He is contesting May 11 elections for the Sindh provincial assembly from a constituency near the southern port of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, and many of his prospective voters work in the fishing industry on the nearby coast.

Dozens of boats filled with his supporters left the harbor and went into the Arabian Sea with flags flying.

Supporters did not let their cumbersome life jackets get in the way of the festive atmosphere, and danced and chanted slogans to show their support for Ghani.

But the candidate had a serious message. Ghani, who’s been a social activist in the area for years, promised to improve the education system and provide clean drinking water to his constituency if elected.

‘‘Our children don’t get an education. We were forced to use contaminated water…There are no teachers in schools and colleges of the area. That is why I had to come forward and contest elections to get our problems solved. We supported and followed others for long, but no more. We will solve our problems ourselves,’’ Ghani said.

Many people who took one of the roughly 50 boats taking part in the flotilla complained that the government has done little to help the fishing community.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

 

 

April 30, 2013 — The United States and the Russian Federation have a long history of working together on fisheries issues. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations (signed on May 21, 1988), which set the stage for conservation, management and optimal utilization of shared fisheries resources between both nations.  But many things have changed in the last 25 years. International fisheries resources are increasingly being sought after, and in some cases over-exploited, due to increased demand for seafood products and illegal fishing activities. At the same time, changing climate and ocean conditions, including in the Arctic Ocean, will present real challenges in the near future for international fisheries conservation and management.

To help address these and other important issues of common interest, NOAA and the Federal Agency for Fisheries of the Russian Federation signed yesterday a Joint Statement on Enhanced Fisheries Cooperation. The Joint Statement reaffirms the May 1988 Agreement while also identifying three major areas of future cooperation: 1) combating global Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing; 2) collaborating on science and management of Arctic Ocean living marine resources ; and 3) advancing conservation efforts in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. NOAA and the Russian Fisheries Agency have an excellent history of science cooperation. NOAA hopes that the joint statement will further strengthen the foundation of that cooperation.

Joint Statement Focus Areas

Strengthening enforcement is one if the best tools to combat IUU fishing. Since 2008, the United States and Russia have been negotiating a fisheries law enforcement agreement that will enhance the ability of both governments to address problems related to IUU fishing, both at sea and throughout the product supply chain. The agreement will allow both governments to share critical information and coordinate among the full range of government agencies that can take actions in support of fisheries law enforcement.  The United States and Russia hope to sign the agreement later this year.

The Joint Statement also focuses on the Arctic Ocean; a region that is warming faster on average than the rest of the planet. As climate change continues to impact this region, increasingly larger portions of the Arctic will become ice free in the summer, allowing countries to exploit fisheries resources in areas previously inaccessible. To this end, the United States is committed to working with Russia and other Arctic nations to develop an international mechanism to sustainably manage future Arctic resources. Emphasis will also be placed on research aimed at increasing our understanding of the Arctic ecosystem and fisheries to inform appropriate fisheries management and conservation efforts.

Lastly, the Joint Statement highlights the need for cooperation in the Southern Ocean through the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR). The United States is committed to working with Russia and other CCAMLR member nations to advance a joint U.S-New Zealand proposal to list a portion of the Antarctic Ross Sea as an international Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Ross Sea is one of the most pristine natural regions in the world with tremendous conservation and scientific value. If adopted at this year’s CCAMLR meeting in July, the Ross Sea MPA would be the largest international marine protected area in the world.

Read the release from NOAA

 

 

May 1, 2013 — In the UK, the High Court is being asked to make a judgement over the question of who owns the fish in the sea.

The government wants to reallocate unused quota worth more than £1m from big firms to small-scale fishermen.

But the UK Association of Fish Producer Organisations says the government cannot do this without its consent.

It is asking the High Court to rule on whether the allocation of a quota confers a permanent right to fish yet to be caught.

Fishing quotas are a licence to make a living from the seas. Without them you cannot legally catch and sell fish.

UKAFPO members, mainly large-scale fishermen, currently control more than 90% of the overall fishing quota for England and Wales.

And small-scale fishing round Britain’s traditional ports has suffered because crews have been unable to negotiate control of enough of the quota to stay in business.

But large fleets have left about 800 tonnes of their quota untouched for years, so the Fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon, decided to confiscate that amount of the quota to share out among small operators.

Read the full story at BBC News

 

May 1, 2013 —  The United Kingdom (UK), which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, is racing to meet a European Union (EU) goal set in 2009 to generate 20% of the EU’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.

Offshore wind energy is a big part of the UK’s strategy for keeping up its end of the bargain, and the speed at which wind farm construction has taken place has suddenly and irrevocably changed the lives of the inshore fishermen who once fished the waters the farms now occupy.

As of early 2013, a total of 25 wind farms, ranging in size from 30 to 216 turbines, were either under construction or operational in UK waters. In a number of areas, the farms are clustered or contiguous, intensifying the impact on fishing operations.

The learning curve for UK fishermen has been huge.

“The government went for a rapid and massive drive into ‘renewable energy’ through wind farms at sea and the fishing industry was left to catch up,” said Tom Watson, a former fisherman who now serves as a fishing industry representative for seven offshore wind farm projects.

Government officials, too, have been scrambling to figure out new siting and leasing procedures, how to rapidly assess environmental impacts, and how best to engage the public in planning processes to ensure that offshore wind farms are sited where they will do the most good – and the least harm.

Even energy companies have learned that relatively minor changes in their approaches to building offshore wind farms and opening up lines of communication can help build better working relationships with fishing communities.

Read the full story from Commercial Fisheries News

 

 

April 29, 2013 — The regional Northeast Seafood Coalition, is holding a major public rally calling for more Federal help for the region's groundfishing industry which is under severe pressure at the moment. Because of restrictions, catches of cod, the staple species of the area, have fallen by over 70 per cent.

The Northeast Seafood Coalition has issued an open invitation for fishermen and their supporters to attend the rally which starts from the Boston Fish Pier. It says the rally will provide an opportunity for the groundfish industry to call upon the federal government for short and long-term assistance and mitigation that are critical to keeping businesses viable.
 
With the start of the new fishing season on Wednesday this week, the organisers are keen to get their message across to the government and to the public. They say the industry has been in decline since the Obama administration adopted a policy of making the industry move to a catch share management system. This provokes fishermen into trading their share of the quota which has benefited larger vessels to the detriment of the smaller independently owned trawlers.
 

Read the full story at Fish Update 

April 26, 2013 — The Sustainable Seafood Coalition (SSC) has released a draft voluntary code of conduct to make seafood labeling consistent and easy for U.K. consumers to understand with accurate information on sustainability and responsible sourcing.

The “SSC Code of Conduct on Environmental Labeling and Self-Declared Environmental claims of Fish and Seafood” has been agreed on by the 27 SSC members, including Tesco, Waitrose, Morrissons, Marks & Spencer and Birds Eye.

It is the first seafood labeling code to be proposed by U.K. retailers.

The coalition, which was established in 2011 by ClientEarth, is seeking feedback on the draft from the public and interested stakeholders for a period of six weeks, from 26 April to 7 June 2013. 

The code sets out minimum commitments made by the members regarding voluntary environmental labeling, including self-declared environmental claims on or in relation to their own fish whether used on product labels, menus, in-store signs or other communications.

It is also supposed to ensure that such self-declared environmental claims have a consistent meaning in the market and avoid misleading consumers.

Read the full story at Seafood Source 

 

BRUSSELS — April 26, 2013 — Amid images of ocean waves, Craig Harrison assessed his rivals in a tough maritime competition that he has lost for the past seven years. This time, contenders for the coveted Prix d'Elite included spreadable algae, toastable salmon-waffles and mussel-stew ice cream.

"It's not about winning," said Mr. Harrison, sales manager at Britain's Big Prawn Co. "But we're always the bridesmaid…"

Big Prawn was aiming to reel in an award at the European Seafood Exposition, a three-day trade show that floods local hotels and calls itself "the world's largest and most prestigious seafood event."

Many attendees at this Davy Jones's food locker were just trawling for wholesale buyers of their aquatic fare. But a bold few tested new culinary waters, trying to net the multibillion-dollar industry's top innovation award.

"These are the seafood Oscars," said Pierrick Clement, general manager of French food company Britexa SARL, which was betting on a promiscuous sea snail to win the top prize.

But something fishy marked this year's contest: a lack of fish. Finalists included the sea snails, several seaweed products and a range of other dishes that never had fins or scales.

The maritime innovations highlighted tension bubbling up at the show. With demand for seafood rising as fish stocks ebb, chefs world-wide are searching for new ways to satisfy diners' hunger for things aquatic.

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal 

 

 

April 26, 2013 — Shark fin soup could soon be off the banquet menu. 

If you have been invited to a formal Chinese banquet or wedding in the past few decades, it is likely you were served a bowl of soup. Swimming within that bowl of soup may have been translucent strands: chewy in texture, thick like vermicelli and fairly innocuous in taste. If you lifted your spoon and ate a bite, you most likely had a taste of shark fin soup.

You were not alone, though. Shark fin soup was commonly served at Chinese weddings and banquets as a delicacy and a way of "giving face", or showing respect to honored guests. Many Chinese who eat shark fin soup do not even know what it is. The Chinese translation for shark fin is literally "fish wing", so it is not immediately clear to diners that the stringy tendrils are actually from harvested sharks.

As many as one-third of open ocean shark species are currently threatened with extinction, some experiencing a 99 percent population decline.

According to a study published by Shelley C. Clarke in 2006, the shark fin trade (which includes components for soup as well as medicinal remedies) kills upward of 73 million sharks per year. While only 15 shark species were considered threatened in 1996, more than 180 species were in danger as of 2010. At stake is a total collapse of the food chain due to the fact that sharks are apex predators and are critical to the health of ecosystems such as coral reefs. To further complicate the situation, recovery of the existing shark population is disastrously slow because of their lower reproductive rates.

A widespread international movement has addressed the overfishing of the world's most feared predator by imposing shark fin bans. These include the US Shark Conservation Act passed in 2012 as well as bans on shark fin products in California, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon. The European Union is considering a ban that would forbid shark fishing in EU waters and by all EU registered vessels.

Around Asia, the tide has also been turning in favor of shark conservationists. Major grocers in Singapore (including Cold Storage, FairPrice and Carrefour) have banned shark fin products from their shelves. Cathay Pacific Airlines banned the transportation of shark fin products on all its flights, and even Hong Kong Disneyland has removed shark fin soup from its banquet menus.

Read the full story at China Daily 

April 25, 2013 — After the horse-meat scandal, experts believe that up to a quarter of cod samples in Dublin have been mislabelled.

Irish people are eating more fish. It's healthy, light in calories, but new research shows we could be eating cheap fish substituted for more expensive species. A recent survey in Europe showed about a quarter to a third of fish products tested were not what was described on the packet or menu.

More worrying is that new species of fish, some which have never been consumed before, are being sold into the fish pies, fish cakes and even fresh fish that we buy.

We know from the shocking Food Safety Authority of Ireland's study in 2011 that up to a quarter of cod samples bought in Dublin restaurants, shops and supermarkets were, in fact, cheaper species.

In the case of smoked cod, nearly 90pc was a different fish.

Read the full story at The Independent