Saving Seafood

Washington

The Winding Glass: What’s in Store for U.S. Fisheries After the Election?

November 4 2024 — The U.S. government and the seafood industry are deeply intertwined.  Since the outcome of Tuesday’s election is unknown, the industry is facing significant uncertainties regarding regulatory policies and trade dynamics.

I want to call out a few areas where monumental changes may occur, depending on which candidate wins.

Of course, the seafood industry exists within the larger macro-economic environment, and things like consumer confidence, real wages, inflation, and the cost of competing proteins all impact demand for seafood. However, we are also tied to governmental agencies in very specific ways.

First is trade. America is both a leading exporter of seafood and a leading importer.  That is because some of our high-value exports are consumed abroad, and some of our major fisheries are export-oriented.  There are very few U.S. fisheries that exist entirely within the domestic market, and these are often lower-value regional products. Globally seafood was traded by 227 countries in 2020, far surpassing the number of countries trading any other food commodity.

American export-oriented fisheries by value are lobster, wild salmon, Alaska pollock and surimi, crab (king, snow, Dungeness), scallops, Pacific cod, and hake. Major disruptions of export markets for these species would affect domestic prices and cause difficulties for domestic producers.

Read the full article at SeafoodNews

Commercial scalloper: “I just want to get by and not get ripped off.”

November 4, 2024 — Fifty-year fishing veteran Doug Smith, better known as Captain Smitty on the waterfront, is worried about the state of commercial scalloping on Nantucket.

Catching them isn’t the problem, he said.

The fishery is a far cry from what it was in the 1980s, but he had no issues collecting his five-bushel limit on the opening day of commercial scalloping season Friday. He was offloading his haul at Straight Wharf by noontime.

He’s concerned about what island fish markets will pay for his product.

“I’m scared, and I’m looking for new resources. Something new and exciting, rather than the three dominant buyers,” Smith said Friday.

Island fish markets would not confirm what they were paying fishermen for their scallops Friday, but several scallopers and dealers said that Sayle’s Seafood, Glidden’s Island Seafood and Nantucket Seafoods were offering between $12-14 a pound. Last year most buyers were paying $15 on opening day.

Read the full article at The Inquirer and Mirror 

ALASKA: Pollock trawl closure sends economic ripples across Kodiak as fishermen adapt

November 1, 2024 — Cole Hockema has been fishing since he was a teenager growing up in Oregon. For 12 years now he’s been trawling for pollock in the Gulf of Alaska, but today he’s sitting at home with his young daughters in Kodiak.

“We had lots of projects and stuff scheduled that we wanted to do at the end of the year and now we have a lot of time to do those, but we’re putting those on hold now until next year just because of a lack of money,” Hockema explained.

Hockema captains the Pacific Storm, a 100-foot trawler based out of Kodiak, which his father owns. The vast majority of the Central Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet is made up of local boats like his.

According to the trade group Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, 19 boats were fishing in the Central Gulf of Alaska when the pollock fishery closed on Sept. 25. 15 of those are homeported in Kodiak.

Normally, fishermen like Hockema would be out on the water until early November, when the Gulf of Alaska’s pollock B season typically closes. But this fall season ended just three weeks into fishing, when two vessels incidentally hauled in approximately 2,000 Chinook salmon, which exceeded the fishery’s annual bycatch limit. Hockema said the Pacific Storm was offloading its catch on Sunday, Sept. 22 when they first got the news about the bycatch and he knew the fleet would need to stop fishing immediately.

Bycatch from the trawl fleet has caught a lot of negative attention over the years, especially as king salmon runs decline across the state.

Since the closure, the Central Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet has separated out into a few camps – some are trying to switch into rockfish and or flatfish to make up lost revenue, others are doing a couple trips for Pacific cod, and a few like Hockema are done fishing for the year.

“Yeah we just can’t invest in nicer, better gear to go get this one [Pacific] cod trip,” Hockema said. “And then we just don’t want to take the risk of going backwards out there, messing up gear, ripping up gear, costing us more money.”

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

CALIFORNIA: California crabbers have a whale of a problem: Season’s start delayed again

November 1, 2024 — California Dungeness crab, a staple of holiday celebrations for many West Coast families, won’t be widely available before early December and possibly not until next year – again.

For the sixth year in a row, the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has delayed the start of the commercial crab fishing season through most of the state’s coast to protect endangered humpback whales from getting entangled in vertical fishing lines, which can result in injuries and death.

Dungeness crabs, larger, meatier and more abundant in California than other species, are treasured by locals as well as tourists, who frequently consume them at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. The crustaceans are mostly found in the central and northern parts of the state.

Read the full article at USA TODAY

MAINE: Maine lobstermen worried about cuts to how much herring they can catch for bait

November 1, 2024 — Fishermen in Maine say they’re dealing with a new setback: a nearly 90 percent cut in how much herring they can bring in to bait lobster.

Congressman Jared Golden says he’s opposed to the limit, which would reduce the herring catch by 89 percent over three years.

Fishermen in Maine say they question how regulators came to that catch limit, saying the fish are out there.

Read the full article at Fox 23

Ocean City expects BOEM lawsuit to cost up to $400K

November 1, 2024 — The Town of Ocean City and several local agencies and businesses are suing a federal agency over its approval process for the US Wind project off Maryland’s coast.

On Oct. 25, the Town of Ocean City announced it has retained Marzulla Law, LLC to file a lawsuit against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The lawsuit, which lists several co-plaintiffs, challenges the agency’s process for approving the US Wind project, which will involve the construction of 114, 938-foot-tall wind turbines roughly 10 miles off the coast of Ocean City.

“We have a responsibility to protect our ecosystem, our economy, view shed and our future,” Mayor Rick Meehan said in a news release. “For the past seven and half years we have been trying to work with the State of Maryland and the federal government to address our concerns with this project. All of our concerns were either ignored or considered insignificant. It is unfortunate that it has come to this, but the Town was left with no choice but to file suit against BOEM and challenge their favorable record of decision on the US Wind project.”

In September, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a favorable record of decision for the commercial-scale Maryland offshore wind project. The agency’s approval concluded a two-year National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and set US Wind on a path to securing all of its remaining federal permits by the end of 2024.

Read the full article at The Dispatch

Advancing International Atlantic Salmon Conservation by Engaging Indigenous Peoples

November 1, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Atlantic salmon hold, and have held for thousands of years, cultural and subsistence value to many Indigenous Peoples across the North Atlantic for thousands of years. Indigenous Peoples maintain tremendous knowledge passed down through generations, and this body of knowledge continues to evolve and grow. NOAA Fisheries collaborates with indigenous communities to enhance knowledge and improve Atlantic salmon restoration efforts, including our work with Wabanaki Nations on Atlantic salmon restoration. However, engagement in international efforts has been limited—until now.

International Cooperation to Conserve Salmon

The Atlantic salmon that are born and spawn in Maine rivers, traverse long distances— spanning borders and cultures—across the North Atlantic to the west coast of Greenland. There, they share feeding grounds with salmon from Canadian and southern European rivers. We need to work collectively to share knowledge that will support management decisions to support Atlantic salmon, their native habitats, and the many cultures that depend on them.

Established in 1984, the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) is a regional fisheries management organization composed of:

  • Canada
  • Denmark (in respect to the Faroe Islands and Greenland)
  • European Union
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Russian Federation
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

These countries have come together to conserve, restore, and sustainably manage Atlantic salmon through international cooperation. In 2022, the participating countries recognized the importance of including Indigenous Knowledge and perspective in international efforts. They agreed to prioritize enhancing the participation of Indigenous Peoples in NASCO. At their 2023 annual meeting, they invited Indigenous Peoples throughout the North Atlantic to share their perspectives and roles in Atlantic salmon conservation. NASCO repeatedly heard about the need to include—and the benefits from including—Indigenous voices and perspectives and Indigenous Knowledge, into their decision-making processes. Incorporating these voices and knowledge systems would lead to better informed conservation decisions.

The United States was excited to learn more about how to best enhance Indigenous engagement in NASCO. We invited discussion on this topic with federally recognized tribes in New England. We heard perspectives from representatives of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Penobscot Nation, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik. We then advocated for independent participation in NASCO by all interested indigenous communities. NASCO rules now allow representatives from all tribes to participate in meetings, committees, and working groups.

“The Penobscot Nation is very excited to engage in discussions at this level with NASCO members to take care of our relative, the Atlantic salmon, throughout their entire range. There is a depth of indigenous knowledge that has been absent from management discussions on the U.S. side since the inception of NASCO. Although some of our partners have done well at trying to communicate for us, there is no replacement for direct discussions with each of the Wabanaki nations,” commented Chuck Loring, Director of Penobscot Nation’s Department of Natural Resources.Image

Moving Forward Together

This unprecedented decision makes NASCO the first regional fisheries management organization in the world to formally recognize and incorporate Indigenous Peoples into their work. “NOAA Fisheries is committed to honoring the unique relationship we have with Tribal Nations,” said Shannon Dionne, head of the U.S. delegation to NASCO and NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region. “The rules that NASCO adopted in June are a significant step forward towards inclusivity and representation and strengthen our ability to conserve and responsibly manage Atlantic salmon. We look forward to strengthening our relationships with Indigenous Peoples in this forum as we work together on these important issues.”

MASSACHUSETTS: Nantucket Commercial Scalloping Season Opens; Fisherman Getting $12 Per Pound

November 1, 2024 — Nantucket’s commercial scalloping season opened Friday morning with roughly 20 boats returning to the water as temperatures hovered in the 60s.

Most of the island’s fleet was in town, concentrating on Nantucket Harbor but a few boats were in Madaket Harbor.

The wholesale price paid to fishermen opened at $12 per pound – down from last year’s opening day price – while the retail price settled around $22 to $26 per pound at island fish markets.

Read the full article at the Nantucket Current

Study maps owners of world’s high-seas ships often tied to illegal fishing

November 1, 2024 — For decades, the owners of refrigerated container ships, or reefers, often associated with illegal fishing, have remained in the shadows. Now, a new study has traced 324 companies as the owners of 569 reefer vessels active between 2017 and 2022, identifying the people and countries behind these ships for the first time.

Reefers are used as floating storage for fishing fleets across the world’s high seas. These ships stay out at sea for several months, allowing catches to be off-loaded far from ports. The setup cuts fuel use by keeping fishing boats out longer, but experts warn it also enables the fishing industry to sidestep regulations, with reports linking reefers to not only illegal fishing but also severe human rights abuses, including forced labor.

“A vessel is just a piece of steel,” the study’s lead author Frida Bengtsson, a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, told Mongabay by phone. “These are companies and people making decisions. Knowing who owns the ships is a starting point for addressing concerns.”

Read the full article at Mongabay

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership launches toolkit to aid in aquaculture feed decision-making

November 1, 2024 — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has launched a Feed Solutions Toolkit for the aquaculture industry, which combines over 80 tools, standards, initiatives, and platforms from multiple organizations to help companies make informed and sustainable choices about aquaculture feed. 

“We want all seafood companies to include aquaculture feed in their sustainability commitments and policies because feed poses significant environmental and climate challenges,” SFP Aquaculture Information Manager Paul Bulcock said. “Addressing this issue, along with continued improvements in farm planning and management, will enhance aquaculture’s role as a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible food source.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource