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MSC appoints new director to lead US program

July 28, 2022 — The following was released by The Marine Stewardship Council

The Marine Stewardship Council today announced the appointment of Nicole Condon as Program Director to lead the US strategy and position MSC as a leader in the sustainable seafood movement. Condon will step into this role effective August 1.

 
As US Program Director, Condon will oversee the fisheries, commercial, marketing and communications strategies to develop opportunities for growth in the US market, from certified fisheries to MSC labelled products. She brings with her a combined experience of almost 20 years in marine science, non-profit program management, and seafood sustainability. Condon joined the MSC in 2018 as a Senior Commercial Manager, overseeing engagement with MSC certified companies and market development along the supply chain in the Eastern US. She joined the MSC from World Wildlife Fund’s Global Seafood Markets team where she developed sustainable seafood strategies with global companies and built collaborative industry platforms in key markets around the world to create positive impacts for seafood, people, and nature.
 
Condon takes over from Eric Critchlow who served in this role for the past six years. Eric is retiring following a 48-year career in the seafood industry covering everything from the dock to Executive positions. Under Eric’s leadership, the MSC has seen consistent engagement with US fisheries and growth in commercial partner commitments to sourcing MSC certified sustainable seafood. 
 
Erika Feller, Americas regional director, said: “Bringing Nicole on as US Program Director is the right move for the MSC because of her extensive knowledge and experience building strong partnerships with the seafood industry, and her ability to see the big picture when it comes to sustainability and healthy oceans. I am thrilled to be welcoming Nicole into this new role and to seeing continued growth of MSC certified sustainable seafood in the US. We are so grateful to Eric for all his contributions to the MSC over the last six years and send our absolute best wishes to him on his retirement.”
 
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in the demand for more sustainable seafood options in the US market over the past few years,” said Condon. “I’m excited to work with our current and future partners to continue this momentum and elevate the MSC even further as a leader on sustainable seafood – ultimately driving measurable and impactful improvements in our global fisheries and supply chains.”
 
The change in leadership comes at a time when approximately 35% of global fish stocks are overfished, as published in the recent 2022 UN FAO State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture report. This prompted the UN FAO to call for a “Blue Transformation,” expanding the contribution of fish, seafood and seaweed to global food security and nutrition. Effective ecosystem-based fisheries management, ending overfishing, is one of three core pillars for delivering this transformation. The report recognizes the role of certification schemes such as that overseen by the MSC in contributing to this effort. MSC recently announced an ambitious commitment to work towards one third of global wild marine catch certified or engaged in its sustainable fishing program by 2030.
 
Seafood consumers are also concerned. A 2022 GlobeScan survey showed 82% of US respondents expressing concern about the state of the ocean[1]. But more seafood consumers than ever believe their choices can make a difference to the health of the ocean; the 2022 survey showed an increase (4%) from two years ago. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of U.S. consumers surveyed believe that people should eat seafood from sustainable sources, up from 55% compared with 2 years ago and a 7% increase from the last time the survey was run in early 2020.
 
These challenges present opportunities for MSC to continue to be a powerful force for change as a market driven program. Continued work with scientists, fisheries managers, regional management bodies, NGOs, and the private sector is critical to see lasting change toward a blue transformation.

NFI, National Aquaculture Association Respond to TIME Story on Farmed Salmon

July 28, 2022 — The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and National Aquaculture Association are not staying quiet about a recent story published by editorial giant TIME about farmed salmon.

The story in question is entitled “3 Reasons to Avoid Farmed Salmon,” and was written by investigative journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins, a husband and wife team who recently published a book titled “Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of our Favorite Fish.” The book claims that salmon are “crammed into parasite-plagued cages and fed a chemical-laced diet.” And in their story for TIME, the authors lead the reader to believe that farmed salmon is not healthy, not sustainable, and on top of that is harming the environment.

“A recent column in TIME about farmed salmon appears to have attracted little or no editorial oversight as it was rife with inaccuracies masquerading as opinion,” NFI said in response. “This is not the first time this once vaunted publication has botched reporting on seafood.”

There is a war being waged against science by activists that would prefer decisions be based on politics, anecdotes and shameless misrepresentations and the authors deliver on this approach by basing their arguments on false factoids pulled from the news or discredited old studies in place of real facts. Here are just a few examples: 

FALSE: Salmon are raised in “crammed” cages. 

FACT: Salmon are grown in sea cages that contain less than 4% fish and more than 96% water. 

FALSE: Salmon are “doused with antibiotics”. 

FACT: Salmon are raised with little or no antibiotics under the watch of veterinarians. Farmers have a stewardship responsibility to care for the animals they raise. Farm-raised salmon receive the least medicines out of all the most popular animal proteins we buy at the grocery store. 

FALSE: “A single meal per month exceeds contaminant levels set by the World Health Organization”. 

FACT: Farm-raised salmon is very low in contaminants and meets or exceeds standards established by the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization. Salmon is one of the world’s best sources of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and is welcome on the menu of every G7 country, the European Union and across North America. 

FALSE: “A toxic stew [under farms] drives away marine life”. 

FACT: Salmon farmers know that pristine marine cage conditions are essential for high-quality salmon. Farm locations are carefully selected to ensure the ocean bottom is protected from significant nutrient loading by placing the farm in deep and fast-moving water. Farmers use underwater cameras to properly disperse feed, they carefully monitor the ocean bottom, and, like a farmer’s field, sites are given time to rest before being used again. 

FALSE: “Salmon die at a rate of 15 percent, much worse than 5 percent for chickens.” 

FACT: Wild salmon have a 5% survival rate. Farm-raised salmon have an 85% survival rate over the two-year period in which they are raised. Broiler chickens live for less than two months before being placed on a rotisserie, making this comparison a misrepresentation at best. 

Read the full article at Seafood News

New MSC US Program Director Nicole Condon: US must lead on seafood sustainability

July 28, 2022 — On Thursday, 28 June, Nicole Condon was named Marine Stewardship Council’s U.S. program director, replacing Eric Critchlow, who is retiring after a 48-year career in the seafood industry. Condon, who will begin in her new role 1 August, will oversee MSC’s fisheries, commercial, marketing, and communications strategies in the United States.

Condon joined MSC in 2018 as a senior commercial manager, overseeing engagement with MSC-certified companies and market development along the supply chain in the Eastern U.S. Condon will aim to advance MSC’s goal of having one third of global wild marine catch certified to its standard or engaged in its sustainable fishing program by 2030. Previously, she served on World Wildlife Fund’s Global Seafood Markets team, where she developed sustainable seafood strategies with global companies and built collaborative industry platforms in key global markets.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

New ‘Salmon Wars’ Book Spreads Menhaden Myths

July 14, 2022 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

Yesterday, Macmillan Publishers released Salmon Wars, a factually questionable book by former Los Angeles Times managing editor Douglas Frantz and former journalist turned private writer Catherine Collins. The book falsely claims that “overfishing from the Gulf of Mexico north to the Chesapeake Bay threatens a slender fish called a menhaden,” and inaccurately states that menhaden is “an integral player in minimizing algae blooms because it eats phytoplankton.”

According to the February 2020 stock assessment accepted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Congressionally-chartered interstate compact that regulates shared migratory fishery resources among East Coast states, Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor is overfishing occurring. A simple cursory review of the assessment clearly illustrates that the Atlantic menhaden population has not been overfished in several decades. Similarly, in 2021, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission found that the “Gulf of Mexico Gulf Menhaden stock is not experiencing overfishing and is not overfished.”

In fact, both Atlantic and Gulf menhaden are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which operates the world’s most respected global fishery certification program. This designation indicates that the stock is “fished in a way that does not threaten the population’s long-term health and minimizes the damaging effects of fishing to the surrounding wildlife and ecosystem.”

Mr. Frantz and Ms. Collins also continued to misinform their audience by making the oft-repeated claim that menhaden minimize algae blooms. This statement was discredited in a study conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary that proved menhaden do not improve overall water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The study examined “the amount of phytoplankton and nitrogen consumed and excreted by small groups of juvenile and adult menhaden during 6-hour periods,” and found that “older menhaden hardly fed on phytoplankton at all.”  

The study, published in the February 22, 2010, issue of the Marine Ecology Progress Series, concluded that “based on [their] results as well as ecosystem modeling simulations, menhaden do not appear to represent a significant mechanism for removing nutrient inputs to the Bay.”

NWAA Reaction to New Anti-Aquaculture Book: “A Rehash of Old Claims”

July 14, 2022 — The following was released by the NWAA:

The Northwest Aquaculture Alliance (NWAA) is an organization of industry leading companies from Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska, who are engaged in the responsible production of aquatic foods. Our member companies embrace and comply with some of the most stringent standards in the world in the production of both finfish and shellfish—making these products highly desirable and in-demand in restaurants and retail supermarkets. Consumers care how their seafood is produced. So do we. For this reason, we take exception to the latest anti-aquaculture book to hit the market. We believe it does a disservice to the public to publish what is essentially a rehash of old, largely disproven, claims.

From a Washington state perspective, agencies such as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the Washington Department of Ecology, and the Department of Natural Resources, have been leaders in developing stringent regulations governing the production of aquatic foods such as salmonids, while protecting wild fish stocks and the environment. Our members welcome the regulatory oversight of these agencies and strive to be transparent and open with respect to aquaculture practices in Washington.

For example, in 2020, when our member company, Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, sought to transition from farming Atlantic salmon to steelhead, the state approved the petition to grow all-female, sterile trout. That approval imposed numerous new conditions on fish farming in Washington, which Cooke readily accepted. As part of that approval, WDFW engaged in extensive analysis and found no risk of significant adverse impacts associated with Cooke’s farming.

Environmental groups unsuccessfully appealed that decision, losing a hearing in Superior Court in 2020, and then again after the Washington State Supreme Court upheld that approval in a unanimous decision. Additionally, after a multi-year evaluation, the National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA recently completed its extensive analysis of fish farming in Washington, concluding that there is no harm to listed species at farming levels equal to or less than the historic maximum production in Washington.

Our NWAA member companies depend on a healthy environment to farm and are committed to supporting the environment. Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, for example, has not only embraced increased regulation of its operations, but the company has made enormous strides in working on fisheries enhancement projects in Washington as well as elsewhere. Cooke is committed to developing partnerships with the Tribes and local communities that benefit residents and the region, helping to ensure that there are wild fish for generations to come, and healthy, sustainable farmed fish to help meet the food demands of a growing global population.

Read the full release at NWAA

US public backs aquaculture, poll finds

June 24, 2022 — The US public would support moves to create “a clear, predictable pathway for offshore aquaculture”, according to a poll commissioned by lobby group Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS).

The survey, which polled just over 1,000 likely voters, found that two-thirds of voters would “feel more favourable towards” a member of Congress who voted to establish pathways for offshore aquaculture.

When informed that when learning that doubling US aquaculture production could create 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, 87% agreed that it is important to expand American seafood production.

Read the full story at Fish Farmer Magazine

 

Celebrating Pride Month with NOAA Fisheries

June 15, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries is proud to join the nation in recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer+ (LGBTQ+) Pride Month to commemorate the many contributions of LGBTQ+ colleagues. This celebration throughout June is held to increase the awareness of LGBTQ+ history and contributions of individuals who are a part of this community.

Explore the features below to learn more about a new employee resource group created to provide a safe space for all. Get a closer look at the work of staff members throughout the country who help achieve our mission of ensuring sustainable fisheries and conserving marine species for future generations.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

 

New executive director at California Wetfish Producers Association

Ma 27, 2022 — Economist and Pacific fisheries expert Mark Fina has been named executive director at the California Wetfish Producers Association, succeeding Diane Pleschner-Steele the group’s longtime leader.

Fina brings long experience in North Pacific fisheries. He started his analytical career working for the Anchorage, Alaska-based consulting firm Northern Economics.

After a year, he chose to focus his work on fisheries, taking a position as senior economist for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council where he led the analysis of several major fisheries management actions regulating the groundfish and crab fisheries off the state of Alaska. In this role, he also participated in a broad range of community, industry, and stakeholder forums across the state.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

California Wetfish Producers Association Welcomes a New Executive Director

May 25, 2022 — The following was released by the California Wetfish Producers Association:

The California Wetfish Producers Association (CWPA) welcomed Mark Fina, Mark Fina Consulting Services, as the Association’s new Executive Director. Mark brings long experience in North Pacific fisheries to his new position. He started his analytical career working for the Anchorage-based consulting firm Northern Economics. After a year, he chose to focus his work on fisheries, taking a position as senior economist for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. There, he led the analysis of several major fisheries management actions regulating the groundfish and crab fisheries off the state of Alaska. In this role, he also participated in a broad range of community, industry, and stakeholder forums across the state.

After a decade with the North Pacific Council, he joined United States Seafoods where he represented the company in the fishery regulatory process. He also served as President of the Alaska Seafood Cooperative, the entity overseeing the harvest of quota in the offshore Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands multispecies groundfish fisheries. For the past five years, he has worked in seafood certification, and currently serves as the chair of the board of the Responsible Fisheries Management program, a North American seafood certification program benchmarked by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative. Mark has a J.D. from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech. Mark commented, “I am very happy to be joining the CWPA and look forward to working with members to promote the sustainability of the coastal pelagic/wetfish fisheries in California, through collaborative research and facilitating dialogue both within and outside the industry.” Mark takes the helm of CWPA from outgoing longstanding Executive Director Diane Pleschner-Steele,

“My family has been urging me to slow down,” Pleschner-Steele explained, recounting her 40 years involved in fishery issues, including more than two decades as a journalist focused on west coast fisheries and a 10-year stint as manager of the California Seafood Council, advisory to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. She has spent the past 18 years at the helm of CWPA, a non-profit organization that she created with help from the CWPA Board. She recently retired from 18 years on the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel.

Although Pleschner-Steele is stepping down as Executive Director of CWPA, the Board has asked her to stay involved part-time behind the scenes to help manage CWPA’s extensive research program. CWPA partners with both the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, conducting collaborative field surveys targeting sardine, anchovy and market squid. The goal of these projects is to improve the science governing fishery management policies.

California’s fishing industry faces myriad challenges in the coming years, with offshore wind development on the fast track, NOAA’s initiative to foster ocean aquaculture recently identifying Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in Southern California, and the national and California campaigns to conserve 30 percent of all land and coastal waters by the year 2030, all threatening to usurp valuable fishing grounds. “The future of fishing as we know it is threatened,” Pleschner-Steele said, “But the future of California’s historic wetfish industry lies in improving the science underpinning fishery management.” She added, “I’m delighted that Mark has joined this association.
I’m happy to help but I’m confident that this association will be in good hands with Mark Fina manning the helm of CWPA.”