Saving Seafood

Aquaculture drives aquatic food yields to new high

June 30, 2022 — The production of wild and farm-raised fish, shellfish and algae reached record levels in 2020, and future increases could be vital to fighting world hunger, the Food and Agriculture Organization said Wednesday.

Driven by sustained growth in aquaculture,  and aquatic farming together hauled in 214 million tonnes, the UN agency said in a report.

The total first-sale value of 2020 production topped $400 million, with $265 million coming from aquaculture, a sector poised for further expansion.

These trend lines are good news for a world facing price hikes and  due to the war in Ukraine, disrupted supply chains, and inflation.

Read the full story from Phys.org

 

Oregon State research uncovers key insight for restoration of globally important kelp forests

February 18, 2022 — Restoration efforts for kelp forests may be most effective in areas where the bedrock seafloor is highly contoured, research by Oregon State University suggests.

The findings, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are important because kelp, large algae with massive ecological and economic importance around the world, are under siege from environmental change and overgrazing by urchins.

The study, led by recent graduate Zachary Randell when he was an Oregon State doctoral student, shows that kelp forests in areas with ocean floor ruggedness – scientifically termed substrate complexity or surface rugosity – tend toward stability.

There were urchins in kelp forests growing in areas of high substrate complexity, but those urchins did not cause widespread destruction of kelp forests. One hypothesis is that substrate complexity retains “drift algae” – detached pieces of kelp and other algae – which urchins prefer to eat over live kelp, Randell said.

Read the full story at the Tillamook Headlight Herald

Veramaris becomes first ASC-MSC certified microalgae for feed

January 19, 2021 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Veramaris® has become the first microalgae oil producer for feed to achieve certification to the joint ASC-MSC Seaweed (Algae) Standard. The company responsibly and sustainably produces EPA & DHA Omega-3 algae oil [1] for use in the aquaculture industry as fish feed and pet food and is the first American producer to achieve the ASC-MSC certification.

Veramaris’ certified sustainable facility, which is entirely land-based, adds an estimated 45% to the global supply of MSC certified EPA & DHA Omega-3 [2] and covers approximately 15% of the global requirement for EPA & DHA in farmed salmon feeds.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), aquaculture is instrumental for meeting the increasing global demand for nutritional food while restoring the health of our oceans. To meet this growing demand sustainably, fish farms need responsibly-sourced fish feed – an ASC-certification requirement. This feed must contain the two key Omega-3 fatty acids EPA & DHA, which are vital for animal and human health and mostly come from wild-capture fish. One ton of Veramaris algae oil provides as much EPA & DHA as from 60 tons of forage fish.

The certification is good news for pet owners who want to provide their pets with optimal nutrition while reducing the environmental paw-print of their dogs and cats. Consumer research conducted for Veramaris has shown that 75% of pet owners are willing to pay more for pet food brands containing algae Omega-3. By including Veramaris algae oil in their products, pet food producers can offer customers a sustainable option for keeping their four-legged friends healthy and happy.

Patricia Bianchi, ASC-MSC Seaweed Account Manager said: “Congratulations to Veramaris on becoming the first producers of algae-derived Omega-3 to be certified against the ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard. This certification confirms that the operation minimizes the impacts on the environment, with good labor conditions and positive impacts for the community.

“Our oceans are under great pressure to supply fish both for direct human consumption and for feed in the aquaculture industry. We are hopeful that the sustainable and responsible production of Omega-3 from algae will help to relieve some of this pressure on wild stocks and help reduce the risk of overfishing.”

Karim Kurmaly, Veramaris CEO said: “This achievement is an imperative milestone on our journey to expand the world’s access to sustainable EPA & DHA Omega-3. We are committed to working with partners along the value chain to bring transparent and sustainable solutions to the industry that results in healthy fish, healthy food and healthy oceans for generations to come. I extend my gratitude to the global Veramaris team that has worked very hard to bring us to where we are today with this great achievement.”

Gaining the ASC-MSC certification required a rigorous audit process against dozens of requirements for good management practices. An in-depth audit over many days was carried out by an independent company, SAI Global that checked records, took measurements, and interviewed operators to assess whether the facility met every requirement in the standard. These requirements include responsible energy use, minimal impacts on biodiversity, fair treatment and pay for all staff and involves a public consultation period.

Find out more about the ASC-MSC Seaweed & Algae Standard

Record Marine Heatwaves Build Reservoir of Toxic Algae Off the U.S. West Coast, New Study Reveals

December 16, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Repeated marine heatwaves off the U.S. West Coast starting about 2013 fueled record harmful algal blooms that seeded a region off Northern California and Southern Oregon with toxic algae, a new study has found. That reservoir of harmful algae has, in turn, spread across the West Coast and forced the closure of valuable Dungeness crab and other shellfish seasons every year since 2015.

This year, for example, toxic algae have closed Dungeness crab harvest and some clamming in Washington through December.

“We now can see that marine heatwaves have the ability to seed new offshore hotspots, like ocean ‘crock pots’ where blooms can develop in subsequent years,” said Vera Trainer, a research scientist at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle and lead author of the new research.

Early Warnings

The good news, she said, is that offshore surveys and studies have unraveled the way toxic algae spreads through coastal waters. These data can help fisheries managers anticipate and mitigate the impacts. Scientists share that detailed information through regional bulletins that serve as an early warning system for harmful algal blooms.

That way, managers can focus closures in the most affected areas, for example, while others remain open. Or they can open fisheries earlier before the toxins build up in shellfish. The alert system has reduced the need for coastwide closures with widespread economic impacts.

“The most valuable tool we have is knowledge of how these events develop, so we know where to expect impacts, and which areas remain safe,” she said.

Read the full release here

Crowdsourcing platform launches contest to help catfish farmers battle algae

August 20, 2020 — A crowdsourcing platform, HeroX, launched an initiative on Thursday, 20 August on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find innovative solutions to keep blue-green algae from wreaking havoc on catfish farms.

According to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, catfish exposed to the algae can develop an off-taste. If found, farmers will often delay harvesting their stock for months in an attempt to get a better-tasting fish to market.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA backs new national effort to predict, respond to algae blooms

October 22, 2019 — Harmful algae blooms that shut down fisheries and sicken people are the target of new research funding from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) across the nation.

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science will spend USD 10.2 million (EUR 9.2 million) in fiscal year 2019 to fund studies into harmful algae blooms – by now so common that they have their own shorthand name of HAB.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New national effort to predict, respond to algae blooms

October 16, 2019 — Harmful algae blooms that shut down fisheries and sicken people are the target of new research funding from NOAA across the nation.

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science will spend $10.2 million in fiscal year 2019 to fund studies into harmful algae blooms – by now so common that they have their own shorthand name of HAB.

About $8.4 million of that will cover the first year of new 3- to 5-year projects, and $1.78 million will go to 3-year projects already in process. Funded under existing NOAA programs, new projects will begin in Alaska, California, Chesapeake Bay, Florida, the Great Lakes, New England and the Pacific Northwest.

Florida is in line for $2.9 million of that funding, which could help state planners now scrambling to improve how monitor and manage algae outbreaks. The state was hit with severe events from 2017 to 2019 when Karenia brevis, also known as red tide, occurred throughout southwest Florida. The bloom killed fish, turtles, marine mammals, and birds. It caused cases of neurotoxic shellfish poisoning in people, and even respiratory irritation in beachgoers and waterfront residents exposed to the algae.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Record low Gulf Coast supply could jolt oyster prices

October 10, 2019 — This spring’s record-shattering flooding from the Mississippi River has wreaked historic havoc on oyster production in the Gulf of Mexico, which could reverberate for years to come with scant supply and hard-to-digest prices.

Louisiana, which bore the worst of the damage from too-low salinity and smothering algae blooms and historically accounts for 75 percent of Gulf harvests and 34 percent of U.S. harvests, is all but out of commission for this fall’s oyster harvest season.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Awards WHOI $2.9 Million for Harmful Algal Bloom Research

October 9, 2019 — NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) recently announced funding for 12 new research projects around the country to better understand and predict harmful algal blooms (HABs) and improve our collective response to them.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will receive approximately $2.9 million over the next five years for studies of HABs in New England coastal waters, which have long been impacted by Alexandrium—a species that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. While Alexandrium blooms can cause shellfish closures throughout the spring and summer, additional HAB species that produce different toxins are becoming more common in the Gulf of Maine, resulting in nearly year-round HAB threats to aquaculture, fisheries, and tourism in the region.

“We’ll be deploying a network of advanced technologies that detect both Alexandrium and emergent HAB species in the region like Pseudo-nitzschia and Dinophysis, species that cause amnesic shellfish poisoning and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning syndromes,” says Mike Brosnahan, WHOI assistant scientist and principal investigator on the project. “The project team will also develop an open system for sharing these data and other products among managers and stakeholders in real time so that they can better protect seafood resources and human health.”

Read the full story at Eco Magazine

Louisiana, Mississippi seafood feeling sting of algae blooms

June 26, 2019 — Louisiana and Mississippi government warnings not to eat fish from certain areas of the states are causing the seafood industry concern.

After an algae bloom developed when the Bonnet Carre Spillway was opened to alleviate flooding along the Mississippi River, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued beach closures in Hancock and Harrison counties along the Gulf of Mexico.

Subsequently, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) is advising the public to not eat fish or any other seafood taken from “affected waters or in proximity to the beach closures,” MDMR said in a statement. “The public’s safety is very important to our state and our agency will continue working closely with MDEQ to monitor our waters and our seafood.”

The Louisiana Department of Health is also warning the public about a potentially large algae bloom that is developing on Lake Pontchartrain, “while algae toxins have not been found in the edible parts of fish, LDH advises that fish not be harvested or eaten from the lake during the bloom,” the agency said in a statement.

In southern Mississippi, news reports on the beach closures and seafood caution are causing concerns among consumers and the seafood industry.

Read the full story at Seafood Source