May 11, 2020 โ The launch of the first season for anchovy fishing in Peruโs north-center region has been set for 13 May, with Peruโs Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) setting a capture limit of 2.4 million metric tons (MT).
The fishery, which targets both Engraulis ringens and Anchoa nasus for use in indirect human consumption โ primarily, fishmeal and fish oil used in aquaculture production โ is the largest by volume in the world.
October 16, 2019 โ A fishing industry group says it has new findings supporting its contention that there is a healthy population of anchovies, which is counter to a nonprofitโs lawsuit challenging how the number of anchovies are determined. Meanwhile, Monterey fishermen say there are tons of the little guys in the local fishery.
Gino Pennisi and Neil Guglielmo have been fishing out of Monterey for years, in Guglielmoโs case, since 1956. Both say anchovies are plentiful.
โThey were so thick for a while you could walk up them,โ Pennisi said, adding that right now they have moved north to Moss Landing and San Francisco. โThey have tails; they move.โ
But the nonprofit group Oceana argues the number of anchovies federal agencies state are not accurate and as a result can misstate the population and allow limits greater than the population would support.
Anchovies are critical to marine life in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Pelicans, sea lions and humpback whales all depend on the Northern Anchovy as a food source.
The California Wetfish Producers Association, a fishing industry trade group, on Thursday released data showing California anchovies are at record levels. The data was compiled by the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations, a partnership of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries Service and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
October 14, 2019 โ The following was released by the California Wetfish Producers Association:
New, preliminary data from the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) have provided further evidence that Californiaโs anchovy population is now at record high levels. The data come amid a renewed lawsuit by the environmental group Oceana that seeks to unnecessarily reduce the already very limited amount of anchovy caught commercially in California.
The preliminary data from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center Larval Lab weekly report on September 16 show that the 2019 spring CalCOFI survey documented the highest abundance of larval anchovy off the coast of California ever recorded, nearly double the record amount from the mid-1960s. And this did not even include the tens of thousands of tons of anchovy that fishermen have reported in nearshore waters since 2015. This is the latest piece of evidence that the anchovy population is far more resilient than Oceana alleges.
Scientists have found that anchovy undergo large dynamic population swings naturally, even without fishing, and the precautionary fishing limits allowed have not harmed the ecosystem. But despite the latest evidence of anchovy abundance, Oceana is suing to further limit Californiaโs small anchovy fishery.
Members of the California Wetfish Producers Association (CWPA) have long held that massive schools of anchovies, particularly in Californiaโs inshore areas, have not been properly counted. CWPA has worked to confirm the observations of its members in cooperative surveys with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. These nearshore surveys add evidence to the preliminary CalCOFI data: there are tens of thousands of tons of anchovies in inshore California waters in addition to record abundance offshore. This explosion occurred in the presence of this small, historical fishery.
โThere is an increasingly large body of evidence showing that anchovies are far more abundant than the allegations in Oceanaโs lawsuit recognize,โ said Diane Pleschner-Steele, executive director of CWPA. โItโs why efforts to further restrict anchovy fishing are both unnecessary and harmful to West Coast fishing communities.โ
However, Oceana again seeks stricter limits on the allowable catch of the central subpopulation of northern anchovy, which is currently set at 23,573 metric tons annually as a result of prior court rulings. The fishery typically catches less than 10,000 metric tons annually of this legally allowed amount.
In August, CWPA filed to intervene in Oceanaโs latest lawsuit, in order to participate in the proceedings and represent the interests of its members and fishing communities before the court. CWPA believes that the additional restrictions on the anchovy harvest being sought by the lawsuit are unnecessary, and would result in significant job loss and economic hardship for Californiaโs wetfish fishermen and processors, and by extension, California communities and the stateโs fishing economy.
โWe believe that the evidence will show that anchovy is being managed precautionarily and with the conservation of the species in mind,โ said Pleschner-Steele. โBest management practices and the best available science do not support the claims of overfishing made in the lawsuit.โ
About the California Wetfish Producers Association
The non-profit California Wetfish Producers Association (CWPA) was established in 2004 to promote sustainable fisheries and foster cooperative research. Voluntary membership includes the majority of wetfish harvesters and processors operating in California.
August 12, 2019 โ SEAFOOD NEWS โ The California Wetfish Producers Association has filed to intervene in a lawsuit filed by environmental group Oceana over Californiaโs northern anchovy fishery. The filing will allow the association to participate in the lawsuit to protect the interests of California fishermen and processors who would face significant economic harm if the lawsuit were successful, CWPA said in a press release.
The lawsuit alleges the National Marine Fisheries Service must set stricter limits on the northern anchovy catch. As the result of a recent Oceana lawsuit, where the Court required NMFS to revise its catch rule, the catch limit is currently set at 23,573 metric tons, which, according to NMFS estimates, is only 25 percent of the stockโs overfishing level.
Additional restrictions on the anchovy harvest are unnecessary, the CWPA said.
โIf [Oceana] prevails in this case, there could be a drastic reduction from current harvest levels,โ CWPA said in its filing. โSuch a reduction in harvest opportunity will seriously and irreparably harm CWPA members and the wetfish industry.โ
This would affect not just California wetfish fishermen, who rely on anchovy when other species like squid or mackerel are unavailable, but also the processors, distributors and seaside businesses who rely on a consistent catch. If lower catch limits are approved, the jobs of at least 400 CWPA members alone will be at risk, as well as many thousands more in related industries.
โFishermen up and down the California coast are facing threats to their livelihoods from this frivolous and unnecessary lawsuit,โ CWPA Executive Director Diane Pleschner-Steele said. โWe are asking to be involved in this lawsuit to ensure that the Court also considers the needs and concerns of our members and Californiaโs coastal communities. Our fishery management policy mandates balance between protecting the ocean and sustaining fishing communities โ
The sharply reduced catch limits that Oceana seeks are not scientifically justified. The basis for Oceanaโs case is a single, flawed study that significantly underestimated the size of the anchovy population in 2015, leading to the first Court decision, the statement said. That study excluded the abundance of anchovy in inshore areas, for example.
Since then, the CWPA has participated in cooperative surveys with the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Those surveys documented tens of thousands of tons of anchovies in the inshore areas that have simply not been counted in stock assessments. This finding contradicts the argument that the anchovy population was dangerously low, and that the already precautionary catch levels must be reduced further, CWPA said.
โThe best available science does not support Oceanaโs position,โ Pleschner-Steele said in the statement. โThe Court needs to allow NMFS to set appropriate catch limits based on sound science.โ
This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.
August 12, 2019 โ A trade group and a California-based processing company filed a motion in a U.S. federal court last week seeking to intervene in a lawsuit brought on by Oceana against NOAA Fisheries.
The Oceana suit, filed in June, claims the government agency is not following the best available science to set the catch limit on the anchovy stock in Northern California. That suit was in response to the catch limit NOAA Fisheries set in May after an order from a federal judge stemming from an earlier lawsuit by Oceana.
August 8, 2019 โ The following was released by the California Wetfish Producers Association:
The California Wetfish Producers Association (CWPA) has filed to intervene in a lawsuit filed by environmental group Oceana over Californiaโs northern anchovy fishery. The filing will allow CWPA to participate in the lawsuit to protect the interests of California fishermen and processors who would face significant economic harm if the lawsuit were successful.
The lawsuit alleges that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) must set stricter limits on the northern anchovy catch. As the result of a recent Oceana lawsuit, where the Court required NMFS to revise its catch rule, the catch limit is currently set at 23,573 metric tons, which, according to NMFS estimates, is only 25 percent of the stockโs overfishing level.
Not only are additional restrictions on the anchovy harvest unnecessary, but greater cuts would result in significant job loss and economic hardship for Californiaโs wetfish industry and coastal communities.
โIf [Oceana] prevails in this case, there could be a drastic reduction from current harvest levels,โ said CWPA in its filing. โSuch a reduction in harvest opportunity will seriously and irreparably harm CWPA members and the wetfish industry.โ
This would affect not just California wetfish fishermen, who rely on anchovy when other species, like squid or mackerel, are unavailable, but also the processors, distributors, and seaside businesses who rely on a consistent catch. If lower catch limits are approved, the jobs of at least 400 CWPA members alone will be at risk, as well as many thousands more in related industries.
โFishermen up and down the California coast are facing threats to their livelihoods from this frivolous and unnecessary lawsuit,โ said Diane Pleschner-Steele, executive director of CWPA. โWe are asking to be involved in this lawsuit to ensure that the Court also considers the needs and concerns of our members and Californiaโs coastal communities. Our fishery management policy mandates balance between protecting the ocean and sustaining fishing communities โ
The sharply reduced catch limits that Oceana seeks are not scientifically justified. The basis for Oceanaโs case is a single, flawed study that significantly underestimated the size of the anchovy population, in 2015, leading to the first Court decision, That study excluded the abundance of anchovy in inshore areas, for example. Cooperative surveys that CWPA has conducted with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have documented tens of thousands of tons of anchovies in these areas that have simply not been counted in stock assessments. . This finding contradicts the argument that the anchovy population was dangerously low, and that the already precautionary catch levels must be reduced further.
โThe best available science does not support Oceanaโs position,โ said Ms. Pleschner-Steele. โ The Court needs to allow NMFS to set appropriate catch limits based on sound science.โ
July 8, 2019 โ SEAFOOD NEWS โ The more things change, the more they stay the same.
In this case, NMFS issued a final rule regarding management of the central subpopulation of anchovy off California, and the conservation group Oceana sued. NMFS applied best available science and approved policy to update the rule using recent biomass estimates, as directed by the Court, and re-filed it last month. Oceana sued again last week.
The lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service was filed over the agencyโs โcontinued failure to prevent overfishing, use the best available science, or account for the food needs of ocean animals in managing anchovy,โ Oceana said in a press release.
The rule established a multi-year, unchanging catch limit for anchovy that does not account for the frequent, and sometimes rapid, cycles of booms and busts in the size of this population, Oceana said. The final rule is a near carbon copy of an earlier proposal by the Fisheries Service in 2016 that was struck down in court because it did not use best available science and did not prevent overfishing.
Oceana, represented by Earthjustice, said NMFS continues to manage certain fish populations, including northern anchovy, by setting multi-year catch limits that stay in place regardless of the populationโs status. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District Court of California, claims that in failing to actively manage the anchovy population based on current population size, NMFS has again failed to use the best available science, prevent overfishing and ensure adequate forage fish for dependent predators, the press release said.
The recent NMFS final rule employed the same harvest policy as originally approved and updated the reference points based on recent years of anchovy biomass estimates. The new overfishing limit, which represents a long-term average maximum sustainable yield, is close to the original estimate. The acceptable biological catch and annual catch limit also conform with the original harvest policy, which is based on 25% of the OFL. The anchovy population is acknowledged to be close to historic abundance, which is why the numbers are similar, industry members say.
The NMFS acoustic trawl survey method on which the management levels are based is at the heart of the issue. Both the California Wetfish Producers Association and the West Coast Pelagic Conservation Group say the survey does not capture an accurate picture of the anchovy biomass; for example, it misses the nearshore areas that anchovy frequent as well as the upper 10 meters of the water column, the acoustic โdead zone.โ The model used to estimate anchovy biomass also is missing critical age information from earlier decades.
โโฆ despite Oceanaโs claim that acoustic trawl surveys are โstate of the artโ science, the 2018 Acoustic Trawl Methods Review down-weighted the AT survey biomass estimates to a โrelativeโ index of abundance because it omits a substantial portion of the biomass inshore of the existing survey tracks, as documented by our collaborative [California] Department of Fish and Wildlife aerial surveys,โ CWPA Executive Director Diane Pleschner-Steele said in an email.
Both the CWPA and WCPCG have developed collaborative methods to survey the nearshore areas for forage fish utilizing exempted fishing permits. The groups are working with both state and federal researchers to get a fuller picture of the anchovy โ and other pelagic species โ stock.
Oceana representatives have said the acoustic trawl survey, with the state-of-the-art technological equipment, does represent the best available science. Industry members argue that the best equipment and a model that relies primarily on that data does not represent the โbest scienceโ since it cannot survey many areas where the anchovy spend much of their time.
โWe remain frustrated that the Fisheries Service continues to ignore state of the art fish population surveys produced by their own scientists when deciding how many anchovies fishermen can catch on an annual basis,โ Geoff Shester, Oceana California Campaign Director and Senior Scientist, said in a statement, noting that predators such as other fish, whales, pelicans, sea lions depend on anchovies and other forage fish species.
โOceana has dismissed concerns industry has expressed about the survey, such as lack of data on the inshore components of the stock,โ WCPCG member Mike Okoniewski said in an email. โWhile industry is actually working collaboratively with the science centers and state agencies to explore alternative survey methodology โฆ , we wonder why Oceana would rather litigate, than collaborate with ongoing efforts the science staff and industry are undertaking to gain a better knowledge about the population size and behavior of our coastal pelagic stocks?โ
Meanwhile, Pleschner-Steele said California fishermen have ben seeing abundant anchovy since 2015. At least now NOAAโs acoustic surveys are beginning to validate fishermenโs observations to a degree, but the still missing nearshore component is a problem that has been recognized as necessary to fully assess the central anchovy stock. The stock historically fluctuated between very high and very low abundance, even absent any fishing activity. The Pacific Fishery Management Council and NMFS have established a very precautionary management approach by capping the harvest at 25 percent of the estimated OFL. The harvest rule is based on a long-term average biomass, not a single-year stock assessment. Even with a 25,00 mt harvest cap, fishermen have landed far less, averaging only 8,000 mt per year or less.
โIndustry will always have more โseaโ time than the survey or research ships. Our livelihoods depend on what we observe,โ Okoniewski said. โWhile we are not scientists we do first hand surveillance of these stocks and their environment. This has motivated us to work more closely with the scientific staff, and in most cases this has been reciprocated by the science community. Coastal Pelagic stocks are difficult to survey and fishery observations often differ from scientific observations. We believe it is best to work together to resolve some of these differences in observation.โ
This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.
May 2, 2019 โ The rising global demand for seafood and a projected slowdown in the growth of fisheries and aquaculture production, particularly by China โ the worldโs leading provider of these products โ will lead to a decade of higher prices, anticipates the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
In 2016, total fish production reached an all-time high of 171 million metric tons (MT), with wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture providing 53 percent and 47 percent respectively. Of the total, 88 percent or 151 million MT was utilized for direct human consumption. Capture fisheries production accounted for 90.9 million MT, while aquaculture supplied 80 million MT. Although the contribution of farmed species to human consumption is higher than that of wild-caught fish.
Based on the assumption of higher demand and technological improvements, the overall production is expected to continue to expand, reaching 201 million MT by 2030. While this would represent a growth of 18 percent or 30 million MT over 2016, it amounts to an annual growth rate of just 1 percent for the 2016-2030 period, compared with 2.3 percent for 2003-2016.
By 2030, the FAO expects capture fisheries production to reach about 91 million MT, only 1 percent more than in 2016. It foresees that factors influencing this limited growth will include a 17 percent decrease of capture fisheries in China due to the implementation of new policies, which it reckons will be compensated for by increased catches in a number of other regions. In this regard, it believes there will be higher landings from fishing areas where stocks of certain species are recovering due to improved management, as well as increased catches in waters of the few countries where there are underfished resources, as well as where new fishing opportunities exist or where fisheries management measures are less restrictive.
In addition, the FAO believes thereโll be enhanced use of fisheries production, including reduced onboard discards, waste, and losses as driven by legislation or higher market fish prices. But it also acknowledges that in some years, the El Ninฬo phenomenon can be expected to reduce catches in South America, especially for anchoveta, resulting in an overall decrease of world capture fisheries production of about 2 percent in those years.
March 11, 2019 โ Ocean conditions are improving for salmon entering the ocean this year, several years after The Blob, an unusually warm water event that began forming in 2014, scientists announced Friday.
Research surveys in 2018 confirmed tiny animals that stoke the food chain were nice and fatty. Anchovies, an important forage fish, were increasing in number. Sea lion pups were numerous and growing well, and fish-eating sea birds going strong.
However, subsurface sea temperatures were still warmer than average in some areas. Pyrosomes, a warm-water animal that is not supposed to be in Northwest waters, were still numerous.
Forecasts for chinook salmon in 2019 also were for below-average salmon returns to the Columbia River. Extensive ocean acidification and poorly oxygenated waters off both Washington and Oregon also were predicted for this year.
Read the full story from The Seattle Times at The Spokesman-Review
January 29, 2019 โ A little over a year after a federal judge overturned a catch limit for the central population of north anchovy, nothing has changed.
Now a judge has issued an order that a new federal rule must be made within 90 days, before April 18.
This is the latest development in a battle that began in 2016 when the National Marine Fisheries Service defined the catch level using a study that only included data collected through 1990 instead of a study that included more data extending through 2011.
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