Saving Seafood

MAINE: Mussel farm lease draws opposition

April 7, 2022 — Who has priority over the waters of Frenchman Bay — the public, lobstermen or aquaculture concerns? While the 120-acre salmon farm proposed by Norwegian-backed American Aquafarms has roused opposition, a separate proposed 48-acre lease site to grow mussel spat in the bay’s eastern region — aptly named Eastern Bay — is raising similar objections.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) held a public hearing on the proposal on March 28 and 29 both online and at Bar Harbor Town Hall.

Opponents say that if approved, the Acadia Aqua Farms proposal will unreasonably affect navigation, produce unreasonable noise and unreasonably affect existing flora and fauna, including a long occupied and beloved eagle’s nest on Leland Point. Acadia Aqua Farms holds that, as proposed, the project meets DMR requirements for aquaculture leases and would not cause unreasonable effects.

The word “unreasonable” is important because DMR criteria for granting aquaculture leases, codified in state law, is that the lease will not unreasonably interfere with ingress and egress of riparian owners, navigation, fishing or other uses, significant wildlife and marine habitats or public use or enjoyment within 1,000 feet of a public or conserved beach, park or docking facility. A project also must not result in unreasonable impact from noise or light.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American 

MAINE: Island towns asked to ban corporate aquaculture

April 4, 2022 — A nonprofit called Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation is asking the Island towns to pass a moratorium on industrial aquaculture. Gouldsboro has done it already to try to stymie a salmon farm in Frenchman Bay, and a handful of coastal communities are trying to block proposals for other large-scale fish and bivalve farms.

Crystal Canney, the foundation’s executive director, made her pitch in a Zoom presentation to Deer Isle town officials on March 24. She was joined by Jon Lewis, a consultant to the group who worked for many years as a scientist and diver for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

“Maine has opened the door for corporate and foreign money to buy our waters,” Canney said. “I’m concerned we’re going to sell the coast of Maine to foreign corporations.”

The state’s rules and regulations have set the table for corporate domination of Maine’s coastal waters, Canney said. She said Maine law allows a single entity to lease 1,000 acres in 10 increments for 20 years. Leaseholders can transfer the leases without a mandatory public hearing, she said.

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Press

Despite PR Aqua lawsuit, Whole Oceans renews site work on Maine RAS salmon farm

March 31, 2022 — Whole Oceans is beginning site work in preparation for construction of a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) Atlantic salmon farm in Bucksport, Maine, U.S.A.

The company, which is owned by Auburn, Indiana-based Emergent Holdings, first announced a plan to build the farm at the site of a former paper mill site at a cost of USD 250 million (EUR 203 million), with the initial goal of producing 5,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon annually, and eventually expanding to produce up to 50,000 MT.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Innovation in aquaculture sector pushing seafood industry forward

March 30, 2022 — Aquaculture innovations will be the key to the seafood industry’s future, and the future of feeding humanity, according to a panel of experts from across the seafood industry speaking at the 2022 Seafood Expo North America.

The panel, “Transforming Aquaculture: The Future of Seafood Must Include Innovation,” was hosted by AquaBounty CEO Sylvia Wulf and featured representatives from both inside the seafood industry experts in food systems and nutrition.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Japanese tech companies aim to solve fisheries and aquaculture problems

March 25, 2022 — Japanese companies are increasingly creating high-tech solutions for problems faced in fishing and aquaculture, using things like artificial intelligence, robots, and more.

At the 24th Japan International Seafood Show – scheduled for 24 to 26 August at Tokyo Big Sight (officially known as Tokyo International Exhibition Center) – several companies plan to show off some of the new tech at a co-event called Fish Next Technology EXPO. Exhibitors will feature labor-saving technology for fishing boats, technology to achieve high-quality production, big data conversion, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT), information and communication technology (ICT), and robots.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Hatcheries produced a third of Alaska’s salmon catch in 2021

March 22, 2022 — Salmon returning home to Alaska hatcheries again accounted for nearly a third of the statewide catch for commercial fishermen with 64 million fish in 2021. It was the eighth largest hatchery homecoming since 1977. And at a payout of $142 million, the salmon produced 25 percent of the overall value at Alaska docks.

An additional 220,000 salmon that got their start in a hatchery also were caught in Alaska sport, personal use and subsistence fisheries.

Nearly 70 million adult hatchery salmon returned last year, according to the annual salmon enhancement report by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Pinks comprised the bulk of the pack, topping 57 million, followed by chum salmon at 9.4 million.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Aquaculture Stewardship Council using new tech to combat seafood fraud

March 21, 2022 — Along with a new marketing campaign that will be the largest in its history, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council is also developing new technology to help it combat seafood fraud.

The new tech is under the umbrella of the ASC’s new campaign “The New Way to Seafood.” As part of the campaign, the ASC said, it is developing new “trace element fingerprinting,” digital tagging and tracing technology, and the implementation of chain of custody protocols.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Aquaculture Stewardship Council launching its largest public marketing campaign ever

March 16, 2022 — The Aquaculture Stewardship Council is launching its largest public-facing marketing campaign ever as the organization seeks to tell the story of sustainable aquaculture to consumers.

The new marketing campaign will have a heavy U.S. emphasis, with an emphasis on local-market promotions. The “New Way to Seafood” campaign will aim to dispel falsehoods and public misconceptions about seafood and showcase the work that the ASC has been performing since the program’s inception.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

100 lobstermen sign petition to quash proposed salmon farm in Frenchman Bay

March 8, 2022 — A grassroots group opposed to a proposed salmon farm in Frenchman Bay presented Gouldsboro selectmen last week with petitions signed by 100 local fishermen who also are opposed to the project.

Norway-based American Aquafarms proposes to lease two sites between Bar Harbor and Schoodic Peninsula to install 15 “closed pens” plus an operations barge at each site, with the goal of eventually producing 30,000 metric tons, or 66 million pounds, of salmon annually.

“This is going to take away more of our lobster fishing ground,” Jerry Potter of South Gouldsboro said in a news release.

Potter, 75, has fished in Frenchman Bay for his entire working life.

“We’re worried about disease,” he said. “And I’m very concerned it would pollute the bay and destroy the bay’s entire ecosystem.”

Read the full story at Mainebiz

US seafood pressures Congress on aquaculture expansion

March 8, 2022 — The US lobby group Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) is stepping up pressure on Congress to expand the country’s aquaculture sector.

The organisation has sent a letter to both the House of Representatives and to the Senate calling for stronger support for the industry.

It was signed by more than 60 supporters from sectors related to fish farming including seafood harvesting, production and retail.

The letter calls for a smooth passage for what is called the Advancing The Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act (AQUAA).

The AQUAA Act is aimed at establishing a more streamlined process of permitting marine aquaculture and create a national framework for aquaculture development.

Read the full story at Fish Farmer