Saving Seafood

California’s offshore oil platforms, now marine hotspots, face removal

April 7, 2020 — Tens of thousands – hundreds of thousands, even – of rockfish, boccaccio, and lingcod congregate around the pillars of Southern California’s 27 offshore oil platforms, while shellfish cling to them in thick mats.

The platforms near the Channel Islands are among the world’s most productive hotspots for marine life, producing 27 times more total fish biomass than nearby natural rocky reefs, according to scientists, with rockfish making up 90 percent. From the surface, the platforms descend between 100 to 1,200 feet to the ocean floor; the height of the tallest is comparable to the Empire State Building.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Why a Hollywood producer bought a fish farm … or eight

October 17, 2019 — Fishing for wild salmon in British Columbia is what inspired famed Hollywood television writer and producer David E. Kelley to enter the aquaculture industry six years ago.

At the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California on 16 October, Kelley – who is the producer of TV shows such “Big Little Lies” and “Ally McBeal” – explained how he became founder and chairman of Riverence, a sustainable steelhead trout farming operation in Filer, Idaho, as well as a salmon and trout egg producer in Olympia, Washington.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Industry, agencies working to avoid whale entanglements

November 14, 2018 — LONG BEACH, Calif. — Whale entanglements off the West Coast and potential solutions to the escalating problem are the focus of a new report including the presentations and observations of fishermen, biologists and fisheries managers who gathered at an August workshop.

In recent years, growing populations of humpback and gray whales, changing ocean conditions and prey locations, and later crab season openings have led to more whales getting entangled in fishing gear, such as the ropes and floats that mark the location of crab pots. In 2017 there were 31 confirmed entanglements off the West Coast, including two humpbacks and a gray whale off the Washington coast, according to a press release from NOAA Fisheries. While NOAA concedes these entanglements are still proportionally rare, they sometimes lead to the deaths of entangled whales, so both fishermen and fisheries managers are seeking solutions.

To understand how and where rope and other gear entangles whales and to find ways to address the problem, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) and NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region convened a two-day workshop in Long Beach, California, in August. This “forensic workshop” was also supported by The Marine Mammal Commission, Oregon Sea Grant, and the Aquarium of the Pacific. The report from the workshop is now available at tinyurl.com/whale-entanglement-report.

The report provides the notes and presentations from the 31 California, Oregon, and Washington experts who attended. Participating were Dungeness crab fishermen; gear specialists; marine mammal biologists and disentanglement specialists; conservation groups; and federal, tribal and state agency representatives.

Read the full story at the Chinook Observer

 

U.S. State Department Seeks Judges for Third Annual Fishackathon

February 12, 2016 —  The United States Department of State has asked Saving Seafood to distribute this information regarding their “Fishackathon 2016” for which they are seeking judges from the fishing industry and related academic disciplines. For more information go to: Fishackathon.co, and if you are interested in being a judge please contact: Erika Crowell at CrowellE@state.gov

Fishackathon 2016

On Earth Day 2016, the U.S. Department of State will hold the third annual Fishackathon. Fishackathon is a public-private partnership that aims to capitalize on the expansion of mobile phone and internet use across the developing world to address sustainable fishery challenges. Volunteer coders, technologists, and designers will spend the weekend of April 22-24 developing usable solutions to problem statements solicited from fisheries experts around the world. At the end of the hackathons, teams will present their work and an expert panel of judges will nominate a winner from each site, eligible for worldwide grand prizes.
Here are the US/Canada Sites:

United States/Canada

1. Atlanta, GA (Georgia Aquarium)
2. Charleston, SC (South Carolina Aquarium)
3. Dallas, TX (Earth Day Dallas)
4. Long Beach, CA (Aquarium of the Pacific)
5. Monterey Bay, CA (Monterey Bay Aquarium)
6. New York City, NY (Patagonia)
7. Portland, OR (Uncorked Studios)
8. San Francisco, CA (Many Labs)
9. Seattle, WA (Impact Hub)
10. Tampa, FL (The Florida Aquarium)
11. Toronto, Canada
12. Vancouver, Canada (Vancouver Aquarium)
13. Washington, DC (Impact Hub)
14. Worcester, MA (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

Get involved!

Fishackathon host sites are seeking fisheries and technology experts to participate in the hackathon as:

Panel Judge – Panel Judges will serve to judge host site creations and chose one host site winner eligible for world -wide grand prizes on Sunday, April 24. Judges will be provided with a list of criteria to rate the host site presentations and submissions.

On-Site Consultant – Consultants will serve to provide subject matter/technical assistance, answer questions, and provide feedback to coders. We’re also seeking “on call” experts who can answer questions and provide feedback to teams around the world via Skype or E-mail throughout the weekend.

Team Member – Join a Team! Everyone is welcome to participate in a local or virtual team.

For more information go to: Fishackathon.co