Pollock Archives - Page 25 of 25

NOAA: Haddock flourish, while cod stocks dwindle

November 21, 2015 — The groundfish stock updates released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reflect what the agency says is the continuing deterioration of the Gulf of Maine cod stock, while showing that other stocks such as haddock, pollock and redfish appear to be flourishing.

The operational assessment updates were performed on 20 Northeast groundfish stocks, with the results corresponding to the state of the individual stocks through 2014.

The news for cod, according to the update, is really no news at all.

“Based on this updated assessment, the Gulf of Maine Atlantic cod stock is overfished and overfishing is occurring,” the authors of the report wrote in their executive summary.

The results show the GOM cod spawning biomass to be hovering between 4 percent and 6 percent of what is necessary to sustain a well-managed stock despite three years of Draconian cuts to cod quotas and the more recent shuttering of the Gulf of Maine to all cod fishing.

While the update’s results continue the trend of NOAA data that show the GOM cod stock near total collapse, they also continue to fly in the face of the season-long insistence by Cape Ann fishermen — commercial, recreational, fin and lobster fishermen — that they have seen more cod this season than in many years past.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

Voices of Alaska: Unified effort in Congress protects Alaska’s seafood powerhouse

November 20, 2015 — Alaska is our nation’s seafood powerhouse. With nine of our country’s top twenty fishing ports by volume, we understand the vital role our seafood industry has played in our communities in the past, how important it is now, and how central the industry will be in the future. Protecting and enhancing Alaska’s fisheries is one of the top priorities of our delegation.

That’s why we were particularly pleased to have passed bipartisan legislation to help protect and enhance our fishing industry. H.R. 477, the Illegal, Unregulated and Underreported (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015, increases enforcement capabilities for U.S. authorities to combat illegal fishing and protect fisheries off the coast of Alaska, and around the world. It was signed into law on November 5, 2015.

At issue is how illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, or “pirate” fishing, is hurting our economy, our fishing communities, our healthy seafood stocks, and our sustainable oceans.

Our country’s fishermen have long been subject to sustainable management-based rules and regulations to ensure the long-term vitality of our species; pirate fishermen are not. These rogue vessels raid our oceans wherever, whenever, and however they please. Globally, legal fishing operations lose an estimated $10 to $23 billion a year to pirate fishing. Here at home, the Alaska King Crab fishery alone is estimated to have lost more than $550 million in the past 14 years.

Read the full opinion piece at Peninsula Clarion

Efforts underway to ensure ‘Alaskan’ seafood is authentic

November 11, 2015 — As a result of international tracking difficulties, seafood marketed as “Alaskan” is often anything but, sparking legislative calls to make the Alaska label a privilege, not a right.

Wild-caught Alaska seafood is marketed as sustainable and healthy for local economies, strong selling points for the modern U.S. consumer. The labels aren’t always accurate, however, as pirate fishing and outright fraud often put foreign or untracked seafood under the Alaska banner.

International agreements and national legislation aim to impose more stringent tracking requirements for seafood landings, which are often the root of mislabeled fish. Other legislation simply pushes for marketing changes to make sure the label “Alaska” means what it says.

Marketing and international traceability issues haunt Alaska pollock, crab, and salmon, the largest and most valuable of Alaska’s federal and state fisheries.

In Congress, Rep. Don Young and Rep. Jaime Beutler, R-Wash., introduced legislation on Oct. 22 to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to change the term “Alaska pollock” to “pollock.”

According to a GMA Research consumer report, up to 40 percent of what is currently sold as “Alaska pollock” is in fact from Russia waters, which do not have the same controls and management frameworks as U.S. North Pacific fisheries governed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, particularly concerning marine habitat protections and preventing overfishing.

Pollock is the largest fishery in the U.S., producing 2.9 billions pounds and accounting for 11 percent of U.S. seafood intake. In the North Pacific management region, pollock accounted for $406 million worth of landings.

Read the full story at Alaska Journal of Commerce

NOAA report finds the 2014 commercial catch of U.S. seafood on par with 2013

October 29, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

America’s commercial and recreational fisheries show continued stability and make a large contribution to the nation’s economy thanks to sustainable fisheries management policies, according to a new report from NOAA Fisheries.

U.S. fishermen landed 9.5 billion pounds of fish and shellfish, valued at $5.4 billion, in 2014, according to the new edition of NOAA Fisheries’ annual report, Fisheries of the United States 2014, released today. These figures are similar to those from 2013; both the volume and value continue to remain higher than the average for the past five years.

The report shows the total landings for pollock was up five percent since 2013 to 3.1 billion pounds, valued at $400 million. The report also shows that for the 18th consecutive year, the Alaska port of Dutch Harbor led the nation with the highest amount of seafood landed–761.8 million pounds, valued at $191.4 million. The Dutch Harbor catch was primarily walleye pollock, which accounted for 87 percent of the volume.

Read the full story at NOAA

Gulf of Maine’s cold-craving species forced to retreat to deeper waters

October 27, 2015 — For 178 years, dams stood across the Penobscot River here, obstructing salmon and other river-run fish from reaching the watershed’s vast spawning grounds, which extend all the way to the Quebec border.

Now, two years after the dam’s removal, the salmon’s proponents fear the fish face a more fearsome threat: a warming sea.

In recent years, the Gulf of Maine has been one of the fastest-warming parts of the world’s oceans, and climate change models project average sea surface temperatures here to increase by another 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2065, a development that could extirpate Atlantic salmon and other cold-loving species, many of which already find Maine at the southern edge of their ranges.

“We’re all for taking down the dams and all the things that are going on to restore habitat, but how much are they looking at the evidence?” asks Gerhard Pohle of the Huntsman Marine Science Center in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, co-author of a study predicting how the changes are likely to affect 33 commercial species over the next 75 years. “Distribution of salmon in the Gulf of Maine would be such that there wouldn’t be many left at all.”

The warming gulf is already presenting challenges to many of its cold-loving denizens. Scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Services, or NMFS, have recorded the steady retreat of a range of commercially or ecologically important fish species away from the Maine coast and into deep water in the southwestern part of the gulf, where bottom water temperatures are cooler.

The retreat, which intensified over the past decade, includes cod, pollock, plaice, and winter and yellowtail flounder. Other native species that once ranged south of Long Island – lobster, sand lance and red hake – have stopped doing so, presumably because the water there is now too warm.

“You can imagine that when you have species at the southern end of their ranges, they will be really sensitive to these changes,” says Michael Fogarty, chief of the Ecosystem Assessment Program at the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. “They will either shift distribution or their survival rates might change.”

Read the full story at Portland Press Herald

Congressman Young Takes Up Misleading Pollock and Crab Labeling Fight in U.S. House

October 22, 2015 — WASHINGTON – The following was released by the Office of Congressman Don Young:

Alaska Congressman Don Young and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) today introduced bipartisan legislation to change the market name of “Alaska pollock” to “pollock.” The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to eliminate confusion for consumers, and stem the flood of mislabeled fish from less sustainable fisheries that harms U.S. pollock fishermen and the businesses they support.

Under current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling standards, pollock caught in any part of the world can label be labeled as “Alaskan pollock.” Approximately 40% of the fish labeled “Alaskan pollock” available to American consumers is caught in the Russian pollock fishery.

“The U.S. fishing industry and the American consumer deserve this commonsense change to the pollock name,” said Congressman Don Young. “There’s no reason why foreign caught pollock should be disguised as Alaskan, especially given the significant management efforts we’ve taken in the North Pacific to create the most sustainable fishery in the world. No other nation can replicate the quality and care we put into Alaskan seafood and the FDA’s labeling standards should reflect that. Unfortunately, an Act of Congress is the only immediate way to keep foreign caught pollock from degrading our U.S. seafood markets.”

“Americans want to know where their food is coming from. This bill will give American consumers more transparency by closing this FDA loophole that allows Russian pollock from Chinese processors to flood our markets under the label ‘Alaskan pollock,’” said Rep. Herrera Beutler. “If a mom in Vancouver wants to purchase fish caught sustainably and packaged truthfully, she should have that choice. With this legislative fix, we’re also ensuring that pollock fishing and processing businesses located in Southwest Washington and throughout the U.S. aren’t having to compete with deceptively labeled products from far less sustainable fisheries.”

A consumer survey conducted by GMA Research revealed that:

77% of participants said that if they saw seafood labeled as “Alaska Pollock,” they would think the seafood is harvested in Alaska.
81% of participants said they would feel misled if they purchased seafood labeled as “Alaska pollock” and found out it was harvested from somewhere else.

The Alaskan pollock fishery is the nation’s largest food fishery in the United States, producing 1.3 million tons annually and accounting for 11 percent of American fresh and frozen fish intake. The Alaskan pollock fishery is carefully managed for sustainability, safety and environmental impact.

The bipartisan legislation also works to resolve an outstanding nomenclature petition to the FDA, filed by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) and the Alaska Golden King Crab Coalition in 2014, to change the Brown King Crab name (considered obsolete and sometimes confusing in U.S. markets) to the acceptable market name of Golden King Crab.

Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).

Read the release here

New England fishermen fear looming costs for at-sea monitors

October 21, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — New England fishermen, running out of time before the federal government hands them the cost of monitoring the industry at sea, say emergency intervention is needed or many of them will be out of business.

The monitors are trained workers who collect data on commercial fishing trips that help fishery managers with things like setting quotas on catches in future years. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the money it had been using to pay for monitors who work in New England fisheries such as cod, pollock and haddock is going to run out around Dec. 1.

Fishermen will have to pay for the monitors, which can cost more than $700 per trip. The new cost is almost certain to put people out of work in a struggling fishery that is already challenged by declining fish stocks and tough quotas, said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

“It’s really scary. At the same time, we have problems with our resources right now,” Martens said. “We need to make sure we have better and stronger business not just next year, but three and five years down the line.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Chronicle

Senators Cantwell and Murkowski Introduce Legislation to Protect Pacific Northwest Seafood

WASHINGTON — september 29, 2015 — The following was released by the office of Senator Maria Cantwell:

Today, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced bipartisan legislation to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to change the market name of “Alaska pollock” to “pollock”. The change aims to better distinguish the pollock harvested in Alaskan waters from Russian pollock passing itself off as “Alaskan pollock” in stores nationwide. This legislation is co-sponsored by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA).

In 2012, 113 million pounds of Russian pollock were sold to U.S. consumers as “Alaska pollock.” Senators Cantwell and Murkowski believe the labeling move is necessary because the Alaskan Pollock fishery is far more sustainable and produces higher quality products compared to international Pollock fisheries.

“Today, all Pollock can be labeled as Alaskan – no matter where it’s caught. The Alaskan Pollock fishery is one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world, and consumers have a right to know if the Pollock they see in the grocery store, or on a menu, is real, sustainable Alaskan Pollock caught by American fishermen,” said Senator Cantwell.

“Alaska is known world-wide for our top quality seafood. When consumers seek out the words, ‘Alaska, wild-caught’ at the grocery store, they shouldn’t be deceived by what they are actually getting,” said Senator Murkowski. “The change in nomenclature is necessary to avoid ongoing misrepresentation of the origin of pollock that is purchased and consumed in the U.S.”

This bill also makes a similar change to golden king crab, which can only be legally labeled as brown king crab, even though it is known as golden king crab today.

The Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) support these efforts and have previously cited several reasons for the requested change:

• The use of “Alaska pollock” as an acceptable market name is misleading to consumers;

• “Alaska pollock” is understood by consumers to connote a geographic origin, not a particular kind of food from any geographic origin;

• The use of “Alaska pollock” as an acceptable market name is inconsistent with other similar fish species; and

• U.S. government programs support other efforts to provide accurate information to consumers about the seafood they purchase.

Senator Murkowski Introduces Legislation Requiring Label Change to Remove Misrepresentation

September 17, 2015 — The following was released by the Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski:

Today Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to change the market name of “Alaska pollock” to “pollock”. The change aims to better distinguish the pollock harvested in Alaskan waters from Russian pollock passing itself off as “Alaskan pollock” in stores nationwide.

In 2012, 113 million pounds of Russia’s pollock were sold to U.S. consumers as “Alaska pollock.” Murkowski believes the labeling move is necessary because Alaska’s fisheries are far more rigorously managed than Russian waters.

“Alaska is known world-wide for our top quality seafood. When consumers seek out the words, ‘Alaska, wild-caught’ at the grocery store, they shouldn’t be deceived by what they are actually getting,” said Senator Murkowski. “The change in nomenclature is necessary to avoid ongoing misrepresentation of the origin of pollock that is purchased and consumed in the U.S.”

This bill also makes a similar change to golden king crab, which has met the same problems in the market as pollock.

The Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) support Murkowski’s efforts and have previously cited several reasons for the requested change:

The use of “Alaska pollock” as an acceptable market name is misleading to consumers;
“Alaska pollock” is understood by consumers to connote a geographic origin, not a particular kind of food from any geographic origin;
The use of “Alaska pollock” as an acceptable market name is inconsistent with other similar fish species; and
U.S. government programs support other efforts to provide accurate information to consumers about the seafood they purchase.

Background: The bill is the result of a long standing effort to get the FDA to change the name. Senator Murkowski has reached out to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) multiple times to push for the market name to be changed, including writing a letter to the FDA Commissioner this past May.

Permalink: http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2015/9/murkowski-introduces-legislation-to-protect-alaska-seafood