December 21, 2021 — The fruits of the sea are in high demand and consumers just can’t seem to get enough.
It seems to be especially true of the delectable, firm-fleshed red snapper, perhaps the most highly sought fish along the Texas gulf coast.
And where there’s demand, there’s money to be made, and legal niceties don’t apply.
Read the full story at SeafoodNews.com
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] By Peggy Parker — March 8, 2016 — Scientists from NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) and the University of Massachusetts Boston have found evidence of Atlantic bluefin tuna spawning activity off the northeastern United States in an area of open ocean south of New England and east of the Mid-Atlantic states called the Slope Sea.
The findings suggest that the current life-history model for western Atlantic bluefin may overestimate age-at-maturity. If so, the authors conclude that western Atlantic bluefin may be less vulnerable to fishing and other stressors than previously thought.
Prior to this research, the only known spawning grounds for Atlantic bluefin tuna were in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea. The evidence for a new western Atlantic spawning ground came from a pair of Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) research cruises in the Slope Sea during the summer of 2013.
“We collected 67 larval bluefin tuna during these two cruises, and the catch rates were comparable to the number collected during the annual bluefin tuna larval survey in the Gulf of Mexico,” said David Richardson of NEFSC, lead author of this study. “Most of these larvae were small, less than 5 millimeters, and were estimated to be less than one week old. Drifting buoy data confirmed that these small larvae could not possibly have been transported into this area from the Gulf of Mexico spawning ground.”
Larvae collected during the cruises were identified as bluefin tuna through visual examination and genetic sequencing. To confirm the identification, larvae were sent to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center laboratory in Juneau, where DNA sequences verified that the larvae were Atlantic bluefin tuna.
A single bluefin tuna can spawn millions of eggs, each of which is just over a millimeter in diameter, or the size of a poppy seed. Within a couple of days these eggs hatch into larvae that are poorly developed and bear little resemblance to the adults. Larval bluefin tuna can be collected in plankton nets and identified based on their shape, pigment patterns and body structures.
High-value Atlantic bluefin tuna has a unique physiology that allows it to range from the tropics to the sub-arctic. As a highly migratory species, Atlantic bluefin tuna is assessed by the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS) of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) as distinct eastern and western stocks separated by the 45 degree west meridian (or 45 w longitude). The U.S. fishery harvest from the western Atlantic stock is managed through NOAA Fisheries’ Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan.
For many years, global overfishing on this species was prevalent, resulting in substantial population declines. Recent international cooperation in managing catches has contributed to increasing trends in the abundance of both the eastern and western management stocks. The western stock, targeted by U.S. fishermen, is harvested at levels within the range of the SCRS’ scientific advice.
This research may change the long-held assumption that bluefin tuna start spawning at age 4 in the Mediterranean Sea and age 9 in the Gulf of Mexico. Electronic tagging studies begun in the late 1990s showed that many bluefin tunad, did not visit either spawning ground during the spawning season, despite being large enough to be of spawning age. This led some to say that these larger fish were not yet spawning, and that the age-at-maturity for western Atlantic bluefin tuna was 12-16 years, rather than 9 years, as was assumed in the stock assessment.
A consistent supporter of an alternate hypothesis was Molly Lutcavage at the Large Pelagics Research Center of the University of Massachusetts Boston. She believed tuna that did not visit the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea were spawning elsewhere. Her research team used electronic tagging data from the Lutcavage lab to present an alternate model of western Atlantic bluefin tuna spawning migrations.
Only the largest bluefin tuna, those over about 500 pounds, migrate to the Gulf of Mexico spawning area. After these fish exit the Gulf of Mexico, they swim through the Slope Sea rapidly, on their way to northern feeding grounds. On the other hand, smaller bluefin tuna, ranging in size from 80 to 500 pounds, generally spend more than 20 days in the Slope Sea during the spawning season, a duration consistent with spawning. Lutcavage is a co-author on the study.
“Last year, we demonstrated using endocrine measurements that bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic mature at around 5 years of age. That study, and ones before it, predicted that these smaller fish would spawn in a more northerly area closer to the summertime foraging grounds in the Gulf of Maine and Canadian waters,” Lutcavage said. “The evidence of spawning in the Slope Sea, and the analysis of the tagging data, suggests that western Atlantic bluefin tuna are partitioning spawning areas by size, and that a younger age at maturity should be used in the stock assessment.”
Researchers also found that individual tuna occupy both the Slope Sea and Mediterranean Sea in separate years, contrary to the prevailing view that individuals exhibit complete fidelity to a spawning site. Reproductive mixing between the eastern and western stocks may occur in the Slope Sea and the authors contend that population structure of bluefin tuna may be more complex than is currently thought.
“Past analyses of Atlantic bluefin tuna population structure and mixing between the western and eastern Atlantic stocks may need to be revisited because they do not account for the full spatial extent of western Atlantic spawning,” Richardson said. “So much of the science and sampling for Atlantic bluefin tuna has been built around the assumption that the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea are the only spawning grounds. This new research underscores the complexity of stock structure for this species and identifies important areas for future research.”
The authors expect these findings could potentially lead to a lower estimated age-at-maturity, a critical component of the stock assessment, and could reopen consideration of the nature and level of mixing between the western and eastern Atlantic populations. This new information will be considered along with other pertinent research as part of the regular ICCAT SCRS stock assessment process.
The findings were published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The scientific team for this study comprises researchers from NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), the Large Pelagics Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the School of Marine Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO). The sampling for this study was supported by NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the US Navy through interagency agreements for the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS).
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission
SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Michael Ramsingh – February 10, 2016 — Recreational red snapper users are going to Congress to bypass industry stakeholders to shift commercial and recreational management to the five Gulf States according to the commercial and charter sectors.
In January the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council tabled the Amendment 39 proposal. That included a move of recreational red snapper management to the five Gulf States. This would undermine the primacy of federal fisheries management in the Magnuson Stevens Act.
Both the Charter Fisherman’s Association (CFA) and Gulf Reef Shareholders Alliance (GRSA) say the Council’s decision to delay Amendment 39 is part of an effort to get state-run management passed at the federal level by Congress.
“The same five state directors who for years have said they could manage the red snapper fishery better than the NMFS voted unanimously that they couldn’t do so and led the charge to postpone work on Amendment 39 (regional management) indefinitely,” said Capt Mike Jennings, a member of the Shareholders Alliance. “These five individuals are now asking Congress to hand it to them via federal legislation. Then they can work out a deal behind closed doors, without public input, despite their inability to do so in a public process guaranteed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.”
Last summer, the Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act or HR 3094, was introduced as a way to get state-run Gulf Red Snapper management. The bill is sponsored by Representative Garret Graves (R-LA).
The legislation differs from Amendment 39 since it shifts all red snapper management decisions—including commercial and charter sectors—to the Gulf States. The Congressional bill also circumvents input from industry stakeholders on how a state-run management system would function. Essentially, one director from each state would oversee Gulf red snapper management.
However, in November HR 3094 was blasted in hearings before a House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
“Charter-for-hire captains throughout the Gulf, and many commercial fishermen, chefs, and others involved in the seafood industry, are deeply concerned that this legislation will lead to an eventual, exclusive recreational fishery for Gulf of Mexico red snapper,” said Gulf of Mexico, Captain Gary Jarvis, president of the Destin Charter Boat Association at the time.
Meanwhile, other opponents of HR 3094 note how the bill directly flaunts the success of the federal fishery management process under Magnuson.
“Unfortunately, some in Congress are supporting legislation that would undercut the MSA — drastically cutting consumers access to red snapper. U.S. Rep. Garret Graves’ H.R. 3094 would grant five Gulf states exclusive management authority over the entire red snapper fishery,” said Seafood Harvesters of America Executive Director Brett Veerhusen and Haley Bittermann, Corporate Executive Chef and Director of the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group in an Op-Ed published this week in the The Times-Picayune. “We cannot support state takeover of the commercial fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. This bill threatens the availability of red snapper to local fishermen and restaurants across the country. This could prompt unsustainable overfishing by private anglers and set a dangerous precedent where states would have little incentive to be stricter than their neighbor.”
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Agence Press France] — January 6, 2016 — Norway registered record fish exports in 2015 thanks to a weaker currency which compensated for a Russian food embargo, an industry body said Tuesday.
Norway’s fish exports totalled 74.5 billion kroner (7.75 billion euros, $8.35 billion), more than double the level 10 years ago and a rise of eight percent from the record year of 2014, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council.
“In a year with trade restrictions in several markets and an import embargo in Russia, the result was better than expected,” director Terje Martinussen said in a statement.
Russia suspended food imports from most Western countries in August 2014 in retaliation for sanctions the West imposed on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis. Russia had until then been one of the biggest markets for Norwegian fish exports.
China, which froze diplomatic ties with Oslo after the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo, has also imposed drastic restrictions on Norwegian salmon imports, officially citing veterinary concerns.
But the weaker Norwegian currency, partly caused by plummeting prices for oil, another main Norwegian export, helped compensate for the Chinese and Russian declines.
In volume, Norway’s exports decreased by 2.2 percent to 2.6 million tonnes.
Salmon, Norway’s star product, and trout, accounted for two-thirds of seafood exports, for a sum of 50 billion kroner which was also a new record.
Two-thirds of exports went to the EU, where Poland, Denmark and France were the main takers.
This opinion piece originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.
SEAFOODNEWS.COM By Peggy Parker — October 19, 2015 — The fourth annual audit for Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) certification has been completed for sablefish (black cod), Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) announced this morning.
ASMI requested assessment of the sablefish fisheries to the FAO-based standard first in April 2010. Final certification was given in October 2011. Last May the Fishing Vessels Owners Association became the new client holding the certificate for this fishery.
The audit covers changes to the management regime, regulations and their implementation since the previous assessment, in September 2014. The report determines whether these changes and current practices remain consistent with the overall scorings of the fishery allocated during initial certification.
Within the report are descriptions of how the sablefish fishery conforms to 13 standards, called clauses from the RFM framework, that range from data collection to fishermen’s competence, to ecosystem impacts. In all cases, the fishery was rated “high”, the best mark given.
Details of meetings with managers, law enforcement, biologists, and fishermen and processors, are included in the report.
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.
SEAFOODNEWS.COM — October 13, 2015 — NMFS will allows Hawaii’s longline tuna vessels to resume bigeye fishing efforts in Western and Central Pacific Ocean through an agreement with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
According to NMFS the Islands have a 2,000 metric ton catch limit of longline-caught bigeye tuna and can allocate up to 1,000 mt each year to US longline fishing vessels in a specified fishing agreement that is consistent with established regulations.
Agreement was welcomed for approximately three dozen Hawaii longline vessels that are larger than 24 meters in length. These larger vessels have been banned from fishing not only in the WCPO but also in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since Aug. 12, 2015. According to another international agreement, the US longline fleet has a quota of 500 mt in EPO after which US longline vessels less than 24 meters in length only can operate in those waters.
NMFS determined that the fleet had reached its 2015 US bigeye tuna limit of 3,502 mt. The limited supply during the closure, saw prices for bigeye tuna (`ahi) skyrockety at the Honolulu fish auction to as high as $13.70 per pound.
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.