Market News
A new approach to conservation |  |
"New England fishing officials, hoping to revive the region’s imperiled cod and flounder populations and its distressed fishing industry, yesterday overhauled the way many fishermen will do their jobs.
The new system probably will replace a complex scheme that regulates fishermen’s catch through strict limits on how many fish they can bring to port and how many days they are allowed to venture out to sea - a number that has dwindled to 20 days a year for many fishermen.
Instead, groups of fishermen would be able to form cooperatives that would be allotted a total amount of fish to catch each year. Then fishermen in each cooperative, or “sector,’’ would work out among themselves how to divvy up this quota.
The idea is to give fishermen more flexibility, allowing them to avoid dangerous weather and end the practice of throwing dead fish overboard if they catch more than permitted. There are already two sectors operating on Cape Cod, and the new rules, set to take effect next May, would create 17 more in New England for sea captains who go after cod, flounder, and other bottom-dwelling species.
“It’s a real step in the right direction,’’ said Patricia Kurkul, regional administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries service. “I see sustainable fisheries and fishermen in a better position to make business decisions without the restrictions’’ they are now under.
The effort, of which many fishermen remain skeptical, is the nation’s most ambitious attempt to reign in overfishing by giving groups of fishermen more of a stake in the health of fish stocks. And while voluntary, the program could push most of the region’s estimated 600 operating boats into cooperatives. Yesterday, on the last day of a three-day meeting in Portland, Maine, the New England Fishery Management Council halved the number of days fishermen who choose not to join cooperatives can go to sea.
“We are being forced into sectors,’’ said Joe Orlando, a Gloucester fish captain for 35 years. He said he is joining a sector because staying out of one means being even more restricted. “There is not enough fish to go around, and a lot of people are going to [leave the business]. We don’t want this.’’
Other concerns were raised at the meeting, including how closely fishermen would be monitored to prevent cheating, and what previous year’s catches would serve as the baseline for commercial and recreational fishing quotas. One of the most contentious items was deciding whether nonsector fishermen would get a collective catch quota, which would mean that they would have to stop fishing for the rest of the year if the total number of fish caught exceeds the allowed catch. The council, in a 9-8 vote, decided to start these hard quotas in three years.
The waters off New England were once so thick with cod that colonial fishermen bragged that they could lower a basket into the water and pull it up full of fish. But generations of heavy fishing and boats that have gotten increasingly efficient at finding fish have resulted in too many boats chasing too few fish.
To solve the problem, fishing managers over the last 20 years have placed a web of restrictions on fishermen, centered on how many days they can fish. Yet while some fish populations are doing better, most have not been restored to levels that scientists say will sustain fishing long term, and that the law requires. Today only red fish and haddock are in robust shape, and 12 species off New England are considered overfished.
“The twofold challenge fishing managers have never been able to meet is figuring out how many fish are actually being killed and then controlling the catch,’’ said Peter Shelley, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental group based in Boston.
NOAA has set aside $16.7 million this year to help the New England fleet make the transition to a sector system. An estimated $18 million is requested in next year’s budget, in part to develop monitoring systems and document catches. Yet Shelley and other supporters of the sector plan say the fishing industry will eventually have to pay for its own management.
Some opponents of the sector plan said it involves dividing up a public resource and privatizing it. That, they said, will keep out new fishermen.
“The ocean resource belongs to everyone,’’ said Angela Sanfilippo of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association. “This is an ownership issue.’’
Supporters say that the cooperatives will not own fish populations, and that their yearly quotas can change.
“Done correctly, this is the last best chance we have to have a viable New England fishery and rebuild the stocks,’’ said Peter Baker, director of the Pew Environment Group’s End Overfishing in New England campaign, which has pushed hard for the cooperatives."
 | Stimulus helps Turtles survive! |
Starfish come back to New England - does it mean cleaner water?
(06/15/09)
"They are multiplying like no one's business," said Peter Melanson, owner and founder of the Sakonnet Oyster Company Inc. in Little Compton. R.I. "They smell all the shellfish . . . it drives them crazy."
While theories abound about why starfish populations appear to be spiking, scientists acknowledge it is largely a mystery. Radical population shifts occur naturally in scores of species, from lynx to lobster. Yet researchers are only now unraveling the complex relationships and influences that govern their cycles of abundance.
It's not clear how widespread the invasion is because so few scientists study starfish. News of the population uptick is coming via reports from divers, fishermen, and spring beachgoers. State divers in Buzzards Bay were startled two weeks ago to find vast carpets of starfish - each creature 4 to 5 inches across - stretching 100 yards along the sea floor. Some fishermen in Narragansett Bay are hauling up an increasing number of starfish. Workers dredging contaminated shellfish in upper Mount Hope Bay between Rhode Island and Massachusetts also are seeing more. And last week at Scusset, overjoyed children armed with nets and buckets scooped up dozens of smaller starfish to show parents and take home as mementos.
They are properly called sea stars because they aren't fish, but have also been called the opossum of the sea - very much alive when they seem so dead. The region's starfish, which probably live three to four years and range in color from yellow-orange to purple-brown, are found in deep waters but can move to shallow areas to munch on tiny snails and a slew of shellfish.
How they eat those shellfish can repulse even the most hardy fisherman. Suction cups affix the sea star's arms to the clamped shell of an oyster, mussel, scallop, or clam. The starfish's powerful muscles slowly open the shell. If the slit is even paper thin, the creature pushes its stomach out of its mouth into the opening to excrete digestive juices and then consumes the dissolved material. One US Fish Commission report in 1900 described a starfish that ate 50 young clams in six days - and increased in size 300 perc
"It is totally disgusting to see," said Robert Rheault, executive director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association.
Starfish were once so despised that Massachusetts and Rhode Island placed bounties on them. Clyde MacKenzie, 78, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist who grew up on Martha's Vineyard, remembers people getting about 50 cents a bushel for them during the Depression. Farmers would come to the docks and load the starfish into wagons to fertilize their farmland.
Fishermen, meanwhile, would drag "starfish mops" - iron bars with large pieces of cotton at the end - along the sea floor to snag the spiny animals. Hauled back on board, the starfish were plunged in hot water to die.
"Sometimes fishermen would try to get rid of them by chopping them up with an ax and throwing them overboard, but you'd actually just get more" in the sea because they can regenerate, said Michael Rice, a professor of fisheries and aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island. Oyster farming was a big business in Rhode Island in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and maps were printed each year to show starfish abundance.
The Hurricane of 1938, along with pollution, helped end the oyster heyday in Narragansett Bay, and scientific interest in starfish waned. Some fishermen said starfish numbers plummeted along with the oysters. Now, scientists say they see only glimpses of starfish boom and bust cycles. The last starfish boom was eight to 10 years ago.
"It's really cyclical," said Terry O'Neil, a Massachusetts marine fisheries biologist who came across a giant pack of starfish on top of bay scallop beds in Buzzards Bay two weeks ago. "I've never seen so many starfish there before," he said, "but I have seen it in Cape Cod Bay - and the next year they are gone."
Some scientists believe starfish numbers are related to how shellfish populations did the previous year; a good shellfish year could spark a lot of starfish the next. Others wonder whether this year's population surge might be related to a reported decline in spider crabs, a starfish predator, or to changes in water temperature. Others say people just might be happening upon yearly localized events that often go unnoticed under the water surface. At Scusset, the best guess is that prevailing easterly winds drove the sea stars to shore.
"Everyone has their pet theory why - but an exact cause? We don't have it," said Dale Leavitt, associate professor of marine biology at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I.
Shellfishermen say that they have not been too bothered by the increase, but that starfish in general are a pervasive problem. Melanson, however, says he chooses to see their comeback as a positive sign.
As he hauled up a seaweed- and barnacle-covered cage filled with tiny oysters in thick mesh bags from the Sakonnet River last week, life teemed on it. About 20 starfish clung to the cage and to the largely impenetrable oyster bags.
With better controls on pollution, he said, the water is cleaner and luring back species - ones people want and ones they don't.
"There is more of everything now," said Melanson. "You could see it as a win-win situation."
 | Senator tries to slow down Magnusen Act and its effect on fisherman!!! |
The bill is called The Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 and it would provide a series of exceptions to hard-and-fast federal rules aimed at restoring species deemed as over fished.
Schumer issued a statement questioning the science and the fairness of rules that set the federal quotas, which mandate rebuilding fish stocks in 10 years.
'The current system not only falls short of achieving this goal, but it's taking the Long Island fishing community down with it,' Schumer said. 'Our legislation provides some much needed balance and flexibility within the existing system to both preserve our fishing stocks and allow fisheries to thrive and grow.'
Schumer's bill would allow the secretary of commerce to ease the 10-year rebuilding rule if it turns out the cause of a fish's decline is outside the jurisdiction of fishery management agencies or can't be addressed by limiting fishing.
It would also allow exceptions if it determines an extension would provide for the 'sustained participation of fishing communities or would minimize the economic impacts on such communities,' if a fish stock is on a 'a positive rebuilding trend.'
Schumer said rebuilding the fisheries requires 'a more nuanced approach to regulations that is not overly onerous on our fishing communities.'
Introducing the legislation is one of several recent developments that have given local fishermen hope.
Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) is scheduled to meet this week with federal fisheries regulators to make the case that New York's low percentage of the annual federal quota of vital species such as fluke is based on flawed data.
AP reports - Fisherman catching Bombs!
(06/10/09)
A military bomb squad met him at the shore in Florida to remove sensitive technology from the projectile and dispose of it.
Local authorities initially said the missile was live, but Eglin Air Force Base spokesman Samuel King later said it contained no explosives.
King says the missile was fired from an F-15 fighter jet during a test in August of 2004. It was a telemetry missile, used to measure and transmit data.
Authorities say fisherman Rodney Salomon hooked the missile 50 miles off Panama City. The military uses Gulf waters for weapons training.
Salomon said he kept the missile on his boat for 10 days before returning to port near St. Petersburg.
Farm Salmon Outlook bleak for third and fourth quarters 2009
(06/09/09)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
With production expected to range from 1.17 million to 1.24 million metric tons this year, the effects of the ISA disease in the Chilean poulation is chilling
growth by 67 percent, to 120,000 metric tons, in 2009.
To offset this, many of the other world producers are increasing their production. Norway's farmed salmon production is projected to increase by as much as 13 percent, to 754,000 metric tons, this year, outpacing the United Kingdom at 6 percent (130,000 metric tons) and North America at 5 percent (128,000 metric tons).
Watch out for the third and fourth quarter as Chile's farmed salmon output is projected to slide by as much as 87 percent during period, to 37,000 metric tons.
With farmed salmon production way down in Chile and up in Norway this year, Heiberg said he expected a "major" supply shortfall in the Americas but relief in supply pressure in the Europe Union. The United States represents 60 percent of Chile's farmed salmon exports, while the EU accounts for just 9 percent.
Bluefish and Rockfish Warning Issued.
(06/08/09)
June 3, 2009 - 6:05pm
WASHINGTON - Seven East Coast states are advising pregnant women and young children to avoid eating striped bass and large bluefish caught recreationally in state waters because of high PCB levels in the migratory fish. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that pregnant women, women who may get pregnant, nursing mothers and children under 8 should avoid the fish altogether. Everybody else is being warned to limit consumption to four meals a year.
Maine officials say similar advisories are being issued in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
Recreation Fishing appears to be on the decline?
(06/06/09)
The Baltimore Sun reports quotes from serval observers -
"We're seeing behavioral changes," Tom O'Connell, head of the Fisheries Service, said Tuesday night. "Anglers are not buying licenses or are buying short-term licenses. We're going to be looking at a budget reduction of $1 million in the coming years. We take this very seriously."
At the request of recreational fishing groups, the General Assembly raised the price of a resident freshwater license in 2007 from $10.50 to $20.50, the tidal license from $9 to $15 and a fishing decal for a pleasure boat from $40 to $50. The increase took effect that July.
Maryland sold 341,527 freshwater and tidal water fishing licenses; many people fish on charter boats or boats with a fishing decal, where individual licenses are not needed. By comparison, the state sold 379,694 licenses in 2007.
Those figures would not be out of line with a national study by the American Sportfishing Association, which showed that for every $1 increase in a license fee, sales decreased by 4.7 percent.
O'Connell told members of the Task Force on Fisheries Management that the Fisheries Service was hoping that a $50,000 analysis over the summer of angler attitudes and license fee structures would pinpoint ways to stop the defections. Responsive Management, a Virginia-based company, will compare Maryland's situation with states that have successful fishing programs and make recommendations that could be turned into legislation for next year.
Fishing has declined nationally. Federal statistics show the number of freshwater anglers fell from 31 million in 1991 to about 25 million in 2006. Saltwater fishing attracted 8.9 million people in 1991 and 7.7 million in 2006. Family and work responsibilities along with the draw of other activities have been blamed for the drop.
Should Basa imports be called Catfish ? |  |
In an interview given to Washington-based Vietnam News Agency correspondent, the NFI President said that the move would cause harms to both countries.
According to Connelly, the US would suffer the loss in many ways, first from trade perspective. He said if Vietnam's pangasius production is limited that would reduce the US's export of soya-bean, an important product for pangasius production, to Vietnam.
Secondly, the ban on the products coming to US as the result of USDA's decision would impact people in Idaho, Massachusetts, and Florida, which are important states of the US, because the recruitment for product processing shrinks, he said.
The ban would also destroy opportunities of US families to enjoy the Vietnamese products, Connelly added.
Connelly asserted that Tra and Basa of Vietnam are safe and healthy products, adding that trade is important in the US-Vietnam relationship and the increase in import of these products would, in return, help boost USs exports to Vietnam.
He also said that at the time when President Barack Obama is trying to reshape and reenergize as well as renew American leadership abroad, to take steps that damage the relationship with developing countries, seems to be a faulty and wrong part for the president in the administration to take.
He stressed that in 2002, the US Congress did not classify Vietnamese Tra and Basa as catfish. So around seven years later, the redefinition that aims to prevent the products coming in from Vietnam to compete against the domestic catfish is problematic and unfair to American consumers, unfair to soya-bean farmers exporting their product to Vietnam, and unfair to Tra and Basa breeders and processors in Vietnam.
John Sackton Reports Retailers not cooprative
(05/27/09)
Since many seafood items are lower in price today that last year at wholesale, I expected to see evidence of lower prices leading to higher consumption.
Instead, we found that retailers are not passing on lower costs, and in fact are using the lower prices of seafood items to expand their margins, and are willingly accepting lower volumes in the process.
Seven of the top ten seafood items increased in price at retail during the first quarter, vs. a year ago, despite the fact that most of these species had lower wholesale prices. The result is that volumes fell for most items, not offset by any demand stimulated by lower prices. There were some exceptions, notably Lobster, however, which is still enjoying strong increases in retail sales.
Data courtesy of the Perishables Group.
The items in red are those species we have identified with lower wholesale prices in the first quarter of 2009 vs. the first quarter of 2008. Most of them have higher retail average prices, despite the drop in wholesale prices.
Steve Lutz, President of the Perishables Group, writes for Q1, 'As you can see, in general, prices are up. Seven of the top ten seafood items increased in price in Q1 vs. YAGO. The scenario you described [Retailers increasing margins] appears to be exactly what is happening. As selling prices and volume fall, retailers use supplier discounts to build margins. The problem is that at some point consumers begin to abandon the category in pursuit of better cost/value options. Chicken, for example, did just fine in Q4 while other meats/seafood were looking customers.'
Tomorrow, we will look in more detail at changes in some individual species at retail.
Lutz also says 'The other thing we're seeing across fresh foods is that consumers are not necessarily avoiding high priced items. It's all driven by value perception. So, Lobster sold at a discount, even though relatively expensive, still generates substantial volume as consumers recognize the value in the reduced cost. So while Lobster is much more expensive than salmon, at $9.00/lb it's a great buy compared to last year, and value focused consumers understand and respond.
The Shrimp Story |  |
| Species Info | Order |
Top 6 exporters to the US this year are Thailand, Indonesia, Ecuador, Mexico, China and Vietnam—only Thailand, Ecuador and Mexico are up.
The struggling world economy, reduced production in certain regions, tariffs and deteriorating consumer confidence continue to impact the shrimp industry worldwide.
In Vietnam, tightening Black Tiger supplies are starting to put upward pressure on prices, which rose again last month.
In Thailand, Vannamei white prices are expected to rise due to limited quantities available from the first crop of the year. The peak season is expected to be late-May through June.
U.S. Gulf domestic shrimp landings are off to a brisk start—running 52% above last year.
This year’s Maine shrimp season opened December 1st and prospects look weak due to the global economic conditions.
The Oregon Pink Shrimp season opened April 1st and will run through October 31st. Harvest quantities are expected to be plentiful.
Results from Technomic’s latest consumer sentiment survey revealed consumers are still highly concerned about the economy. 87% of those surveyed say they intend to save more and spend less, up from 74% in
December, 2008. Technomic predicts the food industry will continue to feel the results of the prevailing pessimism as consumers continue to scale back on visits to high-priced restaurants, reduce spending at restaurants, make more meals at home, increase purchases of store-brand groceries and take greater advantage of coupons and discounts.
 | Good news on Fish Stocks |
The announcement came as part of the agency’s annual report card, called the Status of U.S. Fisheries.
Of the 251 stocks and multi-species groupings known as complexes NOAA scientists reviewed for overfishing status in 2008, 210 (84 percent) are not subject to overfishing and 41 (16 percent) are subject to overfishing. That’s the same number as last year and down from 48 stocks or complexes subject to overfishing in 2006.
Four stocks — thorny skate, Atlantic blacknose shark, Atlantic shortfin mako shark and Gulf of Mexico pink shrimp — were added to the list of species and complexes subject to overfishing, though the stock assessment for Gulf pink shrimp is currently under review.
Of the 199 stocks and complexes reviewed for overfished status in 2008, 153 (77 percent) are not overfished and 46 (23 percent) are overfished. That’s up from 45 overfished stocks or complexes last year but down from 47 in 2007.
“Overfishing” means the catch is above the target set in the fishery’s management plan, while “overfished” factors in a safety margin ensuring the stock is able to recover.
“While we can claim success with these stocks and 10 others we’ve rebuilt since 2001, this year’s report also shows the major challenges we face to end overfishing in 2010,” said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for fisheries.
Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, NOAA and the regional fishery management councils are mandated to end overfishing by implementing annual catch limits and accountability measures by 2010.
Seafood Source Reports On Omega 3 deficiencies
(05/18/09)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
Among the dozen dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health examined, low omega-3 intake ranked as the sixth highest killer, responsible for 72,000 to 96,000 preventable deaths in 2005.
Tobacco smoking was attributed to 436,000 to 500,000 preventable deaths, followed by high blood pressure (372,000 to 414,000), obesity (188,000 to 237,000), physical inactivity (164,000 to 222,000) and high salt intake (97,000 to 107,000).
The study found low omega-3 intake to be a greater risk factor than high trans fatty acid intake (63,000 to 97,000 preventable deaths).
The study was published in the April issue of PLoS Medicine.
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The reason softcrabs are so expensive at the moment is due to the water temperature.
Water temps are still in the 50's and this does not promote them to shed, and the crabs that do,
don't have the strength to make any type of journey on a jarring truck ride to your kitchens.
Because of this fact and the mortality rate the prices remain high.
We have many local Chef's switching to a fresh dressed crab! When the fresh crabs come off the shedding tables
they are immediately dressed and shipped to us hours later and delivered to you that same day.
This yields everyone involved 100% which keeps the price lower. Next benefit is that every crab shipped live
is very hearty so many have a thicker shell. The dressed ones are the more desired truly soft shells.
Also preorders can be guaranteed to you and you will not here "we will see what comes in" again.
Not to mention that the work is done for your kitchen staff, get an order and cook them up!
Give them a try and let me know what you think, thanks.
Blue Crab catch looks promising |  |
| Species Info | Order |
Of the 71.2 million pounds of seafood sold to dealers last year, nearly half, or 32.9 million pounds, were hard blue crabs, according to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries' Trip Ticket Program. Hard crabs also contributed $25 million to the $87 million total dockside value of seafood in 2008, a $4 million increase from the 2007 total.
'Although crab pot trips were down from last year, the winter crab trawl fishery was very good, contributing to the increased landings of hard blue crabs compared to 2007,' said Alan Bianchi, the state Division of Marine Fisheries' Commercial Statistics program manager.
The 57 percent increase in blue crab harvest contributed to a 34 percent increase in overall shellfish landings, which also saw steady shrimp catches. The shrimp harvest declined by 1 percent, but the landings were still 64 percent higher than the previous five-year average.
'In the shrimp fishery, the high fuel prices during the fall likely led to the decline in the number of shrimp and skimmer trawl trips in 2008,' Bianchi said.
Oyster harvest increased by 5 percent, as well, from 83,446 bushels to 88,008 bushels.
Commercial finfish landings, however, fell by 9 percent to 27.6 million pounds. This included a 59 percent drop in yellowfin tuna harvests, a 30 percent drop in swordfish harvests and a 17 percent drop in bluefish harvests. Conversely, there was a significant increase in tilefish landings, which were the highest on record at 404,295 pounds. Triggerfish landings also increased by 28 percent.
Likewise, the recreational fishing sector saw declines in finfish harvests in 2008.
The number of recreational finfish caught dropped about 18 percent to 12 million while the number of recreational fishing trips remained roughly the same, at 7 million, according to North Carolina Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey estimates.
'There was a decline in for-hire and private boat trips, but an increase in shore and pier fishing,' said Doug Mumford, the state Division of Marine Fisheries' recreational statistics program manager. 'It appears the high fuel prices and other economic factors may have influenced fishermen to choose the piers, with blanket fishing licenses, over their boats.'
Dolphinfish remained the top recreational species with 3.6 million pounds (405,784 fish) caught, followed by groupers at 1.2 million pounds (99,468 fish), bluefish at 1 million pounds (1.3 million fish), striped bass at 921,051 pounds ( 44,006 fish) and spotted seatrout at 911,097 pounds (576,703 fish).
 | Bluefin Tuna can be grown successfully! |
Among the milestones achieved were:
* continuous spawning over a 35-day period from March 12 to
April 16;
* more than 50m fertilised eggs and 30m larvae produced;
* numerous instances of over 90pc fertilisation achieved;
* SBT fingerling production, with fish having achieved about
2.5cm in length and >28 days in age;
* considerable advances and knowledge developed for the
production and commercialisation of SBT as a sustainable resource.
Chairman Mr Hagen Stehr stated, 'Our dream has become reality.
'Hatchery staff at our Arno Bay complex, assisted by some of the
world's best propagation scientists, need to be congratulated.
'The achievements are world firsts, and major stepping stones to
present the world with a sustainable resource for the future.
Washington Post reports Crab Population on the rise! |  |
A baywide survey this winter, in which scientists counted crabs by dredging them out of their sandy burrows, yielded a population estimate of just more than 400 million. That was up from 280 million last winter.
Blue crabs are a species prone to explosive swings in population, so there is no guarantee that the growth will continue. But scientists and state officials said they were encouraged by the results, especially by the near-doubling in the number of adult females.
"We fully expected some kind of an increase. Now, the increase that we got, right now, was a little higher than we expected," said Rom Lipcius, a professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science who worked on the survey. "What that means is that the management actions worked so far, and I want to emphasize that they worked so far."
The population numbers are still far below where they were in the early 1990s. In 1991, there were an estimated 828 million crabs in the bay. Since then, the species has suffered because of declining water quality and heavy fishing from watermen, who have come to focus more on the crabs while the Chesapeake's oysters, their other traditional income source, have dropped to historic lows.
Last year, Maryland and Virginia took major steps to cut back on the harvest of female crabs, which produce the eggs that could rebuild the Chesapeake's population. The states limited the number of female crabs that could be taken at certain times and banned Virginia's traditional "dredge" fishery, in which watermen scraped the crustaceans out of their winter burrows.
Those moves came at a serious cost to the bay's watermen: The federal government declared their fishery a disaster last year.
Lipcius said the end of the dredge fishery -- which took females before they were able to release their eggs at the bay's mouth -- had been the major reason for the rebound.
But he said he wants to see at least three more years of encouraging results. "Then I would start to feel comfortable about relaxing some of the regulations."
 | Did Government quota on Dogfish hurt other economic species? |
Surging populations of spiny dogfish, the small pack-feeding sharks with seemingly bottomless stomachs, have prompted a group of recreational and commercial fishing interests to call on America's new chief ocean regulator to take steps to beat back the unpopular species.
In a letter to Jane Lubchenco, the recently appointed director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Fishermen Organized for Responsible Dogfish Management describe dogfish as a perfect example of how attempts to rebuild all fish species equally has caused dire consequences for the valuable fish marine economies rely on.
'We have no doubt that the billion or more pounds of spiny dogfish infesting our waters are collectively costing us hundreds of millions of dollars in lost opportunities,' the FORDM letter says.
'Considering your strong advocacy for ecosystem-based management and for your high position in the scientific hierarchy in the new administration, we are seeking your support in affecting whatever legislative or administrative actions are necessary to return the spiny dogfish biomass to reasonable levels,' the letter states.
Not marketed in the United States as seafood, dogfish have earned their poor reputation among fishermen for their aggressive feeding habits, which lead them to damage gear or get caught by nets and lines set to catch more valuable finned species such as cod or tuna.
More significantly, fishermen argue that dogfish eat almost any form of marine life smaller than themselves, including the beleaguered groundfish species that National Marine Fisheries Service has exerted so much effort protecting from fishermen.
While there is little demand for dogfish in the United States, the sharks are eaten in Europe Ń smoked or fried with chips Ń and are part of Chinese shark's fin soup.
Equipped with two venomous dorsal spines, dogfish are labor intensive to fish and process.
What commercial dogfish fishery does exist is focused in Massachusetts, home to two of three remaining processing facilities that take them. One of those is Zeus Packing, located at the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction on Harbor Loop. The other is in New Bedford.
Before this decade, dogfish were harvested extensively until their numbers were significantly diminished by the 1990s.
Along with more valuable species, dogfish stocks have been rebuilt under the protection of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation Act in the past decade.
Federal research last year confirmed anecdotal observations by fishermen that dogfish numbers are climbing and the species is no longer overfished, prompting both state and federal regulators to recommend increasing the allowable catch for the species for 2009.
The quota in federal waters, which would go into effect May 1 and has not been finalized, would increase by 200 percent from the prior year.
Concerns among scientists that the number of large female dogfish were still depressed prevented even larger catch limits.
But in their letter to Lubchenco, the Fishermen Organized for Responsible Dogfish Management argue that dogfish harvests with the more permissive quotas will only reduce the dogfish infestation by a 'proverbial drop in the bucket.'
Citing estimates from the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, that there is as many as four times as much dogfish by weight (2 million metric tons) in northeastern waters than NMFS estimates, the letter describes an entire ecosystem out of balance with a voracious predator operating unchecked.
'The depredations of this huge biomass of spiny dogfish on other, competing species are interfering significantly with the rebuilding of those species,' the FORDM letter says, 'and we Ń the fishermen Ń are paying for that through lowered recreational and commercial quotas.'
The characterization that regulations have been overly rigid and imprecise to deal with the complexity of the fishery follows the broader complaints by fishermen that NMFS' attempt to totally rebuild every stock simultaneously is incompatible with a living fishing industry.
The letter was written by Nils Stolpe, a columnist for National Fisherman and consultant for seafood industry groups, and Jim Donofrio of the Recreational Fishing Alliance.
Reached by phone yesterday, Stolpe said his group was not proposing one single regulatory change or solution for dogfish, but rather an acknowledgement from Lubchenco that the status quo is not healthy.
'We want them to acknowledge the problem and be responsible for doing something about it,' Stolpe said.
Written by Seafood.com
Good Explanation of how Science is trying work with Fishing Industry but has its limits |  |
The key issue in New England is that the fishery is based on multiple species and stocks (19 all together) which are caught in the same tows. The multi-species complex is all vulnerable to trawl gear, and due to the nature of the grounds in New England, in many areas it is not possible to avoid catching multiple species.
This has led to the situation where fishery management plans are designed around protecting the weakest stocks, often by limiting the amount of landings of stronger stocks.
The key to the success of fishery plans which target specific species is wholly dependent on whether the gear types are selective enough to accomplish the goal. With Alaska pollock for example, the fleet moved from a bottom trawl to a mid-water trawl (up a few feet off the bottom), so as to avoid bycatch and due to this, and pollocks' natural schooling behavior, they operate one of the 'cleanest' fisheries in the world.
The halibut fishery is done with hooks - minimizing the bycatch of cod and salmon.
But in New England, the trawl fishery for flatfish or cod is only possible on the bottom, and as a result, bottom trawl gear is simply not selective enough to target only certain species in the groundfish complex.
So problem number one is that the fishing gear is completely mismatched with the management strategy that protects the weakest stocks among 19 separate components.
Secondly, the plans depend on the best available science - but this becomes a negative factor when the science is not sufficient for the management tasks it is being asked to do.
In researching this issue, I have found nothing but praise in the region for the fisheries scientists at the North East fisheries center who do the actual modeling and data collection. Despite the data problems and the fact that some time series are not as error free as one would like, no one feels that the scientists are not doing the best work they can in a difficult situation.
But the fact is that the tools are not good enough to measure precisely the year to year status of each of the individual stocks that make up the groundfish complex. So for example, white hake was seen as a species of concern for several years, and the council's groundfish committee spent two years working on a plan that would minimize the catch of white hake. But then last fall they got an updated assessment that told them white hake was no longer a problem - it had recovered with no regulatory action, and that now the problem species was southern new england winter flounder. This turned the management problem on its head, and the group was told they had to respond immediately for an interim rule.
There is not enough funding for the analysis of each species every year at a level that allows scientists to adjust to the changing conditions. On George's bank, environmental factors, fish migration in and out of the area, changing water temperatures -- all have dramatic impacts on the abundance of fish stocks separately from whether overfishing is happening. And yet the changes in the environment require constant adjustment to the fisheries rebuilding targets.
Another example: the directed fishery for dogfish was shut down due to the threatened status of the stock. Now the biomass of sharks, mostly dogfish, is 1.15 million tons, greater even than the total biomass of groundfish which is around 1.06 million tons. As these are long lived species reproducing with live births, the rebuilding could not have taken place with only the original population. It seems likely that the fluctuations in dogfish populations seen by scientists were the result of out migration and in migration, not fishing pressure putting the stock at risk.
Gulf of Maine Cod - is also a stock that is near complete recovery despite landings and discards well in excess of target levels. In this case, the stock may be benefiting from the overall migration of cod from the Northeast Atlantic to the Northwest Atlantic.
This is the problem some in New England mean when they say they need more flexibility.
The issue is they haven't got flexibility because the long term record is so poor. The graph below illustrates the decline in the total catch (landings and discards) of the groundfish species in New England. It is obvious that so far no successful rebuilding strategy has worked, and the rebuilding seen in the mid 1980's was quickly lost.
In the groundfish assessment report, a different strategy was mentioned: focus on the total biomass, and set fishing mortality very low - around 0.15. Under this plan, the various species would be expected to recover, but fish landings would remain quite low for a period of time.
NMFS is arguing that the biomass is in fact recovering - and that controls on fishing pressure, in whatever form, are actually working.
But no matter what happens, New England is in for more fisheries agony, since the panacea of sectors and IFQ's will only work if about 30% or more of the fleet decides not to fish. In the mid 1980's there were about 1500 active boats, now there are about 550 active, and under the new plans, there is probably room for 200 to 300 vessels.
This is a fact of life that cannot be changed by tweaking quotas, by lawsuits, or by legislation.
Until the fleet capacity is better matched with the resource, battles about overfishing are going to happen one way or another.
Many on the council recognize this, and bristle when they are blamed for not fixing an intractable problem.
New England has long resisted market based solutions to the race for groundfish - but the fishing community must face up to the fact that there is no other way. Until there is a group of harvesters who see the economic value of leaving fish in the water for future gain, no one will accept leaving fish in the water. An IFQ system, with small quota shares distributed to all active fishermen and a leasing market for groundfish, if coupled with a robust buyout financed by those who remain in the fishery - could well be the quickest and fairest way to accomplish what has to be done.
But in any case, blaming the council for failure to resolve an intractable problem is too simplistic. Somewhere there has to emerge leadership in the region for radical change - yet so far that is sorely lacking.
 | Maine Lobster in good shape - just not selling |
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
The Department of Marine Resources reported Wednesday that lobstermen caught 67.4 million pounds valued at $235.6 million. While the harvest was up by about 4 million pounds from 2007, the value of the catch fell $49.7 million.
Commissioner George Lapointe said the numbers show him that the lobster population off Maine is in good shape, but the industry is in economic distress.
Interesting Crab Dredging Judge Ruling! |  |
The Virginian-Pilot
Watermen claimed victory Monday in a lawsuit challenging state efforts at banning the controversial practice of dredging crabs from the Chesapeake Bay in wintertime.
The practice, long criticized by environmentalists, involves capturing crabs as they hibernate in the cold, muddy bottom of the Bay. Ninety percent are female, and most are pregnant.
Virginia barred such dredging last year for the first time in a century, in hope of boosting sagging crab populations and sparking a recovery.
Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Jack Doyle ruled late Friday that Virginia is empowered to ban winter dredging for conservation purposes - but only one year at a time, and only after an annual scientific review, public comment and a public vote.
His decision, while cheered by watermen, does not mean crab dredging will occur this year, beginning Dec. 1. Indeed, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission intends to bar such crabbing again in 2009 - and probably for several years after that, said John Bull, an agency spokesman.
What the ruling means, though, is that the state cannot just leave the door closed on winter dredging until officials are ready to open it, a vague outcome that would leave watermen powerless to influence future decisions.
"They've been wrong all along on this. So, yes, absolutely I'm excited by the decision," said Robert Hollowell, a Norfolk crabber and a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the state marine commission.
Until last year, Hollowell had crab-dredged in the lower Chesapeake for 30 years. He hopes the ruling will give him and other watermen a chance to make their case to reinstate the fishery.
Lee Ann Washington, the attorney representing Hollowell and other crab dredgers, said "the state absolutely wanted to prohibit dredging for as long as they could, if not forever," and that the ruling stops that from happening.
Washington, whose father was a leading Virginia waterman, said she soon will ask the judge to rule that the state must pay her attorney's fees. She has been on the case since May.
Marine commission staffers were scratching their heads Monday as Washington and her clients claimed victory. As these staffers saw the outcome, they will continue to do what they had planned to do, regardless of what Doyle ruled - propose regulations, including a winter dredging ban, for 2009 that helps to rebuild crab stocks in the Bay.
The dredging ban "was a vital tool" last year as Virginia cut its harvest of female crabs by more than 34 percent, said Bull, the commission spokesman.
"We'll keep after it until we reach 200 million crabs in the Bay and can sustain those numbers for at least three years," Bull said. "If we have to do this one year a time, step by step, that's fine with us. No problem."
The commission will likely conduct a public hearing next month on a proposed dredging ban, along with other crabbing regulations for the 2009 harvest season, Bull said. The commission meets in Newport News.
 | NOAA New Chief works with Fishermann in New England Dispute |
The decision was a compromise that took into account the ongoing economic crisis. NOAA had first proposed rules that would have meant a 20 percent cut in revenue, but lowered it to a 9 percent reduction.
The hope, said new NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco, was to ease the financial burden on fishermen while allowing fishery officials to focus on restructuring by next year the way many fishermen work.
"[It's] a good compromise and she listened to fishermen to do something a little less Draconian," said Jim Odlin, a member of the New England Fishery Management Council who fished for 25 years.
"Still, it's a pretty severe cut," he said.
Environmentalists applauded the new rules, which will include a reduction in the number of days fishermen can fish by around 18 percent, and place tighter restrictions on keeping Southern New England winter flounder, and Northern windowpane flounder and ocean pout. Fishermen in southern New England will be particularly affected because they will lose two allocated fishing days for every day they fish in an expanded area below Cape Cod.
But there was also good news for the fishing industry: NOAA fisheries will allow fishermen to go after healthy haddock populations more aggressively, lengthening the haddock fishing season from three to nine months in one area and allowing fishermen to catch smaller fish. The federal government also decided not to expand certain restrictions in the Gulf of Maine.
Still, Lubchenco said the cuts would be painful, and NOAA officials are now examining their budget for ways to help fishermen financially.
If populations of New England's fabled cod, flounder, and other bottom-dwelling fish known as groundfish were rebuilt, she said, fishermen could harvest three times the amount being fished now.
"We are in this difficult point today because of a collective failure to end overfishing in New England," Lubchenco said during a telephone press conference yesterday. It was her first major decision since taking over NOAA in mid-March.
Almost two decades of fishing restrictions on New England fishermen have resulted in many fishing stocks beginning to bounce back, but some not fast enough to meet federal rebuilding deadlines. Twelve stocks of 19 groundfish stocks are considered overfished, according to NOAA fisheries.
The New England Fishery Management Council, which helps set fishing rules in the region, is working on a new way of managing fisheries by giving groups of fishermen a yearly fishing quota, but allowing them to figure out among themselves how much they each catch. Two such voluntary "sectors" exist on the Cape today, and the council is working to expand it to 17 new groups in New England.
Today, the council uses a suite of indirect methods - such as limiting how many days fishermen can fish, and placing swaths of the sea off limits - to conserve fish.
But such efforts have not been enough to end overfishing.
Lubchenco called the new rules a bridge to a new way of managing fisheries next year, and environmentalists agreed.
"The ball is back in the council's court," said Peter Shelley, vice president of the Conservation Law Foundation. He said NOAA gave the council some "breathing room" to solve New England's overfishing by developing sectors.
Under the new rule, revenue from the average groundfish trip would be reduced about 16 percent in Massachusetts, according to NOAA fisheries.
The Northeast Seafood Coalition called that an enormous burden on fishermen.
US Representative Barney Frank said the rule is a step in the right direction, but added: "I remain concerned that there continue to be areas where two fishing days are counted as one. This poses a threat to fishermen's safety as smaller vessels may look for fishing opportunities further out to sea."
Market News 3-23-09 |  |
In recent days we will see
fresh West Coast Halibut 10-20 and 20-40 pound average sizes.
We like to try and truck the fish in so that it will
create a smaller carbon footprint.
Unlike that which would be created with flying the fish.
The season will
open March 21 , 2009 and close on November 15, 2009
The recent spring Conservation for the protection of spawning Grouper is now over.
These fish are starting to be trucked in 4 - 5 times a week from Miami.
These fish will range from 5-10 and 10-20 pound fish
and will be of both varieties red and black.
Product of the gulf of Mexico .
With water temperatures rising in the rivers the American Shad will make it's way back to where it was hatched to lay their eggs.
The American shad is an excellent fish that is available in early spring, This fish will only last
a few weeks so order now before they head back out to the ocean.
 | Eat Fish - Grow Up Smarter |
The study of nearly 4,000 teenagers, published in the March issue of Acta Paediatrica, found eating fish once a week was enough to increase combined, verbal and visuospatial intelligence scores by an average of 6 percent, while eating fish more than once a week increased them by just under 11 percent.
Swedish researchers compared the responses of 3,972 males who took part in the survey with the cognitive scores recorded in their Swedish Military Conscription records three years later.
'We found a clear link between frequent fish consumption and higher scores when the teenagers ate fish at least once a week' Kjell Toren of the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg said in a statement. 'When they ate fish more than once a week the improvement almost doubled.'
The study also found that:
-- 58 percent of the boys who took part in the study ate fish at least once a week and a further 20 percent ate fish more than once a week.
-- When male teenagers ate fish more than once a week their combined intelligence scores were on average 12 percent higher than those who ate fish less than once a week.
-- The verbal intelligence scores for teens who ate fish more than once a week were on average 9 percent higher than those who ate fish less than once a week. Those who ate fish once a week scored 4 percent higher.
NMFS says size a clouded issue |  |
The latest evidence comes from a laboratory study by New York-based researchers being published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a British scientific journal. The study concludes that taking too many large fish out of a population leads to the birth of smaller fish over time.
However, the study also found that fish can grow larger again if the big ones are allowed to get away.
There is building evidence that it's taking place in the wild,'' said David Conover, dean of Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and lead author of the study. Fishery conservation rules should be rewritten to protect older, larger fish instead of only the smaller ones, he said.
This study and others like it could have implications for fishing communities and regulators in Maine and other New England states.
New England's 400-year-old fishery for cod, haddock, flounder and other so-called groundfish has been struggling to rebuild depleted populations for decades. Efforts to bring back the fish still include rules - such as minimum sizes and large-mesh nets - that encourage fishermen to catch and kill the largest fish and spare the smaller ones.
That is sending the wrong message to the fish, genetically speaking, according to Conover, whose study was supported by the university's Institute for Ocean Conservation Science.
Conover worked with Atlantic silversides, a small ocean fish that produces a new generation every year. Other fish, such as cod, have a three- to five-year generational span, still allowing relatively rapid genetic changes.
Conover removed all the large silversides from one population - similar to the effect of intensive commercial fishing - and removed the smaller ones from a second group. After five years, fish in the first group were smaller than normal and half the size of the same-age fish in the second group, he said.
Shrinking fish sizes also mean a population reproduces at a slower rate, something that makes it more vulnerable to natural pressures such as predation and less able to recover from overfishing, Conover said. Larger fish are generally much more fertile than smaller ones.
You've got to have old fish out there every year reproducing,'' he said.
Once the fish in the lab were allowed to survive to larger sizes, they experienced a slow evolutionary rebound in size, Conover said. The finding indicates changes can be reversed in the wild, too, but slowly.
It took us five generations to create the differences (in the lab), but it's going to take 12 generations to recover,'' he said.
The study builds on a growing body of research that humans are driving rapid evolutionary changes in all kinds of creatures. Bighorn sheep, for example, now have smaller horns and are less likely to get shot by trophy hunters, according to one such study.
Conover said researchers are increasingly convinced that the same shrinkage in fish size is happening in the ocean with commercially valuable fish species.
If you take a species like cod that has been heavily fished for centuries, the average size of the fish in the ocean is now, at best, probably half the size of the average fish in the historical cod population,'' he said.
New England cod can grow to more than 100 pounds, at least historically. One 180-pound cod was caught in 1838, and a 6-foot-long, 211-pound cod was landed in 1895, according to a University of New Hampshire report and other research.
A 10-pound cod is considered large in today's market, and one weighing 40 pounds or more is considered unusually large, fishermen say. The recreational record for a cod hauled in by rod-and-reel is a 77-pounder caught in 1989.
Conover said the mounting evidence should change the way fish are managed. His study suggests that both the largest fish and the smallest fish should be kept out of fishing nets or thrown back alive.
You harvest the fish that are in the middle of the range,'' he said. From the fish's point of view, if people are going to harvest medium-sized fish, then the best strategy for that fish is to grow rapidly and get through that slot.''
Conover's idea is similar to the way Maine's lobster fishery works: Both small and large lobsters have to be thrown back. Scientists believe one of the reasons that lobster populations have remained relatively healthy is the protected brood stock of large lobsters, which, like fish, produce many more babies as they get older.
The idea of setting a maximum size is clearly trickier for fish caught in nets, although fishermen could, in theory, use an excluder grate to let larger fish escape.
Maine fishermen say it's true there haven't been many 100-pound cod around for a while. But they are dubious that evolution is the reason.
If you don't let the fish grow up (by catching it), it never gets big. If you let the fish grow up and they don't get big, something's changed. We're still in the first stage,'' said Ted Ames, a fisherman in Stonington who has studied historical fishing grounds along the Maine coast.
What you have is a screening system that catches everything larger than the minimum-size fish,'' he said. 'ÔI'm not convinced that if, for example, you allow codfish to grow that they would not grow to be incredibly good-sized.''
Glen Libby, a 30-year fisherman from Port Clyde, said there are a lot of factors at work in the ocean, such as predators, food abundance and habitat changes.
The 100-pound cod? I haven't seen one,'' Libby said. But I'd hesitate to jump on the bandwagon and say we killed off all the big fish genes. It could be happening, I guess.''
Federal scientists also are not yet convinced.
It's kind of a clouded issue in nature, for a lot of reasons. There are so many more variables,'' said Teri Frady, spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service. You need to see what happens in the absence of high fishing pressure, because you can't tease out what's causing what.''
Conover, meanwhile, said he's hopeful that fisheries management will evolve, too.
'ÔIt is still a new idea,'' he said. But 'Ôif you wait till you drive the stock all the way down ... you're going to wait a long time for a big fish to reappear again because you very likely have caused evolutionary changes.''
 | Fishing Subsidies Oppossed |
'The Obama administration's task is clear,' said EWG Executive Director Richard Wiles. 'It's up to the new administration to move aggressively to end harmful subsidy programs that are causing pollution and global warming and have pushed some species to the brink of extinction.'
Fishing subsidies have significant environmental impacts that stretch beyond the sea. Unlike trucking companies and motorists, commercial fishing operations have been exempt from federal and state fuel taxes, which the study estimates at $2.8 billion between 1996 and 2004. According to a 2008 World Bank report, for every ton of fish caught, commercial fishing boats use almost half a ton of fuel, much of it wasted as too many boats chase too few fish.
The Sharp-Sumaila study is the first to attempt a detailed accounting of individual U.S. fishing subsidy programs on both state and federal levels and is perhaps the most in-depth examination of fishing subsidies ever conducted for any country.
Cod to become Aquaculture norm? |  |
'I am pleased to be in Newfoundland and Labrador today on behalf of the Government of Canada to announce the federal government's contribution to this valuable project,' said Senator Manning. 'This project continues to place the province as a leader in the diversification of the Canadian aquaculture industry. And, when we invest in our aquaculture industry, we are investing in improved conservation, sustainable jobs and opportunity for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador for years to come.'
The Government of Canada is committing $1.5 million to the project: the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is contributing $1 million under the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP) and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is investing $500,000. In the budget for 2008, the provincial Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture allocated $2 million over four years to assist with the development of a cod demonstration farm.
A federal, provincial and industry committee worked together for over a year to carry out extensive analysis on cod demonstration farms. They reviewed existing literature, visited cod demonstration sites in Norway and engaged scientific and financial advisors. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador then conducted a request for proposals process seeking an industry partner, resulting in Cooke Aquaculture being chosen as the successful applicant.
'Our government is pleased to be able to contribute to this aquaculture project,' said the Honourable Tom Hedderson. 'We recognize that aquaculture growth and development is extremely important to rural areas of the province. We are very pleased with the growth that we have seen in the provincial industry in the last three years and we look forward to further growth through cod aquaculture.'
The main purpose of this project is to develop a commercial scale cod farm in the Coast of Bays region with a hatchery/nursery in Belleoram. It has been successfully demonstrated that cod can be grown from egg to market size in the waters of Newfoundland, and this larger scale operation will demonstrate the viability and feasibility of a commercial cod farm.
Cooke Aquaculture plans to stock 200,000 - 250,000 juveniles in year one and 400,000 cod annually for year two and three. The first year-class of fish will be harvested in year four. It is anticipated that further year-classes of cod will be stocked in subsequent years as the business continues to grow.
'Our company has already made a significant investment in the development of cod aquaculture in Atlantic Canada,' said CEO Mike Cooke. 'Our Alternate Species team has acquired considerable expertise and experience in this relatively new endeavor and our sales team has created a real interest in high quality fresh farmed cod in the marketplace. We are extremely pleased to be able to partner with both levels of government on this demonstration farm and look forward to working with them in bringing the region's cod farming sector to full commercialization.'
In addition to successfully bringing commercial quantities of cod to market, this project will also provide an opportunity to train students and workers in the area of cod farming, as well as providing an opportunity for further research and development to occur.
Seventeen new jobs will result from the cod demonstration project, in addition to a number of other employment opportunities in the processing, production and other supply and service sectors.
 | Salmon Market Takes A Huge Turn |
The Chilean’s are running out of fish creating a global demand on all of the other salmon producing countries. Because of the ISA situation, producers have been harvesting their salmon prematurely, processing them, in other words, before they have a chance to even contract the illness. Much of this product has already been moved out. All the other farms in Chile are moving off their inventories in fear and trying to head off the ISA issues.
Once ISA sets in to a farming area it takes approximately two years to clear up. Now seeing one of the largest producers in the world running out of fish the demand has shifted over to Canada Norway and Scotland. With production costs and labor being much higher in these other areas of the world we now see a major increase in all Salmon prices.
This trend will continue for several months until the market levels out.
We have seen several price increases already on an almost daily basis. Chilean prices have already increased 25-40 %, making fillets a value of 9.25 per kilo landed the US market.
Please read about some of the ISA issues at the link listed below
For more information on ISA please visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/tnisa.html
Salmon disease ISA hurts your pocketbook |  |
Last December, the price of salmon rose 22.7 percent compared to the same month in 2007, reaching US$5.3 per kilogram. If that trend continues, the relatively high prices could help offset at least some of the industry’s projected losses.
This year’s expected production drop results from an ongoing outbreak of Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA), a highly contagious virus that first appeared in Chile in mid 2007. Since then the disease has continued to spread throughout the country’s southern salmon farming regions, forcing the closure of numerous salmon farms and processing plants. The closures in turn led to an estimated 7,500 layoffs. Thousands more job cuts are expected in the coming months.
Because of the ISA situation, producers have been harvesting their salmon prematurely, processing them, in other words, before they have a chance to contract the illness. The premature harvests actually led to record exports in 2008, when the Chilean salmon industry sold more than US$2.4 billion worth of fish, according to Instituto de Fomento Pequero (PT, Feb. 19).
The year-end figures came as quite a surprise considering the so-called “crisis” that has supposedly pummeled the industry in recent months. The panorama of apparent problems even prompted intervention by the government, which in late November announced it will guarantee some US$120 million in loans to struggling salmon companies.
Analysts, though, say the industry is indeed due for a huge slide, with production expected to fall this year from approximately 375,000 tons to 220,000 tons.
 | Pollock Catch rates reported Low |
Production of DAP frozen pollock roe in A season in the U.S. Bering Sea has been proceeding at a slow pace to date.
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), production as of February 14 was less than half of a year ago, although this is to be the prime period in the season usually.
Furthermore, the size of fish being caught is very large, causing concern to producers about roe composition.
NMFS figures show that the pollock roe production in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Island area as of February 14, about one month after the season opened on January 20, stood at 3,203 tons, which accounted for only 46.9% of that in the same period of the previous year.
Industry observers say that the slumping production this year is unprecedented because production last year fell largely below the recent years' level due to the substantial pollock quota cutback.
On a weekly basis, production aggregated 963 tons the week in later January and 882 tons in early February -- both showing a level only half of the previous year.
Although production slightly improved in the week to February 14, it was 37% less than a year ago, indicating no significant recovery in the output.
In the fishing ground, water temperatures are lower than ordinary years, with fishing vessels unable to find major schools of spawning stocks.
Local fishing sources point out that, even when fishing vessels happen to find fish schools, fishing does not last long. As of February 18 there were still no signs of recovery.
In addition to slumping harvests, the roe composition tends to be predominantly large, causing concerns among producers.
The size of pollock being caught is mainly 1.5-2 kg per fish. A processor who inspected the roe recently at Dutch Harbor commented that 'it was like Pacific cod roe.'
The proportion of 2L-and-up to jumbo sizes reached as high as 40%, with the mixture of roe with thick black skin and lower-grade mizuko roe having higher water contents. Thus, the quality of roe is not properly balanced, he said.
Based on the migration patterns last season, the peak period was the three weeks from later February to the start of March, when 8,200 tons, or 48% of overall production in 'A' season, was produced.
Observers say that, if low water temperatures improve in the days ahead, there is a possibility that a delayed migration will help production to recover. But, assuming that the production in the peak period accounts for 60% of the previous season, pollock roe output in 'A' season this year would barely reach 10,000 tons.
Furthermore, it is certain that the proportion of high-graded products will decrease, which will definitely affect the course of price negotiations.
In contrast fishing in the Russian waters has been going smoothly in a wide range of areas, with little or no impact of floating ice. Roe production has so far been going at a constant pace.
Informed sources note that 'the quality of Russian roe has improved considerably' from the initial mixture of low-graded gamuko roe.
Industry participants foresee that Russian roe will most likely lead the sales this year, unlike usual years, and it seems that a delay in sales of U.S. DAP roe now appears to be certain.
The schedule for auction for DAP roe in the U.S. was earlier delayed to the week of March 23 from the previous week of March 16 as initially hoped for by major U.S. at-sea processors.
Observers believe that it may be difficult now to realize even the new schedule, and the auction schedule will possibly be put in a clean slate.
Sources close to the auction are said to be having hard time in adjusting the auction date as it may be postponed to April if sales are to be covered with only one auction.
At any rate, it appears that the production in the next few weeks will hold an important key to DAP pollock roe sales this season.
Smithsonian helps teach about Sustainability |  |
The weekend will feature three separate events focusing on sustainable seafood: an evening reception with seafood tastings, morning panel discussions with science and culinary experts and a four-course luncheon prepared by some of the country's top sustainable seafood chefs.
The weekend begins with the seafood tasting event Friday, March 20, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., in the rotunda of the National Museum of Natural History. More than 25 of Washington's best-known chefs will create seafood specialties for the evening, including Nora Pouillon, Restaurant Nora; Robert Weland, Poste Moderne Brasserie; Todd Gray, Equinox; Scott Drewno, The Source; Jeff Buben, Bistro Bis and Vidalia; and Anne Cashion, Johnny's Half Shell. Many of the chefs will autograph cookbooks, available for purchase at the event from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The evening will feature a selection of sushi, East and West Coast oysters, wild salmon, blue crab, smoked trout, yellowfin tuna, shrimp and scallops paired with accompanying wines. Guests will have the opportunity to mingle with the chefs who created the evening's fare and to shake hands with Brown.
On Saturday, March 21, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Brown will preside over two lively panel discussions on the topics of sustainability and consumer choices in Baird Auditorium in the National Museum of Natural History. One panel will feature experts on fishery science, conservation and aquaculture, including Michael Sutton, vice president and director of the Center for the Future of the Ocean at the Monterey Bay Aquarium; Steve Murawski, chief science advisor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service; and will be moderated by Carole Baldwin, curator of fishes, the National Museum of Natural History, and Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science, the National Museum of Natural History. A second panel on sustainability in the restaurant and home kitchen will include chef Jeff Black of Black Restaurant Group, Bob Kinkead of Kinkead's restaurant and others, and will be moderated by Heidi Hanson, producer of 'Chef A' Field' and chef Barton Seaver of DC Central Kitchen. The audience will learn how to make informed choices about the seafood they consume in order to minimize their impact on the ocean environment. A selection of books by the morning's speakers will be available for signing after the program.
A four-course luncheon prepared by some of the country's top sustainable seafood chefs is set to follow the seminar. Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier of Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine; Susan Spicer of Bayona, Herbsaint and Cobalt restaurants in New Orleans; and Allen Susser of Chef Allen's in Miami will join Brown in a lively conversation. Topics include the challenges of running a restaurant and the importance of buying, preparing and eating food that promotes the health of the environment.
Ticket prices for the tasting and book-signing event Friday, March 20, are $90 for general admission and $75 for Resident Associate members. Prices for the two panel discussions Saturday, March 21, are $75 for general admission and $60 for Resident Associate members. The luncheon on Saturday is sold out. For tickets and additional information, contact The Smithsonian Associates at (202) 633-3030 or visit www.residentassociates.org.
This event is backed by NMFS, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Whole Foods Market, The Rhone Rangers, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundatio
 | Fishing Season Closures |
This closure is to protect the spawning fish......
As for Rockfish, the bay season will close today ( 2-4 and 3-5# fish )
The ocean still has a little quota left however those fish are alot more money
Guess spring will be here soon
NOAA protects grouper, Snapper Habitat
(01/15/09)
All fishing for snappers, groupers, tilefishes, grunts, porgies, and sea basses is prohibited throughout the protected areas, which are located off the coast from North Carolina south to Florida.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council proposed the action to NOAA's Fisheries Service as part of a larger management plan to protect these South Atlantic fish populations.
'I applaud the hard work of the council and the strong spirit of cooperative conservation among commercial and recreational fisherman to take decisive action to conserve habitat in order to sustain healthy fisheries for generations to come,' said James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
'Marine protected areas are designed to provide long-term protection for our nation's natural resources,' said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA's Fisheries Service. 'These areas of the South Atlantic were chosen because they feature known spawning grounds and nursery habitats for deep-water fish - especially for snappers and groupers.'
The marine protected areas are critical to the survival of over 70 species of deep-water fish susceptible to fishing pressure. These fish are not good candidates for catch-and-release fishing because they suffer trauma when captured and reeled up from great depths.
In addition, some species, such as snowy grouper, can live longer than 50 years and are the most productive spawners. It is important to protect the larger fish so they can spawn to their maximum potential, and equally important to protect the younger fish so they reach maturity.
The new protected areas range in size from 21 to 150 square nautical miles. There is one area off North Carolina, three off South Carolina, one off Georgia, and three protected areas off Florida.
Commercial shark bottom longline gear is also prohibited in these areas because the deep-water fish species are likely to be caught incidentally with this gear. All other types of legal fishing, such as trolling for tunas and marlins, are allowed because those gear types are not likely to incidentally catch the species warranting protection.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
 | Bush Environmental Legacy in Pacific Ocean |
Bush's decision to safeguard far-flung areas totaling 195,280 square miles, which comes just two weeks before he leaves office, underscores his contradictory environmental record.
Virginia to Buy Back Crab Licenses |  |
The idea is part of a plan described by state officials to restore crab stocks in the Bay. The money is being made available this year after the U.S. Commerce Department declared the crab fishery a federal disaster.
Virginia also is using state funds that is expected to be reimbursed next year to pay more than 50 watermen to trawl the Bay in search of abandoned traps that still catch and kill crabs.
Lobster sales Improving!
(12/17/08)
No lobster fisherman in Nova Scotia will say they can accept the current $3.00 price, but some dealers are reporting stable product movement three weeks into the lobster season.
On the harvest side, there is clearly a major economic issue with reports that some crews have been quitting because of the low prices, and many lobster harvesters with boat loans vulnerable. This was the focus of discussions with maritime fisheries officials and Ottawa in recent days.
Yet there is positive news on the market front. According to the Sou'Wester, product is moving and lobster prices are holding.
The first step in any economic recovery is to stop the bleeding, and that may happening at this point.
Relative to the economy we're doing all right, said Cape Sable Island lobster buyer Terry Zinck told the Sou'Wester. Product is moving out relatively well. The price is holding and that's important. We need to maintain the status quo to keep product moving.
All in all, with the exception of resistance in the marketplace, it isn't playing out that much different than any other year, he said.
Heading into the Christmas season, however, would be our biggest challenge, said Zinck. That's when we'll know if our Christmas orders are there.
Zinck said he had been talking daily with customers, who are giving us some hope the orders are going to come through.
The week prior to Christmas is the biggest week for shipping live lobsters to overseas markets. This year, landings in LFA 33 have been strong, and quality is reported to be excellent. If the market will move the lobsters currently being landed at the $3.00 level, it will be a major step towards future improvements in both the overall market, and the landed prices.
Recreational Crab Licenses Coming!
(12/16/08)
Washington Post Staff Writer
A traditional birthright of all Marylanders -- the ability to catch a blue crab with a chicken neck, a string and a net -- could soon require a government license, under a proposal unveiled yesterday by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The department wants all recreational crabbers, even those who catch just a single Jimmy crab in a day, to register with the state. It would cost nothing to register, officials said. But it could cost crabbers if they don't: Those caught crabbing without the registration could be subject to undetermined fines.
Today in Maryland, any crabber who catches two dozen or fewer in a day is not required to register with anybody.
But state officials, who are trying to engineer a comeback for the famous Chesapeake Bay crustacean, say that system is handicapping their efforts.
"To manage the crab population effectively, we need to know what's being removed," meaning how many crabs are caught, said Gina Hunt of the Department of Natural Resources. "We cannot do that without knowing who's out there crabbing."
The rule would apply to the Maryland portion of the bay, as well as to such tidal rivers as the Severn and the Patuxent, and to Maryland tributaries of the Potomac River. It would not apply to the Potomac River itself, where fishing is governed by an interstate commission. There, and in Virginia waters, small-scale crabbers still would not need a license.
In Maryland, tackle shop owners said yesterday that the idea -- paperwork required to chicken-neck, or to snatch unsuspecting crabs off an underwater piling -- sounded wrong.
"It doesn't feel like home. It feels like work," said Moses Wells, at Mo's on the Go in Edgewater, near Annapolis. "It's kind of like the bay isn't ours anymore."
Also yesterday, Maryland proposed rules that apply to commercial watermen, including a provision that would temporarily suspend the licenses of watermen who have not harvested crabs since 2004. Both Maryland and Virginia imposed strict new limits on the commercial harvests earlier this year.
The state will accept public comment from Jan. 16 to Feb. 17, including a hearing Jan. 27 on Kent Island on the Eastern Shore. The final decision will be made by the department and Gov. Martin O'Malley (D). Information is available at http://www.dnr.maryland.gov.
 | Mis-labeled fish a big problem with imports |
SEATTLE Mislabeled illegally imported seafood sold into domestic markets is striking a blow to the fisheries industry's income and reputation, a federal fisheries agent said Nov. 22.
Every pound of mislabeled fish affects the fishermen, the processors, the reputation of restaurant chains and the trust of consumers, said Andrew Cohen, a special agent-in-charge with NOAA Fisheries Law Enforcement, in Goucester, Mass.
And you can make as much money dealing in illegal seafood as you can in heroin, Cohen said in a panel discussion on fraudulent mislabeling of seafood and its effect on the commercial fishing industry during Pacific Marine Expo 2008. It's white collar crime; an invisible crime, not easy to detect.
Cohen was one of three panelists in the lively discussion on purposely mislabeling or substituting a cheaper seafood product for a more expensive/preferred product, a practice now commonplace in the seafood industry.
While the practice is not prevalent in Alaska, according Jeff Passer, Cohen's counterpart in Juneau, it stands to compete with seafood harvested in Alaska for markets outside the state.
Passer said in an interview Nov. 25 that his office has tested crab and salmon to determine species, but that in general Alaska is not an import state and does not have a population which would prompt shipment of tons of fraudulently mislabeled seafood.
In Washington State, by contrast, a businessman was recently convicted of trying to sell more than 65 tons of turbot imported from China as halibut, a more expensive fish. The Associated Press report said part of the settlement agreement was that the culprit must donate to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation the profit he made from the sale. He was also required to take out ads in seafood magazines to say what he did and to apologize for it, the AP story said.
And in Los Angeles, earlier in November, 26 companies faced criminal charges for the illegal import of Asian catfish from a Vietnamese fish farm, Cohen said.
Every pound of fraudulently labeled seafood that enters the domestic marketplace and is sold in a market or restaurant is a pound bought by consumers in place of legal domestic seafood.
It is also illegal under the Lacey Act, federal legislation would prohibits trade in wildlife, fish and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold.
Cohen told fishermen, processors and others attending the panel discussion that there are ways they can help combat this illegal competition, by questioning waiters in restaurants and marketplace sellers of seafood as to the point of origin on their products.
Dannon Southall, a spokesman for 10th and M Seafoods in Anchorage, said his company has not had issues with illegally imported or mislabeled seafood because of a very close working relationship with vendors. There is so much attention to detail around here that we get what we ask for, he said.
For others less educated in ways of the seafood market, caution should be constantly observed, Cohen said. Go into a New England restaurant and ask about that fresh Copper River salmon (advertised) in March. That ain't happening, he said.
Shoppers in markets and patrons of restaurants too should ask specific questions about the advertised product, particularly if the price doesn't look right. There are very few bargains in the seafood world, he said.
Seafood fraud goes beyond mislabeling and substitution, with product sold as fresh when it was previously frozen, farmed seafood sold as wild, and products of a weight lower than stated.
Federal Country of Origin Labeling has helped the retail sector somewhat, Cohen said. Still the retail or wholesale customer has a better chance of getting what is advertised if they know the seller, order specifically and ask for invoices. If the product delivered is not what was advertised, return it, he said. Rejecting a load sends the right message.
Buyers suspicious about an advertised or purchased product have some options.
The National Fisheries Institute, whose members sell about 75% of the seafood in the U.S., has established the Better Seafood Bureau.
They say 'If you find that your business has been sold product that had a short weight or count, was misidentified as to species, or identified with an incorrect country of origin to get around having to pay duties, it is up to you to first try to resolve the issue with your supplier. If you can't resolve the issue to your satisfaction, you now have another course of action - The Better Seafood Bureau.'
Another option is a phone call to the NOAA hotline, at 1-800-853-1964. There are also independent firms, Like Therion International (www.theriondna.com), which specialize in DNA testing of animal and seafood products.
Therion managing member William Gergits, who joined Cohen on the panel, noted some of the DNA testing his firm had done for buyers who became suspicious. One case involved Zander, a European walleye fish, sold in a Midwestern state as locally harvested walleye, but at about $2 less a pound than the local fish.
Testing revealed that 8 of 15 restaurants were serving Zanger, advertised as locally caught walleye, he said.
Therion has tested samples from all over the country of seafood proported to be everything from red snapper to mahi mahi, Gergits said. About 50 percent of the time, testing showed that the seafood was not what it was advertised to be.
It's pretty much of an epidemic, he said.
NOAA recommending cut to pollock catch |  |
“Although the pollock biomass was well above average in the 1990s, our surveys show a substantial decline in recent years,” said Doug DeMaster, science and research director for NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “The stock has been closely monitored and management decisions have historically followed sound conservation principles. We anticipate lower catch limits for 2009.”
A 2008 bottom trawl survey of pollock numbers was in line with last year’s analysis, but another survey that combined information from acoustic measurements of pollock biomass and midwater trawl results showed lower abundance than expected. These results have prompted NOAA scientists to recommend to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council a sustainable catch of 815,000 metric tons for 2009, an 18.5 percent reduction from 2008. The new scientific information on pollock comes from major scientific surveys this season, plus catch data and oceanographic information.
The council will review and discuss NOAA’s recommendation at its December meeting and make its recommendation to NOAA’s Fisheries Service for the total allowable catch of pollock for 2009.
Although recent surveys show the biomass has declined, there is some optimism about the future of the stock.
“The prognosis for 2010 is for improved stock levels because 2006 was a more successful year for the hatching and survival of young pollock,” said Jim Ianelli, a stock assessment scientist at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “The 2009 surveys will play a critical role in monitoring and in later management decisions.”
The eastern Bering Sea pollock fishery is known for its strong management, conservative catch levels, near real-time reporting and high numbers of fishery observers who track catch levels and any bycatch of other marine species. The fishery uses pelagic trawls which minimize disturbance of the bottom habitat and decrease the accidental catch of other species. The most valuable part of the fishery is roe. Regulations allow no more than 40 percent of the total catch to be taken during the roe season.
NOAA scientists recently presented the draft pollock stock assessment to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Groundfish Plan Team, which is reviewing the assessment and compiling the report for the council. The council’s scientific and statistical committee will recommend an acceptable biological catch level – a sustainable catch level– and the advisory panel will recommend a total allowable catch, which is historically lower because it takes into account other factors. After listening to committee recommendations and public input, the council will recommend a total allowable catch for pollock for 2009.
 | Maine Salmon Farms coming back to Life |
Their twice-daily dinner arrives on a barge loaded with 80 tons of feed pellets, which deliver the food through a 3-inch (8-centimeter) plastic pipe. In a matter of minutes, an underwater camera shows the pellets draws no more takers: The salmon are satisfied.
The centralized, automated feeding system is among changes now in place as Maine's salmon farming industry mounts a vigorous comeback five years after it collapsed when the three biggest players sold off their operations and left the state.
The new owner is Cooke Aquaculture Inc., a family owned business across the border in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, that has invested $60 million to restore production to its former peak levels. It also plans to put an idle processing plant back in operation next year.
Salmon farming was a bright spot in Maine's economy before a series of setbacks set the stage for the industry's downfall.
The U.S. federal government's decision to list wild Atlantic salmon as endangered on eight Maine rivers led to tougher regulations. A disease outbreak forced the destruction of large numbers of fish, and a federal judge fined two Maine producers for fouling the sea floor with excess feed, medications, feces and other pollutants.
'It was kind of like a perfect storm,' said George Lapointe, commissioner of the state Department of Marine Resources.
Dramatic changes in the economics of the business added to the woes of salmon farmers, Lapointe recalled. Prices tumbled from $5 a pound to less than $2 for a time, he said.
Today, industry leaders say the industry is healthier, more efficient and more in tune with the environment. And it's looking to expand.
Maine and Washington are the only states where salmon is farmed, but their combined output is dwarfed by that of major producers such as Chile, Norway, Scotland and Canada. In the U.S., catfish holds sway as the top aquaculture species, outstripping salmon and various types of shellfish.
Maine's 2008 salmon harvest is likely to total more than 20 million pounds (9 million kilograms), the highest since production peaked at 36 million pounds (16 million kilograms) in 2000 and 29 million (13 million kilograms) a year later, said Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association.
Cooke Aquaculture has adopted a number of changes, including preventing the growth of pathogens that cause deadly illness in fish by allowing saltwater pens to lie fallow after fish are harvested.
The company also has upgraded the netting at its pens to keep predators such as seals and birds from getting in and the salmon from getting out.
Escapes have been a major concern because pen-raised salmon could spread disease to their wild cousins and even interbreed with them, fouling up their genetic makeup.
Environmentalists who fought the aquaculture operators in court remain skeptical about Cooke Aquaculture's operations, despite its improvements.
Raising huge numbers of fish in pens creates a breeding ground for pests and disease, discharges large amounts of waste and poses a threat to wild salmon, they say.
'Basically it's hard to trust this industry, and whether they should even be doing what they're doing is kind of a bigger question,' said Josh Kratka, an attorney with the National Environmental Law Center.
But with the collapse of groundfishing, aquaculture remains one of the few activities aside from lobstering that provides jobs along eastern Maine's working waterfronts.
David Morang, who manages Cooke Aquaculture's operations in Eastport and Lubec, remembers how he faced the prospect of having to leave Maine at age 50 in search of work when another aquaculture operation, Heritage Salmon, went under in 2005.
There was little hope for the failed industry until the Cooke family moved in, he said, increasing the number of salmon in Maine pens from 300,000 in 2005 to 3 million a year later.
Cooke now processes its Maine salmon in St. George, New Brunswick. By January it plans to reopen the 28,000-square-foot (2,600-square-meter) plant in Machiasport that it inherited when it bought another rival, Atlantic Salmon.
Associated press
What we know about Posideon |  |
It came as a complete surprise to those of us in the market, but in reality is not that surprising considering all of the difficult economic times facing our industry. The details we do know about Posideon are as follows:
Employees answering New Poseidon Enterprises LLC's main business line contend the company was still operating as of Friday but could not provide further information.
A representative of New Poseidon Enterprises LLC's secured lender, Regions Bank, told SEAFAX November 20 the company still had access to its line of credit issued for a high seven figure amount.
The company reports it and the broader seafood industry have been under severe strain over the last months as the general economy has suffered.
New Poseidon Enterprises LLC said it is considering a number of alternatives for addressing the effect those
factors have had on its business, but declined to provide further details.
The company said a fuel shortage in the southeastern U.S. due to hurricane activity this fall impacted consumers regionally and led to slower restaurant sales activity as consumers were not able to visit those restaurants.
Additionally, fallout from the plunging credit markets led to the transfer in ownership of a major Charlotte
employer, Wachovia Bank. Regional concern over that transfer also meant slower regional sales to area businesses, according to the
company.
Approximately 50% of New Poseidon Enterprises LLC's
revenues are derived from sales to the greater Charlotte area and
the surrounding region. However, the company told SEAFAX it
started experiencing a rebound in sales by late October.
 | Dining out first to go |
The Consumer Spending Indicator reports where consumers say they are most and least likely to cut back their spending. In October, consumers said they were most likely to cut back on dining out (with 57% saying they planned to spend less), followed by apparel at 54% and entertainment at 50%. The least likely to be affected will be video games at 35%, toys at 39%, movies at 43%, beauty at 44%, and music 44%.
'Consumers are looking to spend less in the places they are able to find alternatives or 'go without'for now,' said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, The NPD Group, Inc. 'Things like eating out less or at less expensive restaurants or going another season with the coat or sweater you bought last year are examples of where consumer behavior is changing.'
The monthly survey also asks consumers if they plan to change shopping behavior to save money. In October, only 35% said they haven't changed their behavior, a seven point decrease since April.
Stone Crab Season |  |
Running cold water over the cooked claws tends to keep the meat from sticking to the shell -- and Keys locals know the secret to cracking the claws open: forget those squeeze-together shell crackers and use the back of a spoon. Gently smack the shell and it will crack cleanly.
The traditional dip for stone crab claws is a mustard-based sauce made from a favorite mustard with mayonnaise or sour cream, and add-ins like parsley flakes, Worcestershire or A-1 Sauce, salt and pepper to taste. More adventurous chefs sauté the meat from stone crab claws in a hot dip made from orange marmalade, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, butter and curry powder.
As well as being flavorful to eat, stone crab claws are a renewable resource because the crabs can re-grow harvested claws. Both claws of a stone crab may be taken if each is of legal size, defined as a 2.75-inch propodus. The propodus is the larger, immovable part of the claw's pincer. The measurement is taken from the base of the joint between the "elbow" and propodus to the tip of the propodus.
Legal-size claws may be harvested from female stone crabs unless the crab is carrying eggs. When its claws are removed correctly, the crab will regenerate legal-size claws in about three years, according to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission. A very large crab can regenerate a legal-size claw in about one year.
The 2008-09 stone crab season continues through May 15, 2009.
Colossal 0-2 Count Per Pound
Jumbo 2-3 Count Per Pound
Large 5-7 Count Per Pound
Medium 7-9 Count per pound
Ocean Census taken.
(11/09/08)
The fourth update of the census was released Sunday ahead of a meeting of hundreds of researchers that begins Tuesday in Valencia, Spain.
A discovery that delights O'Dor is that many deep-ocean octopuses share an Antarctic origin. As the Antarctic got colder, ice increased and octopuses were forced into deeper water, he said in a telephone interview.
Salt and oxygen are concentrated in the deeper waters, he said. This dense water then flows out, carrying along the octopuses that have adapted to the new conditions, enabling them to spread to deep waters around the world.
Deep-water octopuses worldwide, he pointed out, lack the ink sack that allows their shallow-water cousins to shoot out a camouflage screen.
After all, if they live where it is dark, ink is unnecessary, said O'Dor, a Canadian member of the research team.
Scientists dismayed by vanishing of 7 whales
Patricia Miloslavich, a senior scientist from Venezuela, is pleased with newly discovered mollusks, from snails to cuttlefish to squids.
Once the census is complete, the plan is to publish three books: a popular survey of sea life, a second book with chapters for each working group and a third focusing on biodiversity.
O'Dor said researchers also are working with the online scientific journal PLoS ONE, which is open to anyone and thus would make the results readily available.
Scientists at this week's sessions will hear about the discovery of what the researchers call a brittle star city off the coast of New Zealand.
The brittle stars, animals with five arms, have colonized the peak of a seamount -- an underwater mountain -- where the current flows past at about 2.5 mph. The current delivers such an ample food supply that thousands of stars can capture food simply by raising their arms.
Researchers found a carpet of small crustaceans inhabiting the head of the Mississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico. There are as many as 12,000 of these small crustaceans per square yard.
Good Article About Currency Fluctations Effects
(11/05/08)
An unexpected answer came back from Japanese trading firm official to the question to what extent the company is reaping exchange gains from the recent appreciation of the yen.
He said he is more concerned about the widening gap in commodity prices in Japan caused by wild exchange fluctuations, rather than enjoying the earnings generated by a stronger yen.
Not a few trading firms cannot buy or sell now because sense of suspicion arose among customers over price changes.
For example, traders were frustrated by the sudden changes in currency rates when domestic prices of new-season frozen Chilean coho were finally stabilized immediately prior to the full-scale distribution period in Japan.
The prices of products, which had been contracted at $5.30 per kilo C&F at the initial stage of the season, dropped by Y30 because of the hike of the Japanese currency by Y5 against the dollar, causing possible disruption in the concerted price range of around Y600 for 4-6 lb size of dressed products.
In fact, Chilean suppliers have been demanding for higher sell prices as if they saw through the position of Japanese traders.
Under the circumstances, it is not certain whether low-priced coho will appear on the Japanese market.
''The market will certainly collapse if large quantities of products flow into Japan because of the stronger yen,'' says a trading house official in charge of purchase. ''There have been many products for which sales had been commissioned by producers,'' he said.
Also, it is not likely that the drastic falls of the Canadian dollar against the yen will be actually reflected in prices of Canadian East Coast frozen herring roe in Japan because many buyers had already settled import costs at the time of shipment in mid- and late September when production peaked.
According to a major seafood trading company, many traders now settle their transactions based on the so-called ''one-third rule.''
In other words, they pay for a third of the amount they buy at the time they obtained a prospect of buying, and then pay for the remaining in two installments, i.e. at the time when shipping conditions are settled and around the time of actual sales in Japan.
Although they could have the merits of higher yen for the domestic sales portion which has not been finalized, the proportion of such merits is said to be only about 20% of the total amount.
Regarding frozen shrimp which is one of the main pillars of Japan's seafood imports, prices could be pushed down to a larger extent by repercussions from the weakening of the U.S. market in the wake of the financial turmoil and uncertainty toward the future of the economy rather than by the impact from exchange rate fluctuations.
Inventory of shrimp products in producing countries swelled as they lost a major export destination, and few Japanese trading houses rushed to buy only because of the stronger yen.
The buying of Northern European mackerel has been disrupted in the prime period of production in a linkage with the sharp fall of the Euro around that time.
The Norwegian krone plunged from 1NOK=Y19 at the start of the season to Y12 at one point recently.
This expanded the gap in procurement costs in the range from Y350 per kilo to Y290 for main size of 400-600 grams, causing Japanese processors to refrain from buying out of caution across the board.
Norwegian exporters could not well follow the wild moves of the yen, and, in an unusual move, they chose to switch price negotiation currency from NOK to the yen, at the initiative of the largest exporter.
A stronger yen itself bottoms up Japan's international competitiveness, but its effects are not felt visibly in actual trading.
The exchange rate of the yen versus the dollar (on a weighted average) in 2001, when Japan achieved the largest ever annual imports of 3.8 million tons, was Y120.90, which is more than 20% lower than the present level.
Many traders are maintaining a calm posture in transactions as they think that the impact of factors other than swings in exchange rates is greater amid the present situation where economic deterioration is anticipated.
On the other hand, the yen's rally against the dollar is adversely affecting Japan's seafood exports as demand is shrinking worldwide.
Japan, for example, has been exporting 60,000 tons of fall salmon a year mainly for processing in China since the 2003 season, but an industry source foresees it may be difficult to ship 10,000 tons this year because of the yen's appreciation, coupled with the unexpectedly lackluster harvest mainly in Hokkaido.
Also, shipments of saury to Russia and near-shore mackerel to the Middle East and Africa -- both of which witnessed brisk increase this year -- have stalled, causing anxiety to producers and traders.
Uncertainty hovers around the future shipments of skipjack tuna to Bangkok where tuna prices have plummeted, reflecting dwindling demand for canned tuna in Europe and the Middle East.
Concerns are rising that, if domestic inventory of products for exports is piled up and landings continue, beach prices may nosedive, causing prices to fall in the market.
 | Bush has done OK for ocean preservation! |
With less than three months before Bush's term ends, his top deputies are scrambling to try to execute a plan that would shield some of the world's most diverse underwater ecosystems. The original plan, which included four potential "marine monuments" and was well received by environmentalists, has already been scaled back.
Vice President Cheney and some officials in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have argued that the plan could hurt the region's economy by barring fishing and energy exploration. First lady Laura Bush, along with a number of scientists and environmental advocates, has countered that preserving the region's natural attributes would attract tourism and burnish the president's record for history.
Laura Bush has asked for two briefings on the issue from White House staff members, and her aides have conferred with scientists who support the two designations.
"It's hard, but it should be," said James L. Connaughton, who chairs the White House Council on Environmental Quality and just returned from an overseas listening tour on the proposal. "These are big, consequential, national decisions that have international ramifications."
While environmental groups have pilloried Bush over his approaches to climate change, forest management and air pollution, many marine experts give him credit for his ocean policies.
In 2006 he designated the nearly 140,000-square-mile Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, creating what at the time was the world's largest protected marine area. Scientists have advocated designating more such areas to protect them from the effects of overfishing, pollution and global warming, which are degrading oceans worldwide.
"There's pretty strong evidence that everyone will benefit from the establishment of no-take reserves," said Jane Lubchenco, a professor of marine biology at Oregon State University, adding that fish populations rebound both within the protected reserves and in nearby fishing grounds. "The administration made a major step forward in designating the Papahanaumokuakea National Monument, but that one alone is not enough to protect the full range of places and habitats and species that need to be protected. It will be part of [Bush's] legacy, but his ocean and environmental legacy could be much, much more."
Researchers and activists welcomed Bush's August memorandum asking Connaughton and the secretaries of defense, commerce and the interior to assess the two "marine conservation management areas" he might establish before leaving office.
One, in the central Pacific, would encompass an area known as the Line Islands and stretch about 2,000 miles from the Johnston Atoll to the Rose Atoll. The memo described the area as "isolated from population centers, mostly uninhabited" and supporting "endemic, depleted, migratory, endangered and threatened species of fish, giant clams, crabs, marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, migratory shorebirds and corals that are rapidly vanishing elsewhere in the world."
The other area, in the western Pacific, would include the waters around two northern Mariana Islands and the 6.8-mile-deep Mariana Trench, the deepest ocean canyon in the world.
Both regions are treasure troves of biodiversity: Kingman Reef and other islands in the central Pacific area teem with sharks and other top predators; the Mariana Trench and its nearby islands are home to several species of rare beaked whales and the Micronesian megapode -- an endangered bird that uses the heat from volcanic vents to incubate its eggs -- as well as to mud volcanoes, pools of boiling sulfur and the greatest microbial diversity on Earth.
read the rest of the story ion The Washington Post
China source is suspect
(11/01/08)
The practice of mixing melamine into animal feed is an 'open secret' in the industry, the Nanfang Daily reported Thursday, describing a process of repackaging melamine scrap into an inexpensive product called 'protein powder,' which is then sold to feed suppliers.
The Web sites of the official Xinhua News Agency and the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily newspaper also carried the story, in a rare move publicizing information that reflects poorly on the country.
Four brands of Chinese eggs have been found to be contaminated with melamine this past week, and agriculture officials speculated that the cause was adulterated feed given to hens. No illnesses have been linked to melamine in eggs.
The discovery came just weeks after a crisis involving compromised dairy products that sickened tens of thousands of children and was linked to the deaths of four infants.
The scandal was blamed on dairy suppliers who added melamine, a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, to watered-down milk to dupe quality control tests and make the product appear rich in protein.
Melamine is high in nitrogen, and most protein tests test for nitrogen levels.
Health experts say ingesting a small amount of melamine poses no danger, but in larger doses, it can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.
The deliberate addition of melamine to food and animal feed is forbidden in China. Its apparent prevalence highlights the inability of authorities to keep the food production process clean of toxins despite official vows to raise safety standards.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine did not respond to faxed requests for comment. Phones rang unanswered at the Ministry of Health.
Chemical plants used to pay companies to treat and dispose of melamine scrap, but about five years ago began selling it to manufacturers who repackaged it as 'protein powder,' the Nanfang Daily reported, citing an unidentified chemical industry expert.
The inexpensive powder was first used to give the impression of higher protein levels in aquatic feed, then later in feed for livestock and poultry, the report said.
'The effect far more exceeds the milk powder scandal,' the newspaper said.
The account was backed up by a manager at a feed company based in central China's Henan province, though he said the practice has been going on for even longer than reported - some seven or eight years.
The manager, who refused to give The Associated Press his name or other identifying details citing the sensitivity of the issue, blamed suppliers to the feed companies.
'It's the suppliers who do it to raise the protein level, because we put in the contract a requirement for a certain level of protein,' he said. 'It's very common that feed for egg-laying hens contains melamine. The suppliers add it because their ingredients for the feed are sold at a low price.'
He added that his company's contract with suppliers bans them from adding melamine to their products.
Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said it was unlikely that humans would get sick from eating meat from animals raised on melamine-tainted feed, because the amount of chemical contained in a few servings of meat would not be harmful.
But 'it shouldn't be in the food supply at all. It's fraudulent. And the animals really can't use it for nutrition, so it's not good for the animals,' Nestle said.
Seafood News.com
 | New Zealand Kings |
So don't be afraid of putting these great fish on you menu!
Fish Sales Continue at Slow Pace |  |
their selections with caution. The market for grouper was about
steady on domestic and weak for imported red. The supply of
mahi was ample which caused market prices to trend lower. The
combination of weak buying interest and a fully adequate supply
of tuna and swordfish caused those markets to weaken as well.
Snapper supplies of most species were barely adequate to meet
the demand and market prices for most varieties were firm.
Halibut: Due to the short supply, market prices trended higher.
Some sellers reported that landings were hampered because
some boats have met their quota while others are docked due to
inclement weather.
Chilean Sea Bass: Inventories were fully adequate on 6-8 kilo fish
which caused a slight downward adjustment in today’s market
prices. Larger fish were barely adequate to adequate and 15 kilo
and larger fi sh traded at full steady to firm levels.
King Crab: 20-24 count and 20-up count red king crab adjusted
lower; a few lower off erings were collected. The balance of
the market remains about steady. Supplies are adequate for a
lackluster demand.
Canadian Snow Crab: The market is about steady; supplies are
fully adequate for a quiet demand.
AN ORDER TO CREATE THE GOVERNOR'S TASK FORCE ON THE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF MAINE'S LOB
(10/27/08)
WHEREAS, lobstering is the cornerstone of the economies of Maine's coastal communities; and
WHEREAS, the recent global economic crisis has illustrated that Maine's lobster industry is vulnerable and that traditional ways of doing business may no longer be sufficient; and
WHEREAS, Maine's Department of Marine Resources is charged with conserving and developing the fisheries of the state of Maine;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, John E. Baldacci, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby establish the Governor's Task Force on the Economic Sustainability of Maine's Lobster Industry (hereinafter 'Task Force').
Purpose and Duties
The purpose and duties of the Task Force shall be to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for improved marketing of Maine lobster in order to ensure the economic prosperity and long-term sustainability of the Maine lobster industry. This will include, but not be limited to:
* Identifying opportunities for expanding and diversifying both live and processed markets for Maine lobster;
* Identifying necessary improvements and expansions of the infrastructure in Maine, including processing capacity and state-of-the-art technology that maximizes the quality of lobster landed in Maine, and provides flexibility of product movement;
* Identifying opportunities for increasing the range of value added lobster products;
* Identifying possible changes to the structure of the lobster industry in terms of volume, quantity and timing of product landed;
* Identifying Best Management Practices for industry members (harvesters and dealers) to increase product quality and profitability;
* Identifying methodologies of protecting and promoting the Maine lobster brand in the global marketplace, including analysis of the value of Marine Stewardship Council certification, product substitution and food safety; and
* Identifying alternative business models.
The Task Force shall work with an independent contractor with expertise in the food industry, specifically in national and international markets and in market strategy, design, operations and implementation and technology development. The contractor shall develop a process through which members of the industry can provide information that can be used in the development of the contractor's recommendations.
Following the completion of this research, the contractor shall provide the Task Force with preliminary recommendations for their review. The Task Force shall consult with the lobster industry in its review of the preliminary recommendations. The comments of the Task Force will be used by the contractor to inform the development of a comprehensive plan for a marketing strategy for Maine lobster. The marketing strategy will present a blueprint for implementation, including timeframes, cost associated with various activities and expected outcomes.
Membership
The Governor shall appoint no more than eight (8) members to the Task Force. One member shall be the Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, or his designee; one member shall be the Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, or his designee; and one member shall be the Executive Director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council or his designee. The remaining appointments shall include diverse members who represent the interests of the lobster industry, or have expertise in business operations, finance, community development, international trade, and/or marketing.
The Governor shall appoint the Chair of the Task Force from among the members. The Chair will schedule, set the agenda for, and preside at Task Force meetings.
Fishing is a dangerous line of work |  |
The Coast Guard said Sunday it was suspending the search after combing nearly 5,000 square miles of ocean around the Aleutian Islands.
Thirty-year-old Carlos Zabala and 49-year-old Robert Davis were among 11 crew members aboard the fishing boat as it sank early Tuesday.
Four survivors were rescued from a life raft. Five were found dead in the water.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm says the search can be reopened if needed. Fishing vessels in the area are expected to keep a lookout.
Testimony by surviving crew members is to begin Monday at an investigative hearing in Anchorage.
By MARY PEMBERTON ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) —
 | Lobster prices head down |
The primary factor, a drop-off in demand by penny-pinching diners, has been in place since summer. But a secondary problem recently surfaced: the global banking crisis left Canadian processors short on credit, trapping Maine lobstermen and dealers with too much supply.
While bargains abound for lobster lovers throughout the Northeast, there's growing angst in New England fishing communities. One small village held a lobster bake on the town pier to unload excess lobsters and help out the local fishing fleet.
'This is as devastating to the state of Maine as Hurricane Katrina washing away all the boats and blowing down all the wharves,' said Dana Rice, a lobster dealer from Gouldsboro who's witnessing the industry's biggest struggle in his 30-plus years in the business.
As always, the problem boils down to supply and demand. But these days it's a bit more complicated than usual.
The recent crisis in the global financial system resulted in lines of credit being cut off to several lobster processors, including some in Canada who have relied on Icelandic banks that have failed, according to John Norton, president and chief executive of Cozy Harbor Seafood Inc., a seafood processor in Portland.
More than half of Maine's lobster harvest is typically shipped to Canadian processors. But this year is hardly typical.
Jim Wilson, a professor of marine science and economics at the University of Maine, is astounded how the Maine lobster industry is being slammed indirectly by the mortgage crisis, Wall Street derivatives and bank failures in Iceland.
'It's rather amazing the interconnectedness that has built up in the economy,' Wilson said.
Even before the credit crisis intensified, lobster purchases by chain restaurants, cruise lines and other businesses were way below normal this year as consumers reined in spending. A strong harvest only amplified the problem.
The industry has scrambled to move product, but with Maine lobstermen alone hauling around 400,000 pounds a day, that's no easy feat.
Hannaford, Shaw's and other supermarket chains in the Northeast agreed to cut prices, and restaurants launched lobster promotions to help out, said Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council.
Along the Portland waterfront, seafood shops are selling lobsters for as cheap as $3.89 a pound, which is about the price of bologna at the deli counter.
Retailers as far south as Washington, D.C., are selling live lobster for as little as $5.99 a pound, said Neal Workman, founder and head of The Fisheries Exchange, a Boston-based company that tracks prices, catches and other market information for the lobster industry.
The lobster promotion council has also taken the unprecedented step of purchasing radio and newspaper ads encouraging people to eat lobster.
Michael Tourkistas, CEO of East Coast Seafood in Lynn, Mass., was in Florida this week visiting chain restaurant and cruise line companies in hopes of drumming up business. East Coast Seafood handles about 15 million pounds of lobster a year.
'This is something that's never happened before,' Tourkistas said from Florida. 'So it makes it difficult to know what's going to happen next.'
Lobster is Maine's most valuable fishery. Its haul of roughly 63 million pounds last year was worth some $300 million at the dock with a total economic impact estimated at about $1 billion.
The industry has enjoyed good times in recent years. The annual catch has more than doubled in the past 15 years; at the same time the average price paid to fishermen has risen more than 75 percent, with lobstermen averaging $4.44 per pound for their catch last year.
Lobster prices fluctuate widely during the year depending on supply and demand. Still, it was a seismic jolt when the 'boat price' -- the price lobstermen receive for their catch -- fell to as low as $2.25 a pound this month.
Prices hadn't dropped that low since the days after 9/11, said Norton.
But the hit lobstermen are taking this year is more painful than back then. That's because the cost of doing business is far greater now, with the high price of bait, rope and diesel fuel -- even after recent declines.
The plunge in lobster prices comes at the time of year when fishermen are trying to put away money to last through the coming cold-weather months when they aren't pulling traps. Many lobstermen will have trouble making boat payments and paying bills this winter, said Bob Baines, a lobsterman in Spruce Head.
'The trickle-down of this will be very difficult because the tens of millions of dollars that will be lost won't be pumped into the local economies,' Baines said. 'That'll have an effect on small communities up and down the coast.'
The situation has shown signs of easing lately, with consumers buying lots of product at those low prices and the credit markets thawing worldwide.
But there are still concerns about what's ahead.
At the end of November, fishermen begin hauling traps in lobster-rich southern Nova Scotia, which will put more lobsters on the world market. Dealers are also awaiting the Christmas holiday season to see how strong the demand will be in Europe, where lobster is traditional fare at Christmas and New Year's parties.
Bob Bayer, executive director of the Lobster Institute research and education organization, remembers some advice he got 30 years ago from a longtime lobsterman and dealer.
'If the stock market's good, lobster is good. But if the stock market is lousy, then lobsters aren't so good either,' Bayer said.
AFX News Limited
Poaching on the increase with economy |  |
A Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission officer made a big discovery over the weekend: nearly 800 spiny lobster tails, most undersized, hidden in a small compartment of a hot, roach-ridden boat cabin in the Florida Keys.
'The guys who have been here for 20 years said it's one of the biggest cases they've ever seen,' said Officer Jill Izsak, who has worked in the Keys just two months. 'They said I probably will never experience another one like this in my career.'
Capt. Roberto Beltran, 57, and Benito Estepe, 66, both of Carol City, and Leonardo Cancio, 56, of Boot Key, were arrested and taken to Marathon jail, charged with two felonies and several state fishing violations.
The charges: trap molesting, grand theft, undersized catch and wrung lobster tails on the water, meaning the edible tails were separated from the discarded bodies before the boat reached shore.
The undersized haul: 711 lobster tails, 17 live lobsters, eight stone crab claws, one hogfish and one mutton snapper.
The men each face up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine and forfeiture of the 40-foot fishing boat, Kristal, which was seized as evidence, FWC spokesman Bobby Dube said.
Over the past few years, trap robbing and illegal fishing have become an increasing problem in the Keys due to the growing economic struggles of commercial fishermen and the cutback of law enforcement to patrol the thousands of square miles of water, said Scott Zimmerman, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen's Association.
 | Iraqi Fisherman struggle in new World |
Like the time, he says, the Kuwaiti sailors stopped his boat in midwinter and forced the entire crew to swim in the cold waters. Or when the Iranian coast guard held him and other fishermen captive, forcing them to cook and clean for them. More recently, he said, Iranian sailors stopped his boat in Iraqi waters, stole the fish and threatened to take the Iraqis to Iran.
Saleh thinks the lack of respect is a sign of how far Iraq has fallen since Saddam Hussein was overthrown five years ago.
'They didn't dare to do that during Saddam's time,' he bristles. 'Now we don't know who can protect us -- the British? The Americans? The government? Or none of them?'
Indeed, at least eight Iraqi fishermen have been killed this year by gunfire from Kuwaiti or Iranian naval ships, according to statements from the Iraqi police and navy. The attacks have taken place, Iraqis say, in Iraqi waters and border areas as well as in their neighbors' waters when fishermen mistakenly strayed in.
The fishermen press on with their work if only because they have to eke out a living in a woeful economy. Each day, they travel the tiny 37-mile coastline, a legacy of boundaries drawn in the early 20th century by Western nations as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
One Iraqi fishery official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attacks were motivated by a desire for revenge over Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and its war with Iran during the 1980s. He said the neighbors are able to pressure Iraq at sea because they know the country remains weak.
The official did fault the fishermen for crossing into Iranian or Kuwaiti waters on occasion because Iraqi waters yield fewer and fewer fish. For its part, the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad denied that Iranian sailors had ever harassed Iraqi fishermen. Kuwait has rejected similar accusations.
Zuhair Badran, 36, began fishing when he was 19. Whereas he once felt he could make money in the trade, now he feels like a pauper. Before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the state sold 18 barrels of diesel for $13. Now his crews never have enough fuel. Desperate, they buy diesel from Iranian fishermen at $150 per barrel.
Yet fuel prices are the least of Badran's worries. He too complains about the Iranian and Kuwaiti coast guard crews who he says threaten Iraqi boats in neutral waters. A year ago, Badran says, he was briefly detained by the Kuwaitis.
'They arrested me for hours, confiscated everything on my dinghy and started to torture me for more than six hours, breaking my arm and two ribs,' Badran says.
He says that an Iranian sniper shot two fishermen to death this summer. 'We were near the place where the fishermen used to gather after their return from fishing, and an Iranian sniper killed two of them,' Badran says.
Saleh, 38, visits the local employment center every day, hoping to find an alternative to fishing. He has found nothing.
'We have no other way to get our livelihood,' Saleh says. 'Fishing is the only job people can find in this city. Believe me, if there are any other jobs, I would never look at the sea again!'
When he is fishing, in a boat crammed with 13 or 14 men on a small deck, Saleh spends long nights watching the nets and then hauling in the catch. Sometimes, the fish are sick and worthless.
His colleagues remember when a good haul could bring in $150. Now they are happy to finish a trip with $50 in their pockets.
Some of Saleh's friends have joined the security forces, but he says he is too fat for the army or police. He's tired of the cramped quarters and the way the eastern winds tear at his skin -- though at least when there is bad weather, he says, it keeps the Iranian and Kuwaiti coast guards away.
'That is better than nothing.' he says.
Yousif Yaqoub, 48, who owns seven fishing boats, has also thought about walking away. This summer, he says, the Kuwaitis detained him for several days and forced him to hand over up to $3,330 worth of fish. He finds the Iraqi government inattentive. He says the government doesn't provide him cheap fuel and he grimaces about being asked to pay fees in order to fish. But like the others, he can't bring himself to renounce his trade.
'We will continue this job not only because it is the only job in this city but because we love it,' he says. 'We love the sea.'
Stone Crab Season Approaches |  |
Commercial fishermen make the first pull of stone-crab season yesterday, but the dockside news already is bleak.
'Wholesalers still have a fair amount of product in the freezers from last season,' said Keys Fisheries general manager Gary Graves.
'The price [paid to fishermen] could be very low -- maybe going back to the level of 10 or 12 years ago,' Graves said.
Stone crabs rank only behind lobster as the most lucrative catch for Monroe County's commercial fleet.
With the economy tanking, 'We know this probably is not going to be a normal winter for tourism,' said Graves, who has been in commercial fishing for 41 years. 'That means demand will be down, and demand affects the price.'
The only good news, he said, will be for consumers who discover once-pricey stone crab claws are newly 'reasonable.'
'I think you're going to see stone crab claws in a lot of grocery stores and on a lot of restaurant menus,' Graves said. 'For commercial fishermen and the fish houses, it's going to be tough.'
A 3-million-pound harvest statewide -- which means more than 10 million claws were taken -- is considered average. Harvests have been on the low side since a 3.5 million-pound season in 2001-02.
Last year's harvest was estimated at 3 million pounds, with the Keys producing about a third of that, according to state estimates.
 | Sushi Guides Available |
These tips and others on ocean-friendly sushi are now available in pocket guides that are being published this month by three conservation groups. The sustainability guides are the first specifically for sushi, listing fish by their Japanese and English names.
The three guides, published by the East Norwich, New York-based institute, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Environmental Defense Fund, will be introduced next week at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and on Oct. 22 at San Francisco's Tataki, billed as the only sustainable sushi restaurant in the United States.
The organizations already publish guides to seafood whose supplies are dwindling because of overfishing and other environmental threats. So why a separate guide for sushi?
Sushi offerings may be identified only by their Japanese names, such as toro (tuna belly) or tako (octopus). The sushi pocket guides identify the fish in both English and Japanese.
The Environmental Defense Fund's guide is slightly more focused than the other two on the health of the consumer as well as the health of the oceans, with some items - wild Alaskan salmon, farmed oysters - identified as being 'high in heart-healthy omega-3s and low in contaminants.'
Bluefin tuna makes the worst choices list of the defense fund's 'Sushi Selector' because overfishing has sent the world's bluefin population plummeting by 90 percent in 30 years.
Other worst choices, according to the defense fund: monkfish (ankoh), red snapper (tai) and freshwater eel (unagi). Best choices include U.S. farmed abalone (awabi), albacore tuna from the U.S. or Canada (shiro maguro) and farmed arctic char (iwana).
Shrimp Outlook for Fall |  |
US shrimp imports through July are up a meager 1%; however, July imports compared to a year ago are up over 12% as supplies increase for the last quarter of the year. On a year to date basis most categories or types of shrimp have experienced some increase over a year ago. The exception is cooked which are down. On a country basis while Thailand remains the US largest supplier of shrimp, Indonesia’s exports to the US have risen dramatically this year. Malaysian and Vietnamese imports are also up on a year to date basis while most key suppliers are down. Although Chinese imports are down year over year, imports in July were up sharply, an 83% increase.
Gulf Situation
The domestic market has been trending lower. Though typical for this timeframe, the rather dull climate has overshadowed the overall lack of supply. U.S. Gulf domestic shrimp landings for August 2008 totaled 12.265 million lbs. (headless eight) compared to 18.712 million in August 2007, bringing the 2008 cumulative total to 59,006 million lbs. or roughly 25 percent below the same period last year, however; there appears to be somewhat of an unsettled tone developing more recently given recent tropical activity and the notion landings would not improve before the year’s end.
 | Salmon For Next year may be tight! |
The head of SalmonChile, Cesar Barros, said that the industry would implement a number of strict measures, but that nevertheless, production of Atlantic Salmon could fall 20% in 2009.
Barros said that some of the lost export revenue would be made up with exports of coho salmon and trout, which have seen growing production numbers.
Barros said In that sense, these changes will help offset the low Atlantic salmon [production], so that a 20% drop in production does not mean a drop in export returns of the same magnitude.
Barros expects that the crisis will take 18 months to work itself out. During this time, the reduced availability of salmon for processing, and the increased cost incurred by businesses, will mean reduced income and further adjustments within the industry, said Barros.
As reported by John Sackton
Ocean Scientist - Opportunities abound |  |
The federal departments of Commerce and Education are forecasting a serious shortage of scientists trained to do the high-quality research required to rebuild fish stocks and restore marine species in the next decade.
A new joint report to Congress estimates the nation will need between 180 and 340 new fishery stock assessment scientists in the next 10 years, but current institutions will produce
only 160. The report projects a shortage of between 20 and 180, with a likely shortage of
between 100 and 180 stock assessment scientists for the nation in the next decade.
“At a time when the United States needs more scientists to provide the tools to rebuild valuable fish stocks and restore marine mammals and turtles, we are seeing a shortage of welltrained
fishery scientists,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “We must work
with universities and the private sector to convince young people to pursue careers in marine
science.”
The report to Congress combines a study of demand for stock assessment scientists at NOAA, other federal agencies, regional fishery commissions, state agencies and other organizations, with an independent report on the supply of scientists trained in this field.
The proportion of university faculty teaching stock assessment and fishery population dynamics in marine science programs is dropping, the report concludes. Student aptitude in modeling and population dynamics, key elements used to project future trends in fish abundance and productivity, has also declined in the last decade. The lack of faculty and quality students translates into fewer graduate students and fewer graduates with master’s degrees and doctorates.
The numbers of students and graduates are dropping at the same time that the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, re-authorized in 2007, gives stock assessment scientists a larger role in fisheries management. More stock assessment scientists are needed to evaluate fishery management measures and craft recovery plans for
fish species as well as endangered and protected marine species.
NOAA has several innovative recruiting programs, including fellowships, internships and mentoring programs. And one promising trend is that more young women are pursuing careers
in stock assessment science. However, the report concludes these programs must grow if the overall shortage is to be eliminated. Universities and the private sector must also expand educational programs to meet the growing need for stock assessment scientists. Undergraduate education in statistics, mathematics, ecosystem studies and modeling must also be improved.
“We need to get the word out across this nation, to our students, their teachers and
parents, that there are rewarding careers in the sciences for students who study stock
assessment and fishery biology,” said Steven A. Murawski, director of scientific programs and
chief science advisor for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “This report to Congress sends a strong
message that our students must be better prepared for science careers that are vital to the future of our nation’s environment and economy.”
To view the full report, read a profile of Dr. Elizabeth Brooks, a young stock assessment
scientist, watch video interviews with stock assessment scientists and see other materials, go
to: "http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/scientistshortage/”
 | Go Sox! |
Game 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka
Game 2: Josh Beckett
Game 3: Jon Lester
Game 4: Tim Wakefield
Game 5: Matsuzaka
Game 6: Beckett
Game 7: Lester
Government moves to protect Georges Bank
(10/07/08)
The bill, introduced on Sept. 25, was co-sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Massachusetts. It was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Bluefin May be Savable!
(10/06/08)
Scientists have discovered more about the migratory patterns of bluefin tuna species and say the revelations could help prevent the disappearance of the heavily harvested giants of the sea.
American and Canadian researchers tracked the movement of populations in the Mediterranean and the western Atlantic, finding that they intermingle as young fish in the Gulf of Mexico.
David Secor of the University of Maryland says the mixing of the two populations could give a false picture of the size of the western stock -- a highly prized catch off eastern Canada that supplies the hungry international sushi market.
Canadian and U-S fisheries managers use stock assessments from the Gulf of Mexico and other areas to determine the health of the population.
That is then used to set quotas.
Scientists say that should be re-evaluated now that it's known most of the Mediterranean fish return there, rather than travel north to be caught off Canada.
|  |
Alaska crab harvesters, organized through ICE (Inter-cooperative Exchange) have proposed an opening fishing price for bristol bay red king crab of $5.15. This represents an increase of $0.80 over last year's proposed opening fishing price of $4.35.
Under crab rationalization, fishermen are paid a fishing price for their crab landings, and then a final adjustment price once the product is sold and the actual wholesale prices are known. Harvesters have generally attempted to get about 90% of their expected final price as their initial fishing price.
Under the terms of the price formulas used in the industry, the $5.15 asking price suggests harvesters expect a wholesale price of about $10.50 to $11.00 for ocean run Alaskan king crab, FOB Alaska.
In 2007, ADF&G reports that the average red king crab wholesale price was $8.59, so this years expected prices would be 22% to 28% higher.
According to Greg White, negotiator for the ICE group, harvesters are very conscious of the importance of the Japanese market this year, and want to make sure the fishery starts on time with no stand downs or delays. White says that the highest demand for crab will come from the Japanese year end holiday mark
 | King Crab Hatchery helps bring species back |
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
The tiny king crab clinging to tufts of artificial seaweed in conical shaped tanks in the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery in Seward were hatched by a team of scientists and research biologists in the early phases of a project designed to help restore long-depressed king crab stocks. The project is a unique partnership between the crab industry, coastal communities, Native groups, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (SFOS) and the Alaska Sea Grant College Program.
In only its second year, AKCRRAB's research team made great progress in 2008 toward mass production of juvenile king crab and successfully launched a host of scientific studies that should result in greatly improved information about Alaska's king crab stocks. The project is focusing its research on eventually rehabilitating stocks of Kodiak red king crab and Pribilof Islands blue king crab, but the technology and research also can be used to help restore king crab populations in Kachemak Bay, Southeast Alaska or anywhere else in the state.
The hatchery's production biologists were very successful in spawning both stocks of crab this year, producing 40,000 juveniles or 10 percent of the hatched larvae, compared to only 1 per cent in 2007. The hatchery team's goal for 2009 is to improve overall survival rates through the larval stages to more than 50 percent.
For comparison, a successful hatchery program for Chesapeake Bay blue crab produced 5 percent survival to the juvenile stage in its first few years.
At the same time, project scientists are engaged in several projects that will increase the information available to state and federal researchers and the resource agencies that manage Alaska's important king crab stocks. These include:
* studies of predation of juvenile crab by a host of predators, such as rock sole and Pacific cod;
* experiments with tagging, a challenge with crustaceans that continually shed their shells;
* identification of substrate preferences of both crab larvae and juvenile crab;
* a cataloging of the genetic makeup of wild king crab stocks throughout the state;
* studies that examine the interaction between wild and hatchery-produced juveniles; and
* dietary requirements of larvae and juvenile king crab.
AKCRRAB also plans to conduct habitat studies around the Pribilofs and Kodiak to determine the location of preferred habitats in the two regions, continue with genetic research and gather other information that should significantly improve the tools available to resource agencies to effectively manage the king crab resources of Alaska.
The project is developing the critical mass of scientific knowledge and understanding of hatchery-based crab culture technology to produce enough healthy juvenile crab for a rehabilitation and enhancement program by 2011. Much work needs to be accomplished over the next three years and some research will continue beyond that point. In addition to supporting the rehabilitation goal, the research thrust of the project will substantially increase the body of knowledge available to state and federal resource managers regarding the early life stages of king crab.
The best science in the world by itself will not be enough to make the stocking of juvenile king crab a reality. That is a decision which can be made only after the agencies, king crab industry and coastal communities closely examine the costs and benefits of a rehabilitation program. AKCRRAB will analyze the economic feasibility of rehabilitation programs as production costs become known and critical issues such as tagging or marking hatchery juveniles are resolved.
The success of producing juvenile crab is the highlight of recent AKCRRAB activities, but the harvesting of this year's egg-bearing female blue king crab from wild stocks might be the activity most worthy of a spot on the Deadliest Catch. A variety of circumstances delayed this activity last season to the point where the crab had to be taken through the ice offshore of Little Diomede Island by local subsistence harvesters with assistance by Nome Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent Heidi Herter. Just keeping the catch alive for the helicopter ride back to Nome was quite a challenge.
Funding for the project has come from a variety of sources, including contributions by the crab industry and coastal communities, federal and state grants, and support from Sea Grant, SFOS and NMFS.
Jeff Stephan, Heather McCarty and Gale Vick
About: All three authors are members of the AKCRRAB steering committee and were involved in the founding of the program. Jeff Stephan, manager of the United Fishermen's Marketing Association in Kodiak, has been involved in Alaska seafood, fisheries management and marine research for the past 31 years.
Heather McCarty is a consultant who deals with fisheries regulatory and marine research issues for the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association, the CDQ entity for St. Paul Island in the Pribilofs.
Gale Vick, executive director of the Gulf of Alaska Coastal Communities Coalition, is a commercial salmon fisher who is active in fisheries issues.
Russian Pollack makes comeback
(10/01/08)
The sum total of all stocks off the west coast of the Kamchatka peninsula amounted to 3.3 million tonnes in 2005; to 4.5 million tonnes in 2007; then that figure is now 6.8 million tonnes.
The pollock stock today is now assessed at 4.6 million tonnes, as opposed to 2.1 million tonnes in 2005. The figure for cod (eat your hearts out Scotland!) has also jumped - to 219, 800 tonnes now as opposed to 69,400 tonnes in 2005.
Leathernecks return to California!
(09/29/08)
Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tagged and monitored the leatherbacks during a monthlong survey aboard a research ship and by aircraft. The species, which has been around for 100 million years, has seen its population cut by more than 90 percent over the past 25 years and recently had gone missing from the California coast until this survey.
"We're getting a better understanding of the leatherbacks and their coastal habitat here after several years when the population was much lower than usual -- and after we observed none at all in 2006," said Scott Benson, chief scientist for the NOAA's leatherback survey mission based in Moss Landing.
Scientists spotted the turtles as close as 5 miles from shore, Benson said.
The leatherbacks appear to be drawn back by the influx of jellyfish, whose stinging tentacles make for an irresistible snack after the 7,000-mile swim across the Pacific from Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, where the turtles nest and lay their eggs.
The huge abundance of jellyfish apparently is caused by increased upwelling of nutrients like krill and plankton from just above the sea floor this year, Benson said.
New Zealand knows Sustainability
(09/29/08)
He's the man who once called minke whales 'the cockroaches of the sea'. As Japan's alternate representative on the International Whaling Commission, he has been a staunch defender of his country's right to whaling.
But whales weren't on the agenda at a seminar he gave at Tokyo's Foreign Press Centre. Fish were.
Kiwis might think of Japan as overflowing with seafood, but, with the help of several dozen complicated graphs, Dr Komatsu painted a bleak picture of the 'terrible problems' faced by its fishing industry.
He was raised in a coastal town where the locals' livelihoods depended on fish. He studied fisheries science, joined Japan's fisheries agency, and is now an expert member of the government's regulatory reform council. He said fish consumption was increasing globally, but Japanese, particularly youngsters, were bucking that trend and consumption was declining.
Japan's fishery output was decreasing due to deteriorating resources and it was facing increased competition from other countries, such as China, for imports.
Dr Komatsu then gave a brief history of the thornyhead fish. Once upon a time, the average length of a thornyhead was 20 centimetres; now it was 8cm. It took three years for a thornyhead to grow to 20cm, and many of them just weren't getting there because of overfishing.
If the thornyheads were anything to go by, things were pretty grim.
But he proposed some major changes that could help. Suddenly, New Zealand got a mention.
He explained that Japan had very few total allowable catch limits for fish. In contrast, New Zealand had them for 629 individual fish stocks.
Japan also lacked an individual quota system to restrict how much a single fishery could take.
Several countries had such a system, including New Zealand, which uses an individual transferable quota system, allowing quotas to be traded. Similar controls were needed in Japan, to ease the 'race for fish'.
minion Post (Wellington, New Zealand)]
Is Sustainable Worth the Cost?
(09/26/08)
The pollsters said that 'UK consumers have yet to be persuaded to switch from the most popular traditional seafoods to more sustainable types of fish.'
75% of those asked to name their favorite type of fish cited cod, haddock, prawns, tuna, and salmon. Half of these consumers buy prawns from 'unsustainable fisheries'.
'The research shows that knowing what is sustainable and what's not is still an absolute minefield for UK consumers' Waitrose fish buyer Jeremy Langley told The Grocer.
Yet retailers remain committed to pushing sustainability. 'In the midst of the credit crunch the good news is that eating ethically doesn't have to have to cost the earth. Species like mackerel and sardines are widely available within UK waters Đ so as well as being highly sustainable are also easy on the wallet,' he said.
Eat Fish - Get Smart
(09/25/08)
The results have been revealed two years after Durham County Council held a press conference at Belmont comprehensive school, near Durham City, to announce that 3,000 teenage pupils would be offered free fish oil capsules supplied by supplement company Equazen.
Effectively, the youngsters would become guinea pigs in the world's largest attempt to see if supplements can improve a child's academic performance.
Yesterday, in response to request from The Northern Echo, Durham County Council issued a statement making it clear that education officials believe that the omega-3 fish and evening primrose oil capsules improved exam room performances.
The local education authority?s (LEA) conclusion was last night attacked by Ben Goldacre, who recently published a book called Bad Science.
Mr Goldacre has always maintained that the fish oil experiment was a missed opportunity because the council failed to establish a control group of youngsters who were not given the capsules. Yesterday, he said the results were ''meaningless'' and amounted to ''laughably incompetent science, in an experiment performed on thousands of Durham children.''
The LEA came to its conclusion after discovering a significant difference in GCSE exam results between students who took regular fish oil capsules, and youngsters of a similar background and academic ability who did not take the supplements.
The council's education chiefs believe that, while the results of the study are not definitive, they could justify more clinically-based scientific trials to determine whether fish oil supplements boost educational attainment.
Dave Ford, head of achievement for Durham County Council?s Children and Young People's Services, said: ?We have always maintained that if the outcome was positive, it would then be for scientists to examine in more detail.
''The findings of our study suggest it may now be worth them following it up in more depth through proper clinical trials.'' Initially, just over 3,000 year 11 pupils began the study, taking the omega-3 tablets at school and at home.
By the time GCSE examinations came round last summer, 832 pupils had 80 per cent or greater compliance in terms of taking the supplements every day.
Mr Ford and his colleagues then sought to identify the same number of year 11 pupils who had not taken the supplement and match them to those who had, according to school, gender, prior attainment and social background.
The GCSE results of 629 ''matched pairs'' ''fish oil takers and non- fish oil takers'' were then analysed.
''To reach comparative levels of their attainment prior to the study, we used a nationally accepted system, which took into account the results for each pupil at key stages two and three,'' said Mr Ford.
At both stages, the difference in predicted GCSE outcomes between the groups was on average less than three points. But when it came to GCSEs ''results between those who had taken the supplement and those who had not'' rose to 17.7 points.
In terms of GCSE grades, this is the difference between a student getting three C grade GCSEs and five D grades, and another getting five Cs and three Ds.
By stepping up to five good GCSE passes, the student has the opportunity to take A-levels and go on to university.
''If there had been no difference in attainment between the two groups, we would be tempted to dismiss the benefits of omega-3,'' said Mr Ford.
''However there seem to be some very clear indications that pupils taking the supplement do significantly better.'' Mr Ford said the council made no claim that the results of its GCSE study could be attributed only to omega-3 supplementation.
Other factors may be responsible for the difference in performance ''for instance, the benefit may be a placebo effect, or it may be that those students who achieved 80 per cent compliance were better organised and had families who provided support at home and so might have done better anyway,'' he added.
Mr Ford said the study has produced ''some interesting and possibly exciting issues'' for further investigation that could be the basis for future scientific trials.
Mr Goldacre, who has a column in The Guardian, said: ''They could easily have determined if fish oil capsules are beneficial in this 'trial' if they had performed it competently, which they chose not to, despite all offers of help and criticism at the time.''
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [The Northern Echo] - September 25, 2008 -
Warm Water Tails
(09/24/08)
Department of Fisheries surveys over the past two months found virtually no larval-stage lobsters in many areas expected to be awash with new-born stocks at this time of year.
The results have stunned WA's lucrative lobster fishing industry, which warned yesterday that unless there was a dramatic turnaround in the numbers in the next four months, the 2011-2012 season would be a total disaster.
Department researchers have no idea what has caused the alarming findings and are investigating whether climate change or over-fishing is to blame or if the larvae have settled outside their usual areas.
At worst, it could herald the fishery's total collapse. Counts of larval-stage lobster, known as puerulus, are used to predict rock lobster numbers in three to four years time.
Other alarming survey results mean below-average catches are expected in coming seasons, with the department forecasting the amount of lobster available to be caught in 2010-11 will fall to 7200 tonnes, the smallest in 40 years and well below the annual average of 11,000 tonnes.
Puerulus settlement surveys have been used for more than 40 years and are considered an accurate indicator of future rock lobster stocks.
Peak settlement occurs between August and December but the past two monthly surveys, which will determine the 2011-12 catch, recorded zero counts in several locations.
Western Rock Lobster Council chairman Dexter Davies said the data was pointing to two disastrous seasons for fishermen.
'Unless there is conclusive evidence to demonstrate that the low count won't lead to record low catches, there has got to be serious doubt about the industry's ability to maintain anywhere near long-term average catch levels in the near future,' he said.
Researchers are attempting to determine what has caused the sudden drop, which followed above average settlement figures at some sample sites in 2005-06. Possible causes include climate change effects on water temperature and wind strength, excess fishing in some regions or puerulus settling in deeper water outside sample areas.
Crayfishermen Bruce Cockman said he was seeing less breeding stock in the waters just south of Geraldton and the big bank region, north of the Abrolhos Islands.
'If over-fishing is the issue, at least that can be fixed,' he said.
'If it is environmental, then we are in trouble. I don't know if you would call this a collapse, but it's getting close.'
Mr Cockman said stock sustainability was critical and the introduction of a quota system to stop over-fishing had to be considered.
Department of Fisheries supervising scientist Nick Caputi said last season's low puerulus count was blamed on a weak Leeuwin Current, which is needed to move the larvae hundreds of kilometres to inshore reefs.
But researchers were struggling to explain this year's record low settlement figures because the current had been strong. Oceanographic modelling was planned to determine whether the low strength of westerly winds in late winter affected this year's settlement.
About 500 commercial boats operate within the fishery.
Ledge Point fishermen Mal Millard said the rock lobster industry was heading for unchartered territory and environmental factors were more likely the cause than over-fishing.
An interesting solution to over-fishing
(09/22/08)
Catch shares are common in New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, and increasingly the US and Canada. They guarantee each shareholder a fixed portion of a fishery's total allowable catch, which is set each year by scientists. Much like stock shares in a corporation, these shares can be bought and sold. Each share becomes more valuable when the fish population – and thus the total allowable catch – increases. With catch shares, every shareholder has a financial stake in the long-term health of the fishery.
The results of the study are striking: while nearly a third of open-access fisheries have collapsed, the number is only half that for fisheries managed under catch share systems. Furthermore, the authors show that catch shares reverse the overall downward trajectory for fisheries worldwide, and that this beneficial effect strengthens over time.
"Under open access, you have a free-for-all race-to-fish, which ultimately leads to collapse," says lead author Christopher Costello, "But when you allocate shares of the catch, then there is an incentive to protect the stock—which reduces collapse. We saw this across the globe. It's human nature."
The results of this study are certain to have wide-ranging implications as more fisheries in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere consider switching to catch shares systems. It is particularly timely for the West Coast of the United States, where the groundfish fishery – which encompasses more than 80 species including sole, rockfish (snapper), hake, and sablefish (Alaskan black cod) – is likely to transition to catch shares.
"One of the big challenges in catch shares is how you allocate the shares," Gaines explains. "But this is not a scientific question; it's a value judgment on the part of local communities and their governments."
Overall, the current study scientifically affirms what some fishermen and fisheries managers have long suspected based on anecdotal evidence and firsthand observation.
"Up until now, it's been an article of faith. It's pleasing to see that the data really does show these trends," says Jeremy Prince, a fisheries scientist and former fisherman from Australia who is a leader in transitioning fisheries to catch shares.
"This study gives us a solution to work with in fighting the global fishery crisis," says Boris Worm, who was not involved in the research. "There are fisheries which are doing well because of rights-based management. It's the silver lining that we have been looking for. Now we need to implement these solutions more widely."
Catch shares are not a one-size-fits-all solution. However the current study demonstrates that ownership can be a powerful ally in the effort to reverse fisheries decline, especially when deployed with complementary management strategies. With proper design, careful monitoring, and real-time adaptation to changing environmental conditions, catch shares can help ensure that the world will enjoy plentiful seafood for years to come.
Deep Sea FIshing Guidelines Established
(09/19/08)
Managing deep sea fisheries in high seas areas outside of countries’ exclusive economic zones has always been difficult, according to FAO, since it requires multilateral solutions involving not only nations whose vessels are engaged in deep sea fisheries but other interested countries as well.
“Until now, there really hasn’t been an international framework for tackling this issue,” said Ichiro Nomura, Assistant Director General of FAO’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
“These guidelines represent one of the few practical instruments of this nature, and are a breakthrough in that they address both environmental and fisheries management concerns in an integrated manner,” he added.
Stating that all fishing activity in deep sea areas should be “rigorously managed,” the guidelines contain measures to be taken to identify and protect vulnerable ecosystems and provide guidance on the sustainable use of marine living resources in deep-sea areas.
They also recommend that fishing nations assess the deep sea fishing being undertaken by their fleets to determine if any significant adverse impacts are involved, and if there are adverse impacts, the fishing activity should stop.
The guidelines also set out steps for improving information on the location and status of vulnerable marine ecosystems and deep sea fisheries.
Because deep sea fishing is a relatively new activity and requires considerable resources in terms of investment and technology, few countries have so far developed policies and plans specifically related to managing it, even in their own waters, according to FAO.
Gulf a Disaster!
(09/17/08)
The economic impacts of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike on fishing communities in the Gulf of Mexico will hurt these communities, Gutierrez said. We have a lot of work to do, but this disaster determination is an important step in the recovery process.
The fishery resource disaster determination was made pursuant to provisions of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act that authorize assistance to fishermen affected by natural disasters. This action also makes small fishing businesses eligible for certain Small Business Administration loans.
NOAA's Fisheries Service will work with the states to distribute any funds appropriated in response to this determination.
Commercial fishing in the affected areas consists mostly of finfish, shrimp and oysters. NOAA will work with the states to further assess damage to the major fishing ports and the seafood processing facilities in Louisiana and Texas.
Working with the states, NOAA will continue efforts to assess fishing industry damage and long-term impacts to the marine environment, said Jim Balsiger, director of NOAA's Fisheries Service.
The initial affected areas under today's declaration are Texas and Louisiana. DOC/NOAA will continue to work with the region to assess the impacts of the storm in other areas of the Gulf.
Pastuerized Crabmeat Update!
(09/15/08)
| Species Info | Order |
PRICES: It appears prices have stabilized in Indonesia for the time being. Everyone keeps talking about the prices coming down but there haven’t been any indications of that yet…even though we ask everyday! The dollar has strengthened some against the Rupiah from 9,200:1 to 9,300:1 but it hasn’t made any impact on what we are paying for raw material.
RAW MATERIAL (SUPPLY): The availability of raw material has improved slightly but now we are in the Muslim holiday of Ramadan which started September 2nd and ends October 2nd. Many of the fisherman and the plants have slowed down catching and production dramatically and it really won’t get back into full swing into about October 13th. Hopefully by then the rainy season will have kicked in and crabs will become plentiful.
The challenge is there are also diverse raw material costs between these regions as well. We have been trying to “dollar cost average” all the product we produce in Indonesia so we aren’t driving our customers too nuts with vacillating price changes.
QUALITY: It seems that some of our competitors in an effort to get more product, have lowered their standards to buying multiple species of crab and buying raw material that would otherwise be sold in the domestic (Indonesian) market. Much of this product is chemically washed to mask the sour smell and color. One of the reasons there has been a shortage on Soft Shell Crabs (Scylla Serrata), that some of these same competitors have decided to “mix” in with the Pelagicus. The Serrata has more of a bland taste and turns gray much easier.
CHINA
PRICES: As we had suspected, as soon as the price/demand scenario started to play out in Indonesia, everyone started to run to China for lower cost crabmeat. We have experienced ourselves the huge increase in demand for Chinese crabmeat but we never suspected it would be quite this huge. Several customers who we thought were die hard Pelagicus customers have switched specs over to Haanii.
The challenge has been the high demand for Chinese product…the Chinese are well aware of the issues on the Pelagicus in other countries…have raised their prices to close to where Indonesia was the beginning of the year. Of course they want to blame the dollar but we all know the age old adage of “Supply & Demand”. I think the prices we have now should hold us through the remainder of 08’ but don’t put that in stone just yet.
RAW MATERIAL: China just came of their government imposed “conservation period” of June and July. The production beginning in August has been decent but the crabs have been on the small side. The challenge has been Typhoons…just like our hurricanes… have been plaguing the South China coast. The government actually mandates that the boats must stay in port until they give the “All Clear”. This happens sometimes several days before the storm is actually affecting the fishing grounds. Obviously several productive days of fishing are lost thus slowing down the flow of raw material.
Please keep in mind that the season will again be limited starting in November. August, September and October are the peak catching months in China. We will still be receiving containers after this time but at less than half the ratio we are getting now.
OUTLOOK
It is hard to predict any wild caught resource. We have spent a tremendous amount of time continuing to develop and refine our current processing facilities. I believe that continuing to strengthen our existing partnerships in Asia is the best way to ensure consistent quality production. Our goal has always been quality first and our producers understand this…even though they may pack some containers for some others…our quality remains top shelf.
We think the demand will stay ahead of the actual supply for at least through 2009.
SUSTAINABILITY
One of the biggest questions we still get is about the sustainability of the crab resource. All we can say honesty is that there are steps being taken in the right direction to better manage the resource. However, we are dealing with developing countries that struggle to enforce even the simplest of laws. The good news is that there is still a tremendous amount of fishing grounds that have yet to experience any real commercial pressure. Some of these areas the fisherman actually consider the crabs a nuisance and throw them back in the water. These crabs are the size of dinner plates!
We think in the long term the resource will become sustainable but there will continue to be some near term supply issues.
How a bi-catch quota can hurt!
(09/15/08)
The Pacific whiting fishery in the U.S. west coast for this season closed as the by-catch quota of rare-species rockfish was exhausted, while more than 100,000 tons of whiting catch quota was left unexploited.
Industry sources observed this development has sent shock waves to the outlook of supply of whitefish in the world.
The sources point out that the efforts of fishermen to avoid by-catch have almost reached their limit because the by-catch quota has been kept unchanged while the stock of rockfish has been increasing helped by rigorous stock management during the past years.
The sources, however, note that the risk of having uncaught Pacific whiting as this year may be reduced next year as the rockfish by-catch quota may be increased following the results of the stock review.
This year, the by-catch quota of orange rockfish was kept unchanged at 4.7 tons, which lasted for several years, although the catch quota of Pacific whiting was raised by 11% over a year ago to 269,545 tons.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has developed the stock reconstruction plan for Canary and other two species of rockfish to cope with the stock deterioration.
Directed catch of rockfish is now prohibited, and by-catch quotas have been set for commercial fisheries, other than whiting fishing, as well.
It is said that it takes time for the rockfish stock to recover because its maturity age is high and many of them are ovoviviparous, giving birth to relatively few juveniles.
Initially, NMFS envisaged recovering the stock by 2063. However, on the strength of the rigid stock management, the rockfish resources showed a more-than-anticipated recovery and have been increasing as if to defy the fishermen's efforts to avert by-catch.
This year, Pacific whiting fishing closed on August 19, when the by-catch quota of 4.7 tons was attained, despite fishermen's efforts to avoid by-catch by introducing voluntary suspension periods both in at-sea and shore-based operation.
The commercial catches by that date aggregated only 130,851 tons for at-sea and shore-based combined, resulting in an uncovered quota of 101,694 tons.
The demand for cod-family whitefish has been growing in the U.S. and Europe amid limited supply, and Pacific whiting has played an important role in whitefish supply in the form of H&G, fillet and surimi.
Now there remains for users a problem of with what fish species to fill in the short supply of whiting.
Industry observers see the possibility of increase in rockfish by-catch quota next year as the groundfish management plan for the West Coast is reviewed every two years.
In this year, the management plan for 2009-2010 will be developed, and updated stock analysis results will be reflected in the plan.
The Allowable Biological Catch (ABC) for rockfish will have increased to 937 tons from the previous 179 tons, possibly expanding the optimum yield (OY), which corresponds to the total allowable catch (TAC), to 105 tons from 44 tons.
For this reason, some industry participants point to the possibility that the rockfish by-catch quota in Pacific whiting fisheries next season (to be decided next spring) may be doubled from this year.
At the same time, the sources observe that by-catch could be accelerated next year because of the recovery of rockfish stock.
Even when the by-catch quota is doubled, it will total only 9.4 tons, which is an amount that can be attained easily when some big schools of fish are trawled.
Therefore, the situation for fishermen to have to operate under stringent conditions will remain unchanged, the sources say.
It remains to be seen whether or not the risk of a middle-of-season closing of fishing can be reduced through the increase of by-catch quota next year.
Informed sources note that the increase in by-catch is directly linked to the recovery of the stock.
But there will be some time gap until the by-catch quota is set because any increase in the by-catch quota is decided after confirming the actual growth in the stock.
Furthermore, the more the fishermen strive to avoid by-catch, the more the pace of stock recovery is accelerated, resulting in a dilemma that it will become more difficult to avoid by-catch next season and afterwards.
For this reason, industry watchers point out that whiting fishery will continue to be burdened with a barrier of avoidance of by-catch until the time the rockfish recovery plan is fully completed.
Based on recent stock analysis, however, some in the industry suggest the possibility that the completion of the rockfish recovery plan may be quickened to around 2020.
Eating Seafood Makes Smarter Babies
(09/11/08)
This is a huge study that looked at how eating fish during pregnancy affected over 25,000 infants said Jennifer Wilmes, registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). Researchers found moms who ate fish at least three times a week had babies who did a better job of achieving milestones Đ from crawling to putting words together.
A release from Harvard University Medical School says, These findings provide further evidence that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and compounds in breast milk are beneficial to infant development.
This research is the latest in a series of studies that show just how important the nutrients in fish are to child development, said Wilmes. The challenge now is getting this up-to-date information in to the hands of doctors, dietitians and women at large in order to combat the misinformation about seafood we see so often.
Regarding traces of mercury in fish, according to Harvard the study concluded, Éconsumption of three or more weekly servings of fish was associated with higher development scores, so in this case the nutrient benefits of prenatal fish appeared to outweigh toxicant harm.
The work was funded in part with a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Eat Seafood to help with Global Warming
(09/10/08)
Even having one meat-free day a week will help cut greenhouse-gas emissions and other environmental problems -- including habitat destruction -- associated with rearing cattle and other livestock, Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told The Observer of London.
'In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity,' said Pachauri, a vegetarian who shared the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the U.N. panel with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore last December. 'Give up meat for one day (a week) initially, and decrease it from there.'
The Observer called it the most controversial advice yet provided by the panel on how individuals could tackle global warning.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, meanwhile, estimates meat production accounts for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse-gas emissions.
These are generated in animal-feed production -- but also because cows emit methane gas, which contributes to global warming 23 times more than carbon dioxide, the U.N. agency said.
The agency has also forecast meat consumption will double by mid-century.
Pollack looks to secure Sustainability Rating
(09/09/08)
The Russian pollock fishery, historically larger than the Alaskan fishery, has entered into the Marine Stewardship Council certification process.
During the recent fisheries congress in Vladivostok, The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) announced the formal launch of the Russian Pollock Fisheries Improvement Partnership. The partnership is lead by BAMR-ROLIZ, BirdsEye-Iglo Group and SFP, together with FRoSTA, Royal Greenland, FoodVest, Pickenpack, Delmar, High Liner and the Fishin' Company.
Russian pollock fisheries are a globally significant source of whitefish. The fisheries take place in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk, two of the most productive and diverse seas on earth. Companies are working together in the FIP to assure long-term supplies of seafood and to maintain the health of these critical ecosystems.
The formal launch of the FIP follows the announcement that the Russian Pollock Catchers Association is pursuing Full Assessment under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) program, an independent rigorous sustainability certification. The FIP brings together resources and expertise to support the Pollock Catchers Association in their efforts to meet the requirements of the MSC.
The Pollock Catchers Association formed in 2006, and the member companies now account for over 60% of the Russian pollock quota. During the recent International Fisheries Congress in Vadivostok, Petr Savchuk, President of BAMR-ROLIZ, explained the Pollock Catchers Association has worked closely together with Government, scientists and regulators to reduce over-quota fishing in the pollock spawning fishery, and to protect stocks by splitting the fishery into two seasons.
'We are proud that the Russian Pollack Association is one of the first Russian fisheries to enter assessment for certification to the MSC standard, said German Zverev, president of the Russian Pollock Association. We pay careful attention to conserving the pollock stock as a key sea resource in the Russian Far-East seas and to preserving the eco-system of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. Meeting the MSC standard is an excellent way to demonstrate seafood sustainability to consumers around the world, and for this reason we have chosen to aim for MSC certification.'
Jim Cannon, CEO of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership concurs industry and supply chain support and innovation have delivered improvements in the fishery in the past two years. The Fisheries Improvement Partnership is a way for producers and major suppliers to work together to help fisheries improve, and explain progress to major customers.
Advisor to BirdsEye-Iglo, Michael Bockish explained BirdsEye-Iglo Group has worked with BAMR-ROLIZ for many years to improve this critically important fishery and enter into the MSC program. We have supported the efforts of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership to involve many other companies in these efforts over recent years, and are delighted to now formally lead the Fisheries Improvement Partnership, together with SFP and BAMR-ROLIZ.
The certifier will be TAVEL Certification, who has estimated a minimum of 24 months to complete the certification process.
Once the Russian pollock fishery is certified, the majority of producers in the global pollock industry, the largest whitefish fishery in the world, will be certified to MSC standards, meaning that major users can source product across all the major fisheries depending on stock status and still sell MSC certified Alaska pollock. This is a key step in buyers fully incorporating the MSC program for the long term.
Are you seafood savvy?
(09/08/08)
Fish watch is a National Marine Fisheries watch site where sustainability is the big news. Fish tries to give an honest, unbiased report on fisheries and species, without the added pressure of raising sources from those fisheries keen on getting their message out - it is in our opinion one of the very best sources for infromation regarding sustainability of stocks! On the Profish website you can click on Sustainability in the species index and go straight to the report.
FishWatch can help you make informed decisions about the seafood you eat by providing you with the most accurate and timely information available on the sustainability of U.S. seafood fisheries. FishWatch is brought to you by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. authority on marine fisheries science, conservation, and management.
What is sustainable seafood?
If you buy fish managed under a U.S. fishery management plan, you can be assured it meets 10 national standards for conservation and sustainable management.
Cod and Haddock looking Strong
(09/06/08)
According to the report by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, successes were fewer than failures, but cod and haddock surprisingly were among the stocks that seem to have launched successful comebacks.
According to the report, haddock stocks seem to have almost entirely recovered.
Still, the report had ominous implications for the industry that has suffered through a variety of recovery schemes and faces a looming deadline for an updated plan to lift all the stocks to sustainable, if not ideal, levels.
The New England Fishery Management Council, whose members heard the oral report on the scientific paper and along with the public poured questions back at Paul Rego, the presenting scientist of the fisheries science center, today takes up the dilemma: What to do now?
Next May comes with a statutory deadline for a program to take a 10-year recovery process for the entire fishery through its second half to the finish line.
Placed on the table last week at a subcommittee meeting in Peabody were options including up to 70 percent reductions in days at sea that have already cut Gulf of Maine fishing to as little as 24 days per fisherman.
Whatever the council might decide to recommend, the National Marine Fisheries Service is widely expected to impose interim measures next May to bridge the gap until a new set of controls are written to nudge the fishery back to full strength.
In anticipation of Rego's report and this week's meeting of the council, political clout mobilized to urge caution and careful vetting of the science in the report.
U.S. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts and Olympia Snow and Susan Collins of Maine last week asked the inspector general of the federal Department of Commerce to take a hard look at Rego's report.
Another letter, this from the Rhode Island congressional delegation of Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin, urged the delay of any action based on the report until it could be vetted independently.
The massive study involved nearly 150,000 vessel trip reports and 5,000 observer trips, and it was widely lauded for looking longest and deepest into the fishery.
'It's the most comprehensive piece of fishing research I've ever seen,' said Mark Gibson, the state deputy director of marine fisheries in Rhode Island.
But the report also was scored for blithe modeling and filling holes with assumptions.
'They burned witches in Salem with less science,' said Jim Kendall, a seafood consultant from New Bedford.
'The process is absurd,' said Ann-Margaret Ferrante, an attorney from Gloucester associated with the fishing industry. 'Taking data and putting it into dysfunctional models.'
Joseph Orlando, a Gloucester fisherman, asked Rego pointedly why 'your science is so different than mine? We see more fish, we catch more fish and we're not even close to our catch limits.'
'There is a disparity there,' Rego said. 'I'm not quite sure what is ultimately responsible for that disparity.'
But the biologist went on to say, 'There's a big difference between sampling in the survey and sampling to make money. You have a pretty good idea where to go when you conduct a survey. We're trying to make a statement about fishing as a whole,' Rego added.
According to the assessment of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center at Woods Hole, 11 stocks 'are now both overfished and experiencing overfishing (in 2007),' compared to seven that were similarly stressed three years earlier.
But stocks of New England's signature food fish, the 'sacred' cod and its cousin haddock, whose declines in the second half of the last century spurred conservation efforts and stimulated study of the ocean ecosystem, have made a remarkable comeback.
Three species of flounder also showed the positive effects of more rigorous controls on fishing through limited access to the stocks, but the report posed a grave danger to the industry.
But other flat fish in southern New England and on George's Bank and the Gulf of Maine were not doing well, the report said. Neither were white hake and pollock. The reports on redfish and halibut were mixed.
The presentation by Rego, a biologist for the New England Fishery Management Council, at a meeting room in the Biltmore Hotel, packed with fishermen, industry representatives and political leaders from the coastal states, expanded upon a sneak preview issued in June to forewarn the council of its potentially radical implications.
The council then conceded the conclusions in the report threw them for such a loop, and they decided it would be impossible to meet the May 2009 deadline for a new iteration of regulations.
The council, which advises the National Marine Fisheries Service on policies to achieve the across-the-board recovery of all stocks -- a goal imbedded in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Recovery Act and its incremental amendments and frameworks -- faces intense pressure to forge and recommend new policies to lift all stocks.
Massachusetts state Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, complained that the requirement of the Magnuson-Stevens Act that the fishery be restored across the board means that restrictions must protect the least healthy species even at the expense of those whose vitality would allow a more aggressive use.
'We manage to the lowest common denominator,' Tarr said.
'We're hanging by a thread because of the uncertainty of the next steps,' Scott Lange, mayor of New Bedford, the nation's leading fishing port, told the council.
He advised the council it better have 'tremendous confidence' in the numbers in the report because 'any more ratcheting down (of fishing) and there won't be a fishing industry.'
Penalty for Species Substitution
(09/04/08)
Owners of restaurants caught up in the probe say they will be more mindful of checking deliveries in the future but it is tough to police fish because many fillets look alike.
Under the state agreement, Sysco will be required to take extra steps to ensure that the grouper it markets to restaurants is the real thing, according to the settlement with the Florida attorney general's office. The office hopes it will help put an end to the ongoing problem of 'grouper-substitution' -- charging restaurant customers for grouper but serving them less-expensive fish.
Some of the restaurants involved insist they didn't know they served bogus grouper.
At least three local Hooters restaurants, owned by Clearwater-based Hooters Inc., were found to have served fake grouper, including two that served a type of fish known as painted sweetlips, according to state documents. However, Hooters Inc. President Neil Kiefer challenges the validity of the state's testing. He said there are numerous types of grouper, and he thinks the Hooters samples the state tested actually may have been an obscure type of grouper.
Josh Hartford, the owner of Oaks Bar & Grill in Brandon, said he stopped purchasing fish from Sysco after the controversy flared up.
However, it's nearly impossible for a restaurateur to distinguish a grouper fillet from some other fillets, he said. A restaurateur would need to see the entire fish to do so, and getting shipments of whole fish isn't practical, he said.
Hartford and Kiefer said restaurants can't test all the fish delivered to their kitchens.
'At what point do you have to trust your distributor?' Hartford asked.
Hartford, who said he unwittingly received emperor fish instead of grouper in deliveries from Sysco, wants to make sure it doesn't happen again.
'I don't ever want to go through that again. It cost us business, reputation,' he said.
After reports about fake grouper began appearing two years ago, the attorney general's office launched an investigation and purchased fish from more than 20 Bay area restaurants. After testing the fish at a North Florida lab, the agency found that 17 restaurants had substituted other fish for grouper. Later, it discovered that Sysco supplied grouper products to 14 of those 17 restaurants.
The settlement doesn't place blame on Sysco, said Sandi Copes, a spokeswoman for the attorney general. However, it requires the company's local operation, Sysco Food Services -- West Coast Florida Inc., to refrain from marketing fish as grouper if it can't positively identify it as the fish.
There were times when Sysco could not conclusively identify a fish as grouper, so it assumed it was authentic and supplied it to restaurant customers, Copes said. In the future, the company will have to take extra steps to ensure it is genuine, she said.
Mark Palmer, a Sysco communications official, said the company never knowingly mislabeled anything as grouper. The company always has tested its fish, but now is using a type of DNA testing that will better help it identify grouper, he said.
As part of the settlement, Sysco Food Services -- West Coast Florida will donate $100,000 worth of food to area soup kitchens and charities and pay a $200,000 fee to the state for investigative costs.
'Grouper is an important part of Florida's market and everyone gains from ensuring that our restaurants are receiving and serving the real thing,' Attorney General Bill McCollum said in a news release.
The settlement wraps up the state's probe, McCollum's office said.
The attorney general's office previously settled its investigation into restaurants that served bogus grouper, many saying they did so unwittingly.
Settlements were made with some of the restaurants, including Tampa's La Teresita Cafeteria on West Columbus Drive, which was ordered to repay the state $4,500 to cover investigative costs; The Casual Clam on Ninth Street North in St. Petersburg; and Woody's Waterfront Cafe in St. Pete Beach, each of which repaid the state $2,500.
Each also donated $500 to the laboratory that conducted DNA tests to show that the fish were not grouper. Other restaurants also reached settlements with the state, but Copes did not have details of those agreements Wednesday.
market News - due from Gulf
(09/03/08)
Fresh Fish and Shellfish: Due to inclement weather in the Gulf of Mexico, fishing efforts have been affected. Many domestic items that typically are landed in the Gulf were unavailable. The domestic grouper that was available for sale traded at a premium. Sellers reported that after their on-hand supply is sold, they will be out for a minimum of 7 days. Imports which included grouper, mahi, some snapper, swordfish and tuna were reported as weak markets. Although the volume of fish that entered the market was light, it still outweighed today's dull demand.
American Live Lobster: A lull in sales was reported following the Labor Day holiday weekend. Supplies remained fully adequate to ample on most sizes. The exception was hard-shell selects which continued to trend higher and traded between $9.70 and $9.80 lbs. Market prices for new shell lobster remained about steady with a weak undertone. The market was slightly imbalanced, as supply exceeded the demand.
Food Scraps Become Bio-Fuel
(09/02/08)
(TEES) and Byogy Renewables Inc., it could become a reality within two years.
Dr. Kenneth Hall, associate director of TEES and the Jack E. & Frances Brown Chair and professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at
Texas A&M University, and his colleagues, Mark T. Holtzapple, a professor in chemical engineering, and Sergio A. Capareda, a professor in biological and
agricultural engineering, have developed a process to make converting biomass to high-octane gasoline possible.
The advanced process is possibly the only integrated system that converts biomass directly to gasoline. Most other emerging processes convert the biomass into
alcohol and then blend it with gasoline. The system is relatively inexpensive and focuses on using biomass waste streams and non-food energy crops rather than
food products such as corn.
Additionally, the cost of such a conversion would lie between $1.70 and $2.00 per gallon excluding all government subsidies and tax credits. This cost range is
dependent on the type and cost of feedstock as well as the size of the biorefinery. This would provide some much-needed relief for consumers when it comes to
fueling their vehicles, whose current options are to pay more or drive less.
Biomass includes garbage, biosolids from wastewater treatment plants, green waste such as lawn clippings, food waste, and any type of livestock manure.
Additionally, since it does not use crops such as corn, it will not put a strain on food supplies. The process could also utilize non-food/feed crops grown specifically
for biomass energy.
"This technology is important because it addresses many issues - eliminating waste, producing economical fuel quickly and being friendly to our environment,"
Hall said. "It's a win-win for industry and consumers. Furthermore, this technology is ready to be commercialized now and does not require any new scientific or
technological breakthroughs to become a reality."
Through an agreement with the Texas A&M University System, Byogy has licensed the process and hopes to have a plant using the technology up and running
within 18 months to two years. The intent is to have raw garbage going in one end of the plant and 95-octane gasoline coming out the other.
Texas A&M University's Department of Chemical Engineering is world-renowned in the area of process design, integration and optimization. A team led by
professor Mahmoud El-Halwagi, a pioneer in the field of Process Integration, has been assembled to conduct the initial process integration work to provide a
detailed set of design and operating procedures that will lead to the most competitive biofuels production processes for this technology.
"Our goal with this technology is to achieve as much as a 2 percent contribution to the nationżs gasoline demand by 2022 through the building of 200 more biorefineries,"
said Benjamin J. Brant, President and Chief Technology Officer of Byogy. "We firmly believe the TEES technology combined with the Byogy team
offers this possibility."
The focus at the initial plant would be on using urban waste, which the plant would grind, sort and then convert into gasoline. The fuel produced by this process
could immediately be used as a drop-in substitute to the current petroleum gasoline supplies with a seamless integration into the existing fuel distribution
infrastructure. Nothing needs to be changed at retail gas stations, pipelines, regional fuel terminals or in any motor vehicle.
"Our plan is to produce two-and-a-half billion gallons or more of carbon neutral renewable gasoline per year, said Daniel L. Rudnick, Chief Executive Officer of
Byogy. We are positioning ourselves not only to handle the opportunity biomass waste streams that are available today, but also the sustainable biomass energy
crops of the future. This green substitute for conventional gasoline is the Holy Grail of all biofuels."
Senate calls for review of Government oversight
(09/02/08)
As part of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the NFSC conducts stock assessments and develops biomass targets for fish stocks in order to inform the New England Fishery Management Council of allowable mortality rates and develop accurate regulations for New England fisheries.
Fishery stakeholder groups have raised concerns about the quality of this scientific information, claiming that the biomass targets have been set unrealistically high and that other biological data has been erroneously analyzed. Inaccurate stock assessment data can lead to incorrect and ineffective management measures that could have severe economic and ecological impacts on the fishing industry.
'If these allegations are true, the implications of inaccurate stock assessment data and ineffective management regulations on New Englands fishing industry would be monumentally grave and costly,' Senator Snowe said. 'For an industry that reeled in more than $4.1 billion to our region over the past five years, we must ensure that the decisions NFSC and the New England Fishery Management Council are making most immediately in regard to the groundfish industry are based on sound, credible science.
By performing an independent investigation of the NFSC to examine the credibility of the claims, the Department of Commerce can possibly save our valuable and cherished fishing industry from an economic and ecological disaster.'
An investigation is particularly timely in light of the approaching new groundfish stock assessment by NMFS that will inform revised management measures NMFS plans to enact before the next fishing year. This measures, known as Amendment 16, requires fishing harvest adjustments for 2009 (at the mid-point of that 10-year management plan), and it also requires that the 2009 new harvest levels be calculated based on the results of a 2008 stock assessment review.
'When Congress last reauthorized the Magnuson-Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), we included a mandate to set catch limits based on scientific assessments,' said Senator Snowe. 'If there are flaws in the scientific process, this investigation will uncover them and if not, our managers and fishermen will be able to move ahead in developing management measures with confidence that the underlying data form a sound scientific basis for effective management measures.'
Governments run out of money to enforce protection
(08/29/08)
About $300,000 is needed to launch the program, in which hundreds of thousands of crab traps, or pots, would each have to include a small, plastic identification tag, so marine police could better enforce pot limits.
Officials have previously described the tags as vital to any meaningful regulation of crab harvests, which Virginia and Maryland are trying to curtail in order to reverse population declines of the famed seafood species.
But Jack Travelstead, state director of fisheries, told the Virginia Marine Resources Commission on Tuesday that the ongoing state budget crunch in Richmond would make it 'virtually impossible' to obtain the funds, putting the program in jeopardy for 2009 and probably 2010 as well.
The state had been eyeing a system in which crabbers would pay for the tags themselves next year, at about 50 cents per tag, and then taxpayer money would pick up the tab in subsequent years.
Indeed, the state marine commission was poised to take the proposed system to public hearings in October and possible approval afterward - until Travelstead announced the policy swing Tuesday.
Travelstead said other restrictions linked to the program also would be put on hold, though he pledged to continue discussing possible additional measures with scientists, crabbers and environmentalists.
The results of those negotiations, he said, might be ready for the 2009 crabbing season, which begins in April.
The moves Tuesday come in the wake of Virginia and Maryland enacting strict rules this year intended to cut harvests of female crabs by 34 percent. Without such drastic action, the governors of both states have said, a population crash could result.
The states have asked for a federal disaster declaration in hope of winning aid from Congress for crabbers and seafood merchants smarting from the new restrictions. No decision has been announced yet.
John Bull, a marine commission spokesman, said the action Tuesday does not kill the tagging program, only delays its adoption. 'We're still going to try to find the money,' he said.
Bull said it would be unfair to impose restrictions on crabbers, then ask them to foot the bill for a tag program that the state might not be able to fund in 2010.
The tag money - estimated at between $50 and $200 per crabber - also would have been due around Christmas, Bull said.
'We're not heartless,' he said. 'We know these folks are hurting.'
Virginia passed a tagging program in 1999 at the urging of scientists worried about crab stocks. But state lawmakers never approved funding for it, and the program eventually died.
Crab traps along the Virginia coast would each have to include a small identification tag to make policing pot limits easier. shortfall
About $300,000 is needed to launch the program, but with a state budget crunch in Richmond, that funding is not available.
The state director of fisheries said he will continue discussing possible measures with scientists, crabbers and environmentalists.
Good News Hooks save Turtles
(08/28/08)
The report demonstrates how changing from the classic J hook to circular hooks, providing adequate training and tools to release turtles accidentally hooked and enhancing sustainable fishing practices, can dramatically reduce incidental catch (bycatch) of marine turtles without impacting fishing activity.
'The results keep demonstrating that changing to circular hooks is the right choice, since it favours turtle conservation without having an impact on the economy of artisanal fisheries,' said Moises Mug, Coordinator of the WWF Bycatch Initiative for the Eastern Pacific. 'Together with fishermen we are building a culture for sustainable fishing practices that will guarantee fish stocks in the long term.'
The report - Bycatch Initiative: Eastern Pacific Program, A Vehicle Towards Sustainable Fisheries - is a comprehensive analysis of data collected during four years of work in eight different countries in the Eastern Pacific - Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
'Our goal is to reduce the incidental catch of marine turtles from the long-line fishing operations without affecting the fisheries activity which is a main source of food and income for local communities,' explained Martin Hall, Principal Researcher for the IATTC.
Data gathered showed an overall significant trend of bycatch reduction, with a reduction of up to 89 per cent in the marine turtle bycatch per thousand hooks. Ninety-five per cent of all turtles caught in long-line fishing were recovered alive, while circle hooks performed as well as J hooks in the catch rates of tuna, billfishes and sharks fishery.
'This programme is going beyond an initial focus of saving sea turtles from bycatch, and is creating the groundwork toward sustainable artisanal long-line fishing in the eastern Pacific,' said Amanda Nickson, Global Leader of WWF's Bycatch Initiative.
'By working co-operatively, collecting data and learning how to improve practices, this programme is living proof that conservation and industry can work together for sustainability.'
Alaska - where Metal meets Fish
(08/26/08)
But today, Alaskans will vote on a ballot measure that is being framed as a choice between the two industries and portrayed by both sides as striking at the heart of what it means to be Alaskan.
The initiative was drafted to block the proposed Pebble Mine, a massive operation that would extract gold, copper, and molybdenum from the tundra surrounding Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska, one of the world's most lucrative wild salmon fisheries. The measure would prohibit any new large metal mines from polluting salmon streams or drinking-water sources. Proponents acknowledge that they drafted the measure to block the Pebble Mine, which they say will poison two major streams where salmon come to spawn.
Opponents of the measure say state and federal laws already protect water quality and the mine will not harm salmon. They argue that the ballot measure could reach far beyond Pebble Mine, freezing the industry and forcing mines to close. Their lawn signs say "Pro-Mining, Pro-Alaska," and radio spots refer to the initiative as "un-Alaskan."
Opponents have made much of the fact that one of the major funders of the ballot initiative, the group Americans for Job Security, is based in Washington. Proponents of the measure respond that the companies developing the mine are foreign: the London-based multinational mining giant Anglo American and Canadian company Northern Dynasty Minerals.
In a state where even a roadside pizza joint advertises itself as "by Alaskans, for Alaskans," the concept of being Alaskan is crucial.
People flocked to Alaska for gold in the late 1800s, building towns and the state's railroad around mining. When the price of gold and other metals stagnated after World War II, mining declined sharply and the state turned its attention to oil.
Alaska still boasts five major metal mines, and with high gold and copper prices today, many see mining as the state's industry of the future, especially for Alaska Native communities that are struggling economically.
The fishing industry is the state's largest private employer, with commercial, sport and subsistence fishing also central to the state's identity and culture. Bristol Bay is Alaska's most valuable salmon fishery, with 31 million salmon worth $108 million caught there in 2007. The salmon industry began to have difficulties in the 1980s because of competition from fish farms, but it is enjoying a resurgence today, thanks to renewed interest in wild salmon.
"Bristol Bay is part and parcel of the world obsession with wild salmon," said Art Hackney, president of Alaskans for Clean Water, which drafted the ballot measure.
Pebble Partnership chief executive John Shively said the mine will not be developed if the company is not sure it can proceed without hurting salmon.
Gloria Chythlook-Sifsof, a third-generation Bristol Bay commercial fisherman, said she thinks the mine will harm her industry even if it does not pollute the water. "Even the tiniest hint that this fish isn't safe is detrimental to the price of my fish," she said.
Washington Post
Apples to Apples - Species Substitution a real issue
(08/25/08)
In a tale of teenagers, sushi and science, two students from Trinity High School in Manhattan, took on a freelance science project in which they checked 60 samples of seafood using a simplified genetic fingerprinting technique to see whether the fish New Yorkers buy is what they think they are getting.
They found that 23 percent of the fish samples from which DNA could be identified were mislabeled. A piece of sushi sold as the luxury treat white tuna turned out to be Mozambique tilapia, a much cheaper fish that is often raised by farming. Roe purported to be from flying fish was actually from smelt. Seven of nine samples that were called red snapper were mislabeled, and turned out to be anything from Atlantic cod to Acadian redfish, an endangered species.
What may be most impressive about the experiment is the ease with which the students accomplished it. Although the testing technique is at the forefront of research, the fact that anyone can take advantage of it by sending samples off to a lab meant that the kind of investigative tools once restricted to PhD's and crime labs could move into the hands of curious diners and amateur scientists everywhere.
Eating fish reduces risk of Colon Cancer
(08/23/08)
"Fish is the main dietary source of Jong-chain n-3 ['omega-3] fatty acids, which have been suggested to play a protective role in colorectal cancer development in laboratory and animal studies," Hall explains. "Our results from this long-term prospective study suggest thatintakes of fish and long-chain n-3 fatty acids from fish may decrease the risk for colorectal cancer:'
The men's fish consumption, and in turn their omega-3 intake, was calculated from food-frequency questionnaires. Over the course of thestudy, 500 subjects were diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
It's not clear why the protective effect apparently was greater for fish consumption in general than for omega-3s in particular. "We can't know for sure, but there could be another component of fish--for instance, vitamin D, which is found in fatty fish-that exerts a protective effect," says Hall. "It could also be an issue of additional measurement error in the assessment of omega-3 fatty acid intake from fish:'
The findings, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, add to a growing body of evidence linking fish and omega-3s toprotection against colorectal cancer. A meta-analysis by scientists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands recently suggested that increasing fish consumption could cut the incidence of colorectal cancer by 12%, and that each additional serving of fish reduced the risk by 4%.
In 2005, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published ananalysis of data from 1 million participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) trial. The study found that people averaging less than a half-ounce of fish a day had a 40% higher relative risk of colorectal cancer than those eating themost fish, more than 1.75 ounces daily.
Hall cautions, however, that other studies have not shown protective effects of fish intake, saying additional research is needed.
Worldwide, colorectal cancers kill some 492,000 people annually. In the US, according to the American Cancer Society, cancers of the colon and rectum are the third most common type of cancer and cause of cancer death among both men and women. Colorectal cancers are expected to strike more than 101,000 Americans this year, and to result in almost 50,000 deaths.
Gale Group, Inc.
Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter
New Foundland prawns MSC Certified
(08/21/08)
It is the largest shrimp fishery to be certified, and the first Canadian fishery to get full certification.
The fishery is prosecuted off Newfoundland, by vessels that land at local processing plants, that produce single frozen cooked and peeled shrimp. The major markets for this shrimp are the UK and Denmark.
With an annual catch of more than 177.7 million pounds (80.6 million kg.), the Canadian northern prawn trawl fishery is now the largest MSC-certified coldwater shrimp fishery in the world.
Derek Butler, executive director of the Association of Seafood Producers, which holds the MSC certification for this fishery, said, 'I want to compliment our Member-Producers, MSC and other stakeholders for working together to ensure this achievement. I am proud of their work and this certification, particularly given what it represents for this fishery in terms of sustainability, viability and market positioning.'
'The Marine Stewardship Council extends hearty congratulations to the Canadian northern prawn trawl fishery for this achievement,' said Brad Ack, regional director for MSC Americas. 'This is a notable milestone, as northern prawns are the first Canadian fishery to gain MSC certification, and we are looking forward to others following. Seafood buyers around the world can now add one of the largest wild shrimp fisheries to their 'buy list' of fisheries that have MSC's independent, third-party assurance of sustainability.'
A second Canadian shrimp fishery, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is still in the midst of the certification process. This fishery is represented by a different group of producers, with plants in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Butler said that the Association of Seafood Producers will hold a reception and ceremony in St. John's on Friday to receive the official certificate.
Gaining MSC certification was one goal that completely united both the processors and harvesters in Newfoundland, with the FFAW being a strong supporter of gaining certification as well. Both harvesters and processors hope that the MSC label will increase the strength of Newfoundland coldwater prawns in international markets.
Inge van den Berg, vice president of public affairs and investor relations of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food retailer, said, 'Canadians are increasingly aware of and concerned about buying seafood that has been responsibly fished using sustainable fishing methods. We proudly announced offering MSC-certified fish in our stores earlier this summer and will have 15 MSC-certified private label seafood items by year end. We are committed to and look forward to further expanding our offerings as more fisheries, like the Canadian northern prawn trawl fishery, become MSC-certified.'
The fishery is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) with numerous management measures to ensure a well-managed fishery. For example, vessels in the fishery utilize otter trawls fitted with Nordmore separator grates which ensure reduced by catch as fish pass through the grate and escape from the trawl. The fishery runs from mid-spring to early fall. Raw material is landed fresh to processing facilities around the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, where it is produced in single frozen, cooked and peeled format.
The Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) represents industry producers Barry Group Inc., Fogo Island Co-Op Society Ltd., Notre Dame Seafoods Inc., Nu Sea Products Inc. (BGI), Ocean Choice International L.P., Northern Shrimp Ltd (OCI) and St. Anthony Seafoods Limited Partnership (Clearwater). These companies all hold MSC Chain of Custody certification, meaning that consumers will soon be able to identify sustainable Canadian northern prawn products by the blue MSC eco-label on their packages-and that these products will be fully traceable through the supply chain to the MSC-certified fishery.
The fishery's assessment took approximately 22 months to complete and was conducted by independent certifier Moody Marine Ltd.
Striped Bass not overfished!
(08/21/08)
In 2007, the striped bass review committee was asked to look again at the required ratio of female stock biomass, and to re-estimate historical populations. Further, the committee was asked to use a new estimate for the 1995 female biomass, which is accepted as the year the stock achieved full recovery.
The results are that current estimates of both stock and fishing mortality are above the new revised thresholds for striped bass, and as a result, the fishery is not overfished.
The new estimate for female spawning stock biomass in 2006 (the latest year available) is 40,639 metric tons, which is above both the threshold level (30,000 tons) and the target level (37,500 tons). As a result, no further fishing limitations are likely on striped bass at this time
Scallops show Chesapeake still bountiful
(08/19/08)
As Virginia's seafood industries built on the Chesapeake Bay struggle, the state's most lucrative fishing industry -- sea scallops -- can likely look forward to a good year in 2009.
The scallop business is still booming in Virginia. And in 2009, a region a few hours off the coast that has been closed since 2005 will likely reopen as part of rotational scheme designed to protect the fishery.
Scallops bring in, by far, the most value of any species at Virginia seafood docks, about $53 million a year in the most recent statistics -- and that number is down since a handful of Virginia boats moved up to Massachusetts.
But what's perhaps most striking about the sea scallop fishery is this: It's one of the most ecologically sound on the East Coast, even though 15 years ago, it was at rock bottom.
Atlantic sea scallops stand as evidence that depleted fishing stocks can recover with the right guidance. Beginning with concern in the late 1980s, a collaboration between scientists and industry created a plan to not only revitalize the stocks from Cape Hatteras, N.C., to Maine but to protect them going forward.
Fifteen years ago, Virginia scallop boat captains steered their vessels over uncertain ground, dragging their dredges on rocky bottom and hoping to find a few more pounds of scallops. Catching 400 pounds a day wasn't rare, and the scallop fleet was dredging up an unhealthy number of scallops. 'We were killing just about every 3-year-old scallop in the ocean,' Virginia Institute of Marine Science professor Bill DuPaul said.
An average day now hauls in about 2,500 pounds, and the occasional boon will land more than 4,000 a day, those in the industry say. The management plan lets the scallops live longer and grow larger before harvest, leading to huge increases in catch in the past decade.
'We have record landings,' DuPaul said. 'We're taking advantage of the growth. They're catching the same number of scallops but getting twice the weight. It's an exciting fishery. The management seems to be working quite well. This is the economic engine that's running our commercial fishing industry.'
Meanwhile, the sea scallop stock is as sound as ever, DuPaul said. He and fellow VIMS researcher Dave Rudders just completed a weeklong survey trip -- led by Seaford-based scallop boat captain Jose Araiza -- to what's called the DelMarVa closed area. It's one of six 'closed areas' on the East Coast that are opened and closed on a rotating basis to let the scallops there flourish.
Their survey work itself is evidence of how scientists and the industry -- two sides often at odds in other fisheries -- work together. Boat owners belong to a collective that sets aside 2 percent of their catch in the closed areas to pay for independent research. In the closed areas, scientists make the call on allowable catch limits after surveying the volume of scallops that they find there.
There's also a tight limit on the number of boats allowed in the fishery. The largest fleet on the East Coast is based in New Bedford, Mass., and the Hampton Roads fleet is second. On the Peninsula, scallop boats tie up in Hampton, Seaford and Newport News.
The transition from troubled fishery to success story was still marked by questioning, industry representatives said. Strict new regulations were first put in place in the early 1990s, but it wasn't until 2000 or 2001 that results were seen in the size of the catch.
'Obviously, there was some doubt,' said Frank McLaughlin, general manager of Chesapeake Bay Packing, which processes scallops at Newport News' small-boat harbor.
But the changes have allowed the domestic scallop market to thrive, McLaughlin said.
'Our scallop has completely rebuilt its stocks,' he said. 'We were using so many imported scallops: Peru, China, Mexico. Chinese farm-raised scallops. There were some rocky moments. We knew we needed to bite the bullet or swallow the sword and it'd come around. And it did.'
Fishing responsible for state's creation - Alaska!
(08/18/08)
' One of the main reasons the territory was purchased from the Russians back in 1867 was because people knew that what some called Seward's icebox was actually packed with fish. '
Fisheries historian Bob King is chronicling the role played by Alaska's first industry as a project for the Department of Fish and Game.
' The canned salmon plants started in the 1870s and by the early 20th century canned salmon was the largest industy in the state. It generated 80% of the territorial tax revenues. It had a position in the state economy that oil enjoys today. '
The salmon industry was controlled as a colony by federal managers in Washington, D.C. Their preferred method of catching the salmon was with highly efficient traps.
'Alaskans hated the traps, though, because they took jobs away from people and revenues out of the communities. Alaskans wanted to be out catching these fish themselves.'
When the state constitution was being crafted in 1955, it included strong language saying no exclusive rights to fisheries would be allowed, and fisheries would be managed sustainably, for the benefit of the people. King says policy makers used fish traps as a ballot question to get out the vote for the new constitution Đ
'Not because there was any doubt that Alaskans wanted to get rid of fish traps, but they put that question on the ballot just to get out the vote. They knew that people were so opposed to fish traps that they would go to cast their ballot on that even if they had questions about the constitution. And in fact the gimmick worked. The constitution passed by a 2-1 margin, but the ordinance to ban fish traps passed 5-1. So a lot of people came out to voice their opinion about fish traps and the constitution passed easily along the way.'
At statehood, Alaska's salmon runs were in bad shape.
' The fisheries that the new state inherited were in bad shape. The salmon harvest in 1959Ńthe last year of federal management and the first year of statehood, was only 25 million fish, the worst catch since the turn of the century. '
Today, Alaska's salmon catches top 200 million fish. A booklet on the role fisheries played in statehood will be available by the end of the year.
Gainning Customers a challenge for restaurantuers
(08/15/08)
'It's vital for operators to provide consumers with added value incentives to maintain and grow their business,' says Darren Tristano, Executive Vice President of Technomic. 'Consumers want to feel that their dinner experience is a good value regardless of the price point. Special offers, promotions, family-pack and combo meals promote that perception. Beyond increasing the value proposition for consumers, bundling items in a combo meal helps operators to build add-on sales.'
The findings come from Technomic's Dinner Occasion Consumer Trend Report, which provides an in-depth analysis of the dinner market in the areas of menu trends and consumer attitudes, preferences and purchase behavior. Other findings include:
-- Customization factors strongly into consumers' value equation. The majority of consumers (58 percent) want to be able to substitute or choose a side dish, and 29 percent said they sometimes make a meal out of appetizers.
-- Ethnically-inspired dishes and bolder flavor profiles that consumers cannot easily create at home are an important part of the dinner experience. Mexican is the leading ethnic dinner option among both full- and limited-service restaurants. Asian flavors are also especially popular, and Asian preparation techniques and ingredients are growing in dinner offerings.
-- Convenience is an important factor in dinner trends, including ordering, parking and location. Many consumers (27 percent) said they often view menus online when choosing a dinner venue, while 38 percent said free and easily accessible parking was important for choosing takeout. Convenience was also the top reason for choosing a retail meal.
Technomic developed the Dinner Occasion Consumer Trend Report to provide operators and foodservice professionals with valuable market and consumer insights into the dinner segment. The report combines quantitative data from over 1,500 consumer surveys, menu analysis from Technomic's proprietary MenuMonitor database and restaurant data from its Top 500 Report to generate fresh and timely analysis.
Cobia - a few facts
(08/12/08)
Range
Cobia is a pelagic fish which occurs worldwide in all tropical and temperate seas, except for the eastern Pacific Ocean. In the western Atlantic, cobia is found from Nova Scotia south to Argentina; in the eastern Atlantic from Morocco to South Africa; and in the western Pacific from Japan to Australia. Cobia prefer water temperatures between 20°C - 30°C; they migrate south to warmer waters during autumn and winter then journey back north when temperatures rise again in the spring.
Fishery
Globally, there is no significant cobia fishery, this is because adults are often solitary or travel with just a few other individuals, frequently in the company of sharks. This makes them a difficult species to target and capture is therefore often incidental. Despite this, however, cobia is a highly sought after food fish throughout its range. In Mexico, for example, it is known as "esmedregal" and is the fish of choice for weddings and celebrations. In Belize, where it is known as "cabio", a captured cobia likely won't make it to market because the fisherman will keep it as a family treat. Cobia is also highly prized as a game fish. The Florida cobia record is 103lbs. 12 oz, but the world record, held by Australia since 1985 is 135lbs. 9oz (a 2 meter long fish!).
Alaska is a Sustainable Fishery leader
(07/29/08)
Opening the session, Ray Riutta, ASMI Executive Director, explains that Alaska is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Statehood, and marking 50 years of sustainable management of Alaska's fisheries resources. Riutta stated that there is a lot of confusion in the marketplace about what constitutes a sustainable fishery. He told forum attendees that the purpose of the forum was to clear up some of that confusion, and provide some of the top sellers of Alaska seafood with the knowledge and resources they need to make sound decisions with respect to corporate responsibility as it pertains to sourcing sustainable seafood.
The forum offered presentations by leading fisheries officials. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Denby Lloyd detailed the importance of commercial fishing to the economy. He described the reliance on sound science that is a hallmark of Alaska fisheries management, and explained that decisions about how to allocate fisheries resources are the responsibility of a public body subject to a transparent public process. The allocation system values citizen involvement, and the seafood industry is sometimes called upon to forgo near term profit for the long term health of the resource.
The nation's top fisheries manager presented at the forum. Dr. Jim Balsiger, acting assistant administrator for fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has extensive experience in Alaska fisheries, having headed up the Alaska region for many years. Dr. Balsiger indicated that one of several key mandates of the recently reauthorized Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is ending overfishing throughout the nation (no stocks are being overfished in Alaska). He also discussed the use in Alaska of programs that may offer solutions to fisheries problems elsewhere: on-board fisheries observers paid for by the seafood industry, and rights-based programs that give users a stake in the reward of improvements in the health of the fisheries.
Presentations on sustainable fisheries were also offered by Dr. Bruce Leaman, executive director of the International Pacific Halibut Commission, set up 80 years ago by the U.S. and Canada to conserve the Pacific halibut resource; David Witherell, deputy director of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the federal regional management council in which Alaska participates; and Peter Hajipieris, director of sustainability and external relations at Birds Eye/Iglo, a major United Kingdom and European frozen seafood brand.
Following panel presentations and dialogue between forum attendees and panelists, United Fisherman of Alaska president Joe Childers addressed the group to describe the pride of Alaska fishermen, and the limitations that have been necessary for sustainability: "the limitations have been difficult to accept", Childers said, "but we have come to accept that hard TACs [catch limits] and firm quotas are the best way moving forward."
As the forum drew to a conclusion, Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell explained that Alaska's gubernatorial administration values strong fisheries management based on sound science, and noted that one reason Alaska treasures healthy fisheries is because it translates into sustainable Alaskan communities.
ASMI unveiled marketing materials including new language under the Alaska Seafood Logo "Wild, Natural & Sustainable".
The materials also included the line The Alaska Seafood logo affirms your support for sustainable fisheries.
ASMI offers sustainability information on its internet website, and will post forum presentations and associated information as it becomes available.
Cold temperatures in Alaska blamed for Salmon shortages
(07/29/08)
'That transition from fresh water to the marine environment is a really critical time period for juvenile salmon, and we haven't had very good springs in Alaska for several years. I believe that the early marine stage has had high mortality,' Bruce said.
The cold weather, scratchy catches and skyrocketing fuel prices resulted in fewer salmon fishermen out on the water this year. Just 60 seiners are participating at Kodiak, for example, compared with 141 last year.
Tilapia gains in popularity
(07/28/08)
But to ascend another rung on the ladder, it'll have to overtake pollock, which registered 1.73 pounds per capita. Could 2008 be the year? The Alaska pollock quota was slashed by 28 percent to 1 million metric tons, which may allow tilapia to leapfrog yet another strong species. The top three--shrimp, canned tuna and salmon--will take a bit longer to reach, but don't rule it out.
Seafood Consumption on decline??
(07/18/08)
The cause of the decline was because Americans had less access to shrimp. In 2007, total shrimp imports fell 5.7%, and domestic landings fell 22.2%. In 2006, domestic landings were 160.4 million pounds (headless shrimp) in 2007 they fell to only 124.7 million pounds.
This was the first time shrimp imports have fallen on a year to year basis since 1996.
It is highly likely that the restriction in access to shrimp led to the decrease in consumption. In June of 2007, the FDA issued an import alert and put shrimp imports from China on automatic detention. Chinese shrimp shipments to the U.S. fell 29%.
Also, Thailand's shipments fell about 3%, while Ecuador and Indonesia remained steady, and Vietnam increased 6%.
If you look at Urner Barry's white shrimp price index, you can see that prices began moving up in the second half of the year, following the import restrictions on China. Also, the chart shows that by August, 2007 import volumes were falling behind the 2006 level.
What we have here is a clear picture of the seafood market being hurt by import restrictions and supply issues, not a choice on the part of Americans to eat less seafood. Unfortunately, these restrictions have come about at the same time as price pressures have been building, and they suggest that the upward price pressures will be exacerbated by the reductions in supply and import barriers. The cost to the industry will be further reductions in consumption.
Texas Shrimp Season Opens today!
(07/17/08)
These are mostly freezer vessels, making trips of 35 to 45 days. They expect to catch around 600 to 1000 pounds of shrimp per day. The fishing starts near shore, and then most of the boats head offshore 20 or 30 miles. July and August represent the heart of the Gulf shrimp season, although fishing extends until next May.
The dollar losses again
(07/15/08)
The dollar hit a record low against the Euro toay, trading over €1.60 to the dollar today. The reasons are that currency traders expect testimony today from the U.S. government that credit woes will continue to hurt the U.S. economy.
The Japanese Yen remained steady as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged, but “the yen may rise as high as 100 per dollar this year as the Bank of Japan is more likely to raise interest rates than the Federal Reserve, said Toyoo Gyohten, former currency-policy chief at Japan's Ministry of Finance in Bloomberg News.
Japan's central bank may increase borrowing costs should inflation accelerate and the economy sustain growth of at least 1 percent, Gyohten said.
``The Fed is most likely to maintain its current level of interest rates,'' Gyohten, president for the Institute of International Monetary Affairs in Tokyo, said in an interview yesterday. ``The BOJ is more likely to raise rates. The medium- term trend is for a weaker dollar and a stronger yen.''
The trend towards an even weaker dollar means that Japanese and European buyers gain a further advantage over U.S. seafood buyers, forcing higher imported seafood prices in the U.S., declining supplies, or both. For U.S. export products like pollock, crab and salmon, the currency swing likely means the overseas markets can sustain higher U.S. dollar prices.
Sustainability an issue here to stay
(07/14/08)
As society's early adopters and thought leaders, LOHAS consumers have contributed to what now constitutes an influential lifestyle across design, art, fashion, furnishings, luxury consumer products, architecture, cuisine, technology and travel. In fact, in today's market, it's not just the LOHAS consumers who are becoming part of the green movement - in totality, environmental sustainability affects about 80% of American adults across a range of attitudes and behavior patterns.
The explosion of eco-tourism is just one example. Now the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry, eco-tourism provides travelers with sustainable resort environments while minimizing their carbon footprints. An example is Grounding Work, an art and environment initiative in Boston, Massachusetts that aims to 'explore the intersection of art and environmental concerns'. The green movement has profoundly saturated all aspects of our culture and is becoming the significant movement of our time.
Fisherman using trash to fuel the !
(07/11/08)
In the past, fisherman like Mirarchi were faced with a choice: Throw the trash back in the water to be caught again, or haul it to shore and dispose of it at their own expense.
Now the trash, which ranges from lobster traps to toilet seats, Mirarchi said, will be collected at the Scituate transfer station and turned into energy that will heat homes as part of the "Fishing for Energy" program.
The program is organized by Covanta Energy, a Fairfield, N.J., operator of energy-from-waste plants, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
On Tuesday, Scituate became the third Massachusetts community to join the initiative. It was launched earlier this year in the state's two largest fishing ports, New Bedford and Gloucester.
"We need to make the fishing business become more accountable," said Mirarchi, who approached the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary about pursuing a trash-disposal program 18 months ago.
"This brings the way we treat the land to the way we treat he water," he said. "We are casting a vote for the sustainability of commercial-based fisheries."
Now trash that is hauled ashore will be brought to a special bin at the town transfer station. Covanta will transport full trash containers to its incinerator in Haverhill, where the trash will be burned and used to power electricity turbines, said Christine McCoy, manager of external affairs for Covanta.
The company estimates that one ton of marine debris can generate enough fuel to power a home for 25 days.
McCoy said Scituate, while smaller than the other ports involved in the initiative, was chosen because of the enthusiasm of people like Mirarchi and Scituate Harbormaster Mark Patterson. Over the past 18 months, Patterson worked with Mirarchi and Ben Cowie- Haskell, the Stellwagen sanctuary's assistant superintendent, to organize debris collection among local fisherman. During that time Mirarchi collected about 4,000 pounds of trash.
"For this to work, people in the community need to want to sustain it," McCoy said. "Scituate was very enthusiastic about it."
The Covanta trash bin will be at the transfer station starting today. Mirarchi said town officials are looking into ways for fisherman from surrounding towns to be able to dump there as well.
Omega 3's fed to infants may help with Asthma!
(07/09/08)
The research, carried out by a team from Denmark as part of the EC-funded EARNEST project ,[1] traced the children born to mothers who had taken part in a trial conducted in1990. In this original trial, more than 500 pregnant women were randomised into three different groups for the last 10 weeks of their pregnancy.
One group was given fish oil supplements, another olive oil supplements and the third no supplements. The aim of that trial was to see whether fish oil reduced the risk of pre-term delivery and low birth weight. Mothers in the fish oil supplementation group increased, on average, the length of their pregnancies by 4 days and the average birth weight of their babies by about 100g.
'We wanted to see whether the effects of fish oil in very early life had any effect on the child's risk of developing asthma as they grew up,' said Professor Sjurdur F Olsen, the lead investigator from the Maternal Nutrition Group, Statens Serum Institut in Denmark. The researchers managed to trace all but three of the babies born to the mothers in the original trial.
By the time they were sixteen years old, 19 children had developed such severe asthma at some point that they had had to go to hospital. The risk of developing asthma was reduced in those whose mothers had been given fish oil supplements, compared to those whose mothers had been given olive oil supplements.
'There is strong biochemical evidence that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil may have modulatory effects on the immune system. The reason fish oil might protect a fetus from developing asthma in later life could possibly also be related to its effect on increasing pregnancy duration,' suggested Professor Olsen. Pre-term children have a higher risk of developing asthma and it is possible that the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oils could both reduce the risk of pre-term birth and the likelihood of a baby later becoming asthmatic through their effect on reducing inflammation.
'It may be that the period shortly before delivery is the critical window for these effects of omega 3 fatty acids,' Professor Sjurdur F Olsen said.
However, Professor Sjurdur F Olsen added a note of caution: 'These are results from a relatively small trial and therefore it is most important that our results are confirmed by other trials before we change any dietary recommendations for pregnant women.'
Barton Seaver Leaves Hook
(07/07/08)
According to the Washington Post, Seaver's lawyer and Hook's owner Jonathan Umbel are working out the details of Seaver's contract. In late June, just days after resigning, he was named a rising star by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington for his work at Hook.
Seaver told the Post that he had "the utmost respect for Hook, the work the staff has done and the future that Hook is going to have."
He said he has not decided what he will do next but may increase his involvement with D.C. Central Kitchen.
"It was great to have a stage to formulate a lot of these ideas about sustainability and drive the business" at Hook, he said. "But I really believe that sustainability is not about a few white-tablecloth chefs providing an example. It's about making it accessible to everyone."
At the International Boston Seafood Show in February, Seafood Choices Alliance of Silver Spring, Md., recognized Seaver as a pioneer of sustainable seafood, naming him one of six Seafood Champions. The annual award recognizes individuals and companies for leadership in promoting environmentally responsible seafood.
Eat fish be healthy
(07/01/08)
of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research. As a result of this and
other studies, government dietary recommendations--especially those aimed at
pregnant women--should emphasize fish over soy and corn oils, which are
respectively high in these fatty acids, says Joseph Hibbeln, a psychiatrist
and lipid biochemist at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism in Bethesda, Maryland. "We don't want the brain to be deficient
in its critical nutrients during development." The omega-3 advantage was
first hinted at in studies of distribution of body fat. Earlier this year,
William Lassek, an epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh in
Pennsylvania, and anthropologist Steven Gaulin of the University of
California, Santa Barbara, reported that women who accumulated more fat on
their hips than on their waists--and who, therefore, had low waist-hip
ratios like many movie stars--had higher cognitive test scores, as did their
children. They proposed that because the fat on the hips and thighs contains
more omega-3s than belly fat does, these women were storing omega-3s
critical for fetal and infant brain development--and boosting their own
brainpower as they grew up. They also predicted that women who ate more
omega-3s would perform better on cognitive tests than those who ate more
omega-6s.
To test this hypothesis, Lassek and Gaulin analyzed data on about 4000 girls
and boys between the ages of 6 and 16. The children had participated in the
Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Study, part of a U.S.
project to assess the health and nutritional status of kids and adults.
After the researchers controlled for the parents' income and education and
for the children's age, race, number of siblings, and blood lead levels,
they found that girls who ate more omega-3 scored significantly better on
four cognitive tests, including an IQ test.
Although genetics and parental education influence intelligence far more,
the dietary effect explained about 1% of the difference in test scores
between girls, about the same amount as exposure to lead, says Lassek. Boys
also perform a bit better on cognitive tests if they eat more omega-3s than
other fatty acids, but the effect is "twice as great in girls as in boys,"
says Lassek. That disparity suggests that evolution has favored girls who
stow omega-3 fats on their lower bodies. The team, which presented its
findings earlier this month at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society
meeting in Kyoto, Japan, also found that omega-6 fatty acids interfere with
cognition, because girls who ate more of these oils didn't perform as well.
Other researchers who have studied omega-3s are not surprised to see the
link between omega-3s and intelligence: "Deficiency in omega-3 intake in
modern diets is associated with an increased risk of violence, major
depression, suicide, and bipolar disorder," says Hibbeln, so seeing a
connection to another aspect of brain function makes sense, particularly
because neurons use fatty acids to build axons. Most important, he says, is
the omega-6 finding. "The big change in the Western diet of the past 100
years is a massive increase in the dietary intake of omega-6 fatty acids,"
he says. Hibbeln has advised the U.S. government to revise its recent
advisory warning that pregnant women reduce their consumption of fish during
pregnancy because of mercury toxicity; he says the dangers can be avoided
easily by limiting consumption of certain fish.
Sustaining the shrimp supply
(06/26/08)
In 2001, shrimp surpassed canned tuna as the most-consumed seafood in America, and our appetite for it hasn't flagged much since. In Las Vegas, king of the all-you-can-eat buffet, a whopping 60,000 pounds of shrimp are prepared and consumed per day.
But with food costs rising and public concern about the environmental impact of food choices increasing, even shrimp are affected. Is our appetite for these tiny sea creatures something we can sustain?
"People need to think about seasonality if they want to think about sustainability," says Corey Peet, aquaculture research manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sustainable Seafood Initiative and Seafood Watch program. "These are finite supplies, particularly in the wild. But even in aquaculture, they're finite supplies."
While U.S. shrimp fisheries, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic, are some of the largest and most valuable fisheries in the nation, just 13 percent (approximately) of shrimp consumed in the United States is caught domestically. The other 87 percent of shrimp consumed in the U.S. is foreign — either farmed or wild-caught.
Chances are, unless one lives in a state where shrimping is a mainstay of the local economy, the shrimp in that cocktail or the prawns in that stir-fry aren't wild, and most certainly aren't American.
But who cares? Shrimp are shrimp, right?
Since the late 1980s, environmentalists and watch groups, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program, have raised concerns about the health, safety and environmental impact of farmed shrimp, particularly from Asia.
"You take people who are dependent on the wild environment and turn them into low-paid factory workers," says Paul Johnson, owner of Monterey Fish in San Francisco and Berkeley and the author of "Fish Forever." But, according to Peet, things have gotten a lot better. "In the early '90s it was really bad, but there's been some attention put on the farms, and they're better than they used to be," he says.
Still, Seafood Watch puts farmed and wild shrimp from foreign sources on their "Avoid" list. With varying regulations in wild foreign fisheries and more than 300,000 shrimp farms in the world, it's hard to track where any given shrimp comes from. Until Sept. 30, 2004, when country of origin labeling laws took effect, it was even more difficult for consumers to discern the difference between a domestic shrimp and a foreign shrimp, or a wild shrimp from a farmed one. Now, U.S. law requires that the country of origin and method of production information be available on all shrimp.
The good news, Peet says, is that U.S. farmed shrimp will move to Seafood Watch's "Best Choices" list in July, making it easier for consumers to make decisions at the seafood counter.
Everyone likes Green - especially fisherman
(06/23/08)
Martin's move
Jody Martin, the Gloucester skipper of the approximately 117-foot combination seiner/pair trawler, Sunlight, has saved thousands of dollars in fuel costs this year by simply throttling back the vessel's 1,000-horsepower main Cat diesel while traveling to and from the fishing grounds.
'You have to; otherwise, you can't make any money,' he said.
The Sunlight's engine used to burn 39 gallons per hour running at 1,800 rpm. 'We now steam at about 1,300 rpm and only burn about 10 gallons an hour. It takes a little longer. We used to steam at about 101/2 knots. We now go about 8 knots,' Martin said.
At least one twin-screwed vessel, the 109-foot seiner/mid-water trawler Providian that's propelled by two nearly-1,500 horsepower Detroit diesels, only uses one main engine steaming, while leaving the second engine idling to save fuel.
But, in the herring and mackerel fisheries, where horsepower catches fish, vessels such as the Providian and Sunlight still have to throttle up their engines while fishing. Throttling back steaming is cost effective to vessels in fisheries that aren't regulated by days-at-sea clocks where the fuel savings by taking longer to travel could be offset by using up expensive days-at-sea time.
New exhaust odor
Diesel engine exhausts mimicking the odor of cooking french fries have become more commonplace in recent months at Pigeon Cove Harbor Ń the home of Capt. Bob Fisher's 40-foot dragger/lobster boat Marina Rose and Capt. Dylan Caldwell's 36-foot lobster/tuna boat Ella Briggs. Both fishermen are now bio-fueling their diesels with the very used fryolator oil in which area restaurants previously fried seafood, and especially french fries. Many eateries change that oil, often a combination of corn, soy and other vegetable oils, every day.
First to do it
'I'm the first one to do it locally. I first thought about using the used fryolator oil about a year ago,' said Fisher, who began experimenting with the biofuel on an old furnace he picked up at the Rockport dump.
'I played around with the percentages (of biofuel and heating oil) and eventually got to a percentage that worked well. I then began thinking about using it in the boat,' he explained.
After researching biofuels on the Internet, Fisher tried one formula that worked with the older model 6-71 Detroit diesel that powers his vessel. 'Then I thought why not try straight fryolator oil with no additives, and it worked,' he stated. Fisher describes his diesel as 'an old in-line-6 that will burn anything.'
Caldwell got the idea from Fisher and first began using biofuel in his 3208 Cat diesel, which is also an older model engine in comparison to current electronic diesels.
'My diesel is a little more sensitive than Bob's. I've been cutting it (the biofuel and diesel oil) 50/50,' he explained.
Both men first lined up local sources to whom they pay a minimal amount for the used fryolator oil. The fishermen then invested in several 55-gallon drums, pumps, hosing and filters needed to transport the oil from the eateries to their purifying centers at home where it is naturally cleansed of particulate matter before being pumped into their vessels' tanks.
'Once you're set up, it's easy,' said Caldwell. Picking up and purifying the fryolator oil has simply become part of the men's weekly routine, just like getting lobster bait.
Caldwell's oil goes through eight filters to remove any particulates by the time it enters his engine. 'You look for clarity in the end product. You want the oil to be almost clear by the time it enters the engine,' he said. He also checks the oil's acidity. Caldwell added, 'You don't want it to be acidic. So far, this has not been a problem.'
The oil also has to be heated before entering the engine. Fisher installed a heat exchanger that warms his oil to 180 degrees F. 'I will have to further thin the oil in the wintertime. I've got it working well for at least this time of year,' he said.
Going green by burning used fryolator oil 'was the only answer for me to continue fishing. It's cut my fuel bill by 50 percent or greater,' explained Caldwell, who burns about 80 gallons of fuel a day tuna fishing and up to 15 gallons daily lobstering. At around $4.37 per gallon for diesel today, the daily fuel consumption adds up quickly, especially when prices for tuna and lobster haven't generally kept up with energy costs. Fisher's fuel expense has been cut about 75 percent. He has also just bought a diesel truck and plans to run it on biofuel.
'The biofuel burns cleaner than diesel oil, and the engine smokes less,' Caldwell explained. Fisher added, 'My engine runs the same as before with diesel oil, and there's been no change in the consumption. Even better, the exhaust smells good Ń like french fries.' Both men wonder if modern diesels could run on used fryolator oil.
'The only complaint I've had about using it came from a couple of guys at Pigeon Cove Harbor who have gotten hungry smelling the nice exhaust and have gained a little weight,' joked Fisher.
More Positive News for Fish Eaters!
(06/11/08)
Scientists combined the results of nine studies looking at the effects of omega-3 on age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The analysis, which pooled data from almost 90,000 study participants, showed that a high dietary intake of omega-3 was associated with a 38% reduction in the risk of advanced AMD.
Eating fish twice a week was associated with a reduced risk of both early and advanced AMD.
Macular degeneration affects the centre of the retina, causing gradual loss of vision. It is the most common cause of blindness in the UK. One in 50 people over the age of 50, and one in five of the age of 85, have AMD.
The study authors led by Dr Elaine Chong, from the University of Melbourne, Australia, wrote in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology: ``Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.. form an integral part of the neural retina, the layer of nerve cells in the retina.
``Outer cells of the retina are continually shed and regenerated, and deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids may therefore initiate AMD. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids and fish, as a proxy for long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake, has therefore been hypothesised as a means to prevent AMD.''
However the researchers stressed that more evidence was needed to prove that omega-3 can protect against the disease. Few prospective studies and no randomised clinical trials had been carried out, and it was too early to offer advice on omega-3 intake.
Can Monkeys Fish?
(06/10/08)
Now, researchers say they have discovered groups of the silver-haired monkeys in Indonesia that fish.
Groups of long-tailed macaques were observed four times over the past eight years scooping up small fish with their hands and eating them along rivers in East Kalimantan and North Sumatra provinces, according to researchers from The Nature Conservancy and the Great Ape Trust.
The species had been known to eat fruit and forage for crabs and insects, but never before fish from rivers.
"It's exciting that after such a long time you see new behavior," said Erik Meijaard, one of the authors of a study on fishing macaques that appeared in last month's International Journal of Primatology. "It's an indication of how little we know about the species."
Meijaard, a senior science adviser at The Nature Conservancy, said it was unclear what prompted the long-tailed macaques to go fishing. But he said it showed a side of the monkeys that is well-known to researchers - an ability to adapt to the changing environment and shifting food sources.
"They are a survivor species, which has the knowledge to cope with difficult conditions," Meijaard said Tuesday. "This behavior potentially symbolizes that ecological flexibility."
The other authors of the paper, which describes the fishing as "rare and isolated" behavior, are The Nature Conservancy volunteers Anne-Marie E. Stewart, Chris H. Gordon and Philippa Schroor, and Serge Wich of the Great Ape Trust.
Some other primates have exhibited fishing behavior, Meijaard wrote, including Japanese macaques, chacma baboons, olive baboons, chimpanzees and orangutans.
Agustin Fuentes, a University of Notre Dame anthropology professor who studies long-tailed macaques, or macaca fascicularis, on the Indonesian island of Bali and in Singapore, said he was "heartened" to see the finding published because such details can offer insight into the "complexity of these animals."
"It was not surprising to me because they are very adaptive," he said. "If you provide them with an opportunity to get something tasty, they will do their best to get it."
Fuentes, who is not connected with the published study, said he has seen similar behavior in Bali, where he has observed long-tailed macaques in flooded paddy fields foraging for frogs and crabs. He said it affirms his belief that their ability to thrive in urban and rural environments from Indonesia to northern Thailand could offer lessons for endangered species.
"We look at so many primate species not doing well. But at the same time, these macaques are doing very well," he said. "We should learn what they do successfully in relation to other species."
Still, Fuentes and Meijaard said further research was needed to understand the full significance of the behavior. Among the lingering questions are what prompted the monkeys to go fishing and how common it is among the species.
Long-tailed macaques were twice observed catching fish by The Nature Conservancy researchers in 2007, and Wich spotted them doing it two times in 1998 while studying orangutans.
Coho Salmon a good Seller
(06/10/08)
But supplies of king salmon will be tighter this season, and prices should be - and already are in the case of Copper River fish - higher as a result. Alaska fishermen are forecasted to catch about as many kings as they did last year. But the Washington fishery is limited this season, and the California and Oregon fisheries are completely off-limits due to the collapse of the Sacramento River chinook population.
Only a handful of consumers can afford to dish out $20 or $30 a pound, or more, for king salmon. Now is an ideal opportunity for retailers and foodservice operators across the Lower 48 to introduced consumers to other species of Pacific salmon, especially coho. Coho's relatively moderate size, high fat content and exceptional color retention make it a desirable fish.
"We'll see [seafood buyers] working more species of Pacific salmon into their product mix this season," says one Alaska seafood official. "They'll be looking at cohos. They'll be looking at ketas (chums)."
And there should be plenty of coho to go around. Alaska's coho harvest is projected to yield 4.4 million fish in 2008, up from 3.7 million fish last year. Coho is, in fact, the backbone of Alaska's salmon troll fishery. Don't miss this opportunity to feature it on your menu or in your case.
Truckers Strike in Chile Ends - only slight interuption in supply
(06/06/08)
Rodrigo Infante, the general manager of SalmonChile, said that the entire supply chain of salmon production was completely stalled due to the trucker strike.
According to Infante, this situation generated transport problems in every area: from feed to the harvest centres; fish to processing plants; and finished products to airports and ports.
Products did not exit harvest centres to the processing plants and as a result, the plants couldn't operate normally due to the lack of raw materials. Similarly, product that at processing plants could not move to airports or ports, given the lack of trucks to carry the fish from one place to another.
Regarding feed, Infante mentioned that due to the continuous rotation system required to feed the fish, the cycle has little room for disruption. Fish can live without eating for a while, yet, this is not ideal from a productive point of view, neither is this something we want to do Infante emphasized.
He added that In Puerto Montt and at the Island of Chiloe, the situation turned a bit worrisome. There were no fuel reserves and that made processing plants stop all operations due to the lack of fuel to operate the generators or raw materials to process.
Processors currently send out close to 1,500 t of fresh products every week, and the strike forced the sector's companies to readjust programs with their truckers. As a result, many international deliveries were delayed.
Close to 3:30 am as of this Friday, the strike ended. Representatives of the Government, led by Rene Cortazar who is the Transportation Minister, gathered with the truckers and announced the end of the strike as the Government committed to return them 80% of the tax collected for this year, and 100% starting in 2009.
Farm raised Salmon has less Mercury
(06/05/08)
A large proportion of the farmed salmon consumed in the United States originates in British Columbia, Canada.
Over the years, there have been health concerns because high levels of methyl mercury have been found in long-lived fish species nearer to the top of the food chain -such as tuna and salmon. High mercury levels have been associated with anincrease in the risk of cancer, and this has led many people to avoid consuming certain fishes.
This most recent study has determined that levels of mercury and other tracemetals measured in both farmed and wild salmon were significantly below HealthCanada's consumption guidelines. Compared to wild salmon, the researchers foundthat farmed salmon did not have significantly higher concentrations of metals suchas arsenic, cobalt, copper, or cadmium.
The threefold higher mercury concentrationobserved in the flesh of wild salmon than in farmed salmon is potentially explainedby farmed salmon's low gastrointestinal absorption efficiency, its negligible transfer of metals to muscle tissue, and its rapid growth cycles (growth dilution). In farmed fish, there were no differences in metal levels found between pre- and post processing.
For comparison to other parts of the human diet, the researchers indicate that total mercury levels were slightly higher in wild or farmed salmon than in chicken, beef,or pork and about the same as in fruit, vegetables, honey, and eggs. Compared toother foods, salmon contains lower levels of other trace elements. The average dietary intake of mercury and trace metals from salmon still remains a paltry 0.05%to 32% compared to the 68% to 99% that is absorbed from meat, poultry, fruit, andvegetables. Salmon also contains its own protection against mercury in the form ofthe element selenium. The moderate surplus of this metal can counteract mercury'stoxicity.
'Estimates of human dietary exposure indicate that human health risks associatedwith trace metal exposure via consumption of farmed and wild British Columbiasalmon are negligible,' conclude the authors. 'The current scientific evidencetherefore supports the weekly consumption of oily fish species (including all BritishColumbia salmon sources) as recommended by the American Heart Association.'
Louisiana Fisherman finally seeing disaster relief
(06/02/08)
With more than 8,000 qualified applicants, though, individual payouts will be spread thinly across the industry that took the first lashing from the storms. The state's fishing infrastructure took a $500 million hit after the storm, and many in the industry are miffed by the slow pace of government aid to one of the state's iconic professions.
'We need to contrast the loss in comparison with the money we're going to get,' said George Barisich, president of the United Commercial Fisherman's Association, who was closely involved in developing the program with the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. 'Yes, it is a little help, but it's not going to put you anywhere near what you lost.'
Money will be doled out to individual licensed fishers and seafood dealers based on the amount of seafood they brought to shore in the year before Katrina, as reported through a trip ticket system with Wildlife and Fisheries. Each sector of the industry -- shrimp, crab, oyster, crawfish, menhaden, finfish and seafood dealers -- will receive varying payments based on how much they contributed to the overall value of the state's seafood industry.
The department divided fishers into categories based on their share of the catch. Every fisher gets at least $50, and each would get higher payments depending on their pre-storm haul: anywhere from an additional $250 to more than $4,000. Those who are in multiple fisheries, such as shrimping and crabbing, could qualify for payouts under both sectors.
Many of the criticisms from the industry have to do with the equal distribution across the board. Some feel that those who don't derive most of their income from fishing should be excluded from the payouts so more money can go to full-time fishers.
Although this is the first federal program specifically targeted to individual commercial fishers, many were able to qualify last year for $20,000 small-business grants through the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the state Office of Community Development. The state announced a second round of such grants Tuesday.
Many were unable to qualify for the assistance through that program or the Small Business Administration.
'They had people in Venice, Louisiana, who lost their boats, their house, every possession they had in the world but the clothes off their backs, who did not qualify,' said Clint Guidry, a board member for the Louisiana Shrimp Association who lobbied Wildlife and Fisheries.
And for fishers who have tapped into savings to get back on the water, the money is seen as too little, too late -- a point even state fisheries officials acknowledge.
'This money is totally inadequate for the purposes of making anybody whole,' said Jim Hanifen, assistant administrator with the department's marine fisheries division. 'Given what we had to work with, we tried to make it as fair as possible. . . . The truth is we barely can even put a Band-Aid on it with $27 million.'
The $27 million was from a $41 million fisheries aid package approved in last summer's emergency supplemental bill from Congress. The rest of the money will go to programs for recreational fishers, including research and infrastructure projects such as fishing piers and docks, and toward administrative costs.
Fishers will receive paperwork in the mail, and must return it by an Oct. 31 deadline. Once the packet is returned, Wildlife and Fisheries will process the check.
Acid in Pacific Waters hurts Sea Life
(06/02/08)
The increasingly corrosive water threatens the survival of many organisms, from microscopic plants and animals at the base of the food chain to shellfish, corals and the young of some marine species, the researchers told a congressional field hearing Tuesday at the Seattle Aquarium.
The data indicates acidic water is appearing along the Pacific Coast decades earlier than expected. The acidified water does not pose a threat to humans, but it could dissolve the shells of clams, oysters and other shellfish.
The acidic seawater is moving closer to shallow waters containing the bulk of marine life, according to a recent article in the journal Science.
One of the article's authors, Christopher Sabine, said Tuesday he watched small marine snails placed in water of similar acidity to that recorded last summer off the northern California coast.
'We actually saw the shells dissolving off these living organisms. They were dissolving off the terapods as they were swimming around,' Sabine said. Such creatures comprise as much as 40 percent of the Pacific king salmon's diet.
Global ocean currents make the Pacific Northwest's coastal ecosystems particularly vulnerable to acidification's effects, Sabine said.
A worldwide 'conveyor belt' very slowly carries colder water from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific. Along the way, the water accumulates carbon dioxide from dead organisms, so it naturally has a higher carbon dioxide concentration before man-made carbon dioxide is added. A process known as 'up-welling' drags this water into shallower, coastal areas.
'As long as CO2 continues to increase in the atmosphere, the oceans will continue to absorb that,' Sabine said. 'What we're seeing is only going to get worse.'
Corrosive water could be disastrous for Washington state's shellfish industry, noted one panel member, Brian Bishop, owner of Little Skookum Shellfish Growers in Shelton, Washington. Washington state produces 85 percent of all shellfish on the West Coast, Bishop said.
'This acidity dissolves calcium carbonate, which is the thing that shells are made out of. If diatoms, corals, clams and oysters succumb to this it not only wipes out the shellfish industry but potentially the entire marine food chain,' said Bishop, a fifth-generation shellfish harvester.
The panel members said they did not know exactly how acidification will affect Puget Sound and other Northwest coastal waters.
'We know very little about the biological effects of acidification on the West Coast,' said Terrie Klinger, of the University of Washington's School of Marine Affairs. However, research has demonstrated that there will be early and strong effects in Northwest coastal ecosystems, she added.
'We won't see a total collapse in food chains, but we will see substitutions,' Klinger said. 'We may end up with food chains or food webs that are highly undesirable and not productive for the means that we use them today.'
Alaska Moves to Protect its resources
(05/22/08)
'Alaska has set the gold standard in ensuring robust fish stocks for commercial, recreational, and subsistence purposes,' said Senator Stevens. 'Science-based management has kept fisheries a cornerstone of our economy and preserved an important piece of Alaska Native culture. Global climate change is opening up the Arctic and we must act to protect its fisheries. After the President signs this resolution I will work with the State Department to bring this issue to the United Nations.'
'Conserving our fish stocks requires action both domestically and internationally,' said Senator Murkowski. 'The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council is taking action to develop a fisheries management plan for the Chukchi and Beauford Seas. Congress must now ensure that steps are taken to create an international framework for the management of fisheries in Arctic waters.'
Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) helped speed the bill through the House of Representatives under the suspension of the rules.
'Alaskan fishermen have worked both at home in our own waters, through the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and in international regional fishery organizations to make sure that North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea fisheries are sustainably managed and that management is based on sound science,' said Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska). 'This resolution makes it clear that the United States wants this track record of sound management to continue into new areas of the Arctic Ocean if they become open to fishing. I commend Senator Stevens for taking the lead on this resolution and I hope the State Department will work with us to ensure that Arctic fisheries are well managed through an appropriate international agreement.'
Currently, commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean has been limited by the distribution of fish habitat and short fishing seasons. Due to the possible impacts of climate change, ocean temperatures may shift, causing fish to enter new habitats and creating more favorable fishing conditions. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council recognized the importance of properly managing these emerging fisheries and it proposed in June that the U.S. close all federal waters in the Arctic Ocean until a management regime is put in place. S.J. Res 17 is consistent with that effort.
The resolution also addresses the problem of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It calls upon the U.S. to help prevent fishing on the high seas of the Arctic until an international fisheries management plan is developed. The plan would contain measures to combat IUU fishing that continues to undermine fisheries worldwide. Senator Stevens is leading the fight against IUU fishing and believes that eliminating these illegal fishing practices is a key to maintaining the health of Alaska's fisheries.
Copper River through the Roof!
(05/20/08)
The limited availability pushed fishermen's starting prices to a record $4.50/lb for sockeye salmon and $6.50 for kings. That compares to $3.75 and $6/lb last year. As usual, Cordova was busy with buyers scrambling to be the first to offer the famous first of the season fish to their customers, as promised. Bill Gilbert is manager of Norquest Seafoods in Cordova -
It's great. And the marketing of Copper River salmon is good for the community and the entire fishery and it's a real positive thing.'
Alaska Airlines landed 7,500 pounds of the first fish in Seattle early Friday morning. One pilot literally carried a whole king across a red carpet for media photo opps. Industry reports said Copper River king salmon fillets fetched $50 a pound at Tacoma's Northern Fish Company. Whole kings were commanding $29.99/lb at Metropolitan, and $38.99 for fillets. Copper River reds were priced at $23.99 a pound for whole fish and $33.99 for fillets. At FishEx in Anchorage, king fillets were listed at $34.95 and $19.95 for sockeye salmon. Meanwhile, a second opener on the Copper River was set for yesterday. Fish prices will ratchet downwards as catches pick up and more Alaska salmon fisheries come on line.
Salmon on the rise
(05/19/08)
Similarly, the prices of Norwegian-farmed salmon have been soaring on massive buying from Russia and China.
Demand for the Japanese-produced salmon is also growing reflecting consumers' awareness of healthy food.
Although farmed salmon production in the world has been expanding annually, the pace of growth in demand is outstripping that of supply.
The domestic wholesale prices of Chilean frozen coho, which is mainly sold in slices, now stand at Y480 per kilo (for 2/3kg size, headed and gutted), which showed an increase of 17% as compared with February when the prices hit the bottom.
In 2007, about 72,000 tons of Chilean coho were shipped to Japan.
In Chile, workers' wages have been rising reflecting the booming economy. Also, the prices of fishmeal feeds and fuel are staying at high levels.
'As production costs climbed 20-30%, we cannot make profit unless we sell at Y500 per kilo or higher,' says a spokesman of the Japan office of Chilean producers. He says that producers are now restraining shipments to Japan.
The wholesale prices of fresh Atlantic salmon from Norway, which are sold as sashimi in Japan, now fetch around Y1,100 per kilo (for 5/6 kg size, gutted). About 18,000 tons were imported to Japan in 2007.
The prices shot up 20% in May. A Japanese trader explains that the sharp price rise was due to 'massive buying by Russia and China' prior to June-July when Norway's shipments usually show declines.
On the domestic front, the prices at producing places of farmed coho from Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, stood at around Y500 per kilo (with head and guts) which was a level 10% higher than in the previous year.
Fish growth delayed because of low temperatures during last winter and demand is expanding at revolving sushi restaurant chains as consumers sought domestically-produced salmon.
Also, rising prices of imported salmon are bottoming up the wholesale prices of the domestic products.
On retailers' level, prices of Norwegian Atlantic salmon are beginning upturn, while those of Chilean coho, for which the price zone of Y100 per slice has been widely accepted among consumers, are staying more or less unchanged.
A mass retailer said: 'We see no need to raise prices for the time being as the profit ratio of Chilean salmon is high,' but he suggested there will be fewer bargain sales.
The production of farmed salmon in the world in 2007 increased more than 30% over 2001 to about 1.9 million tons, which is about double the harvests from the wild.
Salmon is said to have wider consumer acceptance in the world than other fish such as tuna, and international competition in buying is foreseen to intensify in the future.
Under the circumstances, 'there is a concern that imports to Japan may further decrease,' said an official of Daito Gyorui, a major wholesaler at Tokyo's Tsukiji Market.
Grouper and Snappper fighting government hook regulations
(05/19/08)
Members of the recreational and commercial industries in the Florida Keys have asked to work on proposed studies to answer the telling question: Can circle hooks catch shallow-water species like yellowtail snapper and mangrove snapper?
In less than a month, the South Atlantic Council will be asked to consider emergency rules that could create a January-to-April closure for most types of grouper, and require circle hooks for all snapper and grouper fishing.
At a May 7 hearing in Key Largo, Keys fishermen contended the proposed emergency rules were too stringent, too soon.
Particularly bothersome to local fishermen is the fact the species that generated the proposed rules - vermilion snapper and gag grouper - are seldom caught in the Keys.
But protective rules recommended by council staff could affect major Keys species like yellowtail snapper and black grouper.
Fishermen at subsequent workshops this week in Cape Canaveral and Georgia voiced similar concerns, Iarocci said after speaking with council staff.
"With everything going on with fuel prices and the economy, we may have to postpone some stuff so we can be sure about the science," Iarocci said. "Some of these rules could affect people who are hurting big-time."
Bill Kelly of the Islamorada Charter Boat Association and the newly formed South Atlantic Charter Boat Association said when it comes to the proposed rules on snapper and grouper, "the commercial and recreational for-hire groups stand on common ground more often than not."
Conservation-minded anglers likely would accept circle hooks for more species, if it can be shown that they are as effective as the more popular J-hooks, he said.
"We have for-hire operators and commercial fishermen willing to conduct tests to establish the efficacy of circle hooks," Kelly said. "If the managers are right, this would only bolster their case for mandating the hooks."
While circle books have proven effective in billfishing and deepwater bottom fishing, Kelly said, the same is not necessarily true for mangrove snapper and yellowtail, which require a "more aggressive" technique.
"Circle hooks are a joke" for Keys snapper fishing, Key West charter captain Billy Bullard said at the Key Largo hearing. "I'd rather make a J-hook out of a bobby pin."
Iarocci he will seek to "draw some lines" on the South Atlantic map to differentiate between areas with various types of fishing and concerns.
"Now is the time for fishermen to speak up," he said. "This is not a done deal, but it could be if they just sit back until it's too late."
Making Sense of Sustainable Accreditation
(05/12/08)
The move is aimed at providing the NGO's with a common platform with which to approach businesses on seafood sustainability issues. The groups range from the David Suzuki Foundation to the New England Aquarium, and span a range of approaches to working with companies on sourcing, from confrontational to collaborative, from ideological frameworks to science based frameworks. The test of the coalition will be whether they can agree on concrete action steps to recommend to foodservice and retailers. Notably absent is Greenpeace, which is conducting its own campaign for retailers to remove certain seafood products, and the MSC, which while supported by some of the groups in the coalition, has its own label and does not recognize other metrics for sustainability.
The 14 organizations that are participating which all have a strong history of working with the seafood industry and policymakerson environmentally responsible seafood issues have partnered to form the Conservation Alliance for SeafoodSolutions.
Our Common Vision outlines an ambitious but realistic path toward sustainable seafood that businesses canfollow to safeguard the future viability of their industry, said Mark Powell, vice president for fish conservation,Ocean Conservancy.
In the past, we've heard from companies that there is too much competing information about environmentallyresponsible seafood, said Jennifer Lash, executive director, Living Oceans Society. Seafood buyers andsuppliers now have clear and consistent input from a broad range of conservation groups about how to moveforward.
Meanwhile, NFI said the sustainability blueprint was a good step, but incomplete since none of the groups saw fit to include the seafood community, which has been working hard on sustainability issues, in Alaska, for example, for decades, and has been recognized by groups such as the MSC for doing so.
It is good to see these groups focusing on sustainability and acknowledging the vital role the seafood community plays in those efforts, said NFI president John Connelly. ŇHowever, the common vision is their common vision. Its calls for action were not developed with the input of the full seafood community. We have in the past and will continue to maintain a full commitment to the sustainable use of our global resources. Perhaps better than anyone we know the commitment it takes to successfully harvest enough fish now to feed Americans, while leaving plenty for future generations. It is the key to our livelihood.
Todays release calls on seafood businesses to support, policies and practices that protect the oceans and the long-term viability of our seafood supply.
As a community we are and have been fully vested in supporting projects that promote the health of the oceans and the seafood supply, said Connelly. ŇWe continue to demonstrate that commitment day in and day out through partnerships with environmentally minded groups that help us promote sustainability, safety and certification. Our efforts to incorporate comprehensive programs and strategies are ongoing.
The coalition says it recognizes that fulfilling the vision for environmental sustainability is a journey involving many steps.
But step one should be recognizing that the seafood community are stewards of suitability and our input and efforts are vital to success. A common vision requires input from the full community-- not a statement that is developed behind closed doors, said Connelly.
The NGO's Common Vision identifies six critical areas where companies can take action to ensure a sustainableseafood supply and protect ocean environments:
Making a commitment to develop and implement a comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainableseafood;
Collecting data to assess and monitor the environmental sustainability of their seafood products;
Buying environmentally responsible seafood;
Making information regarding their seafood products publicly available;
Educating their consumers, suppliers, employees and other key stakeholders about environmentallyresponsible seafood; and
Engaging in and supporting policy and management changes that lead to positive environmentaloutcomes in fisheries and aquaculture.
Seafood buyers and suppliers can be a powerful force for improving the environmental performance of theseafood industry. A number of businesses including Plitt Company, Ahold USA and Compass Group NorthAmerica have voiced their support for the Common Vision Đ and for the need to improve ocean health tomaintain the long-term viability of the seafood supply.
It just makes good business sense for companies that buy and sell seafood to ensure a long-term supply ofseafood through direct support for environmentally responsible seafood policies and practices, said TobiasAguirre, executive director, FishWise.
We recognize that achieving the Common Vision is a journey with many steps, said Rebecca Goldburg,senior scientist, Environmental Defense Fund. We want to join together with committed companies to moveforward, using this Common Vision as a guide.
The Common Vision outlines new opportunities for companies to expand enterprise in a more responsible waywith long-term benefits for the industry, Bill Wareham, senior marine conservation specialist, David SuzukiFoundation.
The following organizations developed and are actively supporting the Common Vision:
Blue Ocean Institute
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
David Suzuki Foundation
Ecology Action Centre
Environmental Defense Fund
FishChoice
FishWise
Living Oceans Society
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Natural Resources Defense Council
New England Aquarium
Ocean Conservancy
Sierra Club British Columbia
World Wildlife Fund Đ US
Squid Wars
(05/09/08)
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has said, in a letter to importers, The Service does not consider that cephalopods other than nautilus meet the definition of a shellfish under 50 CFR 10.12, since they are not aquatic invertebrates with a shell. In addition the SErvice does not consider these three groups of animals (squids, octopus, and cuttlefish) to fall under the fishery product exemption.
We recognize that we have had some inconsistent implementation of this exemption at our ports. We are working to correct this problem.
This is a blatant attempt to expand the power of the USFWS to require endangered species act exemption permits, over the objections of NOAA.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is enforcing rules on import permits for squid, octopus and cuttlefish to make sure that importers are complying with endangered and threatened species laws.
When Congress first gave the Fish and Wildlife Service authority to require import permits under the Endangered species act, they exempted ''shellfish and fishery products''.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is changing the definition of the exemption to ''shell fish and non-living fish products''.
This means that by saying that molluscan shellfish such as squid and cuttlefish and octopus are not shellfish, each import must be accompanied by the required exemption permit stating the product is not subject to endangered species regulations.
So far NOAA has been unable to reign in this drastic change, which leaves a whole sector of the seafood industry exposed to new fees, regulations, and prohibitions, that was never intended by Congress.
Tuna Farming in Chile
(05/06/08)
The main objective is to establish preliminary productive bases for a commercial harvest center of bluefin tuna (thunnus thynnus) in northern Chile. For that, they are inviting 6 companies within the industry to participate in the business modeling. the salmon industry managed to consolidate itself in southern Chile when pricing for this fish was around US$4/kg. In the worst case, tuna can be traded at US$30-50/kg and thus could be a very good developing tool in the northern part of Chile, Catalan commented.
The project is divided in three stages. The first is a trip to the productive centers in Spain and Mexico. Thereafter, a pilot harvest-center will be built to feed and grow tuna fish taking into consideration current production quality standards that are applied to off-shore fish harvesting. Finally, with the expertise of Corfo and FAO, the final stage will be based on the reproduction of tuna fish based on the results obtained in the previous stage.
Bluefin tuna is a highly demanded species worldwide, especially in Japan. From a biological standpoint tuna is a very fast-growing species, approximately 20 times faster than other species like sea bream and sea bass Catalan added.
Tuna is without a doubt an overfished, overexploited resource due to its good and constant demand worldwide. Therefore, sustainable exploitation of tuna depends largely of the conservation measures and regulation. Populations of tuna migrate every year thousands of kilometers through exclusive economic zones, and thus its fisheries demand a high level of regulation.
Japan is one of the largest consumers of tuna in the world, and the only in which sashimi grade tuna constitutes an essential part of their diet. For instance, annual consumption oscillates around 450,000 metric tons, 60% of which are imported. Last year, 78 countries exported sashimi grade tuna to Japan. This is a large number of suppliers is we take into account that in 1985 there were only 33.
Catalan has a long history in the aquaculture and fishing sector. For 14 years he worked as the production manager for Empresas Chisal S.A., Salmones Tecmar S.A., and Salmones Unimarc. Later he was a consultant to the World Bank in Brazil.
Diesel Hurts
(05/06/08)
Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Tuesday took up the rising diesel prices that have hampered the trucking industry.
"People are losing their trucks and losing their business," said Rep. Peter DaFazio, D-Ore. "But there are some places where an appropriate action by Congress might mitigate these problems."
The cost of diesel has risen 26% since beginning of this year, compared to an 18% rise in the price of regular gas. The national average price for diesel stands at $4.24 a gallon on May 1, while gasoline averages at $3.60 a gallon.
Most of diesel's historical rise can be attributed to the surging price of crude oil. And as oil prices hit $122 a barrel Tuesday, there were no immediate signs of diesel prices retreating. But global demand for the fuel has outpaced that of gasoline in the past 12 months, especially in China and Europe but also in the United States.
Rising diesel costs have dug into the trucking industry's profits, whose trucks run on the fuel. The American Trucking Association predicted that truckers will have to shell out $140 billion for diesel in 2008 after spending more than $112 billion in 2007.
Hundreds of truckers joined a protest and circled the U.S. Capitol on April 28.
Squid another example of Government oversight
(05/05/08)
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton - May 5, 2008 - Northeast squid importers have been hit with new language from the Fish and Wildlife Service that would not allow squid to be imported with the usual exemptions given other fish and shellfish products. What this means is that because squid was left out of the definition used by the Fish and Wildlife Service to grant exemptions from the Endangered Species Act permitting requirements, squid importers are now seeing their shipments held up for lack of permits acceptable to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Now both some Congressional leaders and NMFS have weighed in on the issue, asking that the status quo be restored.
In a letter, NOAA said ''Serious questions have arisen from seafood importers in the northeast as to whether [the definition] of shellfish should include wildlife species such as squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. NMFS understanding is that organisms in this class are shellfish.
Based on the concerns we have identified, NMFS strongly recommends FWS provide clarification in this rule on the definition of shellfish to help those importing and exporting seafood better understand the import/export requirements of the FWS.''
Rep. Henry Brown, from South Carolina, who is the ranking member on the ocean subcommittee of the Fish and Wildlife committee says:
''The notice of the FWS provides no specific evidence, work experiences, or case studies to back up the proposal to repeal existing exemptions relative to shellfish and fishery products. ..I see no jurisdiction under the Endangered species act in this case and otherwise I am curious to how the Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to now regulate seafood''..
Interesting use of Salmon
(05/02/08)
Mega fish-farming giant Gustav Witzoe said it believes putting millions into making salmon dogs is a wise investment because the food will please parents by giving children a healthy meal, Aftenposten reported.
The push for salmon dogs may have come at a good time, due to the falling cost of export salmon, the state central statistics bureau said.
In the past, the company has made salmon balls and salmon burgers that taste like fish, but the dogs reportedly will go a different route.
Witzoe said the new dogs will look and taste just like a traditional hot dogs in an effort to appeal to kids.
Increasing Labor Costs in Chile
(05/01/08)
According to the Chile Salmon Farming Association, Chile's salmon/trout exports in January-December 2007 totaled 397,039 tons, up 3% over the previous year.
Of this amount, 145,960 tons were exported to Japan, which was a decrease of 2% over the previous year, followed by 114,320 tons to the United States (up 5%), 40,705 tons to Europe (down 12%), and 36,398 tons to Latin America (up 24%), with exports to other destinations combined coming to 59,656 tons (up 11%).
Year-on-year growth was observed in shipments to Latin America and 'other markets.' Among Latin American countries, exports to Brazil jumped 65.9%, and, among 'other markets,' Russia registered a visible increase of 24.9%.
By species, 200,481 tons of Atlantic salmon was exported, a predominant part of which went to the U.S., with only 6,106 tons, or 3%, coming to Japan.
Exports of coho totaled 82,297 tons, of which 69,023 tons, or 84%, were shipped to Japan. However, this showed a decline in the share of the Japanese market, which in earlier years held more than 90%.
Analysts point out the conspicuous expansion of demand in newly emerging countries such as China and Russia in clear contrast to the declining shares of Japan.
Regarding trout, 68,833 tons, or 63%, of Chile's overall trout exports of 108,908 tons were shipped to Japan, and 11,513 tons, or 11%, were exported to Russia.
According to industry sources, shipments of H&G products to Russia have been growing at a fast pace.
It has been reported that the Russian government dispatched a research mission to Chile last fall, and only 13 packers were granted the license for exports to Russia as a result of the examination on hygienic state, including production processes.
Projections for Chile's salmon production for next season has not been made available yet. But Marine Harvest, one of the packers, has made it clear that it will pull out from production of coho from the coming season.
Industry sources believe that it is certain that coho production will be slashed by over 10,000 tons next season.
Conversely, local producers are now shifting to production of Atlantic salmon, a product that can compete internationally better than coho which suffers a sluggish market. For this reason, production volume of Atlantic salmon is foreseen to grow in the years ahead.
One of the big topics in the farmed salmon industry in Chile is the rising wages.
A strike was staged for the duration of nearly 40 days from January this year at a major packer as wage negotiations between the management and the labor broke down.
It is said that average monthly wage per worker in Chile almost doubled from $500-600 two years ago to over $1,000.
Producers are trying hard to minimize manual labor by automating the production processes. Industry observers foresee that this efforts will continue in the years ahead.
One factor behind the rising wages is that the new Chilean government is taking the policy of protecting workers against the background of the growth of Chile's industry, as witnessed in enlarging demand for copper produced in Chile, one of the leading cooper producing countries in the world.
Other issues in the Chilean salmon farming industry is the occurrence of diseases in the salmon farms and slow growth of fish.
Last year ISA broke out in the farms for Atlantic salmon, compelling farmers to dispose of large quantities of salmon.
Higher temperatures caused slowdown in the growth of coho and trout. Further, soaring fishmeal prices prompted the development of feed using vegetable materials, which also caused the pace-down of growth.
Other factors, such as changes in regulations on the use of antibiotics, are also affecting salmon production.
Congress tries to control oversight of ocean management
(04/29/08)
The Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans voted 11-3 to approve the bill (HR 21) after defeating a slate of GOP amendments designed to pare it down.
The bill would create regional partnerships to share information and coordinate federal ocean activities. It would codify a committee on ocean policy that now exists under executive order, establish a council of advisers on ocean policy, and create an oceans adviser to the president.
A separate section of the bill would establish the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a unit in the Department of Commerce.
The agency was established under a 1970 presidential order, but it has not been formally codified into law.
The bill would make NOAA responsible for conducting research on the oceans, weather, atmosphere and climate; for monitoring changes in the environment; and for conducting education and outreach on those areas. It would also require NOAA to develop a restructuring plan.
Some Republicans on the panel said the bill would create a new bureaucracy that could impede commercial activities with an impact on the ocean. The panel approved by voice vote a substitute amendment by Chairwoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Da?`Guam, which made a series of changes intended to attract wider support.
These changes were not enough to satisfy the bill's critics. Ranking subcommittee Republican Henry E. Brown Jr. of South Carolina called the bill 'the biggest change to ocean policy in 40 years.' He offered amendments to remove sections of the bill he considered harmful, but the panel soundly defeated them.
The effects of fuel - a closer look
(04/29/08)
"A (shrimp) trawler can burn 100 gallons a night. At $3.75 a gallon, that adds up. That has an effect on everybody," said Dean Smith, owner of Luther L. Smith & Son Seafood in Carteret County."
High fuel prices can dictate how often a fisherman takes his boat out, Smith said. But he said prices at the pump aren't the only thing that can affect seafood landings.
"The rules and regulations are hurting them, too. All of it adds up," Smith said.
High fuel prices and regulations are both cited as possible impacts on 2007 landings figures released this week by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.
The amount of seafood commercial fishermen brought to the docks in North Carolina dropped for the fifth straight year in 2007, but the dockside value of the catch increased from 2006 figures, DMF said.
According to harvest data collected by the N.C. Trip Ticket Program, commercial fishermen harvested landed 62.9 million pounds of fish and shellfish in 2007, an 8.5 percent drop from 2006.
However, the 2007 harvest value was estimated at $82.3 million, which was $12.2 million more than 2006.
The numbers could indicate that higher fuel prices are forcing fishermen to target the higher-dollar catches, said Louis Daniel, director of the Division of Marine Fisheries.
"In some instances, the decline that we have seen from 2006 to 2007 may be closely related to coastwide quotas and other regulations," he said via a news release on the landings report.
Bluefish, summer flounder, snowy grouper, river herring, sharks, and spiny dogfish are examples of species where regulations are significant enough to affect landings, he said.
"Declines are also apparent in some of the higher volume, often lower valued fisheries, like croaker and spot," Daniel said. "That may be a result of high fuel costs or a shift in fishing effort."
High valued seafood such as sea scallops, vermillion snapper, triggerfish, wahoo, red grouper and sea mullet showed significant increases in landings, he said.
The decline in croaker and spot landings could also indicate a problem with the resources.
According to DMF, the most recent Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission stock assessment shows that croaker are not overfished in the Mid-Atlantic region north of Hatteras, but the stock status in the South Atlantic region south of Hatteras is unknown.
Hard crabs remained the top commercial seafood harvest in North Carolina by weight and value. Fishermen landed 20.5 million pounds of crabs in 2007 worth $18.1 million. But the landings were still 16 percent below 2006 levels and 35 percent lower than the previous five-year average.
Landings of other top commercial species declined as well, including Atlantic croaker, summer flounder, and bluefish.
But there were also increases.
Harvests of shrimp were at 9.5 million pounds, up 66 percent from 2006 and 64 percent from the previous five-year average. White shrimp harvests almost doubled those of 2006 and warmer winter waters farther north contributed to the high catch of white shrimp from Pamlico Sound since 1999, DMF said.
Total recreational landings by pounds decreased by 7.3 percent from 2006 to 23.1 million pounds. However, the number of fish caught and kept increased from 12 million in 2006 to 14.7 million in 2007.
Top recreational species harvested were dolphinfish, 5.5 million pounds; yellowfin tuna, 3.3 million pounds; king mackerel, 2 million pounds; bluefish, 1.5 million pounds; and spot, 1.4 million pounds.
Fishermen holding recreational commercial gear licenses harvested a total of 433,152 pounds of fish and crab. Top species harvested were blue crabs, 98,003 pounds; spot, 97,753 pounds; flounder, 41,542 pounds; striped mullet, 37,958 pounds; and shrimp, 33,778 pounds.
A complete list of 2007 landings can be downloaded from the NC Division of Marine Fisheries Web site at http://www.ncfisheries.net/download/index/html under the "Statistics, Reports, Bulletins, and Summaries" heading.
Contact Carteret County reporter Jannette Pippin at jpippin@freedomenc.com or 252-808-2275.
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Greenpeace harrasses illegal Pacific Tuna harvetsers
(04/27/08)
In the latest confrontation, crew from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza boarded a Taiwanese boat, the Nian Sheng 3, to inspect their catch, a spokesman said.
The captain of the tuna boat, which also contained hundreds of frozen shark fins and tails, allowed the activists to board, Greenpeace campaign leader Lagi Toribau told AFP by telephone from the Esperanza.
Greenpeace are not a violent campaigning organisation, he said, while adding that the activists were prepared to interfere with their physical fishing activities in order for us to save the last tuna stocks.
On Sunday, Esperanza crew members hopped in a small boat to paint the side of the US vessel Cape Finisterre with the words Tuna Overkill, Greenpeace said in a statement.
Last Thursday, the group protested alongside the South Korean ship Olympus before activists confiscated a fish aggregation device used to attract tuna.
The latest action took place in international waters near the Solomon Islands northeast of Australia where legal fishers and pirates are both plundering Pacific tuna, Greenpeace said.
Describing tuna as the world's favourite fish, Lagi Toribau said, advances in technology mean large ships are now able to catch as much fish in two days as the fishers of the small Pacific island countries can catch in a year.
The future of the western and central Pacific tuna fishery is crucial for small Pacific states. Tuna is the only major economic resource for many, as well as one of the most important food sources.
Currently, licence fees provide them a small return of around five to six percent of the three billion US dollar annual catch in the region.
Mr Toribau said the fishing carried out by the foreign ships is technically not illegal but is unregulated, and Greenpeace is campaigning for the pockets of international waters between the island nations to be declared marine reserves.
Delegates from more than 40 countries met last December at a Pacific fisheries conference in Guam amid warning signs that the world's last great tuna fishery -- which supplies more than half the world's tuna -- is heading for crisis.
But the five-day meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which includes delegates from Pacific nations and major fishing countries, failed to reach an agreement.
Greenpeace took action against this tuna fishing operation because the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which is supposed to be managing the fishery and protecting the tuna, are failing to do their job, Mr Toribau said.
Both time and tuna are running out.
Prized for top quality sashimi in Japan and as a source of cheap canned protein on supermarket shelves all over the world, tuna stocks have been slashed in most of the world's oceans.
As tuna catches in other oceans have declined because of overfishing, these ships have moved into the Pacific, said Mr Toribau.
There are now nearly 600 purse seiners and over 3,600 tuna longliners plundering the Western and Central Pacific alone. This is clearly not sustainable.
Some modern purse-seiners, which surround schools of tuna with curtain-like nets, are capable of catching up to 10,000 tonnes annually, while long-line boats tow thousands of baited hooks at a time.
The Esperanza was heading for a stopover in the Solomon Islands before returning to international waters to continue the protests, Mr Toribau said.
Continuous USDA Inspection could be coming!
(04/27/08)
Such a huge change - opposed by the industry for more than 25 years, would radically upset the entire seafood regulatory and inspection system in the U.S.
The seafood industry, the FDA, and NMFS decided in the 1980's to adopt a HACCP based regulatory system, which was determined to be more efficient, more cost effective, and more suitable to the actual safety issues involved in processing seafood than the existing USDA continuous meat plant inspection system.
The USDA meat inspection program, begun over 100 years ago, specifies the requirements for each cut of meat, the processes that can be used, and requires permanent inspectors in every operating meat plant.
The USDA, in addition to its inspection programs, also has a robust marketing program that has benefited catfish farmers, who have worked closely with the USDA for years.
This year, as part of an effort to raise more barriers between imported catfish and American processed catfish, the catfish industry proposed adding catfish to the list of foods that would come under USDA inspection. Such a move would differentiate all American produced catfish, and allow sellers to claim that imported catfish, such as from China, would first have to meet USDA equivalent inspection standards (i.e. have permanent continuous inspection in plants), and it would normally take years for such a system to be implemented, if it could at all.
To the domestic catfish farmers, it seemed like an easy solution. Require plant inspection through the USDA, and then prevent Chinese catfish from entering the U.S. because it could not meet the same inspection standard.
As a result, senators from the catfish producing states were happy to add this language to the farm bill. In the course of writing the bill, it was broadened to apply to all seafood -- not just catfish.
That's when the industry, the trade associations, and other Senate committees noticed what was happening.
In a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the National Restaurant Association (NRA) said ''language added to the Farm Bill that would include seafood in the list of products covered by the USDA's Federal Meat Inspection Act, poses a serious threat to the food industry's ability to provide safe, fresh and wholesome seafood to American consumers.''
'' We're concerned that USDA lacks the expertise and framework needed for proper seafood inspection'', said NFI President John Connelly.
''The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) both have the knowledge and infrastructure already in place to continue doing the job. Increasing the funding for their seafood safety programs would be a better use of tax payers' money.''
The letter says, ''It would be terribly imprudent at this point to move any amount of seafood inspection authority to the USDA's Meat Inspection Act program. Such a dramatic shift in process and policy will be costly, unnecessary and duplicative.''
In addition to the trade associations, other Senate Committees, such as the Senate Commerce committee with Stevens and Inouye, Kennedy's Health and Labor committee (FDA jurisdiction) said ''The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee is currently working onlegislation to enhance food safety, including seafood. ..we strongly urge you to resist efforts to grant any expansion of seafood inspection and grading authority to the USDA as part of the Farm Bill.''
Hill staffers now say that the language will most certainly be changed, likely to make catfish eligible for voluntary USDA inspection.
Even this provision has the potential for disruption in the industry, as competitive pressure may force catfish producers to adopt USDA continuous inspection protocols if their customers demand it.
It is highly unlikely that anyone from the processing industry has been involved in this effort, because the idea of inviting government control, by people who know little of your products and methods, to take de facto day to day oversight of your processing plant, is not something that any American processor would seek voluntarily.
Mussels help Clean the water
(04/22/08)
| Species Info | Order |
'' Sometimes it's very difficult to try and find very low concentrations of toxics in the water supply. Measuring water requires incredible precision and expense.''
To the rescue Đ mussels.
'' Mussels are one of our fastest filter feeders and in the process, whatever toxic material gets in the water, likely gets into the algae and is picked up by the mussels. So Cut: 09 so if you want to find something in the water supply sampling mussels and looking for toxicants in mussels is an extremly good way to do it.''
The Mussel Watch Program, for example, quelled fears about disease and water safety after hurricane Katrina
'' They had a mussel watch program there so have all background data on toxicant levels. After Katrina we went back to these same sites and sampled the mussels and found there wasn't anywhere near the problem people thought would happen.''
More amazingly, RaLonde says mussels have even been used for clean up of toxic materials.
'' If you deposit mussels down there they will pull those toxicants out of the systems and then you just dispose of the mussels and you have a clean up program. ''
RaLonde says there's lots of them but harvesting mussels poses some problems in Alaska. Wild mussels tend to turn filtered silt into tiny hidden pearls that taste like a mouthful of sand. And healthy beds seem to become stressed by disease and other natural factors
'' Two years, it's a healthy mussel bed and all of a sudden its gone. We have to find a way around that stressful peirod in second year just in time when market size.''
Mussel dredge fisheries still occur in New England, but most today come from farms on both coasts. Farmers get $2-$2.50 a pound for mussels and market watchers say supply does not even come close to meeting demand.
Immigration affects Seafood Industry
(04/21/08)
Graham and Rollins, a seafood distributor in Hampton, is processing crabs with 11 employees instead of the 100 foreign workers it typically hires.
Thousands of seafood, landscaping and summer hospitality-related seasonal businesses nationally that rely on foreign workers are losing money and may go out of business unless Congress renews a visa program that allows 66,000 temporary nonagricultural workers into the country annually.
The law allowing seasonal workers to return to the United States expired in the fall, and attempts to renew it are mired in the national controversy over immigration reform.
Business owners from northeast North Carolina and southeastern Virginia traveled to Washington last week to plead with lawmakers to renew the bill.
'I've gotten weary of the fight,' said Colon Grandy of Grandy Farm Market in Currituck County, N.C., which typically hires nine foreign workers.
For some, it may be too late.
'We've already set a date for July 1 to make a decision to pull the trigger to decide our fate,' said Johnny Graham, president of the fourth-generation, family-owned crab processor in Hampton. 'One option is to close,' he said. 'There is no Plan B.'
Even if the bill were to pass now, it would take at least a month to get workers here.
The busiest time of year for Sandscapes, a small landscaping company in Kitty Hawk, N.C., is from March to May, said owner Sarah Brown, who hires eight to 10 workers from Mexico.
Sandscapes will either lose work or won't be able to get jobs done quickly enough, she said.
To replace the foreign workers, Brown said, she has unsuccessfully tried to hire local residents referred by the employment commission.
She sent certified letters guaranteeing them jobs, she said, but no one responded.
Sherrie Carawan, an owner of Mattamuskeet Seafood, said she has 'no available work force at all.'
She had relied on at least 55 Mexican crab processors, but because they were not allowed to return this spring, the plant remains closed.
'I'm losing hope Congress is going to help us,' she said. 'We're not asking for money, just help us keep our businesses.'
Others, such as Maid for You, a professional cleaning service in Nags Head, N.C., are n't taking on new work because their Mexican employees can't come back.
Local business owners who rely on the seasonal help are frustrated because they say the returning workers are being confused with illegal immigrants.
'They're all legal,' said Sandscapes' Brown. 'They pay taxes. They all go home. We don't solicit undocumented workers on the street.'
Many are experienced, such as most of the 30 to 40 employees at Pamlico Packing Co., said Don Cross, an owner of the Vandemere, N.C., seafood processor. 'We need these workers.'
Some may try to hire the hundreds of foreign students who come to the Outer Banks each summer, many from Russia and Eastern Europe.
There is no cap on the number of visiting foreign students, but they're permitted to stay here only 17 weeks, which might not be long enough to fill labor needs, said Muffy Grant with the Center for Cultural Interchange in Chicago.
The workers typically earn more than minimum wage, said local business owners affected by the visa problem, and many are like family.
'Some of my ladies have worked here 18 years,' said Tara Foreman, general manager of Captain Neill's Seafood in Columbia, N.C., which brings in about 75 Mexican workers annually. 'They went to my wedding and gave me a shower.'
Mattamuskeet Seafood's Carawan has even visited her employees' homes in Mexico and said they want to return to their jobs.
'They're calling all the time,' she said. 'I don't know what to tell them.'
the holdup
The law allowing seasonal workers to return to the United States expired in the fall, and attempts to renew it are mired in controversy over immigration reform.
The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA] - April 21, 2008 -
Fish is what's good for you!
(04/19/08)
That's because fish is a valuable source of the kind of essential fatty acids (omega-3) the body cannot produce on its own but that promote brain function and protect the cardiovascular system. People with diets rich in seafood, for instance, are less likely to suffer from heart disease.
The pros keep coming. Selenium, a naturally occurring nutrient in seafood, is especially helpful for cognitive development and function. In addition to its load of omega-3s, tuna has long been heralded for its low-fat protein punch. Plus, there is little to no cholesterol in most fish and shellfish (shrimp, scallops, clams, oysters), and the variety of species and tastes make it a great addition to most restaurant and home menus.
Given all this, it's no wonder the Food and Drug Administration is wrestling with how to balance seafood's risk and benefits. Representatives there estimate a reassessment should go into public review sometime this year.
The Republican Company, Springfield, MA.] By Lynsy Smithson-Stanley - April 16, 2008
Wild Salmon can't meet demand!
(04/17/08)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
The West Coast salmon fisheries are closed almost completely this year for the first time ever due to collapsed stocks. And Southeast Alaska's chinook catch was cut almost by half to 170,000 fish, the lowest on record. That was driven by numbers agreed upon
in the U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty. Market analyst Ken Talley says there will be a trickle of king salmon from British Columbia, but it won't make up for the shortfall. The troll fishery there runs from April 20th through the end of May, or when the 13,000
fish quota is reached. In all, fewer than one million Chinook salmon will be available to the marketplace from North American fisheries this year.
A small stop gap measure will come from farmed chinook salmon from British Columbia. Roughly 3 million pounds of B.C. kings will make it to market this year. And while wild kings were fetching up to $40/pound at retail counters throughout the Pacific
Northwest, Talley says those fresh, farmed Chinooks were being promoted for just $5.99/lb. That's one red flag for Alaska Đ with spiraling food costs, consumers might be inclined to buy cheaper farmed fish, or give up on salmon altogether.
Another worry Đplanet conscious buyers believe they are doing the right thing by not buying Pacific salmon Đ and to them, that includes Alaska. Ray Riutta is director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute --
'' It's amazing how many times we get asked - aren't your fish endangered? And we say no not at all! There's a lot of confusion out there. in the market place particularly when they hear reports about all the fish are going to be gone in a few years. And for us
to try and explain to people that there is no shortage of fish in Alaska. We have a real challenge explaining that to people - at the same time when we're facing price pressure customers are thinking they're not going to buy fish because they think it's
endangered. ''
Chinook salmon are the most expensive variety, but make up the smallest percentage of Alaska's annual catch at about half a million fish each year.
Governers try to figure out Blue Crab in Bay
(04/15/08)
| Species Info | Order |
The meeting of the two leaders comes as watermen in both states resist proposed regulations designed to save the economically important species from overfishing.
Virginia and Maryland are considering a host of possible restrictions to slash the crab harvest by 20 percent to 40 percent in hopes of rebuilding the crab population and the multimillion-dollar commercial fishing industry they support.
Virginia began tightening its restrictions in February; last month it added 30 days to the time crabbing is banned in a 1,000-square-mile sanctuary in the lower Chesapeake Bay. The decision puts the refuge in effect from May 1 to mid-September to give spawning female crabs more protection.
The size of the upcoming cuts will be determined by population data scientists will share with the governors. The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. at the Potomac River Fisheries Commission in Colonial Beach.
Population figures show that blue crabs have been overfished seven of the past 10 years and that the population of female crabs is too low to sustain a healthy population.
'Both these governors absolutely understand the danger that's posed for crabs,' said John Bull, the spokesman for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which regulates seafood harvest in Virginia.
The hard crab harvest in Virginia in 2006 was nearly 21.5 million pounds -- a decline of 25 percent from the 28.7 million average from 1995 to 2005.
Watermen say more regulations will put them out of business. They blame politicians and state and federal environmental agencies for allowing the regional Chesapeake Bay cleanup to fall behind schedule.
Watermen on both sides of the Rappahannock River in Virginia are exploring the possibility of suing state and federal agencies for failing to restore the bay.
It's a Global Village - Global demand keeps prices rising
(04/14/08)
intensify in the future amid ongoing overfishing
Competition over seafood in the world will certainly accelerate its pace in the years ahead, amid ongoing over-exploitation of marine
fishery resources, said Dr. Masayuki Komatsu, Professor of the National Graduate School for Policy Studies.
Dr. Komatsu made the remark in a lecture under the title of 'the present situation and future outlook of fisheries in the world and Japan' at
a seafood consignors' meeting in a hotel in Tokyo on April 8.
Regarding world trade in seafood, he noted that the export volume increased 4.7-fold from 6.1 million tons in 1965 to 28.8 million tons in
2004, saying that increasing trade has been causing the depletion of the resources worldwide.
Consumption of seafood, he explained, has been growing over time in various parts of the world, including the United States, the European
Union, China and Korea.
In Japan, by contrast, per-capita consumption of fish has been on a constant decline over the past years as consumers tend to increasingly
stay away from fish diet.
'Japanese buyers have been losing in price competitions the world over as fish consumption in Japan is taking a contrary move to the
world's trend,' he said.
Fishery production in Japan has been continuously decreasing from the peak level in the middle of the 1980s due to such factors as
shrinking scale of distant-water fishing, lower growth rate of sardine, mackerel and other species in the coastal waters, land reclaiming and
pollution.
As a result, Japan's fishery production value in 2005 fell to 53% of the peak period, with production volume also plunging to 45%.
Production in marine aquaculture, which initially provided the hope of supplementing depleted resources, did not grow as expected, and
aquaculture in Japan, as it stands now, is not supporting the seafood supply-demand balance, he commented.
Regarding the future of fisheries, Dr. Komatsu observed that 'we cannot expect growth in fishery catch volume until 2030 given the
present state of the resources,' based on the forecast of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on fishery production.
As to the FAO's forecast that aquaculture will expand 2.3-fold in the period from 2000 to 2030, he remarked that the key lies in 'how we
can secure feed while catch volume is projected to remain level during that period.'
'Competition over fish, including feed species, among countries will surely aggravate in the years to come, and fish prices are certain to
see uptrend with no regard to the consumption trend in Japan,' Dr. Komatsu concluded.
More Chesapeake Crab Restrictions
(04/10/08)
| Species Info | Order |
Scientists say crab numbers have been low for a decade, and the harvest needs to be ratcheted back to prevent the Chesapeake's favorite critter from going into serious decline.
The proposal lays out plans by Maryland fisheries regulators to safeguard full-grown females, which biologists say need more protections to replenish the Chesapeake's population.
The plans include lowering bushel limits on female crabs, or even closing Maryland's mature female crab harvest in April and May. The regulations will be reviewed by crabbers before becoming final within a few weeks.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine plan to outline the 2008 survey of the Chesapeake crab population next Tuesday. Virginia already has announced tighter limits in that state's waters, such as a larger sanctuary and new limits on winter dredging.
The tougher regulations come after a decade of low harvest numbers in Maryland and Virginia. The states coordinate a wintertime dredge survey to estimate the Chesapeake's crab population, and those surveys show the crabs have been hovering near dangerous lows for years. Fisheries regulators say the harvest should be slashed baywide until the population reaches safer levels.
Maryland's crab harvest last year was the second-lowest on record since 1945; Virginia's was a record low.
'They know we have a serious problem. They see it in their own catches,' said Jack Travelstead, deputy commissioner of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
'The harvest is not what it was five or 10 years ago. Nobody wants to be regulated to the point where it hurts financially, but at this point, we have to,' Travelstead said.
The most recent survey available, in 2007, showed there are about 143 million blue crabs of reproducing age in the Chesapeake. Scientists want to see about 200 million adult reproducers.
'We have had a series of years in which it has shown that our spawning stock of crabs in the Bay, and our juveniles, those numbers are not improving,' said Frank Dawson, assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Maryland's preliminary draft released Wednesday sets a goal of allowing crabbers to take 46 percent of the total stock per year. That would require harvest cutbacks of 20 percent to 40 percent.
Maryland regulators laid out three scenarios - a 20 percent harvest cut, a 30 percent harvest cut and a 40 percent harvest cut.
In any scenario, the state appears headed toward setting a female size limit of 6.5 inches on female crabs, which would cut the harvest 16 percent and save about 12 million to 15 million female crabs. Watermen have fought that proposal for years because it would require sorting through crab pots to sort out the biggest females to throw back.
Maryland's draft proposal also includes lower bushel limits on females, including a possible ban on catching females in October, when females group together and are easily caught by watermen. Maryland is also considering putting female crabs off-limits completely for recreational crabbers.
Fisheries managers in both states have promised watermen that they'll do a better job coordinating harvest limits this year to address longtime complaints that the Chesapeake states take varying approaches to managing blue crabs.
Regulators say hard times are on the way for crabbers, as well as crab houses and restaurants that process and sell Chesapeake crabs. But they say the cutbacks are needed to prevent the Chesapeake's signature critters from going into serious decline.
'We need to reduce the percentage of crabs we're taking out of the Bay,' Dawson said.
Autism may be relieved by eating Fish
(04/08/08)
MARY ROWLANDS admits there have been times when she wondered what would become of her eldest child. Daniel, 17, left school two years ago with no qualifications and few friends.
Diagnosed at 14 with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, he was subject to bouts of extreme depression.
'Sometimes he would run off into the night and be gone for an hour or more, ' says Mary, a community care worker who three years ago moved to the Isle of Lewis in north west Scotland with her husband David and four children. 'We were very concerned that he might come to harm. His depression rubbed off on all of us. We wondered what we had done wrong and blamed ourselves and each other. As a family we were really struggling.' Today the Rowlands household is a much happier one. Daniel's black moods seem to have lifted and he is looking ahead to obtaining qualifications and building a career.
Remarkably, his mother attributes the transformation to the daily dose of fish oil tablets which Daniel has been taking since last year. 'After just a couple of weeks on the supplements, he started to become more cheerful, ' she says.
Daniel gave his parents no cause for concern until he was about two years old. 'I began to notice he did not mix well with other children, ' says Mary.
'Sometimes, he would push them away or try to fight them. He didn't speak until he was three.' Daniel is widely read and knowledgeable on a whole range of subjects from maths to mythology. 'But in large secondary schools he could not cope with going to different rooms for different lessons, ' says his mother. 'His education more or less went to pieces after that.
He became withdrawn and hardly slept.' When a nutritionist friend suggested that he should try an omega 3 fish oil supplement, Daniel and his family felt there was little to lose. A growing body of research suggests that omega 3 and highly unsaturated fatty acids - found in fish and seafood - can enhance brain development and mental health.
The American Psychiatric Association has said that patients with mood disorders should consume at least 1g a day of the fatty acids EPA and DHA, found in oily fish. In February, a study in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry showed that the omega 3 fatty acid EPA was as effective as Prozac at controlling symptoms of depression and that EPA and Prozac together were more effective than either taken alone.
There has been less research on fatty acids and autistic spectrum disorders but small trials suggest fatty acid supplements can reduce hyperactivity and improve language skills in autistic children.
'Scientific evidence suggests imbalances or deficiencies of certain fatty acids may contribute to a range of behavioural and learning difficulties including ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and autistic spectrum disorders, ' says Dr Alex Richardson, director of Food And Behaviour Research, a charity that investigates the links between nutrition and behaviour.
'But it is too early to give the kind of recommendations that have been made for depression and other mood disorders. Fish oil supplements seem to help at least some children with these conditions - as shown by trials in children with ADHD, dyspraxia and dyslexia - but further research is still needed, especially on autism.
'Research supports the old folk wisdom that 'fish is good for the brain'. But of the omega 3 found in fish oils, evidence suggests that it is EPA - not DHA - that is likely to be most beneficial for these purposes.' Experts agree that ideally we should get our fatty acids from food - between two and four portions of oily fish a week is the Food Standards Agency recommendation - but on average we in the UK eat only a third of a portion of oily fish a week. Signs of a deficiency include dry skin, dandruff, excessive thirst, emotional sensitivity and vision, attention and sleep problems.
DANIEL'S mother has no doubt that the four tablets of the EPA fish oil supplement VegEPA that Daniel takes each day have helped him turn his life around.
'Just before he started taking the supplements his depression was really bad but within a few weeks he was making amazing progress. Now he is more socially outgoing although he still finds meeting strangers difficult and refuses to have his photograph taken. One of the biggest changes is in his sleep patterns.
Instead of being up all night, he goes to bed and gets up at a normal time.
'He also seems more able to cope with life whereas before he just couldn't manage ordinary things such as eating meals and bathing. He exercises, listens to classical music and walks the dogs. He's much more levelheaded and stable now. At last Daniel has peace of mind.'
Seafood.com Reports continuing Chilean Salmon Problems
(04/07/08)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
'This is a complicated year,' he said. 'It is a year in which the exchange rate has had an effect, as has the cost of production. It has also been a year in which the global economy and United States economy are cooling down, so for the export industry that is bad news.'
He also discussed the ISA outbreak, which has led to the shutdown of a number of farm sites. He said that the impact of the ISA virus has not touched bottom.
'It is a virus about which very little is known, about how it is transmitted ... There is a hypothesis, but there is sadly not much science,' Barros added.'It has the potential to be very negative (for the industry) and we haven't yet seen that full potential.'
Chile's salmon exporters eked out a 2% sales increase for salmon and trout in 2007, and a 3% production increase to 397,039 tons. For the previous four years, exports had expanded at a double digit rate. In 2006, Chile represented 38% of global salmon production, and Norway represented 40%.
US Gov needs to help protect our fishing lands
(04/05/08)
Senator Stevens noted that despite all previous efforts there are still loopholes that allow IUU fishing which threaten Arctic Ocean fisheries.
'I do think we have a chance to show what scientific management could bring as an example to the other countries of the Arctic - what can be done if they really assert their authority to protect the fisheries resources of the Arctic Ocean,' said Senator Stevens. 'If we are not careful, if there is unregulated access to the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Straits, we are going to be in trouble. We must find ways to limit access to vessels that could do great harm to our fisheries resources.'
Last December, legislation introduced by Senator Stevens was signed into law which requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to maintain a list of IUU fishing vessels around the world. This will allow the United States to take action against these vessels if they illegally fish in our waters. Senator Stevens also drafted a Senate-passed resolution calling for an end to the harmful foreign fishing subsidies that lead to IUU fishing. In addition, Congress approved a Stevens-sponsored resolution urging the United States to prepare for the future management of Arctic Ocean fisheries.
'Despite these efforts there are still loopholes that allow IUU fish to come into the U.S., and this must stop,' said Senator Stevens in an opening statement submitted for the record. 'I am currently preparing a bill that would strengthen the laws that make it illegal to trade in fish or fish products harvested from IUU fishing. This bill would strengthen civil and criminal penalties and establish a strong and effective inter-agency International Fisheries Enforcement Program.'
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte testified that the United States must join the Law of the Sea Convention in order to combat IUU fishing. It is estimated that IUU fishing is a $6 to $8 billion a year industry.
'The Law of the Sea Convention is widely accepted as the legal framework under which all international fisheries must operate,' said Deputy Secretary Negroponte. 'Acceding to the Convention will give us greater leverage in negotiating on these matters, particularly in our efforts to eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.'
'I think it's time we really worked on an aggressive approach to protecting the Arctic,' said Senator Stevens. 'It's the one area of the world that could be completely controlled if we had an agreement from all nations...Ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty would enable us to have greater control of the areas above our country.'
At several points during today's hearing, witnesses praised Senator Stevens for his long history of promoting scientific management of the world's fisheries.
'I want to first of all echo Mr. Benton's sentiments, thanking you for your extraordinary leadership over the last two decades,' said Lisa Speer, Water and Oceans Program Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. 'In terms of the fish stocks agreement, the drift net moratorium, the recent UN General Assembly resolution for regulation of currently unregulated bottom fisheries throughout the world - all of those and many more major international instruments to govern high seas fishing have resulted directly from your leadership. And the world owes you a big thanks.'
A few Things
(04/03/08)
States Fight in Groundfish leads to tough times for Maine Seafood Auction
(04/02/08)
He said the 22-year-old auction has managed to stay open by reducing its work force. It employed more than 40 people at its peak in the 1990s but today employs fewer than 15. The city also has given the auction a break on its rent.
The Fish Exchange had a tough winter this year because many Maine draggers moved to Gloucester, Mass. That state allows draggers to sell lobsters inadvertently caught in nets, while Maine law bans the practice.
Jongerden said landings picked up in March, and he expects volumes will continue to increase as shrimpers switch over their gear for groundfish.
Many draggers will return to Portland from Gloucester later this spring when lobsters migrate to shore and away from offshore fishing grounds, he predicted.
The exchange, which is on the city-owned Fish Pier, pays the city rent based on a formula that considers the volume of fish landed. In past budgets, the annual rent was around $70,000.
The city agreed last August to allow the exchange to forgo rent payments until August 2009. The city also reduced rent for other fishing-related businesses on the pier.
Fish Exchange President James Salisbury said the auction will be able to survive the lean years so it will be open when fish stocks recover.
'For the foreseeable future, we can last for quite a while,' he said.
Seafood Business Reports Omega-3's help spinal injuries
(04/01/08)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
Animal research suggests that human treatment with DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) within the first hour after a spinal cord injury could be effective in limiting the extent and spread of damage. Oily fish, including salmon, tuna and mackerel, are rich in DHA.
Also, the effect of fish oil consumption on arterial elasticity, which allows for more rapid blood flow, was examined in China in overweight patients with high blood pressure. Participants who took 900 milligrams of omega-3s daily for eight weeks showed a 21 percent increase in arterial elasticity.
"While blood pressure did not change in these participants, their arterial elasticity significantly improved," said Editor Joyce Nettleton, D.Sc. "This observation suggests another way in which these omega-3s protect heart health."
Numerous other studies covered by the e-newsletters link long-chain omega-3 fatty acids with increased heart, brain and eye health.
A U.S. study reported that seafood omega-3s prevented atrial fibrillation — uncontrolled rapid trembling — from developing in animals with fast heartbeats. By increasing the heart's recovery time, the omega-3s prevented abnormal rhythms from becoming established.
Investigators in the Netherlands recently examined the relationship between children's omega-3 status at birth, which depends on the mother's omega-3 intake during pregnancy, and their motor development at age seven. Those with the highest levels of the omega-3 DHA at birth had significantly higher total motor scores than children born with less DHA.
"This means that a mother's consumption of seafood omega-3s during pregnancy is important for her child's later motor development," Nettleton said.
Treating substance abuse patients with EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) resulted in significantly lower scores for anxiety and anger. In adults diagnosed with neuroticism, researchers found the condition was related to low blood levels of EPA.
Eat Seafood - Because its Healthy
(03/28/08)
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies reviewed evidence on the benefits and risks associated with
seafood consumption to recommend ways to guide U.S. consumers in making seafood selections to meet
their needs.
Eating seafood is associated with benefits that include reduced risk for heart disease among the population
in general and possibly reducing risk for coronary heart disease among at-risk individuals. There may
be additional benefits to infants of women who consume seafood during pregnancy such as improved cognitive
and other developmental outcomes.
An increase in seafood consumption by Americans has also been accompanied by a growing awareness
not only of the potential benefits but of exposure risks associated with eating seafood such as microbial contaminants,
persistent organic pollutants, and especially contaminants like methyl mercury in oceans and
inland waters. Thus, consumers are faced with a dilemma about how to obtain nutritional benefits from
seafood balanced against exposure risks.
The study committee reviewed the evidence and developed models for consumer guidance in making
seafood choices. The committee used a consumer-centered approach to develop models that focus on the
decision and the decision-making context faced by consumers. Based on its balancing of the benefits and
risks associated with selecting types of seafood, the committee developed a decision pathway that could be
adapted for consumer guidance (Figure 1).
One of the challenges in supporting informed consumer choice is how federal agencies communicate
health risks and benefits to consumers, especially to those who may be more vulnerable than the general
population. To answer this challenge, the study committee developed different graphical illustrations (Figure
2 and Figure 3) as examples to show the trade-off relationships between the omega-3 fatty acid profiles of
various types of seafood and their methyl mercury content. These sample graphics do not include a representation
of uncertainty and agencies that develop consumer guidance should strive to report uncertainties
to the extent possible. Testing is essential in developing any graphic to avoid unanticipated effects.
The Chesapeake Bay has fisherman guessing!
(03/27/08)
But for watermen like Pierce, the anticipation is coupled with a sense of dread. The bay's blue crab population has plummeted. Maryland and Virginia are planning to impose new restrictions on crabbing, but no one is certain when they will be issued or how tough they will be. That worries environmentalists, who want to protect one of the Chesapeake's signature species, and watermen, who face added uncertainty in what has always been an unpredictable living.
'The worst part about it is that I have to order my gear now for the fall, and I don't know what they're going to do. They're really dragging their feet,' Pierce said of the regulators. 'I don't have a field to back me up, or a law office behind me. One hundred percent of my income comes from the Chesapeake Bay.'
Natural resources officials in the two states are promising to act soon, but say they need time to consider public input.
Maryland - where the season officially opens April 1 - might ban the keeping of female crabs larger than 6.5 inches to protect the most fertile. The state is also considering bushel limits for both crab-potters and those who use trotlines. And it may close the soft-shell crab season for a couple of weeks and limit the catch of recreational crabbers.
In Virginia, where the season began this month, regulators have changed their soft-shell crab rules to match Maryland's tougher standards on size. This week, they voted to extend by a month the time that a 928-square-mile sanctuary in the bay is off-limits to crabbers.
Virginia regulators will be voting on more significant measures in late April. Proposals include limiting or even ending that state's winter dredge fishery, a decades-old practice in which watermen catch female crabs as they burrow in the mud. The practice has long been banned in Maryland.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources warned watermen in September that the crab population is in trouble. Department officials say they intended to have drafted regulations by now, but are still sifting through public response to the options.
'We've gotten a lot of feedback,' said Frank Dawson, assistant secretary for aquatic resources. 'Now, we're starting to talk more about the details.'
About a thousand Maryland watermen earn at least part of their livelihood crabbing, according to state natural resources officials. Some, like Pierce, still make their entire living on the water - survivors in an industry in which the winds and the tides exact one kind of toll and the financial pressures another. Many other people in the region work for businesses connected to crabbing - seafood processors, restaurants and marinas.
This month, Maryland Watermen's Association President Larry Simns got crabbers together to hash out a proposal that they say would protect the fishery and safeguard their livelihood: a 50-bushel limit on female crabs for potters in the fall and a 30-bushel female limit for trotlines.
Simns said watermen can live with stricter limits on females in summer, but anything more severe than 50 bushels in the fall would close crabbers down. The watermen are proposing no limits on male crabs.
Dawson declined to discuss the negotiations, but said the watermen's proposal did not go far enough. The response frustrated Simns, who said crabbers made a good-faith effort to expedite the process and are now in limbo.
'It ain't a business where you just go to the store and buy what you need for the next day,' Simns said. 'They're buying now for what they need for the fall, and if they order it, they've got to pay for it.'
A waterman can earn two or three thousand dollars a week or more during late summer and fall, but rising expenses for fuel, bait and equipment cut into that. And during several months of the year, there is no work.
Some scientists worry that the states' actions will not do enough to help the crab population rebound. In 2000, when harvests dropped to the worst levels in decades, Maryland and Virginia put in restrictions but the population didn't bounce back.
The two states are taking steps in the right direction, said Tom Miller, a crab scientist at the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science. But what would work best, he said, is a quota. Maryland knows roughly how many crabs are out there because it counts them during its winter dredge survey. And it knows that the population will be stable if crabbers harvest slightly less than half of them. The states could allow crabbing until the quota is reached, he said.
'If you could take the livelihoods of individuals and the cultural heritage off the table, this fishery is crying out for quota-based management,' Miller said. But, he added, 'it would be universally, politically unacceptable, and it would require a substantial investment in enforcement.'
Yonathan Zohar, who directs the university's Center for Marine Biotechnology, agrees that the states' proposals do not go far enough. 'We are at a critical point,' he said. 'If we do nothing about it, it's going to be disastrous.'
Zohar's Inner Harbor lab has mapped the routes that female crabs follow in Maryland to reach Virginia's spawning sanctuaries. He is pushing a plan to close those corridors during certain times of the year - an idea not on the table now.
Ann Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, said Maryland officials are looking in the long run at both a quota system and protecting corridors. But first, she said, they must establish short-term measures.
Swanson said the cooperation between Maryland and Virginia this year is unprecedented. But she said Virginia's proposals thus far have been more bold - perhaps because the state had further to go just to be on par with Maryland.
'I don't think Maryland has really put ideas on the table that are really going to cut the harvest,' Swanson said. 'But I think Maryland will get there.'
Maryland watermen and environmentalists have often pointed their fingers south when discussing whom to blame for the drop in crabs. Virginia has long allowed practices that Maryland bans, such as the winter dredge fishery and the taking of pregnant females, known as sponge crabs. It has had more liberal size limits, and its season begins earlier.
But Virginia officials say they are ready to get tough now. If data from the latest dredge survey indicate that the crab population has dropped even more, regulators will consider drastic action, said John M.R. Bull, a spokesman for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
'We will talk about everything, up to and including a moratorium on crabbing in the state of Virginia,' Bull said. 'We can't take half steps and half measures if the population is crashing.'
Its a dangerous business!
(03/26/08)
Forty-seven lives were at stake on the foundering fishing boat. The water was 35 degrees. Seas were 20 feet. Snow squalls wailed around them. The wind chill factor made the air temperature minus 24 degrees.
Lloyd set up his ship's mess hall for mass casualties, expecting the worst.
In the end, the Coast Guard and a nearby ship saved 42 of the 47 people. Four, including the catcher-processor's captain and his top two men, perished. A search for a fifth crewman was called off late Monday night.
'The range of emotions is pretty vast,' Lloyd said of his crew from a satellite phone aboard the Munro. 'On the one hand, we saved 42 people. On the other hand, we didn't do it perfectly.'
As details became available Monday about the sinking of the 203-foot Seattle-based Alaska Ranger as it was on its way to mackerel fishing grounds in the Bering Sea, what emerged was a story of a harrowing rescue effort involving some of the worst conditions on the high seas.
When the first rescuers arrived by helicopter about three hours after the mayday call, they found a grim scene.
They saw three strobe lights and figured those were the life rafts. As they got a little closer, there was a fourth light, a fifth, then a sixth, and the numbers kept growing.
Then they did a quick big-picture scan and saw flashes over a mile-long stretch, with no sign of the vessel. Each light was a person, they quickly realized, floating in the water and fighting for life.
The chopper crew picked a spot and began slowly hoisting people out of the water, Lloyd said. They started with those not in life rafts, which was the majority of the fishermen.
The Alaska Warrior, another catcher-processor also owned by Fishing Company of Alaska, which owned the Ranger, showed up about an hour later and mostly picked up the survivors who had made it to the life rafts.
The four men who died -- captain Eric Peter Jacobsen, 65, of Lynnwood, Wash.; mate David Silveira, 50, of San Diego; chief engineer Daniel Cook, age and hometown unknown; and Byron Carrillo, believed to be from Seattle -- succumbed to hypothermia, Alaska State Troopers said. They were likely in cold water for hours, said Sgt. Greg Garcia. One body was recovered by the Munro. The other three were taken aboard the Alaska Warrior.
Garcia said initial reports are that the captain and his top staff were the last to get off the sinking boat.
The man lost at sea was fish master Satoshi Konno of Japan. He, as did all those aboard, abandoned ship wearing a survival suit, which greatly increases the likelihood of survival by keeping the wearers afloat and at least somewhat warmer.
On Monday, 10-foot seas, 36-degree water temperatures and poor visibility in the snow hampered efforts to find Konno. At 9:45 p.m. the Coast Guard called off the search.
Konno's job on the ship was to help the skipper find mackerel and manage quality control for the fish, which is largely exported to Japan and Korea, said company spokesman Mike Szymanski.
The Seattle-based ship first began taking on water at around 3 a.m. Sunday after losing rudder control in a mile-deep part of the Bering Sea about 120 miles west of the port of Dutch Harbor, the Coast Guard said.
The cause of the sinking is under investigation. A spokesman for the ship's owner said they did not have sufficient information to determine the cause.
The crew abandoned the ship around 4:45 a.m. after the water coming in hit the generators and cut the power off, and the ship listed 45 degrees to the port side, Lloyd said.
STACKING THEM IN
The first Coast Guard helicopter, an HH-60 Jayhawk, arrived at 6 a.m. The crew aboard the helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer into the water and he began collecting survivors into a basket, which was then hoisted to the hovering chopper.
'They just started stacking them in,' Lloyd said. They squeezed 12 fishermen into the tight space before they had to return to the Munro to unload.
The 378-foot cutter was still about 75 miles away. By the time the helicopter delivered its first load of fishermen, nine of the 12 were able to walk but three were not, Lloyd said. One man was unresponsive. Medics performed CPR on him for 45 minutes before he was declared dead, Lloyd said.
Some of the others were given warm IVs, and others were put in warm bags to bring up their dangerously low body temperatures.
'They were just kind of shivering and shaking, with their eyes wide open,' Lloyd said of the survivors.
One fisherman didn't make it into the helicopter after he slipped from the basket and dropped 30 to 60 feet back into the ocean. The helicopter, though, could not go back for him. It was out of fuel, the Coast Guard said, and had to return to the cutter immediately.
At one point, one of the two Coast Guard rescue swimmers gave up his seat on the helicopter and stayed on scene in a life raft while the chopper went to refuel.
Crew member Abe Tsuneo was one of the lucky ones who made it onto a life raft. He estimated he floated on the raft for more than three hours before the Alaska Warrior picked him up, he said when reached in Dutch Harbor on Monday night. The 51-year-old from Japan said, it was 'cold, cold.'
The Alaska Warrior arrived around 7 a.m., according to Coast Guard chief petty officer Barry Lane.
Adm. Gene Brooks told KTUU Channel 2 news, 'On a search-and-rescue scale, 1 to 10, this is a high 12.'
Family members of the men who died were working through their loss Monday.
The captain's daughter, Karen Jacobsen, 43, reached in Massachusetts, described her father, Pete Jacobsen, as a third-generation seaman who liked to wake up early and enjoy the sunrise and a good cup of coffee. She said she's going to honor her father by watching the sunrise on Easter mornings.
'He always said that if anything ever happened, he would be the last person off. ... He would go down with the ship if necessary.'
About half the survivors remained on the Munro on Monday. Most were still in shock, Lloyd said. They found solace in playing cards and just spending time with one another.
One man was designing a tattoo. It will say he survived the sinking of the Alaska Ranger.
Cost of fuel hurts Point Judith
(03/25/08)
NARRAGANSETT Ń Fisherman Joel Hovanesian did the unthinkable this week. He told his three-man crew to find other work.
It's over, the 51-year-old captain says.
Hit hard by tightening regulations, a spotty season and soaring fuel costs, Hovanesian recently tied his boat, Excalibur, to a dock at Point Judith, the state's most important fishing port. He says he can no longer cover his fuel costs while searching for squid or fluke.
He let his crew go after fuel prices, rising for five straight weeks, hit a three-year high on Saturday.
I said, this doesn't make any sense, says Hovanesian, who met with state Department of Environmental Management Director W. Michael Sullivan this week, and who last year urged Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse to find a way to help the ailing fishing industry.
This is the most dangerous job in America and I don't want to do it for measly pay, says Hovanesian, who crawled into the holds of boats to unload fish as a 13-year-old boy.
There's a new catchword around the bulkhead these days. It's a three letter word: bad. You hear it everywhere. How are things going? They're bad, people say. Bad.
On Saturday, the price of marine diesel fuel jumped to nearly $3.65 a gallon, up from around $2 a gallon a year ago, says Chris Drew, the owner of Drew Oil Corp. in Cranston. His company delivers fuel to fishermen in Narragansett, North Kingstown, Warren and New Bedford.
Fishermen have been complaining about the price of fuel since last October and it's done nothing but go up since, says Drew.
In past years, fishermen have hunkered down during the bad times. They've survived boat fires, oil spills and ocean storms.
When the lobster population thinned a half dozen years ago, many dipped into their retirement funds, and fished for other species.
They stuck with it because they knew it would get better. Now, some are wondering, How long can I wait?
A lot of people are tying up their boats, waiting for better times, says Lanny Dellinger, president of the Rhode Island Lobstermen's Association.
Unlike some business owners, fishermen can't pass on to the consumer an increase in operating costs, says Dellinger. Fishing is a heavily regulated industry and most fishermen can sell only to licensed fish and lobster dealers. The dealers Ń not the fishermen Ń determine the price paid at the dock.
We can't cut out the middle man and sell directly to the restaurants, he says.
Lobstermen are catching as many lobsters this year as last, but they're getting less for them, he says. Meanwhile, the overhead has gone through the roof. The price of bait has gone up. The gas we put in our trucks has gone up. All the stuff we use, things like buoys, are made of petroleum, and the cost of those things have increased tenfold. It's killing our industry coast wide.
In Point Judith, Jim Thayer has tied up his boat, Luke & Sarah, next to Rhode Island Engine. He needs about $30,000 in engine repairs, he says. Often, he has other work done while his boat is idle, but not this year, he says.
Already, he's spent $92,000 more for fuel this year compared to early last year, he says.
He can't even afford to paint his massive black-hulled boat, a 121-foot freezer trawler. Scrapes and rust have erased part of the boat's name. He shakes his head. It's never looked this bad.
The 64-year-old Wakefield captain had hoped to retire by now, but with profits down, he has to keep fishing, he says. He's been fishing for 40 years.
The slowdown is hurting everyone.
Barry Barrett, the owner of Point Judith Electronics, says sales have stalled. Fewer fishermen are buying equipment or making payments, which makes it hard for him to buy new stock.
It's a trickle down effect, says Barrett, who relies on a two-person staff, including his bookkeeper. There are a lot of businesses in this industry that are in extreme danger.
Captains like Thayer are making only emergency repairs, says Jay Gallup, a third-generation owner of Rhode Island Engine.
They aren't making improvements, they're only doing what's necessary. As a result, only about 60 percent of the company's business is tied to the state's fleet, he says. More fishermen are falling behind on payments, he adds.
Fuel prices dropped yesterday, but dealers aren't making predictions. The market is volatile, they say.
Fishermen face other challenges, too, says Chris Brown, president of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen's Association.
Tightening federal regulations have shortened the time they can spend at sea. And catch limits have reduced what captains and crews can take home.
As an example, the amount of yellowtail flounder fishermen can catch in a day has dropped from 750 pounds to 250 pounds, says Brown.
I can catch that much in an hour, he says. But it's a three-hour ride out and a three-hour ride back. In years gone by, we'd fish from dawn to dark. Now we're in by noon.
Brown says he understands the need to stop overfishing, but many species are rebounding, he says. However, the federal government can take years before it relaxes a law, he says.
Fishermen like Dellinger have another concern. If fuel prices remain high, fewer fishermen will need dock space.
Waterfront dealers and other marine-related businesses could falter or fail. That, in turn, could put pressure on companies to sell to developers, he says.
Hovanesian, meanwhile, is trying to sort it all out.
I always prided myself on looking for fish, he says.
But you can't do that now. You have to know where the fish are. If you roll the dice and lose now, you go so far backwards you can't come back.
Good Friday around the world
(03/21/08)
In many English-speaking countries, most shops are closed for the day and advertising from television and radio is withdrawn to some degree.
In Canada, banks and government offices (at all levels) and public sector businesses are closed, along with most private sector businesses (except in Quebec).
In Hong Kong, all businesses and government offices are closed for a public holiday.
In the United States, Good Friday is not a federal holiday, although it is a state holiday in some locations. U.S. governments are also constitutionally prevented from forcing most private businesses to open or close on any particular day, so the stock markets are usually closed on Good Friday along with some other businesses - but the majority of businesses are open on Good Friday. Many public schools close on Good Friday because so many children's families observe the holiday. However, for secular purposes, the names Easter and Good Friday are often replaced with euphemistic terminology. "Good Friday" is often renamed as "Spring holiday" on school calendars, to avoid association with the Christian holiday while at the same time allowing a state-sanctioned day off. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government are not allowed to close. State and local offices are closed in areas where it is a state holiday.
The Republic of Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country, prohibits all alcohol from being sold on Good Friday. The day is a bank holiday, but not a public holiday. All pubs and many restaurants in Ireland close for the duration of the day. It is similar to Christmas Day in this regard. This tradition has come under criticism of late, with secular businesses claiming a loss in earnings by way of a religious festival. Many people cross the border to Northern Ireland to shop or visit pubs or restaurants.
In Germany, comedic theater performances and events which include public dancing are illegal on the day (although this restriction is enforced unevenly); cinemas and television are not affected, although many TV channels show religious material on the day. The enforcement of these rules even on non-Christians has met with increased opposition in the last decade.
In South Africa, the government regulates the opening of businesses and entertainment outlets on this day (as with Christmas Day). All government offices, schools and certain businesses are closed on Good Friday by law. The buying and selling of alcohol is prohibited.
In India, Good Friday is a Central Government as well as a State holiday, although Stock Markets are usually closed. Some other businesses are also closed in states where Christians are in the majority like Assam, Goa, and Kerala (higher percentage of Christians, even though not the majority) but the majority of businesses are open on Good Friday in rest of the country. Most schools are closed on Good Friday.
In Muslim-majority Indonesia, Good Friday is a national holiday. All government offices, schools and certain businesses are closed on Good Friday by law and many newspapers choose not to publish on this day. Public holiday is also observed in Singapore and in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.
Eastern Orthodox Christians are not supposed to eat at all on this day and the next, while the Roman Catholic Church observes fasting and abstinence for this day as well as Ash Wednesday.
In many English speaking countries, hot cross buns are eaten.
In Bermuda, kites are flown. They are often handmade with wooden sticks, colorful tissue paper, glue, and string. The shape of the kite and the use of wood is meant to symbolize the cross that Jesus died on. Also, the kite flying in the sky symbolizes his ascension to heaven.
Traditionally, Roman Catholics are to abstain from eating meat every Friday of the year as penance. Nowadays, this is only a requirement during Fridays of Lent; during Fridays of the rest of the year, other methods of penance may be followed, for example an extra prayer. As a modern tradition, many Roman Catholics (and members of other Christian denominations as well) will eat fish and vegetables on Good Friday.
There is no horse racing on Good Friday in the UK. However, in 2008, betting shops will open for the first time. The BBC has for many years introduced its 7 am News broadcast on Radio 4 on Good Friday with a verse from Isaac Watts' hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross".
In Sweden, Good Friday - as well as Easter Monday - is a national holiday. Some shops are open a few hours in the morning. People not practicularly religious use Good Friday as a day of meeting relatives. The biggest community, Church of Sweden, does not celebrate Mass and therefore no Eucharist is distributed. Linked below is an English description of the Good Friday service. [13]
In Louisiana, the Cajuns have a tradition to not dig in the dirt on Good Friday.
Early Halibut Price Reports
(03/20/08)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
APA/Sea Grant
This is Fish RadioÉ I'm Laine Welch Đ Halibut prices take a dip at the docks. I'll tell you more after this Đ
The At Sea Processors Assn donates one million fish meals each year to hungry Americans through its Community Catch Program. Learn more about the world's largest food fishery at www.atsea.org -
From Boston to Beijing and Florida to France - the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute promotes the superiority of wild Alaska seafood at home and around the world. Learn more about ASMI at www.alaskaseafood.org
Halibut prices were down from the record prices Alaska longliners enjoyed last year. The halibut fishery opened March 8th and prices didn't peak like they usually do. Last year opening prices were well over $5.00 a pound in major Alaska ports during the first week of the fishery. Roughly 2 million pounds has crossed the docks so far.
The decrease in price still is no cause for complaint -- Kodiak dock prices ranged from $3.74 to $4.20 a pound.
At Homer, early halibut deliveries fetched $4.90, then dropped fast to $3.70 for 10/20's, $4.05 for 20/40s and $4.40 for halibut weighing 40 pounds and up. Nearly 70 percent of the halibut offloaded at Homer were 10/20 size Đ that was causing some buzz among buyers. There was a better mix of fish coming into Southeast Alaska Đ halibut prices there ranged from $3.80 to $4 to $4.30, similar to the same time last year.
Some of the downward press on prices stems from supplies of frozen fish still in the nation's freezers. And the recession has Americans tightening their belts and resisting Ôluxury' seafood items. Buyers say halibut has reached an elite level and is hugely popular among high end restaurants and retailers. TC Mitchell at the Anchorage Daily News says halibut fillets are fetching $13.95 a pound at 10th & M Seafoods in Anchorage. But that's trumped by troll caught winter kings from Southeast Đ Mitchell says those are selling at $19.95 a pound for the whole fish.
Check out the line up starting today at ComFish Đ www.comfishalaska.com
Fish Radio is also brought to you by the Marine Conservation Alliance, promoting sustainable fisheries to feed the world. Catch past programs at www.marineconservationalliance.org . Spring officially begins today! In Kodiak, I'm Laine Welch.
Grouper Gets Stronger
(03/19/08)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
'He basically showed that the overfishing had ended,' said Charlene Ponce, spokeswoman for the Gulf Council. 'He is scheduled to make a presentation to the full council in April, at which time final action will be taken.'
A sport fishing group, the Fishing Rights Association, and a commercial organization, the Southern Offshore Fishermen's Association, pooled their resources to hire Kenchington.
'This is a big day for us,' said the FRA's Dennis O'Hern, who has led the fight against the proposal. 'The numbers were there all along. '
Citizens can sound off about the proposed grouper rules today at a public hearing at the Radisson Hotel on Roosevelt Boulevard in St. Petersburg.
Virginia Blue Crabs
(03/18/08)
| Species Info | Order |
Last month, state officials approved a spate of changes in regulations covering the harvesting of blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay to try to restore the dwindling crab population.
Next week, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission will consider whether to enforce no-harvest sanctuaries for longer periods. In April, the commission will vote on cutting the amount of crab pots by as much as 30 percent.
Hampton waterman C.D. Hancock said many of the changes are supposed to control overfishing -- but much bigger problems facing blue crabs include pollution and other environmental factors.
Crab pot season started Monday and runs through November 30.
MSC for Maine Lobsters?
(03/17/08)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
under way to have the state's signature seafood certified as sustainable by an international organization
that evaluates fishing practices worldwide. With consumers demanding more 'green' food products, the
lobster industry stands to lose out if it doesn't get certified, supporters say.
'It'll open up a lot of markets for us,' said John Hathaway, owner of Shucks Maine Lobster processing
company in Richmond.
The London-based Marine Stewardship Council has been in the business of encouraging responsible
fishing practices since 1997. Fisheries that are certified as 'sustainable' can use the council's blue
ecolabel, which assures consumers the seafood was not overfished or harvested in a way that harms
the ocean.
The MSC has certified 26 separate fisheries around the world, and nearly 1,200 seafood products carry
the group's label.
Retailers and restaurants are jumping on the bandwagon.
Wal-Mart has pledged that, in the next few years, all wild-caught seafood it sells in its North American
stores will be certified as sustainable. Other U.S. chains, including Whole Foods, Target and Costco,
have committed to the program in varying degrees.
It's hard to ignore heavy-hitters like those, says Linda Bean, owner of Port Clyde Lobster.
'We're convinced that the demand for Maine lobster will be greatly affected if we don't do this,' she
said. 'We'll be out of the loop.'
Maine accounts for about 80 percent of the U.S. lobster catch. American lobster was the single most
valuable U.S. fishery in 2006, worth $395 million at the dock, according to the latest statistics from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Gov. John Baldacci has appointed a task force to pursue the MSC certification for lobsters caught in
Maine. Members are Department of Marine Resources Commissioner George Lapointe, Hathaway and
Bean, granddaughter of L.L. Bean, who founded the outdoor apparel company that bears his name.
Hathaway and Bean plan to soon start raising funds privately to pay for a third-party company to
evaluate the harvesting practices, regulatory regime and science of the lobster fishery. The assessment
will be submitted to the MSC for approval. The process will probably take more than a year.
Maine's lobster fishery, which was valued at about $250 million last year, is often cited as a model
fishery. There are trap limits and rules that ban catching lobsters that are too small and too big, along
with egg-bearing females.
Having an ecolabel certification would allow the industry to promote those harvest practices.
West Coast wild salmon having difficult year
(03/12/08)
It would mark the first time ever that the federal agency created 22 years ago to manage the Pacific Coast fishery canceled the coast's traditional salmon fishing season from April to mid-November.
Such a move would jeopardize the livelihoods of close to 1,000 commercial fishermen from Santa Barbara to Washington State and would significantly drive up the price of West Coast wild salmon.
A decision to shut down the fishery also would kill recreational salmon fishing for some 2.4 million anglers in California, an activity that the American Sportfishing Association has estimated is worth $4 billion.
The council is expected to make a recommendation in April to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which will make the final decision about what to do about the collapsing salmon fishery.
'This is unprecedented,' said Dave Bitts, a commercial salmon and crab fisherman based in Eureka. 'The Sacramento fish are our bread and butter, and there are not even any crumbs. It's horrible. It means half or more of my income is not going to be there at all this year.'
Why season can be closed
The prospect of banning fishing came up during the first full day of presentations about the salmon crisis during the council's weeklong meeting at the Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento.
The council's salmon management plan, first adopted as part of the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and amended several times since then, requires the council to close ocean fishing if the number of spawning salmon do not reach the conservation objectives set for the fishery.
There are many ways to count fish, depending on what rivers and tributaries are included, but only 63,900 fall run salmon were documented spawning in the Sacramento River in 2007, far below the 122,000 to 189,000 objective the council had set.
The doom and gloom brought on by the poor run was made worse by news that the number of jacks - 2-year-old fish that return to the river a year early to spawn - is the lowest ever recorded in the Central Valley fall run. Scientists use the number of jacks that return as an indicator of what next year's spawning season will look like.
Fisheries experts expected 157,000 jacks, but counted only 6,000.
What it means is that all fishing where the fall run chinook are caught must be closed unless there is an emergency rule allowing an exemption, said Chuck Tracy, a staff officer for the council. Chinook from the Sacramento and its tributaries are caught in California, Oregon and Washington, but the catch in Washington is historically small enough that it might not fall under the rule.
'Washington could be exempted, but California and Oregon will definitely be affected,' Tracy said.
Cape Falcon, in northern Oregon, would likely be the boundary for a fishery closure, said Peter Dygert, the fisheries management chief of the sustainable fisheries division of the National Marine Fisheries Service. 'Any fishing south of Cape Falcon will have to be implemented under emergency rule. There are going to be relatively few fish in the ocean overall.'
Federal disaster possible
The situation is so bad that there have been discussions during the meetings about declaring the salmon fishery a federal disaster, Tracy said.
The Klamath and Trinity river run, another major salmon run along the Pacific Coast, was declared a disaster in 2006 after a similar collapse, freeing up money to help those who are financially dependent on the salmon industry. The Klamath and Trinity crisis led to a dismal commercial and recreational salmon catch last year.
'This is the same situation we were in two years ago in the Klamath,' Tracy said. At that time, 'they did allow some fisheries in the ocean through an emergency rule.'
But, in many ways, the situation is even worse now. Peter Lawson, of the National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Marine Fisheries Science Center, told the council that five different salmon stocks in the three states have failed two years in a row, including chinook and coho salmon.
The emergency exemption allowed some fishing along the Pacific Coast after the salmon crisis on the Klamath, but Fisheries experts were hard pressed to come up with any excuse the council could use this time to justify an exception, given the dire circumstances.
'The California, Oregon and Washington coastal stocks are all depressed,' Tracy said. 'The Sacramento fall chinook are in the worst shape. Is it a crisis? If you are a commercial fisherman or someone who relies on the fishing industry, yes.'
The Sacramento River fall run, the San Francisco Bay's biggest wild salmon run, was the second worst on record for spawning chinook. The worst year was in 1992, but the fishery recovered and as recently as 2002 there were hundreds of thousands of spawning salmon in the Sacramento watershed.
At its peak, the fall run, which essentially means fish that are at their spawning peak in September and October, exceeded 800,000 fish. Over the past decade, the numbers had never fallen below 250,000 - until this past fall.
Nothing to catch
Fisheries experts say even if the salmon fishery remained wide open there would not be any salmon left to catch.
The collapse is especially troublesome because the recreational and commercial fishing industries all along the Pacific coast depend on fish born in the Sacramento River and its tributaries. The Central Valley chinook, or king, salmon pass through the San Francisco Bay after hatching in the river and roam the Pacific Ocean as far away as Alaska before returning three years later to the place where they were born.
The fall run - named for the time the fish pass through the Golden Gate returning to their native streams - is, in fact, the last survivor of dozens of teeming salmon runs up and down the Pacific coast. The Central Valley's spring run may once have been the largest, but most of the habitat is now behind dams.
The scientists, fishermen and tribal representatives at the meetings this week are trotting out various theories for the decline, including global warming, diversions of freshwater in the delta, pumping operations, a lack of nutrient rich deep ocean upwellings and exposure to pollutants. One document lists 46 possible reasons.
Dygert said the death of so many salmon 'is suggesting a broad-scale ocean survival problem.'
'One thing we know is that these fish had plenty of parents,' said Bitts. 'Something has happened since then.'
The council, which will propose three options for managing the fishery by the end of the week, asked staff scientists Tuesday to investigate a variety of possible causes, including hatchery operations and ecological changes in the ocean and fresh water environments.
Fisheries in crisis What's next: The Pacific Fishery Management Council, meeting in Sacramento, will consider recommendations by conservationists, biologists, tribal interests and fishing industry representatives. The council will propose three options Friday for what to do about this year's fishing season. Input: The public can comment over the next month in writing or at hearings in Oregon and Washington on March 31 and in Eureka on April 1
Snow Crab looking tighter
(03/07/08)
| Species Info | Order | Nutrition |
Prices of Russia-produced frozen king crab have been soaring in Japan.
Until late last year, the prices of sections (air-blast L size) hovered around the level of Y1,900-1,850 per kg, but started an upturn early this year to top Y 2,000.
Prices as of late in February rose to Y 2,300, higher by Y800-1000, or 50-60%, as compared with a year ago.
Japan's imports of frozen king crab, including blue, in January-December 2007 totaled 14,400 tons, down 15% over the preceding year.
Imports in January 2008 also remained at a low tone of 1,221 tons, down 6%.
Of the total imports in the month, those from Russia sank 12% to 1,045 tons, while those from the U.S. shot up 85% to 176 tons.
Imports of live king crab, entirely coming from Russia, suffered an even larger fall, with those in January plummeting 79% to 198 tons.
End prices of beach-boiled and chilled large crab with good meat contents nearly doubled from a year earlier amid the prospect of supply shortage, causing crab sellers to complain about difficulties in maintaining their business.
The Russian government's fishery enforcement was tightened in the main fishing ground of West Kamchatska, with supply to Japan staying at low levels since fall, the prime season of king crab harvests.
In the absence of a secure outlook for supply this year as well, processors and wholesalers are desperately trying to procure products.
A major wholesaler in Hokkaido observed that, if supplies to Japan decrease further, 'the prices of crab, mainly L size, could mostly probably climb to the order to Y2,500 per kg.'
Another Hokkaido wholesaler says that he in