Seafood Headlines February 1, 2017

Increasing factory and auto emissions disrupt natural cycle in East China Sea

China's rapid ascent to global economic superpower is taking a toll on some of its ancient ways. For millennia, people have patterned their lives and diets around the vast fisheries of the East China Sea, but now those waters are increasingly threatened by human-caused, harmful algal blooms that choke off vital fish populations, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

"There has been massive growth in emissions from China's factories and cars over the past few decades, and what comes out of the smokestacks and tailpipes tends to be richer in nitrogen than phosphorus," said Katherine Mackey, assistant professor of Earth system science at UCI and lead author of the study, published recently in Frontiers in Marine Science. To read the full article click here. Source Science Daily.

Making Malta’s presidency work for people in fisheries

Our work on Mediterranean fisheries attracted much attention and support. The president of the Parliament’s PECH committee also accepted my invitation to a major event we are hosting on March 29 and 30.

This work is related to the Medfish4ever strategy. Intensive preparatory work has been ongoing for a number of years and we are now getting closer to a re-markable turning point. Commissioner Karmenu Vella, Alain Cadec, EP PECH president, and all Mediterranean ministers, including those from third countries, will be in Malta for a conference and the signing of the ‘Malta Medfish4ever declaration’. To read the full article click here. Source Times of Malta.

With oyster nursery, San Diego steps toward aquaculture

The waters off the United States’ eighth-largest city may seem an unlikely place to grow oysters, but in a surprise announcement last month, officials from the Port of San Diego (Calif.) said they’re aiming to do just that.

Hungry locals shouldn’t expect to see “Grown in San Diego Bay” oysters at raw bars anytime soon – the focus here will be on nursery production. To start, a small amount of purchased hatchery oysters will be grown from seed (3 to 4 millimeters in size) to roughly the size of a quarter (20-25 mm), and tested against established health safety standards. To read the full article click here. Source Global Aquaculture Advocate.

Cefas signs a Pacific-UK marine science partnership to promote environmental research and collaboration

Pacific-UK marine science collaboration has been further strengthened with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UK Government’s Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The agreement and work plan will explore a range of different partnership opportunities in the field of marine science. To read the full article click here. Source Cefas.

Sergi Tudela, Director General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of Catalonia (Spain), talks about #MedFish4Ever

Commissioner Vella has called for action in the Mediterranean to help the recovery of fish stocks and that of fishing communities. Interview investigating interviewee’s reasons for supporting the MedFish4Ever campaign. To watch the video interview click here. Source European Commission.

Bay of Bengal: depleted fish stocks and huge dead zone signal tipping point

The Bay of Bengal’s basin contains some of the most populous regions of the earth. No less than a quarter of the world’s population is concentrated in the eight countries that border the bay1. Approximately 200 million people live along the Bay of Bengal’s coasts and of these a major proportion are partially or wholly dependent on its fisheries2.

For the majority of those who depend on it, the Bay of Bengal can provide no more than a meagre living: 61% of India’s fisherfolk already live below the poverty line. Yet the numbers dependent on fisheries are only likely to grow in years to come, partly because of climate change. In southern India drought and water scarcity have already induced tens of thousands of farmers to join the fishing fleet3. Rising sea levels are also likely to drive many displaced people into the fishing industry. To read the full article click here. Source The Guardian.

Landing obligation: What's new in 2017?

Eliminating the wasteful practice of discarding fish at sea is one of the main aims of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy, adopted in 2014. This will not only improve sustainability, but also boost data collection, which is essential for scientists to provide reliable advice.

Although we are still in a transitional period, the ban on discards is now a fact in all European Union waters and for many different fisheries. In 2015, the landing obligation began to cover small and large pelagic species, industrial fisheries and the main fisheries in the Baltic. In 2016, it was extended to demersal fisheries for the North Sea and the Atlantic. This year even more species will be covered in the Atlantic, while species from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea are included for the first time. To read the full article click here. Source European Commission.

Pressure mounts in Icelandic strike

A FRESH attempt could be made to resume talks – probably early next week – to find a solution to the long running Icelandic fishermen’s strike.

Negotiations broke down on Monday last week after the unions declared they were not making progress and decided to leave the meeting.

But Icelandic law dictates that in such a situation the state conciliator must reconvene another meeting within two weeks.

As yet, however, there has been no sign of this happening, with both sides in entrenched positions. To read the full article click here. Source Fish Update.

Labour shortage holds back Canada’s aquaculture industry

Aquaculture is Canada’s fastest growing agricultural industry, yet in 2014 it suffered $57 million in lost sales due to labour shortages, and these annual losses are expected to rise. 

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) has completed a three-year study of the Canadian aquaculture industry and released the Aquaculture: Labour Market Forecast to 2025study – an examination of one of Canada’s smallest, but fastest growing agricultural sectors. To read the full article click here. Source Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance.

Investigation into EU seafood consumers' attitudes

Fish consumption is increasing, with 42 percent Europeans eating fish/aquaculture products at least once a week at home. 

This underlines the need to ensure sustainable supply of fish to the EU market. To read the full article click here. Source The Aquaculturist.

Trends in Scottish Fish Stocks 2016

A paper on the state of gadoid (cod family) fish stocks by the University of the Highlands and islands has just been published. The paper highlights some of the significant (for the good) changes in fish stocks in recent years.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “We are delighted this report confirms the general trend of increasing fish stocks in Scottish waters. Much of this recovery can be attributed to the innovation of our fishermen in developing more selective types of fishing gear and pioneering other initiatives such as real time area closures. To read the full article click here. Source Through the Gaps.

Industrial fishing operation area for pilchard and anchovy reduced

As of this year the area of intervention of industrial fishing in the artisanal zone in the north of the country is reduced by 35 per cent. This came after the proposal the Undersecretariat for Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) presented to the Regional Fisheries Council, composed of both sectors, to advance in this area to support artisanal fishing, without affecting workers in the industry.

A resolution published on 26 January by Subpesca reduces the exclusive sector of artisanal fishing in which the industry can exercise activities, in the figure called "perforation", as well as the duration, which decreases from four to three years. To read the full article click here. Source FIS.

Sanctuary program can't dictate use of local waters - Moliga

American Samoa Governor Lolo Moliga has told the US Sanctuary Program that their local office cannot dictate how the territorial government uses local waters.

The governor said he met with officials of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and explained to them the position of the legislature and the executive branch concerning federal oversight of areas included in the Sanctuary of American samoa. To read the full article click here. Source Radio NZ.

Safer Seafood: IAEA Develops Tools to Help Fight Toxic Marine Algae

When tiny marine organisms grow uncontrolled, forming what is called a harmful algal bloom, their toxins can make people sick, harm ocean life and cause millions of dollars in lost seafood revenues. To help mitigate the effects of these toxins, scientists at the IAEA are working with researchers in Cuba to detect and measure biotoxin in ocean organisms and to develop monitoring and reference tools that will help control such outbreaks worldwide.

“With a better understanding of how harmful algal blooms behave and how their toxins enter the food chain, it will be easier for countries to monitor toxins and control the consumption of contaminated seafood,” said Marie-Yasmine Dechraoui-Bottein, a research scientist at the IAEA leading this collaborative project with the Centre de Estudios Ambiantales de Cienfuegos (CEAC) in Cuba. “Harmful algal blooms have a particularly big impact on small island states that rely heavily on their fisheries and tourism.” To read the full article click here. Source IAEA.

Food Additives that are Permitted to be added to Food Sold in Canada

Food additives are regulated by Health Canada under the Food and Drug Regulations and associated Marketing Authorizations (MA). Additives that are permitted to be added to food sold in Canada and their maximum levels of use can be found in the Health Canada lists of permitted additives.

Requests to approve uses of food additives that are not currently permitted in Canada may be made to Health Canada using the food additive submission process. Refer to the Health Canada web page "Food Additives - Submission Preparation" for additional information. For additional information go the CFIA webpage by clicking here. Source CFIA.

Union rejects resolution allowing Corpesca to operate in artisanal zone

The Arica Artisanal Fleet Crewmen Union strongly rejects the exempt resolution from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca), which authorizes the fishing industry of northern Chile to operate for three years in an exclusive zone for artisanal fishing.

In a public statement issued by the union, its president Jose Martinez Venegas said that the decision taken by Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Paolo Trejo was "incomprehensible" to the organization because "it gave authorization to the large fishing industry in the north operated by Corpesca to perforate the first five miles that are exclusive to artisanal fishing." To read the full article click here. Source FIS.

Maine Legislature Eyes Lobster, Crab Laws

Area lawmakers have drafted several bills that would affect lobster and crab fisheries should they reach the floor of the Maine Legislature.

State Rep. Brian Hubbell (D-Bar Harbor) has drafted a concept bill that proposes several ways to make changes to limited-entry lobster and crab zones.

“It is a laundry list of possible solutions to the grievances I’ve heard from fisherman in Zone B,” said Hubbell. To read the full article click here. Source Perishable News.

 Lobstermen Question Need For Restrictions To Help Species

Maine - Some lobster fishermen expressed skepticism Tuesday about a plan to try to revive the dwindling southern New England lobster stock through new fishing restrictions.

Lobster fishing in the U.S. is experiencing a boom that has lasted several years, and prices have also been high. But the population of the species has diminished in the waters off southern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long Island, New York, where it was once plentiful. To read the full article click here. Source Perishable News.

Pairings: Paraduxx white wine a rich match for salmon, curried mussels

You’ll want to keep our Wine of the Week, Paraduxx 2015 Propriety White Wine ($30), around for spring, which will be showing its sweet self, bud by bud, any time now.

The wine has beautiful aromas, like an orchard in the spring sun. There are whispers of jasmine, honeysuckle, orange blossom, and something suggestive of rain. It’s a beauty before it even gets to your lips.

This aromatic halo resolves into a rich, full experience on the palate, with a heft that is a bit surprising given the delicacy of the aromas. You’ll notice flavors of ripe melon, baked apple, custard apple, and a hint of ripe white pineapple, with buoyant acidity and a teasingly refreshing finish that leaves you wanting more. To read the full article click here. Source The Press Democrat.