Seafood Headlines November 1, 2017
Toxin again an issue as Dungeness crab season nears
Dungeness crab season is approaching in the Bay Area, along with all the rituals that come with it — the crab feeds and holiday dinners piled with crab legs, sourdough bread and crocks of melted butter. Unfortunately, there’s another, more recent local tradition that is also back: uncertainty about whether algal blooms will delay the season. To read the full article click here. Source San Francisco Chronicle.
Salmon farmer Marine Harvest seeks organic, M&A growth
Marine Harvest, the world’s largest fish farmer, aims to grow its business both organically and via acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer Alf-Helge Aarskog said when presenting record third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. To read the full article click here. Source Reuters.
Fish farm debate lands in a B.C. lab
For years, the little-known Animal Health Centre in the Fraser Valley has played a national role in food safety, overseeing the health of livestock, pets, wildlife and marine creatures. This week, the lab's scientists were dragged into the long-running and highly political battle over farmed fish in B.C.. To read the full article click here. Source The Globe and Mail.
First Nation groups in Newfoundland and Labrador coming together to apply for new surf clam licence
The Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band is looking at getting in on another fishing enterprise. Earlier this year, Qalipu announced it was teaming up with the Barry Group in pursuing a quota to harvest ocean perch off western Newfoundland. Monday, three Indigenous groups from Newfoundland and Labrador, including Qalipu, the Miawpukek First Nation and the Innu Nation, announced they will be partnering to apply for a new Artic surf clam licence being made available by the federal government. To read the full article click here. Source The Telegram.
trū Shrimp announces plan to build shrimp hatchery in Luverne Minnesota
The trū Shrimp Company announced today it intends to build its first hatchery in Luverne, sharing the campus with the planned shrimp production facility, Luverne Bay Harbor. “From a bio-security aspect we have been concerned about a hatchery being close to a Harbor,” said Michael Ziebell, President & CEO of trū Shrimp. “However, in our continuing development we have had an engineering and process breakthrough that enables the hatchery and Harbor to share the same campus.” To read the full article click here. Source The Globe.
Construction of land-based salmon broodstock facility reaches significant milestone
Benchmark today announces that its new land-based salmon broodstock facility in Norway is now ready to house its first batch of broodstock. The 10,000 square-meter facility will receive delivery of the first stock in November from Salten, the joint venture partner of Benchmark’s subsidiary SalmoBreed, who have been growing SalmoBreed’s genetic material. Salmon eggs from this stock will be produced early Autumn 2018 and first test batch sales are expected two months later. To read the full article click here. Source Benchmark PLC.
Fish oil or fish consumption? New recommendations for pregnant women trying to prevent childhood asthma
Pregnant women who consume fish rather than fish oil supplements are just as likely to protect their offspring from developing asthma. To read the full article click here. Source Science Daily.
Port Pegasus salmon farm canned
The Environmental Defence Society has confirmed that the proposed salmon farm at Port Pegasus, a remote part of Stewart Island, is not going to proceed. At a meeting of the Southland Aquaculture Reference Group earlier this week, it was decided that there were overwhelming difficulties with the proposal. To read the full article click here. Source EDS.
Iceland’s mackerel fishery gains MSC certification
Iceland’s mackerel fishery has achieved MSC certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery following a detailed assessment by independent certifiers SAI Global. Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) is the most recent newcomer to Icelandic coastal waters, which made its home there in the beginning of the 21st century. With plenty of forage to survive on, it stayed and flourished. To read the full article click here. Source MSC.
Artic Greenland halibut certified as sustainable
Greenland’s halibut has been MSC certified as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. In Europe, the main market is in France but it is exported across the EU, including the UK. To read the full article click here. Source MSC.
U.S. groups threaten Canadian snow crab imports over whale deaths
An alliance of U.S. environmental groups is preparing to ask Washington to ban imports of Canadian snow crab unless Ottawa steps up its efforts to save the endangered North Atlantic right whales. To read the full article click here. Source CBC News.
Is Andhra Pradesh turning a blind eye to illegal shrimp rearing?
G Sreenivas grows paddy twice every year on his 0.3 hectare (ha) farmland in Dugdurparly village, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh (AP). But for the past one year, he hasn’t been able to grow anything even though his village lies in the Konaseema region, one of the most fertile plains in the country. The reason: Sreenivas points to an illegal shrimp rearing pond right next to his farm. To read the full article click here. Source The Hans India.
How Illegal Fishing Threatens the Safety of Crews
The financial drivers behind illegal fishing can lead to poor safety and labor conditions for vessel crews. When stocks are overfished, fishers’ catch and income are reduced.
AVA launches tender for 3 land parcels for fish farming at Lim Chu Kang
Three plots of land in Lim Chu Kang with longer leases of 20 years were put up for public tender on Tuesday (Oct 31). The lots are located at Neo Tiew Crescent and are intended for fish farming, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a press release. To read the full article click here. Source channelnewsasia.com.
Entangled: Making The Sea Safer For Whales
More than 30 times this year, the federal government has received reports of whales tangled in fishing gear along the West Coast. Sometimes the whales manage to wriggle free. Other times you see heart-rending pictures on the news or a rescue mission. The culprit often involves Dungeness crab pot lines. Now Oregon crabbers are working with marine scientists to make the seas safer for whales and to avoid a black mark on their brand. To read the full article click here. Source KUOW.
BOLD ACTION NEEDED FOR SALMON RECOVERY
Frustrated with the lack of progress in salmon recovery – especially Puget Sound chinook – treaty tribes in western Washington have proposed seven bold actions to jump-start those efforts. Puget Sound chinook were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1999 but continue to hover at about 10 percent of their historical population. To read the full article click here. Source nwtreatytribes.org.
The FDA Warns One of New York's Most Expensive Restaurants
One of New York’s most expensive restaurants is in some trouble with the Food and Drug Administration over its fresh fish. Masa, which earned three Michelin stars for its $595 tasting menu (before drinks and tax), received a warning letter from the FDA dated Oct. 16 alleging violations of federal rules that govern seafood imports. “Your fresh trevally and fresh Katsuwonus pelamis (Katsuo), also known as skipjack tuna or bonito,” the agency wrote in a letter published online this week, “have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.” To read the full article click here. Source Bloomberg.
‘Cautious optimism’ surrounds value of Alaska salmon fishing permits
Bristol Bay drift salmon permits trade more than any other due to sheer volume (1,800), and it's no surprise the value is increasing after one of the best fishing seasons ever. But they are not "rocketing up" in value, said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits at Homer. To read the full article click here. Source Alaska Dispatch News.
Nova Scotia lobster buyers seek compromise with Ottawa on company licences
Next month, the season opens in Canada's biggest lobster fishery but even before the first trap hits the water, there's big news in southwestern Nova Scotia. It is a proposal from a coalition of prominent lobster dealers who want the federal government to grant them the authority to give loans to fishermen like a bank or any other financial institution. To read the full article click here. Source CBC News.
Bristol sheriff’s captain indicted in ‘Codfather’ case
A captain in the Bristol County sheriff’s office has been charged with helping Carlos Rafael, the New Bedford fishing magnate who was convicted of tax evasion and flouting fishing quotas, to smuggle profits to Portugal, federal prosecutors said Thursday. To read the full story click here. Source Boston Globe.
Tally's hauls big tuna from the woods
What would you do if you came across a 400-pound tuna in the woods? Perhaps a better question: What in the world was a dead tuna doing in the woods in the vicinity of Revere Street? Those are just some of the questions the Massachusetts Environmental Police and NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement are trying to answer in their investigation of who dumped the headless giant tuna in the woods. To read the full article click here. Source Gloucester Times.
Seafood sales finally under way at Fisherman’s Wharf
For the first time in almost two decades, a fisherman sold fish straight from his boat at Fisherman’s Wharf. Giuseppe “Joe” Pennisi sold about 230 pounds of rockfish, petrale sole and other fish from his boat on Saturday and Sunday, making him the first to take part in a pilot program at the Port of San Francisco that allows fishermen to sell directly to retail customers from their boats. To read the full article click here. Source San Francisco Chronicle.