Squid Fishermen Find Massive Schools Near Santa Barbara Shores
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -
A parade of boats powering bright lights at night is showing up between Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, very close to shore."We have a squid run going on right out in front of Santa Barbara," said Santa Barbara Harbor Operations Manager Mick Kronman.Squid fishermen who normally find their catch by the Channel Islands, Monterey, Gaviota or Malibu, have located a massive population just a few minutes off the coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara."This is a highly sustainable fishery. It's regulated by quotas even though 118 thousand tons a year seems like a lot this is a massive volume of fish they are fishing on," said Kronman.What's caught the public's eye at night are the bright lights off each boat. They bring the squid to the surface, and the haul is caught in large nets. Then it's off to the markets, and not necessarily close to home."It is big business. The fishermen are paid about $650. a ton for squid. A great percentage of it goes to China, they have a great appetite for squid and about 30 percent stays in the U.S. or it is sent over seas, and repackaged and brought back to the U.S.," said Kronman.During the day you can see some boats "holding" the spots they believe will be good fishing locations at night.They also have to keep from crowding the same fishing area."They do have rules to abide by and some times the squid will be congregated but they have to maintain an eighth-mile distance from net to net. It's a gentleman's fishery, most of the time. Most folks abide by the rules, but as you see, once you get an area of fish, the boats will be strung very close to each other," said Kronman.Fishing has been extremely good, and already many fisherman have reached 80 percent of their quota.
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Russian ban hits US exports of hake, surimi, pink salmon and salmon roe; canned products excluded
SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton - Aug 7, 2014
Posted with permission of Seafoodnews.com | Copyright © 2014 Seafoodnews.com
Paul Greenberg misses the boat in his push for local California squid; fails to understand market
D.B. Pleschner is Executive Director of the California Wetfish Producers Association, a nonprofit designed to promote sustainable wetfish resources.Photo Credit: The Smelly Alley Fish Company
Opening weekend at San Diego's Tuna Harbor outdoor fish market draws larger than expected crowd
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [US San Diego] by Bradley J. Fikes - August 4, 2014
With the help of hundreds of San Diegans who waited patiently Saturday morning, San Diego's once-dominant seafood industry opened a new chapter.On a long-unused pier just north of Seaport Village, Tuna Harbor Dockside Market opened at 8 a.m, providing an open-air seafood market that carries overtones of Pike's Market in Seattle or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. The Port of San Diego and the county worked with local fishers to get the market legally certified and launched in just a couple of weeks.Working under overcast skies, fishers directly unloaded the catch, including yellowfin, bluefin, black cod, sea urchin, octopus and rock, razor and box crab, from boats to stands. Whole fish as well as fillets were spread out on ice. Live crabs and sea urchins were kept in tanks.The market is set to operate each Saturday, from 8 a.m. until the seafood sells out.While the market is a novelty in 21st-century San Diego, buying fresh fish from those who caught it was part of life for the early- to mid-20th century residents. The city's large fishing fleet would pull up to the Embarcadero, where locals could take their pick of fresh-caught seafood.At that time, San Diego was known as the "Tuna Capital" of the world. The market moved around during those decades, from Broadway to what is now Seaport Village, and to where Chesapeake Fish Co. is now.But increasing competition from other countries hollowed out the fishing fleet, causing the loss of many jobs locally.Saturday's launch showed today's San Diegans what they'd been missing out on.People reportedly began lining up around 6 a.m. By 9 a.m., the line had surpassed 220 people, some carrying or wheeling large coolers to haul away their catch. Around 10:30 the crowd was told the supply was beginning to run out.Sea urchin was on the mind of one of the cooler-wheeling shoppers, Kristine Ortiguerra of San Diego. The market provides a great addition to the region, Ortiguerra said while waiting toward the back of the line."We'd like for this to be routine," Ortiguerra said. "My parents would drive up to San Pedro for fresh seafood. Hopefully, that is what it's going to be like."Near the front, Michelle Ashbaugh, also of San Diego, said she had been waiting in line for about two hours, starting a little after 7 a.m. Ashbaugh and her friend, Staci Marshall, were looking for crab and yellowtail.Marshall said the market's seafood had two advantages."It's fresh, and you don't have to pay the overhead," Marshall said.Bluefin listed for $8 a pound; rock crab for $2.50 a pound; sea urchin at $5 a pound; and sheepshead, famous or infamous for having human-like teeth, for $7 a pound.The names of the boats each fish came from were displayed with the prices.Sellers indicated their surprise at the unexpectedly large turnout."The crowd's a lot larger than we had anticipated. This is better than anybody could have asked for on the first day," said Dwight Colton, vice president of operations for Fish Market Restaurants."The goal is to make Saturday mornings at the dockside market the place to go for seafood here in San Diego," Colton said. "On Saturday mornings, go here, then off to a farmer's market."Availability of whole fish distinguishes the dockside market from other outlets, Colton said."Local albacore, rock fish -- you can buy them whole," Colton said. "You can't get that in any of the markets."Live sea urchins, known as uni in sushi-speak, also distinguish the market. The savory echinoderms are available at sushi restaurants in limited quantities at irregular intervals.The market is intended to operate year-round if there's sufficient demand, Colton said."We're working with the port, we're working with the local fishermen to establish what everybody can bring each week," he said. "A lot depends on what comes out of the ocean. Summertime is a peak season for varieties of seafood. But there's a steady flow of fresh seafood coming out of our local waters throughout the year."The market is meant not only to stimulate the local fishing industry, but to provide fresh and healthy food for the county's residents. It's also an example of cooperation between local fishers, said the County of San Diego and the Port District, which owns the pier.County Supervisor Greg Cox credited the county's Department of Environment Health for cutting red tape to get the market certified and opened in less than two weeks, along with the Port of San Diego, and the fishers for making the market possible. Local fishermen Zack Roach Jr. and Luke Halmay were leaders in organizing the market.Cox, whose district includes the pier, said at a brief ceremony that the new market marks a revival of fortunes for the local fishing fleet."This market is definitely going to help our local fishing industry and our 'blue economy' by allowing fisherman to sell the catch to you, the public, without any middlemen," Cox said. "The market will also turn a quiet, unused pier, into a vibrant attraction for local residents and for tourists."The market also provides more healthy eating options, Cox said, consistent with the county's "Live Well San Diego," aimed at getting people to eat a more healthy diet, exercise more and not use tobacco products.Port Chairman Bob Nelson told shoppers that the agency was "overwhelmed" at the response to the new market. He credited the San Diego Maritime Alliance and the California Coastal Conservancy with helping get the market off the ground.Photo Credit: UT San Diego
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Regional Fishery Management Councils call on Oceana to retract bycatch report; Cite "substantial errors, omissions"
WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) -- June 18, 2014 -- The Regional Fishery Management Council Coordination Committee, representing all eight U.S. regional Fishery Management Councils, has recommended that environmental group Oceana retract its March 2014 report on fisheries bycatch, "Wasted Catch," that was widely reported in the press without independent verification of its allegations.
The Councils contend that "misinformation in reports like Wasted Catch undermines those productive relationships between industry, management, and NGOs that have been effective in reducing bycatch." They are especially critical of the fact that Oceana relied heavily on only one document, the National Marine Fishery Service's "National Bycatch Report," and in doing so has left the report "unlikely to result in a full representation of the best available science."
The Councils recommended that for future reports, Oceana should adopt "a standardized peer review process to ensure that reports like this accurately and objectively represent the best available science."
The analysis by the Councils lists general issues with and critiques of the report, followed by a region-by-region analysis of errors and omissions identified by Council staffs.
The Councils conclude by acknowledging, "there are no laws requiring Oceana reports to accurately represent the best available scientific information or to undergo peer review." But they urge that "to do so would be in the best interest of all involved parties."
Read the full letter from the Regional Fishery Management Council Coordination Committee here
Seafood industry under threat from climate change
By April Forristall, SeafoodSource.com assistant editorPublished on 28 May, 2014
A report released on Wednesday reveals the growing threat of climate change and acidification to marine resources.The report contains findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report and was published jointly by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Judge Business School and supported by the European Climate Foundation.Findings include:
- The total loss of landings to global fisheries by 2050 due to climate change range from USD 17 billion (EUR 12.5 billion) to USD 41 billion (EUR 30.1 billion) based on a global warming scenario of 2 degrees.
- Fishery yields will increase 30 – 70 percent in high latitudes but fall by 40 – 60 percent in the Tropics and Antarctica based on 2 degrees of warming. Large species like tuna in the Pacific and Indian oceans are likely to move eastwards.
- 400 hundred million people depend critically on fish for their food and face reduced access to marine protein because of climate change and acidification. Artisanal fishermen in the Tropics are most at risk.
- Changes in the distribution of particular marine species may lead to conflict between fishing nations and significant increases in illegal fishing.
- The impacts of climate change and ocean acidification are generally exacerbated by other factors like pollution, habitat loss and over-fishing
“This report is a wake up call for the seafood industry to recognize the scale of the threat to ocean resources from climate change and acidification,” said Blake Lee-Harwood of SFP. “We need to see urgent action in trying to mitigate the likely impacts while adapting wherever that’s practically possible.”“This briefing highlights the business-critical implications of climate change for the fisheries sector, representing tens of billions of dollars in future costs and damages for the industry. Companies in this sector will have to take the implications of climate science into account as they plan for the future. We hope that this briefing, developed with experts from both business and science, will help them do so,” said Eliot Whittington of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. The report cites areas where action can be taken to lessen the impact of climate change:
- Adapt where possible — for instance, some shellfish hatcheries in the north west USA have learned to avoid taking in seawater during periods of high acidity
- Undertake vulnerability assessments of fisheries and aquaculture operations
- Strengthen coastal zone management to reduce land-sourced pollution, over-harvesting and physical damage to resources
- Create new habitats such as artificial reefs to act as fish nurseries in areas where coral reef destruction occurs
Sardine recovery drives Q1 Chile pelagic catches up 28%, offsetting drop in jack mackerel
May 23, 2014, 2:17 pmAlicia Villegas
Sardines. Photo by Juuyoh Tanaka.
Chile’s pelagic landings rose by 27.8% to 522,600 metric tons in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2013.This was driven by good sardine catches, which more than doubled year-on-year.By the end of March, 197,000t or 52.8% of the quota set for Chile’s sardine fishery in 2014 had been caught, according to Chile’s undersecretariat for fisheries and aquaculture Subpesca.All of these landings were from the area between the V and X regions.This means that during the next nine months of the year, catches cannot exceed 176,000t, as the sardine fishery saw the steepest drop in absolute volume of total allowed catches (TAC) for 2014, slashed by 38.3% to 373,000t.The cut was in response to the steep drop in Chile’s sardine catches last year, which drove pelagic landings down by nearly 650,000t in the first nine months of 2013.Anchovy catches also nudged up in Q1 this year, but only slightly, by 1.8% to 168,600t year-on-year.Regions XV and II accounted for most landings (148,000t), which is also 11.2% up from last year’s 165,600t.Jack mackerel, poor landings
Jack mackerel, the third main pelagic species caught by the Chilean fleet, had poor landings in comparison to sardine and anchovy.chile_pelagics_q12014Chile’s pelagic landings in 2014 first three months: jack mackerel (red), anchovy (green) and sardine (purple).Vessels landed 107,000t of jack mackerel in the three month period, which is 13.9% down as the same time last year, said Subpesca.Regions V and X were the main jack mackerel’s landings areas, totaling 95,100t, involving a fall of 19% year-on-year.Cuttlefish catches doubleCuttlefish catches were also up in the first three months of 2014 when compared with the same time a year ago.“The cuttlefish resource increases strongly, doubling its catches,” Subpesca said.Cuttlefish landings totaled 37,400t by the end of March, mainly in the V and X regions.Hake down 47%On the other hand, hake catches were down 47.3% to 5,000t year-on-year.Industrial vessels contributed to 37.8% or 1,900t of hake landings, while the artisanal fleet increased its catches by 10.9% to 3,100t.According to media reports, however, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing of hake in Chile could have totaled 19,000t so far this year.That would if so represent 83.3% of the total allowable catch for the artisanal fisheries, set at 7,600t.Landings for mackerel, for its part, also decreased by 33.7% to 9,200t year-on-year.
Commercial Fishing Value Doubles Recreational Sector
by Laine WelchThe debate over which sector — commercial or recreational fishing — provides the bigger economic punch can finally be put to rest.The annual “Fisheries Economics of the U.S.” report by the Department of Commerce shows once and for all that in terms of values, jobs, sales and incomes, the commercial sector far outscores recreational fishing. A breakdown of the extensive report by market analyst John Sackton shows that in 2012, commercial fishing had $140 billion in sales compared to $58 billion for sport fishing. And for the value contributed to the national economy, commercial fishing added nearly $60 billion — double the recreational sector.In terms of jobs, the seafood industry employed 1.27 million people compared to 380,000 for sports anglers. The most striking difference, Sackton said, is where those people are employed. For sport fishing, employment was building boats and engines, representing 82 percent of both employment and sales and is very regionally concentrated. The NOAA report added that less than 20 percent of the jobs in the sport industry come from guides, boat operators, tackle shops and various rentals.For the commercial fishing industry, the value and jobs created are spread throughout the entire country. The recreational sector is concentrated in a few states and industries. For example, Florida accounted for 30 percent of all U.S. recreational fishing jobs. Add the Gulf States and North Carolina, and the number jumps to nearly half the national total.The economic benefits of the commercial seafood sector also penetrate all parts of the U.S. and the economy. Unlike his sport counterparts, a fisherman in Alaska is supporting dozens of other U.S. jobs in retail, wholesale, distribution and import sectors. In short, the facts negate the argument that recreational fishing has a greater or more direct economic impact than the commercial fishery.The economics report also breaks down information by region. In terms of prices, the report shows that of 10 key U.S. species, sea scallops, Pacific halibut and sablefish received the highest ex-vessel (dock) prices in 2012 at $9.83, $4.48 and $3.42 per pound, respectively.Menhaden and pollock had the lowest ex-vessel prices in 2012 at $0.07 and $0.12 per pound. However, landings of both species were the largest in the U.S. at 1.77 billion pounds of menhaden and 2.87 billion pounds of pollock. Find a link to the ‘Fisheries Economics of the U.S. report at www.alaskafishradio.com.Get your gear onThe call is out for entries in the international Smart Gear competition. The contest, which began in 2005 by the World Wildlife Fund, rewards new gear ideas that help fishermen retain target catches while letting marine mammals, turtles, birds or small fish swim away.This year’s competition offers the largest prize pool ever, said program director, Michael Osmond in a phone interview.“There is a $30,000 grand prize, two $10,000 runner-up prizes, and we have two $7,500 that we call special bycatch prizes,” Osmond said. “One of them is a tuna bycatch reduction prize, and the other is a marine mammal bycatch reduction prize.”The competition goes beyond cash prizes, he added.“The second step is to get those ideas to the stage where they can actually be used by industry, and doing the job they were designed to do,” he said.WWWF and its partners continue working with gear innovators and — to date — almost 50 percent of the winning ideas from the competition are now out on the water. That includes the 2011winners: Japan’s double-weight branchline that prevents seabird bycatch; Florida’s “Seaqualizer” that lets fish with air bladders be safely returned to deep water; and California’s simple LED lights or glow sticks that keep turtles away from gillnets.Osmond said 60 to 70 percent of the gear entries come from fishermen — as do the majority of winning ideas. The 2011 competition attracted 74 entries from a record 31 countries. Osmond said Alaska is always in the mix with three or four entries.“We haven’t yet had a winning idea from Alaska,” he said, “but this year is just as good a chance as any.”Deadline to enter the Smart Gear contest is Aug. 31. Go to www.smartgear.orgPollock opp flopIt’s the peak time of the year for jig fishing for cod, and 60 boats have landed more than 1.5 million pounds of a nearly 6-million-pound quota. At the same time, jiggers can keep as much pollock as they catch. But so far it hasn’t been much of a draw.“No one seems to be taking advantage of the pollock jig fishery in the sense that they are going out and targeting pollock,” said Matt Keyse, a regional manager at Fish and Game in Kodiak.So far, 15,000 pounds of pollock was delivered by jig boats. Keyes said that’s about average.“Every year, jig cod boats tend to land between 20-30,000 pounds of pollock,” he added. “I expect we’ll be in that same range if things remain the same.”The jig cod price at Kodiak is 35 cents a pound; pollock is closer to 13 cents. A dozen seiners signed up for the first-ever pollock fishery and Keyse said he’s just waiting for the boats to show.“At this point, we are waiting for someone to approach us and say they are ready to go,” Keyes said.The Kodiak salmon season begins on June 9. Keyes said there won’t be conflicting seine gear in the water.
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