23 September 2003

U.S. SEA SCALLOP NUMBERS DEFY WORLD DOWNTURN

The U.S. Atlantic sea scallop population was deemed to be in “great shape” according to preliminary results of a research project led by the University of Massachusetts. Unlike reports around the world that sea scallops are suffering from over-fishing, the U.S. population is thriving and above projected sustainable biomass estimates.

Research teams from the University’s School for Marine Science and Technology conducted nine five-day surveys of 1,843 sites from George’s Bank to Virginia. They used a 1000 pound metal frame festooned with digital cameras to view life among the scallops versus the traditional fishing gear used both in commercial and research harvests. The survey crews found large numbers of young scallops off New York’s coast and smaller numbers south of George’s Bank, a phenomenon attributed to high starfish densities.

THAI PRIME MINISTER TO DISCUSS THREATENED SHRIMP DUTIES WITH PRESIDENT BUSH

The threat of anti-dumping duties imposed on Thai shrimp imports into the United States is prompting a face-to-face meeting at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings between Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and U.S. President George Bush scheduled for this October. Thailand exports more than a billion dollars worth of shrimp to the U.S. every year.

Eight U.S. shrimp-producing States – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas – are threatening to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Commerce October 15th asking for an anti-dumping investigation into the practices of 17 shrimp exporting nations, including Thailand. Already traders are stopping taking orders from the countries causing a drop in prices.

FISH STUDIES PRODUCE A HODGE PODGE OF RESULTS

The constant churning of research studies on fish species, fisheries and a host of other factors affecting the world’s fresh and saltwater ways produces a mix of results. Some are monumental in the knowledge they provide. Some are more political than scientific. Regardless there are plenty for every side of every controversy to cite.

University of Ottawa researchers report that sockeye salmon are vectors for transporting pollution, specifically polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the ocean to fresh water systems after they migrate back to spawning grounds and die. The Pacific salmon species gains 95 percent of their mature body weight from life in the ocean and return to fresh water rivers in streams in North America to reproduce. Alaskan lakes that receive spawning sockeye were compared to those that had no salmon migrants. The former registered 10 times the PCB level of the non-salmon lakes. Whether the residual PCBs had any affect on sockeye offspring was not part of the study and therefore remains unknown.

Concerned about the potential markets such as California closing due to trace amounts of toxic metals such as mercury, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation began testing samples of salmon, halibut, pacific cod, sablefish, rockfish, lingcod, pollock, pike and sheerfish. The initial survey showed “very low” levels of mercury in all species. Future tests will look into dioxin, furans, pesticides, PCBs, inorganic arsenic and chromium VI. The rush to prove Alaskan fish safe for consumers comes hot on the heels of the State’s $50 million campaign to expand markets for wild-caught Alaskan salmon and the earlier mentioned University of Ottawa study suggesting that sockeye salmon transport PCB levels in Alaskan waters.

One survey that has a real potential for confusing consumers was conducted by Stanford University and funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, a traditional source for cash furthering NGO objectives. The Stanford survey took a look at the economic impact of farmed salmon enterprises on wild-caught salmon fisheries in the Pacific Northwest. Quite naturally, as market share of farmed salmon increases, wild salmon’s drops. In keeping with the NGO campaign against salmon farming, the Sanford researchers recommend an international moratorium on salmon farming and other restrictions, many of which are already U.S. federal law.

A most novel study in Norway incorporates cardiac patients into the formulation of feed for farmed salmon. The joint effort by Nutreco Aquaculture Research Center, the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine, the National Institute for Nutrition and Seafood Research and the Ulleval University Hospital asked 60 cardiac patients to consume salmon raised on experimental feed formulas. At the core of the study was the ability to create a feed that produced salmon with heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids from vegetables rather than traditional fish oil and fishmeal.

SNOWCRAB QUOTA MEANS LESS THAN ALL CONSUMERS CAN EAT

The Bering Sea 2004 snow crab harvest quota of 20.83 million pounds is significantly below last year’s and the lowest in 20 years. Last season slightly more than 32.3 million pounds were taken at a value of $45.3 million. The total mature snow crab biomass of 306.2 million pounds is estimated to be two percent smaller than the 2002 numbers. Vessels will be limited to 70 125-foot or less pots and 90 pots over 125 in length. The 2004 Bering Sea snow crab season begins January 15th.

BURGER KING APPROACHED BY ALASKAN GOVERNOR IN THAT STATE’S DRIVE TO CREATE NEW SALMON MARKETS

Alaskan Governor Frank Murkowski is planning a meeting with officials from fast-food giant Burger King in an effort to find new markets for Alaska’s wild caught salmon. The proposed product in question is a broiled, breaded pink salmon “burger.”

The $50 million market development effort is also providing $13.5 million in Economic Development grants for ideas on making the Alaskan salmon industry more compatible with today’s market trends. A number of the grants were for funding machines to remove the less than appetizing pin bones from pink salmon.

The controversy between farmed and wild-caught salmon just as that between farmed and wild-caught shrimp has many of the same qualities that created the gun control controversy in the United States during the 1960s. Then domestic firearms manufacturers fought to keep less expensive foreign made and war surplus firearms from entering the country. The New England based U.S. arms makers sought to protect their industry by having local Senators including Massachusetts’ John Kennedy pass protective legislation. All that followed was the creation of the gun control controversy that has caused economic harm to all gun makers.

The lesson learned by firearms makers is applies to salmon and shrimp interests. The less expensive imports created an expanded market by allowing a greater segment of the public a chance to buy firearms and enjoy their use. As the interest in firearms increased among first time purchasers and as disposable cash increased, the more expensive products became second and third purchases by the new gun owning public.

Affordable farmed salmon and farmed shrimp put those products once reserved for the palates of the wealthy within reach of a broad segment of the public. If the wild-caught sectors want to increase market share they have to position their products to be perceived by consumers to be different from and more desirable than the common fare. Fighting to demonize farmed salmon or farmed shrimp is recreating history with calls to “ban” the shrimp being shouted by extremists.

11 September 2003

TED STEVENS SEEKS MILLIONS IN FED HELP FOR ALASKAN FISHERIES

Alaska’s senior U.S. Senator Ted Stevens demonstrated the immense power of Congressional tenure when, as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he shepherded nearly half a billion dollars in federal spending to boost conditions for Alaska’s fishing industry. The package of fisheries assistance includes funding for research, management, and marketing projects including positively identifying Alaska’s EEZ boundary as well as enhancing Alaska’s crab, rockfish, pollock, geoduck, and salmon fisheries.

Steven’s measure not only provides substantial funds for Alaska’s fisheries, it also provides statutory relief for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to conduct necessary evaluations into what constitutes essential fish habitat without having to race to cobble together an inadequate measure in order to meet a court imposed deadline. The total amount targeting Alaska’s fisheries, including money earmarked for federal agencies, is in excess of $425 million.

TRENDS LOOK GOOD FOR U.S. SEAFOOD INDUSTRY

If the trends manifest in the 2002 U.S. consumption of seafood hold, a host of industry sectors can look forward to a banner season in 2004. U.S. consumers increased their annual taste for marine fare by nearly a pound since last year from 14.8 pounds in 2001 to 15.7 pounds in 2002. The boost in consumption is attributed to a number of factors: an increase in more traditional seafood consuming Hispanic and Asian ethnic groups within the U.S. population, a decline in prices, and increased supply thanks to aquaculture.

Shrimp, the most popular seafood commodity, saw wholesale price declines of as much as 75 cents per pound and annual consumer demand increase from 3.4 pounds to 3.7 pounds per person in 2002. Canned tuna dropped from first to the number two favorite of the American public with a modest rise from 2.9 to 3.1 pounds per person annually. Salmon, the third most popular seafood, remained constant at 2 pounds per person. In fourth position is pollock with a slight dip in consumption figures from 1.2 to 1.1 pounds. Catfish, cod, crab, clams, tilapia, flatfish and scallops followed in order of consumption. Ninth place tilapia posted the most impressive gain in popularity jumping from 10th place in 2001.

The fact that Americans dined on 4.5 billion pounds of seafood in 2002 combined with an increase in retired Baby Boomers and double-income families suggests seafood restaurants are in for a bountiful year throughout 2004.

THE LATEST FISH OIL BENEFIT: WEIGHT LOSS COUNTER IN ADVANCED CANCER PATIENTS

Severe weight loss, known as Cachexia, associated with a variety of deadly cancers may have its ravages blunted by a high protein drink laced with Omega-3 essential fatty acids as well as vitamins E and C. The average cancer patient stricken with Cachexia (attributed to metabolic changes and appetite loss) can drop as much as 17 percent of their body weight at a rate of three kilos of weight lost per month.

An eight-week study of the Omega-3 enhanced drink supplement versus a high caloric supplement given to 200 pancreatic cancer patients halted their weight loss entirely. Each group was given two cans of the respective drinks per day. Researchers at the University of Southampton in Australia found a direct correlation between the amount of Omega-3 consumed and the weight and muscle bulk regained. Patients given the high protein drink without the fish-oil additive failed to halt weight reduction or achieve the enhanced quality of life demonstrated by patients drinking the supplement with fish oil.

NEW ZEALAND RECREATIONAL ANGLERS CALL FOR CLOSURE OF MARINE FARMS

New Zealand’s recreational fisheries groups are calling for closure of older marine farms claiming they infringe on recreational fishing rights. That country is presently looking at a comprehensive reform of its current regulations dealing with aquaculture. Recreational fishers are concerned that fish farms closer than 120 meters from shore or located over blue cod and scallop beds interfere with recreational fishing.

NGOs LAMENT SOUTH AFRICA’S FAILURE TO POST ABALONE FISHERY ON CITES’ TRADE LIST

South Africa’s refusal to list its native abalone fishery on Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prompted TRAFFIC, the trade-monitoring arm of IUCN-World Conservation Union and World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to publicly lament that country’s decision. South Africa’s abalone fishery is largely an export industry sending abalone to markets throughout the world. NGOs such as WWF, TRAFFIC, IUCN etc. have been pushing for more commercial fisheries to be brought under CITES authority by listing various marine species on one of CITES three trade regulating appendices.

Any species proposed for listing on the most stringent CITES appendices, I or II, must be voted on by member nations at the biannual meeting of the parties to the international treaty. However, range nations can voluntarily list native species under Appendix III, the least burdensome of the categories. Species on Appendix I cannot be used in trade. Appendix II species require very strict regulatory measures in order to qualify for international commerce. Protectionist NGOs view CITES as an international venue that would all them to implement their ideologies on the rest of the world. Industry, on the other hand, appears in a far better position to conduct ethical global trade that is demonstrably environmentally sustainable as well as lucrative by hitching its reigns to the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO).

9 September 2003

FISH OIL HELPS “DRY EYE”

Add “dry eye,” an ailment that afflicts 59 million Americans, to the list of health problems Omega-3 fatty acid counteracts. Harvard Medical School investigators found that increased Omega-3 intake, from fish or flaxseed, helps prevent and relieve symptoms of “dry-eye.” Dry-eye is a condition researchers believe is linked to diet deficiencies. The Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary for the eye, lid and tear film to function efficiently. Unfortunately, the body does not produce those acids.

The Omega-3 fatty acid/dry eye relationship was tested on 32,470 women. Infection, called “blepharitis,” decreased. Tear gland production was aided by increases in water and oil. The increase in cases of dry-eye is being attributed to aging baby boomers, increased computer use, LASIK surgery, and diabetes.

SALMON FARM GROUP SAYS SUZUKI CLAIM BELIED BY PINK SALMON RUN

The 2003 Broughton Archipelago pink salmon run appears strong, robust and healthy with approximately 60 percent of the fish returned to British Columbia’s coastal waters. The numbers appear average to high for an off-year. The bounty of fish prompted pro salmon farm advocacy group, the Society for the Positive Awareness of Aquaculture, to issue a taunting press release challenging the David Suzuki Foundation to admit it was wrong in blaming salmon farms in the area for the previous year’s diminished pink salmon numbers. Allegations that sea lice infestation precipitated by the salmon farms caused the drop in pink salmon numbers during the 2002 run, left the local salmon farm industry facing potential political reprisals.

Spokesmen for the Suzuki Foundation denied they made allegations linking sea lice to the pink salmon run. Still Suzuki admits supporting environmental groups that did make such statements. What the Suzuki Foundation failed to mention is the fact that the leading NGO critic on that issue – Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) – is an organization that lists the Suzuki Foundation as a member. Another outspoken NGO that published a report equating salmon farms with sea lice as the reason for the pink salmon collapse – Watershed Watch Salmon Society – is also a CAAR member.

NORWAY AND CHILE: A CURIOUS RELATIONSHIP

Norwegian conservative politicians are urging their nation to join the European Union in order to block Chilean salmon from the lucrative European market. Such a hypothesis, on its face, seems odd in view of Norway’s ownership interests in the Chilean salmon farming industry. Should Norway join, chances are not likely that it will muster enough support to influence EU policies to shore up the Norwegian salmon industry.

4 September 2003

LOUISIANA SHRIMPERS PLAN ANTI-DUMPING PETITION AIMED AT FOREIGN IMPORTS

The Louisiana Shrimp Association is readying an anti-dumping petition designed to curtail the vast U.S. shrimp market dominated by foreign imports. The Louisiana shrimpers retained a specialty law firm, plunking down an initial $70,000 retainer, to pursue the punitive action against shrimp producers in 12 countries located in Asia and Latin America who supply nearly 88 percent of the U.S. shrimp market. Projected legal fees are said to be $6 million. Funding is expected to come from pledges to contribute up to 25 percent of recent federal relief funds from 1500 shrimpers.

A similar move by the eight-state Southern Shrimp Alliance is expected to compound the domestic assault against imported shrimp. If successful, shrimp prices will skyrocket for U.S. seafood interests.

AFRICAN SHARK CONFERENCE TACKLES CONSERVATION SCHEMES

Africa’s mix blessing of plentiful sharks in and around its coastal waters is the topic of a four-day conference organized by the IUCN-World Conservation Union opening today in Durban, South Africa. That continent’s southern waters are said to be home to 260 species of sharks and rays, roughly a quarter of the planet’s total. Experts from around the world will attempt to formulate a list of shark and ray species as well as conservation measures in light of the increased pressure to open southern Africa’s waters to large-scale commercial fishing.

While many species such as the Great White, whale, spotted ragged-tooth sharks and various ray species are threatened elsewhere in the world no one is certain of the population status of those and more species around Africa.

UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA SEEKS OMEGA-3 RICH PLANTS FOR FISH FEED

Landlocked Montana is the site of research looking into the possibility of developing plants rich in Omega-3 fatty acids that can be processed into highly nutritious farmed salmon feed. Healthy salmon need omega-3 fatty acids. The two-fold goal of University of Montana researchers, Professors David Sands and Duane Johnson, is to hybridize plants richer in Omega 3 than modern soil and provide Montana farmers stricken by low wheat prices with a sustainable cash crop. Aside from the need to develop an Omega-3 rich plant that exceeds levels found in soy beans, the researchers have other problems to solve. One is insuring that the plant is digestible by salmon. The other is that it provides enriched nutrition at an affordable price.

NORWAY WANTS ITS KING CRAB FISHED TO EXTINCTION

The King crab invasion into Norwegian waters is prompting call for unrestricted fishing over the next three years to end its presence off that country’s far north shores. The non-native specie has drawn fire from a number of former fishermen and Norwegian government officials. The crab resources are “shared” between Norway and Russia and would require the approval of both nations if such a plan was to be initiated. Last year American lobster made their way to Norwegian waters prompting a NOK 1000 bounty paid per lobster caught.

DEEP-SEA NURSERY DISCOVERED OFF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

On a ridge a mile beneath sea level off Northern California’s Gorda Escarpment blob sculpin and deep-sea octopi furtively brood their respective eggs. The newly recognized undersea nursery was found by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s remote diving research vehicle, Tiburon. On successive summer dives since August 2000, Tiburon would observe numbers of the fish and marine invertebrates gathering in the area. The nursery behavior was the first observed in deep-sea species. After three successive dives, biologists theorized that the area was indeed a deep-sea nursery.

2 September 2003

MERCURY IN SWORDFISH, TUNA FEARS MAY BE OVER-BLOWN

The fears of mercury in seafood fanned by critics of commercial fisheries and seafood in general may be causing the public to over react. Mercury in seafood may not be as toxic as some claim, according to researchers at Stanford University’s Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and Canada’s University of Saskatchewan. Worry about human health effects led to government warnings that pregnant women and others limit their fresh seafood intake. The environmental toxicology researchers are now finding that contrary to early beliefs that mercury in commercially desirable predatory fish such as swordfish and tuna is bound with carbon and hydrogen atoms (methylated), the toxic substance is in fact bonded to carbon and sulfur atoms. Sulfur-mercury compounds, detected by X-ray absorption spectroscopy in fish muscle, appear less toxic than methlymercury chloride.

Prior to the new research, toxicologists assumed methlymercury was the compound present in fish. The new research not only disproves that premise, it also promises to lead investigators to a true idea of toxicity, if any, as well as the potential to create a mechanism for removing it from the food chain.

GIANT BLUEFIN TUNA RETURN TO PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Over the past month, Prince Edward Island fishermen are making a compelling case for the cyclic nature of marine species. The big tuna have returned to the waters off PEI in promising numbers. Last August, only 12 of the giant fish were landed. Twelve months later 160 giant bluefins found their way into Canadian fishing boats. Those fish represent 60 tons of the season’s 185-ton quota in effect until early October. The fish are fetching premium prices from the Japanese sushi market. Prices per pound run from $2 to $24 with an average of $15-$17. Average weight of the fish are reaching a healthy 700 pounds. The ten-fold increase in the tuna catch rate promises a healthy increase over last year’s $6 million take.

LOBSTERS, ON THE OTHER HAND, APPEAR VACATIONING ELSEWHERE

While its bluefin tuna fleet is enjoying uncharacteristic good luck, the 260 Prince Edward Island lobster fishermen are dismayed over the sparse numbers of American Lobsters appearing in their pots. Barely weeks into the season, lobstermen are reporting a 50 percent decline in their catches. Dropping catch statistics have been logged over the past decade. The fishermen want the Federal Government to send research divers into the water to assess the true state of the fisheries.

U.S. SHRIMP TRADE SPURS SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION IN ECUADOR

Saving sea turtles from danger caused by the shrimp trawl fishery is foremost on the minds of Ecuador’s wild-caught shrimp industry participants. Starting September 21 to 31, training on the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) is being offered to government agents, ship-owners, environmental groups, and university students. The impetus behind the push for sea turtle conservation among shrimp trawlers is the desire by Ecuador to maintain good relations with its sole shrimp market, the United States. Venezuela and Costa Rico are currently forbidden to export shrimp to the U.S. due to their failure to implement shrimp conservation techniques.

NORTH SEA COD AT RECORD LOW NUMBERS: TRUE OR FALSE?

North Sea cod are at a critical low in the North Sea, according to scientists with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Not so claim Scottish fishermen who say cod are plentiful, based on their recent harvests. ICES scientists say a small rebound in numbers this year may offer some hope for the scarce cod population but that unless a complete suspension of commercial fishing is declared, they say the cod may never return. ICES is the scientific authority the European Union relies upon in setting its fisheries policies. ICES is also urging a closure of fishing for haddock and whiting.

Scottish fishermen dare to contradict the scientists’ assessment. They claim their nets prove a bounty of fish exists. UK fishermen have created their own pressure groups – Cod Crusaders – urging unrestricted fishing for the three species. They believe warm water temperatures are driving the bottom dwellers further north. Cod Crusaders have collected 45,000 signatures on a petition against restricting fish quotas.

28 August 2003

AQUACULTURE RESTRICTIONS ARE TARGET IN CALL FOR MARINE SANCTUARIES AT CITES ANIMAL’S COMMITTEE

One of the least noticed dynamics at work in the international conservation community is the incremental use of marine protected areas as a means to punish and restrict aquaculture operations worldwide. If successful, the call by the World Wildlife Fund/World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) colleagues to highlight “effluent” from aquaculture could have very serious repercussions in pricing and supply of farmed seafood, and shrimp and salmon, in particular.

Establishing a global network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), particularly situated around well-established aquaculture and mariculture regions, is a high priority of WWF. WWF’s latest report, “Benefits Beyond Boundaries,” suggests that MPAs have seen as much as five-fold increases in fish stocks within protected areas and that eggs and fish spill-over into fishing-allowed areas.

MPAs arguably are valued concepts for promoting the replenishment and conservation of a diversity of marine life. Few dispute that concept. However, they are also emerging as a clever “back-door” means of imposing environmental strictures on farmed seafood operations.

Throughout the 19th Meeting of the Animals Committee (AC) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) held this past August 18-21 in Geneva, NGOs led by the Seahorse Project, called for assurances that marine protected areas would bar fishing as well as “threats” from aquaculture enterprises.

Project Seahorse is a creation of Chicago’s John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Zoological Society of London, the University of British Columbia, the University of Tasmania, and TRAFFIC, a joint program of WWF and IUCN-The World Conservation Union. Working to “ensure that wildlife trade does not threaten the integrity of selected priority ecoregions” is one of TRAFFIC’s key objectives.

NGOs are constantly raising negative concerns about commercial fisheries and farming/ranching of marine species at international regulatory venues such as CITES. Their push to include more commercial seafood species under CITES authority gained ground as the Animals Committee offered Norwegian spring spawning herring, Georges Bank haddock and white sturgeon for evaluation under CITES listing criteria.

NGO influence is considerable at CITES. Fully one-third of participants at the 19th Animals Committee were NGOs. Project Seahorse’ CEO, Amanda Vincent, is chair of the AC seahorse working group.

UK VEGETARIANS BEING MISLED ABOUT OMEGA-3 SOURCES

Vegetarians throughout the United Kingdom (and the world thanks to the Internet) are being misled about their ability to satisfy their bodies’ need for essential Omega 3 fatty acids. The misinformation about the Omega 3 family of fatty acids comes from the Vegetarian Society itself and its campaign entitled “fishconceptions.”

Vegetarians are being told that they need not take fish oil-based Omega 3 supplements. Linseed, walnuts, rapeseed/canola, soy and pumpkinseeds, they say, are suitable sources for Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). That’s true. But, ALA is not Eicosaphentaenoic acid (EPA) or Docosaphexaenoic acid (DHA), the two key substances linked by on-going research to a host of health benefits affecting blood pressure, heart rate, vascular dilation, central nervous system, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, crohn’s disease, eczema, migraine, Lupus, and other syndromes, diseases, and body functions and systems.

ALA is a precursor, or to use the Vegetarian Society’s description, “the parent omega-3 fat.” But, “humans convert ALA to EPA and DHA very inefficiently” according to SupraHealth Inc. Women can produce some DHA and EPA, but men cannot do both. They can only produce some EPA, according to an interview granted the seafood industry press by Dr. Gordon Bell of the UK’s Sterling University. In nature DHA and EPA are found almost exclusively in cold-water fish and shellfish.

USDA PROMISES $34 MILLION IN GRANTS TO U.S. CATFISH FARMERS

U.S. catfish farmers, hard hit by bad weather and other caprices of nature, are in line to receive $34 million in grants to purchase feed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Farmers eligible for the assistance must submit tonnage requirements based on their 2002 feed purchases. The USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation will administer the program. Feed credits will be issued to eligible applicants. The credits will be exchanged for catfish feed by participating feed processors.

WHY NGOS WANT TO CONTROL THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY AND AQUACULTURE IN PARTICULAR

The answer to why NGOs are increasingly focusing their attention on becoming the paid environmental monitors for the world’s seafood industry is simple: money. International seafood jumped 300 percent in value over the past two decades from US$15.2 billion in 1980 to US$59.4 billion in 2001. Aquaculture appears to be a key factor in the increase in seafood value. That’s the analysis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Aquaculture products, with shrimp at the helm, lead the surge in import growth. Shrimp makes up 19 percent of the world’s 2001 seafood industry. Thirty percent of shrimp traded globally is farmed. Farmed seafood made up 29 percent of the world’s seafood supply that year with a growth rate of 9.2 percent a year for the past 33 years. Wild caught seafood, by comparison, increased only 1.4 percent per year.

Thailand and China are vying for the planet’s premier seafood exporting nation. Thailand holds a small lead. The crown is expected to shift to China soon. Norway and the United States follow. Japan, the U.S. and the European Union are the world’s biggest import markets with consumers there swallowing up 80 percent of the world’s seafood harvest.

WWF TELLS SCOTLAND TO CLOSE RIVER DEE SALMON FISHING

Some two hundred salmon, sea and brown trout at the mouth of Scotland’s famed River Dee have died over the past few weeks because of the heat wave gripping Europe. Those fish and the prospect of tens of thousands more succumbing to the high water temperatures and low river flow levels prompted the World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to demand Scotland’s river management agencies to ban all fishing for salmon, commercial and recreational, until temperatures return to normal.

The WWF call announced throughout the environmental media could rankle some throughout Scotland and Europe. Fisheries managers with the Dee Salmon Fishery Board, the Scotland Environmental Protection Agency and other Scottish marine research institutions are well aware of the threat to the fish and are busily seeking effective remedies. In France, the concern for 200 fish pales by comparison to the deaths of 3000 French citizens caused by the heat wave.

With the seasonal salmon spawn fast upon Scottish rivers, vast numbers of salmon and trout are reported to be congregating at the mouth of the Dee, the Royal Family’s favorite salmon river. The Dee River System is the largest of South West Scotland’s rivers with fifty miles of rivers (including the Dee, River Ken and Deugh River) and a catchment area of four hundred square miles of lakes and hills. Three years ago more than 200,000 salmon in the river were killed because of pollution. Two years ago, fishing was curtailed because of the nationwide tragedy over hoof and mouth disease.

Reducing fishing pressure on fish slated to die without spawning may well prove futile. Water is the key to saving the fish. Scottish authorities believe only a prolong and intense rain can avert potential disaster.

ICELAND DEFIES ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT DOUBLE STANDARDS

Despite threats from environmental groups and foreign nations whose public postures on such issues are heavily influenced by those same groups, Iceland is pushing ahead with its controversial research measures to determine the impact over-populated whale species have on commercially desirable fish stocks. Managing marine resources by means of taking into consideration the multitude of eco-system inhabitants and the stress each brings is supported and even pushed by environmental groups at international venues such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). On occasion that approach has been used by NGOs to curtail or restrict the operations of commercial fisheries. Now, the very principles of obtaining hard data regarding pressures on fish stocks are being ignored and vilified by those same NGOs.

Research by whale consuming nations, most notably Japan and Norway to date, provide important data about the various species of great and lesser cetaceans. Cultural bias against nations whose people consume cetacean flesh is a powerful influence in world politics, but it is no more correct than prejudice against a people’s religion, skin color or place of origin. Further, condemning science for gathering evidence the world declared twenty years ago was sorely needed and missing from humanity’s knowledge banks is simply hypocritical.

A comprehensive global management plan for great whale species has been held in abeyance for two decades by delegates at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) precisely because of declarations that sound research about great whale species was lacking. As Japan, Norway and now Iceland pursue that knowledge, each is condemned and faced with international sanctions. Something is very wrong with that picture.

The world is rightly concerned about declining marine species populations. Literally one million minke whales, two million sperm whales, and tens of thousands of other whale species that consume voluminous masses of sea life are realities that cannot be ignored. The politically fashionable premise of blaming the decline of fish stocks solely on over fishing is fraught with the potential for public policy abuse. It has become a stereotype that is based partly on fact and partly on unchallenged acceptance. Just as the longline industry is being blamed for declines in leatherback sea turtle populations (when that species does not eat the bait used on longline hooks) is an oft-repeated, but scientifically suspect claim where real research suggests otherwise, so too the blanket condemnation of commercial and recreational fisheries must be tempered with objective research into all other real and perceived stresses on marine life. Whales are one of those very real stresses that need to be examined if we are to have a truly effective global fisheries management scheme.

24 July 2003

CHINA MAY BE MARKET FOR ENTIRE GLOBAL SEAFOOD CATCH BY 2023

If the Chinese government’s hopes to provide its citizens a better diet by 2023 come true, the world’s entire fish catch could be consumed by the health conscious nation. Klaus Toepfer, chief of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) said the Chinese plans to improve the nation’s diet will mean it will become the leading food consumer on earth.

Hopes to increase per capita egg consumption to 200 per year would require 260 billion eggs from a 1.3 billion chicken flock. Feed for the chickens would take Australia’s entire yearly harvest. Similarly, the rate of seafood consumption by the Chinese would demand the entire world’s catch of seafood by the target date.

DECLINE IN CORAL REEFS BODE PROBLEMS AT ALL LEVELS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Coral reef cover in the Caribbean has declined by 80 percent over the past 30 years according to British marine biologists. Natural and man-made causes are presenting real problems to the natural and economic environment according to researchers from England’s University of East Anglia. Some 263 separate sites around Florida, Jamaica, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Central America’s Mesoamerican Barrier Reef system were examined for the study. The majority of damage was inflicted during the 1980s appears to be due to diseases affecting the corals, a condition related to the disappearance of the black spiny sea urchin from local reef systems. Coral reefs are home to a bounty of underwater life: lobster, crabs, urchins, fish, sponges etc. Development of tourist Mecca’s in the Caribbean is blamed for some of the damage. Researchers say the Caribbean tourist industry, in part, should become involved in efforts to maintain the health of coral reefs because the industry depends on healthy reef systems to attract scuba, snorkel and other divers seeking to enjoy the splendor of the underwater life. Not participating in the conservation of the reefs is economically self-defeating. The same can be said for commercial fisheries need to become involved.

WILL SALMON PATTIES REPLACE THE FILET’O FISH? FAST BURGER CHAINS LOOK TO SEAFOOD FOR NICHE MARKETING

On the Maryland-Delaware “Eastern Shore” beach resorts, with Ocean City the most notable among them, the McDonalds burger chain is offering a crab cake sandwich. Now Burger King appears poised to jump into the seafood market with a product lacking the four corners of the typical fish filet fast food sandwich fare. Just as the crab cake is testing in Maryland McDonalds restaurants, so too will pink salmon burgers begin consumer tests at Burger King. Two years in the making, the salmon burger concept was nearly scrapped in favor of keeping the burger chain faithful to the foods that built its following: grilled burgers. The sale of Burger King by Britain’s Diageo PLC to a U.S. investment group saw interest in the project renewed.

BK’s new management is pushing a sub-theme of more “healthy” products. It’s also getting pushed by Alaska’s political elite: Governor Frank Murkowski and U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. If accepted, the BK salmon burger may see the restaurant chain benefiting from $10 million in federal tax money earmarked to help market the foundering Alaskan salmon fishery. Before the salmon burger becomes part of the BK menu, a harrowing gauntlet of issues must be resolved beside the make up and consumer acceptance of the sandwich itself. Among them are the ability to keep purchase price of salmon affordable and the affect consumer preference for the new sandwich might have on sales of traditional chicken and beef sandwiches.

OMEGA-3 AGAIN LINKED TO REDUCED ALZHEIMER RISK

The beneficial qualities of Omega-3 fatty acids are again linked to lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The latest study to show a link between the fatty acids from fish, vegetables and nuts monitored 815 Chicago-area residents 65-years and older over a period of seven years. Participants who ate seafood once a week in virtually any form – tuna sandwiches, fish sticks, shellfish – and a variety of vegetables and nuts had a 60 percent less chance of developing Alzheimer’s than non-fish eating counterparts. The study, conducted at Chicago’s Rush-Presbyterian – St. Luke’s Medical Center and published in The Archives of Neurology Journal, is one of a number of surveys that suggest Omega-3 provides an unexplained preventative measure against the brain disease. Lab animals infected with Alzheimer’s also exhibited improvements to nerve function, learning, and memory. Other studies involving anti-oxidants also demonstrated improvement in Alzheimer’s patients.

IRISH SALMON FARMS HIT BY UNKNOWN KILLER

More than 233,000 salmon from three Irish farms in County Donegal have died of mysterious causes over the past two weeks. Some predict losses could reach 1000 tons. The irate salmon farmers believe the dredging for prawns is the culprit. Investigators believe some chemical or biological irritant is responsible. The deaths were first reported to Ireland’s Department of the Marine on July 11th. An investigative team was sent to the scene. The government’s investigators ruled out dredging as a causal agent. Salmon farmers insist the nearby dredging is responsible and point to silt in the fish pens and on fish gills to underscore their argument. They also claim the dead fish contain high levels of hydrogen sulphide, gas that could have been released by bottom dredging.

“CHEVROLET OF CAVIAR” CONTROLS MAJORITY OF U.S. MARKET

Roe from paddlefish, processed with salt, has taken a full 60 percent of the U.S. domestic caviar market from their Caspian sea sturgeon cousins that produce the taste delight of elite fish egg connoisseurs. The smaller paddlefish roe from Kentucky and Tennessee is finding itself filling a vacuum left by the declining numbers and stratospheric prices of Caspian sturgeon caviar. A recent New York Times article quoted celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck as calling paddlefish roe, the “Chevrolet of caviar.”

The movement by the U.S. and NGOs to have sturgeon and paddlefish listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) is seen as a tactic to shut down the U.S. market for Caspian caviar. By removing the largest market from the caviar trade, the NGOs hope to end global trade in the valuable fish eggs. It would also serve as a precedent to have CITES move all sturgeon species from the limited and highly regulated trade category of Appendix II to the no-trade listing on Appendix I.

Illegal poaching is one of the main issues prompting the campaign to end trade in Caspian Sea caviar. News reports from Moscow say the Russian Federation is considering renewing the government monopoly first imposed by the Stalin-run Communist state over the caviar trade to counter illegal activities and preserve international trade.

ILLEGAL CHINESE SHRIMP SEEN AS THREAT TO MEXICAN TRADE

Allegations are being made by Mexican shrimp farmers that shrimp from China is being imported into Mexico after being deliberately mislabeled as product from U.S. origins in order to avoid paying a 30 percent tariff and to be dumped on the Mexican market duty free. Mexico’s growing shrimp aquaculture industry now has 600 farms accounting for 80 percent of the country’s shrimp production. The Mexican shrimp farmers fear the illegal shrimp will introduce disease (yellow spot and taura virus) and contaminate local supplies with traces of disinfecting chemicals such as chloramphenicol, tripolyphosphate and metabisulfite forbidden in many shrimp consuming nations including the European Union.

3 July 2003

SOUND MAY AFFECT FISH DESPITE SOME CLAIMS TO THE CONTRARY

Of the more than 7000 Internet articles on the issue of the effect of low frequency sonar on marine life, barely a handful contain information other than a blanket condemnation of Navy or other human sources of “marine noise” as detrimental to the lives of marine mammals and fish. A recent article in the June 30th edition of The Scientist suggests perhaps the emphasis of such articles may be missing an important aspect of sea life. Researchers at the University of York and the University of Kentucky set out to find the how and why of clown fish juveniles settling on reef-homes after swimming into the deep. Sounds – pops, bangs, whoops and crackles – traditionally emanating from coral reef life appear to be the answer.

To determine the effect of sound, marine biologists Stephen Simpson and Hong Yang serenaded clown fish embryos in a soundproof chamber with a variety of sounds. When the “marine music” approximated the natural sounds coming from a coral reef, they observed the embryos’ heart rate increased. Carrying their work to Australia’s Lizard Island, the two created “silent” and “noisy” reefs. Six times more fish came to the reefs with loudspeakers playing “reef music” leading the biologists to speculate that natural sounds may play a powerful role in marine life.

HEAVY METALS PUSHING SWORDFISH, TUNA, SHARK OFF MENUS

Trying to determine exactly what fish and at what size are acceptable to environmental NGOs can be frustrating. Recent “save the swordfish” campaigns are pushing for only large specimens to be caught for the commercial seafood market. That recommendation should raise flags of caution throughout the industry. The most obvious reason is that larger swordfish tend to be female breeders. With more and more NGOs pushing for restrictions on heavy metal traces in swordfish, shark and tuna, yet another cautionary red flag can be seen waving in the breeze.

Large swordfish, tuna, and shark are predators. The older and larger, the more heavy metals they retain from consumed victims. Mercury, cadmium, lead are all found in nature and in fish. European Union standards for acceptable trace amounts of cadmium (0.05 mg per kilo for fish and 0.1 mg for scallops) are being used to prohibit shipments from entering the EU market. In the U.S. anti-mercury groups are pushing for “Zero Mercury” and have moved from fresh tuna to canned albacore. The new hook is the same as the old one, pregnant women and children. Canned tuna, the new campaign goes, is often the only fish eaten by pregnant women and children and therefore presents a public health menace. So what fish is acceptable? The message is none.

CHILE EYES TOP SALMON, FISH EXPORT SPOT

Indicators and statistics all point to Chile overtaking Norway as the world’s top farmed salmon producer. Last year Chilean salmon farms offered world markets 537,000 gross metric tons of salmon versus Norway’s 550,000 metric tons. To date, Chile has been working to salvage its reputation as an environmentally friendly salmon farming nation and one that strives to avoid even the appearance of dumping product on foreign markets.

Dumping allegations against Chile brought by Scottish and Irish salmon interests saw the Latin American nation defeat the move at every level thus preparing the way for Chile’s entrance into the very lucrative and very traditionally Norwegian market. Chile’s handful of companies paying duties to the United States will be free of those obligations soon. Even with a 50 percent duty today, Chile controls some 50 percent of the U.S. market. Further, Chile has not sat idle while weathering charges in North America. Instead it has aggressively pursued new markets in China, India, Taiwan and Brazil to name a few.

Already this year, Chilean salmon and trout exports for the first three months of 2003 are up in value by 30 percent. Similarly, Chilean hoki exports are up by 290 percent.

VAN DE KAMP/MRS. PAUL OWNER FILES FOR PROTECTION

Aurora Foods Inc. has filed to restructure the company under the protection of U.S. bankruptcy laws. The company’s strategy of buying up “Orphaned” companies appears to have burdened the firm with too much debt to handle. Brands owned by Aurora include Van De Kamp, Mrs. Paul’s frozen sea foods, Duncan Hines, Log Cabin, Chef’s Choice, Mr.s Butterworth’s and Celeste.

UK ANGLERS SPOT NGO PROGRESSION: BLOOD SPORTS ARE BLOOD SPORTS

In the U.S. animal rights NGOs cozy up to recreational fishing groups to build coalitions against targeted commercial fisheries. Despite anti-rec fishing campaigns by the master of advocacy street theater, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), U.S. anglers willingly agree to cooperate. Anglers in the U.K. realize that such “cooperation” is illusionary and that to the animal rights community one “blood sport” is no different than another or from commercial industries that kill nature’s creatures whether on land or sea. UK sport fishermen are the recipients of PETA-inspired emails condemning both fish farming and angling as cruel. The British recreational fishing groups realize that PETA campaigns are trend setters, not comic relief within the spectrum of animal and environmental campaigns, a lesson U.S. anglers have yet to learn.