Climate Change Is Already Reshaping Commercial Fishing

By Christopher Free barrons.com

The ocean has been steadily warming over the past 100 years, absorbing most of the heat trapped by atmospheric greenhouse gases. Unless we swiftly and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the ocean could warm by as much as 4°C in the next 80 years. This puts fish and the people they feed and employ in hot water. Half of the planet relies on fish as a vital source of protein, and the fishing industry employs more than 56 million people worldwide.

Understanding where and why fisheries have been impacted by warming is necessary to ensure that the ocean remains a source of both nutrition and prosperity. In a study published in Science, I, along with colleagues from Rutgers University and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, show that ocean warming has already hurt fisheries’ ability to provide food and support livelihoods around the globe.

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So, what should we do?

First, some good news is that well-managed fisheries like Atlantic scallops were among the most resilient to warming, while fisheries with a history of overfishing, such as Irish and North Sea cod, were among the most vulnerable. Thus, preventing overfishing and rebuilding overfished populations will enhance resilience and maximize long-term food and income potential.

Second, new research suggests that food and profits from fisheries could be maintained with swift climate-adaptive management reforms. These reforms require that scientific agencies, in coordination with the fishing industry, develop new methods for assessing the health of fish populations and for setting catch limits that account for the impact of climate change. They also require the establishment of new transboundary institutions—similar to the multinational organizations that manage tuna, swordfish, and marlin—to ensure that management does not degrade as fish shift poleward from one nation’s waters into another’s.

To read more visit:

https://www.barrons.com/articles/climate-change-is-already-reshaping-commercial-fishing-51553605227

Chinese tuna firm starts work on 25,000t processing plant

By Louis Harkell Undercurrentnews.com

A large state-owned Chinese fishing company has started construction on a 25,000-metric-ton-capacity tuna processing plant on the country’s eastern seaboard.  

Shanghai Kaichuang Marine International, the market-listed subsidiary of state-owned fishing giant Shanghai Fisheries Group, itself a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Bright Food, announced on March 12 building work had begun on the CNY 150 million ($22.3m) plant in Daishan, Zhejiang province. 

To read more visit:

https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/03/25/chinese-tuna-firm-starts-work-on-25000t-processing-plant/

Study highlights regional overlap of tunas, sharks in Pacific

By Undercurrent News

“A study published by US-based Stanford University has successfully identified the areas of the Pacific Ocean where tuna, sharks and fishing activities overlap, reports Phys.org.

The study aims to help global authorities determine where vulnerable species are most in need of protection from fishing, the team behind the study said.

The research team created the map by analyzing the habitats of more than 800 sharks and tunas, as well as the locational data from more than 900 industrial fishing vessels. The study found that in the northeast Pacific, Taiwan, China, Japan, the US, and Mexico accounted for more than 90% of fishing in key habitats.”

To read more follow the link below:

https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/03/14/study-highlights-regional-overlap-of-tunas-sharks-in-pacific/

ISSF holds global student contest for sustainable tuna initiatives

By Undercurrent News March 15, 2019 09:57 GMT

“The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) will be holding a contest for marine science graduates and postdoctoral researchers to submit ideas for the next sustainable tuna fishing initiatives, a release from the organization said.

In particular, ISSF is looking for ideas to help reduce bycatch and protect ocean ecosystems from purse seine fisheries that use fish aggregating devices (FADs). The ISSF is especially focused on ideas to reduce the bycatch of sharks and marine mammals, improving the selectivity for skipjack tuna over yellowfin or bigeye, and reducing the marine impact of lost FADs.

Submissions will be judged by a panel of five experts from academia and the fishing industry, based on the originality of the idea, conservation impact, impact on skipjack catches, the degree to which idea has been tested, feasibility of industry-wide implementation, and cost-effectiveness.

The contest, which runs until Dec. 31, 2019, will award a $45,000 grand prize to the idea deemed to be the best in these criteria, as well as a $10,000 runner-up prize, both to be announced on Feb. 28, 2020.”

To read more follow the link:

https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/03/15/issf-holds-global-student-contest-for-sustainable-tuna-initiatives/

Governments of Canada and British Columbia now accepting proposals to help restore Pacific salmon and boost the province’s fish and seafood sector

March 15, 2019

Victoria, BC - Wild Pacific salmon is integral to the economic and social fabric of coastal communities, and is fundamental to Indigenous communities across British Columbia. The need to act now to protect habitat and restore our wild fish stocks is clear and indeed vital to the environmental and economic sustainability of the province.

Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson and BC Premier, the Honourable John Horgan, officially launched the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund in Victoria. This fund is a federal-provincial collaboration that will help restore the habitat of our wild fish stocks in communities across British Columbia, and the protection of our vulnerable wild Pacific salmon species. The Government of Canada is investing $100 million over five years, and the Government of British Columbia is investing $42.85 million over five years.

It will also support fisheries innovation, science and infrastructure so that BC fish stocks can be harvested sustainably into the future. These investments support the protection of BC’s wild fisheries and enhance sustainability in the aquaculture industry.

The fund is now open to proposals from Indigenous groups, conservation groups, commercial organizations in the wild fisheries and industry sectors, recreational fisheries, as well as non-commercial organizations such as universities and academia, industry associations and research institutions. The fund will support projects that leverage local knowledge such as local Indigenous monitoring and guardianship programs and community-led habitat restoration, among other innovative projects aimed at protecting and restoring wild fish stocks.

To be eligible, projects must focus on one or more of the following three areas:

  • Innovation – to encourage the development of new technologies to increase productivity and help meet conservation and sustainability objectives, including the protection and restoration of wild BC stocks, including Pacific salmon;

  • Infrastructure – to encourage capital investments in new products, processes or technologies to support the advancement of sustainable fishing practices and to support the protection and restoration of wild BC stocks, including Pacific salmon;

  • Science partnerships – to support collaborations with academia and other research institutions to improve our knowledge and understanding of impacts to wild stocks and to develop sustainable fishing practices.

The investments from the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund will ensure BC’s wild fisheries are environmentally and economically sustainable for the long-term and that jobs in the fishery are resilient to the challenges of climate change and evolving economic conditions. The fund will help protect and restore priority wild BC fish stocks, including Pacific salmon. Consumers will also benefit from high-quality, sustainably sourced, Canadian fish and seafood products.

To find out more about eligibility, project criteria and how to apply, visit the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund web page: bcsrif.ca.

https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2019/03/governments-of-canada-and-british-columbia-now-accepting-proposals-to-help-restore-pacific-salmon-and-boost-the-provinces-fish-and-seafood-sector.html

Thai Union aims to turn tuna heads into gold

Seafood giant sees fish oil and other high-margin items as key to growth

PETER JANSSEN, Contributing writer

Thai Union gets half its sales from canned tuna, but it is also looking to expand its lineup of more valuable products. (Photo by Kento Awashima)

BANGKOK -- Thai Union Group, the world's leading canned tuna exporter, is banking on its treasure trove of tuna heads to spur growth and lift profits.

The company makes about half of its sales from canned tuna, but is now looking to break into the market for refined fish oil and other higher-margin products made from byproducts like fish heads, skin, eyes and bones.

The push comes as Thai Union sales fell 1.2% last year to around $4.2 billion, due in part to the appreciation of the baht against the dollar. The company is aiming for a 5% increase this year, for which more valuable products will be key.

To ready more follow the link:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Thai-Union-aims-to-turn-tuna-heads-into-gold

Chinese companies report first bigeye tuna fishery to score MSC

By Undercurrent News March 7, 2019 17:03 GMT

Three Chinese companies say the bigeye tuna fishery they harvest from in the Federated States of Micronesia is now the first to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

In a press release published Thursday, Liancheng Overseas Fishery (Shenzhen) Co., China Southern Fishery Shenzhen Co. and Liancheng Overseas Fishery Co. said in a press release that they have just achieved MSC certification for bigeye following an independent assessment by Control Union. They said they achieved MSC for yellowfin in the same fishery in October.

The latest stock assessment for bigeye in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) shows that stocks are healthy and being fished at a sustainable rate, the companies said. But the certification is conditional based upon the adoption of harvest strategies by all of the member states of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) by 2021.

For the full article follow the link below:

https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/03/07/chinese-companies-report-first-bigeye-tuna-fishery-to-score-msc/

B.C. exporters feel chill in Canada-China freeze

Seafood, wine and other sectors vulnerable in escalation of Ottawa-Beijing dispute

Chuck Chiang / Business in Vancouver MARCH 10, 2019 07:00 AM

For some of B.C.’s largest export sectors, a potential disruption of trade with China — the spectre of which has risen after the arrest of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. CFO Meng Wanzhou last December — would be severe if not catastrophic.

That is the view from several B.C. officials in industries such as forestry, seafood, wine and international education, where efforts to diversify their markets beyond the United States, as promoted by Ottawa and the provincial government in the last decade, have helped build deep links with China’s economy as the latter grew to become Canada’s second-largest trade partner.

For the full article click on the link below:

https://www.vancourier.com/news/b-c-exporters-feel-chill-in-canada-china-freeze-1.23656321

Scientists see improving ocean conditions off West Coast, but ‘we are not quite out of the woods yet'

Research surveys in 2018 showed promising signs of rebounding sea life after The Blob, an unprecedented warming event that began in 2014 off the West Coast.

By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times environment reporter

Ocean conditions are improving for salmon entering the ocean this year, several years after The Blob, an unusually warm water event that began forming in 2014, scientists announced Friday.Research surveys in 2018 confirmed tiny animals that stoke the food chain were nice and fatty. Anchovies, an important forage fish, were increasing in number. Sea lion pups were numerous and growing well, and fish-eating sea birds going strong.

To read the full article click on the link below:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/scientists-see-improving-ocean-conditions-off-west-coast-but-we-are-not-quite-out-of-the-woods-yet/