After an initial patch of rough seas, Fishing Vessel St. Jude is reeling in prized albacore, and accolades

By  Providence Cicero

ST. JUDE is the patron saint of lost causes. It wasn’t the name Joyce and Joe Malley would have chosen for the spanking-new 95-foot fishing vessel they bought in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1990, but it’s considered bad luck to change a boat’s name. In retrospect, a little heavenly protection might have helped. Buying the St. Jude took all they had, and then some.

The story turned out well in the end for this seagoing couple. Fishing Vessel St. Jude’s albacore tuna loins are on the menu at Seattle restaurants like Tilth, Terra Plata, Matt’s in the Market and Queen City. “In order to make a really good dish, you have to source ingredients that have great flavor,” says chef Maria Hines of Tilth. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Joe’s tuna because he puts so much care and attention into his product. He searches out schools of tuna that have a very high fat content, which is why his tuna is always so melt-in-your-mouth delicious. He also bleeds the fish quickly, so they have a super-clean flavor.”

Many area grocery stores stock St. Jude’s canned albacore (about $9 per 6-ounce can). Recent back-to-back “Good Food Awards” for their Mediterranean tuna packed in Spanish olive oil and their organic jalapeno-spiked tuna (one of several flavored versions) attest to the product’s excellence. The “Tarantella” line uses only luxurious tuna belly. Forget chicken of the sea: St. Jude’s Tarantella packed in Regalis White Truffle Oil (the rare truffle oil not made with synthetic flavoring) is the ocean’s answer to Wagyu. At $8.50 for a 3.5-ounce can, it’s an affordable splurge.

A lot of environmental concerns swirl around tuna. The Malleys care about sustainability. Their tuna is troll-caught, using lures dragged on the surface to selectively catch young, fatty albacore one-by-one. About 5 percent of albacore are troll-caught, according to Joe. Trolling selects for young albacore, 3 to 5 years old, averaging about 15 pounds. “They feed low in the food chain: anchovies, squid and krill. The result is low mercury levels, making them much healthier to consume. It is a much-targeted type of fishing. Bycatch is virtually nil.

To read the full article click on the link below:

http://fisherynation.com/archives/78930?fbclid=IwAR1TtBx1y46lyTFyHEA6zTREWQgAqzhnGqEk9YltNdWK7kvYWotcmtew1wE

Eating Fish May Help City Kids With Asthma Breathe Better

It's long been known that air pollution influences the risk — and severity — of asthma. Now, there's emerging evidence that diet can play a role, too.

A new study finds that higher consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines and lake trout, and in some plant sources such as walnuts and flaxseed, is linked to reduced asthma symptoms in city kids who are exposed to fairly high levels of indoor air pollution.

To read more click on the link:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/30/707991097/eating-fish-may-help-city-kids-with-asthma-breathe-better

Comment: Herring fishery will leave enough to sustain resident killer whales

By JONATHAN WILKINSON

Our ocean is a complex ecosystem, and Pacific herring are a vital food source for chinook salmon and southern resident killer whales. It speaks to the importance of these iconic species that more than 70,000 people have signed a petition this year to close the commercial fishery in the Strait of Georgia in an effort to protect them.

As a British Columbian, and the minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, I care deeply about restoring our chinook salmon populations and protecting our iconic southern resident killer whales. That’s why we have made historic investments in conservation through the $1.5-billion Oceans Protection Plan, the $167.4-million Whales Initiative and additional funding of $61.5 million in measures aimed to address all key threats to southern resident killer whales: sound disturbance, contaminants and availability of prey.

Likewise, we are working closely with the province of British Columbia to protect wild Pacific salmon. Just a few weeks ago, I was with Premier John Horgan to announce more than $142 million to restore and protect wild Pacific salmon. This is one of my top priorities as minister, and I am seized with the responsibility to protect and restore the biodiversity of our coasts.

I hear people’s concerns about fisheries management. That is why I want to be as open and transparent as possible about the science by which we made the decision to continue with the commercial herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia. As minister, my role is to make sound decisions based on science. I have a mandate to support sustainable fisheries and protect our ocean ecosystems.

Herring are significant to Indigenous Peoples who have fished Pacific herring and their roe (eggs) for millennia, and to the many British Columbians who rely on the fishing industry to support their families and livelihoods.

Every year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans conducts scientific surveys for each of the five major Pacific herring stock areas. These scientific surveys, along with biological sampling, inform a yearly peer-reviewed scientific stock assessment with up-to-date advice on the health of all five major stocks. We also work with Indigenous communities and harvesters in the Strait of Georgia to better understand herring distribution, spawn dynamics and traditional harvest areas.

What has emerged from this work, notwithstanding the overall health of the stock in the Strait of Georgia, are local concerns within the strait about limited spawn. We responded by closing fisheries south of Nanaimo and on the Sunshine Coast to protect the stock in these areas.

However, last year in the Strait of Georgia, our stock assessment found that herring were very abundant — and in the upper third of biomass levels observed since 1950. A science-based decision was made to allow a moderate commercial fishery to go ahead. The commercial fishery will leave a projected 80 per cent of the estimated spawning biomass in the water, ensuring there are enough herring left to spawn and sustain fisheries into the future.

This means that the majority of the herring are left in the water for our chinook and our southern resident killer whales to eat.

British Columbians expect science-based decision-making to inform our fisheries management. Our government is investing in science so that we can leverage new research, and refine and improve our approach to fisheries management. Through consultation, we continue to meet with Indigenous groups, fish harvesters and the public almost every day to better understand their perspectives.

We are listening to British Columbians, and taking action to protect our wild Pacific salmon and southern resident killer whales.

We will continue to look at how we manage this fishery in the Strait of Georgia to be certain our coastal marine food web is preserved.

I am confident this work will ensure that we manage this important fish stock sustainably to support our ocean ecosystem for generations to come.

To read the full article click on the link:

https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op-ed/comment-herring-fishery-will-leave-enough-to-sustain-resident-killer-whales-1.23775335

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.

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