Fellow Fishmonger

This morning I checked my inbox and was pleased to receive an e-mail from a fellow fishmonger and blogger, Don't Fear Fish. Although I often get feedback from Friends and business associates it is good to get a fresh response. My west coast doppelganger is doing a great job providing information to his customers and to the public. Please stop by check out his site and leave a comment.

Menhaden, and the Continuing Battle for the Food Chain

As someone who makes a living trading in seafood for human consumption I have the opinion that the wholesale taking of a valuable natural resource by only a hand full of people is not good. Apparently there are even a few elected officials that are of the same opinion. I think that the effects of the Menhaden fishery is similar to the corn for ethanol scheme. By removing these fish from the food chain it no doubt effects the fish that rely on them for food. The other added benefit of that menhaden, and fish like them offer is the improvement of water quality as they filter feed upon algae, and detritus. Now that "Friend of the Sea" has sold them the sustainability label the fight to protect them might be harder.

Below are two recent articles for your consideration:

Taken from Asbury Park Press 5/16/2008

Bunker Bills Will Protect This Valuable Resource

Two Republican congressmen are pushing legislation that would provide further protection to menhaden stocks that are so vital to the Atlantic ecosystem.
Rep. Jim Saxton, R-NJ., introduced a bill, H.R. 3840, that would impose a partial moratorium on commercial menhaden fishing while more research is conducted on the health of the fish population.
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., went further with a bill that would impose an immediate five-year moratorium on menhaden fishing.
Both bills were reviewed by the House Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee May 8. Saxton is a senior member of the subcommittee.
"Atlantic menhaden are a key piece of the Atlantic ecosystem from Florida to Maine," Saxton said at the hearing. "They serve as a vital link in the food chain and are a primary source of food for striped bass, bluefish and weakfish, and are favored by seabirds like loons and ospreys."
Saxton wants the moratorium on the commercial reduction fishery for menhaden until a scientifically-determined catch level can be established that also considers the role of menhaden in the ecosystem.
The bill would prohibit commercial menhaden fishing in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone that extends from three miles to 200 miles into the Atlantic Ocean.
Saxton said the "reduction fishery" menhaden are not used as human seafood, but are reduced for industrial purposes, agricultural fertilizer or feed for poultry and aquacultural processes as well as in nutritional supplements.
Dr. Bruce Franklin of Rutgers University, author of the book on menhaden titled "The Most Important Fish in the Sea," supported both congressmen's bills.
Franklin emphasized that menhaden filter algae from ocean water at a rate of up to four gallons per minute. They feed on rotting sea vegetation and plankton, and have a positive effect on water quality as well as serving as a source of forage for fish, marine mammals and birds.
"Menhaden are a primary food source of game fish that are crucial to Jersey Shore tourism," Saxton said. "I'm not saying anything fishermen don't know already. What's good for menhaden is good for stripers, blues and mackerel.
"Menhaden are a poster-fish for why we need to consider the ecosystem in the way we manage our fisheries," he said at the hearing. "More research and studies are needed to determine the health of menhaden populations and what level is a truly sustainable catch.
"But the danger signs clearly point to the need for protection measures now for what is often called "the most important fish in the sea,' " he concluded.

Omega Protein qualifies for Friend of the Sea Certification

Independent audit and official scientific data confirm US menhaden fishery sustainable

© FRIENDOFTHESEA.org - Pubblicata il 21/05/2008

Houston, Texas – After an extensive process of auditing the United States Menhaden industry for sustainability and fishing practices, Friends of the Sea has certified the industry as a «Friend of the Sea».

Friends of the Sea, which is an independent organization known for its thorough certification procedure, used the following guidelines to certify applicants for sustainability: (a) target stocks cannot be considered overexploited; (b) the applicant’s fishing methods cannot impact the seabed, and (c) generation of less than average (8%) discards. Omega Protein has met this criterion.

«The menhaden fishery, the second biggest fishery in the United States, has been found compliant with Friend of the Sea standards by an independent audit,» comments Dr Paolo Bray – Director of Friend of the Sea. «This is a great result for Friend of the Sea, which would have not been possible without Omega Protein’s strong environmental commitment. Omega Protein is also a large international fishmeal producer – others are going to be audited in the next few months and a first Friend of the Sea sustainable fishmeal will soon be on the market. We expect the collaboration of fishmeal producers: the aquaculture market is ready and already demanding certified sustainable fishmeal.»

Omega Protein is the world's largest manufacturer of heart-healthy fish oils containing Omega-3 fatty acids for human consumption, as well as specialty fish meals and fish oil used as value-added ingredients in aquaculture, swine and other livestock feeds. Omega Protein makes its products from Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), an Omega-3 rich fish that is abundantly available along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coasts.

«We believe Friend of the Sea’s approval further emphasizes Omega Protein’s marine conservation and environmental protection efforts. Our well managed fishery has gone on for centuries and this is further evidence that it is sustainable.» states Joseph L. von Rosenberg III, President and CEO of Omega Protein. «We want consumers to know Omega Protein is a Friend of the Sea.»

The database of gulf menhaden is among the best in the United States. Accurate landings data exist back to 1946 because of full disclosure from the industry. Menhaden is fished by a relatively small number of vessels operated by few companies, making the data also very precise. The 2006 NOAA/NMFS/SFSC/ASMFC Official Stock Assessments Reports for Atlantic Gulf Menhaden convened that the stocks are not considered to be overfished. FAO, in its 2005 «Review of world State of Marine Fisheries Resources» considers Atlantic menhaden as not overexploited.

The United States Menhaden fishery is considered to have zero percent discard rate according to FAO «Discards in World Marine Fisheries. An Update». Bycatch of other fishes in menhaden purse seines has been examined repeatedly since late 1800s. Taking of non-target species is a relatively rare event, and the overall bycatch is insignificant.

The Company utilizes a fleet of purse seine fishing vessels supported by spotter aircraft to supply menhaden to its four processing facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia. It provides more than 1,000 jobs in the states where it operates. All Omega vessels use an excluder nozzle to exclude larger predator species. Then an additional excluder screen is used to exclude the larger species and return them to the water via excluder chutes.

I have included both of the articles in an effort to be fair. Your comments are welcome. It certainly does not require an advanced degree in ocean biology to envision the effects of taking too many of these vital fish out of the natural food chain.

Copper River Trading Like Oil

A couple weeks ago I wrote that Copper River salmon would be in New York this week. I was wrong about that, but pricing predictions were more accurate. All seafood prices have been trending up, but with catches roughly one fifth the quota these fish demanded record prices. Prices in the pacific northwest, not including freight costs to the east coast were $15.00 to $17.00 wholesale for Sockeyes, and over $19.00 for Kings. With these kind of prices it had me looking for last seasons frozen production. Unfortunately most of the quality fish has been taken, and what little frozen wild salmon remains is dull, soft and tired fish. I have had some really nice frozen wild salmon to get me through the winters, but the probabilities are diminishing that we will see fresh demand at levels low enough to freeze and store this hot commodity.

South Pacific Nations Adopt Tuna Moratorium

SeaFood Business

May 21, 2008 - Eight South Pacific island nations on Tuesday agreed to block bigeye and yellowfin tuna fishing in the region's international waters.

At the Fourth Forum Fisheries Ministerial Meeting in the Republic of Palau, eight nations - the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu - agreed to prohibit licensed tuna vessels from fishing in two areas marked for protection beginning June 15. Environmental groups praised the decision.

"It is the boldest move ever to prevent the overfishing of tuna. It is significant. It has really drawn a line," says Greenpeace campaigner Dean Baigent-Mercer.

The nations identified so-called "doughnut holes" as waters that have been overexploited by tuna fishermen. One of the two areas is located north of Papua New Guinea, and the other is further east. Licensed boats operating in the protected waters will have to carry fisheries observers on board, among other measures.

"Our region will achieve success if our countries band together to adopt and implement action plans to fight illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, both on national levels and with respect to fishing on the high seas," Palau VP Elias Chin told meeting attendees.

Hudson River Study Finds 10 Species Ailing

by The Associated Press

Thursday May 15, 2008, 7:06 AM

A study of 13 Hudson River fish species indicates 10 have declined since the mid-1970s, despite a significant improvement in the river's water quality.

One fish, the rainbow smelt, no longer shows up at all in the samplings, the report said.

It suggests a variety of causes, ranging from global warming to the invasion of the zebra mussel. But it also points a finger at five power plants that take in river water -- and millions of fish and fish eggs each year -- to cool their equipment.

"Even if the power companies are not the sole cause of degradation of the Hudson River fish community, the loss of such high proportions of the fish populations must be important," the report said.

The environmental group Riverkeeper, which commissioned the study from Pisces Conservation Ltd., a British consultant, planned to release the study at a riverside news conference Thursday morning. The Associated Press obtained a copy in advance.

Riverkeeper has been trying for years to force power plants to upgrade their cooling systems to a closed-cycle type that would use 97 percent less river water. The group's president, Alex Matthiessen, said Wednesday that the Clean Water Act requires that such technology be updated and that he would call on the state Department of Environmental Conservation to enforce the requirement.

"Too many of these species are in serious decline," he said. "You have to try and address all the factors that are playing a role, and at the very least, you have to make sure that the various parties responsible are following the law."

Matthiessen said the study's findings surprised him.

"We've managed to improve the river over the last four decades. We thought it would only make sense that as the river became cleaner the ecosystem upon which the fish depend would become healthier," he said

Grow Fish In Your Basement

Turned off by high seafood prices? Maybe the future of seafood is next to the washing machine or the water heater in your basement. It might seem like a far fetched idea, but it is one that increased transportation costs could bring closer to reality. The article below appeared in a recent Mother Earth News.

USA.- For the past several years, the good folks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Washington, D.C. have worked to help urban residents gain greater control over their lives through the use of low-technology, decentralist tools and concepts.

[2008-02-22]

We strongly believe that more people (city dwellers and country folk alike) should be exposed to the Institute's admirable efforts... which is why we've made this "what's happening where" report by ILSR staffers one of MOTHER'S regular features.

Raising fish in the basement—as a means of producing a home supply of inexpensive protein—is an enticing idea to urban and rural dwellers alike... especially now that overfishing (coupled with the pollution of many spawning and feeding areas) has led to higher seafood prices.

Fish can , of course, be grown in basements (as Dr. Fernwood Mitchell proved when he raised rainbow trout in his Washington, D.C. cellar). Such closed systems, however, require perpetual filtering and aeration of the water, constant temperature control, and regular supplemental feedings... and they'll only be worthwhile when transportation expenses become so high that basement growing, with all of its costs, becomes economically competitive with our present commercial fisheries.

On the other hand, not all aquaculture is as intensive and financially prohibitive as are basement systems. Ocean ranching is a good example of the other "fin farming" extreme. Salmon hatcheries on our northeastern and northwestern coasts release millions of juveniles each year... fish that are subsequently harvested by both commercial boats and sports anglers. (The Lummi Indians of Bellingham, Washington—who use their trout and salmon hatcheries as a spur to encourage community economic development—produce nearly five million fingerlings a year.)

In addition, there's an extension of ocean ranching—a system that's appropriate for a wider variety of species—in which the juveniles are released into a partially enclosed environment... one that can receive some management. Known as parc culture , this system was initially developed to grow oysters in Brittany's tidal flats, but is now being used in many American shellfish beds. And—for more mobile forms of marine life—gates can be used to retain the finned groups in the "cropped" bay, tidal flat, or whatever.

Raft culture provides still another fish farming alternative. By growing mussel colonies on rafts anchored in the middle of an unpolluted estuary, Ed Meyers of Damariscotta, Maine is able to raise the shellfish for less than 20¢ a pound!

Ponds are, therefore, the best hope for city fish farming. Such small "lakes" can take advantage of the energy available from solar radiation... the higher temperatures of the urban environment... and, perhaps, even wind power to provide water circulation.

Source: Mother Earth News

Fuel Cost Affects Seafood

The rising cost of diesel is putting a real strain on many sectors of the seafood industry. Recent articles from all coasts, and overseas are highlighting the plight of fishermen as they struggle to make ends meet. More often than not the choice is to fish or not to fish. When the decision is how much money do I want to lose, it is sometimes better to just stay tied up. A visit to Long Island over a relatively calm weather weekend revealed docks with commercial boats, many with for sale signs. Even charters leaving from Crossbay, New York are making sure that they are completely booked before heading out. So with costs to fishermen up we are seeing dock prices start to skyrocket. That of course means that consumer costs will be steadily rising. The big question is how that affects overall purchases in the future. It could help some species by relieving pressures, but by what factor. And of course their is always someone willing to pay any price. In addition to fueling boats, the seafood industry will be affected by transportation costs. The perishable nature of fish requires a lot of just on time and less than full load trucking. This means that the cost to transport less available seafood stands to equal the same costs enjoyed in the past for larger quantities of product. All this information may seem obvious to some, but of course understanding doesn't always equal acceptance. End customer distributors, retailers, and food service establishments are tasked with surviving on ever narrowing margins. I have only talked about these fuel costs as they relate to wild caught product, but these and other factors are adding costs into aqua cultured products as well. Tilapia prices as an example have increased by 25% since this time last year.