Greenpeace calls for better sourcing of tuna by U.S. grocers
Published onHonolulu (August 27, 2024) Fourteen out of 16 major US grocery retailers received failing grades in Greenpeace USAs latest scorecard on tuna supply chain practices, highlighting ongoing issues in human rights and sustainability on the high seas. Read more
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11 tuna stocks well managed, MSC says
Published onA report commissioned by the International SeafoodSustainabilityFoundation (ISSF) finds that eleven of the 23 majorcommercial tunastocksworldwide are successfully avoidingoverfishingand maintaining target stockbiomasslevels when measured against theMSCFisheries Standard. Read more
Read MoreHawaii fishermen and scientists team up tagging ahi tuna
Published onTuna researcher Molly Lutcavage has been working with fishermen for over two decades. We were criticized for working with commercial fishermen. But how could you not work with commercial fishermen? They're the experts, she says. A veteran tuna researcher, Lutcavage is helping a team of fishermen and scientists in Hawaii to employ new tagging technology for ahi (yellowfin) tuna. Nathan Abe, who fishes for ahi and other tuna species in the waters west of the Hawaiis Big Island has been tagging the ahi tuna with a new HI tag, a small strip of plastic bearing an RFID chip. Developed by Tim Lam and Lutcavage, the HI tag in combination with a smartphone app will help fishermen and scientists learn more about the travels of the ahi tuna. John Kauhaihao, who often fishes with Nathan Abe in the waters west of Hawaiis Big Island, holds a freshly tagged ahi tuna ...
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Pacific Islands US Tuna Treaty Signed
Published onOn March 28, 2024, in Suva, Fiji, the United States State Department and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) signed a tuna treaty that will allow the US purse seine fleet to continue fishing in the EEZs of 17 Pacific island nations that are party to the agreement. The South Pacific Tuna Treaty originally went into effect in June of 1988, and the latest renewal will continue the agreement until June 2033. The memorandum of understanding allows the United States fleet operating under the Treaty to continue fishing in the EEZs of the Pacific Island Parties in 2024, pending the formal adoption of the agreed amendments and revised text of the Treaty for 2025 onwards. In exchange for access granted to US tuna vessels, the revised Treaty package includes an annual $60 million payment from the United States Government for the next ten years (2023-2033) and a further ...
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Grocers, nations pledge transparency on tuna
Published onThe Nature Conservancy today launched a major new initiative that seeks to help monitor industrial tuna fisheries. Read more
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Stock report shows 86% of tuna sustainably harvested
Published onOf the worldwidecommercial tunacatch, 86% comes fromstocksat healthy levels, according to the newest International SeafoodSustainabilityFoundation (ISSF) while 10% requires more robust management. Read more
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MSC certifies Atlantic Canada yellowfin, albacore tunas
Published onNew tuna species and gears added as part of the successful re-certification of Atlantic Canada longline and harpoon swordfish. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that as part of a second successful re-certification, the North West Atlantic Canada harpoon, and North West Atlantic Canada longline swordfish (Xiphias gladius) fisheries have combined and expanded their scope to include two new species, Atlantic yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and North Atlantic albacore (Thunnus alalunga). Read more
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Study offers insight into yellowfin tuna migrations
Published onNatural geochemical markers in the otolith of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) were used to establish nursery-specific signatures for investigating the origin of fish captured in the western Atlantic Ocean (WAO). Two classes of chemical markers (trace elements, stable isotopes) were used to first establish nursery-specific signatures of age-0 yellowfin tuna from four primary production zones in the Atlantic Ocean: Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Cape Verde, and Gulf of Guinea. Read more
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Pacific islands sanctuary debated at House hearing
Published onThe Biden administrations proposal to protect 770,000 square miles with a new mid-Pacific marine sanctuary took center stage Tuesday during a Congressional oversight committee with commercial fishing advocates arguing the process of setting aside ocean waters can short-circuit requirements for public input in fisheries policymaking. The House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee oversight hearing was billed as Examining Barriers to Access in Federal Waters: A Closer Look at the Marine Sanctuary and Monument System. It focused on the plan to expand waters around the existing Remote Island National Monument into a wider sanctuary, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducting a scoping process that included a workshop in American Samoa last week. The prospect of potential future limits on fishing in the region is alarming, said Rep. Aumua AmataColeman Radewagen, R-American Samoa, delegate to Congress. In its potential extent the proposal is about to take ...
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Draft management plan for Northeast Canyons marine monument
Published onA draft management plan lays out proposed rules for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, on the eve of Fridays deadline for commercial lobster and crab fishing in the nearly 5,000-square mile block south of Georges Bank. The draft plan caps years of struggle over the future of the region, long sought by ocean conservation and environmental groups as a marine preserve. Established by former president Barack Obama under the federal Antiquities Act, the monument encompasses an area of the Atlantic nearly the size of Connecticut, ranging south from the Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia canyons at the edge of the shelf 130 miles off Cape Cod to the Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever seamounts, remnants of ancient volcanoes. Monument advocates said the Obama proclamation was needed to protect threatened and endangered marine mammals in the waters, and complex habitat on bottom slopes including deep corals. The ...
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Study: Climate change could impose habitat loss on top species
Published onWoods Hole, Mass. (August 9, 2023) --A study of 12 species of highly migratory fish predatorsincluding sharks, tuna, and billfish such as marlin and swordfishfinds that most of them will encounter widespread losses of suitable habitat and redistribution from current habitats in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA) and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by 2100. Read more
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National Fisherman Highliner: Jerry Sansom
Published onFor nearly half a century, Sansom has been the voice for and a face of the individual commercial fishermen in Florida as the longtime executive director of the Organized Fishermen of Florida. His 2022 award as a National Fisherman Highliner recognizes his lifelong work. Growing up in the Pensacola area with its big history of commercial fishing for generations, Sansom says that heritage was the basis for his decades of advocacy. Protect the resource so you always have it there, and guarantee access to the commercial side and consumers, said Sansom. These are public resources, and everyone should have access to it. Fishermen and colleagues say Sansoms efforts are why their community has survived in Florida, despite net ban campaigns of the 1990s and continuing political and development pressures. Whether working with fishermen or politicians, Sansom was always straight-up with his answers and recommendations, as well as outlining options ...
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NOAA announces advisors for proposed Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary
Published onToday, NOAA announced members of a new sanctuary advisory council for the proposed Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary. The council will provide the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries with advice and recommendations to guide NOAA during the designation process for the proposed sanctuary. Council members also serve as liaisons to their communities, building a strong connection between the sanctuary and stakeholders. The council includes 15 voting members and 15 alternates representing a variety of community interests.Citizens appointed by NOAA to serve on the Sanctuary Advisory Council are: Commercial Fishing: o Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison at Seafreeze Ltd. Point Judith, R.I.; Greg DiDomenico, fisheries management specialist at Lunds Fisheries, Cape May, N.J. o Patrick Knapp, Andrew Minkiewicz (alternates) ● Recreational Fishing: o Alan Lee, John Depersenaire (members) o Deane Lambros, Will Poston (alternates) ● Tourism/Recreation: o Kiera Maloney (member) o Rob Nixon (alternate) ● Conservation: o Noah ...
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Navy, Coast Guard deploy on Western Pacific fisheries patrol
Published onThe USS Mobile, a 418-foot Navy littoral combat ship, began a joint patrol in the Western Pacific Ocean March 20 to combat illegal fishing and maritime crime, according to Navy officials. Homeported at San Diego, Calif., as part of the Navys Third Fleet, the Mobile carries a Coast Guard team to conduct maritime law enforcement, as part of the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative. OMSI is imperative to ensure that the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Convention (WCPFC) agreement is upheld within the Indo-Pacific region, said Cmdr. Richard Skinnell, the Mobiles commanding officer. This initiative allows us the opportunity to work jointly with other branches of the military as well as our allies and partners. OMSI improves maritime security and domain awareness by enabling Coast Guard law enforcement personnel to conduct maritime law enforcement operations from Navy ships, according to a Navy statement. These joint and combined operations ...
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Coast Guard, fishing vessels rescue Hawaii longline crew
Published onThe Coast Guard and two commercial fishing vessels located and rescued the crew of the 52-foot longliner Sea Smile 545 miles southwest of Hawaii early Friday. The six crewmembers were reportedly in good condition and are making their way to Honolulu aboard the commercial fishing vessel Captain Minh, according to Coast Guard officials. Anytime you get word that a crew is preparing to abandon ship, you immediately become worried about the time required to reach the survivors, said Cmdr. Marc McDonnell, operations officer for Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu, in a statement Friday. The 184-foot Taiwan longliner Ying Rong No 638 arrived on the scene to pick up the crew of the disable Hawaii fishing vessel Sea Smile around midnight on March 3, 2023. Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission photo. In last night's case, we appreciate the support of the good Samaritans aboard ...
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Vessel owner prosecuted in Coast Guard’s ‘paper captain’ crackdown
Published onThe U.S. Coast Guard is prosecuting John D. Gibbs, the owner and managing operator of the Southern Horizon, an 89-foot tuna longliner caught using a foreign national as master a so-called paper captain on Oct. 19, as part of a broader operation by the Coast Guard to address the increased instances of vessel owners illegally hiring foreign captains to command U.S. flagged ships in violation of the Jones Act. If found guilty Mr. Gibbs, who is a repeat paper captain offender, faces over $12,000 in fines, according to Coast Guard officials. Noticing an uptick in the number of Jones Act violations in the Pacific Northwest since 2020, Coast Guard Sector Columbia River initiated Operation Flat Stanley, to target and prosecute vessel owners who use paper captains, the practice of listing a U.S. citizen as master on paper while giving the top job to a ...
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