April 13, 2023

Fish farm, offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, Madeira Island U.S. aquaculture advocacy group Stronger America Through Seafood has launched a new campaign this week, titled “Essential Aquaculture,” that aims to create a sense of urgency for Congress to act swiftly on aquaculture expansion in the country. Specifically, SATS is calling on Congress to clarify a regulatory pathway for permitting offshore aquaculture. “Offshore aquaculture is constrained by complex and inconsistent regulations, which hinder its growth. American aquaculture currently meets only 5 to 7 percent of seafood demand. Instead of farming more locally grown seafood, the U.S. imports 90 percent of its seafood. By establishing a clear regulatory pathway for permitting sustainable offshore aquaculture, federal lawmakers can increase domestic seafood production and reignite a vibrant American seafood future that benefits the American economy, industries, and communities nationwide,” the group said in a press release. According to the organization, an additional 40 million metric tons (MT) of seafood will be needed to meet current demand trends by 2030 (even more when global population rises to an estimated 9.5 billion by 2050) and aquaculture can help increase seafood production. “Aquaculture presents a unique opportunity to build an American seafood future that can bring us through this challenging time and support a diverse workforce, enhance sustainable ecosystems, and guarantee healthful, locally-sourced protein for American consumers,” a letter penned by numerous SATS members to U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this year said. “As America begins to rebuild from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing America’s seafood supply through aquaculture will have benevolent rippling effects throughout many areas of the country. Increased aquaculture production will increase demand for American-grown crops, such as soybeans, corn, and peas, which can be used in fish feed, and will open up new markets to heartland farmers while lessening dependence on the uncertainty of foreign trade relationships.” While the Biden administration hasn’t made any definitive statement in support of aquaculture, its emphasis on action on climate change could align well with support for the domestic seafood industry in general, according to senior NOAA officials. At a Seafood Expo North America Reconnect event in March, NOAA Fisheries Acting Assistant Administrator Paul Doremus told the audience numerous synergies exist between the fishing industry and climate interests in Biden’s “building back better” resiliency plan. “There’s a really big place for seafood in the climate-resilient food future that we’re looking for,” Doremus said. “That resilience extends to our entire food system, and a stronger place of seafood in that world will have a big impact on our overall climate resilience.” Doremus is a supporter of aquaculture expansion – specifically offshore expansion – in the U.S., believing that the country can be a significant producer in the global industry, not just a technology partner. “The coastal zone is getting too crowded – too many competing uses, too challenging to produce there – and the technologies are developing to effectively and efficiently grow, at scale, fish in the offshore environment that puts them outside of a lot of areas that create risk and drive up cost in the nearshore environment,” he said in a 2020 SATS video. “We’re going to need all modes of agriculture, but the vanguard is really offshore.” Doremus said U.S. aquaculture technology is being exported to other countries, instead of being put to use domestically. “We see promising technologies, many of which have developed here,” he said. “We should be growing the fish here and not just producing the technology to go to the fish elsewhere. That’s been a pattern in the past and we can have the opportunity to turn it around.” The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump was supportive of the aquaculture industry and expansion. An executive order signed by Trump in May 2020 was designed to enhance the competitiveness of the seafood industry and included several boosts for aquaculture including removing barriers to permitting, a section devoted to improving “regulator transparency for aquaculture,” one to establishing “Aquaculture Opportunity Areas,” and an update to the National Aquaculture Development Plan. The launch of the Essential Aquaculture campaign includes new fact sheets, social media shareables, and an infographic that outline how essential aquaculture is a solution to some of the most pressing food security and sustainability issues we face today. “As Congress debates ways to address the many pressing challenges we face, including economic recovery, food security, and environmental challenges, aquaculture should be considered as one of the solutions,” SATS Campaign Manager Margaret Henderson said. “The expansion of American aquaculture is essential to the U.S. economy. Aquaculture can strengthen American communities by supporting new jobs and a diverse workforce in a post-pandemic world. Increased seafood production would also ensure families have a steady supply of affordable American-raised seafood produced sustainably with minimal impact on the environment, which is essential to climate and conservation efforts.”

The European Commission’s (EC) inspection delegation has acknowledged recent improvements made by Việt Nam in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).—  Photo infonet.vn HÀ NỘI — The European Commission’s (EC) inspection delegation has acknowledged recent improvements made by Việt Nam in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). Trần Đình Luân, deputy director general of Directorate of Fisheries (DoF), told a press conference on Thursday about the results of the inspection team from the EC Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries which took place last month. In a letter sent to the Vietnamese Directorate of Fisheries last Thursday, the EC’s inspection team recognised Việt Nam’s co-operation, transparency and honesty in providing and exchanging information during their time in Việt Nam. They confirmed Việt Nam has made a lot of progress compared to the first inspection in May 2018 and is on the right track towards implementing the Fisheries Law and legal guiding documents. The country’s significant improvements in the monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing vessels have been noted, which could be seen through their on-site inspection at Tắc Cậu fishing port, the busiest fish market in Kiên Giang Province. In addition, the management process and organisation of fishing vessels and output through the port were carried out flexibly and effectively. Việt Nam has also made great efforts to install fishing vessel monitoring systems, provide regulations and implement gear marking fishing vessels based on the EC’s recommendations. The EC’s inspection team also acknowledged Việt Nam’s efforts in increasing management of fishing density through freezing offshore fishing fleets. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also issued a decision on assigning a quota of offshore fishing permits for 28 coastal provinces. However, some shortcomings were pointed out, such as slow progress of installing cruise monitoring equipment on fishing vessels, incomprehensive surveillance systems with many technical errors, as well as limited and inconsistent sanctioning on violations among localities. There is also no evidence to prove competent authorities ensure sufficient and accurate traceability mechanisms in fishery processing plants, they said. The EC also said that they will not withdraw the yellow card if Việt Nam has not solved the problem of fishing in international waters. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phùng Đức Tiến said the EC assessed Việt Nam’s efforts not only for removing the yellow card but also for future fishery resources and sustainable fishing. The EC’s inspection team will return to Việt Nam to check on progress in the next six months. The country must submit a comprehensive report on the results of the recommendation implementation by May 15 next year. The team has suggested Việt Nam continue completing its legal framework and law enforcement’s implementing work, along with increasing monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing vessels, seafood traceability and fishing certification. According to Nguyễn Thị Trang Nhung, deputy director of the DoF’s Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation, the inspection team praised Việt Nam’s improvements in building a database of fishing vessels, updating information on fishing vessel licensing and planning for sustainable fishing vessel development. Previously, Việt Nam had no surveillance system at the port but now it has been implemented as a model in Kiên Giang that has effectively controlled fishing vessels. In the near future, the fisheries sector and localities will handle strictly offshore fishing vessels, especially those fishing illegally, to create a real deterrent for violators and ships on the EC’s watchlist will face special monitoring.

A successful endeavor to rebuild Namibia’s hake stocks and eliminate destructive fishing practices has earned the African country’s hake trawl and longline fishery Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification last week. Members of the fishery say the eco-label will open up more global market opportunities for them, especially in Europe and North America, where demand for sustainably sourced seafood is on the rise. The fishery becomes the first in Namibia and second one in Africa – after the South Africa’s hake trawl fishery – to achieve the MSC standard, a reward for the many years the government and private sector devoted to improving the biodiversity of the Namibian oceans and sustainably maximizing the marine resource, Namibian Hake Association Executive Secretary Ron Wolters said. The Namibian hake fishery was independently assessed by global inspection and certification contractor Control Union, and confirmed to be meeting the three principles of the MSC Fisheries Standard, which includes stock health, environmental impacts and effective management. The fishery scored an average of 80 percent in the 28 performance indicators within the three principles. During the assessment for certification, the Namibian hake fishery exhibited resilience and strong performance backed by “availability of data for hake stock assessment and harvest strategies, having in place measures to minimize bycatch, a ban on discarding commercial species, presence of measures to minimize impacts on demersal habitats, and an established and transparent rights allocation process,” according to MSC Senior Program Manager for Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia Michael Marriott. The MSC certification is likely to result in “price premium, access to markets, or even leverage with government,” Marriott said. Marriott told SeafoodSource in an email that the desire for MSC certification by Namibia’s hake-fishing companies could partly be attributed to the “increasing demand for certified whitefish, particularly in higher-value markets.” “Having independent verification of environmental performance can influence a fishery’s status in seafood rating systems, and also the likelihood of fulfilling the expectations of supply chain buyers,” he said. Wolters, who serves as a representative of the fishery’s members, confirmed the certification will ease accessibility of certified Namibian hake to global markets such as Europe, where retailers prefer stocking certified fish and seafood products. “Having the MSC certification means we can get top dollar for high-quality products, and that benefit is kept locally,” he said. The fishery’s hake resource comprise of up 90 percent of the shallow-water hake, while the country’s deeper waters is home to the deep water hake, which is crucial to the freezer trawler fleet, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Namibia now expects to add 160,000 metric tons of certified seafood to the global market expanding further the value of the country’s hake industry now estimated at NAD 3.6 billion (USD 233 million, EUR 197 million). For Namibia, the MSC certification comes at an opportune time when the fish and seafood markets in Europe and North America are increasingly expressing preference for sustainably certified products as consumers buy more of them. A variety of products from the Namibian hake trawl and longline fishery are mainly sold in southern Europe, but with an expanding demand in northern Europe “access to markets may tend towards more value addition, increasing product opportunities and diversification,” according to the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI). “Very likely that sustainability and traceability will become increasingly important for fish and seafood as consumers trust certified products more,” the CBI said. Stefan Descheemaeker, the CEO of Nomad Foods, which owns Birds Eye, Findus, and Iglo brands, said in an MSC press release Nomad “was prepared to buy more hake due to the certification.” The company has committed to sourcing 100 percent of its fish and seafood from sustainable sources by the end of 2025. “With more than 95 percent of our raw material already externally certified, we are increasing our focus on fish species that make up the remainder of our portfolio, including Namibian hake,” he said. “We have supported the Namibia hake trawl and longline fishery on its certification journey for a number of years and expect to be one of the first companies to bring products made from MSC-certified Namibian hake to European consumers.” The fishery’s members still have work to complete to improve its sustainability metrics. The fishery has a total of 15 conditions around stock, bycatch, and management that it has to meet within five years if it is to keep the certification. “There’s been strong progress in seabird bycatch reduction in the fishery, but there are some outstanding elements that need to be addressed,” Titus Shaanika, a seabird bycatch mitigation instructor from the Albatross Task Force Namibia, said. But the milestone with the MSC certification should be celebrated, according to Namibian Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Albert Kawana. Kawana said the MSC certification, which was initially expected in 2019, was a result of “working hard to rebuild hake stocks that were historically overfished.” Before the association pushed for reform, the fishery had been decimated by years of overfishing by foreign fleets, much of which was conducted while the country was still under colonial rule, Kawana said. He said the fishery’s certification “is an independent endorsement that our efforts are working, and a signal to retailers, brands and fish-lovers around the world – that Namibian hake is sustainable and here to stay.”

Heavy rains, flood and tropical storm no.6 and influence of the storm no.7 dumped severe damages to agricultural production. According to statistics by the Office of Central Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, as of 11 p.m on Oct 13, 2020, as many as 870ha of rice fields and 5,314ha of crops have been flooded; 3,588ha of fisheries have been damaged; 332,350 cattles have been killed and washed away. Quảng Trị was the hotbed during this disaster. In particular, nearly 80ha of fisheries land were flooded, washed away and lost, with the worst hit areas including Gio Linh (87.9ha), Triệu Phong (193.9ha), and Vĩnh Linh district (410.99ha). In Triệu Phong district, 30 fish farming cages were washed away. More than 1,233ha of crops were flooded, irrecoverable. In Hướng Hoá mountainous district, 193ha of unharvested summer-autumn rice field were totally damaged. Local agencies and authorities are ramping up adopting measures to help farmers to settle back and come back with production.