Unwanted fish are being dumped back into the sea despite new EU laws designed to stop waste, an investigation has found.

Under the recently established laws, fishermen are no longer supposed to "discard" fish when they catch more than their quota allows.

The campaign was brought to the fore by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who argued that the EU's quota system meant fishermen were compelled to discard fish that were too young, overfished or species for which they did not have a quota.Unwanted fish are being dumped back into the sea despite new EU laws designed to stop waste, an investigation has found.

Under the recently established laws, fishermen are no longer supposed to "discard" fish when they catch more than their quota allows.

Source: Ecologist

Fishermen aboard Shetland’s large pelagic vessels, which catch mackerel and herring, report sightings of killer whales almost every time they haul in their nets.

These magnificent mammals are rightly revered for their intelligence and speed, characteristics that allow them to feed on the fish that get away. I guess it makes a change from hunting seals.

Much like the Orcas, the pelagic men are the big beasts of the fishing industry, catching and landing large volumes of high-value fish in vessels that they have invested scores of millions of pounds in to keep them safe in wild winter seas that have of the type that the history books tell us thcclaimed the lives of too many fishermen.

Source: Herald Scotland

Underwater and out of sight are the makings of a major Alaska industry with two anchor crops that clean the planet while pumping out lots of cash: shellfish and seaweed.

Alaskans have applied for over 2,000 acres of new or expanding undersea farms, double the footprint from two years ago, ranging from .02 acres at Halibut Cove to nearly 300 acres at Craig.

Nearly 60% of the newest applicants plan to grow kelp with the remainder a mix of kelp and/or Pacific oysters, said Cynthia Pring-Ham, aquatic farming coordinator at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which issues the permits. Fish and Game partners with the state Department of Natural Resources, which leases the tidal and submerged lands for farms.

Source: Saving Seafood

On Tuesday the 27th of August 2019's afternoon, Lerøy Seafood Group discovered a tuna in one of the cages at one of its production sites in Trøndelag, Central Norway.

So far, no salmon escape has been reported due to the incident.

On August 27, a 233-kilogram tuna was discovered by a subsea feeding camera at about seven-meter depth in one of the cages, according to a press release from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.

Divers were called in to check the damage to the cage and repair the hole of about 0.5 meters in the net.

Source: Salmon Business

MANILA - President Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed the law creating Professional Regulatory Board of Fisheries (PRBF) to professionalize the practice of the fisheries profession in the country.

Duterte signed the “Philippine Fisheries Profession Act” or Republic Act 11398 on Aug. 22 2019 but a copy of the document was released to media on Wednesday (August 28).

Under the law, the government must “provide a program to set up an appropriate and healthy environment for the practice of the fisheries profession" and "establish quality standards for fisheries professionals that will guide fisheries schools/colleges".

Source: Philippine News Agency

A meeting will be held Thursday, September 12 2019, 4 PM, at the Hatteras Village Community Building for commercial fishermen to identify ways to improve management of the Spanish mackerel fishery.

Fishermen will have an opportunity to review landings and other data and discuss short-term and long-term management options with Steve Poland and Randy Gregory from the NC Division of Marine Fisheries. Poland is the executive assistant for councils and serves as the agency’s designee on the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and Gregory is the lead biologist for Spanish mackerel.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council manages the Spanish mackerel fishery and will meet September 16 – 20 in Charleston, SC.

Source: Island Free Press

Seafood may be labeled as local from North Carolina, but often it actually comes from Asian ponds and arrives infused with harmful supplements, according to a new study.

A third of the shrimp marked as harvested from North Carolina waters likely was farm raised in a foreign country with fewer laws and oversight, according to a new study by the University of North Carolina.

Members of the study group bought 106 shrimp from 60 vendors, including 14 in Dare County and 15 in Hyde County. DNA tests determined the species.

The study highlights a practice where companies falsely label foreign seafood as local to sell at higher prices, double the amount in some cases.

Source: The Virginian Plot

RALEIGH - The state Marine Fisheries Commission in a split vote Friday gave final approval to controversial changes to the management plan for southern flounder, one of the state’s largest and most valuable fisheries, using commercial and recreational season closures and other measures in an effort to end overfishing and rebuild stocks.

The action came during the commission’s meeting at the Doubletree by Hilton University Brownstone in Raleigh.

With the commission’s 6-3 approval of the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2, officials with the Division of Marine Fisheries anticipate issuing a proclamation this week that closes the commercial and recreational season for southern flounder around Sept. 4.

Source: Coastal Review Online

Havana - In the sleepy Cuban fishing village of Cojímar that inspired Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, locals say they are struggling to catch fish.

Cuba’s fish stocks have dropped drastically in recent decades due to over-fishing and environmental factors, scientists say, prompting the country to pass a law last month imposing new regulations on the fishing industry.

“We catch less, about half of what we once did,” said Carlos Duran, who has been fishing for more than four decades. “Some people go out 10 times without catching anything at all.”

Source: Business Day

U.S. lobster exports to China have fallen off a cliff this year as new retaliatory tariffs shift the seafood business farther north.

China, a huge and growing customer for lobster, placed heavy tariffs on U.S. lobsters — and many other food products — in July 2018 amid rising trade hostilities between the Chinese and the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, business is booming in Canada, where cargo planes are coming to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick, to handle a growing bump in exports. Canadian fishermen catch the same species of lobster as American lobstermen, who are based mostly in Maine.

Source: Chicago Tribune