Tag Archives: Oceana
Oceana going overboard on fish fraud with “misleading hyperbole”, distorts its findings by design
The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is calling into question both the findings and motives of the latest fish fraud study by Oceana, a global environmental group. The action marks a break between the two groups since they previously were largely in sync with one another over the worldwide problem of fish fraud, which is where lesser-value species are marketed as higher-value ones. NFI claims that by finding 20 percent of all seafood mislabeled globally, Oceana’s latest report is both overstating the problem and unnecessarily calling for an expanded regulatory bureaucracy when enforcement of existing laws is all that is needed. NFI, a trade association representing the seafood industry with a core mission of sustainability, charges that the environmental group has turned to “misleading hyperbole.” “Oceana’s focus on the most often mislabeled species distorts its findings by design. It is a common technique that ironically perpetuates a fraud on the readers of these reports,” the NFI statement adds. Read the story here 16:56
Oceana researchers say getting federal data on fish stocks is a challenge
A team of researchers that spent months digging up data, hounding scientists and chasing leads to assess the state of Canadian fish stocks say old, incomplete or inaccessible federal research means the health of nearly half of the country’s commercial fish stocks remains a mystery. Oceana Canada, a non-profit advocacy group whose work focuses on ocean health, released a report last week that it claims is “the most comprehensive public study ever conducted” on the state of Canada’s fish stocks. But the report’s authors say they faced barriers accessing federal data that could allow them to properly determine whether commercial fish stocks are healthy. (which didn’t stop them from saying the fishery’s are in severe decline) Read the rest here 12:35
Oceana wants the feds to require 2,400 skimmer trawls to use TED’s, increase observer coverage
Skimmer trawls have been exempt from the requirement to use the devices while other nets on larger boats have been forced to comply since the 1980s, according to Tuesday’s Oceana report, “TEDs for All Trawls: A Net Positive for Fishermen and Sea Turtle.” The report calls on the federal government to require that all shrimp trawls use a smaller-spaced TED, require that trawls using the current TED to transition to a smaller spaced one, and to increase the number of federal observers for the shrimp industry. Currently, the TEDs have a 4-inch space between the bars, and Oceana would like to see shrimpers move to a 3-inch gap. Read the rest here 08:32
Contentious – Fishermen look to replace human monitors with cameras
The relationship between the region’s fishermen and the government observers who monitor their catch has long been uneasy, and that tension has only intensified since federal officials in March began requiring fishermen to pay hundreds of dollars every time an observer accompanies them to sea. But in the coming weeks, fishermen and federal regulators are poised to launch an experimental new program that could go a long way toward ending the conflict, while also potentially curbing costs and allowing broader oversight. With the help of private grants and the government’s blessing, fishermen from Cape Cod to Maine will rig their boats with an expensive suite of cameras, computers, and sensors to monitor their catch, replacing the on-board observers. Read the article, Click here 08:09
Spreading misinformation about our fisheries
Anyone knowledgeable about the commercial fisheries of the United States will find nothing original in the op-ed piece recently submitted to the New York Times by the environmental organization Oceana. Even its title ‘A Knockout Blow for American Fish Stocks’ is misleading. American fish stocks are healthy. NOAA’S annual report to Congress, submitted at the end of 2014 showed that only twenty-six of the three hundred and eight fish stocks assessed were subject to overfishing. ‘Overfishing’ occurs when too many fish are removed from a population to produce maximum sustainable yield. As a scientific term it is quite misleading, carrying, as it does, the clear implication that low stock assessments result solely from fishing pressure; whereas ‘overfishing’ can result from a number of other factors, such as changes in water temperature or salinity, degraded habitat and increased predation. Read the article here 21:20
What’s eating at Dr. Ray Hilborn today?!! Dr. Geoff Shester from Oceana
Last week Dr. Geoff Shester, California campaign director for the nonprofit advocacy group Oceana criticized the Pacific Fishery Management Council for the persistence of low numbers of California Sardines. The lack of a population recovery may cause the commercial moratorium to last until 2017. The author explained this sardine population decline as being 93 percent less than it was in 2007. Dr. Shester does not believe this is because of environmental causes like climate change, El Nino, or natural fluctuations in forage fish species however – instead he blames the management body. “They warned of a population collapse and the fishery management body basically turned a blind eye and continued moving forward with business as usual.” Response Comment by Ray Hilborn, University of Washington, Read the rest here 11:49
Oceana, fishers and scientists differ on heavy anchovy declines
“Sea lions rely on forage fish for survival. But years of overfishing have put this important food source in jeopardy,” Ushkowitz narrates while underwater footage shows her swimming through kelp. “Join Oceana and help protect forage fish in the Pacific. … We need to stop this and replenish.” The West Coast’s leading fishery scientists, however, disagree. They believe the fish are most likely enduring natural population fluctuations and are on the cusp of making a big comeback. Oceana, a nonprofit advocacy organization favored by celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio,,, Read the article here 09:40
Europeche accuses Pew of defending the ideas of “false and contrary” to the weight and impact science discussion forums, advisory councils and ideas.
As fishermen provide more and more data and reap the benefits of their efforts to curb by-catches and fish more sustainably through technical methods so the big NGOs will respond in ever more aggressive ways as the evidence begins to undermine their attempts to indirectly and directly influence legislators – in this instance they have upset Europeche who have accused the Pew Foundation (an American charity like the Oak Foundation which sees fit to fund many anti-fishing activities here in Europe – High Fearnley-Whittingstall’s infamous FishFight being one to the tune of,,, Read the rest here 15:00
Monterey Bay anchovy numbers in decline, groups say
Geoff Shester, the California program manager for the conservation group Oceana, said, “The problem is we know anchovy goes way up and way down. What was a sustainable level of fishing back then, might be wiping out the population now.” “I’ve been fishing anchovies since 1959, and I don’t see any problem with the anchovies for the whales,” said fisherman Neil Guglielmo of Monterey. “Perhaps this is the time of year the whales move or El Nino, but the fact that we’re scaring whales or catching their food source is ridiculous.” Read the rest here 18:40
Earthjustice files Oceana Lawsuit Against Federal Government to Save Dusky Sharks in Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic
In the lawsuit filed today, Oceana claims the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing federal fisheries, by failing to end the overfishing of dusky sharks. Oceana also claims the federal government failed to establish an annual catch limit and measures to enforce such a limit as well as failed to revise dusky shark management measures once it became apparent that the current measures were not rebuilding the population to healthy levels, as required by law. Read the rest here 17:54
Obama: new measures to crack down on illegal fishing at “Our Ocean” 2015 Pow Wow!
The Obama administration on Monday announced plans to further crack down on illegal fishing, a global problem that can hurt both fishing communities in impoverished nations and the seafood industry in the United States. President Barack Obama announced new steps to tackle illegal fishing. They include the launching of a program called “,” Experts say the problem is extensive around the world. The Pew Charitable Trusts said Read the rest here 18:03 It’s a big ENGO Spankfest in Chile! All the Big Green “Big’s” are there, and plenty of Global Capitalists just itching to help save the fish from fishermen through “investment”. Click here for the latest! https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurOcean2015?src=hash
Judge rules against Oceana, Greenpeace in Stellar sea lion lawsuit over increased Aleutians fishing
A US judge ruled against the US arms of Oceana and Greenpeace in a lawsuit in which the NGOs sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), US Department of Commerce, and others, challenging recent authorization of increased industrial fishing in the western and central Aleutian Islands. Oceana and Greenpeace argued the defendants, groups involved in the federal groundfish fishery, violate the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Read the rest here 18:17
Meghan Lapp’s response to Oceana Gib Brogan’s NY Times Article “A Knockout Blow for Fish Stocks”
Unfortunately for NY Times readers, this article is full of false and misleading information. It has caused quite a stir not based on fact, but based on deliberately inaccurate statements. The article begins with a woeful tale of Atlantic cod. What it does not tell you is that just a few years ago, a 2008 assessment for Gulf of Maine cod showed that the stock was healthy, and would attain desired levels within all specified timeframes. During this time, fishermen stayed within the allowable catch levels, and even below these levels- From Seals, to Closed area’s, and the Observer Program, She lay’s it all out. Read the rest here 16:14
Center for Sustainable Fisheries Don Cuddy Rips and Gut’s Oceana’s ‘A Knockout Blow for American Fish Stocks’
Anyone knowledgeable about the commercial fisheries of the United States will find nothing original in the op-ed piece recently submitted to the New York Times by the environmental organization Oceana. Even its title ‘A Knockout Blow for American Fish Stocks’ is misleading.,, If the recent Oceana opinion piece is a fair reflection of the environmentalist mindset, it reveals the apparent contempt with which commercial fishing, America’s oldest industry, is regarded by such groups. The scallop industry stands accused by Oceana of being “dissatisfied with its current profits.” This is wrong? Cast them into the pit! Perhaps Oceana might test reaction to that proposition on Wall St. or at Wal-Mart. Read the rest here 08:08
The distorted view of reality – A Knockout Blow for American Fish Stocks?
Today, in the New York Times, Oceana’s Gib Brogan ignores the facts of the New England fishing industry, a hollowed out shell of what once was an industry of prosperity, dismantled by disgraceful government science, that ignores predator/prey of an out of balance eco system, and of all things, climate change redistribution of certain stocks, Cod, insinuating all fish stocks of the multi specie fishery collapsed. Click the links at the article. Read the Op-ed here. The comment section is open. 09:31
Texas Bans Sales of Shark Fin’s, Oceana hails the legal shark fishery waste!
Across the globe, sharks are being murdered for a culinary gimmick (cultural mainstay) — shark fin soup, even though shark fins offer virtually no flavor or nutritional value. Shark finners slice off sharks’ pectoral and dorsal fins, often while the animals are still alive, and throw them back overboard to drown or bleed to death. According to the most recent statistics from the journal Ecology Letters (2006), shark finning accounts for 73 million shark deaths every year. Read the foolishness here 13:09
Oceana claims 2/3 of Tuna sold in Restaurants and Stores is really dangerous Escolar!
The findings were made by Radical Oceana, a non-profit organisation that campaigns for the protection and restoration of the world’s oceans. (no fishing) Oceana took 1,215 samples of fish from across the United States and genetically tested them. Most of it was escolar – a type of fish that can lead to serious stomach cramps and dangerous levels of diarrhea in some consumers. When it comes to canned tuna, Southern California is the worst offender, with 52 per cent of the state’s ‘tuna cans’ not containing tuna at all. Read the rest here 19:56
Putting lipstick on the ENGO Pig – Oregon fishermen and ENGOs in collaboration
During a recent lunch at Sharkbite’s Seafood Cafe in Coos Bay, area fishermen broke bread with an unlikely lunch mate — an attorney from the environmental advocacy group the Natural Resources Defense Council. The purpose of the meeting? For the group to open up communication and find common ground about how fish resource habitats are currently being managed. It’s a discussion that has taken place after years of fishermen and conservation organizations butting heads. Read the rest here 10:46
Group sues to require sea-turtle trap doors in shrimp nets
Oceana also wants the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries arm to set a limit on the number of sea turtles that may legally be killed each year in Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawls, and to strengthen enforcement. There are some exemptions to rules requiring the devices. Oceana wants exemptions canceled. Shrimpers say they follow the rules and never pull up turtles. Biologists say hundreds of dead sea turtles found after the 2010 oil spill had drowned, probably in shrimp nets. Read the rest here 16:44
Con Group Oceana wants West Coast Sardine Fishing shut down immediately!
West Coast fisheries managers will likely shut down sardine fishing this year in the face of evidence that the stock is declining. The commercial fishing fleet hopes that the Pacific Fishery Management Council will not be so concerned that they shut down other fisheries, such as mackerel and anchovies. However, the conservation group Oceana wants an immediate shut down. The group says this would leave food in the ocean for sea lions and other wildlife and speed the rebuilding process for sardines. Read the rest here 13:43
Oceana blame’s sardine overfishing, not just warmer waters, for sea lion deaths.
But marine conservation nonprofit Oceana, which has a California office in Monterey’s Heritage Harbor, connects another dot to the scarcity of sea lion food: sardine fishing. The Pacific Coast sardine population is at its lowest level in 15 years, Oceana reports. “Any fishing on Pacific sardine right now is overfishing,” said Geoff Shester, Oceana California campaign director. “While federal officials are quick to blame ocean conditions for the declines in [sea lion] prey, they have turned a blind eye to the effects of sardine fishing,,, Read the rest here 07:44
What’s Killing the Baby Sea Lions? Environmentalists say the overfishing of sardines. Fishermen say that’s a crock.
The sardine decline has pitted environmentalists against fishermen. The conservation group Oceana argues that commercial fishermen are taking too many sardines. Ben Enticknap, a senior scientist with Oceana, said sardine numbers routinely swing up and down based on ocean cycles and seasonal productivity. But, according to the sardine fishing industry, blaming overfishing for the sea lion collapse is a stretch. Diane Pleschner-Steele, director of the California Wetfish Producers Association,,, Read the rest here 08:00
Federal officials plan to track every fish and crustacean shipped to U.S. ports
Before any seafood enters the U.S. market, officials said, it must contain information that federal, state and local officials currently do not ask for: its origin, who caught it, when and with what. That data can be taken by any federal, state and local authority at a port and submitted to a central database for tracking. Conservationist groups that pushed the administration to better protect global fishing stocks for years cheered the report. Michele Kuruc, vice president of ocean policy for the , called it historic. Read the rest here 12:37
Pew Enviro Fueled Legislative Witch Hunt: An end to ‘curtains of death’?
California Assembly and Senate have asked federal fishery managers to end drift gillnets, which some call “curtains of death.” California remains the only state where drift gillnet fishing are legal. The legislature has authority over remaining gillnet permits. Recently lawmakers sent a letter to Pacific Fishery Management Council and National Marine Fisheries Service, demanding a transition to alternative fishing methods. Read the rest here 08:08
Etched in Stone – Oceana and Greenpeace think Best Available Science circa 1990 shouldn’t change! Stellar Sea Lion
Hundreds of endangered Steller sea lions may die from loss of prey and habitat if the federal government allows more industrial fishing in the Aleutian Islands, environmentalists claim in court. Moreover, the groups say, the biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service in April 2014 was condemned by many of its own scientists as “fundamentally flawed” because it relied on incomplete and inadequate Steller sea lion telemetry and sighting data. Read the rest here 10:13
Oceana “Bering Sea 2014 canyon cruise” turns up fewer corals, more controversy
A conservation group scientist, John Warrenchuk, of Oceana, said it could indicate the corals were wiped out by commercial net fishing, while a fishing industry scientist said they may never have grown there in the first place, and said existing records would show if any fishing had ever happened in the coral-free areas. Industry scientist John Gauvin, representing bottom trawlers, called for a review of data of fishing activity by area, based on data collected by observers onboard commercial fishing vessels. Read the rest here 09:12
Global Fishing Watch: Google’s Big Data Overfishing Project Flounders
Last month at the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia, Google unveiled a project it bills as a groundbreaking leap in the use of cloud computing, big data, and satellite networks—all to stamp out overfishing. The program, Global Fishing Watch, launched in beta with the help of environmental outfits Oceana and SkyTruth, uses the signals from Automatic Identification Systems (emergency devices installed in all major ships) to plot the trajectory of every commercial fishing vessel on the ocean. Read the rest here 21:45
Enviro Lawyer Lawsuit Filed to Protect Endangered Steller Sea Lions AGAIN!
“We have been forced back to court once again by an agency that appears intent on sacrificing healthy ocean ecosystems for short-term economic gain,” said Michael LeVine, Pacific Senior Counsel for Oceana. “We hoped that the Fisheries Service would show the leadership needed to find long–term, sustainable solutions, but instead, we find ourselves back in court to defend the basic premise that sea lions need fish caught by industrial fisheries to survive.” Read the rest here 10:58
Democrat Lawmakers & Conservation Groups Call for Phase Out of California Drift Gillnets
Sacramento (Dec. 22, 2014) – With the full support of Turtle Island Restoration Network, OCEANA and other marine conservations organizations, California Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) and Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay), Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) today called on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service to transition away from deadly California drift gillnets. Read the rest here 22:13
The Eye in the Sky – Google, SkyTruth And Oceana Target Illegal Fishing With New Technology
SkyTruth, Oceana and Google announced Global Fishing Watch, a big data technology platform that leverages satellite data to create the first global view of commercial fishing. A prototype was unveiled at the 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia, with a public release version in development, SkyTruth said. Read the rest here 12:42
