IN BRIEF - New salmon study adds to evidence that pink salmon could be crowding out sockeye
UNITED STATES
Monday, March 04, 2024
A new analysis of nearly 25,000 fish scales offers more evidence that the millions of pink salmon churned out by Alaska fish hatcheries could be harming wild sockeye salmon populations when they meet in the ocean, according to the scientists who authored the study.
The new peer-reviewed paper, published this week in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, analyzed growth rates that could be deduced from the fish scales, similar to trees’ yearly growth rings.
The paper was built on a unique aspect of the life cycle of pink salmon, which are primarily targeted by commercial fishermen: Their abundance is high in odd-numbered years, and lower in even-numbered years. Those booms and busts allowed authors Peter Rand and Gregory Ruggerone to tease out whether sockeye salmon — which are more highly valued by sport and personal use fishermen — were growing at lower rates during odd years, when pink salmon are more numerous.
Their analysis showed that was the case across the Gulf of Alaska — a dynamic that Rand and Ruggerone describe as a “zero-sum game” between the two species. It found that yearly growth of sockeye was depressed by as much as 17% at times when pink salmon abundance was high.[...]
TAISHAN — To Lu Zice, discarded oyster shells are treasures. Taishan, a county-level city administered by Jiangmen in Guangdong province, generates over 100,000 metric tons of waste oyster shells annually, threatening the environment.
Photo: ChinaDaily
To solve this, Guangdong Bevan Biology Co, founded by Lu, processes 50,000 to 60,000 tons of shells annually, yielding products worth over 20 million yuan ($2.9 million). Over the next three years, Lu plans to scale production to 100,000 tons, valued at over 100 million yuan. The company plans to expand further to process 150,000 to 200,000 tons annually, effectively eliminating Jiangmen's oyster waste.
Collaborating with the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lu recently partnered with Zhu Ronghua, Chairman of Qi Yong Tang Health Technology (Guangdong) Co. In March, they joined forces to convert aquaculture waste into high-value items like soil conditioners and ecological powder coatings. Historically used in building materials since the Tang and Ming dynasties, oyster shell products now drive a sustainable, full-scale industrial chain along the South China coast.
Japan’s bluefin tuna hauls are surging nationwide, forcing officials to impose strict restrictions or suspend fishing entirely as some prefectures race toward their annual limits at an unprecedented pace.
According to the Fisheries Agency, the April catch of large bluefin tuna weighing 30 kilograms or more reached a staggering 320.7 tons. This figure marks a historic record for the month since the current management system began in 2018, nearly doubling the volume recorded the previous year.
Smaller bluefin tuna weighing less than 30 kilograms also hit record highs for April, increasing by 10.4 percent to 300.6 tons.
Pacific bluefin tuna fishing is managed under strict international agreements, which subject Japan's waters to annual catch quotas starting each fiscal year in April.
The rapid surge has put immediate pressure on local limits. Fukui and Toyama prefectures have already exhausted more than 50 percent of their quotas for large bluefin tuna, while Kochi has surpassed the 40-percent mark. For smaller tuna, Fukushima Prefecture has already burned through over 90 percent of its allocation, and Fukui is past 50 percent.
KUNAK: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained a purse seine fishing vessel and a pump boat off Pulau Tabawan on Saturday for suspected violations of the Fisheries Act 1985.
Photo: MMEA
Lahad Datu Maritime Zone Director, Maritime Commander Dzulfikhar Ali, stated that the vessels were intercepted between 3:30pm and 5:00pm during Op Sejahtera 1/2022 and Op Tiris 4.0.
The first vessel was caught fishing for anchovies 0.37 nautical miles southeast of Kampung Jaya Baru, breaching regulations by operating less than 1.5 nautical miles from the shoreline. A 25-year-old local skipper and two foreign crew members, aged 43 and 57, were detained. The vessel and its catch are valued at RM115,000.
In a second operation 0.23 nautical miles east of Kampung Jaya Baru, a suspicious pump boat was intercepted. The skipper jumped overboard and escaped to land. Authorities discovered fish caught using explosives, seizing the boat and catch valued at RM7,000.
All seized items and suspects were taken to the Lahad Datu Fisheries Jetty for further investigation.
Seeks to Strengthen the Country's Presence in Fishing Grounds and Counterbalance Foreign Fleets
The Argentine Federal Fisheries Council has opened a call for applications to incorporate 18 vessels into the Illex squid fishery. This initiative aims to strengthen the country's presence in Argentine Sea fishing grounds and counterbalance the presence of foreign fleets beyond the 200-mile limit, on the edge of Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Resolution 6-2026 was approved by a majority vote, with the sole dissenting vote coming from Carlos Liberman, representative of the province of Buenos Aires. It has the support of the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP).
Author: C. Valdez / La Voz de Galicia | Read the full article here
The Ricardo Fuentes Group has successfully completed another bluefin tuna fishing campaign in Balearic waters. The activity, which began this year on May 19, has been carried out “very positively, without incident and with favorable weather conditions that facilitated the fleet's work,” reports the company, which also highly values ??the earlier start of the campaign, which allowed for the completion of fishing and transfer operations sooner.
The campaign has been a success and has allowed for the location of high-quality, large specimens, a fundamental aspect in this type of fishery, which prioritizes the capture of adult tuna for subsequent transfer and fattening in aquaculture facilities.
Source: iPac.aquacultura | Read the full article here
Cermaq is consolidating its Canadian operations under a newly created company as the salmon farmer continues the integration of the former Grieg Seafood British Columbia business.
Parent company Mitsubishi Corporation said Cermaq’s Canadian subsidiaries will be amalgamated into a new entity, Cermaq British Columbia Ltd., effective June 1. The new company will assume all assets, liabilities, rights and obligations of the existing businesses.
The restructuring follows Cermaq’s acquisition of Grieg Seafood’s operations in British Columbia and Newfoundland last year in a deal valued at approximately NOK 10.2 billion (€946 million).
Source: SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), together with the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan and international partners, has launched a new initiative to strengthen the country’s aquaculture sector, bringing together key actors in Bishkek for a high-level inception workshop under the project Sustainable Fish Value Chains for Landlocked Developing Countries (SVC4LLDCs).Funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, the project aims to boost the sustainability, productivity and competitiveness of fish value chains in Kyrgyzstan
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The Argentine Federal Fisheries Council has opened a call for applications to incorporate 18 vessels into the Illex squid fishery. This initiative aims to strengthen the country's presence in Argentine Sea fishing grounds and counterbalance the presence of foreign fleets beyond the 200-mile limit, on the edge of Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
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