Fish Factor

At least 1.5 million tons of debris from Japan’s 2011 tsunami is still afloat, and at least half of it is expected to hit Alaska’s coastline. The region from Yakutat to Gore Point off the Kenai Peninsula will likely see the heaviest debris piles, but Southeast Alaska and other areas will see chunks of junk as well.

Those are conclusions of a fascinating new report by Washington Sea Grant titled Debris Accumulation Scenarios in Washington State from the March 2011 Tohoku Tsunami. The Sea Grant report, authored by Ian Miller and Jim Brennan, says most of the debris should land within four years of the 2011 tsunami, with Alaska receiving more in subsequent years as it is released from ocean gyres. 

Most of the debris that has landed so far has been lighter items driven by the wind, such as buoys and astonishing amounts of Styrofoam.  Trackers find that plastic particularly troublesome, said Dave Gaudet, marine debris program coordinator for the Juneau-based Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation.

“We don’t have any definitive data on what Styrofoam does to the wildlife and the environment. We do know that it breaks up and animals ingest it and it gets into the ecosystem. So we need to be vigilant for that,” Gaudet said.

The MCAF has spearheaded marine debris cleanup in remote Alaska for regions for years. Shortly after the tsunami occurred in March 2011 it began tracking where and what types of debris are coming ashore at monitoring stations at Kodiak, Yakutat, Sitka and Craig.  Arriving soon will be heavier, current driven debris riding beneath the ocean surface.

“We don’t know what’s next,” Gaudet said.

The MCA Foundation has compiled an extensive debris cleanup plan for Alaska, and is awaiting the results of a state backed aerial survey done this summer to help prioritize actions. (Read the plan here:  A Plan for the Clean Up of Tsunami-Related Marine Debris off Alaska)

“We are in the process of trying to identify the kinds of debris and if it is close to breeding areas for birds or mammals, or other ecologically important areas. Things like that will factor in to what areas are going to be cleaned,” Gaudet said.

Or more accurately – if they get cleaned.

“The biggest thing we are missing is funding. Nothing has been dedicated to the tsunami beyond the $50,000 that came from NOAA, which is being used to clean up parts of Prince William Sound this year. But for the future, no money is identified,” he said.

Japan has donated $6 million to the US government to help with cleanup. Gaudet said he’s hopeful the Washington Sea Grant study will make the case for Alaska to get a good portion of those funds.

Might Alaska fishermen and vessels get contracts to help with marine debris clean up? 

“Unfortunately, this is unlike the Exxon Valdez oil spill where a lot of the clean up took place within the semi protected waters of Prince William Sound,” Gaudet said. “A lot of the tsunami debris is hitting the outer coasts where it is extremely difficult to gain access to the shore.   We are likely going to have to get people in by plane or helicopter and get it out the same way.”

Pending more funding, the MCA Foundation hopes cleanup crews can be deployed next spring.   Report debris sightings on Facebook at SeaAlliance/Restoring our Shores.

Cod could lose ecolabel - Getting a fishery certified as “sustainable” has become a cost of doing business in today’s seafood world. Without that stamp of approval, major buyers in the US and Europe simply won’t source your fish. Alaska salmon, pollock and halibut have long merited eco-labels. Pacific cod was the latest Alaska fish to gain an eco-label in 2010 from the Marine Stewardship Council – but it is in danger of being yanked due to a need for more information.

“We are having a really difficult time getting good, accurate information on the amount of lost gear, particularly pot gear that is out there,” said Jim Browning, director of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation in Anchorage. AFDF is managing the MSC cod certification process.

Alaska’s cod fishery certification includes all gear types – trawl, longline and pots. Obtaining and retaining the MSC label hinged on meeting 29 conditions, Browning said, and all have been met except for the lost gear estimates.

“The assessment team is interested in that because they are worried about   ghost fishing,” he explained.  

The biggest data gap comes from the pot cod fleet. It has been easier to get information to and from other gears because they have centralized groups and fishing members, such as the Freezer Longline Coalition, the Alaska Seafood Cooperative and Alaska Groundfish Databank.  But the pot boats stand pretty much on their own. The lost gear information remains confidential, Browning, said, and only locations will be plotted to see if there are aggregations in particular areas.

Cod boats are out on the grounds now, and AFDF is hoping that fishing organizations or fleet managers will encourage skippers to   collect data on lost and retrieved pot gear.  If that remaining bit of information is not in hand by May, it could derail the green label for Alaska cod.

“This will be the second year that we haven’t’ been able to provide the data on lost gear, and it could suspend the certification or we would have to ask for a variance for more time,” Browning said.

Lost gear reporting forms are available at http://www.afdf.org .

Top Ten - Shrimp, canned tuna and salmon remained as America’s top seafood favorites last year. Alaska pollock ranked  #4, bumping farmed tilapia to the fifth spot.  Another farmed whitefish from Asia - Pangasius - was the #6 most popular — catfish, crabs, cod and clams round out the top 10.

Those seafoods make up more than 90% of the fish eaten in the US, according to the National Fisheries Institute, which compiles the   list of favorites each fall.  The only two fish that saw increased consumption were Alaska pollock and pangasius, likely reflecting continued belt tightening by consumers and lower US catfish production. 

Overall, Americans ate slightly less seafood last year at 15 pounds per person, down from 15.8 pounds in 2010.  Federal number crunchers claim that figure is misleading, however, due to the way in which per capita consumption is calculated, because usage of fillets, fish sticks and portions remained steady, and shrimp consumption increased. 

So where in the world do they eat the most seafood? — The Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean where each person eats 314 pounds per year.