Conservation & Environment

The second largest discount retailer in the U.S. announced Thursday that it will sell only sustainable, traceable fish by 2015. Minneapolis-based Target Corp. operates 1,762 stores, many of which are converting to incorporate PFresh markets that sell fresh and frozen foods, including fish.

The goal is to keep catching scallops — without harming the ocean's majestic sea turtles. And the solution, while it might seem simple, has taken years to test and refine.

Scallop dredges work the sea floor, where the slow-moving turtles often feed on crabs and scallops. And the equipment, particularly in the mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern seaboard, inadvertently snags the turtles.

In previous encounters with the scallop fleet, the turtles usually came off second best, says Ron Smolowitz of the nonprofit Coonamessett Farm Foundation in East Falmouth, which has led the research into the new gear with funding from the sea scallop industry and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Recent studies supported by satellite tracking have estimated that as many as 800,000 loggerheads live in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, according to CFF figures. Scientists estimate that more than 750 loggerheads were caught by scallop draggers in 2003, with more than half of them suffering injuries.

The new gear, known as a turtle deflector dredge, has evolved over several years. Smolowitz said it has been proven effective after extensive testing.

Read the complete story from The Standard-Times

 

 

About a dozen people showed up for the meeting Sept. 28 at the Cape May County Library to hear "Menhaden Defenders: Restoring the Atlantic’s Most Important Fish" with Capt. Paul Eidman and to learn more about the proposed changes to Menhaden catch regulations. Unfortunately, as we found out when we got there, the meeting was cancelled.

Captain Eidman represents the ‘Menhaden Defenders.’ According to the information on their Web site (www.menhaden defenders.org) ‘the population of the Atlantic Menhaden is crashing’ citing a 2010 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) ‘stock assessment that determined that the population is at record low levels.’ They (and other reports I have read) are concerned about the impact this would have on the entire ecosystem of the Atlantic. “Game fish (including stripers) are beginning to show signs of malnourishment; as well as weakfish and osprey who also rely on the bunker for food.“ The Menhaden Defenders actively support putting a hard limit on the amount of fish taken from the waters by commercial/industrial companies. (The only state still allowing the vacuum pump method of sucking these fish out of the water is Virginia.)

Jeff Kaelin from Lund’s Fisheries was at the library and handed out a ‘Fact Sheet’ put together by the Garden State Seafood Association, Greg DiDomenico, executive director. Their position is that the stock is not being over fished and is not in danger. The paper says that “while the 2010 stock assessment indicated that fishing effort barely exceeded the overfishing threshold by 0.4 percent; in 2008 over fishing was not occurring during the previous nine years, 1999-2007. This assessment also determined that the…spawning stock was at two times its target level of abundance.”

A few years ago, I wrote a lengthy article for this paper on the Menhaden Industry in Cape May County. Serious questions were being raised then and my notes indicate that no-one from the agencies involved then were given the OK to talk with me. Looks like the Menhaden are finally getting some real attention.

The Menhaden Management Board which is currently taking public comment, will finalize and adopt amendments to the Interstate Menhaden Fishery Management Plan at their November meeting for implementation in the 2012 fishing season. I’ll keep you informed.

Read the full article at the Cape May County Herald.

Analysis: It's important to note, as the article does, that according to the ASMFC, the menhaden fishery is not overfished, and data from the last ten years indicates no clear pattern of overfishing.

 

 

BELMAR — New Jersey fishermen said they don’t see the steep decline in lobster populations reported in Long Island Sound and southern New England, or the need for plans that could cut their catches by 10 percent — or even shut them down for five years.

“We shouldn’t be balled up into someone else’s problems. I’ve never seen so many small lobsters,” said Joseph Horvath Jr. He brought photographs of lobster traps stuffed with “baby lobsters the size of a dollar bill” to a public hearing here Thursday — a preliminary step before regulators vote in Boston Nov. 7 on big changes to East Coast lobster management.

“The abundance levels are close to all-time lows” in southern New England waters, said Toni Kerns, a staff analyst with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The interstate group coordinates conservation plans for fish species from Maine to Florida, and it has wrestled with the lobster decline for years.

Read the complete story from The Daily Record.

 

 

 

 

 

Menhaden may be the United States’ most important fish.  As the Atlantic’s primary herbivore, the fish has maintained an important role at the bottom of the aquatic food chain.

Considered the “vacuum cleaners” or filters of the ocean, the menhaden feed off of excess algae and phytoplankton allowing sunlight to reach the plant life deep within the ocean. Additionally, many larger fish such as striped bass, bluefish tuna, whales, and porpoises depend on a diet of menhaden.
Now, the menhaden are in tremendous danger of over fishing. The main culprit: Omega Protein, Inc. According to Menhaden Defenders, a group dedicated to protecting populations of menhaden off the eastern coast of the United States, Omega Protein is responsible for the overfishing of menhaden at a rate faster than the fish could reproduce and sustain itself.
The multi-million dollar company just last year brought in approximately 404 million pounds (!) of menhaden.  The fish is a focal point of the company’s omega-3 fish oil products.
If the overfishing continues in the way that it is now, it is estimated that the menhaden will be wiped out completely within the next decade.
Groups like Menhaden Defenders are urging the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to stop the overfishing of menhaden in the Atlantic Ocean.  In doing so, the species will be protected and the ecosystem will be better able to balance itself.

Read the full petition at forcechange.com

Analysis: The article is incorrect in stating that menhaden are in danger of being overfished. Not only has the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Comission concluded that the current population is not overfished, but overfishing has occurred only once in the last ten yers. The 2010 ASMFC stock assessment indicates no pattern of overfishing in the menhaden fishery.

The article's assertion that menhaden are filter feeders is also debatable, as there is scientific evidence to suggest this is not the case. A study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science concluded that menahden have a negligible impact on water quality.

 

 

Picture a school of small, silver-colored fish, moving swiftly and smoothly through the water acting as one, single organism. Together, they equal the size and weight of a blue whale. Such is the conduct of the most important fish in the sea: the Menhaden.

Menhaden are the most underrated, yet most essential fish of the Atlantic and Gulf waters. But a history of overfishing and human interference will soon leave them as a distant memory. Safe fishing targets for Menhaden have been exceeded every single year but one since 1955. In fact, overfishing of Menhaden dates all the way back to 1879. Millions of tons of Menhaden were used as fertilizers, oil and animal feed until all of them, on the coasts of New York, Connecticut and Maine, were completely gone.

It’s quite easy to overlook Menhaden’s importance.  With their foot-long frame and lowest ranking on the food chain, they appear to be of little significance. However, they serve a plethora of purposes that have kept their title as America’s most important fish. Apart from being prey for striped bass, bluefish, tuna, whales, porpoises and seabirds, Menhaden serve as natural filters of the water. They are the primary herbivores of the sea and filter up to four gallons of water a minute. They clear the water of phytoplankton and excess algae, allowing sunlight to touch the deep depths of the ocean, and giving aquatic plants a chance to blossom. The plants, in turn, help oxygen flow through water, breathing life into the fish and shellfish who call the sea their home. Menhaden are the glue that hold the livelihood of the sea together, but the bond they hold is steadily weakening.

Sadly, the population of Menhaden is less than 10 percent of its original historic level. If something isn’t done soon to preserve them, the sea will be in a state of crisis and we will have lost an invaluable treasure, this time for good.

Many communities near the Atlantic and the Gulf have been rallying together with hopes of saving Menhaden fish. Unfortunately, they may be no match for major corporations who use the fish for poultry feed and fishmeal for salmon, despite there being cheaper and less detrimental alternatives available. If we continue to fish Menhaden at the current rate, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that they will be depleted within the next decade.

Hope may come in the form of new population targets and fishing limits. These new limits will soon be set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The ASMFC is giving the public a chance to voice their opinions about the hearings being conducted, discussing the preservation of Menhaden fish. Local communities of recreational fishermen, concerned citizens, and the like plan to attend these hearings and present thought-out propositions in order to help solve the overfishing problem.  Their thought-provoking words will, hopefully, have a positive impact on fight to the preserve the Menhaden.

Read the full article at care2.com.

Read the petition here.

Analysis: The article presents several misleading and incorrect claims about the health of the menhaden fishery. It is incorrect in its assertion that menhaden is overfished, and is incorrect in claiming that "safe fishing targets for menhaden have been exceeded in every year since 1955." Current data on the menhaden fishery collected by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Comission (ASMFC) show no signs of overfishing. In their last assessment, they concluded that the population was not overfished, and that slight overfishing had occured only once, in 2008, in the last ten years.

Secondly, contrary to the assertion made in the article, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) does not classify the menhaden fishery as overexploited. In its 2005 assesment of the world's fisheries, it categorized Atlantic menhaden as "fully exploited," which, according to the FAO, means "the fishery is operating at or close to an optimal yield level, with no expected room for further expansion." These findings are confirmed by the past few stock assessments by the ASMFC.

The article is also misleading when it states that menhaden are at "less than 10 percent of historic levels." Menhaden are currently fished to 8% of their Maximum Spawning Potential (MSP), which, rather than being a historical figure, is a population estimate of a theoretical unfished population. Very rarely have menhaden exceeded 10% MSP in the past few decades, as the population has traditionally been able to rebuild itself at that level, given the high number of eggs an individual menhaden can produce.

Finally, there is significant dount as to menhaden's role as filter feeders. A recent study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science found that their contribution to improving water quality was negligible.

You’ve probably never seen Atlantic menhaden on a restaurant menu, and maybe you’ve never even heard of this little fish. But Atlantic menhaden, which have been called the “most important fish in the sea,” need your help.

Atlantic menhaden are small, oily fish that are an important food for striped bass, bluefish, tuna, whales, porpoises, seabirds, and many other wildlife – but they are also caught for use as lobster bait or in a variety of consumer products such as pet food and fish oil supplements. While menhaden used to be abundant along the east coast of the United States, overfishing has resulted in the population dropping to a historic low. A declining menhaden population is detrimental to the marine ecosystems and predators that depend on this fish and to New England’s coastal economies, whose commercial and recreational businesses rely on the fish that prey on menhaden.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a deliberative body made up of representatives from the coastal Atlantic states that coordinates the conservation and management of the states’ shared fishery resources (including menhaden), recently took an important first step to protect the menhaden population by laying out a plan to increase the number left in the ocean and preserve the marine ecosystems that depend upon this important fish. The ASMFC will meet in November to vote on the plan – so the time to make your voice heard in support of protection for menhaden is now. Click here to send a message to the ASMFC urging it to approve actions to protect menhaden from overfishing and restore the population to healthy levels.

Make your voice heard, and help us save the “most important fish in the sea.”

Read the full article at the Conservation Law Foundation.

Analysis: The article is incorrect in its assertion that "overfishing has resulted in the population dropping to a historic low." However, data on the fishery from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) does not indicate any significant pattern of overfishing in the past decade. In their most recent stock assessment in 2010, they concluded that the population was not overfished, with the abundance levelat its target. Overfishing did occur in 2008, with the number of fish caught slightly exceeding the target mortality rate, but this was the only time overfishing was judged to have occured in the last ten years, and this was not enough to judge the population overfished.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday has been hailed by shark lovers as an important step in preserving the apex predators and the ocean ecosystems they inhabit.

Brown's office reported on Friday that he signed AB 376, by Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-Cupertino), which bans the possession and sale of shark fins in California, effective January 2012.

“The practice of cutting the fins off of living sharks and dumping them back in the ocean is not only cruel, but it harms the health of our oceans,” said Gov. Brown. “Researchers estimate that some shark populations have declined by more than 90 percent, portending grave threats to our environment and commercial fishing. In the interest of future generations, I have signed this bill.”

Read the complete story from Lake County News.

 

 

 

 

 

It was the largest shark kill the Texas game wardens had ever seen. Last week, wildlife officials discovered an estimated 3,000 sharks caught and killed in an illegal gill net off South Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gill nets hang underwater from floats to a lead-weighted bottom line like mesh curtains, often extending up to 5 miles in length and 25 feet in depth. Notorious for their bycatch threat to sea turtles, marine mammals (such as, sea otters, dolphins and whales), sea birds, and other non-target fish, gill net possession has been illegal in Texas since 1981.
 
"This is by far the most sharks I have ever gotten in one load. Myself and my deck hand have been working on this boat for 15 years and have never seen this many sharks in one net,” said Sgt. James Dunks. Indeed, Texas Parks and Wildlife regulations prohibit licensed fishers from catching more than one shark per day.

Read the complete story from Earth Justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coral reefs have been dying off at alarming rates because of modern human activity, and conservationists struggle to preserve them. Now scientists have found such efforts have a long history.

By the beginning of the 15th century, native Hawaiian islanders were engaging in sustainable practices to preserve their reefs — ushering in 400 years of recovery.

The research, published Monday in the journal PLoS One, shows that sustainable practices go back a long way and that coral reefs may be better able to regenerate than previously thought.

Coral reefs are some of the world's richest ecosystems, supporting a diverse array of marine life, including reef fish and mollusks. But they're highly susceptible to modern-day threats such as changing water temperatures, pollution and aggressive fishing practices.

Read the complete story from The LA Times.