Management & Regulation Archives

Whales Off California Coast Delay Commercial Crab Season

November 25, 2022 — For the fourth year in a row, the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California will be delayed to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines, it was announced Monday.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it was delaying the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins Nov. 15, until further notice for waters between the Mendocino county line and the border with Mexico.

Authorities first announced a delay late last month. The situation will be reassessed on or before Dec. 7 and if conditions allow commercial crabbing could be permitted on Dec. 16, the department said.

Read the full article at NBC San Diego

FDA issues a final rule on food traceability, list includes most seafood

November 23, 2o22 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule on food traceability. Foods subject to the final rule requirements appear on the Food Traceability List (FTL), which includes seafood.

Designed to facilitate faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and/or deaths, the FDA final rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods (Food Traceability Final Rule) establishes traceability recordkeeping requirements, beyond those in existing regulations, for persons who manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods included on the Food Traceability List (FTL).

The Food Traceability List (FTL) rule requires businesses to track most seafood from the point of landing through the supply chain to the final point of sale. The list also includes includes fresh cut fruits and vegetables, shell eggs, and nut butters, as well as certain fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, ready-to-eat deli salads and cheeses.

At the core of the final rule is a requirement that persons who manufacture, process, pack or hold food on the FTL maintain records including Key Data Elements (KDEs) related to Critical Tracking Events (CTEs). Covered firms and farms, retail food establishments and restaurants will be required to provide information to the FDA within 24 hours, or some reasonable time to which the FDA agrees.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Senators Seek Disaster Declaration After Crab Season Cancelled

November 23, 2022 — Last month Bristol Bay king crab and Bering Sea snow crab season were cancelled after low population counts during the summer. This closure affected approximately 60 fishing fleets based out of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and results in a nearly $287 million loss. Now, senators from Alaska and Washington are seeking disaster relief to help fishing communities affected by this outcome.

The goal of fishery closures is to help diminished populations recover by not removing any individuals for a fishing season. However, what caused these populations to dwindle so dramatically is still unclear, and likely due to multiple causes. Stress from warming waters could cause populations to migrate, while certain types of fishing gear could damage critical crab habitat.

Read the full article at Forbes

BOEM adapts Gulf of Mexico wind-energy planning process to central Atlantic areas

November 23, 2022 — The U.S. Bureau of Offshore Energy Management proposed eight new wind energy areas off the U.S. central Atlantic coast, totaling around 1.7 million acres, on Wednesday, 16 November.

The total area proposed for wind energy development was reduced from 3.9 million in the original proposal outlined by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management earlier in 2022.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Lawmakers push for federal assistance for fishermen following crab harvest cancelations

November 21, 2022 — U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell joined her Washington and Alaska colleagues urging Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to declare a federal fishery disaster for certain Alaska crab harvests.

The fishing industry is expected to take a tremendous hit next year following the cancelation of the Bering Sea and Bristol Bay snow and red king crab harvests.

This, as a result, will cause an estimated $287.7 million in economic losses for fisheries, according to a release from Sen. Cantwell.

Read the full article at KOMO News

BOEM adapts Gulf of Mexico wind planning to central Atlantic

November 21, 2022 — Eight proposed wind energy areas off the U.S. central Atlantic coast announced Wednesday total about 1.7 million acres, reduced from 3.9 million in the original call area outlined by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management.

Ranging in distance 19 to 77 miles from the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, the WEAs could be the first to venture to the edge of the East Coast outer continental shelf – potentially requiring use of floating turbines, if wind choose to bid on the most distant, deepest areas.

BOEM officials say they have been gathering information since the call area was released in April, from sources including the Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force; other federal agencies and the four states; and input from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina State agencies; input from Federal agencies; and “comments from stakeholders and ocean users, including the maritime community, offshore wind developers, and the commercial fishing industry.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Panelists say BOEM, fishing industry still far apart on offshore wind

November 21, 2022 — With the first offshore wind lease sales impending off California, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and commercial fishermen still have a chasm to gap before the new and old industries can reasonably co-exist, panelists said at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle Friday.

BOEM’s early years of reviewing and permitting the first U.S. federal waters wind projects off southern New England failed to anticipate and head off conflicts with the region’s 400-year-old fishing industry, said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association.

While the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project is moving ahead, BOEM and the developers are still contending with a lawsuit brought by Northeast fishermen with the assistance of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

FISHING INDUSTRY REQUESTS INCLUSION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A U.S. OCEAN CLIMATE ACTION PLAN

November 21, 2022 — The following was released by Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

On November 18, 2022, U.S. commercial fishing industry leaders and participants submitted recommendations to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to inform the development of a U.S. Ocean Climate Action Plan (OCAP). The letter outlined nine specific actions necessary to develop an OCAP that is inclusive and protects the seafood industry’s role in contributing to food security, the economy, and the culture and heritage of our coastal communities. It was signed by 49 individuals from seafood harvesters, processors, and associations representing a wide array of fisheries from Maine to Alaska and California to North Carolina.

The recommendations are based on a November 15 comment letter submitted by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA).

The recommendations stress items including:
● The importance of collecting, understanding and incorporating fishermen’s ecological
knowledge in climate policy;
● Acknowledging the role of commercial fishing to the nation’s overall well-being;
● The significance of a fully informed decision-making process considering costs, impacts
and benefits; and
● The need to prioritize and enhance collaborations between agencies and stakeholders.

On October 4, 2022, OSTP released a Request for Information announcing its preparation of an
OCAP, which would span multiple activities from increasing offshore wind energy to conserving
marine areas to reducing shipping emissions. RODA’s response letter points to the importance of
federal support for a thriving domestic seafood industry–a cornerstone of coastal economies and
communities that is often overlooked in high-level ocean policies.

RODA’s West Coast Director Mike Conroy states, “OSTP has the opportunity to include those on
the front lines of climate change. Our members stand ready to assist in the development of an
OCAP that incorporates their knowledge and experience. Working collaboratively to consider
and implement ocean-based climate solutions that protect U.S. food security while maintaining
our ability to provide a low climate impact source of protein represents a win-win scenario.”

New York’s largest offshore wind farm takes key step

November 18, 2022 — New York regulators have granted approval for a 25-mile transmission that will carry power from the state’s largest offshore wind farm to a substation in Suffolk County, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office on Thursday announced.

The transmission line approval by the New York State Public Service Commission is an important development for the proposed Sunrise Wind Farm off the coast of Long Island.

Read the full article at NY1

Alaska, Washington senators team up to seek disaster declaration for closed crab harvests

November 18, 2022 — Alaska’s two Republican U.S. senators joined with Washington state’s two Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday to request an immediate disaster declaration to help fishers and fishing-dependent businesses and communities cope with an unprecedented shutdown of Bering Sea crab fishing.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington sent the request to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The senators asked the secretary to act “as quickly as possible” to invoke the disaster declaration provision of the primary law governing marine fisheries, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

“Many of these fishermen and businesses hail from both Alaska and Washington, and the impacts of these fishery disasters extend far beyond our states to consumers across the United States and the world,” the senators’ letter said.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News