July 5, 2017 — Last night, to celebrate the fourth of July, the air over the U.S. filled with fireworks. The noise they created was extremely loud and, mercifully, brief. But imagine having to listen to even louder explosions once every ten seconds, for days or weeks on end. Starting this fall, that may be the new reality for whales, fish, and other marine life off the eastern seaboard, if the Trump administration’s plans go ahead.
Changes to cod, haddock, flounder quotas eyed in New England
July 3, 2017 — Federal fishing regulators are planning a host of changes to the quota limits of several important New England fish, including cod.
New England fishermen search for cod in two key fishing areas, Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine. Regulators have enacted a series of cutbacks to the cod quota in those areas in recent years as cod stocks have dwindled.
This year, regulators want to trim the Georges Bank cod quota by 13 percent and keep Gulf of Maine’s quota the same. They also want to keep the Georges Bank haddock quota about the same and enact a 25 percent increase for the Gulf of Maine haddock quota. Changes are also planned for some flounder species.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald
Feds reviewing status of New England’s endangered salmon
July 2, 2017 — The federal government is starting a five-year review of the Gulf of Maine’s population of Atlantic salmon, which are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Atlantic salmon were once plentiful off New England, but dams, loss of habitat, pollution and overfishing dramatically reduced the population. The National Marine Fisheries Service says it is reviewing the health of the stock to get more updated information on its current status.
The fisheries service says the review will be based on scientific and commercial data. One group, the New Brunswick, Canada-based Atlantic Salmon Federation, says recent data are troubling. The group says total estimated returns of the fish to North America in 2016 showed a 27 percent decrease from the previous year.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Daily Progress
Are the red snapper regulations in federal waters too restrictive?
June 30, 2017 — Regulations surrounding red snapper are the subject of a lot of chatter on fishing docks throughout the panhandle.
The three day red snapper season in federal waters was recently expanded to cover most of the summer, but there was a trade-off in a reduced number of red snapper days in state waters.
So, are the current fishing regulations helpful? Or harmful? It depends on who you ask.
Behind a local marina in Panama City sits a third generation charter captain who makes a living off of fishing.
“Our limits have gotten smaller, the amount of days that we get are definitely smaller. I make my full living charter fishing here in Panama City, been doing it my whole life, it supports me and my family, I’ve actually got twins on the way, they’re going to be here later in the year,” Hook ’em Charters Captain BJ Burkett said.
Captain BJ tell us the current red snapper fishing regulations in federal waters, which start nine nautical miles out, hinder his ability to profit as much as he used too.
“We started out, I’d say about 10 years ago we used to have 190 day red snapper season and we’re down to a, this year we got 49 days for the federal charter for hire industry. We have had as few as 9 days in a year a couple years back, but the seasons have definitely changed. It’s kinda sad in our eyes,” Burkett said.
Representatives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tell us those regulations are enforced for a reason.
“Conservation laws are in place, you know, to ensure the natural resource is abundant and there for future generations to use,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission representative Rebekah Nelson.
We also reached out to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, who responded with a statement saying in part, NOAA Fisheries regulate fishing to help foster healthy fish populations. It continues to say fish populations can be depleted if they’re caught faster than they can reproduce.
NOAA considers moving Miami headquarters amid budget cuts
June 29, 2017 — The federal agency that oversees hurricane research and manages fisheries along the nation’s southeast coast faces an overhaul and potential downsizing that could cripple partnerships that have made Miami a leader in the world of marine and atmospheric science.
While unrelated, the timing of the two moves — possibly relocating the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries headquarters from Virginia Key to St. Petersburg and pending budget cuts to the climate science program there — amount to a double whammy for the research hub and a brain drain for the region.
“It’s a big hit,” said Ben Kirtman, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and director of NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies or CIMAS. Kirtman fears a “tyranny of distance” would all but end collaborations that began when the Fisheries headquarters opened across the street from the university in 1965.
“In science, it’s very difficult to do interdisciplinary work. It’s a real challenge because you speak difference languages. And that’s where a lot of the big breakthroughs come from,” he said. “When you’re separated by floors in the same building, it’s hard to collaborate, let alone if you’re across the state.”
Built at a time when ocean science was rapidly expanding, the Fisheries headquarters on the scrubby island represented years of collaboration between the agency and Rosenstiel. After the university started a marine lab in 1943, federal fisheries officials opened offices first on the Coral Gables campus, then followed the school labs to Virginia Key. In 1972, a partnership was struck for the cooperative institute, which along with 13 other such agreements around the country provide the basic research for NOAA missions. In 2015, NOAA awarded $125 to CIMAS, which includes Florida International University and other university programs in South Florida, to continue its efforts that include weather research for the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research program.
Fishing Report: NOAA seeks input on sanctuaries and monuments
June 29, 2017 — In a media advisory last week, NOAA said it’s soliciting public comment on National Marine Sanctuaries and Monuments designated or expanded since 2007 to determine if they should exist.
President Donald Trump’s Offshore Energy Strategy, outlined in his May executive order, has ordered the Secretary of Commerce through NOAA to review whether national monuments and sanctuaries present “lost opportunity” with regard to potential energy and mineral exploration and production.
Many in the fishing community are split about National Monuments. Some believe, as the president does, that profits and jobs should come first. However, a large part of the fishing and conservation communities believe it should be the environment and fish that should be first. Many believe that National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine Monuments serve as a sanctuary and spawning grounds for a variety of sea life and fish and should be left untouched.
For information on National Marine Monuments and Sanctuaries visit NOAA Fisheries website at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/.
NOAA Establishes Voluntary Speed Restriction Zone South of Nantucket
June 28, 2017 — A voluntary speed restriction zone about 15 miles south of Nantucket has been established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division.
It comes after three right whales were spotted in the area recently.
According to researchers, there are only about 400 North Atlantic right whales still in existence.
Those who approach a right whale closer than 500 yards will be in violation of federal and state law and could lead to criminal charges.
NOAA Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule Adding Blueline Tilefish to Golden TIlefish Management Plan
June 28, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:
NOAA Fisheries is asking for comments on a proposed rule to add blueline tilefish to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Golden Tilefish Fishery Management Plan.
Blueline tilefish have been managed for many years under the South Atlantic Council’s Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan, whose measures only apply south of the Virginia/North Carolina border. The fishery in the Mid-Atlantic was considered very small and remained unregulated until recently.
Recreational and commercial blueline tilefish catch has been increasing steadily in the Greater Atlantic Region (Virginia to Maine) since 2011. In 2014, commercial landings increased more than 20-fold from the previous several years’ average. This rapid increase in unregulated harvest represented a risk to the long-term sustainability of the stock, and triggered the Mid-Atlantic Council to request emergency management measures in 2015. Interim management measures took effect in June 2016, while the Council developed this proposed amendment.
Amendment 6 to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan would manage the federal waters blueline tilefish fishery north of the Virginia/North Carolina border. We are proposing these management measures for blueline tilefish as part of the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan.
Through this action, we are proposing a commercial possession limit of 300 pounds per trip.
We are also proposing a recreational season from May 1-October 31 and limits of:
- 7 fish per person on Coast Guard inspected for-hire vessels (party boats)
- 5 fish per person on uninspected for-hire vessels (charter boats), and
- 3 fish per person on private recreational vessels.
The proposed rule would require fishermen to hold a valid Greater Atlantic Region open access tilefish commercial or charter/party permit to ensure adequate reporting and monitoring of blueline tilefish fishing activity. We also recommend requirements for new permits and catch reporting for private recreational fishermen.
More information is available in the proposed rule and Notice of Availability, along with the draft Environmental Assessment and preliminary Regulatory Impact Review.
You may submit comments on either through the e-rulemaking portal or by mailing your comments to: John Bullard, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope: “Comments on Blueline Tilefish Amendment.”
The comment period closes for the proposed rule on July 28, 2017 and for the Notice of Availability on August 14, 2017.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov
Papahanaumokuakea Review Spurs Tension With Conservation Groups, Fisheries
June 28, 2017 — President Donald Trump’s targeting of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the northwest Hawaiian Islands for national review has revived a lopsided debate between Native Hawaiians, senators, scientists and conservation groups in favor of the monument’s designation, and an activist fishery council mainly concerned with “maximizing longline yields.”
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council vocally opposed the monument’s expansion in 2016 during a public comment process, communicating that to the White House under the leadership of Executive Director Kitty Simonds. Simonds’ PowerPoint presentation at a recent Council Coordination Committee meeting detailed other monument areas in the Pacific under review, including the Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll, explicitly criticizing the designations as an abuse of the Antiquities Act. The PowerPoint concludes, “Make America great again. Return U.S. fishermen to U.S. waters.”
Established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Acts of 1976 and 1996, WESPAC is charged with reporting its recommendations for preventing overfishing and protecting fish stocks and habitat to the Commerce Department.
While WESPAC International Fisheries Enforcement and National Environmental Policy Act coordinator Eric Kingma believe that WESPAC’s communications with the president fall within the agency’s purview of advising the executive branch, others, including Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff, consider the comments an illegal “lobby to expand WESPAC turf” and shape public policy.
WESPAC argues that monument expansion hampers longline fishermen from feeding Hawaii, which imports roughly 60 percent of the fish it eats. Pro-expansion groups such as Expand Papahanaumokuakea point out that only 5 percent of longliner take came from the monument; that longliners have recently reached their quota by summer, then resorted to buying unused blocks from other fleets; and that much of the longliners’ take, including sashimi-grade bigeye tuna, is sold at auction to the mainland U.S., as well as to Japanese and other foreign buyers. The bigeye tuna catch, moreover, has been trending upward every year since the first year of logbook monitoring in 1991. In 2014, the Hawaii longline fleet caught a record 216,897 bigeye tuna, up 12 percent from 2013.
FRI trains the fishery managers of tomorrow
June 26, 2017 — Area management biologists in Bristol Bay are responsible for tracking and maintaining the escapement numbers of multiple salmon species in multiple river systems. Not only are they charged with preserving the health of the run’s biology, but they are often held, at least partly, accountable for the economic viability of the fishery as well. One of the inherent challenges of the job is that the sustainability of the salmon run is not always synonymous with the profit margins of industry entities, and the managers are often the first to be blamed when the catch and escapement don’t go as planned.
The University of Washington’s Fisheries Research Institute is taking on the tall task of training those who hope to one day be fishery managers. Seven grad students—two from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, three from the University of Washington and two from Kamchatka State Technical Institute in Russia—are taking the three week course at FRI’s cabin on Aleknagik Lake.
Professors Milo Adkinson and Ray Hilborn are teaching the course. “We bring our graduate students in fisheries out to see a real fishery in action,” said Adkinson.
For the class’s main term project, the students will work directly with the three area management biologists in Bristol Bay as the salmon run is going on.
“They get to pretend that they’re managing the fisheries,” said Adkinson. “So I’ve got a group of students that are going be deciding whether to open and close the Naknek-Kvichak district every day.”
The students will simulate making announcements relevant to the current salmon run, allocating when and where sport and commercial fisherman are allowed to fish. They will then be given a math equation which will determine the catch and escapement numbers based on the management decisions they made. The students will receive feedback from the actual area managers as the course progresses.
“We had one year where the students let several million fish escape into the Egegik system. I think the managers got a kick out of that,” said Adkinson.
Tim Sands is the area management biologist for the Nushagak and Togiak districts. He gave a lecture at FRI this week, and is making himself available to answer any questions the students charged with simulating his job might have.
“So there’s rules like what time of the tide you have to open the set nets—it’s all specified in the management plan. They can ask me questions like that, or things about allocation,” said Sands. “That’s what I do. Tell them the rules of the district.”
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 383
- 384
- 385
- 386
- 387
- …
- 669
- Next Page »