November 19, 2018 — Bay State Wind will host an open house on Wednesday, Dec. 5, to hear from the public about the development of an offshore wind project off the southern Massachusetts coast, according to a press release. The open house will run from 4 to 6 pm at the Loft Restaurant, with a brief presentation about the project at 4:30 pm. Guests will hear about the status of the project and offshore wind in the region from Orsted staff and have a chance to discuss the environmental, economic, and technical issues, and to visit an offshore wind farm through a virtual reality experience, as well as to voice their opinion about Bay State Wind’s project.
South Bend Products: Seafood processor hopeful tariffs won’t derail success
November 19, 2018 — Over the past decade, many Washington-based seafood processors have been gutted. Increased regulations, labor wages and shipping costs have eroded margins and stifled growth, particularly for smaller, family-owned operations. However, one business along the Willapa Harbor in South Bend has defied industry trends over its 10-year existence, continuously improving and expanding while diversifying its product line.
“We’re celebrating our 10-year anniversary this month,” said Dean Antich, general manager South Bend Products, a subsidiary of Tacoma-based Northern Fish Products. “We just keep getting bigger and busier.”
Booming business
In 2015, Antich hired a sales manager, then added an assistant manager to help delegate the duties for the growing operation.
“I thought that would free my time up but we just got bigger and busier because now we can do more,” Antich said.
What largely started with processing wild salmon in South Bend now includes razor clams, albacore tuna, black cod, halibut and rockfish, depending on the season.
“Salmon is the biggest fishery by pounds,” Antich said. “Dungeness is the biggest fishery by sales.”
In January 2018 South Bend Products acquired a processing facility in Chinook, formerly owned by Bell Buoy Crab. The facility provided more access to the Dungeness crab fishery and curbed shipping costs.
Restoration projects seek to fight “tragic” decline in Gulf of Mexico oyster population
November 19, 2018 — Last week, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officially moved to cancel the state’s wild oyster season, which would have run from November through April.
Exploratory dives at oyster harvesting grounds had revealed a continued steep decline in the number of oysters in the state’s waters. Last year’s season was curtailed after fishermen harvested just 136 110-pound sacks of oysters, down from 7,000 sacks in 2013, according to the Associated Press.
Scott Bannon, director of the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said the findings revealed the apparent collapse of the region’s oyster ecology.
“It’s tragic, to be honest,” Bannon told AL.com.
Numerous factors have dealt blows not just to Alabama’s oyster grounds, but those of the entire Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, hurricanes, disease, and changes in freshwater flows to Gulf rivers and streams have collectively damaged the fishery to the point where up to 85 percent of the gulf’s original oyster reefs no longer remain intact.
According to a new report by The Nature Conservancy, “Oyster Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico,” this dramatic decline has damaged the stability and productivity of the Gulf’s estuaries and harmed coastal economies.
Seth Blitch, the director of coastal and marine conservation in Louisiana for The Nature Conservancy, told SeafoodSource the oyster habitat and the oyster fishery “is not in a particularly good place right now,” which could spell bigger problems for the region.
“Oysters, to me, are a great proxy to a lot of things,” he said. “If oysters are doing well, that’s a good indication of good water quality and of the health entire near-shore estuarine system. When oysters start to fail, that’s good indication there are larger issues at play.”
ALASKA: Next steps to protect the industry from Pebble Mine
November 19, 2018 — Stakeholders in Alaska’s Bristol Bay have watched the federal and state regulatory landscape heave and buckle with the shifting sands of federal oversight.
Fishermen invested in other watersheds threatened by mining waste and potential mine development have watched this battle, as well. But the lessons to be learned shift at every turn. Join me and a panel of insiders on Monday at Pacific Marine Expo for a public meeting on Pebble Mine, where we will discuss next steps for the industry.
The Trump administration breathed life back into the prospects for Pebble Mine.
Pebble CEO Tom Collier wasted no time in penning a January 2017 editorial praising his company’s efforts to address the concerns of Alaska residents, the thousands of fishermen who make their living in the shadow of the potential mine and its caustic byproducts, and the millions of consumers who rely on Bristol Bay’s pristine rivers to welcome back the world’s largest wild salmon run year after year.
Moratorium on Northern Shrimp Commercial Fishing Maintained Through 2021
November 19, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
In response to the continued depleted condition of the northern shrimp resource, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section extended the moratorium on commercial fishing through 2021. This three-year moratorium was set in response to the low levels of biomass and recruitment and the fact that, should recruitment improve, it would take several years for those shrimp to be commercially harvestable.
The 2018 Stock Assessment Update indicates the Gulf of Maine northern shrimp population remains depleted, with spawning stock biomass (SSB) at extremely low levels since 2013. SSB in 2018 was estimated at 1.3 million pounds, lower than SSB in 2017 (1.5 million pounds). Recruitment has also been low in recent years, with 2018 recruitment estimated at two billion shrimp. This is below the time series median of 2.6 billion shrimp. Fishing mortality has remained low in recent years due to the moratorium.
High levels of natural mortality and low levels of recruitment continue to hinder recovery of the stock. Predation contributes significantly to the natural mortality of northern shrimp and has been at high levels over the past decade. In addition, long-term trends in environmental conditions have not been favorable for the recruitment of northern shrimp. Ocean temperatures in the western Gulf of Maine have increased over the past decade, with warmer water temperature generally associated with lower recruitment indices and poorer survival during the first year of life. With ocean temperatures predicted to continue to rise, this suggests an increasingly inhospitable environment for northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine.
Given this change in the environment and the lack of change in stock status despite the fishery being under a moratorium for the past five years, the Section debated current management approaches and if they are appropriate in the face of changing ocean conditions. Ultimately, the Section unanimously agreed to establish a working group to evaluate management strategies for northern shrimp given changes in species abundance, particularly as a result of changing ocean conditions. In February 2018, the Commission approved guidance that species management boards and sections could use to address shifts in species abundance and distribution. The Section will have the opportunity to use this guidance to determine if or what management changes should be made if the stock has no ability to recover.
While industry members advocated for re-opening the commercial fishery in order to evaluate the stock status and provide economic benefits to local fishermen, Technical Committee analysis showed there is little-to-no possibility of 2019 SSB being greater than it was in 2017, even in the absence of fishing. Given the low biomass of the stock, the Section did not establish a Research Set Aside; however, annual surveys including the summer shrimp survey and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center trawl survey will continue to collect important data on the stock.
The Section also approved Addendum I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp. The Addendum provides states the authority to allocate their state-specific quota between gear types in the event the fishery reopens.
Finally, the Section established a second working group to review the existing Gulf of Maine Summer Northern Shrimp Survey. This working group will evaluate ways to improve the reliability and efficiency of the survey, including shifting to greater commercial industry involvement in the collection of data. Transitioning the shrimp survey to a commercial platform would be one of the options considered by the working group.
For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
October/November 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available
November 19, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The October/November 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5bef3628FishFocusOctNov2018.pdf. Wishing you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Upcoming Meetings
page 2
Report from the Chair
Reflections on Our Past and Future
page 3
Species Profile
Atlantic Herring
page 4
Fishery Management Actions
Coastal Sharks
Horseshoe Crab
Northern Shrimp
Spiny Dogfish
page 6
Proposed Management Actions
Summer Flounder
Scup
Black Sea Bass
page 8
Science Highlight
Living Shorelines
page 9
ACCSP
What Do You Do?
page 10
On the Legislative Front
page 11
Past issues of Fisheries Focus can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/search/%20/%20/Fishery-Focus
Major Chinese fish oil producer and exporter Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical approved Friend of the Sea
November 19, 2018 — The following was released by Friend of the Sea:
Chinese manufacturer Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has obtained Friend of the Sea certification for refined fish oil and softgel from Engraulis rigens sourced from FAO Area 87 (Southeast Pacific).
Friend of the Sea’s standard for sustainable fish oil and Omega-3 certifies that the oil originates only from fisheries that are compliant with Friend of the Sea’s sustainable fishing requirements, including good fishery management, selective fishing gears and social responsibility, and that a full chain of custody is in place throughout the supply and production chain.
Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ldt., which processes 20000 tons of crude fish oil and produces 10000 tons of refined fish oil, is one of the largest world’s manufacturer of refined fish oil. While being exported to America and Europe, the finished fish oil also guarantees material supply of stringent standard’s fish oil preparation and products for Yuwang itself.
“We decided to join the Friend of the Sea project because we are eager to give our contribution in conserving the marine habitats and protecting them for future generations,” claims Albert Ho, Business Manager at Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical.
“The approval of Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical as a Friend of the Sea certified company consolidates the presence of our certification in China and is the confirmation that more and more fish oil manufacturers are committed towards environmental sustainability” comments Paolo Bray, Founder and Director of Friend of the Sea.
Group calls on Maine’s federal reps to oppose offshore drilling along entire Atlantic coast
November 19, 2018 — A small group of environmental activists gathered in Bangor Saturday to call on Maine’s congressional delegates to express more opposition to offshore drilling.
Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree all previously voiced their stances opposing offshore drilling in New England, but the group called on them to prevent the practice along the entire Atlantic Coast.
“What we want is for them to increase their opposition and oppose offshore drilling in the entire Atlantic ocean, not just in New England,” said Sarah Starman, a field organizer with Oceana. “We believe that drilling anywhere will affect everyone because oil spills don’t respect state boundaries.”
Senator Collins and King sent a joint letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke back in January — expressing their stances against drilling in New England.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree also voiced her opposition directly to the Secretary during an Appropriations Committee meeting in June.
“Countless Maine jobs depend on the health of the ocean. The Maine lobster, aquaculture, and tourism industries are among the many critical industries dependent on Maine’s pristine waters, and even a minor spill could irreparably damage the ecosystem in the Gulf of Maine,” Senator Collins said in a written statement. “That’s why I oppose any effort to open waters off the coast of Maine to offshore drilling, which could negatively affect the health of Maine’s fisheries and other coastal resources, threatening to harm not only the environment but the state’s economy as well.”
Senator King also said during a floor speech in February:
“In Maine…we depend upon the coast,” Senator King said. “Tourism and visitation to our beaches and coastal communities are a billion dollar industry, the largest single employer in our state. So that is an enormous economic engine that is currently working, and running, and powering at least a portion of the economy in our state. And of course, on my tie, I have lobsters. A $1.7 billion a year industry in Maine and it promises to be even stronger as processing is developed. We also have an offshore fishing industry, shrimp, shellfish. It is enormously important. It is part of who we are in the state of Maine.”
Atlantic cobia management up for discussion
November 19, 2018 — Plans are in motion to remove Atlantic cobia from management at the federal level, and turn over management of the fish in federal waters, from Georgia to New York, to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a cooperative effort of East Coast states.
The ASMFC generally helps regulate the first three miles from shore — that which is under state control — and provides a framework so that recreational and commercial fishermen deal with relatively consistent state regulations along the East Coast, rather than a hodgepodge.
The National Marine Fisheries Service announced the opening of a public comment period Nov. 9, that’s slated to run through Dec. 10. Presently, Atlantic cobia in the federal waters off Georgia are managed through the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which also deals with other fisheries in federal waters in this region.
A period of public hearings nearly a year ago led to the conclusion, according to the SAFMC’s summary, that removing “Atlantic cobia from federal management as soon as possible” would be best for the fishery.
At the SAFMC meeting on Jekyll Island in March, the topic received a fair bit of discussion, with the plan to move management from the SAFMC to the ASMFC winning approval in committee by a vote of 6-5-1. The council ended up delaying a decision until its June meeting, in which it was approved for formal review.
According to the NMFS bulletin announcing the public comment period, “most existing management measures in federal waters for commercial and recreational harvest of Atlantic cobia from Georgia through New York would not change through this amendment.”
Reef restoration projects aim to bolster Texas’ record-low oyster population
November 16, 2018 — With oyster populations in Texas at historic lows, The Nature Conservancy is launching two new reef restoration projects that look to appease commercial fishermen and environmentalists alike.
Using funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement, the group plans to develop 110 acres of reef in Galveston Bay and Copano Bay, near Rockport. Half of each reef will be designated as a marine sanctuary where the molluscs — which have significant economic and environmental benefits — may grow. The other half will be open for commercial fishing.
Construction of the new reefs is expected to begin this winter, with harvestable portions ready as soon as 2021.
Laura Huffman, regional director of The Nature Conservancy in Texas, said these projects show a new approach to oyster reef restoration, with the compatibility of building harvestable reefs at the same time as growing a healthy habitat.