Saving Seafood

Council Actions

Final Supplemental Materials for the March 18 American Lobster Management Board Meeting Now Available

March 17, 2025 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The final supplemental materials for the upcoming meeting of the American Lobster Board are now available at https://asmfc.org/events/american-lobster-management-board-4/ or you can access them directly https://asmfc.org/resources/management/species-board-proceedings/american-lobster-managment-board-supplemental-2-materials-march-2025/.  At the meeting, the Board will consider approval of Draft Addendum XXXII for public comment. The Draft Addendum will consider repealing all Addendum XXVII measures pertaining to gauge and escape vent size limits. This action responds to industry concerns regarding the potential economic impacts of an increase to the minimum gauge size in the Gulf of Maine and uncertainty surrounding trade issues with Canada. In addition, the Gulf of Maine states have agreed to work with the lobster industry to develop management strategies to ensure the long-term health of the resource and the coastal communities that it supports.

 
Webinar Information
To register for the webinar, please go tohttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5146448237796194138 (Webinar ID: 755-528-995). If you are joining the webinar but will not be using voice over internet protocol (VoIP) via your computer, you can also call in at +1 (914) 614-3221, access code 543-426-674. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, press the # key when asked for a PIN.
 
Meeting Process
The Board Chair will provide an opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of the meeting. The Board Chair will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the Board Chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
 
The webinar will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting so that people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter.  If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.
 
Public Comment Guidelines
With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. The Board Chair will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the Board Chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, the Board Chair will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. The Board Chair has the flexibility to decide how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comment will not provide additional insight to the board.
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, the Board Chair has the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.
In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action)
 
1.   Comments received by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11 will be included in supplemental materials.
2.   Comments received by 10 a.m. on Monday, March 17 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.
 
The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.  As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail and email.
 
For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org.

Council Science Advisors Discuss Updates to Protected Species Issues and Strategic Planning for Western Pacific Region

March 17, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met this week and reviewed protected species management in the region’s fisheries. Discussions underscored the growing influence of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in regulating fisheries, often overshadowing the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the primary federal law governing U.S. fisheries.

Council staff provided an update on the ongoing efforts of the Council’s protected species program, emphasizing the mandates for addressing interactions between fisheries and protected species. Staff highlighted past successes in reducing these interactions through innovative gear mitigation measures and technology transfer.

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) shared updates on the status of false killer whale stocks, including the final 2023 stock assessment report and outcomes from a 2024 survey. Based on updated assumptions about data uncertainties, the removal limit for the stock has been revised upward from 33 to 36 individuals. This is the number of individuals that could be removed from the stock to maintain optimal stock size.

The SSC raised concerns about disparities in how protected species assessments are reviewed compared to fish stock assessments under the Western Pacific Stock Assessment Review process. Unlike fish stocks, marine mammal assessments lack a standardized peer review process. As one SSC member noted, “Assessments of sea turtles undergo extensive review, including input from SSC members, but marine mammal assessments are not subjected to the same level of scrutiny. This inconsistency raises important questions about the reliability and transparency of the data.”

With new ESA and MMPA regulations on the horizon, including critical habitat designations for corals and green sea turtles and the proposed listing of giant clams, the SSC discussed the potential challenges these changes could present to fishing communities and ongoing projects of territorial governments. The committee also expressed concerns about declining observer coverage and the shift toward electronic monitoring, which may impact data collection used for serious injury and mortality estimates.

SSC Strategic Planning

As part of their ongoing commitment to the MSA process, SSC members discussed ways to improve their statutory advisory role. The committee is evaluating its processes to ensure it provides effective and relevant advice to the Council. This effort includes planning eight special projects for 2025, focusing on both the science and social dimensions of fisheries management. An overarching theme was the integration of community needs with the best available scientific information.

One focus area is determining whether bottomfish should be managed within a complex or if indicator species would offer a more practical alternative. The committee is also working to integrate social, ecological, economic and environmental considerations into its recommendations.

The SSC is also exploring alternative methods to assess the risks fisheries pose to protected species, as well as continuing to evaluate the potential impacts of large closed areas on fisheries across the region. Progress on these special projects will be reported at SSC meetings scheduled for June, September and December.

The SSC meeting agenda and documents can be found atwww.wpcouncil.org/event/155ssc-meeting. The SSC provides advice to the Council, which will meet March 25-27, 2025, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, www.wpcouncil.org/event/202nd-council-meeting.

Scientific and Statistical Committee: James Lynch (chair); Debra Cabrera (University of Guam); Frank Camacho (University of Guam); Courtney Carothers (University of Alaska Fairbanks); Milani Chaloupka (University of Queensland); Cathy Dichmont (Cathy Dichmont Consulting); Erik Franklin (University of Hawai‘i); Shelton Harley (Fisheries Consultant); Jason Helyer (Hawai‘i Div. of Aquatic Resources); Ray Hilborn (University of Washington); Alister Hunt (Finology); Dave Itano (Fisheries Consultant); Keena Leon Guerrero (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Div. of Fish & Wildlife); Domingo Ochavillo (American Samoa Dept. of Marine & Wildlife Resources); Graham Pilling (The Pacific Community); Jim Roberts (Anemone Consulting); Justin Suca (University of Hawai‘i); Robin Waples (University of Washington); Charles Littnan (ex-officio) (National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center).

NORTH CAROLINA: At NC Marine Fisheries meeting, commercial fisherman voice frustration with regulation

March 17, 2025 — Facing skeptical and sometimes fiery comments from commercial and recreational fishing interests from Beaufort to the Outer Banks, the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission met at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk on March 12 and 13 for the first quarterly meeting of 2025. It was the first time since November of 2018 that the commission has met on the Outer Banks.

More than 30 speakers addressed the commission, consistently calling out what they criticized as questionable science and data and the effect it has had on the commercial fishing industry.

“Over-regulation has been the default course, and commercial fishermen have borne the front of it,” Joe Romano, a commercial fisherman from Wilmington told the commission. “We called it a death by a thousand cuts, one rule after another, reducing access, increasing cost, driving more water men out of business. For years, it was easy to marginalize commercial fishing because there were so few of us.”

Read the full article at The Outer Banks Voice

Fishing groups raise Vineyard Wind case to Supreme Court

March 14, 2025 — In another move aimed at offshore wind, the fishing industry is attempting to take its fight against Vineyard Wind to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a national coalition of fishing industry associations and companies, and the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation filed separate petitions last week requesting the Supreme Court to review decisions by a lower court.

Both organizations unsuccessfully petitioned to shutdown Vineyard Wind — the first large-scale offshore wind project approved in the United States and located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard — in the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston last year.

The petitioners say the project was rushed through by the Biden Administration in an effort to establish an American offshore wind industry without considering the consequences.

Read the full article at MV Times

Fishermen accuse Bumble Bee Foods of forced labor, violence in tuna supply chain

March 14, 2025 — Canned seafood giant Bumble Bee knowingly sources its tuna from fleets that use physical violence and negligence to entrap workers and force them to fish in inhumane and horrific conditions in order to maximize company profits, four fishermen from rural Indonesia claim in a complaint filed in San Diego federal court on Wednesday.

“These men were looking for good jobs so they could provide for their families and build a future. Instead, they allege, they were trapped — isolated at sea, beaten with metal hooks, not getting enough food, working around the clock — and facing financial penalties if they tried to leave. The complaint outlines how each of them asked to be released, but were kept on board against their will — and in some cases didn’t take home a single penny for their labor,” plaintiff attorney Agnieszka Fryszman, partner at Cohen Milstein, said in a statement.

A man from rural Java identified in the suit as Akhmad claims he signed a contract that promised him $300 a month to join a fishing ship. But $200 a month was deducted for his first eight months at sea, which amounted to one-third of the contract’s period, to repay his recruitment and administrative costs. Another $50 was deducted for his living expenses, which left him with only $50 a month to support himself and his family.

That wasn’t it though, according to him and three other workers in their complaint. His family was also threatened with “punishment,” fines and debt if he left the ship early.

Read the full article at Courthouse News Service 

VIRGINIA: $223M offshore wind staging area now complete at Portsmouth Marine Terminal

March 14, 2025 — The Virginia Port Authority announced this week that workers have wrapped up a hub for offshore wind equipment at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

Skanska began construction in 2022, working to redevelop 72 acres and 1,500 feet of an existing wharf.

“The project presented some challenges,” Stephen Edwards, CEO of the Port Authority, said in a statement Thursday. “But there was a lot of collaboration between the port and Skanska teams that yielded a project, an outcome, that was delivered on-time and on-budget.”

The $223 million project provides capacity for Dominion Energy to gather, store and transfer massive turbines and foundations for its 176-turbine wind farm about 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast. The turbines are expected to generate 2.6 gigawatts of renewable electricity.

The Port Authority received a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the area under the Biden administration.

In a joint statement at the time, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said the funding “will go a long way toward establishing Virginia as a hub for offshore wind development along the East Coast.”

Read the full article at WHRO

Reminder: Scoping Comments on Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment due March 20, 2025

March 14, 2025 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) are accepting comments through Thursday, March 20, 2025, on the range of issues and information to be considered in the Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and the Bluefish FMP.

The proposed amendment may consider options for managing for-hire recreational fisheries separately from other recreational fishing modes (referred to as sector separation), as well as options related to the collection and use of recreational data, such as private angler reporting and enhanced for-hire vessel trip reporting requirements. The Council and Commission are currently conducting scoping for this action. Input provided in this phase will help the Council and Commission identify issues of concern and determine which types of management alternatives should be further developed.

Written comments can be submitted by any of the following methods:

  1. ONLINE at https://mafmc.knack.com/public-comments#rec-sector-separation-data-collection/
  2. EMAIL to kdancy@mafmc.org (subject: Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection)
  3. MAIL to Dr. Christopher Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901 (Please write “Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection” on the envelope)

The Public Information/Scoping Document provides a broad overview of the issues identified for consideration in the amendment, management approaches that may be considered, and a series of questions to guide public comment. For more information, visit the Council or Commission websites.

If you have any questions, please contact Kiley Dancy (kdancy@mafmc.org, 302-526-5257) or Tracey Bauer (tbauer@asmfc.org, 703-842-0723).

Western Pacific Council’s Science Advisors Examine Electronic Monitoring for Longline Fisheries

March 14, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met this week to address key issues on electronic monitoring (EM) implementation in longline fisheries. EM uses camera systems to monitor fishing activity onboard vessels while at sea. Discussions centered on EM sampling strategies, funding uncertainties and socioeconomic impacts on Hawai‘iand American Samoa fisheries. An EM program is envisioned to be the primary at-sea monitoring and data collection mechanism for the 150 and 11 active vessels in the Hawai‘i and American Samoa longline fisheries, respectively.

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) staff outlined an EM sampling design to determine estimates of rare events, such as protected species interactions. SSC members discussed the advantages and challenges of EM compared to human observers and how reduced observer coverage could be addressed. “While the immediate focus might be to implement an EM program, it is critical to think about where you want the program to be in 10 years and to plan for that now in the design phase,” said SSC member Dr. Shelton Harley. “A good example of this is ensuring that EM data are easily integrated with other data sources, such as logbooks and vessel monitoring data.” The SSC will advise the Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on technical aspects of EM implementation through a working group it recommended.

Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) staff reported NMFS plans to phase in EM from this year through 2027, using available funding. However, budget constraints are expected to reduce human observer coverage. The transition plan envisions outfitting all Hawai‘i and American Samoa vessels with EM camera systems by 2027, with immediate outreach to vessel owners and operators. 

The SSC reviewed economic analyses outlining potential cost savings and challenges. PIRO noted the industry may need to share some EM costs, including camera system replacements every three years. SSC members raised concerns about the financial burden on vessel owners and the uncertainty of long-term funding. “These fisheries already operate on slim profit margins,” said SSC member Dr. Alister Hunt. “The federal agency is presumably saving costs by shifting from observers to EM, which is a good thing—so why place that burden on fishermen?”

The Western Pacific Region has long maintained NMFS should cover monitoring costs primarily intended for protected species estimation. The SSC recommended analyses on regulatory burdens and costs to fisheries be provided in June 2025 to inform Council decisions.

SSC members emphasized the importance of early industry engagement, cost transparency and evaluating EM’s effectiveness in replacing at-sea human observers. Discussions will continue as the Council works toward a proposed amendment, with initial action expected in June 2025.

EM Background

The Council first discussed the EM concept in 2002, before it became a widely used cost-effective fisheries monitoring tool. Longline fisheries have historically relied on human observers, with a 20% target coverage rate. Internationally, longline fisheries are required to have 5% observer coverage. In December 2024, the Council directed an action team to develop an amendment authorizing EM on all vessels, primarily for protected species monitoring. The action team has since drafted potential alternatives for the Council’s June 2025 meeting, including vessel assignments during the phase-in period.

Catch Limits for Uku, Precious Corals and Deepwater Shrimp

The SSC also provided recommendations on catch limits for several Council-managed Hawaiian fisheries to ensure sustainable harvest levels.

For uku (gray jobfish/blue-green snapper) in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), the SSC recommended a catch limit of 408,957 pounds for the 2026-2029 fishing years. This recommendation is based on the latest scientific assessment, which found the stock is healthy but cautioned that catching at this level could gradually reduce fish populations. To help prevent overfishing, the SSC advised keeping a three-year review process to adjust future limits if needed.

For MHI precious corals and deepwater shrimp, the SSC recommended keeping current catch limits in place through 2028 (see table). These fisheries have low harvest levels, but experts noted that if new fishers entered and began harvesting large amounts, it could affect long-term sustainability. The 2022-2023 average catch for deepwater shrimp was 19,287 pounds. The SSC also urged PIFSC to provide updated assessments of these fisheries to ensure the latest science is used to guide future management decisions.

The SSC meeting agenda and documents can be found atwww.wpcouncil.org/event/155ssc-meeting. The SSC provides advice to the Council, which will meet March 25-27, 2025, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, www.wpcouncil.org/event/202nd-council-meeting.

 

Scientific and Statistical Committee: James Lynch (chair); Debra Cabrera (University of Guam); Frank Camacho (University of Guam); Courtney Carothers (University of Alaska Fairbanks); Milani Chaloupka (University of Queensland); Cathy Dichmont (Cathy Dichmont Consulting); Erik Franklin (University of Hawai‘i); Shelton Harley (Fisheries Consultant); Jason Helyer (Hawai‘i Div. of Aquatic Resources); Ray Hilborn (University of Washington); Alister Hunt (Finology); Dave Itano (Fisheries Consultant);  Keena Leon Guerrero (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Div. of Fish & Wildlife); Domingo Ochavillo (American Samoa Dept. of Marine & Wildlife Resources); Graham Pilling (The Pacific Community); Jim Roberts (Anemone Consulting); Justin Suca (University of Hawai‘i); Robin Waples (University of Washington); Charles Littnan (ex-officio) (National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center).

Federal shakeup sparks uncertainty for Pacific fisheries

March 13 2025 — Federal actions are causing uncertainty in the scheduled openings of Alaska’s Pacific fisheries, raising concerns among fishermen and owner/operators about potential disruptions to the fishing season.

Recent personnel changes within the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have cast doubt on the scientific assessments crucial for managing fish stocks in the region. According to the Alaska Beacon, three NMFS employees in Alaska were recently dismissed, creating unease about the continuity of scientific research that informs fisheries management. These individuals collected and analyzed stock assessment data, a key factor in determining sustainable catch limits. Their sudden removal has led to concerns that vital scientific work may be delayed or compromised just as fisheries prepare to open.

The potential gaps in research have alarmed commercial fishermen, who rely on accurate stock assessments to guide their operations. Without up-to-date data, fishery managers face challenges setting quotas, which could result in either overly restrictive or overly lenient catch limits, both of which carry economic and ecological risks.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman