Saving Seafood

Council Actions

Live Streaming Information for next week’s SSC meeting, Sept 1, 2015

August 28, 2015 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
Meeting: The public is invited to listen in to the September 1, 2015 Scientific and Statistical Committee Meeting (SSC). It is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport, 100 Boardman Street. 
 
Location: See Hilton Garden Inn for further information about the venue.
 
Webinar Registration: For online access to the meeting – https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1465020447061066241.
The webinar will be activated beginning at 8:00 a.m. and end at approximately 6:00 p.m. EST.
Charges for Listening: There are no charges if you access the webinar via your computer. If dialing in, your normal phone charges will apply.
Dial in number: Toll: +1 (646) 307-1706 
Access Code: 227-977-093
Meeting Materials: Please consult the Council’s website Sept. 1, 2015 SSC Meeting. You will find an agenda and copies of the materials to be considered.
 
Questions: If you have questions prior to or during the meeting, feel free to call me at the Council office at
(978) 465-0492 ext. 106, or otherwise send an email to pfiorelli@nefmc.org.
 

New Hampshire fishermen see no shortage of lobsters

August 28, 2015 — If lobsters are running scared from warmer southern New England waters, local lobstermen aren’t experiencing a similar shortage.

According to Red Perkins, manager at Seabrook’s Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative, lobsters are in good supply this year, although not as abundant as a few years ago.

“We’re not noticing a shortage here,” Perkins said yesterday. “Last year we had a realistic lobster harvest and this year is the same as last year. A couple of years ago it was a very good year. It’s not strange for quantities to vary over the years.”

Salisbury Ring’s Island resident and amateur lobsterman, Jerry Klima said he had heard the rumors and read the reports that claim warmer waters in places like Long Island Sound are causing lobsters to head north, seeking colder climes. Recently, he spoke with a veteran fisherman who said he’s hauling up fewer lobsters in his traps by as much as a third.

“But (we) just went out and caught a lot of lobsters,” Klima said. “Supply varies from year to year.”

Read the full story at the Daily News of Newburyport

 

 

Norway, Russia find peace in cod

August 27, 2015 — Some Norwegian research institutes are experiencing problems in cross-border research activities with Russia, among them the Norwegian Polar Institute’s polar bear count this year. However, fishing cooperation between the two countries is proceeding this year.

The two countries have together managed the rich fish stocks in the Barents Sea for almost half a century. Now, they again engage in their annual joint marine research expedition.

Political tensions between Moscow and Oslo appear not to affect the decades-long fisheries management cooperation between the countries. The Norwegian-Russian cooperation proceeds as planned, the Norwegian Marine Research Institute underlines to BarentsObserver.

Earlier in August, the Norwegian research vessel “Johan Hjort” set off from the port of Tromsø to start the collection of marine data in the Barents Sea. It was set to be joined by another three vessels, two Norwegian and one Russian.

“The difficult political situation does not much affect us”, Knut Sunnanå says to BarentsObserver. “We continue our research as before and our cooperation with [Russian partner] Pinro is not disturbed by the situation,” he adds.

As previously reported, other research institutes are currently experiencing problems in cross-border research activities with Russia, among them the Norwegian Polar Institute’spolar bear count this year.

The four ships will over the next weeks crosscross the Barents Sea to get a status update of stocks and the marine ecosystem. The data collected will be of key importance for the two countries’ setting of regional fisheries quotas.

Read the full story at the Arctic Newswire

Council to Hold Scoping Hearings for Action on Unmanaged Forage Species

August 28, 2015 — The following has been released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has scheduled a series of scoping hearings to gather public input for a proposed action to protect unmanaged forage species. The proposed action would consider a prohibition on the development of new, or expansion of existing, directed fisheries on unmanaged forage species in the Mid-Atlantic until adequate scientific information is available to promote ecosystem sustainability.

Eight hearings will be held between September 15, 2015 and October 1, 2015 in locations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Written comments may also be submitted through October 2, 2015.

Forage species are small, low trophic level fish and invertebrates that play an important role in sustaining the productivity and structure of marine ecosystems. Many forage species in the Mid-Atlantic are not currently subject to significant directed fishing, but increasing global demand for fishmeal, fish oil, and bait could encourage the development of new fisheries for these species. With this action, the Mid-Atlantic Council is taking a proactive approach to conserving unmanaged forage species and the ecosystem services they provide.

The Council has not yet decided which forage species will be addressed by this action; however, this action will only address species that are not currently managed by the Mid-Atlantic, New England, or South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, or by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Scoping Process

Scoping is the process of identifying issues, potential impacts, and a reasonable range of alternatives associated with a management action being developed by the Council. Scoping is the first and best opportunity for the public to make suggestions and raise concerns about new Council actions. Comments may be submitted in-person during the hearings listed below or in writing.

Additional information and updates about this action can be found in the scoping document and on the Unmanaged Forage Action page of the council’s website.

Scoping Hearing Schedule

  1. Tuesday September 15, 2015. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries Washington Regional Office Hearing Room. Washington Square Mall, 943 Washington Street, Washington, NC, 27889. Telephone: 252-946-6481.
  2. Wednesday September 16, 2015. 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Virginia Marine Resources Commission 4th Floor Meeting Room. 2600 Washington Avenue, Newport News, VA, 23607. Telephone: 757-247-2200.
  3. Thursday September 17, 2015. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Congress Hall Hotel. 200 Congress Place, Cape May, NJ, 08204. Telephone: 844-264-5030.
  4. Monday September 21, 2015. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Kingsborough Community College Building T-3. 2001 Oriental Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY, 11235. Telephone: 718-368-5000.
  5. Monday September 28, 2015. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. University of Rhode Island Bay Campus Corless Auditorium. 215 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI, 02882. Telephone: 401-874-6222.
  6. Tuesday September 29, 2015. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. New York Department of Environmental Conservation Bureau of Marine Resources Hearing Room. 205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1, East Setauket, NY, 11733. Telephone: 631-444-0430.
  7. Wednesday September 30, 2015. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Worcester County Library Ocean Pines Branch Meeting Room. 11107 Cathell Road, Berlin, MD, 21811. Telephone: 410-208-4014.
  8. Thursday October 1, 2015. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. This hearing will be held via webinar with an audio only option. Information on how to connect to the webinar will be posted here.

These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities.  Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aid should be directed to M. Jan Saunders, 302-526-5251, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

Written Comments

The Council will also accept written comments through 11:59 pm on Friday October 2, 2015. Written comments may be sent through any of the following methods:

  • Online at www.mafmc.org/comments/unmanaged-forage
  • Mailed to: Dr. Chris Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE, 19901.  (Please write “unmanaged forage scoping comments” on the outside of the envelope.)
  • Emailed to: Julia Beaty, Assistant Fishery Plan Coordinator, at jbeaty@mafmc.org. (Please write “unmanaged forage scoping comments” in the subject line.)
  • Faxed to: Dr. Chris Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council at fax number 302-674-5399. (Please write “unmanaged forage scoping comments” in the subject line.)

 

Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery may allow fewer fishermen in future

August 26, 2015 — Gulf of Maine shrimp might come back on the market eventually but there could be fewer fishermen catching them.

Regulators are considering putting a limit on the number of shrimp fishermen, which include a small number of fishermen from Gloucester and other portions of Cape Ann, who can participate in the Gulf of Maine’s beleaguered shrimp fishery in an attempt to revive the shuttered industry.

A board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is developing a proposal to control the number of fishermen who can fish for the shrimp that are prized for their sweet, tender meat. The plan will likely be the subject of public hearings next year, and could apply as soon as the 2017 fishing year, said commission spokeswoman Tina Berger.

The fishery has been shut down to shrimping since 2013 because of historically low levels of recruitment and spawning which has left the shrinking shrimp population in a perilous state.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule for Atlantic Herring

August 27, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on proposed measures for limited access herring vessels as part of the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. The New England Fishery Management Council recommended these measures to improve catch monitoring and address discarding in the herring fishery.

These proposed measures would require:

  1. Fish holds to be certified and observers to collect volumetric catch estimates for a cross-check of vessel and dealer data;
  2. Fish holds to be empty of fish before leaving port, unless a waiver is issued by an authorized law enforcement officer when fish have been reported but cannot be sold;
  3. Slippage (i.e., catch discarded prior to sampling by an observer) to be reported via the vessel monitoring system;
  4. Moving 15 nautical miles following an allowable slippage event (one due to safety, mechanical failure, or excess catch of spiny dogfish); and
  5. Terminating a fishing trip and returning to port following a non-allowable slippage event (one for any reason not listed above).

We have concerns with the proposed measures 1 and 2, above. We are seeking public comment on the justification for these proposed measures and whether the utility of the measures outweighs compliance and enforcement costs.

Read the proposed rule as published in the

Federal Register. Submit your comments online through regulations.gov, or send your comments by mail to:

John Bullard

Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region

National Marine Fisheries Service

55 Great Republic Drive

Gloucester, MA 01930.

 

 

Conviction After US Shrimp Mislabelling Case

August 27, 2015 — A North Carolina seafood processor and wholesale distributor faces a felony conviction after Federal prosecutors exposed the company’s shrimp mislabelling scheme.

The prosecution also resulted in a $100,000 fine, forfeiture of more than 20,000 pounds of shrimp and three years’ probation.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina joined forces to investigate and prosecute Alphin Brothers Inc., in a case that saw the company admit to falsely labelling tens of thousands of pounds of shrimp.

“This case is an example of coordinated law enforcement, both state and federal, working together with the tools they already have to crack down on fish fraud,” said Lisa Weddig, Secretary of the Better Seafood Board (BSB.)

Read the full story at The Fish Site

 

Scallops rebounding in Tampa Bay, count shows

August 26, 2015 — People are jumping into the waters north of here and hauling out scallops by the thousands this time of year, but the environmental group Tampa Bay Watch is rejoicing at a far smaller found number closer to home — just 233 of them.

It was a scientific undertaking by selected volunteers off Boca Ciega and Fort DeSoto that turned up the local scallops Saturday, rather than hungry snorkelers looking for their next meal from the Pasco-Hernando county line north during the Gulf harvest that runs through Sept. 24.

But 233 is nearly double the 112 found in local waters during last year’s Great Bay Scallop Search and represents an upward trend line that has local scallop watchers celebrating. Just five were counted in 2011.

Both Tampa Bay Watch and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission describe scallop populations as an indicator of water quality because of the shellfish’s sensitivity to pollution and their ability to filter and clean the water of nuisance species like phytoplankton.

Scallop numbers can be an indicator that something’s going on at a bigger level, and extreme changes mean the local population might collapse, said Sarah Stephenson, a scientist at the state’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

Read the full story at The Suncoast News

 

NOAA’s new Climate Science Strategy outlines efforts to build resilience

August 25, 2015 — As ocean conditions continue to change, putting ocean ecosystems and the communities that rely upon them at risk, today, NOAA took a first step in providing regional fisheries managers and stakeholders with information they need to reduce the effects of climate change and build resilience.

“NOAA just announced that for the globe the month of July—and actually, the entire year so far—was the warmest ever recorded, driven largely by record warm ocean temperatures,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “Those warmer waters – along with rising seas, coastal droughts and  – are already putting people, businesses, and communities at risk. With this strategy, we’re taking a proactive approach in providing information on current and future conditions to try and reduce impacts and increase our resilience.”

The NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy identifies seven key steps to increase production, delivery, and use of climate-related information to support the management of fish stocks, fisheries, and protected species. The steps focus on how a  affects living marine resources, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them, and how to respond to those changes.

Read the full story at Phys.org