February 7, 2025 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The press releases, meeting summaries, and motions from the Commission’s 2025 Winter Meeting are now available at https://asmfc.org/files/
WASHINGTON: Coastal Dungeness crab season kicks off after months of testing
February 7, 2025 — The state’s coastal commercial Dungeness crab season is underway, following months of test fishing and data gathering by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
This year’s season opened Jan. 15 from Klipsan Beach on the Long Beach Peninsula south to Cape Falcon, Ore., including the Columbia River and Willapa Bay, and will start Feb. 11 from Klipsan Beach north to the U.S.-Canada border, including Grays Harbor, according to a news release from WDFW.
The Washington, Oregon and California fish and wildlife departments decide season openers each year as part of a tri-state agreement signed in the 1990s to cooperatively manage the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery. Per the agreement, the season can open as early as Dec. 1, but opening dates vary and are based on test fishing to determine crab condition.
Over the fall and early winter, WDFW biologists and scientific technicians collected and measured crabs aboard commercial fishing vessels the Department contracts with for test fishing. They also observed seafood processing plants as workers picked out and packed crab meat.
Democrats concerned DOGE is targeting NOAA, sources say
February 6, 2025 — Democrats on Capitol Hill, and sources familiar with the situation, said the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been inside the offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The White House DOGE team is a cost-cutting initiative created by President Trump to find ways to trim federal spending. Billionaire Elon Musk is in charge of it, categorized as a “special government employee.”
Former NOAA officials told CBS News that current employees have been told to expect a 50% reduction in staff and budget cuts of 30%.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who represents the state where NOAA is headquartered, said his office is investigating DOGE’s work on NOAA, which includes such agencies as the National Weather Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Most US fishery observers don’t report harassment, study claims
February 6, 2025 — Harassment of fishery observers is more prevalent than previously thought, with a new study finding that less than half of observers who experience harassment disclose any incidents.
Funded by NOAA Fisheries, the study was published in the Frontiers research journal 28 January, 2025. NOAA researchers estimated that roughly 22 to 38 percent of fishery observers in the North Pacific are harassed annually, more than twice the number that file official disclosures.
VIRGINIA: Virginia lawmakers look to reduce restrictions on harvesting invasive blue catfish
February 6, 2025 — Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Virginia have introduced a bill to eliminate restrictions on harvesting of blue catfish, an invasive species that has devastated ecosystems in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Since their introduction to the Chesapeake Bay as a recreational fish in the late 1960s, predatory blue catfish have come to dominate waters in Virginia and neighboring Maryland.
Aleutian Islands state-waters Pacific cod season opens
February 6, 2025 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has announced the opening of the Aleutian Islands Subdistrict (AIS) state-waters Pacific cod season, along with the closure of the parallel season for all state waters west of 170° W longitude, effective Feb.1, 2025.
The state-waters Pacific cod season opened at 12:00 p.m. AKST on Feb. 1 for vessels 100’ or less in overall length (OAL) using pot gear, vessels 60’ or less OAL using nonpelagic trawl or jig gear, and vessels 58’ or less OAL using longline gear. Simultaneously, the parallel Pacific cod season closed for all gear types in the AIS west of 170° W longitude.
All harvested Pacific cod must be retained. The daily harvest limit per vessel is set at 150,000 pounds (round weight), with a maximum of 150,000 pounds of unprocessed cod allowed onboard at any time. The ADF&G statement noted that any overages must be reported, with proceeds surrendered to the state. Bycatch limits from the parallel Pacific cod season will remain in effect during the state-waters season.
Read the full article National Fisherman
Whales recorded in large numbers off New Jersey coast
February 6, 2025 — Whales are gathering in large numbers off New Jersey in a portion of the Atlantic Ocean called the New York Bight, according to several sources.
Viking Yacht Company of New Gretna, Burlington County, posted to Facebook that a large group of North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species with only about 360 individuals left, was congregating in the New York Bight between the Hudson Canyon off Sandy Hook and Block Canyon off Montauk, New York.
The New York Bight is a triangular area of ocean that stretches between the Jersey Shore and Long Island.
“NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has used planes to identify the whales — present due to large amounts of food,” Viking Yacht staff wrote on Facebook. “We’re advising boaters to be vigilant. If whale(s) are seen, provide a wide berth.”
VIRGINIA: Halftime at the General Assembly: Here’s the environmental legislation that made it through so far
February 6, 2025 — Proposals approved so far touch on topics including “virtual power plants,” data centers and environmental justice.
Virginia lawmakers are quickly moving through this year’s General Assembly session.
Tuesday marked “crossover” day, meaning all bills that made it through the House of Delegates are now sent to the Senate, and vice versa.
Dozens of proposed bills impact the future of the Commonwealth’s climate, environment and energy policy. Here’s a (non-exhaustive) look at where they stand.
Whole Foods expands sustainability efforts to include the labor supply chain
February 6, 2025 — Austin, Texas, U.S.A.-based Whole Foods Market has a new set of expectations for the labor practices and human rights standards of its seafood suppliers.
The company’s new Seafood Code of Conduct, announced 28 January 2025, sets policies that are in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Buiness and Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention, mandating maximum work and time at sea hours, ethical recruitment policies, gauranteed communication access for crew members, and health and safety policies on vessels.
Spiny Dogfish Board Approves Addendum VII to Ensure Consistency with the Councils’ Spiny Dogfish Framework Adjustment 6
February 6, 2025 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved Addendum VII to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish. The Addendum implements measures to maintain consistency with the federal FMP in response to Spiny Dogfish Framework Adjustment 6.
The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils developed Spiny Dogfish Framework Adjustment 6 in response to a 2021 Biological Opinion and 2022 Action Plan that called for reducing bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in spiny dogfish gillnet fisheries. The coastwide Atlantic sturgeon population is made up of five distinct population segments, all of which are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and Atlantic sturgeon harvest has been under a coastwide moratorium in federal and state waters since 1998. The Commission’s Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic sturgeon maintains the moratorium through at least 2038, and while the 2024 stock assessment update showed signs of improvement, the stock remains depleted coastwide.
The Framework prohibits overnight soaks for federal spiny dogfish permit holders on gillnets with 5”-10” mesh in November and May for a certain area of state and federal waters off of New Jersey (see figure 1 on next page), as well as for gillnets of 5.25”-10” mesh in November through March in specified areas off of Maryland and Virginia (see figure 2 on next page). Addendum VII ensures consistency by applying those overnight soak restrictions for harvesters who have state spiny dogfish permits in Maryland and Virginia but do not possess a federal spiny dogfish permit. New Jersey does not issue permits by species, but due to New Jersey’s permitting rules, any person or vessel selling spiny dogfish in the state is required to have a federal permit and follow the regulations in the bycatch reduction area, including state waters of the area. The Addendum’s measures are effective May 1, 2025.
Addendum VII will be available on the Commission’s website (https://asmfc.org) on the Spiny Dogfish webpage in late February. For more information, please contact James Boyle, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at jboyle@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
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