August 22, 2022 — The suit was filed by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association against the National Marine Fisheries Service, and a final ruling is expected by the end of September.
ALASKA: Steller sea lions most likely victims of human-caused marine mammal deaths in Alaska
August 22, 2022 — Over a five-year period, 867 Alaska sea lions, seals, whales and small cetaceans like dolphins died or were gravely injured from interactions with humans, according to a report newly released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The report, required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, lists documented cases of human-inflicted harm from 2016 to 2020 to mammal species managed by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.
The vast majority of cases involve entanglements in fishing gear or marine debris, and Steller sea lions made up the vast majority of the animals that fell victim, said the report, which was released by the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
Vietnam approves plan to increase aquaculture output to 7 million MT by 2030
August 22, 2022 — Vietnam has rolled out a plan to significantly increase its aquaculture production.
Under the plan, by 2025, Vietnam hopes to produce 5.6 million metric tons (MT) of farmed seafood per year – up 16.7 percent from the 4.8 million MT the country produced in 2021.
A key Maine lobster bait is booming. Soon fishermen may be able to catch more.
August 22, 2022 — While more menhaden are swimming through Maine waters in recent years, the state’s quotas for the important bait fish haven’t kept pace with the growing influx.
But that could soon change as the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission, an interstate regulatory body that oversees several species along the eastern seaboard, is considering new provisions that could increase catch quotas in Maine.
Menhaden, commonly known as pogies, have become a top lobster bait as herring Right now, Maine has 0.52 percent of the overall quota for the east coast, just slightly above the 0.5 percent minimum quota that is available to every state in the region. But that doesn’t line up with the number of menhaden, often called pogies, that have been in the Gulf of Maine in recent years.
New program in Tuvalu tightening net on IUU fishing in Pacific
August 19, 2022 — The World Bank is funding a new program by the Pacific Island of Tuvalu, aiming to maximize the country’s earnings from tuna access deals by engaging a New Zealand satellite firm to monitor its waters.
The Tuvalu government’s fishery department engaged New Zealand firm Starboard Maritime Intelligence to complete 60 satellite scans of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the World Bank-funded Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program (PROP). The satellite monitoring aims to “chart the extent of fishing activity by non-authorized or non-reporting vessels.”
Court ruling on endangered killer whales could force a rewrite of federal fisheries policy
August 19, 2022 — A federal judge in Seattle has ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service violated a key provision of the Endangered Species Act in 2019 when it published research on the harvest of king salmon in Southeast Alaska that failed to address its impact on a small population of killer whales in Puget Sound.
In a summary judgment granted to the Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy, U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones on Aug. 8 ordered that an “appropriate remedy” be found, that — while it could limit commercial trolling for chinook in Southeast — will more likely result in a rewrite of the biological opinion that led to the problem.
“I think we’ve won the recognition that this fishery was actually causing harm to threatened and endangered species, and for all intents and purposes was illegal,” said Kurt Beardslee, director of special projects for the conservancy.
The Wild Fish Conservancy filed suit against the National Marine Fisheries Service in March of 2020, arguing that the government failed to adequately address the impact of Alaskan king salmon harvests on southern resident killer whales, whose population has dropped to critically low levels.
The Wild Fish Conservancy says 97% of king salmon harvested by Southeast Alaska trollers don’t originate in Alaska, depriving southern resident killer whales of their primary food source.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game puts the share of out-of-state chinook in the Alaska harvest much lower — 30-80%, depending on the year.
Matt Donohoe, president of the Alaska Trollers Association, says few if any of those are from Puget Sound, where southern resident killer whales spend several months each year.
Set-netters’ case shot down, again, in court
August 19, 2022 — Alaska’s highest court said fisheries managers did not have to manage the Cook Inlet set-net fishery to national standards and that they didn’t violate any regulations when they closed the fishery early.
That opinion from the Alaska Supreme Court, published last Friday, is the latest legal blow to the 440 or so east-side permit holders, who have seen their fishery close early for the last four summers due to paired restrictions with the king salmon sport fishery. When fewer than 15,000 large kings pass through the sonar on the Kenai River, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closes both fisheries entirely. Late-run escapement hasn’t passed 15,000 kings since 2018.
And after the closure in 2019, set-netters represented by the Cook Inlet Fishermen’s Fund sued the state in hopes the court would order managers to rework that management plan and others. It alleged restrictions the state had placed on the commercial fishermen were unscientific and arbitrary and flew in the face of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
The Kenai court said because there was no federal management plan for Cook Inlet fisheries at that time, the state was not bound by those standards. And it said the state’s Board of Fisheries and Department of Fish and Game had the discretion to write and enforce their own rules.
Traceability efforts overridden by inflationary pressures in Canada, US
August 19, 2022 — An increased effort by Canada and the United States to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing isn’t being matched by a tightening of import controls that would prevent illegally sourced seafood from entering domestic markets, according to a letter sent from 26 seafood industry stakeholders to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The letter, which was signed by Buy-Low Foods, Sobey’s, and Ocean Brands, as well as seafood sustainability non-governmental organizations including Oceana, Ocean Wise, Sea Choice, and the David Suzuki Foundation, urged Canada’s federal government to commit to a timeline on mandating boat-to-plate traceability for seafood sold in the country.
The days of panic-buying are over for scallops on the US market, industry experts say
August 19, 2022 — US scallop demand, like other high-end seafood items, is falling back down to earth after record post-pandemic pricing.
“This scallop season has been unlike any other, and I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Peter Safner, the leader buyer of scallops with Massachusetts-based Boston Sword & Tuna, told IntraFish.
“Unforeseen worldwide inflation, economic uncertainty, fuel costs and the war in Ukraine have all contributed to slower demand in the market.”
NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Thursday, August 25, 2022 – Groundfish Issues
August 19, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet to discuss issues related to groundfish. The public is invited to listen live. Here are the details.
START TIME: 9:00 a.m.
LOCATION: This is a hybrid meeting that will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn at Boston Logan Airport with a webinar option.
WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar. The Remote Participation Guide is posted here.
CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422. The access code is 845-519-294. Please be aware that if you dial in using this number without joining the webinar at the link above, you will be unable to speak during opportunities for public comment. This is a listen-only telephone option. Your regular phone charges will apply.
AGENDA: The SSC will meet to:
- Review recent stock assessment information from the U.S./Canada Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC) and information provided by the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team;
- Recommend the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for the fishing years 2023 and 2024;
- Review stock assessment information from the September 2021 Georges Bank Cod Management Track Assessment and information provided by the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team;
- Recommend the OFLs and ABCs for Georges Bank cod for fishing years 2023 and 2024;
- Review results from the recent Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Winter Flounder Management Track Stock Assessment and information provided by the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team;
- Using the Council’s ABC control rules, recommend the OFLs and the ABCs for Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder for fishing years 2023, 2024, and 2025; and,
- Consider other business, as necessary.
COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Address comments to Council Chair Eric Reid or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org. Additional information is available in the meeting notice.
MATERIALS: All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC August 25, 2022 meeting webpage.
QUESTIONS: Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492, ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.
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