Saving Seafood

US CBP requests judge reconsider order barring it from fining Bayside Program participants

October 22, 2021 — U.S. Customs and Border Protection has requested that a judge reconsider her issuance of a temporary restraining order barring the federal agency from enforcing Jones Act-related fines against companies that used the Bayside Program to transport Alaska pollock to the U.S. East Coast.

In an 18 October filing, CBP asked U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Alaska Sharon L. Gleason to reverse her 8 October decision granting a preliminary injunction against it, which prohibits it from enforcing any Jones Act-related penalties against Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based American Seafoods subsidiaries Alaska Reefer Management LLC (ARM) and Kloosterboer International Forwarding LLC (KIF), or any other entity involved in the transportation of Alaska pollock via the controversial shipping route through Bayside, New Brunswick, Canada.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Board Sets 2022 Specifications for Horseshoe Crabs of Delaware Bay Origin

October 21, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework. The Board established a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2022 season based on the harvest package recommended by the Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee and ARM Subcommittee. Per the allocation mechanism established in Addendum VII, the following quotas were set for the States of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia, which harvest horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin:

The ARM Framework, established through Addendum VII, incorporates both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to set optimized harvest levels for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. The horseshoe crab abundance estimate was based on data from the Benthic Trawl Survey conducted by Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech). This survey, which is the primary data source for assessing Delaware Bay horseshoe crab abundance, does not have a consistent funding source. Members of the Delaware and New Jersey U.S. Congressional Delegations, with the support of NOAA Fisheries, have provided annual funding for the survey since 2016.

For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or cstarks@asmfc.org.

 

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Board Sets 2016 Specifications for Horseshoe Crabs of Delaware Bay Origin

November 5, 2015 — ST. AUGUSTINE, Fl. – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2016 season. Based on the allocation mechanism established in Addendum VII, the following quotas were set for the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, which harvest horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin:  

 

Delaware Bay Origin Horseshoe Crab Quota (no. of crabs)

Total Quota

State

Male Only

Male Only

Delaware

162,136

162,136

New Jersey

162,136

162,136

Maryland

141,112

255,980

Virginia*

34,615

81,331

*Virginia harvest refers to harvest east of the COLREGS line only

The Board chose a harvest management program based on the Technical Committee and ARM Subcommittee recommendation. The ARM Framework, established through Addendum VII, incorporates both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to set optimized harvest levels for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Previously the horseshoe crab abundance estimate was based on data from the Benthic Trawl Survey conducted by Virginia Polytechnic Institute, however, due to the Benthic Trawl Survey not having been conducted in recent years, a composite index of the Delaware 30ft Trawl Survey, New Jersey Delaware Bay Trawl Survey, and New Jersey Ocean Trawl Survey was used instead. Funding has been secured for the Benthic Trawl Survey to be conducted in 2016.

The Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee, Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee, and the ARM Subcommittee also recommended the ARM Framework be reviewed and updated in 2016. The Board agreed with this recommendation, with specific interest in re-considering the thresholds to allow the harvest of female horseshoe crabs, as well as the recent listing of red knot as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The ARM subcommittee will develop specific recommendations to the Board on changes to the ARM Framework in 2016.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, FMP Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or krootes-murdy@asmfc.org.