Saving Seafood

Meeting Summaries and Motions from the Joint ASMFC/MAFMC June Meeting Webinar; NOAA Approves Conservation Equivalency for the 2020 Summer Flounder Recreational Season

June 19, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Meeting summaries and motions from the Joint meeting of the MAFMC and ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Boards are now available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/ASMFC_MAFMCSFlounderScupBSB_Bluefish_June2020.pdf.  The document can also be obtained on the Commission website on the Meeting Archives page athttp://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.  Presentations, briefing materials, and webinar recordings are available on the MAFMC website at: http://www.mafmc.org/briefing/june-2020

Additionally, for those interested summer flounder management, NOAA Fisheries has approved conservation equivalency for the 2020 summer flounder recreational fishing season. The federal recreational bag limit, minimum fish size, and fishing season are waived and anglers are subject to the regulations of the state where they land when fishing in federal waters. The state measures were approved by the Board following the Joint December Commission/Council meeting. The state measures can be found on the Commission’s website at the following link:http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5e6954df2020SummerFlounderRecreationalMeasures.pdf. NOAA Fisheries’ final rule became effective June 17, 2020. More information can be found at the following link:https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/recreational-management-measures-summer-flounder-fishery-fishing-year-2020

ROSA Advisory Council – Commercial & Recreational Fishermen Applications

June 5, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Good Afternoon – The Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA) is seeking applications from recreational and commercial fishermen to join its Advisory Council, which provides substantive direction and strategic guidance to the alliance. ROSA is a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance regional research and monitoring of fisheries and offshore wind interactions through collaboration and cooperation. ROSA’s work currently concentrates on the waters from Maine to North Carolina.

The background information and applications are attached and can also be found at https://www.rosascience.org/. The deadline for applications is July 15, 2020.

For more information, please contact:

Lyndie Hice-Dunton, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA)
M: (848) 863-3269
Lyndie@rosascience.org
https://www.rosascience.org/

For more background information, click here.

For the application, click here.

 

Researchers predict warming Atlantic will push lobsters offshore, scallops northward

June 4, 2020 — East Coast sea scallop stocks will likely follow lobsters in shifting away from rich Mid-Atlantic and southern New England grounds in the coming decades as a consequence of warming ocean waters, according to a new study that projects the impact of climate change on the two richest Atlantic fisheries.

Researchers used species distribution models and a high-resolution global climate model to picture the possible impact of climate change on habitat for lobsters and scallops in the Northeast continental shelf ecosystem, ranging from the New York Bight north to southern New England, Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine.

Their findings, recently published in the journal Diversity and Distributions, suggest that over the coming 80 years both lobsters and scallops will be shifting northward, and lobsters also moving into deeper Gulf of Maine waters.

The researchers note that the latest benchmark assessment of the lobster stock, cited by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2015, showed the stock in the southern Mid-Atlantic range was already severely depleted due to several environmental factors including recruitment failure and shell disease related to warmer waters.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

ASMFC Releases Aquaculture: Effects on Fish Habitat along the Atlantic Coast

June 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announces the release of the 16th publication in its Habitat Management Series, entitled Aquaculture: Effects on Fish Habitat along the Atlantic Coast. The document provides a broad description of current and common marine aquaculture (mariculture) practices, siting considerations, and some potential effects on fish habitats. It’s intended to serve as an introduction to the topic and facilitate a discussion of the intersection of aquaculture planning and fishery habitat conservation.

Mariculture is an important source of sustainable seafood production and a growing industry that creates jobs, supports communities, and promotes international trade. The U.S. aquaculture and mariculture industry was valued at $1.4 billion and produced 627 million pounds of meat and 1.2 million jobs in 2015. As the human population continues to grow, there will be an ever-increasing demand for seafood. Aquaculture and mariculture can help meet that demand.

From a fish habitat perspective, it is important to carefully consider spatial planning before establishing an aquaculture operation. Habitats such as submerged aquatic vegetation, coral reefs, or mangroves should be avoided as they are sensitive to nutrient fluxes, sedimentation, and disturbance, as well as being important habitats for a variety of organisms, including many Commission-managed species. Additionally, it’s important to consider if a particular location will have spatial conflicts with other individuals that use the area, namely fishermen, boaters, or landowners. Since there are many misconceptions about the impacts of aquaculture, it is important to raise awareness about both the potential benefits and adverse impacts to the public or any stakeholders that may be involved.

Aquaculture: Effects on Fish Habitat along the Atlantic Coast is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Habitat/HMS16_Aquaculture_May2020.pdf. For more information on aquaculture, visit the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/habitat/hot-topics or contact Dr. Lisa Havel, Habitat Committee Coordinator, at lhavel@asmfc.org.

PA Receives $3.3 million in CARES Act Funding for Fisheries Support

May 20, 2020 — Pennsylvania is one of the beneficiaries of the Commerce Department’s allocation of $300 million in CARES Act funding to support marine fisheries and states that have “direct and indirect” commerce with that industry.

Receiving approximately $3.3 million, Pennsylvania will be directed to use the funding for support of businesses within fishery industry, including “Tribes, commercial fishing businesses, charter/for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquaculture operations, processors, and other” fishery businesses. Not included are “vessel repair businesses, restaurants, or seafood retailers.” New Jersey receives $11.3 million.

Read the full story at WLVT

VIRGINIA: Jobs safe for Omega Protein employees

May 20, 2020 — Omega Protein is no longer threatened with a moratorium on its menhaden fishing operations. Thursday, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission notified the U.S. Secretary of Commerce that Virginia is now in compliance with the menhaden catch limits set by the commission and exceeded by Omega last year. Thus, the Reedville operation is no longer facing a possible closure.

In 2019, Omega, faced with bad weather outside the Chesapeake Bay, took 15,000 metric tons more from the Bay than the ASMFC 51,000 metric tons limit permitted. The fish were targeted from a school that was just inside the Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Had the school been on the other side of the bridge-tunnel, there would have been no violation since that side is not in the Bay.

The ASMFC asked the Secretary to find Omega out of compliance and subject to a moratorium. The federal regulatory commission was supported by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a long-time opponent to the industrial menhaden operation and the secretary found Omega out of compliance and subject to a moratorium.

Read the full story at News on the Neck

Maine fishing industry awaits distribution of federal stimulus money

May 19, 2020 — While Maine is due to receive $20 million in federal funding to help shore up fishing trade losses caused by the COVID-19 economic downturn, industry leaders say more relief is needed to address the full scope of the decline.

“It’s not a lot of money for the size of the problem that we are dealing with in Maine,” Ben Martens, Executive Director of The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) told The Center Square. “The goal is to get the money out the door as soon as possible, at least that should be the goal, so we can all survive this.”

The $20.3 million going to Maine is part of $300 million allotted to the seafood industry under the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act. The $300 million will be helping about 30 states, with Alaska receiving the highest amount, roughly $50 million, Martens said. Maine’s amount was the fifth highest in the nation.

Dividing the $20.3 million among Maine’s 18,000 licensed fishermen, seafood processors, charter fishing operators and aquaculture workers will be up to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Read the full story at The Center Square

VIRGINIA: Multi-year menhaden quota conflict could finally be at an end

May 15, 2020 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has rescinded a noncompliance finding for the U.S. State of Virginia’s menhaden fishery, potentially ending a conflict over the quota that has been going on for more than two years.

The noncompliance finding was initiated in October 2019 after a multi-year battle over the state’s menhaden catch limits in the Chesapeake Bay. The conflict was initiated in November 2017, when the ASMFC made changes to the menhaden quota up and down the U.S. East Coast.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ASMFC Withdraws the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Atlantic Menhaden Noncompliance Finding

May 14, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Today, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission notified the Secretary of Commerce that the Commonwealth of Virginia is in compliance with Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. Specifically, the Commonwealth has promulgated regulations to implement the 51,000 metric ton (mt) Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap (cap). For the 2020 fishing season, the Commonwealth set the cap at approximately 36,000 mt, nearly 15,000 mt below Amendment 3’s cap to reflect overages that occurred in 2019. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which now has regulatory authority for menhaden management in state waters, will set the cap at 51,000 mt in 2021 as long as catch is below the cap set in 2020.

“I would like to thank my fellow Virginia Commissioners, Governor Northam, Secretary Strickler, the Virginia General Assembly, and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission for their attention to this issue,” stated Patrick Keliher, ASMFC Chair and Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. “We are appreciative of their hard work to bring the Commonwealth back into compliance prior to the effective date of the moratorium.”

Under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, upon receiving notification that a state has come back into compliance with a mandatory management measure, the Secretary of Commerce determines whether the state is in compliance. If he concurs with the Commission’s compliance finding, the moratorium is terminated immediately.