Saving Seafood

Virginia Out of Compliance with Menhaden Cap

October 29, 2019 — The menhaden harvest limit decision-makers have found Virginia to be out of compliance with the Chesapeake Bay harvest cap.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Menhaden Management Board voted overwhelmingly to take action against Virginia after Omega Protein, the Reedville-based producer of fish meal and fish oil, exceeded ASMFC’s harvest cap back in September.

Menhaden, an oily little fish, makes for big business, but it’s also a key piece of the Chesapeake Bay food chain, providing food for predators like striped bass.

The ASMFC set the Bay’s menhaden harvest cap at 51,000 metric tons back in 2017, but Virginia’s General Assembly, who control state menhaden management, refused to enact the new cap. So the state limit remains at 87,216 metric tons.

The ASMFC considered a non-compliance motion last year, for Virginia’s failure to adopt the cap, but postponed it because Omega Protein hadn’t actually exceeded 51,000 metric tons in recent years.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

A beloved New Jersey fish is in big trouble. What’s next for striper fishing?

October 28, 2019 — Paul Haertel has been reeling in striped bass — stripers, as they’re better known — along the Jersey Shore since he was a teen.

The 64-year-old angler from Barnegat lives for a good trophy fish; he’s even mounted two of his largest catches on his wall: one a 50-pounder he caught off Barnegat Inlet in 2003, the other he nabbed in 2011 during a thunderstorm, while chasing bunker fish off the Shore.

“I don’t want a replica of somebody else’s fish hanging on my wall — I want my fish” Haertel said.

Haertel’s sense of striper pride echoes throughout the state: when the bass migrate north in the spring and when they head south in the fall, pictures of monster fish are shared by proud anglers across social media. Stripers are a key component of in New Jersey’s multi-billion dollar fishing industry, too, as charter boats up and down the Shore make their living bringing striper-seekers out into open saltwater.

But trouble now looms amid the churning waves.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an agency formed by 15 states that manages the fishing of multiple species swimming along the East Coast, announced in May that striped bass are being overfished.

Read the full story at NJ.com

Revised Effort Controls for the Atlantic Herring Area 1A Fishery in Period 4

October 24, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts revised effort control measures for the 2019 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery for period 4 (November and December). The Area 1A fishery will remain at zero landing days for the remainder of October as the period 3 quota has been met.

For period 4, the Area 1A fishery will move to one landing day per week starting at 6:00 p.m. on November 3 for Maine and 12:01 a.m. on November 4 for Massachusetts and New Hampshire, contingent upon a notice by NOAA Fisheries that the Area 1A sub-ACL has been adjusted. As outlined in the Atlantic herring specifications, if the New Brunswick weir fishery catch through October 1 is less than 4,000 mt, then 1,000 mt will be subtracted from the management uncertainty buffer and added to the Area 1A sub-ACL. NOAA Fisheries is currently evaluating landings data from the New Brunswick weir fishery and will make a determination in the coming weeks. If a notice by NOAA Fisheries has not been issued by 10 a.m. on October 31, the fishery will remain at zero landings until the transfer has occurred. Upon notification from NOAA Fisheries, the fishery will move to one landing day per week with a Sunday/Monday start date based on the timing of the announcement. In order to provide states enough time to notify stakeholders, the notice from NOAA Fisheries must be posted by 10 a.m. on Thursday for the fishery to move to one landing day the subsequent Sunday/Monday.

Period 4 landings will be closely monitored and the directed fishery in Area 1A will close when 92% of the sub-ACL is projected to be reached, or when 95% of the ACL for the stock-wide fishery is projected to be reached. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip on days out of the fishery.

Please note the Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning areas remain closed through 11:59 p.m. on November 3 (vessels cannot take, land, or possess Atlantic herring during spawning closures).

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, atkrootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

A PDF of the announcement can be found here – http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5db1e21bAtlHerringDaysOutRevisedSpecifications_Oct2019.pdf

ASMFC 78th Annual Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

October 23, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 78th Annual Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-annual-meeting for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, all Board meeting supplemental materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/78AnnualMeeting/78thAnnualMeetingCombinedSupplementalMaterials.pdf. Not included in the combined document are supplemental materials for the Executive Committee and the Atlantic Striped Bass Board; materials for both of which can be found at their committee headers.

Atlantic Herring Management Board – Correspondence to NOAA & ASMFC Regarding Herring Quota and Law Enforcement Violation

American Lobster Management Board – Lobster/Jonah Crab Reporting Requirements

Tautog Management Board – Update on Implementation of the Commercial Harvest Tagging Program

Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership Steering Committee – Action Items

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Public Comment

Management and Science Committee – Revised Draft Agenda

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Draft Fishery Management Plan Review

American Eel Management Board – Draft Fishery Management Plan Review

Weakfish Management Board – Draft Fishery Management Plan Review

Executive Committee – Revised Agenda and FY19 Audit

Habitat Committee – Aquaculture Impacts to Fisheries; Acoustic Impacts on Atlantic Fisheries Production

Shad and River Herring Management Board – Public Comment

Coastal Sharks Management Board – Draft Fishery Management Plan Review

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Advisory Panel Recommendations; Law Enforcement Committee Review; Technical Committee Criteria for Conservation Equivalency with Addendum VI; Public Comment Summary and Submitted Comment on Draft Addendum VI

ISFMP Policy Board – Revised Draft Agenda and Meeting Overview; Habitat Management Series: Aquaculture Impacts to Fish Habitats along the Atlantic Coast

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Draft Addendum III to Amendment 1 to the FMP for Atlantic Croaker; Draft Addendum III to the Omnibus Amendment to the FMP for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout; Draft Fishery Management Plan Reviews for Black Drum and Spotted Seatrout; Public Comment

As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, October 28th at 8:30 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:15 p.m.) on Thursday, October 31st. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible.

US bill would mandate report on NOAA, council efforts to address climate change

October 17, 2019 — A bill introduced Tuesday by US representative Joe Cunningham, a Democrat from South Carolina, would make sure climate change’s impact on fish stocks is a focal point for the Donald Trump administration and the regional fishery management councils.

HR 4679, The Climate-Ready Fisheries Act of 2019, would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to submit a report to Congress examining efforts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, the councils and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to “prepare and adapt US fishery management for the impacts of climate change”.

The bill, introduced in the House Committee on Natural Resources, already has three cosponsors, including Florida Republicans Francis Rooney and Brian Mast. Representative Jared Huffman, chair of the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans & Wildlife, also is a cosponsor.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

ASMFC 78th Annual Meeting Final Agenda and Meeting Materials Now Available

October 17, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The final agenda and meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 78th Annual Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-annual-meeting; click on the relevant Board/Committee name to access the documents for that Board/Committee. For ease of access, all Board meeting documents (including the Executive Committee and ACCSP Coordinating Council) have been combined into one document – Main Meeting Materials. Supplemental materials will be posted to http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-annual-meeting on October 23rd.

The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of meetings. Interested parties should anticipate meetings starting earlier or later than indicated herein.

Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, October 28th at 8:30 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:15 p.m.) on Thursday, October 31st. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Please go https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2059114101381638411 to register.

As a reminder, the guidelines for submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action) are as follows:

1.   Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included with the main meeting materials.

2.   Comments received by 5:00 PM on October 22, 2019 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.

3.   Following the October 22, 2019 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies).

The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.  As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.

New York Sues U.S. Dept. of Commerce Over Fluke Allocation

October 15, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In the most recent salvo of a lengthy battle, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation sued the Department of Commerce for maintaining the annual allocation of summer flounder to the state, despite a well-documented stock migration from the mid-Atlantic to off the shores of NY’s Long Island.

“It is unjust that New York’s fishing communities continue to be subjected to outdated restrictions on a key source of their livelihoods, which is why we are challenging this quota,” said New York’s Attorney General Letitia James. “Previous years of limiting commercial fluke fishing have shown us that the federal government’s reliance on erroneous data violates federal fisheries law and stunts commercial growth in the state. My office will continue to fight for fair treatment of those who depend upon on our commercial fishing industry.”

The suit, filed on October 10, charges the DOC of violating the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) and the Administrative Procedures Act by not responding to the stocks northward migration over the years and instead relying on outdated allocation shares.

Summer flounder is co-managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the Atlantic States Fisheries Commission for inshore and offshore waters in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.  Allocation to all 11 states has been based on historical catch data from 1980-89, data which New York’s DEC says are “obsolete.”

Allocation shares give 27.5% to North Carolina, 21.3% to Virginia, 16.7% to New Jersey, 15.7% to Rhode Island; 7.7% to New York, 6.8% to Massachusetts, with the remaining 5% to Connecticut, Maryland, Maine, Delaware, and New Hampshire.

That puts 5.6 mlbs of summer fluke landings at ports in North Carolina and Virginia while only .88mlbs at ports in New York, “even though the center of the biomass of summer flounder—and commercial fishing activity—is off Long Island,” states the suit.

“New York’s commercial fishing industry is a critical economic driver that has been held back by outdated federal restrictions for decades,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “After numerous attempts to work with the federal government to adjust this unfair quota, we’re forced to make our case through the courts to protect the hardworking men and women of this industry. We will not back down until these unreasonable limits on New York’s fishing industry are made right.”

“In the more than 30 years since those data were collected, the center of the summer flounder stock has shifted significantly northeast to the waters off New York’s coast,” wrote Plaintiff Basil Seggos, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

“Boats from North Carolina and Virginia—states which have significantly larger quotas than New York predicated on the now obsolete landings data derived from the vastly different fishery of the 1980s—routinely travel hundreds of miles to waters off Long Island, fish, and then return hundreds of miles back to land their catch.

“Long Island-based boats have a far shorter trip to the prime fishing grounds but are constrained by New York’s small allocation—based on the same obsolete data—to return with far fewer fish than their southern counterparts.  To eke out a living, some New York boats have had to purchase North Carolina or Virginia licenses, catch summer flounder off Long Island, then sail hundreds of miles south to land their catch.”

The suit claims the management actions taken by DOC are inconsistent with four National Standards in the MSA: National Standard 2, which calls for “best scientific information” to be used in management decisions; NS 4, which prohibits discrimination between residents of different states; and NS 5 and 7, which require efficiency in the use of fishery resources and to minimize costs where practicable.

The suit asks the court to partially vacate the 2020–2021 Specifications Rule by invalidating New York’s quota and partially vacate the 1993 Allocation Rule by invalidating New York’s allocation and remand the Rules to Commerce for further proceedings.

Commercial landings of summer flounder peaked in 1984 at 37.77 million pounds and reached a low of 5.83 million pounds in 2017. Total ex-vessel value in 2018 was $25.27 million, resulting in an average price per pound of $4.11

The Council and ASFMC recently approved increases in quota for all the states if the coastwide commercial quota exceeds 9.55mlbs. In that case, NY would get 12.375% of the additional quota, as would six other states. But the modification will not be effective, if approved, until January 1, 2021.

The stock for summer flounder spawning females is at 98 million pounds, but recruitment is low. In addition, annual removals are above what the stock can currently replace, so forecasts are for declining abundance.

Recent changes in accounting for sport landings have also increased those removals historically.

The next benchmark stock assessment is tentatively scheduled for 2021.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

ASMFC & MAFMC Set Specifications for Jointly Managed Species and Initiate a Joint Action on Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocations; and ASMFC Initiates Addendum on Black Sea Bass State-by-State Commercial Allocations

October 11, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board (Board) and Bluefish Board met jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to adopt 2020-2021 specifications for scup, black sea bass, and bluefish and review previously-implemented 2020 specifications for summer flounder. During the meeting, the Boards and Council reviewed the results of operational stock assessments for black sea bass, scup, and bluefish, which were peer-reviewed and accepted for management use in August 2019. The assessments incorporated fishery catch and fisheryindependent survey data through 2018, including revised recreational catch data from the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). The revised MRIP data are based on a new estimation methodology accounting for changes to the angler intercept survey and the recent transition to a mail based effort survey. For these four species, the revised estimates of catch and landings are several times higher than the previous estimates for shore and private boat modes, substantially raising the overall catch and harvest estimates.

Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish Specifications

The following table summarizes commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits (RHL) for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. In setting catch and harvest limits for scup, black sea bass, and bluefish, the Boards and Council also took into account recommendations from the Council’s Statistical and Science Committee (SSC), Monitoring Committee, and Advisory Panels (APs) for each species. The summer flounder limits, which were previously approved by the Board and Council in March 2019, were maintained. No changes were made to the commercial management measures for the four species. For scup, black sea bass, and bluefish, the Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore); the Council will forward its recommendations for federal waters (3 – 200 miles from shore) to the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval.

Read the full release here

URI researchers awarded multiple grants to study aspects of aquaculture industry

October 10, 2019 — Several scientists at the University of Rhode Island have been awarded grants to study oyster genetics, breeding and diseases as part of a region-wide effort to support the growing oyster aquaculture industry in the Northeast and assist efforts to restore wild oyster populations.

“Wild and farmed oysters are facing major threats from water quality and disease,” said Marta Gomez-Chiarri, a URI professor of animal science who has studied oyster diseases in Narragansett Bay for more than 20 years. “Even though local water quality has improved in Rhode Island, oysters across the United States face localized threats from pollution and eutrophication while at the same time dealing with multiple factors of global ocean change, like ocean acidification, as well as changes in salinity and dissolved oxygen. We are only beginning to understand the effects of these multiple stressors.”

Gomez-Chiarri — along with URI Assistant Professor Jonathan Puritz and U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist Dina Proestou — have teamed with shellfish geneticists and breeders from 10 other East Coast universities to form the Eastern Oyster Genome Consortium to develop genetic tools to accelerate selective breeding efforts. The consortium, in a proposal led by Rutgers University, has been awarded a $4.4 million grant from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to accelerate the pace of identifying the genes responsible for desirable traits like disease resistance.

Read the full story at The Westerly Sun

ASMFC American Shad Stock Assessment Workshop Scheduled for November 18-22, in Charleston, SC

October 10, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will hold the American Shad Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshop at the Francis Marion Hotel, 387 King Street, Charleston, SC.  The stock assessment, which is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2020, will evaluate the health of stocks along the Atlantic coast and inform management of this species.  The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data*, when the public will be asked to leave the room.

The Commission welcomes the submission of alternate analyses or assessment models.  For alternate models to be considered, the model description, model input, final model estimates, and complete source code must be provided to Jeff Kipp, Senior Stock Assessment Scientist, at jkipp@asmfc.org by October 18, 2019. Any models submitted without complete, editable source code and input files will not be considered.

For more information about the assessment or attending the upcoming workshop (space is limited), please contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

* Each state and federal agency is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of its data and deciding who has access to its confidential data. In the case of our stock assessments and peer reviews, all analysts and, if necessary, reviewers, have been granted permission by the appropriate agency to use and view confidential data. When the assessment team needs to show and discuss these data, observers to our stock assessment process are asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.