Saving Seafood

ASMFC American Lobster Board Approves Addenda XXVI/III to the American Lobster/Jonah Crab FMPs

February 8, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board (Board) approved American Lobster Addendum XXVI/Jonah Crab Addendum III (Addenda) to the American Lobster and Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). The Addenda improves the spatial resolution of harvester data collection, expands the required harvester reporting data elements, establishes a timeline for increased harvester reporting in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries, and prioritizes the development of electronic harvester reporting. In addition, the Addenda includes recommendations for improved reporting and biological sampling in federal waters.

The Addenda responds to two concerns: 1) the current requirements for harvester reporting are insufficient to respond to external management actions; and 2) while the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries continue to expand offshore, most of the biological sampling occurs inshore or nearshore. In particular, the Board expressed concern the spatial resolution of harvester data is too coarse to respond to finer-scale management issues. As a result, the Addenda improves the spatial resolution of data by requiring fishermen to report via 10 minute squares, which further divide the existing statistical areas. In addition, the addenda establishes a one year pilot program to explore electronic tracking devices in the fishery which would address the special resolution and enforcement concerns. The addenda requires additional data elements in harvester reports including number of traps per trawl and number of buoy lines in order to collect information on gear configurations. Finally, the Addenda establishes a deadline that, within five years, states are required to implement 100% harvester reporting, with the prioritization of electronic harvester reporting development during that time. In the interim, jurisdictions not at 100% harvester reporting should redistribute the current effort associated with harvester reporting to focus on active, as opposed to latent, permit holders.

The Addenda also improves the biological sampling requirements by establishing a baseline of ten sampling trips per year in the American lobster/Jonah crab fishery and encourages states with more than 10% of coastwide landings in either the American lobster or Jonah crab fisheries to conduct additional sampling trips.

Finally, the Addenda provide three recommendations for actions in federal waters. Specifically, a harvester reporting requirement be established for federal lobster permits in order to collect information from the growing offshore fishery; a fixed-gear VTR form be created to improve data collection in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries; and a biological sampling program be established in federal waters in order to address current data gaps in the assessment. These recommendations will be forwarded to NOAA Fisheries.

For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.orgor 703.842.0740.

 

Maine’s lucrative elver harvest might be allowed to grow by millions of eels

February 7, 2018 — Maine fishermen might be allowed to catch millions more baby eels next year, regulators said Tuesday.

Baby eels, called elvers, are typically worth more than $1,000 per pound at the docks in Maine. Maine is the only U.S. state with a significant fishery for elvers, which are sold to aquaculture companies to be raised to maturity and used as food.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission limits Maine fishermen to 9,688 pounds of elvers per year, but on Tuesday it unveiled new rules that could increase that total to 11,479 pounds. There are more than 2,000 elvers in a pound.

Members of the eel fishing industry, as well as some chefs and seafood dealers, have called for the added quota because of years of stewardship in Maine to keep the elver population healthy. The state’s elvers are worth so much in part because foreign stocks of eels have dried up.

“Maine has addressed poaching in a very successful manner,” said Jeffrey Pierce, a consultant to Maine’s elver industry. He cited a swipe card system that allows the state to “track every elver from stream to exporter.”

The fisheries commission voted Tuesday to send the proposed new fishing rules out for public comment. It must vote on the new rules for them to take effect and could do so as soon as May. This year’s elver fishing season begins next month and will be limited by the current quota.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald

 

VIRGINIA: Labor Joins Business Groups In Opposition to ASMFC Menhaden Allocation

AFL-CIO, United Food & Commercial Workers, Chamber of Commerce, Manufacturers Association, Seafood Council, and Watermen Urge Virginia to Reject Commission Decision

February 7, 2018 (Saving Seafood) – WASHINGTON – Virginia business and labor groups have united in calling on Virginia’s General Assembly to reject a reduction in the state’s menhaden quota. In a letter to the Chairmen of Virginia’s Senate and House committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources, the groups argued that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) decision to redistribute a share of Virginia’s menhaden allocation to other states is unfair and damaging to Virginia businesses and workers.

The letter, sent yesterday to Chairman Richard Stuart of the Virginia Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee and Chairman Danny Marshall of theVirginia House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee was signed by the Virginia AFL-CIO, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Manufacturers Association, the Virginia Seafood Council, the Virginia Waterman’s Association, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400.

In November, the ASMFC voted to raise the coastwide allocation of Atlantic menhaden by 8 percent but redistributed it in such a way that the two largest menhaden producing states – Virginia and New Jersey – saw their percentage of the coastwide catch reduced. Under Virginia law, the state legislature must pass legislation accepting the decision of the ASMFC before any such determination becomes effective in the Commonwealth.

“The ASMFC re-allocated the number of menhaden each state could land, giving increased shares to states with little to no menhaden fishing activity,” the groups wrote. “This plan unfairly takes from Virginia while increasing the total allowable catch on the Atlantic Coast by 16,000 metric tons.”

In their letter, the groups argued that the ASMFC could have avoided this problem by increasing the quota further; they pointed out that scientists on the Commission’s Menhaden Technical Committee previously concluded that the coastwide quota could be increased by over 40 percent without a risk of overfishing.

Virginia’s General Assembly is currently considering legislation that would accept the ASMFC’s quota and reallocation plan. The letter calls on legislators to vote against the pending bill.

“Should Virginia reject this, they will stand up for all fisheries managed by the ASMFC,” the groups wrote in their letter. “Should Virginia accede to the ASMFC on this issue, in the future other states may team up on Virginia, take our allocation of other fish, and distribute it to other states.”

The request from organized labor and business groups comes at a delicate time for the ASMFC. As their letter notes, there is recent new precedent for a state that believes its own rules provide adequate conservation to successfully appeal a decision made by the ASMFC. Last June, the Commission recommended to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross that New Jersey be found out of compliance with new rules on recreational summer flounder fishing, known as Addendum XXVIII. However, Secretary Ross did not agree with the Commission’s determination, and ruled New Jersey to be in compliance, marking the first time the Commerce Department had rejected a noncompliance recommendation from the ASMFC.

In a letter to ASMFC Executive Director Robert Beal, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Chris Oliver wrote, “New Jersey makes a compelling argument that the measures it implemented this year…will likely reduce total summer flounder mortality in New Jersey waters to a level consistent with the overall conservation objective…” As a result, “the Secretary has found that the measures are likely to be equivalent in total conservation as those required under Addendum XXVIII,” Administrator Oliver wrote.

According to the ASMFC, the menhaden fishery is sustainable and the stock remains healthy. The Commission’s most recent stock assessment, completed in 2017, concluded that menhaden is currently not overfished and is not experiencing overfishing.

 

Fishermen to Make Case to Fish for More Baby Eels in Maine

Interstate fishing regulators are considering the possibility of allowing Maine fishermen to catch more valuable baby eels.

February 5, 2018 — Interstate fishing regulators are considering the possibility of allowing Maine fishermen to catch more valuable baby eels.

Fishermen harvest baby eels, called elvers, from rivers and streams in Maine. They are worth more than $1,000 per pound to fishermen because they play a key role in Asian aquaculture operations.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is going to consider the subject of the elver quota on Tuesday.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News & World Report

 

Research shrimper: Trawls better every week

February 2, 2018 — There are days when Joe Jurek must feel the loneliness of the long-distance shrimper, a solitary figure in the Gulf of Maine as the only Massachusetts commercial fisherman allowed to harvest coveted northern shrimp from a fishery just entering its fifth year of closure.

Jurek, a Gloucester-based groundfisherman and the captain of the 42-foot FV Mystique Lady, has spent the past month executing weekly trawls for the sweet crustaceans that have disappeared from local fish markets while the fishery has been closed over dire concerns about the health of its shrimp stock.

Jurek is the Massachusetts representative in a two-state research set-aside program and is doing most of his fishing in the inshore vicinity of Cape Ann, Ipswich Bay and nearby Scantum Basin.

As with his counterpart in New Hampshire, Jurek is working with state and regional fishery regulators to collect samples and data that could help determine the future fate of the fishery.

Four weeks into his allotted 10-week fishing season that provides a total allowable catch of 13.3 metric tons for both vessels, Jurek offered a morsel of optimism, saying he has observed a slight increase in abundance from a year ago.

“It seems there are a little bit more this year, particularly around Massachusetts,” Jurek said Tuesday. “We’ve especially noticed more small shrimp.”

That could be good news for regulators, shrimpers, consumers — last year, Cape Ann northern shrimp lovers, led by Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, literally lined the dock with their own buckets waiting for Jurek to land his haul —  and of course, the shrimp, also known as Pandalus borealis.

For the past five years, regulators at the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission — which regulates the fishery — and the respective marine resources departments of Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire have wrung their hands over the plight of the northern shrimp.

The stock, through that period, has exhibited all-time lows in biomass, spawning and recruitment, leading to the closures and the establishment of the research set-asides (RSA).

‘Getting better every week’

Last year, Jurek joined one fisherman from New Hampshire and eight trawlers from Maine in the program that provided a total allowable catch of 53 metric tons, with each vessel allowed to catch up to 1,200 pounds of shrimp per trip.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

ASMFC 2018 Winter Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

January 31, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council: 

Supplemental meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2018 Winter Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2018-winter-meeting for the following Boards/Sections (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2018WinterMeeting/CombinedSupplementalFiles_Winter2018.pdf.

American Lobster Management Board – Draft Addendum XXVI/III Public Comment; Southern New England memo: Goals and Objectives (revised)

Atlantic Herring Section – Technical Committee Review of Current Spawning Closure Procedure

American Eel Management Board – Draft Addendum V; Stock Assessment Committee Call Summary; 2017 FMP Review

Weakfish Management Board – 2017 FMP Review

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board –  Cobia FMP State Implementation Plans; 2017 FMP Reviews for Spot and Spanish Mackerel

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Submitted Public Comment

Risk and Uncertainty Workshop – Decision Tree

ISFMP Policy Board – 2017 Commissioner Survey Results; Submitted Public Comment on Virginia Appeal to Atlantic Menhaden Amendment 3

Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Draft Addendum XXX, Public Hearing Summaries, Submitted Public Comment and Advisory Panel Report

As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning February 6th at 9:30 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 5 p.m.) on Thursday, February 8th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section 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.

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

NOAA Fisheries Announces February 2018 Recreational Season for Black Sea Bass

January 31, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces a February recreational season in 2018 for the black sea bass fishery.

The current black sea bass recreational management measures of a 12.5-inch minimum size and 15-fish possession limit apply during the February 1-28 federal season.

Federal measures for the rest of the 2018 recreational black sea bass fishery will be developed through a separate action to be implemented later this spring.

Only Virginia and North Carolina have committed to participating in this February season.

Federally permitted charter/party vessels are required to abide by the more restrictive set of regulations when federal and state measures differ.

If you have questions regarding your state’s recreational management measures, please contact the marine fisheries management agency for your state or the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

For more details, read the rule as filed in the Federal Register today, and the permit holder bulletin on our website.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region by visiting their site here.

 

ASMFC Begins Preparations for American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment

January 30, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has initiated a benchmark stock assessment for American lobster (Homarus americanus) to be completed in the summer of 2020.  The goals of the assessment are to evaluate the health of stocks along the U.S. 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 data sources that will contribute to the goals of the assessment.  This includes, but is not limited to, data on abundance (young-of-the-year, recruits, full recruits), biological samples (sex, maturity, weight, carapace length), life history information (growth, natural mortality, mating, shell disease), stock connectivity (tagging data), catch (harvest, fishing effort) and information regarding the environmental influence on lobster life history. For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format, with accompanying description of methods, to the Commission by April 13, 2018.

The Data Workshop will be conducted May 14-17, 2018 at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, 218 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02874. This workshop will review available data sources for American lobster and identify datasets to be incorporated in the stock assessment.

For those interested in submitting data and/or attending the American Lobster Data Workshop (space is limited), please contact Jeff Kipp, Senior Stock Assessment Scientist, at jkipp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

ASMFC 2017 Annual Report Now Available

January 30, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is pleased to present you with our 2017 Annual Report, http://www.asmfc.org/files/pub/2017AnnualReport.pdf. It describes the Commission’s activities and progress in carrying out our public trust responsibilities for the valuable marine fisheries under Commission stewardship. Included in this report are figures displaying the historical trends in stock status or landings for each species managed by the Commission.  Also provided is a summary of the significant management actions Commissioners took in 2017 to maintain and restore the abundance of Commission managed species.

This report reflects our Commissioners’ commitment to accountability and transparency in all they do to manage and rebuild stocks under their care. We hope that you will find the information contained within this report useful and interesting.

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

Virginia: A big, but cautious bay role for the General Assembly

January 26, 2018 — Issues involving crabs, oysters and fish sometimes need to age a bit in Virginia’s General Assembly, even though the unusually large role in fisheries management it has assumed makes the questions seem familiar.

So, as the couple of dozen aging holders of crab scrape licenses struggle harder to make ends meet dragging softshell crabs from bay eelgrasses, Eastern Shore Del. Rob Bloxom’s notion of letting them keep any hard-shell crabs they haul from the bottom won a nod this week from the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Chesapeake Bay Committee.

And, though nobody necessarily wants to admit it, the idea that those watermen, mainly based on Tangier Island, are getting older may have been a factor in why Bloxom let slide his first pass at the issue, which also would have allowed them to run bigger scrapes. You have to haul them up by hand, after all.

A newer notion about crabs — that the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences has found a way to help them escape from abandoned pots — had less luck this week, though.

State Sen. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, has been talking enthusiastically for months about VIMS’ research on biodegradable panels for crab pots. The idea is to keep the thousands of ghost pots dotting the bottom of the bay from trapping so many crabs, which die there because they can’t escape.

“They’re basically competing with watermen,” Mason told his fellow senators. A few years back, a $4.2 million effort to scoop up the abandoned pots netted nearly 35,000, which trapped an estimated 3 million crabs a year, Mason said later.

“When one of those drop, it is harvesting and fishing till the end of time,” Mason said. The cost to watermen in terms of crabs not caught and crabs not reproducing amounts to millions of dollars a year.

But neither the watermen, who flooded senators with phone calls opposing the measure, nor most of the Senate itself were convinced.

At $1.50 a panel, times two, times installing them twice a year, times several hundred pots, Mason’s proposal to require two biodegradable panels on all crab pots by 2020 would pose a significant financial burden on watermen, said state Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach.

State Sen. Lynwood Lewis, D-Accomack, said the first tests of the new panels were limited and produced only mixed results.

Mason said he’s going to keep trying to make the economic case. He’s already talked to Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew J. Strickler about reviving a ghost pot recovery effort, and plans to ask the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to push for more testing of the panels.

Read the full story at the Daily Press