Saving Seafood

New York: Rep. Zeldin Slams ASMFC Black Sea Bass Allocation, Calls for Equitable Fishing Quotas

March 22, 2018 — LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) issued the following statement following the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) proposed allocation for black sea bass for the 2018 season, which would unfairly cut New York State’s share by up to 12%, while other states will see their allocations grow:

“With the vast majority of Long Island fishing taking place in waters shared with New Jersey and Connecticut, such as the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound, it is unfair that New York anglers are, once again, being penalized with smaller fishing quotas than neighboring states. For my constituents, who are both fishermen and small business owners trying to attract customers, the ASFMC’s decision to, once again, cut New York off from its fair share while allowing New Jersey’s allocation to grow, is unacceptable. Two boats fishing next to each other with one allowed to catch up to double the amount of the other because they are landing the fish in New Jersey instead of New York is ridiculous and inequitable.

“That is why, when it comes to fishing quotas, tri-state parity is so important. At the state level, New York’s representatives must fight more aggressively within these regional bodies to advocate for New York’s anglers who rely on fishing as a way of life that supports so much of our local economy. If our state representatives on the ASMFC– who supported this terrible proposal and failed to fully advocate for New York– aren’t willing to fight for our anglers, then they should step aside.

“I call on all levels of government in our state to work together as one team to fight this unfair allocation and, if necessary, appeal this all the way to the Secretary of Commerce. Going into non-compliance is never the first option, but it may be the only one in taking a stand for New York anglers who year after year continue to get screwed.”

Read the full story at Long Island

 

ASMFC: Meeting Summary, Motions, and Presentation from March 20th Now Available

March 20, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The meeting summary, motions, and presentation from today’s conference call of the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board are below and can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.

Meeting Summary & Motions http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SFlounderScupBSB_Board_MtgSummary_March20_2018.pdf

Presentation http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SFlounderScupBSB_BoardPresentation_3_20_18.pdf

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here

 

ASMFC: Meeting materials for the March 20th conference call of the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board

March 16, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Meeting materials for the March 20th conference call of the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board are now available at – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SFlounderScupBSB_BoardMaterials_3_20_18.pdf. The conference call will begin at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to listen to the discussion by phone (866.214.0726, followed by passcode: 993961) and view the webinar using the following link https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6931931919817605123.

Time permitting, there will be a limited opportunity for the public to provide comments. The Board Chair will outline the procedures for accepting public comment at the beginning of the conference call. We request the public and other nonparticipating attendees to please mute their phones in order to minimize distractions to the Board’s deliberations.

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

Menhaden: Big Questions About Little Fish

March 16, 2018 — As a spotter plane for commercial fishing operations flies over nearshore waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the pilot keeps an eye on the surface below for shifting shapes like oil slicks.

When they appear, the pilot alerts the fleet that target Atlantic menhaden, or Brevoortia tyrannus, a small, silver fish in the herring family that lives in estuaries and coastal waters from north Florida to Nova Scotia. As the waters warm during the year, the species migrates north in football field-size schools, each up to 100 feet deep and pulsing with thousands of fish.

Menhaden on the Atlantic coast, combined with its sister species in the Gulf of Mexico, are among the top catch by volume for all commercial species in the United States, second only to pollock, a fish-n-chips mainstay.

Never gone fishing for menhaden? Haven’t seen it on the menu? You’re not alone. The catch is not a coveted dinner-plate item. As seafood guru Paul Greenberg discovered, “Menhaden are extremely high in omega-3 fatty acids and as such are quick to go rancid if not properly handled.” Plus, they’re chock full of bones.

Instead, whole fish typically are processed, or reduced, into fishmeal and oil and used in a range of products, including hog, poultry and aquaculture feeds, omega-3 supplements for humans, salad dressings, and dog food. The fish also are sold as bait to crabbers and lobstermen along the East Coast.

“It’s hard to believe you can catch a million fish, but nothing you can eat,” a Virginia menhaden fisherman told me.

Read the full story at NC State

 

Atlantic Striped Bass Benchmark Stock Assessment Modeling Workshop Scheduled for May 15-17, 2018 in Providence, RI

March 14, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment Modeling Workshop will be conducted May 15-17, 2018 at the Renaissance Providence-Downtown, in Providence, Rhode Island. The assessment will evaluate the condition of Atlantic striped bass stocks from Maine to North Carolina and inform management of those stocks. The workshop is open to the public, with the exception of discussion of confidential data when the public will be asked to leave the room.

For alternate models to be considered, the model description, model input, and complete source code must be provided to Dr. Katie Drew, Stock Assessment Team Leader, at kdrew@asmfc.org by April 30, 2018. Any models submitted without complete, editable source code and input files will not be considered.
 
The benchmark stock assessment is scheduled for peer-review at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s 66th Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW/SARC), November 27-30, 2018. For more information about the assessment, or the submission and presentation of materials at the Modeling Workshop, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board to Meet Via Conference Call March 20

Board to Consider Approval of 2018 Recreational Black Sea Bass Regional Proposals

March 13, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board will meet via conference call on Tuesday, March 20th at 9 a.m. to consider approval of regional proposals for the 2018 black sea bass recreational fishery. The proposals are required under Addendum XXX, which was approved in February 2018 and uses a combination of exploitable biomass information from the latest stock assessment and historical harvest to regionally allocate the coastwide recreational harvest limit (RHL). The three management regions are:  (1) Massachusetts through New York, (2) New Jersey, and (3) Delaware through North Carolina. Their respective allocations of the 2018 coastwide RHL are 61.35%, 30.24%, and 8.41%.

To improve accountability, Addendum XXX holds states within each region collectively responsible for managing harvest to their regional allocation through the cooperative development of recreational measures. To increase regional consistency in measures, each region will establish a standard set of measures, with each state in the region provided the flexibility to adjust its measures up to one inch in minimum size and three fish in possession limit. Collectively, the combined regional measures are intended to achieve, but not exceed, the 2018 RHL.

The public is welcome to listen to the discussion by phone (866.214.0726, followed by passcode: 993961) and view the webinar using the following link. The meeting agenda can be found here; meeting materials will be available March 15 here.

Time permitting, there will be a limited opportunity for the public to provide comments. The Board Chair will outline the procedures for accepting public comment at the beginning of the conference call. We request the public and other nonparticipating attendees to please mute their phones in order to minimize distractions to the Board’s deliberations.

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

A PDF of the press release can be found here.

 

South Atlantic Council Delays Changes to Atlantic Cobia Management

Fishery managers to wait for Stock ID Workshop preliminary results available in June

March 12, 2018 — JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

After reviewing public comment and considering various management alternatives and timing, members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council decided to delay approval of an amendment to remove Atlantic cobia from the current federal management plan. The amendment is designed to reduce complicated regulations and improve flexibility in the management of Atlantic cobia from Georgia to New York.  If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the move would allow for the fishery to be managed solely by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

The decision came after Council members discussed the need to wait for preliminary results from a Cobia Stock ID Workshop scheduled for April. The current management boundary between Florida and Georgia was established following a 2013 stock assessment. Fishermen and others have expressed concerns about the boundary change since that time. The Council decided to wait until their June 11-15, 2018 meeting, when preliminary results from the Stock ID workshop and Advisory Panel recommendations would be available for consideration before moving forward. Council members also heard concerns from legal counsel that the document should further specify what will happen to regulations in federal waters before the amendment’s approval.

Prized for their delicious taste and relatively large size, the recreational harvest of Atlantic cobia has increased in recent years. The recreational fishery closed in federal waters in June 2016 after landings estimates exceeded the annual catch limit the previous year and closed again in January 2017, as state landings were expected to exceed the federal catch limits. The recreational fishery is currently open in federal waters, but subject to closure by NOAA Fisheries should catch estimates exceed the annual catch limit currently in place. Fish harvested in state waters count against the annual catch limit.

The majority of Atlantic cobia are harvested in state waters, within 3 miles of shore in North Carolina and Virginia. They can also be found offshore and occur more readily in federal waters off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina as they migrate northward to spawn. Cobia harvested along the east coast of Florida are considered part of the Gulf of Mexico stock and are managed separately.

At the request of the Council, the ASMFC began developing an interstate management plan for Atlantic cobia last year. That plan will become effective in state waters from Georgia to New York in April 2018 and aligns with current federal regulations for Atlantic cobia. Under the ASMFC Interstate Plan, state-specific allocations are established based on the current federal annual catch limit of 620,000 pounds, with North Carolina and Virginia receiving the majority of the allocation based on previous landings.

Individual states have submitted plans for Atlantic cobia (including regulations for a minimum size limit, vessel limit, and season) to the ASMFC based on those allocations. The state regulations are designed to keep harvest levels below the allocated state-specific pounds of Atlantic cobia. Under federal law, the states may also request that state regulations for Atlantic cobia be extended into federal waters.

Comments from fishermen and others received during public hearings held in January and as part of the March Council meeting primarily supported removing Atlantic cobia from the federal management plan and providing the states more latitude in setting regulations based on the ASMFC Interstate Plan.

Once fully removed from the federal management plan, Atlantic Group Cobia would beregulated in both state and federal waters under ASMFC. The Cobia Stock ID Workshop is scheduled for April 10-12, 2018 in Charleston, SC and a benchmark stock assessment will be conducted in 2019. For additional information, visit: http://sedarweb.org/sedar-58.

Other Business

The Council considered over 600 written comments and heard public testimony this week, before voting to send a letter to NOAA Fisheries expressing their concerns on an Exempted Fishery Permit request to conduct research and evaluate pelagic longline catch rates in a portion of an area off the east coast of Florida currently closed to longline fishing. The majority of the comments received, including those from recreational fishing organizations, were in opposition to the permit, citing concerns about discards of recreational and commercially important species, impacts to protected resources, increased landings of dolphin fish, and other concerns. The Council will submit its formal recommendations and a copy of all comments received on the Exempted Fishery Permit to NOAA Fisheries, the agency responsible for making the final decision on issuance of the permit.

The Council also continued work on Snapper Grouper Amendment 46 to improve recreational data collection. The amendment includes options for a private recreational snapper grouper permit designed to improve effort estimates that may eventually be used to improve landings estimates. The amendment also includes options for recreational reporting requirements.  A separate framework amendment will also be developed to address best fishing practices. The Council provided guidance on actions and alternatives.    Two amendments are being developed as part of the Council’s Vision Blueprint for the snapper grouper fishery, a long-term approach to management developed with stakeholder input. Vision Blueprint Regulatory Amendment 26 addresses recreational measures including modifications to aggregate species composition, removal of size limits, changes to bag limits and gear requirements for certain deepwater species, and modifications to shallow water species. Regulatory Amendment 26 would also reduce the recreational minimum size limit for gray triggerfish off the east coast of Florida for consistency with state regulations. Vision Blueprint Regulatory Amendment 27 addresses commercial measures, including alternatives for split seasons for blueline tilefish, snowy grouper, greater amberjack and red porgy. Changes to the trip limit for vermilion snapper, jacks, and modification to the seasonal prohibition on red grouper are also being considered. The Council approved both amendments for public hearings to be held later this spring.

Charter fishermen targeting snapper grouper species in federal waters off the South Atlantic are required to have a federal South Atlantic For-Hire Snapper Grouper permit. At the request of the Council’s Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel and considering public input, the Council reviewed an options paper for public scoping to get input on establishing a moratorium on the issuance of these permits. The moratorium is being considered to help improve logbook reporting compliance, recreational data quality, business planning, professionalize the for-hire fleet, address localized overcapacity, and other concerns. The Council provided recommendations for the scoping document and will review it again during its June 2018 meeting.

The Council bid an emotional farewell to Dr. Michelle Duval, the Council representative for the NC Division of Marine Fisheries and former Council Chair. Dr. Duval also served as Chair as the Council’s Snapper Grouper Committee for several years and was commended for her leadership and guidance during her service on the Council. She joins her husband Scott as they move to Pennsylvania.

Final Committee Reports, a meeting Story Map, Meeting Report and other materials from this week’s Council meeting are available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/council-meetings/. The next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is scheduled for June 11-15, 2018 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

 

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment Scheduled for May 8-10, 2018, in Arlington, VA

March 8, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Stock Assessment Workshop will be conducted May 8-10, 2018, at the Commission’s office at 1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 200A-N, Arlington, VA 22201. The assessment will evaluate horseshoe crab population along the Atlantic coast and inform the management of this species.

All Commission assessment workshops are open for public attendance. Time may be allotted for public comment at the Stock Assessment Subcommittee (SAS) Chair’s discretion, but may also be limited to keep the workshop on schedule. Due to the use of confidential data in this assessment, some portions of the workshop may be “closed door,” for which only members of the SAS with clearance to view confidential data may be present. Additionally, to ensure adherence to confidentiality laws, there will be no remote public access via webinar or conference call for this meeting.

The benchmark stock assessment will be independently peer-reviewed through a Commission External Peer Review Workshop tentatively scheduled for fall 2018. Details on the dates and location of the Peer Review Workshop will be announced later this year.

For more information about the assessment or attending the Assessment Workshop, please contact Dr. Mike Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mschmidtke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

Virginia: Menhaden quota bill pulled in Va. House of Delegates

March 7, 2018 — A much-lobbied bill about an oily fish that nobody eats died in the House of Delegates — but with a promise by some proponents and stern opponents to work together to push for permission to catch more.

The bill, backed by the Northam Administration, was an effort to deal with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s sharp, 41.5 percent cut in a Chesapeake Bay quota for menhaden.

But the administration and Omega Protein, the owner of the Reedville plant that processes menhaden from the bay, agreed to stop fighting over the bill and work together to convince the Marine Fisheries Commission to increase the quota.

The regional commission last year approved a more than 36,000-metric-ton cut in bay quota for menhaden caught by drawing huge “seine” nets around schools of the fish and then hauling them up onto so-called “purse seine” fishing vessels.

Currently, the old marine fisheries commission quota of 87,216 metric tons for fish caught is written into state law.

Knight had proposed removing the reference in state law to the 87,216 tons and empowering the head of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to set a new quota after appealing, and hopefully winning, an increased quota from the regional body.

Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Matt Strickler had argued that keeping the old quota in the Code of Virginia risked sanctions that could include an outright ban on menhaden fishing in the bay.

Environmental groups — including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, League of Conservation Voters and Nature Conservancy, as well as sports fishermen — argued that the lower quota was necessary as a precautionary measure. They fear too many young menhaden are caught in the bay, a key nursery area for the migratory fish. This could put the menhaden population at risk, as well other species, including striped bass and ospreys.

Read the full story at the Daily Press

 

Governor’s bill on menhaden catch limits advances, barely

March 1, 2018 — Atlantic menhaden aren’t giant fish — generally measuring about a foot or less — but they are big business in Virginia, so much so that they are the only species not entrusted to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission for management.

“The General Assembly has decided to retain control over setting quotas for menhaden,” said Matt Strickler, Virginia’s new secretary of natural resources.

Strickler had just emerged from a bruising hearing Wednesday before the House’s Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee, which barely advanced a bill sent down by Gov. Ralph Northam to bring Virginia into compliance with a November decision by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that cut the quota for fish netted in the Chesapeake Bay.

The bill by Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, which made it out of the committee on an 11-10 vote, was fiercely opposed by Omega Protein. The company operates the only “reduction fishery” on the Atlantic coast, a fleet of boats and plant in Reedville that turn thousands of tons of the fish into oil and meal each year for a range of products each year, from dietary supplements to pet food.

“This bill does harm industry and it does risk jobs,” Monty Deihl, Omega’s vice president of operations, told the committee, adding that no one was more attuned to menhaden numbers than the company, which was founded in Virginia in 1913. “This stock is more important to us than probably anyone else.”

Environmental groups and recreational fishermen urged the committee to send it on to the House floor.

Chris Newsome, a charter fishing captain from Gloucester, said menhaden are a “shared resource owned by all constituents of the commonwealth.”

“Decisions regarding menhaden shouldn’t be influenced solely by one stakeholder,” he said.

Read the full story at the Richmond Times-Dispatch