Saving Seafood

Court backs seal protections on climate change grounds

October 25th, 2016 — A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the Obama administration had the right to use climate change to justify federal protections for the bearded seal.

The ruling from the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling from 2014 and upheld the 2012 decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to designate the bearded seal as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

 The ruling is an important victory for the Obama administration and could help build a precedent of using climate change forecasts for decisions like species protections.

The case hinged on an argument from the oil industry and the state of Alaska that the NMFS relied on climate projections that were not reliable for the time period for which the agency used them.

“This case turns on one issue: When NMFS determines that a species that is not presently endangered will lose its habitat due to climate change by the end of the century, may NMFS list that species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act?” the appeals court asked in its ruling, answering in the affirmative.

Read the full story at The Hill 

Fight Over Papahanaumokuakea Expansion Isn’t Over

October 20, 2016 — Hawaii’s commercial fishing industry leaders are not finished fighting the fourfold expansion of a U.S. marine monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

President Barack Obama signed a proclamation in August to make Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument the world’s largest protected natural area after several months of intense lobbying for and against the proposal.

Now the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which actively opposed the expansion, wants the government to study the potential effects and find ways to alleviate them.

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Chair Edwin Ebisui, left, and Executive Director Kitty Simonds, at Wespac’s meeting last week.

“The impacts to the Hawaii fishing and seafood industries and indigenous communities as a result of monument expansion are considerable,” Council Chair Edwin Ebisui Jr. said in a statement Friday. “The Council will write to the President about these and request the Department of Commerce to mitigate them.”

Wespac sets fisheries management policies for a 1.5-million-square-mile area and advises the National Marine Fisheries Service on how to minimize bycatch, protect habitat and prevent overfishing.

The latest wave of opposition to the monument rolled in earlier this month at the council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee meeting in Honolulu. 

New committee member Ray Hilborn, a prominent marine biologist from the University of Washington, railed against large marine protected areas.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

Fishing rule gives regional councils more flexibility on catch limits

October 14th, 2016 — Recreation anglers could see more fishing opportunities under a new rule issued by the Obama administration Thursday that gives regional management councils more flexibility to set catch limits.

The rule, already under fire from environmental groups in a rare conflict with the administration, could help mollify the recreational industry and its Republican allies in Congress. They’ve been critical of the administration for not relaxing restrictions given the dramatic rebound of many fish stocks over the past few years.

Officials with the Fisheries division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the change, months in the crafting, strikes an appropriate balance between the needs of the economically vital recreational and commercial industry while not undermining the current law that has helped rescue dozens of once overfished stocks.

Re-authorization of Magnuson-Stevens a decade ago is credited with helping to rebuild 40 endangered stocks since 2000. Eight stocks came off the overfishing list in 2015 including greater amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico, thorny skate in the Gulf of Maine; and hogfish in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Read the full story at USA Today 

Rick Robins Recognized by White House as Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood

October 14th, 2016 — The following was released by Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council: 

Last week former Council Chairman Rick Robins was recognized by the White House as one of twelve “Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood.” These individuals were selected by the White House for their leadership and contributions to the ongoing recovery of America’s fishing industry and our fishing communities.

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. A statement from the White House noted that “After decades of decline, we are witnessing the economic and ecological recovery of America’s fishing industry.  Overfishing has hit an all-time low, and many stocks are returning to sustainable levels. The U.S. fishing industry contributed nearly $200 billion annually to the American economy in 2014 and supports 1.7 million jobs… President Obama and his Administration want to honor America’s fishers and our coastal communities for their efforts.”

Richard B. Robins, Jr. is the owner of Bernie’s Conchs Seafood Market and Ocean Perfect Seafoods, Inc. He served as Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council from 2008 through August of 2016, where he led the Council through a historic stakeholder-driven visioning and strategic planning process for the management of marine fisheries. Under his leadership, the Council completed an amendment to establish a nearly 38,000 square-mile area, named for the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, in which deep sea corals will be protected from the impacts of fishing gear. Robins also led the Council in the development of an amendment to protect unmanaged forage species and spearheaded the Council’s efforts to address the impacts of climate change on fisheries. In August 2016 Robins received the MAFMC Award of Excellence for his distinguished service to the Council and outstanding contribution to the conservation and management of our nation’s marine fisheries resources.

Robins was recognized along with eleven other honorees during a ceremony on Friday, October 7. Learn more about the White House Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood at https://www.whitehouse.gov/champions#section-sustainable-seafood. 

H. STERLING BURNETT: Obama’s Dangerous Use Of The National Monument Law

October 13th, 2016 — Despite objections made by many prominent Hawaiians and a federally designated regional fishing council, President Barack Obama, relying on the authority granted to the presidency in the 1906 Antiquities Act, quadrupled the size of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM) with one stroke of a pen.

With its August 25 expansion, PMNM became the largest protected reserve on Earth, comprising 582,578 square miles, nearly double the size of Texas. President George W. Bush created PMNM in 2006.

The Antiquities Act is one of the most ill-considered laws ever written. It gives to presidents dictatorial power to declare large swaths of the public’s land off-limits to a variety of uses normally allowed on federal lands. Many presidents have used this power, but none have done so more often or with such recklessness as Obama has. Since 2009, Obama has created or expanded 25 national monuments, more than any other president in history.

The process of creating a national monument under the Antiquities Act does not require approval from the democratically elected Congress, which is especially problematic because the creation of national monuments has often been opposed by many people in the states where the monuments have been established. It’s these people who suffer most directly from the new limits placed on economic and recreational activities.

Read the full op-ed at Forbes 

New Jersey senators among group requesting offshore drilling ban

October 7, 2016 — TRENTON, N.J. — Senators Cory Booker and Robert Menendez are among 14 legislators who have called for President Barack Obama to ban drilling off the Atlantic Coast in any areas that have not already been leased.

NJ.com reports the two New Jersey Democrats signed a letter requesting the ban that was sent to Obama on Thursday along with fellow like-minded senators.

The letter also asked that Obama use his executive power to make the Arctic Ocean off-limits to oil drilling.

The senators say drilling in waters off the East Coast threaten fishing and tourism — key economic drivers for coastal states — because of the risk of a spill.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald 

HAWAII: There’s A Big Mess At The Papahanaumokuakea Monument

October 7, 2016 — Kure Atoll, a speck of land in a federally protected marine area nearly 1,400 miles northwest of Honolulu, provides a safe haven for seabirds, rare fish, endangered seals and coral reefs.

And now, at least until a salvage operation can occur, it’s also home to an 8,000-pound excavator, which is leaking fuel, a roll of chain-link fencing, hunks of metal and broken glass that fell into the water when the boat carrying it capsized a quarter-mile offshore.

Two of the nine people aboard the 33-foot landing craft were injured in the Sept. 2 incident, which remains under investigation. They were treated and released by a doctor at nearby Midway Atoll.

The accident offers a rare look at some of the work being done inside Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument — a nearly 600,000-square-mile area around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that’s off-limits to anyone without a special permit for conservation, education, research or cultural purposes.

President Barack Obama quadrupled the monument’s size in late August, making it the world’s largest protected marine area. The day before the vessel capsized he flew to nearby Midway Atoll to highlight the monument’s importance in protecting natural resources, fighting climate change and preserving heritage sites, which include sunken ships at Kure.

Employees of Element Environmental, a Hawaii environmental and engineering firm contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, were working on a nearly $1.5 million project at Kure Atoll that involved digging up 400 to 600 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated soil from an old U.S. Coast Guard dump site near the shoreline and reburying it in a more secure spot near the center of Green Island, the atoll’s largest land mass at six miles wide.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

12 “Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood” chosen by White House

October 7, 2016 — U.S. President Barack Obama has announced his choices to be the first ever “Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood.”

The special awards, established this year as a way to “honor America’s fishers and our coastal communities for their efforts… [in leading] the way to the United States becoming a global leader in sustainable seafood management,” will be handed out on Friday, 7 October at a special ceremony at the White House in Washington D.C.

The awardees are:

  • Robin Alden, the founding Executive Director of Penobscot East Resource Center, Maine’s center for coastal fisheries in Stonington, Maine. She led a path-breaking effort to bring shared management to Maine’s lobster fishery, now recognized internationally as a model for sustainable fisheries. Robin is the former Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, responsible for Maine‘s marine and anadromous fishery management and enforcement and for aquaculture in the state. She was also the publisher and editor of both Commercial Fisheries News and Fish Farming News and a public member of the New England Fishery Management Council.
  • Linda Behnken, the Executive Director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, which represents longline fishermen in securing sustainable access to healthy halibut, sablefish and rockfish stocks. Linda was a commercial fisherman for 34 years and served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. During that time, she also served as an industry advisor to the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, the National Academy of Science Individual Fishing Quota Review Panel, and co-chaired the Council’s Essential Fish Habitat committee. Linda participated in the last two re-authorizations of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and was an active advocate for the Sustainable Fisheries Act amendments. She is also a founding member of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, which is a cutting-edge financing tool to help new and young break into Alaska’s fisheries and connect communities with their natural resources.

See the full list of awardees at Seafood Source

RAY HILBORN: Obama’s new ocean preserves are bad for the environment and for people

October 6th, 2016 — Who wants to save the oceans? Short answer: everyone, especially politicians. A less frequently asked question is whether their high-profile efforts always work.

Right now, world leaders seem to want to see who can declare the biggest marine protected areas, or MPAs, in their territory. MPAs are kinds of national parks for sea life that extends from ocean surface to ocean floor. Commercial fishing and other undersea ventures are banned in them.

They are popping up everywhere. In August, President Obama announced one in the western Pacific Ocean that is 50 per cent bigger than Texas. In September he created another, more modest one off the coast of New England.

Britain announced yet another MPA in September around St. Helena Island in the south Pacific. It is half the size of the Lone Star State.

In fact, the MPA movement has become a religion with accepted articles of faith that more and bigger are better.  This current obsession is bad for the oceans, bad for the global environment, and bad for people.

Consider what the imposition of an MPA can do to the economy and livelihood of local fishers, who are unable to easily pick up and move elsewhere. Some fishermen in New England are warning that they could go out of business as a result of the new Atlantic marine preserve.

Large MPAs are also bad for people because reducing ocean fish production by itself will mean less high quality, nutritious food available for the poorest people in the world and less employment for fishing-dependent communities

Political leaders argue they are protecting the oceans with MPAs, but mostly they aren’t. The major threats to ocean health and biodiversity, including global warming, ocean acidification, oil spills, floating masses of plastics, pollutant run-off from land, and illegal fishing–all are not addressed by this conservation measure.

Read the full opinion piece at Fox News 

White House Announces Sustainable Seafood Champions of Change

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Seafood News] – October 5, 2016 — The White House will recognize a dozen individuals from around the country as “White House Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood” on Friday.

The fishing industry is critical to the economic health and well-being of communities across the country, supporting 1.8 million jobs and contributing more than $200 billion to the economy in 2014, according to a White House press release. However, marine ecosystems are under threat from multiple stressors, including climate change and ocean acidification and the need for innovation in sustainable fisheries has never been greater,, according to the press release.

Local leaders serve as the backbone of communities, working to build resilient coasts and striving to protect the at-risk towns whose futures depend on the recovery of fisheries.

“The administration applauds the hard work, collaboration and sacrifice by many across the country to become responsible stewards and safeguard our seafood security,” according to the press release.

Friday’s program will feature remarks by Managing Director of the Council on Environmental Quality, Christy Goldfuss; Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan; and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce, Bruce H. Andrews.

The 12 Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood include:

Brad Pettinger, Brookings, Ore.: Brad Pettinger is the director of the Oregon Trawl Commission, a state commodity commission. He has worked collaboratively in the Pacific Fishery Management Council process to improve the management of west coast groundfish fisheries. Under Brad’s leadership, all three Oregon trawl fisheries — Pacific whiting, Oregon pink shrimp and several species of rockfish — have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as well-managed and sustainable fisheries. Brad’s work has been instrumental to recovery of many rockfish species, which will provide sustainable, healthy, delicious seafood for local communities.

Linda Behnken, Sitka, Alaska: Linda Behnken is Executive Director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, which represents longline fishermen in securing sustainable access to healthy halibut, sablefish and rockfish stocks. Linda was a commercial fisherman for 34 years and served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Linda participated in the last two re-authorizations of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and was an active advocate for the Sustainable Fisheries Act amendments. She also is a founding member of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust,  a cutting-edge financing tool to help new and young fishermen break into Alaska’s fisheries and connect communities with their natural resources.

Christopher Brown, Point Judith, R.I.: Chris Brown serves as President of the Seafood Harvesters of America and spends around 200 days per year aboard his fishing vessel the Proud Mary. Under Chris’s leadership the Harvesters champion accountability, stewardship and sustainability in fishing practices, fisheries science and fisheries management. Chris also serves as President of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association and is the founder and executive director of the Rhode Island Fluke Conservation Cooperative.

Brown said in a press release he will use this opportunity to deliver a strong message in support of fishing families, accountable fishing practices, effective fisheries management, sound science and the bedrock principles that support the seafood industry.

Robin Alden, Stonington, Maine: Robin Alden is the founding Executive Director of Penobscot East Resource Center, Maine’s center for coastal fisheries in Stonington, Maine. She led a path-breaking effort to bring shared management to Maine’s lobster fishery, now recognized internationally as a model for sustainable fisheries. Robin is the former Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Jason DeLaCruz, Largo, Fla.: Jason DeLaCruz is the President of Wild Seafood Co., which provides high quality sustainable fish to eco-minded customers. He also is the Executive Director of Gulf Wild, a company dedicated to setting the standard for genuine, responsibly caught, traceable and reliable wild domestic seafood, and the Vice President of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance.

Byron Encalade, Pointe-A-La-Hache, La.: Byron Encalade is President of the Louisiana Oysterman Association. He engages in harvesting seafood, oysters and shrimp and in transporting seafood along the Gulf Coast states. Byron has been a leader in his community by pushing for the sustainable management of oyster grounds.

Monica Jain, Carmel, Calif.: Monica Jain is the founding director of Fish 2.0, a social enterprise that brings entrepreneurs and investors together to grow the sustainable seafood sector. Fish 2.0 works with businesses developing technologies or processes that reduce waste in seafood supply chains and create value-added products from waste.

Bun Lai, Woodbridge, Conn.: Bun Lai is the owner and chef of Miya’s Sushi, the world’s first sustainable sushi restaurant. Miya’s also offers the world’s only invasive species menu, featuring dishes made of foraged ingredients that are threatening to the region’s indigenous species. He is also the owner of two fishing boats that serve as laboratories for sustainable seafood production. He is a Seafood Watch Ambassador.

Alan Lovewell, Moss Landing, Calif: Alan Lovewell is the CEO and Co-founder of Real Good Fish, a community-supported fishery that connects local fishermen with local consumers with weekly deliveries of sustainable seafood. Real Good Fish’s new program, Bay2Tray, brings local seafood to public school children through their school lunch program, and brings local fishermen into their classroom to engage in experience-based learning around ocean health.

Dr. Kevan Main, Sarasota, Fla.: Dr. Kevan Main has been a senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory since 2001. Dr. Main and her team are developing sustainable ways to produce marine and freshwater fishes and invertebrates for food and to restore declining fisheries.

Luka Mossman, Hilo, Hawaii: Luka Mossman is part of the Conservation International Hawaii program, where he serves as the Fisheries Outreach Coordinator. The Hawaii program works to merge traditional knowledge with Western science, conservation tools and strategies for changing how people and business value local, sustainable seafood.

Richard Robins, Suffolk, Va: Richard B. Robins Jr. is the owner of Bernie’s Conchs, LLC and Ocean Perfect Seafoods Inc. He also served as chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council from 2008 through August of 2016, where he led the Council through a historic stakeholder-driven visioning and strategic planning process for the management of marine fisheries.

The Champions of Change schedule includes a Thursday evening Washington, D.C., reception to highlight great seafood and the work of the honorees; a Friday morning sustainability roundtable with senior advisers at the White House; a meeting with Commerce Secretary Pritzker and CEQ director Goldfuss; then remarks from the honorees and a moderated panel.

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The event will be live streamed on the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/live at 1 p.m ET on Friday, Oct. 7. Follow the conversation at #WHChamps.

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.