Saving Seafood

Shipwrecks may help tropical fish adapt to climate change

May 10, 2019 — When Chris Taylor presses play, footage of blue wrasse and greater amberjack fills the screen. The fish whirl and spin against a vivid backdrop of corals, sponges, and algae. When Taylor, an ecologist at NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in Beaufort, North Carolina, asks visitors to the Centers where they think the video was taken, he’s not surprised to hear the Florida Keys or the Caribbean. But the guesses are invariably wrong.

“These highly structured reefs are right off our coast,” Taylor says. “There are all of these brightly colored fishes that defy expectations.”

A new study in Nature Communications Biology by Taylor and Avery Paxton, a marine ecologist who divides her time between NOAA and the Duke University Marine Laboratory, shows artificial deepwater reefs off the coast of North Carolina increased the number of tropical and subtropical fishes at the northern edge of their ranges. These findings have important implications for fishes in warming waters. As ocean temperatures rise, artificial reefs may facilitate the movement of these species towards the poles, where they may be able to find a habitat that is more suitable in the future.

Read the full story at National Geographic

North Carolina shrimpers say net of new rules for trawlers will destroy industry

February 17, 2017 — WILMINGTON, N.C. — The state Marine Fisheries Commission voted Thursday to begin drafting rules that would limit trawling for shrimp in North Carolina’s inland coastal waters, a move that many on the coast say could destroy the shrimping industry.

The decision came after months of wrangling between commercial and recreational fishermen, with the latter group arguing that trawlers are scooping up millions of young fish before they’re old enough to spawn, effectively killing off fish stocks in the region.

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation petitioned the state – the only one on the East Coast that allows shrimp trawling in its sounds and estuaries – to reduce the size of trawler nets, limit how long nets could be pulled in the water, permit shrimping only three days per week and eliminate night-time shrimping.

“North Carolina has some of the most lenient shrimp trawling rules on the East and the Gulf Coast,” said David Knight, a policy consultant for the Wildlife Federation.

Thousands of people signed petitions against the proposal, and commercial fishermen packed Marine Fisheries Commission meetings in recent months to make their stance known. Hundreds left in disgust Thursday after the commission overrode the recommendations of its advisory committees and accepted the Wildlife Federation’s petition.

“What just happened today is appalling,” said Brent Fulcher, who owns Beaufort Inlet Seafood in Beaufort. “The state process is broken.”

Read the full story WRAL

NORTH CAROLINA: Suit in the works over flounder

September 22, 2016 — BEAUFORT, N.C. — Carteret County will join fisheries groups in fighting the state Marine Fisheries Commission’s southern flounder supplement changes to reduce catch, which local fishermen say will kill the flounder industry here and cause a ripple effect in other local economic sectors.

“I fished for a living, I know what the implications would’ve meant for my family if you’d have taken half of my income from the fall,” Commissioner Jonathan Robinson told the county board. “It means somebody’s not going to have Christmas. It means somebody’s going to have to decide whether to be cold this winter or have something to eat.”

On his recommendation, county commissioners unanimously agreed to a resolution supporting a potential lawsuit from state and regional fishermen’s associations, primarily the N.C. Fisheries Association, against the MFC during their Monday meeting in the administration building.

Consideration of the complaint follows the November 2015 adoption of a supplement to southern flounder management regulations, a process which critics say circumvented standard amendment procedures after stopgap reassurances in the form of stock assessments failed to pass peer review.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

North Carolina Fisheries Association Releases Catch Summit info

March 2, 2016 — One final reminder about the NC Catch Summit coming up next week! This appeal is for all fishermen and interested folks. The Secretary of DEQ, the Deputy Secretary and the Acting Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries will be in attendance at the Clambake on Monday night!!

Please try to attend the Clambake and/or the event during the day on Tuesday in Beaufort. There is no charge for attending!

The Dinner & the Summit are completely free but you have to register (for the head count) at: email: 

rjohnson@hydecountync.gov

or call Rosemary Johnson at 252.926.4474.

Monday * March 7 * Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center; Harkers Island

5:30-8:30 Carteret Catch Down East Clambake & Frogmore Stew Dinner

Speaker: Wes Stepp, owner of Red Sky Cafe & author of “Tastefully Fit”

*Free trolley service will be available from the Beaufort Inn to the Museum

Tuesday * March 8 * Auditorium, NC Maritime Museum, 315 Front Street; Beaufort

8:30-9:00 Registration * Coffee & pastries

9:00-9:15 Host Welcome * Pam Morris, President, Carteret Catch

Conference Welcome * Jimmy Johnson, President, NC Catch

9:15-10:00 NC Commercial Fisheries: Economic Values, Trends, & Growth Potential

Presenter: Dr. Jane Harrison, Coastal Economics Specialist, North Carolina Sea Grant

10:00-10:15 Break

10:15-11:00 Sett ing Seafood Trends: How Chefs Do It

Moderator: Libby Eaton, Bistro-By-The-Sea

Panelists: Jeff Barney, Saxapahaw General Store; Wes Stepp, Red Sky Cafe; and Sandy Howard, Amos Mosquitos

11:00-11:45 Ocracoke Island: A Case Study of Successful Seafood Tourism

Moderator: Alton Ballance, NCCAT

Panelists: Hardy & Patt y Plyler, Ocracoke Fish Company; Vince O’ Neal, Pony Island Restaurant; TBA

11:45-12:30 Diamonds in the Rough: Local Success Stories

Moderator: Jess Hawkins, Carolina Eco-Tours

Panelists: Eddie & Alison Willis, Mr. Big/Core Sound Seafood; Fabian Botta, Ruddy Duck Tavern; and Mark Hooper, Hooper Family Seafood

12:30-2:00 Lunch – Generously sponsored by Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative

2:00-2:45 Cultivating Customers: Insights from Retail Seafood Markets

Moderator: John Day, Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC State University

Panelists: Haag & Son’s Seafood; Fishtowne Seafood; TBA

2:45-3:00 Break

3:00-3:45 NC Seafood: It Tastes Great & It’s Good for You Too!

Presenters: Dr. David Green, NCSU; Candace Morris, ECU graduate student; and Sue Way, East Carteret High School

3:45:4:00 2016 NC Catch Summit Conclusion: Pam Morris and Jimmy Johnson

4:00-4:30 Networking and information tables available

Fishermen, restaurant, retail & wholesale folks who are able are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and attend part or all of it. There are accommodations available at Beaufort Inn (1.800.726.0321) at a very reasonable rate, if needed. 

View a PDF of the Catch Summit poster

This could explain all those strange happenings in Alaska’s waters

February 16, 2016 — New research is shedding light on how far toxic algae blooms have spread in Alaska, and surprised scientists are saying this is just the beginning.

A study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest fisheries center found domoic acid and saxitoxin – algae-produced neurotoxins that are deadly in high doses — in 13 marine mammal species across Alaska, including as far north as the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Researchers say the study is just the latest piece of evidence that warming ocean temperatures are allowing these blooms to stretch into Arctic ecosystems, threatening marine life and the communities who rely on the sea to survive.

“The waters are warming, the sea ice is melting, and we are getting more light in those waters,” said Kathi Lefebvre, NOAA Fisheries research scientist. “Those conditions, without a doubt, are more favorable for algal growth. With that comes harmful algae.”

Read the full story from The Washington Post

NORTH CAROLINA: Environmental issues roll into 2016

January 1, 2016 — Offshore drilling draws opponents

After a year of growing opposition from coastal communities against offshore drilling off the North Carolina coast, close watch will be kept on decisions in Washington in the upcoming year.

The Obama Administration is expected to release its proposed Atlantic oil leasing plan in early 2016.

To date, 93 communities along the Atlantic coast have gone on record against offshore oil and gas exploration activities.

That number includes several in the local area:

In Onslow County, the towns of Holly Ridge, Swansboro and Surf City have adopted resolutions.

In Carteret County, Emerald Isle, Morehead City and Beaufort have adopted resolutions opposing offshore drilling; and Atlantic Beach councilmen agreed to a resolution to be formally adopted this month. The Carteret County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development Authority have also taken a stance against it.

Read the full story at Jacksonville Daily News