Saving Seafood

Mid-Atlantic Council and ASMFC Maintain Multi-Year Specifications for Black Sea Bass, Bluefish, and Scup and Modify Summer Flounder Specifications

August 15, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

Virginia Beach, VA – Last week the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) reviewed previously implemented specifications for scup, black sea bass and bluefish fisheries and modified specifications for summer flounder. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters. The Council will forward its federal waters recommendations regarding summer flounder specifications to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval.

The table below summarizes commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish (2016 values are provided for comparison purposes). Please note specifications for years 2017 and beyond may be adjusted based on changes in the fishery or new scientific information.

image003

For summer flounder, both groups approved a commercial quota of 5.66 million pounds and a recreational harvest limit of 3.77 million pounds for 2017, an approximate 30% decrease from 2016. This decrease in catch and landings limits responds to the findings of the 2016 stock assessment update, which indicates summer flounder has been experiencing overfishing since 2008. In 2015, fishing mortality exceeded its threshold by 26% (i.e., the level beyond which overfishing is occurring). The 2015 estimate of spawning stock biomass (SSB) is at 58% of the biomass target, and only 16% above the threshold. If the stock were to fall below the threshold, it would be considered overfished, requiring the development of a rebuilding plan to reduce fishing mortality and rebuild stock biomass. These results appear to be driven largely by below-average recruitment, an underestimation of the fishing mortality level in the last years of the assessment, and declining biomass indices. The assessment update indicates the stock experienced six below-average year classes from 2010 to 2015. Additionally, indices of abundance from state and federal surveys have indicated declines in abundance ranging from 9 to 97% from their most recent peaks (generally 2009 to 2012). The 2016 assessment update estimated biomass has been trending down since 2010. Summer flounder harvest limits for 2018 may be adjusted in the future based on changes in the fishery or new scientific information.

Scup and Black Sea Bass

For scup and black sea bass, the Commission and Council maintained the previously implemented multi-year specifications set in August and October 2015, respectively. The decline in harvest limits for scup since 2016 is due to a decrease in SSB as projected by the 2015 benchmark stock assessment.

For black sea bass, 2017 harvest limits remain unchanged relative to 2016 levels (in 2016, there was a reduction in the commercial quota due to overages in the previous year). Both the commercial quota and recreational harvest limit may be changed pending the results of next benchmark stock assessment, scheduled for peer review through the Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee in late 2016. The Commission and Council will consider the results of the benchmark stock assessment in early 2017.

Bluefish

For the bluefish fishery, the final 2016 commercial quota is 4.88 million pounds and the recreational harvest limit is 11.58 million pounds. The final 2016 harvest limits include a 1.58 million pound transfer from the recreational sector to the commercial sector. The Commission and Council did not make any changes to the 2017 and 2018 specifications. The 2017 and 2018 commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits are preliminary and will likely change following release of 2016 and 2017 final Marine Recreational Information Program harvest estimates. These estimates can impact how much is transferred from the recreational sector to the commercial sector.

Feds back off controversial plan to close commercial bluefish fishery mid-season

August 5, 2016 — The Long Island bluefish fishery will not be closed mid-season as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last month, which prompted an outcry from federal and state elected officials and commercial fishermen.

A new federal rule will now allow transfers of bluefish quotas from the coast-wide recreational quota to the commercial quota, ensuring that the fishery can continue to harvest bluefish for the remainder of the season, the governor and members of the New York congressional delegation announced yesterday. As a result, 1.58 million pounds from the recreational fishing sector will be transferred to the commercial quota.

“With this common sense, flexible decision by the NOAA, we have reeled in a major win for Long Island’s commercial fishing boats,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer. “With the quota transfer, our Long Island fishing boats – who were facing a harsh and premature closing of the fishery — can keep earning, employing others and harvesting their catch. The feds did the right thing by heeding the call and supporting an industry that has deep history on Long Island.”

Read the full story at SoutholdLOCAL

Summary of ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass & Bluefish Management Boards

July 7, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Management Boards met via conference call to review the latest recreational harvest estimates from the Marine Recreational Information Program. Most notably for both bluefish and black sea bass, the final 2015 recreational harvest estimates were uncharacteristically larger than the preliminary estimates. Based on this information, the Board discussed the need to change state recreational measures for the 2016 fishing season. While no management action was taken for bluefish since the 2016 annual catch limit had not been exceeded, the Board briefly discussed the possibility of transferring unused recreational quota to the commercial fishery (as allowed under the FMP). However, based on final 2015 bluefish harvest estimates, NOAA Fisheries anticipates the 2016 recreational quota will be fully utilized, prohibiting any transfer to the commercial sector. NOAA Fisheries will be releasing a final rule on 2016 bluefish fishery later this month. The Board and Mid‐Atlantic Fishery Management Council will discuss the final rule at their joint meeting in August.

Taking several factors into consideration, the Board chose to not take any management action for the recreational black sea bass fishery. Its decision was based on (1) the validity of the harvest estimates given the significant change from preliminary to final numbers; (2) concern about changing recently promulgated state regulations; (3) concern regarding socioeconomic impacts to the for‐hire industry; (4) difficultly in enforcing mid‐season regulatory adjustments; and (5) the potential for increases in discard mortality under more restrictive measures. The Board discussed a number of ways NOAA Fisheries could improve the annual specification process for these species. These include providing a more timely delivery of final recreational harvest numbers from the previous season, which would allow the states to more precisely tailor their regulations; incorporating vessel trip reports in its preliminary harvest estimates; and seeking ways to increase sample sizes in the for‐hire fishery to more accurately represent catch and effort in this sector.

See the full summary at the ASMFC

ASMFC To Review Harvest Estimates

July 1, 2016 — 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 and Bluefish Management Boards will meet via conference call on Wednesday, July 6 at 10:00 a.m. to review the latest recreational harvest estimates from the Marine Recreational Information Program. These data indicate that preliminary estimates of 2015 recreational harvest were underestimated for both bluefish and black sea bass. While the uptick in harvest will have no impact to 2016 bluefish recreational management measures since the annual catch limit was not exceeded, it will likely have implications for 2016 black sea bass recreational management measures. On the conference call, the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board will consider possible changes to state regulations for 2016.

The public is welcome to listen in on the discussion by phone (888.394.8197; passcode 815277) and view the WEBINAR. The meeting agenda is posted to the Commission website. Meeting materials will be posted shortly. Time permitting, there will be a limited opportunity to provide comments at the end of the agenda. The Board Chair will provide additional information on the procedures for accepting public comment at the beginning of the conference call. We ask the public and other nonparticipating attendees to please mute their phones in order to minimize distractions to the Board’s deliberations.

Read the release at The Fisherman

SUSAN POLLACK: Fishing For Progress: Saying No To ‘No Women On Board’

June 10, 2016 — In 1982, as supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment fought claims that that the proposed amendment to the Constitution would destroy the American family, I confronted an older mythology: Women are bad luck on boats.

I was a young maritime reporter for The East Hampton Star on Eastern Long Island. I loved boats and the sea, and I’d always loved adventure. That summer, I planned to join local fishermen aboard a state-of-the-art Japanese squid ship. This was several years after the United States enacted its 200-mile limit, but before American fishermen had fully developed a squid fishery of their own. In exchange for sharing their technical know-how, the Japanese would be permitted to catch squid in our waters.

I was game.

But as I was readying my boots and gear, I received an unexpected warning from the American sponsors of the U.S-Japan venture: no women on board.

Surely, something must be wrong: I’d spent the previous five years in gurry-soaked oil skins reporting on life at sea on American draggers, lobster boats, bay scallopers, gillnetters, long-liners and clamming rigs. I’d photographed the sun rising over the stern of a dragger hauling its catch of yellowtail and blackback flounders, cod, haddock and scup. I’d spent bone-chilling winter days in an open skiff, culling bay scallops – separating the delicate fan-shaped bivalves from whelks, rocks and seaweed. I’d danced on the boat, not for joy, but to keep warm.

On summer evenings, I’d helped my neighbor lift his gillnets, gingerly plucking out sharp-toothed bluefish and the occasional striper. And I’d finally succeeded in filleting a flounder without mangling the fragile flesh.

Read the full story at WBUR

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Management Boards to Meet Via Conference Call to Review Recent Recreational Harvest Estimates

June 24, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Management Boards will meet via conference call on Wednesday, July 6 at 10:00 a.m. to review the latest recreational harvest estimates from the Marine Recreational Information Program. These data indicate that preliminary estimates of 2015 recreational harvest were underestimated for both bluefish and black sea bass.  While the uptick in harvest will have no impact to 2016 bluefish recreational management measures since the annual catch limit was not exceeded, it will likely have implications for 2016 black sea bass recreational management measures. On the conference call, the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board will consider possible changes to state regulations for 2016.

The public is welcome to listen in on the discussion by phone (888.394.8197; passcode 815277) and view the webinar using this link. The meeting agenda is posted to the Commission website here.  Meeting materials will be posted next week. Time permitting, there will be a limited opportunity to provide comments at the end of the agenda. The Board Chair will provide additional information on the procedures for accepting public comment at the beginning of the conference call. We ask the public and other nonparticipating attendees to please mute their phones in order to minimize distractions to the Board’s deliberations.

As Long Island Sound warms, its fish species are changing

June 13, 2016 — During a day of fishing on Long Island Sound earlier this month, Richie Nickerson of Niantic caught 10 legal-sized scup, a black sea bass and a northern kingfish — all species he wasn’t likely to land when he first started angling in these waters 30 years ago.

Tony Murphy of Berlin, who fished from the Black Hawk charter boat with Nickerson, also reeled in a haul of scup, also called porgies, as did most of the other 38 fishermen on board that day.

“It used to be we’d strictly catch bluefish and striped bass,” Murphy said. “But now, there are just so many porgies.”

Scup, black sea bass and northern kingfish are just three of the species once more prevalent in warmer mid-Atlantic waters that are now becoming abundant in Long Island Sound.

As the warmer-water species move in, they compete for food and habitat with cold-water species, such as winter flounder and cod, that are now becoming scarce.

“Everything’s changing,” said Greg Dubrule, owner and captain of the Black Hawk, which takes daily boatloads of anglers into the Sound from its docks on the Niantic River.

“There’s no question that, because of the warmer water, we’re seeing more scup and black sea bass, which had always been a New Jersey and southern Long Island fish,” he said.

“Our mainstay used to be winter flounder and cod, but now it’s sea bass, scup and fluke,” he added, “and we’re catching a lot of trigger fish, which we never used to see.”

Read the full story at The Day

Why you should be eating New Jersey bluefish, the state’s most underrated fish

May 18, 2016 — I was standing in my driveway one recent morning when my neighbor approached me with a dazed look of shock on his face, that reminded of something from the movie “Tremors.”

“There’s some crazy stuff going on in the river,” he said, referring to the Navesink, which runs near our homes. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

He proceeded to tell me of the incredible amount of giant bluefish he and a group of locals had caught the previous night. Menhaden, the baitfish the blues were chasing, were beaching themselves to avoid their jaws, he said.

He showed me metal wire leader that a chopper blue had bitten clear off someone’s line. Evidence of the sheer viciousness of these yellow-eyed choppers.

Read the full story at NJ.com

MASSACHUSETTS: Will Sea Bass Quota Go Up or Down?

April 7, 2016 — Last year, sea bass literally put some commercial fishermen in the black.

The black fish with the delicious pure white meat abundantly filled local waters and made up some financial losses for fishermen curtailed by otherwise stringent regulations on striped bass, cod, flounder and other lucrative species.

But that might change soon.

In a memo dated March 18 from the Division of Marine Fisheries in Boston, while regulations for striped bass, bluefish, fluke and scup will likely remain unchanged this year in Massachusetts, “Regulations for black sea bass have been amended to achieve a mandatory 23 percent harvest reduction.”

The Massachusetts regulatory agency says these revisions are being implemented along the entire Atlantic seaboard via “emergency rulemaking” to take effect prior to the onset of the 2016 season. Public hearings will be held to discuss proposals before changes are finalized.

Read the full story at Newport This Week

Climate cycle could determine the reproductive success of menhaden

February 19, 2016 — Scientists have long puzzled over what drives the reproductive success of Atlantic menhaden, a tiny but critical East Coast fish.

A new study, published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science and supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program, provides a partial answer: An oceanic climate cycle known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, or AMO.

The finding is likely to be useful in improving the way scientists assess the species and the way managers set catch limits.

Menhaden is a small, oily fish that provides food for striped bass, bluefish, and several other species, as well as bait for fishermen.

It also is the target of the largest fishery on the East Coast, which is centred in Virginia and catches menhaden for use in nutritional supplements, animal feed, and fertilizer.

Setting catch limits has proved challenging, in part because no one has been able to say what drives recruitment—a technical term for how many young fish are produced. Recruitment largely determines how much fishing a population can sustain.

Tom Miller of the University of Maryland, and one of the authors of the study, explained that it is very difficult to understand and manage this stock.

To address this, the researchers used a statistical model designed for disorderly data like those on the abundance of young menhaden. They considered 16 factors that might be driving that abundance, including climatic cycles, intensity of fishing, temperature, salinity, and predator abundance.

Read the full story at FIS