Saving Seafood

BEN PLATT: Close to Home: Ropeless fishing gear won’t save whales

October 27, 2020 — If you live in one of California’s historic fishing communities like Bodega Bay, you’ve probably heard the term “ropeless” crab fishing gear. That’s the new buzzword for equipment being promoted by environmental groups to solve the perceived problem of whale interactions with fishing gear.

These groups have convinced the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to adopt onerous new regulations that will force crab fishermen to adopt expensive, impractical and unproven fishing gear that will put most of us out of business. It will economically devastate — to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars annually — many coastal communities that rely on the fishing and seafood industry. And unfortunately, these regulations are set to go into effect on Sunday.

But the action these environmental groups are promoting isn’t based on the best available science. In fact, it isn’t based on any science or data at all. They claim that the number of deaths of humpback whales caused by entanglements are now high enough for the population to slip into decline.

The truth, however, is something different.

Whale population numbers are soaring. John Calambokidis and Jay Barlow from the Cascadia Research Collective, a respected marine mammal study center, recently released a report titled “Update on blue and humpback whale abundances using data through 2018.” The researchers concluded that current estimates for the California-Oregon humpback whale population is 5,612 and 1,593 for the Washington-Southern British Columbia humpback whale population. This results in a new estimate totaling 7,205 for the California-Oregon-Washington humpback stock. This figure shows that whales are abundant and not in danger. It’s far higher than the previously thought 3,500 figure.

Read the full story at The Press Democrat

As their population plummets, right whales are on verge of extinction

October 27, 2020 — In dire news for a critically endangered species, federal regulators on Monday substantially reduced their estimate for the number of remaining North Atlantic right whales.

Officials at the National Marine Fisheries Service estimated there were just 366 whales alive in January 2019 — an 11 percent decline from the year before. There are likely even fewer alive today.

Worse, the agency estimated the population included only 94 breeding females.

“Given the low population numbers … it is essential that we work together to protect every North Atlantic right whale in order to avoid extinction for this endangered species,” Colleen Coogan, the agency’s marine mammal take reduction team coordinator, wrote in an e-mail to members of a federal advisory board tasked with finding ways to reduce risks to the whales.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Path to extinction continues for North Atlantic right whales

October 26, 2020 — Scientists say to avoid species extinction and rebuild their population, fewer than one North Atlantic right whale per year can be lost to human-caused mortality or serious injury. Entanglement in fishing lines or being struck by a vessel are the two main causes of human-induced death in the world’s most endangered great whale species.

After years of progress and cooperation with the shipping industry, vessel strikes again appear to be on the rise, with vessels ignoring speed restrictions imposed where right whales have been spotted. The number of whale entanglements also are headed in the wrong direction, with four confirmed entanglements in U.S. waters this year, including three recent sightings in New Jersey and Massachusetts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said that a 60-80% drop in the number of whale mortalities is needed, but combined with stalled progress on a plan to reduce fishing impacts, the future for this whale again appears bleak.

If trends continue, the North Atlantic right whale could be the first great whale in modern history to go extinct, and those in the animal rights and conservation communities say the time to act is now.

“We’ve done the research, we have the evidence. The time is now to implement it,” said Amy Knowlton, a senior scientist at the New England Aquarium. Her specialty is assessing human impacts on whales and ways to address those threats. But there is frustration over a process led by NOAA that seems to only respond to litigation.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Two right whales found entangled in gear in past two weeks

October 23, 2020 — In just the past two weeks, two separate North Atlantic right whales have been discovered tangled in fishing gear off the U.S. East Coast.

The whales, which are one of the most endangered species on the planet – with only 400 estimated to be left – were spotted on 11 October and 19 October. Both whales were badly entangled when spotted, to the point that without intervention, death is likely, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NPFMC Narrows Focus on Abundance-Based Management for Pacific Halibut Bycatch in Bering Sea

October 20, 2020 — The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council clarified their focus to tie the management of halibut bycatch in the Bering Sea to abundance in a new motion that, after one amendment, was passed unanimously.

The final Council motion revised the purpose and need statement and the alternatives for an initial review analysis that will likely come at the April council meeting, scheduled for April 5-6, 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Behind the Scenes of the Most Consumed Seafood

October 1, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Shrimp, tuna, clams—the most popular seafood items in the United States are familiar names to both seafood lovers and the occasional consumer. You may have wondered about the environmental impact of consuming more of a popular product.

We’ve got good news: U.S. seafood is sustainable seafood! Thanks to our robust quotas, retention limits, and other management measures, you can be confident that U.S. seafood products were harvested sustainably.

Around 75 percent of the shrimp harvested in the United States comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Three species dominate the catch there: white shrimp, pink shrimp, and brown shrimp. Each of these species currently have population levels above the targets set by scientists.

Federally permitted shrimp fishermen are required to report their landings. They also provide information on fishing effort, including the number of fishing trips they take. The data is used in shrimp stock assessments and to support the sustainable management of red snapper. Depending on the gear they use, shrimpers must also use special equipment that reduces incidental catch, including sea turtle bycatch.

Read the full release here

OREGON: Crab industry, state continue plans to avoid whale entanglement

October 1, 2020 — New regulations for commercial Dungeness crab fishermen in Oregon aim to get boats on the water earlier in the season and reduce the amount of gear to avoid tangling with endangered whales.

The regulations, adopted in September, involve a number of key changes to how the fishery is managed, including a 20% reduction in the number of pots a permit holder is allowed to fish with later in the season.

The state is also tightening regulations around when fishermen can get replacement tags for gear reported as lost and lowering requirements for how full of meat crabs must be along the southern coast in order for the season to open.

The late-season gear reduction will be in place for the next three seasons. Fishery managers will evaluate how effective this measure is at reducing the risk of whale entanglement while still enabling an economically viable fishery.

Read the full story at The Astorian

DREW CHERRY: America’s fisheries management has been a success. Now that’s under threat.

September 18, 2020 — Americans can be proud of their fishery management system over the past few decades, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, where one of the world’s single-largest stocks of fish, Alaska pollock, is harvested, bringing in some $2 billion (€1.7 billion) and tens of thousands of jobs.

It’s an incredible case study in how science and policy can combat poor regulation and lead to a full recovery of threatened stocks and improved management through meticulous science and shared commitment.

One example: If you’ve been on an Alaska pollock fishing vessel, you have seen the exhaustive monitoring systems that go into keeping track of salmon bycatch. Despite trawl nets that can bring up 200,000 fish in the space of an hour, each of the catcher processors plying the waters can — and by most accounts do — keep track of individual salmon that are caught to mitigate the impact on those threatened fish.

That kind of investment does not happen without the voluntary participation of fishing companies that are committed to science-based fisheries management.

Read the full opinion piece at IntraFish

Oceana provides USD 1 million to California gillnet buyback program

September 17, 2020 — Environmental conservation group Oceana announced on Monday, 14 September, that it contributed USD 1 million (EUR 845,500) to California’s efforts to end the drift gillnet fishery in the U.S. state.

Oceana’s contribution matches state funding and goes toward a buyout program for fishermen who have been using the controversial gear to catch swordfish. The buyout program was part of a state law passed two years ago that calls for their elimination by 31 January, 2024.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Fisheries Awards $2.3M to Support Bycatch Reduction Projects

September 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Bycatch reduction is a top priority for NOAA Fisheries and this week the agency announced over $2.3 million in grants to support 13 projects under our Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. This year’s projects focus on priority bycatch issues related to a variety of species, including whales, turtles, sharks, sablefish, and flounders. Left unaddressed, bycatch can contribute to overfishing, can threaten endangered and threatened species and protected marine mammals, and can close fisheries, significantly impacting U.S. economic growth. Three projects in the Northeast were chosen for funding.

NOAA Fisheries’ Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program has resulted in innovative technological solutions to some of the nation’s top bycatch challenges. We are proud to continue to partner with fishermen, fishery managers, industry, and the environmental community to avoid and minimize bycatch.

For more information about this year’s recipients and selected projects visit our website.