Saving Seafood

Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Rule is Now Final

June 29, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries today announced that it is finalizing regulations to implement the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Omnibus Amendment developed by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils. NOAA Fisheries published a proposed rule on January 21, 2015, with a comment period open through February 20, 2015.

This amendment will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, July 30, 2015.

Under federal fisheries law, NOAA Fisheries is required to establish a standardized bycatch reporting methodology to assess the amount and type of bycatch occurring in all federally managed fisheries.

This amendment was developed, in part, to respond to a U.S. District of Columbia Court of Appeals mandate. The amendment adds various measures to improve and expand on the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology previously in place for 13 fishery management plans for fisheries operating in New England and Mid-Atlantic federal waters.

Read the final rule, as filed in the Federal Register, and the supporting documents for this final rule.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.

 

THE SEAQUALIZER GIVES DOOMED FISH A FIGHTING CHANCE

June 21, 2015 — It’s got to be one of the worst ways to go: pulled to the surface against your will, changes in pressure attacking your body, only to be tossed away, no relief in site.

Fish inadvertently caught by sport and commercial fishers are known as “bycatch” and billions of them die every year. The ones affected by shifting pressure experience barotrauma and often due senseless deaths, but a new device wants to give them a fighting chance.

Hoping to find innovative solutions to the larger problems of bycatch, the World Wildlife Fund launched the International Smart Gear Competition in partnership with industry leaders, scientists, and fishermen. As sophisticated as the competition sounds, its solutions aren’t being made in a James Bond-esque lab: According to WWF, most are being pioneered by the people closest to the problem—fishermen themselves.

One of the most innovative tools to come out of the competition is the SeaQualizer. Created by two fishing buddies from South Florida, this hydrostatic descending device returns victims of bycatch to their native depths. Unlike fish caught in shallow lakes, many deep-water dwellers won’t survive if you simply toss them back, because as they ascend toward the surface, changes in pressure wreak havoc on their internal organs. By the time you reel them in, they’re experiencing barotrauma and will only pull through with assistance.

Fishermen historically helped bycatch recompress by venting, a process that involves puncturing the fish’s swim bladder to release the gas that built up during ascension. It’s as barbaric as it sounds and often leads to injury or death, but until around four years ago fishermen had no alternative—in some places, venting was even required by law.

Read the full story and watch the Youtube video at Wired