Saving Seafood

Ropeless gear bill introduced in California statehouse

February 17, 2021 — A bill to require the use of ropeless pop-up gear in Dungeness crab and other trap fisheries by November 2025 was introduced into the California State Assembly on Thursday, Feb. 11.

Dubbed the Whale Entanglement Prevention Act, fishermen say the passage of such a law would be a death knell for the iconic and recently embattled Dungeness crab fishery. But at this point, there isn’t much fear among the fleet, as the bill could be dead in the water.

“I think we’re going to kill it,” said Ben Platt, a Crescent City-based fisherman and president of the California Coast Crab Association. “It’s not going to make it out of committee.”

Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) introduced the bill, AB-534, with two environmental organizations as cosponsors, Social Compassion in Legislation and the Center for Biological Diversity. The latter group filed a federal suit against the state of California in October 2017, arguing an increase in whale entanglements in the Dungeness crab fishery violated the Endangered Species Act.

The spike in whale entanglements from 2015 to 2017 has been attributed to climate change and an extreme marine heatwave that caused ecosystem shifts and habitat compression.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

A month after Trump’s veto, Feinstein refiles driftnet ban bill

February 10, 2021 — A bipartisan bill to end the use of drift gillnets to catch swordfish has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate a month after then-President Donald Trump vetoed similar legislation.

U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) refiled their bill, entitled the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, on Monday, 8 February. The bill calls for a ban on using the mile-long nets that reach 200 feet below the ocean surface.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

CAPITO, FEINSTEIN REINTRODUCE BILL TO PROTECT WHALES, DOLPHINS, SEA TURTLES FROM DRIFT GILLNETS

February 9, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV):

U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), today reintroduced the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, a bipartisan bill to phase out harmful large mesh drift gillnets used in federal waters off the coast of California – the only place the nets are still used in the United States.

Large mesh drift gillnets, which are between a mile and a mile-and-a-half long and can extend 200 feet below the ocean surface, are left in the ocean overnight to catch swordfish and thresher sharks. However, at least 60 other marine species, including whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles, fish and sharks, can also become entangled in the large mesh net “walls,” injuring or killing them. Most of these animals, referred to as bycatch, are then discarded. The use of large mesh drift gillnets by a single fishery based in California is responsible for 90 percent of the dolphins and porpoises killed along the West Coast and Alaska.

“While the use of driftnets is already prohibited off the coasts of most states, these tools are still injuring or killing a whole host of marine animals off California’s coast,” Senator Capito said. “I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation that will help ensure large mesh driftnets are no longer used in any U.S. waters, protecting our marine wildlife from this harmful practice.”

“Let’s be clear: the Senate unanimously passed our bill and the House passed it shortly thereafter. There is no support to continue using these deadly nets in our waters,” Senator Feinstein said. “Large mesh driftnets indiscriminately kill whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea turtles and other marine animals. It’s time to transition the industry to more efficient, sustainable and profitable methods. Real-time data shows other fishing gear is more successful, profitable and sustainable. Now that we have a new administration, I’m hopeful that Congress will quickly pass our bill and we can begin to phase driftnets out.”

The bill would phase out the use of the nets and help the industry transition to more sustainable methods like deep-set buoy gear that uses a hook-and-buoy system. Deep-set buoy gear attracts swordfish with bait and alerts fishermen immediately when a bite is detected. Testing has shown that as much as 98 percent of animals caught with deep-set buoys are actually swordfish, resulting in far less bycatch than large mesh drift gillnets, which average a 50 percent catch rate of target species.

A seven-year study by the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research found that fishing vessels using the new deep-set buoy gear caught 83 percent more swordfish than those using traditional large mesh drift gillnets. Also, because vessels are alerted as soon as there is a bite, swordfish are transported to markets faster than with large mesh drift gillnets, resulting in higher-quality products that bring a higher price.

Reminder: NOAA Seeks Bycatch Reduction Projects

January 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The NOAA  Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program provides funding to support applied management projects and activities to reduce bycatch. Bycatch reduction is a top priority for NOAA Fisheries, as outlined in our National Bycatch Reduction Strategy.

There are four high-priority areas for the Fiscal Year 2021:

  • Developing innovative and effective technologies
  • Improving understanding of post-release mortality
  • Developing techniques to reduce interactions between fishing gears and corals, sponges, and other structure-forming invertebrates
  • Addressing international bycatch issues

For more information and to apply, see our funding opportunity notice.

Pre-proposal deadline is January 21, 2021

NORTH CAROLINA: NCCF, commercial fishermen prepare to recover lost fishing gear

January 8, 2021 — A Carteret County-based coastal conservation nonprofit and partnered commercial fishermen are preparing to collect lost fishing gear.

The N.C. Coastal Federation is set to begin its seventh year of the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project. According to an announcement from the federation Tuesday, 31 commercial watermen along the northern and central coast will set out this week into sounds to collect lost crab pots. The boat crews will conduct crab pot removal each day starting around Friday. Removal will take approximately one week.

“Every year, crab pots and other fishing gear are lost in our sounds in a variety of ways,” the federation said. “Lost gear can get hung up or drift into channels, creating hazards to boaters and wildlife. Since 2014, the federation has led the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project in an effort to remove lost crab pots from North Carolina sounds.”

With the help of various partners, commercial fishermen and women are hired to collect the pots during the no-potting period, which is the annual closure of internal coastal waters to all crab, eel, fish and shrimp pots.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

Congress sends Driftnet Modernization Act to President

December 16, 2020 — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act (S. 906) to phase out large-scale driftnet fishing in federal waters off California.

Authored in the Senate by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and in the House by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), the bill passed the U.S. Senate in July and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

The Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act will align commercial swordfish fishing in California with other U.S. and international swordfish fisheries by ending the use of mile-long large-mesh drift gillnets.

Phasing out this indiscriminate gear and replacing it with a more sustainable fishing practice will result in increased economic benefits and less bycatch, including marine mammals, sea turtles and many recreationally important fish species.

Read the full story at Boating Industry 

Online ‘Entangled’ film screening and panel discussion presented by University of Maine

December 7, 2020 — The University of Maine Hutchinson Center will host a free online screening of award-winning documentary “Entangled” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11. The film will be introduced by filmmaker David Abel and followed by a discussion featuring a panel of researchers and industry experts.

The film will be shown online and the discussion will take place via Zoom. There is no cost to participate. To register, visit the Hutchinson Center website.

“Entangled” is an award-winning, feature-length film (75 minutes) about how climate change has accelerated a collision between one of the world’s most endangered species, North America’s most valuable fishery, and a federal agency mandated to protect both. The film chronicles the efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales from extinction, the impacts of those efforts on the lobster industry, and how regulators have struggled to balance the vying interests. Directed by David Abel and Andy Laub — makers of “Lobster War” and “Sacred Cod,” “Entangled” won a 2020 Jackson Wild Media Award, nature films’ equivalent to the Oscars. It also won Best Conservation Film at the Mystic Film Festival.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Hawaii Longline Vessels to Improve Shark Conservation with Gear Change

November 30, 2020 — The following was released by the Hawaii Longline Association:

Hawaii-based longline vessels will voluntarily switch to monofilament leaders to promote shark conservation, the Hawaii Longline Association (HLA) has announced.

The Hawaii longline fishery is among the most comprehensively managed in the world. With around 140 active vessels based out of Honolulu Harbor, the fleet is highly monitored and subject to a suite of leading protected species mitigation measures. These measures include requiring 45-gram minimum weights so that hooks will sink quickly out of seabird foraging depths, as well as the use of a type of “circle” hook that reduces the severity of interactions with sea turtles and false killer whales.

Although beneficial for sea turtles and false killer whales, sharks are more likely to be caught by the circle hooks. Hawaii longline vessels don’t retain sharks and most are released alive, but since most sharks are unable to bite through a wire leader, some sharks die on the line. Unfortunately, this includes oceanic whitetip sharks, which are now listed as “Threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.

Switching to monofilament leader material will allow sharks to bite through the line just above the hook, thus reducing the severity of the interaction that otherwise would occur using wire leaders. Monofilament leaders will also facilitate releasing sharks and other animals, as the material is much easier to cut than wire. Crew safety remains paramount, and the transition to monofilament leaders will be phased to ensure safety. However, the Hawaii Longline Association is setting July 1, 2021 as the target for the fleetwide conversion.

“This is an industry-led initiative to promote shark conservation and another example of the Hawaii longline fleet as a global leader in responsible fishing practices,” says HLA Executive Director Eric Kingma, PhD.

Read the full release here

ALASKA: Seafood Bycatch Donation Relieves Hunger and Reduces Waste

November 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Fishermen sometimes unintentionally catch fish they do not want or cannot keep. This is called bycatch. While these fish are returned to the sea, many of them do not survive. This is a major problem worldwide—nearly 10 percent of global fishery catches are discarded each year

This waste of valuable seafood protein has been an increasing focus of management, industry, and public concern due to its ecological and economic impacts. That’s where our innovative donation program comes in.

Alaska fishermen occasionally catch Pacific halibut and salmon incidentally in trawls targeting groundfish. Because halibut and salmon are valuable targets of other fisheries, they are designated as prohibited species. Groundfish trawlers are not allowed to retain or sell them. Historically, all prohibited species caught in Alaska were discarded at sea to avoid any incentive to catch these species.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Alaska seafood industry have a long history of cooperative efforts to reduce bycatch. However, even after bycatch has been eliminated to the extent practicable, some is inevitable.

In 1996, NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council established the Prohibited Species Donation Program. It takes a unique approach to the problem of discarded fish by making it possible for fishermen to donate some bycatch to hunger relief organizations. It simultaneously reduces waste, provides high quality seafood protein to people in need, and avoids incentives to catch prohibited species.

“Bycatch donation is an example of thinking outside the box. When we think about reducing waste, it is usually about avoiding bycatch. This program is a creative solution to maximize the value of the bycatch that can’t be avoided,”  said Jordan Watson, NOAA Fisheries biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

Read the full release here

Ropeless gear gains new urgency in bid to save right whales

November 2, 2020 — The sight of a field of brightly colored lobster buoys bobbing on an otherwise featureless ocean is as ironically New England as a lobster roll. These buoys number in the millions, and are each connected by a line to the traps below creating a maze, in some areas a kind of wall, that whales, including the world’s most endangered great whale, must navigate in its search for food.

With over 80% of North Atlantic right whales bearing scars of entanglements in fishing line, the task is formidable, and eliminating some, if not all, of these buoys and lines has been the subject of lobster management and litigation.

For the past two years, it has also been the subject of intense research as scientists in the U.S. and Canada race to find an affordable and reliable technology that will allow lobstermen and other fixed-gear fishermen to find and retrieve their gear without running a line from the surface to the bottom.

Before the first ropeless buoy workshop in 2018, fishing without a buoy line was considered fantasy or science fiction, said Sean Brillant, manager of marine programs for the Canadian Wildlife Federation.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times