Saving Seafood

California imposes 50 percent gear reduction for Dungeness opening New Year’s Eve

December 28, 2022 — California’s crab fleet starts setting half of its Dungeness gear at 8:01 a.m. Wednesday morning, preparing for a Dec. 31 season opener after six weeks of postponement while humpback whales were on the move.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife imposed the 50 percent trap reduction as an additional caution for avoiding gear entanglements when the fishery is opened at 12:01 a.m. As has been typical during the last four years, the season opener was delayed – three times in fall 2022 – as state officials tracked whale movements and assessed potential danger.

The state’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP) regulations, set in 2020, require restrictions on crab fishing when whales are on the move in fishing areas and the risk of entanglement is high.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Saving salmon: Chinook return to California’s far north — with a lot of human help

December 10, 2022 — Winter-run Chinook were federally listed as endangered in 1994, but recent years have been especially hard for the fish. Facing severe drought and warm river conditions, most winter-run salmon born naturally in the Sacramento River have perished over the past three years.

So restoring Chinook to the McCloud has become an urgent priority for state and federal officials. In the first year of a drought-response project, about 40,000 salmon eggs were brought back to the McCloud, a picturesque river in the wilderness of the Cascade mountains.

Iconic in Northern California, Chinook salmon are critical pieces of the region’s environment. They are consumed by sea lions, orcas and bears, and they still support a commercial fishing industry. Chinook remain vital to the culture and traditional foods of Native Americans, including the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, whose historical salmon fishing grounds included the McCloud River.

Conservation experts say the McCloud’s cold, clean water holds great promise as a potential Chinook refuge — and perhaps even a future stronghold for the species. Restoring salmon there is considered critical to the species’ survival, since they now spawn only in low-lying parts of the Central Valley near Redding and Red Bluff, where it’s often too hot and dry for most newborn fish to survive.

Read the full article at ABC 10

CALIFORNIA: California’s commercial Dungeness crab season delayed again

December 10, 2022 — The start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California has been delayed further to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday that commercial crabbing will be delayed until at least Dec. 30. The situation will be reassessed on or before Dec. 22.

It’s the third delay for the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins Nov. 15 for waters between the Mendocino county line and the border with Mexico.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Del Mar, Silver Bay, Lund’s collaborate to push MSC assessment of California squid fishery

November 28, 2022 — The California market squid purse-seine fishery, one of the largest commercial squid fisheries by tonnage in the United States, has started the Marine Stewardship Council assessment process.

A completion of an initial draft of the MSC assessment report found the fishery preliminarily qualified for certification. Three seafood companies; Del Mar Seafoods, Silver Bay Seafoods, and Lund’s Fisheries, as well as supplier Sun Coast Calamari, collaborated to push the assessment process, which is being conducted by with the independent certification body SCS Global Services.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Whales Off California Coast Delay Commercial Crab Season

November 25, 2022 — For the fourth year in a row, the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California will be delayed to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines, it was announced Monday.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it was delaying the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins Nov. 15, until further notice for waters between the Mendocino county line and the border with Mexico.

Authorities first announced a delay late last month. The situation will be reassessed on or before Dec. 7 and if conditions allow commercial crabbing could be permitted on Dec. 16, the department said.

Read the full article at NBC San Diego

California Market Squid Fishery Begins MSC Assessment

November 23, 2022 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard assessment process has begun for the California market squid fishery.

Over a month ago, SeafoodNews covered how squid purse seiners and processors in the state were looking to land MSC certification.

Del Mar Seafoods, Silver Bay Seafoods and Lund’s Fisheries, supplied by Sun Coast Calimari, have engaged with independent certification body SCS Global Services to complete the assessment of the fishery against the MSC Standard.

The aforementioned coalition explained that the California market squid fishery is the largest commercial squid fishery by tonnage in the U.S. with the squid serving as a popular option as calamari due to its flavor.

CALIFORNIA: Dungeness crab season delayed due to concerns for whale safety and meat quality

November 23, 2022 — Dungeness crab fans may find the holiday staple more difficult to find in northern California after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced delays to the commercial fishing season.

According to CDFW, the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 3-6 will remain delayed due to the presence of high numbers of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement with lines and traps in this fishery.

Read the full article at KRCR

Panelists say BOEM, fishing industry still far apart on offshore wind

November 21, 2022 — With the first offshore wind lease sales impending off California, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and commercial fishermen still have a chasm to gap before the new and old industries can reasonably co-exist, panelists said at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle Friday.

BOEM’s early years of reviewing and permitting the first U.S. federal waters wind projects off southern New England failed to anticipate and head off conflicts with the region’s 400-year-old fishing industry, said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association.

While the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project is moving ahead, BOEM and the developers are still contending with a lawsuit brought by Northeast fishermen with the assistance of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

1st lease sale to be held for offshore wind on West Coast

October 20, 2022 — The Biden administration will hold the first-ever lease sale for offshore wind energy on the West Coast, officials said Tuesday.

The Dec. 6 sale will target areas in the Pacific Ocean off central and northern California— the first U.S. auction for commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development. The administration hailed the upcoming sale at at a conference for offshore wind developers and experts in Providence, Rhode Island.

“We’re not just committed to the country’s transition to a clean energy economy, one that combats climate change, creates good-paying jobs and ensures economic opportunities are accessible to all. We’re actually taking action and driving results,” Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Amanda Lefton told the group.

The final sale notice for the auction will outline the details and lease terms for five areas off California, enough for 4.5 gigawatts of offshore wind to power more than 1.5 million homes and create thousands of new jobs, she said. The notice will include lease stipulations to promote a domestic supply chain and create union jobs.

Read the full article at Associated Press 

MAINE: Maine petitioners ask California seafood group to remove lobster listing

September 22, 2022 — Maine’s lobster industry has launched an online petition seeking to convince a California-based seafood group to back off its calls for a boycott of the popular crustacean food.

The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative’s petition calls on the Monterey Bay Aquarium to remove lobster caught in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank from its “red” list of food to avoid, saying the designation is “not supported by the facts.”

“Maine Lobster has always been sustainable, and the baseless decision by the Seafood Watch program greatly impacts an industry that is the backbone of the economy in Maine, supporting entire communities, composed of generations of fishermen who have always prioritized the health of the fishery and the Gulf of Maine,” the petition reads.

Read the full article at The Center Square