Saving Seafood

How Scientists Are Using Real-Time Data to Help Fishermen Avoid Bycatch

April 15, 2019 — From 1990 to 2000, fishermen seeking swordfish off the coast of California accidentally caught and killed over 100 leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles, and injured many more.

In 2001, the federal government established the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area, a 250,000-square-mile region off the coast of California that is off-limits to fishing boats from August through November.

Since then, the number of turtles killed as bycatch has plummeted, but a handful of animals still die from being entangled in fishing nets each year—too many, environmental advocates say. And at the same time, the closure of the giant oceanic region means the once-$15 million swordfish industry has become a $2 million industry, and the number of boats plying the waters has decreased significantly.

Scientists and ocean advocates are hoping to find a way to both protect sea turtles and other threatened species and help fishermen make a living. To this end, many are looking at dynamic ocean management, a strategy that uses advances in real-time data collection to help fishing vessels meet fish where they are—and avoid all other bycatch.

Read the full story at Smithsonian.com

CALIFORNIA: Fishermen Reeling After Lawsuit Brings Early Closure to Crab Season

April 11, 2019 — Bay Area crab fishermen were racing to haul in their crab traps following the settlement of a lawsuit that is shutting down the commercial dungeness crab season nearly two months early.

Crab season, which opens in November and normally runs until the end of June, is shutting down April 15th as part of a settlement aimed at reducing the number of whale entanglements in crab gear. The settlement follows a lawsuit filed by the environmental group Center For Biological Diversity targeting the State of California over an increase in entanglements.

“We’ve always believed there were common sense solutions to this problem,” said Steve Jones, spokesman for CBD, “and we feel by working with the state and the crabbers we’ve found one in this case.”

Fishermen said they were blind-sided by the settlement, getting notice of the early shutdown only two weeks before the deadline. Earlier this week in the fishing hamlet of Bodega Bay on the Sonoma Coast, boats filled with crab traps pulled in to the docks to unload their traps.

Read the full story at NBC Los Angeles

CALIFORNIA: San Pedro Fishermen Help Add to Sardine Stock Assessments

April 9, 2019 — Based out of San Pedro harbor, Nick Juril got his first fishing boat in 1982 and has been making a living ever since with a variety of catches including squid, mackerel, and sardines.

“I grew up with the fishery,” said Juril on the deck of his current boat, Eileen. “[It] goes back to my dad’s childhood. There’s still a handful of us left and we’re still, you know, hanging on. It would be a shame to see it go away.”

Sardine stock assessments are based primarily on acoustic trawl surveys conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. According to the administration, the sardine biomass has fallen short of the 150,000 metric ton threshold needed for commercial fishing to commence. Therefore, the Fisheries Management Council has prohibited a directed sardine fishery since 2015 to allow for stocks to bounce back.

“In 2014/2015 we weren’t seeing a lot. But since the water kind of changed, the water warmed up a little bit, there’s a lot of sardines around right now,” explained Juril. “So, we’re hanging on, but not having the sardines has been really, really tough.”

Joe Ferrigno, one of Juril’s neighboring fishermen, says the loss of the sardine catch has taken as much as half of his business away.

“There was some years we fish sardines all year long,” said Ferrigno. “Now, we go farther, and we work a lot harder to try to catch a little bit of squid to make up for it.”

Read the full story at Spectrum News

After bouncing back in numbers, groundfish trying to regain popularity

April 5, 2019 — On Pier 47, fishermen from the sustainable fishing company Pioneer Seafoods haul in their catch. In large blue bins, they unload thousands of pounds of groundfish — seafood that hasn’t been seen on San Francisco’s docks in these numbers since the 1990s.

Groundfish may not sound appealing, but for years they were the bread and butter of many coastal towns. These bottom-feeders encompass over 90 fish species, including cod, sole, rockfish and flounder.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, groundfish were in high demand. At its peak, the West Coast groundfish fishery was worth around $50 million, according to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. But with the over-expansion of fishing fleets and a lack of conservation efforts, their numbers started to dwindle. By 2000, 10 of the most popular species were completely overfished, leading to a huge slash in revenue and the eventual collapse of the groundfish fishery. The federal government declared it an economic disaster.

Today, with the help of annual catch limits and a better understanding of groundfish biology, the fish are flourishing once again. But consumer demand for groundfish is struggling to catch up. Fishermen and local organizations alike are working to market these fish as a sustainable and tasty option for restaurant menus and family meals.

Read the full story at The Mercury News

Biologists: Killing hungry sea lions saving imperiled fish

April 5, 2019 — A plan to kill California sea lions to save an endangered run of fish on a river that cuts through Portland, Oregon, appears to be working just months after wildlife officials began euthanizing the giant marine mammals, biologists said Thursday.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife began killing the sea lions in January after getting permission from federal authorities late last year. They have killed 16 so far, including three on Wednesday, said department spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy.

In the same period, 2,400 steelhead fish have reached the upper Willamette River and its tributaries to spawn this spring — the most in three years and double last year’s tally, the agency said.

Less than 30 years ago, the number of steelhead making that journey was at least 15,000 a year but pollution and the construction of dams on key rivers reduced that number dramatically.

Sea lions have been eating an additional 25% of all returning steelhead at that spot in the Willamette River south of Portland, said Shaun Clements, ODFW’s senior policy analyst.

“We’ve definitely been able to reduce predation this year and provide some relief to the fish,” he said. “We’re saving considerable numbers of them.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post

Pacific sardines likely to face another shuttered season

April 3, 2019 — Sardine fishermen on the West Coast are preparing for another year of severe restrictions after a new draft assessment from NMFS shows the the population is continuing its collapse.

The new report, released on March 26, indicates a sardine population of 27,547 metric tons. Any tonnage below 50,000 metric tons is considered “overfished” by NMFS.

These numbers indicate a 98.5 percent collapse since 2006, when the population reached an estimated 1.77 million metric tons, according to NMFS data.

The California Wetfish Producers Association has repeatedly taken issue with NMFS’ assessment strategy. Executive Director Diane Pleschner-Steele has called Oceana-driven claims of overfishing to be “fake news.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

CALIFORNIA: Nearly 400,000 Chinook salmon die in hatchery blunder

April 2, 2019 — Nearly 400,000 fall Chinook salmon died due to a mistake at the Coleman National Fish Hatchery in Anderson, California, U.S.A., last week, according to a source at the hatchery.

Water to one of the raceways was accidentally turned off overnight and the mistake was not discovered until the morning. The salmon were less than half-a-year old and died due to a lack of oxygen, according to hatchery project leader Brett Galyean, speaking to KRCR News.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Allocates $20 Million for West Coast, Georgia Fishery Failures

April 2, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — NMFS announced last week that $20 million of federal assistance will be provided to communities affected by fishery disasters in Washington, Oregon, California and Georgia between 2013 and 2017. Congress appropriated these funds through the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

Tribal and non-tribal salmon fisheries will receive the most funding after several fisheries declined due to adverse ocean conditions including “The Blob.” California sardines and Georgia white shrimp also are included on the list.

The email notice to congressional staff said NMFS will notify award recipients of their eligibility for funding and provide guidance on the development of award spending plans. The allocated funds can be used to help commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, charter businesses, shore-side infrastructure, and subsistence users, as well as improve the fishing ecosystem and environment.

The fisheries and their respective allocations are:

2013 Fraser River Sockeye tribal salmon (Washington) – Lummi, Nooksack, Tulalip, Suquamish, Makah, Lower Elwha, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam: $1,492,000

2013 Fraser River Sockeye non-tribal salmon (Washington): $440,000

2013 Georgia White Shrimp: $1,062,000

2015 Washington Coastal Coho and Pink Tribal Salmon (Washington) – Hoh, Quileute Tribe, Stillaguamish, Nooksack, Muckleshoot, Upper Skagit, Suquamish: $3,856,000

2015-2016 Pacific Sardines (California): $1,640,000

2016 Ocean Troll Tribal Coho and Chinook (Washington) – Makah: $1,654,000

2016 Coastal Tribal Coho Salmon (Washington) – Quileute: $970,000

2016 – 2017 Klamath River Fall Chinook Tribal (California) – Hoopa, Yurok: $1,694,000

2016 – 2017 Klamath River Fall Chinook Non-Tribal (California): $5,042,000

2016-2017 Klamath River Fall Chinook Non-Tribal (Oregon): $2,150,000

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown requested the Oregon Klamath River fall Chinook fishery disaster declaration in May 2017. NMFS made the fishery failure determinations last year but it wasn’t until recently that funding allocations were made. Oregon’s Democrat senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley were quick to applaud the announcement.

“Hard-working Oregon fishermen gearing up for their spring returns have now received a $2.1 million lifeline that will help them support their families and contribute to the economy in their coastal communities,” Wyden said in a press release. ”From commercial trollers to marinas, Oregon’s coastal fishing community fully deserves this good news.”

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

Dungeness drag: Fleet agrees to shutter early

March 29, 2019 — The California Dungeness crab season will come to an early end this year on April 15 — three months ahead of schedule — leaving millions of dollars of product in the water. The fleet opted for the early closure to settle a lawsuit over whale entanglement rather than risk the possibility of an indefinite closure.

“The settlement is going to be extremely painful and extremely difficult to deal with,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “But this was the best possible deal that was acceptable to all parties.”

At issue is a 2017 lawsuit in federal court by the Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Biological Diversity that argued the state of California and fishermen were in violation of the Endangered Species Act after a three-year spike in whale entanglements in Dungeness crab fishing gear from 2014 to 2017.

The lawsuit sought the closure of the state-managed fishery until a federal incidental take permit was established — a process that could take years to implement.

Commercial fishermen, state regulators and biologists had convened a California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group in 2015 to find ways to limit whale entanglements while avoiding the burdensome federal incidental take permits.

A preliminary count for 2018 showed 45 whale entanglements on the West Coast, compared with 31 confirmed entanglements in 2017. Between 2000 and 2014, the West Coast saw an average of 10 entanglements per year, according to NOAA data.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

CDFW, Center for Biological Diversity, PCFFA Agree to Whale Entanglement Settlement

March 28, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In less than a month, California crabbers will have to pack in their crab pots and end their season, thanks to a settlement agreement filed in federal court Tuesday.

The legal settlement protects whales and sea turtles from entanglement in commercial Dungeness crab gear. The Center for Biological Diversity sued the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in October 2017 after a drastic increase in the number of whale entanglements off the West Coast.

In a joint statement between the Center, CDFW and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, who intervened in the lawsuit on behalf of the fishing industry, the entities said Californians will be pleased to know that Dungeness crab will be caught off the coast with greater care for endangered wildlife under the settlement. The early closure this year is just one of many stipulations in the settlement.

“As I’ve said many times, no one wants whale entanglements to happen,” CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said in the press release. “This agreement represents hours of intense negotiation to help ensure they don’t happen while supporting the resiliency of the crab fishery in the long run. I am thankful for the leadership of the Center for Biological Diversity and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations who realized something needed to be done together.”

“This is great news for whales and sea turtles fighting extinction off California’s coast,” Kristen Monsell, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney, said in the statement. “The settlement will reduce serious threats from crab gear to these beautiful and highly endangered animals. This agreement is a turning point that gets us closer to zero entanglements and a healthy ocean.”

The settlement, subject to court approval, creates a comprehensive approach to the problem of whale entanglements. It expedites state regulation, ensures stakeholder input from the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group and formalizes a first-ever commitment by CDFW to pursue a federal permit for protecting endangered species. While these steps are executed, the settlement calls for this year’s crab season to end three months early and prescribes protective measures for future springtime fishing seasons, when the greatest number of whales are present off the California coast.

In November 2018, CDFW announced it would seek a federal permit under the Endangered Species Act to address protected species interactions with the crab fishery. Obtaining a permit and developing a conservation plan as part of that process can take years, so the settlement spells out interim protections.

“This settlement represents the path back to normality for California’s crab fishery with built-in protections for whales and crab fishing operations under the Endangered Species Act,” PCFFA Executive Director Noah Oppenheim said in the statement. “The past several years have been extraordinarily challenging for fishing families, and the actions we’re taking here are no exception. But in the end, we’re going to emerge together with a resilient, prosperous, and protective fishery that will continue to feed California and the nation.”

However, as word got out that crabbers would have to pull their gear soon, frustration and anger followed.

Bodega Bay crab fisherman Tony Anello was quoted in the Press-Democrat as saying, “It hurts. Guys like me, right now I want to fish to the end.”

Most of the crab season is over in the first few weeks after it opens. As the crab supply dwindles, ex-vessel prices frequently rise and some of the fishermen rely on the limited supply for small markets in the spring and summer.

Already many large processors have stopped buying crab and turned to other fisheries as the pink shrimp and salmon seasons are set to open soon.

Fishermen and processors in other states are still waiting to understand the full ramifications of the agreement. What it will mean for next year’s fishery, whether the Center may sue other states, how regulations will change are all in question right now.

For example, the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, started in 2015 in reaction to whale entanglements, has made progress, but apparently not enough to satisfy the Center. Kristin Monsell, the CBD attorney, was once a member of the Working Group at its inception, according to working group records, but CBD pulled out of the group later.

Like California’s working group, Oregon and Washington have developed similar entities to deal with entanglements. They too have representatives of sport and commercial fishermen, ENGOs, industry, marine mammal experts and state and federal managers.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.