Saving Seafood

California Swordfish Fishery Faces Sustainability and Market Pressures Following Driftnet Ban

October 16, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — With the scrawl of Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature and the unanimous backing of both the California State Senate and Assembly, California has officially banned the controversial drift gillnets used to catch swordfish.

Senate Bill 1017, signed into law on Sept. 27, will phase out driftnet fishing over a four-year period that includes both buyouts and incentives for commercial fishermen to revert to gear and practices that result in less bycatch — the dolphins, sea turtles, whales and other species that get entrapped in the nets and sometimes killed while fishing for swordfish and thresher sharks.

Ashley Blacow, Pacific policy and communications manager for Oceana, wrote in a statement, “Ocean waters off California are some of the most productive and ecologically diverse in the world … . Pulling large drift gillnets out of the water for good while transitioning to cleaner gear means countless marine animals will continue to thrive off the California coast and Californians will have access to sustainably, locally caught swordfish.”

There are 20 commercial driftnet boats still operating in the state — a marked decrease from 129 boats in 1994, according to reporting by The Mercury News. The fishing occurs mostly between San Diego and Big Sur. The bill’s buyout program will compensate fishermen $10,000 for their state drift gillnet permit and an additional $100,000 for surrendering their nets.

California is the last state in the nation to allow such drift gillnets.

While the impending ban will probably be looked at as “a defining moment,” according to Geoff Shester, Ph.D., California campaign director and senior scientist at Oceana, “there are still many battles to go.”

Shester pointed to the renewed push from fishermen to make pelagic longline fishing legal again in California. That fishing practice uses hundreds, and sometimes more than 1,000, baited hooks that hang near the water’s surface to catch species like swordfish and tuna. Like driftnets, longline fishing results in significant amounts of bycatch.

“Why take the approach of pick your poison when you don’t have to choose poison?” Shester asked. Instead of indiscriminate fishing practices with high levels of bycatch, Shester hopes fishermen, with the help of government policies and environmental research, will adopt sustainable practices like deep-set buoy gear.

A local scientist, Chugey Sepulveda, Ph.D., director and senior scientist at the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research (PIER) in Oceanside, came up with the concept for deep-set buoy gear in 2009.

With this method, a fishing line of one to three baited hooks is dropped to the depths where swordfish feed. When there’s a bite on the hook, the buoy on the surface moves, alerting the fishermen. The gear typically consists of up to 10 lines that fishermen monitor in real time.

Sepulveda explained in an email to The Coast News, “The idea was based primarily on our swordfish tagging studies which showed that California swordfish segregate from other bycatch species at depth during the day — they tend to hang out well below the thermocline and feed on deep forage with only occasional surface basking.

“This daily dive pattern seemed like an ideal opportunity for targeting swordfish and avoiding sensitive bycatch like sea turtles and marine mammals, species that predominantly remain within the surface waters.”

Sepulveda worked with PIER research biologist Scott Aalbers to modify typical hook and line methods for a gear design specific to the West Coast that would effectively catch swordfish and greatly reduce bycatch.

According to data from a PIER-led, seven-year study of commercial and experimental deep-set buoy gear trials off California shores, fishing with buoy gear resulted in a catch that was 83 percent swordfish, 12 percent bigeye thresher shark and 98 percent marketable. Non-marketable species, like blue shark and two elephant seals, were released alive.

The swordfish caught was also more profitable, as people will pay a premium for sustainably caught fish that is not mangled and makes it to market faster. Blacow said, “Last year, drift gillnet vessels targeting swordfish made $52,000 per vessel and those vessels targeting swordfish with deep-set buoy gear made $81,000 per vessel.”

Nonetheless, Sepulveda, who is also a fisherman, said deep-set buoy gear “was designed to provide fisherman with an additional opportunity, not to replace one of the few options our local fishermen have.” As such, he explained that commercial fishermen are disappointed by the passage of SB 1017 “as it means that they have one less tool available to harvest local swordfish.”

Sepulveda noted that domestic fisheries are much more regulated than the foreign gillnet and longline operations that the U.S. imports the majority of its swordfish from. Those imports “flood our markets at reduced prices,” Sepulveda wrote, which makes it hard for local fishers to compete.

In response to such concerns, Blacow wrote, “We acknowledge that an array of regulations have been put in place over the years in attempts to clean up the fishery. However, despite gear modifications and special closed areas the fishery continues to have unacceptably high amounts of waste — throwing back more than half of what is caught … . Just because an activity is regulated doesn’t automatically mean that activity should be occurring in the first place.”

Blacow pointed to a 2018 National Marine Fisheries Service study that estimates that “between 2001 and 2016 the California drift gillnet fishery captured 1,602 protected marine species including whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles and seabirds.”

Furthermore, Blacow believes that restricting seafood imports that do not meet U.S. environmental standards would be a step in the right direction in ensuring food sustainability and the livelihoods of U.S. fishermen.

Sepulveda shared similar thoughts, stating, “Our ultimate goal is to enhance domestic sustainable swordfish operations, improve the availability of jobs in the fishing sector while reducing our reliance upon foreign under-regulated and substandard product.”

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

After the driftnet ban, swordfish fishery faces sustainability & market pressures

October 12, 2018 — With the scrawl of Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature and the unanimous backing of both the California State Senate and Assembly, California has officially banned the controversial drift gillnets used to catch swordfish.

Senate Bill 1017, signed into law on Sept. 27, will phase out driftnet fishing over a four-year period that includes both buyouts and incentives for commercial fishermen to revert to gear and practices that result in less bycatch — the dolphins, sea turtles, whales and other species that get entrapped in the nets and sometimes killed while fishing for swordfish and thresher sharks.

Ashley Blacow, Pacific policy and communications manager for Oceana, wrote in a statement, “Ocean waters off California are some of the most productive and ecologically diverse in the world … . Pulling large drift gillnets out of the water for good while transitioning to cleaner gear means countless marine animals will continue to thrive off the California coast and Californians will have access to sustainably, locally caught swordfish.”

There are 20 commercial driftnet boats still operating in the state — a marked decrease from 129 boats in 1994, according to reporting by The Mercury News. The fishing occurs mostly between San Diego and Big Sur. The bill’s buyout program will compensate fishermen $10,000 for their state drift gillnet permit and an additional $100,000 for surrendering their nets.

Read the full story at The Coast News Group

California bans giant ocean fishing nets blamed for killing sea turtles, whales

September 28, 2018 — Ending years of controversy and debate, Gov. Jerry Brown late Thursday signed a new law phasing out the use of giant ocean fishing nets used to catch swordfish, but blamed for accidentally killing sea turtles, dolphins and other sea creatures.

The bill, SB 1017 by state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Redondo Beach, requires the state to set up a program to buy back nets and fishing permits from commercial fishermen who work in the state’s drift gill net fishery.

The nets — giant nylon curtains that can stretch one mile long and extend 100 feet underwater — are used mostly by fishermen between San Diego and Big Sur. Although they are intended to catch swordfish, thresher shark and opah, studies have shown that they entangle dozens of other marine species, including whales, dolphins, sea lions and sea turtles, fish and sharks. Those animals, known as bycatch, are often thrown back overboard, injured or dead.

“There is no longer room in our oceans for any fishery that throws away more than it keeps,” said Susan Murray, deputy vice president for Oceana, an environmental group with offices in Monterey that pushed for the new law.

Read the full story at Mercury News

 

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Declares Commercial Fishery Disasters for West Coast Salmon and Sardines

September 28, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that commercial fishery failures occurred between 2015 and 2017 for salmon fisheries in Washington, Oregon, and California, in addition to the sardine fishery in California.

“The Department of Commerce and NOAA stand ready to assist fishing towns and cities along the West Coast as they recover,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “After years of hardship, the Department looks forward to providing economic relief that will allow the fisheries and the communities they help support to rebound.”

Between July 2016 and March 2018, multiple tribes and governors from Washington, Oregon, and California requested fishery disaster determinations. The Secretary, working with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), evaluated each request based on the available data, and found that all but one (the California red sea urchin fishery) met the requirements for a fishery disaster determination.

The determinations for West Coast salmon and sardines now make these fisheries eligible for NOAA Fisheries fishery disaster assistance.  The 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided $20 million in NOAA Fisheries fishery disaster assistance. The Department of Commerce is determining the appropriate allocations of these funds to eligible fisheries.

Read the full release here

Commerce Department Makes Several Fishery Failure Determinations for West Coast Fisheries

September 27, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Salmon and sardine fisheries off the West Coast have been closed or severely curtailed in the years since The Blob — an unusual mass of warm water — stuck around for most of 2014 and 2015. While not the only odd ocean change, it was blamed for many fisheries problems.

Now, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has determined those salmon and sardine fisheries are indeed fishery failures due to natural resource conditions, the department said in a press release and letters released Tuesday. Those fisheries will now be eligible for $20 million in fishery disaster aid in the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

““The Department of Commerce and NOAA stand ready to assist fishing towns and cities along the West Coast as they recover,” Ross said in a statement. “After years of hardship, the department looks forward to providing economic relief that will allow the fisheries and the communities they help support to rebound.”

About a dozen fisheries are included in the determinations, a mix of several tribes and state fisheries from all three West Coast states. Only one, the California red sea urchin fishery, was not included.

“The recent five-year average revenue (2011-2015) from the California red sea urchin fishery was $8,538,815,” Ross’ letter to California Gov. Edmund G. Brown said. “In 2016, California red sea urchin fishery revenues were $7,255,593, which is a 15 percent revenue loss as compared with the previous five-year average. Compared to the previous five-year average, this percentage loss in revenue is substantially lower than the 35 percent revenue loss minimum called for in the NMFS Policy Guidance to justify a determination of a commercial fishery failure, serious disruption, or harm.”

However, the 2015 and 2016 Pacific sardine fishery did meet the requirements for a fishery failure. A large biomass decline in sardines, resulting from unfavorable ocean conditions, was beyond the control of fishery managers, the letter to Gov. Brown stated.

“We are deeply grateful to Secretary Ross and Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Chris Oliver, as well as to West Coast NMFS officials and Governor Brown, for acknowledging that our sardine fishery closure met the legal requirements for designation as a fishery resource disaster,” California Wetfish Producers Association Executive Director Diane Pleschner said in an email. “This determination now makes our sardine fishery eligible for NMFS fishery disaster assistance. We look forward to learning the level of disaster assistance that the Department of Commerce will determine. The fact that relief is coming is very good news.”

NMFS has not determined the allocations for the $20 million in disaster assistance yet, but the final divisions will be pretty small for each entity compared to similar disasters in years past.

For example, the 2016 and 2017 California and Oregon ocean troll Klamath River fall Chinook salmon fisheries were included in the determinations. A similar scenario in 2005 and 2006, in which commercial troll seasons were partially or fully closed due to poor returns of Klamath River fall Chinook, $60.4 million in disaster aid was made available to fishermen, processors and related businesses. Now, those fisheries will have to share part of the $20 million — barring additional funding appropriated by Congress.

Other determinations include the 2017 Yurok and 2016-2017 Hoopa Valley tribes’ Klamath River fall Chinook fisheries; the 2016 Makah ocean coho and Chinook salmon troll fishery in Washington; the 2015 Hoh, Suquamish, Nooksack and Stillaguamish tribes’ coho fisheries in Washington; the 2015 Muckleshoot and Upper Skagit tribes’ coho and pink salmon fisheries in Washington; and the 2015 and 2016 Quileute Tribe coho salmon fisheries in Washington.

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

California crabbers manage fallout of whale entanglements

September 12, 2018 — The future of California’s iconic Dungeness crab fishery seemed uncertain after a three-year spike in the number of whales entangled in fishing gear from 2015 to 2017. A warm-water blob, domoic acid and a coinciding of whale migrations and fishing caused by the delayed start of the Dungeness crab season spurred a record number of whales and other marine animals to become twisted in crab gear.

Few fisheries were spared entanglement issues on the Pacific Coast, but California Dungeness crab fishermen came under fire for their lines snaring the largest number of whales. Negative publicity, threats of a federal shutdown and a lawsuit in federal court made California crabbers fear the worst.

But with ocean conditions returning in the direction of normal and state legislative effort looking to head off litigation, crab fishermen can breathe easier. Still, there’s no returning to the way things were.

A fisheries omnibus bill making its way through the California Legislature, (S.B. 1309) would give the director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife the ability to implement emergency closures in the Dungeness crab fishery when there’s a “significant risk” of entanglement in a specific area.

The new powers to close the fishery when there’s a threat to marine life would only be effective until November 2020 when the legislation calls for new regulations to be implemented based on the proposals of the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group — consisting of commercial fishermen, state and federal biologists and NGO representatives.

The director of Fish and Wildlife would have to give 48 hours’ notice before any closure and would have to allow feedback from the crab gear working group.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Developers see value in California offshore wind development

September 11, 2018 — Now that offshore wind energy has taken a strong position in New England’s future power planning, due in part to unexpectedly competitive prices, developers are looking toward new markets.

State mandates and contractual commitments promise to make offshore wind a key part of the East Coast power mix by the mid-2020s. But offshore wind is not limited to the east. A Sept. 17 meeting of a federal-state Energy Task Force could clear federal permitting obstacles, bring thousands of California coastal wind MWs into the market, and pioneer floating turbine technology.

Regulators are saying little ahead of the meeting but the Trump administration sees wind energy as “affordable and reliable,” Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Chief of Staff Alex Fitzsimmons told Utility Dive. And because of its high capacity factors, offshore wind “has the potential to contribute to reliability,” he added. “It is a critical resource for the future.”

First, however, developers will need the rights to build. That remains in doubt until at least Sept. 17. If they get those rights, a three-step plan may allow California to bring prices down enough to begin harvesting wind, just when it will be needed the most.

Read the full story at Utility Drive

California assembly passes driftnet ban, bill heads to governor’s desk

September 6, 2018 — A bill that would end the use of drift gillnets for harvesting swordfish and thresher sharks in California now only needs the governor’s signature to become law.

Last week, the California Assembly voted 78-0 to pass SB 1017, which calls for eliminating the controversial nets over a four-year period. The nation’s most populous state is also the only one that still allows the use of the nets to collect swordfish and thresher sharks.

In June, the bill passed the state senate by a 33-0 margin.

Under the bill, the state would create a transition program by 31 March, 2020, to enable driftnet permit holders to use alternative gear. The transition program would include a buyout program created through a public-private partnership. Fishermen must surrender their nets in order to get compensation.

“Finally we have found a way to phase out their use and transition to a more humane alternative – without harming the commercial fishing industry in the process,” said State Senator Ben Allen, the bill’s sponsor. “This is a significant win for our ocean and for the California economy. We look forward to the governor signing it into law.”

According to data from NOAA Fisheries, there are approximately less than 20 active license holders using driftnets in California.

Conservation groups have long opposed the use of the mile-long, nearly invisible nets because they have been known to kill or injure dozens of other marine species, including whales, sea lions, and turtles. According to Oceana, the nets are responsible for killing more dolphins that all other American west coast fisheries.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

El Niño fears grow as starving baby birds wash up on California beaches

September 5, 2018 — Scores of starving baby seabirds have been washing up on Northern California beaches this summer, raising fears among scientists that a climatic cycle like the one that wreaked havoc on sea creatures a few years ago may be moving in.

More than 100 undernourished common murre babies have been plucked from beaches from Monterey to Marin County by biologists and volunteers with International Bird Rescue and are being rehabilitated at the organization’s Fairfield center.

J.D. Bergeron, the executive director, said it is unusual at this time of year for the center to have more than a handful of baby murres, a native fish-eating seabird that, with its dark color and white belly, looks like a cute, foot-long penguin.

Normally at this time, he said, the chicks are out at sea being fed by their fathers while the mothers go off to replenish energy reserves after giving birth. But rising ocean temperatures may have made it difficult for the fathers to find the cold-water fish the birds normally eat. Large numbers of beached seabirds have also been found in Alaska this year.

“Obviously there could be some sort of environmental contaminant, but, since the babies are coming in healthy but starving, we think this is a food issue,” Bergeron said. “One of our concerns is that, while this has been all chicks, we will see a followup event with the adults.”

Record high ocean temperatures in Southern California in August created widespread alarm among marine biologists.

Read the full story at the San Francisco Chronicle

Tuna fishermen report strong year, long runs

September 5, 2018 — For freshness, there’s just no comparison.

That was the conclusion of San Jose resident Russell Taylor, who ambled up to The Barge on Newport’s Dock 7 on Wednesday to scope out the supply.

“You can’t beat the fish,” he said.

It’s busy times and good landings for the Newport tuna fleet. Daily, crowds gather boatside to watch the glint of steel and the deft movements of deckhands rendering whole tuna into loins ready for the grill or canning jar.

John Kosta, co-captain of the Fishing Vessel Pacific Rim, prepared his boat for departure on Wednesday by arranging ice blankets in the hold to keep the ice from melting. He planned to be back in harbor, selling fish in time for Labor Day Weekend.

“We’re gonna soak some gear anyway,” he said. “We’re gonna have tuna for sale — fresh, bled, iced — right off the dock.”

Sales of albacore have been brisk, but captains report they are having to work for them.  The migratory fish draw near to the coast in the summer and fall, following warm ocean currents. The albacore tend to bite when the water temperature climbs above the 60-degree mark, but some years those warmer waters don’t reach as close to the shoreline.

Read the full story at the Newport News Times