Saving Seafood

Status of Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office Buildings and Operations

March 19, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Under guidance from the Department of Commerce, NOAA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) has adjusted its facilities and operating procedures. This is a rapidly evolving situation that we are monitoring closely.

Effective immediately and until further notice, access to all GARFO buildings is restricted to employees, and to visitors and deliveries that are deemed essential to our mission. This measure is taken out of an abundance of caution and our commitment to protecting the health and safety of our employees and constituents during the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

Despite restrictions on building access, we are continuing to operate. The majority of our staff are teleworking to the maximum extent possible, and we also have a few staff working in the buildings to keep critical functions and operations moving. Feel free to call or email GARFO staff as you normally would, but please be patient if their response time is delayed.

All meetings and events for March and several in April have been canceled or postponed. We will continue to provide updates through email and on the Events page on our website.

Permit Questions?

If you need a permit, we encourage you to use our new online portal.  Permit Office staff are available to assist you over the phone at (978) 282-8438 or by email at NMFS.GAR.Permits@noaa.gov.

Other Inquiries

Please call 978-281-9300 or email nmfs.gar.garfo@noaa.gov if you have any questions or need further information.

Fishermen, seafood dealers work through industry changes due to outbreak

March 19, 2020 — With restaurants in North Carolina closed to dining in and fishing charters losing reservations, commercial fishing is feeling the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order Tuesday closing restaurants and bars to dine-in service. Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance recommending people avoid large gatherings and to practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a result, commercial fishermen, including for-hire and charter fishermen, have been “significantly impacted,” according to N.C. Fisheries Association President Glenn Skinner.

The NCFA is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the state seafood industry. Mr. Skinner, who is also a commercial fisherman, said in an email to the News-Times Wednesday the association hopes “that representatives in Raleigh and (Washington) D.C. keep the fishermen in mind as they assess the impacts of this unprecedented event.

“Restaurant closures across the country have eliminated many of the markets for N.C. seafood,” Mr. Skinner said. “While it’s too early to predict the long-term impacts, it appears they will be devastating if the current situation continues for any length of time.”

Mr. Skinner said for-hire and charter fishermen are also “feeling the pinch” from the outbreak. He said clients have been canceling fishing trips booked in advance.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

Fatal falls overboard continue downward trend

May 4, 2018 — It’s not something most fishermen think about once they leave the dock and head out to the grounds. I’m talking going overboard and how to increase your chances of getting back aboard alive. Maybe it’s late at night and you’re coming off your wheel turn. You exit the wheelhouse, drop down a step just as the boat takes a wicked heave and you’re pitched over the side. Maybe you get wrapped up in pot warp as it snakes across the deck and out the stern, hauling you and the traps with it.

There are probably a couple hundred different maybes and some of them certainly snared the 204 fishermen that died from unintentional falls overboard between 2000 and 2016. In all cases, none of the victims was wearing a PFD. In Fatal Falls Overboard in Commercial Fishing 2000 — 2016, a just released report from the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, those man overboard deaths are examined.

A chart shows the number of falls overboard by year and the trend of fatal falls overboard. A second chart breaks down most of the 204 fatalities by several categories including age, fishing experience, activity before the fall and cause of fall. A third chart displays the recovery status of overboard victims. For instance, of the 83 fishermen seen falling overboard, 27 soon went out of sight, while for 56 fishermen a recovery was attempted within an hour. Of those five could not be recovered and 22 were recovered but could not be resuscitated.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Upcoming Free Safety Trainings for Commercial Fishermen in Marshfield, Massachusetts

March 12, 2018 — The following was released by Fishing Partnership Support Services:

Fishing Partnership Support Services is a non-profit organization devoted to the health, safety and economic security of commercial fishermen and their family members.

Among the current free programs it has scheduled are two trainings this month in Massachusetts. A team of U.S. Coast Guard-certified marine safety instructors will lead both programs.

A summary of the programs is provided below:

Safety and Survival Training for Commercial Fishermen; Thursday, March 22, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Harbormaster’s Office, 100 Central St., Marshfield

Hands-on training offered at no cost to commercial fishermen by Fishing Partnership Support Services.  Trainers are Coast Guard-certified marine safety instructors.  Includes on-board firefighting, man overboard recovery, rescue helicopter hoist procedures, flooding and pump operations, proper use of survival suits, life rafts and accompanying equipment. Pre-registration recommended.  Contact: Lori Caron, 781-635-0011.

Drill Conductor Training for Commercial Fishermen; Friday, March 23, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Harbormaster’s Office, 100 Central St., Marshfield

One-day course meets latest drill conductor certification requirements for commercial fishermen.  Offered at no cost by Fishing Partnership Support Services.  Conducted by Coast Guard-certified marine safety instructors.  Participants must have attended safety/survival training within past 12 months; upon successful completion, they will be certified to conduct emergency drills.   Session includes classroom instruction and practice drills aboard local vessel.  Pre-registration recommended. Contact: Lori Caron, 781-635-0011.

Scary and True

Falls overboard are the most common causes of death for fishermen at sea, which is why the Fishing Partnership always includes a module in its training programs devoted to showing fishermen how to recover a crew member who has gone overboard.  There are specific steps that must be taken immediately after a fall overboard.  According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 545 commercial fishermen in the U.S. who died from 2000 to 2010; of those fatalities, 170 (31%) died because they fell overboard.

That is why Man-Overboard Recovery Procedures are one of the centerpieces of Safety and Survival Training.

In addition to the topics listed above, this training also includes a module on Basic First Aid.

Drill Conductor Training – What Is It For?

Prepares and certifies fishermen to conduct emergency drills at sea.

Federal regulations require monthly drills on commercial fishing boats operating beyond the U.S. boundary line.

Emergency situations addressed in this training include: Man Overboard; Fire; Damage Control; Abandon Ship.

There will be an emergency procedures class in the morning and practice drills aboard a docked vessel in the afternoon.

 

Network seeks to bring together data on harmful algal blooms

February 6, 2018 — A group of scientists is coming together to share information related to harmful algal blooms in Alaska.

Under the umbrella of the Alaska Ocean Observation System, part of the national ocean observation system network, a partnership of state agencies, Alaska Native organizations and the University of Alaska has launched the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network. The intent is to stitch together a statewide approach to researching, monitoring, responding to and spreading information about harmful algal blooms in the state.

Algal blooms are natural processes in the ocean and occur when the population of algae in a certain area increases dramatically. However, they can turn toxic when certain types of algae proliferate and produce chemicals that can be harmful to other plants, animals and people, or consume all the oxygen in the water as they decay. The events, called harmful algal blooms, occur all over the planet, in both freshwater and the ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve been seeing more and more of these bloom events happening,” said Ginny Eckert, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Juneau and co-chair of the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network’s executive committee. “It’s always a question: Are we seeing more because we’re paying attention more? But … the more information we can get out to people, (the better).”

Harmful algal blooms can have devastating consequences. In 2014, nearly 500,000 Ohio residents had to go without clean drinking water because of harmful algal blooms near a water treatment plant in Lake Erie. A harmful algal bloom in a lake that flowed into the ocean near Monterey Bay, California in 2007 is thought to have killed 11 sea otters with infections of microcystin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every year in Alaska, a number of alerts go out to shellfish gatherers to be careful because some of the clams, oysters and mussels may have high levels of a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, a fatal condition in humans.

Read the full at the Peninsula Clarion