Saving Seafood

Most US oyster shipments meet standards, but supply chain improvements could reduce risk

November 13, 2019 — A box of raw oysters in the United States is typically handled by two to seven companies while it moves through the supply chain – a long and circuitous path that, if not managed properly, can make the shellfish ripe for foodborne illnesses.

The middlemen in this process are crucial to keeping molluscs safe from contamination, and must ferry them from farm to consumer along temperature-controlled supply chains that are constantly refrigerated from harvest to plate. Gaps in the “cold chain” that lead to temperature spikes can lead to spoilage or growth of pathogens, whether during harvesting, processing, distribution, or even at the point of sale.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Striped bass decline spurs new look at mycobacteria

November 6, 2019 — When Wolfgang Vogelbein peered at striped bass sores through a microscope 22 years ago, he knew he was looking at something very different than what was grabbing headlines at the time.

Pfiesteria piscicida — the so-called “cell from hell” — was being blamed for fish kills in Maryland and making people sick.

But what Vogelbein saw through his lens wasn’t the result of a harmful algae toxin. It was a nasty bacterial infection, creating ugly sores on the outside of fish and lesions on the inside.

The infections were caused by mycobacteria, a type of bacteria that are widespread in the environment, but not typically associated with problems in wild fish. Suddenly, though, it was turning up in large numbers of the Chesapeake Bay’s most prized finfish.

“I thought I would be spending the rest of my career working on myco,” recalled Vogelbein, a fish pathologist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

East Coast fishery managers order 18% cut in striped bass harvest

November 4, 2019 — Acting to stem serious declines in the striped bass population, East Coast fishery managers have ordered an 18% harvest reduction for the coming year. How that will be done in the Chesapeake Bay remains to be seen.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s striped bass management board on Wednesday agreed to the reduction after an extended debate over how to respond to a scientific assessment earlier this year that found the commercially and recreationally valuable species has been overfished for some time.

The board ordered an 18% cut in commercial harvest quotas in all East Coast states. It also called for comparable recreational catch restrictions. In coastal waters, anglers would be limited to just one fish per day between 28 and 35 inches in length, while in the Bay it would be just one fish per day at least 18 inches long. Anglers are allowed to keep two fish a day now in Maryland; Virginia has already reduced its limit from two to one.

Because the assessment found that many fish were dying after being caught and released, the board also ordered states to require that recreational anglers use circle hooks, which are less likely to injure the fish, beginning in 2021.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Regional panel advances menhaden finding against Virginia, Omega Protein

October 31, 2019 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission ruled Thursday to advance to Wilbur Ross, the US secretary of Commerce, its finding of noncompliance against the state of Virginia in relation to it allowing the harvest of more Atlantic menhaden inside the Chesapeake Bay than the 51,000 metric tons ASMFC guidelines allow, Undercurrent News has learned.

The commission voted unanimously (15-0) at its week-long meeting in New Castle, New Hampshire, with abstentions by representatives for both the National Marine Fisheries Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, mirroring earlier votes on Monday by the ASMFC’s menhaden management board and Thursday morning by the commission’s policy panel.

The ruling, which was expected as all three ASMFC panels share many of the same members, is bad news for Omega Protein. The Houston, Texas-based division of Canadian seafood giant Cooke catches nearly all of the menhaden in the Chesapeake, a large body of water shared by the states of Maryland and Virginia, and it has freely acknowledged recently surpassing the ASMFC limit by about 14,000t.

Omega previously suggested it made the decision to keep fishing in the Chesapeake beyond the ASMFC guidelines out of concern for the safety of its harvesters and was bound only by Virginia’s stated limit of 87,216t.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

ASMFC Finds the Commonwealth of Virginia Out of Compliance with Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden

October 31, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has found the Commonwealth of Virginia out of compliance with a mandatory management measure contained in Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The Commission will notify the Secretary of Commerce of its finding. This action was taken pursuant to the provisions of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act of 1993.

Specifically, the Commonwealth of Virginia has failed to effectively implement and enforce Section 4.3.7 Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap of Amendment 3. In order to come back into compliance, the Commonwealth must implement an annual total allowable harvest from the Chesapeake Bay by the reduction fishery of no more than 51,000 mt. The implementation of this measure is necessary to achieve the goals and objectives of Amendment 3 and maintain the Chesapeake Bay marine environment to assure the availability of the ecosystem’s resources on a long-term basis.

Upon notification by the Commission, the Secretary of Commerce has 30 days to review the recommendation and determine appropriate action, which may include a federal moratorium on fishing for or possessing Atlantic menhaden in the Commonwealth’s state waters.

For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, Director, Interstate Fisheries Management Program, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Approves Addendum VI

October 31, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Addendum VI to Amendment 6 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Addendum reduces all state commercial quotas by 18%, and implements a 1 fish bag limit and a 28”-35” recreational slot limit for ocean fisheries and a 1 fish bag limit and an 18” minimum size limit for Chesapeake Bay recreational fisheries. States may submit alternative regulations through conservation equivalency to achieve an 18% reduction in total removals relative to 2017 levels.

Addendum VI was initiated in response to the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment, which indicates the resource is overfished and experiencing overfishing. The Addendum’s measures are designed to reduce harvest, end overfishing, and bring fishing mortality to the target level in 2020.

Since catch and release practices contribute significantly to overall fishing mortality, the Addendum requires the mandatory use of circle hooks when fishing with bait to reduce release mortality in recreational striped bass fisheries. Outreach and education will be a necessary element to garner support and compliance with this important conservation measure.

States are required to submit implementation plans by November 30, 2019 for review by the Technical Committee and approval by the Board in February 2020. States must implement mandatory circle hook requirements by January 1, 2021. All other provisions of Addendum VI must be implemented by April 1, 2020. Additionally, in February 2020, the Board will consider a postponed motion to initiate an Amendment to rebuild spawning stock biomass to the target level and address other issues with the management program.

Addendum VI will be available on the Commission’s website (www.asmfc.org) on the Atlantic Striped Bass webpage in early November. For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

VIRGINIA: The Battle Over Menhaden Harvesting in the Bay

October 30, 2019 — Set along the northern-most section of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay is a town called Reedville, a fishing community established in the 1870’s. Though quaint and scenic, the heart pumping life into Reedville is a fish processing plant owned by Omega Protein.

Omega Protein harvests and processes a small, oily fish called menhaden for various commercial uses that include fish oil and fish meal, which is used as food ingredients and animal feed. It’s a good business for Reedville’s economy, but there are others who say this business is bad for the bay.

One of those people is Allen Girard of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a watchdog group that fights for the health and restoration of the bay.

“Menhaden are an incredible species,” says Girard. “A link in the food chain to the whole food web to the Chesapeake Bay.”

A close eye is kept on that link by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries.

“The menhaden issue is a very complex issue the commission is currently facing,” says Toni Kerns, ASMFC’s director of Interstate Fisheries Management Program and Policy Development.

The ASMFC is a group that, under federal law, manages and oversees coastal fisheries including the menhaden species. Essentially, the ASMFC has regulatory authority.

Read the full story at WBOC

Virginia Out of Compliance with Menhaden Cap

October 29, 2019 — The menhaden harvest limit decision-makers have found Virginia to be out of compliance with the Chesapeake Bay harvest cap.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Menhaden Management Board voted overwhelmingly to take action against Virginia after Omega Protein, the Reedville-based producer of fish meal and fish oil, exceeded ASMFC’s harvest cap back in September.

Menhaden, an oily little fish, makes for big business, but it’s also a key piece of the Chesapeake Bay food chain, providing food for predators like striped bass.

The ASMFC set the Bay’s menhaden harvest cap at 51,000 metric tons back in 2017, but Virginia’s General Assembly, who control state menhaden management, refused to enact the new cap. So the state limit remains at 87,216 metric tons.

The ASMFC considered a non-compliance motion last year, for Virginia’s failure to adopt the cap, but postponed it because Omega Protein hadn’t actually exceeded 51,000 metric tons in recent years.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

VIRGINIA: Can a few hundred mussels become millions in the Anacostia?

October 25, 2019 — Last fall, Jorge Bogantes Montero of the Anacostia Watershed Society helped to transfer tiny, hatchery-raised mussels into protective baskets in the Anacostia River. At the time, Montero said, he “didn’t have any expectations” that they would survive. But, under the careful watch of the watershed group and local school children who helped monitor their growth, nearly 92% of them did.

Now, the pilot project that started with 9,000 quarter-size mussels placed in a river no one was sure could sustain them has graduated to a much bigger one. In late September, the surviving mussels — some of which grew as much as 2 inches over the last year — were disseminated to several other locations in the river, from the marshes around Kingman Island to the faster-flowing waters near Yards Park.

Projects to circulate mussels through more of the Chesapeake Bay’s freshwater systems have been picking up steam as more people recognize the bivalves’ powerful water-filtering capacity.

Although most of the species used for restoration projects won’t show up on a local menu, they function like the Bay’s beloved oysters by providing food and filtration to local ecosystems.

“Mussels filter the water. They take nutrients and bacteria and sediment out,” said Jim Foster, president and CEO of the Anacostia Watershed Society. “We see this as an opportunity to help naturally clean up the river.”

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Student-developed app will help public remove derelict crab traps

October 16, 2019 — The following was released by William & Mary:

Kirk Havens of William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science says a question regularly asked by community clean-up groups is whether they can remove derelict crab traps from the Chesapeake Bay. Research shows these “pots” both harm marine life and cut into watermen profits.

To date, the answer has been no — in Virginia, it requires special permission to recover derelict traps, even if they are clearly abandoned or illegally present during the fishery off-season. Scientists estimate that baywide, tens of thousands of traps are lost or abandoned each year.

Now, funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Covanta, and NOAA’s Marine Debris Program will allow Havens and colleagues to address the derelict-trap issue by working with local high school students to develop a “Crab Trap App” for the cell phones of trained and authorized users. The project will also re-animate an earlier program that paid watermen to find and remove derelict traps from crabbing “hot spots.”

“Having students, trained citizens, and conscientious watermen working together to address lost, abandoned, or discarded crab pots is a great way to help lessen the impact of these pots on the Chesapeake Bay,” says Havens, assistant director of VIMS’ Center for Coastal Resources Management. Joining him in planning and implementing the project are VIMS Asst. Professor Andrew Scheld; Research Associate Professor Donna Bilkovic, Kory Angstadt, Karen Duhring, Dave Stanhope, and Dave Weiss of CCRM; and Cara Simpson, a master’s student at W&M’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business.

Read the full release here