Saving Seafood

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries accepting applications for CARES Act II relief

August 18, 2021 — Members of the seafood industry in Carteret County and elsewhere across the state may apply to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries for financial relief.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting applications for the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, also known as the CARES Act II, Fisheries Relief Program. The financial assistance is available to eligible commercial fishermen and marine aquaculture operators, seafood dealers and processors and for-hire fishing operators who can document a greater than 35% revenue loss in 2020 compared to the previous five-year average due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The division mailed application packets to eligible license, lease and permit holders. Application packets are available online at deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/marine-fisheries/grant-programs/economic-relief-programs or at division offices for eligible stakeholders who are not licensed by the division. In Carteret County, the DMF headquarters is located at 3441 Arendell St. in Morehead City.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

New research shows pandemic good for recreational fishing due to ‘social fishtancing’

August 18, 2021 — Recreational fishing in the U.S. is largely a personal hobby that scales up to a multibillion-dollar economic activity. More than 44 million people in the U.S. identify as recreational anglers making this hobby second only to jogging in terms of popular outdoor activities.

At the beginning of the  last spring as things were shutting down, fisheries science researchers at LSU, U.S. Geological Survey and Clemson University saw the opportunity to study how the pandemic was affecting recreational anglers. LSU launched an online survey from July to August 2020 and received nearly 18,000 responses across 10 states. The researchers asked recreational anglers 20 questions that included if they fished more or less since the pandemic, what their motivations were and if they thought fishing is safe in terms of COVID-19 exposure.

“What we found is people still fished and in fact, they fished a little bit more during the pandemic,” said LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences Assistant Professor Stephen Midway, who is the lead author of this study that is published in PLOS ONE.

Out of five anglers, four fished as much during the pandemic as they did before while, one angler out of the five fished more—taking about one additional trip in the spring. Although the increase may seem small, it has a positive ripple effect for the economy and fisheries management.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Pacific island leaders call for vaccination of fishermen, seafarers, and observers

August 18, 2021 — Leaders of Pacific island nations are encouraging the region’s governments to prioritize the vaccination of fishing crews and seafarers in their national vaccination programs.

In a communique released by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders last week, 18 member countries and territories stated that vaccination will facilitate the transit and return of fishing crew and seafarers to their countries. The leaders have endorsed the Pacific fisheries ministers’ recommended actions to deal with the impact of COVID-19.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New Global Biodiversity Agreement: China to Host a Two-Part Summit on Nature

August 18, 2021 — The following was released by the Convention on Biological Diversity:

Decisive in-person meetings on a highly-anticipated new UN agreement on biodiversity have been paused for a few more months by the coronavirus pandemic.

Host country China and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) today announced dates for the UN Biodiversity Conference, which includes the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15), www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-15, to be convened in two parts, the 10th meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP 10) and the 4th meeting of Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (NP-MOP 4).

From Monday 11 to Friday 15 October 2021, an official opening will take place online, followed by final negotiations on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework during face-to-face meetings in Kunming, China, Monday 25 April to Sunday 8 May 2022.

The opening meeting will address agenda items essential to the continued operations of the biodiversity convention and its two Protocols. It will also include a High-Level Segment to be held on 12 and 13 October and expected to produce a Kunming Declaration adding political momentum to the Framework negotiations.

Read the full release here

NORTH CAROLINA: Fisheries-related coronavirus relief funding available

August 17, 2021 — The state Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting applications for the second round of federal coronavirus pandemic relief for seafood-related operations.

Commercial fishers, marine aquaculture operators, seafood dealers and processors and for-hire fishing operators who can document a revenue loss of more than 35% last year compared to the previous five-year average due to COVID-19 are eligible to apply for the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, or CARES Act II, Fisheries Relief Program, the agency announced. The deadline is Oct. 1.

Application packets are on the division’s Economic Relief Programs webpage or at division offices for eligible stakeholders who are not licensed by the division.

The state is to receive $4.5 million in federal relief to be distributed through direct payments to fisheries-related groups affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is in addition to the $5.4 million in federal fisheries coronavirus relief distributed in the state earlier this year.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

West Coast CARES Act Funding, Spend Plans in Various Stages of Completion

August 13, 2021 — As fishermen and processors in Washington are receiving checks from the first round of COVID-19 relief, managers in California and Oregon are moving ahead with proposed spend plans for Round Two.

Round One funding, announced in May 2020, included $300 million provided by Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also called the CARES Act, to states, tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants that were negatively affected by COVID–19.

Read the full story at Seafood News

$9.5M In Federal Aid Approved To Help NJ Fishing Industry

August 11, 2021 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency has approved $9.5 million in federal aid for New Jersey’s commercial and charter fishing industry.

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., announced the approval Wednesday. Pallone secured the funding as part of the omnibus and coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress. This is the second round of federal funding Congress has allotted to help fishing communities during the pandemic.

“I am pleased that another round of federal funding will be delivered to New Jersey’s fishing industry,” Pallone said in a prepared statement. “This is another step in the right direction to ensure our region’s fishing businesses and their families get the assistance they need to withstand the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic storm.”

Read the full story at Patch.com

CARES Act draft spend plan for Oregon available for review

August 11, 2021 — The following was released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:

ODFW has posted a draft of the proposed spend plan for the second round of Oregon distribution of federal CARES Act fisheries relief funding at https://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/CARES/index.asp.

Marine and coastal fishery businesses who have experienced economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to review the draft and provide input.

About $13 million is available for Oregon’s marine and coastal fishery sectors experiencing significant economic impacts from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The relief aid slated for Oregon is part of $255 million in fisheries assistance funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). ODFW is the lead State agency working with fishery participants to coordinate aid.

The spend plan details how the distribution of these relief funds will be conducted in Oregon.  The plan builds upon successful aspects of round one funding completed in January 2021, with adjustments to address identified gaps.

The plan must be approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Once approved, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission will manage the application process and distribute funds.

Comments on the plan should be sent to ODFW.CARESACT@odfw.oregon.gov. Comments received by Sunday, Aug. 22 will be reviewed and considered during finalization of the spend plan.

“We want to provide one more opportunity for Oregon businesses to comment on the draft plan before we submit a final version, and also realize that some may have missed our June public meeting,” said Chris Kern, ODFW Deputy Fish Division Administrator.

A recording and materials from the June 2021 online meeting are available one the ODFW CARES Act web page.

Louisiana fishermen, others in industry can apply for pandemic relief through LDWF

August 10, 2021 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is now accepting applications for $12.4 million in financial assistance available to Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applications opened Monday, August 9. Applications can only be submitted online. To access the application, visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cares-act-assistance.

The application process will be open for a three-week period, according to LDWF. The deadline to submit applications is 11:59 p.m. August 29.

Funding allocation has been structured so that all applications submitted before the deadline will be considered. The funds, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CARES 2.0), will be distributed as direct aid payments by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to those applicants who qualify.

Read the full story at KATC

Alaska groundfish: Covid’s hangover and bycatch caps slow the season

August 10, 2021 — King salmon caps, covid and stiff tariffs on the China end of business have stymied the Gulf of Alaska groundfish industry so far this year. As of March 26, trawlers targeting Pacific cod in the western gulf harvest area hit the hard cap of 3,060 kings.

Cod that have been scattered in their concentrations during winter form into tight schools as the calendar rolls toward March, but king salmon inhabit the same waters. Though the fleet can roll over unused caps from other fisheries, it wasn’t enough to warrant the continuation of the fishery. Trawlers will be able to fish on a new cap beginning Sept. 1.

Even if the fleet of about 40 shoreside-delivering vessels hadn’t hit the king salmon caps and had been allowed to fish later, covid conundrums and tariffs put the kibosh on moving product through processing plants and toward end markets.

“We don’t even have a flatfish market this year,” says Julie Bonney, executive director of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, in Kodiak. “The plants can’t sell it and make any money,” she adds. As of July 9, landings to plants in Kodiak totaled 4,060 tons. “We’ve caught 17,500 fewer tons than last year at this time,” she says. 

Read the full story at National Fisherman