Saving Seafood

Treading Water: The Fight to Keep New Hampshire Fisheries Afloat

August 21, 2020 — Andrea Tomlinson often worries about the future of New Hampshire commercial fishing.

“Our local fishermen are in danger of becoming extinct,” she says.

As the manager of NH Community Seafood, a fishing cooperative aimed at protecting and expanding New Hampshire’s seafood industry, Tomlinson has seen up-close the struggles of the state’s fishing businesses. Each year, additional challenges and burdensome regulations are piled upon the shoulders of small fishermen. In the 1990s, there were about 100 groundfish boats that called New Hampshire waters home. By 2019, there were only eight. The lobster fishing industry is facing similar decline.

Commercial fishing has turned into big business. Small-scale, locally owned fishing operations have considerable difficulty competing with consolidated national fishing companies. John Borden, the captain of a local lobster boat, says he and fellow fishermen are up against stiff competition.

Read the full story at New Hampshire Magazine

Maine delegation steps up pressure on Trump administration to release lobster industry aid

August 20, 2020 — Maine’s congressional delegation wrote a letter to a federal agency on Wednesday asking it to act immediately on aid recommended by President Donald Trump for the lobster industry, which has been struggling under the effects of tariffs and the coronavirus pandemic.

The group asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to act before Monday’s deadline. In his June 24 memo, which came three weeks after he visited fisheries experts in Maine, the president urged Perdue to consider taking appropriate action “to provide assistance to fisherman and producers in the U.S. lobster industry that continue to be harmed by China’s retaliatory tariffs.”

Since then, the administration has been largely silent about any firm actions it might take. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine’s 1st District, in early July inserted language into a 2021 spending bill that would require the USDA to act swiftly on the aid.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Rhode Island touts its ‘calamari comeback’ in Democratic convention

August 20, 2020 — Squid made up most of the 48 million pounds landed at Point Judith, R.I., during 2018, a year when the port brought in $64 million, according to the latest National Marine Fisheries Service statistics.

So when the covid-19 pandemic shut down restaurants around the country – and with them most demand for fried calamari, the ubiquitous casual-dining appetizer – the Rhode Island seafood industry took a huge hit.

But fishermen and their supporters in state government regrouped, with a new licensing system to allow fishermen to sell directly to customers as “our restaurant and fishing industry have been decimated” by the lockdowns, state Democratic Party chairman Joe McNamara told the national television audience during the Tuesday evening broadcast of the national Democratic presidential convention.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Lobster Industry: Challenges Facing Maine’s Iconic Fishery & How They Might be Overcome

August 19, 2020 — Last year, Maine’s lobster fishery brought in almost $500 million to the state, and even more when you count the economic benefits to dealers, processors and restaurants. Now, with the pandemic hindering the market for lobsters locally and around the world, this signature industry has been impacted severely. We will talk about how the industry is facing challenges, and what efforts are underway to find new ways to market lobsters and connect with consumers.

Read the full story at Maine Public

Sens. Markey and Warren press NOAA on observer redeployment while stock surveys remain suspended due to COVID-19

August 19, 2020 — The following was released by The Offices of Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey (D-MA):

Dear Acting Administrator Jacobs:

We write regarding steps that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has taken during the COVID-19 pandemic to manage fisheries stocks in the Northeast. We appreciate the challenges your agency faces in balancing the safety of NOAA employees, observers, fishermen, and broader communities with regulatory requirements for monitoring, observations, and surveys. However, we question the lack of consistency between the current operational plan for monitoring and observation and that for ecosystem surveys.

The dangers posed to the health of both fishing boat crews and observers led NOAA to temporarily waive at-sea monitor and observer coverage in the Northeast. The size of fishing vessels and the nature of the work makes social distancing a challenge, and the cross-jurisdictional nature of the Northeast fishery—with both observers and fishermen often traveling and working across state lines—provides an additional element of risk and complication. NOAA has provided guidance on how fishermen can seek additional waivers for coverage, but directed that at-sea observers and monitors redeploy starting on August 14, 2020.

Read the full letter here

Sen. Chuck Schumer Expresses Concern Over At-Sea Monitoring Redeployment, Says Health & Safety Must Come First

August 19, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY):

Dear Secretary Ross:

I write today to convey concerns regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) July 30, 2020 decision to resume the Northeast Fisheries Observers Program (NEFOP) and the At-Sea Monitoring Program (ASM) for the Northeast multispecies fishery amidst the ongoing global pandemic caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the health risks attributed to COVID-19. While these observer programs play a critical role in collecting the data that guides our fisheries management decisions, the health and safety of our fishermen, their families, and the observers must always come first. That’s why I was pleased when NOAA issued a March 24th, 2020 emergency action waiving observer coverage requirements established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and subsequent waivers to the program through August 14th. NOAA’s initial decision in March and its subsequent waivers were necessary to protect the health of commercial fishermen across the country, while allowing them to continue to do their job as essential food harvesters and producers. While I appreciate the initial steps NOAA has taken to protect our fishing community, the decision to redeploy observers has raised questions about whether observers can be deployed without putting the fishing community, and the observers, at risk. Before the agency moves forward, I request NOAA immediately report to me how NOAA plans to guarantee that federal health guidelines are maintained during the redeployment of observers to ensure the safety of captains, crews and observers.

In response to the pandemic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) developed guidance to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also developed guidance on preparing workplaces for COVID-19. Guidance from both agencies include recommendations for daily health checks, face coverings, social distancing practices, improved ventilation, and isolation of employees who show COVID-like symptoms.

While some of these safety measures can be easily implemented on a small vessel, others such as isolating individuals with COVID-like symptoms will be challenging if not impossible on a small vessel. I have heard from a number of New York’s commercial fishermen who do not believe their vessels are large enough to maintain an appropriate level of social distancing from observers based on federal health guidelines. How does NOAA plan to ensure observers, fishermen, and providers are complying with OSHA and CDC recommendations so that the redeployment of observers will not pose a safety risk to the observer and fishing communities?

Read the full letter here

Mass Die-Offs of Marine Mammals Are on the Rise

August 19, 2020 — The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is a reminder of the devastation disease outbreaks can cause. But such disasters do not only affect humans. New research led by Claire Sanderson, a wildlife epidemiologist and immunologist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, shows that disease outbreaks among marine mammals have quietly been on the rise. Between 1955 and 2018, a sixth of marine mammal species have suffered a mass die-off caused by an infectious disease.

Reports of disease-induced mass die-offs in marine mammals have been increasing since at least 1996. This could be due in part to increased surveillance. However, it’s also likely that scientists are still underestimating the true numbers of outbreaks in these populations. Marine mammals travel great distances in remote parts of the oceans, and often the only indication that something has gone wrong is when carcasses start washing up on shore.

Disease dynamics in marine systems are relatively unexplored compared to those on land. To address this, Sanderson combed through decades of published work documenting the occurrence of disease-driven mass deaths. The majority of outbreaks, she found, were caused by viruses such as influenza A and strains of Morbillivirus—viruses that cause pandemic flus and measles in humans, respectively.

Bacteria are the next most common causes of mass die-offs, but these die-offs tend to be less severe. On average, a viral outbreak causes roughly 7,000 marine mammal deaths, while a bacteria-induced mass mortality event causes 350 deaths. Compared with death tolls from the largest outbreaks in human populations these may appear small, but for already threatened animals such as Mediterranean sperm whales and pilot whales, even the loss of a few animals endangers the population’s long-term survival.

Read the full story at the Smithsonian Magazine

Update to West Coast Groundfish and Highly Migratory Species Fleets on Observer and Catch Monitor Coverage during COVID-19

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

On July 30, 2020, NOAA Fisheries announced national-level criteria for vessels to be waived (released) from at-sea observer or shore-based catch monitor coverage requirements. Observer or monitor coverage may be waived, for both full and partial-coverage fisheries, on a trip-specific basis if one of the following two criteria are met:

  1. Observers or at-sea monitors are not available for deployment; or
  2. The observer providers cannot meet the safety protocols imposed by a state on commercial fishing crew or by the vessel or vessel company on its crew.

We remain committed to the public health and safety of fishermen, observers, and their communities, while fulfilling our mission to maintain our nation’s seafood supply and conserving marine life. Since late March 2020, NOAA Fisheries has been working with West Coast observer and catch monitor providers to implement safety protocols that meet state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Within our limited authority, our efforts are intended to ensure observers and monitors are following the same safety protocols that fishermen are following.

These measures include the following:

  1. One-to-one observer-to-vessel and plant placement. Observers are assigned to one vessel, and catch monitors are assigned to one plant. If an observer or catch monitor must be reassigned, then the observer or catch monitor must self-isolate for 14 days prior to the new deployment. Alternate arrangements may be made if agreed to by the vessel/plant, observer provider, and the observer/catch monitor.
  2. Self-isolation for observers and catch monitors. Observers and catch monitors are self-isolating for 14 days prior to first deployment with their assigned vessel or plant and in between trips or offloads. Self-isolation means they are staying home with limited travel for essential trips and only being allowed limited, pre-approved leave.
  3. Pre-trip screening. Observers and catch monitors complete a pre-trip screening questionnaire before each trip that is designed to ensure that observers are following the provider’s protocols and to screen for COVID-19 symptoms and exposure. Observers and catch monitors that fail the screening are not deployed until they receive a negative COVID-19 test or can complete an additional 14-day self-isolation period.
  4. Testing. Observers and catch monitors are required to receive a viral COVID-19 test according to CDC guidelines in the following scenarios.
      • The observer/catch monitor answers “yes” to any of the pre-trip screening questions.
      • The observer/catch monitor is exhibiting signs or symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
      • The observer/catch monitor has recent known or suspected exposure to COVID-19.
      • When requested by a licensed physician.
      • In conjunction with vessel protocols ahead of deployments.

Vessel owners/operators should notify the Observer Program if their vessel or vessel company are following stricter safety protocols than those listed above that they would like the federally-contracted observer to follow. Contact NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center Observer Program at (866) 780-8064 for groundfish fisheries or West Coast Region Observer Program at (562) 980-4033 for highly migratory species fisheries.

Please give the Observer Program at least two weeks’ notice of the vessel’s specific protocols, and longer if the provider would need additional time to comply with the protocols before deployment. Vessel owners/operators and processors in the West Coast Groundfish trawl fishery should contact their individually-contracted observer/catch monitor providers to discuss specific protocols.

Additionally, NOAA Fisheries is seeking vessels and first receivers that are interested in testing electronic monitoring in lieu of human observers or catch monitors to develop exempted fishing permit applications in all west coast groundfish fisheries.

To discuss applying for an electronic monitoring exempted fishing permit, contact NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Permits Branch at (206) 526-4353.

The U.S. government is donating gulf shrimp to food banks

August 18, 2020 — COVID-19 has impacted agriculture around the country, and that extends to U.S. shrimp fisheries, which are largely located along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. With restaurants and hotels closed around the country the demand for shrimp is way, way down, leading to fears that the price of shrimp will collapse. To help offset this, the U.S. government has stepped in and announced it will be buying $30 million worth of U.S.-harvested shrimp.

As reported by the Associated Press (with a hat-tip to Modern Farmer for alerting us to the story), the massive shrimp buy is the result of lobbying from both Louisiana and Mississippi, two states that produce shrimp and stand to be impacted by COVID-related factors. In a press release Mississippi’s two U.S. senators and one of its house members stated that they had sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in May, asking that the USDA purchase shrimp (thus propping up the industry) and distribute that same shrimp to people being impacted by the pandemic.

Read the full story at The Takeout