Saving Seafood

Effort aims to curb number of abandoned crab traps in Louisiana waters

April 20, 2020 — A new program is targeting the thousands of abandoned crab traps that litter Louisiana’s coastal waterways.

Louisiana Sea Grant, a coastal advocacy and research group based at LSU, has received a $40,000 federal grant to lead the project. The money comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Louisiana leads the nation in the number of commercial blue crab fishermen, with more than 2,500 license holders who have no limit on the number of traps they can operate, Louisiana Sea Grant says in a news release. Some commercial crabbers run as many as 800 to 2,000 traps each.

In addition, Louisiana has more than 6,600 licensed recreational crab fishermen who can operate 10 traps each.

Between commercial and recreational crabbers, there can be more than 66,000 traps in the water, the group says.

“On average, 130 traps per crabber are lost each year due to storms, accidents and intentional abandonment,” Sea Grant says. “The result is in an estimated 11 million crabs lost to ghost fishing by derelict traps. Other fish, such as red drum, black drum and summer flounder also can get stuck in the traps.

Read the full story at Houma Today

NOAA Fisheries Sets the 2020 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Quota

April 13, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is setting the 2020 Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery quota, including a 2,000-mt annual catch limit and total allowable landings limit, as recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council.

This rule includes two regulatory updates:

  1. Revising the specifications timeframe from 3 to 4 years to match the recently updated Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s stock assessment schedule.
  2. Removing an outdated and unnecessary regulation that requires the Red Crab Plan Development Team to meet annually to review the status of the fishery.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register and supporting documents on the Council’s website.

Read the full release here

U.S., Canada close border for non-essential travel, supply chain exempted

March 19, 2020 — Border crossing between Canada and the U.S. will be closed for non-essential travels in an effort by both countries to slow the spread of Covid-19. The movement of goods and supplies between the two countries, as well as Canadians and Americans who cross the border daily for essential work-related matters will still be able to do so.

This new development was announced Wednesday by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“Our governments recognize that it is critical that we preserve supply chains between both countries. These supply chains ensure that food, fuel and life saving medicines reach people on both sides of the border,” Trudeau said, as he addressed reporters from outside his home in Ottawa where he has been self-isolating after his wife tested positive of Covid-19.

Read the full story at Aquaculture North America

Fisheries of the U.S Report: 2018 a Strong, Successful Year for U.S. Fishermen

February 21, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In 2018, U.S. fishermen landed 9.4 billion pounds of fish valued at $5.6 billion at ports around the nation—consistently high figures on par with recent years, which bring economic benefits up and down the seafood supply chain.

According to the Fisheries of the United States report, which is compiled by NOAA using data and analysis not immediately available at the same end of a fishing year, U.S. highest value species groups in 2018 included lobster ($684 million), crabs ($645 million), salmon ($598 million), scallops ($541 million), and shrimp ($496 million).

Dutch Harbor in Alaska, and New Bedford in Massachusetts, continue to dominate the list of top ports driven by landings of pollock for Alaska (the nation’s largest commercial fishery) and top-valued sea scallops in Massachusetts.

New Bedford brought in $431 million in 2018, up from $390 million in 2017, making it the top port by value in the country for the 19th straight year. Other top ports by value in the New England/Mid-Atlantic region include Cape May/Wildwood, NJ ($66 million), Point Judith, RI ($64 million), Stonington, ME ($60 million), Hampton Roads Area, VA ($55 million), and Gloucester, MA ($53 million).

Top ports by landings in the New England/Mid-Atlantic region are Reedville, VA (353 million pounds), New Bedford, MA (114 million pounds), Cape May/Wildwood, NJ (102 million pounds), Gloucester, MA (59 million pounds), Point Judith, RI (48 million pounds), and Portland, ME (46 million pounds).

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Proposes 2020-2023 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Quotas

February 20, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is proposing specifications for the 2020 Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery, including an annual catch limit and total allowable landings limit. We are also proposing projected quotas for 2021-2023.

The New England Fishery Management Council recommended increasing the red crab fishery quota 12.7 percent to 2,000 metric tons for fishing years 2020-2023.  Landings from 2013-2018 were below this quota, but have been increasing.

This rule proposes two regulatory updates:

  1. Revising the specifications timeframe from 3 to 4 years to match the recently updated Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s stock assessment schedule.
  2. Removing an outdated and unnecessary regulation that requires the Red Crab Plan Development Team to meet annually to review the status of the fishery.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register and supporting documents on the Council’s website.

The comment period is open through March 6.

You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2020-0007, by either one of the following methods:

  • Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal. Go to our e-rulemaking portal, click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
  • Mail: Submit written comments to Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope, “Comments on the Red Crab Proposed Rule.”

Read the full release here

Marina firm develops tech that could help whale entanglement

February 4, 2020 — On the heels of a new report indicating whale entanglements from buoyed ropes from crab traps could worsen in Monterey Bay, a Marina company has a technology that can eliminate the need for any entangling lines.

A study released last week by a researcher from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that conditions that have caused a marked increase in humpback whale entanglements are likely to get worse because of climate change.

The reasons can be complicated but essentially humpbacks are being pushed toward crab lines in search of food that isn’t available in their normal feeding areas.

Traditional crab traps lie on the ocean floor and are connected to identifiable buoys with roping. When a whale swims under the buoy it can get caught up in that roping and suffer severe trauma such as deep cuts.

Read the full story at the Monterey Herald

US Customs and Border Protection seizes 3,400 pounds of invasive mitten crabs

January 27, 2020 — U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized 3,700 live mitten crabs – sent under false manifests – shipped from China and Hong Kong to individuals and businesses in the United States over the past four months.

The crabs were sent in 51 separate shipments through the port of Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., and weighed in at around 3,400 pounds, according to a CBP press release. Mitten crab is considered to be an invasive species that can have a “disastrous impact on native habitats,” according to CBP.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New funding to study microplastic pollution effect on Delaware Bay blue crabs

November 6, 2019 — The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is often held up as the poster child for ocean pollution. And while the collection of trash collecting in the Pacific Ocean certainly deserves attention, researchers at the University of Delaware are concerned about a smaller source of pollution, much smaller.

Through its marine debris program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is giving the university a $325,000 grant to study the impact of microplastics on blue crab populations near the Delaware Bay. Microplastics are defined as pieces of plastic less than five millimeters in length, or smaller than a pencil eraser. According to NOAA, some microplastics are microbeads, fibers or pellets that come from cosmetics or personal care products, for instance. They can also come from larger pieces of plastic that split apart and break down after exposure to the sun.

It’s estimated that there’s about five trillion tons of marine debris in our oceans and plastics are 90% of that, said UD College of Earth, Ocean and Environment Dean Estella Atekwana. “This grant is really timely so we can advance our understanding of what plastics do to our marine ecosystems,” she said.

Read the full story at WHYY

UD gets NOAA grant to study microplastics in blue crabs

November 5, 2019 — A federal grant will help two University of Delaware researchers look at the impact of microplastics on blue crabs.

The researchers will use the $327,000 grant to examine crab larvae exposure to microplastics in the Delaware Bay.

Microplastics are the size of sesame seeds. Microbeads, a type of microplastics, can easily pass through water filtration systems and end up in lakes and oceans.

Estella Atekwana is dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment. She says they hope to determine how microplastics enter the larvae.

“For us to understand the different exposure pathways where this plastics get into the seafood or marine life and within the food chain and how does this eventually get to humans,” she said. “It’s really early on, I’m not so sure that we truly understand the different pathways.”

Read the full story at Delaware Public Media

Study Looks at Vulnerability of Eastern Bering Sea Fish, Crab, and Salmon Stocks to Climate Change

September 19, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA scientists and partners have released a Climate Vulnerability Assessment for groundfish, crabs, and salmon in the Eastern Bering Sea. They looked at the potential impacts of changing climate, ocean temperatures, and other environmental conditions on 36 groundfish, crab and salmon stocks. Of these, four rockfish stocks, flathead sole and Tanner crab were determined to be the most vulnerable. Several other fish stocks were seen as potentially more resilient. This is because they may be able to move to areas with more favorable environmental conditions, such as more food and optimum water temperatures for growth and survival.

“Alaska fisheries are really important—they contributed 58% of U.S. landings and 29% of U.S. ex-vessel value in 2016, with the majority of Alaska landings and value obtained from the Eastern Bering Sea shelf,” said Robert Foy, director, Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “In the past few years water temperatures have been much warmer than average making the need for studies like this all the more imperative. Our science both in the field and in the lab is critical to monitor ecosystem changes and provide short-term and long-term forecasts to help commercial, recreational and subsistence communities anticipate and respond to changes that impact their way of life.”

Thirty-four scientists assisted with this stock analysis. They considered the likelihood of exposure to climate change, and the sensitivity and adaptability if exposed.

Researchers used existing information on climate and ocean conditions, species distributions, and species growth and development. They estimated each stock’s overall vulnerability to climate-related changes in the region.

Read the full release here