Saving Seafood

‘Desperately needed’: Congress OKs more than $29 million in disaster relief for California fisheries

May 1, 2019 — It’s taken four years but fishermen along California’s North Coast who have seen crab and salmon seasons truncated and even closed altogether will finally see some relief after $29.65 million in federal disaster relief funding was approved by Congress.

It was in the 2015-16 year the Dungeness crab fishery and the Yurok Chinook salmon fishery both collapsed due to poor water quality. Despite $200 million in relief funding made available in 2018, the release of the money was delayed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and it took a letter from U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman and Rep. Jackie Speier to get the ball rolling again last year.

“We’ve been waiting almost two years since these funds were made available by appropriations from Congress,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Association on Monday. “These funds have been desperately needed for a long time and the crab fishermen are already experiencing another severe hardship with whale entanglements and the funds are needed more now than they were before.”

Oppenheim said local crab fishermen will see anywhere from $22,000 to $45,000 depending on the size of their operation and it’s not as if someone has hit the lottery, this is money that will be used on the basics and the bare necessities.

Read the full story at the Santa Cruz Sentinel 

Jacobs now leading NOAA as Gallaudet focuses on Blue Economy initiative

March 5, 2019 — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has made a change in leadership for the agency that oversees NOAA Fisheries.

In a memo dated 25 February, Neil Jacobs told NOAA employees that Ross assigned him to the “nonexclusive” role of undersecretary and NOAA Administrator. He replaces retired Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, who had served as the agency’s acting administrator.

The switch will not change NOAA’s mission or priorities, Jacobs said.

“This is a natural shift that occurs in agencies and departments over time,” a NOAA spokesperson told SeafoodSource in a prepared statement. “Both leaders are dedicated professionals who believe in the people, science, and missions at NOAA. The agency’s important work on behalf of the American people and businesses will occur seamlessly into the future.”

Jacobs said Gallaudet continues in his position as the assistant secretary for oceans and atmosphere in the Commerce Department. In this position, Gallaudet will work on the department’s Blue Economy initiative, which is looking to bolster how the U.S. can better leverage the resources in the world’s second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone.

One of the priorities for the Blue Economy initiative is to examine how the U.S. can increase the amount of seafood America produces. Currently, America imports roughly 90 percent of the fish and shellfish consumed annually. The initiative also calls for surveying for oil and gas exploration.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

VA won’t be penalized over menhaden regs if it stays under cap

March 5, 2019 — Virginia will not face penalties for failing to formally adopt new catch limits on Atlantic menhaden — as long as harvests stay within limits established by East Coast fishery managers.

The decision by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in February headed off a potential legal showdown as to whether it had scientific justification for slashing the commercial menhaden harvest in the Bay in 2017, even as it raised catch limits along most of the coast.

Since then, the Virginia General Assembly has twice failed to adopt the commission’s mandated annual Bay cap of 51,000 metric tons.

Failure to adopt the limit put the state out of compliance with the commission’s regulations. As a result, the ASMFC could ask the U.S. Department of Commerce to impose a moratorium on all menhaden harvests in Virginia. Twice last year the ASMFC considered, but delayed, such an action.

Steven Bowman, who heads the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, said his agency monitored 2018 harvests both through catch records and aerial surveillance and would continue to do so. “The cap was not exceeded,” he said. “It did not come close to being exceeded.”

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Menhaden Fishery Managers Won’t Pursue Punishment for Virginia

February 11, 2019 — Virginia’s menhaden fishery gets a major victory, as Atlantic fisheries managers decide not to hold the Commonwealth out of compliance with its most recent catch limits.

Back in fall of 2017, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) voted to reduce the maximum allowable harvest on the Chesapeake Bay from 87,216 metric tons to 51,000 metric tons a year.

Virginia’s legislature failed to adopt the reduced catch limits, after the East Coast menhaden fishery’s biggest player, Omega Protein, argued the reduction was unnecessary. Under law, the U.S. Department of Commerce can put an immediate moratorium on a state that doesn’t comply with catch limits.

ASMFC won’t seek a moratorium from the Department of Commerce, announcing it has “indefinitely postponed” action to find Virginia out of compliance. ASMFC explains, the Virginia fishery has stayed within the limits of a precautionary “Bay Cap” that was imposed to protect the small, oily fish as an important link in the Chesapeake Bay food chain.

In a statement, ASMFC writes, “This action is contingent upon the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery not exceeding the cap. If the cap is exceeded, the Board can reconsider the issue of compliance. In making its decision, the Board took into account the fact that reduction fishery harvest within the Chesapeake Bay has been below the cap level since 2012, including 2018 harvest. “

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Commercial fishermen stand to lose billions from government shutdown

January 16, 2019 — The government shutdown is jeopardizing jobs and tens of billions of dollars in revenue for the heavily regulated commercial fishing industry, a coalition of groups representing fishermen from Cape Cod to Alaska said Tuesday. 

The Commerce Department’s fisheries service has furloughed key employees that help to oversee commercial fishing operation and the quotas handed out to fishermen that need to be in place and enforced before they can enter the water. 

Without the oversight, fishing data isn’t collected, and the risk of overfishing becomes a problem. That situation prevents fishermen from working and results in lost catches.

Specifically, a plan worked out between the federal government and anglers to fish for highly prized red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico could be in jeopardy due to the shutdown.

Read the full story at the Washington Examiner

 

Mass. AG sues to protect fishing, wildlife from offshore oil and gas exploration tests

December 27, 2018 — Attorney General Maura Healey Thursday joined a multistate lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to put an end to a plan that allows harmful seismic testing for offshore oil and gas resources in the Atlantic Ocean.

According to a news release from Healey’s office, the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, joins a challenge by environmental groups last week against Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHAs) recently issued by NMFS that permit five private companies to harm marine wildlife in connection with seismic testing for offshore oil and gas exploration in the Mid- and South-Atlantic Ocean. Healey’s office said the action reflects her longstanding opposition to the Trump Administration’s plan to open up nearly all currently restricted ocean areas — including federal waters off the Massachusetts coast — to oil and gas drilling.

Healey announced the multistate lawsuit at the New England Aquarium alongside aquarium officials, fishing industry representatives, business community leaders, and environmental advocates.

“Approving these blasting tests paves the way for the Trump Administration to open up the Atlantic coast to drilling and poses a severe threat to our coastal communities, our fishing industry, and the health of the ocean,” said Healey, in the release. “Today we are suing to stop this reckless plan that allows the oil and gas industry to destroy fishing families, local businesses, and marine life.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Shutdown has varied effect at NOAA

December 27, 2018 — The partial shutdown of the federal government continued into its fifth day on Wednesday and NOAA Fisheries appears to be operating – or not –  just as it did during the partial shutdown that shuttered much of the government back in January.

No one answered the phones at NOAA Fisheries media relations offices in Washington, D.C., and Gloucester on Wednesday – the first full business day following the partial shutdown – so it was difficult to identify which employees whose duties have been designated as essential while up to one-quarter of the government is closed.

In all, the partial shutdown, initiated by lapsed appropriations and President Donald Trump’s campaign to fund and build a wall along the nation’s southern border with Mexico, is expected to impact about 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal workers.

According to the Department of Commerce’s 177-page plan for an orderly shutdown, staff at NOAA Fisheries’s Office of Law Enforcement, monitors and inspectors will continue working “for the protection of marine fisheries and sustain fisheries management activities.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Florida recreational fishing survey improves data collection for Gulf red snapper

December 19, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries announced today the certification of a new survey design used to estimate Gulf red snapper caught by anglers fishing from private boats in Florida, building on an agency priority of collecting accurate and timely recreational fishing data.

Florida’s survey is one of several survey designs developed by the Gulf States in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries to supplement the agency’s Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) angler surveys as well as improve monitoring of the Gulf red snapper fishery.

“Red snapper are an important resource relied on by countless communities and businesses in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This updated survey design, and others like it, will help the Department of Commerce and NOAA ensure that we will continue to enjoy this resource far into the future.”

“The certification of Florida’s new supplemental survey design, and similar efforts in other Gulf states, demonstrates NOAA’s commitment to collaborating with state and regional partners to advance recreational fishing data collection,” said retired Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., NOAA’s acting under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. “Working together to meet the states’ unique data needs helps improve data quality and provide fishing opportunities for generations to come.”

Once Florida and NOAA Fisheries collaboratively develop and implement a transition plan to integrate the Gulf Reef Fish Survey with the MRIP survey, the resulting estimates can be used in Federal stock assessments and fishery management actions. Moreover, the survey is now eligible for Federal funding, pending availability, to support implementation efforts and ongoing improvements.

To learn more about Florida’s Gulf Reef Fish Survey, similar efforts in other Gulf States and the Marine Recreational Information Program go to countmyfish.noaa.gov.

N.C. governor calls for fishery disaster after Florence

November 14, 2018 — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is seeking additional funding to help coastal communities deal with the damages weathered by the state’s fisheries following Hurricane Florence.

In a letter to Secretary Wilbur Ross, Cooper has asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to declare a federal fishery resources disaster.

“This was the storm of a lifetime for many coastal communities. The damaging economic impact to the state’s fisheries was, and continues to be, significant. While state appropriations will begin to afford some limited initial relief, much more is needed,” Cooper wrote in the letter.

According to the state Division of Marine Fisheries, the North Carolina commercial fishing industry generated more than $96 million in revenue in 2017. Declaring a federal fishery resource disaster can assist with long-term relief for commercial fishing families struggling to make a living while repairing their businesses. Hurricane Florence’s historic rainfall and powerful winds destroyed boats, gear and buildings critical to fishing businesses.

“Federal fisheries disaster assistance can provide the means to a longer-term recovery that North Carolinian fishermen so desperately need,” wrote Cooper.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Cooper urges feds to help fisheries

November 12, 2018 —  Gov. Roy Cooper has requested help from the federal government to assist state fisheries hit by Hurricane Florence, and some local fishermen and seafood dealers are pleased with his actions.

According to a Nov. 2 press release from the governor’s office, Gov. Cooper has urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to help provide additional resources and funding to help North Carolina fisheries affected by Florence. This request follows a $1.6 million appropriation in September by the state, in response to a recommendation from Gov. Cooper to appropriate $12 million, which the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will use to compensate fishermen and shellfish harvesters for equipment and income loss.

In Beaufort, Cannon Seafood owner and operator Gary Cannon was pleased with the governor’s efforts to help restore the fisheries.

“There’s a lot of fishermen that have been put out of business by the storm,” he said. “We were put out of work two to three weeks.”

Mr. Cannon said his seafood dealership got four feet of water in its buildings, and he lost $30,000 in fishing gear.

What makes losses like this especially difficult for commercial fishermen is that they can’t get insurance for it.

“Farmers have crop insurance,” Mr. Cannon said, “but fishermen don’t have anything like that.”

Insurance for lost gear and income seems to be a significant concern for commercial fishermen.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times