Saving Seafood

Gulf of Maine sea turtle could come off ‘endangered’ list

January 18, 2018 — Federal ocean managers say it might be time to move the East Coast population of the world’s largest turtle from the United States’ list of endangered animals.

An arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has received a petition from a fishing group asking that the Northwest Atlantic Ocean’s leatherback sea turtles be listed as “threatened” but not endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The giant reptiles, which can weigh 2,000 pounds, would remain protected under federal law, but their status would be changed to reflect some improvement in the overall health of their population.

According to the Sea Turtle Conservancy, the number of nesting leatherback females worldwide is between 34,000 and 36,000.

NOAA officials have said the agency has reviewed the petition from New Jersey-based Blue Water Fishermen’s Association and found “substantial scientific and commercial information” that the status upgrade may be warranted. The agency now has about eight months to make a decision about the status of the turtles.

Leatherbacks live all over the world’s oceans and have been listed as endangered by the U.S. since 1970. They can be seen regularly during the summer in the Gulf of Maine, where they feed on a variety of jellyfish and occasionally get tangled in fishing lines.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

Regulators consider whether Atlantic sea turtles are endangered

December 13, 2017 — Federal wildlife officials say they are reviewing the status of a sea turtle that lives in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean to see if it should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The National Marine Fisheries Service says it is conducting the review of the Northwest Atlantic population of leatherback sea turtles. The turtles live all over the world, including off of the mid-Atlantic states, New England and Canada.

Leatherbacks are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The fisheries service says it’s collecting comments until Feb. 5 about whether the northwestern Atlantic’s population should be included on the U.S.’s endangered list.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald

Under threat of lawsuit, Maine lobstermen say Canada is failing to protect right whales

November 1, 2017 — A record number of right whale killings this summer has put environmental groups on the offensive, potentially leading to stricter regulations for Maine lobstermen, even as most of the animals turn up dead in Canadian waters.

A group of environmental organizations has notified federal officials they intend to sue if regulatory agencies fail to better protect the endangered species, following what’s believed to be one of the deadliest summers for North Atlantic right whales in centuries.

Maine lobstermen fear that a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service could result in more costly restrictions on how they fish, even though none of the 16 right whale deaths have been directly linked to the American lobster fishery. Twelve of the whale deaths occurred in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence, where that country’s snow crab fishery has been cited by experts as a likely factor in several of the deaths.

The remaining four were found off Cape Cod.

With this year’s deaths, the total population of North Atlantic right whales is estimated at fewer than 450.

Early this month, the four environmental organizations sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chris Oliver, head of the federal fisheries service, saying that federal regulators are violating the Endangered Species Act by not doing more to protect North Atlantic right whales. The groups specifically called on regulators to determine whether additional restrictions should be placed on the American lobster fishery in order to prevent whales from getting entangled in lobster gear.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

No salmon return to Canada river, bringing New England fears

October 30, 2017 — A conservation group’s discovery that no wild Atlantic salmon have returned to a key river in New Brunswick is prompting concern for the fish’s population health in the U.S. and eastern Canada.

The New Brunswick-based Atlantic Salmon Federation has been monitoring the Magaguadavic River for the Canadian government since 1992. The group says this year is the first time since then that no wild salmon have returned to the river to spawn.

Atlantic salmon were once abundant in rivers of New England and eastern Canada, but they’re now endangered or have disappeared in parts of both areas. The U.S.’s National Marine Fisheries Service is in the midst of reviewing the Gulf of Maine’s population, which is listed endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

About 900 wild salmon entered the river to spawn in 1983, and the fact that none returned this year is bad news for the fish’s population in Maine and Canada, said Neville Crabbe, spokesman for the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

“It means for the Magaguadavic River, whatever wild salmon that existed there are now extinct,” Crabbe said. “It affects the good work being done on all the rivers.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment Indicates Slow Recovery Since Moratorium; Resource Remains Depleted

October 19, 2017 — NORFOLK, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board reviewed the results of the 2017 Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment, which indicate the population remains depleted coastwide and at the distinct population segment (DPS) level relative to historic abundance. However, on a coastwide basis, the population appears to be recovering slowly since implementation of a complete moratorium in 1998. Despite the fishing moratorium, the population still experiences mortality from several sources but the assessment indicates that total mortality is sustainable. The “depleted” determination was used instead of “overfished” because of the many factors that contribute to the low abundance of Atlantic sturgeon, including directed and incidental fishing, habitat loss, ship strikes, and climate changes.

Atlantic sturgeon are a long lived, slow to mature, anadromous species that spend the majority of their life at sea and return to natal streams to spawn. While at sea, extensive mixing is known to occur in both ocean and inland regions. The Commission manages Atlantic sturgeon as a single stock, however, NOAA Fisheries identified five DPSs of Atlantic sturgeon based on genetic analysis as part of a 2012 Endangered Species Act listing: Gulf of Maine, New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina, and South Atlantic. Accordingly, this benchmark assessment evaluated Atlantic sturgeon on a coastwide level as well as a DPS-level when possible.

Atlantic sturgeon are not well monitored by existing fishery-independent data collection and bycatch observer programs, and landings information does not exist after 1998 due to implementation of a coastwide moratorium. Because of this, Atlantic sturgeon are considered a “data-poor” species which hindered the Stock Assessment Subcommittee’s ability to use complex statistical stock assessment models, particularly at the DPS-level. Based on the models used, the stock assessment indicated the Atlantic sturgeon population remains depleted relative to historic levels at the coastwide and DPS levels. Since the moratorium, the probability that Atlantic sturgeon abundance has increased coastwide is high and total morality experienced by the population is low. The results are more mixed at the DPS-level due to sample size and limited data, but the Gulf of Maine and Carolina DPS appear to be experiencing the highest mortality and abundance in the Gulf of Maine and Chesapeake Bay DPS is not as likely to be at a higher level since the moratorium.

The Board approved the 2017 Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Reports for management use and discussed the need to support management actions that have contributed to recovery seen to date (e.g., the moratorium, habitat restoration/protection, better bycatch monitoring) and continue to work on improving them (e.g., identifying bycatch and ship strike hotspots and ways to reduce those interactions). It is important to note there has been a tremendous amount of new information about Atlantic sturgeon collected in recent years. Although this does not resolve the issue of the lack of historical data, it certainly puts stock assessment scientists and fisheries managers on a better path going forward to continue to monitor stocks of Atlantic sturgeon and work towards its restoration.

Atlantic sturgeon are managed through Amendment 1 and Addenda I-IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Sturgeon. The primary goal of the amendment is to achieve stock recovery via implementation of a coastwide moratorium on Atlantic sturgeon harvest and by prohibiting the possession of Atlantic sturgeon and any parts thereof. The moratorium is to remain in effect until 20-year classes of spawning females is realized and the FMP is modified to reopen Atlantic sturgeon fisheries.

The Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment, as well as the Stock Assessment Overview (which is intended to aid media and interested stakeholders in better understanding the Commission’s stock assessment results and process), will be available the week of October 23rd on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org, on the Atlantic Sturgeon webpage under stock assessment reports. For more information on the stock assessment, please contact Dr. Katie Drew, Senior Stock Assessment Scientist, at kdrew@asmfc.org and for more information on management, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

A PDF version of the press release can be found here – http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/59e8e3d9pr51AtlanticSturgeonBenchmarkStockAssmt.pdf

Bills to Modernize Endangered Species Act Advance through Committee

October 4, 2017 — The following was released by the House Natural Resources Committee:

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed five bills to reform the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:

“The ESA is a landmark statute created with noble intent. It also includes fatal design flaws that inhibit greater success and handicap state-led, science-based recovery strategies. These flaws must be addressed and the law must be modernized. This slate of bills provides a framework for this discussion that we will build upon in coordination with the Senate, Trump administration, states and all interested stakeholders. I thank the bill sponsors for their work on these important pieces of legislation and look forward to our work ahead.”

H.R. 424 (Rep. Collin Peterson, D-MN), the “Gray Wolf State Management Act of 2017,” reissues the final rules from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to delist the gray wolf in the Western Great Lakes region and maintains effective state wolf management in Wyoming. The bipartisan bill passed by a vote of 26-14.

H.R. 717 (Rep. Pete Olson, R-TX), the “Listing Reform Act,” allows for the consideration of economic factors in threatened listing decisions. It also provides flexibility to agencies’ prioritization in processing listing petitions, which relieves FWS from excessive litigation and allows more resources to be used for species conservation and recovery. It passed by a vote of 22-13.

H.R. 1274 (Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-WA), the “State, Tribal and Local Species Transparency and Recovery Act,” fosters greater cooperation between the federal government and states by ensuring state, local and tribal scientific data is factored into ESA species listing decisions. The bill passed by a vote of 22-14.

H.R. 2603 (Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-TX), the “Saving America’s Endangered Species Act” or “SAVES Act,” removes duplicative permitting requirements for interstate movement of nonnative endangered species enhancing opportunities for conservation. The bipartisan “SAVES Act” passed by a vote of 22-16.

H.R. 3131 (Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-MI), the “Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act,” combats the recent proliferation of ESA-related litigation by capping attorneys’ fees to the same reasonable levels allowed for other types of citizen lawsuits against the government. It passed by a vote of 22-16.

Click here to view full markup action.

 

Rep Young’s Magnuson Bill to Move Ahead with Input from Calif. Rep Huffman; Aim is No Poison Pills

September 28, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Alaska’s Representative Don Young closed Tuesday’s hearing on four fisheries bills, by remarking to the panel, “We are going to use the vehicle of [HR] 200. I’m going to work with Mr. Huffman and see if we can’t come to some conclusion.

“The basic skeleton of the Magnuson Act … we’re going to keep the skeleton whole. Get those comments and suggestions to us, because we’re going to try to get something moving by October or November this year,” Young said.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) introduced a discussion draft called “Strengthening Fishing Communities through Improving Science, Increasing Flexibility, and Modernizing Fisheries Management Act.” The discussion paper includes sections on Council transparency, flexibility in rebuilding fish stocks, Saltonstall-Kennedy Act reform, red snapper cooperative research and others.

Rep. Jared Huffman said after the hearing Tuesday that Democrats and Republicans have many agreements when it comes to fishery regulations and management.

However, he said previous attempts in recent years to amend and reauthorize the law have stalled because of “poison pill” riders that would exempt fisheries from conservation policies such as the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Protection Act.

“Instead of making meaningful improvements to our most important fisheries statute, this process has focused on weakening fundamental environmental protections in place of making meaningful improvements to our important fisheries management framework,” Huffman (D-San Rafael) said in his opening statement at the committee hearing. “This partisan process does a disservice to hardworking fishermen across the country including those in my district.”

Members from both sides of the aisle were in agreement that the law — known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 — has worked to prevent overfishing and replenish overfished stocks as was intended upon its passage.

Two other bills were discussed and commented on at the hearing by invited witnesses. HR 3588  and HR 2023 are focused on modernizing recreational fisheries and managing red snapper in regional ways, respectively.

The hearing was before the Water, Power, and Industry Subcommittee of the larger House Committee on Natural Resources.

Witnesses included Chris Oliver, Director of NOAA Fisheries; Mayor Johnathan Mitchell of New Bedford; Mike Merrifield, Southeastern Fisheries Association; Susan Boggs, co-owner of a charter operation out of Alabama, and others.

Chairman Doug Lamborn opened the hearing saying “Many of you here today probably consider this to be a fishery hearing, but I assure you it is much more than that. …whether we are talking about a commercial, recreational, or charter boat operation, the working waterfront that provides shore side support, a boat manufacturer or your local mom and pop bait and tackle shop, today’s hearing is about supporting American small business. It’s my hope today that we will create a strong, bi-partisan MSA that supports jobs and our fishermen, and that supports the science data and process used in federal fisheries management.”

Jonathan Mitchell, Mayor of New Bedford, pushed back on the concept of “flexibility.”

“The term “flexibility” should not be understood as a euphemism for deregulation,” Mitchell said. “The councils are in the business of finely calibrating decisions in light of relevant environmental and economic data, and their own experience and expertise.

“In the discharge of their duties, they tend not to win friends either in the fishing industry or in the conservation community, and given the goals of Magnuson-Stevens, that’s probably the way it should be,” Mitchell said.

Susan Boggs, co-owner in a charter boating operation in Alabama, supported the current MSA.

“I am here today to tell you that MSA is working. This law was written to bring fisheries back from collapse, to ensure long-term sustainability for future generations, and to provide a conduit for stakeholders to be a part of the management process.

“There are several species of fish that are critical to the charter/for-hire sector in the Gulf of Mexico, but perhaps none more than red snapper. Since 2007, when annual catch limits became a requirement, the recreational sector’s quota for red snapper has tripled. MSA has worked for us.

“A suggestion that I would offer to this committee that would have a meaningful impact on the management of this fishery would be a Federal Red Snapper angler license,” she said.

“No one can tell you how many anglers target Red Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. This license does not have to be cost prohibitive. Even a $10 fee would provide better data on the number of anglers targeting this species and could generate millions of dollars that could be used for cost recovery, stock assessments and better landings data which should include more real-time reporting using current technology from private anglers.”

Chris Oliver listed challenges to NOAA, nationwide and how MSA can tackle them.  “We face formidable challenges managing recovering stocks to benefit both commercial and recreational user groups with fundamentally different goals and objectives, and who are experiencing increased fish interactions due to the strong management measures that have improved historically overfished populations.

“Together with our partners, it is essential that we continue to explore innovative, science-based management approaches and regional management tools. We must remain dedicated to exploring ways to maximize economic opportunities from wild-caught fisheries for commercial and recreational fishermen, processors, and communities. We are committed to working with Congress on the bills put forth by this subcommittee, to ensure that annual catch limits, accountability measures, stock rebuilding, and other aspects of our management construct are working, while protecting the overall, long-term conservation and sustainability of the nation’s fishery resources.”

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Fishing rule reforms debated on Capitol Hill

September 27, 2017 — How large of a role should the federal government have in regulating fishing fleets?

Republicans and Democrats on the House Committee on Natural Resources discussed this question Tuesday in Washington, D.C., as part of renewed efforts to reauthorize and potentially amend a 40-year-old law that works to prevent overfishing and provide aid to fishing fleets.

Committee member and California 2nd District Rep. Jared Huffman said after the hearing Tuesday that Democrats and Republicans have many agreements when it comes to fishery regulations and management.

However, he said previous attempts in recent years to amend and reauthorize the law have stalled because of “poison pill” riders that would exempt fisheries from conservation policies such as the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Protection Act.

“Instead of making meaningful improvements to our most important fisheries statute, this process has focused on weakening fundamental environmental protections in place of making meaningful improvements to our important fisheries management framework,” Huffman (D-San Rafael) said in his opening statement at the committee hearing. “This partisan process does a disservice to hardworking fishermen across the country including those in my district.”

Members from both sides of the aisle were in agreement that the law — known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 — has worked to prevent overfishing and replenish overfished stocks as was intended upon its passage.

Read the full story at the Eureka Times-Standard

Feds reviewing status of New England’s endangered salmon

September 18, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government is starting a five-year review of the Gulf of Maine’s population of Atlantic salmon, which are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Atlantic salmon were once plentiful off New England, but dams, loss of habitat, pollution and overfishing dramatically reduced the population. The National Marine Fisheries Service says it is reviewing the health of the stock to get more updated information on its current status.

The fisheries service says the review will be based on scientific and commercial data.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at NH1

Sturgeon habitat in focus

September 6, 2017 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — Federal fisheries managers have taken a significant step toward promoting the recovery of the nation’s depleted Atlantic sturgeon resource.

Last week, NOAA Fisheries designated a vast area along the Atlantic coastline as critical habitat for the Atlantic sturgeon. The critical habitat designation will require federal agencies to consult NOAA Fisheries if they operate or fund activities that may affect designated critical habitat in more than 3,968 miles of important coastal river habitat from Maine to Florida.

Atlantic sturgeon was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2012.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander