Saving Seafood

Federal red snapper rules advance toward approval despite criticism

March 9, 2023 — New federal regulations on red snapper are on their way to final approval, and neither the people voting for the plans nor federal officials have much faith in them.

The Snapper-Grouper Committee of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) shepherded along Amendment 35, which is part of the SAFMC’s efforts to reduce overfishing of red snapper. Final approval is expected later in the week, despite its unpopularity among some Council members and from NOAA Fisheries.

“Bottom line for me is I don’t think (Amendment) 35 does anything for us,” NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator Andy Strelcheck said at the SAFMC’s quarterly meetings on Jekyll Island, Georgia.

“I don’t think it’s a solution, I think it’s just going to create more anger with anglers, I think it’s ultimately not addressing the crux of the problem, which is, obviously, reducing discards and trying to shift discards to landed catch.”

The committee’s options at this point in the process were either to approve a proposal that significantly reduced catch limits, or approve one that shut down the fishery altogether, with the exception of those with exempted fishing permits.

Read the full article at Florida Politics

With deadline looming, environmental groups push Florida to oppose expanding Gulf drilling

December 19, 2022 — To win support from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin for its climate-fighting Inflation Reduction Act earlier this year, the White House included a perk for the oil and gas industry: expanded new drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

Now environmental groups in Florida want Gov. Ron DeSantis to fight to kill the deal. The deadline for states to submit comments is later this month.

“Governors have a unique role in influencing policy at federal agency level. They’re really strong, highly regarded stakeholders,” said Hunter Miller, the senior Florida field representative for the ocean conservation nonprofit Oceana. “So that’s where we need Governor DeSantis to really step up.”

Read the full article at WLRN

FLORIDA: Florida requests fisheries disaster declaration for Hurricane Ian, but could be in for a wait

December 12, 2022 — Fishing captains in the U.S. state of Florida and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are requesting a federal fisheries disaster declaration in the wake of Hurricane Ian – even as the state is still waiting on a determination on its request for a disaster declaration for Hurricane Sally in 2020.

DeSantis sent a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo – which oversees NOAA Fisheries – requesting a disaster declaration in the wake of Hurricane Ian, a category 4 hurricane that devasted the fishing industry along Florida’s coast in September 2022. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has so far provided over USD 3.3 billion (EUR 3.1 billion) in federal grants, disaster loans, and flood insurance payments to both the state of Florida and Florida households, but that aid is not directed to Florida’s fisheries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

FLORIDA: Tool rule could lay path toward longer South Atlantic red snapper seasons

December 5, 2022 — Under the banner of a little going a long way, hopes are a proposed rule requiring reef fishers to maintain a barotrauma tool on board could reduce the incredible numbers of dead discards throughout the South Atlantic region, something that is of particular effect on the recreational red snapper fishery.

The rule, proposed by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff at the recent meetings in Panama City, would apply to Florida state waters. Barotrauma mitigation tools are already required in federal waters.

Generally the rule addresses descending devices and venting tools. Between the two types, staff feel it makes sense to let fishers in state waters decide which works better for them.

Read the full article at Florida Politics

FLORIDA: FWC not on board with NOAA’s proposed right whale-related vessel speed restrictions

December 1, 2022 — Scientists believe there are fewer than 340 total North Atlantic right whales remaining.

New rules drawn up to protect North Atlantic right whales in their southern calving grounds picked up opposition from charter boat captains, port operations and now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

A 10-knot vessel speed rule was in effect for areas where right whales transit, but it was for vessels 65 feet or longer. The new rule drops the length to 35 feet, with the speed zone in effect Nov. 15-April 15 each calving season.

“The issues here are strikes from boats killing the right whales, and fishing entanglements,” FWC Executive Director Eric Sutton said during the Commission’s meetings in Panama City. “There’s no doubt that the right whales are critically endangered, and there’s no doubt that boat strikes are one of the leading causes.”

Read the full article at Florida Politics

FLORIDA: Still Reeling from Ian, Florida Shrimpers are Desperate to Get Back on the Water

November 10, 2022 — Jimmy Driggers, 85, got into the fishing business when he was just 13 years old. He’s a shrimper in Fort Myers, Fla.

“I was a mullet fisherman, [a] commercial fisherman in my younger days,” he said.

Driggers walks with a prosthetic leg from an injury he sustained on his boat about a decade ago. It’s decorated with a sea lighthouse.

He owns one shrimping boat — the Miz Shirley — named after his wife. It can carry 50,000 pounds of shrimp.

Driggers said the industry has been hurting for decades, and that he was paid more back in the 1980’s than he is today. Fuel prices have skyrocketed.

“You have to produce a lot of shrimp to stay afloat,” Driggers said. “And that’s what we were doing for the last year — just staying afloat, not making enough to fix anything that broke. It was tough.”

Then came Hurricane Ian. It pushed The Miz Shirley half onto a seawall and half was left in the water –- unusable.

When Ian made landfall in Florida in late September, it hit the shrimp fishing industry particularly hard. For decades, it’s been an important part of the economy in Fort Myers — integral to the region’s culture and identity. Now, it’s at a standstill.

“We thought about selling out, but I don’t want to do that, if we can hold on,” Driggers said. “If we can get the boat off and get it repaired, and back in working order.” He acknowledges that it’s going to take a lot of work.

Driggers’ home, which backs a water channel, will have to be demolished. It got four inches of water during the storm and mold is growing everywhere. He and Shirley don’t have flood insurance.

The couple has been sleeping in a donated camper in their front lawn. They’re hoping the insurance on the boat will cover enough of the repairs to keep them in business — but they haven’t been able to assess the damage yet.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

FLORIDA: Marco Rubio, Rick Scott urge NOAA to drop proposed right whale protection rule

November 2, 2022 — Organized pushback against federal efforts to reduce North Atlantic right whale deaths continues to grow in South Atlantic states as shipping and charter fishing interests try to stall or stop the implementation of new speed restrictions for vessels of 35 feet or larger.

As the days wound down on NOAA Fisheries’ public comment period, U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott teamed up with fellow Republican Senators from the Carolinas to oppose the new rule.

Their main beef with the rule is it alters “the long-standing and effective navigation safety ‘deviation clause’ contained in the current regulations.’ With regard to port safety and commercial viability, the rule was originally amended in 2008 to provide a navigation safety deviation clause that would allow large commercial ships to safely navigate within the confines of the narrow offshore Federal Navigation Channels (FNC) along the U.S. east coast.”

Read the full article at Florida Politics

FLORIDA: Fishing industry in Lee County ‘wiped out’ by Hurricane Ian

November 2, 2022 — Matlacha is among the places in Southwest Florida hit hardest by Hurricane Ian: buildings were destroyed, roads were washed out and debris is everywhere.

Among the wreckage, a small lime-green building – the Island Seafood Market – is somehow still standing. Owner Casey Streeter has had to tear out everything that was once inside.

“The front was washed out,” he recalled first seeing it after the storm. “We came in through the window on this door. Our coolers floated up, tipped over. We had about two-and-a-half feet of mud in the shop.”

But the biggest hit was to what’s behind the shop. Streeter said all of their grouper boats were damaged by Ian, and even worse, they lost their docks and ice house to the hurricane.

Read the full article at NBC

FLORIDA: Okaloosa County Lionfish initiative featured in PBS documentary Ocean Invaders

October 28, 2022 — The Coastal Resource Team with Visit Destin-Fort Walton Beach is front and center for the new PBS documentary ‘Ocean Invaders.’

Okaloosa County’s tourism branch has a dedicated team working to control the invasive lionfish population. Tourism Director Jennifer Adams said team leader Alex Fogg has been at the forefront of this work for more than five years.

“Alex and the work that he does is really getting recognized on the national and international level,” said Adams. “For me, as the department director to be able to give him and the team the opportunity to continue to do this good work and to grow the scope of work has really been something new for us.”

Read the full article at WKRG

FLORIDA: Florida lawmakers press Commerce secretary to help fishing, seafood firms hurt by Hurricane Ian

October 20, 2022 — A bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Tuesday urging her to approve the state’s request to declare a nationwide fishery resource disaster in response to Hurricane Ian.

A disaster declaration would allow for further federal assistance to seafood businesses harmed by the storm. Ian was the strongest hurricane to hit the Tampa Bay area in a century and killed more than 100 people in the state.

Read the full article at The Hill