Saving Seafood

FB20-063: NOAA Fisheries Announces Changes to Transit Provisions for the South Atlantic Shrimp Fishery

October 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGES:

  • NOAA Fisheries announces changes to provisions for shrimp trawl vessels transiting through cold weather closed areas with brown, pink, or white shrimp on board in federal waters of the South Atlantic.
  • The rule will allow trawl doors in the rack (cradle), nets in the rigging and tied down, and try net on the deck during transit.
  • The final rule for Amendment 11 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region will update the regulations to more closely align with current fishing practices, reduce the socio-economic impacts for fishermen who transit these closed areas, and improve safety at sea while maintaining protection for overwintering white shrimp.

WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

  • Regulations will be effective November 23, 2020

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER CITATION:

  • 85 FR 67309; October 22, 2020. 

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

Where can I find more information on Amendment 11? 

  • By Phone: (727) 824-5305
  • By FAX: (727) 824-5308

Six critically endangered sawfish found dead on the side of the road in Florida Everglades

October 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is conducting an investigation involving the deaths of six critically endangered smalltooth sawfish in Everglades City, Fla. An employee with Everglades National Park reported the dead sawfish and two dead bonnethead sharks to NOAA experts. Two of the sawfish are missing their rostra (saws). One other had its meat removed, leaving only the carcass.

The animals were found along the causeway between Everglades City and Chokoloskee Island, Fla. A sawfish biologist from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will perform a necropsy on the animals to try to determine the cause of death.

Smalltooth sawfish are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. They were once found in the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida and along the East Coast from Florida to North Carolina. Their distribution has decreased greatly in U.S. waters over the past century. Today, the species is generally only found off the coast of Florida, especially southwest Florida where sawfish give birth. They reproduce every other year and give birth to just 7-14 young. The loss of these six animals is nearly equivalent to one mother’s entire litter.

NOAA officials seek information from anyone who may have details about this incident and are offering a reward up to $20,000 for information leading to a criminal conviction or the assessment of a civil penalty.

Please call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-853-1964. Tips may be left anonymously.

Read the full release here

Southwest Florida fishery prepares for uncertain stone crab season

October 15, 2020 — Stone crabbers in Southwest Florida are facing an uncertain season, but meeting it with high hopes and optimism.

The season opens Thursday.

New crabbing regulations from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have cut the season short and raised the size limit of claws. On top of that, the coronavirus pandemic has put the restaurant industry in flux.

“We’re all looking forward to another good season,” said Kelly Kirk, owner of Kirk Fish Company on Marco Island. “This season is a new one for us with COVID and some new regulations, but we’re excited to get back to work. It’s time and we’re ready and fired up for it and hope our customers are, too.”

Read the full story at Naples Daily News

Feds move toward permitting offshore Florida fish farm

October 9, 2020 — The Army Corps of Engineers will open a public comment period on a permit application for a fish farming pilot project off Florida’s southwest coast, following demands from critics and a newly issued pollution permit.

Hawaii-based developer Ocean Era LLC is proposing its Velella Epsilon aquaculture project, a single net pen system to raise up to 20,000 Almaco jack fingerlings, in the Gulf of Mexico about 45 miles southwest of Longboat Pass-Sarasota Bay.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 30 issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit allowing the fish farm to discharge up to 80,000 pounds of wastewater during its pilot production cycle.

“The proposed aquaculture system would be deployed for one period of 12-18 months, which will represent one production cycle including a 12-month rearing timeframe and 6 months for initial cage deployment and water quality and benthic sampling, time between stocking and harvesting, and the removal of gear at the project conclusion,” according to the Corps’ public notice of application.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Florida commercial fishermen still allowed to sell shark fins

October 7, 2020 — When weather permits, Capt. Rich Osburn sails a few days each week from the Fort Pierce Inlet to ply the waters of the Gulf Stream for his targeted catch.

As a commercial shark fisher, Osburn and his crew of one or two deckhands legally deploy six miles of longline in federal waters with about 500 baited hooks. The sharks they are permitted to harvest according to federal guidelines include:

  • Blacktip
  • Bull
  • Lemon
  • Silky
  • Tiger
  • Hammerhead

Osburn said he does not harvest any tigers or hammerheads because there is no value for their meat. They get turned loose. They also are among 26 species of sharks protected from harvest in Florida state waters.

Read the full story at The Ledger

Offshore aquaculture project hoping to make history gains critical EPA permit

October 2, 2020 — There are currently no commercial finfish operations in US federal waters, which is defined as ocean water spanning between 12 and 200 miles offshore.

This week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the Velella Epsilon aquaculture project, another big step in making American offshore aquaculture a reality.

The Velella Epsilon offshore demonstration farm is a netpen aquaculture facility set to be located approximately 45 miles southwest of Sarasota, Florida, slated to raise a single batch, or cohort, of 20,000 kampachi (Seriola rivoliana).

Read the full story at IntraFish

Trump’s SC offshore drilling moratorium doesn’t stop seismic testing, feds say in lawsuit

September 23, 2020 — The federal government said in a court filing Monday that a new Trump administration ban on oil drilling off the south Atlantic coast doesn’t stop companies from requesting to search for oil in those waters.

The case involves two consolidated lawsuits challenging permits issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service that allow seismic testing companies to disturb marine life.

The testing involves shooting air gun blasts at the ocean floor to map whether fossil fuels lie underneath. It has been shown to harm sea life such as whales.

The litigation fell into question briefly when President Donald Trump announced earlier this month he was ordering a 10-year ban on drilling off the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Read the full story at The Post and Courier

FLORIDA: Gov. DeSantis signs measure banning import and export of shark fins

September 21, 2020 — Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a measure into law banning the import and export of shark fins in Florida.

Sen. Travis Hutson sponsored the bill (SB 680), but the measure is named after the late Kristin Jacobs. She sponsored the House version of the bill (HB 401). Jacobs passed away in April — almost exactly one month after the Legislature approved the legislation — after a yearslong battle with cancer.

“This bill’s really important to the state,” Jacobs said as the Legislature approved a final version of the bill.

Jacobs prioritized banning the shark fin trade. Toward the end of the legislative process, Rep. Toby Overdorf offered an amendment renaming the bill the “Kristin Jacobs Ocean Conservation Act.” That amendment was approved.

“It was an incredible honor and privilege to help Rep. Jacobs across the finish line with this bill,” Overdof said. “The aptly named Ocean Conservancy Act allows her advocacy for the environment and for bipartisan relationships to continue long after her passing.”

Read the full story at Florida Politics

Cooper urges Trump administration to include North Carolina in offshore oil drilling moratorium

September 16, 2020 — Governor Roy Cooper said he’s reached out to President Donald Trump and his administration to include North Carolina in the recently announced moratorium on offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

Last week, Trump extended a ten-year moratorium on offshore oil drilling for South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, but did not include North Carolina in the executive order.

“I am deeply concerned and disappointed that you did not include North Carolina in the moratorium,” Cooper wrote in a letter to President Trump on Tuesday. “Offshore drilling threatens North Carolina’s coastal economy and environment and offers our state minimal economic benefit. Accepted science tells us that there is little, if any, oil worth drilling for off North Carolina’s coast, and the risks of offshore drilling far outweigh the benefits.”

Read the full story at WECT

USDA Includes Florida’s Spiny Lobster Under Seafood Trade Relief Program

September 10, 2020 — On Wednesday, U.S. Agriculture Sec. Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will offer federal relief to the seafood industry and fishermen hurt by tariffs from other nations.

Perdue said that that the Seafood Trade Relief Program will used around $530 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), to offer this relief.

“Many nations have not played by the rules for a long time, and President Trump is the first president to stand up to them and send a clear message that the United States will no longer tolerate unfair trade practices,” said Perdue. “The Seafood Trade Relief Program ensures fishermen and other U.S. producers will not stand alone in facing unjustified retaliatory tariffs while President Trump continues working to solidify better and stronger trade deals around the globe.”

Read the full story at Florida Daily