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December South Atlantic Council Meeting Summary

December 10, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council held their December meeting in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Below are highlights from the Council’s week-long meeting. Additional information from the meeting is available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/council-meetings/ including a Meeting Report, Story Map, final committee reports, public comments, and briefing book materials.

Approved for Secretarial Review

Vision Blueprint Regulatory Amendment 26

After considering public comment and much discussion, the Council approved Regulatory Amendment 26 for review by the Secretary of Commerce. However, the Council chose not to take action on measures within the amendment that would have established a deepwater species aggregate (snowy grouper, misty grouper, yellowedge grouper, blueline tilefish, golden tilefish, and wreckfish) and specified seasons and bag limits for the species within the aggregate. Council members noted that establishing two seasons, one proposed for January and February and the other May through August and modifying bag limits could unfairly impact fishermen in the region. The Council discussed seasonal differences in the fishery for deepwater species in Florida and North Carolina, especially for recreational fishermen targeting blueline tilefish and golden tilefish, and chose not to take action. As a result of the discussion, the Council decided to explore options for allocations of the species in the proposed deepwater species aggregate during its June 2019 meeting.

The following actions were approved as part of Regulatory Amendment 26:

Change the recreational minimum size limit of gray triggerfish from 14 inches to 12 inches (fork length) in federal waters off the east coast of Florida to maintain consistency with state regulations currently in place;
Modify the current 20-fish aggregate bag limit in place (for species without individual bag limits) to specify that no more than 10 fish can be of any one species within the 20-fish aggregate; and
Remove recreational minimum size limits for queen snapper, silk snapper, and blackfin snapper, currently set at 12 inches total length.
The regulatory amendment was developed as part of the Council’s 2017-2020 Vision Blueprint for the Snapper Grouper Fishery. NOAA Fisheries will solicit additional public input on the amendment during the Secretarial review process. Regulatory actions in the amendment will be implemented following the review process in 2019, if approved by the Secretary of Commerce.

Other Items:

Yellowtail Snapper – Regulatory Amendment 32

Council members voted to postpone consideration of Regulatory Amendment 32 that would revise accountability measures for yellowtail snapper with the intent to alleviate socio-economic impacts of in-season closures in the fishery. After considering recommendations from the Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel and public comment, the Council will delay further development of measures until a benchmark stock assessment for yellowtail snapper is completed in 2020.

Red Grouper – Regulatory Amendment 30
The Council delayed final action on Regulatory Amendment 30 addressing red grouper stock rebuilding, modifications to spawning season closures off the Carolinas, and establishment of a commercial trip limit for red grouper. Council members cited concerns about the need to consider new recreational fishing effort estimates from the Marine Recreational Information Program and the need to have input from its Scientific and Statistical Committee. The amendment will be considered again during the Council’s March 2019 meeting.

Citizen Science Program
The Council reviewed and adopted the Program’s Standard Operating Policies and Procedures that will guide the operation of the Program moving forward. The Program has two citizen science projects in development that fishermen will be able to get involved with in 2019. The first project will focus on collecting data on the lengths of scamp discards using a mobile application called, Release. The app will be available on both Android and iOs platforms and will be available in the Google Play Store and App Store in January 2019. The second project called FISHstory will use crowdsourcing to analyze historic photos from a Florida headboat fleet in the 1940s-70s to document species and length composition. For more information on the projects and getting involved, contact Program Manager Amber Von Harten.

Dolphin Wahoo
The Dolphin Wahoo Committee discussed a request from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to consider managing frigate mackerel and bullet mackerel as ecosystem components in the Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan (FMP), acknowledging their role as prey species for both dolphin and wahoo. Discussions will continue during the March 2019 meeting. The Committee also identified potential additional items to include in Amendment 10 to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP, including: allowing bag-limit sales of dolphin by dually permitted for-hire and commercial permit holders; revising annual catch limits and sector allocations for dolphin and wahoo to accommodate new MRIP data; consider modifying recreational vessel limits for dolphin; and modifying gear, bait, and training requirements in the commercial longline fishery to align with HMS requirements. Development of the amendment will continue throughout 2019 with opportunities for public comment.

Habitat and Ecosystem-Based Management
The Committee received an update on collaborative efforts with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and New England Fishery Management Council to address the movement of species northward with changing oceanographic and environmental conditions. The Committee will continue to review landings data and discuss priorities and timing for addressing species movements at its March 2019 meeting with representatives of the Mid-Atlantic and New England Councils. The Committee also received presentations on renewable energy activities including the proposed Kitty Hawk Wind Development Project, a system of offshore wind generators proposed approximately 27 miles off the coast of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Presentations are available as part of the briefing book materials at: http://safmc.net/briefing-books/briefing-book-2018-december-council-meeting/.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for March 4-8, 2019 in Jekyll Island, Georgia. Briefing book materials will be available from the Council’s website two weeks prior to the meeting at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/council-meetings/.

FLORIDA: Where did all the lobsters and stone crabs go? How the fishing industry is bouncing back

December 7, 2018 — The red tide algae bloom plaguing Southwest Florida hasn’t hit the Florida Keys. And Hurricane Irma happened more than a year ago.

But they’re both affecting the island chain’s commercial fishing industry.

That’s a crucial impact because the industry is the second-largest stand-alone economic generator in the Keys next to tourism. Fishing is estimated by the Florida Keys Commercial Fishing Association to bring in about $900 million a year to the Monroe County economy. That includes transactions such as fuel sales, dockage fees, and boat and engine repairs.

Read the full story at The Miami Herald

While still rebuilding, red snapper fishermen are seeing good returns

December 5, 2018 — “It’s been another productive year for sure,” said Buddy Guindon, a fisherman and owner of Katie’s Seafood in Galveston, Texas.

Although technically still in a “rebuilding” status, the gulf red snapper population has come a long way since stock lows in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“We’re seeing more and more snapper in the eastern gulf, more than in the past 15 years,” said Jason DeLaCruz, a fisherman and owner of Wild Seafood Co. in Madeira Beach, Fla. “Our catches are doing a flip. They used to be so grouper-heavy and now they’re snapper-heavy,” he said.

For at least the past several years, gulf vessels on both coasts have brought to dock nearly 100 percent of quota.

According to numbers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the average ex-vessel price for red snapper in 2018 in the state was $3.94.

But both Guindon on the west Gulf Coast and DeLaCruz on the east say red snapper in their area has fetched $5 or more a pound for several years.

“I think we got up to an ex-vessel price of about $5 a pound about four or five years ago, and since then it has crept up to anywhere from $5.20 to $6,” said Guindon.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Opponents Say Seismic Tests Could Lead To Atlantic Oil Drilling, Harming Right Whales

December 3, 2018 — The Trump administration has approved a first step toward offshore oil and gas drilling on the Atlantic coast.

The National Marine Fisheries Service issued permits Friday for five private companies to conduct offshore seismic tests from New Jersey to Florida.

The tests fire acoustic pulses into the sea floor in search of oil and gas deposits.

Such tests haven’t occurred in the Atlantic as part of hydrocarbon exploration since around the 1980s, according to federal officials, though academic seismic tests have happened more recently.

These permits, which were denied under the Obama administration in 2017, will allow the companies to disturb protected marine mammals during their surveys.

Read the full story at New England Public Radio

South Atlantic Fisheries Council meets this week in Kitty Hawk

December 3, 2018 — The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk this Monday afternoon through Friday.

The council, headquartered in Charleston, S.C., is responsible for managing fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and east Florida to Key West.

On Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., a training session will be held for charter boat captains for a catch reporting system for the snapper, grouper, dolphin, wahoo and coastal migratory pelagic fisheries.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about upcoming electronic reporting requirements for federal permit holders and to practice using available electronic reporting tools.

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice

Gulf of Mexico Oysters are in Trouble, but There’s Hope and a Plan

November 28, 2018 — Oysters in the Gulf of Mexico have seen better days.

Aside from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010 — which killed between 4 and 8.3 billion adult oysters, according to NOAA — changes in freshwater flow along the Gulf and sedimentation caused by more frequent storms have taken their toll on the Gulf’s oyster population.

But all hope is not lost. In fact, there’s even a plan, according to a report by environmental organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

Compared to historic levels, an estimated 85 percent of the Gulf’s oyster population has been lost, and the impact ranges further than the $100-million-per-year market they provide.

Oyster beds in the Gulf are vital in improving water quality, providing protection from shoreline erosion and serving as a habitat for fish and wildlife.

The impact of waves, boat wakes and storm surge on the Gulf’s shoreline is reduced by oyster reefs. Reefs are also unique in that they can continue to grow to keep up with or even outpace sea level rise, according to an entry in the journal Nature, something hard sea walls can’t do.

Additionally, a single oyster can filter 50 gallons of water in one day. In places like Galveston Bay, a 130-acre reef containing 10 oysters per square meter would be capable of filtering about 260 million gallons of water each day. In comparison, Houston’s 39 wastewater treatment plants combined to filter 252 million gallons per day in 2009, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Read the full story at The Weather Channel

NOAA Fisheries, Gulf States Prioritize Integrating, Calibrating Recreational Red Snapper Data

November 28, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

The Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) partnership took another step toward delivering more timely and precise estimates of Gulf of Mexico recreational red snapper catch and effort. At a September workshop co-hosted by MRIP and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, scientists and managers from state agencies, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries, and independent statistical consultants sought to identify the best way to use data collected by specialized and general state-federal surveys to monitor recreational catches of Gulf red snapper, as needed to support stock assessments and fishery management.

The Red Snapper Survey Designs Workshop IV was the latest in a series, dating back to 2014, focused on finding ways to better monitor catches during short federal and state fishing seasons for one of the Gulf’s most popular fish. NOAA Fisheries and its Gulf state and regional partners have spent the past several years working closely to develop survey designs that address federal and state management needs for more timely and statistically precise catch statistics.

Since last December, NOAA Fisheries has certified designs for three surveys in the Gulf of Mexico: Louisiana’s all species, general survey, LA Creel; Mississippi’s red snapper-specific Tails n’ Scales; and Alabama’s red snapper-specific Snapper Check. Florida’s Gulf Reef Fish Survey, which supplements MRIP’s general surveys for a limited group of reef fish species, is expected to be certified later this year. Each survey uses a different methodology to gather data and produce estimates based on the unique characteristics of the state’s fishery.

“This is all part of a comprehensive, collaborative, and rigorous process to ensure sound and effective science and management of Gulf red snapper,” said Gregg Bray, GulfFIN program coordinator for the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. “It’s so important to have the leadership and local knowledge of the states, the collaborative strength of GulfFIN, and the financial and technical resources of NOAA Fisheries. That’s the real value of the MRIP partnership.”

The MRIP state surveys are designed to improve regional monitoring of the recreational red snapper catch and effort. Estimates from these surveys can be used for federal scientific stock assessments and fishery management once there is a transition plan that describes how to integrate state and general data, and how to calibrate new and historical catch and effort estimates.

Read the full release here

Trump Administration Report Recommends Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions To Protect Oceans From Climate Change

November 27, 2018 — The Fourth National Climate Assessment is a landmark report that was published last week on the day after Thanksgiving. It summarizes the impacts of climate change in the United States as well as potential mitigation and adaptation measures. The report states that the combined effect of burning fossil fuels, developing natural landscapes, and deforestation have increased the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in Earth’s atmosphere* and emphasizes that drastically reducing GHGs is necessary to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.

According to the report, climate change is modifying the ocean environment in three primary ways: warming, oxygen loss, and acidification. These “stressors” have large implications for ocean ecosystems and marine fisheries. Globally, ocean surface temperatures have increased by nearly 1.3°F over the past century and “… more than 90% of the extra heat linked to carbon emissions is contained in the ocean.” As the ocean warms, seawater not only expands and causes sea levels to rise, but it also loses its ability to hold gases – including oxygen. Additionally, as carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by human activities dissolves in seawater, it undergoes a series of chemical reactions that are gradually causing the ocean to become more acidic.

While warming, oxygen loss, and acidification will likely reduce the diversity of life in the sea, they will also impact fisheries, seafood farming, and recreational activities. These stressors will also interact and can have complex impacts. For example, as climate change progresses, hurricanes will become more frequent and intense. These hurricanes may redistribute nutrients that cause massive algal blooms that are sustained by warmer temperatures. When the blooms die off, microbes respire as they assist in the algae’s decomposition, simultaneously producing CO2 and consuming oxygen that cause ocean acidification and oxygen loss. The severe red tide along the Florida coast this year was likely a product of this series of events.

Read the full story at Forbes

Gulf Coast Looks to Maintain, Restore Oysters

November 26, 2018 — The oyster dressing is safe this year.

Since the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010, 4 billion to 8.3 billion subtidal oysters were estimated to be lost across the Gulf coast. Many states are struggling.

Louisiana is the only state producing at a level at or higher than before the spill, according to Seth Blitch, The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Coastal and Marine Conservation in Louisiana.

“Oysters Gulfwide are kind of in a bad spot, but Louisiana is actually sort of the bright spot in terms of commercial production of oysters. Louisiana produces more oysters than any other state in the country, which is good,” Blitch said.

TNC recently released a report on oyster restoration in the Gulf.

According to the report, there’s been about a 50 percent to 85 percent oyster loss throughout the Gulf when compared to historic levels.

The oyster industry pulls about $220 million to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The decrease could affect not only oyster harvesters but restaurants and industries that use the shell, such as using it to supplement chicken feed.

Read the full story from The News-Star of Monroe at U.S. News and World Report

October was record low month for US wild-caught shrimp in Gulf of Mexico

November 23, 2018 — It’s no wonder US wild-caught shrimp have been a little harder to find of late.

The 10.4 million pounds of shrimp caught by US commercial harvesters in the Gulf of Mexico during the month of October was the lowest for that month since records have been maintained, going back to 2002, reports the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), a trade association that represents the harvesters.

Based on data provided Wednesday by the fishery monitoring branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center, total landings for the month were about 30% below the prior 16-year historical average (14.8m lbs).

In particular, the low volumes were driven by a lack of reporting of any shrimp landings from the west coast of Florida, as well as only 3.6m lbs reported as landed in Louisiana – by far the lowest total for any October going back to 2002 and less than half of the prior 16-year average (7.7m lbs) for the state, according to SSA.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News