Saving Seafood

Sharks Are Creeping Into the Northeast Because of Climate Change

July 30, 2018 — Warmer waters are pushing the animals further north into previously shark-free waters. Should we be worried?

Shark Week, Discovery Channel’s annual homage to the ocean’s most infamous predator, comes to a close this weekend.

But residents of northeastern states like New York—long considered a relatively shark-free zone—might not have to wait until July 2019 to see more, as global warming has been linked with a significant northern shift in the habitats of most marine animals, including most sharks.

“There’s an astounding mass migration of animal life towards the poles,” Malin Pinsky, an associate professor in Rutgers’ Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, told The Daily Beast. In his work with spiny dogfish, a thin, small shark that lives along most of the East Coast, he’s seen their habitat shift “quite substantially.”

Pinsky isn’t the only scientist to make this observation. In April, researchers in North Carolina published a paper in Nature’s Scientific Resources that documented the northern migration of bull shark nurseries.

By analyzing data from North Carolina’s Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF), the researchers found that between 2003 and 2011, when water temperatures in the sound were hovering closer to 22 degrees Celsius, only six juvenile sharks were caught in the area. But as temperatures began to rise, a group of bull sharks migrated from their previous home in Northern Florida and established a nursery in Pamlico, causing a drastic uptick in juvenile shark presence. Between 2011 and 2016 alone, NCDMF found 53.

Read the full story at The Daily Beast

 

National Fish accuses former employee of sharing trade secrets in recent lawsuit

July 26, 2018 –Kathleen Scanlon – the former head of research, development, and quality assurance for National Fish & Seafood – was ordered not to work for her new employer, Tampa Bay Fisheries, and return National Fish property in a heated court battle.

Pacific Andes-owned National Fish, based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, filed a complaint against Scanlon, Tampa Bay, and a “John Doe” on 20 July, alleging that Scanlon “unlawfully acquired NFS’ confidential information and trade secrets” involving its proprietary clam production process.

NFS, which markets the longstanding Matlaw’s stuffed clam and seafood line, said Scanlon’s action were “part of a scheme to harm NFS’ position in the seafood-supply industry,” according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Dover, Florida-based Tampa Bay Fisheries specializes in private label seafood for retailers and restaurants. Both suppliers recently tried to secure a national listing with Whole Foods Market, according to the complaint.

After working for NFS for 20 years, Scanlon voluntarily resigned on 11 July. She was set to begin working for Tampa Bay Fisheries on 23 July.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Florida researchers team to map entire Florida coast, wildlife habitats

July 24, 2018 — The USF College of Marine Science is teaming up with the Florida Institute of Oceanography to map the entire Florida coast, as well as gather data on fish spawning areas in the state’s coastal waters.

  • Researchers developing maps of essential sealife habitats
  • Florida Coastal Mapping Program capturing high resolution maps of coast
  • Less than 20 percent of Florida’s coastal waters have been mapped

Researchers from the two schools are pushing forward a number of projects while working onboard the Weatherbird II research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.

One of those projects involved gathering HD video of the sea bottom to count the number of Red Snapper in the gulf utilizing an instrument called a “C-BASS.” The Weatherbird tows the C-BASS about six feet off the bottom of the ocean floor and utilizes lights and cameras to capture all the action.

It’s all part of the C-SCAMP project, which is also developing high-resolution multibeam maps to identify essential habitats on the West Florida shelf.

“It’s really important not only for just finding out what’s there, but also for the management of our natural resources,” said USF Professor Steve Murawski. “So, we’re trying to close this huge gap in terms of our understanding of what’s on the sea floor and how valuable it is.”

Read the full story at Spectrum News 13

Looking for local red snapper? South Carolina limited fishing season will open soon

July 24, 2018 — A limited season for red snapper will open July 26 for recreational and commercial fishing in the South Atlantic Region, which includes South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council announced Monday in a release that scientific research showed an increase in the red snapper population since 2010. It states NOAA Fisheries determined limited harvest beginning in 2018 is not expected to result in overfishing, nor prevent a continued rebuilding of the population.

Recreational fishing will open for harvest on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It will run from July 26 to August 20.

Read the full story at The Island Packet

Scientists Urge Congress to Support Ongoing Shark Research

July 19, 2018 — Fishermen and beachgoers alike have long viewed sharks with something less than admiration, but advances in technology have proven they are deeply valuable, scientists told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday. Yet that value could be lost if climate change and overfishing continue to threaten the predator and its habitat.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee heard testimony from several scientists about the value of shark research during a Wednesday morning session.

Among them was Dr. Robert Hueter, of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida, who said he’s studied sharks for 40 years and that his most satisfying moments have come when he’s gotten to watch people shift from vilifying sharks to appreciating them.

“Now I see people on the coast watching sharks with tags swim by,” Hueter said. “They don’t want to kill them but instead, they’re rooting them on and sometimes, they even [figuratively] adopt them. They understand the shark isn’t looking to eat people but they’re doing what they have done for millions of years. We’re winning the battle [for conservation] and activism is spreading, so it’s very exciting.”

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

‘Absolutely terrible’: Florida mullet fishery hit by red tide after market comeback

July 18, 2018 — Florida fishermen have been hard at work elevating the local mullet to its rightful place among good-eating fish, but that market is hard to manage when the fishery hits a downward turn.

Eddie Barnhill, the third generation of Barnhill Fisheries on Southwest Florida’s Pine Island, has been frustrated for the past few years and said this one in particular, has been “absolutely terrible.”

“I’ve worked my butt off the last couple of years working up a market for these mullet and all of a sudden now the market’s built, and I can’t supply them… And then you lose your market again,” he said.

Longtime mullet fisherman Mike Dooley confirmed Barnhill’s assessment. Dooley has been plying Pine Island Sound for the finfish for more than 20 years — like his father before him, and now, like his son, Shane. He has had a disappointing year so far, too. “This year, landings have been down about 60 percent over last year,” Dooley said.

Both Dooley and Barnhill blame the water quality, specifically red tide.

“We’ve had a lot of red tide this year that killed a lot of fish. They’re out there dying now,” Dooley said on a grim morning in early June.

The traditional mullet run around Southwest Florida from roughly December to January was meager.

“It’s like the fish kind of skipped our area,” said Dooley. “And they never came back. The ones that are here aren’t getting fat like they usually do. Here in June they look like March mullet. They don’t have any belly on them whatsoever.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

FLORIDA: Gov. Scott Announces First Pasco County Scallop Season in More Than 20 Years

July 17, 2018 — Today, Governor Scott announced that for the first time since 1994, state waters off Pasco County will be open to bay scallop harvest during a 10-day season from July 20-29. The region includes all state waters south of the Hernando–Pasco county line and north of the Anclote Key Lighthouse in northern Pinellas County, and includes all waters of the Anclote River.

Governor Scott said, “I’m proud to announce that for the first time in more than 20 years, families in Pasco County will be able to enjoy a scallop season. Scalloping is one of the best ways to experience the Sunshine State’s incredible natural areas and I encourage residents and visitors to take advantage of this exciting opportunity.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Chairman Bo Rivard said, “Scalloping with your friends and family is classic Florida fun in the sun. The season brings people and an economic boost to these coastal areas, all the while encouraging conservation and connecting residents and visitors to the wonders of Florida’s outdoors.”

Read the full story at the Florida Trend

Biologists and volunteers work to increase scallop population

July 17, 2018 — A ten year restoration program that aims to protect scallops and increase their population has kicked off in Panama City.

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Research Institute gathered Sunday to start building cages for the project, that will soon be filled with scallops.

According to Emily Hardin with the FWC, groups of volunteers will be collecting the scallops and putting them in the cages to keep them safe from predators and to give them a better chance of reproducing.

“We don’t want the scallops to be eaten by any predators so we’re putting them inside the cage to help with that, but also, scallops will broadcast spawn. They’re going to release all of their egg and sperm into the water column and so if they’re close together, there’s a higher chance that everything’s going to come together just like it should and we’ll have a lot of baby scallops growing up in the bay,” Hardin said.

Hardin says the scallop populations have been declining for years because of over-harvesting, weather conditions and red tide.

Read the full story at WJHG

FLORIDA: FWC Builds Cages to Save Scallop Population

July 16, 2018 — Scallop populations are diminishing in St. Andrews and St. Joseph’s Bay. Over the past few years scientists have noticed a decline in reproduction. To solve the issue of a scallop shortage, scientists have gotten creative.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and volunteers, spent the day making around 100 scallop cages. Emily Hardin, the FWC Volunteer Coordinator says she’s proud of her community. “It’s just really inspiring to see the community coming together to help with this scallop restoration project.”

A total of 6 organizations are involved with this project. The FWC, UF/IFAS Extension Bay County, UF/IFAS Extension Gulf County, Bay County Board of Commissioners, St. Andrews Bay Watch Resource Management Association, and Florida Sea Grant.

The cages are part of a 10 year scallop restoration program across the entire panhandle. It is funded through a Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) Grant.

The decrease in scallop population could be due to over harvesting, red tide events, weather changes. A mix of events.

Lix Pudlak and FWC Biologist and outreach coordinator explained how the cages work. “The cage kind of acts as a barrier from predators so it’ll help protect them from being eaten and stuff like that. And since they’re in such close proximity to each other it should increase, I guess, success of reproduction.”

Read the full story at MyPanhandle.com

NMFS greenlights experimental lionfish trap fishing

July 13, 2018 — Fishermen in the South Atlantic might soon be testing a new tool to fight off the growing population of invasive lionfish in the region. After years of waiting, NMFS is finally giving the green light on a permit to set out 100 cages to study whether traps can put a dent in their numbers.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission applied for the exempted fishing permit, proposing to test various modifications to wire spiny lobster traps to harvest lionfish from South Atlantic federal waters.

The study intends to examine the effectiveness and performance of modified trap designs for capturing lionfish, with the goal of identifying the best modification to maximize lionfish catch and reduce bycatch of other species. Traps would test various funnel and escape gap sizes and locations, in addition to bait types.

The Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association proposed the idea back in 2015 after they discovered their spiny lobster traps were being overrun by lionfish. But the group withdrew its application earlier this year after losing financial backing for the project because of the long delays in waiting for approval.

Read the full story at National Fisherman