Saving Seafood

NOAA Pilot Program Extends Snapper Season In Gulf of Mexico

April 27, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The fisheries management folks have finally thrown a bone to recreational anglers targeting American red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. The Feds at NOAA Fisheries has granted the Gulf states a two-year pilot management option allowing state management agencies the leeway to establish their own harvest guidelines in both state and federal zones.

The program, aka the “exempted fishing permit” gives Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission the right to manage the whole snapper enchilada for two years and they have established a 40-day recreational harvest to begin on June 11 and run through July 21. After years of ridiculously short open seasons, this is really a big deal for recreational anglers to get their fair share of the pie. It also shows that the feds have finally owned up to the fact that in some areas of the Gulf states, American reds are not a factor in state waters, the Gulf Coast south of the big bend, including the Suncoast, being one of them.

The exempted fishing permit does not apply to commercial harvesters or for-hire (charter) operations with valid federal reef permits. Those for-hire vessels have a separate harvest season that roughly runs concurrently with the new recreational regulation.

2018 Lionfish Challenge

The 2018 Lionfish Challenge kicks off on May 19 and will continue through to Sept. 3. The opener coincides with Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day on May 19. Both spear fishers and hook-and-liners can register to participate by going to MyFWC.com/Lionfish.

This year there will be tagged lionfish released that when brought in can garner participants up to $5,000 in cash prizes. Many non-cash prizes such as GoPro Cams, Engel Cooler products, Turtle Skin Gloves and more, are up for grabs.

The non-native and invasive lionfish have become a huge problem in Florida waters as they feed primarily on the fry of our most valued reef species as groupers and snappers. Any effort to cut down on this gluttonous invader should be encouraged. Their extremely good table value should help but must be handled with caution due to venomous spines. The venom is not life threatening but if you get stuck you would wish you hadn’t woke up that morning.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished with permission.

 

SAFMC: Council Seeks Input on Proposed Changes for the Snapper Grouper Fishery

April 26, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council are soliciting public input on a number of measures proposed for both recreational and commercial fishermen targeting species in the snapper grouper management complex. The management measures are being proposed in two amendments to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan as part of the Council’s Vision Blueprint for the Snapper Grouper Fishery.

Vision Blueprint Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 26 (Recreational):

The amendment proposes modifying the species composition of recreational aggregates to better reflect how fishermen are currently fishing and allow more focused management measures (i.e., for deep-water species). Alternatives for aggregate bag limits, minimum size limits and gear requirements are included. The regulatory amendment also proposes modification to the spawning season closure for red grouper off the North and South Carolina coasts, removing the minimum size limit for three deep-water snappers, and reducing the minimum size limit for gray triggerfish off the east coast of Florida to bring consistency with regulations in state waters.

Vision Blueprint Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 27 (Commercial):

The amendment addresses concerns over equitable access for commercial fishermen fishing in the snapper grouper fishery and proposes measures to help minimize discards. The regulatory amendment includes actions for split commercial seasons for blueline tilefish, snowy grouper, greater amberjack, and red porgy. The amendment also includes actions to modify the commercial trip limit for blueline tilefish, greater amberjack, red porgy, and vermilion snapper. Other measures include specifying a minimum size limit for almaco jack, implementing a trip limit for the Other Jacks complex, extending the seasonal closure for red grouper in federal waters off North Carolina and South Carolina, removing the minimum size limit for three deep-water snappers, and reducing the commercial minimum size limit for gray triggerfish off the east coast of Florida.

Additional information for each amendment, including public hearing summaries, video presentations, and other materials is available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/public-hearings-scoping-meetings/.

Public Hearings via Webinar with Listening Stations  

Public hearings will be held via webinar with Listening Stations in areas as noted below. Area Council members will be present at each of the Listening Stations. Members of the public will have an opportunity to go on record to offer their comments for consideration by the Council during the webinars.

Webinar registration is required for each public hearing. 

Webinar #1 – May 8, 2018 at 6 pm

Listening Stations

Haddrell’s Point Tackle

885 Ben Sawyer Blvd.

Mt Pleasant, SC

Southeast Regional Branch Library

10599 Deerwood Park Blvd

Jacksonville, FL

NC Division of Marine Fisheries

Southern District Office

127 Cardinal Drive Extension

Wilmington, NC 

Webinar #2 – May 9, 2018 at 6 pm

Listening Stations

Cocoa Beach Public Library

550 North Brevard Avenue

Cocoa Beach, FL 

NC Division of Marine Fisheries

Central District Office

5285 Hwy 70 West

Morehead City, NC 

Webinar #3 – May 10, 2018 at 6 pm

Listening Stations

Murrells Inlet Community Center

4462 Murrells Inlet Rd

Murrells Inlet, SC 

Marathon Government Center – BOCC

2798 Overseas Hwy, 2nd Floor

Marathon, FL

Hatteras Community Building

57689 NC Hwy 12

Hatteras, NC

Written Comments

The Council is also accepting written comments until May 11, 2018 at 5 p.m.Written comments may be submitted using the online comment form and also be viewed via the website. Additional information on how to submit written comments is available from the website.

 

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross praises red snapper recreational pilot program

April 23, 2018 — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed praise on Tuesday, 17 April, for a pilot program that gives states along the Gulf of Mexico more power in managing the red snapper recreational fishery.

NOAA Fisheries previously unveiled a two-year pilot program giving partial control of the fishery to officials in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. All five states submitted applications that will enable them to manage the recreation fishery in both state waters, which run for the first nine miles off the coast, and federal waters, which extend beyond that.

“Granting these experimental fishing permits to all five states continues the work we started last year to expand recreational fishing opportunities through coordinated, Gulf-wide seasons,” Ross said. “We are going to give the states the opportunity to demonstrate effective management that improves recreational opportunities for all Americans.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Bull Shark Nursery Grounds Shifting North, a Result of Climate Change

April 20, 2018 — The report published this week in Scientific Reports notes that while bull sharks have large migratory patterns and move quite a bit, they are very loyal to their nursery grounds.

Prior to this discovery, the most northerly known nurseries in the Atlantic were located off Florida’s east coast. In recent years, however, nurseries have been relocated north to the Pamlico Sound, which lies between the Outer Banks and North Carolina’s coast.

The discovery was a fluke, the researchers said.

While working to characterize shark habitat in North Carolina, the researchers from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Simon Fraser University and East Carolina University found that a greater number of juvenile bull sharks, which remain at nursery grounds during their formative years, were reported in the brackish waters of Pamlico Sound.

Read the full story at the Weather Channel

 

Florida sets 40-day red snapper season

April 18, 2018 — TALLAHASSEE, Fl. — The state has set a 40-day red snapper season for recreational anglers in federal and state waters this year.

The season will run June 11 to July 21, which is significantly longer than the 24-day season — May 27 to mid-June — the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission originally had proposed. The season for-hire vessels, which includes charter boats and head boats, has not yet been announced and is still under the direction of the federal government.

“Florida is a premier fishing destination, and saltwater fishing in the Gulf of Mexico has a $7.6 billion economic impact in our state every year,” Gov. Rick Scott said in a press release announcing the season. “Adding additional opportunities for anglers to enjoy Florida’s world-class fishing not only benefits our visitors but also our Gulf Coast communities.”

The announcement marks the first time ever the state has been able to set the season for recreational anglers and non-reef-permitted charter captains in federal waters, as part of a two-year pilot program among the five Gulf states and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“We are going to give the states an opportunity to demonstrate effective management that improves recreational opportunities for all Americans,” Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a press release.

Read the full story at the Panama City News Herald

 

SSA Member to House Subcommittee: Sustainable Shark Bill Recognizes Sacrifices of U.S. Fishermen, Fin Ban Undermines Them

SSA member John Polston testifies before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans today. (Photo: House Natural Resources Committee/YouTube)

April 17, 2018 — The following was released by the Sustainable Shark Alliance:   

At a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing today, John Polston, a fisherman and member of the Sustainable Shark Alliance (SSA), testified in support of legislation that would promote shark conservation by incentivizing other nations to meet the same high standards of sustainability as U.S. shark fishermen.

In testimony before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans, Mr. Polston, owner of King’s Seafood in Port Orange, Florida, praised the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act (SSFTA) as a “proactive bill that levels the playing field for American fishermen.” The bipartisan legislation, introduced last month by Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) and a group of six Democrats and Republicans, would create a formal and transparent certification program for countries importing shark products into the United States. Nations would be required to prove that they have an effective prohibition on shark finning, and management policies comparable to those in the United States.

“The SSFTA creates an incentive for other nations to end shark finning and meet the same high standards for marine conservation to which the United States holds its fishermen,” Mr. Polston said. “This bill recognizes the sacrifices our fishermen have made, and continue to make, to rebuild domestic shark populations by leveling the playing field with our foreign competitors.”

Mr. Polston was joined in his support for the SSFTA by Dr. Robert Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, who served as a scientific reviewer for the legislation.

“The SSFTA will give the American people an effective tool to say, ‘No longer will we allow the import and consumption of unsustainably fished shark and ray products on American soil. Our participation as consumers in this practice ends now,’” Dr. Hueter said. “The bill does this without punishing American fishers who are conducting legal and sustainable shark fishing, providing a model of responsible management and conservation for the rest of the world.”

Mr. Polston and Dr. Hueter also expressed their opposition to another shark bill discussed at the hearing, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, introduced by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA). This legislation would ban the domestic sale of all shark fins, including responsibly and sustainably caught American shark fins.

“This bill punishes me and others in the shark fishery by taking away an important income source, undoubtedly pushing some small businesses into unprofitability,” Mr. Polston said. “It is an insult to American fishermen who have been required to give so much for decades to create a sustainable fishery.”

Alan Risenhoover, director of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Sustainable Fisheries, voiced similar criticisms of the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act.

“This bill does not meet its intent to improve the conservation and management of domestically harvested sharks,” Mr. Risenhoover said. “It prohibits the possession and sale of shark fins. This would hurt U.S. fishermen who currently harvest and sell sharks and shark fins in a sustainable manner under strict federal management.”

About the Sustainable Shark Alliance
The Sustainable Shark Alliance (SSA) is a coalition of shark fishermen and seafood dealers that advocates for sustainable U.S. shark fisheries and supports healthy shark populations. The SSA stands behind U.S. shark fisheries as global leaders in successful shark management and conservation. The SSA is a member of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities.

 

Congressman Jones: Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act Levels the Playing Field for Domestic Producers

April 17, 2018 — The following statement was released by Congressman Walter B. Jones:

I would like to thank Chairman Lamborn and Chairman Bishop for holding this hearing today. I am pleased to join my friend, Congressman Dan Webster, in cosponsoring H.R. 5248 – the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act. It is very important that America’s fishermen have a level playing field with foreign producers. The bill would hold other nations to the same conservation and management standards that America has adopted in our shark fisheries.

Under H.R. 5248, any nation seeking to export shark products to America must receive certification from the Secretary of Commerce that it has an effective ban on the practice of “shark finning,” and that it has a similar conservation and management program for sharks, skates, and rays. The bill also increases traceability of imported shark products.

If foreign countries are failing to manage their shark populations appropriately, they should change their ways. They shouldn’t be allowed to dump unsustainably harvested shark product on our market, and our legal, sustainable American harvesters should not be penalized for the shortcomings of foreign fishermen.

America has been a global leader in protecting shark species while allowing a sustainable harvest.  In fact, U.S. federal law mandates that the domestic shark fishery be managed sustainably.

According to renowned shark scientist, Dr. Robert E. Heuter of Florida’s Mote Marine Lab, America has “one of the best systems in the world for shark fisheries management and conservation.”  The proof can be seen in NOAA Fisheries own data.  NOAA Fisheries’ 2015 coastal shark survey captured and tagged “more than 2,800 sharks, the most in the survey’s 29-year history.”  The leader of the survey stated that NOAA Fisheries has “seen an increase in the number of sharks in every survey since 2001,” and the agency called the survey results “very good news for shark populations.”

R. 5248 is supported by the North Carolina Fisheries Association, Southeastern Fisheries Association, Blue Water Fishermen’s Association, Sustainable Shark Alliance, Garden State Seafood Association, and the Louisiana Shrimpers Association. This bill is a reasonable, balanced approach to leveling the playing field for domestic producers, while trying to encourage other nations to raise their shark management practices to appropriate levels.

Other legislative options before the subcommittee, including banning the trade of legally, sustainably harvested American shark products, represent an unnecessary, short-sighted overreach that should be rejected.

 

A hammerhead shark death could spark change

April 16, 2018 — Of the instantly recognizable organisms in the animal kingdom, the hammerhead shark is probably among the top three.

That distinctive skull design, molded by 400 million years of evolution, gives the large coastal shark its perfectly suited name. But many a tarpon fishing guide in Florida can also instantly identify a hammerhead shark by its tall sickle-shaped dorsal fin, and the feeling of dread that follows knowing another angler’s trophy catch may fall prey to it.

A large hammerhead appears menacing. It seems intent on causing harm. Those soul-piercing eyes on either end of its skull, connected to a specialized nervous system which allows it to see and hunt successfully, give it a face only a hammerhead mother could love. Its very sight strikes fear into the hearts of many whether they are beachgoers or boaters.

But the hammerhead’s looks could not be more deceiving. It is one of the most gentle, docile and mislabeled animals on this planet. In fact, of all the human shark bites recorded in history, according to the International Shark Attack File, only 17 unprovoked bites have been attributed to the hammerhead, and none were fatal. Truth be told, what should fear a large hammerhead shark most are stingrays, blacktip sharks and tarpon (especially the ones swimming near Boca Grande Pass).

Read the full story at the TC Palm

 

Trump Signs Omnibus Spending Bill With Legislation Adding 63,000 H-2B Guest Workers

March 28, 2018 — President Donald Trump has signed a new 2,232-page Omnibus Spending Bill sent to him by the Senate after it passed the House of Representative that includes an increase in the H-2B Guest Worker Program for the remainder of the year.

The H-2B program allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers to fill low-skill, non-agricultural positions. Currently it provides for an annual cap of 66,000 visas per year, with a few exceptions.

The new bill contains a provision to once again allow the Department of Homeland Security to exceed the annual cap on admissions of unskilled non-agricultural workers. If fully implemented by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, it has the potential to add as many as 63,000 additional H-2B guest workers next year, nearly doubling the size of the program.

New Bill Huge Improvement

“The new provision to exceed the cap on admissions will sure will help a lot!” exclaimed Jennifer Jenkins, a Gulf Seafood Foundation Board Member and owner of Crystal Seas Oyster in Pass Christian, MS, whose company depends on the more than 150 H-2B workers each year. “I’m not sure it will solve all the problems because there are so many people trying to use the program, but anything is a huge improvement from where we were a week ago.”

The H-2B Foreign Worker program, many from Mexico and Central America, has continued to grow at a steady pace. The Gulf States of Texas, Florida and Louisiana have more than 33,000 H-2B workers alone, with occupational categories that include: landscaping and grounds keeping workers, seafood workers, forest and conservation workers, and maids and housekeeping.

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News

 

Path to extinction for North Atlantic right whales

March 26, 2018, PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — Inside the cabin of the research vessel Shearwater, Charles “Stormy” Mayo, senior scientist and director of the Right Whale Ecology Program at the Center for Coastal Studies, pulled up on his computer an image of the family tree of North Atlantic right whale #1140.

This whale — dubbed “Wart” by researchers — has a file of photographs, identifying marks, and a life history, as does nearly every one of the remaining 451 right whales on earth.

“Her productivity has been extraordinary,” Mayo said. But Wart hasn’t been seen since 2014, and some worry her fabled life may have come to an end.

Last summer was particularly tragic with 16, possibly 17, right whales — 4 percent of the remaining population — killed after being hit by ships, entangled in fishing gear, and other unknown causes.

Extinction, experts say, is suddenly a reality.

“It was one of the big stories of the day, that right whales were coming back,” Mayo said. “But up to 2010, you had this appallingly slow climb, then decline. Now we have a species that is clearly headed for extinction.”

Wart, first seen in 1981, at the dawn of right whale research, has been subsequently spotted and identified 66 times from the Bay of Fundy to Florida. Believed to be in her 50s now, she is one of the more successful breeders — mother to seven calves, grandmother to 13 and great-grandmother to six.

But that productivity may not be enough in the face of a host of environmental issues related to an increasingly urbanized ocean — vessel noise, pollution and oil and gas exploration — and the unknown complications from a rapidly warming sea that could affect, for example, the seasonal timing of critical right whale food.

Then, there is the intractable problem of human induced mortality and serious injury.

Sixteen deaths last summer caused many to hit the panic button. Researcher Brian Sharp called it shocking.

“It begs the need for fishery managers, the industry and scientists to push harder to find solutions,” said Sharp, manager of Marine Mammal Rescue and Research at the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Yarmouth.

Twelve of last year’s deaths occurred in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where right whales had been seen sporadically over the last four decades, fewer than a dozen a year, and not well-documented. Five live entanglements also were documented in that area last year. Unlike the U.S., Canada has had no ship or fishing restrictions in place as the numbers of whales documented in the Gulf, possibly following prey driven north by climate change, has grown.

But four deaths also happened in the U.S. last year, despite decades of research and planning on how to create whale-safe fishing gear, massive fishing closures and rerouted and slowed ships to avoid fatal interactions with whales. The U.S. deaths alone were four times the number scientists set as the maximum allowed per year if the species is going to recover.

“There’s a huge misconception that the industry is not sensitive to this matter or not aware of it. We certainly are, and it concerns the industry a lot,” said Grant Moore, of Westport, a longtime offshore lobsterman and president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association.

The exact number of North Atlantic right whales that existed prior to human killing is unknown, but the population was likely reduced to fewer than 100 by the time the international 1935 ban on whaling was enacted.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times