Saving Seafood

American Fisheries Society recognizes Bill Hogarth with top conservation award

August 23, 2016 — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The American Fisheries Society is honoring recently retired Florida Institute of Oceanography Director Bill Hogarth with the Carl R. Sullivan Fishery Conservation Award – one of the nation’s premier awards in fisheries science – in recognition of his long career and leadership in preserving some of the world’s most threatened species, advocating for environmental protections and leading Florida’s scientific response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The award recognizes a wide span of achievements in Hogarth’s 51-year-career in marine science, beginning with his research into threatened fish species; his roles as director of the National Marine Fisheries Service and chairman of the International Whaling Commission; and his service as the former dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science and Director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography. During his career, Hogarth is credited with bringing greater international attention to preserving threatened fish species such as the Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna and sharks, and serving as a credible voice for independent science in preserving and protecting the world’s oceans. Hogarth retired as FIO’s director on July 31.

The award is to be presented at the AFS annual meeting on Aug. 22, in Kansas City, Mo.

“Bill Hogarth has had a singularly diverse but enormously influential career in fisheries,” said USF Professor Steve Murawski in his nomination of Hogarth for the honor. “Although his professional roles have changed over the years, he has found a way to make a significant difference in the management of fisheries and in the lives of people with which he has worked. His accomplishments have been many and diverse, but always significant.”

Read the full story at Eureka Alert

Stopping the world’s most rapacious invasive species, one fillet at a time

August 18, 2016 — Since Pacific lionfish were first detected off the coast of Florida three decades ago, they have spread around the Caribbean, gobbling up everything that fits in their mouths and reproducing at a phenomenal rate. Scientists have shown that soon after they descend upon a reef, there is a sharp fall in the number of small fish, notably the herbivores on which coral depends for survival.

“They’re eating their way through the reefs like a plague of locusts,” said Mark Hixon, a lionfish specialist at the University of Hawaii.

It is by far the most destructive invasive species ever recorded at sea, and the blight is believed to have started with aquarium fish released off the Florida Atlantic coast in the mid-1980s.

However, in the last few months, a set of unrelated trends has resulted in two U.S. supermarket chains, Whole Foods and Wegmans, offering Florida lionfish, which has a white, delicate flesh, to consumers with much fanfare. Early signs suggest that the state’s fishery might just be big enough to protect the native denizens of at least some reefs from being decimated.

Read the full story at the Alaska Dispatch News

Shark scientist opposes fin trade ban

August 8, 2016 — On Friday, Dr. Robert E. Hueter, Director of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research, wrote to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in “strong opposition” to S. 3095, The Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act.

“S. 3095 will be ineffective in making a dent in the global problem of shark overfishing,” Dr. Hueter wrote. “Instead, it will punish the wrong people by putting American commercial fishermen, who are fishing for sharks legally and sustainably, out of business.”

Dr. Hueter added that the U.S. has “one of the best systems in the world for shark fisheries management and conservation,” and that S. 3095 would promote wastefulness in the U.S. shark fishery.

Read the full letter here

NOAA Recommends $9 Million in Funding for Community-based Habitat Restoration

July 25, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA is recommending $9 million in funding for 17 coastal and marine habitat restoration projects for its 2016 Community-based Restoration Program, as part of agency efforts to support healthy ecosystems and resilient coastal communities.

The recommended projects, in 10 states and territories, range from coral reef restoration in Florida to fish passage improvements in California. In the Greater Atlantic region, there are four recommended projects in Massachusetts, one in Maine, and one in Maryland.

This year’s projects will restore habitat for a variety of coastal and marine species, including three of NOAA Fisheries’ highly at-risk “Species in the Spotlight” – Atlantic salmon, Central California Coast coho, and Sacramento River winter-run Chinook. Projects will also concentrate on habitat improvement in two of NOAA’s Habitat Focus Areas – Puerto Rico’s Culebra Island, and West Hawaii – where agency and partner efforts can come together to yield community and environmental benefits.

“These restoration projects are a win-win for the environment and surrounding communities,” said Pat Montanio, director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation. “When we make smart investments in habitat restoration, we not only help sustain fisheries and recover protected resources, we also use these projects to provide additional benefits, like protecting coastal communities from flooding and erosion, and boosting local economies through increased recreational opportunities.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Community-based Restoration Program, which was established in 1996 and authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006. Since the program’s beginning, NOAA has provided more than $140 million to implement more than 2,000 habitat restoration projects, all through strong partnerships with more than 2,500 organizations. Through the program and the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NOAA and its partners are helping to create healthy habitats and resilient fish populations in the United States.

At this point in the selection process, the application approval and obligation of funds is not final. Each of the 17 applications is being “recommended” and is not a guarantee of funding. Final approval is subject to funding availability as well as final review and approval by both the NOAA Grants Management Division and Department of Commerce Federal Assistance Law Division. Applicants should expect to receive formal notification of award approval by October 1.

Details about the 17 projects recommended for funding are available on the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation website.

Divers score success against lionfish, but no one expects victory

July 22, 2016 — Divers caught 1,250 lionfish on a single day off Fort Lauderdale during a July competition aimed at controlling these venomous predators from the Indian and Pacific oceans.

While the huge haul was a victory in the fight for Florida’s near-shore waters, most people are betting the lionfish will ultimately win the war. Scientists say these quick-breeding invaders have spread beyond any hope of control, and we’ll have to live with them as we’ve learned to live with other non-native creatures in South Florida, such as green iguanas, wild hogs and Africanized honeybees.

“We are definitely not thinking this is a species that will be eradicated,” said Amanda Nalley, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “Our goal is to control the population, get people interested in it as a food fish.”

Read the full story at the Sun Sentinel 

Federal Fishery Advisory Panel Seats Open to Applicants

July 13, 2016 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Managment Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is currently soliciting applicants for open advisory panel seats. Working at the grass roots level, advisory panel members provide information and guidance in the development and implementation of federal fishery management plans. The Council has eleven advisory panels composed of individuals who are engaged in the harvest of managed species, or are knowledgeable and interested in the conservation and management of the fishery or managed species. Members include recreational and commercial fishermen, seafood dealers and processors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), scientists, and concerned citizens.

Advisory panel members are appointed by the Council and serve for a three-year period, based on the frequency of meetings. As those appointments expire, members currently serving on the AP may reapply for their positions. These seats also become open to new applicants. Members may serve for three consecutive terms before reaching their term limit. AP members generally meet no more than once or twice each year and are compensated for travel and per diem expenses for all meetings. Members must have access to a working email account and the Internet in order to receive meeting materials and correspondence relative to their service on the advisory panel.

See the full release at the South Atlantic Fishery Managment Council 

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Actions to Implement a Commercial Trip Limit for Dolphin in the Atlantic

July 1, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on the proposed rule implementing Regulatory Amendment 1 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic (Regulatory Amendment 1). The proposed rule for Regulatory Amendment 1 published in the Federal Register on June 30, 2016 (81 FR 42625). The comment period ends on August 1, 2016.

Regulatory Amendment 1 would establish a commercial trip limit for dolphin of 4,000 pounds whole weight after 75 percent of the commercial sector annual catch limit has been reached. The trip limit applies to dolphin caught commercially from Maine through the east coast of Florida. The trip limit would remain in place until the end of the fishing year or until the entire commercial annual catch limit is met, whichever comes first. The purpose of the trip limit is to reduce the chance of an in-season closure of the dolphin commercial sector as a result of the annual catch limit being reached during the fishing year and to reduce the severity of social and economic impacts caused by these closures.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has submitted Regulatory Amendment 1 to NOAA Fisheries for review and implementation. All comments specifically directed toward the proposed rule will be addressed in the final rule.

For more information on Regulatory Amendment 1, please visit the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office Website at:

http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/s_atl/dw/2016/reg_am1/index.html.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shortens, but does not suspend, bay scallop season

June 30, 2016 — Apparently one message from locals was heard by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

There was certainly public feedback that in the face of declining numbers the 2016 scallop season should be, as agency researchers had planned in April, suspended in St. Joseph Bay.

But, the board of the FWC last week also took note of the economics and input from some sectors that any season was better than no season and decided to shorten, but not suspend, the 2016 bay scallop harvest season in St. Joseph Bay.

The decision came two days before the bay scallop season began statewide.

In the other areas of the state where scallop populations support public harvesting, the season began last Saturday and will continue through Sept. 24.

Read the full story at The Star

Sen. Rubio fishing for review of red snapper ban

June 28, 2016 — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who chairs the Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, called Monday for the U.S. Department of Commerce to review the decision to close the South Atlantic to red snapper fishing for a second consecutive year.

“The economic benefit to my home state of Florida, along with other states that fall under the South Atlantic, cannot be overstated,” wrote Rubio, a candidate for re-election, in a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Acting Inspector General David Smith.

Read the full story from the News Service of Florida at WWSB

LDWF Secretary opposes move to give Louisiana authority over red snapper

June 22, 2016 — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Charlie Melancon stated Tuesday he is opposed to a push to transfer management authority of Gulf of Mexico red snapper from the federal government to the fisheries agencies of the five Gulf states.

Melancon said a bill proposed by Rep. Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge) that’s currently making its way through Congress would grant Gulf states management authority without providing necessary dollars.

“Without federal funding, Louisiana could potentially lack the proper resources to manage the red-snapper fishery,” Melancon said. “It would be fiscally irresponsible for the department to support any mandate that would result in an unknown amount of fiscal burden placed on the state of Louisiana for the management of a single species of fish.”

Previously, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida had joined Louisiana in calling for NOAA Fisheries to surrender management control of the popular reef fish. Critics say gross mismanagement of red snapper has led to reduced fishing opportunities for recreational anglers. This year’s federal red-snapper season for recreational anglers was initially set at nine days, but was extended to 11 days after tropical weather kept many anglers at the dock.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune