Saving Seafood

ASMFC 2018 Winter Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

January 31, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council: 

Supplemental meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2018 Winter Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2018-winter-meeting for the following Boards/Sections (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2018WinterMeeting/CombinedSupplementalFiles_Winter2018.pdf.

American Lobster Management Board – Draft Addendum XXVI/III Public Comment; Southern New England memo: Goals and Objectives (revised)

Atlantic Herring Section – Technical Committee Review of Current Spawning Closure Procedure

American Eel Management Board – Draft Addendum V; Stock Assessment Committee Call Summary; 2017 FMP Review

Weakfish Management Board – 2017 FMP Review

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board –  Cobia FMP State Implementation Plans; 2017 FMP Reviews for Spot and Spanish Mackerel

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Submitted Public Comment

Risk and Uncertainty Workshop – Decision Tree

ISFMP Policy Board – 2017 Commissioner Survey Results; Submitted Public Comment on Virginia Appeal to Atlantic Menhaden Amendment 3

Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Draft Addendum XXX, Public Hearing Summaries, Submitted Public Comment and Advisory Panel Report

As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning February 6th at 9:30 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 5 p.m.) on Thursday, February 8th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible.

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Legislation would take striped bass off the menu

January 22, 2018 — NORTH EASTHAM, Mass. — The sacred cod hangs over the heads of legislators in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, but on Mac’s Seafood website it’s a striped bass.

The fish is held by an employee staring into the camera, its houndstooth flanks glistening, mouth open, looking as if you could drop it back into the sea and it would be off, chasing mackerel and herring through the surf.

“There’s a large demand for it in season. That is the fish people come in to buy — not cod, but striped bass,” said Jason Putrell, assistant manager at Mac’s Market and Kitchen in North Eastham.

With the inshore stocks of many of the bread-and-butter staples like cod and flounders fished out, striped bass is one species that restaurants and fish markets can offer that is guaranteed to be freshly caught and local.

But two bills currently before the state Legislature would take striped bass out of display cases and off menus forever as they seek to end the commercial fishery in Massachusetts. Both bills have the same language, one on the House side presented by state Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, and one in the Senate from former Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, who retired in 2017.

These bills ban the commercial sale and harvesting of striped bass except for commercial fishermen who can demonstrate they averaged more than 1,000 pounds a year in landings for the preceding five years. But those would be phased out when the permit-holders either die or stop fishing. The permits couldn’t be transferred or sold.

Read the full story from the Cape Cod Times at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

NOAA Reminder to Atlantic Sea Scallop Vessels: Southern Windowpane Accountability Measure Effective in February West of 71° W. Long.

January 19, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective Date: February 1, 2018, through February 28, 2018

To all Atlantic sea scallop vessels:

You are required to comply with the gear restrictions described below for the month of February 2018.

In fishing year 2015, the scallop fleet exceeded its sub-annual catch limit (ACL) for Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) windowpane flounder by 15.1%. Because the scallop fleet exceeded its windowpane flounder sub-ACL in fishing year 2015, the area west of 71° W. Long., excluding Mid-Atlantic Access Area, will become a SNE/MA windowpane flounder gear restricted area in February of 2018.

Dredge gear must meet the description below in the gear restricted area. In addition, vessels may not fish for scallops with trawl gear in the gear restricted area when the accountability measure is in effect.

Gear Restriction 

When a vessel is subject to this gear restricted area, the vessel will be required to fish with dredges as follows:

(1) The maximum number of rows of rings in the apron of the topside does not exceed five rows; and

(2) The maximum hanging ratio for a net on the top of a scallop dredge (twine top) does not exceed 1.5:1 overall.

View the release in its entirety by clicking here.

 

Rafael Faces New Allegations For Violations In Scallop Fishery

January 16, 2018 — A New Bedford fishing mogul known as “The Codfather” is facing new federal allegations for misreporting the amount of fish harvested by his fleet, this time in the scallop fishery.

“The Codfather,” or Carlos Rafael, is currently serving a 46-month prison sentence for falsifying groundfish quota, and for other offenses including tax evasion and bulk cash smuggling.

Now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is alleging Rafael lied about how many scallops four of his vessels caught during fishing trips in 2013. NOAA is looking to revoke permits issued to those vessels and charge Rafael a penalty of  $843,528.

Peter Shelley, senior counsel at the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental advocacy group, said these new allegations are critical.

“I think (these allegations) will be a strong enough deterrent that will really discourage people who might want to break the law from doing that, and it certainly will support the many fishermen in the fishery who obeyed the law that they’re not doing it for vain, that the agency will back them up,” Shelley said.

Read the full story at Rhode Island Public Radio

 

Seafood industry seeks new value in fish parts

January 15, 2018 — State seafood marketers are rebranding fish parts as “specialty” products and mapping a path for millions more dollars in sales.

Alaska’s fisheries produce more than 5 billion pounds of seafood each year. When all the fish is headed and gutted or filleted and all the crab legs are clustered, it leaves about 3 billion pounds of trimmings. Some is turned into meal and oil, but for the most part, the “gurry” is ground up and discharged into local waterways.

“Whether that’s heads or guts, milt, or meal or oil or something else, it should be held in high regard,” said Andy Wink, a seafood economist formerly with the McDowell Group. “These are products that are out of our normal range but they are specialty items serving niche markets.”

A new Analyses of Specialty Alaska Seafood Products report compiled for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute takes a look at uses for fish heads, oil, meal, internal organs, crab products, roe, herring fillets, arrowtooth flounder, spiny dogfish and skates.

It makes the point that Alaska’s combined seafood catches, valued at roughly $2 billion at the docks and twice that when processors sell to their buyers, could be worth an additional $700 million or more if so called “specialty” products were added to the mix.

Take fish heads, for example. Alaska produces about 1 billion pounds of fish heads per year, which likely account for most of the processing waste, the report said. Just 1 percent is sold as frozen heads, although a single large salmon head can fetch up to $5 a pound at Beijing supermarkets, according to previous reports. Increasing the frozen market alone could add $100 million to processors’ sales, the report said.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

 

Atlantic Menhaden Board Meeting Added to ASMFC 2018 Winter Meeting Preliminary Agenda

January 11, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Comission:

Please note there are two changes to the ASMFC Winter Meeting preliminary agenda: (1) an agenda item has been added to the ISFMP Policy Board (i.e., Consider the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Atlantic Menhaden Amendment 3 Appeal); and (2) the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board has been added to the agenda and will meet on Thursday, February 8 from 1:45 – 2:45 p.m. There has been shift in meeting times that day to accommodate the added meeting.  The agenda can also be found on the ASMFC website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2018-winter-meeting.

Revised Preliminary Agenda

The agenda is subject to change. Bulleted items represent the anticipated major issues to be discussed or acted upon at the meeting. The final agenda will include additional items and may revise the bulleted items provided below. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein.

Tuesday, February 6

9:30 a.m. – Noon                    American Lobster Management Board

  • Consider American Lobster Addendum XXVI and Jonah Crab Addendum III for Final Approval
  • Subgroup Report on Goals and Objectives for Management of the Southern New England Stock
  • Consider 2020 American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment Terms of Reference
  • Elect Vice-chair

1:00 – 2:00 p.m.                        Atlantic Herring Section

  • Review Technical Committee Report on Effectiveness of Current Spawning Closure Procedure
  • Elect Chair and Vice-chair

2:15 – 4:15 p.m.                        Winter Flounder Management Board

  • Review Results of the 2017 Groundfish Operational Stock Assessment for Gulf of Maine and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Winter Flounder Stocks
  • Discuss Potential Management Response
  • Consider Specifications for 2018 Fishing Year
  • Consider Approval of Fishery Management Plan Review for 2016-2017 Fishing Year
  • Elect Chair and Vice-chair

4:30 – 6:00 p.m.                        American Eel Management Board

  • Consider Approval of Draft Addendum V for Public Comment
  • Consider Approval of 2016 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance Reports

Wednesday, February 7

8:00 – 9:30 a.m.                         Executive Committee

(A portion of this meeting may be a closed session for Committee members and Commissioners only)

  • ACCSP Program Update
  • Discuss ASMFC Leadership Nomination Process
  • Discuss Updating Appeals Process
  • Discuss Updating Conservation Equivalency Guidelines

9:45 – 11:15 a.m.                      Strategic Planning Workshop

  • Review Annual Commissioner Survey Results
  • Discuss Next Steps in Developing 2019-2023 Strategic Plan

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.          Weakfish Management Board

  • Consider Approval of 2017 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance Reports
  • Consider the Use of Fishery-independent Samples in Fulfilling Biological Sampling Requirements of the Fishery Management Plan

12:45 – 2:45 p.m.                      South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board

  • Review Technical Committee Report on State Implementation Plans for the Interstate Cobia Fishery Management Plan
  • Consider Approval of Draft Addendum I to the Black Drum Fishery Management Plan for Public Comment
  • Review Technical Committee/Plan Review Team Report on Recommended Updates to the Annual Traffic Light Analyses for Atlantic Croaker and Spot
  • Consider Approval of 2017 Fishery Management Plan Reviews and State Compliance Reports for Spanish Mackerel and Spot

3:00 – 4:30 p.m.                        Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board

  • Review and Consider Maryland Conservation Equivalency Proposal
  • Update on Process and Timeline Regarding Board Guidance on Benchmark Stock Assessment

Thursday, February 8

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.                      Risk and Uncertainty Policy Workshop

10:15 a.m. — 1:15 p.m. Interstate Management Program Policy Board

  • Consider the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Atlantic Menhaden Amendment 3 Appeal
  • Consider Approval of Climate Change and Fisheries Management Policy
  • Review Shad Benchmark Stock Assessment Timeline and Consider Terms of Reference
  • Habitat Committee Report
  • NOAA Fisheries Overview of Right Whale Issue

1:15 – 1:30 p.m.                        Business Session

  • Consider Noncompliance Recommendations (If Necessary)

1:45 — 2:45 p.m. Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

  • Consider ISFMP Policy Board Recommendation Regarding the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Atlantic Menhaden Amendment 3 Appeal (If Necessary)

3:00 — 5:00 p.m. Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board

  • Consider Black Sea Bass Addendum XXX for Final Approval
  • Finalize Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Recreational Measures

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

New Jersey: Fisheries groups to meet on flounder management

December 11, 2017 — Flounder fishery regulations will be part of the discussion next week at a meeting of two fishery management bodies in Annapolis, Maryland.

“The purpose of next week’s meeting is to make a decision on whether or not the federal government will put in place a coastwide measure and all states will fish under the same regulations, or if it will defer to individual states,” said Adam Nowalsky, a former charter boat captain out of Atlantic City.

Under something called conservation equivalency, states have the right to set different regulations if they are expected to achieve the same level of harvest, Nowalsky said.

“Conservation equivalency will be the direction I expect things to go,” he said.

Last year New Jersey defied the ASMFC and federal regulations, and eventually won the right from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the federal Commerce Department to set its own rules. The state convinced those bodies its regulations would be as protective to the species.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City 

 

Cod quotas rise, flounder sinks

December 8, 2017 — Northeast commercial groundfishermen will face a mixed sampler of annual catch limits when the 2018 fishing season opens, with significant increases to some Gulf of Maine stocks but continued declines in many of the flounder quotas.

The New England Fishery Management Council, at its meeting Wednesday in Newport, Rhode Island, approved its groundfish Framework 57, which sets the annual catch limits for 2018-2020 fishing years.

Groundfishing stakeholders applauded the 2018 increases for such stocks as Georges Bank cod, Gulf of Maine cod, Gulf of Maine haddock and pollock in 2018, but said the gains still don’t come close to closing the credibility gap they believe exists between NOAA Fisheries’ science and what fishermen are seeing on the water.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Scallops: NEFMC Approves Framework 29 with 2018-2019 Specs Under Four Potential Habitat Amendment Outcomes

December 8, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council: 

The New England Fishery Management Council today approved a sweeping package of measures for Framework Adjustment 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The framework includes specifications for the 2018 scallop fishing year, which begins April 1, as well as default specifications for 2019. It also includes actions related to Closed Area 1 carryover pounds, the Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area, and flatfish accountability measures, among others.

Several of the actions in Framework 29 are intertwined with the approval and implementation of the Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment 2, which is under review by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The amendment may open EFH and groundfish closed areas that have been off limits to scallop fishing for many years. NMFS is expected to announce whether it has approved or disapproved all or part of the amendment by January 4, 2018. The comment period on the amendment closed December 5, but a final rule is not expected until later this winter or early spring.

The Habitat Amendment decisions for two areas in particular – Closed Area I and the Nantucket Lightship Area – will drive the eventual outcome of Framework 29. A substantial biomass of harvestable scallops exists in both the “sliver” portion of Closed Area I and in the western portion of the Nantucket Lightship Area, one or both of which may reopen. Important to note is that even if these areas become available through the Habitat Amendment, they do not automatically become available to the scallop fishery without additional action in Framework 29 to convert them to scallop access areas.

Given this situation and the fact that the Council had to take final action on Framework 29 during its December meeting without knowing the Habitat Amendment outcome, it approved four preferred alternatives to cover all potential scenarios.

  • Closed Area 1/Nantucket Lightship West Scenario – If both of these areas become available, then 24 open area days-at sea and six access area trips:

o One to the reconfigured Closed Area I;

o Two to Nantucket Lightship West;

o One to Nantucket Light South; and

o Two to the Mid-Atlantic Access Area.

Nantucket Lightship West Only Scenario – If only the Nantucket Lightship Area becomes available, then 31 open area days-at-sea and five access area trips:

o Two to Nantucket Lightship West;

o One to Nantucket Lightship South; and

o Two to the Mid-Atlantic Access Area.

Closed Area 1 Only Scenario – If only Closed Area 1 becomes available, then 23 days-at-sea and five access area trips:

o One to the reconfigured Closed Area I;

o One to Closed Area II, including the Closed Area II Extension;

o One to Nantucket Lightship South; and

o Two to the Mid-Atlantic Access Area.

No Change Scenario: If additional access to Nantucket Lightship and/or Closed Area I does NOT become available through the Habitat Amendment, then 26 open area days-at-sea and five access area trips:

o One to Closed Area II, including the Closed Area II Extension;

o One to Nantucket Lightship South; and If additional bottom does not become available under the Habitat Amendment, fulltime limited access scallopers would be allocated five access-area trips for the 2018 fishing year under the Council’s preferred alternative for this scenario – three trips in the Mid-Atlantic, one in Nantucket Lightship South, and one in Closed Area II with the Extension included, along with 26 open area days-at-sea. – NEFMC graphic

o Three to the MidAtlantic Access Area.

The Council approved an 18,000-pound possession limit for all full-time trips. Of the four scenarios described above, only one will be fully developed for implementation once the stage is set by the Habitat Amendment. The Council also voted to allocate the existing 1.64 million pounds of Closed Area I carryover if Closed Area I and/or Nantucket Lightship West are reopened. The carryover is a result of roughly 130 trips that were allocated to Closed Area I in 2012 and 2013 through a lottery system that fishermen did not take because of poor fishing conditions.

According to analyses conducted by the Scallop Plan Development Team, the alternatives that provide access to Nantucket Lightship West and/or Closed Area I generate the greatest benefits in terms of higher landings, higher revenue, and reduced impacts on habitat because the fleet will be able to work in areas with denser concentrations of scallops and catch their trip limits faster, thereby reducing the amount of bottom that is swept by dredges. Flatfish bycatch also is projected to be lower.

Framework 29 includes provisions to allocate 5.5% of the total access area allocations to the Limited Access General Category (LAGC) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) fleet. The 5.5% is equivalent to 2,855 or 3,426 IFQ trips, which would be distributed proportionally to the available areas depending on which Habitat Amendment-dependent scenario is implemented. Unlike full-time, part-time, and occasional limited access scallop permit holders, LAGC IFQ permit holders are allocated a total number of fleet-wide trips rather than individual allocations. If Closed Area II becomes an access area, LAGC trips for that area will be redistributed evenly across other Georges Bank access areas since Closed Area II is difficult for many LACG IFQ boats to access given its distance from shore.

Flatfish Accountability Measures

The scallop fishery is subject to sub-annual catch limits (sub-ACLs) for four flatfish stocks. The Council uses accountability measures (AMs) to prevent or react to ACL overages and prevent overfishing. “Proactive” AMs are designed to avoid overages, while “reactive” AMs are triggered once an overage occurs. Framework 29 contains a new AM for northern windowpane flounder, as well as modified AMs for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail. The Council took action through this framework to streamline all of the reactive flatfish AMs in the scallop fishery and make them consistent with the current AM for southern windowpane flounder.

If an AM is triggered, scallopers will need to use modified dredges – configured with a five-row apron with a 1.5:1 maximum hanging ratio – to fish in designated GRA areas.

The duration of an AM is dependent on the magnitude of a sub-ACL overage as follows:

  • Small AMs – These are triggered if a quota overage is greater than 0% but less than 20%; and
  • Large AMs – These are triggered when overages exceeds 20% of the sub-ACL for a flatfish stock.

The Council approved identical reactive AMs for northern windowpane flounder and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. The Council took this step so that if an AM is triggered for either stock, the action will reduce the impacts of scallop fishing on both flatfish stocks. The reactive AMs for the scallop fishery are described as follows:

Northern windowpane flounder and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder:

o Small AM: If triggered, modified dredges will need to be used for six weeks from November 16 through December 31 in Closed Area II and the Closed Area II Extension; and

o Large AM: If triggered, modified dredges will need to be used year-round in Closed Area II and the Closed Area II Extension

The Council already has taken many steps to reduce flatfish bycatch in the scallop fishery, including: prohibiting possession of flatfish; requiring that dredges be constructed with a maximum of seven rows in the apron and 10” twine tops to allow flatfish escapement; and seasonally closing the Scallop Closed Area II access area from August 15 through November 15 to protect yellowtail flounder and windowpane flounder.

In order to continue reducing overall fishery impacts, the Council approved two measures in Framework 29 related to the Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. The measures stipulate that RSA compensation fishing will be: (1) prohibited once again in Closed Area II to help reduce potential bycatch of flatfish; and (2) capped in the Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area at the total allowable catch level designated for the limited access fishery.

Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area

The Council voted to set the total allowable catch (TAC) for the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Management Area at 200,000 pounds for the 2018 fishing year and 135,000 pounds for 2019 as a default.

The Council also voted to split the TAC between the limited access (LA) and LAGC components of the fishery with the first 70,000 pounds of the TAC going to the LAGC fishery and the remainder split 50/50 between the LA and LAGC components. Furthermore, the Council stipulated that the limited access portion of the TAC would be available for RSA compensation fishing only. Priority will be given to RSA projects that involve research in the Northern Gulf of Maine area.

More Information to Come

The Council voted to submit Framework 29 to NMFS – also called NOAA Fisheries – for review and implementation. The target date for implementation is April 1, 2018, which marks the beginning of the new fishing year.

The Council will distribute another news release after NMFS announces its decision on the Habitat Amendment. At that point, the Council will know which of its four preferred alternatives for limited access days-at-sea and access area trip allocations will advance in the scallop rulemaking process.

View the full release by the NEFMC here.