Saving Seafood

Alaska pollock, groundfish sector demands ‘non-negotiable’ military protection after run-ins with Russian warships

October 6, 2020 — The At-Sea Processors Association (APA) says US military protection of the Bering Sea groundfish fleets should be “non-negotiable” after a spate of incidents involving Russian military vessels in the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Bering Sea in August and September.

Recent confrontations initiated by Russian warships and warplanes against US-flagged fishing vessels operating lawfully within the US EEZ have caused fishing boat captains and their crews to fear for their safety, disrupting the business operations of fishing companies at a critical point in a very important fishing season, Stephanie Madsen, executive director of the At-sea Processors Association wrote in a prepared statement for a US Senate hearing, which was postponed at the last minute.

Read the full story at IntraFish

NEFMC Adopts 100% Groundfish At-Sea Monitoring Target; Industry to be Reimbursed if Funds Available

October 6, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

After more than three-and-a-half years of hard work on developing measures to improve the groundfish monitoring program, the New England Fishery Management Council took final action on September 30, 2020 on Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The Council overwhelmingly voted to submit the amendment to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) for review, approval, and implementation.

The Council supported the following measures for this action.

  • 100% Monitoring: The Council adopted a target at-sea monitoring coverage rate of 100% for all groundfish sector trips for the first four fishing years following the effective date of Amendment 23. This target rate is intended to establish a baseline of accurate and precise catch information for the fishery until a subsequent Council action modifies the coverage level.
    • The Council recognized that waivers for at-sea monitoring coverage may be granted “in limited circumstances and for good cause only,” such as when at-sea monitors are not available.

Read the full release here

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Tuesday, October 13, 2020 – Groundfish Issues, Stock Assessments

October 6, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 to discuss issues related to groundfish.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422.  The access code is 632-479-325.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review information from the Fall 2020 Management Track Stock Assessments for groundfish and consider information provided by the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT);
  • Recommend the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) levels for Georges Bank winter flounder, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder, Gulf of Maine winter flounder, Acadian redfish, ocean pout, Atlantic halibut, wolffish, northern windowpane flounder, and southern windowpane flounder for fishing years 2021-2023
  • Discuss white hake rebuilding plan options developed by the PDT; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENT:  The Peer Review Report for the Fall 2020 Management Track Stock Assessments is posted HERE.

COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Friday, October 9, 2020.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  Additional information is available in the meeting notice.

MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC October 13, 2020 webpage.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

Coronavirus, added supply pushing Atlantic cod prices downward

October 5, 2020 — Atlantic cod has been a stable, steady commodity for the global seafood market in the past decade. And it will continue to serve that role in the coming years, according to a panel of cod experts assembled for a 1 October webinar, “Opportunities and Challenges in the Atlantic Cod Marketplace,” organized by Sea Data Center in cooperation with Maritech Solutions and SeafoodSource, and hosted by Sea Data Center Managing Director Anna Björk Theodorsdottir.

Global groundfish catches have been stable over the past three years, averaging 7 million metric tons (MT) each year. Of that, around 1.1 million MT has been cod, according to Finn Arne Egeness, a senior whitefish analyst at Helsinki, Finland-based Nordea Bank.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

PFMC: Groundfish Management Team to hold online meeting November 6, 2020

October 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will hold an online meeting to discuss items on the Pacific Council’s November 2020 meeting agenda.  This meeting is open to the public.  The meeting will be held Friday, November 6, 2020, starting at 9 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time) and ending at 12 p.m., or when business for the day is complete.

Please see the meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Todd Phillips at 503-820-2426; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Regulators Move to Increase At-Sea Monitoring of Groundfish Catch in New England Waters

October 2, 2020 — New England fishing regulators have approved a plan that would significantly increase at-sea monitoring for groundfish trips, as a way to help inform scientists and stocks managers about what’s being caught in area waters.

The plan calls for in-person observers or video monitoring on up to 100 percent of trips made by fishermen who target cod, flounder, haddock, and other groundfish.

For the first four years, nearly all costs are expected to be covered by the federal government and other organizations to avoid financially burdening fishermen. But if the full costs aren’t covered beyond that point, the monitoring level could drop back to the current 40 percent, paid for, at least in part, by fishermen. The new plan calls for reevaluation of costs and other considerations in the fifth year.

The plan was endorsed by the New England Fishery Management Council but still requires additional federal approvals before taking effect.

Read the full story at CAI

NEMFC approves 100 percent observer coverage with federal funding

October 2, 2020 — The Northeast groundfish fleet will move toward 100 percent observer coverage – so long as full government funding if available, the New England Fishery Management Council decided in approving Amendment 23 to its multispecies plan Wednesday.

While most fishermen dispute the need for blanket coverage – whether by at-sea observers or electronic systems – the final amendment offers some temporary respite, in specifying that costs will be 100 percent reimbursed by federal funding for the first four years.

If federal funding is insufficient, industry will pay for a default of 40 percent coverage. In the third year of the program, the council will review results and could reset the requirements for year five.

It’s expected the amendment, if approved by NMFS, could take effect in 2021. The compromise devised by council members came a day after Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker wrote to council chairman John Quinn, urging a solution to monitoring costs.

At around $700 a day, requiring full monitoring on every trip would drive much of the fleet out of business, fishermen warned.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Regional Council Approves Mandatory Monitoring For New England Fishing Boats

October 1, 2020 — A regional fishery council has approved a plan to require human or electronic monitors on all New England fishing boats targeting groundfish such as cod and haddock. The controversial measure seeks funding from Congress to help pay for the monitors.

Conservationists and some fishermen are applauding the New England Fishery Management Council’s decision. They say it would improve depleted fisheries by providing better data on their actual status, while providing fishermen an incentive to more precisely target species that are within set quotas.

“As they get close to their quotas they can adjust their gear and they can fish in different areas, in order to avoid those stocks that they don’t have quota for,” says Geoffrey Smith, marine program director for the Nature Conservancy in Maine.

Read the full story at Maine Public

PFMC: SSC Groundfish subcommittee to hold online meeting October 23, 2020

October 1, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee Groundfish Subcommittee (SSC Groundfish Subcommittee) will hold an online meeting, which is open to the public.  The meeting will be held Friday, October 23, 2020, starting at 2 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) and ending at 4 p.m., or until business for the day is complete.

Please see the Meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer John DeVore at 503-820-2413; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Council OKs monitors on all fishing trips

October 1, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council voted to set a future target of 100% monitoring coverage on sector-base groundfish vessels, but it appears to have found a way to do it without immediately sinking the region’s fleet financially.

The council, deliberating online via webinar on Amendment 23, overwhelmingly approved the motion for its preferred alternative of 100% coverage level for sector vessels in the Northeast Multispecies groundfish fishery.

But the motion, crafted through a morning and afternoon of rulemaking on the fly, included a valuable caveat for fishermen: The region’s commercial groundfish harvesters likely won’t have to pay the full costs for the monitoring for the first four years the amendment is in effect or as long as supporting federal funds last.

According to the approved measure, the commercial fishing industry will receive federal reimbursements, or money from other federal mechanisms, for 100% of their electronic monitoring costs and 100% of their at-sea monitoring costs in the first four fishing years the amendment is in effect.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times