Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Call for comments on cod disaster funds and coronavirus impacts

April 8, 2020 — The state of Alaska wants input on plans to distribute nearly $24.5 million in federal disaster relief funds for stakeholders and communities hurt by the 2018 Gulf of Alaska cod crash.

Better make it quick – the deadline to comment is Friday, April 10.

Cod is Alaska’s second-largest groundfish harvest (after pollock), but the Gulf stock dropped by 80% in 2018 following a three-year heat wave that disrupted food webs, fish metabolism and egg survival on the ocean floor. It combined to push down cod catches to just 28.8 million pounds, compared to nearly 142 million pounds the previous year.

The catch in 2019 was cut again to just over 27 million pounds; for 2020, the Gulf of Alaska was closed to cod fishing from 3 to 200 miles offshore.

Federal data show the number of boats targeting Gulf cod has dwindled to just 64, down from 275 six years ago.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Groundfish and Coastal Pelagic Species Subcommittees of SSC to hold online meeting April 21, 2020

April 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council will convene an online meeting of its Groundfish and Coastal Pelagic Species Subcommitteees of the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC).  This online meeting will be open to the public and will be held Tuesday, April 21, 2020, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, or until business for the day has been completed.

Please see the Groundfish and CPS SSC Subcommittee online meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer John DeVore  at 503-820-2410; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule: Removal of Regulations Implementing the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program

April 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are seeking public comment on an action that would eliminate the regulations implementing the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program.

The Special Access Program was implemented to provide groundfish vessels additional opportunity to harvest healthy stocks within year-round groundfish Closed Area I if they complied with certain gear and other restrictions.  The Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment eliminated Closed Area I on April 9, 2018.  As a result, the Program no longer provides access or allows activity otherwise prohibited by any closed or gear restricted area.  No vessel has participated in the Program since the start of fishing year 2018.

Restrictions and requirements related to the Program, including reporting requirements and possession/trip limits, are now unnecessary and confusing. Removing the Program from the regulations will help avoid confusion and inconsistency with other regulations.

For more details, please read the rule as published in the Federal Register.

The comment period is open through May 6.

Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal.

April 4-10, 2020 PFMC Meeting Webinar Information

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

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet April 4‐10, 2020 by webinar only, to address issues related to groundfish, salmon, Pacific halibut, coastal pelagic species, and administrative matters.

Information on how to access the Council meeting live stream is now available on our April 4-10, 2020 Council meeting webpage.

Please note that the evolving public health situation regarding COVID‐19 may further affect the conduct of the April Council and advisory body meetings. Pacific Council staff will continue to monitor COVID‐19 developments and will determine if there is a need for additional measures. If such measures are deemed necessary, Council staff will post notice of them prominently on our website (www.pcouncil.org). Potential meeting participants are encouraged to check the Pacific Council’s website frequently for such information and updates.

NMFS Says ‘No’ to West Coast Groundfish, Swordfish Vessels Seeking Waivers for Observers

March 30, 2020 — West Coast industry concerns about taking observers out on vessels or having catch monitors dockside at processing plants due to the risk of COVID-19 is not a concern, according to the NMFS West Coast Region. Unlike Alaska, where travel restrictions make obtaining observer coverage difficult, the West Coast has no such restrictions — yet.

The National Marine Fisheries Service issued an emergency action last week to provide the authority, on a case-by-case basis, to waive observer coverage, some training, and other program requirements while meeting conservation needs and providing an ongoing supply of fish to markets, the agency said in a public notice Friday. A NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator, Office Director, or Science Center Director has the ability to waive observer requirements in three specific circumstances, after consulting with observer providers.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Groundfish: New England Council CANCELS April 2-3, 2020 GAP and Committee webinars

March 24, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is CANCELING two groundfish-related meetings: the April 2, 2020 Groundfish Advisory Panel (GAP) webinar meeting and the April 3, 2020 Groundfish Committee webinar meeting.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING: The Council originally scheduled these meetings to give the GAP and Groundfish Committee an opportunity to review and discuss the Groundfish Catch Share Program Review final report. The working group conducting the review has requested additional time to prepare the final report, and the Council granted this request. Therefore, the GAP and Groundfish Committee meetings are no longer necessary.

WHEN WILL THE CATCH SHARE REVIEW BE DISCUSSED: The Council will discuss the report on April 15, 2020 during its two-day meeting, which now will be held April 14-15, 2020 by webinar.

  • Don’t forget to Register for the webinar.
  • A draft copy of the Catch Share Program Review report will be posted here shortly.
  • The Council is encouraging its groundfish advisors and the public to comment on the report either by: (1) providing oral comments at the appropriate time during the webinar; or (2) submitting written comments in advance of the written comment deadline, which is 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, 2020.

WHO WILL REVIEW THE REPORT: Once the report is available, the Groundfish Plan Development Team and a sub-panel of the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee will review the report and provide feedback.

ALSO HAPPENING – AMENDMENT 23 PUBLIC HEARING: The Council will hold its first public hearing on Draft Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23 on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 4:00 p.m., shortly after the discussion on the Groundfish Catch Share Program Review is over.

  • Here is the public hearing notice.
  • All related documents, including the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, are available on the Council’s Amendment 23 webpage.
  • A public hearing document will be available soon.
  • The Council is in the process of scheduling additional public hearings.

QUESTIONS: Contact Janice Plante, the Council’s public affairs officer, at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

Rough week for lobster, fishing industries

March 23, 2020 — We here at FishOn are just as exhausted as everyone else by this otherworldly health crisis that has us tenaciously in its grip. We’re sick of staying indoors. We’re sick of not having any sports to watch. We long to go to the Sawyer Free Library and Pratty’s — which are far more similar than you think. And just once more, we’d like to touch our face. Or somebody’s.

But we are healthy, as are those around us. So we stay the course because we are New Englanders and we give in to nothing.

Still, it was a tough week hereabouts for our fishermen in both the lobster and groundfish fisheries.

As you may have read in the pages of the Gloucester Daily Times and online at gloucestertimes.com, some of the the restrictions enacted to try to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus – principally the shuttering of all in-situ dining at Massachusetts restaurants and travel restrictions that have made it difficult to move product around – have crushed the fishermen.

In the lobster fishery, already high inventory coupled with the loss of the restaurant trade – where the great preponderance of live lobsters are consumed – sent prices down into the root cellar and rocked everyone from harvesters to dealers and processors.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

April 4-10, 2020 PFMC Meeting Notice (WEBINAR) and Agenda Now Available

March 18, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet April 4‐10, 2020 by webinar only, to address issues related to groundfish, salmon, Pacific halibut, coastal pelagic species, and administrative matters.

Please see the April 4-10, 2020 Council meeting notice on the Council’s website for further updates and details regarding webinar participation; schedule of advisory body meetings, our E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines.

Key agenda items for the meeting include Council considerations to:

  • Adopt Final Management Measures for 2020 Ocean Salmon Fisheries
  • Consider Process for Southern Oregon Northern California Coastal Coho Endangered Species Act Consultation Recommendations
  • Adopt Final Incidental Pacific Halibut Catch Recommendations for 2020 and Early 2021 Non‐Indian Salmon Troll Fisheries
  • Adopt a Pacific Sardine Assessment, Final Harvest Specifications, and Management Measures for the 2020‐2021 Sardine Fishery
  • Adopt Final Preferred Harvest Specifications and Preliminary Management Measures for 2021‐2022 Groundfish Fisheries

Meetings of advisory bodies will also be conducted by webinar based on the schedules in the agenda. There will be one opportunity for public comment daily in each of the webinars.

Instructions for how to connect to those webinars will be posted on the Council’s April 2020 Meeting webpage prior to the first day of the meeting.

Please note that the evolving public health situation regarding COVID‐19 may further affect the conduct of the April Council and advisory body meetings. Pacific Council staff will monitor COVID‐19 developments and will determine if there is a need for additional measures. If such measures are deemed necessary, Council staff will post notice of them prominently on our website (www.pcouncil.org). Potential meeting participants are encouraged to check the Pacific Council’s website frequently for such information and updates.

For further information:

New England scallop, groundfish regulatory meetings to continue via web

March 18, 2020 — Important meetings that could help shape future stock assessments, quotas and other regulatory conditions in the waters off the US New England coast will continue in the next few months via the internet due to concerns over the coronavirus, the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) announced this week.

“Due to federal and state travel restrictions and updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the new coronavirus, COVID-19, the April council meeting will be conducted by webinar,” NEFMC has now declared on its website.

The event, which was scheduled to take place in Mystic, Connecticut, April 14-16, will be held online, April 14-15.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

April 4-10, 2020 PFMC Meeting Notice (WEBINAR) and Agenda Now Available

March 18, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet April 4‐10, 2020 by webinar only, to address issues related to groundfish, salmon, Pacific halibut, coastal pelagic species, and administrative matters.

Please see the April 4-10, 2020 Council meeting notice on the Council’s website for further updates and details regarding webinar participation; schedule of advisory body meetings, our E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines.

Key agenda items for the meeting include Council considerations to:

  • Adopt Final Management Measures for 2020 Ocean Salmon Fisheries
  • Consider Process for Southern Oregon Northern California Coastal Coho Endangered Species Act Consultation Recommendations
  • Adopt Final Incidental Pacific Halibut Catch Recommendations for 2020 and Early 2021 Non‐Indian Salmon Troll Fisheries
  • Adopt a Pacific Sardine Assessment, Final Harvest Specifications, and Management Measures for the 2020‐2021 Sardine Fishery
  • Adopt Final Preferred Harvest Specifications and Preliminary Management Measures for 2021‐2022 Groundfish Fisheries

Meetings of advisory bodies will also be conducted by webinar based on the schedules in the agenda. There will be one opportunity for public comment daily in each of the webinars.

Instructions for how to connect to those webinars will be posted on the Council’s April 2020 Meeting webpage prior to the first day of the meeting.

Please note that the evolving public health situation regarding COVID‐19 may further affect the conduct of the April Council and advisory body meetings. Pacific Council staff will monitor COVID‐19 developments and will determine if there is a need for additional measures. If such measures are deemed necessary, Council staff will post notice of them prominently on our website (www.pcouncil.org). Potential meeting participants are encouraged to check the Pacific Council’s website frequently for such information and updates.

For further information: