Saving Seafood

Shutdown might delay state management vote

January 28, 2019 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council opens its first 2019 meeting Monday in Orange Beach, Alabama, but its 17 members might not be able to take final votes on two key items.

Reef Fish Amendment 50, the hot-button item to hand recreational red snapper management to the five Gulf States, was scheduled for a final vote during the meeting’s run through Thursday.

A Gulf Council release explained, “Due to the partial government shutdown, the required Federal Register Notice was not published in advance of this meeting. As a result, the Council will not be able to take final action.”

The government re-opened Friday.

The other item is a move to move charterboat skippers into a new Federal Charter/Headboat Permits system.

The four-day agenda begins with committee meetings from 8:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. Monday, and the Reef Fish Committee dominates Tuesday’s schedule and into Wednesday morning. The full council will meet from 11 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Wednesday with public comments taken from 1:30-4:30 p.m. before a 4:45-5:30 p.m. closed session and a full council meeting scheduled for 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday.

Read the full story at The Advocate

Red snapper study to include $250 tags on fish

January 21, 2019 — When the red snapper season begins this summer in the Gulf of Mexico, some fish will carry $250 and even $500 worth of tags, as part of a study to estimate just how many of the popular sport and table fish live in the Gulf. The fish can be released as long as the tags are snipped off.

Scientists plan to tag 3,000 to 5,000 red snapper during April and May, said Greg Stunz of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, who is leading a team of 21 scientists from the five Gulf states and Virginia. He said some will use university research boats, but others will go out with anglers, charter captains and commercial boats – and researchers hope to get tags back from all three fishing groups.

Each tag will be worth $250. Some fish will carry two tags, to help scientists learn how many of the tags fall out. Those are the potential $500 fish. The tubular tags are about 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 centimeters) long but only a couple of millimeters wide, Stuntz said, making them easy to snip off at the bottom.

Each has a yellow plastic insert bearing a five-digit tag number starting with the letters RS, and the words “Reward $250. Keep tag” and a phone number to call.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Trump signs recreational fishery bill into law

January 4, 2019 — The Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act is now officially a law.

The White House announced on Monday, 31 December, that President Trump signed U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker’s bill, which the Mississippi Republican has said would improve conservation efforts and also help communities that rely on recreational fishing for their economies.

In a statement, Trump said the act strengthens regional fishery management councils. Namely, it requires the Government Accountability Office to review how councils presiding over the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic fishery regions allocate quotas in areas where both anglers and commercial fishermen have access.

The new law also urges councils to consider using alternative means for evaluating recreational fishery catch limits. Rather than using tonnage, councils could now use fishing mortality targets or extraction rates. The law also requires the National Academy of Sciences to review limited access privilege programs to make sure they treat recreational fishing interests fairly.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

2019 Red Grouper Quota to Drop 60% in Gulf of Mexico

December 20, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — NOAA Fisheries announced this week that they will withhold nearly 60% of the annual red grouper IFQ commercial allocation on January 1, 2019. That is the amount of an intended cut in the commercial annual catch limit requested by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council at their meeting last October.

During public testimony at the meeting, managers heard from their science advisors, the fishing fleet, and the public that the Gulf’s red grouper stock “is struggling” and “may not be large enough to sustain current harvest levels.”

In 2017, Gulf red grouper landings were the lowest they had been in recent years. Fewer legal-sized red grouper were seen this year, and scientists worry that an extensive red tide off the Florida west coast may hurt the red grouper stock recruitment.

An interim analysis of the stock, a report that updates harvest recommendations while the Council waits for the next stock assessment to be done, had little good news.

The Council asked National Marine Fisheries Service to issue an emergency order cutting the quota from 7.78 mlbs of gutted weight to 3 mlbs, the same level of the 2017 commercial landings.

Withholding distribution of 59.4 percent or 4.78 mlbs of red grouper IFQ commercial allocation will be effective  January 1, 2019.

Meanwhile, the Council will initiate a framework amendment to reduce the catch limits of both commercial and recreational fishermen beyond the expiration of the 180-day period covered by the interim or emergency rule.

If the proposed quota reduction does not occur prior to June 1, 2019, then NOAA Fisheries will distribute the withheld quota back to IFQ shareholders in accordance with the regulations.

Members of the public will be asked to comment on the proposed rule after it is published in the Federal Register, which should happen in the coming weeks.

For more information, contact the SERO Sustainable Fisheries Office at (727) 824-5305, weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

NOAA Seeks Comment on Changes to Charter/Headboat Reporting Requirements

December 6, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries has proposed a new rule that would modify reporting requirements for owners or operators of vessels with a federal Gulf charter/headboat reef fish permit or Gulf charter/headboat coastal migratory pelagics permit. These proposed changes would require the owner or operator of a vessel with one of these permits to:

  • Electronically declare (hail-out) a fishing trip before leaving port.
  • Submit an electronic fishing report for each trip prior to the vessel offloading fish, or within 30 minutes after the end of the trip if no fish are landed.
  • Install NOAA Fisheries-approved hardware/software with global positioning system (GPS) capabilities that, at a minimum, archive vessel position data and transmit data to NOAA Fisheries. This requirement would not preclude the use of GPS devices that provide real-time location data or vessel monitoring systems (VMS). The GPS portion of the hardware must be permanently affixed to the vessel and turned on at all times, unless a power-down exemption is granted.
  • Comply with these reporting requirements no matter where the vessel is fishing.

You can submit comments electronically via https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0111 or by mail to:

Rich Malinowski

Southeast Regional Office, NMFS

263 13th Avenue South

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701

Comments are due January 9, 2019.

NOAA Fisheries will review public comments and modify the proposed changes if necessary then submit the rule to the Secretary of Commerce for review and approval. If the Secretary of Commerce approves the rule, NOAA Fisheries would implement the changes in phases during 2019.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council approved these changes to improve data collection and fisheries management. NOAA Fisheries has compiled several Frequently Asked Questions on these proposed changes. For more information, contact Chris Schieble at cschieble@wlf.la.gov or 504-284-2035.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.la.gov. To receive email alerts, signup at http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries, Gulf States Prioritize Integrating, Calibrating Recreational Red Snapper Data

November 28, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

The Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) partnership took another step toward delivering more timely and precise estimates of Gulf of Mexico recreational red snapper catch and effort. At a September workshop co-hosted by MRIP and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, scientists and managers from state agencies, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries, and independent statistical consultants sought to identify the best way to use data collected by specialized and general state-federal surveys to monitor recreational catches of Gulf red snapper, as needed to support stock assessments and fishery management.

The Red Snapper Survey Designs Workshop IV was the latest in a series, dating back to 2014, focused on finding ways to better monitor catches during short federal and state fishing seasons for one of the Gulf’s most popular fish. NOAA Fisheries and its Gulf state and regional partners have spent the past several years working closely to develop survey designs that address federal and state management needs for more timely and statistically precise catch statistics.

Since last December, NOAA Fisheries has certified designs for three surveys in the Gulf of Mexico: Louisiana’s all species, general survey, LA Creel; Mississippi’s red snapper-specific Tails n’ Scales; and Alabama’s red snapper-specific Snapper Check. Florida’s Gulf Reef Fish Survey, which supplements MRIP’s general surveys for a limited group of reef fish species, is expected to be certified later this year. Each survey uses a different methodology to gather data and produce estimates based on the unique characteristics of the state’s fishery.

“This is all part of a comprehensive, collaborative, and rigorous process to ensure sound and effective science and management of Gulf red snapper,” said Gregg Bray, GulfFIN program coordinator for the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. “It’s so important to have the leadership and local knowledge of the states, the collaborative strength of GulfFIN, and the financial and technical resources of NOAA Fisheries. That’s the real value of the MRIP partnership.”

The MRIP state surveys are designed to improve regional monitoring of the recreational red snapper catch and effort. Estimates from these surveys can be used for federal scientific stock assessments and fishery management once there is a transition plan that describes how to integrate state and general data, and how to calibrate new and historical catch and effort estimates.

Read the full release here

Hurricane Michael leaves long-term rebuild for Florida

October 23, 2018 — Hurricane Michael blew through the Florida panhandle nearly two weeks ago, but it appears the major storm will have long-lasting effects on the state’s commercial fishing industry.

The state’s shellfish industries were especially hard-hit, as the storm impacted areas known for clam and oyster beds.

T.J. Ward, whose family has worked in the shellfish business for five generations, said his aquaculture business “is done for at least a year or two” in an interview with WBUR radio in Boston.

“The damage in Apalachicola is the worst I’ve ever seen, and locals that are older than me and been through more hurricanes haven’t seen it this bad,” he said.

The impact to fisheries isn’t just to human structures, as the environment can be heavily impacted by flood waters changing the shape of the landscape.

“We won’t know how this system responds until after. When you look at catastrophic storms, very often they can shift baselines in systems,” Duane DeFreese, executive director of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, told Florida Today. “Completely over-wash the wetland, upland transitions, and then it takes some time for systems to recover. The commercial fishing impacts on this could be extreme.”

The effects also will be felt beyond the Gulf for at least one company.

According to The Seattle Times, Michael took a nearly-completed 261-foot trawler and ripped it from the shipyard’s mooring in Panama City, Florida. The ship, being built at Eastern Shipbuilding for Glacier Fish Co., was supposed to depart for Alaska in November and start processing groundfish.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Gulf Council Selects Dr. John Froeschke as New Deputy Director

September 5, 2018 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has named Dr. John Froeschke as its new deputy director. Froeschke has worked as a fishery biologist and statistician for the Council since 2009.

The change comes after former Deputy Director Dr. Carrie Simmons was selected in April to lead the Council as its executive director. She took over June 1 for Doug Gregory, who retired after the June Council meeting.

Froeschke earned his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi. There, he worked on developing predictive models used to improve the understanding of environmental factors affecting fish distribution and abundance in the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to this, he completed his Master’s of Science in Biology at California State University, Northridge. He worked as a fish biologist at Occidental College in Los Angeles and as a scientific diver for several years. He currently lives in central Florida and enjoys fishing and camping with his wife and two young children.

“Dr. Froeschke brings a well-rounded perspective to the deputy director position,” Simmons said in a press release. “In his nine years of service for the Council, he has worked on a wide range of topics, including reef fish, coral, and habitat.

“He has a great deal of experience working with fisheries data as well as knowledge of the science and management process. I am positive his experience and expertise will enhance the success of the Council and its staff.”

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

 

FLORIDA: Expert: Lots of possible causes for dead crabs in Hillsborough Bay

August 14, 2018 — Clusters of dead crabs in Hillsborough Bay along Bayshore have fishery biologist Ryan Rindone scratching his head.

“I’ve lived here for eight years and this is the first time I’ve been along this seawall and seen this many like this,” said Rindone, who works for the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

With red tide killing off marine life in surrounding counties, it’s a theory that can’t be ruled out, but the FWC says it hasn’t tested the bay’s water for the phenomenon recently.

The Florida Aquarium’s associate veterinarian says disease could also be a possibility.

“There’s a number of different things that could be implicated here,” Dr. Ari Fustukjian said. “We see animal die-offs for a number of different reasons over the course of the year. It can be related to water change, usually there will be some sort of either viral or bacterial disease outbreak.”

Rindone says if it is red tide, you wouldn’t just be seeing dead crabs.

“You would have seen dead fish, first, in a lot of cases,” he said. “Not all the time, but in a lot of cases. And the crabs could end up suffocating as the bloom gets really bad.”

It could also just be industrial.

Read the full story at FOX 13 News

Gulf Council Asks Anglers and Divers to Provide Information on Red Grouper

August 2, 2018 –The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is seeking information from anglers and divers about trends or “strange things” that scientists and managers may need to know about red grouper.

The council would like to gain a better understanding of the fish in the Gulf of Mexico and a scientific stock assessment of the species is scheduled to begin this September. The council wants to know if fishermen have noticed anything out of the ordinary about the fishing for red grouper or about the fish.

The information provided will help inform scientists and managers as they formulate a current understanding of the red grouper stock.

Read the full story at Houma Today