Saving Seafood

Divers haul in large amount of debris from marine monument

November 13, 2018 — A team of divers hauled in nearly 165,000 pounds (75,000 kilograms) of abandoned fishing nets and plastic waste during a cleanup expedition at Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, federal officials said.

The 18 divers left Sept. 19 and returned Oct. 29 from a trek to the chain of isles and atolls located 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) northwest of the main Hawaiian islands, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which runs the expeditions.

The divers hauled in about 82 tons (74 metric tons), which is comparable to the weight of 45 mid-sized cars or one space shuttle, NOAA said.

The team of divers from NOAA Fisheries and University of Hawaii’s Joint Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Research sorted out the debris Friday.

The group split the debris into categories such as plastic laundry baskets, fishing nets, tires, buoys and smaller personal-care items such as plastic toothbrushes and combs.

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is uninhabited by humans. But due to its central location in the system of circulating currents called the North Pacific Gyre, the debris has been carried by currents to its shores for decades.

NOAA’s marine debris team has been going on expeditions to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands almost yearly to survey and remove litter since 1996. Cumulatively, including the last mission, teams have collected about 2 million pounds (0.91 million kilograms) of debris.

The litter does ecological damage at Papahanaumokuakea, said NOAA’s Kevin O’Brien, who served as chief scientist for the mission this year.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Illegal shark finning probe nets criminal charges against ten international fishermen

November 12, 2018 — HONOLULU — Federal investigators have charged ten fishermen with trying to smuggle nearly a thousand shark fins out of Hawaii.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said they are all Indonesian nationals and worked on the Kyoshin Maru, a longline fishing vessel from southern Japan.

“They have no clue what they were doing here. All they could tell me was ‘ikan,’ which means fish in Indonesian,” said Gary Singh, an attorney for one of the fishermen.

This comes eight years after Hawaii became the first state to ban possession of shark fins. The following year, the federal government strengthened its existing ban and the trade largely went underground near Hawaiian waters.

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now

Protecting Paradise: Marine Debris Team Does the Heavy Lifting

The team removed more than 160,000 pounds of lost or abandoned fishing nets and plastics from the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, an ecologically and culturally significant area, part of the Papahānaumokuāea Marine National Monument.

November 12, 2018 — Stretching 1,200 miles northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands, a chain of remote islands and atolls known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are hundreds of miles from the nearest human populations. Yet, these beautiful coral reefs and uninhabited shorelines are centrally located in the North Pacific Gyre, where currents gather marine debris from all around the Pacific Ocean.

NOAA’s marine debris team travels from island to island by ship and small boat, carefully pulling derelict “ghost” fishing gear off of underwater reefs and collecting plastic debris from shorelines. They clean up nets and other debris that damage coral reefs and threaten wildlife, including endangered Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles. Hauling debris is often a dirty, exhausting, and sometimes fly-filled task, but the team loves its work.

Read and view the full story at NOAA Fisheries

Fishery Council Announces Recommendations for Hawaiʻi Fisheries

November 5, 2018 — After a four-day meeting last week, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council announced their recommendations for nearshore fisheries in Hawai’i and Guam. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, the council has authority over fisheries throughout Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and the US Pacific Remote Islands.

During the meeting, the Council prepared an amendment to the Hawai’i Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) to revise the precious corals essential fish habitat (EFH) document. The council specifically recommended revising existing seabeds and designating new seabeds as EFH for deepwater precious corals. The council also decided that the geographic extent and habitat characteristics for shallow-water precious corals should be updated.

The council recommended that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) set the MHI non-Deep 7 bottomfish ACL at 127,205 pounds and MHI deep-water shrimp ACL at 250,773 pounds for fishing years 2019-2021. The council also recommended that the NMFS set the MHI Kona crab ACL at 3,500 pounds for fishing year 2019.

For precious corals, the council recommended that the ACLs for 2019-2021 be set to 5,512 pounds for ‘Au’au Channel black coral, 2,205 pounds for Makapu’u Bed pink coral, 55 for Makapu’u Bed bamboo, 489 pounds for 180 Fathom Bank pink coral, 123 pounds for 180 Fathom Bank bamboo coral, 979 pounds for Brooks Bank pink coral, 245 pounds for Brooks Bank bamboo coral, 148 pounds for Ka’ena Point Bed pink coral, 37 pounds for Ka’ena Point Bed bamboo coral, 148 pounds for Keahole Bed pink coral, 37 pounds for Keahole Bed bamboo coral, and 2,205 pounds for precious coral in MHI exploratory area.

Read the full story at Maui Now

Federal Managers Make Recommendations for Guam, Hawaii Fisheries

October 30, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council wrapped up its four-day meeting in the Mariana Archipelago last week in Guam with the following recommendations regarding Guam and Hawaii nearshore fisheries and other matters.

For Guam fisheries, the Council recommended bottomfish annual catch limits (ACLs), and made recommendations about the Guam Ocean Fishery Management Council and marine reserve areas, among other items.

The Council recommended the National Marine Fisheries Service set an bottomfish ACL of 66,000 pounds for fishing year 2019. Currently, Guam harvests 29 percent of that recommended bottomfish ACL. The next benchmark assessment, scheduled for review in February 2019, will provide new information to set the ACLs for fishing year 2020 to 2022.

The Council also encouraged the Government of Guam to expedite the appointment of the members of the Guam Ocean Fishery Management Council and reduce the paperwork requirements for the community and the public to serve in it.

With respect to marine preserve areas in Guam, the Council directed staff to communicate with the federal Marine Protected Area Advisory Committee regarding the findings of the “Fishing Community Perceptions on Marine Preserve Siting Process” report, including procedural justice, transferred effects, safety, etc., and to provide the final report to the local federal agencies for use in their management objectives.

The Council also made recommendations regarding the ACLs for Hawaiian fisheries.

For main Hawaiian island (MHI) non-Deep 7 bottomfish, deep-water shrimp, Kona crab and precious corals, the Council recommended NMFS set the MHI non-Deep 7 bottomfish ACL at 127,205 pounds and MHI deep-water shrimp ACL at 250,773 pounds for fishing years 2019-2021 and the MHI Kona crab ACL at 3,500 pounds for fishing year 2019. For precious corals, the recommended ACLs for 2019-2021 are Auau Channel black coral 5,512 pounds; Makapuu Bed pink coral 2,205 pounds; Makapuu Bed bamboo coral 551 pounds; 180 Fathom Bank pink coral 489 pounds; 180 Fathom Bank bamboo coral 123 pounds; Brooks Bank pink coral 979 pounds; Brooks Bank bamboo coral 245 pounds; Kaena Point Bed pink coral 148 pounds; Kaena Point Bed bamboo coral 37 pounds; Keahole Bed pink coral 148 pounds; Keahole Bed bamboo coral 37 pounds; and precious coral in MHI exploratory area 2,205 pounds.

The Council also directed staff to evaluate options for improving conservation and management of the Hawaii bottomfish fishery, including an assessment of data collection, consistency of federal and state regulatory measures and harvest controls, and monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.

The Council also considered other matters, such as marine monuments, aquaculture and habitat.

The Council directed staff to communicate to the administration that the fishing prohibitions be removed for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and allow only Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-registered vessels to fish there. It also directed staff to write to the Okeanos-Foundations for the Sea in New Jersey and cc the governors of Guam and the CNMI, noting that the Council commends the development of the Okeanos Marianas vessel as a traditional method for addressing climate change impacts and encourages the Foundation to keep the vessel in the CNMI and transfer its ownership to the local Okeanos Marianas organization in Saipan.

Habitat issues also got attention, as the Council directed staff to convene a regional workshop of experts to discuss habitat-related issues, including non-fish impacts on essential fish habitat (EFH) and habitat areas of particular concern, prior to the convening of the national workshop on habitat to be convened by the Council Coordination Committee.

Staff was also directed to look at the current regulatory regime in place in federal waters to determine the needs for developing offshore aquaculture, determining the best sites for aquaculture and obtaining funding to assist local interests to develop aquaculture in the Western Pacific Region. Furthermore, staff will the Plan Team to include in its research priorities the impacts of climate and ecosystem changes to pelagic fisheries and coral reef ecosystems.

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

Western Pacific Council Makes Recommendations to Keep US Pacific Island Fisheries Viable

October 26, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded its two-day meeting in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) this week with recommendations regarding pelagic, international and American Samoa fisheries.

Council discussion centered around keeping healthy, sustainable U.S. Pacific Island fisheries viable amid an accumulation of U.S. regulations and international negotiations.

Billfish Conservation Act and Bigeye Tuna

The Council expressed dismay over the recent amendment to the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012, which bans the interstate commerce of billfish (excluding swordfish) landed by U.S. fishermen in Hawaii and the US Pacific Islands. The billfish stocks caught by Hawaii and U.S. Pacific Island fisheries are healthy, unlike the billfish in the Atlantic, the Western Pacific Council said in a press release.

The bill to amend the Act was introduced and promoted by Congressional delegates and sports fishing organizations from Florida. Recent guidelines from the National Marine Fisheries Service say the billfish landed in the US Territories and Hawaii are also prohibited from being sold in foreign markets. The Council directed staff to develop a list of questions and issues associated with amendment compliance and send them to NMFS for a response.

The Hawaii deep-set longline fishery catches billfish incidentally when targeting bigeye tuna. The amount of bigeye in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) the fishery may retain annually is developed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), an international regional fishery management organization to which the U.S. is a party.

The Council endorsed recent WCPFC’s Permanent Advisory Committee to advise the U.S. commissioners (PAC) majority recommendation to obtain a longline bigeye quota of 6,000 metric tons (mt) at the upcoming WCPFC meeting in December in Honolulu. This amount is slightly less than the amount of bigeye caught in the WCPO in 2016 by Hawaii longline vessels, including those vessels operating under agreements with U.S. Participating Territories. The Council said it will communicate this recommendation to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The Hawaii longline fleet is the sole fishery that utilizes the U.S. quota, which is currently set at 3,554 mt.

South Pacific Albacore

The Council also endorsed the PAC recommendation that the U.S. position generally be in support of adopting a South Pacific albacore target reference point. The reference point is a catch target that supports economically viable operations and healthy stock biomass. The American Samoa longline fishery, which harvests this stock, has been in decline since 2011. The Council asked NMFS to provide economic evaluations of the fleet’s performance at various target reference points in advance of WCPFC15.

Hawaii Longline Fishery

Among other pelagic and international fishery matters, the Council recommended initial action be taken that would require electronic reporting in the Hawaii longline fishery. The Council will ask NMFS to continue to develop electronic reporting in the Hawaii longline fishery and to work with Hawaii longline participants and Council staff to address several implementation issues and report back to the Council at its March 2019 meeting.

The Council intended to take action regarding the management of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles in the Hawaii shallow-set longline fishery, which targets swordfish. However, action was postponed as a draft biological opinion due from NMFS on Oct. 1 has not been completed. The Council will reconvene its Scientific and Statistical Committee Working Group when the draft opinion is available. The Council may convene an interim Council meeting, if needed, to review the draft opinion and consider revisions to its June 2018 recommendations, including a possible specification of individual trip limits for leatherback sea turtle interactions.

American Samoa Fisheries

Regarding American Samoa fisheries, the Council recommended an annual catch limit (ACL) of 106,000 pounds for the American Samoa bottomfish species complex for fishing year 2019. The Council noted the next benchmark assessment, which is scheduled for review in February 2019, will provide new information to set the ACLs for fishing years 2020 to 2022. The Council also directed its staff to work with the Council’s American Samoa Advisory Panel to develop a plan for outreach and education, preferably in cooperation with Territory’s Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, to educate communities on various fisheries and fisheries-related issues.

The Council will reconvene at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, at the Hilton at Tumon, Guam.

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

 

US Western Pacific council recommends catch limits for CNMI, presents $250K check

October 25, 2018 — The US Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, at its 174th meeting in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on Monday, recommended an annual catch limit (ACL) of 228,000 pounds for all CNMI bottomfish during the 2019 fishing year. That includes such species as amberjack and red snapper.

The amount is well above the average annual catch from 2015 until 2017 of 35,696 lbs, the council noted in a press release.

The next stock assessment is scheduled for review in February 2019 and will provide new information to set the ACLs for fishing year 2020 to 2022.

The council opened its meeting by presenting a $250,000 check to CNMI governor Ralph Torres and Department of Lands and Natural Resources secretary Anthony Benavente, according to the press release. The funds, which stem from a 2017 bigeye fishing agreement between the CNMI and Hawaii longline vessels, will be used to implement a bottomfish training and fishing demonstration project, which could then lead to the purchase of a vessel to help with fishery development, council executive director Kitty Simons said.

The council also discussed, among other issues, community concerns about the pre-positioning of ships anchored off Saipan’s shores. It said it would help an advisory panel in the CNMI facilitate a meeting between the Saipan military liaison and the CNMI government.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Mandatory reporting in Hawaiian longline fishery on table at science meeting

October 16, 2018 — Mandatory electronic reporting for the Hawaii longline fishery is on the agenda when the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) starts its two-day meeting Monday in Hilo, Hawaii.

The SSC is also expected to discuss acceptable biological catch limits for Hawaiian gray snapper, deep-water shrimp and Kona crab as well as the management of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtle interactions in the shallow-set longline fishery.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

WPRFMC: Billfish Amendment Targeted Pacific Island Commercial Fisheries with no Conservation Gained

October 9, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — HR 4528, signed into law by President Trump on Aug. 2, 2018, will have a big impact on Hawai‘i fishermen and wholesale businesses as well as potential markets for American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands fisheries.

Introduced by U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, R-Fla., the bill had the seemingly benign title, “To make technical amendments to certain marine fish conservation statutes, and for other purposes.” In reality, the amendment to the Billfish Act of 2012 prohibits U.S.-caught billfish landed in the U.S. Pacific islands by U.S. fishermen from being sold to continental U.S. markets (including Alaska and the Territory of Puerto Rico). Swordfish is not included in the Act’s definition of billfish.

“It is disappointing that special interest groups were successful in lobbying Congress to eliminate sustainable U.S. Pacific Island-caught billfish sales on the mainland,” notes Kitty M. Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. “The change will not have a conservation benefit and is inconsistent with the principles and standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service is currently deciding whether implementing regulations are necessary to enforce the law. The Council staff believes regulations are needed to clarify what is prohibited and what remains legal. Shortly after the law was signed, Council staff received numerous calls from the public about purchasing fresh billfish and value-added products in Hawai‘i to bring to the mainland for sharing or for personal consumption. Questions are also being asked about the exportation of billfish and value added products to foreign destinations.

In addition, seafood businesses on the mainland will need time to adjust and source new products to support their programs that have been built on using sustainably caught fish from Hawai‘i fisheries. Hawai‘i vendors have made commitments to mainland restaurants and retail groups to provide a variety of selections to support their “Fresh Hawaiian Catch of the Week” programs. They specifically choose Hawai‘i sourced fish because it is sustainable and traceable and has been regulated to have low environmental impacts.

It is clear that NMFS, industry and the public will need time to work through the complexities of this new rule. Given these issues, the Council wrote to Chris Oliver, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, suggesting that NMFS develop a national education and outreach effort that corresponds to the rule-making process and that NMFS initiate enforcement after publication of the final rule. It was suggested that NMFS convene a meeting with the appropriate wholesale/dealer representatives in Hawai‘i and the Council to sort through the issues to be addressed in development of implementing regulations.

Prior to the bill’s passage, the Council received letters from both Oliver and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross stating that HR 4528 was unnecessary and would not lead to improved billfish conservation. Proponents of the bill said the 2012 Billfish Conservation Act had created a loophole in the prohibiting of all foreign imports of billfish into the United States by providing an exemption for U.S. fisheries landing billfish in Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands. However, the exemption provided to U.S. Pacific Island fisheries in the 2012 legislation was clearly a preference by Congress to not negatively impact jobs in U.S. seafood markets, as the Congressional record indicates.

Sales of foreign-caught billfish in the U.S. and commercial harvest and sales of U.S. caught billfish in the Atlantic, where several species are overfished or experiencing overfishing, have been prohibited since 1988. For decades, a NMFS-administered Billfish Certificate of Eligibility (COE) has been required to accompany any billfish caught in the Pacific that is offered for commercial sale in the United States. The COE is meant to ensure billfish in the US market is not from the Atlantic or foreign fisheries by documenting the vessel, homeport, port of offloading and date of offloading. There was no loophole as alleged, and no evidence that foreign billfish were being laundered through Hawai‘i. Rather, the bill removed an exemption for domestic, sustainably caught billfish, as billfish populations in the Pacific are healthy. Proponents, on the other hand, believe marlins and other billfish should be caught only by recreational fishermen.

Sport fishing for billfish involves catch-and-release and retention for home consumption. Dozens of recreational billfish tournaments provide prize money for the largest marlin landed. Anecdotal information suggests a substantial amount of recreationally harvested billfish on the East Coast is sold through black-market channels.

Congresswomen Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawai‘i; Madeleine Z. Bordallo, D-Guam; and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, R-American Samoa, said the legislation “will negatively impact the livelihoods of fishermen in Hawai‘i, Guam and the Pacific Insular Areas by closing off the only off-island market for U.S.- caught billfish.”

They added: “We support needed-conservation efforts in the Atlantic, but do not believe that Pacific fisheries need to be targeted in order to achieve these goals.”

Unfortunately, their Congressional voices and the voice of reason based on best scientific information fell on deaf ears.

The enacted legislation, unlike its title, was not a simple technical amendment, but rather an arrow pointed at sustainable U.S. Pacific Island commercial billfish fisheries at the behest of largely U.S. mainland recreational fishing groups.

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