Saving Seafood

Alaska’s Sitka Tribe sues state, claims mismanagement of herring fishery

December 19, 2018 — A tribal government is filing suit against the State of Alaska, alleging mismanagement of the Sitka sac roe herring fishery. The Sitka Tribe of Alaska has retained a major Anchorage law firm that specializes in tribal advocacy and subsistence issues. KCAW’s Katherine Rose reports on the build-up to this moment over the future of Sitka’s sac roe herring fishery.

For 20 years, tribal leaders have been worried about the health of Sitka’s herring. The silvery fish return every spring to spawn and are pursued by commercial fisherman, subsistence harvesters, and marine mammals alike. As a forage fish, they’re a cornerstone of the ecosystem.

Herring rock is blessed with water to mark this seasonal moment.

Audio: “This is spring. We are getting ready for our season. This is our time for work. Gunalchéesh.”    

Jessie Johnnie told the story of herring rock to the Board of Fish in 1997 — one of a young Tlingit woman sitting on the rock and lowering her hair into the ocean for the herring to lay their eggs. “All the herring would come to the rock and swim around,” she said, “and she would sing lullabies to them.”

Herring have cultural, ecological, and economic significance for Sitka. But the message to the Board of Fish back then was that the herring weren’t spawning the same way in the same places, and subsistence harvesters were struggling to gather enough roe.

Herman Kitka, testifying at that 1997 meeting, feared for the worst. “If nothing is done,” he said, “we will lose the herring stock that is left in Sitka Sound.”

In 2018, his son Harvey Kitka went before the Board of Fish to say the same thing: Act now, or potentially lose our herring. Sitka Tribe proposed capping the commercial harvest of herring at 10-percent. But the Board took no action, maintaining a formula that calculates a sliding scale of 12- to 20-percent depending on the size of the biomass.

Read the full story at KCAW

ASMFC 2019 Winter Meeting Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

December 18, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2019 Winter Meeting, February 5-7, 2019, in Arlington, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-winter-meeting. Materials will be available on January 23, 2019 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-winter-meeting.

A block of rooms is being held at The Westin Crystal City, 1800 S. Eads Street, Arlington, VA 22202. Meeting attendees can make reservations online via Star Group Website at http://www.starwoodhotels.com/ or call The Westin Crystal City at 703.486.1111 as soon as possible and mention the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to obtain the group room rate of $181.00 plus tax single/dbl. Please be aware you must guarantee your room reservation with a major credit card or one night’s advance payment. Hotel reservations must be made by Monday, January 7, 2019. Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date. If you are being reimbursed by ASMFC for your travel, please make your reservation directly with the hotel. Reservations made through travel websites do not apply toward our minimum number of required reservations with the hotel. Please note, cancellations at The Westin must be made by 4:00 p.m. two days prior to arrival to avoid penalty and an early departure fee of $100.00 will apply when checking out prior to the confirmed date. If you have any problems at all regarding accommodations please contact Cindy at 703.842.0740 or at crobertson@asmfc.org.

Read the full agenda here

New England Council Discusses Whiting, Enforcement, Dogfish, Herring, Ecosystem Management, and More at December Meeting

December 14, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council covered numerous issues during its December 4-6 meeting in Newport, RI. In addition to taking final action on Scallop Framework 30, Groundfish Framework 58, and the Clam Dredge Framework, the Council discussed a slate of other topics. Here are a few highlights.

WHITING: The Council took final action on Whiting Amendment 22, which was developed to consider limited access options for the small-mesh multispecies fishery. After reviewing all public comment and available analyses and considering a recommendation from its Whiting Committee, the Council selected the alternative called “status quo/no action.” As such, the whiting/small-mesh multispecies fishery will remain an open access fishery and no changes will be made to existing regulatory measures. More information, including summaries of public hearing comments, is available at December 3 Committee Meeting and December 4, 2018 Council Meeting Materials.

ENFORCEMENT: The Council adopted several consensus statements drafted by its Enforcement Committee. One of these pertained to use of the OMEGA Mesh Gauge® to measure fishing nets. The Coast Guard extensively tested the OMEGA gauge and concluded that it has notable benefits over the weight-and-spade tools currently being used to measure webbing. Coast Guard representatives provided a demonstration for Council members comparing the OMEGA gauge versus the weight-and-spade. The Council recommended that NOAA, under existing authority, adopt the OMEGA gauge to measure mesh size once the Enforcement Section of NOAA General Counsel determines that all legal requirements have been met.

Read the full release at the New England Fishery Management Council

 

ALASKA: State to allow higher herring harvest next year, STA promises ‘drastic action’

December 11, 2018 — Despite a poor season last spring, the forecast for the 2019 Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery is up. Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game expect a spawning biomass of just over 64,000 tons of herring in Sitka Sound next March, about 9,000 tons greater than was forecast for this year.

That means the state will allow more herring to be taken next year.

In light of this news, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska announced they would take “drastic action” to protect the herring population from their fear of overfishing.

In a press release published Thursday, Dec. 6, Tribal Council Chairman KathyHope Erickson expressed disappointment at the increased harvest levels “despite the fact that the herring, and the future of all fish and other animals that rely on herring as a forage fish, are in a dire situation.”

Sitka Tribe of Alaska did not specify what their action would be or provide additional comment to KCAW.

Fish & Game assistant area management biologist Aaron Dupuis said department dive surveys turned up far more spawn than first thought. Aerial surveys measured only 33 miles of spawn along the shoreline — about half of the  average year. But there was an upside.

“The spawn that we got, the eggs were quite a bit more dense than what we’ve seen in previous years,” Dupis said. “So, while the total mileage was down — and that’s kind of the visible thing that everybody can see is the mileage — the density of the eggs was higher, and the total area offshore, especially on Kruzof Island, was higher than normal.”

Read the full story at KCAW

Proposed reduction in herring harvest could affect lobster catch

December 10, 2018 — Fishermen who harvest herring, one of the most important baitfish on the East Coast, are likely to see a dramatic reduction next year in the amount they are allowed to catch. The change could have major implications for the lobster business.

The commercial fishery for herring is a major industry in the Atlantic states, where the small fish is important as lobster bait and is also eaten by people. Herring has been under the microscope of regulators and conservation groups recently after a scientific assessment said earlier this year that the fish’s population has fallen in the past five years.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it wants to cut the annual catch limit from nearly 110 million pounds this year to less than half that in 2019. The agency said in a statement that the deep cut is needed to prevent overfishing.

This year’s herring quota was also cut back in August. The loss of so much herring will be a challenge for America’s lobstermen, who are based mostly in New England, said Kristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Westerly Sun

Herring fishermen likely to see dramatic reduction in harvest allowances

December 7, 2018 — Fishermen who seek one of the most important bait fish on the East Coast are likely to see a dramatic reduction in the amount they are allowed to harvest next year.

Commercial fisheries for herring are a major industry in the Atlantic states, where the little fish is important as lobster bait as well as used for human food. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it wants to cut the annual catch limit from nearly 110 million pounds this year to less than half that in 2019.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News

Fishing Leaders Seek Public Support for Herring Trawler Buffer Zone

November 26, 2018 — Local fishing industry leaders are seeking public support to finalize regulations that would push midwater herring trawlers at least 12 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.

The New England Fishery Management Council voted in September to recommend the measure in an effort to help protect the struggling fishery.

Local fishermen and the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance supported pushing the midwater trawlers back 50 miles to avoid localized depletion.

That concept is defined as a reduction of fish population, independent of the overall status of the stock, over a relatively small area as a result of intensive overfishing.

The new buffer zone would be estimated to reduce midwater trawler revenue by about 30 percent.

The midwater trawlers, which usually work in tandem, use large nets to scoop up entire schools of herring, which local fishermen have said negatively impact the local fishing industry and related economies.

Atlantic herring is a food, or forage fish for many larger fish species and whales which feed in the area. Herring is also an important bait fish in the New England lobster industry.

Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance CEO John Pappalardo says the restrictions now head to the National Marine Fisheries Service for review.

“I’m very confident that if all the people who helped us get a positive vote out of the council will one more time put effort in to making sure that the National Marine Fisheries Service adheres to the recommendation I am very confident we will end up with a positive result,” Pappalardo said.

Fisherman Charlie Dodge says the local industry and the public need to keep the pressure on at the political level to ensure the trawlers are pushed back.

“We’ve seen things before get to this point but even with keeping focus on it sometimes they never come to fruition,” Dodge said.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

New England Council eying more monitoring of some fisheries

November 16, 2018 — The New England Fisheries Management Council wants to standardize future industry-funded monitoring incorporated into other fisheries beyond the Northeast multispecies groundfishery and the scallop fishery.

The council is soliciting public comment on a proposal to increase industry-funded monitoring in certain fisheries “to assess the amount and type of catch and reduce uncertainty around catch estimates,” according to the summary of the proposed rule published in the Federal Register.

The proposal specifically would increase industry-funded monitoring in the Atlantic herring industry, as well.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily News

Report card on Canada’s fish stocks suggests action required to reverse decline

November 16, 2018 — Atlantic herring is a hearty source of protein for people and marine mammals alike, but like a startling number of Canada’s fish stocks the plan to rebuild the depleted herring population is currently one big question mark.

That’s a conclusion reached by advocacy group Oceana Canada, which published its second annual fisheries audit Tuesday — a report card assessing the health of Canada’s fish stocks.

The report found Canada has a lot of work to do to reverse the term decline of its fish stocks, and it needs to pick up the pace.

Oceana’s science director Robert Rangeley said he hopes the audit is a “wake-up call” for better fisheries management.

“My biggest fear is one of complacency,” said Rangeley. “We’re still hovering around one-third of our fish stocks (that) are healthy, which is very poor performance for the 194 stocks that are so important for coastal communities.”

Only 34 per cent of Canada’s fish stocks are considered healthy. Twenty-nine per cent are in a critical or cautious zone, and perhaps most alarmingly, 37 per cent of stocks don’t have sufficient data to assign a health status.

Some, like Pacific herring in Haida Gwaii, slipped into the critical red zone this year.

The numbers are indicative of the slow policy implementation that plagues management of Canada’s fisheries, Rangeley said. The Oceana team expected to see more stocks move from the uncertain zone into one of the other categories this year, but in fact, the needle barely moved

Read the full story at CTV News

Lobster industry chief expects bait crunch

November 15, 2018 — An expected cutback of the Atlantic herring catch quota is causing concern among lobster fishing interests, which largely rely on herring as bait.

“We obviously have to be looking at different sources of bait,” Kristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, told the Bangor Daily News this week. He added that a quota cut could drive up bait costs.

Fishermen’s Voice reported that at the September meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council, Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said: “We predict it’s going to be devastating.”

Tuna fishing interests said the expected cutback will affect them, too. At that meeting, the council decided to adopt a rule that would slash the fishing quota for the Atlantic herring fishery for fishing years 2019 through 2021. It also decided to ban boats using midwater trawl gear from within 12 miles of the shore from the Canadian border to Connecticut. The actions are part of the Amendment 8 to the Atlantic herring fishery management plan.

Read the full story at MaineBiz