Saving Seafood

Top official ‘disturbed’ after Louisiana wildlife and fisheries audit finds widespread financial issues

November 15th, 2016 — Louisiana’s wildlife and fisheries secretary said he’s ordered a “complete internal review” of his agency’s operations after auditors found questionable spending, missing state-owned property and shoddy management of finances under past leadership.

“I was very disturbed to learn that (the department) deviated from its core mission and best management practices,” Charlie Melancon, who took over the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries this year, wrote in response to an audit released Monday.

The review by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera’s office details widespread financial issues across the department under Melancon’s predecessor, raising questions about millions of dollars in spending. For example, auditors say Gulf oil spill recovery money intended for fish testing instead paid for unnecessary iPads, cameras, boats and now-missing fishing equipment.

Draft audit findings had been previously reported by The Associated Press in September. Purpera’s office released the official report publicly Monday, which included Melancon’s response.

The publicly-released audit toned down language used in the draft version that had suggested the fish testing program was so mismanaged that it “cannot ensure that the work accomplished was sufficient” to declare the seafood was safe. Instead, the final version cites a 2015 state health department report that said the sample results found substances that “were below concentrations that could potentially threaten the public’s health.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Advocate 

LOUISIANA: Reef fish dominated Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries commission meeting again

November 4, 2016 — With hunting seasons ready to hit full stride, fishing, once again, dominated Thursday’s Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting in Baton Rouge.

And again, the issues centered on red snapper, the proposed red snapper-takeover plan – also known as regional management – by each of the five Gulf States, and an update on gray triggerfish.

The discussion surfaced during an agenda item that called on Department of Wildlife and Fisheries veteran biologist Myron Fischer’s report on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s October quarterly meeting held in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Gray triggerfish came first: Fischer told the commission the latest data showed the species continues to hold “overfished” status, that the GMFMC discussed a one-per-day limit, a 15 inches minimum size limit and two closed seasons, the first in January through February and the second to run June through July for the recreational sector, and trip limits for the commercial sector.

Fischer said while public hearings will be held to get input on the species, there is the possibility recreational anglers will face a closed season on gray triggerfish throughout 2017.

Next up was the regional management issue and its relationship to the GMFMC’s newly formed Private Recreational Advisory Panel, a move proposed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ representative to the council, LDWF assistant secretary Patrick Banks earlier this year.

Fischer said the LDWF made a motion to charge the new panel with “management measures” to include “… more quality access to the resource in federal waters, reduce (undersized) discards, and improve fisheries data collection.”

Read the full story at The Acadiana Advocate

LOUISIANA: Coastal Conservation Association head blasts Wildlife & Fisheries secretary in email

November 3, 2016 — The head of Louisiana’s largest recreational-fishing advocacy group sent his members Wednesday a stinging rebuke of the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries over his support of the current structure of red snapper management in the Gulf of Mexico.

Coastal Conservation Association Executive Director David Cresson said in the emailed message that at the most recent meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, held the week of Oct. 17 in Biloxi, Miss., regulators discussed dropping the recreational season in federal waters next year to only one day.

The 2016 season was initially set at nine days but was extended to 11 days due to widespread bad weather during the short season.

In the missive, Cresson laid some of the blame at the feet of department Secretary Charlie Melancon, who has stated publicly his support for the Gulf Council and expressed strong opposition to HR 3094, a bill working its way through Congress that would transfer management authority to the five Gulf states.

“Inexplicably, Secretary Melancon supports this system,” Cresson wrote. “He even said at the July meeting of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission that ‘the Gulf Council saved the red snapper.’

“Secretary Melancon is mistaken.”

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

LOUISIANA: Wildlife & Fisheries spent less BP money than it had access to, former secretary’s attorney says

November 3, 2016 — An attorney for former Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham sent a vigorous defense to the state’s Legislative auditor Tuesday arguing that no significant money was wasted by the agency in the months following 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Department practices, especially related to seafood testing and spending habits, during Barham’s tenure have been under investigation by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera, and preliminary reports have been leaked to the media. Purpera’s office gave Barham until Tuesday to respond to its second preliminary draft report, and in that 11-page defense, attorney Mary Olive Pierson criticized Purpera’s office for conflating how the agency spent BP’s money with a misappropriation of state dollars.

Seven months after the spill, BP and the state of Louisiana agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding, under which the oil company would provide up to $18 million for the department to conduct tissue sampling on fish to determine if Louisiana seafood was safe to consume.

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

LOUISIANA: Man jailed after taking undersized redfish, LDWF says

November 2, 2016 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says it busted a previous fisheries offender this weekend for taking undersized redfish, and booked him into the Plaquemines Parish jail.

According to a department news release, agents made contact with Jonathan Ragas, 54, of Port Sulphur, Sunday near Azalea Drive. When Ragas saw the agents approaching, he picked up a five-gallon bucket containing an unknown number of redfish, and threw most of them in the water, the release said. Agents quickly seized the bucket, and found it to still contain two redfish that were shorter than the state’s 16-inch minimum length requirement, according to the department.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Reminder of Boundary Shifts, Commercial Quotas, and Trip Limits for King Mackerel

October 28, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

King mackerel are divided into two migratory groups: the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and Atlantic groups. The groups are divided into zones and subzones, and each group, zone, and subzone may have a separate quota and trip limit. Currently, the boundary between the Gulf and Atlantic groups shifts north on November 1 and south on April 1 of each year. Please see maps and charts on page 2.

NOAA Fisheries is reviewing an amendment to the fishery management plan that would eliminate the boundary shift and set a permanent management boundary between the two migratory groups at the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line. If approved, this change should be implemented before the next boundary shift on April 1, 2017. The amendment would make other management changes for king mackerel, including changes to the trip limits on the Florida east coast. An additional Southeast Fishery Bulletin will be sent out if those changes are approved.

Gulf Group King Mackerel Zones and Subzones

Western Zone

The Western Zone includes waters off Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and has a trip limit of 3,000 pounds per day year-round. This zone closed October 14, 2016, and will reopen July 1, 2017. If a quota increase is approved, the zone may reopen in spring.

Florida West Coast

The west coast is divided into Northern and Southern Subzones.

The Northern Subzone extends east and south from the Florida/Alabama state line to the Lee/Collier County line. This subzone opened October 1 and remains open at this time.

From November through March, the Southern Subzone extends south and east from the Lee/Collier County line to the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line. With the April boundary shift between the Gulf and Atlantic groups to the Monroe/Collier County line, the Southern Subzone for the Gulf group is reduced to the area off Collier County, and Monroe County becomes part of the Atlantic group. The quota for the Southern Subzone is divided equally between the hook-and-line and gillnet components. The hook-and-line component opened July 1, 2016, and remains open at this time. The gillnet component is closed and will open January 17, 2017.

Both the Northern and Southern Subzones have a hook-and-line trip limit of 1,250 pounds per day. The gillnet component in the Southern Subzone has a trip limit of 45,000 pounds per day.

Florida East Coast (Mixing Zone)

From November through March, fish harvested south of the Flagler/Volusia County line to the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line are considered to be Gulf group king mackerel. The trip limit for this Florida East Coast Subzone during this time period is 50 fish per day, until March 1, when the trip limit increases to 75 fish per day, if 70 percent of the quota has not been reached.

Atlantic Group King Mackerel Zones

Northern Zone

The Northern Zone is from the North Carolina/South Carolina state line north to the intersection point of New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. This area has a 3,500-pound per day trip limit year-round.

Southern Zone

From November through March, the Southern Zone extends from the North Carolina/South Carolina state line south to the Flagler/Volusia County line. South of the Flagler/Volusia County line, fish are considered to be part of the Gulf group during this time (see above).

From April through October, the Southern Zone is from the North Carolina/South Carolina state line south to the Monroe/Collier County line on Florida’s west coast, which is the boundary between the Gulf and Atlantic groups during that period.

Reports: Gulf population of menhaden, prey of game fish, thriving

October 26th, 2016 — A commission that assesses the health and viability of the menhaden population in the Gulf of Mexico says despite massive commercial hauls, the menhaden population is sound.

The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission calls it a stock assessment for menhaden.

Steven J. VanderKooy, a fisheries coordinator with the commission, which has an Ocean Springs, Mississippi office, told The Sun Herald despite the fact that millions of pounds are hauled in each year, they are thriving.

The fish is caught for cat food and fish oil supplements and is a favorite food of large game fish.

The assessment was completed as a cooperative effort of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Decatur Daily

Louisiana official defends fish testing after oil spill

October 26th, 2016 — A former Louisiana Cabinet official is fending off criticism about the way he managed a program to ensure seafood from the Gulf of Mexico was safe to eat after a massive oil spill in 2010.

Robert Barham pushed back against auditors’ suggestions the work was shoddy, saying in an interview with The Associated Press that he has no question the seafood was tested thoroughly after the spill, which was sparked by a broken rig and led to the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

“With absolutely no equivocation, I not only feel confident that everything we said was true, but that we did everything that we needed to do to ensure that it is safe,” Barham said.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office said it found insufficient sampling of fish, excessive spending and missing property in part of the $10.5 million BP-financed seafood safety program overseen by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, when Barham was agency secretary.

State auditors found that Gulf oil spill recovery money intended for the fish testing instead paid for unnecessary iPads, cameras, boats and now-missing fishing equipment.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald 

LOUISIANA: Coastal Crisis, Conflicting Ideas: How A Complex Restoration Plan Found Success

October 25th, 2016 — Delta systems such as coastal Louisiana are beautiful and unique intersections of communities, ecosystems and industry. But the wide variety of interests in these areas can also lead to discord as we plan for the future of our often-vulnerable coastal regions.

As complex restoration projects are implemented, how do we balance the needs of the ecosystem and communities? How do we reduce negative impacts to fisheries and industry, and make sure certain wildlife won’t benefit at the expense of others?

A diverse, interdisciplinary group of 12 scientists with decades of on-the-ground research in Louisiana recently tried to work past conflicting interests to tackle challenges left by decades of mismanagement of the region’s vital wetlands.

Their task: to figure out how so-called sediment diversions affect different aspects of the environment, and how to operate them to build land while providing the greatest good.

The report they released in July 2016 was significant because it was the first attempt to look holistically at how best to operate these engineered structures that release Mississippi River sediment and freshwater into the wetlands.

Read the full story at Forbes 

Latest report says menhaden thriving in the Gulf

October 25th, 2016 — A commission that assesses the health and viability of the menhaden population in the Gulf released a report this week that says despite massive commercial hauls, the menhaden population is sound.

It’s called a stock assessment for menhaden — a fish caught for catfood and fish oil supplements and a favorite food of large game fish. If fact, there’s been controversy this year over how many redfish commercial menhaden boats in the Gulf should be allowed to keep in the bycatch while fishing for menhaden.

Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission evaluated the status of the Gulf menhaden in U.S. waters and concluded the “Gulf of Mexico’s menhaden stock is not experiencing overfishing,” said Steven J. VanderKooy, a fisheries coordinator with the commission, which has an Ocean Springs office.

The assessment was completed as a cooperative effort of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Menhaden catches support the second largest commercial fishery by weight in the United States. Menhaden are small filter feeders that don’t grow much longer than a foot and only live for three or four years.

Despite the fact that millions of pounds are hauled in each year, they are thriving, VanderKooy said. “They are really, really resilient. It’s a great fish and short-lived.”

Read the full story at the Sun Herald