Saving Seafood

Governor of Louisiana opposes red snapper legislation transferring oversight

June 23, 2016 — Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries published an open letter on Wednesday, 22 June stating their opposition to legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) that would transfer oversight over of the Gulf of Mexico’s red snapper fishery from the federal government to those of the Gulf states.

In his letter, the governor said the legislation, H.R. 3094, would not provide funding to allow the state to responsibly manage the fishery.

“H.R. 3094, as recently amended by Congressman Bishop, would not transfer any federal funding to the states to conduct necessary stock assessments, research, data collection, or enforcement. Without federal funding, Louisiana could potentially lack the proper resources to manage the red snapper fishery,” the governor wrote.

“H.R. 3094 would not be a viable option for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. It would be fiscally irresponsible for the department to support any mandate that would result in an unknown amount of fiscal burden placed on the State of Louisiana for the management of a single species of fish,” the statement continued. “As a department, we are charged with managing our fisheries resources for optimum yield; the same applies to our fiscal resources.”

Gov. Edwards, a Democrat, said in his letter that he understood that “some of our user groups are frustrated with the current federal management of red snapper under the authority of NOAA Fisheries and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.”

Ewards said his administration remained, “committed to working with NOAA Fisheries, the Council and its members, and all interested stakeholders to ensure optimum utilization of and fair and equitable access to the red snapper resource.”

“The Department’s goal is to begin a collaborative dialogue with our state and federal partners to find a durable solution to these issues concerning management of the red snapper resource for the public good,” he wrote.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

LDWF Secretary opposes move to give Louisiana authority over red snapper

June 22, 2016 — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Charlie Melancon stated Tuesday he is opposed to a push to transfer management authority of Gulf of Mexico red snapper from the federal government to the fisheries agencies of the five Gulf states.

Melancon said a bill proposed by Rep. Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge) that’s currently making its way through Congress would grant Gulf states management authority without providing necessary dollars.

“Without federal funding, Louisiana could potentially lack the proper resources to manage the red-snapper fishery,” Melancon said. “It would be fiscally irresponsible for the department to support any mandate that would result in an unknown amount of fiscal burden placed on the state of Louisiana for the management of a single species of fish.”

Previously, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida had joined Louisiana in calling for NOAA Fisheries to surrender management control of the popular reef fish. Critics say gross mismanagement of red snapper has led to reduced fishing opportunities for recreational anglers. This year’s federal red-snapper season for recreational anglers was initially set at nine days, but was extended to 11 days after tropical weather kept many anglers at the dock.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

CFA Responds to Approval of H.R. 3094 Today in the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee

June 15, 2016 — The following was released by the Charter Fisherman’s Association:

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Earlier today the House Natural Resources committee in Congress approved H.R. 3094 by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La) to transfer management of the private, charter for-hire and commercial components of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fisheries away from the federal government to a newly created five-person committee made up of the five Gulf state fishery directors. The CFA has been adamantly opposed to this concept since its inception last year and one of our members (Captain Gary Jarvis) testified against the bill in a hearing on the bill in October. The following statements are in reaction to this morning’s vote.

“As federally permitted charter captains, we are the access point for millions of Americans who want to go offshore but don’t own a big boat,” said Captain Shane Cantrell from Galveston, TX. “We have worked constructively with NOAA to develop management solutions for our industry to improve accountability, increase sustainability and deliver flexibility for our customers and most of the Gulf States have opposed us every step of the way. Congress should be advised that transferring authority over this fishery will result in the Gulf of Mexico being reserved for only wealthy boat owners in short order.”

“I am disappointed to see this dangerous piece of legislation move out of the Natural Resources committee because our industry has been near unanimous in saying that we want to stay under federal management. The private recreational system is what is broken and those anglers absolutely deserve relief, but you don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. If the states want to manage millions of private anglers that is fine, but there are 1,200 of us and we operate exclusively in federal waters and we don’t want any part of that.” ~ Capt. Gary Jarvis from Destin, FL.

“In addition to turning their backs on years of progress in rebuilding this fishery, they are passing down a huge unfunded mandate to my home state of Louisiana. After the multi-billion dollar mess that the previous Governor left us, I don’t know how they expect us to pay for the management of another 191 miles offshore!”  ~ Capt. Steve Tomeny from Fourchon, LA. 

Louisiana anglers catch too much shrimp with cast nets, LDWF says

May 26, 2016 — Four South Louisiana residents caught more than their recreational limits of shrimp using cast nets, and hid the haul at a nearby residence to avoid detection by authorities, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Department enforcement agents on Saturday cited Tony Bella, 28, of Bourg, Percy Michel, 28, of Thibodaux, Necole Hello, 32, of Thibodaux, and Courtney Boquet, 26, of Bourg, for possessing over the legal limit of shrimp and intentional concealment of seafood.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

LOUISIANA: Agents bust four men for illegal shrimping, LDWF says

May 17, 2016 — Four Plaquemines Parish men sought to get a jump on their competition by shrimping in inshore waters Tuesday (May 10), according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The inshore shrimp season won’t open until May 23 at 6 a.m.

Agents say they saw the vessel Captain Bean actively shrimping with skimmers in the Bayou Grand Liard area near Buras around 9 p.m.

They cited Eulice J. Ordoyne Jr, 67, of Buras, and Trebor Fabiano, 33, of Belle Chasse, for using skimmers during a closed shrimp season. Additionally, Ordoyne was cited for using improper navigation lights.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Shell line leaks 88,200 gallons into the Gulf, Coast Guard says

May 13, 2016 — NEW ORLEANS — About 88,200 gallons of oil have leaked from a Shell flow line into the Gulf of Mexico about 90 miles off the coast of Louisiana, the US Coast Guard said.

Chief Petty Officer Bobby Nash said the leak has been secured and cleanup crews will be dispatched. The leak was reported Thursday.

Shell spokeswoman Kimberly Windon, in a statement late Thursday, said a helicopter saw an oil sheen near the Glider subsea tieback system at Shell’s Brutus platform shortly before 8 a.m.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

Shrimp season to kick off this month in Louisiana

May 10, 2016 — Starting on 23 May at 6 a.m. local time, inshore shrimpers across the state of Louisiana will be permitted to begin their spring season.

The decision comes from the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, which voted on 5 May to go ahead with a universal opening that won’t be staggered among shrimp zones for the second year in a row, reported Nola.com.

The move to go ahead with an un-staggered opening opposes Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries data, which found that an earlier opening would benefit certain areas such as with the Barataria, Timbalier, Terrebonne and the Vermilion-Teche basins. Shrimp would reach harvestable size in the Barataria, Timbalier and Terrebonne basins on or before 16 May, according to the data presented by department biologist Jeff Marx.

Read the full story from Seafood Source

BP Drops $1 Billion Seafood Industry Spill Payments Fight

May 3, 2016 — After fighting for more than two years to avoid paying almost $1 billion in oil spill damages to Gulf Coast shrimpers, oystermen and seafood processors it claimed didn’t exist, BP Plc has thrown in the towel.

“We have withdrawn our claims seeking an injunction against payments by the Seafood Program so the program can be concluded,” Geoff Morrell, a BP spokesman, said in an e-mail Tuesday. The company will keep pursuing fraud claims against lawyer Mikal Watts and his firm, Morrell said. Watts was indicted for allegedly making false claims in connection with the BP spill.

A federal judge in New Orleans Monday allowed BP to drop its bid to avoid paying the second half of $2.3 billion in compensation promised to seafood interests harmed by the blown-out well. The subsea gusher pumped more than 4 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, closing fisheries and blackening the shores of five states.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

From coast to coast, seas shape economy — and political debate

April 26, 2016 — In 2014, Louisiana Republican Garret Graves achieved the unusual: He won a seat in Congress with the backing of both staunch conservatives and some environmentalists.

Graves, who spent five years as coastal adviser to then-Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), does not deny climate change. Under his direction, Louisiana adopted a coastal plan that recognizes climate’s role in the state’s disappearing coastline.

But asked about climate change as a freshman lawmaker, Graves chooses his words carefully.

“Look, I think — and I want to make sure I say this right because obviously it’s a loaded question — I think to deny that things are changing is unsustainable,” he said in a recent interview, pointing to the evidence of sea-level rise on Louisiana’s shores. “But the real loaded question is the role of anthropogenic causes versus biogenic.”

Read the full story at the E&E Daily

Gulf Council Meets in Austin on Eve of 40th Anniversary of Magnuson Stevens

April 19, 2016 — As the eve of 40th anniversary of the signing of the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act approached, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met in Austin to discuss numerous fishery issues. Included on the Council’s busy agenda were changes in king mackerel allocation, stock boundaries, and sale provisions; hogfish annual catch limits, minimum size and stock definition; red grouper catch limit increases; and charter and headboat reporting requirements. However, as usual, it was Gulf red snapper that once again stole the show as well as a majority of the Council’s time and energy.

Forty years have passed since Congress passed the sweeping legislation changed the landscape of the American seafood industry and established a comprehensive framework for governing marine fisheries management in U.S. federal waters. The Act created eight regional fishery management councils – including the Gulf Council – designed to address the unique, regional differences in marine fisheries across the country.

For years, red snapper has consumed a majority of the Councils time, and the Austin session proved no exception. Red snapper management for federally permitted charter vessels, the 2016 recreational red snapper season and the extension or elimination of the red snapper sector separation sunset provision all topped the agenda, as well as federal reef fish headboat management.

The Council received an update from the NOAA Fisheries Service (NMFS) on red snapper season projections for the coming year. Both the private recreational season and federal charter for-hire season will open on June 1. NMFS predicts a private recreational season of just six to nine days, and a federal charter for-hire season of between 38-56 days. The final 2016 recreational red snapper season closing dates will be announced in May prior to the start of the season.

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute