Saving Seafood

SAFMC Meeting – March 5-9, 2018 in Jekyll Island, GA

February 20, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council: 

Agenda Highlights

  • Mackerel Cobia Committee

The committee will review public hearing comments and provide recommendations for any management jurisdictional changes for Atlantic cobia (GA to NY). The committee will also discuss possible changes to commercial trip limits for king mackerel. The Council will take public scoping comments during the meeting on options for changes to king mackerel trip limits.

  • Citizen Science Committee

Development of the Council’s Citizen Science Program continues as the committee receives recommendations from the 5 Action Teams: Communication/Outreach/Education; Finance & Infrastructure; Data Management; Projects/Topics Management; and Volunteers.

  • Snapper Grouper Committee

The committee will continue to discuss the Visioning Amendments (both recreational and commercial) and the Council could potentially approve them for public hearings. The committee will also continue work on Amendment 46 addressing recreational reporting and permitting. Options for a For-Hire Permit Moratorium will also be discussed. Dr. Kari MacLauchlin will give a presentation on the Socio-Economic profile of the South Atlantic snapper grouper commercial fishery.

  • Exempted Fishing Permit                                                                                                         

The Council will review a request for an Exempted Fishing Permit to conduct research and evaluate pelagic longline catch rates in a portion of the East Florida Coast pelagic longline closed area and provide recommendations. Learn more

Additional Meeting Information 

Can’t attend? Watch the meeting live via webinar at it occurs! Webinar registration is required for each day of the meeting. Registration information – along with meeting materials including committee agendas, overviews, presentations, and documents – is available from the March 2018 Council Meeting page.

Public Q& A and Comment Sessions

Tuesday, March 6 – 4:30 PM   

Informal Question & Answer Session

Join NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator Dr. Roy Crabtree, Council Chair Charlie Phillips and others for an informal Q&A session to discuss topics relative to the meeting agenda.

Wednesday, March 7 – 4:30 PM  

Formal public comment

The Council will accept comments on meeting agenda items. The Council Chair, based on the number of individuals wishing to comment, will determine the amount of time provided to each commenter.

Learn more about the SAFMC by visiting their site here.

 

Alaska: Bering Sea cod conflict brewing between on and offshore buyers

December 21, 2017 — “Cod Alley” is getting crowded, and some fishermen want to limit the boats in the narrow congested fishing area in the Bering Sea.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is looking at changes, including restricting flatfish factory trawlers from buying cod offshore.

The Pacific Seafood Processors Association is pushing for restrictions on factory trawlers to protect its members’ shore plants in Unalaska, Akutan, King Cove and Sand Point.

According to the PSPA’s Nicole Kimball, seven factory trawlers bought cod from 17 catcher boats in 2017, up from just one factory trawler that traditionally participated in prior years. The Amendment 80 factory trawlers act as motherships, processing but not catching the Pacific cod.

“The share delivered to motherships increased from 3.3 percent in 2016 to 12.7 percent in 2017, while shoreside processors had a reciprocal decline. This is a meaningful shift. At this point it is open-ended, and there is nothing to prevent future growth in this activity,” Kimball testified at the council’s December meeting in Anchorage.

Local government representatives shared the shoreplants’ concerns, citing a loss of tax revenues needed for schools and other services. On a smaller scale, it’s reminiscent of the inshore-offshore battle in the pollock fishery about 20 years ago.

“This is a big deal,” said Unalaska Mayor Frank Kelty. “It looks like we’ve got trouble coming down the road again.”

Cod is Unalaska’s second-most important product, behind pollock, he said.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

 

Commercial Closure in Federal Waters for Atlantic Migratory Group Spanish Mackerel Northern Zone on November 7, 2017

November 2, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial harvest of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone in federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 7, 2017. The northern zone for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel includes federal waters off New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of Spanish mackerel in or from the northern zone federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits while the recreational sector is open.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

  • Originally, the 2017/2018 commercial quota for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone was 662,670 pounds. However, regulations allow for quota transfers between the northern and southern zones with the approval from the Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries to allow the commercial quota for both zones to be fully harvested. 100,000 pounds of Spanish mackerel were transferred from the southern zone quota to the northern zone quota. Therefore, the revised quotas are 2,567,330 pounds for the southern zone and 762,670 pounds for the northern zone.
  • Commercial landings are projected to reach the revised commercial quota for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the quota from being exceeded.

DURING THE CLOSURE:

  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for Coastal Migratory Pelagics.
  • The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for Spanish mackerel does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, November 7, 2017, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
  • During the closure, a person on board a vessel that has been issued a valid Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for coastal migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in the northern zone under the recreational bag and possession limits, as long as the recreational sector for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel is open.
  • Commercial harvest for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone will re-open on March 1, 2018.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. For a full list of regulations visit the Federal Register here.