Saving Seafood

ASMFC Presents Annual Awards of Excellence for 2020 and 2021

May 5, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented its Annual Awards of Excellence to an esteemed group of fishery managers, scientists, stakeholders and law enforcement officers for their outstanding contributions to fisheries management, science, and law enforcement along the Atlantic coast. Specifically, the award recipients for 2020 and 2021 were Lynn Fegley and Derek Orner for management and policy contributions; Rich Wong, Jimmy and Bobby Ruhle, and a subset of the Atlantic Menhaden/Ecological Reference Points Team for technical and scientific contributions; Greg DiDomenico for outreach and advocacy contributions; and Captain Michael Eastman, Special Agents Chris McCarron and Steven Niemi, and Enforcement Officer Timothy Wilmarth for law enforcement contributions.

“Every year a great many people contribute to the success of fisheries management along the Atlantic coast. The Commission’s Annual Awards of Excellence recognize outstanding efforts by professionals who have made a difference in the way we manage and conserve our fisheries,” said ASMFC Chair Spud Woodward of Georgia. “I am humbled by the breadth and extent of accomplishments of the recipients and am grateful for their dedication to Atlantic coast fisheries.”

Management and Policy Contributions
Lynn Fegley, Maryland Department of Natural Resources

It is impossible to overstate Lynn Fegley’s contributions to the Commission and her leadership in interstate fisheries management and coastwide data collection. Her notable accomplishments include work on the implementation of ecosystem-based reference points in the management of Atlantic menhaden; writing and implementing Maryland’s CARES Act Spending Plan; serving as an active member of the South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board and subsequently the recently established Sciaenids and Pelagics Management Boards; and leading the discussion to improve accountability in coastwide harvest data standards while  Chair of the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program Coordinating Council. Highly knowledgeable about and committed to effective interstate fisheries management and policy, Ms. Fegley consistently shows her dedication to hard work, scientific rigor, and integrity in all that she does.

Derek Orner, NOAA Fisheries 

A valued federal partner for many years, Derek Orner has served as NOAA Fisheries’ lead on numerous Commission management boards and committees, including those for striped bass, shad and river herring, and Atlantic menhaden, providing sound advice and guidance on the management of these species. Additionally, Mr. Orner has played a critical role to the ongoing success of interstate fisheries management through his efforts to ensure the Commission and states consistently receive their appropriated funding from Congress in a timely manner. He has a keen understanding of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act and a strong commitment to state/federal partnership, as exemplified by his contributions to the recently signed interagency Memorandum of Understanding between NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Scientific and Technical Contributions
Dr. Rich Wong, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife 

During Rich Wong’s 17-year career with Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, he has been a mainstay of the technical committees for a number of Mid-Atlantic species, including bluefish, summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. Dr. Wong has long been recognized for his strong stock assessment skills, spotlighted recently in his development of the catch multiple survey analysis for the horseshoe crab benchmark assessment which was also used in the 2021 Revision of the Adaptive Resource Management Framework for the Delaware Bay.

Jimmy and Bobby Ruhle

Father and son Jimmy and Bobby Ruhle have been tireless advocates for the commercial fishing industry, while concurrently advancing cooperative/collaborative approaches to fisheries science. With decades of fishing expertise and knowledge of local fishing grounds, The Ruhles have served on the trawl committees and advisory panels for both the Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, as well as North Carolina. They are both committed to ensuring the trawl gear used on research surveys promote confidence within the industry. When it became evident that a federal research survey would not be able to sample the nearshore regions, it was Jimmy Ruhle who stepped in to work with state and federal partners to fill the gap and establish the NorthEast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (NEAMAP) in 2007. NEAMAP has been providing valuable fisheries data ever since and is used in multiple stock assessments.

Atlantic Menhaden/Ecological Reference Points Team of Dr. Amy Schueller, Dr. Matt Cieri, Dr. Jason McNamee, Dr. David Chagaris, Dr. Andre Buchheister, Dr. Kristen Anstead, Dr. Katie Drew, Sarah Murray, and Max Appelman

A subset of members from the Atlantic Menhaden/Ecological Reference Points Team were recognized for their successful completion of two concurrently developed Benchmark Stock Assessments for Atlantic Menhaden and Ecological Reference Points (ERP). While these assessments, particularly the ERP assessment, were many years in the making and involved the contributions of dozens of individuals, this group of people have been instrumental in making the ERP assessment a reality. Through their collective work and leadership, this team of state and federal scientists and ASMFC staff helped to significantly advance the understanding of Atlantic menhaden and its role as an important forage fish. Their efforts have provided the Commission with the tools needed to fulfill its promise to stakeholders to manage menhaden in an ecologically sustainable way. Of special note are the efforts of Dr. David Chagaris and Dr. Andre Buchheister, preeminent experts in the field of fisheries resources, predator-prey interactions, and ecosystem-based fisheries management and models, for their work on the development of the ERP model which is currently being used in management.

Outreach and Advocacy Contributions
Greg DiDomenico, Lund’s Fisheries

Longtime industry advocate Greg DiDomenico was recognized for his outreach and advocacy contributions to fisheries management along the coast. Previously with Garden State Seafood Association and now with Lund’s Fisheries, Mr. DiDomenico has been a tireless voice for New Jersey’s commercial fishing industry at the state, interstate, regional and federal levels. He has been an ever present voice at Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meetings speaking on behalf of the needs of commercial harvesters.

Law Enforcement Contributions
Captain Michael Eastman, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Law Enforcement Division

Throughout his more than 20 year career, Captain Michael Eastman with New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Law Enforcement Division has proven himself as a very capable leader who cares about the officers he works with and the resources he is charged to protect. He is a longstanding member of the Commission’s Law Enforcement Committee, serving as both Vice-chair and Chair to that Committee. He also serves as the law enforcement liaison on several species management boards, including Atlantic herring, northern shrimp, and American eel. His fair and professional approach has earned him the respect of the public he serves. He has led by example and demonstrated for other officers how to become successful through hard work and determination. Captain Eastman’s work ethic and level of professionalism have been assets to both New Hampshire Fish and Game and the Commission throughout his career.

Special Agents Chris McCarron and Steven Niemi, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement

The thorough and relentless investigative efforts of NOAA’s Special Agents McCarron and Niemi ensured the success of two concurrent prosecutions whose illegal activities undermined the integrity of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab industry. The NOAA Office of Law Enforcement received multiple industry complaints regarding the actions of several companies who were accused of selling imported crab meat as Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab. As the Case Agents from the lead agency, Agents Niemi and McCarron coordinated with multiple State and Federal Law Enforcement entities to create and execute the investigative plan. This comprehensive investigation resulted with the companies admitting responsibility for importing over $8.7 million dollars of foreign crab meat into the U.S. illegally, mislabeled, repacked and marketed the product as Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab. Agents McCarron and Niemi worked tirelessly during their investigations and their work has had a profound and immediate impact on the region’s industry.

Enforcement Officer Timothy Wilmarth

Enforcement Officer Timothy Wilmarth is being recognized for his focus and determination in developing a safe and effective enforcement strategy to address the effects of non-compliant offshore, deep set lobster gear on the mortality of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales and in support of the Commission’s American lobster management program. Enforcement Officer Wilmarth took the idea of using remote operated vehicles from concept to reality and has allowed officers to effectively locate and inspect deep set lobster gear without having to physically retrieve the gear, which has historically posed a variety of problems including the safety of officers conducting the inspections. When deployed, the ROV can detect and record any gear or tag violation from the ocean surface down to the ocean floor to include inspecting tags, escape panels, markings, and compliance with trap limits. Through his hard work and technological innovation on the project, law enforcement officers will now have a safer platform to ensure gear compliance and boost efforts to protect endangered species such as the North Atlantic right whale.

 

Tracking Fish in the Chesapeake Bay Helps Researchers and Resource Managers

March 2, 2022 — Equipment recently deployed in the Chesapeake Bay is already giving scientists and resource managers insight into fish behavior. Arrays of acoustic telemetry receivers let researchers know when fish that have been tagged swim near the receivers. The data is helping researchers increase knowledge about fish, their migrations, and how they use different habitat areas in the Chesapeake Bay.

Acoustic Receivers Around the Bay

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) is working with partners to help researchers get data from five groups of receivers. Three arrays form gates across strategic points in northern, middle, and southern bay.

Northern Array 

The northern array includes four receivers across the Bay near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, close to Annapolis. This array, funded by NCBO, is operated in partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Southern Array 

This array is composed of 12 receivers near Virginia Beach. It is also funded by NCBO and is operated in partnership with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

Mid-Bay Array

This array of six receivers is managed by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. It’s located near the mouth of the Patuxent River, on Maryland’s Western Shore.

NOAA Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System

All five buoys currently deployed in the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System are outfitted with receivers.

Choptank River

We have placed three receivers in the Choptank River near oyster restoration projects. These receivers are on loan from NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

Maryland Striped Bass Survey Below Average for 3rd Year

October 19, 2021 — Maryland’s juvenile striped bass survey finds rockfish reproduction is below average for the third year in a row, continuing a worrisome trend. Virginia’s survey, meanwhile, shows a nine-year streak of average or above-average reproduction.

Both states conduct surveys of young-of-year striped bass to track reproductive success of the Bay’s treasured fish. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports an index of 3.2 in the 2021 survey, which remains well below the long-term average of 11.4.

DNR is optimistic, saying in a press release, “The coastal striped bass population has decreased in size, but is still capable of strong reproduction with the right environmental conditions. Variable spawning success is a well-known characteristic of the species.”

They do acknowledge that the below-average numbers “are a concern”. In 2019 the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) determined the striped bass species was being overfished, and set new limits for East Coast states to follow. Still, some environmental groups and even anglers feel that states like Maryland should be doing more.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

 

New rockfish moratorium possible warns architect of ban that saved species 36 years ago

June 10, 2021 — The architect of a historic fishing moratorium that saved the rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay nearly 36 years ago is warning that it could happen again.

Former Maryland State Senator Gerald Winegrad told WUSA9 Wednesday that efforts to stop an alarming slide in the population of rockfish are not working and action has to be taken now.

It is a drastic prediction, because the iconic Chesapeake Bay species amount to a half-billion-dollar industry in the Eastern U.S., according to one study for a recreational fishing organization.

“It’s a potential if we wait two, three, or four years to really start cracking down on the harvest,” Winegrad said. “It is a potential that we would be forced into such a drastic measure.”

“Back in the 1980’s we were experiencing similar declines,” he added.

The famous five-year rockfish moratorium engineered by Winegrad and supporters in 1985 is credited with saving the species from complete collapse.

Read the full story at WUSA 9

Maryland Rockfish Limits Set, Including July Closure

March 30, 2021 — After proposals and public comment, we now know what rockfish limits will look like in Maryland this season.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued striped bass harvest regulations for recreational anglers and charter boat clients for the summer and fall fishery, May 16–Dec. 10, 2021. This year will be a split season, closing Maryland waters to all striper fishing July 16–31. No private anglers or charter boat guests and crews may target striped bass, even catch-and-release, during those two weeks.

DNR designed this seasonal closure to avoid the period when water quality and high temperatures are most stressful and harmful to striped bass in the upper Bay, according to DNR’s own data. Virginia and D.C. also have seasonal closures: Virginia closes its striped bass season for the lower Chesapeake from June 15 to October 4, while the Potomac River is closed to all targeting of striped bass fishing from July 7 through August 20.

Outside of the Maryland summer closure period, private recreational anglers may keep one striped bass per day, with a minimum size of 19 inches. Charter boat clients may keep two stripers per day, with a minimum size of 19 inches, provided the boat’s captain participates in DNR’s daily electronic reporting system. During any chartered fishing trip, neither the captain nor mate may land or possess rockfish for personal consumption.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

MARYLAND: Commercial fishermen affected by the coronavirus pandemic have two months to apply for up to $4,000 in CARES Act funding

December 30, 2020 — Seafood producers who lost more than 35% of their revenue due to COVID-19 have two months left to apply to the Department of Natural Resources for financial assistance.

The federal government has allocated Maryland $4,125,000 in CARES Act funding to assist fisheries during the pandemic. About $3 million will be given in direct payments, and the remainder will pay for seafood marketing and business support, according to The Department of Natural Resources.

Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio said in a statement Tuesday the payments will hopefully help seafood producers weather tough market conditions.

“We will continue working with industry on long-term strategies to recover and strengthen Maryland’s markets post-pandemic,” she said.

Read the full story at The Baltimore Sun

Debate swirls around proposed regulation that could set aside more parts of the Chesapeake Bay for commercial oyster harvest

December 14, 2020 — Tal Petty calls the water in his corner of the Patuxent River “magic.”

The oysters living in its depths draw a special mineral taste from clay on the river floor, and fossils along the shore, he said. And those oysters wouldn’t even be there if it weren’t for Petty, who grows them in underwater cages before selling them nationwide.

His business is quite a bit different from that of traditional watermen, who tong the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for wild oysters. And environmentalists argue it’s an improvement, since adding oysters to the bay means adding thousands of natural filters capable of removing harmful nitrogen and sediment as they feed.

Lately, however, oyster farmers and watermen have been at odds over a regulation that could make it more difficult for oyster farming operations like Petty’s Hollywood Oyster Company to get started.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is considering a rule that would make any area of the Chesapeake Bay or its tributaries with five or more wild oysters per square meter eligible to become a “public shellfish fishery area.” These zones are exclusively for commercial harvesters.

Read the full story at The Baltimore Sun

VIRGINIA: Glimmer of hope for striped bass: Numbers of young fish show stability

October 23, 2020 — The Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s annual count of young striped bass once again yielded a number higher than the historic average.

But the significant increase — 13.89 fish per sample, compared to last year’s 9.54 and the historical average of 7.77 from 1980 to 2009 — may be a fluke of bad weather and the pandemic, VIMS cautioned.

The survey has yielded results above that historic average for eight years running. It counts juveniles — typically 1-1/2 to 4 inches long — that will grow to the size fishermen want to catch in three to four years.

The survey is based on what nets haul from 18 sites in the James, York and Rappahannock river watersheds. Its biologists usually draw samples from July to early September, but this year, Tropical Storm Isaias and COVID-19 precautions mean 19% of samples weren’t completed. Other indices suggest juvenile striped bass populations are fairly stable, VIMS said. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, for instance, reported a below-average count in its 2020 survey, but the pattern of below average Maryland and above average Virginia counts has been seen in 2013, 2016 and 2019.

Read the full story at The Virginian-Pilot

CARES Act funding announced for Maryland fishing industry

October 21, 2020 — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced this week that economic relief funds would be made available to the state’s commercial seafood industry through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), for those who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applications will be available beginning on November 4th.  The application will be available to eligible members of the seafood industry on the Maryland OneStop website. The deadline to apply is February 28, 2021.

In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that Maryland would be receiving about $4 million. Maryland has dedicated $3 million of that for direct payments to commercial, for hire, aquaculture, and seafood processing operations whose 2020 revenue has suffered a loss of greater than 35% due to COVID-19.

Read the full story at NottinghamMD.com

Maryland Rockfish Spawn Sinks to Lowest in Four Years

October 21, 2020 — The results of Maryland’s most recent rockfish spawning survey are in, and they aren’t good. Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that the 2020 juvenile striped bass index is 2.5, well below the average of 11.5, and even worse than last year’s 3.4.

The “young-of-year” survey tracks the reproductive success of rockfish in a given year. These juvenile fish are an important indicator because they are the fish that will grow to fishable sizes in three to four years. The surveys provide a glimpse of long-term trends in the striped bass population.

DNR, who has been collecting young of year data since 1954, collect fish with 100-foot beach seine net in 22 sites along major spawning areas in the Choptank, Nanticoke, and Potomac rivers and the Upper Chesapeake Bay.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine