Saving Seafood

Fisheries Managers Vote to Take Action on Rockfish Overfishing

May 1, 2019 — Changes are coming to the East Coast striped bass fishing rules in response to overfishing. But what changes, exactly? The public will have a chance to weigh in.

On Tuesday the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) unanimously approved a number of options to reduce striped bass fishing mortality along the Atlantic coast and in the Chesapeake Bay. The proposal, an addendum to the existing striper management plan, is necessary due to an alarming decline in the population of this iconic sport fish, as previously reported by Bay Bulletin’s Wild Chesapeake column.

Fisheries biologists have determined that rockfish are being over-fished, which triggers action to make coast-wide changes prior to the 2020 fishing season.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

THE BALTIMORE SUN: Maryland’s rockfish challenge

April 30, 2019 — Maryland rockfish — or striped bass as they are more widely known — are in sharp decline. As of 2017, total East Coast landings, commercial and recreational, were down by nearly 40 percent from 10 years prior. Female spawning stock is in similar decline, according to a recent assessment. Not since the 1980s when the fish was believed to be reaching a tipping point and a years-long moratorium on harvest was imposed to protect rockfish have state officials faced such a worrisome outlook.

On Tuesday, members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in Arlington, Va., and likely call for conservation measures to prevent further overfishing. States like Massachusetts and Connecticut have already endorsed such a move, as has Virginia, where last week the Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted 7-0 to suspend that state’s “trophy” rockfish season (so-called because it’s the one time of year when fishermen can keep large, spawning-age rockfish of 36-inches or longer) just as it was set to open. That move was likely costly to charter boat captains in Virginia who are certain to lose customers, particularly given that its Chesapeake Bay neighbor has not taken similar action — Maryland’s trophy season opened April 20 and continues through mid-May.

Read the full opinion piece at The Baltimore Sun

‘There’s going to be no fish to fight over at all’: The Chesapeake Bay’s rockfish population is falling

April 28, 2019 — It’s trophy season for Chesapeake Bay rockfish, the only few weeks on the calendar local anglers can hunt for the 40-pound specimens visiting the estuary to spawn. But this year, it’s not as celebratory as it sounds.

Three decades after an outright ban on fishing for the species properly known as Atlantic striped bass helped it recover from near-extinction, scientists, anglers and the commercial fishing industry are raising alarms that the bay’s supreme and delectable swimmers are again being overfished. And about half of the fish that anglers are killing aren’t even being eaten — they’re caught and thrown back, only to die from their wounds.

The concerns prompted Virginia to cancel its trophy season Tuesday, six days before fishing was set to begin in some Potomac River tributaries. Authorities there said emergency action was needed to allow as many of the females to spawn as possible.

Maryland officials said they have no plans to make a similar decision this spring. But commercial and recreational fishermen around the state’s rivers and creeks are nonetheless hoping, and bracing, for new restrictions to stabilize the striped bass population once again.

“I think most charter boat captains have resigned themselves to the fact that we’re going to have some changes next year,” said Mark Galasso, who operates Tuna the Tide charter service out of Kent Island.

Read the full story at The Capital Gazette

MARK EUSTIS: Maryland overfishing imperils rockfish population

April 25, 2019 — On Tuesday, Virginia did what Maryland should: close its 2019 spring recreational striped bass trophy season.

“The recent stock assessment shows that early action is needed to slow the decline and restore this fishery to sustainable levels,” Virginia Marine Resources Commissioner Steven G. Bowman said in a statement.

Yet Maryland, one of the worst offenders when it comes to overfishing Atlantic striped bass — what we like to call “rockfish” — has chosen to go forward with a trophy season this year despite mounting evidence of the dangers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just released a peer-reviewed report that finds striped bass are overfished and that manmade overfishing — taking too many fish too fast — is accelerating the decline. (When a fish population is overfished, there are fewer fish in the water than that population needs to replace itself.)

Read the full opinion piece at The Baltimore Sun

Virginia Cancels Trophy Rockfish Season, Urges Other States to Follow

April 24, 2019 — It’s official- there won’t be a trophy rockfish season in Virginia this spring. Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) has voted unanimously to enact an emergency closure because of worrisome new research about the striped bass population on the Bay.

Bay Bulletin reported in early April that VMRC’s biologists called for the spring season to be canceled. And on Tuesday, the commission voted 7-0 to eliminate the spring striped bass trophy season in the Bay from May 1 through June 15, the Coast from May 1 through May 15, and the Virginia tributaries to the Potomac River from April 29 through May 15. Starting May 16 through June 15 fishermen will be able to catch and keep two striped bass from 20 to 28 inches.

The emergency action comes after recent scientific research showed the rockfish population “has been below the sustainable threshold for the past six years and overfishing has been occurring sine 2010.”

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

Maryland officials join opposition to offshore seismic tests

April 22, 2019 — Maryland officials have joined a host of congressmen in opposing the Trump administration’s plan to start underwater seismic testing along the Atlantic coast, operations that could lead to increased domestic production of oil and gas, but also could be harmful to marine animals.

The offshore seismic testing would be part of oil and gas exploration from Florida up the East Coast to Delaware, including the coast of Maryland.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and eight other attorneys general joined as parties to a lawsuit aimed at stopping the testing, which they said would subject marine creatures such as whales, porpoises, and dolphins to extremely loud sounds.

Read the full story at WTOP

US lawmakers hail added H-2B visas but want Congress to make reforms

April 9, 2019 — The U.S. seafood industry and others that rely on temporary labor received good news at the end of last month when President Donald Trump’s administration announced it would allocate an extra 30,000 visas under the H-2B worker program.

It’s a marked change from the last couple years, when the administration released only 15,000 visas, which companies can use to hire foreign workers for non-agricultural jobs. This year’s announcement by the Department of Homeland Security also comes two full months ahead of last year’s. That will give seafood processors and other companies more time to apply and bring workers in for the seasonal jobs.

The decision means 63,000 visas will be available for companies through the end of the fiscal year, which ends in September. However, the 30,000 additional visas will only be available to workers who received one during one of the last three fiscal years.

Maryland officials applauded the news. The state’s crab industry has been hard hit by the lack of visas, with some businesses having to close because they could not get visas they needed to secure workers. In addition to seafood processors, hotels, landscapers, and the horse-racing trainers are among the businesses that seek these waivers to hire staff for their seasonal needs.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Chesapeake Bay Shows Signs Of Health, Despite Historic Rains And Climate Change

April 3, 2019 — There’s good news for the Chesapeake Bay this year. Underwater grasses are at the highest level on record — an important sign of water quality. Blue crabs are being harvested at a sustainable level — meaning there are enough to feed hungry Marylanders while still leaving plenty in the water to reproduce. More than a million acres of land in the Chesapeake watershed have been permanently protected from development since 2010 — preventing the polluted runoff associated with building houses, roads and shopping centers.

The latest barometer of the Chesapeake’s health, released today, shows that by many indicators, the bay is on track to reach restoration goals. Those goals were set by a 2014 agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the six states (plus D.C.!) that make up the watershed. The region is supposed to meet the goals by 2025.

“Over the last year, we’ve seen records broken,” said Dana Aunkst, director of the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which released the annual report. He cited the record 100,000-acres-plus of underwater grasses in the bay — the most, since records began 30 years ago. He also pointed to data showing overall water quality at its highest level recorded.

But by some metrics there is a long ways to go toward full restoration, according to the report. Plus, there are factors working against bay restoration. Top among them: climate change. For the first time, the bay barometer report includes a section on climate.

Read the full story at WAMU

 

Maryland legislators increase protection for oyster sanctuaries in 5 Bay tributaries

April 1, 2019 — Oyster sanctuaries in five Chesapeake Bay tributaries selected by Maryland for large-scale restoration projects will get an extra level of protection from commercial harvest under legislation approved in Annapolis this week.

Maryland lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that requires legislative approval to alter the sanctuaries where major reef restoration work is either completed, under way or planned. It now goes to Gov. Larry Hogan.

The bill, backed by the General Assembly’s leadership and by environmental groups, passed the Senate by a vote of 32 to 14. The House had approved it nearly two weeks earlier, 98 to 40.

Alison Prost, Maryland executive director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, issued a statement hailing its passage.

“This legislation is crucial to the recovery of Maryland’s oyster population,” she said, adding that the bivalves are the foundation of the Bay ecosystem. They filter the water, and the reefs they build with their shells provide habitat for fish, crabs and other aquatic creatures.

As part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, Maryland pledged nearly five years ago to restore oyster populations in five of its Bay tributaries by 2025. Restoration is essentially complete in Harris Creek and in various stages of construction or planning in the other four — the Tred Avon, Little Choptank, St. Mary’s and Manokin rivers.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Eating Fish May Help City Kids With Asthma Breathe Better

April 1, 2019 — It’s long been known that air pollution influences the risk — and severity — of asthma. Now, there’s emerging evidence that diet can play a role, too.

A new study finds that higher consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines and lake trout, and in some plant sources such as walnuts and flaxseed, is linked to reduced asthma symptoms in city kids who are exposed to fairly high levels of indoor air pollution.

“We know that asthma is a disease that’s driven by inflammation,” explains Dr. Emily Brigham, a pulmonologist at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of the study. As our bodies digest fish, the omega-3 fatty acids generate byproduct molecules known as “pro-resolving mediators” that make their way into our lungs. “They help to resolve inflammation,” Brigham says.

Given this anti-inflammatory effect, Brigham and her colleagues had a hunch that diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids may help attenuate the effects of air pollution on kids’ symptoms. To study this, they tracked the diets and indoor air pollution levels (from sources including smoke, dust and allergens) in the homes of 135 children, mostly African-American and all with asthma, in Baltimore, Md.

They measured two types of indoor air pollution, made up of different sizes of particulate matter: PM2.5 (fine inhalable particles that are 2.5 micrometers or smaller), and the somewhat larger PM10. These particulates are all too small for us to see, but they can make their way into our airways, and the smaller size — PM2.5 — can lodge deeply inside our lungs.

Read the full story at New England Public Radio