Saving Seafood

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel Meeting September 7-8, 2016

August 4, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) intends to hold a meeting of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel (AP) on September 7-8, 2016, at the Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910.  The AP meeting and webinar will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Wednesday and Thursday, September 7 and September 8, 2016.

On Wednesday, September 7, 2016, the conference call information is phone number 1-888-469-2188; Participant Code: 7954019; and the webinar event address is: https://noaaevents2.webex.com/noaaevents2/onstage/g.php?MTID=eec1bb32466dd8905125c5db01b539623; event password: NOAA.

On Thursday, September 8, 2016, the conference call information is phone number 1-888-469-2188; Participant Code: 7954019; and the webinar event address is:  https://noaaevents2.webex.com/noaaevents2/onstage/g.php?MTID=e9fcef19f3c43ce6255dfad07807a71f4 ; event password: NOAA.

Participants are strongly encouraged to log/dial in 15 minutes prior to the meeting.  NMFS will show the presentations via webinar and allow public comment during identified times on the agenda.

The intent of this meeting is to consider alternatives for the conservation and management of all Atlantic tunas, swordfish, billfish, and shark fisheries.  We anticipate discussing the results of the 2016 dusky shark stock assessment and the Amendment 5b timeline; Draft Amendment 10 on Essential Fish Habitat, including potential Habitat Areas of Particular Concern; implementation updates for Final Amendment 7 on bluefin tuna management; and progress updates on various other rulemakings, including archival tag requirements, blacknose and small coastal shark management; domestic implementation of recommendations from the 2015 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas; and potential changes to limited access vessel upgrading requirements and Individual Bluefin Quota program inseason transfer criteria.  We also anticipate discussing recreational topics regarding data collection and economic surveys, as well as progress updates regarding the exempted fishing permit request to conduct research in pelagic longline closed areas.  Finally, we also intend to invite other NMFS offices to provide updates on their activities relevant to HMS fisheries.

NOAA Recommends $9 Million in Funding for Community-based Habitat Restoration

July 25, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA is recommending $9 million in funding for 17 coastal and marine habitat restoration projects for its 2016 Community-based Restoration Program, as part of agency efforts to support healthy ecosystems and resilient coastal communities.

The recommended projects, in 10 states and territories, range from coral reef restoration in Florida to fish passage improvements in California. In the Greater Atlantic region, there are four recommended projects in Massachusetts, one in Maine, and one in Maryland.

This year’s projects will restore habitat for a variety of coastal and marine species, including three of NOAA Fisheries’ highly at-risk “Species in the Spotlight” – Atlantic salmon, Central California Coast coho, and Sacramento River winter-run Chinook. Projects will also concentrate on habitat improvement in two of NOAA’s Habitat Focus Areas – Puerto Rico’s Culebra Island, and West Hawaii – where agency and partner efforts can come together to yield community and environmental benefits.

“These restoration projects are a win-win for the environment and surrounding communities,” said Pat Montanio, director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation. “When we make smart investments in habitat restoration, we not only help sustain fisheries and recover protected resources, we also use these projects to provide additional benefits, like protecting coastal communities from flooding and erosion, and boosting local economies through increased recreational opportunities.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Community-based Restoration Program, which was established in 1996 and authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006. Since the program’s beginning, NOAA has provided more than $140 million to implement more than 2,000 habitat restoration projects, all through strong partnerships with more than 2,500 organizations. Through the program and the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NOAA and its partners are helping to create healthy habitats and resilient fish populations in the United States.

At this point in the selection process, the application approval and obligation of funds is not final. Each of the 17 applications is being “recommended” and is not a guarantee of funding. Final approval is subject to funding availability as well as final review and approval by both the NOAA Grants Management Division and Department of Commerce Federal Assistance Law Division. Applicants should expect to receive formal notification of award approval by October 1.

Details about the 17 projects recommended for funding are available on the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation website.

MARYLAND: More sturgeon turn up in Bay, raising new questions – and worry

July 13, 2016 — For years, scientists thought there might not be any native Atlantic sturgeon in the Chesapeake Bay. That idea changed in recent years, as biologists began netting hundreds of adults in the James River, and others began turning up in other tributaries.

Now, genetic analyses show the Chesapeake is home to at least two — and possibly more — distinct populations of the endangered fish.

DNA analysis shows that James River sturgeon and those recently found spawning next door in the Pamunkey River, a tributary of the York River, are not even particularly closely related, despite their geographic proximity.

The 138 Pamunkey fish sampled seem more closely related to what could be a third population farther up, and across, the Bay in the Nanticoke River where 15 adult fish have been caught — and released — the last two years.

It’s too early to say whether the sturgeon netted in the Nanticoke and its tributaries constitute a unique population, said Tim King, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey who did the genetic analysis. King said he would like at least 25–30 samples before offering a more concrete opinion about the Nanticoke sturgeon.

“It is way too early to draw any conclusions,” King said. “But it would seem that they are not James fish. They are genetically more similar to the Pamunkey fish than they are the James, but I am not willing to say that they are Pamunkey fish.”

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

How to Find Out If the Crabs You’re Eating Are Local

July 5, 2016 — Seafood traceability is a global concern—and the bay isn’t exempt: The crab on Chesapeake menus may come from elsewhere in the country, or might be an entirely different species from Asia. Here are a few tips for determining whether the crab you’re eating is local.

Know your species

Callinectes sapidus, Atlantic blue crab, is harvested from the bay as well as the Carolinas and the Gulf. The usually cheaper Portunus pelagicus, Asian blue swimming crab, is imported. Beware ambiguous descriptors such as “blue crab” (versus “Chesapeake blue crab” or “local blue crab”) and, in preparations like crabcakes, “Chesapeake-style.”

Know your season

Legally, the Chesapeake crab harvest runs from April to mid-December, with the fattest, heaviest crabs typically arriving in late summer/early fall. Those Memorial Day–weekend jumbos? Likely not local.

Read the full story in the Washingtonian 

Public invited to Open Houses on Draft Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan

July 5, 2016 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean:

WHAT: The Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body (RPB) invites ocean stakeholders and the interested public to attend a series of Open Houses to be held across the region on the Draft Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan. The Draft Plan outlines a series of actions on how federal and state agencies, tribes and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council may better collaborate to ensure healthy, productive, and resilient marine ecosystems and sustainable ocean uses in the Mid-Atlantic, including state and federal waters off Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. An opportunity to provide public comment on the Draft Plan will be provided.

Prior to the Open Houses, the draft Plan will be available at:

http://www.boem.gov/Ocean-Action-Plan/

WHO: The Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body (MidA RPB) is made up of representatives from Federal, State, and Tribal entities and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. It was established in 2013 to implement and advance ocean planning through improved inter- governmental coordination and stronger engagement of stakeholders, the general public, and scientific, business and technical experts to identify and address issues of importance to the region. The Open Houses will be hosted by MARCO1 on behalf of the MidA RPB.

LEARN MORE: www.MidAtlanticOcean.org/YourOceanPlan\

WHEN and WHERE:

Virginia Open House

Tuesday, July 12, 2016. 6-8pm

Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center
717 General Booth Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23451

New Jersey Open House

Thursday, July 14, 2016. 6-8pm

See the full advisory here

MARYLAND: Striped bass poachers banned from fishery for life

June 29, 2016 — EASTON, Md. — Two Talbot County Watermen received lifetime bans from the striped bass fishery by the Maryland Department of Natural Resource (DNR) after being convicted of poaching and selling nearly $500,000 of striped bass over a period of four years.

Tilghman Island watermen Michael D. Hayden Jr. and William J. Lednum were convicted in 2015 and 2014, respectively, of running an illegal striped bass operation.

In addition to the $498,000 in court-ordered restitution to the state of Maryland, both Hayden and Lednum received lifetime revocations of their striped bass fishing licenses and were suspended from all commercial fishing activities for the next year, followed by a four-year probationary period in all other fisheries, according to DNR.

Their striped bass allocations are being returned to the commercial fishery.

“The department has acted to protect the species as well as the interests of those who rely on the striped bass fishery for their livelihood,” said DNR Secretary Mark Belton. “We hope this sends a strong signal to poachers that the state is serious about protecting the fishery.”

Read the full story at the Star Democrat

MARYLAND: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Considers Menhaden Regulation Changes

June 24, 2016 — FISHING CREEK, Md. — Life is about to possibly get easier for menhaden fisherman in Maryland.  Menhaden, a popular bait fish, are regulated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, or ASMFC.  Several years ago, an ASMFC report indicated that the menhaden stock was being overfished.  However, a report that came out a year ago showed that the fishery was in fact strong.  The ASMFC is now undoing some of the regulations it passed to protect the species.

It has been years since the ASMFC said that menhaden over fishing was occurring.  One lawsuit and several years later, watermen are still feeling the effects of the regulations put in place to protect the species.

“When they cut us 20 percent, some of our buyers went to alternative bait like razor clams and the price of bait went up.  They went somewhere else so it has really hurt our industry.  We can’t sell as much as we were before,” said Boo Powley, a fifth generation waterman.

Read and watch the full story at WBOC

Long slog ahead for new attempt to move shad past Conowingo, other dams

June 15, 2016 — Leon Senft remembers a time when he and other fishermen lined the shore of the Susquehanna River below the Conowingo Dam and hooked American shad almost as fast as they could cast their lines in the churning water.

“We really had a bonanza there for a while,” recalled Senft, 85, who’s been angling for the big migratory fish longer than most people are alive. “It was not unusual to catch 50–100 a day. My personal best was 175.”

That catch-and-release heyday for Senft was maybe 20 years ago, when American shad appeared to be on the rebound from a severe decline in their springtime spawning runs. Optimism abounded, as a big new fishlift hoisted more and more of them over the 94-foot dam on their way upriver to reproduce.

But the rebound went off the rails. Although the number of American shad getting a lift over Conowingo rose steadily for a decade, it then dropped and kept dropping.

Now, after years of study and negotiations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Exelon Corp., Conowingo’s owner, have come up with a new plan for rebuilding the Susquehanna’s runs of American shad and river herring — related species that are even more depleted. In a press release announcing the deal in April, a federal wildlife official called it “a victory for everyone who lives or recreates on the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay.”

But those close to the situation are still cautious. Given the discouraging track record so far, they say, bringing these fish back will take a sustained effort for decades — if it can be done at all.

“I was around when we did this last time, 25 years ago,” said Bill Goldsborough, senior fisheries scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “We thought that was going to do a lot more than it did.”

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Journal

Horseshoe crabs crawl back

June 6, 2016 — Every spring, John Rodenhausen looks forward to seeing a few horseshoe crabs on the beach at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s headquarters outside Annapolis.

This year, Rodenhausen said, thousands of the prehistoric-looking creatures, which resemble spiders more than crabs, were mating on the Annapolis beach in late May. As is their wont, the smaller males attached to the larger female, sometimes four to five at a time — one large carapace surrounded by smaller ones, like points on a star.

“It blew us all away,” said Rodenhausen, the foundation’s Maryland development director. “You’ll always see a few, and you might see a dozen, but we saw thousands. And it wasn’t even a full moon.”

Citizens and scientists are documenting large numbers of the spike-tailed, helmet-shelled creatures on Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay beaches. The uptick could be a sign that once-unpopular management restrictions are working and could help secure a future for the Atlantic Limulus polyphemus, long prized for what it could do for other species instead of for its own virtues.

The eggs that female horseshoe crabs lay on beaches feed large quantities of shorebirds, which can double their weight in two weeks of feasting, helping them to fly halfway around the world. Their copper-rich, blue blood can save human lives; scientists use a chemical found only in the species’ blood to test for bacteria and identify potentially lethal contaminations in intravenous medications. For decades, companies took the animals to grind into fertilizer and raise food. Fishermen backed their trucks up to crab-rich beaches and took what they wanted to use as bait in the conch and eel fisheries.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal 

Chesapeake Bay health improves in 2015

May 18, 2016 — The overall health of Chesapeake Bay improved in 2015, according to scientists at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The largest estuary in the nation scored a C (53%) in 2015, one of the three highest scores since 1986. Only 1992 and 2002 scored as high or higher, both years of major sustained droughts.

“We’d expect to see improvements after a drought year because nutrients aren’t being washed into the Bay, fueling algae blooms and poor water quality,” said Bill Dennison, Vice President for Science Applications at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. “However, in 2015 stream flow was below normal, but nowhere near the drought conditions in 1992 and 2002. Thus, the high score for 2015 indicates that we’re making progress reducing what’s coming off the land.”

The overall score for the Chesapeake Bay Health Index for 2015 was 53%, compared with 50% in 2014 and 45% in 2013. There were strong improvements in many regions throughout the Bay, such as the Choptank River, Upper Eastern Shore, Lower Western Shore, and the Rappahannock River. There were no regions that had lower scores in 2015 compared to 2014. Improvements could be related to a number of factors, including several years of moderate weather, sewage treatment upgrades, use of winter cover crops by farmers, and reductions in atmospheric nitrogen deposition.

Read the full story at Science Daily