Saving Seafood

NEW YORK: State legislation would ban big boats from menhaden fishery

June 14, 2018 — The clock is ticking on an effort by local baymen to maintain a sustainable local fishery for Atlantic menhaden through legislation that would ban large commercial purse seine boats from gobbling up the state’s newly expanded quota.

New York’s previously low annual quota for the bait fish, also known as bunker, has largely kept industrial purse seine boats out of the state fishery. The state quota had stood at 250,000 pounds for the entire year. But this year, the state’s allotment was increased to 3.4 million pounds as menhaden fisheries have been rebuilt.

A bill by Assemb. Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) that has already passed the State Assembly would ban purse seining boats from operating in state waters. A Senate version of the bill is sponsored by Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson). It would take effect in 2020.

Local baymen using small-scale nets and fish traps have been the primary state harvesters of bunker, selling them as bait for lobster traps and sport fishing. They’ve also harvested the fish for local towns to prevent massive die-offs that have polluted rivers, bays and beaches over the past several years.

Read the full story at Newsday

ASMFC: April/May 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available

June 1, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The April/May 2018  issue of Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5b103db7FishFocusAprilMay2018.pdf.

Upcoming Meetings

page 2

From the Executive
Director’s Desk 

Black Sea Bass: Seeking Solutions through Compromise

page 3

Species Profile

Atlantic Sturgeon

page 4

Fishery Management Actions 

Atlantic Menhaden

Black Drum

Black Sea Bass

page 6

Science Highlight

ASMFC Habitat Committee Revisits 20-Year Policy on Submerged Aquatic Vegetation

page 7

On the Legislative Front

page 8

Comings & Goings

page 9

Proposed Management Action

American Eel

page 11

In the News: Maine’s Elver Fishery Shuts Down

page 11

ACCSP Update

FY19 Proposals Due June 11

ACCSP Releases 2017 Annual Report

page 13

Employees of the Quarter Named

page 14

 

Virginia at odds with fisheries commission over cap for menhaden caught in Bay

May 31, 2018 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission warned Virginia in May that the state could soon face action for failing to adopt new menhaden harvest limits established late last year — a process that could lead to a complete closing of its menhaden fishery.

Specifically, Virginia has not established a 51,000 metric ton harvest cap for menhaden caught within the Chesapeake Bay by the Omega Protein reduction fishery based in Reedville, VA.

Last fall, the ASMFC increased the allowable coastwide catch of menhaden by 8 percent, but changed how it was distributed among the coast, which slightly decreased the limit for Virginia. The state is able to make up for the reduced catch through a system that allows it to acquire unused allocations from other states. But as part of its action, the commission also lowered the cap on how much of the state’s total harvest could come out of the Bay.

The Bay cap only affects Omega’s reduction fishery, which catches large amounts of menhaden and “reduces” the fish into other products, such as fish oil supplements and animal feed. The Bay cap does not affect operations that catch menhaden for bait in other fisheries.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

 

Virginia: State Sen. Monty Mason named to ASMFC

May 8, 2018 — Gov. Ralph Northam has named state Sen. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a regional body that coordinates the conservation and management of 27 species of fish.

The commission’s efforts with one species — menhaden — sparked controversy in the General Assembly this year, when Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, proposed bills to write its sharp cut in Chesapeake Bay landings of the fish into state law. Northam supported the measures, but they did not make it out of the House of Delegates.

Menhaden is the one species directly regulated by the General Assembly; other fisheries are managed by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Last year, the commission approved a 41.5 percent cut — more than 36,000 metric tons — in the bay quota for menhaden caught by drawing huge seine nets around schools of the fish and then hauling them up onto so-called “purse seine” fishing vessels.

Read the full story at the Daily Press

 

Omega Protein critical of ASMFC actions on Chesapeake menhaden

May 7, 2018 — A spokesman for Omega Protein said his company took exception to the statement released last week by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that put Virginia on notice for not implementing a reduced catch limit for menhaden in Chesapeake Bay.

Ben Landry, Omega Protein’s director of public affairs, told SeafoodSource that the commission’s decision last November to reduce the Chesapeake Bay cap by more than 36,000 metric tons was “devoid of science.” The company processes menhaden at its Reedville, Virginia facility, which sits on the western shore of the bay.

“We feel that it’s targeting one company, which is what this provision applies to Omega,” said Landry, noting that there are no caps for the bait fishery. “It’s not in accordance with the best available science. It’s not necessary for the conservation of the species because it’s not overfished.”

Across the ASMFC’s jurisdiction, the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board raised the total allowable catch to 216,000 metric tons for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, representing an eight percent increase. However, the limit for Chesapeake Bay was set for just 51,000 metric tons.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

ASMFC puts Virginia on notice regarding menhaden limits in Chesapeake Bay

May 4, 2018 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has put the state of Virginia on notice regarding the menhaden fishery in the mid-Atlantic state.

However, rather than proceeding with the next steps, the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board chose to postpone any hearing on the matter until August. That still gives Virginia lawmakers time to approve a bill that would cap the state’s harvest at 51,000 metric tons in Chesapeake Bay for this year.

“The reduction fishery is just beginning for the year and is highly unlikely to exceed the Bay cap prior to August given the performance of the fishery for the past five years,” the ASMFC said in a statement.

States were supposed to submit plans to the commission by 1 January and implement them by 15 April.

Menhaden typically is caught because of the rich omega-3 fat content. It’s often used to create nutritional supplements, but it’s also a key component in the development of fertilizers and cosmetics.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition: Setting the Record Straight on the Chesapeake Bay Cap

May 1, 2018 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

With another meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) approaching, environmental activist groups are once again circulating commonly repeated falsehoods about the sustainable and responsibly managed Atlantic menhaden fishery.

On April 26, the Pew Charitable Trusts released an analysis including several questionable claims. Most prominently, the piece argues that the menhaden fishery is causing localized depletion in the Chesapeake Bay, and that the fishery is catching too many juvenile menhaden. Neither of these claims, which the analysis uses to justify a cap on the amount of menhaden that can be caught in the Bay, is supported by the latest data from the ASMFC.

Menhaden fishery does not target juveniles

Juvenile menhaden, along with menhaden eggs and larvae, serve as just one of many food sources for species like striped bass and bluefish. They are also not directly targeted by the menhaden fishery. Data from the most recent ASMFC stock assessment shows clearly that the menhaden fishery harvests only a small percentage of menhaden under the age of two, and that the overwhelming majority of the menhaden catch caught in the Chesapeake Bay comprise fish age two and older, which are sexually mature fish.

The data from the latest stock assessment also shows that 92 percent of menhaden are not harvested by the fishery, and are instead left to fulfill their ecological role. Most of the billions of menhaden annually produced die within their first year, either through being eaten by predators or through other kinds of natural mortality.  Billions more remain to reproduce, sustain a well-managed fishery, and serve their ecological role.

There is no scientific evidence for “localized depletion”

There is also no scientific evidence supporting the idea that the menhaden fishery is taking too many from the Chesapeake Bay, a concept known as localized depletion. Localized depletion has been a red herring used by environmentalists for years and has been an issue that has been discussed by fisheries managers for over a decade. The 2005 cap on menhaden harvests in the Bay was designed as an interim, precautionary measure while the Commission studied the potential for localized depletion. However, in the years since the Bay cap was first implemented, studies into whether localized depletion is occurring have been, at best, inconclusive.

The ASMFC has repeatedly acknowledged the lack of firm evidence of localized depletion. In Amendment 3 to the Commission’s menhaden management plan, the ASMFC concluded: “Results from the peer review report in 2009 were unable to conclude localized depletion is occurring in the Chesapeake Bay and noted that, given the high mobility of menhaden, the potential for localized depletion could only occur on a ‘relatively small scale for a relatively short time.'”

Other claims

The analysis argues that menhaden are a critical prey for striped bass, which it describes as “the target of one-third of East Coast recreational fishing trips, generating more than $6 billion in annual economic value.” In fact, a study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science found that menhaden comprise just 13%of the diet of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay.

The claim that striped bass fishing generates “more than $6 billion in annual economic value” comes from a 2005 Southwick Associates study commissioned by Stripers Forever which, like most evaluations of recreational fishing, treated consumption of goods and services which are not directly related to fishing trips (such as hotels, meals and souvenirs) as “direct” effects, even when recreational fishing comprises only part of a trip or holiday.

All evidence instead points to a menhaden fishery that is sustainably and responsibly managed. According to the most recent ASMFC stock assessment, menhaden are not overfished, and overfishing of the species is not occurring. Unfortunately, groups like Pew continue to promote an inaccurate picture of a healthy fishery.

 

In wake of menhaden quota increase, some states rejoice as others push back

April 9, 2018 — Changes to the menhaden quota allocation on the East Coast of the U.S.A. have been met by support from some states, while others are pushing back.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) decided in November 2017 to increase the menhaden catch limit from 200,000 metric tons to 216,000 metric tons for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Menhaden typically are utilized for the high amount of omega-3 fats they contain, and their oils are used dietary supplements, animal feed, lipstick, and many other products. The fish also serves as bait for a number of commercial fisheries along the coast, particularly in the crab and lobster industries.

While the overall quota was increased, it was also redistributed. Some states, like Maine, saw their quotas jump enormously.

“Maine’s quota jumped to 2.4 million pounds (1 million kilograms) – 13 times the quota available in 2016 and 2017,” said Jeff Nichols, director of communications for the Maine Department of Marine Resources. “The number of harvesters that reported landings associated with Maine’s total allowable catch (TAC) in 2017 is too few to report because of confidentiality provisions in law. However, 17 vessels participated in the episodic event fishery and 13 in the incidental catch fishery, both of which are triggered once the TAC is met.”

An episodic event was triggered last year in Maine, allowing fishermen to catch far more than the typical quota. The Interstate Fishery Management Plan for menhaden allows the Atlantic Menhaden Management board to set aside one percent of the total allowable catch for “episodic events.”

“Episodic events are defined as any instance when a qualified state has reached its individual state quota, prior to 1 September, and has information indicating the presence of unusually large amounts of menhaden in its state waters,” said Max Appelman, fishery management plan coordinator for the ASMFC.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Omega Protein to christen new menhaden vessel

April 3, 2018 — US fishmeal company Omega Protein is set to launch a new vessel to join its menhaden fishing fleet, said the firm.

The new vessel, called the F/V Vermilion, was purchased by Omega Protein in 2016 from the oil and gas industry and has been re-fitted to the tune of $5 million, the firm said. The F/V Vermilion was originally constructed in 1977 and called the Protector.

The vessel will be christened at an Omega Protein plant in Abbeville, Louisiana, by reverend Paul Bienvenu, on April 7.

Read the full story a Undercurrent News

 

Menhaden: Big Questions About Little Fish

March 16, 2018 — As a spotter plane for commercial fishing operations flies over nearshore waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the pilot keeps an eye on the surface below for shifting shapes like oil slicks.

When they appear, the pilot alerts the fleet that target Atlantic menhaden, or Brevoortia tyrannus, a small, silver fish in the herring family that lives in estuaries and coastal waters from north Florida to Nova Scotia. As the waters warm during the year, the species migrates north in football field-size schools, each up to 100 feet deep and pulsing with thousands of fish.

Menhaden on the Atlantic coast, combined with its sister species in the Gulf of Mexico, are among the top catch by volume for all commercial species in the United States, second only to pollock, a fish-n-chips mainstay.

Never gone fishing for menhaden? Haven’t seen it on the menu? You’re not alone. The catch is not a coveted dinner-plate item. As seafood guru Paul Greenberg discovered, “Menhaden are extremely high in omega-3 fatty acids and as such are quick to go rancid if not properly handled.” Plus, they’re chock full of bones.

Instead, whole fish typically are processed, or reduced, into fishmeal and oil and used in a range of products, including hog, poultry and aquaculture feeds, omega-3 supplements for humans, salad dressings, and dog food. The fish also are sold as bait to crabbers and lobstermen along the East Coast.

“It’s hard to believe you can catch a million fish, but nothing you can eat,” a Virginia menhaden fisherman told me.

Read the full story at NC State