Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: Menhaden landings pacing below disputed cap

August 8, 2018 — Chesapeake Bay landings of menhaden are coming in at a pace well below a controversial cap imposed by an interstate fisheries commission, Virginia Marine Resources Commissioner Steven Bowman said.

As of the end of June, landings for the so-called reduction fishery came in at 24,000 metric tons, Bowman told the management board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) this week.

He said that meant landings this year would almost certainly come in below the 51,000-ton cap the interstate commission imposed last year — a cut of more than 40 percent that the General Assembly balked at adopting.

Bowman, joined by Maryland’s director of fisheries, asked the board to hold off declaring that Virginia was not in compliance with the cap because the General Assembly had not written the 51,000-ton limit into state law.

That finding, if adopted by the commission and accepted by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, could shut down the menhaden fishery, which employs about 300 people working on Omega Protein’s fishing boats and its processing plant in Reedville, on the Northern Neck. While the cap applies only to menhaden caught by the big “purse seine” vessels Omega operates to catch fish to be processed for oil and fish meal, board members said a finding of noncompliance could shut down the bait fishery, in which smaller operators use a different technique to catch fish used by crabbers and in commercial fin-fisheries

Instead, Bowman and Blazer proposed that the commission find Virginia out of compliance if landings this year actually exceeded 51,000 tons.

That effort failed, but the board decided to delay until February acting on an alternative declaring Virginia out of compliance.

Omega spokesman Ben Landry said he believed the menhaden board’s decision to delay acting reflected commissioners’ new-found concern, underlined by NOAA’s Lynch, about the scientific basis for the cap.

“We have no intention of blowing past the 51,000,” he said. “But it’s an artificial number … our concern is flexibility; if there are storms out in the ocean, we’d like to be able to come into the bay.”

Read the full story at the Daily Press

MASSACHUSETTS: Thousands of fish found dead on banks of Mystic River

August 6, 2018 –Last week about 40,000-50,000 Atlantic menhaden (pogies) were found dead along the Mystic River in Everett and Somerville, MA.

There are no perpetrators responsible for the mortality. Menhaden are victims of their own success, flourishing in large, dense schools that can cause them to “suffocate” and die off from lack of oxygen.

David Pierce, director of Massachusetts Marine Fisheries said, “When large schools of fish enter warmwater estuaries and rivers in large numbers during the summer months, they can deplete the water’s dissolved oxygen, making survival impossible. Oxygen must pass across and through fish gills, and when used up by tightly-packed fish in shallow waters, the inevitable occurs.”

Pierce said, “Management and regulation of menhaden is overseen by the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), having adopted compliance criteria of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Menhaden Plan and approaches best suited for the Massachusetts menhaden fishing industry. Our commercial quotas were raised this year due to high menhaden abundance finally re-establishing itself north of Cape Cod and (somewhat expectedly) causing re-occurrences of past years’ typical hot-weather kills – over 20 years ago.”

Read the full story at The Sun Chronicle

ASMFC 2018 Summer Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

August 2, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2018-summer-meeting for the following Boards/Sections (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2018SummerMeeting/2018SummerMeetingSupplemental.pdf.

Executive Committee – Delaware Appeal Criterion 1 Clarification

Atlantic Herring Section – SARC 65 DRAFT Atlantic Herring Assessment for 2018 and Public Commen

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Public Comment

American Eel Management Board – Technical Committee Task List and Maryland Update of 2017 Eel Harvest

Coastal Sharks Management Board –  Technical Committee Task List &  Draft Addendum V

Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Technical Committee Task List; Memo on 2019 Summer Flounder Recreational Management; FMP Reviews for Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Atlantic Croaker & Spot Traffic Light Analysis Update Results; Atlantic Croaker and Spot Plan Development Team Recommendations for Management Response; FMP Reviews for Atlantic Croaker and Red Drum; Technical Committee Task List

As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning August 7th at 10:15 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:45 p.m.) on August 9th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Go here – https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3101304879756771073 – to register for the webinar.

Massachusetts: Thousands of pogies washed up in Everett, but it’s due to natural causes

July 27, 2018 — Thousands of dead fish washed up in the Mystic River in Everett and Somerville this week, blanketing the muddy shorelines and emanating a stench that customers and employees at a nearby Costco store said could be whiffed from the parking lot.

But city and state officials, as well as local environmentalists, said Thursday that while the sight was alarming, the fish had died due to natural causes.

Patrick Herron, executive director of the Mystic River Watershed Association, said the Department of Environmental Protection and state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife were investigating what he called a “die-off” that left tens of thousands of menhaden — or, as they’re more commonly known, “pogies” — in the area.

Herron said the likely explanation is that the fish were driven into the shallow, warmer waters by a predator. Once in that area of the river, the fish depleted the oxygen supply and ultimately perished, he said.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

 

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