Saving Seafood

MAINE: Fishermen, regulators disagree over cause of Brunswick fish kill

June 26, 2017 — As a massive vacuum truck from Clean Harbors traveled along the shoreline near Simpsons Point midweek to clean up rotting pogies, local fishermen were battling what they say was a raft of misinformation put forth by the state about how and why those pogies were dumped from a local fishing vessel on June 6.

On Tuesday, a day after residents of the Simpsons Point area asked town councilors to help pay for a professional cleanup of the fish, local lobsterman Steve Anderson posted a 10-minute video on YouTube, taking local media to task for only reporting part of the story and excoriating the Maine Department of Marine Resources for a quota system Anderson said simply doesn’t work.

Anderson declined requests to speak to the Bangor Daily News this week.

But Jeff Nichols, spokesman for the DMR, said Friday that Anderson “got a lot of things wrong,” including that DMR imposes the quota system. According to Nichols, while fishermen are still held to a quota,they can transfer their catch to another vessel, to act as a carrier vessel.

Quotas for Atlantic Menhaden, or pogies, are imposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and implemented by state marine resources regulators. This year’s quota allowed Maine fishermen to catch 161,000 pounds per year, then to reapply to catch more if there is still stock, as there is this year but not every year.

“We hit that [quota] at the end of May, and then we could apply for an ‘episodic event fishery’ quota triggered when there are still fish in the water,” Nichols said.

This year, fishermen were granted additional quotas of 120,000 pounds per day per boat, Nichols said.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

U.S. Gulf and Atlantic Menhaden Fisheries Enter MSC Sustainability Assessment

June 15, 2017 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has announced that the U.S. Atlantic menhaden and U.S. Gulf of Mexico menhaden fisheries have entered the evaluation process in order to acquire the respected blue ecolabel for sustainable fishing. The assessments are being conducted by third-party independent auditors SAI Global at the request of Omega Protein.

Menhaden are caught commercially via the modern purse seine reduction method.  They are used in fishmeal and fish oil for human and animal nutrition, due to their high natural concentration of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Menhaden are also valuable as bait for fishers targeting other commercially valuable species, such as lobster.

Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) appear in estuaries and coastal waters from northern Florida to Nova Scotia. 

Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) have a similar biology to Atlantic menhaden. They have a Gulf-wide range, from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, across the western and northern Gulf to eastern Florida. Adults are found in nearshore waters and lower bays, while juveniles are found in fresh and brackish estuaries and rivers.

The second largest US fishery

Between the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the U.S. menhaden fishery is the second largest in the country by weight, trailing only Alaska pollock.

Commercial landings of Atlantic menhaden peaked in the 1950s, while commercial landings of Gulf menhaden peaked in the early 1980s.

“The MSC blue ecolabel is the gold standard for sustainable fishing worldwide. We are extremely proud of the work we’ve done to conduct our fishing operations sustainably, and we’re excited to share this work with the auditors as they undertake this assessment to the MSC Standard,” said Ben Landry, the Director of Public Affairs for Omega Protein. “We are confident that the menhaden fishery will meet the MSC Standard, recognizing its advances in responsible harvesting methods as we continue to pursue the most sustainable fishing practices available.”

Eric Critchlow, MSC U.S. program director, said, “We welcome the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic menhaden purse seine fisheries’ decision to enter MSC assessment. This is an important milestone for the MSC and for fishing in the United States.”

MSC’s Standard for Sustainable Fishing

The MSC Fisheries Standard is designed to assess the sustainability of fishery practices and management methods. The standards used to evaluate fisheries have been developed in deliberation with scientists, industry, and conservation groups, and reflect the most up-to-date fisheries science and management practices.

The MSC Standard is based on three core principles that every fishery must meet in order to be MSC certified:

  1. Sustainable fish stocks: Fishing activity must be at a level which ensures it can continue indefinitely.
  2. Minimizing environmental impact: Fishing operations must be managed to maintain the structure, productivity, function, and diversity of the ecosystem.
  3. Effective Management: The fishery must comply with relevant laws and have a management system that is responsive to changing circumstances.

The assessment is being carried out by the certification body SAI Global Assurance Services and has an expected completion date of December 2017. The MSC assessment process is open for public input. Those interested in the menhaden fishery can participate by contacting Jean Ragg at Jean.Ragg@saiglobal.com.

About Omega Protein

Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE: OME) a century old nutritional product company that develops, produces and delivers healthy products throughout the world to improve the nutritional integrity of foods, dietary supplements and animal feeds. Omega Protein’s mission is to help people lead healthier lives with better nutrition through sustainably sourced ingredients such as highly-refined specialty oils, specialty proteins products and nutraceuticals. 

The Company operates seven manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada and Europe. The Company also uses over 30 vessels to harvest menhaden, a fish abundantly found off of the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Its website is www.omegaprotein.com.

About the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) 

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization. Its vision is for the world’s oceans to be teeming with life, and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations. The MSC certification program recognizes and rewards sustainable fishing practices and is helping create a more sustainable seafood market.

The blue MSC label on a seafood product means that:

  • It comes from a wild-catch fishery which has been independently certified to the MSC’s science-based standard for environmentally sustainable fishing.
  • It’s fully traceable to a sustainable source.

More than 300 fisheries in over 35 countries are certified to the MSC’s Standard. These fisheries have a combined annual seafood production of almost 10 million metric tons, representing close to 12% of annual global marine harvest. More than 25,000 seafood products worldwide carry the blue MSC label. msc.org

U.S. Gulf and Atlantic Menhaden Fisheries Enter MSC Sustainability Assessment

HOUSTON — June 15, 2017 — The following was released today by Omega Protein:

Last week, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that the U.S. Atlantic menhaden and U.S. Gulf of Mexico menhaden fisheries have entered the evaluation process in order to acquire the respected blue ecolabel for sustainable fishing. The assessments are being conducted by third-party independent auditors SAI Global at the request of Omega Protein.

Atlantic Menhaden

Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) are small, oily fish that are caught commercially in a fish meal and fish oil fishery and a bait fishery. They appear in estuaries and coastal waters from northern Florida to Nova Scotia. While considered unfit for direct human consumption, menhaden caught via the modern purse seine method are used in fish meal and fish oil for human and animal nutrition, due to their high natural concentration of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Menhaden are also valuable as bait for fishermen targeting other commercially valuable species, such as lobster.

Gulf Menhaden

Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) have a similar biology to Atlantic menhaden and are also caught in both a fish meal and fish oil fishery and a bait fishery. They have a Gulf-wide range, from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, across the western and northern Gulf to eastern Florida. Adults are found in nearshore waters and lower bays, while juveniles are found in fresh and brackish estuaries and rivers.

The Second Largest U.S. Fishery

Between the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the U.S. menhaden fishery is the second largest in the country by weight, trailing only Alaska pollock. The purse seine fishery is notable for being extremely clean; according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office, it is “one of the most selective, and effective fisheries,” as evidenced by an insignificant bycatch.

Commercial landings of Atlantic menhaden peaked in the 1950s, while commercial landings of Gulf menhaden peaked in the early 1980s. Harvest levels of menhaden have significantly decreased, essentially tracking fishing effort, since those high points, and the most recent stock assessments of Gulf menhaden and Atlantic menhaden confirm that neither species is undergoing overfishing or being overfished.

Statements from Omega Protein and MSC

“The MSC blue ecolabel is the gold standard for sustainable fishing worldwide. We are extremely proud of the work we’ve done to conduct our fishing operations sustainably, and we’re excited to share this work with the auditors as they undertake this assessment to the MSC Standard,” said Ben Landry, the Director of Public Affairs for Omega Protein. “We are confident that the menhaden fishery will meet the MSC Standard, recognizing its advances in responsible harvesting methods as we continue to pursue the most sustainable fishing practices available.”

“We welcome the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic menhaden purse seine fisheries’ decision to enter MSC assessment,” said Eric Critchlow, MSC U.S. program director. “This is an important milestone for the MSC and for fishing in the United States.”

MSC’s Standard for Sustainable Fishing

The MSC Fisheries Standard is designed to assess the sustainability of fishery practices and management methods. The standards used to evaluate fisheries have been developed in deliberation with scientists, industry, and conservation groups, and reflect the most up-to-date fisheries science and management practices.

The MSC Standard is based on three core principles that every fishery must meet in order to be MSC certified:

  1. Sustainable fish stocks: Fishing activity must be at a level which ensures it can continue indefinitely.
  2. Minimizing environmental impact: Fishing operations must be managed to maintain the structure, productivity, function, and diversity of the ecosystem.
  3. Effective Management: The fishery must comply with relevant laws and have a management system that is responsive to changing circumstances.

The assessment is being carried out by the certification body SAI Global Assurance Services and has an expected completion date of December 2017. The MSC assessment process is open for public input. Those interested in the menhaden fishery can participate by contacting Jean Ragg at Jean.Ragg@saiglobal.com.

BEN LANDRY: Assertions about menhaden population were a bit fishy

May 1, 2017 — In his recent Bay Journal op-ed, Don’t let menhaden become a case of could have, should have, would have, March 2017, Bill Bartlett claims that menhaden are both scarce and unregulated in the Chesapeake Bay.

Neither assertion is true according to the latest and best science on menhaden. This data instead indicate that this species is being managed sustainably and responsibly.

The late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously stated that everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Because a column appears in the op-ed section does not excuse it from journalistic obligations of fact-checking and accuracy. Let’s look at the facts along with supporting citations.

Bartlett believes “the [Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission] lets people have their say about menhaden and then does nothing or very little” to properly manage the species. This could not be further from the case – the ASMFC bases its very precautionary management decisions on the most up-to-date scientific standards. The evidence points to that management being quite conservative: According to the most recent stock assessment report on Atlantic menhaden, menhaden are not overfished, nor are they experiencing overfishing. The commission deemed the species to be so healthy that the quota was actually increased 10 percent. Analysis from ASMFC experts indicated that the quota could have been increased by as much as 40 percent without the risk of overfishing the stock.

Read the full opinion piece at the Bay Journal

VIRGINIA: Blessing of the Fleet slated May 7

April 26, 2017 — The community is invited to participate in the 47th annual Blessing of the Fleet at 4 p.m. May 7 at the Old Morris-Fisher Factory Tall Stack site, Omega Protein, 610 Menhaden Road, Reedville, rain or shine.

This is a time-honored tradition meant to recognize the Northern Neck’s sea-going heritage, reported committee member Janet Lewis. Sponsored by St. Mary’s Church-Fleeton, Omega Protein Inc. and the Reedville Fisherman’s Museum, the blessing marks the opening of the fishing season on the Chesapeake Bay.

The Rev. Sandi Mizirl, rector of St. Mary’s Church invites all boaters to participate in the parade and well-wishers to gather on shore at the old tall stack property at Omega Protein off Fleeton Road. Programs will be distributed on the water by the youth skiff patrol of Jessica and Sarah Haynie.

Commercial and pleasure boats will assemble at the mouth of Cockrell’s Creek at 3:30 p.m. to join the parade led by Capt. Linwood Bowis on the Chesapeake Breeze, followed by the Reedville Fisherman’s Museum buy boat Elva C. and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission patrol boat.

Other boats will follow. The menhaden F/V John S. Dempster Jr. will be docked across the creek.

The event has evolved to include the large menhaden fleet, crab potters, fish trappers and pleasure craft from all over the area, said Lewis.

Read the full story at the Rappahannock Record

NEFMC Presents 2017 Award for Excellence to Dr. Matt Cieri

April 20, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council today presented its 2017 Janice M. Plante Award for Excellence to Dr. Matt Cieri of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). Dr. Cieri received the award in recognition of the breadth of his scientific contributions and commitment to the Council process.

Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn said, “Dr. Cieri has devoted almost his entire professional career to the betterment of Atlantic herring science and management. He’s contributed extensively to the Council’s Atlantic Herring Plan Development Team and to herring stock assessments, and he’s been heavily involved with quota monitoring, which has helped us track catch trends and quota utilization in this important fishery.”

Dr. Cieri is a Marine Resource Scientist III at Maine DMR. He earned a Master of Science degree from Rutgers University and a PhD from the University of Maine. He oversees several programs and personnel within DMR, ranging from the Maine/New Hampshire Trawl Survey to Recreational Fishery Monitoring. He is well versed in a number of assessment models and methods. In additional to his considerable involvement with Atlantic herring, he also has contributed to assessment efforts related to monkfish, dogfish, groundfish, American eels, and Atlantic menhaden.

The Plante award is the Council’s highest honor, bestowed to an individual who has produced exceptional work “to further the effectiveness of the fishery management process in New England.”

Read the full release here

When is menhaden like a mortgage?

April 7, 2017 — What do forage fish and real estate have in common? Location, location, location.

A new study led by University of Washington fishery science Professor Ray Hilborn reveals some surprising relationships between predator success and prey abundance.

The paper, “When does fishing forage species affect their predators?” was published Monday in the journal Fisheries Research in response to the 2012 Lenfest Report, which set the recent standard for forage fish management by asserting that an across-the-board reduction in the commercial harvest of forage fish would result in higher numbers of fish species that prey on them.

“It looked reasonable that if you appropriate half of the production of a prey species by a fishery that you can’t support so much production of predators,” said Carl Walters, professor emeritus of the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. “That seemed perfectly reasonable. It was just wrong.”

According to this study, prey species follow the real estate principle of investing in prime locations. When forage fish are abundant, the research shows, their population spreads over a wider area, creating smaller subpockets around a core reproduction zone. When they’re in low abundance, they retract to the core region. Successful predators keep their breeding grounds close to that core region, maintaining access to food even in times of low prey biomass.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Management Board to Meet November 14 to Consider Approval of Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan

April 5, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board will meet on November 14, 2017 (all day) to consider approval of Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The Commission’s Business Session will meet immediately following the conclusion of the Atlantic Menhaden Board meeting to consider final approval of Amendment 3. The meeting will take place in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD area. Additional details will be released well in advance of the meeting.

LOUISIANA: Season opens early for bait fish to meet demand

March 6, 2017 — The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission  announced a  Declaration of Emergency to open the commercial season for the harvest of bait menhaden starting Wednesday, March 15, 2017.

The actions on this declaration by the LWFC comes after request from the bait menhaden industry.

The commercial season for the harvest of bait menhaden typically opens on November 1 and runs through November 30 with a 3,000 metric ton quota. In the event that quota is not harvested during the normal November season, the bait season may resume April 1 of the following year.

Read the full story at KATC

Louisiana menhaden season to open March 15

March 3, 2017 — The commercial season for the harvest of bait menhaden will open March 15, the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission decided today.

The season typically runs Nov. 1-20 with a 3,000-metric-ton quota. But when quota is not harvested during the normal season, the agency can reopen the fishery April 1 of the following year.

The bait industry asked the commission to open the season two weeks earlier to meet customer demand, officials said. The quota was not met in 2016, and opening the season two weeks earlier is not expected to negatively impact the quota or regular commercial menhaden season.

Read the full story at Houma Today