Saving Seafood

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Responds to Claims of ‘Environmental Collateral Damage’ from Mission Blue – Sylvia Earle Alliance

January 29, 2015 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

A recent post from Mission Blue – Sylvia Earle Alliance (“Chesapeake Bay Suffers from Menhaden Reduction Industry”) makes several claims about the Atlantic menhaden fishery, most notably that the fishery, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay, is responsible for “environmental collateral damage.” The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition disputes this categorization, as based on the most recent assessments conducted on the menhaden stock, there is little evidence that the menhaden fishery is negatively impacting the health of the species.

Mission Blue claims that menhaden are the only species “managed directly by Virginia’s General Assembly,” and implies that menhaden are managed according to political, rather than scientific, considerations. But menhaden harvest levels are not set by the Virginia General Assembly. Instead, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an interstate scientific and management body, is responsible for setting menhaden quotas according to the latest menhaden science and stock assessments. The General Assembly, while approving and implementing the quotas within Virginia borders, do not determine what harvest levels are appropriate, and do not act contrary to the ASMFC’s scientific advice.

According to the ASMFC’s most recent 2015 stock assessment, Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing, meaning that the fishery is not significantly impacting the long-term viability of the resource. In 2015, the ASMFC even raised the coastwide menhaden quota by 10 percent, in recognition of the fishery’s sustainability. The 2015 stock assessment contains other indicators that point to the fishery being sustainable. Fishing mortality is near an all-time low. The reduction fishery is smaller and having less of an impact on the menhaden stock than at any point in its history. Fecundity is near an all-time high.

Fecundity is a particularly important measurement, as it may be one of the best metrics available to predict the future health of the stock. As the ASMFC has acknowledged, the size of the menhaden population does not have a discernible impact on the number of menhaden that actually spawn, with environmental conditions being a far better indicator than fishing for whether or not future menhaden year classes will be large enough to sustain the resource.

According to the ASMFC, “the stock-recruitment relationship observed to date is weak at best,” and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science states that “environmental conditions are likely more important than the size of spawning stock in determining reproductive success.” Ensuring that the stock is producing enough eggs—as is currently the case—is thus the best tool fisheries managers have to influence future menhaden stock size.

Considering that the Atlantic menhaden reduction fishery is smaller than at any point in its history, and is currently abiding by the scientifically determined catch levels set by interstate fisheries managers, the Menhaden Coalition finds that there is little to support the claim of “environmental collateral damage.” Evidence instead points to the fishery being responsibly and sustainably managed.

Sunken sanctuary: Former Omega Protein WWII-era vessel becomes artificial reef

December 15, 2015 — For much of the last decade, the MV Shearwater caught menhaden by the ton but in its new life, as part of the Del-Jersey-Land reef 26-miles off the coast, it will become a fish habitat and diving destination in the state’s artificial reef program.

The ship didn’t go easy into the deep last week. The stern sank first and the ship started to turn leaving just the bow out of the water. It took about six hours to fully sink after the seacocks opened and the interior compartments flooded.

The 176-foot-long vessel went down in 120 feet of water. It lays about one-half nautical mile from the 568-foot long USS Arthur W. Radford, a former Navy destroyer. The Radford was sunk at the artificial reef site in 2011 and has become a popular destination for divers and anglers.

“About three weeks ago, a state-record bluefish was caught there,” said Jeff Tinsman, the state artificial reef coordinator.

“These old freighters make ideal reefs because of the voids and cavities in them – they’re really the perfect sanctuary for fish,” Tinsman said. “But not long after this ship sinks, the fish will start to come ‘outside’ it to feed. Within a few weeks, blue mussels, sponges, barnacles and soft corals will attach themselves to the structure, and in about a year, the reef will be fully productive, for fish and fishermen alike.”

Read the full story at Delaware Online

PETER HIMCHAK: Chesapeake Bay Defense Foundation Gets it Wrong on Menhaden

December 11, 2015 — The following is a commentary by Peter Himchak, Senior Fisheries Scientist for Omega Protein, a member of the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition. Mr. Himchak served for 39 years as a fisheries biologist for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, and served on advisory and management boards for both the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC). He served on the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Sub-Committee from 1988 until 2006:

A recent Virginian-Pilot op-ed by Chesapeake Bay Defense Foundation (CBDF) Director of Public Affairs William Tabor (“A tragedy of the Chesapeake,” 11/29) contains a deeply flawed and scientifically inaccurate take on the menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay. These inaccuracies illustrate that this recently-formed organization may not have a great understanding of the menhaden fishery or basic fisheries biology. The menhaden fishery, rather than being an example of “market aggression” and “licensed plunder,” as CBDF states, is, according to all available evidence, both responsibly regulated environmentally sustainable.

Many of CBDF’s claims about the local impact of the menhaden fishery are simply not supported by the best and most current science on menhaden. CBDF advocates for banning purse seine fishing for menhaden in Virginia state waters largely over fears of localized depletion—that the menhaden fishery is taking too many menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay. But there is currently no scientific evidence that localized depletion is occurring.

Menhaden are a highly migratory species that travel to inshore and near-shore waters up and down the Atlantic coast. Nowhere has an incidence of localized depletion ever been recorded or confirmed, and many believe that the phenomenon may not even exist. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), acting out of an abundance of caution and not a scientific mandate, has already imposed a cap on how much menhaden can be harvested from the Chesapeake Bay.

Fears that that the menhaden fishery is not leaving enough food for predator species is similarly overblown. Species like striped bass and bluefish generally target younger menhaden, age 1 and under. This is a segment of the menhaden population that is not directly targeted by the fishery, which mostly harvests menhaden age 2 and older. Based on stock assessment reports and the Beaufort Assessment Model, from 2004-2013, the menhaden fishery only harvested around 3.35% of the total menhaden population. The overwhelming majority of the remaining population is consumed by predator species coastwide, and the fishery does not represent a significant threat to the coastal supply of forage.

Menhaden also do not, as CBDF claims, contribute significantly to removing the “excess algae and nutrients that clog the Bay.” As several scientific papers have confirmed, menhaden are opportunistic feeders, consuming both the phytoplankton that leads to algal blooms as well as zooplankton. However, phytoplankton is consumed primarily by younger menhaden, which are not targeted by the fishery, and represent only a small fraction of the overall harvest.

The environmental impacts of the menhaden boats and purse seine nets themselves are also greatly overstated by the op-ed. CBDF cites fears of bycatch and damage to the environment as more reasons Virginia should ban purse seining in its waters. But, because they target densely packed schools of menhaden, purse seine nets are some of the most efficient methods of harvesting fish, and bycatch from these efforts are minimal. The ASMFC acknowledged in its 2010 assessment that “it is suspected that bycatch and discards of menhaden are trivial compared to total landings.”

Purse seine nets also do not frequently interact with the seafloor, and are not a significant threat to the Bay’s corals, grass beds, or oysters. And while the op-ed is concerned with the effect of water discharge from menhaden boats, any effects from this discharge are localized, and temporary. These boats also operate with the approval of relevant regulators. Compared to the widespread and long-lasting dead zones that regularly afflict the Bay, water discharge from a handful of menhaden vessels does not represent a significant, long-term environmental threat.

The menhaden fishery is already managed according to the best available science and management practices. Virginia’s quota is set in accordance with maintaining the sustainability of the stock, and fisheries science confirms that the Chesapeake-based menhaden fleet does not have a serious negative impact on the health of either the Bay or the local menhaden population. A ban on purse seining in Virginia state waters would be both unnecessary and ineffective.

 

ASMFC 2016 Winter Meeting Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

December 9, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Winter Meeting, February 2-4, 2016 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting. Materials will be available on January 21, 2016 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

9:00 a.m. – Noon                    American Lobster Management Board

  • Technical Committee Report on the Southern New England (SNE) American Lobster Stock
  • Discuss Future Management of SNE American Lobster Stock
  • Consider Approval of Draft Addendum I to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Public Comment
  • Review and Discuss Catch and Landings Records from Jonah Crab-only Trap Fishermen and Jonah Crab Claw Fishermen
  • Discuss Action to Establish Effort Controls for Jonah Crab-only Trap Fishermen and Create a Standard for Claw Landings
  • Review Implementation Plans for the Jonah Crab FMP
  • Update on State/Federal American Lobster Observer Programs
  • Elect Vice Chair

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.                    Atlantic Herring Section

  • Consider Final Approval of Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Herring FMP Action

 

2:45 – 4:15 p.m.                 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board

  • Review 2016 Black Sea Bass Commercial Quotas
  • Consider Final Approval of Addendum XXVII
  • Update on Black Sea Bass and Summer Flounder Amendment Process
  • Elect Vice Chair

2:45 – 4:15 p.m.                Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) Executive Committee

  • Program Updates
  • Independent Program Review Update
    • Review/Approve Initial Program Standard Operating Procedures
  • Governance Recommendation

4:30 – 6:00 p.m.                 ACCSP Coordinating Council

  • Program Updates
  • Independent Program Review Update
  • Governance Recommendation

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.              Executive Committee

  • Overview of Commission Guidance Documents and Consider Recommendations to the ISFMP Policy Board for changes to the Guidance Documents
  • ACCSP Governance
  • Upcoming Annual Meetings

10:15 – 11:00 a.m.            Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

  • Update on Draft Amendment 3 Development
  • Discuss Timeline for Setting the 2017 Fishery Specifications

11:15 – 11:45 a.m.            Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board 

  • Update on Progress of 2017 Benchmark Stock Assessment

·         Consider 2016 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports for the 2013 and 2014 Fisheries

 

Noon – 12:30 p.m.           Spiny Dogfish Management Board

  • Review and Set 2016-2018 Fishery Specifications
  • Elect Vice Chair

 

1:30 – 2:15 p.m.                Coastal Sharks Management Board 

  • Discuss Differences in State and Federal Smoothhound Catch Composition Regulations for Processing at Sea

 

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.                Horseshoe Crab Management Board

  • Review Scope of Work for Revisiting the Adaptive Resource Management Framework Model in 2016
  • Discuss Benchmark Stock Assessment Schedule for Horseshoe Crab with Update on Biomedical Landings and Confidentiality
  • Review Alternative Bait Trial Results

3:45 – 4:30 p.m.                South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board                     

  • Update on the Progress of the Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment and Desk Review
  • Discuss Recommendation to the ISFMP Policy Board Regarding Spotted Sea Trout Management
  • Consider 2015 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports for Spot
  • Elect Vice Chair

4:45 – 5:45 p.m.                Tautog Management Board

  • Update on Draft Amendment 1 Development
  • Update on Progress of UConn Long Island Sound and New York/New Jersey Stock Assessments
  • Review Commercial Harvest Tagging Program Objectives

  

Thursday, February 4, 2016

8:00 – 9:00 a.m.                 Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board

  • Consider Tabled Motion from November 2015 Meeting Regarding Reconsideration of Addendum IV Management Options Based on the 2016 Stock Assessment Update Results
  • Update on 2016 Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruise
  • Elect Vice Chair 

9:15 – 10:15 a.m.              Winter Flounder Management Board

  • Review and Set 2016-2018 Fishery Specifications
  • Review and Discuss Technical Committee Report, Including an Analysis of Biomass Trends During Heightened Federal Restrictions (2009-2013)

 

10:30 – 11:30 a.m.            American Eel Management Board

  • Review and Consider North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan

 

11:45 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board

                                            (includes a 30-minute working lunch) 

  • Consider Changes to Commission Guidance Documents
  • Review Results of the 2016 Commissioner Survey
  • Review and Consider the Stock Assessment Schedule

 

2:45 – 3:15 p.m.                Business Session

  • Consider Final Approval of Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Herring FMP
  • Consider Amending the Commission’s Rules and Regulations

 

Public Comment Guidelines

With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:  

For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will use a speaker sign-up list in deciding how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak. 

For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comment will not provide additional insight to the board. 

For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.

In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).  

1.    Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included in the briefing materials.

2.    Comments received by 5:00 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be January 26, 2016) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.

3.    Following the Tuesday, January 26, 2016 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies). 

The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.  As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.

Read a PDF of the ASMFC Agenda here

NEW JERSEY: Massive school of fish fights off predators in Raritan Bay

November 16, 2015 — A group of New Jersey fishermen pulled their boat into a breathtaking scene last week and captured video of massive numbers of menhaden schooling to avoid the jaws of predator bluefish.

“My father and his friend have a combined 120 or so years of experience on the water and they had never seen anything like that,” said Nick Kita, 22, of Manville, who shot the video and posted it to Youtube. Kita also provided the video to NJ.com.

A professional photographer, Kita used both a submerged GoPro camera and an overhead drone to capture dramatic footage of the fish.

Read the full story at New Jersey Advance

 

An ‘explosion’ of menhaden

October 13, 2015 — Here’s a statistic, which is a best-guess estimate, but nonetheless difficult to wrap one’s head around: On Tuesday, Oct. 6, there were 5.8 million pounds of menhaden swimming in the bay.

That isn’t too hard to imagine if you looked down from the Pawtuxet River Bridge the following day, or actually, as it turns out, just about any time in the last two weeks. What you would have seen are thousands upon thousands of fish. Most of them were juvenile menhaden averaging about three inches long. Mixed in the schools – so thick that they looked like carpets – were a few adults of about 11 inches. And then there were the predators – the cormorants, sea gulls, terns and bluefish and stripers – gorging themselves.

“The menhaden population has absolutely exploded this year,” says Christopher Deacutis.

Deacutis, supervisor of environmental science for the Department of Environmental Management, said large schools of the fish have been seen up and down the eastern seaboard, and there have been reports of humpback whales feeding off them last month in Long Island Sound. The whales haven’t been reported in Rhode Island waters, but Deacutis suspects the menhaden are the reason why schools of common dolphins have been spotted at the mouth of Narragansett Bay.

Read the full story from the Warwick Beacon

Huge Schools of Menhaden Cause Headaches at Houston Port

October 6, 2015 — Vessels on the Houston Ship Channel faced big problems this summer from the tiniest of traffic hazards: finger-long fish called menhaden, which showed up in record-size schools and temporarily idled at least 17 ships.

Weather patterns the last several years helped the menhaden population in the channel grow to 10 times its typical size, making it more likely the young fish get sucked into the ships’ filter systems that suck in seawater to cool off the engines. When they get lodged in high enough numbers, they can shut down an engine.

“It’s a mess,” said Houston Pilot Capt. Clint Winegar, who sat aboard at least one ship waiting for the crew to clear its filter before he could navigate it through the Ship Channel. “It’s amazing how much fish get caught in those strainers.”

When engines fail, pilots use towboats to control the ships, and all other vessels in the channel have to slow down to avoid collisions. These delays cost money, as the industry average cost to operate an oceangoing ship in port is more than $1,000 per hour.

Read the full story from the Houston Chronicle

Washington, DC Chef Uses Menhaden and More at New Restaurant

October 6, 2015 — The Berkshire sow has flopped down on her side inside a sunny, semi-exposed shelter at Cabin Creek Heritage Farm in Upper Marlboro. A couple of piglets, no larger than pugs, are nursing while the remaining newborns gather around their mother’s head, as if looking for face time.

Jeremiah Langhorne is beyond smitten. The chef and owner of the Dabney, the forthcoming restaurant in Blagden Alley, and his two sous-chefs simultaneously release the same sweet, unguarded sound when they lay eyes on the black piglets with their stubby pink legs: Oooooooh!

“They got their little pink socks,” Langhorne says. “They’re so cute!”

Langhorne, former chef de cuisine at the influential McCrady’s in Charleston, S.C., is not shopping for a pet. He’s scouting farmers who might supply his restaurant, dedicated to the flora, fauna and fermented flavors of the Mid-Atlantic. This trip to Cabin Creek is just one of many he has made ahead of the Dabney’s opening later this month. The 30-year-old Langhorne wants to inspect every potential supplier, not just to form a bond with farmers who might be skittish about working with (historically unreliable) chefs, but also to review their agricultural practices. He wants farmers who respect their products as much as he does.

“They’re doing it right,” Langhorne says after visiting two Maryland farms in August with sous-chefs Chris Morgan and Mike Tholis. “They put their animals’ happiness first and foremost. Most other farms, you’ll see some part of the chain where convenience outweighs the happiness of the animals.”

Read the full story from The Washington Post

NOAA’s Update of ‘Menhaden Facts’ Webpage Confirms Sustainable Menhaden Fishery

WASHINGTON (Menhaden Fisheries Coalition) — October 5, 2015 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

NOAA Fisheries’ Chesapeake Bay Office has updated its “Menhaden Facts” webpage, confirming the sustainability of the Atlantic menhaden fishery, and stating clearly that Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. The update is based upon the most current menhaden benchmark stock assessment, released in early 2015.

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition credits the stock’s natural resilience for these positive indicators. Years of diligent work by state and federal scientists produced the 2015 Atlantic menhaden stock assessment, considered the most thorough and accurate in the history of the fishery. Its results differ sharply from the prior update assessment, released in 2012, which was broadly criticized for mathematical flaws that underestimated the species’ health.

The results of the 2012 assessment were used as justification for a sweeping 20 percent coastwide harvest cut. As it did then, and now with the support of the 2015 stock assessment, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition questions the legitimacy of this harvest cut.

Fisheries managers have now affirmed what the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition has long maintained. In January, the latest menhaden stock assessment found that menhaden were in fact being harvested sustainably, with positive indicators such as record low levels of fishing mortality and near-record levels of stock fecundity. In June, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) acted on this news and increased harvests by 10 percent, partially reversing the 2012 cut. And last month, NOAA updated its official menhaden page to reflect these changes.

Both agencies-NOAA and the ASMFC-have now officially declared the species to be sustainably harvested and managed. The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is committed to continuing that sustainability into the future.

About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is a collective of menhaden fisherman, related businesses, and supporting industries. Comprised of over 30 businesses along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition conducts media and public outreach on behalf of the menhaden industry to ensure that members of the public, media, and government are informed of important issues, events, and facts about the fishery.

View a PDF of the release from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition