May 15, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The audio files from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2020 Spring Meeting Webinar are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/
ASMFC Withdraws the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Atlantic Menhaden Noncompliance Finding
May 14, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Today, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission notified the Secretary of Commerce that the Commonwealth of Virginia is in compliance with Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. Specifically, the Commonwealth has promulgated regulations to implement the 51,000 metric ton (mt) Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap (cap). For the 2020 fishing season, the Commonwealth set the cap at approximately 36,000 mt, nearly 15,000 mt below Amendment 3’s cap to reflect overages that occurred in 2019. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which now has regulatory authority for menhaden management in state waters, will set the cap at 51,000 mt in 2021 as long as catch is below the cap set in 2020.
“I would like to thank my fellow Virginia Commissioners, Governor Northam, Secretary Strickler, the Virginia General Assembly, and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission for their attention to this issue,” stated Patrick Keliher, ASMFC Chair and Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. “We are appreciative of their hard work to bring the Commonwealth back into compliance prior to the effective date of the moratorium.”
Under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, upon receiving notification that a state has come back into compliance with a mandatory management measure, the Secretary of Commerce determines whether the state is in compliance. If he concurs with the Commission’s compliance finding, the moratorium is terminated immediately.
Luria demands $10 million in funding to support Virginia fisheries
May 14, 2020 — On Wednesday, Congresswoman Elaine Luria released a letter written to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross outlining the need for nearly $10 million in relief for Virginia’s fisheries and complete transparency with NOAA’s recent funding distribution.
The CARES Act, Section 12005 directs the Department of Commerce to distribute $300 million to the seafood and fishery industry businesses that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
NOAA released its plan last week for distributing these funds throughout each state, of which $4,520,475 is slated to go to Virginia fisheries, which is about 1.5% of the total allocation.
“It is unacceptable that NOAA’s allocation decision does not reflect the dramatic losses Virginia watermen have faced as a result of this pandemic and does not accurately calculate the contribution of Virginia’s fisheries industries to the national seafood industry,” said Luria. “I urge NOAA to immediately revise its allocation formula to provide Virginia at least $10 million in CARES Act fisheries funding.”
CARES Act provides more than $5M for North Carolina commercial fishing industry
May 14, 2020 — Commercial fishermen in North Carolina will receive more than $5 million in federal financial assistance through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an announcement last week, saying the U.S. Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by Sec. 12005 of the CARES Act to states, tribes and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Under the act, North Carolina’s commercial fishermen will receive $5,460,385.
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the relief package will support America’s fishermen and the seafood sector’s recovery.
“Thank you President (Donald) Trump, (U.S. Treasury) Secretary (Steven) Mnuchin and our congressional leaders of both parties for your work to pass the historic legislation that is bringing much needed relief to America’s fishermen,” Mr. Ross said. “This administration stands with the men and women working to provide healthy and safe seafood during this uniquely challenging time, while our U.S. fisheries work to continue to support 1.7 million jobs and to generate $200 billion in annual sales. The nation is grateful to our fishermen for their commitment.”
Despite early season fears, Chesapeake blue crab selling for record prices
May 14, 2020 — In March, the closure of most U.S. restaurants just as the blue crab season in Virginia and Maryland was getting started had retailers, processors, and watermen afraid that the bottom would drop out of the market.
Initial reports in local media indicated that pricing was off, in some cases, as much as 30 percent, and the fear was that the fishery would be in dire straits.
Maryland seafood industry to receive $4.1M in federal funds
May 13, 2020 — Maryland’s seafood industry is taking a big hit from the coronavirus pandemic, but millions in financial relief is on the way.
Maryland’s congressional delegation announced Tuesday the state fishing industry will receive $4.1 million through the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Tribes, commercial fishing businesses, charter/for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquaculture operations, processors and other fishery-related businesses are eligible for this relief.
NEW YORK: Montauk Fishermen Launch New Dock to Dish Seafood Delivery Program
May 13, 2020 — Montauk’s fishermen have launched a historic and innovative new initiative to deliver fresh, New York State-certified seafood straight from their boats to local residents’ doorsteps. The effort, called Dock to Dish 3.0, comes just in time, as restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders have hurt traditional distribution channels and put perishable catches in danger.
Dock to Dish 3.0 is now operating locally as a pilot program for Montauk area residents, offering no-contact subscriptions via an e-commerce platform, with deliveries eventually expanding in June to reach more than 1,000 customers around Long Island and the NY Metropolitan Area each week. More than 500 people have already joined a waiting lists for memberships.
Designed to replace recently crippled and collapsed supply lines, and bring safety and balance to unpredictable market conditions that have arisen during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this new system creates a distribution channel between Montauk’s commercial fishing fleet and NY consumers. The Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and United Parcel Service (UPS) have stepped up as partners to facilitate the subscription program, which will allow more than two dozen Long Island fishermen to ship New York State-certified fish fillets and sea scallops to members.
NORTH CAROLINA: Walking Fish keeps seafood moving inland despite outbreak
May 13, 2020 — While the novel coronavirus outbreak has closed many dine-in restaurants, a local community-supported fishery is still providing a link between commercial fishermen and their inland customers.
Walking Fish is a community-supported fishery based in Beaufort. This type of fishery is based on the community-supported agriculture model in which members of the fishery purchases shares of seafood caught by participating commercial fishermen. The seafood is then delivered to the fishery’s members. In Walking Fish’s case, the seafood is delivered on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, depending on the type of membership.
Walking Fish coordinator Debra Callaway said May 6 that even with restrictions and Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order requiring social distancing, Walking Fish has continued to make its regular deliveries to pickup locations in Raleigh and Durham Thursday afternoons.
Feds eye cutting bluefish catch to avoid overfishing
May 13, 2020 — Federal regulators are considering the East Coast’s harvest of bluefish to prevent overfishing.
Bluefish are popular gamefish that are also harvested commercially for food. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the catch of the oily fish would be reduced by 25%, to about 2.8 million pounds, under the current plan.
The recreational harvest would be cut by nearly 40% to a little less than 9.5 million pounds. The federal bluefish recreational daily bag limit would also be reduced.
Private recreational vessels will face a daily bag limit of three fish per person, and for-hire vessels, such as charter boats, will see a daily bag limit of five fish per person.
Fishermen seek bluefish from Maine to Florida, with North Carolina accounting for the largest share of the harvest in 2018. Commercial fishermen have typically caught between 3 million and 7 million pounds of the fish per year over the last decade.
Long Island fishing industry takes a hit during pandemic
May 13, 2020 — On Tuesday morning, commercial fishing boats sat idle in the water at the Montauk town dock—an uncommon sight, especially this time of year. But lately, it’s become the new normal.
Bonnie Brady, the executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said that the majority of East End commercial fishermen, who are essential food production workers, are reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve lost a tremendous amount of sales since many restaurants closed.
“When the restaurants closed, we lost the market with which we sold our fish,” Brady said. “We need to find ways to create markets, to create processing on the fly, long-term create mobile fish markets—anything and everything until we get our present system back in order.”
Pot fisherman Jim Auteri, who catches lobster, was hoping for a banner season.
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