Saving Seafood

Flounder Are Vanishing

April 29, 2016 — With winter flounder said to be almost nonexistent, Anne McElroy of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences asked the East Hampton Town Trustees at a meeting on Monday to endorse the collection of data this summer in Napeague Harbor to find out why.

Ms. McElroy said not only were recreational landings of adult winter flounder in New York’s inland waters almost nonexistent but mortality for juveniles appears higher in Long Island waters than elsewhere. The study being planned would be funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service and include a random survey of waterways from Napeague to Jamaica Bay. The goal, she said, is to incrementally rebuild the stocks.

Genetic studies in 2010 and 2011 had found that winter flounder in Long Island waters come from a very small parental stock, she said. As few as 1,200 fish contributed to the individuals at six study sites across the island, with fewer than 200 contributing in some bays. “This was very troubling. The more diversity in the gene pool, the more ability to respond to changes in the environment,” she said.

The Stony Brook team is to count and measure all winter flounder to estimate mortality and to take samples from up to 50 fish to assess responses to stress, among other factors affecting the fishery. A caging study in three areas of Shinnecock Bay will collect up to 450 additional fish in an effort to determine optimum locations for caged fish, an effort to shield juveniles from predators. Mortality rates in and outside the cages will be measured, along with dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature.

Read the full story at the East Hampton Star

Feds expected to weigh remapping of regional fishing areas

April 29, 2016 — Federal consideration of a remapping of off-limits fishing areas is expected to cross a hurdle in the next couple of months, according to a fishing advocacy group.

Bob Vanasse, executive director of the group Saving Seafood, said the National Marine Fisheries Service will likely begin a process of formally considering the plan in May or June. He said the plan was advanced last year by the New England Fisheries Management Council.

The move would increase from about 40,000 to 42,000 the amount of square miles in the Georges Bank area that would be off-limits to fishing gear boats use on the seafloor, according to Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney who represents clients in the Atlantic scallop fleet.

Vanasse and Minkiewicz told the News Service the adjustments stemmed from 10 years of deliberations and more than 100 meetings where compromise was reached between different fisheries and other groups.

In addition to scallop boats, Georges Bank is fished by the groundfishing fleet, which uses trawlers to catch cod, flounder and other species.

The plan would also do away with restrictions on large areas that cycle between being open to trawling and closed, known as mortality closures, according to Vanasse.

Read the full story in the Cape Ann Beacon

U.S. Tuna Industry Objects To New Proposed Labeling

April 29, 2016 — PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — Tri Marine International, whose local operations include a tuna cannery, and National Fisheries Institute (NFI) both contend that the new interim final rule by the federal government on dolphin safety labeling is due to a recent sanction of the US by the World Trade Organization in a long standing case which pits the US against its neighbor, Mexico. They say it is an unfair and unproductive burden to U.S. seafood companies that does not resolve the protracted WTO litigation, nor improve on the existing dolphin-safe operational performance.

Industry officials told Samoa News that the new interim final rule (or IFR) will only increase operational costs for the US tuna canneries, who are already faced with stiff global competition, and that the US canneries have been adhering to dolphin safe labeling standards set by the federal government for many years.

This was echoed by NFI president, John P. Connelly in an Apr. 22 letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), who is seeking public comment on the IFR for “enhanced document requirements and captain training requirements to support use of the dolphin safe label on tuna products.”

“Consumers purchasing canned and pouched tuna from Bumble Bee Foods, Chicken of the Sea, and StarKist should be confident that the ‘dolphin-safe’ label the retail packaging bears means just that,” Connelly wrote.

The three canneries are the major US producers of tuna products.

Read the full story at the Pacific Islands Report

CALIFORNIA: Increased pulse flows for fish begin on Stanislaus River

April 27, 2016 — Agencies that control flows on the Stanislaus River below Tulloch and New Melones reservoirs began increased releases Monday from Goodwin Dam.

The increased flows are intended to supplement spring fish flow requirements set by a National Marine Fisheries Service 2009 biological opinion, according to federal Bureau of Reclamation staff. 

The Bureau of Reclamation is acting in conjunction with Oakdale Irrigation District and South San Joaquin Irrigation District to increase flow releases from Goodwin Dam in the Stanislaus River. 

Goodwin Dam is downstream from Tulloch and New Melones dams. 

As of Monday, Tulloch Reservoir was holding 60,005 acre-feet, 90 percent of capacity, and New Melones was holding 637,441 acre-feet, 27 percent of capacity. 

Increased flows from Goodwin are scheduled between midnight and 10 a.m., “to minimize public impact,” Bureau of Reclamation staff said. The flows are expected to range from 1,400 cubic feet per second to 3,200 cfs. 

Flows from Goodwin are expected to begin ramping down by Thursday and return to 1,400 cfs by Saturday. 

People in and along the Stanislaus River downstream from Goodwin Dam to the confluence of the Stanislaus and the San Joaquin River are advised to take safety precautions due to the increased flows.

Read the full story at The Union Democrat

WEST COAST SALMON SEASON DATES SET

The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

April 14, 2016 — VANCOUVER, Wa. – The Pacific Fishery Management Council today adopted ocean salmon seasons that provide recreational and commercial opportunities coastwide. The adopted salmon fisheries off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington achieve conservation goals for a multitude of individual salmon stocks and provide for freshwater fisheries.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2016.

“It has been difficult for the Council, its advisors, fishery stakeholders and the public to balance fishing opportunities on harvestable Sacramento and Columbia River fall Chinook stocks with the severe conservation needs we are facing with many coho stocks and Sacramento River winter Chinook,” said Acting Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy. “But the Council has recommended commercial and recreational ocean salmon seasons in Washington, Oregon, and California this year that provide important protections for stocks of concern.”

“We have made the tough decisions and implemented fishery restrictions to give salmon stocks their best chance of rebounding from the effects of the drought and El Niño,” said Council Vice-Chair Herb Pollard.

Washington and Northern Oregon (North of Cape Falcon)

Fisheries north of Cape Falcon (near Nehalem in northern Oregon) depend largely on Columbia River Chinook and coho stocks. Columbia River fall Chinook returns are expected to return at high levels, and Columbia River coho are expected to return at reduced but moderate levels in 2016. However, coastal Washington and Puget Sound coho abundance is dramatically reduced from recent years, and some wild coho stocks are expected to return at very low levels. In response, the Council has been challenged with shaping fisheries to provide access to relatively abundant Chinook stocks while protecting natural coho populations.

North of Cape Falcon, there is an overall non-Indian total allowable catch of 70,000 Chinook coastwide (compared to 131,000 last year) and 18,900 marked hatchery coho in the area off the Columbia River (compared to 170,000 last year).

Recreational Fisheries

The recreational fishery north of Cape Falcon does not include a mark-selective Chinook season this year, but opens to all salmon on July 1 and ends in late August or when Chinook or coho quotas are reached. Recreational fisheries in all port areas will have access to 35,000 Chinook (compared to over 50,000 Chinook last year), but coho retention is only allowed in ocean areas off the Columbia River with a modest quota of 18,900 (compared to 150,800 last year). For details, please see the season descriptions on the Council website at www.pcouncil.org.

Commercial Fisheries

Tribal and non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries are designed to provide harvest opportunity on strong Chinook returns primarily destined for the Columbia River while avoiding coho stocks of concern. Coho retention is prohibited in all commercial fisheries north of Cape Falcon this year.

Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries north of Cape Falcon include traditional, but reduced, Chinook seasons in the spring (May-June) and summer (July-August), and any coho caught in the commercial fishery must be released. The Chinook quota of 19,100 in the spring is approximately half of the 2015 quota, while the summer season Chinook quota is similar to last year at 23,400 Chinook.

Tribal ocean Chinook fisheries north of Cape Falcon are reduced from 2015 levels with a quota of 40,000 fish (compared to 60,000 last year).

California and Oregon South of Cape Falcon, Oregon

An expected abundance of roughly 300,000 Sacramento River fall Chinook (compared to 650,000 last year), combined with modest coho expectations for the Columbia River, will support recreational and commercial opportunities for ocean salmon fisheries off Oregon and much of California. The 2015 Columbia River coho abundance forecast in 2016 is over 500,000 fish (compared to over 800,000 last year) and will allow for recreational coho opportunities this summer.

The Klamath River fall Chinook abundance forecast for 2016 is substantially lower than recent years and the primary reason for fishery constraints in Oregon and California. Long running drought conditions, coupled with suboptimal ocean conditions, have raised serious concerns for Sacramento River winter Chinook salmon, which are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and have experienced very low survival as juveniles in 2014 and 2015. Fisheries south of Point Arena, California, particularly recreational fisheries in the greater Monterey Bay region, will continue to experience late-season reductions to minimize interactions with winter Chinook.

Recreational Fisheries

Recreational fisheries in California and southern Oregon are primarily focused on Chinook salmon and include openings in May, June, July, August, and the Labor Day weekend, in the Brookings/ Crescent City/Eureka area. Fisheries further south all opened on April 2 and will continue through November 13 in the Fort Bragg area, through October 31 in the San Francisco area, through July 15 from Pigeon Point to Point Sur, and through May 31 south of Point Sur.

Recreational fisheries off the central Oregon coast will allow Chinook retention from March 15 through October 31. Coho fisheries consist of a 26,000 mark-selective coho quota fishery in mid-summer from Cape Falcon to the Oregon/California border (compared to 55,000 last year) and a 7,500 non-mark selective coho quota fishery in September, open from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain (compared to 12,500 last year).

Commercial Fisheries

Commercial fisheries from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain, Oregon opened on April 8 and will run through October 31 with intermittent closures to reduce impacts on Klamath fall Chinook. Fisheries in the Humbug Mountain-to-California-border area willbe open April 8 through May, with Chinook quota fisheries in June (720) and July (200). Fisheries from the California border to Humboldt South Jetty will open on September 9 with a 1,000 Chinook quota (compared to 3,000 last year).

Between Horse Mountain and Point Arena (in the Fort Bragg area), commercial Chinook salmon fisheries will be open June 13 to 30, August 3 to 27, and September 1 to 30.

In the area from Point Arena to Pigeon Point (San Francisco), the season will be open May 6 to 31, June 13 to 30, August 3 to 28, and during the month of September. From Pigeon Point to the Mexico border (Monterey), the Chinook season will be open in May and June. There will also be a season from Point Reyes to Point San Pedro, open October 3 to 7 and 10 to 14.

Management Process

The Council developed the management measures after several weeks spent reviewing three season alternatives. The review process included input by Federal and state fishery scientists and fishing industry members; public testimony, and three public hearings in coastal communities. The Council received additional scientific information and took public testimony before taking final action. The decision will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval and implementation.

In addition, the coastal states will decide on compatible freshwater fishery regulations at their respective Commission hearings.

Council Role

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils established by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 for the purpose of managing fisheries 3-200 miles offshore of the United States of America coastline. The Pacific Council recommends management measures for fisheries off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.

Hawaii’s Tuna Longliners Offer to Buy Additional Quota from Northern Mariana Islands

April 14, 2016 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said Monday he wants to “get as much as we can” from a proposed deal by Hawaii longliners to buy half of the CNMI’s tuna fishing quota for a couple of hundred thousand dollars per year, allowing them to fish past their annual catch limits if exhausted.

The Hawaii Longline Association wrote to Torres in February and offered a three-year deal—with $200,000 paid out each year—to allow their fishing vessels to catch up to 1,000 metric tons of bigeye tuna “against the CNMI catch limit,” Saipan Tribune learned. The offer is made on the expectation that Hawaii longliners would exhaust their own catch quota, and similar agreements with the CNMI have been made in the last several years.

The offered payment is not tied down to whether the longliners actually end up using the CNMI quota, Saipan Tribune learned, and the $200,000 would be paid without regard the amount of catch HLA has in any given year.

“I am trying to get as much as we can,” Torres said on Monday, “by meeting with our stakeholders in Hawaii and utilizing what we have here and seeing what we gave last year and what are giving up in the years coming.” Torres will be in Hawaii for three days and flew out yesterday.

Asked if he has received any information whether the offer was a “lowball,” Torres said the CNMI’s neighboring islands asked for $1 million “and that was shot down right away.”

“As much as we want a million dollars we will get as much as we can” so “that the industry continue to grow,” Torres said.

Still, an industry source from a neighboring island said the $200,000 price was “not enough.”

Using their formula to calculate market value of tons per yen or dollar, the source estimated a market value for the CNMI’s 1,000 metric tons at between $887,280 to $1.2 million.

The CNMI is allotted 1,000 metric tons for big eye tuna as part of regulations in for fishing in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean as managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Office of the Governor spokesman Ivan Blanco earlier said that the CNMI is “actively reviewing available options including comparable market values from nearby island countries before an acceptance of the offer will be made.”

Department of Lands and Natural Resource Secretary Richard Seman, for his part, said they always do and hope for money but at the same time, “we want to be reasonable and extend our assistance to the Hawaii Longline Fishery Association who had been cut short by the overall international” regulations.

Asked if he thought the offer was market value or “a fair price,” Seman said it was not so much market value as “it is not based on what they catch.”

“They are just assuming that they catch that amount of quota. If they don’t catch anything, it is their loss,” he told reporters Monday.

Seman said the United States has been in the “forefront of compliance” under the rules that Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission has set up but it was “sad that [the U.S.] gets kind of shortchanged at the end of the day when it comes down to allocation” of fishing quota.

Seman said U.S. longliners are now using “its own territories’ quota” but added they are not going out and seeking other national quotas as compared to other longliners from China who are buying out some of Japan’s quota.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

SMAST scallop researcher rejected for NOAA funding for first time since 1999

April 13, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — For the first time since 1999, internationally known SMAST scientist Kevin Stokesbury has been denied federally administered funding for annual scallop surveys, as government officials questioned the cost and design of his latest proposal.

Many local fishermen credit Stokesbury’s work with reviving the scallop industry over more than a decade, and a prominent scalloper said Tuesday that it was hard to make sense of the funding denial this year.

“We as an industry are very upset about this — it’s very disturbing,” said Dan Eilertsen, who owns six scallopers based on Fish Island. “Our fishery has been managed based on the published work that (Stokesbury) does.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service, under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told Stokesbury on March 29 that his proposal for a $2.65 million scallop survey project had been denied for the 2016-17 grant cycle.

See the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA Seeks Comment on Atlantic Bluefish

April 8, 2016 — The following was released by the National Marine Fisheries Service:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comments on the proposed 2016-2018 annual catch limits for Atlantic bluefish for both recreational and commercial fisheries. The proposed limits are based on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommendations.

The total limits for the commercial and recreational fisheries combined would be 10 percent lower than the 2015 limit (from 18.19 million lbs to 16.46 million pounds).

Read the full release at The Fishing Wire

Commercial fishermen threaten legal action over Gulf red snapper quota reallocation

April 8, 2016 — A reallocation of the 2016 and 2017 quota of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico will benefit recreational anglers at the expense of commercial fishermen, and may result in legal action.

The decision, made in August 2015 by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and approved 30 March, 2016, by the National Marine Fisheries Service, will transfer 2.5 percent of the Gulf red snapper quota, or 352,000 lbs. whole weight, from commercial to recreational use, lowering the commercial share of the quota to 48.5 percent and raising the recreational share to 51.5 percent. As a result, the decision will extend the 2015 red snapper fishing season for private anglers fishing from their own boats in federal waters from six to nine days.

Andy Strelcheck, NMFS deputy regional administrator for the Southeast, said the change was made after new and improved survey methods gave his agency a more accurate picture of how many snapper recreational anglers were harvesting.

“Once we began implementing those improvements, our data essentially indicated that our catch estimates for recreational fishermen fishing for red snapper previously were underestimated,” Strelcheck said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Am. Samoa Cannery Opposes Reducing Tuna Data Collection

April 7, 2016 — PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — Tri Marine International, operator of Samoa Tuna Processors cannery in American Samoa, has called on the federal government for more “rigorous data” collection of imported frozen tuna loins, which are from fish typically caught in distant waters and off loaded into foreign ports.

The Bellevue, Washington-based company’s call was in response to the US National Marine Fishery Service seeking public comments on proposed rule-making dealing with a number of issues on trade monitoring procedures for fishery products, and permit requirements for importers and exporters. The comment period has already closed.

Among the proposed changes in the rule-making are reduced data sets pertaining to importation of frozen cooked tuna loins used in cannery operations and tuna products in airtight containers (or tuna cans) manufactured in American Samoa and imported into the United States or Puerto Rico.

According to NMFS, the reduced data set is, among other things, intended to prevent duplicative reporting for the companies that import the tuna products and that already submit required information to the Tuna Tracking and Verification Program (TTVP) via monthly reports.

Read the full story at the Pacific Islands Report