Saving Seafood

NMFS planning for offshore aquaculture areas

December 4, 2020 — Now in the early stages of planning, NMFS officials are seeking public comments on the potential for “aquaculture opportunity areas” off southern California and the Gulf of Mexico.

It’s an early step in what will be a three-year process to identify those areas and develop “programmatic” environmental impact statements, agency workers said in a online virtual public information session Dec. 3.

The California and gulf areas outlined so far by NMFS for study will not entirely become set aside for aquaculture, stressed Kristy Beard, a NMFS fishery policy analyst.

“Aquaculture opportunity areas are about spatial analysis and environmental analysis,” said Beard. The process aims to maximize compatibility of aquaculture with other uses, including wild fisheries, navigation, commercial activities and military missions, she and other speakers explained.

That’s one reason it makes sense to start with the Gulf of Mexico and California, said Beard. There is already a lot of long-existing spatial analysis and environmental data that can be mined and help run the aquaculture planning process.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Western Pacific Council Supports Hawaiʻi Industry Request to Test Bird Scaring Lines as Seabird Interaction Mitigation Measure

December 4, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Hawaii Longline Association has requested an experimental fishing permit for the deep-set longline fishery to test tori line efficacy without the use of blue-dyed bait when fishing north of 23° N. The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council today in Honolulu endorsed the application and recommended that National Marine Fisheries Service issue the permit as soon as possible. If approved, the permit would be the first of its kind issued in the Western Pacific Region and field trials could start in early 2021.

Tori, or bird scaring, lines have been internationally recognized as an effective seabird mitigation measure, while data show using blue-dyed bait is less effective than alternative measures. The food-grade blue dye has also become increasingly difficult to source. The Council recommended developing a regulatory amendment to the Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan to evaluate options for allowing the use of tori lines in lieu of blue-dyed bait. The results from the tori line study will inform the development of the regulatory amendment.

“I support these efforts to improve and streamline conservation measures in the fleet,” said Council member Roger Dang, owner of longline vessels and Fresh Island Fish of Hawai‘i. “The small Hawaiʻi fleet has minimal impact on seabird populations, but has many more regulatory requirements than foreign fleets on the high seas. Any changes to streamline these requirements will help us and make sense for the fleet,” he noted.

Action on specifying the annual catch limit (ACL) and the rebuilding plan for the American Samoa bottomfish fishery was deferred. The stock is overfished and subject to overfishing. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the Council to take action to end overfishing immediately and rebuild overfished stock within 10 years. In the past quarter, four fishermen landed a total of 665 pounds of bottomfish.

Deferring action allows the Council to support the American Samoa government in finalizing its territorial bottomfish fishery management plan. With 85% of bottomfish habitat located within territorial waters, it is essential that local and federal governments work together to manage the fishery. Henry Sesepasara, director of the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, recommended the Council postpone action. “We are in the process of providing feedback to the draft plan and will be completing it by January 2021,” he said.

The Council requested NMFS to extend the American Samoa interim catch limit of 13,000 pounds of bottomfish for an additional 185 days from the expiry date of May 17, 2021, while the Council finalizes conservation and management measures to end overfishing in the fishery. A new stock assessment is scheduled to be completed in 2023.

The Council meeting concludes tomorrow by web conference (Webex). Instructions on connecting to Webex, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars.

Conservation groups file petition calling for gear ban to protect right whales

December 2, 2020 — Multiple conservation and wildlife protection groups have filed a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service calling for new rulemaking that includes the prohibition of vertical lines in certain areas.

The petition, submitted 2 December, calls for emergency regulations prohibiting the use of trap/pot and gillnet fishing using static vertical lines in certain areas, and the expansion of two existing closures both “geographically and temporally.” The closures would take place off of Southern New England, and would exempt fishing that uses newer ropeless technologies.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New Publication Showcases History of U.S. Pacific Billfish Fisheries and Their Management

November 30, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has released the second of seven new issues in its historical Pacific Islands Fishery Monographs series. Each monograph looks at some of the most important federal fisheries and management issues for the U.S. Pacific Islands.

History of the Billfish Fisheries and Their Management in the Western Pacific Region, the second of these new monographs and the tenth overall in the series, is now available. Written by Michael Markrich, the monograph depicts the controversies among various foreign and domestic fisheries that caught billfish in and around the Hawaiian Islands and how East Coast big gamefish and environmental advocates influenced the management of fisheries not only in the Atlantic and Gulf but also in the U.S. Pacific Islands.

Prior to Western contact, Native Hawaiians used special hooks to catch billfish, tuna and other large pelagic fish from outrigger canoes. In the early 1900s, immigrants from Japan introduced flagline fishing for tuna in the islands. Billfish caught incidentally by this fishery was used in fish cake, an affordable food for ethnic Japanese residing in Hawai‘i. Simultaneously, big gamefish fishermen found their way to the islands, leading to the eventual designation of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai‘i as the marlin capital of the world.

These big gamefish fishermen advocated for tight restrictions on the taking of marlin and swordfish on the U.S. mainland, which drove longline vessels from the Atlantic and Gulf to head to Hawai‘i. This caused the local longline fleet to grow exponentially from 15 vessels in the 1970s to 156 in 1991. The Western Pacific Council responded with a series of measures to manage conflicts that arose between the longline and artisanal fishing vessels and the increased fishery interactions with seabirds and sea turtles. While the Hawai‘i swordfish fishery has become America’s largest supplier of domestic swordfish, further political influence of East Coast big gamefish advocates and others led to Presidential and Congressional actions that have banned fishing in the majority of U.S. waters around Hawai‘i and the U.S. Pacific Islands and halted interstate commerce of healthy, domestically caught billfish (excluding swordfish) from these islands.

While the monograph’s findings and perspectives do not necessarily represent those of either the Council or the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Council hopes the history will expand the reader’s understanding of federal fisheries and their management. A limited number of printed copies are available on a first-come basis by contacting the Council. The publication and prior issues of the monograph series are also available online at http://www.wpcouncil.org/educational-resources/education-library/.

Alaska wanted Arctic ringed seals off endangered species list; federal officials rejected that request

November 27, 2020 — On Wednesday, the National Marine Fisheries Service ruled against a petition from the state of Alaska to delist the Arctic ringed seal from the Endangered Species Act.

Last year, the state of Alaska partnered with several North Slope entities to write the petition, arguing that keeping the ringed seal listed as endangered could negatively impact economic opportunities for the state, as well as subsistence rights.

“Although we provided substantial new information to the service, they argued that information was considered in other ways, even though that information wasn’t available previously,” said Chris Krenz, a wildlife science coordinator for the state. “We are disappointed that they took that tact with this petition.”

Krenz says the state believes that the ringed seal isn’t threatened. Officials noted the ringed seal population is in the millions, despite measurable losses in sea ice. Though climate scientists with the National Marine Fisheries Service predict that by the year 2100, there will be little to no sea ice in the Arctic, Krenz argues that looking that far ahead doesn’t constitute the foreseeable future.

Read the full story at KTOO

NORTH CAROLINA: NMFS accepts comments on proposed gear restricting zones

November 27, 2020 — Carteret County residents and others have an opportunity to provide input to federal fisheries managers on potential restrictions to fishing gear.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service is accepting public comment on Regulatory Amendment 34 to the fishery management plan for the snapper-grouper fishery of the South Atlantic Region.  Comments on the proposed rule are due by Wednesday, Dec. 16. The proposed rule would create 30 special management zones around artificial reefs off North Carolina, including six off the coast of Carteret County, and four off of South Carolina. The the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources have requested these SMZs.

The proposed SMZs range in size from 0.041 to 1.01 square miles. There would be additional gear and harvest restrictions within the proposed zones.

The stated purpose of the framework amendment is to restrict use of fishing gear that could result in high exploitation rates to reduce adverse effects to federally managed snapper-grouper species at these sites. Harvest of snapper-grouper species would only be allowed with handline, rod and reel and spear in the SMZs. Therefore, the action would prohibit the use of bandit reel, powerhead, pot and longline gear at the sites.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

A dead right whale calf found on North Carolina shore bodes ill for species birth rate, according to experts

November 25, 2020 — Scientists with National Marine Fisheries Service found a North Atlantic right whale calf dead on Friday, Nov. 20, at Cape Lookout National Park in North Carolina, boding ill for the birth rate of a critically endangered species.

The newborn likely died during birth or very soon after, according to a government report issued Monday.

The species’ birth and death rates are under extended scrutiny with an overall population decline to under 400 animals, with a possible threat of extinction.

Right whales visit Cape Cod Bay in the late winter and early spring as part of their annual migratory pattern along the Atlantic coastline from Florida to Canada. The calving season for the whales takes place in the winter off Florida and Georgia.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

First known right whale calf of season washes up dead in North Carolina

November 24, 2020 — The hopes for the North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species, grew dimmer Friday as a calf washed ashore dead on a barrier island off of North Carolina, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

It was the first documented newborn of the calving season, and the service says every new birth is crucial to the species avoiding extinction.

The service estimated there were just 366 of the whales alive in January 2019, including just 94 breeding females, making them one of the rarest mammals in the world. Scientists at the Fisheries Service told the Globe in October that as little as one death per year threatens the survival of the species.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Federal judge rules FDA must reevaluate effects of potential GE salmon escape

November 9, 2020 — AquaBounty Technologies is facing another legal battle over its AquAdvantage salmon, as a California court ruled last week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) violated core environmental laws in approving genetically engineered salmon for sale and consumption.

On 5 November, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled the FDA ignored serious possible environmental consequences by approving genetically engineered salmon, and was also violating the National Environmental Policy Act. The judge also ruled the FDA approval was in violation of the Endangered Species Act, as the agency did not consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service before taking an action that “may affect” a listed or endangered species.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

CALIFORNIA: The Pacific sardine war hits a lull, but the tides are rising

November 4, 2020 — With catch limit regulations staying at the status quo, the commercial fishing industry has apparently landed a victory in the fight over Pacific sardine management.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees fishing of Pacific sardines, voted unanimously in September to maintain the current sardine fishery management process that calls for reassessments after each year’s stock assessments.

At the moment, the direct commercial sardine fishery is closed. Sardines may only be harvested in the live bait fishery, small-scale fisheries (or operations), as incidental catch, and with exempted permits approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service. These open sardine fisheries are subject to an annual catch limit of about 16% of the sardine population measured in 2019, or 4,514 metric tons.

Conservationists had hoped the council would tighten catch limits for fear of the sardine population collapsing further.

Read the full story at The Mercury News