Saving Seafood

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

PFMC: Call for data and information – Essential Fish Habitat Review for Coastal Pelagic Species

October 30, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center have initiated a review of essential fish habitat provisions in the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan.  This call for data and information is intended to support the review.  Information and data sources can include published scientific literature, unpublished scientific reports, information from interested parties, and previously unavailable or inaccessible data.  Information relevant to the CPS EFH review should be submitted no later than Monday November 30th, 2020.

Please see the “Call for data and information” announcement on the Council’s website for further details..

Right whale estimate plummets while Maine lobstermen await restrictions

October 29, 2020 — A new scientific estimate has found the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population is declining.

The estimate, from the National Marine Fisheries Service, comes as the lobster fishery awaits a draft of new federal restrictions that aim to reduce the potential for fishing gear to entangle the whales.

The number of right whales worldwide has declined from just over 400 to about 360, new data is showing.

Oceana, an ocean conservation nonprofit in Washington, D.C., is calling on the service to take immediate action to save the species from extinction.

“The new estimates that only about 360 North Atlantic right whales remain underscores the need for immediate action to protect this critically endangered species,” Oceana campaign director Whitney Webber said in the release.

Read the full story at MaineBiz