Saving Seafood

Judge’s ruling likely ends seismic testing off coast for years

October 9, 2020 — Seismic testing off the coast of South Carolina is likely finished for several years after a federal judge dismissed a 2018 lawsuit on Tuesday.

The suit, filed by the Coastal Conservation League, took aim at the National Marine Fisheries Service for issuing preliminary seismic testing permits off the state’s coast.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel dismissed the suit because there are currently no pending applications for either of the two permits needed to proceed with seismic testing, and a Nov. 30 application deadline for one, coupled with a lengthy approval process, means any approvals would be moot by the time a trial occurred, Gergel said.

Read the full story at the Charleston Regional Business Journal

Feds move toward permitting offshore Florida fish farm

October 9, 2020 — The Army Corps of Engineers will open a public comment period on a permit application for a fish farming pilot project off Florida’s southwest coast, following demands from critics and a newly issued pollution permit.

Hawaii-based developer Ocean Era LLC is proposing its Velella Epsilon aquaculture project, a single net pen system to raise up to 20,000 Almaco jack fingerlings, in the Gulf of Mexico about 45 miles southwest of Longboat Pass-Sarasota Bay.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 30 issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit allowing the fish farm to discharge up to 80,000 pounds of wastewater during its pilot production cycle.

“The proposed aquaculture system would be deployed for one period of 12-18 months, which will represent one production cycle including a 12-month rearing timeframe and 6 months for initial cage deployment and water quality and benthic sampling, time between stocking and harvesting, and the removal of gear at the project conclusion,” according to the Corps’ public notice of application.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

New England’s Groundfish Fleet Will Be 100% Monitored, Not Yet Clear Who Will Ultimately Pay

October 8, 2020 — In an historic vote one week ago, the New England Fisheries Mainagement Council adopted Amendment 23 which will require human observers or electronic monitoring on all trips made by the groundfish fleet.

“After more than three-and-a-half years of hard work on developing measures to improve the groundfish monitoring program, the New England Fishery Management Council … overwhelmingly voted to submit the amendment to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) for review, approval, and implementation,” the Council announced in a press release yesterday.

Read the full story at Seafood News

NEFMC Adopts Scallop Amendment 21 with Measures for NGOM, LAGC IFQ Fishery

October 8, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has signed off on Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan, which includes new measures to: (1) better manage total scallop removals from the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Management Area by all components of the fishery; and (2) expand NGOM Allocations Under Amendment 21: Once the NGOM allocation is determined, deductions are made off-the-top to support monitoring and research. Of what’s left, the first 800,000 pounds goes to the NGOM set-aside. Anything above 800,000 is shared as shown in the flowchart above. flexibility in the Limited Access General Category (LAGC) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) fishery. The amendment still needs to be approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) before being implemented.

Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM)

Under Amendment 21, the Council will begin accounting for scallop biomass in the NGOM area in the same flowchart it uses to calculate the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the rest of the resource. The NGOM annual catch limit also will be set consistent with how the rest of the fishery is managed, bringing the area more in line with the Georges Bank and Mid-Atlantic scallop fishery

Read the full release here

Atlantic scallop fishers object to ongoing sea turtle litigation

October 7, 2020 — Atlantic scallop fishermen in the Northeast U.S. are objecting to the latest ruling in a long string of litigation regarding the fishery’s responsibility to protect endangered sea turtle species.

A recent court ruling determined that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS) needs to revise the method it uses for its incidental take statements. The scallop fishery, however, asserts that it has already taken steps to protect sea turtles, and that the litigation is unnecessary.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Federal court ruling requires NMFS to improve sea turtle monitoring in Atlantic scallop fishery

October 6, 2020 — A federal court has ruled in favor of an Oceana challenge to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) rules regarding the incidental take of endangered sea turtles in the U.S. Atlantic scallop fishery, siding with the nonprofit in its assertion that the rules are inadequate.

The ruling, according to Oceana, is the latest in a “decades-long effort” by the nonprofit to ensure the scallop fishery “minimizes its harmful impacts on sea turtles.” The ruling will require the NMFS to revise its incidental take statement (ITS) to either more thoroughly explain the surrogate information, or revise its selections.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Trump plan to allow seismic blasts in Atlantic search for oil appears dead

October 2, 2020 — The Trump administration’s plan to drill off the Atlantic Coast for the first time in more than half a century is on the brink of collapse because of a court development Thursday that blocked the first steps to offshore oil and gas exploration, as well as the president’s recent actions that undermine his own proposal.

Opponents of the drilling declared victory on Thursday after the government acknowledged that permits to allow seismic blasting in the ocean — the first step toward locating oil deposits for drilling — will expire next month and not be renewed.

Nine state attorneys general and several conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit early last year to block seismic blasting, arguing it could harm endangered whales and other marine animals. The court battle dragged out so slowly that, in the meantime, time ran out on the permits.

Donna Wieting, director of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said in a court declaration, released Tuesday, that her agency “has no authority to extend the terms of those [permits] upon their expiration. Further, NMFS has no basis for reissuing or renewing these [permits].” The five companies that were granted permits would have to restart the months-long process leading to approval or denial, Wieting said.

Also on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel of South Carolina held a telephone conference with all parties of the lawsuit to determine how to move forward. The judge is expected to declare the case moot because the seismic mapping cannot occur without the permits, said Michael Jasny, who was on the call and is director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

PFMC: Pre-Assessment Workshop to be held online October 26-27, 2020

October 1, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) and the NMFS Northwest Science Center will hold an online workshop to review data and analyses proposed to inform new assessments for Dover sole, copper rockfish, quillback rockfish, and squarespot rockfish scheduled to be conducted next year, which is open to the public.  The meeting will be held Monday, October 26, 2020, starting at 12:30 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) and ending at 4:30 p.m., or until business for the day is complete.  The pre-assessment workshop will continue on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 beginning at 12:30 p.m. and continuing until 4:30 p.m. or until business for the day has been completed.

Please see the Workshop meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer John DeVore at 503-820-2413; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Nation’s Fishery Councils Recommend Ways to Support American Seafood, Improve Coordination with NMFS

September 30, 2020 — An executive order, changes to National Environmental Policy Act measures, guidance related to overfishing and a National Seafood Council were among several issues fishery leaders from around the country discussed last week. The biannual meeting of the Council Coordination Committee was held virtually, but hosted by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.

Leaders from all eight regional councils had the opportunity to talk with National Marine Fisheries Service managers during the open public meeting.

Read the full story at Seafood News

NEFMC Adopts 2021-2023 Herring Specifications; Adjusts Herring Measures to Facilitate Mackerel Harvest

September 30, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During the first day of its September 29-October 1, 2020 webinar meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council took final action on Framework Adjustment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. Next, the framework will be submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) for review and final approval.

Framework 8 contains two parts:

  • Specifications for the 2021-2023 fishing years for Atlantic herring; and
  • Adjustments to measures in the herring plan that potentially inhibit the Atlantic mackerel fishery from achieving optimum yield (OY).

Read the full release here