Saving Seafood

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

Court Rejects Pacific Choice Appeal on Non-Whiting Groundfish Quota Holdings

September 29, 2020 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected an appeal from Pacific Choice Seafood Company challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service rule on single-entity quota cap in the non-whiting groundfish fisheries off the West Coast.

The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment entered in favor of NMFS rule, limiting the total allowable catch and prohibiting any one entity from controlling more than 2.7 percent of the outstanding quota share.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Nearly 50 Fishing Industry Leaders Call For More Funding For NMFS And Other Changes To OFFSHORE Act

September 29, 2020 — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

48 fishing industry leaders representing fishing organizations from across the country submitted a letter yesterday to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources recommending improvements to the OFFSHORE Act. These proposed changes would ensure that research and mitigation funds are properly directed and efficiently used, and that federal labor standards are applied consistently to offshore development activities.

The OFFSHORE Act, officially the Opening Federal Financial Sharing to Heighten Opportunities for Renewable Energy Act of 2020, would make several changes to how offshore wind construction is conducted and how research funds are allocated. It would allocate a large portion of offshore wind lease sales to state governments, and allocate some to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund for research grants. It would also extend provisions of the Jones Act to require offshore wind developers to use American labor for production activities.

In their letter, the industry leaders called on the Senate to direct OFFSHORE Act funding to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to “conduct research, planning and environmental review, and fisheries monitoring.” Fully funding NMFS is “the highest research funding priority for any bill addressing [offshore wind],” they wrote, because NMFS has the expertise to contribute to the development process, but faces potentially severe disruptions to its work and currently lacks the resources to keep pace with new developments. These disruptions include a loss of access for its survey efforts, which rely on low levels of scientific uncertainty to accurately inform stock assessments and sustainable fisheries catch levels. NMFS also has the unique ability to conduct cooperative research, which is key to ensuring inclusivity among fishery and regional stakeholders.

Read the full release here

WPRMFC gives Trump Administration suggestions to promote seafood

September 28, 2020 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRMFC) has suggested actions to the Trump Administration in order to “promote seafood competitiveness and economic growth and to provide regulatory relief to support economic recovery for the offshore fisheries of Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and eight Pacific Remote Islands (PRIAs),” according to a WPRFMC press release.

Two parties voted against the proposals: the council member representing the Hawai’i State Department of Land and Natural Resources, as well as the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Regional Administrator.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Senate bill would establish U.S. offshore aquaculture rules

September 28, 2020 — A bill newly introduced in the Senate would establish a federal regulatory system for offshore aquaculture, opening a pathway to large-scale fishing farming in the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

Sponsored by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), bill S-4723 would clear the way for the Department of Commerce in its drive to create new aquaculture zones – an effort so far stymied by the federal courts.

In an Aug. 3 decision, the Fifth Court of Appeals upheld a 2018 lower court ruling that the Department of Commerce and NMFS lack legal authority to issue permits for aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico.

In its 2-1 decision, the appeals panel found in favor of critics who argued the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management grants the agency no power to permit fish farming in federal waters.

“If anyone is to expand the 40-year-old Magnuson-Stevens Act to reach aquaculture for the first time, it must be Congress,” according to the court’s opinion.

Read the full story at National Fisherman