Saving Seafood

Governor questions designation of coral critical habitat

March 5, 2024 — GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios has expressed concern about the National Marine Fisheries Service’s designation of critical habitat for seven threatened corals in the waters surrounding the CNMI.

In his letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Janet Coit on Thursday, the governor thanked NMFS for addressing earlier concerns regarding public meetings and making them more accessible to the people of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

He also commended the agency for adopting different approaches in designating coral critical habitat and giving affected communities the chance to submit comments for the revised critical habitat proposal.

Read the full article at Marinas Variety

More areas around Kodiak Island could become critical habitat for endangered North Pacific Right Whales

February 21, 2024 — The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is in the process of expanding the critical habitat of North Pacific Right Whales off the coast of Alaska. If finalized, the rare marine species could have further protections near Kodiak Island and other waters across the Gulf of Alaska.

It’s estimated that less than 50 North Pacific Right Whales exist today in a range that extends from Hawaii to the southeastern Bering Sea and beyond. The rare species of whale has been on the Endangered Species List since 1970 after historical whaling activities decimated the population.

Conservation areas for the whales already exist in parts of the Southeastern Bering Sea and a small area south of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska, totaling over 35,000 square miles. They were established 15 years ago in 2008, when the NMFS established critical habitat for the endangered whale.

But in 2022, two environmental groups: the Center for Biological Diversity and Save the North Pacific Right Whale, petitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to add thousands more square miles to the animals’ critical habitat area in Alaska. NMFS announced its intent to expand those boundaries last fall after completing a year-long review.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

Additional coverage of last week’s historic Supreme Court actions in the Loper Bright and Relentless cases

January 23, 2024 — For more background on last week’s historic Supreme Court actions in the Loper Bright and Relentless cases, we are sharing three segments from Fox News.

– Lund’s Fisheries President and co-owner Wayne Reichle joined ‘America Reports’ to discuss the Supreme Court case.
– https://www.foxnews.com/video/6345131453112
– Fox News’ Douglas Kennedy visited Seafreeze and spoke with Fisheries Liaison Megan Lapp to discuss the lengthy legal battle over new fishing regulations.
– https://www.foxnews.com/video/6345054530112
– Fox News’ Martha MacCallum joins Seafreeze Fisheries Liaison Meghan Lapp and NCLA’s President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth to discuss landmark case,
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=klHR3ca6yT8 (https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=klHR3ca6yT8)

Op-Ed: Preserving our heritage and livelihood – A shrimper’s stand against unjust regulations

January 18, 2024 — I’ve been a shrimper for over 45 years. It’s more than just a job; it’s a legacy that’s been passed down through generations in my family. Since I was 15, I’ve been working in the waters of Plaquemines Parish, my workplace, my passion, and my source of livelihood. Today, as I continue to bring the finest Gulf shrimp to your tables, I find myself fighting not only for my job but for the very soul of Louisiana’s shrimping heritage.

The recent rule by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) mandating the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) on skimmer trawl vessels longer than 40 feet is a real threat to our community. This rule, though it may seem well-intentioned, is an example of overreach and disregard for our industry’s reality. That’s why, under my leadership, the Louisiana Shrimp Association is taking a stand by suing against this unfair regulation on the same day the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the power of faraway bureaucrats in the Loper Bright case.

Our challenge isn’t about denying environmental stewardship; we shrimpers understand the importance of preserving marine life more than anyone else. Our problem lies in the NMFS’s lack of consideration for the real-world reasons and impact of this rule. Studies show that there is minimal interaction between sea turtles and shrimpers in the waters where we mostly operate, and our waters aren’t primary nesting sites for these creatures. However, the NMFS chose to ignore this evidence and push through a rule that could devastate our industry.

Read the full article at The Center Square

Environmental and tribal groups add support to lawsuit calling federal fisheries management into question

December 12, 2023 — Five environmental and tribal organizations have signed their support onto a lawsuit against federal fisheries managers. The suit alleges that the National Marine Fisheries Service has violated environmental policies by using outdated data to guide the way it regulates the trawling industry in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Chain fisheries. This includes the Alaska pollock fishery, responsible for the vast majority of salmon bycatch in the region.

“There’s so many factors as to why salmon declines are where they’re at right now in our rivers,” said Laureli Ivanoff, the executive director of Native Peoples Action, one of the supporting organizations. “We know it’s not just the pollock industry. However, if the analysis and if the environmental impact statement that they use for analysis and for decision-making was updated, there would be a more complete picture of what’s happening in the ocean to base their decisions on.”

The lawsuit calls into question the use of environmental impact statements dating back to 2004 and 2007. It was originally brought in April by the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) and Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), tribal non-profit organizations that together represent the vast majority of communities hit hardest by salmon crashes in Western Alaska. The groups are being represented by the national environmentalist law organization Earthjustice.

In early December 2023, five Alaska Native and fisheries conservation organizations: Native Peoples Action, Ocean Conservancy, the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, SalmonState, and the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, filed what is known as an amicus brief on the same side as the original two plaintiffs. It is a way for parties with a stake in the outcome of a lawsuit to offer additional information that courts may consider before ruling.

Read the full article at KYUK

NMFS to pay $160,000 legal fees to settle Gulf charter captains’ lawsuit

December 11, 2023 — The National Marine Fisheries Service must pay attorney fees for Gulf of Mexico charter captains who successfully challenged the agency’s requirement for them to pay for vessel monitoring systems.

The settlement approved by the U.S. Fifth District Court of Appeals calls for the U.S. Department of Commerce and NMFS to pay $160,000 for lawyers of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a non-profit legal foundation who represented lead plaintiff Allen Walburn, a Naples, Fla., charter operator and five other Gulf captains.

The appeals court Feb. 23 decision “struck down the VMS monitoring requirement implemented by the Department of Commerce and the other defendants under the Administrative Procedure Act and strongly implied it was prohibited as an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution,” wrote John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel for the NCLA, in a Dec. 8 email to the captains.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Feds move to designate islands as critical habitat for coral species

November 30, 2023 — The National Marine Fisheries Service issued a proposed rule Wednesday to designate 16 islands as critical habitat for five Indo-Pacific coral species listed under the Endangered Species Act, a move mostly linked to climate change.

A designation of critical habitat requires federal agencies to ensure their actions don’t destroy or negatively impact those areas, or pose any risk to species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The designation potentially could focus preservation efforts among others, including state and local governments, individuals and private organizations.

Many coral species have experienced population loss and continue to face threats like ocean warming, diseases, the effects of fishing and land-based pollution.

“We determined that these species are likely to become endangered throughout their ranges within the foreseeable future as a result of a combination of threats, the most severe of which are related to climate change,” the fisheries service stated in a report.

Read the full article at Courthouse News Service

Feds will form team to tackle fishing gear threats to Pacific humpback whales

September 29, 2023 — The National Marine Fisheries Service announced it is forming a team to protect endangered Pacific humpback whales from deadly sablefish fishing gear entanglements in the Pacific ocean.

The service intends to form a take reduction team by Oct. 31, 2025, under a settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity, which sued the service in January 2022.

The take reduction team will develop plans to address the incidental mortality and serious injury of Pacific humpback whales from sablefish pot fisheries. Most pot fisheries use static, vertical lines that connect buoys on the water’s surface to heavy traps on the ocean floor. These lines, typically made of heavy rope, can wrap around whales’ mouths, fins, and tails, cutting the animals. When a whale cannot break free, it can eventually drown from exhaustion or die of starvation.

“Fishing gear entanglements regularly injure and kill Pacific humpbacks. This team offers a glimmer of hope for change,” said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Humpbacks cycle nutrients that feed fish, delight whale-watchers and intrinsically improve the oceans. A dedicated team could keep these endangered whales from starving, suffering and dying in fishing gear. It can’t start soon enough.”

Read the full article at Courthouse News Service

Environmental Alliance Challenges Accepted Offshore Sonar Levels

September 13, 2023 — Saying protective distances adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service for incidental harassment authorizations related to offshore wind sonar work is having the opposite effect, Save the Right Whales Coalition wants the federal government to take emergency action to halt the work.

NOAA Fisheries issues permits for “incidental harassment” of whales and dolphins when it authorizes seabed surveying using high-intensity noise devices.

“Our data shows that the sonar is producing Level B harassment noise levels at distances that exceed those set by NOAA Fisheries,” Lisa Linowes, co-founder of Save the Right Whales Coalition, wrote in a Sept. 8 letter to Richard Spinrad, NOAA administrator and undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. “Marine mammals are likely getting much closer to the sonar than should be allowed.”

Read the full article at the Sand Paper

Federal fisheries service agrees to deal aimed at curbing whale entanglements in fishing gear

July 19, 2023 — A legal agreement finalized Tuesday over the protection of humpback whales is expected to help the threatened animals thrive while maintaining the ocean’s health.

The deal stricken between the National Marine Fisheries Service and Center for Biological Diversity will create a team to reduce the number of whales that get tangled in a West Coast federal fishery. The service will form the team by Oct. 31, 2025, a press release stated.

“There is no reason these animals should have to suffer or die in this way,” said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the center. “This agreement is incredibly important.”

A federal court in March sided with the center after it filed suit last year against the fisheries service. The center argued the service failed to protect Pacific humpback whales from getting entangled in sablefish pot gear off the California, Oregon and Washington coasts.

According to Monsell, the fishery operates in an area with two humpback whale populations: a Central American population and a Mexican one. The Central American population is considered endangered and only hundreds of the whales remain. The Mexican population is threatened and some 3,000 remain.

Read the full article at Courthouse News Service