Saving Seafood

Congressman Jeff Van Drew Advocates for South Jersey Fishermen

May 3, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Congressmen Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ):

At the Natural Resources Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee hearing on the State of Fisheries Congressman Jeff Van Drew advocated for the fishermen in South Jersey and throughout the country.

The 2006 Magnuson Stevens Act Amendments dramatically changed the way domestic fishery resources are managed. Since the implementation of these policies, it has been widely acknowledged that the resulting requirements have been troublesome.

The National Marine Fisheries Service began revisiting these policies since 2012 after receiving concerns from managers and stakeholders. In addition, Oversight Hearings on this topic began in October of 2009 with hearings conducted periodically over the past ten years. The result of these lengthy deliberations highlighted the concept of flexibility, which is generally supported by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Council Coordinating Committee and was a reoccurring topic of the Managing Our Nations Fisheries 3 Conference.

“No one understands the impacts of shifting fish stocks more than commercial and recreational fishermen in my district. Summer flounder and Atlantic croaker were historically fished off the coast of North Carolina in the late ’90s and now are being fished 250 miles north, off the coast of New Jersey,” said Rep. Van Drew. “Perhaps it’s time that Congress makes “flexibility” a requirement of the Magnuson Stevens Act by enacting bipartisan reform that is science-based and achieves fishery management objectives.”

Highlight video of the “State of Fisheries” hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPsjLVPp-0o&feature=youtu.be

Read the full release here

SHELLEY WIGGLESWORTH: Please support our local commercial fishermen

May 2, 2019 — If you don’t think commercial fishermen are an endangered species – think again.

I have been very vocal over the years about my feelings on the commercial fishing industry being in jeopardy, and highlighting the importance of just what an integral part the industry plays in not only the economy, but the infrastructure as a whole, not only in our town and coastal towns across America.

As someone with deep ties to our community and the fishing community in particular, I am in a unique position working as a mate on a commercial fishing vessel, and being a journalist. I see so much firsthand that I hope the general public will take into account when I write about it. So here I go again, with more food for thought on an issue that is near and dear to my heart.

To anyone who really wants to support the local economy, please start by supporting local fishermen. Support them in all of their endeavors and their diversification efforts. Think about it. If fishing was not in jeopardy, many commercial fishermen would not be doing maritime related and other business venues.

Commercial fishermen help us all live better. Fishermen, and lobstermen in particular in Maine, are a crucial part of the local economy. Think of all the businesses that rely on fishermen to survive – restaurants, fish markets, stores, seafood processors, truckers that transport seafood, bait dealers, fuel companies for boats and to fuel the trucks that deliver fish, marine mechanics, boat builders, fishing gear manufacturers and much more.

In addition to choosing local over foreign sourced fish whenever possible, there are other ways to support local fishermen and their families, all the while strengthening the local economy. I will list those at the end of this article. Before I do, I would just like to remind folks of the never ending rules and regulations commercial fishermen face.

Restricting catch and the number of fishing days in an industry where many days to fish are already lost due to dangerous conditions at sea is detrimental. In addition to this, fishermen are regularly forced to change or stop using certain gear, such as lobstermen being forced to change their rope to avoid potentially tangling right whales. According to National Marine Fisheries Service data on rope removed from whales, there has been only one case of a right whale confirmed in Maine lobster gear in 2002, and this whale was last seen alive and gear free in 2017. Once again, as I type this, lobstermen are being forced to change lines to a 50% vertical line reduction (¾ toppers on all gear outside of 3 miles = 0.75 [weak rope] x 0.31 [1700lb rope reduction] X 0.50 [50% VL reduction] = 11.6% + 50% VL reduction = 61.5% reduction.) This change does not come without a price tag for lobstermen, not to mention the time they have to put in to comply, reducing days to fish on their own dime. When government regulations prove ineffective, the government creates new methods for fishermen to implement. They get paid to do this whether the methods and regulations work or fail. Fishermen do not.

Read the full story at SeaCoast Online

ASMFC Approves 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan

May 2, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission unanimously approved its 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan at its 2019 Spring Meeting. The Strategic Plan revises the Commission’s long-term vision to “Sustainable and Cooperative Management of Atlantic Coastal Fisheries” and establishes eight major goals and related objectives to pursue this vision. The Strategic Plan will guide the Commission’s activities over the next five years and will be implemented through annual action plans.

“The states recognize circumstances today make the work of the Commission more important than ever before. The Strategic Plan articulates the mission, vision, goals, and objectives needed to accomplish the Commission’s mission,” said Commission Chair James J. Gilmore of New York. “It serves as the basis for annual action planning, whereby Commissioners identify strategies to tackle the highest priority issues and activities for the upcoming year. With 27 species currently managed by the Commission, finite human and fiscal resources, changing ocean conditions, and ever-increasing political pressures, Commissioners recognize the absolute need to prioritize activities. The Commission must dedicate staff time and resources where they are needed most and address less pressing issues only as resources allow. A key to prioritizing issues and maximizing efficiencies will be working closely with the three East Coast Regional Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries.”

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Proposes Squid and Butterfish Quotas for the 2019 Fishing Year

May 1, 2019 — The following was published by NOAA Fisheries:

Based on updated information, we are proposing an 8-percent increase in the 2019 commercial Illex squid quota. The previously approved 2019 annual quotas for longfin squid and butterfish would be maintained and would not be changed by this action.

The increased 2019 Illex quota is based on an evaluation that similar historic catch has not harmed the stock. As new information becomes available, we may revise the proposed quotas for future fishing years.

Read the proposed rule as published today in the Federal Register.

Comments on this rule must be received by 5 pm on May 31, 2019.

To submit comments, please use the Federal e-rulemaking portal, or send comments by regular mail to:

Michael Pentony
Regional Administrator
National Marine Fisheries Service
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA, 01930

Please mark the outside of the envelope, “Comments on the Proposed Rule for 2019 Squid and Butterfish Specifications.”

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Alyson Pitts, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9352
Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Whale woes: Maine lobster reps agree to 50 percent cut in vertical lines

May 1, 2019 — After months of speculation and hand-wringing, Northeast lobstermen got a clear message from NMFS at the federal Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team meeting last week: Make drastic changes, or we’ll do it for you.

“On day three of the TRT meeting, NMFS Deputy Assistant Administrator Sam Rauch… did not mince words in stating that the TRT’s job is to identify measures to reduce right whale serious injury and mortality from lobster gear by 60-80 percent,” said Maine Lobstermen’s Association Executive Director Patrice McCarron in an April 29 letter to members. “He was clear that the TRT meeting gave the fishing industry its opportunity to shape how that reduction is achieved. If we failed that task, NMFS would begin rulemaking without our advice and decide for us.”

The 64-member team — established in 1996 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act — includes East Coast fishermen and associations representing fixed-gear fisheries, fishery managers, environmental organizations and scientists. Maine’s lobster industry holds four seats on the team, including McCarron’s.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Michael Rubino takes on new role as NOAA Fisheries’ senior advisor for seafood strategy

April 30, 2019 — Dr. Michael Rubino has been appointed as the new senior advisor for seafood strategy at NOAA Fisheries, the agency announced on 29 April.

Rubino, who has served as the director of the Office of Aquaculture at NOAA Fisheries since 2011, will be in charge of leading the development of markets for U.S. fisheries products and oversee the expansion of new domestic aquaculture production in his new role. With a plethora of experience in seafood production and the science behind it, Rubino is an ideal fit for the new expanded position, according to NOAA Fisheries.

“We are thrilled that Michael is stepping into this new, expanded role,” Dr. Paul Doremus, the deputy assistant administrator for operations at NOAA Fisheries, said in a press release. “He has a wealth of experience leveraging partnerships across the seafood spectrum and will now play an even bigger role in the expansion of U.S. seafood production, economic growth, and new jobs.”

There will be two major responsibilities in store for Rubino as NOAA Fisheries’ new senior advisor for seafood strategy: First being to expand U.S. aquaculture production by forming partnerships with seafood companies, fishermen, seafood famers, scientists, government agencies, tribes, and others to support the adoption of sustainable aquaculture practices nationally; and secondly, helping to develop new markets for U.S. wild-capture fisheries, the agency said. To help fulfill these core responsibilities, Rubino will work closely with the Office of Aquaculture as it continues to lead the NOAA Fisheries’ work on aquaculture, and the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, as it continues to focus on market access and international trade.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Sea Grant Announces Funding Opportunity for Highly Migratory Species Research

April 26, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Sea Grant:

Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS), which include tunas, billfish, and sharks, are important to both the ecological health of ocean ecosystems and to commercial and recreational fisheries. However, knowledge gaps in the life history, biology, and population status of many of these species limit understanding and the ability to sustainably manage these species. Populations of HMS and the coastal communities that rely on the health of these important fish stocks could greatly benefit from improved, science-based management and conservation.

As part of the FY 2019 Appropriations Bill for NOAA, Congress directed the National Sea Grant College Program to spend up to $2 million to initiate a HMS research initiative focused on HMS species in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, including the interactions between yellow-fin tuna and oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. This direction, and priorities identified in the 2014 Atlantic HMS Management-Based Research Needs and Priorities document developed by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service in concert with industry and management stakeholders, was used to develop this initiative, which will support research to address critical gaps in knowledge about HMS in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean regions.

Letters of Intent are due May 15, 2019 (see formal announcement for details).

Full proposals are due June 19, 2019 (see formal announcement for details).

Read the full release here

Groundfish quota changes up for debate

April 26, 2019 — NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on its proposed rule revising catch limits for seven of the 20 groundfish stocks for the 2019 fishing season, but the real battle over commercial groundfish quotas probably will wait until after the next operational stock assessment in the fall.

The proposed rule, called Framework 58, calls for increasing the commercial quota for Georges Bank cod by 15 percent, Georges Bank haddock by 19 percent and Georges Bank winter flounder by 6 percent for the new fishing season that is set to begin Wednesday.

It also includes a 1 percent increase for witch flounder.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the proposed rule, published in the Federal Register, calls for a whopping 50 percent cut to the annual catch limit for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, a 1 percent reduction in the quota Gulf of Maine winter flounder and a 3 percent cut to the catch limit for Atlantic halibut.

“We’re still digesting the proposed rule and expect to submit our comments next week,” said Jackie O’Dell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition.

The deadline for public comment on Framework 58 is May 6.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Feds seek to get S.C. claims tossed in seismic testing suit

April 25, 2019 — As cross-arguments continue between the many parties in a federal lawsuit seeking to block seismic testing off coastal waters of East Coast states, three more municipalities in the Carolinas will get their voices heard, while the federal government tries to get some of South Carolina’s specific claims tossed.

Conservation groups, including Georgia’s One Hundred Miles, filed the suit in December in order to stop the seismic testing that is the precursor to offshore oil and gas drilling. The federal government already awarded five companies permits for incidental harassment of marine mammals that would occur during seismic testing.

The federal defendants — the National Marine Fisheries Services, NMFS Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — argue in a Monday filing that South Carolina “states four novel and legally baseless theories raised by no other party in this suit.”

Those claims, according to the federal attorneys, are that 2017 orders by the president and the Commerce secretary were invalid because “they retract putative policies” from the Obama administration, that they seismic testing is a public nuisance, that any survey activities would constitute trespassing and that the survey activities violate admiralty law.

Read the full story at The Brunswick News

WASHINGTON: Skagit River has lost half of important habitat for salmon that orcas depend on

April 23, 2019 — The Skagit River is one of Puget Sound’s most important rivers for Chinook salmon and the killer whales who depend on them.

Last week, KING 5 visited a fish trap that looks like a floating hut. Each morning, state wildlife technicians check to see what’s been caught.

“We operate from January through mid-July to catch juvenile salmon as they are migrating towards Puget sound,” said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Clayton Kinsel.

Kinsel’s team is mostly counting chum salmon right now, some 3,000-4,000 each night. Southern Resident killer whales do eat chum, but scientists believe their diet depends on Chinook salmon.

Those salmon are dwindling like the whales who depend on them, and the fish trap is helping scientists figure out how to stop that.

“It tells us how many fish are coming down stream to Puget Sound. It’s a tool that we use to set fisheries, to manage fisheries to inform habitat restoration,” Kinsel said.

“Habitat restoration” is the buzz phrase when it comes to Chinook salmon recovery, especially on the Skagit River, where dikes and levees have cut off side streams that are important for young salmon trying to grow bigger and stronger for their journey to the ocean.

“These are places where the river used to flow many years ago. They are now cut off. In particular, the levee right along the Skagit River, it’s cutting water access off to all those side channels,” said NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Science Center research biologist Correigh Greene. “As a result, those places are inaccessible to juvenile salmon moving down the river.”

Read the full story at K5 News