Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Adjusts the Atlantic Herring Specifications for 2019

February 7, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, we are adjusting Atlantic herring specifications for 2019. This in-season adjustment reduces 2018 Atlantic herring specifications and sub-annual catch limits (ACLs) for 2019 to prevent overfishing and lower the risk of the stock becoming overfished. All other Atlantic herring specifications, including river herring and shad catch caps, remain unchanged from 2018.

The 2018 Atlantic herring stock assessment concluded that while Atlantic herring was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring in 2017, Atlantic herring catch would need to be reduced to prevent overfishing and lower the risk of the stock becoming overfished.

At its September 2018 meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council requested we use an in-season adjustment to reduce Atlantic herring catch limits for 2019 to prevent overfishing. We published a proposed rule in November 2018. The herring acceptable biological catch (ABC) we proposed for 2019, as well as the resulting ACL and sub-ACLs, while consistent with methods used to set recent specifications, were higher than limits recommended by the Council.

The Council reviewed our proposed Atlantic herring catch limits for 2019 at its December 2018 meeting and recommended that we further reduce herring catch limits to better account for scientific uncertainty and achieve conservation and management objectives. For these reasons, we are reducing the herring specifications and sub-ACLs for 2019 consistent with the Council’s recommendations.

For more information read the rule as filed in the Federal Register and posted on our website.

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Status Quo Measures for 2019 Recreational Black Sea Bass Fishery

February 7, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved status quo measures for the 2019 black sea bass recreational fishery (see Table 1). This action is based on the recommendations of its Technical Committee, which found that status quo measures are not likely to exceed the coastwide recreational harvest limit for 2019. Based on the most recent most stock assessment, the stock is estimated to be above the biomass target and not experiencing overfishing.

The Board also approved proposals from Virginia and North Carolina to participate in the February 2019 recreational fishery specified by NOAA Fisheries. The season will be open from February 1-28, 2019 with a 12.5 inch minimum size limit and 15 fish possession limit. To account for any harvest in February, Virginia and North Carolina will adjust their management measures later in the season, if necessary. Recreational anglers should verify regulations with their respective states.

Read the full release here

Gulf Shrimp Landings Fall Below 2017 Average for Second Month in a Row

February 7, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Gulf shrimp landings have fallen below both the 2017 figure and the prior eight-year average for the second month in a row. According to seafood market reporter Jim Kenny, the drop below the eight-year average has actually occurred 8 out of 11 months this year.

Due to the government shutdown, the National Marine Fisheries Service just released numbers for November 2018 and landings for all species, headless came in at 8.207 million lbs. To compare, landings in November 2017 hit 8.898 million lbs. The cumulative total now stands at 89.971 million lbs.; 3.7 million pounds or four percent below the January – November 2017 total of 93.681 million lbs. Compared to the prior eight-year average, November 2018 landings are 10 percent lower.

November’s low Gulf shrimp landings come after the lowest reported commercial shrimp harvest in the Gulf of Mexico for any October. The Southern Shrimp Alliance reported that only 10.4 million pounds were harvested in October 2018, a 30% drop from the 16-year historical average for October landings. In October low volumes were being blamed on a lack of reporting of any shrimp landings from the West Coast of Florida, as well as the reporting of only 3.6 million pounds of shrimp from Louisiana. For comparison, the 16-year-historical average for Louisiana landings in October is 7.7 million pounds.

This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

Rifts Repaired Between Canada and the U.S. at the International Pacific Halibut Meeting

February 5, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In an eleventh-hour breakthrough in negotiations, both Canadian and American commissioners on the International Pacific Halibut Commission found common ground on two contentious halibut issues last Friday — bycatch and apportionment — while adopting catch limits that split the difference between the two advisory bodies.

With persistently stable populations at low levels, the coastwide stock has yet to show significant signs of recruitment, or younger year classes coming into the commercial fishery. Those two dynamics: stable but relatively low stock size and little sign of recruitment, make even a one or two percent difference in quota impact both the sustainability of the resource and the economic sustainability of certain coastal areas.

U.S. Commissioner Chris Oliver, who is also the Assistant Administrator of NOAA Fisheries, told the gathering the commissioners had agreed to an F47 SPR (spawning potential ratio) which is an indication of the intensity of fishing pressure on the resource. A higher F number means a lower catch limit.

“An F47 SPR is slightly more conservative than F46,” Oliver said as he made the motion everyone had been waiting for all week.  F46 is the fishing intensity level adopted last year.

“There is a little bit greater uncertainly in the stock dynamics this year, so a slightly more precautionary approach is warranted,” Oliver said. He noted the small level of young fish from the year class 2011 and 2012 that showed up in the IPHC survey last summer. That appearance is only one data point now, not reliable enough to count on. However, if they continue to show up in 2019, 2020 and beyond, the scientists would have more certainty of recruitment size and age.

Regarding the portion of quota agreed to for Canada, Oliver said, “For 2B, we’re using a share based calculation that will put 70% emphasis on historical share and 30% on SPR value, for the three years, beginning in January 2020. For this year, Area 2B will get a 17.7% share.”

Over the years, the Canadian and U.S. commissioners have struggled with how to bridge the gap between the 20% of the coastwide total Canada received prior to a coastwide assessment and the 12.3% of the geographic coastwide range. Canada has never recognized ‘apportionment’ — a word rarely used any more — and has accommodated for that by routinely taking higher catch limits.

Discussion have ranged from applying a 50:50 or equal emphasis to the B.C. number or heavily weighting one or the other. This agreement answers the question for the next four years.

IPHC’s two advisory bodies, one representing fishermen and one representing processors, recommented total catch limits that were less than 2 million pounds apart.

In the end, the Commissioners agreed to a coastwide total mortality of 38.61 million pounds of halibut, just below last year’s take of 38.7mlbs.  The Total Constant Exploitable Yield or TCEY (all removals: commercial, recreational, wastage, etc.) by regulatory area for 2019 are listed below in millions of pounds.

2A 1.65

2B 6.83

2C 6.34

3A 13.5

3B 2.90

4A 1.94

4B 1.45

4CDE 4.00

38.61  Total TCEY

The Fishery CEY catch limits (in million pounds) are:

2A   1.50

2B   5.95

2C   4.49

3A 10.26

3B   2.33

4A   1.65

4B   1.21

4CDE   2.04

29.43   Total FCEY

These numbers pose little risk to the resource falling to trigger reference points, but they do pose a greater chance of next year’s quota being lower, and 2021’s lower still if nothing changes.

The Conference Board, the fishermen’s advisory group, recommended 39.6 million pounds of TCEY for 2019, and the Processor’s Advisory Board recommended 37.63 million pounds. Most of the Commissioners agreed total catch limits should drop this year.

The Commission and the advisory bodies also agreed that an exception should be made for Area 2A. Washington state’s treaty tribes, with support from the state and others, proposed a minimum FCEY in that area of 1.5 milion. The IPHC granted that, albiet for an interim, three-year basis.

Another big hurdle in the impasse last year, besides the portion of the halibut that goes to Canada, was accounting for all sizes of halibut bycatch in the Bering Sea.

On Friday, the Commission recommended that staff evaluate and redefine TCEY to include the under-26-inch (U26) halibut that make up part of discard mortalities, including bycatch. The intent is for each country to be responsible for counting its U26 mortalities against its collective TCEY.

The change would, for the first time, include fish that are too small to be caught in the IPHC’s setline survey or for that matter on a commercial hook. They are caught in trawls, however, and currently accounted for by weight based in large part on observer data.

But inclusion of U26 mortalities in bycatch will not further reduce the amount of halibut available for the directed halibut fleet in the Bering Sea to catch, since it is sublegal and not targeted by halibut fishermen.

This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

NOAA: Another US government shutdown could reduce next Atlantic scallop harvest

February 4, 2019 — Should the US government slide into another partial shutdown on Feb. 15, it’s likely that the harvesters of Atlantic scallops off the coast of New England could be looking at smaller landings, warns an article published in Forbes Magazine.

Michael Pentony, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s administrator for the greater Atlantic region, warned last week that his group was already backed up as a result of the shutdown that was at least temporarily halted after 35 days on Jan. 25 when he briefed the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) at its New Hampshire meeting, as reported by Undercurrent News.

But should president Donald Trump and Democratic party leaders not reach an agreement over his demands for a wall on the Mexican border in 11 days, the shutdown would resume and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) probably wouldn’t be able to make the deadline necessary to implement regulations necessary to increase scallop harvest before the season kicks off on April 1, Forbes warned. That means the earlier default quota would have to be used.

Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the Fisheries Survival Fund, is quoted as suggesting treating Feb. 15 as if another shutdown was going to happen.

“Get everything that you can get done now,” he said. “Hopefully it’s not going to be a shutdown. But I think it’s foolish to assume it won’t be a shutdown again. We don’t know. Nobody knows.”

But Minkiewicz also was concerned about the next season.

“During the whole 35 days that we’ve been shut down, the government was supposed to be moving (next season’s) package forward. Is that 35-day delay going to not allow us to have that in place for April 1? I don’t know the answer to that yet,” he said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Happy International Year of the Salmon!

February 4, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

While 2019 is the year of the pig in the Chinese zodiac, here at NOAA Fisheries we’re celebrating the International Year of the Salmon with our global conservation partners!

We want to thank all of our partners for their hard work and continued support. We would also like to acknowledge the importance of all salmon leaders and the work you are doing to aid salmon.

The International Year of the Salmon (aka IYS) celebrates how salmon connects scientists, Indigenous Peoples, fishermen, policy makers, resource managers, and people across the globe. During this year we will be focusing on the connections that these remarkable fish have to our culture and environment and we’ll be asking people to become partners in keeping our oceans and rivers healthy to support salmon and people in a changing world.

Please check out the growing number of International Year of the Salmon activities and events. From festivals to scientific symposia, we’ll be celebrating salmon conservation and research all across the northern hemisphere in 2019.

One of the first events in our region will be a Maine Science Festival Pop-up Event: Salmon in Maine on February 28, 2019 at the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor, Maine.

Did you know that each winter from mid-February to early March, biologists “plant” Atlantic salmon eggs into gravel-bottomed Maine rivers and streams? The egg-planting technique has been used in Maine’s salmon rivers for the past decade to help restore and conserve this endangered species. Read the blog and watch the video!

Read the full release here

SAFMC: Commercial Closure in Federal Waters for Atlantic Migratory Group Spanish Mackerel Southern Zone on February 5, 2019

February 4, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

WHAT/WHEN:

  • The commercial harvest of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in the Atlantic southern zone will close at 6:00 a.m., local time, on February 5, 2019, and will open on March 1, 2019, for the March 2019 through February 2020 fishing season. The Atlantic southern zone includes federal waters off the states of South Carolina, Georgia, and the east coast of Florida.
  • During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in or from the Atlantic southern zone is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits while the recreational sector is open.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

  • The March 2018 through February 2019 commercial catch limit for the Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel southern zone is 2,667,330 pounds. Commercial landings are projected to have met the commercial catch limit. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

AFTER THE CLOSURE:

  • The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 6:00 a.m., local time, February 5, 2019, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
  • During the closure, a person on board a vessel that has been issued a valid Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for coastal migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain, but not sell or purchase, Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in the Atlantic southern zone under the recreational bag and possession limits, as long as the recreational sector is open.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at https://www.ecfr.gov.

NOAA Fisheries – FB19-003: Extended Validity of Vessel and Dealer Permits

February 1, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

KEY MESSAGE:

Due to the government shutdown, the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region Permits Office is notifying permit holders of the continued validity of some permits, beyond the expiration date stated on the permits.

Consistent with 5 U.S.C. § 558, those permits, for which complete renewal applications were submitted to the Southeast Region Permits Office prior to the expiration date on the permit, will be considered valid until NOAA Fisheries makes a final determination on the renewal application.

NOAA Fisheries anticipates making final determinations on all delayed permit renewal applications by March 31, 2019.

BACKGROUND:

  • Due to the government shutdown, the permit system at the Southeast Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida, is experiencing unusual delays in permit renewals. The permits office was unable to process permit renewals from December 21, 2018 through January 25, 2019.
  • Some individuals applied to renew their permits in a timely manner, but have not received new permits due to the shutdown.
  • For permits that are expired but have timely and complete renewal applications pending at the Southeast Regional Office, the permit expiration will not occur until NOAA Fisheries makes a final decision on the application.
  • This notification applies to all Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Highly Migratory Species vessel permits and dealer permits.
  • Permit transfers will be processed as quickly as possible.

Pacific Hake Researchers Hustle to get U.S. Data into Stock Assessment After Government Shutdown

February 1, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Pacific Hake Joint Technical Committee, comprising both U.S. and Canadian scientists, is hustling to include U.S. Pacific hake age data in the coastwide draft stock assessment, the Committee said in an email to interested parties this week.

The researchers made the update this week after the partial U.S. government shutdown ended. U.S. scientists Ian Taylor and Aaron Berger, both with the NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center, were furloughed during the shutdown. The JTC is responsible for producing the coastwide whiting stock assessment upon which both countries’ allocations are based.

At the time of the shutdown in December 2018, U.S. age data was not included in the modelling. Canadian researchers said then they would do their best to produce the stock assessment based on information they had at the time. The draft assessment is due for publication on Feb. 6.

In this week’s email notice, the JTC said it will “present the assessment based on the modelling done so far, without 2018 age data included for the base model and sensitivities. The Executive Summary will be based on the model which does not include 2018 age data.”

However, they are still hoping to get 2018 U.S. age data included.

“If this happens within the next few days, the model with 2018 age data included will be run as an MCMC and presented as an appendix with all projections and decision tables, the same as what appear in the Executive Summary,” the JTC said in the email. “It will be subject to review and can be chosen to be the model for providing advice by the [Scientific Review Group] should they choose to do so.”

The SRG is scheduled to meet Feb. 19-22 in Vancouver, British Columbia, to review the assessment.

This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Another Government Shutdown Could Sink Scallop Fishery Profits

February 1, 2019 — The world is smitten with scallops. Their subtle sweetness and firm but somehow delicate bite has many wanting more. When I previously worked in seafood sales, I couldn’t believe how much chefs in Los Angeles would pay to put the great New Bedford sea scallop on their menus. We’re talking over $35 per pound for the big ones. I’d think to myself, “These chefs know there are scallops in the Pacific, right?”

They did know, of course, but Pacific scallops lack one thing that consumers have grown to demand – heft. The Atlantic sea scallop is the largest commercially fished scallop species, with meat weights of up to 70 grams. This means restaurants can put four on a plate and sell their dish for $30 or more, and still make a profit.

For the most part, scallopers are thriving. Scallops caught in the U.S. each year are worth more than $430 million – making them one of the most valuable seafoods in the nation. But recently, there has been a major setback.

During the longest government shutdown in American history, fishermen and businesses in the seafood industry struggled to stay afloat. Until the partial closure ended on January 25, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency in charge of regulating fishermen’s operations, was closed, with only “essential” personnel working. This caused cascading effects all the way down the seafood supply chain, from processors to distributors to restaurants. Without the full NMFS workforce available, scientific data collection was put on hold, which restricted the ability of fisheries managers and federal workers to do their jobs.

Read the full story at Forbes