Saving Seafood

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

Mid-Atlantic Boaters: Watch out for Whales!

January 31, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As large whales migrate along the Eastern Seaboard, remember to follow responsible wildlife viewing guidelines to keep everyone–whales and people– safe!

Whales are large and need lots of space to feed, travel, and rest. In an underwater world, noisy boats can interrupt their activities, make whales nervous, or make them leave an area. Getting too close raises the risk for the whale of being hit by a boat or a propeller, and can cause injuries to boaters as well.

Reduce your risks and increase your chances of seeing natural, uninhibited whale behaviors by keeping a safe distance (100 feet for most whales, 1,500 feet for right whales). Use your zoom or a telephoto lens to capture the experience, or just relax and enjoy the awesome experience of sharing the water with whales.

If whales leave the area, it’s their way of telling you they’ve had enough attention. Respect their space. It’s also illegal to chase or in any way change a whale’s natural behavior.

Read the full release here

Voluntary Vessel Speed Restriction Zone South of Nantucket to Protect Right Whales

January 29, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) has been established south of Nantucket for 100 right whales sighted in this area on January 15.

This DMA is in effect through January 30, 2019.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Nantucket DMA coordinates:

41 12 N
40 28 N
070 36 W
069 31 W

See a map.

Right Whales Are Migrating

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. With an unprecedented 20 right whale deaths documented in 2017 and 2018, NOAA is cautioning boaters to give these endangered whales plenty of room as they migrate south. We are also asking commercial fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales, remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements, and use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are slightly more than 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

More Info

Recent right whale sightings

Find out more about our right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.

Download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone

Acoustic detections in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston TSS

Send a blank message  to receive a return email listing all current U.S. DMAs and SMAs.

Details and graphics of all ship strike management zones currently in effect.

Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175

Read the full release here

2019 Federal Funding Opportunity for NOAA’s New England Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Grants

January 29, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

he NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region has released details of the FY19 New England Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program funding opportunity. A total of roughly $250,000, subject to appropriations, may be available to fund three to five projects.

Applications are due by February 19, 2019. The full Federal Funding Opportunity is now available; it includes comprehensive information about eligibility and the application process. Information on the application process can also be found on grants.gov and our funding opportunities page.

B-WET is an environmental education program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning for K-12 school students. B-WET administers a competitive funding process that promotes Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). MWEEs are multi-stage activities within formal K-12 programs that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom. Funded projects provide MWEEs for students and related professional development for teachers.

New England B-WET focuses on the priorities and challenges facing New England watersheds by helping students and teachers apply scientific methods and tools to understand and appreciate their local watershed system. B-WET encourages students to become more interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. By focusing on watersheds where they live and by participating in personally relevant stewardship projects, students and teachers can become knowledgeable stewards of their local environment.

Read the full release here

NOAA after shutdown: Priority getting fishermen back to work

January 29, 2019 — Furloughed NOAA Fisheries staffers returned to work Monday from the partial shutdown of the federal government and commenced the task of playing catchup as a new fishing season beckons.

In Gloucester, the furloughed workers, sent home 35 days ago, resumed their duties at the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office on Great Republic Drive as Regional Administrator Mike Pentony acknowledged the shutdown’s impact on fishing stakeholders and set the overarching agenda moving forward.

“We will have three priorities as we ramp back up to full and normal operations: getting fishermen back to work; completing consultations so federally permitted projects in your communities can move forward; and ensuring that adequate monitoring and protections are in place for our protected resources,” Pentony said in a statement.

Pentony conceded the shutdown has left the agency behind schedule for completing several essential actions as the 2018 fishing season winds down and the May 1 start of the 2019 season moves closer.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

CALIFORNIA: The Battle over Anchovy

January 29, 2019 — A little over a year after a federal judge overturned a catch limit for the central population of north anchovy, nothing has changed.

Now a judge has issued an order that a new federal rule must be made within 90 days, before April 18.

This is the latest development in a battle that began in 2016 when the National Marine Fisheries Service defined the catch level using a study that only included data collected through 1990 instead of a study that included more data extending through 2011.

Read the full story at The Mercury News

Reminder: Closed Area 1 North Seasonal Closure for All Vessels Begins February 1

January 29, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On February 1, the Closed Area I (CAI) North seasonal closure goes into effect, through April 15. See below for map and coordinates.

The closure applies to all commercial and recreational vessels except:

Vessels that are transiting;

  • Vessels fishing with exempted gears (spears, rakes, diving gear, cast nets, tongs, harpoons, weirs, dip nets, stop nets, pound nets, pots and traps, purse seines, surfclam/quahog dredge gear, pelagic hook and line, pelagic longlines, or single pelagic gillnets);
  • Vessels participating in the mid-water trawl exempted fishery; and
  • Vessels fishing with scallop dredges.

 

Agreement to end government shutdown brings relief to US seafood industry

January 28, 2019 — Workers at NOAA Fisheries and other federal agencies returned to their jobs Monday, 28 January, for the first time in more than a month, thanks to an agreement reached Friday between the U.S. Congress and the administration of President Donald Trump.

However, the resumption could be short-lived, as the deal to fund several government agencies lasts for only three weeks. That means another shutdown could happen next month if lawmakers and President Trump cannot finalize spending priorities for the 2019 fiscal year or approve another temporary bill.

While the talks hinge on whether the president gets funding for a border wall, numerous other policies and initiatives have been affected by the impasse. That includes some tied to the seafood industry.

For example, while the Food and Drug Administration maintained inspecting foreign seafood imports during the shutdown, funding for additional inspections remains in limbo.

Last July, the Senate passed a bill that would add more than USD 3 million (EUR 2.6 million) in funding for such inspections. However, the House failed to pass the bill, which would increase inspection funding by 26 percent, before Congress’ term ended at the beginning of this month.

Since the new Congress convened, the House has passed a bill that includes the funding, first proposed by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana). That bill has yet to pass in the Senate.

Read the full story at Seafood Source