Saving Seafood

Environmental groups raise concerns over state of New England groundfish fishery

January 17, 2019 — Two environmental organizations have requested a meeting with federal officials this month over the concerns they have about groundfish stocks in New England.

Representatives from the Conservation Law Foundation and the Environmental Defense Fund sent a letter last month to Timothy Gallaudet, the assistant secretary for oceans and atmosphere in the U.S. Commerce Department, and Chris Oliver, NOAA Fisheries’ assistant administrator. The groups called for the meeting to take place before the next full meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council, which starts on 29 January in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

While the groups claim NOAA Fisheries is rebuilding domestic fish stocks across the country, they criticize the government for failing to properly monitor Atlantic cod, flounders, and other groundfish in the northeastern United States.

“NOAA Fisheries and the Council have consistently failed to prevent overfishing on some of these stocks since ‘overfishing’ metrics were first approved in 1989,” the letter states. “If there isn’t a radical change in management direction, the prospect of these stocks ever rebuilding remains tenuous at best.”

The groups also take federal officials to task for not having good data available. They claim the Atlantic cod stock is overfished to the point of a potential collapse, and they also say, citing government reports, that fishermen also discard tons of cod without it being officially reported by onboard observers.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

SAFMC Prepared for the Modern Fish Act of 2018

January 17, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018 (Modern Fish Act), which aims to provide more stability and access to recreational anglers, was signed into law by the President on December 31, 2018. The Act includes improving recreational data collection (through avenues such as smart phone apps), allowing additional management tools that are more appropriate for recreational fishing, and requiring studies of allocations in the South Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico mixed-use fisheries and limited access programs in mixed-use fisheries for all Councils except the Pacific and North Pacific Councils.

The Modern Fish Act affects federally-managed fisheries governed by the eight regional fishery management councils in the U.S. Initially established by the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 1976, the Councils, working with NOAA Fisheries and the Department of Commerce, have led the way in establishing fisheries management processes followed around the world today. Approval of the Modern Fish Act was celebrated by the recreational fishing community and allows federal fishery managers to explore novel ideas and partnerships to enhance fisheries management.

“These new tools are something that recreational fishermen have worked on very hard, and we are happy to see it in law,” said Chester Brewer, South Atlantic Council Member. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council began work on management activities for the recreational fishery that align with items outlined in the in the Modern Fish Act as it was being developed. These include:

  • MyFishCount – a recreational reporting website and application for smart phones designed to allow anglers to voluntarily report their fishing activity, including numbers of fish harvested, numbers released, depth fished, and other information helpful for management. The pilot project, developed in partnership with the Angler Action Foundation and Elemental Methods, is funded through NOAA Fisheries and has over 800 users to date.
  • For-Hire (headboat & charter vessel) Electronic Reporting – federally-permitted headboat captains are currently required to report electronically; expected to begin in 2019, federally permitted charter captains in the South Atlantic region will be required to report trip-level data for all trips and all species electronically on a weekly basis, improving the timeliness and accuracy of data used for fisheries management.
  • Collaboration – In 2018, the Council collaborated with and participated in a Recreational Fishing Workshop with the American Sportfishing Association, Coastal Conservation Association, and Yamaha Marine during the October Council meeting. The workshop is part of a 3-phase project to explore approaches for innovative management of the private recreational sector of the South Atlantic Snapper Grouper fishery. Results from the workshop and additional stakeholder meetings will be presented to the Council during its March 2019 meeting on Jekyll Island, Georgia. The Council will consider the results and discuss how to develop a new approach for managing the recreational fishery that aligns with items identified in the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act.

“The Council is very excited to be cooperating with the recreational fishing community to develop this new approach for the Council’s area and we look forward to receiving recommendations from the recreational sector,” said Spud Woodward, South Atlantic Council Member.

“NOAA Fisheries and the Secretary of Commerce are to be commended for funding development of MyFishCount, an app that, when expanded and implemented, could meet the private recreational data reporting requirements of the Modern Fish Act,” said Jessica McCawley, Chair of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. “NOAA Fisheries is working to provide additional funding to continue this important program for 2019/20, and the Secretary of Commerce and the NOAA Fisheries Administrator expressed strong support for such programs at the National Recreational Fishing Summit held last year,” McCawley noted.

Council Vice Chair Mel Bell noted the importance of timely, mandatory data reporting. “The State of South Carolina recently moved from their 20+ year, paper-only based for-hire reporting program to include use of an electronic report application that is web-based. With the pending implementation of federal charter vessel reporting, we will have all federal for-hire vessels, and all South Carolina state-only for-hire vessels, reporting electronically,” explained Bell, who also represents the SCDNR Marine Resources Division on the Council. “In addition, MyFishCount provides a method for individual recreational anglers to report electronically, which would help supplement existing data streams and be a much-needed improvement to our understanding of recreational catch information,” according to Bell.

Tune in to the Council’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon, March 5th, to hear the discussions. Materials and webinar registration information will be available from the Council’s website on February 15th.

ALASKA: Disaster declarations, relief in limbo for multiple fisheries

January 16, 2019 — The last few years of commercial fishing for Alaska have turned up poor for various regions of the state, resulting in disaster declarations and potential federal assistance.

The 2018 season proved no different, with at least two disaster requests in the works at the state level. A third is in process at the federal level, and yet another is finally distributing money to affected fishermen from the 2016 season.

The three in process still have to be approved before going to Congress, where funds can be appropriated to assist fishermen. The process is affected by the federal government shutdown, as most of the National Marine Fisheries Service employees are furloughed until a resolution is reached.

The pink salmon disaster, which was requested in 2016 after catches across the Gulf of Alaska came in dismally below expectations, is awaiting a finalized plan for distributing $56 million in relief funds.

The plan is currently being reviewed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before the fund distribution is coordinated by the Pacific State Marine Fisheries Commission, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

 

New York files suit over low commercial fluke quota

January 15, 2019 — New York State has filed suit against the Trump administration to officially contest the state’s “unfair” share of the federal quota for fluke,  state Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday.

The suit follows release of December 2018 allocations for fluke that the state said remained disproportionately small and based on “inaccurate and outdated” fishing data, James said in a statement.

Cuomo had first said the state would sue in 2013, but as recently as last year refrained from doing so as it attempted other remedies, including a petition filed with the federal government. “The message is loud and clear: we will fight this unfair quota until New York’s access to summer flounder is consistent with national standards,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Hundreds of  Long Island commercial fluke fishermen have for decades decried New York’s share of the commercial fluke quota, which stands at just 7.6 percent, compared  with 21.3 for Virginia and 27.4 for North Carolina.

Read the full story at Newsday

NORTH CAROLINA: Trawlers catching “unheard of” amounts of shrimp off Corolla

January 14, 2019 — South of the Virginia border, the shores off Corolla have become an Outer Banks hot spot to catch winter shrimp.

Trawlers have clustered there within 3 miles of shore in recent weeks, each bringing in as much as 20,000 pounds of the delicacy per trip.

Last week, the “Capt. Ralph” hauled in 30,000 pounds, the most ever for the crew, said Ashley O’Neal, manager of O’Neal’s Sea Harvest.

In the past, 12,000 pounds was a good catch no matter where it came from, he said.

“This 30,000-pound stuff is unheard of,” O’Neal said. “We are seeing a lot of shrimp.”

In 2016, North Carolina shrimpers harvested a record 13.2 million pounds, worth $28.2 million. It was a 45 percent increase over the previous year, according to state statistics. The record fell again in 2017 with a harvest of 13.9 million pounds worth $29.6 million. The 10-year average is just short of 8 million pounds. Most of the catch comes from estuaries like the Pamlico Sound.

Shrimp consumption in the United States reached a new record in 2017 at 4.4 pounds a person per year, making it America’s favorite seafood, according to NOAA Fisheries. More than 90 percent of what’s eaten in the U.S. comes from foreign markets raised on farms.

Read the full story at the Daily Press

Federal shutdown effects on February NPFMC Portland meeting

January 11, 2019 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

IS THE COUNCIL IMPACTED BY THE SHUTDOWN? The Council staff is at work and conducting business as usual. However, most of our federal partners at the National Marine Fisheries Service (Alaska Region and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are on furlough during the shutdown.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS? Since many NMFS scientists and fishery management specialists are key contributors to the Council’s analyses, Plan Teams and Committees, the Council is rescheduling or modifying the agendas for several meetings where NMFS representatives were expected to provide pivotal presentations, reports, and/or analyses.

WHAT ABOUT THE COUNCIL’S FEBRUARY 2019 MEETING? The Council’s February meeting in Portland, OR at the Benson Hotel will be shortened to occur from February 4-10 and will still include meetings of the SSC and Advisory Panel. If the partial government shutdown remains in place, the Council will conduct as much business as possible given the federal furlough.

The following agenda items have been postponed to a future meeting: C2 Observer Program Fees Initial Review and FMAC report, and D4 Economic Data Reports Discussion Paper. Additionally, the following items may be postponed as well: B4 State Department Report on Central Arctic Ocean fishing agreement; D6 Economic SAFE Report; D7 Marine Mammal Conservation Status Report. Additionally, the presentation on Saltonstall-Kennedy grant results may also be postponed. The updated agenda and additional information can be found at npfmc.org.

The Council may not be able to take final action on any agenda items during this meeting unless the meeting has been announced in the Federal Register at least 14 days before the Council takes a final action. The Council could make a ‘preliminary final determination’ on these issues, and take final action at a later meeting. With respect to the Norton Sound Red King Crab Harvest Specifications, which requires timely action to open the fishery, the Council may hold a teleconference meeting as soon as the Federal Register notification requirements can be met, allow additional public comments, and take final action on that issue.

UPCOMING PLAN TEAM AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS:

Further information and updates on all Council meetings can be found at meetings.npfmc.org.

Crab Plan Team: The Council’s Crab Plan Team will meet January 23 – 25 in Nome, Alaska. The meeting has been shortened to start on Wednesday, as some agenda items have been postponed until May as NMFS staff may not be available.

Halibut ABM Stakeholder Committee: The Committee will meet on February 4th at the Benson Hotel in Portland, OR. There are no changes to the previously announced agenda.

Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee: This Committee meeting has been postponed, and will likely be rescheduled to occur during the April 2019 Council meeting in Anchorage, AK. The Committee was primarily scheduled to review the observer fee analysis (which has been withdrawn from the agenda), and other topics.

Ecosystem Committee: The Committee will meet on February 5th at the Benson Hotel in Portland, OR. The agenda will likely be modified to remove the presentation on marine mammal conservation status, unless NMFS staff are available to provide this report.

At this point, no further changes have yet been proposed to Council Plan Team and Committee meetings that are scheduled for mid-February and beyond.

US fishing councils stay open, but hamstrung by shutdown

January 11, 2019 — As the partial shutdown of the US federal government threatens to enter its fourth week, the eight advisory fishery management councils remain open but their activities have been curtailed.

That’s because, as staff for several of the councils explained to Undercurrent News, the grants the councils receive from the federal government have already been allocated, whereas federal agencies, such as the US Agriculture, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development departments remain shuttered because they still require their funding for 2019 to be authorized.

Outrage continues to build as President Donald Trump refuses to sign any fiscal 2019 appropriations bills that don’t include $5.6 billion for the building of a wall on the US’ southern border. In addition to reports of trash not being picked up in national parks, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) isn’t doing the required inspections of scales for weighing fish on boats or monitoring equipment. Special permits that some boats need are not being issued.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

US House Democrats file bills to stop offshore drilling, exploration

January 10, 2019 — House Democrats on Tuesday, 8 January, introduced a series of bills that would block the Trump administration from permitting offshore drilling in various regions of the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

Opponents of offshore drilling claim the practice could devastate both the environment and the economies of coastal communities, with the fishing industry particularly at risk.

“President Trump’s dangerous plans for offshore drilling will risk the livelihoods of millions on the Atlantic Coast and in New Jersey,” said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey, U.S.A.-based Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “An oil spill anywhere along the Atlantic Coast would cause severe environmental damage to fisheries, popular beaches and wildlife. I will work with members of the New Jersey delegation and colleagues in Congress to pass the COAST Anti-Drilling Act and prevent the Trump administration from wreaking havoc on New Jersey’s coastal communities.”

The moves came as the administration plans to release its vision to explore for fuel deposits in U.S. waters. In late November, NOAA Fisheries authorized five companies to use seismic air guns to survey the Atlantic Ocean floor from New Jersey to Florida. The survey results would then be made available to oil and gas companies who would seek drilling permits.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Southeast purse seiners to hold another permit buyback vote

January 10, 2019 — Southeast Alaska purse seine fishermen are preparing to vote on another permit buyback, with an eye toward making the fishery more viable in an era of more efficient vessels and smaller salmon runs.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is scheduled to send out ballots to fishermen starting Jan. 15 asking whether the fleet should take on $10.1 million in federal loans to buy out 36 permits, removing them from the fishery forever. If successful, the move would reduce the number of permits in the fishery to 279, down about 100 permits since 2012.

Like many things in the U.S. right now, the vote may be delayed as a consequence of the ongoing federal shutdown because most NMFS employees are on furlough. Pending the resolution of the budget battles in Congress, proponents of the buyback are hoping to get the ball rolling soon.

This would be the second buyback since the loan program was authorized by Congress in 2006, and so far, it’s been successful from the perspective of the fleet, said Bob Kehoe, the executive director of the Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association.

“I think it’s been successful; we’ve removed permits,” he said. “We’ve been able to generate more than enough revenue to service the loan. The service rate has been decreased.”

The purse seine permit buyback program in Southeast is something of an outlier; it’s a federally authorized loan program to buy back state-issued fishery permits.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

Shutdown hooks fisheries

January 10, 2018 — The real-world implications from the partial shutdown of the federal government, which entered its 19th day on Wednesday, are starting to be felt by the fishing industry and other stakeholders.

In Gloucester, the shutdown effectively has shuttered the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office on Great Republic Drive, impeding fishermen from dropping off documentation in person, contacting NOAA Fisheries personnel by telephone or email, and leaving other regulatory groups scrambling without essential input and participation from many NOAA Fisheries staffers.

So, while the New England Fishery Management Council remains at work, it is being hampered by lack of access to its federal management partners at GARFO and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole.

“Since many GARFO and NEFSC scientists and fishery management specialists are key contributors to the council’s plan development teams and provide critical input and analyses during committee meetings, the council is rescheduling or modifying the agendas of several meetings where NOAA Fisheries representatives were expected to provide pivotal presentations, reports and/or analyses,” the council said in a release detailing the impact of the shutdown.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times