Saving Seafood

Creating Transit Lanes for Fishing Vessels in Northeast Wind Energy Areas Still a Work in Progress

December 11, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Offshore Wind Transit Working Group is inching closer to developing transit lanes for fishing vessels in Northeast Wind Energy Areas.

Members of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), as well as other fishing industry representatives, offshore wind developer lease-holders, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Coat Guard, convened in Newport, Rhode Island, earlier this month for the Working Group meeting, which aimed to develop fishery transit lanes through the Wind Energy Areas (WEA) in federal waters off of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Currently there are concerns about commercial fishermen safely traveling across WEAs to access fishing grounds. According to RODA, safety risks “greatly increase” due to the long distances that fishing boats may be required to take in order to get around or through the WEAs. To solve the issue, the working group is developing transit lanes.

The goal is for the group to come up with a transit lane option that preserves the most important routes to the historic fisheries. Some route options have been identified, but so far nothing has been finalized.

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

Environmental groups will join 16 South Carolina cities to sue over offshore drilling tests

December 11, 2018 — Nine conservation groups and 16 South Carolina coastal communities are expected to sue the Trump administration Tuesday to stop leases to explore for natural gas and oil offshore.

Tracts off South Carolina are among the waters up for grabs. The groups said they will file two separate lawsuits, both in U.S. District Court in Charleston.

The lawsuits will claim the leases violate the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits harassing or killing animals such as whales or dolphins.

The exploration would include seismic blast testing that involves loud airguns considered harmful to marine mammals and other sea life.

“Ignoring the mounting opposition to offshore drilling, the decision to push forward with unnecessary seismic testing violates the law, let alone common sense,” said Charleston-based attorney Catherine Wannamaker, with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

“An overwhelming number of communities, businesses and elected officials have made it clear that seismic blasting — a precursor to drilling that nobody wants — has no place off our coasts,” she said.

The 16 municipalities are Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Edisto Island, Seabrook Island, Kiawah Island, James Island, Beaufort, Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Port Royal, Awendaw, Pawleys Island, Briarcliffe Acres and North Myrtle Beach. Also part of the litigation is the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce.

The South Carolina Environmental Law Project sued on their behalf.

Read the full story at The Post and Courier

NORTH CAROLINA: Authorities surveying fishermen, others about hurricane damages

December 10, 2018 — Fishermen, for-hire boat captains and others associated with North Carolina’s marine fisheries may get a phone call from federal or state authorities asking about impacts from Hurricane Florence.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA-Fisheries) is working with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to evaluate fisheries damages from the storm. The survey is in response to Gov. Roy Cooper’s request that the U.S. Department of Commerce declare a federal fishery resources disaster for North Carolina’s recreational and commercial fisheries.

The determination of a federal fishery resources disaster could provide federal financial relief to the state’s fishing industry.

Read the full story at The Coastland Times

US fishing interests concerned over seismic air gun blasting in Atlantic Ocean

December 10, 2018 — A decision by NOAA Fisheries to issue five permits for seismic air gun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean has drawn sharp criticism from business and environmental leaders who fear the blasts could be harmful for fish and other marine wildlife.

The blasting will be used to conduct surveys that will provide data to oil and gas industry businesses, who may then seek to conduct offshore drilling in federal waters between Cape May, New Jersey and Cape Canaveral, Florida. President Trump opened the door for such exploration in an executive order last year.

“The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has responsibility for permitting geophysical surveys, and makes decisions about energy development in the waters of the outer continental shelf,” NOAA Fisheries said in a press release.

Observers will be aboard survey vessels and will notify operators if a protected species comes near the air guns. Shutdowns will be mandatory when certain species are seen.

However, opponents to the plan fear the blasts, which they claim can impact marine life thousands of miles away, will still be detrimental to marine life and those whose livelihoods depends on fishing. The Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast said it represents 42,000 business and 500,000 fishing families along the Atlantic coast.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Maine fisheries groups support DMR Commissioner Keliher

December 10, 2018 — Who says miracles don’t happen?

In what must be a first in modern history, virtually every commercial fishing organization in Maine joined together to urge Governor-elect Janet Mills to keep Patrick Keliher on the job as commissioner of Marine Resources after she takes office in January.

First reported in the Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s Landings, shortly after the election, the MLA, Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Maine Aquaculture Association, Alewife Harvesters of Maine, Maine Elver Fishermen Association and the Independent Maine Marine Worm Harvesters Association signed a letter to Mills voicing the organizations’ unanimous support for the current DMR commissioner.

“Commissioner Keliher has the relationships, knowledge of the industry landscape and major issues to effectively lead Maine’s seafood sector into the future,” the fisheries groups told the governor-elect.

As of late this week, DMR spokesman Jeff Nichols said Keliher had “no comment at this time” regarding the industry’s endorsement.

Governor Paul LePage appointed Keliher to his job in January 2012, some six months after the departure of the Governor’s initial appointee, Norman Olsen, in July 2011.

Over the past seven-plus years, Keliher has overseen the implementation of a number of tough conservation and enforcement programs in several fisheries including the 10-year rotational management plan for scallops, the introduction of magnetic swipe cards to track landings in the elver fishery and federally mandated gear changes by lobstermen for the protection of endangered whales. He also pushed the Legislature for stronger powers to discipline fishermen who violate Maine’s fisheries laws and DMR rules.

His experience with fisheries regulatory groups was a significant factor in the groups’ recommendation.

“Many of the most impactful decisions that affect the Maine commercial fishing industry are made by regulatory agencies outside of Maine through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),” the writers told Mills.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

NEW YORK: A Push for Offshore Oil

December 7, 2018 — A recent move by the Trump administration could lead the way to oil and gas exploration and extraction off the Atlantic coast.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has approved five requests that will allow companies to conduct seismic surveys. The “incidental take” authorizations allow companies conducting such surveys — geophysical companies working on behalf of oil and gas corporations, The Post reported — to harm marine life as long as it is unintentional.

Such surveys would be conducted using seismic air guns, which emit loud blasts on a recurring basis, 10 seconds apart for 24 hours a day, often for weeks at a time, according to the environmental group Greenpeace. The sonic blasts, or “pings,” penetrate through the ocean and miles into the seafloor and can harm whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and fish. They can result in temporary and permanent hearing loss, habitat abandonment, disruption of mating and feeding, beachings, and death, according to Greenpeace.

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

New England Council Finalizes 2019-20 Scallop Plan, Landings Will be 60 Million lbs or Higher

December 7, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The New England Fishery Management Council has finalized the scallop plan for 2019-20, the fishing year beginning on April 1st.

NMFS staff estimates that catches will be similar to this year, which are expected to be around 60 million lbs.

However, the plan adds one additional closed area trip for each of the approximately 310 full time vessels in the fishery.  At 18,000 lbs per trip, this has the potential to increase landings by around 5.5 million lbs.

Open access days will remain the same, meaning that the resource scientists expect to see a lower volume landed from the same number of days at sea.

Part of this is due to projected changes in size of scallops landed.

Bristol Seafoods, in Portland, has excellent customer facing information on Scallops, and CEO Peter Handy offered his take on the 2019 season.

Handy said that if the season plays out as the council expects, Bristol’s customers should see the same volumes of 10-20’s and 20-30’s as last year, but there may be a decline in U-10’s and U-12’s.

Whether such a decline materializes will depend on the size of the scallops in some of the closed areas now being fished for the second year.  Last year, says Handy, the area that produced the largest amount of U-10’s and U-12’s were from Closed area 1 and the Nantucket lightship.   This year, those areas will only be accessed once if at all, as part of a ‘flex’ trip allocated by the council.  Handy says “Overall, it looks like the trips to areas that have the most plentiful big scallops was reduced from two down to one.”

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

NEFMC Approves Groundfish Framework 58

December 7, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has approved Framework Adjustment 58 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The framework will be submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) for review and implementation. The target implementation date is May 1, which is the start of the 2019 groundfish fishing year. In short, the framework includes the following components:

  • Revised and/or new rebuilding programs for several groundfish stocks, including: (a) Georges Bank winter flounder; (b) Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder; (c) witch flounder; (d) Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Northern windowpane flounder; and (e) ocean pout;
  • Revised annual catch limit specifications (see tables at right and next page);
  • 2019 U.S./Canada total allowable catches (TACs) for three shared groundfish stocks on Georges Bank;
  • An exemption for vessels fishing in Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) waters from U.S. commercial minimum sizes in the Council’s Northeast Multispecies FMP; and
  • An extension of the temporary change that’s currently in place for the scallop fishery’s trigger for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder accountability measures (AMs). Under this extension, the scallop fishery’s AM would be triggered only if scallopers exceed both their own sub-ACL for yellowtail flounder and if the total ACL for this stock is exceeded.

Read the full release here

NOAA Seeks Comment on Changes to Charter/Headboat Reporting Requirements

December 6, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries has proposed a new rule that would modify reporting requirements for owners or operators of vessels with a federal Gulf charter/headboat reef fish permit or Gulf charter/headboat coastal migratory pelagics permit. These proposed changes would require the owner or operator of a vessel with one of these permits to:

  • Electronically declare (hail-out) a fishing trip before leaving port.
  • Submit an electronic fishing report for each trip prior to the vessel offloading fish, or within 30 minutes after the end of the trip if no fish are landed.
  • Install NOAA Fisheries-approved hardware/software with global positioning system (GPS) capabilities that, at a minimum, archive vessel position data and transmit data to NOAA Fisheries. This requirement would not preclude the use of GPS devices that provide real-time location data or vessel monitoring systems (VMS). The GPS portion of the hardware must be permanently affixed to the vessel and turned on at all times, unless a power-down exemption is granted.
  • Comply with these reporting requirements no matter where the vessel is fishing.

You can submit comments electronically via https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0111 or by mail to:

Rich Malinowski

Southeast Regional Office, NMFS

263 13th Avenue South

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701

Comments are due January 9, 2019.

NOAA Fisheries will review public comments and modify the proposed changes if necessary then submit the rule to the Secretary of Commerce for review and approval. If the Secretary of Commerce approves the rule, NOAA Fisheries would implement the changes in phases during 2019.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council approved these changes to improve data collection and fisheries management. NOAA Fisheries has compiled several Frequently Asked Questions on these proposed changes. For more information, contact Chris Schieble at cschieble@wlf.la.gov or 504-284-2035.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.la.gov. To receive email alerts, signup at http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup.

Read the full release here

Working Group Nears Consensus on Transit Lanes for Fishing Vessels in Northeast Wind Energy Areas

December 6, 2018 — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), which consists of regional fishing industry representatives from Maine to North Carolina, convened an Offshore Wind Transit Lane Working Group meeting on December 3rd at the Hotel Viking in Newport, R.I.

Fishing industry representatives, offshore wind developer lease-holders, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the U.S. Coast Guard, among others, joined RODA to continue an attempt to develop fishery transit lanes through the large group of Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in federal waters off of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The meeting was facilitated by the Consensus Building Institute. Currently, three WEAs are subject to active leases held by Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Vineyard Wind.  BOEM will hold an additional auction for three new leases in WEAs adjacent to the existing sites on December 13, 2018.

In addition to loss of access within the lease areas, commercial fishermen coastwide have long been concerned about their ability to safely travel across wind energy arrays to access other historical, traditional commercial fishing grounds. They are especially concerned with the size of the WEAs being proposed by BOEM, which are by far the largest in the world.

While fishing industry representatives and wind developers agree that minimizing transit time through wind energy arrays is a primary design goal, safety risks greatly increase due to the long distances—up to 50-70 miles—fishing boats may be required to transit either around or through wind energy arrays.

The Massachusetts Fisheries Working Group on Offshore Wind began to consider the development of transit lanes earlier this year, and RODA has since held a large workshop followed by the smaller working group meeting to continue this task. To prepare for the working group meeting, RODA asked NMFS and the Northeast Regional Ocean Council Data Portal team to evaluate historic transit patterns to identify options for safe and direct access to fishing grounds. NMFS presented an analysis based on VMS and AIS data that substantially supported input received from the fishing industry regarding prevailing transit patterns.

As some examples, vessels from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and other ports frequently cross the Wind Energy Areas in a “diagonal” Northwest-Southeast direction to access offshore fishing grounds, and will no longer have access to direct routes. Vessels from New York must additionally transit in an East-West direction, whereas other fisheries access grounds in a variety of directions including North-South in western and eastern portions of the lease areas.

Fishing industry representatives have considered a wide range of transit lane options and continue to support options that generally preserve these most important routes to their historic fisheries, which must include a “diagonal” route or, less favorably, smoothing out the Northwest-Southeast edges of the lease areas to allow more direct transit along the perimeters. Offshore wind lease-holding developers, for their part, have attempted to identify routes to meet those goals that also preserve the energy-generating nameplate capacity for each site that allows them to meet pricing goals for power procurement. Developers have various viewpoints on preferred transit lane locations and, as such, layouts have differing ranges of support including for the currently unleased areas.

The series of discussions regarding transit lane design was further from achieving consensus on the necessary width of transit lanes. Offshore fishermen have consistently requested lanes to be a minimum width of 4 nautical miles to allow for safe passage in an area known for extreme weather and tidal conditions, and to mitigate the anticipated effects of radar interference emanating from large monopole turbines. The developers have proposed lanes of only one to two nautical miles in order to optimize site layouts for wind exposure.

In order to foster evidence-based progress on necessary transit lane widths, RODA and others have requested the Coast Guard and BOEM to conduct an in-depth analysis regarding fisheries vessel position data, radar functionality, emergency incident reports, and other items.

While the group has not yet finalized recommendations, both fishermen and developers broadly agree that the most efficient timing for transit lane identification would occur before a lease is issued. RODA therefore strongly urges BOEM to include stipulations for the continuation of these transit lanes in its upcoming lease sale, and welcomes inquiries as to the status of these recommendations as potential bidders prepare proposals.

Additional materials, including a meeting summary with details regarding each of the options, will be available shortly on the RODA website.

About RODA
The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is a broad, membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and companies working to improve the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. It seeks to coordinate science and policy approaches, through public and private partnerships, to manage development of the Outer Continental Shelf in a way that minimizes conflicts with existing traditional and historical fishing.