Saving Seafood

Bleak outlook for Pacific cod could see 2019 US pollock TAC hike, despite reduced biomass

December 5, 2018 — Although the biomass for pollock in the US eastern Bering Sea fishery is coming down, the total allowable catch (TAC) for 2019 could actually be increased, due to the outlook for further cuts to Pacific cod.

The TACs for pollock and cod, especially in light of the gloomy outlook for the latter, will be a major focus of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, this week, which will go ahead, after an earthquake hit the city last Friday. With whitefish prices set high, the Barents Sea cod and haddock fisheries coming down for 2019 and the Russians only increasing their pollock quota for next year marginally, industry players globally are looking to what happens at the meeting.

First, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists present their views on the outlook for 2019, then the council will decide on TAC levels for pollock, cod, yellowfin sole and other fish. There is uncertainty around pollock and cod moving further north, as previously reported by Undercurrent News. 

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

New Federal Regulations for Golden Tilefish in the South Atlantic Region

December 5, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries has published a final rule which revises the catch limits for golden tilefish. The final rule reduces golden tilefish catch limits based on the most recent population assessment. The purpose of the final rule is to end overfishing (rate of removal is too high) of golden tilefish in the South Atlantic.

WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

  • The final rule is effective on January 4, 2019.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

  • The final rule establishes a total catch limit at 342,000 pounds gutted weight (lbs gw).
  • This final rule specifies the commercial and recreational catch limits and component commercial quotas using the existing allocations.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER:
83 FR 62508, published December 4, 2018.

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

(NOTE: See the complete Fishery Bulletin from NOAA Fisheries for a list of Frequently Asked Questions and additional information.)

Vital surf clam harvesting grounds closed by New England Fishery Management Council

December 5, 2018 — Clamming captains, business-owners and attorneys huddled in the lobby of the Viking Hotel on Tuesday sharing disbelief and despair over a decision by the New England Fisheries Management Council that will close vital harvesting grounds.

“A lot of these guys are going to go out of business,” owner and president of Nantucket Sound Seafood LLC Al Rencurrel said. “Obviously the economic impact, they didn’t view that, did they?”

Heading into the meeting, the surf clam industry hoped for the approval of “Alternative 2,” which would continue an exemption in its fishing areas but would modify boundaries including seasonal areas. It also called for increased monitoring with 5-minute vessel monitoring system to locate where the vessels are fishing. The clam industry would also fund a research project that NOAA would undertake to examine the habitat.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

2018 Northeast Fall Bottom Trawl Survey Completed

December 4, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s 2018 Fall Bottom Trawl Survey aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow has been completed. The survey began on September 4 as scheduled and ended on November 13, finishing 83 percent of planned stations (314 of 377).

The NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow supports a variety of marine research. The NEFSC’s twice-yearly bottom trawl survey of fish and invertebrates is the longest running of its kind in the world, and collects data used to understand changes in marine life and their habitats over time.

Resource Sampling
During Leg 1, Hurricane Florence passed through south of Delaware Bay, yet operations continued by adjusting the survey track. Some planned inshore stations in the storm’s path were not sampled. Still, Legs 1 and 2 were the most productive for this survey.

Leg 3 left on schedule to cover Southern New England and Georges Bank. About midway through the leg, strong winds forced operations away from eastern Georges Bank and into Cape Cod Bay. While sampling there, crew members discovered a small hole in the aft part of the vessel through which draining seawater was being retained in a watertight space. The ship returned to Newport, RI on October 19 to address the issue. The repair was done quickly but continued high winds, short-term staffing issues, and replacement of a required back-up electrical system consumed the remainder of sea days available for Leg 3. In all, 7 sea days were lost.

Leg 4 started on time October 30 with 3 sea days added to offset days lost during Leg 3. About mid-way through Leg 4, a damaged pipe was found in the vessel’s sea chest. The ship returned to Newport for repair November 8 and departed the same day resuming operations in the western Gulf of Maine. The 3 sea days added for use in Leg 4 were then lost to high winds. Priority was given to stations in the western Gulf of Maine and stations planned in the eastern Gulf of Maine were not completed.

Ecosystem Sampling
Temperature and salinity measurements were conducted at all but one of the stations occupied. Plankton tows were also planned at a subset of stations, and about 75% (87 of 116) of the planned stations were completed. Reduced plankton tow coverage was mostly caused by lost sea days, although 4 stations were affected by equipment problems.

Gear Testing
In close consultation with the Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel, we set aside time during this survey to focus on achieving consistent net spread with our survey gear in shallow water, testing several different trawl door types. We completed approximately 24 hours of testing for the 66″ Thyboron Type IV doors during calibration work leading up to the survey. We planned to test other types using any remaining sea days after the survey was completed. These experiments did not occur owing to lost sea days, but will be rescheduled during a future field season.

Read the full release here

NOAA Approves Seismic Blasts off Coast of Md., Va.

December 4, 2018 — The federal government has cleared the way for five companies to do seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maryland and Virginia, as a first step to possible offshore drilling for gas and oil.

National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, gave final authorization, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, to “incidentally, but not intentionally, harass marine mammals to companies proposing to conduct geophysical surveys in support of hydrocarbon exploration in the Atlantic Ocean.”

That means NOAA Fisheries will allow seismic blasts even though they may unintentionally disturb marine mammals. The companies will be required to monitor acoustics, and take action to reduce the impact on animals. The required actions include vessels listening and watching for marine life, especially protected species. Companies must increase the seismic activity gradually “to alert animals in the area and reduce potential for exposure to intense noise.” And when certain sensitive species are nearby, they must stop blasting.

The geophysical surveys use airgun arrays to explore for hydrocarbons. A 2017 Presidential Executive Order encourages energy exploration like this. The NOAA Fisheries decision to allow blasting on the Atlantic Coast was met with outrage from conservation groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says there is no evidence that seismic surveys harm marine life, but a study it conducted in 2014 shows that nearly three million dolphins and half a million whales could be harassed, or worse, by survey activity.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Fishermen to NOAA: ‘We spend more time getting away from the fish than we do catching the fish’

November 30, 2018 — The fishing industry pleaded with NOAA on Thursday afternoon for the one thing the agency couldn’t promise: urgency.

“Unfortunately with the management process that we have, to abide by the law, which obviously we have to do as a federal agency, we have to abide by the law,” NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator Mike Pentony said. “We are subject to constraints. It is very difficult for us to react, to change quickly.”

To better understand the constraints experienced both by NOAA and the commercial fishing industry, about two dozen people involved in fishing, its regulations and development discussed the obstacles and solutions for about two hours during a monthly roundtable conversation held by the Port of New Bedford.

The turnout at the School of Marine Science and Technology was one of the best the meeting has seen, Pamela Lafreniere of the Port Authority said.

The roundtable looked at what vision the fishermen and NOAA have for the groundfish industry and then touched on quota.

A common theme emerged from the fishing industry as it pelted Pentony with grave concerns regarding the future of the groundfish fishery.

“This is the very bottom and the most discouraged mount of fishermen that I’ve seen since I’ve been involved in fisheries and that goes back to the mid-70s,” fisherman Ed Barrett said.

“I can’t tell you how bad it is. You can ask any fishermen,” fisherman Ron Borjeson said. “We spend more time getting away from the fish than we do catching the fish.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA seeks recreational fishermen’s input

November 29, 2018 — NOAA Fisheries is ramping up its plans to develop management strategies for the Northeast recreational groundfish fishery for 2019, beginning with three January workshops for stakeholder input.

The agency’s Gloucester-based Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office has scheduled the workshops for Jan. 8 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Jan. 10 in Narragansett, Rhode Island; and Jan. 12 in Plymouth. Times still are to be determined.

The workshops, beyond soliciting stakeholder comment, also will jump-start the campaign to develop new short-term and long-term management measures for the recreational fishing industry “that balance the need to prevent overfishing with enabling profitability in the for-hire fleet” and provide other opportunities for recreational anglers.

In the short term, regulators are seeking potential new management measures to achieve, but not exceed, recreational catch limits in the upcoming 2019 fishing season, including Gulf of Maine cod and haddock.

In the long term, NOAA is exploring how to use new data — such as the information culled from the Marine Recreational Information Program — in its management of recreational groundfish stocks. It also is seeking the most effective manner to use available research to reduce or avoid bycatch mortality, calculate dead discards and the best methods of release.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

New Bedford Fishing Boat Captain Sentenced

November 29, 2018 — The former captain of a New Bedford fishing boat owned by Carlos Rafael, a/k/a “The Codfather,” was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for interfering with a U.S Coast Guard (USCG) inspection of a fishing boat off the Massachusetts coast.

Thomas D. Simpson, 57, of South Portland, Maine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to two years of probation, with the first four months to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring, and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. In August 2018, Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of destruction or removal of property subject to seizure and inspection.

Simpson was the captain of the fishing vessel Bulldog, a New Bedford based commercial fishing vessel and one of several fishing vessels owned by Carlos Rafael. On Sept. 25, 2017, Rafael, often referred to as “The Codfather,” was sentenced in federal court in Boston to 46 months in federal prison on a variety of charges related to the operation of his commercial fishing business.

On May 31, 2014, the Bulldog was engaged in commercial fishing off the cost of Massachusetts when the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) boarded the vessel to perform a routine inspection of the Bulldog and its fishing equipment. At the time of the boarding, the Bulldog’s net was deployed in the water and the crew was actively fishing. The USCG Boarding Officer encountered Simpson in the Bulldog’s wheelhouse and instructed Simpson to haul in the fishing net for inspection. The fishing net is controlled from the wheelhouse by an electric winch, which Simpson activated, but instead of hauling the fishing net onto the vessel, he let out more of the cable which attaches the net to the vessel. When the USCG Boarding Officer realized that Simpson was letting the net out, he instructed Simpson to stop and to haul the net in. Simpson ignored the order and continued to let out cable until the net became detached from the Bulldog and sank.

Read the full story at WBSM

 

Judge returns two vessels to Carlos Rafael’s wife

November 29, 2018 — The wife and another business partner of Carlos Rafael will retain ownership of two of the four fishing vessels seized by the federal government as part of the penalties for the array of crimes committed by the man known as “The Codfather.”

U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young, in his final order of forfeiture, said the F/V Lady Patricia and the F/V Olivia & Rafaela — and all federal fishing permits associated with each vessel — will be forfeited to the federal government as part of the final seizure agreement.

Young also ordered the forfeiture of $306,490 to the federal government in addition to the $17,500 judgment already paid by Rafael as part of his plea agreement.

Two of the other forfeited vessels — the Bulldog and Southern Crusader II — will be released to corporations that include Rafael’s wife, Conceicao Rafael, as an owner.

The 75-foot Bulldog will be released to B & D Fishing Corp. and Conceicao Rafael. The 81-foot Southern Crusader II is set to be released to R and C Fishing Corp. The corporation, according to the order, includes Conceicao Rafael and Joao Camarao as owners.

The convicted and currently incarcerated Carlos Rafael, according to the order, ceases to hold any “right, title or interest” in either the forfeited or released vessels. The order, however, retains Carlos Rafael’s ability to defend himself against any future claims from NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA extends protective zone to try to help right whales

November 29, 2018 — The federal government is extending a protective zone off Massachusetts to try to keep a large group of endangered whales safe from collisions with boats.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s applying the voluntary vessel speed restriction zone in an area 21 nautical miles south of Nantucket. A group of 17 right whales was seen in the area on Monday.

NOAA says the speed restriction zone will be in effect until Dec. 11. Mariners are asked to avoid the area or go through it at 10 knots or less.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Daily Times