Saving Seafood

New Plunge Pool Increases River Herring Survival at Maine Dam

January 13, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are working with the dam owners to improve fish passage for river herring and American eels on a tributary of the Kennebec River in Gardiner, Maine.

From 2014 through 2019, NOAA Fisheries staff from the Greater Atlantic Region consulted on the relicensing of the American Tissue Dam. As part of the Federal Power Act, NOAA Fisheries may require fish passage at federally licensed dams, which was the case for this dam.

In order to comply with this requirement, Kruger Energy Inc. was busy this summer and fall constructing a new and improved downstream fishway. When migrating fish pass over a notch in the dam, they will now enter a well-designed plunge pool. The pool does a better job reducing fish mortality than the old plunge pool, particularly for the small juvenile river herring.

Additional passage improvements to this project will include an eel ramp to help juvenile eels migrate upstream. A submerged pipe will help adult eels headed downstream to get up and over the dam and back down to the river channel safely. With these fish passage improvements, we are optimistic that restoration of fisheries resources in Cobboseecontee Stream can succeed.

Read the full release here

Massachusetts postponing lobster closures to protect right whales

January 12, 2021 — We here at FishOn have been absent from these pages for the past couple Mondays. Slight case of mistaken identity. Fear not, we’ve escaped. Here’s hoping you didn’t pay the ransom.

First column of the new year, so we’re still finding our footing, staying within ourselves and letting the game come to us. It’s early and it’s a long year.

There, that pretty much encapsulates the product of virtually every Opening Day interview we ever did.

One thing we know we’ll be writing about in 2021 is the plight of the North Atlantic right whales, so let’s start with them.

The end of 2020 brought a flurry of proposed protective actions from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and NOAA Fisheries that will be batted around until final rules can be enacted.

In the Bay State, DMF, among other recommendations, has proposed closing all state waters to lobstering from February to May to coincide with the right whales’ annual migration and feeding along the Massachusetts coast.

It is set to present those recommendations to the Massachusetts Fisheries Advisory Commission on Jan. 28. That meeting initially was set for Jan. 7, but DMF was swamped with public comment to review, as seemingly every conservation group in the world except the Cross Street Irregulars weighed in.

Last Friday, DMF said the altered timeline means it won’t be able to “promulgate final regulations for Feb. 1, 2021.”

It now expects the new rules — including the closure — to go into effect between mid-February and early March.

“As a result only those waters within the Massachusetts restricted area will be closed to trap gear fishing on Feb. 1,” DMF said. “All other waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth will not be subject to a trap gear closure until a final rule is promulgated.”

Promulgate. Good word.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Mid-Atlantic Council Seeks Stakeholder Input on Summer Flounder Recreational Management

January 12, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is collecting public comments and suggestions regarding current and future management of the recreational summer flounder fishery. Input provided through the scoping comment form will help inform the development of a management strategy evaluation, which will evaluate different management strategies designed to minimize discards in the recreational summer flounder fishery. 

The Council is collecting this information as part of the continued progress and implementation of its Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management.

The Council encourages all stakeholders who have interest, knowledge, or experience related to the recreational summer flounder fishery to provide comments. The form should take 10-15 minutes to complete, and your answers are confidential. More information.

Provide comments on the MAFMC’s scoping comment form by Monday, January 25, 2021.

Read the full release here

Public Information Sessions for Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Proposed Rule Begin Tonight

January 12, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are proposing to amend the regulations implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan to reduce the incidental mortality and serious injury to North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in northeast commercial lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot fisheries to meet the goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.

To give the public an opportunity to learn about the proposed rule and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, we are holding 4 public information sessions. Everyone is welcome to attend and ask questions about the proposed rule.

See our summary fact sheet for more information on the proposed rule.

Please note, there will be an opportunity to provide comments at our public hearings in February. You may also provide comments online through the Regulations.gov comment portal. The comment due date is March 1, 2021.

Public Information Sessions

To sign up to attend, choose the link for the public information session you want to attend.

The information sessions run from 6:30-9 pm and are designed to orient participants to the documents and the review process, and to answer questions about what the proposed rule and DEIS contain. Public comments will only be accepted if time permits.

We will be opening the sessions at 6 pm for troubleshooting, so please log on early.

The sessions are focused on the proposed requirements for particular areas, though you may attend any session, and ask questions about any area.

If you are unable to attend, you may access a pre-recorded version of the slides to learn more about the rule.

Read the full release here

New Vessel Slow Zone Southeast of Atlantic City and Extended Slow Zone South of Martha’s Vineyard

January 12, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces a new Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone) southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.  On January 9, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Atlantic City Buoy acoustically detected the presence of right whales 20nm southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. This new Slow Zone is in effect until January 24, 2021.

Also, on January 8, a New England Aquarium aerial survey team detected the presence of right whales south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. This slow zone is extended through January 23.

Mariners, please go around these areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

The South of Martha’s Vineyard Slow Zone is in effect through January 23 for waters bounded by:

41 25 N
40 44 N
069 59 W
070 55 W

The Southeast of Atlantic City Slow Zone is in effect through January 24 for waters bounded by:
39 25 N
38 44 N
073 44 W
074 36 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

A New Device Tracks Lobsters as They Move Through the Supply Chain

January 11, 2021 — Lobsters are big business in Maine. In 2019 alone, the state netted almost US $500-million from this popular crustacean. Profits would likely be even higher, though, if the seafood industry could reduce “shrink”—the number of lobsters that die on their way through the supply chain. Every one percent in shrink means almost $5-million in unrealized income, says Eric Thunberg, an economist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. “Those aren’t small losses.”

“There’s a lot of interest in reducing shrink,” says Rick Wahle, a zoologist at the University of Maine. “Unfortunately,” he says, “there’s very little hard data to work with.”

“In most cases, it’s not going to be rocket science to mitigate these problems,” says Wahle. “It may just be shorter handling times, reducing time between the dock and the holding tank, dropping more aerators in the water, or lowering storage density.” The question is where along the supply chain those changes should be applied.

A new project, led by Wahle and supported by NOAA, is now tackling that question with two purpose-designed technologies to record the health and environment conditions of lobsters as they move from trap to distributor. One sensor package, called MockLobster, measures temperature and acceleration of a crate of lobsters as it’s moved around. The team wants to add other sensors for dissolved oxygen and acidity, but these features are still being prototyped.

Read the full story at Smithsonian Magazine

SNP Announces New Board Leadership, New Member from H-E-B

January 11, 2021 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:

Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) is pleased to announce new leadership of its Board of Directors with the appointment of Jim Motos of Rich Products Corp. as the Chair of the Board and Paul Doremus of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the Vice Chair. Steve Hart of Global Aquaculture Alliance will move to Immediate Past Chair and Judson Reis, formerly of Gorton’s Inc., will remain as Treasurer. The Board welcomes Jason Driskill, Senior Director of Seafood for Texas-based retailer H-E-B.

Full press release can be found here 

Webinars Set: Cooperative Research Challenges During COVID-19

January 11, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On behalf of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Cooperative Research Branch, I am pleased to invite you to attend the “Cooperative Research: Facing the Challenges of COVID-19” workshop series.  

Two 90-minute WebEx virtual workshops for researchers, industry partners, and field scientists will be held on February 25 and March 4, 2021.

The first webinar will focus on how cooperative research field work was adapted to ensure safe operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second webinar will focus on how fishermen worked with researchers to independently collect scientific data during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it may be used to bridge data gaps.

These virtual workshops are designed to foster a dialogue about how cooperative research has adapted and continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, including exchanging experiences from the field.

Each workshop will include brief presentations by organizations and industry partners involved in cooperative research across the region, and discussions moderated by the NEFSC Cooperative Research Branch Chief, Dr. Anna Mercer.

No RSVP is needed. On the days of the events, login to the Webex platform using the credentials found on our Event Page.  I look forward to having you join with other community partners to take a close look at how operations changed in 2020.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Sincerely,

Giovanni Gianesin, NEFSC/Cooperative Research Branch

Study documents ‘climate shock’ to Dungeness crab fishery

January 8, 2021 — The North Pacific marine heat wave of 2014 to 2016 and subsequent algae bloom severely tested California fishing communities dependent on Dungeness crab – and demonstrated how they could adapt to sudden climate changes, according to a new study by West Coast scientists.

The bloom produced high levels of the biotoxin domoic acid, forcing a delay in the 2015-2016 crab season when “roughly two-thirds of all vessels stopped fishing temporarily while others switched to different fisheries or moved to more favorable locations,” according to a summary from Oregon State University, where researchers worked with colleagues at the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

The study used network analysis to examine impacts from the season delays across fisheries, and understand how seven affected fishing communities responded, according to James Watson, one of the study’s co-authors and an assistant professor at OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences.

Read the full story at National Fisherman