Saving Seafood

Fishermen lose challenge to rule requiring at-sea monitors

June 16, 2021 — A federal judge in Washington D.C. on Tuesday denied the bid of New Jersey-based herring fishermen who sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) last year to block a new regulation that will require them to pay for third-party “at-sea monitors” who will survey by-catch.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that the agency had not acted in violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) when it approved in February 2020 the rule that the plaintiffs said could “destroy their iconic way of life” by cutting by 20% their profits from commercially fishing herring along the U.S. Atlantic coast.

About half-a-dozen small fishing vessel operators, including the Loper Bright Enterprise, brought the lawsuit last year.

Ryan Mulvey, an attorney for the plaintiffs with the Cause of Action Institute, an advocacy group favoring limited government, said he was disappointed with the decision. “The federal government has overextended its regulatory power far beyond what Congress authorized,” he said.

Read the full story at Reuters

Suit challenging new charter boat rules OK’d as class action

June 15, 2021 — Six captains and five companies from Florida and Louisiana can represent others in a lawsuit challenging new federal regulations for nearly 1,300 charter boats across the Gulf of Mexico, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan certified the suit early this month as a class action for the people who take small groups of anglers into the Gulf. She rejected an argument that some charter captains support the regulations.

“The claims and defenses of class representatives are typical of the claims of the class as a whole,” she wrote on June 2.

The lawsuit contends that privacy and other rights are violated by regulations which require permanently active tracking devices on the boats. The suit also challenges requirements to report information including the crew size, number of customers, the fee charged to each and the amount and price of fuel.

Although the regulations took effect in January, the government has not yet set a date for requiring the devices, said Judy Pino, spokeswoman for the nonprofit law firm New Civil Liberties Alliance, which represents the captains.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Gulf of Mexico charter operators fight back against lawsuit mandating electronic monitoring

June 15, 2021 — A week after receiving class-action status in its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, and NOAA Fisheries, a nonpartisan civil rights group has filed an amended lawsuit regarding NOAA Fisheries plan to monitor charter boats in the Gulf of Mexico.

A group of 11 small businesses and fishing-boat owners claim that a policy requiring electronic monitoring and reporting infringes on their operations. Last July, NOAA Fisheries issued an order to electronically submit reports for each fishing trip, even if no fish were caught. It also requires boats to notify the agency before departing on any kind of trip.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Events, fisheries proposal keep endangered orcas in the spotlight

June 14, 2021 — While endangered Southern Resident orca whales found in the Salish Sea are rarely seen by the average person, the species continues to be in the spotlight.

Several organizations are holding events throughout June to celebrate Orca Action Month, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries is gathering input on several plans that could shape efforts to protect and understand the species.

Regional wildlife photographer Bart Rulon showcased the species with several of his photos during a Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group event held online Thursday.

Rulon and others who spend significant time on the water have seen the orcas interact with their families, their food and other wildlife including harbor porpoises.

He shared photos of one mother-son duo routinely seen together, from the time the son’s dorsal fin was small next to his mother’s, to now, with the full-grown son dwarfing his mother thanks to male orcas’ larger size.

Read the full story at The Columbian

Engaging Anglers to Improve Catch and Release Practices and Restore Reef Fish in the Gulf

June 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA’s Deepwater Horizon restoration partners at the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission selected three new partners to conduct studies on reef fish restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. They were chosen through a competitive process, and the awards total approximately $690,000.

These studies are contributing to a $30 million project to encourage anglers to use fish descending devices. These devices increase survival of reef fish experiencing barotrauma in the Gulf’s recreational fisheries approved by the Deepwater Horizon Open Ocean Trustees.

Barotrauma is damage caused by the rapid expansion of gases in fish that are caught in deeper water and quickly brought up to the surface. As the gases expand, they can damage the eyes, stomach, and other parts of the fish. This makes it difficult for them to swim back down and survive once released. Descending devices help fish by quickly releasing them at their normal depth, reducing the number of reef fish that die from catch and release fishing.

Read the full release here

Regulators are using underwater drones to enforce lobster trap rules

June 14, 2021 — The enforcement of lobster trap rules far offshore is getting increased attention from state and federal regulators, who are turning to new technology to inspect gear for compliance with requirements that aim to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from deadly entanglements.

Michael Henry, a top fisheries enforcement officer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration here in the Northeast, said physically inspecting bulky gear out in federal waters dozens of miles off Maine can be a daunting and time-consuming task.

“It’s been a challenge for us for a long time to be able to effectively haul lobster gear offshore — just the environmental challenges, the safety challenges,” he said.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Fishing Report: US agencies take on wind farm fish surveys

June 14, 2021 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have joined forces to address fish survey challenges presented by offshore wind farms. The NOAA and fishermen have expressed concern about the ability to do fish surveys in wind farm lease areas.

The aim of this joint BOEM/NOAA program is to mitigate the impact of not doing surveys in areas that have traditionally been studied.

NOAA Fisheries’ scientific surveys are essential for setting quotas for commercial and recreational fishermen, as well as monitoring and assessment for recovery and conservation programs for protected species and essential fish habitats.

The program will address impacts from exclusion of NOAA Fisheries’ sampling platforms from the wind development area due to operational and safety limitations; impacts on the random-stratified statistical design that is the basis for scientific assessments, advice and analyses; as well as alteration of benthic and pelagic habitats and airspace in and around the wind energy development. A timeline for initial actions will be developed as part of the program.

Read the full story at The Providence Journal

PACIFIC DAILY NEWS: US must hear out territories on coral critical habitat designation

June 14, 2021 — It’s important for the United States to protect endangered species and their habitats, but it’s also important for the federal government to talk to and work with states and territories before it makes far-reaching decisions.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Marine Fisheries Services plans to impose coral critical habitat designation on Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The reason is that seven coral species, several of which are found in the waters of these territories, have been listed under the Endangered Species Act. The federal law requires the designation of critical habitat for listed species within the U.S., if “reasonable and prudent.”

Read the full opinion piece at the Pacific Daily News

Alaska pollock giant American Seafoods lands former top NOAA fisheries official

June 11, 2021 — Alaska pollock supplier American Seafoods has hired Chris Oliver, a former top administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as special advisor on government affairs in the company’s regulatory division.

Oliver has has a long career in fisheries. In 2017, he was designated by presidential appointment as Assistant Administrator for Fisheries at NOAA, where he was responsible for the management of commercial and recreational marine fisheries and protected species throughout the US Exclusive Economic Zone, which encompasses the Alaska pollock fishing grounds.

Oliver worked at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council — the government agency charged with managing the Alaska pollock fishery and setting its annual catch quotas– for more than 30 years, as a fisheries biologist, a deputy director, and finally as executive director for 16 years.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Comment on Proposed 2021-2023 Small-mesh Multispecies Specifications and Management Measures

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

NOAA Fisheries is proposing the New England Fishery Management Council’s recommended catch specifications for the 2021-2023 small-mesh multispecies fishery. These proposed catch limits would increase annual quotas for southern whiting and both red hake stocks, and decrease the quota for northern silver hake. Specifications for fishing years 2022 and 2023 are projected to be the same as the proposed 2021 limits.

This proposed rule would also increase the possession limit for whiting (silver hake and offshore hake) on trips using gear with less than 3-inch mesh to 15,000 lb, and reset the in-season adjustment trigger for northern red hake to 90 percent of the annual quota from the current trigger of 37.9 percent to reduce regulatory discards.

For more details on the proposed specifications, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today. The comment period is open through June 28. Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal.

Read the full release here