Saving Seafood

Mass Die-Off of Whales in Atlantic Is Being Investigated

April 28, 2017 — Humpback whales have been dying in extraordinary numbers along the Eastern Seaboard since the beginning of last year. Marine biologists have a term for it — an “unusual mortality event” — but they have no firm idea why it is happening.

Forty-one whales have died in the past 15 months along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Maine. In a news conference on Thursday, officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries said that they had not identified the underlying reason for the mass death, but that 10 of the whales are known to have been killed by collisions with ships.

The agency is starting a broad inquiry into the deaths.

These whales “have evidence of blunt force trauma, or large propeller cuts,” said Deborah Fauquier, a veterinary medical officer at the agency’s Office of Protected Resources. These collisions with ships were “acute events,” Dr. Fauquier said, and were being treated as the “proximate cause of death.”

Dr. Fauquier said that the number of whale strandings was “alarming,” and that she hoped the investigation might give a sense of what kind of threat this presents to this population of humpback whales and those around the world.

Read the full story at the New York Times

Despite recovery, humpback whales still suffer from ship strikes

April 27, 2017 — Decades after most countries retired their harpoons, whales still face threats from fishermen, ships, and coastal pollution. But one species that seemed to have overcome these challenges was Megaptera novaeangliae, better known as the humpback whale.

Heavily hunted by the early 20th century, an international whaling moratorium and protection under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) gave humpbacks the breathing space they needed to recover.

From 1986 to 2008, the whales’ numbers rose to 60,000 worldwide, and their status on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s “Red List” improved from “Endangered” to “Least Concern.” By last September, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that nine of the 14 distinct humpback populations no longer warranted ESA protection. Last year, one was even spotted in the Hudson River.

But a study published Tuesday in the journal Marine Mammal Science puts an asterisk on this progress. Close to shore, ship collisions threaten several species of whales, and these strikes may be greatly underreported for one humpback population in the Gulf of Maine.

Read the full story at the Christian Science Monitor

Seven Gulf Groups Endorse Chris Oliver for Asst. NOAA Administrator

April 27, 2017 — The Gulf Seafood Institute joined six other Gulf of Mexico seafood industry organizations in endorsing Texas-native turned North Pacific Fishery Management Council Executive Director Chris Oliver for the open position of Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries.

In a letter to Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Jr., the fleet of Gulf supporters called Oliver “a motivated and talented leader with a passion for bridging divides among diverse fishing interests. Those qualities would benefit the “notoriously complex” environment in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf-based groups to endorse Oliver include: 
Alabama Charter Fishermen’s Association (Orange Beach, AL), Charter Fishermen’s Association (Corpus Christi, TX), Clearwater Marine Association (Clearwater, FL), 
Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance (Galveston, TX), Louisiana Restaurant Association (Metairie, LA), 
Southeastern Fisheries Association (Tallahassee, FL) and The Gulf Seafood Institute, (New Orleans, LA).

“Federal fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico…involve a host of competing user groups, including our hardworking commercial harvesters, professional charter boat operators, a growing private angling community, and of course, a skyrocketing tourism and consumer economy dependent on the long-term health of them all,” the letter stated.

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute

How many fish are really in the ocean? Some congressmen think federal fisheries can do a better job of finding out

April 26, 2017 — Two years ago, fisheries authorities threw the brakes on catching cobia, a popular game fish and a favorite of recreational fishermen from Florida to Maryland.

Suddenly, anglers could catch fewer fish – and sometimes none at all.

But the reasons for the new rules, it turned out, were flawed.

Now some congressmen hope to enact a new law changing the way saltwater fish stocks are managed. With better use of data, they say, will come better decisions.

“It’s a fairly archaic system,” said Rob Wittman, R-Va., one of the bill’s sponsors. “And there’s a lot of consternation about the lack of good data being used to make decisions that affect watermen.”

Current law calls for rebuilding fish stocks and preventing overfishing. But of the 538 species managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there is data for only 180. And the congressmen contend the information is either wrong or outdated.

NOAA does not comment on proposed legislation, according to John Ewald, the agency’s public affairs officer for fisheries.

He pointed to a National Academy of Sciences study that reported NOAA has made “impressive progress” in its data-collection efforts.

Read the full story at The Virginian-Pilot

NOAA Publishes Proposal for Forage Species Limits

April 26, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries has published a proposed rule for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Unmanaged Forage Fish Omnibus Amendment. This amendment would implement an annual landing limit, possession limits, and permitting and reporting requirements for certain previously unmanaged forage species and species groups within Mid-Atlantic Federal waters. The purpose of this action is to prevent the development of new, and the expansion of existing, commercial fisheries on certain forage species until the Council has adequate opportunity and information to evaluate the potential impacts of forage fish harvest on existing fisheries, fishing communities, and the marine ecosystem.

Comments will be accepted through May 30, 2017. Please see the Proposed Rule for details and instructions for submitting comments.

Additional background information about the amendment may be found on the Council’s website at http://www.mafmc.org/actions/unmanaged-forage.

For further information, contact Douglas Christel, NMFS Fishery Policy Analyst, 978-281-9141, douglas.christel@noaa.gov, fax 978-281-9135.

BREN SMITH, SEAN BARRETT, AND PAUL GREENBERG: What Trump’s Budget Means for the Filet-O-Fish

April 25, 2017 — Consider the pollock.

It is the most voluminously caught fish in the United States, accounting for a quarter of everything Americans catch. As such it is the major bulwark against the United States’ multibillion-dollar seafood trade deficit — the second-largest deficit in our trade portfolio, after crude oil. And it is, today, the main component in the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish, or the “fish delight,” as Donald Trump likes to call it.

Now consider the president’s budget for the people who make his preferred sandwich possible.

If Congress seriously entertains the White House’s suggestions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — a popular target for conservatives, who see it primarily as a source of pesky climate-change research — and the National Marine Fisheries Service it oversees will lose 17 percent of its funding. This despite Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’s desire to “try to figure how we can become much more self-sufficient in fishing and perhaps even a net exporter.”

As the three of us consider this statement, a common wry fisherman’s response comes to our lips: Yeah, good luck with that, buddy.

Because of repeated sacrifices made by American fishermen working with NOAA over the past 40 years, the United States now has the most robust and well-managed wild fisheries in the world. Federal observers oversee 80 percent of the large trawlers fishing for pollock, ensuring that this largest of fisheries maintains an impeccable set of management tools.

But in spite of all of our success, only around 9 percent of the seafood available in American markets comes from American fishermen. In fact, the last traditional fishing communities in the United States are fighting for their very existence. Fair-trade local fishermen remain unable to compete in our domestic marketplace, which is overwhelmed and flooded with cheap, untraceable imported seafood.

Read the full opinion piece at the New York Times

NOAA Fisheries Publishes Proposed Rule for Unmanaged Forage Omnibus Amendment

April 24, 2017 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries has published a proposed rule for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Unmanaged Forage Fish Omnibus Amendment. This amendment would implement an annual landing limit, possession limits, and permitting and reporting requirements for certain previously unmanaged forage species and species groups within Mid-Atlantic Federal waters. The purpose of this action is to prevent the development of new, and the expansion of existing, commercial fisheries on certain forage species until the Council has adequate opportunity and information to evaluate the potential impacts of forage fish harvest on existing fisheries, fishing communities, and the marine ecosystem.

Comments will be accepted through May 30, 2017. Please see the Proposed Rule for details and instructions for submitting comments.

Additional background information about the amendment may be found on the Council’s website at http://www.mafmc.org/actions/unmanaged-forage.

For further information, contact Douglas Christel, NMFS Fishery Policy Analyst, 978-281-9141, douglas.christel@noaa.gov, fax 978-281-9135.

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule for Unmanaged Forage Fish in the Mid-Atlantic

April 24, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries announces a proposed rule to protect unmanaged forage fish. Forage fish are small schooling species that serve as prey for larger commercially and recreationally important fish, as well as for marine mammals and sea birds. Anchovies, herring, chub mackerel, and sardines are some common forage fish.

Commercial fisheries occasionally catch forage species, and we know little about the amount of forage species caught in Mid-Atlantic waters. Because of their importance to the food web, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council wants to keep current levels of forage species catch stable while it collects more information on these species. This new information will help inform future scientific assessments and management decisions.

This action would be the first action in the Atlantic to list 14 forage species and species groups as ecosystem component species. This action would set landing and possession limits to prevent the further expansion of commercial fisheries on forage species by federally permitted fishing vessels within Mid-Atlantic federal waters (see map below).

This action is part of an effort to integrate ecosystem-based management components into fishery management plans. 

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, as well as the supplemental documents on our website.

The comment period is open through May 30.

Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal or by mailing:

John Bullard, Regional Administrator

Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office

55 Great Republic Drive

Gloucester, MA 01930

MASSACHUSETTS: Loss of Rafael’s permits could hurt New Bedford

April 24, 2017 — By late morning just before Easter weekend, three fishing vessels lined up at the docks to unload their catch, and they all belonged to one man — the local mogul known as the “Codfather,” Carlos Rafael.

“It’s a good haul,” a passing auction worker at the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction said under her breath, as crew members, some still in their orange waterproof bibs, unloaded the ice-packed fish.

For decades, Rafael’s fleet of some 40 vessels has been a staple of this city’s fishing industry, a sight as common as the seal that patrols the docks.

But now, Rafael’s recent conviction on federal charges that he cheated fishing regulations to boost his profits is putting his many vessels and permits up for grabs — potentially distributing them to ports along the New England coast. That would deliver an economic blow to New Bedford and the people who depend on the business created by Rafael’s fleet.

Rafael, 65, whose nickname given by locals derives from his brash business style, is expected to be sentenced in June to about four years in prison. Local officials are urging the federal government to keep the permits in New Bedford, home to the country’s most valuable fishing port and one of the last true ports on the East Coast.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

NOAA Fisheries Announces Funding Opportunity for Atlantic Salmon and Their Ecosystems

April 21, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries announces a federal funding opportunity  to promote recovery actions and support engagement activities for critically endangered Atlantic salmon and their ecosystems.The typical funding awards will range from $50,000 to $300,000.

The application deadline is Friday, May 19, 2017.

We are seeking project proposals that will support:

  • International Year of the Salmon, including the development and implementation of new education/outreach and engagement tools such as interactive displays, exhibits, kiosks, etc., or activities highlighting the biology, status, and threats faced by Atlantic salmon and their ecosystems.

We anticipate that the funding would not exceed $600,000 and is contingent on FY 2017 Federal appropriations. There is no match requirement.

Questions? Contact Julie Crocker at julie.crocker@noaa.gov or 978-282-8480.