Saving Seafood

Are catch shares an effective tool for fisheries management?

March 30, 2017 — A Brunswick County senator’s proposed resolution opposing catch-share fisheries management is drawing praise from the fishing community.

In fisheries managed by catch shares, certain fishermen or companies are assigned individual limits for a given species during a season, a strategy the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says allows fishermen to make decisions based on market conditions and avoid hazardous weather conditions.

Many North Carolina fishermen have expressed great concern about catch shares reaching their waters and are supporting Senate Bill 370. Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, introduced the bill, which would communicate to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries and the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission that the Senate opposes catch share management off the N.C. coast.

Rabon did not respond to phone calls and a text message seeking comment on his resolution, which says catch shares give private ownership of federal fisheries to individuals, cause consolidation of fishing fleets and lead to lost jobs. A virtually identical resolution was adopted March 7 by the South Carolina House.

Read the full story at Star News 

Updates from NOAA Fisheries

March 28, 2017 — Groundfish Days-at-Sea Leasing Deadline Extended to March 31

NOAA Fisheries announces an extension of the 2016 Days-at-Sea leasing deadline for the northeast multispecies fishery. If you hold a groundfish permit for 2016, you may submit DAS leases through March 31.

The Groundfish DAS leasing function has been re-opened in Fish Online. Paper DAS lease applications must be received in our office no later than March 31.

2017 At-Sea Monitoring Coverage Levels for Groundfish Sector Fishery

NOAA Fisheries announces that for fishing year 2017 the total target At-Sea monitoring coverage level is 16 percent of all groundfish sector trips.

This target coverage level is a two-percentage point increase from the 2016 coverage level (14 percent). As the target coverage level is set based on an average of

 At-Sea monitoring data from the past three full groundfish fishing years, this level is set based on data from the 2013-2015 fishing years.

Federally funded observer coverage provided by the Northeast Fishery Observer Program to meet the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) requirements will partially satisfy the 16 percent coverage requirement. Sectors will therefore actually pay for At-Sea monitoring coverage on less than 16 percent of their groundfish trips, but the total will depend on the SBRM coverage rates, which are not yet out.

We expect to be able to reimburse sectors for some portion of their ASM costs. We do not yet have the information we need to determine the reimbursement rate. We were able to reimburse 85 percent of At-Sea monitoring costs in 2016, but expect the 2017 reimbursement rate to be lower.

Read the full story from at Wicked Local 

Feds remove type of rockfish from endangered list

March 28, 2017 — Federal biologists have removed a species of Puget Sound rockfish from the endangered species list.

NOAA Fisheries said Monday that last week’s decision comes after a recent study found Puget Sound/Georgia Basin canary rockfish are not genetically different from other canary rockfish found along the West Coast.

Researchers conducted genetic testing on fin clips collected from rockfish caught by anglers. The agency says an analysis found that Puget Sound canary rockfish aren’t genetically distinct from coastal populations.

The federal agency listed the long-living bottom dweller as threatened in 2010. Two other species – yelloweye rockfish and boccaccio – listed at that time are still protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The move also doesn’t change state regulations. Recreational anglers currently aren’t allowed to target or keep any rockfish species in Puget Sound.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at KOMO News

Feds to Reopen Papahanaumokuakea to Fishing?

March 27, 2017 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Management Council: 

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded its three-day meeting in Honolulu with a suite of recommendations, many of which are focused on keeping U.S. fishing grounds open to sustainably managed U.S. fisheries.

The council includes the local fishery department directors from Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI, fishing experts appointed by the Governors and federal agencies involved in fishing-related activities.

Marine national monuments, national marine sanctuaries, other marine protected area designations and Department of Defense training are among the uses that are increasingly closing off fishing grounds in U.S. waters.

Council Chair Edwin A. Ebisui Jr. clarified that council communications to the administration about impacts of marine national monuments on fisheries are not lobbying.

Some environmental activists recently made misleading statements about this in regards to a letter to President Trump prepared on March 1, 2017, by the Council Coordination Committee or CCC. The CCC includes the chairs of the nation’s eight regional fishery management councils. The letter details the impact of designations of Marine National Monuments under the Antiquities Act in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and was submitted to the president after conferring with the NOAA Office of General Counsel.

Read the full story at The Hawai’i Free Press 

Scallop Sales Will Fund 17 Marine Science Research Projects

March 27, 2017 — The federal government says the sale of scallops will help pay for 17 projects related to fisheries and marine science.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the money is coming from the scallop “research set-aside program.”

The agency says the projects are awarded pounds of scallops that have been “set aside” for this purpose. Applicants partner up with fishermen to harvest the set-aside award to generate money for their research.

NOAA says this year’s awards are expected to generate more than $15 million. One of the projects will allow Coonamessett Farm Foundation of East Falmouth, Massachusetts, to research the impact of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery on loggerhead sea turtles.

Another will allow UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology to measure swimming capacity of flounder species.

Read the story from The Associated Press at US News & World Report 

Judge sides with American Samoa local fisherman over feds

March 23, 2017 — A federal judge in Honolulu has ruled that the decision to reduce the area off-limits to large vessels along the coast of American Samoa “is invalid,” clearing the way for exclusive access by local fishermen and small boats.

U.S District Court Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi also ruled that National Marine Fishery Service’s change of the rule “was arbitrary and capricious.”

Fishing waters had been preserved for the local “alia” — or small boat — fishing fleet from the shoreline out to 50 miles since 2002. Last year, the National Marine Fishery Service reduced the large-vessel-protected area, or LVPA, to 12 miles from the shoreline, allowing vessels 50 feet and longer to net hauls once reserved for local fishermen.

The plaintiffs, through the American Samoa government, filed the lawsuit in March 2016 arguing that American Samoa’s cultural fishing rights are found in the two Deeds of Cession — the 1900 Deed of Cession for Tutuila and Aunu’u islands and the 1904 Deeds of Cession for Manu’a islands — with the U.S.

The defendants, who include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, countered in court documents that deeds say nothing, about fishing or marine resources and “that silence should not be read to establish rights.”

In a 42-page ruling issued Monday, Kobayashi says the Deeds of Cession require the United States to respect the American Samoans’ customary practices — such as fishing — even though the deeds do not specifically identify the practices.

American Samoa Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga said he hopes the case serves as a reminder to the federal government that “we have rights and they should not be easily dismissed.”

American Samoa Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale, who appeared for the territorial government at federal court during oral arguments last month, describes the ruling as “thorough and well-reasoned.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald

Conflict in Gulf of Maine Scallop Fishery

March 23, 2017 — Since the start of the scallop season this month, Jim Wotton has dragged heavy dredges along the seabed off Gloucester, hauling in as much as 200 pounds a day of the valuable clams, the area’s federal limit for small-boat fishermen.

Now, to his dismay, dozens of larger, industrial-sized boats have been steaming into the same gray waters, scooping up as many scallops as they can. Unlike their smaller counterparts, the large vessels have no quota on the amount they can catch; they’re only limited by the number of days they can fish.

It’s a regulatory loophole that small-boat fishermen fear could wipe out the resurgent scallop grounds in the northern Gulf of Maine. This year, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimate that the large boats are likely to catch about a million pounds of scallops – roughly half of the area’s estimated stock.

“That would be devastating,” said Wotton, 48, who fishes out of Friendship, Maine. “They’re taking our future. There won’t be anything for us next year.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

NPFMC Vacancy Announcement: Finance Officer/Admin Support

March 21, 2017 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

NPFMC is looking for a Finance Officer/Admin Support person to join our team. This person would be responsible for a variety of financial and administrative tasks in support of the activities of the Council and its staff, including budget preparation, grant reporting, accounts payable, travel and expense accounting, payroll, property, subcontracting, and other financial/administrative functions. Likely distribution of duties is 65% Finance related and 35% Administrative support.

The Council offices are located in Anchorage, Alaska

Full job description available on our website.

  • Minimum AA degree in accounting or finance, and minimum of 5 years similar professional experience in private, nonprofit, or governmental organization
  • This position is non-federal but subject to U.S. General Schedule federal equivalent, plus Alaska COLA/locality pay.
  • Application period closes April 15.

Send cover letter (statement of interest) and resume with three references to david.witherell@noaa.gov.

Commercial disasters declared for nine West Coast fisheries

March 21, 2017 — The Commerce Secretariat determined that nine salmon and crab fisheries in Alaska, California and Washington experienced commercial failures, which will enable fishing communities to seek disaster relief assistance from Congress, NOAA Fisheries Division reported.

The decision was taken by US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker due to the fact that in recent years, each of these fisheries experienced sudden and unexpected large decreases in fish stock biomass due to unusual ocean and climate conditions.

The fisheries deemed to have experienced commercial failures are the following:

  • Gulf of Alaska pink salmon fisheries (Alaska/2016)
  • California Dungeness and rock crab fishery (California/2015-2016);
  • Yurok Tribe Klamath River Chinook salmon fishery (California/2016);
  • Fraser River Makah Tribe and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe sockeye salmon fisheries (Washington/2014);
  • Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay non-treaty coho salmon fishery (Washington/2015);
  • Nisqually Indian Tribe, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and Squaxin Island Tribe South Puget Sound salmon fisheries (Washington/2015);
  • Quinault Indian Nation Grays Harbor and Queets River coho salmon fishery (Washington/2015);
  • Quileute Tribe Dungeness crab fishery (Washington/2015-2016);
  • Ocean salmon troll fishery (Washington/2016).

“The Commerce Department and NOAA stand with America’s fishing communities. We are proud of the contributions they make to the nation’s economy, and we recognize the sacrifices they are forced to take in times of environmental hardship,” said Samuel D. Rauch III, deputy assistant administrator for regulatory programs, NOAA Fisheries.

Rauch stressed their commitment to helping these communities recover and achieve success in the future.

Read the full story at Fish Information & Services