Saving Seafood

Marine Resources Education Program (MREP) Southeast Soliciting Applicants

February 9, 2017 — The following has been released by Marine Resources Education Program:

The Marine Resources Education Program (MREP) Southeast is formally inviting applications for all individuals interested in attending the 2017 Fisheries Science and Management workshops in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida.  

MREP Southeast is for anyone with a vested interest in federally managed marine fish from Texas to North Carolina. The workshop-based program specifically runs through the fisheries science and management processes, demystifies the acronyms and vocabulary, and equips fishermen with the tools to engage with tough issues facing the managers of our offshore fisheries. MREP provides a neutral setting away from contentious management issues for fishermen to work through the ‘how’ of the whole process, meet the people behind agency jobs, and share important feedback from the fishing community.

The program is offered as a series of workshops that build upon each other: a three-day Fishery Science Workshop followed by a three-day Fishery Management Workshop:  

  • Fishery Science Workshop       May 2-4, 2017 
    • Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
    • St. Petersburg, FL
  • Fishery Management Workshop      September 19-21, 2017
    • Westin Tampa Bay
    • Tampa, FL

Workshop presenters include NOAA Fisheries Regional Office and Science Center, the Fishery Management Councils, research institutions, and the fishing community. Workshops are designed and held as a collaborative effort, and they always provide for an industry moderator to help inject questions and keep the discussion real. Participants leave the workshops prepared to engage confidently in fishery management and better understand the science affecting their fishery.   

Apply Now! Interested individuals can find more information, including the application, at www.gmri.org/mrepsoutheast and by viewing the flyer (PDF) below.

Hope After Tragedy: New Stranded Marine Mammal Plan Coming After Humpback Whale Euthanized

February 7, 2017 — Hope was born from tragedy at a community meeting to discuss the stranding, and eventual euthanization of a humpback whale in Moriches Bay that left hearts broken and fueled residents to ignite a fire for change.

More than 100 residents turned out Tuesday at a community meeting organized to present information related to the November 2016 stranding of a humpback whale in Moriches Bay, which took place at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville.

“We were really pleased to see such a strong turnout and to hear from so many people. We look forward to working with the passionate Long Island community and our local stranding partners to develop new resources and new capacity for marine mammal stranding response,” said Jennifer Goebel, media relations, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story at the Westhampton Patch

Fisheries scientists teach science of marine mammals to Woods Hole-area elementary students

January 26, 2017 — New England has a rich maritime tradition, with the livelihood and leisure activities of many residents associated with the ocean in some way. The NOAA Outreach and Education on Protected Species (NOEPS) program strives to build connections between NOAA Fisheries science and local communities, enriching and supplementing the current science program. In order to achieve a significant impact in nearby small communities, the NOEPS program targeted all K-4th grade classrooms in the Falmouth Public School District.

In its third year, NOEPS gave classroom presentations to 10 schools in the New England area. The program, based out of NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, reached 1,790 students in 95 classrooms from preschool to high school in the 2015-16 school year. Educators had expressed a need for hand-on activities to engage students so the Northeast Fisheries Science Center designed a program to enrich and supplement the current science program as well as bring in marine science at the elementary level. Presentations focused on key marine mammal species and research conducted by NEFSC scientists, offering free one-hour lessons with hands-on activities, presentations, and projects on marine mammals for K-6 classrooms, and emphasizing the conservation and stewardship goals behind the science. In 2015-16, the program expanded to include K-3 classes in the Mashpee School District. In addition, NOEPS lessons and core educational materials are available for download by teachers.

Read the full story at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

MASSACHUSETTS: A civil exchange of fish numbers

February 5, 2017 — Every now and then, the discussion of fisheries management breaks the stranglehold of graphs and numbers and jargon and entries into the Federal Register that read as if they were compiled by a computer whose native tongue is Drone-on.

Now and then, the discussion distills into rational conversation between two people who find themselves on opposite sides of the regulatory equation. It may happen in person or by email. It doesn’t matter. They are moments to be celebrated.

One such moment happened last week, when life-long (and highly respected) Gloucester fisherman Rick Beal penned a letter ostensibly to the New England Fishery Management Council, but really meant for all fisheries regulators.

He thanked the council for its Jan. 25 action nearly doubling the grey sole quota for 2017 and said he was “particularly encouraged” by comments of NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Director David Pierce regarding the importance of industry input.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Canadian seafood industry braces for new U.S. traceability rules

February 2, 2017 — Canadian seafood producers will need to “raise their game” to satisfy new American seafood traceability rules, according to federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

The Seafood Import Monitoring Program was one of the final acts of the Obama administration.

It will require much more detailed information about catches before they are allowed into the United States.

“We need to raise our game to ensure that the Americans receive the evidence they require that our fisheries are compliant, as they are,” LeBlanc said.

Read the full story at CBC News

Atlantic fishing commission ignores New Jersey criticism and adopts cuts to flounder quota

February 2, 2017 — A proposal that likely will force New Jersey to make changes to its fishing regulations for summer flounder was advanced by a coastal fisheries management board Thursday despite strong opposition from state officials.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a regional agency that helps set fishing quotas for the 15 East Coast states, voted 10-2 to adopt the controversial new flounder rule, called Addendum XXVIII, which would drastically reduce New Jersey and other coastal states’ flounder catch limits.

The vote followed nearly three hours of debate among the coastal states’ representatives and fishery managers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for federal fisheries management.

New Jersey and Rhode Island were the only states to vote “no” on the proposal, which likely would force New Jersey to adopt its most stringent fishing regulations ever for anglers, such as a 19-inch minimum size limit, as well as a shortened season and reduced daily catch limit.

Read the full story at the Burlington County Times

NOAA Fisheries – FB17-006: Delay in Implementation of a Final Rule for Black Sea Bass and for Dolphin in Federal Waters of the Atlantic

February 2, 2017 — The following was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

Delay in Implementation of a Final Rule for Black Sea Bass and for Dolphin in Federal Waters of the Atlantic   

KEY MESSAGE: 

NOAA Fisheries has delayed the effectiveness of two final rules affecting fishermen in Atlantic waters: a requirement to mark buoy lines for black sea bass pots in the South Atlantic with purple marks, and a 4,000-pound whole weight trip limit for dolphin in the Atlantic after 75 percent of the commercial sector annual catch limit has been met or projected to be met. The delay is in accordance with a memorandum dated January 20, 2017, issued by the White House.     

HOW LONG WILL THE DELAY LAST: 

The delay in effectiveness began on January 20, 2017, and ends on March 21, 2017.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

Black Sea Bass: 

  • The requirement to mark buoy lines for black sea bass pots with purple marks is not effective now, but will be effective on March 21, 2017.
  • The final rule for Regulatory Amendment 16 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery published on December 29, 2016 (81 FR 95893).
  • The required additional buoy line markings for black sea bass pot gear (50 C.F.R. Part 622.189(g)) would have been effective on January 30, 2017.
  • This final rule also revised the seasonal prohibition on the use of black sea bass pot gear in the South Atlantic (effective December 29, 2016). The delay in effectiveness of the buoy line markings does not affect the modifications to the seasonal prohibition. Therefore, fishers can continue fishing with black sea bass pots as per the final rule for Regulatory Amendment 16.

Dolphin: 

  • The commercial trip limit for dolphin of 4,000 pounds whole weight after 75 percent of the commercial sector annual catch limit has been met or projected to be met is not effective now, but will be effective on March 21, 2017.
  • The final rule for Regulatory Amendment 1 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic published on December 30, 2016 (81 FR 96388).
  • This commercial trip limit for dolphin (50 C.F.R. Part 622.278(a)(3)(i)) would have been effective January 30, 2017.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: Memorandum announcing the delay in implementation of regulations (82 FR 8346, published January 24, 2017). Notice announcing the delay in implementations of final rules for black sea bass (Regulatory Amendment 16) and dolphin (Regulatory Amendment 1) (82 FR 8820, published January 31, 2017). 

2015/2016 California Dungeness crab season ‘a fishery resource disaster’

February 1, 2017 — A long-awaited declaration by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker defines the 2015 to 2016 California Dungeness crab season as a fishery failure.

A Jan. 18 press release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that under fishery management laws, the secretary of commerce can make the declaration “due to a fishery resource disaster.”

That opens the door for – but does not guarantee – congressional approval of disaster relief funding.

“If Congress appropriates funds to address these fishery failures, NOAA will work closely with members of Congress … to develop a spending plan to support activities that would restore the fishery, prevent a similar failure, and assist affected communities,” the release states.

Last year’s season was delayed by several months due to the presence of domoic acid, a naturally-produced toxin related to algae blooms.

The Dungeness season’s off-the-boat crab landings revenue amounted to $37.6 million, far less than the $60 million or so that each season has yielded in recent years. If the revenue loss had equated to 80 percent of an average season’s total, a disaster declaration would have been automatic.

Read the full story at the Mad River Union

NOAA Fisheries Reminds Commercial HMS Permit Holders of U.S. Coast Guard Commercial Fishing Vessel Dockside Safety Examination Requirements

January 31, 2017 — The following was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

NOAA Fisheries is reminding commercial Highly Migratory Species (HMS) vessel permit holders that they are required to obtain a United States Coast Guard (USCG) Commercial Fishing Vessel Dockside Safety Examination.

Effective October 15, 2015, the law requires completion of a mandatory dockside safety exam at least once every five years.  See USCG Marine Safety Information Bulletin, or MSIB, 12-15 for clarification about the five-year mandatory dockside safety exam.

Commercial fishing means a vessel that commercially engages in the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish which, either in whole or in part, is intended to enter commerce through sale, barter, or trade. 

So, whether your vessel is USCG documented or State registered, if you catch fish beyond 3 nautical miles with the intent to sell them, you are operating a commercial fishing vessel.  The USCG categorizes vessels that hold one or more of the follow HMS permits as commercial fishing vessels subject to mandatory dockside safety exams:

  • Atlantic Tunas General Category
  • Atlantic Tunas Harpoon Category
  • HMS Charter/Headboat Category
  • General Commercial Swordfish
  • Atlantic Tunas Longline
  • Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine
  • Atlantic Shark Directed Limited Access
  • Atlantic Shark Incidental Limited Access
  • Atlantic Smoothhound
  • Atlantic Swordfish Directed Limited Access
  • Atlantic Swordfish Incidental Limited Access
  • Atlantic Swordfish Harpoon Limited Access

Commercial fishing vessels are required to comply with the commercial fishing vessel safety regulations found in 46 CFR Part 28.

For more info about dockside safety exams and how to obtain a decal: https://www.uscg.mil/msib/docs/012_15_10-20-2015.pdf

USCG has a helpful tool to assist vessel owners/operators prepare their fishing vessel prior to examination.  Commercial Fishing Vessel Checklist Generator: https://www.uscg.mil/d13/cfvs/test/1ChecklistCover.html

This notice is a courtesy to commercial HMS permit holders to help keep you informed about the fishery.  For additional information, call (978) 281-9260, or go to hmspermits.noaa.gov.  Official notice of Federal fishery actions is made through filing such notice with the Office of the Federal Register.

Atlantic Spanish Mackerel Southern Zone Commercial Trip Limit Reduction to 1,500 pounds on February 6, 2017

February 1, 2017 — The Following was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

Atlantic Spanish Mackerel Southern Zone Commercial Trip Limit Reduction to 1,500 pounds on February 6, 2017     

WHAT/WHEN: 

  • The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of Atlantic Spanish mackerel in the southern zone is reduced from 3,500 to 1,500 pounds, effective 6:00 a.m. on February 6, 2017.
  • The southern zone includes federal waters off the states of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The boundary for the southern zone is the North Carolina/South Carolina border and the Monroe/Miami-Dade Counties, Florida, border.

WHY THIS TRIP LIMIT REDUCTION IS HAPPENING: 

  • When landings of Atlantic Spanish mackerel in the southern zone reach or are projected to reach 75 percent of the adjusted quota, accountability measures are in place to reduce the daily trip limit.
  • The trip limit reduction is necessary to slow the rate of commercial harvest to avoid exceeding the adjusted quota.

AFTER THE TRIP LIMIT REDUCTION:

  • The 1,500 pound trip limit will remain in effect until the end of the current fishing season on February 28, 2017, or when 100 percent of the adjusted quota is reached or projected to be reached, whichever occurs first. The commercial trip limit becomes 500 pounds after 100 percent of the adjusted quota is reached or projected to be reached.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at by clicking here