Saving Seafood

NOAA fisheries releases climate action plans

December 21st, 2016 — After years of preparation, NOAA Fisheries last Friday released five “regional action plans” to guide implementation of the agency’s national climate science strategy over the next five years.

The regions covered include the Northeast, Southeast, Pacific Islands, West Coast and Alaska.

The waters off the Northeastern states are among the fastest warming of the world’s oceans. Marine species from plankton to the largest whales are affected as a variety of ecosystem components — habitat, food webs, water temperatures, wind patterns — respond to climate change.

NOAA’s regional action plan for the Northeast addresses the Continental Shelf ecosystem, which extends from Maine to North Carolina and from the headwaters of local watersheds to the deep ocean. It was developed jointly by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole and the Greater Atlantic Region Fisheries Office in Gloucester, with input from a variety of sources.

Its goal is to provide “timely and relevant information on what’s changing, what’s at risk and how to respond,” according to NOAA. That information is “key” to minimizing the effects of climate change on the region.

“We are excited to release the Northeast Regional Action Plan, which was developed with input from many partners in the region,” Jon Hare, lead author of the plan and the director of NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center, said in a statement announcing the release of the plan.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American 

Grant Helps Researchers Studying Toxin Stalking Florida Reef Fish

December 20th, 2016 — An international team of researchers headed by a Florida Gulf Coast University professor is trying to understand the most common marine toxin in the world.

The five-year study funded by NOAA’s Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms Program is investigating the conditions that lead to outbreaks of ciguatoxin.

Dr. Mike Parsons with FGCU’s CiguaHAB research project said on WGCU’s Gulf Coast Live the toxin is produced by single celled algae. They tend to grow on seaweeds in tropical environments like coral reefs. It gets into the food chain when fish eat the algae, and bigger fish eat those fish, and so on.

Parsons said it doesn’t take much to make a person sick with ciguatera fish poisoning, with the toxin affecting humans in doses measured in parts per billion. Early symptoms are gastrointestinal and neurological. They can last hours to months. And they can flare up weeks or even years later. Parsons said ciguatera poisoning can even be fatal.

“Even though there’s no cure for it you can treat some of the symptoms,” Parsons said. “So for example one of the symptoms of a more severe case of ciguatera fish poisoning would be a drop in blood pressure, a drop in your heart rate. And so in some cases you’ll have to go into intensive care for that so you would need to go to the hospital in that case.”

No matter how or how long you cook the fish, you can’t kill the toxin.

Parsons said if people really want fresh fish from a tropical or reef environment avoid dangerous species such as predators like barracuda.

Read the full story at WGCU

US cracks down on a global crime: Illegal fishing

December 20th, 2016 — There’s a good chance that the tuna sushi you ordered last week wasn’t actually tuna – or that it was caught under illegal circumstances. To help bring down those chances, last week, the Obama administration passed a final rule to combat illegal fishing and seafood fraud.

 Under the rule issued on Dec. 8 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), importers will be required to track and report key data on a preliminary list of seafood imports at risk of illegal fishing and fraud. This means that at-risk imported seafood will be tracked from its point of origin to the U.S. border.

The rule is intended to help even the playing field for domestic seafood companies, since illegal fishing and seafood fraud have hurt U.S. fishermen who adhere to more stringent rules than in some other countries. However, illegal fishing and seafood fraud affect far more than just American fishermen’s bottom lines. In fact, they are symptoms of a rampant problem that spans the globe: illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU).

IUU undermines efforts to conserve and sustainably manage fish stocks and represents a threat to fisheries worldwide. It is estimated that global costs related to IUU reach up to $23 billion annually and up to 20 percent of seafood is illegally caught. In addition, IUU comprises a host of interconnected problems, including piracy, organized crime, drug trafficking, slave labor, exploitation of migrant workers, and mislabeling of catches.

 Read the full story at The Hill 

NMFS Chief Scientist Writes on Changing Climate, Oceans and America’s Fisheries

December 20th, 2016, Seafoodnews.com — Across America, changes in climate and oceans are having very real and profound effects on communities, businesses and the natural resources we depend on, according to Dr. Richard Merrick is the chief scientist for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

 Fishing communities face extra challenges, as droughts, floods, rising seas, ocean acidification, and warming oceans change the productivity of our waters and where wildlife live, spawn and feed. And there is much at risk – marine fisheries and seafood industries support over $200 billion in economic activity and 1.83 million jobs annually.

NOAA last year set out a national strategy to help scientists, fishermen, managers and coastal businesses better understand what’s changing, what’s at risk and what actions are needed to safeguard America’s valuable marine resources and the revenues, jobs and communities that depend on them. Today, NOAA released regional action plans with specific actions to better track changing conditions, provide better forecasts, and identify the best strategies to reduce impacts and sustain our marine resources for current and future generations. Implementing these actions will give decision-makers the information they need now to sustain our vital marine resources and the many people that depend on them every day. 

We are seeing dramatic changes, particularly in cooler-ocean regions like New England and Alaska where warming waters over the last twenty years are pushing fish northward or deeper to stay in cooler waters. In New England, known for its cod and lobster fishing, ocean temperatures have risen faster than many other parts of the world. Changes in the distribution and abundance of these and other species have affected where, when and what fishermen catch, with economic impacts rippling into the coastal communities and seafood businesses that depend on them. With better information on current and future shifts in fish stocks, fisheries managers and fishing industries can better plan for and respond to changing ocean conditions.

But not all change is bad: As southern fish species like black sea bass spread northward along the East Coast, they may provide opportunities for additional commercial or recreational fisheries. Changing conditions may also stimulate more opportunities for other marine related businesses, such as fish and shellfish farming. Better information on when, where and how marine resources are changing is critical to taking advantage of future opportunities and increasing the resilience of our fisheries and fishing-communities.

 Communities and economies in southern states are also being impacted by changing climate and ocean conditions. Louisiana loses a football field size area of coastal wetlands to the sea every hour due to rising seas and sinking lands. The loss of these essential nursery areas for shrimp, oysters, crabs and many other commercial or recreationally important seafood species has significant impacts on fisheries, seafood industries and coastal communities. Better information and on-the-ground action can reduce these impacts and help sustain these vital habitats and the many benefits they provide. 

In the Pacific and Caribbean, we’re seeing bleaching and destruction of vitally-important coral reef environments associated with warming seas. Covering only one percent of the planet, coral reefs are the home to 25 percent of all marine species, and upwards of 40 billion people rely on coral reefs for the fish and shellfish they eat. The loss of coral reefs also makes coastal communities more vulnerable to storm events. Coral reefs in Puerto Rico, for instance, help prevent an estimated $94 million in flood damages every year.  NOAA’s Coral Bleaching Early Warning System has already helped decision-makers take action to try and increase resilience of valuable reef ecosystems to warming seas and other threats.

While these challenges may seem daunting, with better information on what’s changing, what’s at risk and how to respond decision-makers can find ways to reduce impacts, increase resilience and sustain America’s vital marine resources and the millions of people who depend on them.

We are committed to sustaining the nation’s valuable marine resources and the many people, businesses and communities that depend on them for generations to come.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Party boat captains irate over summer flounder cuts

December 20th, 2016 — Few things are causing more ire among recreational fishermen than the summer flounder cuts.

Some party boat captains have called it “nail in the coffin” measures that are being taken by fishery management that starts from the top down with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“It seems that every time we make a sacrifice there ends up being less boats on the water. It seems like they want us off the water,” said Gambler party boat owner and captain Bob Bogan.

Bogan’s summer flounder business depends on tourists. He said they will be less likely to pay a fare if they can keep very little or none of the fish they catch.

Also of concern to him are the party boat customers who come out to fish for table food. They are being shut out, he said.

“People will spend $50 if they can catch $25 or $50 worth of fish. They’re not going to pay to come home with nothing,” he said.

What New Jersey’s recreational season length, bag and size limit will be is still to be decided. But it’s looking like it will be amount to less fish in the cooler for anglers, and fewer trips on the water.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is recommending a 3.77 million pound recreational harvest limit for 2017. That’s down from 5.42 million in 2016.

The council said states or multi-state regions will have to develop customized measures that will achieve the coastwide recreational harvest limit. New Jersey has in the past got the largest share of that harvest limit.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press 

Changing Climate, Oceans and America’s Fisheries

December 19th, 2016 — Fishing communities face extra challenges, as droughts, floods, rising seas, ocean acidification, and warming oceans change the productivity of our waters and where wildlife live, spawn and feed. And there is much at risk – marine fisheries and seafood industries support over $200 billion in economic activity and 1.83 million jobs annually.

NOAA last year set out a national strategy to help scientists, fishermen, managers and coastal businesses better understand what’s changing, what’s at risk and what actions are needed to safeguard America’s valuable marine resources and the revenues, jobs and communities that depend on them. Today, NOAA released regional action plans with specific actions to better track changing conditions, provide better forecasts, and identify the best strategies to reduce impacts and sustain our marine resources for current and future generations. Implementing these actions will give decision-makers the information they need now to sustain our vital marine resources and the many people that depend on them every day.

We are seeing dramatic changes, particularly in cooler-ocean regions like New England and Alaska where warming waters over the last twenty years are pushing fish northward or deeper to stay in cooler waters. In New England, known for its cod and lobster fishing, ocean temperatures have risen faster than many other parts of the world. Changes in the distribution and abundance of these and other species have affected where, when and what fishermen catch, with economic impacts rippling into the coastal communities and seafood businesses that depend on them. With better information on current and future shifts in fish stocks, fisheries managers and fishing industries can better plan for and respond to changing ocean conditions.

Read the full story at Marine Technology News 

Pallone, New Jersey DEP push back against summer flounder cuts

December 16th, 2016 — This was one of the more consequential Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meetings in recent memory.

The council’s decisions that were made this week in Baltimore will have a major impact on fishermen, starting with recommendations for cuts to summer flounder, special management zones for artificial reefs, and final rules for a coral protection on the Continental Shelf.

SUMMER FLOUNDER

Anglers are facing the most restrictive fluke regulations yet as a 40-percent cut in the allowable coastwide harvest is being recommended.

It’s based on models that show summer flounder was overfished this year and its biomass is on the decline. Fishermen and legislatures refute that science.

Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) is asking NOAA to postpone any cuts until a benchmark assessment is complete. He said there continues to be legitimate concerns that the random sampling heavily relied upon by NOAA and the estimates produced are inaccurate.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is also taking a strong position against the reductions, which it said will cripple recreational and commercial fishing in New Jersey and be felt sharply throughout the Shore economy.

On Wednesday the council approved a non-preferred coastwide measure for a 19–inch minimum size limit, a four-fish bag limit and a season from June 1 – Sept. 15.

Read the full story at The Ashbury Park Press

To protect coral, bottom fishing gear banned near Delaware’s coast

December 16th, 2016 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency is banning commercial fishing gear that could drag along the seafloor in part of the Atlantic Ocean – including a portion 66 miles off the Delaware coast.

Deep-sea coral can live for hundreds to thousands of years, but once they are damaged, they can take decades or even centuries to re-grow.

To ensure these corals can live undisturbed, a section of the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Virginia – about the size of Virginia – has been designated as “protected”. The protected area is about 66 miles from Delaware’s shore and covers a portion of the Baltimore Canyon. Joseph Gordon, Pew Charitable Trust’s manager of U.S. northeast oceans, said that means fishing gear that reaches down to the depths that deep-sea coral inhabit would not be allowed to operate there.

“They’ve lived a long time but they live in an environment that is cold, with huge pressure, without light,” Gordon said, about the coral. “And so fishing technology could damage them in a way that could take centuries to recover from.”

Some bottom-fishing technologies include rockhoppers and canyon-busters. They are designed to roll over boulders and canyons, and according to Oceana, they can weigh at least several hundred pounds. NOAA authorizes the gear that fishermen can use for commercial fishing, and documented almost 1,000 bottom-fishing technologies in use in the Mid-Atlantic region in 2016. That is up from 630 documented in 2013.

Read the full story at Delaware Public Media 

NEW JERSEY: Fishermen can protest Summer flounder catch limits with letters

December 13th, 2016 — Before I get into any recent fishing catches, I want to cover some very distressing news concerning next year’s fluke regulations. To say that the reports I have gotten are negative is being kind.

NOAA Fisheries has announced that their flounder assessment from last summer shows the summer flounder population is declining, and anglers are catching too many fish.

To address this problem, the federal government is proposing a 30 percent reduction from catch limits already determined for 2017, and then the next year another 16 percent reduction from current 2018 allocations.

According to predictions from “The Fisherman” magazine, the result of this could very possibly be something like a two-fish per day daily catch limit, a 19-inch minimum keeper size, and a three month long season during the summer months. I told you that you would not like this news!

The only positive thing that I can tell you is that these cuts have not yet been made, but are in the works. According to “The Fisherman,” there are a couple of things that we as concerned anglers can do.

First, we can send a note to NOAA Fisheries expressing our opposition to these cuts. Try to keep your comments within the bounds of polite discourse, and be sure to include your contact information.

Read the full story at the Ashbury Park Press 

Fishing Report: Hearing on menhaden set for Dec. 19 at URI

December 9th, 2016 — Atlantic menhaden are an important forage fish for striped bass, bluefish, tuna and other species. Recreational anglers claim that fishing for these game fish is off when the quantity of forage fish is down. Additionally, Atlantic menhaden are filter feeders with each fish processing thousands of gallons of water filtering out plankton to help prevent algae blooms.

So if you want to impact regulations pertaining to this species, now is the time to become active. There will be an Atlantic menhaden public hearing to talk about important Fishery Management Plan issues on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Corless Auditorium at the URI Bay Campus, Narragansett. The hearing will address a new Public Information Document that is a predecessor to Amendment 3 to the Atlantic menhaden Fishery Management Plan that will be developed later this year.

NOAA’s website says Atlantic menhaden “play an important role in the ecosystem as both a forage fish for striped bass, weakfish, bluefish, and predatory birds such as osprey and eagles as well as serving as a filter feeder because they feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton at various life stages.”

Read the full story at the Providence Journal