National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Archives - Page 27 of 260

Meet Jason Letort, Fisheries Methods & Equipment Specialist

June 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Where did you grow up?

I’m a lifelong resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast (Biloxi).

How did you come to work at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center?

I was born in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and have been a lifelong resident of South Mississippi. I grew up with a passion for anything outdoors, especially fishing and shrimping with my family. I have been a member of the Gear Monitoring Team for 4 years. Before working for NOAA Fisheries, I supported NOAA Office of Marine & Aviation Operations as a contractor since 2008. I provided production oversight during the construction of the Fisheries Survey Vessels including the NOAA Ships Bell M. Shimada and Pisces. After that, I was acting Port Engineer for Pisces successfully executing major dockside and dry-dock repair periods. I addressed several critical casualties during the sailing season, ensuring the ship was available to complete her missions. While performing these duties, I interacted with a lot of people working for NOAA and quickly realized that NOAA Fisheries was the place for me! I was selected for the position and haven’t looked back.

What do you do at the Science Center?

As a member of the Gear Monitoring Team, I provide commercial shrimp fishermen and industry members with education, outreach, and training of Turtle Excluder Device rules and regulations. Our team provides law enforcement training to state and federal agencies. We also conduct courtesy TED inspections during “at sea” patrols and dockside in order to maintain compliance requirements. As a dive team member I participate in the testing of TED design, efficacy, and determining exclusion rate.

Read the full release here

Federal plan to save whales could mean big changes for lobster industry

June 7, 2021 — Federal officials recently released plans to all but eliminate risk to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, but Maine lobster industry leaders fear the plan will only shift the risk of the extinction from the whales to the lobstermen.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its final biological opinion May 27 – a requirement under the federal Endangered Species Act. This document becomes the basis of rule-making surrounding the specific species, in this case, the North Atlantic right whale.

Officials found that, provided they meet the reduction targets in the implementation framework, none of the 10 fisheries included in the document, among them the lobster fishery, were “likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the North Atlantic right whales.”

Patrice McCarron, director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, fears the industry can’t sustain that level of change.

“If you look at the changes we’ve made over the last 25 years, there’s not a lot left to give,” she said.

By the final phase, “I don’t see how we would even have a fishery. There’s not a lot of obvious ways we could do this and still have our fleet intact,” she said. “It’s really hugely concerning.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Notice to Fishermen: 2020 Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Cost Recovery Tag Fees

June 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are announcing the 2020 cost recovery per-tag fees for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog individual transferable quota (ITQ) program.

2020 Cost Recovery Cage Tag Fees

Atlantic Surfclam: $0.62 per tag

Ocean Quahog: $0.36 per tag

The fee for each cage tag is calculated based on the number of ITQ cage tags that were used to land surfclams or ocean quahogs during the 2019 fishing year, and the costs associated with operating the program in 2019. The fees are then multiplied by the number of tags used during the 2020 fishing year to determine the final bill amount. These cost recovery fees are separate from, and in addition to, the price ITQ permit holders currently pay to the tag vendor to obtain cage tags each year.

Quota shareholders will soon receive bills based on these tags fees and the number of their cage tags that were used to land surfclams or ocean quahogs during 2020. The initial quota shareholder who first received the allocation of cage tags is responsible for the fee even if the tag is leased, sold, or otherwise used by someone else.

For more information read our bulletin.

Read the full release here

U.S. Interagency Working Group Marks International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing

June 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Every day, the United States works with our partners across the world to confront illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. IUU fishing activities hurt law-abiding U.S. fishermen and their consumers, damage economies of developing coastal nations, and threaten marine resources. The global economic impact resulting from these activities is in the billions, or even tens of billions, of dollars each year. Furthermore, IUU fishing is sometimes linked to criminal activity, such as human trafficking, including forced labor, drug trafficking, smuggling, and other forms of transnational crime. Wherever it occurs, IUU fishing undermines global maritime rules-based order, which has been essential to global prosperity and development for the last 70 years.

June 5 marks the annual United Nations International Day for the Fight Against IUU Fishing. This day raises awareness of the impact of IUU fishing as one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of the world’s ocean resources. IUU fishing refers not only to illegal fishing activities, but also the often overlooked, but equally important U’s in IUU fishing activities. Unreported and unregulated fishing refers to fishing activities that are not reported, insufficiently regulated, or are misreported to relevant authorities. This hinders the ability for scientists to fully assess the health of fish stocks and endangers our food security.

Tackling all these issues requires particular, concerted action by different agencies and different operational and legal frameworks. It also includes a large net of coordination among regional fisheries management organizations, foreign governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Department of State recently began implementing a law which advances a “whole-of-government” strategy to fight IUU fishing.

The Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act (SAFE) Act was passed in December 2019. It directed twenty-one federal agencies to establish a central forum to coordinate and strengthen their efforts—the U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing. This Working Group set up mechanisms for agencies to:

Regularly share information and coordinate efforts
Strengthen maritime enforcement

Advance public-private partnerships

Provide technical assistance on IUU fishing

During its first year, member agencies developed an initial set of priorities and activities that included creating specific sub-working groups to collaborate on issues such as maritime intelligence, public-private partnerships, and human trafficking. The Working Group continues to conduct a series of outreach engagements with industry and the private sector. Moving forward, the Working Group will engage with various public and private stakeholders on building coordinated approaches in the priority regions where the Working Group has determined that IUU fishing issues are prevalent.

Combating IUU fishing is a top priority for the United States, and communication, collaboration and strategic coordination will be key in bringing about tangible results. The efforts of the Interagency Working Group now sit at the heart of our government’s coordination on tackling IUU fishing practices and setting the conditions where IUU fishing is neither accepted nor commonplace in the future. We are committed to continue working together on best practices and sharing results across agencies and partnerships to encourage their further adaptation and replication.

Read the full release here

Recreational fishers want Louisiana’s biggest commercial fishery to back off nearshore waters

June 7, 2021 — A small silver fish was the topic of a nearly three hour discussion among fishers, environmental advocates and lawmakers at the Louisiana Capitol this week. At issue was House Bill 535, which would not allow menhaden fishing within a quarter mile of Louisiana’s shore.

Menhaden, also called pogies, are small bait fish caught in the Gulf of Mexico to be sold as animal feed, fish oil and bait. It’s the largest commercial fishery in the state by volume. More than 1.1 billion pounds of menhaden were netted in Gulf waters in 2019, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But recreational fishers say that the boats used to catch the fish are coming too close to shore, and red drum and speckled trout are getting caught in their nets. Rep. Joseph Orgeron (R-Larose) introduced the bill at a Louisiana Senate Committee on Natural Resources meeting Wednesday. He said the legislation keeping menhaden fishers at least a quarter mile from shore was an attempt to compromise between pogie fishers, who want to continue to be able to fish closer to shore, and recreational fishers, who want to push the pogie boats a mile offshore.

Menhaden companies in Louisiana said that about 18% of the fish they catch are within a half mile of the coast. Orgeron’s bill initially proposed a buffer zone similar to Texas, but an amendment added to HB 535 during the committee hearing cut the buffer zone down from a half mile from shore to a quarter mile from shore. Still, companies said they would spend more time and money on fuel trying to catch fish further offshore.

The pogie industry has already shrunk because of economic difficulties, said Ben Landry, the director of public affairs for Omega Protein, one of three menhaden processors in the state. “It’s a little disingenuous to hear, ‘Well, they can just go someplace else and catch those fish, or it won’t hurt them,’” he said. Making up the 18% of catch caught in nearshore waters would be “awfully difficult,” he said.

While discussing the bill Orgeron said that a quarter mile buffer zone equates to 1,300 feet, about the distance from the state Capitol to the Mississippi River levee. Landry said that might seem like a small area. “But if I were looking for legislators this is where I’d go,” he said. “This is where menhaden are.”

Read the full story at the Louisiana Illuminator

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Input on Proposal to Close Commercial Salmon Fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ

June 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Council recommended measure responds to court ruling requiring Federal management of EEZ waters in Cook Inlet

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comments on a proposal to amend the Fishery Management Plan for the Salmon Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska (Salmon FMP) to prohibit commercial salmon fishing in federal waters, also called the exclusive economic zone or EEZ, in Cook Inlet. The proposed action would not close any salmon fishing in State of Alaska waters.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council first developed the Salmon FMP under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act more than 40 years ago. The current Salmon FMP excludes designated federal waters in Cook Inlet. That has allowed the State of Alaska to manage commercial salmon fishing in the area.

North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization Meeting Concludes: West Greenland Measures Disappointing

June 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On Friday, June 4, the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) concluded its 38th Annual Meeting (held virtually). NASCO is an intergovernmental organization formed to promote the conservation, restoration, enhancement, and rational management of wild Atlantic salmon stocks in the North Atlantic Ocean. NASCO’s members are Canada, Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland) (DFG), the European Union, Norway, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Representatives from a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also attended the meeting.

Participants discussed a number of matters critical to Atlantic salmon conservation and management, including a new regulatory measure for the mixed stock fishery that occurs off West Greenland. This fishery, which operates against the scientific advice, takes critically endangered U.S. origin salmon. As such, our highest priority during the meeting was to agree to a regulatory measure that reduced the catch in the fishery to the lowest possible level and ensured effective management and control.

While a new interim regulatory measure was adopted for the fishery off West Greenland, the United States is deeply concerned about many of its key provisions. In order to avoid allowing the fishery to operate outside of any international constraints, we stopped short of blocking consensus on this one-year measure. However, we expressed our extreme displeasure with several provisions including a 27 ton Total Allowable Catch (TAC), the failure to implement the required 10 ton reduction in the 2021 TAC to account for overharvest in 2020, and the lack of an overharvest payback provision applicable to any future overharvests. The European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom largely shared the U.S. concerns about the new regulatory measure. All indicated that the catch level was too high, especially without a requirement to ensure any overharvest of the TAC would be addressed. DFG, however, was not willing to change its position on the size of total TAC or the inclusion of the overharvest payback provision.

The new measure will maintain the prohibition on factory landings and exports of Atlantic salmon from Greenland, and require DFG to continue to implement previously agreed monitoring, control, and reporting measures. The new regulatory measure will apply to the fishery off West Greenland in 2021 only, and Parties agreed that they would meet before the 2022 NASCO annual meeting to continue discussions on the development of a longer-term measure. The United States looks forward to these discussions and to the adoption of a stronger measure at the 2022 NASCO annual meeting.

Visit our web page to read the Closing Statement from the U.S. Head of Delegation to NASCO, Kim Damon-Randall, Deputy Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Limited Openings of Recreational and Commercial Red Snapper Seasons in South Atlantic Federal Waters

June 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

What/When:

Each year, NOAA Fisheries announces the season opening dates for red snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic, in addition to the recreational season length. For the 2021 season:

The recreational sector will open for harvest on the following 3 days:
- July 9, 10, and 11, 2021 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) – The recreational season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 9, 2021, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 12, 2021.
The commercial sector will open for harvest at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 12, 2021, and will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2022, unless the commercial annual catch limit is met or projected to be met before this date.
- If the commercial sector closes before 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2022, NOAA Fisheries will announce it in the Federal Register and publish another Fishery Bulletin.

During the Limited Open Seasons:

The total annual catch limit is 42,510 fish.
The recreational annual catch limit is 29,656 fish.
- The recreational bag limit is one red snapper per person per day. This applies to private and charterboat/headboat vessels (the captain and crew on for-hire vessels may retain the recreational bag limit).
The commercial annual catch limit is 124,815 pounds whole weight (12,854 fish).
- The commercial trip limit is 75 pounds gutted weight.
There is no minimum or maximum size limits for the recreational or commercial sectors.

Read the full release here

MASSACHUSETTS: Museum To Host Conversation On Woods Hole Fisheries’ 150th Anniversary

June 4, 2021 — “Celebrating 150 Years of Science at the Woods Hole Fisheries Lab” will be the topic of Woods Hole Historical Museum’s online Conversation on Wednesday, June 9, at 7 PM with Jon Hare, science and research director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, founded as the U. Commission of Fish and Fisheries in 1871, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The Woods Hole Laboratory is the nation’s first marine research station, and is the founding laboratory of NOAA Fisheries, formally called the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Jon Hare has been the science and research director of the Woods Hole Fisheries since October 2016. He oversees science activities related to the Fisheries mission in the northeast region, including fisheries, aquaculture, protected species, habitat, and ecosystem science. He received a PhD in coastal oceanography from State University of New York Stony Brook. He was awarded a National Research Council Research Associateship in 1994 to work at NOAA’s Beaufort Laboratory and was hired by the agency in 1997.

Read the full story at The Enterprise

NOAA Fisheries Announces Changes to the Cellular Electronic Logbook Program for Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Moratorium Permit Holders

June 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

NOAA Fisheries is working to improve the quality of information available for the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery. This bulletin provides federal shrimp permit holders with an overview of the new changes occurring with the Cellular Electronic Logbook Program.

Having appropriate and current data enables the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries to carry out responsive and timely fisheries management. Since the implementation of the shrimp permit moratorium in 2007, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center continues the required data collections through fishing regulations.

What is New to the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Permit (SPGM) Cellular Electronic Logbook (cELB) Program:

In November 2020, NOAA Fisheries sent a letter to Cellular Electronic Logbook Program participants that 3G cellular technology would no longer be available as of December 31, 2020. This notification also asked participants to continue to power up the devices onboard the vessel when fishing. The transmission of those data would no longer be sent via cellular technology; however, the devices would continue to collect data until NOAA Fisheries was able to retrieve the data manually. Note that participants are still required to power up the devices while fishing.
Within the next few weeks, NOAA Fisheries will be providing SD card replacements to each Program participant currently assigned a device onboard the vessel associated with the selected Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Permit.
Selected participants will receive a letter with the enclosed step-by-step instructional guide, a new SD card to be swapped on the Cellular Electronic Logbook device, and a pre-paid envelope to return the previously used SD card back to the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center for data analysis.

While NOAA Fisheries explores options for the replacement of the current 3G units, we will continue to send, and ask you to install replacement SD cards. The swap of SD cards allows the permit holder the ability to comply with the SPGM reporting requirement associated with this program. The information collected from the SD card returned to NOAA Fisheries will allow us to determine whether your unit is working properly or if you may need a new antenna or unit.

Thank you for your past and future cooperation with these data collection efforts. The information is critical for more responsive and timely management of the fishery. All individual information provided is confidential. These data collections are mandated by the final rule to implement actions in Amendment 13 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico