Saving Seafood

MAINE: Lobstermen, environmentalists agree right whale plan is flawed, for different reasons

February 24, 2021 — Environmentalists campaigning to save the endangered right whale and lobstermen working to protect their industry agree that a federal proposal to protect the species is flawed but for different reasons, with the fishermen saying it goes too far and environmentalists saying it doesn’t go far enough.

In a virtual public hearing Tuesday night, representatives from both groups asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to take a second look at its proposed changes to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.

The proposal aims to reduce the risk to the North Atlantic right whales by at least 60 percent and includes plans to modify gear configurations to reduce the number of vertical lines by requiring more traps between buoy lines, introducing weak insertions or weak rope into buoy lines so that a rope will break if a whale becomes entangled, modify existing seasonal restricted areas to allow ropeless fishing and add additional seasonal restricted areas that are closed to buoy lines but allow ropeless fishing.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Final Rule to Modify the Requirements for Federally-Permitted For-Hire Vessels Multi-Day Trip Possession Limits in the Gulf of Mexico

February 24, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

Fishermen on a charter vessel or headboat who take a trip lasting more than one day, also known as a multi-day trip, can retain a second daily bag or vessel limit as long as they follow specific procedures.

This final rule modifies the on-board multi-day possession limit of fish species so that a second bag-limit can be retained at any time after the vessel leaves the dock for fishing trips that are greater than 30 hours in duration on qualifying vessels.

WHEN THE RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

The final rule will be effective on March 26, 2021.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

  • The rule will increase the required trip duration to greater than 30 hours, but will allow anglers to retain the second daily bag limit at any time after the federally-permitted for-hire vessel leaves the dock.
  • The rule will also require the receipt issued to passengers specify the date and time of both the departure and return of the trip.
  • The entire trip must occur on days when the harvest and possession of the applicable reef fish species are allowed.
  • The possession of Gulf of Mexico cobia is limited to two per person per day regardless of the duration of a trip and this proposed rule would not revise the cobia possession limits.
  • Speckled hind and warsaw grouper have daily bag limits of one fish per vessel per day; therefore, the possession limit is two vessel limits, or two fish per vessel.
  • The existing requirements will remain the same for the vessel to have two licensed operators aboard, and each passenger issued and have in possession a receipt issued on behalf of the vessel that verifies the length of the trip.
  • For the purpose of the possession limit, the entire trip duration must coincide with an open fishing season for the applicable species.
    • For example: if anglers on a federal for-hire vessel intend to retain the possession limit of red snapper, which has an open season beginning on June 1, the vessel cannot depart before 12:01 AM on June 1.
  • The rule is expected to promote efficiency in the utilization of reef fish and coastal migratory pelagic resources and a potential decrease in regulatory discards by providing the owners and operators of federally-permitted for-hire vessels greater flexibility in determining when to allow passengers to retain the possession limit on multi-day trips.

Read the full release here

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program Funding Opportunity

February 24, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Chesapeake Bay (B-WET) program 2021-2022 funding competition is open through March 1.

Chesapeake B-WET is a competitive grant program that supports existing, high-quality environmental education programs and fosters the growth of new, innovative programs. It encourages capacity building and partnership development for environmental education programs throughout the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed. NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training grant program—known as Chesapeake B-WET—supports hands-on watershed education to students and teachers to foster stewardship of the Bay.

Chesapeake B-WET emphasizes the development of programs that reach all students in a given grade level across an entire school district to create systemic change in school districts. Successful projects advance the environmental literacy goal of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and goals of the NOAA Education Strategic Plan. They provide hands-on environmental education about issues affecting the watershed for students and related professional development for teachers, administrators, and other educators who serve formal K-12 audiences. B-WET supports Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences, which are learner-centered experiences that focus on investigations into local environmental issues that lead to informed action and civic engagement. Learn more about past and current funded projects.

To learn more about this year’s priorities and to apply visit our website.

Read the full release here

Scientist Profile: A Career Spent Saving Sockeye Salmon in the Pacific Northwest

February 23, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In the fall of 1991, Snake River sockeye salmon hovered on the brink of extinction. Thousands of the distinctively red fish had once returned more than 900 miles from the Pacific Ocean. They swam up the Columbia, Snake, and Salmon rivers to Redfish Lake in Idaho every year. They passed eight major dams along the way.

Only four made it in 1991.

The dire situation galvanized regulatory and stakeholder groups. That same year,  the Redfish Lake Sockeye Captive Broodstock Program was formed. The program pooled the expertise and efforts of NOAA Fisheries and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. They collaborate with the Bonneville Power Administration, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho. The program endeavors to help save the signature species by protecting its remaining genetic diversity.

The next step was to revive the species by reproducing them in hatcheries.

Along came Carlin McAuley, a scientist with a rare blend of fisheries experience. For the next 29 years, Carlin led fish culture operations for NOAA Fisheries Redfish Lake sockeye captive broodstock program. He retired in December, but he has left a lasting legacy. While hard work remains, he helped halt the decline and set these sockeye on a path toward recovery. But he wants everyone to know he didn’t do this alone. He played a role amongst a group of very talented, hard-working people at NOAA.

We recently sat down with Carlin to reflect on his career.

Read the full interview here

Maine’s governor outlines “grave” concerns regarding right whale lobster measures

February 23, 2021 — U.S. State of Maine Governor Janet Mills has written a letter to NOAA Fisheries outlining “grave concern” over the latest Biological Opinion that has been drafted for 10 fishery management plans in the Greater Atlantic Region – including the state’s lucrative lobster industry.

Mills, in a letter to NOAA Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator Michael Pentony, said the framework could have drastic consequences for the state’s lobster industry, which was a USD 485 million (EUR 399 million) industry in 2019 and is by far Maine’s most valuable fishery. The framework is being established in order to increase protection for the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Have Questions on NPFMC Requests for Emergency Actions? NOAA Fisheries Offers Q&As

February 23, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On February 10, 2021, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council made four recommendations to NOAA Fisheries for emergency or expedited changes to Federal fishing regulations.

The Council’s four motions would:

Allow the temporary transfer of catcher vessel halibut and sablefish IFQ for all individual quota share holders for the 2021 fishing season.

  • Move the start date of the 2021 Central Gulf Rockfish Program fishery from May 1 to April 1.
  • Remove vessel use cap regulations for IFQ halibut harvested in IPHC regulatory Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D for the 2021 IFQ fishing season.
  • Suspend the residency requirements applicable to the Adak Community Quota Entity Program for 2021.

NOAA Fisheries will analyze the Council’s recommendations and, if approved by the Secretary of Commerce, will publish a rule in the Federal Register. This process typically takes five to six weeks but the exact timing may vary for each action.

As we have received numerous inquiries from participants in these Alaska fisheries, we have developed a Questions and Answers webpage to answer the most frequently asked questions on the recommended emergency or expedited regulations.

For additional information or questions about permits or transfer applications, please contact the Restricted Access Management Program at: (800) 304-4846 option #2 or (907) 586-7474 or by email at RAM.Alaska@noaa.gov.

For additional information or questions about regulations and the rulemaking process, please contact the Sustainable Fisheries Division at 907-586-7228.

Read the full release here

Part I: Emergency Actions on IFQ Fisheries And Review of Climate Change at February NPFMC Meeting

February 22, 2021 — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) sent Emergency Rule requests to NOAA Fisheries on halibut and sablefish license requirements for the second year in a row due to the pandemic, while reviewing several reports related to climate change: the Bering Sea FEP Plan Team report, the Climate Change Taskforce (CCTF) workplan, an update from the Local Knowledge, Traditional Knowledge and Subsistence (LKTKS) Taskforce, and a report from the Ecosystem Committee.

The request to modify transfer provisions in the halibut and sablefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) fishery was the same as last years, which accommodates restrictions in place due to COVID-19 travel constraints and  health and safety mandates.

Read the full story at Seafood News

NOAA Survey Measures COVID Impacts on Fishing Industry

February 22, 2021 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is partnering with the University of Florida to launch a phone survey to measure the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the region’s commercial and for-hire fishing industry.

The project aims to specifically measure economic impacts on individual businesses over the 2020 calendar year, said NOAA.

The study is a follow-up to a survey conducted in summer 2020 that measured the impacts of the first half of the year.

According to that year’s survey, the regional fishing industry suffered broad declines.

The results of that survey can be found here.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

New Slow Zone off Atlantic City to Protect Right Whales

February 22, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces a new voluntary right whale Slow Zone off of Atlantic City, New Jersey, slightly north of the existing slow zone off Atlantic City.

On February 21, 2021, Rutgers University’s slocum glider detected the presence of right whales 46 nm southeast of Atlantic City. This area is slightly north of and overlaps with the slow zone southeast of Atlantic City announced last week.

This Slow Zone is in effect through March 8, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

Southeast of Atlantic City, in effect through March 8, 2021

38 59 N
38 19 N
073 34 W
074 26 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Seasonal Closure of Mutton Snapper Spawning Aggregation Area in U.S. Caribbean Federal Waters off St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

February 22, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHEN:

Annual Seasonal Area Closure

NOAA Fisheries reminds fishermen and the public of the upcoming seasonal closure on fishing for any species in federal waters of the mutton snapper spawning aggregation area in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (Figure 1).

  • This closure begins at 12:01 a.m., local time, on March 1, 2021, and extends through 11:59 p.m., local time, June 30, 2021.

Year-Round Fishing Prohibitions

Fishing with pots, traps, bottom longlines, gillnets, or trammel nets is prohibited within federal waters of the mutton snapper spawning aggregation area year-round.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

This seasonal area closure protects mutton snapper when they are spawning (reproducing) and more vulnerable to fishing pressure.  The closure also protects the habitat that supports those aggregations.

The Mutton Snapper Spawning Aggregation Area is located off southwest St. Croix and is bounded by lines connecting the following coordinates:

A   17°37.8′ N         64°53.0′ W

B   17°39.0′ N         64°53.0′ W

C   17°39.0′ N         64°50.5′ W

D   17°38.1′ N         64°50.5′ W

E   17°37.8′ N         64°52.5′ W

A   17°37.8′ N         64°53.0′ W

Read the full release here