Saving Seafood

Outgoing NOAA leaders see ‘solid progress that helps commercial and recreational fishing industries’

January 28, 2021 — As our tenure in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ends, we want to share the progress our agency team has accomplished. Working with the National Marine Fisheries Service leadership, we sought to increase fishing opportunities, reduce unnecessary burdens, expand market access, and continue to improve the status of fish stocks. As NOAA transitions to a new political leadership team, it is important to build upon the achievements of these past four years, and continue to support the commercial and recreational fishing sectors:

Advance fisheries conservation.

NOAA continued to make significant progress working with fishermen to improve the status of U.S. fish stocks. Two additional fish stocks were rebuilt last year, making a total of 47 fish stocks rebuilt since 2000. The overfishing list dropped to 22 stocks, setting an all-time low. Ninety-three percent of the stocks managed by NOAA are not subject to overfishing and 81 percent are not overfished.

Cooperate with the regional fishery management councils to reduce regulatory burden.

A total of 62 deregulatory actions were finalized between fiscal years 2017 and 2020, saving fishermen over $50 million per year. More importantly, there are approximately 30 deregulatory actions currently in the pipeline within NOAA fisheries. Further, under section 4 of Executive Order 13921, Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth, NOAA fisheries is required to review and add new deregulatory actions to its agenda that are recommended by the councils, and report annually for the next 3 years on their status.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NOAA wants monitors on 40% of groundfish trips

January 28, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries has established a monitoring coverage target that would deploy at-sea monitors aboard 40% of all groundfish sector trips in the Northeast in the upcoming 2021 fishing year, the agency announced Tuesday.

The 2021 ASM coverage target represents a 25% increase from the 32% monitoring coverage target in the 2020 fishing year for the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery.

“Consistent with the requirement to monitor sector operations and to reliably estimate overall catch to the extent practical, the coverage target level will be 40%,” NOAA Fisheries stated in its bulletin  announcing the coverage target.

At-sea monitoring coverage levels for Northeast sector groundfish vessels was one of the more tumultuous issues of the 2020 fishing season because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the monitoring program and the New England Fishery Management Council’s approval of Amendment 23 that set future at-sea monitoring coverage target rates for the fishery.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MAINE: Lobstermen react to proposed NOAA rule

January 27, 2021 — At what cost does saving the North Atlantic right whale come?

A Jan. 20 public meeting on the latest proposal to reduce the risk of whale entanglements in fishing lines focused on northern and eastern Maine lobster fishing. The virtual meeting continued discussions between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and lobstermen that began in 2019. The Maine Department of Marine Resources submitted its own risk-reduction proposal in January 2020 that NOAA said did not fully meet its goals.

At this latest meeting, local lobstermen echoed similar concerns they aired when discussions started two years ago: NOAA is relying on incomplete and outdated data, and fishermen are not seeing right whales in Maine waters. NOAA scientists agree that more data would be useful.

“We don’t have a lot of recent data to let us know that they’re not still going there,” said Colleen Coogan, a NOAA biologist who is part of its whale Take Reduction Team (TRT). “Maine has been working pretty aggressively trying to get more data.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Major Refresh Orients our Fishery Monitoring and Research Division Toward the Future

January 27, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Staff involved with cooperative research and fishery monitoring at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center interact daily with the fishing industry. It’s a challenging job, and an essential one: scientists and fishermen working together in areas of mutual interest improves fisheries science and management.

It’s little wonder that managing the many moving parts of this effort requires constant assessment and adaptation. The most recent effort is a major one that has resulted in a new internal structure to improve operations and maximize resources.

The ultimate goal is to ensure accurate representation of fishing activity.

“Improving integration of our efforts, modernizing our systems, and making the data we collect even more useful will enable us to have increased confidence in our science, take some of the burden off the industry, and make it easier for fishermen to access information,” said Amanda McCarty, chief of the center’s Fishery Monitoring and Research Division, which includes the fishery monitoring and cooperative research efforts.

Read the full release here

New Slow Zone East of Boston to Protect Right Whales

January 27, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces a new Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction) to protect right whales.

On January 25, 2021, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Stellwagen Bank Slocum buoy acoustically detected the presence of right whales 35nm East of Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Slow Zone is in effect through February 9, 2021. 

Mariners, please go around this slow zone or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

42 47 N
42 07 N
069 51 W
070 46 W

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

Read the full release here

Major Reorganization Improves NEFSC Fishery Monitoring and Research

January 27, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A new internal structure within the NEFSC’s Fishery Monitoring and Research Division  is a major overhaul intended to improve operations and maximize resources.

The ultimate goal is to ensure accurate representation of fishing activity.

While the basic tasking is the same, separating work into four branches allows better accountability and expansion of existing capability.

Four organizational groups, rather than two, are now responsible for:

  • Fisheries observer program
  • Fisheries observer training and trip data
  • Data and information systems management and development
  • Cooperative research.

Read all about the “new” Fishery Monitoring and Research Division here.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces 2021 At-Sea Monitoring Coverage Levels for Groundfish Sector Fishery

January 26, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces that for fishing year 2021, the total target at-sea monitoring (ASM) coverage level is 40 percent of all groundfish sector trips subject to the ASM program.

Our annual analysis to determine the level of ASM coverage required to estimate discards for each northeast multispecies stock with no greater than a 30-percent coefficient of variation (CV30) calculated a minimum target coverage level of 33 percent of all groundfish sector trips, based on Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. For more information about that analysis, please read the Summary of Analyses Conducted to Determine At-Sea Monitoring Requirements for Multispecies Sectors FY 2021. In addition to the CV analysis, we also considered analyses of bias developed by the Groundfish Plan Development Team and the peer review by a sub-panel of the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee in 2019. Consistent with the regulations and the Court’s ruling in Oceana v. Pritzker, we have determined that coverage needs to be increased above the minimum coverage necessary to achieve a CV30 in order to address the peer review’s conclusions. Consistent with the requirement to monitor sector operations and to reliably estimate overall catch to the extent practicable, the coverage target level will be 40 percent.

Read the full release here

Southeast Regional Permits Office Will Start Issuing Operator Permits on Paper Effective Immediately

January 26, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

  • An operator permit is required for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic, and for rock shrimp of the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic.
  • Effective immediately, the NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Region Permit Office will no longer be issuing an operator permit for these fisheries on a plastic card, but will be issuing the permit on paper.
  • In addition, beginning in February 2021, if an applicant selects the “Check here to receive your operator permit by email” box on the application, the operator permit will be emailed to the applicant upon approval and the applicant can print it. Otherwise, if the applicant does not select the “Check here to receive your operator permit by email” box on their application to the Southeast Region Permit Office, the operator permit will be printed out on paper and mailed to them from the Southeast Region Permit Office.

Who is required to have an operator permit?

  • An operator of a vessel that has, or is required to have, a commercial vessel permit or a charter vessel/headboat permit for Atlantic dolphin and wahoo.
  • An operator of a vessel that has, or is required to have, a commercial vessel permit for rock shrimp (Carolinas Zone) or a commercial vessel permit for rock shrimp (South Atlantic federal waters).
  • More information on operator permits can be found here for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic, and here for rock shrimp of the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic.

How will I receive my approved operator permit?

Starting February 2021, if the applicant selects the “Check here to receive your operator permit by email” box on the paper application, the operator permit will be sent to the email address provided.

What if I still want my approved operator permit mailed to me instead of emailed?

While the email address is a required field on the application, unless the applicant selects the “Check here to receive your operator permit by email” box, we will print and mail the paper operator permit from the Southeast Region Permit Office.

Read the full release here

Paul Doremus takes over as acting head of NOAA Fisheries after Chris Oliver departs

January 25, 2021 — Paul Doremus has taken over as acting assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries following the departure of Chris Oliver, who had served as NOAA Fisheries’ assistant administrator since June 2017.

Doremus has worked at NOAA for the past 16 years, including as chief strategy officer from 2005 to 2011, assistant secretary for conservation and management from 2017 to 2018, and chief of strategy and operations, as well as lead for seafood production and aquaculture from 2011 until his recent promotion.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seasonal Prohibition on Fishing for and Possession of Red, Black, Tiger, Yellowfin, and Yellowedge Grouper in U.S. Caribbean Federal Waters and Seasonal Closure of Grammanik Bank off St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

January 25, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT/WHEN:

Annual Seasonal Grouper Closure

NOAA Fisheries reminds fishermen and the public of the upcoming seasonal closure on fishing for or possession of red, black, tiger, yellowfin, and yellowedge grouper in U.S. Caribbean federal waters.

  • This closure begins at 12:01 a.m., local time, on February 1, 2021, and extends through 11:59 p.m., local time, April 30, 2021.
  • This prohibition on possession does not apply to such grouper harvested and landed on shore prior to the closure.

Fishing Prohibitions in Grammanik Bank, U.S. Virgin Islands

NOAA Fisheries reminds fishermen and the public of the upcoming seasonal closure on fishing for or possession of any fish species, except highly migratory species, in the Grammanik Bank area off St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Figure 1).

  • This closure begins at 12:01 a.m., local time, on February 1, 2021, and extends through 11:59 p.m., local time, April 30, 2021.
  • The term “fish” means finfish, molluscs, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals and birds.

The Grammanik Bank area is located south of St. Thomas and bounded by the following coordinates:

A      18°11.898′ N         64°56.328′ W

B      18°11.645′ N         64°56.225′ W

C      18°11.058′ N         64°57.810′ W

D      18°11.311′ N         64°57.913′ W

Read the full release here