Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Science Helps Maine’s Pioneering Sea Scallop Farmers

November 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A trait fishermen and scientists share is adaptability: the trait required to think on your feet, be comfortable with uncertainty, and repurpose resources when necessary.

“Adaptable” is a word that perfectly describes Marsden Brewer, a third-generation commercial fisherman, who is also a scallop farmer and owner of PenBay Farmed Scallops. Brewer’s business is the result of his 20-year effort, as well as techniques learned through Maine’s enduring friendship with its sister state, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. His three-and-a-quarter acre Stonington, Maine, farm is the first of its kind in Penobscot Bay.

“Princess” Scallops: A New England Locavore’s Delight

The Atlantic sea scallop fishery is one of the most valuable in the United States. While wild caught scallops have shells four inches across or larger and you only eat the adductor muscle, Brewer sells a smaller, whole-animal product. He offers three sizes:

  • “Princess” scallops are two inches across and can be grown in just 18 months
  • Medium scallops are about 2.75 inches and take 2 years
  • Large scallops are about 3 inches and take 3 years to grow.

Whole scallops are a delicacy prepared by chefs at restaurants in Maine and as far away as Colorado and Arizona. Brewer is not competing with the wild scallop fishery, but bringing a new local seafood to market. He has led other fishermen to farm scallops as a way to diversify their income in a changing environment.

Read the full release here

Black Sea Bass Sensitive to Ocean Noise in Wind Energy Development Areas

November 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Scientists looking at the effects of underwater pile driving and construction noise on sea life have found that black sea bass can hear these sounds. The noise may interfere with their natural behavior.

Their study is the first to look at the impact of ocean noise on this fish species. It found that younger fish were more sensitive to sounds than older fish. The frequencies at which the fish are most sensitive to sound directly overlap with frequencies of human-produced noise pollution. This noise comes from activities like shipping and the underwater construction required for offshore wind farms.

“No one knew for sure how much black sea bass can hear and how that changes as they age,” said Beth Phelan, a fishery biologist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s laboratory at Sandy Hook, New Jersey and a co-author of the study. “We do know that black sea bass are attracted to underwater structures, and have anecdotal information that they move away from noise. We had to first determine the range of sounds they can hear by giving them a type of hearing test, much like we do to humans.”

Black sea bass are a commercially and recreationally important fish in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, the coastal region from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to southern New England. Wind farms planned in the region overlap with current black sea bass habitat, exposing fish to construction and operational noises. Pile driving, for example, produces sounds that might stress fish, impacting their choice of habitat, feeding, social interaction and reproduction.

Read the full release here

Long-Running Plankton Survey to Resume in the Gulf of Maine

November 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A new agreement between NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth, England and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will allow a plankton survey to resume. The survey was originally conducted across the Gulf of Maine from 1961 to 2017.

NOAA Fisheries is providing funding for the survey through the NOAA Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region, hosted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The Marine Biological Association manages merchant vessel-based plankton surveys around the world. The association will run and maintain the resumed Gulf of Maine survey through 2024 under this agreement.

“Continuing a long-term time series like the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey is essential to understanding the impact of climate change to marine ecosystems,” said Chris Melrose, a research oceanographer at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s laboratory in Narragansett, Rhode Island and NOAA representative on the agreement.

“Many marine species are shifting their distributions as ocean waters warm,” explained Melrose. “Because plankton are an important food source for many species, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale, knowing about changes in the plankton helps us to understand other changes we see in the ecosystem.”

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Atlantic Herring Management Area 1A Sub-ACL Harvested

November 9, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective 00:01 hours on November 11 through December 31, 2020

Under the New England Fishery Management Council’s Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan, no person may, fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or per calendar day in or from Area 1A for the remainder of the fishing year, as of the projected date when 92 percent of the Herring Management Area 1A catch limit will be harvested.  At 00:01 hours on November 11, 2020, a 2,000-lb herring possession limit per trip or calendar day will become effective for Management Area 1A (Figure 1) and will be in effect through December 31, 2020.

This action also prohibits federally permitted dealers from purchasing, possessing, receiving, selling, bartering, trading, transferring, or attempting to carry out the above actions for more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or calendar day from Management Area 1A.

This action is in effect through 24:00 hr local time, December 31, 2020, unless it is from a vessel that enters port before 00:01 local time on November 11, 2020.

Read the full release here

The Continued Fight over Farming the Oceans

November 9, 2020 — In January 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) finalized a rule that authorized up to 20 permits for fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico’s federal waters. For 18 months, no one applied.

“They didn’t want to run the gauntlet of these permits because it was just so fraught,” said Neil Sims, a serial aquaculture entrepreneur who ultimately broke the stalemate. He proposed a pilot project dubbed Velella Epsilon, which would produce a total of 20,000 almaco jack, a fish native to the Gulf, in state-of-the-art net pens 45 miles off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. Sims said that his company, Ocean Era, aimed to “blaze a trail, so people can see the process that we go through.”

So far, that process has resembled more of a battle. Years later, the permitting process is still ongoing, and at each step, a mix of local residents and groups representing environmentalists and wild capture fisheries has mounted fierce opposition—with public comments, lawsuits, and, most recently, a “people’s hearing” on the project taking place on September 30.

“This is potentially a precedent-setting operation,” said Marianne Cufone, the executive director of the Recirculating Farms Coalition, which promotes a specific style of land-based aquaculture, and a founding member of the Don’t Cage Our Ocean coalition. In Cufone’s opinion, it must be stopped.

Read the full story at Civil Eats

NOAA Fisheries to Require Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting for Commercial and For-Hire Vessels

November 9, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective November 10, 2021

NOAA Fisheries is approving a recommendation from both the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils to require federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to submit vessel trip reports electronically within 48 hours of the end of a trip.

Upon request of the New England Council, we are also extending this requirement to vessels issued for-hire (charter/party) permits for New England Council-managed fisheries (i.e., Northeast multispecies). Vessels issued a Mid-Atlantic Council for-hire permit have been required to submit vessel trip reports electronically since March 2018. Note, reporting requirements for vessels issued only a federal lobster permit are being addressed in a separate rulemaking and this action does not affect those vessels.

The effective date of this action is being delayed for 1 year, until November 10, 2021, to allow ample time for training on the various electronic reporting applications and to allow vessel owners and operators the time to find the appropriate application for their operations. Information on eVTR applications is available on our website.  Additional information on training opportunities can be found on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s website.

For more details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register or the bulletin.

Feds to allow same level of bluefish fishing in 2021

November 6, 2020 — Fishermen in the U.S. will be allowed to bring about the same amount of bluefish to the docks in the coming year under a proposal from the federal government.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it’s proposing keeping catch limits for the fish at mostly status quo. Bluefish is a popular food fish that is also prized by sport fishermen.

Commercial fishermen from New England to Florida brought more than 2.6 million pounds of the fish to docks in 2019. The largest producer of the fish was North Carolina, where the largest share of the fish came to docks.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

The United States National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council (NOMEC Council) Seeks Public Input on Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Efforts in the U.S. EEZ

November 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA:

The National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council (NOMEC Council), a group of federal agencies established to carry out the National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone, is requesting your input on developing an Implementation Plan and setting strategic priorities for the effort to map the entire U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by 2040 and explore and characterize strategic areas.

WHAT:

The public is invited to two Virtual Public Listening Sessions to discuss the NOMEC Strategy and Implementation Plan:

  • Session #1: Ocean Exploration and Characterization [November 16, 2:00-3:30pm EST via Zoom]
  • Session #2: Ocean Mapping [November 18, 2:00-3:30pm EST via Zoom]

REGISTRATION:

Session 1: Ocean Exploration and Characterization Nov 16, 2020 @ 2:00pm Eastern Time

Session 2: Ocean Mapping Nov 18, 2020 @ 2:00pm Eastern Time

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

REQUEST FOR COMMENTS:

The public is particularly encouraged to provide comments via email on the development of the NOMEC Implementation Plan and strategic priorities. Please submit comments and letters by email no later than Nov 12, 2020, to nomec.execsec@noaa.gov, with subject line “Public Comment on Implementation Plan for the National Strategy” for request #1 and subject line, “Public Comment on Exploration Priorities for the Implementation Plan” for request #2.

  1. Implementing a National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the U.S. EEZ The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a notice stating that the NOMEC Council requests input from all interested parties on the development of an Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the U.S. EEZ (“National Strategy”). Input should be provided by 12 November. 85 Fed. Reg. 64446 (10/13/20) [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/13/2020-22411/request-for-comment-implementation-plan-for-the-national-strategy-for-ocean-mapping-exploring-and].
  2. Strategic priorities for mapping, exploring, and characterizing the U.S. EEZ NOAA issued a second notice stating that the NOMEC Council requests input from all interested parties on the strategic priorities to be included in the Implementation Plan for the National Strategy. Input should be provided by 12 November. 85 Fed. Reg. 64448 (10/13/20) [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/13/2020-22413/request-for-information-implementation-plan-for-the-national-strategy-for-mapping-exploring-and].

All responses and questions can be addressed to nomec.execsec@noaa.gov. Please reach out for additional information or questions regarding NOMEC.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

The NOMEC Council seeks input from non-federal stakeholders interested mapping, exploration, and characterization from all sectors, including academia, non-profit, industry, and community partners. Please forward to anyone who may be interested.

BACKGROUND:

In November 2019, the United States issued the Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska. Section 2 calls for Federal agencies to develop a strategy to conduct ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization exercises to meet the mandate to map the entire U.S. EEZ by 2040 and explore and characterize priority areas. Following this directive, in June of 2020, the White House released the National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone. This document sets forth a National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), for enhancing opportunities for collaboration among interagency and non-United States Government entities with respect to those activities, and creates the NOMEC Council. Public input is essential for developing the Implementation Plan to carry out the goals and objectives outlined in the National Strategy. The first federal register notice seeks input on the Implementation Plan to carry out the national strategy and the second federal register notice solicits input on the strategic priorities for exploration and characterization activities.

NOAA Fisheries Offers Paperless Ways to Receive Information about Fishing Regulations and Management Actions

November 5, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

  • This is an annual reminder that NOAA Fisheries offers you three ways to receive your fishery bulletins. These bulletins contain fishing regulation information and are typically referred to as “the blue sheets.”
  • You may receive a copy of the bulletins in three ways:
    • Electronic/E-mail
    • Mail
    • Text Message Notifications

MORE INFORMATION:

  • Electronic/E-mail:
    • To receive an on-line copy of NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fishery Bulletins, which explain current/proposed fishing regulations and other announcements, please visit https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/outreach-and-education/southeast-regional-fisheries-news-sign-or-follow-us. You can unsubscribe at any time.
    • An electronic copy of each bulletin, sent via e-mail, will be delivered to you faster than a paper copy, is in color, features informational links, and reduces paper use.
        • Note: If you already receive electronic fishery bulletins via email, your subscription will not be affected and you do NOT need to sign up again now.
  • Mail:
    • In an effort to better serve you, we want to update our records so the Southeast Fishery Bulletins you receive are of interest to you.
    • Please use the form below to let us know which region-specific bulletins you would like to receive.
    • Send your response to the following address:
      • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
        Southeast Regional Office, Sustainable Fisheries Division
        263 13th Avenue South
        Saint Petersburg, FL  33701

        • Note: If you already receive fishery bulletins in the mail, you still need to complete the attached form and send it back to NOAA Fisheries before December 31, 2020. If you do not send to the address above, you will not receive any bulletins in the mail after December 31, 2020.

Text Message Notifications:

  • NOAA’s Text Message Alert Program allows you to receive important fishery related alerts via text message (SMS).
  • Text alerts you receive may include, but are not limited to:
    • Immediate fishery openings and closures
    • Any significant changes to fishing regulations that happen quickly
  • Sign up for one or more of the following groups:
    • Gulf of Mexico Recreational Fisheries Related Alerts
      • Text GULFRECFISH to 888777
    • Gulf of Mexico Commercial Fisheries Related Alerts
      • Text GULFCOMMFISH to 888777
    • South Atlantic Recreational Fisheries Related Alerts
      • Text SATLRECFISH to 888777
    • South Atlantic Commercial Fisheries Related Alerts
      • Text SATLCOMMFISH to 888777
    • Caribbean Fisheries Related Alerts
      • Text CARIBFISH to 888777

Join us every other Friday on NOAA Fish Instagram for Rec Fish Friday!

This change will be EFFECTIVE January 1, 2021.

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed 2021 Bluefish Specifications

November 5, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is proposing the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommended catch specifications for the 2021 bluefish fishery. These proposed catch limits are mostly status quo, with only slight changes in the final recreational harvest limit to account for most recent (2019) recreational catch data. A summary of the Council’s recommended specifications is shown in Table 1.

The commercial fishery state allocations for 2021 (Table 2) are based on the final coast-wide commercial quota, and the allocated percentages defined in the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan. No states exceeded their state allocated quota in 2019 or are projected to do so in 2020, so no adjustments are necessary for the 2021 commercial fishery.

All other management measures and requirements, including the recreational daily bag limit of 3 fish per person for private anglers and to 5 fish per person for for-hire (charter/party) vessels, would remain unchanged.

For more details on the proposed specifications, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. The comment period is open through November 20, 2020.

Read the full release here