Saving Seafood

Tuna Fishermen Say Agencies Rejected Input on New Rules

April 12, 2019 — Representing large net-fishing vessels in the Pacific Ocean, the American Tunaboat Association filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming government fishery regulators left industry experts in the dark about a forthcoming biological opinion that could limit commercial tuna operations.

The complaint, filed by Baker Botts attorney Megan Berge in Washington, D.C., federal court, names as defendants Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS.

According to the lawsuit, NMFS is preparing a biological opinion that could impose new permit requirements and limits on tuna fishery operations in the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the American Tunaboat Association says it was denied the ability to provide input during an informal phase of the assessment process.

The fishing advocacy group claims the NMFS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not allowing it to review any drafts or provide first-hand, expert recommendations for the developing opinion that could directly impact its members.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

How Cities Can Protect Themselves from Rising Waters

March 28, 2019 — Across the U.S., policymakers are scrambling to protect their communities from the effects of climate change.

In January, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker proposed real-estate tax increases to fund dam and drainage system upgrades, which would help residents cope with future floods and storms. Meanwhile, a few months earlier, officials from several Florida counties agreed to work together to minimize the damage caused by rising sea levels.

Adaptation efforts like these are crucial. Four in 10 Americans live in coastal areas. and this population will surge in the coming years. Sustained flooding can cripple homes and infrastructure like roads, bridges, subways and wastewater treatment plants.

Policymakers have limited time and resources, so they should rely on the latest computer modeling and other technologies to identify and implement the most efficient adaptation strategies.

Rising water levels have already wrought havoc across the country. From 2000 to 2015, coastal “sunny day flooding,” or flooding caused by high tides rather than storms, more than doubled on the Southeast’s Atlantic coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. And it increased 75 percent on the Northeast’s coast.

Climate change is also making storms more destructive and frequent by heating up ocean waters, increasing flooding. The United States experienced its most expensive hurricane season in history in 2017; storms caused more than $300 billion in damages. Flooding and other damage from Hurricane Harvey alone forced 37,000 Texans into shelters in September 2017. Last year, Hurricane Michael caused at least 45 deaths and more than $12 billion in losses.

Read the full story at Scientific American

Are the red snapper regulations in federal waters too restrictive?

June 30, 2017 — Regulations surrounding red snapper are the subject of a lot of chatter on fishing docks throughout the panhandle.

The three day red snapper season in federal waters was recently expanded to cover most of the summer, but there was a trade-off in a reduced number of red snapper days in state waters.

So, are the current fishing regulations helpful? Or harmful? It depends on who you ask.

Behind a local marina in Panama City sits a third generation charter captain who makes a living off of fishing.

“Our limits have gotten smaller, the amount of days that we get are definitely smaller. I make my full living charter fishing here in Panama City, been doing it my whole life, it supports me and my family, I’ve actually got twins on the way, they’re going to be here later in the year,” Hook ’em Charters Captain BJ Burkett said.

Captain BJ tell us the current red snapper fishing regulations in federal waters, which start nine nautical miles out, hinder his ability to profit as much as he used too.

“We started out, I’d say about 10 years ago we used to have 190 day red snapper season and we’re down to a, this year we got 49 days for the federal charter for hire industry. We have had as few as 9 days in a year a couple years back, but the seasons have definitely changed. It’s kinda sad in our eyes,” Burkett said.

Representatives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tell us those regulations are enforced for a reason.

“Conservation laws are in place, you know, to ensure the natural resource is abundant and there for future generations to use,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission representative Rebekah Nelson.

We also reached out to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, who responded with a statement saying in part, NOAA Fisheries regulate fishing to help foster healthy fish populations. It continues to say fish populations can be depleted if they’re caught faster than they can reproduce.

Read the full story at WJHG

Anglers seeing red over snapper season

May 5, 2017 — To say the least, local anglers are unhappy about the three-day federal red snapper season this year.

“A federal season is a joke,” said Chris Nixon of Wewahitchka. “A three-day federal season is an insult.”

Other words used by anglers to describe the three-day season included “ridiculous,” “shenanigans,” “a travesty,” “a sick joke,” “corruption at its finest” and a handful of curse words.

For years now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has been steadily shrinking the length of the red snapper season for private anglers. Twenty years ago, the red snapper fishery was open to recreational anglers year round. Then the Sustainable Fishery Act of 1996 passed, and the season started shrinking to combat overfishing and rebuild stocks.

From 2000 to 2007, the season was open from April 21 through Oct. 21, but then NOAA changed the management plan to try to rebuild the stock faster. In 2008, it dropped to 66 days. In 2010, it was 53 days. In 2012, it was 40 days. In 2014, it was nine days.

In 2014, private anglers and for-hire boats still were operating under the same rules, but a nine-day season was devastating to for-hire boats, who depend on customers. So, in 2015 a new rule, Amendment 45, was put in place by NOAA, dividing the two groups. Private anglers received 10 days; for-hire boats had a 44-day season.

Now, private anglers have a historically short three-day season — that doesn’t fully align with a weekend — and they are crying foul. And for-hire vessels have a 49-day federal season.

Read the full story the Panama City News Herald 

Small-Boat Fishing Groups Make Pleas to New Congress

March 7, 2017 — Local fishermen were in Washington, D.C. earlier this month to present their issues and concerns to the new Congress.

Cape Codders and other fishermen from across the nation with the Fishing Communities Coalition make the trip whenever a large number new representatives or senators are elected.

Cape Cod Fisherman’s Alliance CEO John Pappalardo was among those who visited over 30 Congressional offices.

He said that securing funding for fisheries management, managing a sustainable industry, and providing a clearer financial path for new fishermen to join the career path were among the top talking points.

“Fisheries have been a bi-partisan issue, and I would expect that when we and other industry groups make the case for how important the jobs and the protein these fishermen provide are, it’ll be a pretty easy sell,” Pappalardo said.

He also said that there was some discussion over converting many of the species caught for export into a domestic product.

The importance of building on the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act was also touched on, he said.

Pappalardo said he advocated for the National Young Fishermen’s Development Program, an initiative which would tackle the increasingly high cost of entry and limited growth opportunities young men and women face in the career path.

The trip took place before the announcement of a potential federal budget cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Pappalardo said he and his colleagues will keep an eye on that.

Read the full story at Capecod.com