Saving Seafood

Whiting webinar to address limiting fishery access

November 14, 2018 — The New England Fishery Management Council has reopened the comment period on the proposal that could establish limited entry into the whiting fishery and is holding a webinar Wednesday for interested stakeholders.

The extended comment period, necessitated by discrepancies in early draft documents, will close on Nov. 23. The council expects to take final action on the amendment at its meetings Dec. 4 to 6 in Newport, Rhode Island, according to Janice Plante, council spokeswoman.

The amendment, referred to as Amendment 22, proposes a limited access plan for the small-mesh, multispecies fishery. It targets three stocks collectively considered whiting — northern silver hake, southern silver hake and offshore hake — as well as northern red hake and southern red hake.

The amendment delves into three areas: limited access qualification criteria; whiting and red hake possession limits; and permit conditions that would apply if the council approved a limited access program.

The council, however, has made clear its lack of enthusiasm for restricting access to the fishery. Last December, it voted for “no action” as its preferred alternative when the proposal initially went out for public comment.

Stakeholders interested in participating in the webinar, which is set to run 3 to 5 p.m., may do so online or via telephone.

The online link may be accessed through the council’s website or directly at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/843126117. The phone number is 872-240-3311, with an access code of 843-126-117.

Comments also will be accepted by email at comments@nefmc.org or by traditional mail to Tom Nies, executive director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water St., Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Feds eye improved fishing monitoring off East Coast states

November 12, 2018 — Federal ocean managers are looking to increase the amount of monitoring that goes on while fishing boats are out at sea.

Many fisheries are subjected to monitoring, which collects valuable data that inform regulations and catch quotas. The New England Fishery Management Council says it’s looking at ways to beef up monitoring in some fisheries to get an idea of the amount of catch and reduce uncertainty about estimates.

The Federal Register states that the goal of the effort is to “ensure consistency in industry monitoring programs.” It’s also aimed at increasing monitoring in the Atlantic herring fishery, which is a major source for bait fish and food on the East Coast.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WBNG

MASSACHUSETTS: Gov. Baker urges Interior: Keep NY turbines out of prime fishing grounds

November 5, 2018 — Gov. Charlie Baker wrote to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke on Thursday to ask him to consider eliminating the highest-priority fishing areas from future leases for offshore wind, particularly in the New York Bight, a heavily fished area south of Long Island.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has begun evaluating potential locations in the New York Bight for wind.

“Some of the areas under consideration for leasing represent very productive and high-value grounds for fishermen from Massachusetts and other states,” Baker said in the letter.

He cited an assessment of fish landings earlier this year by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils that calculated the value of fishing within the proposed areas at more than $344 million from 2012 to 2016.

“Views of the fishing industry must be valued, which has been fundamental to the successful process in Massachusetts,” he said.

New Bedford fishermen and city officials expressed serious concerns about the New York locations in a meeting with BOEM in September. At the time, vessel owner Eric Hansen said 40 to 50 percent of the scalloping grounds fished by New Bedford scallopers are within that area.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund grant improves Marine Patrol surveillance abilities

November 2, 2018 — AUGUSTA — With a $3,200 grant from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and matching funds of $2,339.50 from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Maine Marine Patrol has purchased binoculars that will improve officers’ ability to conduct surveillance for enforcement and search and rescue.

The new 14×40 Fujinon Image Stabilization binoculars have been distributed to the Marine Patrol’s fleet of large patrol vessels throughout the state, replacing previous models that had only 7x magnification.

“The enhanced magnification allows Marine Patrol officers to survey more area in greater detail,” said Marine Patrol Colonel Jon Cornish. “This is especially important as more fishing activity is moving farther offshore.

Read the full article on Bangor Daily News

Fish council to review catch share regulations

November 1, 2018 — In May 2010, the world of the Northeast groundfishermen experienced a seismic transformation, as federal fishery managers ditched days-at-sea as its primary management tool and implemented a sector system centered on an expanded catch share program.

Now, nearly nine years later, the New England Fishery Management Council said it will conduct its first comprehensive evaluation of the groundfish catch share program to determine whether it is meeting its goals and objectives to improve the management of the fishery.

The review, according to council Executive Director Tom Nies, is not connected to any specific event or issue within the fishery, such as the widescale cheating, sector manipulation and ultimate conviction of New Bedford fishing kingpin Carlos A. Rafael.

“It’s not a response to Carlos, but it may help us identify areas related to his activities that we can address,” Nies said Wednesday.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s own catch share policy actually mandate that the councils periodically produce “a formal and detailed review … no less frequently than once every seven years” on catch share programs.

“This is the first review, really, since catch shares originally were implemented in 2004, and more importantly, expanded in 2010,” Nies said. “It’s been on our radar for a couple of years. The next step is to assemble a staff and get the report written.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEFMC Update – October 31, 2018

October 31, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold several committee and advisory panel (AP) meetings in November, as well as a webinar for Whiting Amendment 22.  Here’s a run-down of what’s happening.  Committee and AP meeting presentations and documents will be posted on the Council website as they become available.  Two additional events that pertain to Council activities also are listed.

The full Council will meet December 4-6, 2018 at the Hotel Viking in Newport, RI.  An agenda will be posted in the near future at NEFMC Newport, RI 2018 meeting webpage.

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Can Scituate’s last four fishermen stay afloat?

October 29, 2018 — SCITUATE — Frank Mirachi, a 75-year-old retired fisherman, still goes to town pier to look out over the water now and then. It’s still a nice view, he says, but it’s nowhere near the scene that existed 50 years ago, when 120-foot-long sword-fishing boats and dozens of commercial vessels fought for a spot at the dock.

“When I started, it was basically the Wild West, you could do anything you wanted, and people did,” Mirachi said. “You’d go out and there would be boats everywhere you looked — all fishing. . . I bet there were 100 jobs on this pier.”

Today, there are only four federally-permitted fishermen working in Scituate.

Read the full story at The Patriot Ledger

Whiting Amendment 22 Comment Period Reopens; Council to Host November 14 Informational Webinar

October 25, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has reopened the public comment period on Whiting
Amendment 22 and will host an informational webinar on Wednesday, November 14 at 3 p.m. The webinar will cover the amendment’s proposed alternatives, as well as pertinent information in the accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Written comments are welcome until November 23, 2018.

The Whiting Amendment – officially called Amendment 22 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan –proposes to limit access to the small-mesh multispecies fishery. The five impacted stocks are northern silver hake, southern silver hake, and offshore hake, which collectively are referred to as whiting, and northern and southern red hake. The draft amendment contains three sections, which cover:

  • Limited access qualification criteria;
  • Whiting and red hake possession limits by permit type; and
  • Permit conditions, which would apply only if the Council decides to approve a limited access program.

Read the full release here

ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board Sets Quotas for 201 9-2021 Fishing Seasons

October 25, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved the following coastwide commercial quotas for the 2019-2021 fishing seasons (May 1-April 30): 20,522,832 pounds for 2019/2020; 23,194,835 pounds for 202/2021, and 27,421,096 pounds for 2021/2022 (state-specific allocations are provided in table below). The quotas are consistent with the measures recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The Board also established a 6,000 pound commercial trip limit for the northern region states of Maine through Connecticut, while New York through North Carolina have the ability to set state-specific trip limits based on the needs of their fisheries. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils will forward their recommendations for federal waters (3 –200 miles from shore) to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval.

The quotas are based on the 2018 Stock Assessment Update, which indicates that while the population is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, biomass has declined, requiring an approximate 46% reduction in the 2019-2020 quota to ensure that overfishing does not occur. The next benchmark stock assessment is currently scheduled for completion in 2021.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Barndoor Skate Now Sustainable Seafood Choice After Years of Prohibited Fishing

October 24, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Fifteen years after the New England Fishery Management Council crafted the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan, fishermen are now able to harvest barndoor skate.

According to NOAA, the species became depleted during the 1960s and early 1970s due to foreign fleets. Numbers of barndoor skates remained low until the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which restricted foreign fleets from fishing 200 miles off the U.S. shore. The Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan was put in place in 2003 to rebuild the stock, and after several years of harvest being prohibited, commercial fishermen are once again allowed to catch limited numbers.

NOAA reports that fishermen in the directed skate fishery may now catch up to 650 pounds of barndoor skate wings per trip during the period of May 1 to August 21. From September 1 to April 30 fishermen are able to catch up to 1,025 pounds per trip.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.