Saving Seafood

NEW JERSEY: State distributes 20K free hooks to help protect summer flounder

July 27, 2017 — Fourteen county bait and tackle shops will participate in a state push to reduce summer flounder mortality by giving away large J-hooks supplied by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The larger hooks are part of a DEP campaign to educate the fishing public on how to safely release summer flounder that do not meet minimum size requirements, according to a statement.

“We are asking all anglers to help protect summer flounder for future generations,” DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said. “New Jersey is fully committed to doing the right thing by using science and public education to conserve a species that is critical to the fishing culture and economy of New Jersey.”

The “If You Can’t Keep It, Save It!” campaign focuses on the proper methods and gear to use to reduce unintentional mortalities that can occur when flounder that do not meet minimum length requirements are returned to the water, he said.

Read the full story at Shore News Today

Trump administration steps in on fishing limits, and the implications could ripple

July 25, 2017 — [Commerce Secretary Wilbur] Ross earlier this month dismissed the findings of the 75-year-old Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which concluded that New Jersey was violating a conservation plan for summer flounder that all the other states in the compact approved. Many conservationists thought that New Jersey, while following protocols, was bowing to the fishing industry.

The decision, which effectively allows New Jersey to harvest more summer flounder, marked the first time the federal government had disregarded such a recommendation by the commission, and it drew a swift rebuke from state officials along the East Coast.

Officials in New Jersey, which has one of the region’s largest fluke populations, had drafted an alternative plan that they said would do more to protect the fishery, but it was rejected by the commission, whose scientists concluded the plan would result in nearly 94,000 additional fish being caught. Ross, who oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, overruled the commission, allowing New Jersey to proceed.

“New Jersey makes a compelling argument that the measures it implemented this year, despite increasing catch above the harvest target, will likely reduce total summer flounder mortality in New Jersey waters to a level consistent with the overall conservation objective,” Chris Oliver, assistant administrator of fisheries at NOAA, wrote the commission in a letter on behalf of Ross.

“This is the first time that no one asked me for a formal recommendation,” said John Bullard, NOAA’s Greater Atlantic regional administrator. “The secretary’s decision goes against long-standing protocol, and there’s a cost to that.”  He added: “There’s a reason to have regional administrators, because their experience and knowledge is valuable in making decisions like this one. This is an unfortunate precedent.”

“Ross was brilliant in his decision,” said Jim Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance in New Jersey, which represents thousands of recreational fishermen across the country. “The Trump administration has challenged a broken fishery management system in this country, and I applaud them for doing it.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

NEW JERSEY: Did a fishing crew catch the biggest shark in state history?

July 22, 2017 — A fishing boat named the Jenny Lee caught a 926-pound Mako shark Saturday morning and it could be the largest shark catch in New Jersey history.

The crew was fishing 100 miles off of the coast of New Jersey in an area known as Hudson Canyon. It took the crew a little over an hour to reel in the shark and hour and a half to get him into the boat, Kevin Gerrity, captain of the Jenny Lee, said.

“It’s a pretty awesome feeling,” Gerrity said. “We saw him swimming up to the boat. We didn’t think we were going to get him but we got him.”

“We were able to get him with a skipjack fillet with a squid combo as his last meal,” Gerrity added jokingly.

Read the full story at NJ.com

NEW JERSEY: Freeholders Praise Washington’s Approval Of Flounder Limits

July 22, 2017 — The federal government’s decision to cap flounder fishing limits at levels favored by the state, county and local fishermen is a win for the entire Jersey Shore, Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said.

“We are very pleased with this decision that maintains the limits that the state already imposes on daily flounder catches,” Vicari said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) earlier this month affirmed New Jersey’s summer-flounder fishing size, bag limits and the length of the fishing season, meaning all rules adopted by the state earlier this year will remain in effect through early September.

The decision also won final approval from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

In approving the state plan, Ross rejected a proposal to reduce the annual flounder haul by 34 percent and instead found that New Jersey’s existing rules are in compliance with the safe and sustainable management of summer flounder.

The Freeholders in April passed a resolution favoring the existing limits and rejecting the proposed 34 percent decrease, saying the change would have harmed the local tourism economy and done nothing to protect the flounder population.

Read the full story at Jersey Shore Online

Fishing Report: U.S., fisheries panel disagrees on flounder targets

July 20, 2017 — Wilbur Ross, the U.S. commerce secretary, notified the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) that he has found the State of New Jersey to be in compliance with the new Summer Flounder Fishery Management Plan. The decision circumvents the work of the commission that provides coastwide management of summer flounder (fluke) in our area.

“New Jersey makes a compelling argument that the measures it implemented this year, despite increasing catch above the harvest target, will likely reduce total summer flounder mortality in New Jersey waters to a level consistent with the overall conservation objective for the recreational fishery,” Ross stated in a letter to the commission.

In a press release last week, the ASMFC stated: “Based on the latest stock assessment information, summer flounder is currently experiencing overfishing. Spawning stock biomass has been declining since 2010 and is just 16 percent above the threshold. If the stock falls below the biomass threshold, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the Council to initiate a rebuilding program, which could require more restrictive management measures.”

The Magnuson-Stevens Act puts fish first in this nation to ensure that fish stocks are rebuilt. Having more than 40 fish stocks successfully rebuilt proves the fish-first policy works. When decisions — such as the commerce secretary’s decision to allow New Jersey to make its own summer flounder regulations — are allowed, they put the interests of individual states first.

This is a recipe for disaster. States are subject to local political pressure to put local interests first, and the fish will take a back seat. The big concern with last week’s decision is that other states will decide to fish the way they want to regardless of what’s best for the fish, and we could end up with total chaos.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

ASMFC Blasts Secretary Ross Decision on Summer Flounder in Favor of New Jersey’s Recreational Sector

July 18, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In a stunning decision to grant New Jersey’s recreational summer flounder fishery a waiver from new regulations to conserve the stock, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has shattered a 75-year practice of honoring the scientific process of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The letter was written to Executive Director Robert Beal and signed by Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator NOAA Fisheries on July 11, 2017.

Oliver notes that the Atlantic Coastal Act’s compliance process rests on two criteria — whether or not New Jersey has failed to carry out its responsibility under the management plan and if so, whether the measures the state failed to implement are needed for conservation purposes of summer flounder.

Oliver further notes that if the Secretary determines that New Jersey has not been in compliance, the Act mandates that Ross declare a moratorium on that fishery.

“New Jersey makes a compelling argument that the measures it implemented this year, despite increasing catch above the harvest target, will likely reduce total summer flounder mortality in New Jersey waters to a level consistent with the overall conservation objective for the recreational fishery,” Oliver wrote.

“While there is some uncertainty about how effective the New Jersey measures will be, considering the information provided by the state, the Secretary has found that the measures are likely to be equivalent in total conservation as those required under Addendum XXVVIII. Therefore, the second criterion of the noncompliance finding is not met and it is unnecessary to implement a fishery moratorium in New Jersey waters in 2017,” Oliver wrote.

“The Commission is deeply concerned about the near‐term impact on our ability to end overfishing on the summer flounder stock as well as the longer‐term ability for the Commission to effectively conserve numerous other Atlantic coastal shared resources,” replied Commission Chair Douglas Grout of New Hampshire.

“The Commission’s finding of noncompliance was not an easy one. It included hours of Board deliberation and rigorous Technical Committee review, and represented, with the exception of New Jersey, a unanimous position of the Commission’s state members. Our decision was based on Technical Committee’s findings that New Jersey’s measures were not conservationally‐ equivalent to those measures in Addendum XXVIII and are projected to result in an additional 93,800 fish being harvested,” Grout added.

Based on the latest stock assessment information, summer flounder is currently experiencing overfishing. Spawning stock biomass has been declining since 2010 and is just 16% above the threshold.

But almost from the day Ross was confirmed as Secretary of Commerce, the political push to oppose further restrictions was underway.

On March 2, 2017, NJ governor Chris Christie “formally requested the new U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, to put a hold on severe restrictions on recreational summer flounder fishing adopted recently by a regional fisheries commission, a move that would effectively cripple the state’s fishing industry and have far-reaching impacts on the shore tourism economy,” read an announcement from NJ Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin.

On June 23, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) sent a letter to Ross asking him to consider New Jersey’s response to the ASMFC’s evaluation of the state’s compliance.

“I firmly believe that New Jersey is making every reasonable effort to chart a course forward that adequately balances conservation with the economic needs of fishermen and fishing communities, and I ask that you give the state’s approach a fair and thorough review,” said Pallone.

“New Jersey has proposed that the summer flounder size limit be decreased to 18 inches, with a 104-day fishing season and a 3 bag limit. The state is arguing that its summer flounder regulations reach conservation equivalency with federal regulations, and that its regulations will actually preserve the stock by reducing discard mortality,” Pallone told Ross.

“I respectfully request that you carefully consider the state’s arguments and technical data as you make your decision about whether to find New Jersey out of compliance. Imposing a moratorium on summer flounder fishing in New Jersey would have a devastating impact on the economies of coastal communities that rely on the recreational fishing industry in my Congressional district.

“Additionally, reaching that determination while there continue to be compelling technical and scientific reasons to question the initial decision to cut summer flounder quotas will further erode anglers’ trust in entities like ASMFC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other fisheries management bodies,” he wrote.

The Commission has not “imposed a moratorium” on summer flounder fishing. Their changes affect the size limit and bag limit that can be taken by the rec sector in New Jersey.

Pallone also introduced a bill in Congress H.R. 1411 titled ‘‘Transparent Summer Flounder Quotas Act’’ simply to overturn the Commission’s tighter management tools for the recreational sector in New Jersey, and to continue the more relaxed regs through 2017 and 2018.

The vast majority of fishery‐independent surveys show rapidly declining abundance. Any increase in overall mortality puts the stock at risk for further declines and increases the probability of the stock becoming overfished.

If the stock falls below the biomass threshold, the Magnuson‐Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the Council to initiate a rebuilding program, which could require more restrictive management measures.

New Jersey was not the only state to be concerned about the impact of the approved measures to its recreational fishing community. Two other states submitted alternative proposals that were rejected in favor of the states equally sharing the burden of needed reductions. Those states, as well as other coastal states, implemented the approved measures in order to end overfishing and support the long‐ term conservation of the resource.

“The states have a 75‐year track record of working together to successfully manage their shared marine resources,” continued Chairman Grout.

“We are very much concerned about the short and long‐term implications of the Secretary’s decision on interstate fisheries management. Our focus moving forward will be to preserve the integrity of the Commission’s process, as established by the Atlantic Coastal Act, whereby, the states comply with the management measures we collectively agree upon. It is my fervent hope that three‐quarters of a century of cooperative management will provide a solid foundation for us to collectively move forward in achieving our vision of sustainably managing Atlantic coastal fisheries.”

The Commission is currently reviewing its options in light of Secretary Ross’s action, and the member states will meet during the Commission’s Summer Meeting in early August to discuss the implications of the Secretary’s determination on the summer flounder resource and on state/federal cooperation in fisheries management under the Atlantic Coastal Act.

Meanwhile, Commission members are working on applying a better data collection system for recreational catches that will allow a recalibration of historical catches. That information will be available in the spring of 2018. With that, a new stock assessment will be conducted in the fall of 2018 for a full suite of data to base future management decision on.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission was formed by the 15 Atlantic coastal states in 1942 for the promotion and protection of coastal fishery resources. The Commission serves as a deliberative body of the Atlantic coastal states, coordinating the conservation and management of nearshore fishery resources, including marine, shell and diadromous species.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

Government defends decision to deny flounder fishing order

July 18, 2017 — The U.S. Department of Commerce says its top official was right to reverse a decision about flounder fishing regulations made by an interstate commission.

The regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announced last month it had found New Jersey out of compliance with management of its fishery. But Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross disagreed and did not sign off on a ruling that could’ve forced a local moratorium on flounder fishing.

The move drew criticism from the commission and conservationists who say the decision overrides sustainable fishing rules on the East Coast. But a spokesman for the Commerce Department said Tuesday that Ross doesn’t think a fishing moratorium is warranted.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Chronicle

NEW JERSEY: Trump official’s fish ruling could harm conservation

July 17, 2017 — A row with an appointee of President Donald Trump’s administration over the regulation of flounder fishing off New Jersey jeopardizes conservation of marine species all along the East Coast, interstate fishing managers said Monday.

The flatfish in question is the summer flounder, which is popular with sport fishermen and commercial fishermen from Maine to Florida. The regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announced in June that it had found New Jersey out of compliance with management of the summer flounder fishery.

But Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross needed to sign off on the ruling, and he instead reversed it. The commission said in a statement that Ross’ ruling represents the first time since passage of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act in 1993 that a commerce secretary has failed to uphold such a noncompliance recommendation.

Ross’ ruling has the potential to soften the regulatory authority of the commission, which is tasked with managing fisheries along the coast, said Toni Kerns, director of the interstate fisheries management program for the Atlantic States.

The Atlantic States found that New Jersey was not implementing conservation measures, and Ross could have called for a federal moratorium on fishing for summer flounder in New Jersey’s state waters, Kerns said. Instead, his reversal sends a message that Atlantic States’ rulings lack teeth, she said.

“If the secretary of commerce isn’t agreeing to use that tool, then other states will see that and start not implementing measures,” Kerns said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The News & Observer

ASMFC Reacts to Commerce Secretary Decision to Reject Commission Advice on Summer Flounder

July 14, 2017 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

On July 11th, Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, notified the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that he has found the State of New Jersey to be in compliance with Addendum XXVII to the Summer Flounder Fishery Management Plan. According to the letter sent to the Commission, Secretary Ross’s decision was based on the assertion that “New Jersey makes a compelling argument that the measures it implemented this year, despite increasing catch above the harvest target, will likely reduce total summer flounder mortality in New Jersey waters to a level consistent with the overall conservation objective for the recreational fishery.” This is the first time since passage of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic Coastal Act) in 1993 and the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act in 1984 that the Secretary of Commerce failed to uphold a noncompliance recommendation by the Commission.

“The Commission is deeply concerned about the near-term impact on our ability to end overfishing on the summer flounder stock as well as the longer-term ability for the Commission to effectively conserve numerous other Atlantic coastal shared resources,” stated Commission Chair Douglas Grout of New Hampshire. “The Commission’s finding of noncompliance was not an easy one. It included hours of Board deliberation and rigorous Technical Committee review, and represented, with the exception of New Jersey, a unanimous position of the Commission’s state members. Our decision was based on Technical Committee’s findings that New Jersey’s measures were not conservationally-equivalent to those measures in Addendum XXVIII and are projected to result in an additional 93,800 fish being harvested. Additionally, we had an obligation as a partner in the joint management of summer flounder with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to implement measures to end overfishing immediately or face the possibility of summer flounder becoming an overfished stock.”

Based on the latest stock assessment information, summer flounder is currently experiencing overfishing. Spawning stock biomass has been declining since 2010 and is just 16% above the threshold.  The vast majority of fishery-independent surveys show rapidly declining abundance. Any increase in overall mortality puts the stock at risk for further declines and increases the probability of the stock becoming overfished. If the stock falls below the biomass threshold, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the Council to initiate a rebuilding program, which could require more restrictive management measures.

New Jersey was not the only state to be concerned about the impact of the approved measures to its recreational fishing community. Two other states submitted alternative proposals that were rejected in favor of the states equally sharing the burden of needed reductions. Those states, as well as other coastal states, implemented the approved measures in order to end overfishing and support the long-term conservation of the resource.

“The states have a 75-year track record of working together to successfully manage their shared marine resources,” continued Chairman Grout. “We are very much concerned about the short and long-term implications of the Secretary’s decision on interstate fisheries management. Our focus moving forward will be to preserve the integrity of the Commission’s process, as established by the Atlantic Coastal Act, whereby, the states comply with the management measures we collectively agree upon. It is my fervent hope that three-quarters of a century of cooperative management will provide a solid foundation for us to collectively move forward in achieving our vision of sustainably managing Atlantic coastal fisheries.”

The Commission is currently reviewing its options in light of Secretary Ross’s action, and the member states will meet during the Commission’s Summer Meeting in early August to discuss the implications of the Secretary’s determination on the summer flounder resource and on state/federal cooperation in fisheries management under the Atlantic Coastal Act.

For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, Director, Interstate Fisheries Management Program, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Lobster season slow, prices holding steady for seafood fans

July 13, 2017 — New England’s summer lobster season is off to a slow start, but consumers are paying a little bit less for the critters than they were a year ago.

The annual summer boom in lobster catch has yet to arrive, lobster fishermen and distributors said. Lobster catch typically picks up in the warm months when many lobsters shed their shells and reach legal harvesting size.

So far, supply is lower than recent years, but that hasn’t translated into higher prices for consumers. The wholesale price for 1¼-pound hard shell lobsters was $7.63 per pound in early July, business publisher Urner Barry reported. The price was a little more than $8 per pound at the same time last year.

Members of Maine’s lobster industry said they still expect a healthy catch this year, but it appears to be arriving somewhat late compared to recent years, when the catch has soared.

“It’s starting to trickle in. It has just been a slow start to the season. It’s reminiscent of an old-fashioned season,” said Bill Bruns, operations manager for The Lobster Co. in Arundel. “We’re starting to see some signs of life.”

American lobster, most of which comes ashore in Maine, has been booming in terms of volume of catch in recent years. Maine’s lobster catch exceeded 130 million pounds for the first time last year, and has surpassed 100 million pounds for six years in a row after previously rarely reaching 80 million.

The value of the crustaceans has also been high, and consumers and wholesalers have frequently been paying more for them, partly because of increased interest in U.S. lobster from China.

This year, stores in New England are selling them for $8 to $13 per pound depending on how large they are and whether they are hard shell or softshell. Hard shell lobsters tend to be more expensive. Those prices are about in line with recent years.

“When there is just a slow and steady delivery that is not too great and not too little, it leads to a much more stable sort of market,” said John Sackton, who publishes the SeafoodNews.com website.

The other coastal New England states, New York and New Jersey also have lobster fisheries, with Massachusetts having the second-largest lobster catch in the country. The crustacean is also the subject of a large fishery in Canada.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Chronicle