Saving Seafood

Western Pacific Council Defers Action on Guam Bottomfish Rebuilding Plan

March 26, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council deferred action on the Guam bottomfish stock rebuilding plan to a future meeting yesterday in Honolulu. This allows for a coordinated effort among the relevant agencies to finalize the Council’s rebuilding plan and develop the Territory’s Bottomfish Fishery Management Plan—essential to ensure the stock is rebuilt in the shortest time possible, not more than 10 years, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA).

A National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 2019 stock assessment determined the Guam bottomfish stock to be overfished. In December 2020, the Council chose a preferred alternative annual catch limit (ACL) of 31,000 pounds. The stock would be rebuilt within six (6) years if catches are kept below that limit. NMFS updated its biomass projection in January 2021, which resulted in a rebuilding projection of nineteen (19) years instead of six (6) years. An alternative that addresses the rebuilding requirement is an ACL of 27,000 pounds. If catch is kept below this level, the stock would rebuild in eight (8) years. Council members again reiterated their dismay that any projection developed continues to use the same flawed creel survey data that has manifested into this current management crisis.

NMFS, the federal agency in charge of assessing fisheries stocks, failed to address the data-limited situation for decades. Guam Vice Chair Michael Dueñas, exasperated by the many regulatory fishing regimes, both federal and local, expressed his deep concern about another regulation that would dramatically curtail fishing. Guam is 212 square miles—a 30-mile-long and 1 to 8.5-mile-wide small island where most citizens depend on the ocean to feed their families. “We are talking about a hook-and-line fishery. How can a difference of 4,000 pounds set us back from six (6) to nineteen (19) years to rebuild the stock? We need to find a model that works for data-poor areas.”

Chelsa Muña-Brecht, Council member and Guam Department of Agriculture Director, said the sudden change in options begs a delay in decision-making. The fishing community of Guam needs to know why and how these numbers are generated. “With the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment is at a record high and people are turning to fishing to survive. We have 80 fishers registered on the Council’s Catchit Logit electronic data reporting app and only 12 are commercial fishers that catch thousands of pounds of fish, unlike purse seiners that capture hundreds of tons per trip and up to 10,000 tons per year per boat.”

Seven years ago, NMFS listed seven corals under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that occur around American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the Pacific Remote Island Areas. NMFS is now proposing coral critical habitat designation following a lawsuit due to their failure to act within one year of the species listing.

Council members expressed their frustration with the ‘broad brush’ approach used to draw the critical habitat included in the proposed rule. The maps show most of the shallow areas around the islands to be within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation, rather than only depicting the essential features that comprise the actual critical habitat. CNMI Vice Chair John Gourley said that these maps are not appropriate for use in future ESA consultations, which are required on any federally authorized, permitted or funded projects that may affect designated critical habitat. Territory resource agencies are developing revised maps that exclude non-essential habitat features and other existing managed areas that do not qualify.

To compound the issues, NMFS announced in January 2021 that it would initiate the first five-year status review as required under the ESA, and is also preparing a series of recovery planning workshops in May 2021. Gourley emphasized that these reviews should be completed before the coral critical habitat designation so that NMFS can base its decisions on better information. “The cart is before the horse because we’re doing critical habitat without having full information about the corals in front of us in order to make informed decisions,” said Gourley. Corals are notoriously difficult to identify, even by experts, and there is much uncertainty about the existing records for the territories.

The public comment period has now been extended to May 26, 2021, and comments can be submitted online at www.regulations.gov; search for “NOAA-NMFS-2016-0131.” The Council meeting concludes today by web conference (Webex). Instructions on connecting to Webex, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars.

The Pacific Hake/ Whiting Agreement U.S. Delegation Meeting

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

March 25, 2021

Online Meeting

The U.S. Delegation to the Joint Management Committee (JMC) and Advisory Bodies created under the Pacific Hake/Whiting Agreement between the Governments of the United States and Canada (Agreement) will meet by webinar to discuss the lack of a bilateral agreement on the 2021 Pacific hake/whiting coastwide total allowable catch (TAC) during the JMC and Advisory Panel (AP) meeting held March 15-17, 2021.  In addition, NMFS will provide information on the procedures to establish the 2021 Pacific whiting U.S. TAC as identified in the Pacific Whiting Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 7007(c)) when the JMC does not recommend a final coastwide TAC.

The U.S. Delegation meeting is open to U.S. members of the public.

Meeting Time:   Thursday, March 25, 2021   2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Webinar Meeting Information:

To join from your computer, smartphone or tablet: 
Meeting link:   https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.com/noaanmfs-meets/j.php?MTID=md36d86074802d683c53c129c1ceba2a8
Meeting number:  199 730 7021
Password:   5033437777

To join by phone:  +1-415-527-5035 US Toll
Access code: 199 730 7021

Supreme Court denies fishing industry challenge to marine monument, while opening the door to future challenges

March 23, 2021 — In a ruling that could be a Pyrrhic victory for conservation groups in New England, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit brought by Massachusetts fishermen that challenged president Barack Obama’s creation of a vast marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean, the first of its kind off the East Coast.

Yet Chief Justice John Roberts in a concurring opinion raised significant concerns about the size of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a controversial, Connecticut-sized sanctuary that lies about 130 miles southeast of Provincetown.

Indeed, his sharply worded opinion provided a potential roadmap for a legal challenge against the monument and seemed to signal that the court would be willing to consider truncating or invalidating the 5,000 square miles of federally protected waters.

Roberts criticized Obama’s decision to use the 1906 Antiquities Act to designate the monument, which he described as “part of a trend of ever-expanding antiquities” that have become national monuments.

“A statute permitting the president in his sole discretion to designate as monuments ‘landmarks,’ ‘structures,’ and ‘objects’ — along with the smallest area of land compatible with their management — has been transformed into a power without any discernible limit to set aside vast and amorphous expanses of terrain above and below the sea,” Roberts wrote.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

RODA circulating comment letter on offshore wind policy

March 23, 2021 — The undersigned fishing community members submit these requests to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), noting the unclear decision authority since January’s revocation of the “One Federal Decision” policy that streamlined federal permitting of offshore wind energy (OSW) and other large infrastructure projects.

We stand willing to work with the Administration to use our knowledge about ocean ecosystems to create innovative, effective solutions for climate and environmental change. There are opportunities for mutual wins, however, OSW is an ocean use that directly conflicts with fishing and imposes significant impacts to marine habitats, biodiversity, and physical oceanography. Far more transparency and inclusion must occur when evaluating if OSW is a good use of federal waters.

However, we must be treated as partners, not obstacles. We’ve dutifully come to the table, despite the irony of the “table” being set by newcomers in our own communities employing the finely honed “stakeholder outreach” tactics of their oil and gas parent companies. We’ve diligently commented on the major conflicts and concerns of offshore wind development and taken valuable time off the water for countless one-sided meetings under false hope that our knowledge mattered. Scientific efforts from fishing experts are improving, although they need more funding and time. We can point to few, if any, other true considerations we’ve received.

We need a national strategy before OSW development. This could be modeled off Rhode Island’s Ocean Special Area Management Plan, which created an inclusive state process for holistic OSW planning. OSW decisions must be based on cost-benefit analyses, alternative ways to address carbon emissions, food productivity, and ocean health. BOEM may approve a dozen project plans this year, and new leases appear imminent from Hawaii to California, South Carolina to the New York Bight and Gulf of Maine. New technologies allow OSW deployment in all US waters in the near future, and planning is occurring in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Northwest. Selling off our oceans with no strategy to protect food security threatens all of us.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Wicker, Cantwell Reintroduce Fishery Disasters Bill

March 18, 2021 — The following was released by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:

U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member and chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today reintroduced legislation to reform the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)’s Fishery Resource Disaster Relief program of the National Marine Fisheries Service. This legislation, the Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act, will make improvements to provide fishermen with disaster relief more quickly.

“I have met with local officials and seen firsthand how extensive flooding in Mississippi has created an economic and environmental emergency for my state and its coastal fisheries,” said Wicker. “Freshwater has devastated our seafood industry and spurred the growth of Harmful Algal Blooms, further hurting our coastal economy. This legislation would expedite the process by which fishermen receive disaster relief. I hope my colleagues will move quickly to pass this bill and help our fishermen.”

“In Washington, fisheries are a cornerstone of our maritime economy. Its related businesses and seafood processors, ship builders, gear manufacturers, support 60 percent of our maritime economy, which is about 146,000 jobs and 30 billion in economic activity,” said Cantwell. “Washington has experienced 17 fishery disasters since 1992, including crab, groundfish, and salmon. There are several pending fishery disaster determinations for my state, and our bipartisan bill includes deadlines to ensure that those fishery disasters are elevated and declared in a reasonable timeframe. Fishermen are tired of waiting.”

The Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act would:

  • Maintain the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to determine the existence of a fishery disaster, after which the Secretary would make funds available to be used by state or regional groups to assess the impacts of the disaster and conduct other activities that support fishing activity;
  • Assign a 120-day timeline for the Secretary to evaluate a request, either upon receipt or immediately after the close of the fishery season; and
  • List the eligible uses of fishery disaster relief funds, including direct payments to affected members of the fishing community, habitat restoration and conservation, management improvements, job training, public information campaigns, and preventative measures for future disasters. It would prioritize hiring fishermen displaced by the fishery disaster for these tasks.

To read the full bill, click here.

Alaska Files to Defend Salmon Fisheries in Southeast Alaska

March 17, 2021 — The State of Alaska has moved to intervene in a federal case that threatens state management of Alaska’s salmon fisheries.

The Wild Fish Conservancy, a conservation organization based in Washington state, claims that Alaska’s management of fisheries under the Pacific Salmon Treaty threatens the survival of several salmon stocks in Washington and Oregon, and the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales that depend on them.

The lawsuit seeks to shut down all salmon fisheries in the federal waters off the coast of Southeast Alaska.

Read the full story at KINY

Feds May Look at Spring-Run Chinook Salmon as Genetically Distinct

March 16, 2021 — The National Marine Fisheries Service is considering whether the spring-run and fall-run Chinook salmon that occupy the rivers of Northern California and southern Oregon are genetically distinct.

The decision has huge implications for fish populations as the number of spring-run Chinook salmon has plunged to such depths it would almost certainly result in a listing under the Endangered Species Act if seen as a separate species.

“The science is in on that,” said Rich Nawa, an ecologist who petitioned the agency a year ago to consider the spring-run Chinook salmon as genetically distinct. “There are several papers so no one disputes the science, it’s just how to incorporate it into policy at this point.”

The fisheries service said Monday it will consider the new science as it analyses whether an update to its listing policy is warranted.

“We find that the petition presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating the petitioned action may be warranted,” the agency said in a document.

The key word in the phrase is “may,” as a significant dispute exists in the scientific community whether the spring-run Chinook is what is referred to as an “evolutionarily significant unit.”

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

NMFS selects 13 Northeast scallop research projects worth $12.5 million

March 16, 2021 — Sea scallop surveys, bycatch reduction and sea turtle interactions are on a list for the 2021-22 Northeast research set-aside program for scallop science.

Set up by the New England Fishery Management Council in 1999, the cooperative science effort between researchers and fishermen was one  outcome of the scallop fishery crisis when abundance declined in the mid-1990s. Two decades later, scallops are the richest East Coast fishery, with a system of rotating area management and close collaboration between NMFS, academic researchers and the industry.

The set-aside program is a wish list of research needs from the council and carves out a small part of the fishery’s landings – valued around $570 million in 2019 – allocating it to boats carrying out the projects. For the 2021-2022 program that will be about $12.5 million in scallops brought to the docks, with $3 million from those paying for the science work and $9.5 million for the fishermen, according to a summary from NMFS.

“The RSA program improves our scientific understanding of sea scallops and monkfish, which directly contributes to their sustainable management,” Jon Hare, director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, said in a statement outlining the plan.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Yearbook: Fishing fleets flex

March 8, 2021 — With revenues up 3 percent in January and February of 2020, the industry was looking ahead to another strong year in the global marketplace.

In March, when restaurants across the country shuttered quickly under covid-19 outbreak restrictions, seafood supply chains ground to a halt in the early days of the pandemic. Fishermen who had been out harvesting to supply the once-solid market were stuck with their catch left unsold and their boats tied up.

In early March, New Jersey fisherman Gus Lovgren was headed to port after a Virginia summer flounder trip when his wife called him, “saying they’re shutting the country down, basically,” he recalled.

“We had been getting $1.75 to $2 (per pound). In the end we got, I think, 60 cents,” said Lovgren. “The market was flooded, and there was nothing we could do.”

Right out of the gates in April 2020, the Hawaii Longline Association worked with others in Hawaii’s fishing industry to donate 2,000 pounds of fresh seafood to Hawaii Foodbank, and planning larger deliveries.

The initial donation, coordinated with the with United Fishing Agency’s Honolulu auction, the Hawaii Seafood Council, Nico’s Pier 38, and Pacific Ocean Producers, “is the beginning of a new pilot program with the Hawaii Foodbank,” the association said.

“Through the partnership, Hawaii Foodbank plans to purchase $50,000 worth of seafood landed by Hawaii longline vessels,” according to a statement from the association. “The purchase will ensure that Hawaii Foodbank will be able to meet the needs of Hawaii residents facing hardship as a result of covid-19. It will also support Hawaii’s longline fishermen.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

WASHINGTON: Seattle Harbor Expansion Would Push Out Endangered Whales, Conservation Group Says

March 5, 2021 — The Trump administration rushed through a project to expand Seattle Harbor for ultra-large container ships that would further threaten endangered Southern Resident killer whales, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

Only 75 Southern Resident killer whales swim the Salish Sea — a number that has increased since three baby whales were born in the relatively quiet waters of the pandemic. Noise from whale watching boats and ships headed to and from ports across the Pacific will increase when pandemic restrictions are lifted.

Added to that is a new worry: the underwater cacophony of ultra-large container ships that would visit Seattle Harbor, in the heart of the whales’ home waters, and the release of hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of toxic material dredged during the harbor project.

The three pods, or family lines, of Southern Residents took a major hit in the late 1960s when aquariums stole 45 Southern Residents from their families, and killed another 14 in the process. Only one of the whales taken during that time survives today: a 53-year-old whale who lives at the Miami Seaquarium. The Seaquarium calls her Lolita, while supporters who want her returned to a protected cove of the Salish Sea call her Tokitae.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service