Saving Seafood

Federal Fishery Managers Say Measures for US Fisheries Should Reflect Their Low Impact on Protected Species Compared to Foreign Fisheries

June 26, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Councilconcluded its three-day virtual meeting today on the management of federal fisheries in waters offshore of the State of Hawai’i, the Territories of American Samoa and Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the US Pacific Remote Islands Areas. Established in 1976 under purview of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the Council monitors federal fisheries operating in these waters and develops management plans and amendments for them. Discussions and recommendations at today’s Council meeting focused on protected species interactions and the international nature of the region’s pelagic fisheries.

While the MSA is the nation’s preeminent fisheries legislation, the region’s fisheries are often managed to meet other legislation, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Under the ESA, NMFS develops a biological opinion (BiOp) to evaluate whether a federally managed fishery jeopardizes the continued existence of species listed as threatened or endangered. If the fishery is likely to jeopardize species, NMFS must implement reasonable and prudent alternatives (RPAs) to avoid jeopardizing the species. If the fishery is not likely to jeopardize species, NMFS must implement reasonable and prudent measures (RPMs) to minimize impacts of any incidental take by the fishery. Currently, NMFS is developing BiOps and considering RPMs or RPAs for the Hawai’i deep-set longline fishery, which targets bigeye tuna, and for the American Samoa longline fishery, which targets South Pacific albacore tuna. Of particular concern is the Hawai’i fleet’s interaction with leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles. These RPMs in the past have required the shallow-set longline fishery to close after interacting with 16 leatherback turtles, even if they were released alive.

The Council also recommended that drafting of the RPMs place priority on improving handling and release methods to improve post-hooking survival rates and on creating industry-led incentives to report and reduce impacts.

During public comment, Eric Kingma, Hawaii Longline Association executive director, noted that the Hawaii fleet is only 4% of longline effort in the WCPO. “While we don’t have significant impact on the protected species populations, we can help by designing innovative measures and transferring them to the international fisheries,” he said.

Among other related recommendations, the Council will ask the Seafood Trade Task Force, created by Executive Order 13921, to evaluate all impacts of foreign-sourced fishery products on domestic fisheries and markets. The evaluation should focus on foreign-forced products into Hawai’i and Guam with known seafood safety concerns, such as carbon-monoxide gassed tuna including the potential suspension of such products during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Council also requested that the director of the NMFS Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection provide a status update on the certification of foreign fisheries that meet the MMPA equivalency provisions. Measures implemented under the MMPA have had an impact on the Hawai’i deep-set longline fishery, which has been unable to operate within a 132,000 square mile area (called the Southern Exclusion Zone) within the US exclusive economic zone around Hawai’i, after its interaction with two false killer whales that NMFS characterized as being at a level to create mortality and serious injury.

The Council recommended that the 2021 catch limits for longline bigeye be set at 2,000 mt each for American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI and that each Territory be allowed to allocate up to1,500 mt to US longline fisheries permitted under the Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan, pursuant to Amendment 7 of that plan. However, the collective total allocation among the three Territories is not to exceed 3,000 mt.

The meeting agenda and briefing documents can be found at www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars.

Northeast observer coverage resumes July 1; councils express worry

June 24, 2020 — NMFS will resume its usual at-sea observe coverage in the Northeast July 1, after a three-month hiatus when the agency waived requirements because of the covid-19 pandemic.

Dr. Jon Hare, science and research director for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, confirmed Monday that the agency and its observer providers will move ahead with the resumption, in the planning stages since May 29.

“The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Fisheries Sampling Branch has been working through internal protocols and processes to ensure shoreside components of the program can operate,” Hare wrote in a letter to fishermen and other stakeholders. “They are also coordinating with observer providers to develop deployment plans that support the health and safety of observers, fishermen, and others in the fishing industry, in light of the covid-19 virus.”

But the Mid-Atlantic and New England fishery management councils reacted with dismay, reflecting worries in the industry that the observer program is being set back in motion before it is safe to do so.

“The council believes that deploying observers on fishing vessels at this time poses an unnecessary risk to the health and safety of fishermen and observers,” Mid-Atlantic council chairman Michael Luisi wrote in a June 23 letter to Hare and NMFS Northeast regional director Michael Pentony.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: Input Sought on CARES Act Fisheries Plan

June 15, 2020 — The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is seeking input from the public on a draft spending plan for $5.4 million in federal coronavirus fisheries assistance.

The spending plan must be approved by National Marine Fisheries Service for the state to receive the funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act.

The draft spending plan proposes an approach for disbursement of the funding through direct payments to eligible commercial fishermen, charter businesses, seafood dealers and processors, and qualified aquaculture operations who can document a greater than 35% revenue loss compared to the previous five-year average due to COVID-19.

The draft spending plan and other information pertaining to the draft can be found online on the CARES Act Fishery Assistance Information page. Written comments on the plan may be submitted through an online form that can be accessed via the website or by mail to: Draft CARES Act Fisheries Assistance Spending Plan Comments, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

Vineyard Wind’s Major Environmental Study Finished

June 15, 2020 — The long-awaited supplemental draft environmental report for the Vineyard Wind project was recently released, setting the stage for numerous offshore energy projects planned for the waters off the East Coast.

The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) was initially issued in December 2018. BOEM planned to complete the EIS by August 2019 but delayed it after the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called for a supplemental report to take into account the upsurge in offshore wind proposals. At the start of the federal review, 130 megawatts of construction plans had been submitted, but that figure quickly escalated to 22 gigawatts of offshore wind-energy potential.

“This expanded cumulative scenario is intended to better understand future impacts of the offshore wind industry while being responsive to the concerns of other ocean industries,” said Walter Cruickshank, acting director for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The new report considered the cumulative impacts on fishing and coastal habitats of the proposed 84-turbine Vineyard Wind 1 project. Sea turtles, finfish, marine mammals, and bird and bats were included in the large geographic analysis. Other issues given consideration included environmental justice, recreation and tourism, and air and water quality.

Read the full story at EcoRI

Long-awaited federal report issued on Vineyard Wind

June 12, 2020 — The long road to construction of what may be the nation’s first utility-scale wind farm appears to be reaching the end as the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Thursday released its report on the impacts of the proposed Vineyard Wind project.

The report marked the last major hurdle faced by the 800-megawatt project of 57 to 100 turbines rising nearly 500 feet at the hub from the ocean. The wind farm is located about 40 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. This report, along with a Coast Guard report released late last month, represent additional measures required after the Coast Guard, National Marine Fisheries Service and the Environmental Protection Agency requested additional reports on the cumulative impacts on navigation, marine industry and the environment for the 1 million acres of ocean off Massachusetts and Rhode Island set aside for wind turbines.

The bureau’s report, a supplement to its original Environmental Impact Statement, looked at both local impacts and cumulative effects of offshore wind along the Atlantic seaboard. Environmental impacts were rated negligible, and deemed minor to moderate for marine mammals, birds, turtles, fish and marine and coastal habitats. The bureau found wind power would have a negligible to minor impact on local employment and economics, but would be beneficial when considering the wider Atlantic coast area.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

RODA Nets $150,000 Grant from NMFS to Hold Symposium on Fisheries and Offshore Wind

June 11, 2020 — The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) received a $150,000 grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to hold a symposium on current knowledge of fisheries and offshore wind interactions.

The first of its kind project, “Understanding the State of the Science,” will advance agency, fishing industry, offshore wind energy developer and public understanding of existing research on interactions between the two industries, RODA said.

Read the full story at Seafood News

The Rising Tide Of Seafood: Opportunities And Prospects

June 11, 2020 — In the past few decades, particularly since the start of the 21st century, global seafood consumption has seen a steady uptick, fueled by an international boom in hatcheries and improved techniques in fish farming and aquaculture. An improvement in preservation and processing methods has also allowed for longer storage of raw fish and shellfish, boosting international trade of the same. Mounting recognition of the health benefits of seafood as compared to other forms of meat has led to a notable spike in seafood consumption in many countries, and the United States is following the same pattern, albeit a little slowly. These are some of the reasons our trade financing company keeps a close eye on the industry.

So what is the outlook for U.S.-based importers, and how have recent developments impacted the industry?

The U.S.’s Growing Love For Seafood

According to a report released by the National Maritime Fisheries Services (NOAA Fisheries) in February of this year, Americans ate an average of 16.1 pounds of seafood per capita in 2018. This number is a very slight increase from the 16 pounds per capita consumed in 2017, but is important for the United States, given the country’s traditional preference for other meats like chicken and/or beef. As more consumers include it in their diets, the demand for fresh as well as frozen seafood is going to increase. The U.S., for the most part, continues to meet this demand from overseas markets.

The NOAA Fisheries report noted that approximately 85%-95% of seafood consumed in the United States is imported from other countries, as per NOAA Fisheries chief scientist Cisco Werner. Although a study from May 2019 noted that this figure may be significantly inflated because not all of these imports are of foreign origin, there is no denying the strong contribution of imports to the United States’ seafood consumption.

Read the full story at Forbes

Maine Voices: Trump rights a wrong by reopening marine monument to fishing

June 10, 2020 — President Trump used the occasion of a visit to Maine last week to do right by an industry that hasn’t had much good news lately when he reopened to commercial fishing nearly 5,000 square miles of ocean south of New England that President Barack Obama closed in 2016.

Stay tuned. In the process of righting a wrong, Trump’s action, announced at a Bangor roundtable, has once again set hair on fire in the environmental community, tested the limits of presidential power and set the stage for litigation.

Obama created the area, known as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, just a few months before he left office. He portrayed the monument, the only one in the Atlantic, as a hedge against climate change.

Spanning four canyons and three seamounts, the monument is home to cold-water corals, endangered whales and turtles and numerous fish species.

If Trump’s action was controversial, it should be seen as no less so than the process that created the monument. Fishing in U.S. territorial waters is managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is charged with providing productive and sustainable fisheries based on the best available science. NMFS works with regional councils to ensure all stakeholders are heard and that its regulations have “ground truth.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

RODA Receives NMFS Grant to Convene State of the Science Symposium on Fishing and Offshore Wind Interactions

June 10, 2020 — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) has received a $150,000 grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to aggregate existing knowledge, then convene a first-of-its-kind symposium on the current science regarding fisheries and offshore wind interactions. The project, “Understanding the State of the Science,” will advance agency, fishing industry, offshore wind energy developer, and public understanding of existing research on interactions between the two industries.

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to design a forum that will bring together everything we know, and don’t know, about how fisheries and offshore wind energy development interact,” said Annie Hawkins, RODA’s Executive Director. “Fishermen provide a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and many are involved in research and science efforts. This project is a great opportunity for their participation in informing a strong research and science agenda.”

The project consists of two parts. First, RODA will develop a much-needed summary of scientific knowledge and current research and monitoring efforts. Given the rapid growth and large scope of offshore wind development in the U.S., many fishing associations, academic institutions, federal and state agencies, offshore wind developers, and others have been conducting research on the effects of offshore wind development. This part of the project results in a new resource for understanding the knowledge gaps and most important questions for further research.

Second, RODA will convene a “state of the science” symposium and workshop jointly with NMFS and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), as well as state, academic, and private and public sector science experts. At these meetings, participants will identify research and monitoring needs that the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA) can use to develop its work.

ROSA is an independent organization that works collaboratively to advance regional research and monitoring of fisheries and offshore wind interactions in federal waters. It is intended to fill the need for broad-scale coordination on prioritizing work and on information sharing.

“Much of the work on offshore wind is occurring on a development-by-development, state-by-state basis. Yet the science and management of our fisheries, marine mammals, and marine endangered species occur at a regional-scale – North Carolina to Maine,” said Jon Hare, director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “Therefore, I am excited to be able to work with RODA and BOEM to support the state-of-the-science symposium with the goal of developing a regional science plan.”

This project is a key step toward jointly building a regional fisheries and offshore science agenda. Participants in the project will include fishermen, fishing industry representatives, NMFS, BOEM, and ROSA experts, wind energy developers, relevant federal fishery management councils, states, and other expert scientists from the U.S. and Europe. The Consensus Building Institute will provide expert facilitation and coordination for the symposium. The intent is to reduce redundancies, identify knowledge gaps, and solidify opportunities for future increased coordination. Partners can then use workshop outcomes to collaborate further, refining regional science and monitoring agendas.

Examples of topics to be covered by the state of the science symposium include:

  • Physical oceanographic factors: the Mid-Atlantic Cold Pool, currents and vertical mixing, scour and sedimentation, marine winds, waves, coastal upwelling;
  • Ecosystem effects: larval dispersal, recruitment, spawning, electromagnetic fields, migration corridors, noise and vibrations, species shifts, invasive species and colonization, entanglement, benthic habitat disruption;
  • Fisheries: displacement of effort, displacement of species, increased competition for grounds, safety; and
  • Floating wind technology effects: specific effects of floating wind platforms on fishing effort and biological processes.

Funding for this project was made available through NMFS’ Broad Agency Announcement award process, and advances a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in March 2019. This ten-year MOU among RODA, NMFS, and BOEM allows the groups to collaborate on the science, research, monitoring, and process of offshore wind energy development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. More broadly, the project will help local and regional fishing interests become better involved in the offshore wind development process, and ensure that the interests and concerns of commercial fishermen are communicated effectively.