Saving Seafood

WPRFMC: Western Pacific Scientists Support Tori Lines Over Blue-Dyed Bait in Tuna Fishery and Exploring New Bottomfish Management Approach

December 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council continued to support replacing blue-dyed fish bait and strategic offal discard requirements in the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery with tori lines for seabird bycatch mitigation. Results from field experiments conducted in the past three years under an experimental fishing permit showed that Laysan and black-footed albatross were 4 times less likely to come in contact with baited hooks when participating vessels used tori lines, or bird scaring lines, versus blue-dyed bait. Tori lines have proved effective in other longline fisheries around the world.

SSC members discussed various impacts the management alternatives could have on the U.S. longline commercial fishery, including additional crew time required to create and clean up the blue-dyed bait. The SSC supports removal of strategic offal discharge as a requirement since there is inconclusive scientific evidence that it provides a conservation benefit, especially in light of the tori line effect on seabird interaction rates. In lieu of this requirement, the management measure would include best practice training for longline vessel owners and operators on offal management at the required annual National Marine Fisheries Service protected species workshop.

The SSC provides scientific advice to the Council, which is considering modifications to a regulatory amendment to improve seabird conservation. The Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery, which targets bigeye tuna, has been using a suite of seabird mitigation measures since 2001 under the Council’s Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan.

After reviewing a workshop report on American Samoa bottomfish data evaluation, the SSC supported a single-species management approach for the next stock assessment scheduled for 2023. The American Samoa bottomfish fishery is managed in an 11-species complex, which is overfished and experiencing overfishing, according to a 2019 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) assessment. The PIFSC Stock Assessment Program reported there are sufficient data to explore the use of single-species assessments for most managed bottomfish species except for pink snapper (palu-‘ena‘ena, Pristipomoides filamentosus).

The report summarized information collected from six systems and highlighted the data quantity, quality and changes over time. The catch per unit effort data from the creel surveys and the resulting estimated catch are highly uncertain, particularly for species that are not well represented in the surveys. However, there is sufficient information for a single species, age-based assessment using length information from the PIFSC diver surveys and biosampling program, and territory boat-based creel surveys.

Creel surveys collect general fisheries data provided voluntarily by commercial and noncommercial boat and shore fishermen. Moving forward with a single-species approach may require changes in conservation and management measures.

The SSC meeting continues tomorrow with discussions on pelagic and international fisheries. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agenda and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/142nd-scientific-and-statistical-committee-virtual-meeting.

 

A guide to understanding the fight over whales and lobster gear in the Gulf of Maine

November 26, 2021 — Right now, lobstermen are hauling their gear out of a 967-square mile stretch of ocean, roughly 30 miles offshore, in the Gulf of Maine.

Lobstermen don’t want to vacate the area, especially during the lucrative, deep-water, winter fishing season but federal courts and lawsuits are forcing them to do so.

Last week, the Federal First Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a seasonal prohibition by the National Marine Fisheries Service on lobstering with buoys and lines in that area. The closure, running October through January, is an attempt to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from deadly entanglements in lobster gear.

Read the full story at Bangor Daily News

 

Rhode Island’s fishing industry received support through federal grants

November 24, 2021 — U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse alongside Congressman Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced Tuesday a designation of fishery failure from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Rhode Island fishing industry, specifically the Rhode Island’s Atlantic herring fishery.

A 2019 assessment showed that herring population is in a dramatic decline, with 2019 reporting less than a fifth compared to their 2014 harvest. Herring are a key bait fish used in both commercial fishing and lobster industries.

Read the full story at NBC6

 

Feds declare East Coast herring fishery a disaster

November 24, 2021 — US. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced a disaster declaration for the 2019 Atlantic herring fishery on Monday, Nov. 22.

“With this determination, we proudly support our fishing industry and will work with the affected communities to help them get back on track,” said Raimondo. “Resilient and sustainable fisheries are not only essential to our coastal communities, but play a vital role in supporting our blue economy and our nation’s overall economic wellbeing.”

The herring fishery historically supplied the bulk of the bait for the Northeast lobster fishery. In 2019, NMFS announced a 70 percent reduction in the catch quota, which left fishermen and bait suppliers scrambling for alternatives. The most complicating factor being that all bait species and types must be approved by NMFS. The herring fishery is based primarily in Maine and Massachusetts.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Genes Reveal How Some Rockfish Live Up to 200 Years

November 12, 2021 — Few groups of animals encapsulate the extremes of longevity more than fish. While coral reef pygmy govies survive for less than ten weeks, Greenland sharks can endure more than 500 years. So when a team of biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, wanted to explore the genetics of aging, they grabbed their fishing gear.

Their preferred catch was rockfish. Found in coastal waters from California to Japan, rockfish are a colorful group of more than 120 species in the genus Sebastes. Some of these closely related species live for only a decade. Others, such as the rougheye rockfish, can live for more than 200 years.

Read the full story at Scientific American

 

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announces closure for red snapper fishing starting November 15

November 12, 2021 — Starting November 15, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will close red snapper fishing in state waters. According to a release from the agency, red snapper fishing will reopen in January 2022 in Texas waters, while federal water will remain closed until the summer.

Under an agreement between TPWD and the National Marine Fisheries Service, TPWD can establish the opening and closing dates of the annual red snapper fishery in federal waters, while also continuing to manage red snapper fishing in state water. As part of this agreement, however, Texas must close the entire fishery when the state’s allotted poundage is reached for the year.

Read the full story at LMT Online

 

David Goethel: A grievous assault on the lobster resource

November 4, 2021 — In recent years, the federal government in the form of the National Marine Fisheries Service has been expanding restrictions on fin fishermen throughout the U.S.  In the Northeast every aspect of a fishing vessel is controlled by regulation, from the size of the mesh in a net, to where and when and what you can fish for, to who is on your vessel and when you can leave the dock.

This has caused the fishing industry to shrink and the fin fishermen in New Hampshire have dwindled down to a handful.  During my lifetime, the fishermen in New Hampshire have had one commercial fishing organization.  We all meet together and work out our differences.  Compliance in all the New Hampshire fisheries is high and conflicts are few. After all, we are a community out on the ocean and need to work together.

Read the full opinion piece at the Portsmouth Herald

 

US Government Reviews Atlantic Shark Fishery

October 28, 2021 — The boat rocks gently from side to side as the mid-summer storm starts to roll in. While many boats would head back to shore and call it quits for the day as the rain begins to pelt down, the crew of this vessel instead dons rainjackets and continues their work under the cold water that is now pouring out of the clouds. Such is the life of a fisher.

While many might joke that the ocean is the one who makes all the rules – whether they catch something or not at the end of the day – the true rulemaker is whoever governs that particular body of water. Since this boat is currently sitting in the US Atlantic Ocean, it falls under the jurisdiction of many governing bodies including the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). This federal agency, informally known as NOAA Fisheries, works to conserve, protect, and manage marine resources. And just recently it released a draft report on the state of the highly migratory species in the Atlantic, including sharks.

Read the full story at Forbes

 

MAINE: Seafood purveyors look to boost direct marketing

October 27, 2021 — A drop-off last year in seafood exports and the domestic wholesale market resulted in a pivot that increased direct marketing, retail and e-commerce sales.

Now a new survey is looking to help the commercial fishing industry continue the direct-marketing trend, as an important socio-economic hedge to protect against future shocks to the system and ensure food security.

A partnership between the University of Maine and federal agencies aims to help the commercial fishing industry understand local and regional seafood marketing practices, and help remove barriers to direct marketing.

UMaine initiated the partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The service is a department of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Over the next year, the partners will develop a national benchmark survey of direct seafood marketing practices in domestic wild-caught fisheries in an effort to strengthen food systems and coastal community resilience.

“Currently, there is a gap in national-level data on the domestic seafood system,” Joshua Stoll, one of the principal investigators for the project and a UMaine assistant professor of marine policy.

Read the full story at Mainebiz

 

Pacific Fishery Management Council named Merrick Burden as new Executive Director

October 20, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council named Mr. Merrick Burden as the new Executive Director for the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Mr. Chuck Tracy, the current Executive Director, will retire in December.

“We believe Merrick’s topical expertise, previous Director experience, and his in‐depth knowledge of the issues facing the Council will allow for a seamless transition as the Council deals with important ongoing issues,” said Council Chair, Marc Gorelnik. “We are convinced he will be able to motivate the Council staff to continue their high level of performance and enable the Council to take on future challenges successfully.” Mr. Burden’s appointment is effective November 15. For the last six years, he has been serving as the Senior Director for Resilient Fisheries and the Lead Senior Economist at the Environmental Defense Fund in Seattle, WA.

Mr. Burden has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Linfield College and a master’s degree in Environmental and Resource Economics from Oregon State University. In addition to his work with the Environmental Defense Fund, he has worked as Executive Director for the Marine Conservation Alliance, as a Groundfish Staff Officer for the Pacific Fishery Management Council, as Industry Economist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, and as an analyst for Northern Economics, Inc.

Council Role

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 for the purpose of managing fisheries miles offshore of the United States of America coastline. The Pacific Council recommends management measures for fisheries off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.