Saving Seafood

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.

 

Judge’s rejection of lobstering ban draws praise of industry, ire of environmentalists

October 18, 2021 — Lobster industry advocates and environmental groups offered starkly different reactions Sunday to a judge’s decision blocking a federal ban on lobstering in a section of the Gulf of Maine designed to protect the endangered right whale.

The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Lance Walker, said federal regulators relied on “markedly thin” analysis that didn’t provide hard proof of the whales’ presence in the roughly thousand-square-mile area off the Maine coast. Advocates for the lobster industry had asked for a stay of the three-month ban, arguing there wasn’t evidence that the critically endangered whales actually frequent the area.

Environmental groups accused Walker of relying on his own analysis of data rather than that of scientists. Lobstering advocates, on the other hand, praised the judge for offering a lifeline to the $1.4 billion industry, which is critical to Maine’s economy.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at the Portland Press Herald

 

Federal Fishery Managers to Choose Alternative for American Samoa Bottomfish Rebuilding Plan

October 15, 2021 —  The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will meet virtually Oct. 19, 2021, and take final action on the American Samoa Bottomfish Rebuilding Plan. The agenda, background documents and instructions for connecting to the meeting and providing oral public comments are available at www.wpcouncil.org/event/188th-council-virtual-meeting.

In February 2020, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) informed the Council of a change in stock status for American Samoa bottomfish to overfished and experiencing overfishing based on an artifact of uncertainty in the survey data. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the Council to develop a rebuilding plan within 15 months of notification and rebuild the overfished stock within 10 years. Alternatives include an annual catch limit (ACL) of 5,000 pounds that would rebuild the stock in 10 years with a 27% risk of overfishing, and closing federal waters.

The ACL for the bottomfish stock complex specified in 2017, prior to the 2019 assessment, was 106,000 pounds. Following the assessment, fishermen were allowed to catch an interim limit of 13,000 pounds to alleviate the impact on their communities, which expires Nov. 18, 2021. The American Samoa bottomfish fishery is small, with six fishers catching an estimated 8,040 pounds in 2020. Fishery landings have been declining since a high of 21,536 pounds in 2015. NMFS is not scheduled to complete a new stock assessment until 2023.

“According to the Pacific Community (SPC), 5,000 metric tons of bottomfish are harvested in neighboring Samoa, which is an incredible amount of fish,” said Archie Soliai, Council chair and director of the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources. “We obviously have a data problem, not a resource problem.”

At the 187th meeting in September 2021, the Council deferred taking final action on the rebuilding plan for the federally managed bottomfish complex in American Samoa to allow Soliai time to consult with Governor Lemanu Mauga on the coordinated management of the bottomfish fishery in territorial and federal waters. Several Council members expressed their dismay at the low catch limit alternatives and the potential fishery closure.

The Council has worked with NMFS and the territory of American Samoa for the past year to develop the first set of rebuilding plans for the region. Governor Mauga is scheduled to make opening remarks at the Council meeting.

The virtual meeting will have host sites at Tedi of Samoa Building, Suite 208B, Fagatogo Village, American Samoa; BRI Building, Suite 205, Kopa Di Oru St., Garapan, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); and Cliff Pointe, 304 W. O’Brien Dr., Hagatña, Guam. Host sites are subject to local and federal safety and health guidelines regarding COVID-19; check the Council website for updates.

The Council manages federal fisheries operating 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 U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Areas.