Saving Seafood

Whose Fish Is It? Who’s in Charge Here?

August 6, 2018 — Restaurant owners may know that open-faced sandwiches are regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services. But if a second piece of bread is added on top, it is regulated by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). That’s because the USDA has a very specific definition of a sandwich: two slices of bread with the meat in the middle. So, is a hot dog a sandwich? The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council says no, but the State of California says yes. How about a burrito? Massachusetts ruled that a burrito is not a sandwich, but New York says it is. A cheese pizza is regulated by the FDA, but add pepperoni and it becomes a USDA matter. When you make an omelet, FDA regulates the eggs you crack, but if you pour liquid eggs from a carton, it’s USDA.

Regulations can be confusing, sometimes because of vague wording, but often because of overlapping jurisdictions. It is not always obvious who is in charge. Clean water rules are under the jurisdiction of the EPA, but projects that might affect stream water require permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A salmon or sturgeon swimming in the ocean is under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce. But if the same fish swims upstream into a river, it becomes province of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department.

Pundits have made fun of such regulatory silliness for years. Hillary Clinton joked about the sandwich rules when running for the Senate 18 years ago. At least two presidents have cited the weird pizza rules, yet nobody did anything about the regulatory mess.

Read the full story at The American Spectator

With fewer types of fish to catch, Maine fishermen may be losing their knowledge of the sea

August 3, 2018 –Maine fishermen have a long history of being involved in fisheries management. Communication between harvesters and policymakers has been instrumental in the development of rules and regulations that have helped to sustain the region’s coastal fisheries—from clams to alewives to lobsters.

In part, this success results from the deep understanding of the natural environment held by . “Local ecological ” is a term used to describe the collective perceptions held by a particular group about their environment, resulting from the transmission of cultural knowledge from one generation to the next, combined with regular and persistent interactions between people and the environment.

Fishermen’s experience-derived “local ecological knowledge” can be equally valuable as data gained through modern scientific methods for informing resource management and building community resilience. Yet the very experience that forms the basis for fishermen’s knowledge is being eroded by increasing specialization in Maine’s fisheries, with more harvesters focusing on one or two target species. As fishermen focus on fewer types of fish, they have less access to the environment. Does this mean they are losing environmental knowledge, too?

Joshua Stoll, University of Maine assistant research professor of marine policy and cooperating scientist at the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, worked with Emily Farr, a recent graduate of Yale University, and assistant professor Christine Beitl of the Department of Anthropology to study how fishermen’s changing access to fish species over time (which Stoll documented in earlier research) has affected their knowledge of the . Marina Cucuzza, a student in the UMaine marine science and marine policy dual degree graduate program, assisted with some of the interviews.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

How many sharks are there off the Jersey Shore? This scientist wants to find out

August 1, 2018 — Shark fishing is big business in New Jersey.

People come to the Shore from across the state and throughout the region for their chance to hook the ocean’s apex predator. But the thrill only happens if the sharks show up.

But studies of the sharks in Jersey waters have been few and far between. Little is known about how many sharks there are, and when they migrate.

Now, a Monmouth University professor is working with local fishermen to get answers.

Enter Keith Dunton.

A native of Long Island, Dunton came to Monmouth University from Stony Brook University three years ago for the chance to the study sharks. Dunton said he was drawn to New Jersey because there was a lack of shark research in the Garden State, despite the popularity of shark fishing.

Last summer, shark research group OCEARCH conducted their first scientific voyage into New Jersey waters, with the goal of tagging white sharks in the deep ocean.

And the National Marine Fisheries Service has studied the shark population of Delaware Bay. But Dunton aims to create a definitive understanding of the sharks that live off of New Jersey.

Read the full story at NJ.com

 

NOAA to (briefly) reopen recreational red snapper fishing next month

July 27, 2018 –Recreational and commercial fishers will be able to catch red snapper off the South Carolina coast in limited amounts next month.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will allow South Atlantic anglers to keep their catch during the second and third weekends of August. The agency’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published the new regulation in the Federal Register on Thursday. Commercial fishing will be allowed starting Thursday.

Harvesting red snapper from the South Atlantic was prohibited in 2010 as NOAA worked to restore a population it said was depleted by overfishing. The agency allowed limited catches from 2012-2014, but halted the harvest as the resulting catch exceeded what it considered “acceptable.”

“It’s obvious from looking out in the field, that the stock is rebuilding,” South Carolina Office of Fisheries Management director Mel Bell said. “The stock’s rebuilding, but it’s just taking time.”

Read the full story at the South Carolina Radio Network

NEW YORK: Fluke Regs Still Problematic

July 27, 2018 –The current two-week closure of the commercial fluke fishery has once again drawn the ire of State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, who issued a joint statement last week calling for New York State to keep its promise to its commercial fishermen and immediately bring litigation to strike down the inequitable fluke quotas that continue to put a severe crimp on the economic viability of the state’s commercial industry.

On July 15, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation announced that the fluke fishery would be closed in state waters until the end of the month and would then reopen with a harvest limit of 50 pounds per day.

In late 2017, Governor Cuomo promised to sue the federal government over the state’s low share of the East Coast fluke fishery. This spring, instead of bringing litigation, the state filed a petition with the United States Department of Commerce protesting the quota. The state has yet to hear back.

“These state-by-state quotas created by the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Marine Fisheries Service, pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, are based upon faulty and incomplete collection data, which discriminate against commercial fishermen in the State of New York,” Mr. Thiele said in a statement. “As a result of these discriminatory practices, New York’s quota for a number of species of black sea bass, bluefish, scup, and fluke are much lower than would be allocated under a fair non-discriminatory system. New York’s summer flounder quota was less than half of that allocated to Rhode Island, New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina.”

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

NEW YORK: Governor Cuomo And Attorney General Underwood Demand Changes To Unfair Federal Fishing Quotas

July 27, 2018 –Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood today submitted comments to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and demanded that the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council repeal and replace the unfair state-by-state allocation of the annual commercial quota for summer flounder, also known as fluke. The need for equitable distribution of fluke is critically important to New York’s fishing industry and the state’s overall ocean economy.

“New York’s commercial fishing industry has been constrained by unfair federal regulations, limiting the amount of fish commercial fishermen and women can catch and damaging our state’s economy,” Governor Cuomo said. “It’s far past time for these inequities to be addressed, and our petition is clear: New York must be put on equitable footing with other East Coast states in order for this valuable industry to reach its full potential.”

“Relying on decades-old data to allocate states’ fluke quota is unfair and unreasonable, and causes direct harm to New York’s commercial fishing industry,” said Attorney General Underwood. “Federal law requires the share of the commercial summer flounder fishery to be determined by the best available science. We will pursue all available legal options if the federal government does not address these inequities.”

In March, Governor Cuomo and the Attorney General jointly filed a petition with the federal government demanding that New York’s commercial fluke allocation be increased because the current allocations are unfair to New York, not based on current data, and violate the Magnuson-Stevens Act. In response, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service published notice of New York’s petition in the Federal Register on July 10, 2018 and invited public comment until July 25, 2018.

Today, Governor Cuomo directed DEC and AG Underwood to submit a letter to the federal agencies in support of the state’s petition, and to point out and clarify that none of the commercial allocation options currently being considered by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will provide New York with a fair allocation for summer flounder. Despite strong objections from New York’s representatives, the Council voted to proceed with a draft amendment that does not include options that are fair to New York fishermen and women, and is therefore not compliant with the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Read the full story at LongIsland.com

NOAA issues rule protecting habitat for false killer whales

July 26, 2018 –A federal agency will designate waters around Hawaii as protected critical habitat for endangered false killer whales.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports about 17,500 square miles (45,300 square kilometers) of ocean habitat will be protected under a new rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

The rule was published Tuesday in the Federal Register and goes into effect Aug. 23.

The waters around the state host about 150 false killer whales, which are actually members of the dolphin family.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at KFVE

Hawaiian Killer Whales Granted Critical Habitat Protection

July 25, 2018 — The federal government has officially listed the coastal areas surrounding the Hawaiian Islands as a protected, critical habitat for the endangered population of false killer whales living there.

The National Marine Fisheries Service published its long-awaited rule Tuesday on the designation of a critical habitat for the whales, which conservationists said is crucial for the “recovery” of a species once considered on the brink of extinction.

Giulia Good Stefani, staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s ocean’s project, said in an interview that the designation is a victory that came “in the nick of time” for the small, unique population of whales.

“While it’s tragic that it’s taken so long, we’re thrilled they finally have critical habitat designation,” Stefani said. “We know that listed species with critical habitat [designation] do far better than those without.”

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

CHARISE JOHNSON: The newly endangered species of the Trump era is the Endangered Species Act

July 24, 2018 — The Endangered Species Act itself is currently endangered, as a result of predation by lobbyists, conservatives in Congress and President Donald Trump.

Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service announced proposed revisions that would change the way the agencies implement the Endangered Species Act – actions that could lead to the destruction of essential habitat and otherwise preventable species extinctions. And President Trump’s allies in Congress are preparing their own additional attacks on the law, pushing bills in both the House and the Senate that would demolish the scientific foundations of the law.

Speaking to the New York Times, Richard Pombo – a former member of Congress notorious for his hostility to environmental laws who is now paid to lobby for mining interests – says that the Trump administration and Congress are offering “probably the best chance that we have had in 25 years to actually make any substantial changes” in the law.

Read the full opinion piece at NBC News

NMFS ends New Bedford groundfishing ban

July 23, 2018 — Nearly eight months after NMFS announced the decision to shut down Northeast Fishing Sector IX following the criminal trial of quota-skirting kingpin Carlos “the Codfather” Rafael, the agency lifted the ban that has kept at least 80 fishermen off the water and out of work.

NMFS announced the end of the ban on Thursday, approving lease-only operation plans for Sector IX and allocated quota for Sector VII.

When little headway was being made in lifting the ban this spring, 55 vessels in Sector IX, including four owned by Rafael, moved to be included in Sector VII for the 2018-19 fishing season in order to lease their quota and recoup losses from missed fishing time.

The process was slow moving, with quota remaining frozen while NMFS officials and the New England Fishery Management Council worked to review and approve a new operating plan.

NMFS’ final rule on the situation — published and opened for comment on Friday, July 20 — “determines the quota overages that Northeast Fishery Sector IX is responsible for paying back, allocates annual catch entitlements to Northeast Fishery Sectors VII and IX for the 2018 fishing year, approves a new lease-only operations plan for Northeast Fishery Sector IX, and approves a substantive amendment to Northeast Fishery Sector VII operations plan,” according to the Federal Register.

Read the full story at National Fisherman