Saving Seafood

Killer Whale Recovery Begins With Salmon Habitat, and That Begins With You

May 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Consider this Northwest twist on a familiar saying: “Give a killer whale a salmon, and it will eat for a day. Restore the habitat the salmon and whales depend on, and they will live for generations to come.” At NOAA Fisheries we are determined to get more Chinook salmon to the endangered Southern Resident killer whales, and that begins with more and better habitat.

It is up to everyone to maintain room for these magnificent creatures as our own footprint on the Puget Sound region grows ever bigger.Focusing on salmon habitat is essential.

Improving Salmon Habitat

Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s Orca Task Force emphasized habitat. It highlighted actions such as removing culverts that block salmon migration, protecting shoreline habitat, and building on other efforts throughout the region. We must work together to restore the streams where salmon spawn and grow, and protect the dwindling nearshore habitat that shelters and nourishes juveniles.

Improving fish passage through dams must continue. It is important to get salmon into their prime habitat.

Through partnerships, we’ve made progress in recent years on these goals. Restored habitat in the Skagit River estuary, funded in part by the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, now supports hundreds of thousands more Chinook salmon smolts. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is constructing fish passage at Mud Mountain Dam, renewing access to miles of habitat in the White River. The Nisqually Tribe led one of Puget Sound’s most ambitious tidal marsh restoration efforts in the Nisqually River Delta—just to name a few.

Read the full release here

Reminder: Herring Midwater Trawl Vessels May Not Fish in Groundfish Closed Areas Without a NOAA Fisheries-Certified Observer Onboard

May 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is temporarily waiving the requirement for all vessels with Greater Atlantic Region fishing permits to carry a fishery observer or at-sea monitor. The waiver is currently in effect through May 16, 2020, and future extensions of this waiver will be evaluated weekly.

Herring midwater trawl vessels may not fish in Groundfish Closed Areas while this waiver is in effect. Groundfish Closed Areas include Cashes Ledge Closure Area, Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area, Closed Area I North (February 1 – April 15), and Closed Area II. Midwater trawl vessels issued Atlantic herring permits are required to carry a NOAA Fisheries-certified observer onboard as a condition of fishing in a Groundfish Closed Area. Therefore, a herring midwater trawl vessel not carrying an observer onboard may not fish in a Groundfish Closed Area.

Massachusetts fishing industry in line for $28 million in federal aid

May 11, 2020 — Massachusetts will receive $28 million in fisheries assistance under CARES Act allocations announced Thursday by the federal government, and efforts are ongoing to deliver more aid to an industry that officials say has been hit hard by impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross allocated $300 million in nationwide assistance, saying the Trump administration “stands with the men and women working to provide healthy and safe seafood during this uniquely challenging time.”

The fisheries support 1.7 million jobs and generate $200 billion in annual sales, he said. Only Alaska and Washington, which are each in line for $50 million in aid, received larger allocations than Massachusetts. Maine received the fifth largest allocation, at $20.3 million.

A senior NOAA Fisheries official said the funds will be disbursed “quickly and effectively.”

Spending plans will be developed by NOAA Fisheries working with interstate marine fishery commissions, and the plans must describe the main categories for funding, including direct payments, fishery-related infrastructure, and fishery-related education to address direct and indirect COVID-19 impacts.

Read the full story at WWLP

Trump orders removal of barriers to aquaculture

May 11, 2020 — The Trump Administration has issued an executive order Thursday to remove “outdated and unnecessarily burdensome” aquaculture regulations to promote the competitiveness of American seafood.

The Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth acknowledged aquaculture’s contribution to the U.S. economy and in enhancing the quality of American lives.

It calls for the expansion of sustainable U.S. seafood production through more efficient and predictable aquaculture permitting.

“This demonstrates a clear understanding that safe, authorized aquaculture can have a lasting impact that is not only beneficial to the viability of wild capture stocks but to the economic sustainability of the entire seafood community,” said John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute.

Read the full story at Aquaculture North America

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed 2020-2021 Bluefish Specifications and Recreational Management Measures

May 11, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommended revised bluefish specifications for 2020 and 2021. These proposed catch limits are reduced to account for the results of the recent operational assessment and prevent overfishing on the now overfished bluefish stock.

The commercial total allowable landings would be reduced by 25 percent, from 3.71 to 2.77 million pounds. The recreational total allowable landings would be reduced by 39 percent, from 15.62 to 9.48 million pounds.

The federal bluefish recreational fishery daily bag limit would remain reduced from 15 to 3 fish per person for private anglers and to 5 fish per person for for-hire (charter/party) vessels as set forth in the interim measures recently announced. All other recreational management measures and commercial management measures would remain unchanged.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. The comment period is open through May 26,2020.

Read the full release here

CARES Act Marks $5.5 Million for NC Fisheries

May 8, 2020 — North Carolina’s seafood industry is marked to receive nearly $5.5 million in assistance to help offset losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced Thursday that $300 million in fisheries assistance funding would be provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, to states, tribes and territories for those in coastal and marine fisheries negatively affected by COVID–19.

“This relief package will support America’s fishermen and our seafood sector’s recovery,” Ross said in a statement.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will use the allocations to award interstate marine fisheries commissions, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to disburse the money, which is to address direct or indirect fishery-related losses as well as subsistence, cultural or ceremonial impacts related to COVID-19.

“We are going to rely primarily on our partners at the interstate marine fishery commissions during the award process because they have a demonstrated track record of disbursing funds provided to them quickly and effectively,” said Chris Oliver, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

Rep. Huffman Celebrates Long Awaited Allocation of CARES Act Relief for Fishing Industry

May 8, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA):

Today, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million of congressionally directed CARES Act funding for fisheries assistance to states, Tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID-19. Of this funding, $18.3 million is being awarded to California fishery participants and $5 million to Federally Recognized West Coast Tribes.

In April, Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), Chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, led a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce urging immediate distribution of this CARES Act funding to fishing-related businesses, Tribes, and communities whose livelihoods have been threatened by the pandemic and economic crisis. The CARES Act was signed into law in March.
 
“The fishing and seafood industries have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Fisheries are a critical part of state and regional economies across the U.S., providing food for the nation and supporting a way of life for countless tribal communities,” said Rep. Huffman. “I’m glad to see that this funding has finally left the Commerce Department, but the work isn’t done yet. This money needs to quickly be delivered to all those whose businesses and jobs have been disrupted, and we need to see more support for the fishing and seafood sectors in the next congressional response. In my role as Subcommittee chair, I am committed to tracking the federal response and making sure this urgently needed relief gets to those who need it.”
 
NOAA Fisheries will award these allocated amounts to the interstate marine fisheries commissions, including the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to disburse funds to address direct or indirect fishery-related losses as well as subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial impacts related to COVID-19. Fishery participants eligible for funding—including Tribes, commercial fishing businesses, charter/for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquaculture operations, processors, and other fishery-related businesses—should work with their state marine fisheries management agencies, territories, or Tribe to understand the process for applying for these funds.
 
More information on this funding can be found here.

$28M in aid headed to Massachusetts fisheries

May 7, 2020 — The Massachusetts seafood industry is set to receive $28 million of the $300 million in federal fisheries assistance — the highest amount of any state after Alaska and Washington, NOAA Fisheries told federal legislators Thursday in an email obtained by the Gloucester Daily Times.

The federal funds, which were part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security or CARES Act, are to be used to “address direct or indirect fishery-related losses, as well as subsistence, cultural or ceremonial impacts related to COVID-19.”

It remains unclear how the money will be distributed. The announcement also did not include specific eligibility requirements for receiving the assistance.

In general, fishery participants eligible to apply for the funding include tribes, commercial fishing businesses, charter and for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquacultural operations, processors and other fishery-related businesses.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Fisheries Approves Framework Adjustment 6 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan

May 5, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries approves Framework Adjustment 6 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This action reduces Atlantic herring catch limits for 2020 and 2021, consistent with the New England Council’s harvest policy for herring and in response to estimates of herring biomass and recruitment, and maintains the 2019 catch caps for river herring and shad for 2020 and 2021.

This action updates the overfished and overfishing definition for the herring stock. The updated definitions are more consistent with the 2018 herring stock assessment, definitions used for other stocks in the region, and the ABC control rule developed in Amendment 8 to the Herring FMP.  This action suspends the carryover of unharvested herring catch for 2020 and 2021. Suspending carryover is needed because the amount of carryover from 2018 (just under 5,000 mt), and potentially 2019, is substantial relative to the reduced ACL for 2020 and 2021 (11,571 mt). If carryover is harvested in specific management areas early in the year, other areas that are typically fished later in the year may be constrained by the ACL such that the sub-ACLs in those areas cannot be fully harvested. Suspending carryover is consistent with the Council’s precautionary management given the approaching overfished condition of the herring stock and the uncertainty surrounding estimates of herring biomass and recruitment. This action also makes minor administrative clarifications and corrections to existing regulations.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin available on our website.

Read the full release here

Northeast Observer Waiver Extended through May 16

May 1, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is extending the waiver granted to vessels with Greater Atlantic Region fishing permits to carry human observers or at-sea monitors for an additional two weeks, through May 16, 2020. This action is authorized by 50 CFR 648.11, which provides the Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator authority to waive observer requirements, and is also consistent with the criteria described in the agency’s emergency rule on observer waivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NOAA Fisheries will continue to monitor and evaluate this situation.  As we have done in other parts of the country, we will use this time to work with the observer service providers to implement adjustments to the logistics of deploying observers, ensuring qualified observers or at-sea monitors are available as soon as safely possible.

Observers and at-sea monitors are an essential component of commercial fishing operations and provide critical information that is necessary to keep fisheries open and to provide sustainable seafood to our nation during this time. We will continue to monitor all local public health notifications, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for updates. We are committed to protecting the public health and ensuring the safety of fishermen, observers, and others, while fulfilling our mission to maintain our nation’s seafood supply and conserving marine life.

Read the full release here