Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Approves Industry-Funded Monitoring (IFM) Service Providers for the Atlantic Herring Fishery for IFM Years 2020 and 2021

April 13, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today we filed notice in the Federal Register announcing the industry-funded monitoring (IFM) service providers that have been approved to provide IFM services for the Atlantic herring fishery during IFM years 2020 and 2021 (April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022). Herring vessels may secure monitoring services from these providers in order to fulfill their IFM requirements. The notice, which will publish tomorrow, contains contact information for each approved IFM service provider. For more information on IFM in the Northeast visit our website.

Read the full release here

Earn the Endangered Species Patch Online with NOAA Resources

April 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

With many school districts closed, students and teachers are looking for ways to learn at home. One option is for Girl Scouts, who can learn about endangered species while earning their Endangered Species patch. They can now earn the patch virtually—no need to leave the house!

Cadette-, Senior-, and Ambassador-level Girl Scouts from any state can earn this patch by completing a five-step process. They must explore, investigate, create, experience, and present information about plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. Since its launch in May 2019, 168 Girl Scouts have completed these patches.

Below are a few suggestions about how to complete the patch using NOAA resources:

1. Learn about endangered and threatened species and the Endangered Species Act. Read how NOAA and the Fish and Wildlife Service use the ESA process to save species.

2. Investigate two endangered species: locally, regionally, or globally. View our endangered species list and learn about two in your city, town, state, or country.

3. Make a creative project inspired by endangered species. Participate in the Endangered Species Art Contest sponsored by the Greater Atlantic Region Fisheries Office (this is now a virtual contest!) or color a salmon mural.

Read the full release here

NEW Slow Speed Zone East of Boston to Protect Right Whales

April 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces a new voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area  or DMA) east of Boston.

This DMA is based on an April 9, 2020, sighting of an aggregation of right whales from a Boston-area beach by private citizens.

Mariners, please go around these areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside these areas where groups of right whales have been sighted.

East of Boston DMA is in effect through April 24, 2020.

42 47 N
42 05 N
70 26W
71 23W

Active Seasonal Management Areas (SMAs)

A mandatory speed restriction of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) is in effect in the following areas:

Mid-Atlantic: November 1-April 30

Cape Cod Bay: January 1-May 15

Off Race Point: March 1-April 30

Great South Channel: April 1 – July 31

More info on Seasonal Management Areas

Right Whales Are Migrating 

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. NOAA is cautioning boaters and fishermen to give these endangered whales plenty of room. We are also asking all fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales and remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements. Commercial fishermen should use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are only about 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

North Atlantic right whales are NOAA Fisheries’ newest Species in the Spotlight. This initiative is a concerted, agency-wide effort to spotlight and save marine species that are among the most at risk of extinction in the near future. 

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

Read the full release here

Reminder: Historic Shipwreck Avoidance on Stellwagen Bank

April 9, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries, in conjunction with NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, requests that vessels avoid shipwreck sites on southern Stellwagen Bank within the Sanctuary by keeping gear 400 feet away from each of the site locations listed below.

We recognize that fishermen want to avoid shipwrecks to ensure the safety of the crew and because of the risks of damaging their gear when the gear gets hung up on a wreck or other objects on the ocean floor.  Hanging up on a wreck can also cause serious damage to shipwrecks that have historical significance.

For more information read the permit holder bulletin posted on our website.

Read the full release here

Whale strandings may be sign of recovery

April 8, 2020 — A die-off of several hundred gray whales last year might, in fact, represent a promising future for the creatures, according to an expert in marine mammals.

According to NOAA Fisheries, there were 215 gray whale strandings on the Pacific coasts of the United States, Canada and Mexico during 2019, which the administration classified as an unusual mortality event, defined as “a stranding that is unexpected, involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population and demands immediate response.” A previous gray whale mortality event in 1999 saw an even higher number of strandings.

Bruce Mate has researched marine mammals for more than 50 years and is the former director and endowed chair of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University.

He said the gray whale population had been reduced to between 1,000 and 2,000 animals by 1900 due to commercial whaling. The 20th century brought protections against over-exploitation of whales, first through the League of Nations and, later, by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. The United States also protected them though the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, all of which helped reduce risks for the population.

Read the full story at the Newport News Times

Saving Seafood Urges Industry to Comment on NOAA’s Emergency Rule Regarding Observer Waivers

April 8, 2020 — On March 27th, NOAA Fisheries published an Emergency Rule regarding the circumstances by which observer coverage would be waived.

In the opinion of a number of our Saving Seafood coalition members, the emergency rule does not provide sufficient protections to ensure the health and safety of the captains and crew of commercial fishing vessels.

The conditions proposed for the waivers leave an opportunity for continued observer coverage. Many of our members feel at this time a permanent waiver should be granted for 90 days. State and Federal entities have made it perfectly clear that serious precautions should be taken to control the spread of this virus.

Given the inherent nature of the fishing industry, close quarters on fishing vessels and the potential spread of the virus to entire crews, and their families, many of our members believe the cost is too great.

Please use the Federal Register notice to submit comments and share your personal experience and concerns.

In addition, the emergency rule indicates that some of the observer training and requirements may be waived to make sure there is sufficient personnel available to act as observers.

We encourage industry members to provide your own thoughts on that topic, as you have all had your own experience with the observers.

Comment on the emergency rule here

New State of the Ecosystem Reports Document “Big Picture” Around Fishing

April 7, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Two newly issued reports provide a snapshot of the Northeast U.S. Shelf Ecosystem. They look at everything from phytoplankton production at the bottom of the food web to the fishery harvests at the top. One report focuses on Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine the other on the waters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. These are the three major regions within the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem.

These annual reports are part of a larger, ongoing NOAA-wide initiative. It provides a consistent national approach to managing ecosystems that is flexible enough to accommodate regional needs. This Integrated Ecosystem Assessment approach is intended to help resource managers integrate physical, biological, economic, and social components of ecosystems into their decision-making. This will help them to balance trade-offs and determine which approaches are more likely to achieve their desired goals. The 2020 State of the Ecosystem Reports inform the New England and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils.

“This approach has helped give the council structure with specific steps to define what our management goals and objectives are, figure out how we can address them, and understand what that means for areas such as economics,” said Brandon Muffley, a fishery management specialist at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

The State of the Ecosystem reports were produced by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, with additional collaborators from academic research institutions, non-profit organizations, and state agencies.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed 2020 Recreational Rules for Summer Flounder

April 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We propose to continue the conservation equivalency approach for the summer flounder recreational fishery, in which states or regions develop minimum sizes, possession limits, and fishing seasons that will achieve the necessary level of conservation. Both the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recommended continuing conservation equivalency in 2020.

The proposed rule contains additional details on conservation equivalency, including what measures would be put in place if the Commission does not ultimately recommended conservation equivalency.

If approved conservation equivalency expires at the end of the fishing year (December 31).  The non-preferred coastwide measures become effective January 1.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today.

The comment period is open through April 21. Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal.

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule: Removal of Regulations Implementing the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program

April 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are seeking public comment on an action that would eliminate the regulations implementing the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program.

The Special Access Program was implemented to provide groundfish vessels additional opportunity to harvest healthy stocks within year-round groundfish Closed Area I if they complied with certain gear and other restrictions.  The Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment eliminated Closed Area I on April 9, 2018.  As a result, the Program no longer provides access or allows activity otherwise prohibited by any closed or gear restricted area.  No vessel has participated in the Program since the start of fishing year 2018.

Restrictions and requirements related to the Program, including reporting requirements and possession/trip limits, are now unnecessary and confusing. Removing the Program from the regulations will help avoid confusion and inconsistency with other regulations.

For more details, please read the rule as published in the Federal Register.

The comment period is open through May 6.

Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal.