Saving Seafood

First Long Term Acoustic Study Tunes Into Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Foraging Ecology

February 19, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The first continuous multiyear acoustic monitoring effort across Cook Inlet provides the most comprehensive description of beluga whale seasonal distribution and feeding behavior to date.

This knowledge is critical for understanding and managing potential threats impeding recovery of this endangered population.

“Cook Inlet belugas were listed as endangered in 2008. Despite protective measures, the population continued to decline,” said Manuel Castellote, NOAA Fisheries affiliate/University of Washington/Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean biologist who led the study. “We undertook this study to provide information that managers needed to develop an effective recovery strategy.”

Castellote worked in partnership with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to develop a passive acoustic monitoring program. It recorded beluga movements and foraging behavior within their critical habitat year-round over five years.

“Summer beluga distribution has been well studied, especially in the upper inlet. But information on foraging behavior during the rest of the year was basically nonexistent,” Castellote said. “That knowledge is essential to identify threats impeding the whales’ recovery.”

Read the full release here

Listening for Right Whales in the Gulf of Maine

February 18, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Two passive acoustic data collection efforts are underway in the Gulf of Maine to gather information on North Atlantic right whales. One will deploy fixed archival-acoustic recorders mounted on the ocean bottom for a specific period of time. The other will use autonomous underwater vehicles called gliders, equipped to record acoustic information and report it back in near real-time.

“Real time monitoring provides the opportunity for direct conservation action through alerting vessels to the presence of endangered whales and to slow down to avoid striking the whales, while archival monitoring helps build a long-term 24/7 picture of their presence,” said Sofie Van Parijs, who leads the Passive Acoustic Research Group at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

“These new efforts will support routine passive acoustic monitoring of North Atlantic right whales and other baleen whale species throughout priority areas, and improve our understanding of changes in their movement patterns,” she said.

Right whales have changed their historic migration patterns in recent years, and tracking them is a difficult task.

Like most whales, this species does not spend much time on the ocean surface where they can be seen by researchers during aerial or ship-based surveys. Sound is the whale’s primary means of communicating, so if they are present in an area, they are probably making sounds. Underwater microphones can detect those sounds and even report back to researchers in near real-time.

Passive acoustic monitoring – detecting and recording sounds, in this case underwater – offers scientists another tool for learning about whale behavior and migration patterns. Advanced underwater microphones or hydrophones and autonomous underwater vehicles can detect and record those sounds. Computer programs help differentiate species and indicate time, direction and location.

These instruments can remain in the water continuously for months at a time. Along with visual sightings made from ships and aircraft, the sound recordings are revealing information about where and when whales of various species are present.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries – FB20-008: Closure for the Commercial Golden Tilefish Longline Component in South Atlantic Federal Waters on February 18, 2020

February 14, 2020 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial longline component for golden tilefish in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on February 18, 2020. The closure applies to all harvest or possession of golden tilefish with longline fishing gear.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

  • Only golden tilefish longline endorsement holders are allowed to harvest golden tilefish with longline fishing gear.
  • The 2020 commercial catch limit for the golden tilefish longline component is 248,805 pounds gutted weight. NOAA Fisheries predicts this catch limit will be reached by February 18, 2020, and according to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

DURING AND AFTER THE CLOSURE:

  • Golden tilefish harvested with longline fishing gear may not be sold or purchased after the closure. The prohibition on sale or purchase during the closure does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time on February 18, 2020, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
  • During the longline closure, a vessel with a golden tilefish longline endorsement may not commercially harvest golden tilefish using hook-and-line fishing gear, and is limited to the golden tilefish recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational sector is open, without regard to where the golden tilefish was harvested (i.e. in state or federal waters).
  • A vessel that does not have a longline endorsement, but has a commercial South Atlantic snapper-grouper unlimited permit, may commercially harvest golden tilefish with hook-and-line fishing gear until the hook-and-line catch limit is reached.
  • The commercial longline component for golden tilefish in federal waters of the South Atlantic will open at 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2021.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=383bc195ccbeab4fd6bec1c24905df34&node=sp50.12.622.i&rgn=div6

NOAA Fisheries Announces Final 2020 Blueline Tilefish Commercial and Recreational Fishery Specifications

February 14, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is finalizing blueline tilefish quotas for the 2020 fishing year that we previously announced as projected on February 12, 2019. There have been no overages in the Greater Atlantic Region in 2019, and there is no new biological information, so we are now finalizing the 2020 quotas. The quotas are the same as in 2019.

Approved measures include acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), and total allowable landings (TAL) for the commercial and recreational fisheries.

All other requirements remain the same.

For more details, read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register today and the permit holder bulletin posted on our website.

Read the full release here

NOAA Seeks Public Comment on Revised Management Plan for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

February 14, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has released the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report. Condition reports summarize resources and ecosystem services within a national marine sanctuary, pressures on those resources, current conditions and trends, and management responses to the pressures.

The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report indicates that water quality in the sanctuary is good, but habitat, living resources, and maritime heritage resources continue to experience human impacts (vessel traffic, fishing, marine debris, ocean noise) and climate change. The condition report also includes an assessment of the sanctuary’s ecosystem services, which are benefits that people obtain from the environment, such as seafood and recreation.

The release of the condition report will initiate the review and revision of the management plan for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Public scoping is the first phase in the revision process, and the public can comment through April 10, 2020, on the scope of issues and programs to be considered within an updated plan. Comments may be submitted online, by mail, or in person at the public scoping meetings.

WHAT:

Public scoping meetings and public comment period through April 10 to solicit input on the scope of issues and programs to be considered within an updated management plan for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

WHEN and WHERE:

  • March 11, 6:30-8 p.m., New England Aquarium, Harborside Learning Lab,1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110
  • March 12, 6:30-8 p.m., Maritime Gloucester, 23 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, MA 01930
  • March 18, 6:30-8 p.m., Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Admiral’s Hall,101 Academy Dr, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532

HOW TO COMMENT:

Online: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal and use docket number NOAA-NOS-2020-0003.

By mail:

NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
175 Edward Foster Road
Scituate, MA 02066
Attn: Management Plan Revision

NOAA Fisheries Announces Final 2020 Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Commercial Fishery Specifications and Minimum Size Suspension for Atlantic Surfclams

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

NOAA Fisheries is implementing surfclam and ocean quahog quotas for the 2020 fishing year that we previously announced as projected on February 6, 2018. There have been no overages in 2019, and there is no new biological information, so we are now finalizing the 2020 quotas. The 2020 fishing year quotas will remain 3.4 million bushels for surfclams, 5.33 million bushels for ocean quahogs, and 100,000 Maine bushels for Maine ocean quahogs.

NOAA Fisheries is also suspending the minimum size requirement for surfclams. Discard, catch, and biological data show that 22 percent of 2019 coastwide landed surfclams had a shell length less than 4.75 inches, which is less than the 30 percent trigger for a minimum size requirement. This is closer to the trigger than in prior years. Vessels are encouraged to avoid areas with a lot of clams under 4.75 inches to reduce the chance of initiating the default minimum size in 2021.

For more details, read the final rule as published in the Federal Register today and the permit holder bulletin posted on our website.

How Our Shark Finning Ban Helps Us Sustainably Manage Shark Fisheries

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

Shark finning is often pointed to as a leading cause of decline in global shark populations. The wasteful practice has been illegal in United States federal waters for decades, though. Guy DuBeck, a highly migratory species fisheries management specialist, breaks down how a federal ban on shark finning works and the role it plays in protecting shark populations.

What is shark finning?  

Shark finning is the practice of removing a shark’s fins and dumping the rest of the body at sea.

It’s important to remember that shark finning happens at sea. Fishermen or dealers who remove fins after bringing the whole shark to shore are not “finning” sharks. They are sustainably selling all parts of the shark.

How did shark finning come to be?

Fins are easier to transport than a whole animal. And while there are commercial uses for the rest of the shark, their meat is less profitable. That’s why some foreign fishermen will remove fins at sea.

Why would fishermen want to harvest fins at all? 

Shark fins have a higher economic value than both shark meat and some other fish. So, fin sales are key to any commercial shark fishing operation. By selling the fins, U.S. fishermen are also making use of all parts of a sustainably harvested shark.

When did the United States ban shark finning? 

NOAA Fisheries first banned shark finning in the Atlantic Ocean in 1993 because of the role it played in overfishing. Congress extended the ban to any vessel in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone with the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 and Shark Conservation Act of 2010.

Under these laws, fishermen must bring a shark to shore with all its fins naturally attached. That specific requirement is what makes our ban so effective. For example, it prevents fishermen from finning one shark and using staples or tape to attach the fins to another carcass on the boat. This is a loophole other countries have had to deal with.

Read the full release here

More Than $13.5 Million Awarded to Help Stranded Marine Mammals Between 2011-2015

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

From 2011 to 2015, the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program awarded more than $13.5 million to help stranded marine mammals. The funding was awarded through 160 competitive grants to Stranding Network members and collaborators in 24 states.

NOAA Fisheries sets aside a portion of Prescott funds for emergency assistance with unforeseen or catastrophic stranding events.The program provided $999,122 in emergency funds to help reimburse the Network for 15 events that required emergency support between 2011 and 2015. A review of how the funds were allocated and spent is now available in a 5-Year Report.

For the past 18 years, Congress has appropriated approximately $1 to 4 million annually to NOAA Fisheries to fund the Program. NOAA Fisheries funds eligible members of the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network and research collaborators through grants and cooperative agreements. The funding supports the recovery or treatment of marine mammals, the collection of data from living or dead stranded marine mammals for health research, and the support of facility operation costs.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Seeking Industry-Funded Monitoring Service Providers

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

If you would like to provide IFM services to Atlantic herring vessels in IFM years 2020 – 2021 (April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022), you must submit an application by March 12, 2020. We will review your application in accordance with the IFM provider regulations that are being implemented through the New England IFM Omnibus Amendment.

Refer to the posted bulletin for more information on what to include in an application.

Approvals will cover IFM years 2020 – 2021. If we receive any applications under this announcement, final decisions will be communicated to providers and published in the Federal Register after the omnibus measures in the New England IFM Omnibus Amendment become effective on March 9, 2020. There will be a future opportunity to apply for a one-year approval to provide IFM services to herring vessels in IFM year 2021.

Questions?

Contact: Maria Vasta, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9196

REMINDER: You Can Renew Your Permits Online

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

A reminder that commercial and recreational fishermen can renew their current federal fishing permits online using our web-based system in Fish Online.

In the online system, you do not have to include/upload copies of your Coast Guard documentation or your state registrations. Also, gear codes are no longer required.

Submissions via mail and fax will remain options, but we recommend fishermen take advantage of the speed and ease of renewing their permits online.

To access the online renewal and application systems, create or sign-in to your Fish Online account and click on Application Forms in the left margin. For assistance with Fish Online, call our Help Desk at 978-281-9188.