Saving Seafood

Shark Fin Sale Bans Would Hurt U.S. Fishermen Without Improving Shark Conservation, Management

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

The United States has some of the best managed shark fisheries in the world. Our laws and regulations prevent overfishing while maximizing commercial fishing opportunities and the economic value of our shark fisheries. Part of our science-based management is allowing fishermen to sell both the meat and fins of sustainably harvested sharks.

For decades, U.S. fishermen have been barred from removing shark fins and discarding the body at sea, a practice known as shark finning. With a limited exception for smooth dogfish, sharks must be brought to shore with their fins naturally attached. Under current federal law, fishermen and dealers can then remove and sell the fins along with other parts of the shark.

Preventing shark fishermen from selling these fins would not improve domestic conservation and management. We are required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act to prevent overfishing in our shark fisheries regardless of whether fins are allowed to be sold or not. A ban on the sale of shark fins would only regulate which parts of a sustainably harvested shark can be used.

U.S. federal or state bans would also have little impact on the global fin market.The United States exports approximately 1 percent of all globally traded shark fins, and we import an even smaller percentage.

The largest impact of a national shark fin sale ban would fall on our fishermen. Because they have a higher economic value than shark meat, fins are key to any commercial shark operation. If fishermen were required to discard sharks fins that were harvested sustainably under strict federal management, they would have less income.

Domestic bans on harvesting fins would also undermine our efforts to promote international dialogue and negotiations on sustainable shark management. Responsibly participating in the global fin trade allows the United States to showcase our strong conservation and management practices overseas. Dive deeper into misperceptions surrounding the shark fin trade in a new feature story.

NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to preventing overfishing of our shark fisheries. As a global leader in conservation, we are also committed to advancing sustainable shark management practices around the globe. Both of these priorities are possible thanks to our transparent, rigorous, and science-based management process.

Wanted: Fishermen to test net bellies

February 19, 2020 — Small-mesh commercial fishermen in the whiting and other fisheries may be eligible to receive — at no cost — new net technology that has shown promise in significantly reducing bycatch of yellowtail, winter and windowpane flounder.

The project, organized by the Long Island-based Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program and funded by NOAA Fisheries, will provide 25 approved fishermen with vouchers that would cover the full $800 cost of a bycatch reduction technology called a large mesh belly panel.

“It’s a concept first tested in 2004 to assist fishermen with concerns and issues to do with bycatch,” said Tara McClintock, a Cornell Cooperative Extension fishery specialist. “We wanted to expand on that work in the small-mesh multispecies fishery.”

McClintock said the panels, which are made of 80-centimeter mesh with 6-millimeter poly-webbing, can be inserted into traditional four-seam, bottom-trawl nets. They replace the original net’s first bottom belly to create larger openings to mitigate bycatch.

She said CCE has performed multiple studies on the innovative net gear aboard industry vessels since 2010, with consistently positive results.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Gulf of Maine Longline Surveys Target Species in Rocky Habitats

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

Abundance, distribution, age, and other data are vital for assessing and managing important fish species. To obtain these data, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Cooperative Research Branch works with commercial fishing vessels to conduct annual spring and fall bottom longline surveys in the Gulf of Maine.

The longline survey uses random stratified sampling to detect the abundance and distribution of fish species and how they are changing over time. It focuses on areas where researchers know less about some species and the rougher terrain makes it harder to sample with trawl gear.

The team spent several days this fall staging the 50-foot F/V Mary Elizabeth in Scituate, Massachusetts and 40-foot F/V Tenacious II in East Dennis. In just over 3 weeks, they completed the planned 45 stations on November 2, in a typically breezy New England autumn.

Weather was also on their side in the spring. On May 7, they had completed the 45 stations in the survey in about 2 weeks. To take advantage of the limited fair weather windows that occur during seasonal transitions, each vessel makes multiple 2–4 day trips.

Read the full release here

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