Saving Seafood

Correction: Public Scoping Meetings for Modifications to Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan

August 13, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We will be conducting eight scoping meetings this month in anticipation of preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.

We are requesting comments on management options particularly including information about operational challenges, time, and costs required to modify gear by changing configurations such as traps per trawl to reduce endline numbers, installing new line or sleeves and by expanding gear marking requirements.

Read the full release here

USFWS: ESA Implementation | Regulation Revisions

August 13, 2019 — The following was released by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) jointly announce revisions to regulations that implement portions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

In 2017, we sought public input on how the federal government can improve upon the regulatory framework. We received substantial input from a wide range of stakeholders on modernizing the implementation of the ESA in order to improve collaboration, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Firstly, the agencies are finalizing changes to some of the parameters under which other federal agencies must consult with the Service and NOAA Fisheries to ensure their actions do not jeopardize the continued existence of listed species, or destroy or adversely modify critical habitat. The agencies are also finalizing various measures to clarity and improve some of the standards under which listings, delisting, and reclassifications, and critical habitat designations are made.

Read the full release here

Global Overfishing Could be Helped by New Indicators

August 12, 2019 — In a new paper published in “Science Advanced,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers Jason Link and Reg Watson from the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine Antarctic Studies suggested new ways of monitoring and managing overfishing.

They suggest a broader, whole ecosystem-focused approach to monitoring and research, rather than the population-by-population, smaller scale approach that most management uses now.

“In simple terms, to successfully manage fisheries in an ecosystem, the rate of removal for all fishes combined must be equal to or less than the rate of renewal for all those fishes,” said Link.

Link is the senior scientist for ecosystem management at NOAA Fisheries and a former fisheries scientist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Trade group, California processor seek to intervene in Oceana anchovy lawsuit

August 12, 2019 — A trade group and a California-based processing company filed a motion in a U.S. federal court last week seeking to intervene in a lawsuit brought on by Oceana against NOAA Fisheries.

The Oceana suit, filed in June, claims the government agency is not following the best available science to set the catch limit on the anchovy stock in Northern California. That suit was in response to the catch limit NOAA Fisheries set in May after an order from a federal judge stemming from an earlier lawsuit by Oceana.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ASMFC Approves Atlantic Cobia Amendment 1

August 9th, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia (Atlantic cobia). Amendment 1 establishes management measures that transition the FMP from complementary management with the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils to sole management by the Commission. Amendment 1 to the FMP was initiated in anticipation of the Councils’ Regulatory Amendment 31 to the Coastal Migratory Pelagics (CMP) FMP, which was approved earlier this year and removed Atlantic cobia from the Councils’ oversight.

Amendment 1 changes several portions of the Commission’s FMP that were previously dependent on the CMP FMP and institutes a long-term strategy for managing in the absence of a federal plan. Several of these changes establish processes for the Commission to carry out management responsibilities previously performed by the South Atlantic Council, including the setting of harvest quotas and sector allocations, defining stock status criteria and recommending management measures to be implemented by NOAA Fisheries in federal waters. Additionally, Amendment 1 transitions responsibilities of monitoring and closing (if necessary) commercial harvest to the Commission.

Moving forward, the Commission will recommend to NOAA Fisheries that fishing in federal waters be regulated according to the state of landing. If a vessel has licenses for multiple states with open seasons, they must follow the most restrictive license’s regulations. If a vessel has licenses for multiple states, only one of which has an open season, they may fish under the regulations of the open state. Regulations resulting from this recommendation would only apply in federal waters. Fishermen would still be required to follow state possession or landing limits in state waters.

Amendment 1 establishes a harvest specification process, which allows the Board to specify a limited set of management measures for up to 3 years. One of the measures that may be set through this process is a coastwide harvest quota. However, until the first specification process occurs, after completion of the ongoing stock in 2020, the current coastwide quota (670,000 pounds) remains in effect.

The Amendment also changes the units used to measure and evaluate the recreational fishery from pounds numbers of fish. To accommodate this change, the recreational harvest quota in pounds (620,000) is converted to numbers (22,142 fish) and allocated among the states, resulting in the following state recreational harvest targets:

· Virginia: 8,724 fish
· North Carolina: 8,436 fish
· South Carolina: 2,679 fish
· Georgia: 2,081 fish
· 1% De Minimis Set Aside: 222 fish

States still may set their own seasons and vessel limits to achieve their respective targets.

Finally, Amendment 1 establishes a de minimis status for the commercial sector that exempts states with small commercial harvests from in-season monitoring requirements. States are required to implement measures of Amendment 1 by July 1, 2020. Amendment 1 will be available on the Commission’s website, http://www.asmfc.org/species/cobia, by the end of August.

For more information, please contact Dr. Michael Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mschmidtke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Expect a busier-than-normal hurricane season, NOAA says

August 9th, 2019 –In an uptick from the preseason forecast, the Atlantic hurricane season now is expected to be above normal, with 10 to 17 named storms, including five to nine hurricanes, the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, announced Thursday.

Two to four of those hurricanes are forecast to be Category 3 or stronger, with winds greater than 110 mph, experts said, in line with the May prediction. Hurricane Barry hit Louisiana in July as a Category 1 storm.

“We expect conditions to be more favorable for storm development through the rest of the season,” Gerry Bell, the prediction center’s lead seasonal hurricane forecaster, told CNN.

The updated forecast was issued just ahead of the start of the most active hurricane period — the roughly eight weeks that surround September 10, when hurricane season hits its statistical peak.

Read the full story at CNN

NOAA: Request for Comments on Red Snapper Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

August 8, 2019 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) developed six amendments to the Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish Resources in the Gulf of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP) to allow the five Gulf of Mexico states some management authority for private angler red snapper recreational fishing. The Council has transmitted these Amendments to NOAA Fisheries.

  • NOAA Fisheries requests your comments regarding the changes these Amendments would make to Gulf of Mexico private recreational red snapper management in federal waters. Comments are due by October 7, 2019.
  • Amendment 50A includes actions that affect all states and Amendments 50B-F analyze actions specific to each Gulf of Mexico state (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas, respectively).
  • NOAA Fisheries will also publish a proposed rule to implement these changes and will send another Fishery Bulletin to request comments at that time. Comments on both the amendment and proposed rule will be considered in the final rule.

Read the full story at Fishing Wire

2019 Species Recovery Grant Awardees Announced

August 8, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA announces the award of $6.5 million to states and tribes through its Species Recovery Grant Program. These grants promote the recovery of species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

$3.8 million will support 15 new awards to 11 states and 2 federally recognized tribes. Another $2.7 million will support the continuation of 17 multi-year projects that were approved in prior grant cycles.

States and tribes play an essential role in conserving and recovering species. Threatened or endangered species under NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction may spend all or part of their lifecycle in state waters. Successfully conserving these species depends largely on working cooperatively with states and tribes. This year’s funding supports our state and tribal partners in a range of activities, such as:

  • Reducing or removing significant sources of mortality and injury.
  • Assessing and monitoring species status and trends.
  • Engaging the public in conservation of Endangered Species Act-listed species.

Read the full release here

ASMFC Awards Grants to 5 Aquaculture Pilot Projects

August 8, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) has selected five aquaculture pilot projects to receive funding. Through these pilot projects, emphasis is being placed on promising but less commercially developed technologies for finfish and shellfish, and other industry needs like increased permitting efficiency. As part of its efforts to foster responsible aquaculture and seafood security in the US, NOAA Fisheries provided $575,000 in funding to the Commission to support these projects. Following a rigorous review, which included an evaluation of the technical aspects of the proposals as well as their compliance with environmental laws, the following five projects were selected.  The projects, ranging from black sea bass production to aquaculture workforce development, will begin in August and are scheduled for completion in 2020.

Read the full release here

Scientific and Statistical Committee Meeting Scheduled August 19-21, 2019

August 8, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee to discuss the use of recreational fishing data collected through NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). The meeting will be held August 19-21, 2019 at the Town and Country Inn, 2008 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407. The meeting is open to the public.

Data collected through MRIP are used for stock assessments for species managed by the Council and subsequently in management decisions. The data collection program has transitioned from use of a Coastal Household Telephone Survey to using a Fishing Effort Survey by mail in recent years, due in part to the shift in phone usage from landline-based home phones to mobile phones. The transition to the Fishing Effort Survey by mail has resulted in some disparity for estimates between the two survey methods. The SSC will address this disparity for selected species and also establish approaches for the use of the Fishing Effort Survey estimates for unassessed species managed by the Council.

Additional information about the meeting is available from the Council’s website at: https://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/scientific-and-statistical-committee-meetings/. The briefing book materials for the meeting, including the agenda and overview are posted along with public comment forms. The meeting will be available via webinar each day as it occurs. Registration is required and links are available from the website.