Saving Seafood

Notice to Fishermen: 2019 Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Cost Recovery Tag Fees

September 3, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are announcing the 2019 cost recovery per-tag fees for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog individual transferable quota (ITQ) program.

We have calculated the fee for each cage tag based on the number of ITQ cage tags that were used to land surfclams or ocean quahogs during the 2018 fishing year, and the costs associated with operating the program in 2018. These fees are separate from, and in addition to, the price ITQ permit holders currently pay to the tag vendor to obtain cage tags each year.

2019 Cost Recovery Cage Tag Fees

Atlantic Surfclam: $0.92 per tag

Ocean Quahog: $0.55 per tag

The initial quota shareholder who first received the allocation of cage tags will be responsible for the fee even if the tag is leased, sold, or otherwise used by someone else.

For more information, please review the permit holder bulletin.

Accepting Applications for Groundfish At-Sea Monitoring Providers for Fishing Year 2020

September 3, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Sector at-sea monitoring provider applications for fishing year 2020 are due October 1, 2019.

If you would like to provide at-sea monitoring (ASM) services to groundfish sectors in fishing year 2020 (May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021), you must submit an application by October 1, 2019. Companies already approved to provide at-sea monitoring services in fishing years 2019 and 2020 do not need to apply again in order to provide services in 2020. We will review your application in accordance with the monitoring provider standards.

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

Approvals will cover fishing year 2020. If we receive any applications under this announcement final decisions will be published in the Federal Register in November. There will be a future opportunity to apply for a two-year approval to provide services in fishing years 2021 and 2022.

Questions?

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

U.S. Territorial Bottomfish Stocks Less Healthy Than Previously Assessed

August 29, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Bottomfish stocks in three U.S. Pacific territories are not as healthy as previously thought, according to a new report from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. Scientists recently completed three new stock assessments for bottomfish species in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and American Samoa.

Stock assessment results differed among the regions. For the CNMI, the stock was healthy (not overfished and not experiencing overfishing). For Guam and American Samoa, the stocks were less healthy. The Guam stock was overfished but not experiencing overfishing, and the American Samoa stock was both overfished and experiencing overfishing.

Bottomfish include species of snapper, emperor, grouper, and jack. The assessments considered the health of multi-species groups of bottomfish in each territory. The bottomfish group in American Samoa has 11 species and the groups for the CNMI and Guam each have 13 species. The data showed that there were three species of bottomfish most commonly caught by fishers:

Read the full release here

JOHN FIORILLO: The US aquaculture industry is on life support

August 28, 2019 — We’ve been writing quite a bit lately about the fledgling land-based salmon farming sector in the United States, but before we rush into predictions about the coming of a golden new age in US aquaculture, let’s take a real assessment of where things are right now with aquaculture industry we currently have.

Spoiler alert: Things aren’t good.

US aquaculture production has been on a flat to decreasing trend since the early 2000s. There are spurts of growth in various species sectors, but nothing substantial. And the heavy lifter, catfish, has been in steep decline for more than a decade.

In 2008, for example, US catfish farmers produced 233,564 metric tons of fish. By 2016, production was down by nearly 38 percent to 145,230 metric tons, according to the most recent data from NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Meet Zach Fyke, Observer Compliance Liaison

August 28, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Zachary Fyke is the new Observer Compliance Liaison in the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Fisheries Sampling Branch. A former fishery observer himself, he has been there and done that, as they say, and is up to the task.

“Observers can spend days or weeks aboard commercial fishing vessels, and the work is intense,” Fyke said. “Conditions may be uncomfortable. Long trips in close quarters and the observer’s role in monitoring compliance can sometimes lead to tensions on a vessel. That is where I come in.”

In addition to resolving conflicts, Fyke also helps ensure that vessels comply with procedures that keep the observer program on track to meet monitoring goals. That includes adequate observer notification about trips, taking observers when scheduled, and providing safe and suitable accommodations for them on the vessel. It also means allowing observers to do their job, and complying with safety and other environmental regulations.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries – FB19-048: King Mackerel Commercial Trip Limit Reduced to 50 Fish per Day in Federal Waters off Florida Between the Flagler/Volusia and Miami-Dade/Monroe County Boundaries on September 1, 2019

August 28, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT/WHEN:

  • The daily vessel trip limit will decrease from 75 to 50 fish at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 1, 2019, for commercial vessels fishing for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel in federal waters off Florida between the Flagler/Volusia and Miami-Dade/Monroe County boundaries.

WHY THIS TRIP LIMIT REDUCTION IS HAPPENING:

  • When commercial landings of Atlantic migratory group king mackerel reach or are projected to reach 75 percent of the quota, regulations are in place to reduce the daily trip limit.
  • The trip limit reduction is necessary to slow the rate of commercial harvest to avoid exceeding the quota.

AFTER THE TRIP LIMIT REDUCTION:

  • The 50-fish daily vessel trip limit will remain in effect through February 29, 2020, unless the Southern zone’s quota is reached and harvest of king mackerel is closed earlier.
  • An action to increase the trip limit in federal waters off Volusia County (between Flagler/Volusia County, Florida, boundary and the Volusia/Brevard County, Florida, boundary) from April 1 through September 30 from 75 fish to 3,500 lbs, is undergoing rulemaking.

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.

Detecting Fish from Ocean-Going Robots to Complement Ship-Based Surveys

August 23, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The ocean is vast, and fish swim.

These are challenges for scientists who need to find out when, where, and how many, fish are found in Alaska’s marine waters. They also want to know which species and what ages are found there—all information essential to managing Alaska’s valuable commercial fisheries sustainably.

Recent advances in autonomous vehicle and fish finders or echosounder (sonar) technology may help overcome those challenges. A new NOAA Fisheries study demonstrates that unmanned surface vehicles can expand the range and duration of ship-based acoustic fish surveys.

“This opens a window in time and space that we didn’t have using ships alone,” said Alex De Robertis, the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center scientist who led the study. “Ship-based surveys are limited because they are short, and mostly done in summer—we don’t know what happens the rest of the time. Our results show that oceangoing robots such as saildrones now make autonomous long-term acoustic measurements possible.”

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on a Control Date for the American Lobster Fishery

August 22, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on a control date (a date that may be used to establish eligibility) of April 29, 2019 for the American lobster fishery, as we consider ways to reduce threats of entanglement by fixed-gear fisheries to North Atlantic right whales.

In April 2019, NOAA Fisheries convened the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (TRT) to discuss management measures to reduce the risk of serious injury and entanglement of endangered whales in fishing gear. At the meeting, the New England states and the offshore lobster industry committed to reducing the risk of serious injury and mortality from lobster gear to the North Atlantic right whale by 60 percent in all lobster management areas. The specific measures to achieve this goal are not yet finalized, but will focus on reducing the number, and lowering the breaking strength of, vertical lines used in the lobster trap fishery.

Following the TRT meeting the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s  Lobster Management Board established a control date of April 29, 2019, and recommended that NOAA Fisheries do the same for federal waters.

Read the full release here

New lawsuit seeks protection zone for Northwest orcas

August 20, 2019 — A new U.S. lawsuit filed Monday seeks to establish a whale protection zone for endangered orcas in the Pacific Northwest.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Orca Relief Citizens’ Alliance sued NOAA Fisheries in U.S. District Court in Seattle, saying the agency has failed to act on a petition it filed in 2016.

The petition sought to bar vessels from a 10- to 12-square-mile (26- to 31-square-kilometer) area west of San Juan Island where the orcas, called southern resident killer whales, feed from April through September each year. Any vessels exempted from the ban would be required to abide by a “no wake” rule in the zone.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

NOAA Fisheries: Commercial Closure in Federal Waters for Atlantic Migratory Group Spanish Mackerel Northern Zone on August 24, 2019

August 20, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial harvest of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone in federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 24, 2019, and will re-open on March 1, 2020. The northern zone for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel includes federal waters from North Carolina through New York. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of Spanish mackerel in or from the northern zone federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits while the recreational sector is open, but those fish may not be sold.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

Commercial landings are projected to reach the commercial quota for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the quota from being exceeded.

DURING THE CLOSURE:

The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for Spanish mackerel does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, August 24, 2019, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

During the closure, a person on board a vessel that has been issued a valid Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for coastal migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in the northern zone under the recreational bag and possession limits, as long as the recreational sector for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel is open.

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 .