Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Explores Electronic Reporting as Supplemental Source of Recreational Fishing Data

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

This month, NOAA Fisheries submitted a report to Congress (PDF, 19 pages) describing the Marine Recreational Information Program’s (MRIP) efforts to explore the suitability of electronic reporting as a method of collecting data from saltwater anglers.

Electronic reporting is a method of data collection that can include smartphones, tablets, and other technologies used to record, send, and store data. In some cases, electronic reporting allows samplers to use tablets instead of paper and pencil to record and submit data collected in the field. In others, electronic reporting allows anglers to record and submit data through a website or mobile device.

Electronic reporting has the potential to reduce data collection costs and improve the quality of reported information, and several states—including Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi—have adopted mandatory or voluntary angler reporting apps. But the challenges associated with using these technologies to collect data from private anglers—especially when anglers are asked to voluntarily report their data through a website or mobile app—have the potential to bias resulting estimates.

Opt-in angler reporting programs can experience low recruitment and retention rates, as well as a tendency for more avid angler to participate. To correct for these and other potential biases, independently conducted shoreside sampling must be used to confirm or correct missing or misfiled angler electronic reports. Shoreside validation is crucial, but adds cost and time to the data collection process. More research will help us understand how angler-submitted electronic data can best supplement the data the MRIP partnership collects through other means.

Read the full release here

Council Seeks Input on Proposed Changes for Red Snapper Season

July 29, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is soliciting public input on proposed changes to regulations for red snapper affecting how the current limited openings should be handled. A series of public hearings will be held via webinar from August 12-15, 2019 with listening stations established along the South Atlantic coast (see schedule below). The proposed changes include: 1) removing the minimum number of days for the South Atlantic red snapper seasons; 2) modifying the start date for the recreational red snapper season; 3) revising the days of the week recreational harvest of red snapper would be allowed during an open season; and 4) modifying the start date of the commercial season. The changes are proposed in Regulatory Amendment 33 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan. Note that the proposed changes would not extend recreational or commercial seasons, increase the annual catch limits for red snapper, or change the recreational bag limit or commercial trip limit.

Each year, NOAA Fisheries uses data collected by the states to predict how long to allow harvest of red snapper the following year. Catch rates are applied to annual catch limits (for recreational and commercial sectors) to predict how long harvest can be open. The red snapper allocation is divided 72% recreational and 28% commercial, with a recreational annual catch limit of 29,656 fish and commercial limit of 124,815 pounds. Catch rates can vary based on factors such as day of the week (e.g., more angler fish on weekends), geographic location, weather, etc. Currently, commercial and recreational harvest of red snapper is not allowed if predictions indicate the season would last three days or fewer. The Council is considering removing this limit to maximize fishing opportunities for red snapper.

The commercial red snapper season begins each year on the second Monday in July and the recreational season begins on the second Friday in July. The Council is considering alternatives to modify the days of the week that are open to red snapper recreational harvest, should harvest be allowed, to help maximize opportunity in the event of bad weather. In addition, fishermen have expressed concern that harvest is being allowed during summer months while red snapper are spawning. Modifying the start date for the commercial season is being considered to maintain fairness and equitability between the sectors.

Public Hearings

The public hearings are being held via webinar. Listening stations will also be available at various locations. Attendees participating via webinar must register prior to each hearing. The hearings will begin at 6:00 PM. Council staff will provide an overview of the actions and alternatives included in the amendment via webinar. Area Council members will be present at each listening station. Formal public comment will be accepted during the hearings. Written comments will also be accepted. Additional details, including the public hearing document and presentation and registration links­­­­ are available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/public-hearings-scoping-meetings/.

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Scallop Research Proposals

July 26, 2019 — NOAA Fisheries, in coordination with the New England Fishery Management Council, is soliciting research proposals under the Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

Successful applicants are awarded pounds of scallops that have been “Set aside” to pay for research expenses.

Researchers and fishermen partner to harvest awarded scallops, and the proceeds are used to fund the research and compensate fishing industry partners.

The New England Fishery Management Council sets the research priorities and NOAA Fisheries administers the competition, oversees awarded projects, and oversees set-aside harvest activities.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

West Coast Salmon Vulnerable to Climate Change, but Some Show Resilience to Shifting Environment

July 26, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Several of the West Coast’s prime salmon runs are highly vulnerable to climate change, but intensified habitat restoration and other measures can help support their natural resilience and adaptability. The new NOAA Fisheries report, published this week in PLOS ONE, is the first comprehensive climate vulnerability assessment for West Coast salmon and steelhead.

Certain Chinook, coho, and sockeye salmon population groups are the most vulnerable to expected environmental shifts with climate change. These include more extreme high and low flows and hotter oceans and rivers. Steelhead, pink and chum salmon face less risk, either because they are more adaptable to varying conditions (steelhead) or spend less time in freshwater (pink and chum).

Species-specific results are available for each population group.

Authors noted that salmon have long thrived in the region, proving themselves resilient to past shifts in climate. However, climate is now changing at an unprecedented rate. Most populations now lack access to habitat that once provided refuge from climate extremes.

“Salmon have always adapted to change, and they have been very successful—otherwise they wouldn’t still be here,” said Lisa Crozier, a research scientist at NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center and lead author of the assessment. “What we are trying to understand is which populations may need the most help with anticipated future changes in temperature and water availability, and what steps we can take to support them.”

Read the full release here

Advancing Innovative Technologies to Modernize Fishery Monitoring

July 24, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Thanks to recent technological advances in computer processing hardware, machine vision cameras, and open source software tools, fishery researchers at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center are now taking the next steps in developing electronic monitoring systems and image processing applications that would automate data collection from images captured onboard vessels. Eventually, the goal of real-time image processing is to support scientific data that provide greater certainty in managing ocean resources and sustainable fishing practices.

In 2018, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries implemented an electronic monitoring program to provide a monitoring alternative for longline vessels, where accommodating an observer can be logistically difficult.

“This program’s integration of electronic monitoring data directly into the catch estimation data stream marked a milestone,” explains Farron Wallace, former senior research fisheries biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center and now director of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center Galveston Laboratory. “However, the systems are not yet able to collect detailed data on individual fish length and weight as an observer does—data that are critical to support stock assessment modelling and catch estimation.”

Additionally, although useable observer data in the North Pacific are either uploaded to a database several times daily via satellite or uploaded at the end of a trip, vessels using electronic monitoring systems store imagery on hard drives, which are then mailed after the trip to video reviewers who process and extract key information. This time-consuming procedure can significantly delay data upload, a concern when data timeliness is essential for fisheries management—particularly for those management programs that have prohibited species catch limits, maximum retainable allowances, or other in-season quota restrictions.

Read the full release here

Highlighting the Cooperative Shark Tagging Program for Shark Week

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

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Apex Predators Program studies the life history and ecology of sharks in the marine and coastal waters of New England and the Mid-Atlantic. In 1962, they began the Cooperative Shark Tagging Program with about 100 volunteer recreational and commercial fishermen, scientists, and fisheries observers. Today they have more than 7000 volunteers contributing data to the Tagging Program.

More than 295,000 sharks, comprising more than 50 species, have been tagged to date. The data from tagging and recapture events have been instrumental in shaping what we know about shark migration and distribution. It also helped to define the essential fish habitat for 38 federally managed shark species. It continues to be used for defining and updating areas designated as essential for shark survival.

Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) are a common pelagic species found in New England waters. More than 122,000 blue sharks have been tagged to date and they’re the most tagged species of shark in our Tagging Program’s database. In fact, they account for 42% of all the tagged sharks recorded in our database and of the more than 122,000 tagged blue sharks, 7% of them have been recaptured at least once.

Read the full release here

Orca Action Month Inspires Local Action for Southern Residents

July 19, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The story of Southern Resident killer whale J35 carrying her dead calf for two weeks last summer attracted worldwide attention, prompting Orca Network to rename June “Orca Action Month,” from the former “Orca Awareness Month,” signaling the immediate action needed to recover the critically endangered whales.

NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region applauds the change, and the collaboration between Orca Network and the Orca Salmon Alliance that brought advocates together to take even more action for the Southern Residents.

“Thirteen years ago Orca Network began celebrating Orca Awareness Month in Washington State and had recently expanded to Oregon and British Columbia,” said Cindy Hansen, Education and Events Coordinator for Orca Network. “Also adding to this momentum and expansion has been the partnership with the Orca Salmon Alliance for the past several years. This year we decided that since J35 raised so much awareness with her story, we would change the name from Orca Awareness Month to Orca Action Month.”

Read the full release here

Rock, Coral, Sponge: Does One Beat the Rest as Fish Habitat?

July 18, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Rockfish love structure. More seafloor structure means more rockfish. But while the amount of structure matters, the type doesn’t, a new NOAA fisheries study finds.

Rocks, corals, and sponges proved to be equally desirable real estate for individual rockfish, given a choice. However, rockfish were most frequently associated with sponges—the most commonly available structure in the Alaska study area.

These findings will help resource managers in their efforts to effectively manage rockfishes, deep-sea corals, and sponges.

“We found that Alaska rockfishes are more abundant when vertical structures such as rock, coral, and sponges are present. Corals and sponges add structure to areas with minimal rocky formations, creating a more complex habitat for rockfish,” explains Chris Rooper of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, who led the study. “Unfortunately, some human activities and potentially climate change can have negative effects on the survival of coral and sponge ecosystems, thereby impacting both the distribution and abundance of rockfish species in Alaska waters.”

Read the full release here

Preserving Poke in a Changing Climate

July 18, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Managing bigeye tuna in the Pacific is already challenging, and now a new study shows that climate change may affect our supply of this fish, used to make the deliciously popular ʻahi poke. The study projects the decline of catch in Hawai‘i’s bigeye tuna fishery as climate change continues to unfold. However, alternate scenarios could bolster ecosystem resilience and limit fishery declines.

Scientists from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, the University of Hawai‘i, and the University of Tasmania teamed up to model the ecosystem in which Hawai‘i’s bigeye tuna fishery operates. Their model projected how increasing ocean temperatures and declining plankton would affect specific fish species. (Temperature and plankton values were from a suite of climate models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.) The model also predicted how different scenarios, such as decreased fishing effort, could change those effects.

The scientists found that climate change led to a decline in catch regardless of whether fishing effort increased, decreased, or remained the same. A decline in bigeye tuna catch means less ‘ahi poke at your local market. However, the study also revealed fishing scenarios that may allow the ecosystem to remain resilient in the face of climate change.

“Rather than seeing the results as a doom-and-gloom future for Hawai‘i’s fishery, I see them as encouraging. They show that local choices matter, that we can decide which future scenario we want to pursue,” says lead author Phoebe Woodworth-Jefcoats. She points to two future scenarios in particular:  In one, the fishery persisted with today’s fishing effort. In another, the fishery slowly reduced its effort to half. Both scenarios showed similar declines in bigeye tuna catch, but in the second scenario, the ecosystem was resilient despite the effects of climate change, and the biomass of each fish species increased.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Sets 2019 Management Measures for Northeast Groundfish

July 18, 2019 — We are approving Framework 58 and implementing new catch limits for seven groundfish stocks for the 2019 fishing year (May 1, 2019 – April 30, 2020), including the three stocks managed jointly with Canada. These revised catch limits are based upon the results of stock assessments conducted in 2018.

In 2019, commercial groundfish quotas increase for four stocks from 2018: Georges Bank cod (+15%), Georges Bank haddock (+20%), Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder (+31%), and Acadian redfish (+2%); and decrease for three stocks: Gulf of Maine haddock (-5%), Georges Bank yellowtail flounder (-50%), and American plaice (-7%).

Framework 58 also:

  • Exempts vessels fishing exclusively in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Regulatory Area (i.e., in international waters) from the domestic groundfish fishery minimum fish sizes to allow them to better compete in the international frozen fish market.
  • Extends the temporary change to the scallop accountability measure implementation policy for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder to provide the scallop fishery with flexibility to adjust to current catch conditions while still providing an incentive to avoid yellowtail flounder.
  • Revises or creates rebuilding plans for five stocks: Georges Bank winter flounder, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder, witch flounder, northern windowpane flounder, and ocean pout.

In this rule, we are also announcing:

  • Reductions to the 2019 commercial quota for Gulf of Maine cod by 29.2 mt because the quota was exceeded in 2017.
  • A permanent extension of the annual deadline to submit applications to lease groundfish days-at-sea between vessels from March 1 to April 30 (the end of the fishing year); and
  • Changes to the regulations to clarify that vessels must report catch by statistical area when submitting catch reports through their vessel monitoring system.

Read the final rule  as filed today in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin available on our website.

Read the full release here