Saving Seafood

Diversifying New England’s Seafood Marketplace

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

Many wild seafood species can be found in waters off the Northeast coast, but consumers don’t see that same variety at their local seafood market.

Supporting the sustainable harvest of seafood, knowing where food comes from and how to care for it, and providing access to affordable seafood are among the goals of a growing number of non-profit and community-based seafood programs.

In Warren, Rhode Island, the non-profit Eating with the Ecosystem’s mission “to promote a place-based approach to sustaining New England’s wild seafood” brings together marine scientists and commercial fishermen, chefs, seafood businesses, and local seafood consumers in a system “that supports the region’s marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them.”

“Our work focuses on five anchors:  proximity, symmetry, adaptability, connectivity and community,” said Kate Masury, program director for Eating with the Ecosystem. “That means finding wild seafood from a marine ecosystem close by, balancing our diet with a variety of seafood, and trying new species that enter an ecosystem as that ecosystem changes. It also means stewardship, caring for our habitat, and learning where our seafood comes from.”

Restaurant chefs, fishermen and seafood supply businesses, and marine science researchers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are affiliated with the effort, including Mike Fogarty, John Manderson, Maria Vasta, and Sharon Benjamin from NOAA Fisheries. Benjamin and Vasta serve on the organization’s board, while Manderson and Fogarty are members of the advisory network.

Read the full release here

Groundfish managers to review catch share system

July 5, 2019 — In 2010, the New England groundfish fleet began fishing under a new catch share system when federal fishing regulators established the sector system that remains in place today in the Northeast Multispecies groundfish fishery.

Now, nine years after implementation, the New England Fishery Management Council is embarking on a review of the first six years of the commercial groundfish catch share system and is using a series of nine meetings in fishing ports from Maine to New York to elicit public comment.

One of those meetings is scheduled for Gloucester on July 25 at the Sawyer Free Library on Dale Avenue. The meeting is set to run from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

“Most of our fishermen in this fishery now fish in a sector, so we thought it would be a good time to review the program after having it in effect for a while,” said Janice Plante, spokeswoman for the council.

The review actually is mandated by NOAA Fisheries, though in a rather oblique manner. The agency said management councils should periodically review — “no less frequently than once every seven years” — catch share programs to evaluate whether they meet the objectives of the fishery management plan.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Immediate Action Needed to Save North Atlantic Right Whales

July 5, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the world’s most endangered large whale species, with only about 400 whales remaining. The situation has become even more alarming with the recent discovery of six North Atlantic right whale deaths and one entanglement in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada. Four deaths were mature females. With fewer than 95 breeding females left, protecting every individual is a top priority. Right whales cannot withstand continued losses of mature females—we have reached a critical point.

Vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are the two greatest threats to these whales, and to make matters more complex, their habitat overlaps with commercially important areas. As right whales live and travel more than 1,000 miles from their feeding grounds off the Canadian Maritimes and New England to the warm coastal waters off South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida, it is the responsibility of the governments of the United States and Canada as well as the fishing and shipping industries in both countries to ensure that these whales have a safe place to live, feed, and reproduce for their survival.

The United States has endeavored for many years to reduce the risks to North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships, and we continually refine our management measures to support recovery of this critically endangered population. In 2008, we adopted ship strike reduction measures that include seasonal speed restrictions near shipping lanes when right whales might be present. Since 1997, we have worked with stakeholders on the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan to reduce the impacts of commercial fishing gear on right whales. We are currently expediting measures to reduce an additional 60 percent of serious injuries and lethal entanglement risks as recommended by our Take Reduction Team in April 2019.

Read the full release here

NOAA Announces 2019 Recreational Measures for Summer Flounder

July 2, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For the summer flounder recreational fishery, we are continuing “conservation equivalency.” This means we waive the federal recreational bag limit, minimum fish size, and fishing season, and vessel owners are subject to regulations in the state where they land.

Please contact your state for information on summer flounder regulations that apply to you.

Note that black sea bass and scup recreational measures for 2019 are unchanged from 2018.

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

Get Ready to Take LEAPS for Atlantic Salmon and Journey to the Rivers and Coasts of New England – with Agents of Discovery!

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

To celebrate the International Year of the Salmon, NOAA Fisheries has collaborated with the educational tech app, Agents of Discovery, to launch Sea-Run, GO!, a game that teaches youth and the young at heart about wild Atlantic salmon and other migratory fish that inhabit the rivers and coasts of New England.

Become a Special Agent

Similar to the popular Pokémon GO app, Agents of Discovery provides educational “missions” with unique geo-triggered “challenges,” where players learn on the go. On our Sea-Run, GO! “mission” players become special agents who investigate the world of wild Atlantic salmon and migratory fish.

Get Moving

Using a specially adapted curriculum, teachers and informal educators can use this educational app to bring Sea-Run, Go! to their classroom setting. Similar to other mobile games, Sea-Run, Go! gets students moving and learning. They discover facts about endangered fish, fish life cycles, local ecosystems, and learn how they can become active participants in endangered species conservation as they move around the classroom completing each challenge. To find out more about how to incorporate Sea-Run, Go! into your educational setting, check out the lesson plan.

Read the full release here

New Indicators Could Help Manage Global Overfishing

June 27, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The smallest plants and creatures in the ocean power entire food webs, including the fish that much of the world’s population depends on for food, work and cultural identity.

In a paper published in Science Advances, NOAA Fisheries researcher Jason Link and colleague Reg Watson from the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies suggest that scientists and resource managers need to focus on whole ecosystems rather than solely on individual populations. Population-by-population fishery management is more common around the world, but a new approach could help avoid damaging overfishing and the insecurity that brings to fishing economies.

“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 fish,” said Link, the senior scientist for ecosystem management at NOAA Fisheries and a former fisheries scientist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

The authors suggest using large-scale ecosystem indices as a way to determine when ecosystem overfishing is occurring. They propose three indices, each based on widely available catch and satellite data, to link fisheries landings to primary production and energy transfer up the marine food chain. Specific thresholds developed for each index make it possible, they say, to determine if ecosystem overfishing is occurring. By their definition, ecosystem overfishing occurs when the total catch of all fish is declining, the total catch rate or fishing effort required to get that catch is also declining, and the total landings relative to the production in that ecosystem exceed suitable limits.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries publishes final rule to allow electronic monitoring on some Pacific groundfish vessels

June 27, 2019 — Starting in 2021, fishermen in segments of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery will have the ability to use electronic monitoring devices to record what they catch for reporting purposes.

The measure, published in a final rule last week by NOAA Fisheries, gives the option to midwater trawl vessels in the Pacific whiting fishery and for fixed gear boats in the individual fishing quota fishery. Vessel owners will be able to receive an exemption from the 100-percent observer requirement as long as they use an allowed monitoring system.

“This action is necessary to increase operational flexibility and reduce monitoring costs for vessels in the trawl fishery by providing an alternative to observers,” NOAA Fisheries said in its final rule statement. “Data from the (electronic monitoring) program will be used to debit discards of (individual fishing quota) species from IFQs and mothership cooperative allocations.

It comes after some vessels participated in a pilot program testing the monitoring equipment. That pilot was pushed by some environmental organizations, including the Environment Defense Fund.

Shems Jud, the West Coast director of EDF’s Oceans program, said the rule will help improve conservation efforts.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA to groundfishermen: Take our survey

June 25, 2019 — As fishing regulators continue to consider changes to current groundfish monitoring programs, NOAA Fisheries is developing a new strategic communications plan to help stakeholders more fully participate in the rule-making process.

Toward that end, NOAA Fisheries is asking groundfish stakeholders to participate in an online survey that focuses on two areas — what information do fishermen need about current groundfish monitoring programs and the best manner for delivering that information.

The survey, which opened Friday and will be available online until July 21, can be found on the website surveymonkey.com/r/GARFO23. It is designed to take five to 10 minutes and can be completed anonymously.

“Our effort is focused on communicating information about monitoring programs, not developing alternatives or making policy decisions,” NOAA Fisheries said in announcing the survey. “We also expect this effort to provide tools and resources that can be applied across programs to improve the clarity and effectiveness of our communications with industry members.”

NOAA Fisheries has contracted with Vision Planning and Consulting to help it develop the new communications strategy and improve its communication about its various groundfish monitoring programs.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

2019 Northeast Sea Scallop Survey Finishes

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

The 2019 Northeast sea scallop survey got underway May 15 aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp, first covering stations in the Mid-Atlantic and then on Georges Bank. Operations concluded on June 14.

This survey occurs annually. It uses both a dredge to collect physical samples of sea life and their habitat, and a towed vehicle known as the HabCam. The HabCam is fitted with a number of sampling instruments, including cameras that photograph the ocean bottom. This dual sampling method enriches data available to researchers and helps ensure that information can be collected even if one of the systems fails during survey operations.

2019 NEFSC Sampling Effort

Most of the dredge operations occurred on Georges Bank. Planned dredge stations were completed throughout the Georges Bank area, and additional stations were added in the Great South Channel. Only two dredge stations were planned for the Mid-Atlantic area. These were completed.

HabCam coverage in the Mid-Atlantic was the most comprehensive achieved by the Center survey to date.

On Georges Bank, only the Southern Flank tracks and a small part of the northern Great South Channel were covered—about 30 percent of planned HabCam tracks for Georges Bank. HabCam tracks planned for the Northeast Edge and most of Great South Channel were not completed owing to operational issues with the HabCam vehicle and two days of unworkable weather.

“The sea scallop fishery is among the most valuable in the region, and people who rely on it also rely on us to provide the best possible data,” said Jon Hare, director of NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “We were able to conduct additional dredge samples in the areas of Georges Bank that HabCam did not cover, and the team on the vessel did an excellent job adapting to the situation.”

Read the full release here

Retention Limit of Aggregated Large Coastal Shark and Hammerhead Shark Management Groups increase to 36 Sharks per Trip

June 24, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

NOAA Fisheries has increased the retention limit for the commercial aggregated large coastal shark and hammerhead shark management groups (Appendix 1, next page) for directed shark limited access permit holders in the Atlantic region from 3 to 36 sharks per vessel per trip effective June 25, 2019. The retention limit will remain at 36 LCS, other than sandbar sharks, per vessel per trip in the Atlantic region through the rest of the 2019 fishing season or until NOAA Fisheries announces another adjustment to the retention limit or a fishery closure via the Federal Register.

As agreed upon by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Coastal Sharks Management Board in December 2015, the Commission will follow NOAA Fisheries for in-season changes to the commercial retention limit, therefore, no more than 36 sharks per vessel per trip may be retained from the aggregated large coastal and hammerhead shark management groups by state licensed fishermen effective June 25, 2019.

The Federal Register regarding the change to the commercial retention limit will be published on June 25 at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/25/2019-13483/atlantic-highly-migratory-species-commercial-aggregated-large-coastal-shark-and-hammerhead-shark. Shark landings can be found at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/atlantic-highly-migratory-species/2019-atlantic-shark-commercial-fishery-landings-and-retention.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or krootes-murdy@asmfc.org.

A PDF of the announcement ca be found here –http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5d11021cM19_48AdjustedCommericalRetentionLimits_June2019.pdf.