Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries – FB19-032: Recreational Harvest of Golden Tilefish Will Close in Federal Waters of South Atlantic on June 17, 2019

June 12, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

WHAT/WHEN:

The 2019 recreational fishing season for golden tilefish in South Atlantic federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on June 17, 2019. Recreational harvest for the 2020 fishing year in South Atlantic federal waters will open at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on January 1, 2020.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

The 2019 golden tilefish recreational catch limit is 2,316 fish. Reports indicate that recreational landings have reached the 2019 recreational catch limit.

According to the regulations, NOAA Fisheries must close the recreational sector when the recreational catch limit has been reached. This closure is necessary to protect the golden tilefish population.

DURING THE CLOSURE:

Recreational harvest or possession of golden tilefish in or from federal waters of the South Atlantic is prohibited.

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.

2019 Northeast Sea Scallop Survey Underway

June 12, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The 2019 Northeast sea scallop survey has been underway since May 15 aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp surveying at stations in the Mid-Atlantic and on Georges Bank. This survey uses both a dredge and a towed vehicle known as the HabCam, which is fitted with a number of sampling instruments including cameras that photograph the ocean bottom.

On June 6, the HabCam was being towed in the Great South Channel and hit an uncharted object in about 130 feet of water. The weak link in the tow cable broke, as intended when tension is too great. This limits damage to both the instrument and the ship’s tow winch. The HabCam was separated from the ship, but a sound-emitting locator attached to it signaled its location.

The vessel, crew, and researchers continued dredge sampling while planning HabCam recovery operations. On June 10 commercial divers arrived at the scene. The object struck was a rock, estimated to be about 25 feet high and about 40 feet wide. The divers and ship’s crew attached a recovery line to the vehicle and hauled it safely back onto the Sharp.

The vehicle was inspected and minor repairs made, before deploying this morning. The HabCam initially operated as usual, but soon encountered power problems.

Dredge operations will continue today, taking advantage of good weather ahead of the storms in the forecast for Thursday. The Sharp will come shoreside tomorrow to make HabCam repairs. We plan to complete as much of the remaining survey as we can after the repair.

This third and final leg of the 2019 survey is scheduled to conclude on June 15, and a summary of the cruise results will be released soon after.

Read the full release here

Habitat: NEFMC Discusses GSC HMA Research, Offshore Energy, New Model

June 11, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council covered a wide range of habitat-related issues during its June meeting in So. Portland, ME. These fell into three categories.

  • Great South Channel Habitat Management Area (HMA) Research Planning: This work is a follow-up to the Council’s Clam Dredge Framework, which was approved in December 2018 and is currently under review by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries). The framework proposes to allow hydraulic clam dredge and mussel dredge fishing within three exemption areas of the HMA, and it also proposes to create two large research-only areas to investigate whether surfclam and mussel dredging could occur within the areas without harming sensitive habitat.
  • Offshore Wind Updates: The Council received an overview of the status of offshore wind development in the Northeast region.

Read the full release here

Patchwork of policies holding back US aquaculture industry growth

June 7, 2019 — The 47th United States-Japan Natural Resources Scientific Symposium “Marine Aquaculture in a Changing Environment” will be held November 12 to 15, 2019, in Okinawa, Japan. It will be the last year for the three-year theme, “Marine Aquaculture in a Changing Environment.”

The symposium is part of a regular collaboration between NOAA Fisheries and the Japanese Fisheries Research and Education Agency, organized through the U.S.-Japan Natural Resources (UJNR) Aquaculture Panel. The panel is an annual meeting framework that allows scientists to share research results, new technology, and approaches to sustainable seafood farming. Last year’s meeting took place in Mystic, Connecticut, U.S.A.

Mike Rust, a NOAA Fisheries scientist and the U.S. chair of the UJNR Aquaculture Panel, told SeafoodSource the exchanges represented an important path to improving the state of U.S. domestic aquaculture.

“The learning opportunities are tremendous on a number of fronts. The United States is behind in both the scale of marine aquaculture and the science and technology effort to support a sustainable industry. This partnership gives U.S. researchers a chance to understand where Japan is going in aquaculture and learn from Japan’s experience,” Rust said. “The low-hanging fruit in some ways is to look around the world to see where other people are on the technical side.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Measures to Rebuild the Atlantic Mackerel Stock

June 7, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Framework Adjustment 13 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan would establish a five-year rebuilding plan for Atlantic mackerel, set 2019-2021 specifications, modify closure triggers to slow the commercial fishery when harvest approaches the annual quota, and update the river herring and shad catch cap in the Atlantic mackerel fishery.

For details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register. Supporting analysis for this rule is available on the Council’s website.

Comments are due July 8, 2019.

To submit comments online, please use the e-rulemaking portal, or send comments by regular mail to Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA, 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope, “Comments on the Proposed Rule for Atlantic Mackerel Framework 13.”

Read the full release here

Environmental groups file federal suit to stop California longline fishery

June 6, 2019 — Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, 6 June, claiming it used a “backdoor maneuver” to permit a new longline fishery off the California coast.

In a statement, the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network said NOAA Fisheries did not comply with the Endangered Species Act when it approved the longline fishery last month. The fishery will consist of two fishing vessels utilizing lines with numerous hooks that stretch for miles to catch tuna and swordfish.

The groups fear endangered species such as Pacific leatherback turtles will end up caught in some of the hooks and potentially die from the interaction. Scientists believe those leatherbacks could become extinct within two decades.

“The failure of the Fisheries Service to comply with environmental laws in issuing the Permit diminishes leatherback sea turtles’ slim chance to defy predictions of extinction,” the complaint, filed in the Northern District of California, states.

Officials issued the permit even though NOAA Fisheries banned longlines 15 years ago.

“This is basically the same fishery the agency outlawed 15 years ago, and the same agency is using a backdoor maneuver to get the fishery reopened,” Turtle Island Restoration Network Executive Director Todd Steiner said in a statement.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Saltonstall-Kennedy 2020 Grant Application Now Open

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

NOAA Fisheries is pleased to announce the 2020 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant competition is currently open.

The goal of the Saltonstall-Kennedy program is to fund projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable. The FY20 solicitation seeks applications that fall into one of two priorities:

  • Promotion, Development, and Marketing.
  • Science or Technology that Promotes Sustainable U.S. Seafood Production and Harvesting.

Application Process

This year’s solicitation consists of two steps:

1. All interested applicants must submit a two-page pre-proposal to the Federal Funding Opportunity posted on Grants.gov by July 30, 2019. Please be sure to submit your pre-proposal to the “Pre-proposals FY20 Saltonstall-Kennedy” link.

2. Applicants submitting a full application after the pre-proposal review process must submit it to the “Full Proposals FY20 Saltonstall-Kennedy” link on Grants.gov by November 12, 2019.

Be sure to read the Federal Funding Opportunity and follow the directions closely, and take advantage of our checklist and guidance for applicants.

2019 Southeastern Bering Sea Shelf Bottom Trawl Survey Gets Underway

May 30, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On May 31 the Southeastern Bering Sea Bottom Trawl Survey will depart Dutch Harbor to collect data on the distribution and abundance of crab, groundfish, and other bottom-dwelling species in the southeastern Bering Sea. These data are used to estimate population abundances to manage commercially important species in Alaska. NOAA Fisheries has conducted this survey annually since 1975.

As we did last year, we intend to provide regular updates on water temperatures collected near the seafloor at all of our survey stations. When we conduct surveys for fish and other species, we also collect information about the environment in which they live — their habitat. For fish and other species water temperature is important. It affects their spawning, access to food, and growth rates.

We had another unusually warm winter and expect to see a reduction in the cold pool. The cold pool is a natural, thermal barrier created by melting winter sea ice. It tends to separate Arctic species, usually found in the northern Bering Sea, from commercially important pollock, Pacific cod and other species, typically found in the southeastern Bering Sea. Last year after a similar warm winter, a partial survey of the northern Bering Sea was conducted. Large numbers of pollock were found there.

Once scientists complete this year’s survey of the southeastern Bering Sea, they will move northward to conduct a full survey of the northern Bering Sea bottom-dwelling community. Additional surveys are planned in the northern Bering Sea using surface trawls and hydro-acoustics to monitor key components of the marine ecosystem and environmental conditions. Be sure to check back here for regular updates on ocean temperatures collected during the Bering Sea bottom trawl surveys.

The southeastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey will be conducted from approximately May 31 to August 2.  The northern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey will be conducted from about August 3 to 25.

Read the full release here

Atlantic scallop haul tops 60 million pounds

May 24, 2019 — The valuable 13-month Atlantic sea scallop 2018 fishing year wrapped up on March 31, with prices strong for final landings. While final data is not yet available, preliminary NOAA estimates for fishing year 2018 show 60.1 million pounds landed.

“This is 107 percent of the projected landings for fishing year 2018, but that does not represent an overage of any type,” said Travis Ford, NOAA’s sea scallops fishery manager.

“At the beginning of the year, the price took a bit of a dive because of the influx of product, but ended up leveling out later in the year,” said Ford.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Essential Fish Habitat Consultation Protects Crab and Salmon from Mining Operations in Alaska

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

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently released for public comment a General Permit for Floating Mining Operations in Alaska State Navigable Waters, including marine waters. The permit includes new measures to protect red king crab and salmon which migrate through Norton Sound and into rivers to spawn. NOAA Fisheries reviews public notices and offers expertise to the USACE for the conservation of living marine resources.

Floating mining operations use a dredge in nearshore waters to ‘vacuum’ up gravel and sand substrates which are then sifted to retain gold. The new protections restrict mining operations during certain spring and summer months when juvenile red king crab settle to the seafloor. Mining operations will also be restricted in waters deeper than 30 feet and within one nautical mile of stream mouths to avoid areas where salmon concentrate.

An Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation with NOAA Fisheries is required whenever a federal agency authorizes, funds, or undertakes activities in an area that will affect EFH. Together, the agency and NOAA determine how best to conduct the coastal activity while supporting fish habitat and minimizing or avoiding environmental damage. The science conducted through this consultation helped USACE make management decisions; balancing mining and fishery interests in the Norton Sound.

In recent years, researchers and scientists from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center used regular baseline sampling, analysis, monitoring, and new side-scan sonars technologies to inform studies on the benthic environment and red king crab in Norton Sound. Results showed that habitats deeper than 30 feet of water take more time to recover, while shallower habitats are routinely disturbed by natural events and recover quickly. Surveys also showed that crab larvae settle in nearshore substrates. These findings were used to better inform managers with the most recent science for the EFH consultation process.

NOAA Fisheries has provided USACE with EFH conservation recommendations relating to suction dredging operations in Norton Sound since 1999.

Read the full release here