Saving Seafood

2018 Alaska Fisheries Science Center Year in Review

March 1, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

More fish come through the Alaska fishing port of Dutch Harbor than anywhere else in the Nation. In fact, Dutch Harbor and Kodiak, Alaska, are the top two U.S. fishing ports in landed volume. These same two ports rank No. 2 and No. 3 in U.S. economic value.

We collect biological, ecological, and environmental data during long-term, standardized research surveys, from fishing catches, and through other research activities. In the laboratory and in the field we study what fish and crabs eat, where they live, and how fast they grow. We input these data into sophisticated computer models to generate estimates of fish abundance (number of fish in the population), determine the potential impacts of environmental change, and recommend sustainable fishing limits. We also collect socio-economic data on fisheries and coastal communities, and other ecosystem data. Resource managers use this information to develop sound management measures ensuring healthy fisheries over the long term with ecological, economic, and socio-cultural benefits for the nation.

Our primary responsibility is to provide scientific data, analyses, and expert technical advice to marine resource managers (i.e., the NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Regional Office, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the State of Alaska, the International Pacific Halibut Commission, and the Pacific Salmon Commission), Alaska tribal governments, public stakeholders, and U.S. representatives participating in international fishery and marine mammal negotiations. The work of monitoring and assessing fish, crab, and marine mammal populations, fisheries, and marine ecosystems is mandated by legislation, which includes the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the U.S Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.

Read the full release here

2019 Maine Fishermen’s Forum: Together We Achieve More

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

The Maine Fishermen’s Forum is an annual gathering of commercial fishermen, gear suppliers, scientists, government representatives, and other stakeholders to talk about Maine’s commercial fishing industry, markets, technology, safety, and more. Scientists from our Science Center and staff from the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office participate in the Forum to collaborate and share information about Maine’s marine resources and how things like fishing regulations, climate change, and other related factors might impact the day-to-day and long-term operations of the fishing industry. By attending the Forum and participating in its seminars and panel discussions, we continue to build and strengthen our relationships with Maine’s commercial fishing industry and its regional stakeholders.

Here’s where to find our staff in action during the Forum, which is held at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine. We’re speaking at the events listed here. We’re also at the Trade Show, where both the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office and the Center’s Northeast Fisheries Observer Program have booths and are ready to talk.

Read the full release here

GARFO Permits Office Accepting Expired or Un-issued Certificates of Documentation on Permit Applications Through May 1

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

Due to the interruption of federal services during the recent government shutdown, the GARFO Permit Office will accept fishing permit applications with expired U.S. Coast Guard Certificates of Documentation or with the application for a Certificate of Documentation through May 1, 2019.

If you meet one of the following categories below, you may submit your application without a current Certificate of Documentation.

No Change to Vessel Ownership or Change in Vessel Name Only

We will accept expired Certificates of Documentation for fishing vessels that are renewing their fishing permits but are not changing ownership or are simply changing the vessel name on their Certificate of Documentation. Applicants must provide a copy of their most recent Certificate of Documentation.

Change in Vessel Ownership

If the vessel will be changing ownership, we will accept the application for a Certificate of Documentation and require a copy of the bill of sale signed by both the buyer and seller.

New Vessel Without GARFO Permits

If the vessel is applying for GARFO permits for the first time, we will accept the application for Certificate of Documentation.

Please note that this policy does not include state registered vessels, as they were not affected by the government shutdown. If your vessel has state registration, you will need to include the current registration with your permit application.

Visit our website for forms and applications.

Questions? Contact our Permits Office at 978-282-8438.

NOAA Fisheries Announces Reduction of the Northern Red Hake Commercial Possession Limit

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

Effective today, we are reducing the northern red hake commercial per-trip possession from 3,000 lb to 400 lb per day. Federally permitted vessels fishing for northern red hake may not exceed the incidental commercial possession limit of 400 lb per trip for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year, which ends on April 30, 2019.

This reduction is required by regulation because as of February 13, 2019, the northern red hake fishery is projected to reach or exceed 37.9 percent of the total allowable landings (TAL) on or around February 22, 2019.

For more information read the rule as filed in the Federal Register or the bulletin posted on our website

Over a bait barrel: Cuts in herring quota fueling rise in lobstermen’s costs

February 27, 2019 — When, on Feb. 15, NOAA Fisheries finalized a rule that cut the 2019 Atlantic herring quota by more than half from the previous year, the reverberations were felt instantly from Maine to the mid-Atlantic and in at least two separate but interlocked fisheries.

In Gloucester, Gerry O’Neill of Cape Seafoods studied the numbers and blanched, knowing they represented a talisman of misery for the company’s associated mid-water trawlers that harvest herring and Cape Seafoods’ bait business that helps supply lobstermen in the state’s most lucrative lobstering port.

“These cuts are infrastructure killers,” O’Neill said. “Certainly, not everybody’s going to come out unscathed. We’ll keep going, but I’m not entirely sure how yet.”

Across the Everett R. Jodrey State Fish Pier, where Johnny “Doc” Herrick ties up his F/V Dog & I, the longtime lobsterman absorbed the numbers and came to a simple conclusion: Bait was going to start getting scarce and prices — even for alternatives from herring, such as the redfish heads and hide skins Herrick often uses — were about to head north.

“We’re going to have to catch a (loads) of lobsters just to pay for the bait,” Herrick said. “Who knows how high the prices will go.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

New National Bycatch Report Shows Unchanged Trend, but More Data

February 26, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently released their latest national report on bycatch taken in hundreds of fisheries around the country in 2014 and 2015. Bycatch amounts were almost identical each year with a slight increase in 2015.

In 2014, the commercial fisheries included in the national bycatch report landed approximately 6,780.27 M lb and discarded an estimated 837.87 M lb. The fisheries included in this report for 2015 landed approximately 6,538.20 M lb and discarded an estimated 814.53 M lb.

Since 2011, NMFS has published an NBR and three online updates. These reports provide information on overall bycatch and, in addition to stock assessments or other data on individual stocks and fisheries.

The most recent report, called NBR Update 3, documents many improvements in bycatch monitoring and reductions in bycatch. For example, the Greater Atlantic section includes 2014 and 2015 fish bycatch estimates for 34 and 35 commercial fisheries, respectively, compared with 24 fisheries for 2013 in the previous NBR Update. In addition, for 2014 and 2015, the list of fish species considered for estimation by the Greater Atlantic Region was expanded to well over 140 species for 2014 and 151 species for 2015, compared to 34 species for 2013.

The Southeast Region section includes first-time fish bycatch estimates (in the NBR) for the Southeastern Atlantic Shrimp Trawl Fishery and bycatch numbers for the Southeastern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Shark Bottom Longline Research Fishery, which has 100% observer coverage. The Alaska Region section includes bycatch estimates for 10 crab fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. These fisheries are under joint federal and state management.

In the West Coast Region, the California Drift Gillnet Fishery for swordfish and thresher shark, which reports bycatch in terms of numbers, experienced bycatch decreases from 1,647 individuals in 2014 to 649 individuals in 2015. This reduction was due partly to lower fishing effort in 2015.

For purposes of the National Bycatch Report (NBR), NMFS defines bycatch as discarded catch of any living marine resource plus unobserved mortality1 due to a direct encounter with fishing gear. This definition is more expansive than the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) definition of bycatch because the purpose of the NBR is to provide estimates of fishery interactions with marine mammals and seabirds as well as fish bycatch.

The full report may be seen here.

This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

California could be held liable for whale entanglements

February 25, 2019 — The Center for Biological Diversity is hopeful its lawsuit filed over whale and sea turtle entanglements is nearing its conclusion after a federal judge suggested she may find the California Department of Fish and Wildlife liable for the entanglements, a center spokesman said.

“The judge said she was inclined to grant our motion and find the department liable for allowing these illegal whale entanglements,” spokesman Steve Jones said Friday after the hearing in United States District Court for the Northern District of California. “So the department’s lawyer asked her to delay that ruling for two weeks to see if our settlement talks can arrive at a remedy to the problem.”

The two parties have until March 13 to work out their differences and report back to the judge. If no settlement is reached, the judge will issue a finding.

The Center for Biological Diversity sued the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in October 2017, when the number of whale entanglements was skyrocketing. The peak came in 2016 when there were 71 confirmed whale entanglements.

Preliminary 2018 numbers show there were 45 confirmed whale entanglements, according to NOAA Fisheries. The numbers reflect through Nov. 28, 2018, and are not final. Among the 2018 reports was an August 2018 humpback whale who was reported entangled off the coast of Eureka.

Read the full story at Mercury News

NOAA Fisheries Announces Changes to Management of Cobia in Federal Waters of the Atlantic

February 21, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries announces the final rule to implement Amendment 31 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagics of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region. This final rule removes Atlantic cobia from the fishery management plan. Atlantic cobia is now managed under the purview of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission because the majority of Atlantic cobia landings are in state waters.

WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

The final rule will is effective on March 21, 2019.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

  • Atlantic cobia is no longer managed under the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery Management Plan.
  • Regulations in federal waters will be implemented through the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act.
  • Most existing management measures in federal waters for commercial and recreational harvest of Atlantic cobia from Georgia through New York do not change through this rule.
  • For the commercial sector, the minimum size limit is 33 inches fork length and the trip limit is two fish per person per day or six fish per vessel per day, whichever is more restrictive.
  • For the recreational sector, the minimum size limit is 36 inches fork length and the bag and vessel limits are one fish per person per day or six fish per vessel per day, whichever is more restrictive. For both sectors, persons harvesting Atlantic cobia must comply with more restrictive size limits, bag limits, and possession limits in the states where the fish are landed.
  • Fishermen should contact the state for regulations in state waters.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: Final Rule: 84 FR 4733, published February 19, 2019.

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

  • Why remove Atlantic cobia from the fishery management plan?
  • The majority of Atlantic cobia are caught in state waters.
  • NOAA Fisheries closed the 2016 and 2017 federal recreational fishing seasons because the current recreational accountability measure requires NOAA Fisheries to reduce the length of the fishing season in the year following an annual catch limit overage by the amount needed to prevent a similar overage from occurring.
  • Despite federal closures, recreational landings have still exceeded the annual catch limit and the combined stock annual catch limit.
  • The South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries have determined that management of Atlantic cobia by the states through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission would be more effective at constraining harvest and preventing overfishing; thereby, offering greater biological protection to the population and decreasing adverse socioeconomic effects to fishermen.
  • The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has implemented an Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic cobia in state waters.

How does this change the regulations of cobia in federal waters?

  • Most management measures in federal waters for commercial and recreational harvest of Atlantic cobia in the exclusive economic zone from Georgia through New York do not change.
  • For the commercial sector, the minimum size limit is 33 inches fork length and the trip limit is two fish per person per day or six fish per vessel per day, whichever is more restrictive.
  • For the recreational sector, the minimum size limit is 36 inches fork length and the bag and vessel limits are one fish per person per day or six fish per vessel per day, whichever is more restrictive.
  • For both sectors, persons harvesting Atlantic cobia must comply with more restrictive size limits, bag limits, and possession limits in the states where the fish are landed.
  • Fishermen should contact the state for regulations in state waters.

Ocean Acidification Could Affect Pacific Cod Development

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

Scientists released results of a study showing that larval Pacific cod response to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels varies depending on its stage of development. In laboratory experiments, NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners specifically examined larval cod behavior, growth, and lipid composition (the fats needed for storing energy and building muscles). As excess CO2 from the atmosphere dissolves in the ocean, pH is lowered and the ocean increases in acidity, in a process called ocean acidification. Studies like this are important because most marine fish mortality occurs at the larval stage of development and the high-latitude oceans where Pacific cod and other important commercial fisheries occur are expected to be among the most vulnerable to ocean acidification.

“Changing environmental conditions can impact species in multiple ways and not all life stages may respond in the same way,” said Tom Hurst, NOAA Fisheries scientist and lead author of a new paper in Marine Environmental Research. “We wanted to explore this because it has implications for the sustainability of Pacific cod and other important fish stocks in Alaska.”

Hurst and a team of scientists from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center; and the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and the Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies at Oregon State University conducted two laboratory studies to evaluate larval fish sensitivity to elevated CO2.

Read the full story here

NOAA Fisheries Publishes U.S. National Bycatch Report

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

NOAA Fisheries is committed to minimizing bycatch in U.S. fisheries, to increase the sustainability of our fisheries and help protected species recover. The NOAA Fisheries National Bycatch Report First Edition Update 3 includes bycatch estimates for major U.S. fisheries for the years 2014 and 2015. This report is the only national-level report published by NOAA Fisheries that summarizes fish, marine mammal, sea turtle, and seabird bycatch estimates on a regular basis. The report provides information on overall bycatch trends and may also inform fishery monitoring priorities.

Bycatch estimates in the report generally are indicative of bycatch amounts in particular fisheries, or relative levels of bycatch across fisheries. Data summary and analysis methods used in the report to produce comparable bycatch estimates across fisheries and regions do not reflect individual aspects of specific fisheries. The estimates may not represent the best available bycatch data for management purposes. Therefore, report data should not be used for day-to-day management of fisheries, but rather considered as a source of information on bycatch at a national level.

Greater Atlantic:

  • This report includes fish bycatch estimates for 34 fisheries for 2014, and 35 fisheries for 2015.
  • The previous report had fish bycatch estimates for only 24 fisheries.

Southeast:

  • The report includes fish bycatch estimates for the Southeastern Atlantic shrimp trawl fishery, as well as bycatch numbers for the Southeastern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico shark bottom longline research fishery.
  • It also includes updated sea turtle bycatch estimates for Southeast shrimp trawl fisheries.

Alaska

  • The report adds bycatch estimates for 10 Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab fisheries under joint federal and state management.
  • Partially in response to suggestions from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the Alaska section has changed how some groundfish and halibut fisheries are defined to more accurately reflect how they are managed and prosecuted.

Looking Ahead

We are working on multiple fronts to improve our approach to bycatch, including recently asking stakeholders for ideas on how to improve the National Bycatch Report. This current report does not reflect changes based on this feedback process. We are reviewing the stakeholder comments and expect to make improvements to future versions of the report as necessary.

Read the full release here