Saving Seafood

A look at the federal shutdown’s potential impact on Alaska fisheries

December 27, 2018 — Hundreds of boats are gearing up for the January start of some of Alaska’s largest fisheries in waters managed by the federal government from 3 to 200 miles offshore.

Meanwhile, the government shutdown over President Donald Trump’s demand for $5 billion in funding for a border wall of “artistically designed steel slats” has sent hundreds of thousands of workers home.

Nine of the government’s 15 federal departments and several agencies were shuttered at midnight Friday, and there is no end in sight. That includes the Commerce Department, which houses NOAA Fisheries.

No one at NOAA in Juneau could speak about the impacts a government shutdown might have on upcoming fisheries. All questions were referred “to the White House.”

An emailed response from the White House Office of Management and Budget said that while “it can’t answer agency specific contingency questions,” as it stands now, Alaska’s big winter fisheries will get underway on schedule.

Fisheries management activities — including quota monitoring, observer activities and regulatory actions — are considered “essential activities” that will remain during the shutdown.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

WASHINGTON: 2.75 million salmon fry distributed to Gig Harbor hatchery after 6.2 million died in power outage

December 27, 2018 — Windstorms on Dec. 14 caused the power outage at the Gig Harbor state-run hatchery. A backup generator that would have powered a pump that supplies water to the incubators failed, and 6.2 million chinook salmon fry destined for release in Deschutes, Minter Creek and White River died.

Now, up to 2.75 million excess chinook fry — which accounts for less than half of the fry that were lost — will be transferred to the Minter Creek Hatchery to replace those salmon, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a Monday news release.

“This won’t fully replace the salmon lost last week, but it will allow us to put a significant number of fish into these waters next year,” WDFW Director Kelly Susewind said in the release. “I want to thank our tribal co-managers and federal partners for helping to make this happen.”

The replacement fry came from six other hatcheries. The move was approved by NOAA Fisheries on Friday, and the fish are set to be released in May and June of 2019.

Before the power outage on Dec. 14, 507,000 salmon were set to be released in White River, intended to provide food for Southern Resident orcas. The remaining 5.7 million salmon fry were part of ongoing operations to support state fisheries.

“Losing those fish was a painful setback for state and tribal fishers, for the communities that depend on fishing, and for Southern Resident orcas that feed on chinook,” Susewind said.

Read the full story at SeattlePI

Shutdown has varied effect at NOAA

December 27, 2018 — The partial shutdown of the federal government continued into its fifth day on Wednesday and NOAA Fisheries appears to be operating – or not –  just as it did during the partial shutdown that shuttered much of the government back in January.

No one answered the phones at NOAA Fisheries media relations offices in Washington, D.C., and Gloucester on Wednesday – the first full business day following the partial shutdown – so it was difficult to identify which employees whose duties have been designated as essential while up to one-quarter of the government is closed.

In all, the partial shutdown, initiated by lapsed appropriations and President Donald Trump’s campaign to fund and build a wall along the nation’s southern border with Mexico, is expected to impact about 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal workers.

According to the Department of Commerce’s 177-page plan for an orderly shutdown, staff at NOAA Fisheries’s Office of Law Enforcement, monitors and inspectors will continue working “for the protection of marine fisheries and sustain fisheries management activities.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA issues the most protective authorizations to date on marine mammal impacts from Navy Training and Testing

December 20, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

The National Marine Fisheries Service today issued final authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to incidentally, but not intentionally, “take” marine mammals during Naval training and testing in the Pacific. This is the third in a series of five-year incidental take regulations for the Navy’s Hawaii-Southern California Training and Testing activities. The final regulations put in place measures that are more protective and include a larger area than those in the proposed regulations or previous regulations.

“The Navy has balanced our conservation requirements for marine mammals with their critical national security requirements for training and military readiness. As the acting NOAA administrator and a retired Navy admiral, I know this is a win-win for marine mammal protection and national defense,” said retired Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., acting under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at NOAA.

Under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, NMFS evaluates the predicted effects of human activities on protected marine species and may require other agencies and entities to modify their activities to reduce those effects. In this instance, NOAA is imposing stringent mitigation measures expected to reduce adverse impacts to marine mammal stocks and their habitats as well as listed species, including:

  • Shutting down sonar when marine mammals are in the area;
  • Waiting for animals to leave the training range prior to use of in-water explosives, and monitoring of the area post-activity to detect potentially affected protected species;
  • Following protocols to reduce the likelihood of ships striking marine mammals;
  • Imposing operational limitations in certain areas and times that are biologically important (for example, reproduction, migration, foraging); and
  • Implementing a Notification and Reporting Plan (for dead, stranded, or struck animals)

“NOAA has been working with the Navy for more than ten years to understand the effects the Navy’s testing and training has on marine mammals and, over time, we have steadily increased the protections in place,” said Donna Weiting, director of NMFS’s office of protected resources.

NOAA and the Navy worked together to develop a robust monitoring plan, with associated strict reporting measures. Additionally, the final rule includes an adaptive management component that allows for timely modification of mitigation or monitoring measures based on new information, when appropriate.

In this authorization, the anticipated “take” of marine mammals over the 5-year period primarily includes disruption of behavioral patterns or temporary hearing impairment, but may also include some significantly lesser number of injuries and a very small number of mortalities. The authorization will be in place through December 2023.

2019 Red Grouper Quota to Drop 60% in Gulf of Mexico

December 20, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — NOAA Fisheries announced this week that they will withhold nearly 60% of the annual red grouper IFQ commercial allocation on January 1, 2019. That is the amount of an intended cut in the commercial annual catch limit requested by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council at their meeting last October.

During public testimony at the meeting, managers heard from their science advisors, the fishing fleet, and the public that the Gulf’s red grouper stock “is struggling” and “may not be large enough to sustain current harvest levels.”

In 2017, Gulf red grouper landings were the lowest they had been in recent years. Fewer legal-sized red grouper were seen this year, and scientists worry that an extensive red tide off the Florida west coast may hurt the red grouper stock recruitment.

An interim analysis of the stock, a report that updates harvest recommendations while the Council waits for the next stock assessment to be done, had little good news.

The Council asked National Marine Fisheries Service to issue an emergency order cutting the quota from 7.78 mlbs of gutted weight to 3 mlbs, the same level of the 2017 commercial landings.

Withholding distribution of 59.4 percent or 4.78 mlbs of red grouper IFQ commercial allocation will be effective  January 1, 2019.

Meanwhile, the Council will initiate a framework amendment to reduce the catch limits of both commercial and recreational fishermen beyond the expiration of the 180-day period covered by the interim or emergency rule.

If the proposed quota reduction does not occur prior to June 1, 2019, then NOAA Fisheries will distribute the withheld quota back to IFQ shareholders in accordance with the regulations.

Members of the public will be asked to comment on the proposed rule after it is published in the Federal Register, which should happen in the coming weeks.

For more information, contact the SERO Sustainable Fisheries Office at (727) 824-5305, weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

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

NOAA Calls for Protection of Female North Atlantic Right Whales

December 20, 2018 — NOAA Fisheries researchers and colleagues are taking a closer look as to why the endangered western North Atlantic right whale population is growing at far more slower rate than that of southern right whales, a sister species also recovering from near extinction by commercial whaling.

Researchers and colleagues looked at the question and have concluded that preserving the lives of adult females in the population is the most effective way to promote population growth and recovery.

Most of these deaths are attributed to entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships. The findings are reported in Royal Society Open Science.

“Had North Atlantic right whales increased at the annual rate that we show they are capable of, the population number would be almost double what it is now and their current situation would not be so dire,” said Peter Corkeron, who is lead author of the paper and heads the large whale research effort at NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

The North Atlantic right whale is one of three species of right whales. Of the three, it lives in the most industrialized habitat and migrates close to shore.

From 1970 to 2009, 80 percent of all North Atlantic right whale deaths (70 of 87) for which the cause is known were human-induced, mainly from entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Florida recreational fishing survey improves data collection for Gulf red snapper

December 19, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries announced today the certification of a new survey design used to estimate Gulf red snapper caught by anglers fishing from private boats in Florida, building on an agency priority of collecting accurate and timely recreational fishing data.

Florida’s survey is one of several survey designs developed by the Gulf States in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries to supplement the agency’s Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) angler surveys as well as improve monitoring of the Gulf red snapper fishery.

“Red snapper are an important resource relied on by countless communities and businesses in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This updated survey design, and others like it, will help the Department of Commerce and NOAA ensure that we will continue to enjoy this resource far into the future.”

“The certification of Florida’s new supplemental survey design, and similar efforts in other Gulf states, demonstrates NOAA’s commitment to collaborating with state and regional partners to advance recreational fishing data collection,” said retired Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., NOAA’s acting under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. “Working together to meet the states’ unique data needs helps improve data quality and provide fishing opportunities for generations to come.”

Once Florida and NOAA Fisheries collaboratively develop and implement a transition plan to integrate the Gulf Reef Fish Survey with the MRIP survey, the resulting estimates can be used in Federal stock assessments and fishery management actions. Moreover, the survey is now eligible for Federal funding, pending availability, to support implementation efforts and ongoing improvements.

To learn more about Florida’s Gulf Reef Fish Survey, similar efforts in other Gulf States and the Marine Recreational Information Program go to countmyfish.noaa.gov.

Alaska dominates U.S. seafood industry

December 18, 2018 — Alaska is the nation’s superpower when it comes to seafood.

American fishermen landed just shy of 10 billion pounds of fish and shellfish last year valued at $5.4 billion, both up slightly from 2016. Of that, Alaska accounted for 61 percent of total landings (6 billion pounds) and 33 percent of the value ($1.8 billion).

That’s according to the 2017 Fisheries of the US Report released by NOAA Fisheries, which covers all U.S. regions and species, recreational fishing, aquaculture, trade and more. The annual report also includes the top 50 U.S. ports for seafood landings and values, and once again, Alaska dominated the list.

“The Alaska port of Dutch Harbor led the nation with the highest amount of seafood landings — 769 million pounds valued at $173 million — for the 21st year in a row,” Ned Cyr, NOAA director of science and technology, said at a media teleconference. “New Bedford, Massachusetts, had the highest value catch for the 18th year in a row — 111 million pounds valued at $389 million with 80 percent coming from the highly lucrative sea scallop fishery.”

The Aleutian Islands ranked second for seafood landings thanks to Trident’s plant at Akutan, the nation’s largest seafood processing facility. Kodiak bumped up a notch from fourth to third place. The Alaska Peninsula ranked seventh, and Naknek came in at No. 9.

Alaska ports rounding out the top 20 were Cordova, Sitka, Ketchikan and Petersburg. In all, 13 Alaskan fishing communities ranked among the top 50 list of U.S. ports for seafood landings.

Read the full story at Anchorage Daily News

John Bullard still bullish on politics, boats

Decemeber 17, 2018 — When last we saw John Bullard, the big man was sitting in his sun-splashed office at NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office in Gloucester’s Blackburn Industrial Park, wearing an authentic, white Red Sox home jersey with David Ortiz’ No. 34 on the back.

By then, Bullard, who shepherded this region of NOAA Fisheries through the ongoing cod crisis, the remapping of available fishing areas, quota cuts, the imperiled state of right whales and the beginning of the end for Carlos Rafael, already had committed to heading off toward the pasture of retirement. He seemed totally relaxed and completely at ease.

We’ve been meaning to reach out to him for quite a while, if for no other reason than to talk about the Red Sox’ World Series championship and maybe a bit of Pats patter, particularly in the wake of the hideous defeat last week in the heat of South Florida.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Feds: US fishermen had good year aided by lobsters, scallops

December 14, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — U.S. commercial fishing generated more than $144 billion in sales in 2016, buoyed by growth in key species such as sea scallops and American lobsters, the federal government reported on Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the total of $144.3 billion in sales from commercial fishing in 2016 was up about $100 million from the previous year. The agency released the figure as part of its annual Fisheries Economics of the United States report, one of two reports about the health of fisheries that came out on Thursday.

The economics report states that the industry was boosted by growth in value of some economically critical species, also including shrimp, but other big-money species such as Alaska pollock and pacific salmon were down from the previous year.

The report shows U.S. fisheries holding steady, and continuing to play a critical role in the economies of states from Maine to California, said Ned Cyr, director of NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology.

Read the full story at the Associated Press