Saving Seafood

Odds are tiny for a winter shrimp fishing season

November 28, 2017 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — With fisheries regulators slated to gather in Portland on Wednesday, a shrimp fishing season in the Gulf of Maine this winter seemed as likely as bipartisan tax legislation in Congress.

The schedule called for members of the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section to meet in the afternoon to establish dates and landings limits for the 2018 season. All evidence suggested that, except for a tiny “research” fishery, the limit, or total allowable catch, will be zero and there will be no season at all.

According to the commission’s recently released “2017 Stock Status Report for Gulf of Maine, Northern Shrimp,” the resource is in terrible shape. For the past five years (2012 through 2017) the shrimp stock has been at its lowest, both in terms of number and total biomass, over the 34 years that the shrimp population has been surveyed.

Prospects for the shrimp resource to rebound in the Gulf of Maine are grim.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American 

 

Read the latest South Atlantic Update Newsletter – Now Available!

November 27, 2017 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Inside this issue:

Council Requests Changes to Red Snapper Annual Catch Limits for 2018

The Council approved an amendment to modify the catch limit for 2018 with the intent to allow a limited harvest next year as the red snapper stock continues to rebuild…

NOTE: As this issue of the SA Update Newsletter was sent to press – NOAA Fisheries announced the opening of an additional weekend for the recreational harvest of red snapper – December 8-10, 2017. Read more by clicking here.

Chair’s Column

Newly elected Council Chair Charlie Phillips shares his insight…

Cobia Management Update

Read the latest on proposed management changes for Atlantic cobia…

MyFishCount.com

Recreational anglers have the opportunity to report their red snapper fishing activities during 2017. See the results and how this pilot project may be used in the future….

And more!

Read the full newsletter here

Feds Seeking Comments on Future Lobster Regulations

November 27, 2017 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries is seeking comments on possible revisions for the lobster industry.

They include changes to lobster trap gear requirements and allowing substitute vessels to fish lobster traps for those that are federally permitted but inoperable.

The poor condition of the of the Southern New England lobster stock is part of the reason for this action.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

NOAA site aims to help fishing communities bounce back

November 24, 2017 — NOAA Fisheries has introduced a new website designed to help fishing communities be more resilient in the face of climate change, fluctuating fish stocks and even declines in waterfront infrastructure and economy.

The new website endeavor, introduced this week after almost three years of planning, is called Community Resilience in the Greater Atlantic Region.

“It really came out of the strategic plan we developed here in the regional office, which was the first one anywhere,” said Peter Burns of NOAA Fisheries in Gloucester. “One of the goals of that plan centered on building community resilience to help strengthen fishing communities.”

Working with NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, the community resilience working group — which included NOAA staffers from the West Coast, as well — began exploring ways to assist fishing communities in coping with regulatory, environmental and economic changes that challenge the very sustainability of fishing communities.

According to NOAA Fisheries’ own description of the endeavor, the resiliency strategy would provide information on “solutions to improve groundfish business practices and economic vitality,” as well as incorporating climate change, ocean acidification and ecosystem analysis into NOAA Fisheries’ activities.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

How Many Red Snapper Are in the Gulf of Mexico?

November 22, 2017 — Several stakeholder groups have expressed concerns that there are more red snapper in the Gulf than currently accounted for in the stock assessment.

In 2016, Congress directed the National Sea Grant College Program and NOAA Fisheries to fund independent red snapper data collections, surveys and assessments, including the use of tagging and advanced sampling technologies. Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries worked collaboratively to transfer federal funds to Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant offsite link to administer the competitive research grant process and manage this independent abundance estimate.

To conduct the independent study, a research team of 21 scientists from 12 institutions of higher learning, a state agency and a federal agency was selected by an expert review panel convened by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. The team secured $9.5 million in federal funds for the project through a competitive research grant process, and together with matching funds from the universities, the project will total $12 million.

Read the full story at Marine Technology News

 

NOAA Fisheries head: Trump administration values regulatory flexibility, regional approach

November 21, 2017 — SEATTLE — The head of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) fisheries management arm, Chris Oliver, offered a crowd of Alaska fishermen some insight into the Donald Trump administration’s approach toward fisheries management.

Generally speaking, the assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries said at Seattle’s Pacific Marine Expo on Nov. 17, the administration values flexibility and a regional approach toward regulating commercial fishing of federally managed stocks, an approach that meshes with his own background and views.

“You’re looking at an administration that recognizes that fisheries by nature require a lot of regulation, but I also think they’re looking at councils to take a step back and look at ways to not have a tendency toward micromanagement but to look at the big picture,” Oliver, who took up the job in June, said.

Learning curve

Prior to that, Oliver served as executive director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council during at a 16-year run that also included stints as a fisheries biologist and its deputy director. That council, one of eight regional bodies created under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), which regulates US commercial and recreational fishing, is arguably the country’s busiest, as it covers Alaska, home to half of all US seafood production.

His experience, he said, left him as a supporter of the council system. His new national-level job — he’s received over 200 briefings to date on the issues facing NOAA Fisheries — affords him a wider perspective.

“It’s been an incredible learning experience and an incredible learning curve. It’s been hectic at times, frenetic at times, and a bit overwhelming at times, but it’s been extremely exciting all the time and never boring,” he said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Cod numbers in the Gulf of Alaska fall dramatically

November 7, 2017 — JUNEAU, Alaska — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which regulates groundfish in Alaska and other federal fisheries, received some shocking news last month.

Pacific cod stocks in the Gulf of Alaska may have declined as much as 70 percent over the past two years.

The estimate is a preliminary figure, but it leaves plenty of questions about the future of cod fishing in Gulf of Alaska.

The first question that comes to mind when you hear the number of Pacific cod in the Gulf dropped by about two-thirds is what happened?

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries division’s Steven Barbeaux has been trying to answer that question. Barbeaux said the issue likely started with warmer water moving into the Gulf in 2014 and sticking around for the next three years.

“We had what the oceanographers and the news media have been calling the blob, which is this warm water that was sitting in the Gulf for those three years,” Barbeaux said. “It was different from other years in that it went really deep, but it also lasted throughout the winter.”

Read the full story at KTOO

NOAA: American fisheries remain a strong economic driver

November 1, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Commercial and recreational fisheries remain a strong contributor to the United States economy, according to the annual Fisheries of the United States report released today by NOAA.

Saltwater recreational fishing remains one of America’s favorite pastimes and a key contributor to the national economy—with 9.6 million anglers making nearly 63 million trips in 2016, catching more than 371 million fish (61 percent of which are released alive), and in 2015, contributing $36 billion to the national economy. By weight, striped bass remains the top harvested catch among saltwater anglers, followed by dolphinfish, bluefish, yellowfin tuna, spotted seatrout, and summer flounder.

Also in 2016, U.S. commercial fishermen landed 9.6 billion pounds of seafood (down 1.5 percent from 2015) valued at $5.3 billion (up 2.1 percent from 2015). The highest value commercial species were lobster ($723 million), crabs ($704 million), scallops ($488 million), shrimp ($483 million), salmon ($420 million), and Alaska walleye pollock ($417 million). By volume, the nation’s largest commercial fishery remains Alaska walleye pollock, which showed near record landings of 3.4 billion pounds (up 3 percent from 2015), representing 35 percent of total U.S. commercial and recreational seafood landings.

In 2016, the U.S. imported 5.8 billion pounds of seafood (up 1 percent compared to 2015) worth $19.5 billion (up 3.5 percent). However, a significant portion of this imported seafood is caught by American fishermen, exported overseas for processing, and then reimported to the United States. Shrimp and salmon are two of the top three imported species and much of that is farm-raised. The U.S. ranks 16th in total aquaculture production around the world—far behind China, Indonesia and India. In 2015, 1.4 billion pounds of aquaculture production was reported in the U.S.

“With the United States importing billions of pounds of seafood annually, and with so much of that seafood foreign farm-raised, the numbers in this report underscore the untapped potential of aquaculture here at home,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “Expanding our nation’s aquaculture capacity presents an opportunity to reduce America’s reliance on imports while creating thousands of new jobs.”

The report also shows that the average American ate 14.9 pounds of fish and shellfish in 2016, a decrease from 15.5 pounds the year before. U.S. dietary guidelines recommend 8-12 ounces of a variety of seafood species per week, or 26 to 39 pounds per person per year.

For the 20th consecutive year, the Alaskan port of Dutch Harbor led the nation in 2016 with the highest amount of seafood landed—770 million pounds, valued at $198 million. Walleye pollock accounted for 89 percent of that volume. Likewise, for the 17th year in a row, New Bedford, Massachusetts, claimed the highest value catch from one port—107 million pounds, valued at $327 million. Sea scallops accounted for 77 percent of that value.

NOAA Fisheries will release a detailed look at economic impact of recreational and commercial fisheries on the U.S. economy in the upcoming Fisheries Economics of the United States report.

View more facts and figures or read the report.

Request for Comments: Proposed Changes to Golden Tilefish Regulations in Federal Waters of the South Atlantic Region

October 31, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries requests your comments on a proposed interim rule for golden tilefish. The proposed actions in the interim rule would temporarily reduce golden tilefish catch limits for 2018 based on the most recent population assessment. The purpose of the action is to reduce overfishing (rate of removal is too high) of golden tilefish while management measures are being developed to end overfishing.

Comments are due by November 14, 2017.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES:

  • The proposed interim rule would temporarily reduce the total catch limit for golden tilefish from 558,036 to 323,000 poundsgutted weight. Using the existing allocations, the temporary catch limits would be 313,310 pounds gutted weight for the commercial fishery and 2,187 fish for the recreational fishery. For commercial fishermen, the hook-and-line catch limit would be 78,328 pounds gutted weight and the long-line catch limit would be 234,982 pounds gutted weight.
  • The interim measures would be effective for 180 days after the date of publication and may be extended for an additional 186 days while the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council develops Amendment 45 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery in the South Atlantic (Amendment 45).

HOW TO COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED INTERIM RULE:

There is a 15 day comment period associated with this proposed interim rule. The comment period is now open through November 14, 2017. We will address all comments specifically directed to the proposed interim rule in the final rule. You may submit comments by electronic submission or by postal mail. Comments sent by any other method (such as e-mail), to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA Fisheries.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER:

82 FR 50101, published October 30, 2017

Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0111-0001.

2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.

3.Enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Karla Gore, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

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 is the temporary reduction in the catch limit being proposed?

  • These temporary regulations will reduce overfishing of golden tilefish while long term management measures are developed to end overfishing in Amendment 45.
  • In April 2016, a population assessment update for golden tilefish was completed using data through 2014 (SEDAR 25 Update 2016). The updated assessment indicated that the golden tilefish population is undergoing overfishing but is not overfished (population abundance is too low).
  • As mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries must end overfishing of golden tilefish.

What are the proposed actions in the interim rule?

  • Temporarily revise the commercial and recreational catch limits for golden tilefish for 2018 (See Table 1 below).

Table 1. Proposed commercial and recreational catch limits for golden tilefish

Total

catch limit

 Commercial catch limit Commercial Hook-and-Line catch limit Commercial Longline catch limit Recreational catch limit
(pounds gutted weight) (pounds gutted weight) (pounds gutted weight) (pounds gutted weight)  (numbers of fish)
 323,000  313,310  78,328  234,982  2,187

Where can I find more information on the environmental assessment and the interim rule?   

  • Contact NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office

By Mail:

Karla Gore
NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office
Sustainable Fisheries Division
263 13th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505
By FAX: (727) 824-5308
By Phone: (727) 824-5305

Access this and other Fishery Bulletins from NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office by clicking here

NOAA about-face on red snapper revives overfishing debate

October 31, 2017 — Reversing course, NOAA Fisheries said it will allow anglers in the South Atlantic to catch red snapper for the first time in three years.

Calling it an “emergency action,” the fisheries service said it would create two mini-seasons over the next two weekends for recreational anglers in federally controlled waters off the coast of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Commercial fishermen may be allowed to catch red snapper until Dec. 31.

“NOAA Fisheries has determined that the limited harvest in 2017 is not expected to result in overfishing and will not prevent the continued rebuilding of the red snapper population,” the agency said in a statement released late Friday.

Coming only four months after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross extended the red snapper season in the Gulf of Mexico, the decision revived a long-simmering debate about how much fishing should be permitted and the federal government’s management of the popular species (Greenwire, Sept. 20).

Read the full story at E&E News