Saving Seafood

Biden-Harris Administration announces more than $105 million for West Coast and Alaska salmon

August 2, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced more than $105 million in recommended funding for 14 new and continuing salmon recovery projects and programs. Located along the West Coast and in Alaska, these state and tribal efforts will be funded through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF). The funds include Fiscal Year 2024 annual appropriations as well as $34.4 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $7.5 million under the Inflation Reduction Act, and will aid programs and projects in Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington that include habitat restoration, stock enhancement, sustainable fisheries and research and monitoring.

“This $105 million investment, made possible thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, will build on decades of salmon recovery work, while helping Pacific coast Tribes and Alaska Natives sustain their communities and cultural traditions in the face of climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This is a result of the most ambitious climate agenda in history, and I am proud that nearly half of all funds in this announcement are being awarded to Tribal applicants.”

These investments will supplement state and tribal programs that provide demonstrable and measurable benefits to Pacific salmon and their habitat. They will aid in the recovery of 28 Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmon and steelhead species, as well as non-listed ESA salmon and steelhead that are necessary for native subsistence or tribal treaty fishing rights, and for those in the Columbia River Basin, these efforts will help meet the President’s goal of restoring healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead and other native fish in the Basin.

“The PCSRF program has benefited fish populations and their habitats in so many ways,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “The value of these investments goes far beyond recovering Pacific salmon and steelhead and their habitats, to also provide community and economic benefits, such as jobs and climate resilience.”

Read the full release at NOAA

Advancing Recreational Fishing Priorities Together

June 6, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries is making important progress implementing the updated National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy with the support of fishers and other partners. The updated policy, revised with substantial public input, included climate and social equity goals for the first time. We also developed national and regional implementation plans, which are comprehensive roadmaps outlining projects and plans for the next several years.

Making Progress Toward our Policy Goals

Support, Maintain, and Recover Sustainable Saltwater Recreational and Non-Commercial Fisheries Resources, Including Protected Species, and Healthy Marine and Estuarine Habitats

NOAA Fisheries recognizes that sustainable, enjoyable recreational fisheries depend upon healthy fishery resources. In May, announced that just 6 percent of assessed stocks are identified as undergoing overfishing and 18 percent are considered overfished. Some important recreational stocks were removed from the overfishing list, including Atlantic mackerel and Gulf of Mexico jacks.

But, our work isn’t done: Those stocks still require rebuilding. And, two important recreational stocks were added to the list of overfished stocks—including some Chinook salmon runs and quillback rockfish along portions of the West Coast.

Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress has provided a historic opportunity to improve the habitats upon which our fish stock rely. In 2023, NOAA provided $480 million to improve habitats across the nation supporting 109 different projects. In May, we were pleased to announce $240 million of FY24 funding and an additional $38 million in future year funding for 46 fish passage projects. They will reopen migratory pathways and restore access to healthy habitat for fish across the country.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

White House Releases New Strategies to Advance Sustainable Ocean Management

June 5, 2024 — The following was released by the White House:

This National Ocean Month, the White House announced three new federal strategies that advance President Biden’s commitment to conserving and protecting our ocean, and harnessing its power to strengthen our economy and address the climate and nature crises. A thriving ocean holds immense benefits for all life, and President Biden has made clear that preserving this natural resource is key to protecting our livelihoods. Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has advanced America’s leadership in ocean health and resilience, environmental justice, and policies that strengthen research opportunities. Today’s announcements reflect the President’s push to address critical challenges that threaten the ocean’s future, including overfishing, warming from climate change, increased acidity due to carbon emissions, and loss of biodiversity.

“Earth’s ocean make life possible. It hosts vibrant ecosystems, feeds billions of people, sustains livelihoods, and connects us all,” said Arati Prabhakar, President Biden’s chief advisor on science and technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). “These reports point the way to work with this precious natural resource to address inequities and injustice, and to meet the challenges of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.”

“President Biden has been leading the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in history while accelerating locally-led conservation efforts, creating good paying jobs, and enhancing coastal community resilience to the effects of climate change,” said Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). “The reports announced today help us better understand how to achieve our shared conservation and ecosystem restoration goals, and integrate climate action and environmental justice into a sustainable ocean economy.”

Each of today’s strategies outlines a whole-of-government approach that will lead to effective ocean-based solutions by:

Achieving a sustainable ocean economy

The U.S. National Strategy for a Sustainable Ocean Economy will guide U.S. ocean policies to conserve healthy ecosystems, support resilient communities, and advance sustainable economic development. This strategy focuses on how to build a sustainable ocean economy that will increase the quality of life for all communities and allow ecosystems and economies to thrive while prioritizing the effective creation, management, and dissemination of knowledge and information, including Indigenous Knowledge, basic and applied research, and ocean data.

Protecting and restoring ocean life

The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy will expand and use biodiversity information to help protect and conserve marine ecosystems and maximize the ocean’s benefits to people. This strategy aims to understand and restore ocean life, which provides food, clean air and water, climate regulation, and cultural identity to people across the country.

Using environmental DNA (eDNA) technology to study ocean life

The National Aquatic eDNA Strategy will advance fast, low-cost, and effective eDNA technologies to understand life in the ocean and how it’s changing. Analyzing the DNA in a body of water to identify the species present is much more efficient than conducting traditional censuses of different species. The strategy outlines opportunities to improve and deploy eDNA processes to inform the development of more effective ocean policies.

These three new strategies complement actions taken previously by the Biden-Harris Administration to achieve a healthy ocean that supports people and the economy: The Ocean Climate Action Plan (OCAP), the first-ever comprehensive national strategy to harness the power of the ocean and coasts to address and respond to the climate crisis, and the Ocean Justice Strategy,  which identifies barriers and opportunities to fully integrate environmental justice principles into the federal government’s ocean activities. Since its release, federal agencies have advanced ocean actions across the government to accelerate nature-based solutions and enhance community resilience to changes in the ocean environment, including ones driven by climate change.

Read the release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Projects Recommended for Saltonstall-Kennedy Funding

May 22, 2o24 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is recommending 16 projects for over $6 million under the 2024 Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Competitive Grants Program. The list of projects is available online. In the Greater Atlantic there are 5 projects for $1,935,162.

The goal of the S-K 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 projects fall into three priority areas: Promotion and Marketing; Development, Infrastructure, and Capacity Building; and Science or Technology that Enhances Sustainable U.S. Fisheries. 

At this point in the selection process, the application approval and recommended funding is not final. Divisions of NOAA and the Department of Commerce must still give final approval before successful applicants receive funding.

For more information read our web story.

Interior defends Virginia offshore wind farm in court

May 7, 2024 — The Biden administration and the developer of a $9.8 billion wind farm off of Virginia Beach, Virginia, assured a federal court Friday that the project has all necessary approvals, amid claims that construction would harm the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The joint court filing from the Interior Department and Dominion Energy comes in response to a request to halt work on the massive Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which is slated to include 176 turbines and is the largest project of its kind currently under development in the United States.

Dominion and Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management filed their response following an order from Judge Loren AliKhan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking clarity on whether NOAA Fisheries — which handles Endangered Species Act consultations for marine life — had approved mitigation plans to protect the vulnerable right whale.

Read the full story at E&E News

Scallop Research Set-Aside projects for 2024

May 7, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries announced 14 projects to be funded through the 2024 Scallop Research Set-Aside Program, with researchers partnering with the scallop fleet to investigate sea scallop research priorities developed by the New England Fishery Management Council. 

Participants conduct research and harvest their set-aside award, generating funds for the research. Based on an ex-vessel price estimate of $14 per pound, NOAA Fisheries expects the awards to generate approximately $22 million; $5 million to fund research, and $17 million to compensate industry partners who harvest the set-aside scallops.

“In RSA programs, researchers compete for funding through a federal grant competition managed by NOAA Fisheries,” according to the announcement from the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic office. “No federal funds support the research. Instead, the programs award pounds of sea scallops from amounts “set-aside” annually for this purpose.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Dutch Harbor and New Bedford named top fishing ports

May 7, 2024 — Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released the top two commercial fishing ports in 2022. By volume, Dutch Harbor, Alaska, was the biggest, but by value, New Bedford, Mass was top.

According to the Kodiak Daily Mirror, a staggering 613.5 million pounds of seafood across various species was landed in Dutch Harbor in 2022. This diverse range of landings paints a vivid picture of the richness and variety of the seafood industry. Over the past 20 years, Dutch Harbor has consistently recorded the most landings by volume, a fact that speaks volumes about its importance. Empire-Venice, Louisiana, was listed as the second biggest port by volume, coming in at 489.8 million pounds of seafood.

New Bedford had landed $443.2 million worth of seafood, which has been at the top of NOAA’s revenue list for the past 20 years. The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported that 84% of the value comprised scallop landings. Naknek, AK, came in second with $298.2 million in 2022. The Mirror also shared that Kodiak has dropped out of the top five fishing ports in the U.S. in 2022 for the first time in the past 37 years.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

US federal government takes over Cook Inlet salmon management from Alaskan state oversight

May 3, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries will take over management of commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet from the U.S. state of Alaska in June, the agency announced this week.

The action follows more than a decade of legal maneuvering, beginning with the United Cook Inlet Drift Association (UCIDA) suing NOAA Fisheries for not developing a management plan for the Cook Inlet exclusive economic zone.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

As lawmakers take up NOAA funding, conservation groups demand $300M for endangered marine species

May 3, 2024 — With budget season well underway on Capitol Hill, a coalition of environmental groups renewed calls for lawmakers to commit a significant chunk of funding to federal programs aimed at marine wildlife conservation.

Writing in a letter last week to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees, the 80 or so conservation advocates led by the Center for Biological Diversity sounded the alarm about the Protected Resources Science and Management Program, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

The protected resources subprogram, which is responsible for overseeing the welfare of marine mammals such as whales and dolphins as well as sea turtles and other species, has been “underfunded for decades and desperately needs more funding to protect, conserve and recover our nation’s imperiled marine species,” the groups wrote.

In its 2025 budget request, NOAA asked Congress for roughly $266 million for its Protected Resources Science and Management Program, which it said aims to “assess, understand and conserve the health of protected species, the ecosystems that sustain them and the communities that value and depend on them.”

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

 

Status of the stocks: Record-low number of stocks on overfishing list in 2023

May 2, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In a report released today, NOAA Fisheries announced that 2023 saw a record low for the number of fish stocks subject to overfishing. The annual Status of the Stocks report is an assessment of the 506 stocks and stock complexes managed by NOAA Fisheries, and provides a look at the overall health of fisheries in the U.S. Maintaining sustainable fisheries contributes significantly to the U.S. economy, provides important recreational opportunities and helps meet the growing challenge of increasing our nation’s seafood supply.

In 2023, U.S. fisheries data revealed that 94% of stocks are not subject to overfishing and 82% are not overfished. These numbers show slight improvements compared to the 2022 figures of 93% and 81%, respectively. Ongoing positive trends continued with the number of stocks on the overfishing list decreasing by three stocks, reaching an all-time low of 21 stocks, and the number of stocks on the overfished list decreasing by one stock, to 47. Since 2000, NOAA Fisheries has rebuilt 50 stocks.

“By ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks, we are strengthening the value of U.S. fisheries to the economy, our communities and marine ecosystems,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Sustainably managed fisheries are important to the nation’s economy, and provide opportunities for commercial, recreational and subsistence fishing, while keeping a renewable supply of seafood for consumers.”

NOAA Fisheries recently released the Fisheries Economics of the United States report for 2022. The latest data shows U.S. commercial and recreational fishing supported 2.3 million jobs and generated $321 billion in sales across the broader economy in 2022. The U.S. commercial fishing and seafood industry, as well as recreational fishing, continue to have a broad, positive impact on the economy.

“Managing fisheries sustainably is an adaptive process that relies on sound science, innovative management approaches, effective enforcement and meaningful partnerships with robust public participation,” said NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit. “We continually adjust management measures in response to complex challenges including climate change, rebuilding stocks, ending overfishing and developing new forecasting tools to better predict ocean conditions.”

To keep U.S. fisheries operating sustainably, NOAA Fisheries partners with the U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils and Interstate Fisheries Commissions, for dynamic, science-based management processes that are proving successful at ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks.

Since 1996, NOAA Fisheries has reported on the status of U.S. fisheries, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Reporting on the status of fish stocks provides fisheries managers and the public with an account of how well current fisheries management measures are working.