Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Rule

March 16, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

Today, NOAA Fisheries announces that the proposed Amendment 17 to the Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan is available for public review and comment.  

Amendment 17:

  • Establishes a cost recovery program for the individual transferable quota (ITQ) fisheries;
  • Makes administrative changes to how biological reference points are incorporated into the management plan; and 
  • Removes the optimum yield range from the plan

For more details, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and the supporting documents available on our website.

Comments are due April 15, and may be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or by regular mail to:

John K. Bullard

Regional Administrator

NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office

55 Great Republic Drive

Gloucester, MA  01930. 

Please mark the outside of the envelope: “Comments on Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Amendment 17.”

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or email jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov.

DAVID GOETHEL: Should catch share management be indicted?

March 16, 2016 — According to accusations from Federal investigators, the seafood business run by Carlos Rafael “laundered” fish to evade quotas, sold fish for cash to evade taxes, and cheated captains and crews by paying them for lower-valued fish than what they landed. These are serious criminal accusations, but they also raise a disturbing question: Is the system known as “catch shares” at least in part responsible for what occurred?

Catch shares are a system of managing fish where fishermen are given fixed quota for each species, which they can either catch or lease. All legal fish must be retained, and the quota cannot be exceeded. According to proponents of the system, giving fishermen economic incentive not to exceed limits will promote sustainability.

Fifty-three million dollars has been spent implementing catch shares in New England. Since implementation, the NOAA regional office moved into a new four-story building with room to accommodate all the new hires and subcontractors maintaining the program, while environmental non-governmental organizations have wrung millions from their multimillionaire donors to run a relentless promotional public relations campaign. A cottage industry of companies, consultants, and academic institutions has received millions in grants to implement, monitor, and study catch shares. Meanwhile, most fishermen and their families, other than a handful of winners, have been eliminated from the fishery or reduced to near bankruptcy.

As a fisherman, you either work or you don’t eat. The people running Mr. Rafael’s boats essentially became modern-day sharecroppers. The exorbitant cost of leasing quota was deducted from their share of the catch, and, as of March 1, they are additionally responsible for the cost of government-mandated monitoring. Mr. Rafael also allegedly told the captains how to fill out their logbooks so that his fish-laundering scheme could operate. The captains, who signed the logbooks under penalty of perjury, had a choice: Sign, or do not eat.

Read the full story at The New Bedford Standard-Times

Haddock, cod limits may rise for recreational anglers

March 14, 2016 — Recreational fishermen currently are barred from fishing for Gulf of Maine cod, but that could change — albeit not by much — under a proposal from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that also significantly increases recreational catch limits for haddock.

NOAA Fisheries is soliciting public comment on its proposed rule change that would allow individual recreational anglers to keep one cod per day — as long as the catch meets or exceeds the 24-inch minimum size inside the  Gulf of Maine regulated mesh area and 22 inches outside it — from Aug. 1 through Sept. 30.

The comments must be received at NOAA Fisheries no later than March 18.

The proposed rule change also would afford recreational fishermen far more latitude in fishing for Gulf of Maine haddock throughout the 2016 fishing season set to begin May 1, allowing a daily bag limit that is five times greater than the current limit.

In the 2015 season, individual recreational anglers could catch and keep up to three haddock per day during two stretches of the season (May 1 to Aug. 31 and Nov. 1 to Feb. 29) as long as the catch met or exceeded the minimum size of 17 inches.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

SOUTH CAROLINA: Spawning areas established to protect key Atlantic fish species

March 14, 2016 — South Atlantic Fishery Management Council officials approved five offshore areas as Spawning Special Management Zones, or SMZs on Friday at a meeting in Jekyll Island, Ga.

Among them are three off the South Carolina coast and another off of North Carolina at a meeting.

In addition, NOAA Fisheries announced during the meeting that the recreational fishery for cobia will close on June 20 in federal waters from Georgia to New York, which is the Atlantic group of the species.

The area off the coast of South Carolina that will be closed to snapper-grouper fishing is a 3.03-square mile tract of bottom that is part of the Georgetown Hole, located about 55 miles southeast of the Winyah Bay jetties.

Also to be closed to snapper-grouper fishing are two experimental artificial reef areas established by the state Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) known as Area 51 and Area 53, each approximately 3 square miles in size off the South Carolina coast.

A 5.1-square mile area off the coast of North Carolina known as the South Cape Lookout site will also be closed.

The fifth closure is a 3.6-square mile area off the east coast of the Florida Keys known as the Warsaw Hole, or 50 Fathom Hole.

Fishing for snapper-grouper species would be prohibited and anchoring not permitted in closed areas, but trolling for pelagic species such as wahoo, dolphin, tuna and billfish would be allowed.

If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the five areas ranging in size from 3- to 5-square miles, and be the first such Spawning SMZs designated in federal waters off the South Atlantic coast.

“The selection of the Spawning SMZs has been a long and deliberative process, focusing on sites that are most beneficial for spawning snapper-grouper species such as speckled hind and warsaw grouper while balancing impacts to fishermen,” said South Atlantic Fishery Management Council chairperson Dr. Michelle Duval. “The council chose these areas based on scientific recommendations, input from its advisory panels, a great deal of public input, and the results from cooperative research with fishermen familiar with the unique habitat attracting species at selected sites.”

Working Together to Protect Endangered Species

March 14, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

To preserve and protect species that are threatened or endangered, federal agencies are required to work together under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Titled “Interagency Cooperation,” section 7 is an important part of the ESA as it ensures that the actions authorized, funded, or carried out by federal agencies do not jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species. This also applies to the habitat of listed species to make sure that actions do not impact areas where they live and spawn. Under the ESA, species are listed as endangered or threatened according to a process that examines their population status as well as five factors that may affect their continued survival (see section 4 of the ESA for a description of the five ESA factors for listing).

Section 7 requires consultation between the federal “action agency” (the agency authorizing, funding, or undertaking an action) and the appropriate “expert agency.” In the case of marine and several anadromous species, such as sturgeon and Atlantic salmon, NOAA Fisheries is the consulting agency while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts consultations for terrestrial and freshwater species.

Getting Recommedations Early On Is Key

The section 7 team at the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) works on a variety of projects including dredging of navigation channels, offshore wind projects, and fisheries management plans. We consult with other federal agencies to ensure that their activities are in compliance with section 7 of the ESA. In some cases, a federal agency (or a state, private party, or consultant) may seek technical assistance in the early planning stages of a project. This is the best time for us to provide information on species life history, best management practices, and measures to reduce the extent of potential effects. The federal action agency can then include our recommendations in their project proposal before initiating the consultation process with us. During the technical assistance phase, a federal agency may determine that there is no effect of the activity on listed species (i.e., there are no listed species present during the activity and no effects to habitat). In this case, there is no need for further ESA section 7 consultation.

In situations where an activity may affect a listed species, the action agency needs to begin the consultation process. First, the action agency makes one of two determinations: the activity is “not likely to adversely affect” listed species or the activity is “likely to adversely affect” listed species. Activities are “not likely to adversely affect” species if all effects are “insignificant” (so small that they cannot be detected) or “discountable” (extremely unlikely to occur). If the action agency makes this determination, we review their analysis, and if we agree with their finding, we respond with a letter of concurrence. This is the “informal” consultation process.

Read the full story online

Working with Whiting Fishermen to Find Solutions

March 14, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Recently, commercial fishermen who fish for whiting as part of the small-mesh multispecies fishery asked us what it would take to make changes to this fishery. Specifically, whiting fishermen want to open some of the Gulf of Maine exemption areas earlier in the year.

In response, we convened a workshop on February 18 to clarify the reasons for the exemptions for the whiting fishery and the steps necessary for adjusting the regulations, including the data needed to evaluate any potential changes. This collaborative workshop included fishermen, researchers, New England Fishery Management Council staff, state marine fisheries agency personnel, and federal managers.

The whiting fishery is an “exempted fishery,” which means that fishermen are able to fish for specific species without being subject to certain Northeast multispecies regulations, such as mesh size requirements, provided the catch of other groundfish species is minimal. The Regional Administrator, in consultation with the New England Fisheries Management Council, authorizes exempted fisheries. There are currently several whiting exempted fishing areas within the Gulf of Maine (see map below). Vessels may fish for whiting with small-mesh trawls only within the designated exempted fishery areas and according to specific regulations. 

Read the rest of the story on our website.

For more information, contact Mike Ruccio, Sustainable Fisheries Division, at 978-281-9104 or email him at michael.ruccio@noaa.gov

Mayor, supporters intensify push for fisheries center to move from Woods Hole to New Bedford

March 10, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD — A broad group of SouthCoast supporters is backing an intensified push for moving the Northeast Fisheries Science Center from Woods Hole to New Bedford, saying in a letter to the top NOAA administrator this week that bringing government scientists closer to the fishing industry could ease long-simmering tensions.

The letter was sent Monday to NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, written by Mayor Jon Mitchell and signed by more than 50 people, including port representatives, fishermen, SouthCoast politicians, local economic leaders and more. It describes “persistent distrust between NOAA and the fishing industry” over the last 20 years and says moving the science center to New Bedford could “restore the agency’s credibility in fishing communities,” by fostering communication.

“We have tried over the years to establish a more constructive dialogue with NOAA, and it just hasn’t happened,” Mitchell said Thursday. “I have long stressed that the best way to improve the government’s understanding of fishing communities is to get them to operate in one, and New Bedford is the undisputed center of the commercial fishing industry on the East Coast.”

The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), under the federal Department of Commerce, has been assessing the Woods Hole science center for more than a year.

The issue caught broad attention in December, when Falmouth town officials discussed a possible relocation of the center at a public meeting. Teri Frady, spokeswoman for NOAA at the science center, said at the time that repairs, renovations or replacement were possible options.

Paul Doremus, deputy assistant administrator for operations at NOAA Fisheries, said in December that NOAA’s assessment of the Woods Hole laboratory would be completed this spring.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times

NOAA Fisheries Announces Adjustments to 2016 Atlantic Herring Catch Limits

March 9, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

Today, we are announcing adjustments to the 2016 Atlantic herring catch limits for the different management areas. These adjusted catch limits account for overages and carryover of unharvested catch from 2014. 

Catch information for fishing year 2014 shows that in three stock areas (Areas 1A, 2, and 3) Atlantic herring was under-harvested, while in one stock area (Area 1B) the catch limit was exceeded. The overall 2014 stock-wide catch limit was not exceeded. Therefore, we are adjusting the initial 2016 area catch limits to account for the overage and carryovers from the 2014 fishing year. The initial stock-wide catch limit is also adjusted to account for the overage incurred in Area 1B.

Final 2016 herring catch limits will publish later this spring.

Initial Adjusted Herring Catch Limits for 2016: 

Area 1A

30,397 metric tons

Area 1B

2,941 metric tons

Area 2

32,100 metric tons

Area 3

43,832 metric tons

Stockwide

103,045 metric tons

For more information, read the proposed rule as published today in the Federal Register, and the permit holder bulletin available on our website.

Questions about this rule? Please contact Emily Gilbert, 978-281-9244, or Emily.Gilbert@noaa.gov.

Scientists turn to drones to count growing seal colonies

March 7, 2016 — On a remote island off of Nantucket, scientists are using a tool most commonly associated with war and surveillance to get a look at fuzzy baby seals.

Researchers who want to get a handle on the growth of New England’s gray seal population have been using drones as part of an effort to photograph the animals, which gather in huge numbers on remote islands.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used a pair of unmanned aircraft on Muskeget Island off of Massachusetts to take pictures of seal pups in January. The island is the biggest gray seal breeding colony in the country.

The pictures will help scientists find how many gray seals there are in Northeastern waters, said Kimberly Murray, the coordinator of the seal research program at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

“We need to know how many seals there are before we can know what’s going on, and how to manage them. Or, I should say, manage us,” Murray said.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

 

Adorable ‘ghost-like’ octopus spotted on sea floor near Hawaii

March 5, 2016 — For a team of federal researchers looking for geologic data on the ocean floor, the pale, ghostly appearance of a unique octopus species inspired diverse reactions.

“That animal is not in the … guide,” said a researcher during the live-feed video from the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. “In the immortal words of Taylor Swift, I have never – like ever – seen that one.”

They found the well-armed sea creature, believed to be a new species of octopus, sitting on flat rock 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) below sea level near Hawaii, Michael Vecchione, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) zoologist, wrote in a statement.

“This animal was particularly unusual because it lacked the pigment cells, called chromatophores, typical of most cephalopods, and it did not seem very muscular,” Mr. Vecchione wrote. “This resulted in a ghostlike appearance, leading to a comment on social media that it should be called Casper, like the friendly cartoon ghost.”

Vecchione saw what he called a “remarkable little octopod” while monitoring the video feed from the remotely operated vehicle Deep Discover, which launched from the NOAA’s only federally funded vehicle for deep-sea research, the ship Okeanos Explorer, Christine Dell’Amore reported for National Geographic. 

Read the full story at The Christian Science Monitor