Saving Seafood

Former Dutch Harbor Fisheries Observer Keith Davis Missing At Sea Off Peru

October 26, 2015 — With crab season under way in the Bering Sea, some 70 crab boats are bobbing around Alaska’s Bristol Bay and the Aleutian Islands. About a dozen of those boats have a fisheries observer on board. The observers keep tabs on what the boats haul up from the deep.

Keith Davis was supposed to be one of those observers, but he went missing in September while working on a boat off the coast of South America. KUCB’s John Ryan reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Davis has been a fisheries observer for more than 15 years. His employer says he was planning to return to Dutch Harbor this winter to do more observing work.

But Davis vanished while working on a transshipment vessel about 500 miles off the coast of Peru. He disappeared one afternoon while a boat was offloading tuna to the Taiwanese ship that he was working on. The ship sailed under the flag of Panama.

The Panamanian government, the U.S. Coast Guard and the FBI are investigating his disappearance. Davis’s friends suspect foul play.

Goodman: “Absolutely do.  For a number of reasons.”

Lynn Goodman is a fisheries observer and a friend of Keith Davis.

Goodman: “I met Keith in our Dutch Harbor bunkhouse while we were both observing on crab boats.”

She says Davis was exceptionally safety conscious and there’s no way he would have been on board a ship without a life jacket, let alone just fall off unnoticed.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at KUCB

 

NOAA Fisheries Accepts Petition to List Thorny Skate under ESA

October 26, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In response to a petition from Defenders of Wildlife and Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) to list thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) under the Endangered Species Act, we have prepared a 90-day finding. We accept the petition and are initiating a review of the status of the species.

The petition, which we received in May 2015, requested that we list a “Northwest Atlantic Distinct Population Segment” or a “United States Distinct Population Segment” of thorny skate as threatened or endangered. The petition also requested a designation of critical habitat for thorny skate. 

The petitioners claim that the species numbers have been declining since the 1970s, and that the species is threatened by illegal landings, bycatch and discard mortality, inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms (related to fishing), global climate change and hypoxia, and natural stochastic events. 

We will now start a review of the status of the species to determine if listing the species or any potential distinct population segments is warranted. We are asking for public input through the Federal Register notice published today. 

You may submit information or data on this document by either any of the following methods: 

  • Online: Submit information and data via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Click the “Comment Now” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. 
  • Mail: Submit information and data to Julie Crocker, NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, Protected Resources Division, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, USA.

The deadline for submissions is December 28.

Our determination will be published as a notice in the Federal Register within 12 months.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.

Thorny skate. Credit: NOAA/Tobey Curtis

NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan to Visit New Bedford, Mass.

October 26, 2015 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The following was released by Center for Sustainable Fisheries: 

Mayor Jon Mitchell will host a visit by NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan tomorrow, Tuesday, October 27, 2015. 

Administrator Sullivan and Mayor Mitchell, accompanied by other officials, will meet with local fishing industry leaders as well as tour New Bedford harbor and the SMAST campus (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology).

Following a lunch at SMAST, participants will be available to answers questions from the press at 12:45 P.M. (706 South Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford)

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is the federal agency charged with managing the nation’s fisheries; NMFS is an office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Department of Commerce.

New Bedford is the America’s top fishing port for fourteen consecutive years with annual landings valued at $379 million.

DON CUDDY: Collaborative research can save the New England groundfish industry

October 25, 2015 — These days it seems as though every story about the New England groundfishery contains a headline with “crisis” or “disaster” in it, often followed by claims and counterclaims from fishermen, environmental groups and fishery regulators. Yet amidst all the controversy there is general agreement on one point: the need for better fishery science, to enable more timely and more accurate stock assessments.

The data used for fish stock assessment in the Northeast is derived primarily from the annual spring and fall surveys conducted by the Henry B. Bigelow, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s 208-foot research vessel. The results are largely distrusted by many fishermen who contend that NOAA is using the wrong bottom-trawl gear on a vessel that is in any case too large for the task. Furthermore, fishermen say, random sampling of the vast survey area is not sufficient to develop an accurate picture of stock abundance.

To get a better picture of what is happening in the ocean the fishing industry has been urging NOAA Fisheries to engage in more collaborative research, using commercial fishing vessels with crews working alongside fishery scientists. This is not a radical idea. It is already in effect in fisheries on the West Coast and it is also happening here in the shallower coastal waters of the northeastern seaboard. The Bigelow’s deep draft of 19.5 feet precludes it from working inshore.

Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

New England fishermen fear looming costs for at-sea monitors

October 21, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — New England fishermen, running out of time before the federal government hands them the cost of monitoring the industry at sea, say emergency intervention is needed or many of them will be out of business.

The monitors are trained workers who collect data on commercial fishing trips that help fishery managers with things like setting quotas on catches in future years. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the money it had been using to pay for monitors who work in New England fisheries such as cod, pollock and haddock is going to run out around Dec. 1.

Fishermen will have to pay for the monitors, which can cost more than $700 per trip. The new cost is almost certain to put people out of work in a struggling fishery that is already challenged by declining fish stocks and tough quotas, said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

“It’s really scary. At the same time, we have problems with our resources right now,” Martens said. “We need to make sure we have better and stronger business not just next year, but three and five years down the line.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Chronicle

 

Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program Telephone Town Hall Oct 22

October 20, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program Telephone Town Hall Meeting on October 22

Interested in applying for a Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant? 

To find out how, follow the directions below to join us this Thursday, October 22, at 4 pm (Eastern Standard Time). We are hosting this Webinar/Telephone Town Hall to provide an overview of the application process and to answer questions from anyone interested in applying for funding through this grant opportunity.The solicitation for this grant opportunity is open until November 2.  

To join this online meeting, you will need a computer and a phone. Follow these instructions:

1. Go to Webinar page

2. If requested, enter your name and email address 

3. Provide the event password: Meeting123 

4. Click “Join”

5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen  

Note:  This webinar does not have audio so you will need to call in with the info below

Dial In: 866-647-1746

Participant Code: 6042534

Background:

On September 4, NOAA Fisheries announced approximately $10 million available to support fisheries projects through the competition. 

The goal of the Saltonstall-Kennedy grant 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 2016 solicitation seeks applications that fall into seven priority areas:

  • Aquaculture
  • Fishery data collection
  • Techniques for reducing bycatch and other adverse impacts
  • Adapting to climate change and other long term ecosystem change
  • Promotion, development, and marketing
  • Socio-economic research
  • Science coming from within the U.S. territories

If you have a project in mind, join us on Thursday so we can help you navigate the application process.

Credit: NOAA

NOAA: FishWatch Goes Mobile!

October 20, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As part of National Seafood Month, we are excited to announce that our new FishWatch website is now live! Our new mobile-friendly website will enable you to access the Nation’s database on sustainable seafood anywhere, anytime, on any device. It still features the same great information, but it’s now easier to use on the go from your phone or tablet. The new FishWatch site will continue to help you:

  • Make smart seafood choices by arming you with the facts about what makes U.S. seafood sustainable-from the ocean or farm to your plate.
  • Get up-to-date information on the status of some of the nation’s most valuable marine fish harvested in U.S. federal waters as well as U.S. farmed fish that help meet our country’s growing seafood demand.
  • Understand how U.S. seafood is responsibly harvested and grown under a strong monitoring, management, and enforcement regime that works to keep the marine environment healthy, fish populations thriving, and our seafood industry on the job.

Be sure to check out the new FishWatch site anywhere, anytime! 

Reminder: SAFMC Scientific and Statistical Committee Meeting

Reminder: Scientific and Statistical Committee Meeting Scheduled October 20-22, 2015  

Meeting available via webinar, briefing book materials available

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) on October 20-22, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 4831 Tanger Outlet Boulevard, North Charleston, SC.   

The SSC will review projections and provide guidance on rebuilding strategies for the Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish stock, review measures for establishing Spawning Special Management Zones for snapper grouper species, the draft System Management Plan for Deepwater Marine Protected Areas, and proposed changes to the commercial black sea bass pot fishery.  The SSC will receive reports on recreational catch estimation for rarely encountered/intercepted species, landings of Council managed stocks, the NOAA Fisheries stock assessment prioritization approach, and address other issues.   

The SSC assists the Council in the development, collection, evaluation, and peer review of information relevant to fishery management plans and amendments. Additional information about the SSC is available from the Scientific and Statistical Committee page of the Council’s website.  

The meeting is open to the public and public comment will be accepted. The meeting is also accessible via webinar as it occurs. Registration for the webinar is required. Information on how to register for the webinar, along with the meeting agenda, overview, and briefing book materials is now available from the Council’s website.  For additional information contact John Carmichael, Science and Statistics Program Manager at john.carmichael@safmc.net.  

A message From Eileen Sobeck On At-Sea Monitors

October 14, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

I frequently share my admiration for the many talented and passionate people who make up the NOAA Fisheries workforce. I want to take this opportunity to recognize a cadre of highly trained, dedicated individuals who are part of the NOAA team and play a critical role in supporting our fisheries science and management.

At-sea fisheries monitors and observers are our eyes and ears on the water. They may spend days or weeks aboard commercial fishing vessels gathering first-hand information on what’s caught and thrown back.

The work is intense. Observers undergo a rigorous training program to be able to identify and take samples of the myriad ocean life that might come aboard. Getting it right is important because the stakes are high. The high-quality data they collect are used to monitor fisheries, assess fish populations, and inform management.

The working conditions are tough. Observers work alongside fishermen in stressful, strenuous and at times hazardous conditions. Fishing is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. NOAA’s observers and monitors are right there with those doing the dangerous work. This was tragically underscored recently when a member of our observer community, Keith Davis, went missing while at sea on a foreign vessel. There is an ongoing investigation into his disappearance led by the Government of Panama that is supported by the U.S. Embassy in Panama, the US Coast Guard investigative unit and the FBI.

Cooperation is critical. Deploying observers safely and collecting data at sea requires an active partnership between NOAA Fisheries, observers, observer providers, and the fishing industry.

We understand that at times, there can be tension among these parties. Observer safety is of utmost importance for me and NOAA as a whole. I understand tensions have been on the rise recently, but we must maintain respectful relationships. I have asked our law enforcement officers to remain vigilant and ensure the safety of our at-sea monitors and observers. Threats to these individuals will not be tolerated.

At-sea observers and monitors are dedicated professional scientists. They make a valuable contribution to our knowledge of fisheries and deserve our respect.

 

Trip Limit Decreased to 500 Pounds per Trip for Commercial Harvest of Gag in the South Atlantic

October 13, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Trip Limit Decreased to 500 Pounds per Trip for Commercial Harvest of Gag in the South Atlantic

The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of gag in the South Atlantic is reduced from 1,000 pounds gutted weight to 500 pounds gutted weight, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) October 18, 2015. NOAA Fisheries has determined 75 percent of the quota of 295,459 pounds gutted weight has been landed.

Reduction of the commercial gag trip limit in the South Atlantic complies with regulations implemented under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. The 500-pound gutted weight trip limit applies to vessels with a South Atlantic Unlimited Snapper-Grouper Permit fishing for gag in or from the federal waters in the South Atlantic region. The 500-pound gutted weight trip limit will remain in effect until the quota is reached and gag closes or until the end of the current 2015 fishing season, whichever occurs first.