Saving Seafood

ASMFC & NOAA Fisheries Select Coonamessett Farm Foundation to Conduct Components of the At-Sea Monitoring Training Program

August 24, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), has selected the Coonamessett Farm Foundation to conduct components of the At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) Training Program for NEFSC. Training will include identifying target and bycatch species in Atlantic groundfish fisheries, collecting and reporting fisheries-dependent data following federal guidelines, and instruction in offshore safety and survival.

At-sea monitors collect data aboard commercial fishing vessels that are used to manage and monitor annual catch limits in the Northeast groundfish sectors. A sharp increase in the required ASM coverage rate (up to 100%) and observer attrition during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the need for approximately 140 new at-sea monitors. Coonamessett Farm Foundation will take on the majority of the training with support from NEFSC. ASM training by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation will start this year and extend at least through 2022.

To learn more about becoming an at-sea monitor, contact one of the companies that provides at-sea monitors to the NEFSC’s Northeast Fisheries Observer Program. A list is posted here:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/fisheries-observers/sea-monitoring-northeast

For more information on Coonamessett Farm Foundation ASM training award, please contact Tania Lewandowski (Tania.Lewandowski@noaa.gov), Tasha O’Hara (tohara@cfarm.org), or Quinn McWatters (qmcwatters@cfarm.org).

Analysis of New West Coast Swordfish Fishery Weighs Benefits of Increased Domestic Catch

August 23, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is proposing to approve a new means of catching West Coast swordfish that could increase the domestic supply of the species often featured in upscale restaurants.

The fishery is based on their unique behavior. Swordfish are one of the few fish that spends long periods at great depths in the ocean. Increased swordfish landings would also help offset imports that now make up about 84 percent of the swordfish supply on the West Coast. They are often imported from countries with less protection for sea turtles and marine mammals.

NOAA Fisheries is evaluating the proposal to authorize fishing for swordfish in federal waters using deep-set buoy gear. This gear lowers baited hooks hundreds of feet beneath the surface, where they catch swordfish and little else. The selective gear poses little risk to protected species such as whales and sea turtles, which are not usually found at such depths.

The West Coast swordfish fishery has long relied on drift gillnets that, in their earlier years, entangled protected species. The drift gillnet fleet has since dramatically reduced its impact on marine mammals and turtles to meet strict U.S. environmental standards. However, restrictions on where and when they can fish has reduced the drift gillnet fishery from more than 100 vessels to fewer than 20 participating vessels.

Read the full release here

NMFS announces draft EIS available for deep-set buoy gear authorization, Amendment 6 to the HMS FMP

August 23, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries announces the release of a draft environmental impact statement (EIS), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, which includes an analysis of the potential short- and long-term impacts of the proposed action to authorize fishing with deep-set buoy gear (DSBG) in federal waters off the U.S. West Coast, on the human (biological, physical, social, and economic) environment.

Please see the public notice on the Council’s website for a link to the Draft EIS and additional details.

For further information, please contact:

  • NOAA Fisheries:  Amber Rhodes at (562) 477-8342, Amber.Rhodes@noaa.gov
  • Pacific Council staff officer Dr. Kit Dahl at 503-820-2422; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

NOAA Fisheries Cancels 2021 Belugas Count!

August 23, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

After careful consideration regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, NOAA Fisheries and partners have decided to cancel the 2021 Belugas Count! event.

Belugas Count! is a citizen science opportunity and festival event usually held in September, when viewing of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales near Anchorage and Kenai is optimal.

“Belugas Count! is a family-focused event that brings together people of all ages,” said Jon Kurland, director of NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region’s Protected Resources Division. “Regrettably, due to the status of the pandemic, NOAA Fisheries and our partners decided to cancel the 2021 Belugas Count! event, as we did in 2020, out of an abundance of caution.”

Read more.

See a Stranded or Entangled Turtle? Call the NOAA Hotline!

August 20, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Report stranded or entangled sea turtles so that network responders can help

Although summer is coming to an end, leatherback, loggerhead, green, and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are still in our area for another few months.

Beached Turtles

Report any sea turtles you see on the beach. In most of the states in our region, healthy sea turtles should not be out of the water.

Report Distressed Turtles in the Water

When you are boating, report any distressed, entangled, or dead sea turtles in the water. Live turtles in need of medical assistance or wrapped up in rope or other debris need the help of the dedicated, trained responders in our stranding and disentanglement network. Your call will start a potentially life-saving response. Network members have training and experience to assess turtle health, provide medical care if necessary, and safely disentangle turtles. Turtles that are released with line still wrapped around their bodies may later die due to this entanglement. Well-meaning attempts to disentangle turtles without training and experience can put both the people and the turtle at risk.

Make the Call!

  • Call our stranding and entanglement hotline: 866-755-6622 (NOAA Hotline).
  • If out of cell phone range, call the Coast Guard on Channel 16.

Stand By Your Turtle!

After you report a turtle in distress, we need you to keep the animal in sight from a safe distance and wait for responders to arrive. Like any first responders, we need time to get on scene, so please keep an eye on the animal from a safe distance; responders will have a much easier time relocating the turtle with you at its side. Sea turtles are very strong, and a stressed animal can act unpredictably, so give them space.

The Sea Turtle Stranding and Disentanglement Network team includes animal care specialists, researchers, and veterinarians with years of experience disentangling and treating injuries to sea turtles. They will evaluate the animal and determine the best course of action.

Our network of dedicated, trained responders have years of experience in responding to sea turtles in distress. They need your help to stand by turtles without taking action. Just like waiting for an ambulance, please wait for the experienced responders to arrive to assess the turtle’s health and provide the care it needs. Standing by and guiding the responder to the turtle’s location are the two best things you can do to help the animal.

Find out more: Sea Turtle Disentanglement Network

Read the full release here

THE POST AND COURIER: The feds told us to slow down for right whales; federal vessels should, too

August 20, 2021 — Here’s an instance of the hypocrisy that too often gives the federal government a bad name, and it’s a whale of an example.

On one hand, the federal government has established the vessel speed rule that limits the speed of vessels in certain parts of the Atlantic Ocean to lessen any chance that these ships will strike and harm a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. On the other hand, the federal government has exempted its own fleet.

In other words, Uncle Sam is telling us: Do as I say, not as a I do. It might seem like a small matter, but it would be easy to change. And important to change, too. Because it’s clear more must be done to protect these creatures.

A recent report from the nonprofit conservation group Oceana found that almost 90% of all vessels passing through the ocean between Wilmington, N.C., and Brunswick, Ga., exceeded the 10-knot speed limit. That was the highest percentage along the East Coast. (The area off the Port of New York and New Jersey was next, with almost 80% of vessels there going more than the speed limit.)

While it’s unclear exactly how many of these speeding vessels are federally owned, some certainly were. The fastest one clocked was a U.S. Navy ship going almost 40 knots.

This much is clear: The faster the vessel, the greater the chance of it colliding with a right whale. Such collisions are among the leading causes of injury and death for the species (another being entanglement with fishing gear).

Read the full opinion piece at The Post and Courier

eVTR Instructional Webinar on Tuesday Afternoon – August 24

August 20, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The next instructional eVTR webinar will be held Tuesday, August 24 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. This webinar will provide vessel operators and others with a walkthrough of the eTrips Mobile 2, Fish Online Apple iOS and Fish Online Web App as options for submitting your eVTRs. This webinar will focus on Virginia and North Carolina vessels, though anyone is welcome to join any webinar.

How Do I Join?

More information can be found on our webpage for this series: How to Use Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting Apps. This page includes webinar login information.

Questions?

Contact your local Port Agent.

Sea Scallop Research Program Seeks Proposals

August 20, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries is soliciting proposals for the 2022-2023 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program, in coordination with the New England Fishery Management Council.

Approved applications are awarded pounds of scallops that have been set aside to pay for research experiments.

No federal funds are provided for research.

The New England Fishery Management Council sets the priorities for the research, and NOAA Fisheries administers the competition, oversees awarded projects and set-aside harvest activities.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Sea Scallop Research Program Seeks Proposals

August 19, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries is soliciting proposals for the 2022-2023 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program, in coordination with the New England Fishery Management Council.

Approved applications are awarded pounds of scallops that have been set aside to pay for research experiments.

No federal funds are provided for research.

The New England Fishery Management Council sets the priorities for the research, and NOAA Fisheries administers the competition, oversees awarded projects and set-aside harvest activities.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Body Condition of Endangered Killer Whales Reflects Salmon Numbers and Odds of Survival

August 19, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The body condition of endangered Southern Resident killer whales reflects changes in Chinook salmon numbers in the Fraser River and the Salish Sea. This is according to new research using aerial photogrammetry from drones to track changes in their body condition over time.

The study, titled “Survival of the Fattest: Linking body condition to prey availability and survivorship of killer whales,” also found that poor body condition makes the whales more likely to die.

The new findings published today in Ecosphere highlight the value of monitoring these endangered whales through aerial photogrammetry. This method can detect individual whales declining in condition, which can provide an early warning system that they may die.

The 74 Southern Resident orcas make up three pods known as J, K, and L. Each pod is made up of distinct social and family groups.

The research showed that the body condition of J pod whales improved when Chinook salmon abundance was higher in the Salish Sea and in Fraser River tributaries. L pod body condition improved when Chinook salmon abundance was higher in Puget Sound tributaries, although that relationship was weaker than J pod and Fraser River Chinook. K pod whales had no clear relationship to the salmon populations examined in the study. However,  whales in K pod also experienced little change in their body condition during the study period.

K and L pods spend more time foraging on the outer coast of Washington and Oregon than J pod. Their more varied diet is more challenging to relate to changes in their body condition. In contrast, J pod depends to a greater extent on Chinook salmon. Differences in body condition between the three pods reflects distinct foraging patterns, while the condition of individual whales provides insights into their health, researchers found.

Read the full release here