Saving Seafood

$1 Million Available for Atlantic Salmon Habitat Restoration Projects

March 8, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA is announcing the availability of up to $1 million in funding in 2021 for projects to restore habitat for Atlantic salmon in the Gulf of Maine region. The Gulf of Maine distinct population segment (DPS) of Atlantic salmon is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It is also a Species in the Spotlight, one of nine species most at risk of extinction in the near future.

Atlantic salmon are an iconic species of the Northeast. They once returned by the hundreds of thousands to most major rivers along the northeastern United States. Now, they only return in small numbers to rivers in central and eastern Maine. These populations comprise the Gulf of Maine DPS.

Degraded habitat is one of the largest obstacles facing the recovery of threatened and endangered species like Atlantic salmon. Habitat restoration helps repair areas that have been destroyed by development, blocked by dams, or otherwise subjected to habitat destruction. Through funding and technical assistance, NOAA supports projects that restore the habitats that threatened and endangered species need to survive.

In addition to species recovery and rebuilding fish populations, habitat restoration projects yield community and economic benefits such as increased coastal resilience and recreational opportunities. Restoration projects also create an average of 15 jobs for every million dollars invested.

Proposals for this funding opportunity are due April 12, 2021. NOAA will accept proposals with a federal funding request between $300,000 and $1.5 million over a three-year award period. For more information, view the Fiscal Year 2021 Atlantic Salmon Habitat Restoration Partnership Grants funding opportunity.

Read the full release here

Give Us Your Input on Making Fisheries and Protected Resources More Resilient to Climate Change

March 5, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA has started an agency-wide effort to gather initial public input in response to Section 216(c) of the Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (EO 14008) issued on January 27, 2021.

Section 216(c) of EO 14008 directs NOAA to collect recommendations on how to make fisheries, including aquaculture, and protected resources more resilient to climate change, including changes in management and conservation measures, and improvements in science, monitoring, and cooperative research.

The comment period opened March 3, 2021 and will close on April 2, 2021.

For more on this effort and how to submit comments, please visit our new story on the effort.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a growing issue worldwide. FIU hosts conference in search of solutions

March 5, 2021 — Every time wild-caught fish is bought at a restaurant, store or waterfront dock, there is a one in five chance that it was caught outside of the law, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated – IUU – fishing is a growing issue worldwide. The global, economic and environmental effects are catastrophic, with coastlines around Latin America being some of the most impacted.

Recently during a telephonic press briefing, United States Coast Guard Vice Admiral Steven Poulin spoke on the urgency of the matter and the role the Coast Guard is playing in addressing this problem.

“IUU fishing undermines coastal state sovereignty,” Poulin said. “We in the Coast Guard are putting our strategies to address this problem into action.”

Southern Command is also making IUU fishing one of its priorities. At the IUU Fishing Conference on Feb. 3, Southern Command and other key groups emphasized the need for international cooperation, collaboration, leveraged technology, and transparency. Hosted by FIU’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, the conference reached more than 3,000 viewers from more than 49 countries.

Read the full story at FIU News

Study: Chinook salmon are key to Northwest orcas all year

March 4, 2021 — For more than a decade, Brad Hanson and other researchers have tailed the Pacific Northwest’s endangered killer whales in a hard-sided inflatable boat, leaning over the edge with a standard pool skimmer to collect clues to their diet: bits of orca poop floating on the water, or fish scales sparkling just below the surface.

Their work established years ago that the whales depend heavily on depleted runs of Chinook, the largest and fattiest of Pacific salmon species, when they forage in the summer in the inland waters between Washington state and British Columbia.

But a new paper from Hanson and others at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center provides the first real look at what the whales eat the rest of the year, when they cruise the outer Pacific Coast — data that reaffirms the central importance of Chinook to the whales and the importance of recovering Chinook populations to save the beloved mammals.

By analyzing the DNA of orca feces as well as salmon scales and other remains after the whales have devoured the fish, the researchers demonstrated that the while the whales sometimes eat other species, including halibut, lingcod and steelhead, they depend most on Chinook. And they consumed the big salmon from a wide range of sources — from those that spawn in California’s Sacramento River all the way to the Taku River in northern British Columbia.

Read the full story at OPB

New Slow Zone off Virginia to Protect Right Whales

March 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On March 3, 2021, an observer on board the HDR Naval research vessel observed the presence of right whales east of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Virginia Beach Slow Zone is in effect through March 18, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

East of Virginia Beach, March 3-18, 2021

37 10 N
36 32 N
074 51 W
075 40 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed 2021-2022 Spiny Dogfish Specifications

March 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is proposing the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils’ recommended catch specifications for the 2021-2022 spiny dogfish fishery. These proposed catch limits are revised from what was originally projected for fishing year 2021 to reflect the Mid-Atlantic Council’s updated risk policy to prevent overfishing, and project status quo (unchanged) specifications for 2022. Because the new risk policy accepts a higher level of risk for stocks at or above biomass targets, the proposed revisions increase all limits nearly 10 percent.

Comparison of Original (Current) and Revised (Proposed) Spiny Dogfish Fishery Specifications for Fishing Years 2021 and 2022, in metric tons.

All other management measures and requirements, including the 6,000-lb federal trip limit, would remain unchanged.

For more details on the proposed specifications, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. The comment period is open through March 19, 2021.

Questions?

Fishermen Contact: Cynthia Ferrio, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9180

Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Request for Comments: Proposed Rule to Modify Fishing Access in Eastern Gulf of Mexico Marine Protected Areas

March 2, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

  • NOAA Fisheries requests your comments on a proposed rule that would prohibit fishing year-round in the Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Marine Protected Areas and prohibit the possession of Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish, with no exception for vessels in transit unless the vessel has an operating vessel monitoring system and a valid federal commercial Gulf reef fish permit.
  • These prohibitions do not apply to Atlantic highly migratory species.
  • Comments are due by April 1, 2021.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES:

  • The rule would prohibit all fishing, except for Highly Migratory Species, year-round in the Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Marine Protected Areas.
  • The rule would prohibit the possession of Gulf reef fish year-round in these areas unless a vessel has a valid Federal commercial permit for Gulf reef fish, which requires an operating satellite-based vessel monitoring system, and is in transit with fishing gear are appropriately stowed.

Read the full release here

Help make fisheries, aquaculture, and protected resources more resilient to climate change

March 2, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Agency announces 30-day comment period to collect information in response to Section 216(c) of the Executive Order on tackling the climate crisis.

NOAA is launching an agency-wide effort to gather initial public input on Section 216(c) of the Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. This section directs NOAA to collect recommendations on how to make fisheries, including aquaculture, and protected resources more resilient to climate change. This includes changes in management and conservation measures and improvements in science, monitoring, and cooperative research. We invite your input on how best to achieve these objectives. Submit your comments by April 2, 2021 to OceanResources.Climate@noaa.gov.

The input will inform NOAA’s implementation of our relevant authorities and our work with federal agencies, state and tribal governments, and relevant stakeholders and constituents to ensure more resilient fisheries and protected resources due to climate change.

Research has shown that fisheries, protected resources, and their habitats and ecosystems are being affected by climate change. Climate-related changes in ocean ecosystems such as warming oceans, increasing acidification, and rising seas can affect the distribution and abundance of marine species. These changes also impact the people and communities that depend on them. At NOAA, we work with partners to understand and respond to changing climate and ocean conditions to help minimize impacts, adapt to changes, and ensure that future generations can enjoy the benefits of healthy marine ecosystems.

Beyond this 30-day public comment period, we will continue to gather input throughout 2021 through meetings, public listening sessions, and other means. Information gathered after the initial deadline for comments will still be collected and considered.

Read the full release here

Reminder: The Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Season Begins April 1

March 2, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Activity in the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) scallop fishery has steadily increased over the last few years. The Northeast Division of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement recognizes that many vessels relocate to the area for the season and may not be familiar with all of the federal scallop regulations.

Permit Renewal

All vessels fishing for scallops must have an active NGOM or Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) permit. The easiest way to renew your scallop permit is to fill out your forms electronically through your Fish Online account

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) Requirements

All federally permitted NGOM and IFQ scallop vessels must have an operational Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). All trips must be declared through the vessel’s VMS prior to leaving port. The declaration for a NGOM trip should be SES-SCG-NGXDXX. In addition, all vessels must submit a Pre-Landing Report at least 6 hours before returning to port on each trip. For assistance with VMS requirements, please contact 978-281-9213.

Stellwagen Bank Scallop Closed Area

The Stellwagen Bank Closed Area is closed through fishing year 2021. This closure is to protect a substantial number of small scallops that have not recruited into the fishery.

Only One Landing Per Calendar Day

For example, if you complete a trip and land scallops midday on Monday, then depart for a second trip Monday afternoon, you cannot land scallops again until after midnight (i.e., Tuesday). However, you may return to harbor prior to midnight, but your vessel cannot land at any dock, land, or facility.

Selling to a Federally Permitted Dealer

Federally permitted vessels must sell to a federally permitted dealer. We understand COVID-19 may have impacted the market and many fishermen seek to sell directly to the consumer. However, to sell your scallops directly to the consumer you need a federal dealer permit. Please contact GARFO for questions and to obtain a federal dealer permit at 978-282-8438 or visit our website.

Read the full release here

MAINE: Whale rule proposals bring fear and anxiety

March 1, 2021 — A broad and sweeping federal proposal to save right whales from extinction could wipe out tens of thousands of jobs tied to the lobster fishery within a decade, according to state officials and fishermen’s advocates.

Not only that, the proposal won’t even save the whales, they say.

Under a judge’s order, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, on December 31, 2020, proposed new rules to protect right whales from fishing gear. Two weeks later, NOAA published a draft opinion, also ordered by the judge, on the impact of the rules. Known as a biological opinion, it outlines a 10-year plan to reduce 98 percent of the lobster fishery’s risk to whales.

Gov. Janet Mills called the biological opinion “devastating” in a February 18 letter to NOAA. “If this comes to pass, it is not only fishermen and their crew who will be impacted, [but] gear suppliers, trap builders, rope manufacturers—all these businesses face a deeply uncertain future,” Mills wrote.

Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Kelliher offered a blunter assessment during a virtual Lobster Advisory Council meeting on February 17.

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Press