Saving Seafood

BOEM announces effort to protect right whales

February 10, 2022 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced in a press release it is partnering with multiple federal and state entities to research and strengthen the protection of the endangered North Atlantic right whales. The groups mentioned in the press release include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NOAA Fisheries, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

According to the release, BOEM is working with NOAA to develop strategies to “protect and promote the recovery of right whales” while allowing responsible development of offshore wind farms. The two organizations, with other partners, are also working on a passive acoustic monitoring network to identify and monitor the movements and distribution of marine mammals.

Read the full story at The Martha’s Vineyard Times

 

U.S. blocks Mexican fishermen from ports, cites years of illegal fishing in U.S. waters

February 9, 2022 — Along the U.S.-Mexico maritime border, the incursions occur almost daily. The boats are outfitted with small outboard motors, powerful enough to flee pursuing Border Patrol and Coast Guard vessels.

The Mexican skiffs are loaded not with drugs or migrants, but with red snapper, sea turtles and sharks.

U.S. officials say the threat posed by Mexican fishermen casting their nets illegally in U.S. waters has grown so acute that for the first time in years, they’ve banned Mexican fishing vessels from entering U.S. ports.

“These vessels … will be denied port access and services,” said Lauren Gaches, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She said the sanction was being applied in response to Mexico’s “continued failure to combat unauthorized fishing activities by small hulled vessels in U.S. waters.” It took effect Monday.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

MAINE: Local lobstermen hear mostly bad news at Zone B Council meeting

February 8, 2022 — Area lobstermen heard little good news at a Jan. 31 Zone B Council meeting as Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher shared information presented earlier at a December 2021 Lobster Advisory Council meeting. 

New gear, reporting and trap line regulations and the temporary closure of local waters to lobster fishing – all aimed at protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale – are changing how lobstermen fish today and in the future. But greater challenges will play out in federal courts, as lawsuits levied by well-funded environmental groups could shut the fishery completely down. 

“This represents the greatest threat to the industry,” Deputy Commissioner Meredith Mendelson said. 

If the federal court rules to vacate the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s biological opinion, as one lawsuit requests, on grounds that it violates the Endangered Species Act and the 1946 Administration Procedures Act (which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations), then NOAA’s National Fisheries Marine Service (NFMS) could not legally authorize the fishery to operate. 

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

Maine lawmakers asked to create $30M emergency fund to aid fishermen

February 3, 2022 — Maine lobstermen can resume setting their traps in a roughly 960-square-mile area of ocean that’s been off-limits to them for the past two months.

That closure was part of new rules from the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ordered to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.

Fishermen in that offshore area were told to remove their traps by late October, but the Maine Lobstering Union challenged the requirement in court and won a restraining order. However, just a few weeks later, a federal appeals court overturned that ruling and reinstated the closure, which finally began at the end of November.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association estimated last year that nearly 200 fishermen normally work that area during the months it would be closed.

Tuesday marked the end of the closure and fishermen can now return to those waters. However, the MLA said the closure has cost those fishermen money, as they had to spend time relocating traps instead of fishing, which may have reduced catches.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

Congress Should Remove Burdensome Seafood Provisions from America COMPETES Act, Write 55 Saving Seafood Coalition Members

February 2, 2022 — Today, 55 members of the Saving Seafood Coalition added their names in opposition to seafood import monitoring provisions in H.R. 4521, the America COMPETES Act, that would impose “a blizzard of paperwork and insurmountable compliance burdens on processors, distributors, restaurants, and grocery stores.”

Earlier this week, a diverse group of thirteen seafood organizations representing fisheries from across the nation wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking that these provisions be removed from the bill.

The provisions, Sections 70101 to 70131, would expand the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to include all seafood species regardless of risk of illegal fishing, and extend it down the entireS supply chain. These sections draw heavily from H.R. 3075, portions of which were opposed by nearly 120 commercial seafood industry stakeholders in a letter last September.

The letter points to testimony from Janet Coit, NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, in its opposition to SIMP expansion. In a hearing last July, Ms. Coit testified, “The current risk-based approach to SIMP allows NOAA to target our existing resources on those fish and fish products most likely to come from IUU [illegal, unreported, and unregulated] fishing.” Proposed changes to SIMP “would require NOAA to shift resources and reprioritize activities,” Ms. Coit said.

H.R. 3075 has not been considered by the numerous committees of jurisdiction in the House and is not ready for inclusion in a legislative package being prepared for a vote by the entire House of Representatives, the letter states.

“We strongly urge you to remove Sections 70101 to 70131 from H.R. 4521 and enable their consideration through regular order,” the Saving Seafood Coalition members wrote.

The letter was delivered to Speaker Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

NOAA Fisheries Denies Petition For Emergency Action on Bering Sea Salmon Bycatch

February 2, 2022 — Four days after the Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo approved eight fisheries in Alaska for official disaster determinations, including the 2020 Kuskokwim River salmon fishery and the 2020 and 2021 Yukon River salmon fisheries, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit denied a petition for emergency action to lower the number of salmon caught incidentally in the Bering Sea.

The petitioners — the Association of Village Council Presidents, the Bering Sea Elders Group, Kawerak, Inc., the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, representing over 118 Alaska Tribes — saw significant salmon declines both years. The Yukon was particularly hard hit: the fishery had its lowest runs ever last summer. The commercial fishery remained closed. Yukon River families were not allowed to fish for subsistence salmon.

Th petition asked Raimondo for emergency action to eliminate Chinook salmon bycatch and set a cap on chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery in the 2022 season.

Coits letter of denial reached them a few days after news of the fishery disaster approvals was reported, opening the door for relief funds. Responding to the disaster declaration, which was requested by Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, the state’s Congressional delegation issued a joint written statement that the federal funds could help compensate “crews, seafood processors, and research initiatives in the impacted regions.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

Cool Ocean Waters, Abundant Nutrients Provide Rosy Outlook for Washington Salmon

February 1, 2022 — Scientific markers used to predict the health and productivity of marine species such as juvenile salmon were positive in 2021, the second most favorable since 1998, according to analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Fisheries biologists are cautiously optimistic that those conditions will persist into the near future, supporting the health of juvenile, ocean-run salmon off the coasts of Washington and Oregon.

The report looked at a number of oceanic health markers: atmospheric conditions, water temperature, salinity, oxygen levels, current movement, and biomass of Chinook and Coho salmon, along with food sources such as plankton and small crustaceans. Many of those indicators were more favorable than every year in the last 24, outside of 2008.

“Every once in a while, things are in alignment. … In 2021, everything from water temperatures to phytoplankton, zooplankton, and larval fishes were pointing in the same direction,” Brian Burke, a fishery biologist with NOAA, told MyNorthwest.

Burke attributes those conditions to a strong upwelling in the Pacific along the 45-degree parallel north, a term which refers to atmospheric and ocean conditions that bring cold, nutrient rich water from the deep ocean toward the surface.

Read the full story at Seafood News

New study zeros in on market squid increase off Oregon

January 31, 2022 — New research has found market squid populations increased fivefold off the Oregon and Washington state coasts in recent years, a population boom and an expansion north tied to several years of extremely warm ocean temperatures.

It is a glimpse of the possible future.

Mary Hunsicker, the co-author of the study and a research ecologist with NOAA Fisheries, said it is “what we might expect to see in Oregon waters with continued, long-term warming of ocean temperatures and more extreme warming events due to climate change.”

Hunsicker and her fellow researchers used survey data that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration collects every year from designated spots off the West Coast. The surveys are independent from fisheries and do not target squid, but squid kept showing up.

While researchers saw major increases in the squid population in the north, they did not see the same level of increase in California, the squid’s more traditional home. Market squid is a cornerstone of California’s commercial fishing industry, both in value and in pounds landed.

Read the full story at The Daily Astorian

National Working Waterfront Network, Urban Harbors Institute set to Host 2022 Conference in Boston

January 31, 2022 — The following was released by the National Working Waterfront Network:

The National Working Waterfront Network (NWWN), a nationwide network of organizations committed to preserving and enhancing waterfronts and waterways, will be holding its 6th national conference in Boston from July 19 to July 21, 2022. The conference will be titled Working Waterfronts: Traditions and Transitions, and will be held on UMass Boston’s oceanfront campus.

For the event, the NWWN will be partnering with the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) at UMass Boston, a research institute focused on promoting thriving ocean and coastal communities and sustainable natural resources. Working together, their goal is to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to address the sustainability, resiliency, and future growth of working waterfront communities at the local, regional, and national levels.

“The NWWN conference is an important event that promotes information exchange among people involved in all aspects of working waterfronts, from commercial interests to waterfront research, planning, and management, to policymaking,” said Kristin Uiterwyk, Director of the Urban Harbors Institute. “We are excited to bring the conference back to New England where working waterfronts have been and continue to be so central to our culture and economy.”

Co-hosted by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and Maine Sea Grant, the event will include keynote speakers and a series of presentations, panel sessions, roundtable discussions, and art installations. Session themes will cover the resilience of commercial fishing communities, developing waterfront industries, the threats of climate change, workforce development pertaining to maritime activities, and the impacts of COVID-19 on working waterfronts and new innovations for recovery.

“Coastal communities face many different challenges, such as how to protect our waterfronts from increased coastal hazards and guarantee space for industrial uses, how to balance old and new uses to include aquaculture and offshore renewable energy, and how to engage more young people in commercial fishing,” said Nicole Faghin, Chair of the NWWN, “This conference will bring together people to share tools, resources and connect with others interested in creating and maintaining healthy working waterfronts.”

In addition to a speaking program and discussions, the conference will include an evening at the New England Aquarium for a welcome reception, field trips for attendees throughout the conference, highlights of other NWWN initiatives including a podcast and webinar series, the NWWN internship, and a pre-conferencetraining by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Those interested in registering for the event, submitting an abstract, sponsoring the conference, and/or looking for more information can visit the conference website.

About the National Working Waterfront Network

The National Working Waterfront Network (NWWN) is a nationwide network of businesses, industry associations, nonprofits, local governments and communities, state and federal agencies, universities, Sea Grant programs, and individuals dedicated to supporting, preserving, and enhancing our nation’s working waterfronts and waterways. Participation in the NWWN is open to all individuals and organizations involved in working waterfront issues at the federal, state, and local level. Our mission is to increase the capacity of coastal communities and stakeholders to make informed decisions, balance diverse uses, ensure access, and plan for the future of their working waterfronts and waterways.

About the Urban Harbors Institute at UMass Boston

Founded in 1989, the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI), an institute within the School for the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Boston, advances ocean and coastal management through collaborative research and planning at the local, regional, state, federal, and international level. Working closely with governments, marine industry representatives, non-governmental organizations, and members of the public, UHI develops solutions to issues confronting coastal communities, marine-based industries, and activities, and reduces human impacts on the environment. Additionally, UHI’s position within the University of Massachusetts Boston allows the Institute to draw from the legal, economic, policy, and scientific expertise within the University.

Disaster declarations approved for Alaska fisheries

January 21, 2022 — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced Friday, 21 January, 2022, her office has approved disaster declarations for eight Alaska fisheries.

The rulings means those fisheries are now eligible to federal assistance through NOAA. No funding total was mentioned in the NOAA release, with the amounts to be determined at a later date.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource