Saving Seafood

Suit seeks to reverse Trump changes to sea turtle protection

April 7, 2021 — Conservation groups sued on Tuesday to reverse changes made under former President Donald Trump to rules protecting sea turtles, even though federal regulators said a week ago that they were reconsidering some of those changes.

The groups hope President Joe Biden’s administration will change the rules, but the possible revisions outlined recently may not go far enough, said Jaclyn Lopez of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the three groups.

“We’re hopeful they will do something and do something soon, but we’re not going to sit back and wait,” she said. “This is decades in the making and our patience has run out.”

“We are aware of this filing and are reviewing it,” Allison Garrett, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries service, said in an email.

The current rule would hurt five endangered and threatened sea turtle species, especially Kemp’s ridleys, the smallest and most endangered, the groups’ news release said. Kemp’s ridleys swim throughout the Gulf and along the Atlantic Coast to New England, nesting in Mexico and along the Texas coast.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

Alaskan fishing communities ask for seat at climate policy table

April 7, 2021 — Alaskan fishing organizations are urging the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to listen to coastal communities and fishermen while crafting an ecosystem-based approach to climate change and fisheries policy.

The message from Alaska fishing communities came through recent public comments hearing by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the new administration’s executive order on climate change.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Fisheries Announces Gear and Harvest Limits at Artificial Reef Sites in the South Atlantic Region

April 7, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries announces the final rule for Regulatory Amendment 34 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. The final rule will create 34 special management zones around artificial reefs off North Carolina and South Carolina.

There will be additional gear and harvest restrictions within the proposed special management zones. The purpose of the gear restrictions is to reduce adverse effects to federally managed species at these sites.

WHEN THIS RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

Regulations will be effective May 3, 2021.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES:

  • The final rule will create special management zones around select artificial reef sites off North Carolina (30) and off South Carolina (4).
  • The zones range in size from 0.041 to 1.01 square miles.
  • Harvest of snapper-grouper species will only be allowed with handline, rod and reel, and spear in these zones. Therefore, this action will prohibit the use of bandit reel, powerhead, pot, and longline gear at these sites.
  • In the special management zones off North Carolina, harvest of snapper-grouper species by spear will be limited to the applicable recreational bag limit.
  • In the special management zones off South Carolina, harvest of snapper-grouper species with all gear types will be limited to the applicable recreational bag limit.

Read the full story at the Island Free Press

Pacific waters off the West Coast showed improved productivity, says NOAA

April 6, 2021 — Ocean waters off the West Coast showed signs of improved productivity in 2020 after several years of warm water and poor fisheries conditions, according to the most recent California Current Ecosystem status report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The transition last year from an El Nino to La Nina climate pattern, paired with a strong upwelling of cold water from the deep ocean, created ideal conditions for nutrient-rich plankton to proliferate, according to the report. These tiny organisms provided food for larger marine animals, and their abundance helped grow populations of fish, birds, and mammals such as sea lions higher up the food chain.

“It does look like there was better upwelling on average than we’ve seen in several years,” said Chris Harvey, a researcher with NOAA and co-editor of the report released in March. “We saw more plankton, and the plankton we saw were the cool-water varieties that have more stored fat — more food and better-quality food.”

The report was compiled by NOAA researchers and presented on March 10 to the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which manages commercial, tribal, and recreational fishing in federal waters off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. The council will use the report to better understand conditions within the whole ecosystem when making management decisions and recommendations in the future.

Read the full story at The East Bay Times

NEFMC April 13-15, 2021 – By Webinar – Listen Live, View Documents

April 6, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting by webinar from Tuesday, April 13 through Thursday, April 15, 2021.  The public is invited to listen live and provide input during designated opportunities for public comment.  The Council still cannot hold a large, in-person meeting due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES:  The Council wants to hear from you.  Here’s how you can let the Council know what you think.

  • WRITE A LETTER:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.
  • TALK TO THE COUNCIL:  You’ll be able to address the Council directly through two different avenues – by commenting on motions at the discretion of the Council chair (raise your hand on the webinar and unmute yourself when called upon) and by speaking during the open period for public comment.  Here are the Guidelines for Providing Public Comment.
  • OPEN PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT:  On Thursday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m., the Council will offer the public an opportunity to provide comments on issues relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda.  Given the Council’s busy meeting schedule, we ask that you limit remarks to 3-5 minutes.
    • SIGN UP NOW:  Interested in speaking?  Email Janice Plante at jplante@nefmc.org to get on the list.

TIME:  12:00 p.m. start on Tuesday, April 13.  Then, 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 14 and 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 15.  The webinar will end shortly after the Council adjourns each day.

NOAA LISTENING SESSION ON EXECUTIVE ORDER:  At 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13, NOAA Fisheries will hold a listening session on Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.  The discussion will focus on Section 216(c), making fisheries and protected resources more resilient to climate change.  NOAA Fisheries will be seeking recommendations and comments from the Council and public on this specific section of the Executive Order during the listening session.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

  • Here are instructions in the Remote Participation Guide for successfully joining and participating in the webinar.
  • THIS IS KEY!  If you want to speak during opportunities for public comment, you need to: (1) register for the webinar; and (2) actually “join” the webinar.  People who call in by telephone without joining the webinar will be in listen-only mode.  Those who take both steps – register and then join the webinar – will see the meeting screen and be able to click on a “raise hand” button, which will let the meeting organizer know you want to be unmuted to speak.
  • We have a Help Desk in case you get stuck joining the webinar or have trouble along the way.  Phone numbers are listed on the Help Desk Poster, or just email helpdesk@nefmc.org.  We’ll get right back to you.

WEBINAR CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422.  The access code is 948-987-138.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  All meeting materials and the agenda are available on the Council’s website at NEFMC April 13-15, 2021 Webinar Meeting.  Additional documents will be posted as they become available.

THREE MEETING OUTLOOK:  A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is available HERE.

COUNCIL MEETING QUESTIONS:  Anyone with questions prior to or during the Council meeting should contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed 2021 Recreational Rules for Summer Flounder

April 6, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on proposed 2021 summer flounder recreational fishery management measures.

We propose to continue the conservation equivalency approach for the summer flounder recreational fishery, in which states or regions develop minimum sizes, possession limits, and fishing seasons that will achieve the necessary level of conservation. Both the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recommended continuing conservation equivalency in 2021.

The proposed rule contains additional details on conservation equivalency, including what measures would be put in place if the Commission does not ultimately recommend conservation equivalency.

More Information

Read the proposed rule  as published in the Federal Register today. The comment period is open through April 21, 2021. Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Emily Keiley, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9116
Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

Northeast herring: As catch limit screws tighten, bait dealers seek alternative sources

April 5, 2021 — New rules in the herring fishery aimed at improving sustainability for the important lobster bait fish are impacting fishermen, dealers and others.

The fishery, mostly centered in Massachusetts and Maine, grew in the 1960s but has been in decline since the 1980s. In 2018, 43,878 metric tons were landed. But by 2019, 12,998 mt (valued at $9.72 million) was landed. 2020 landings were 9,368.5 mt (valued at $6.77 million), according to NOAA economist Min-Yang Lee.

The 2021 fishing season started Jan. 1, with an annual catch limit of 11,571 mt, divided among four herring management areas. However, once Framework 8 to the herring management plan is implemented, the total ACL will be set to 4,128 mt. The 2020 stock assessment shows spawning stock biomass to be at its lowest value since the late 1980s.

Wayne Reichle, president of Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May N.J., calls the quota reductions “a disaster for the region’s herring fishery.” Reichle says fleet has stayed within quota the last few years, so the low biomass and poor recruitment is “attributable to the stress of a cold-water fish being challenged by a warming ocean.” Many say it is too early to predict to what extent herring supplies will impact prices, given the newest reductions. In mid-March, herring prices in Maine were about $250 per barrel at the docks.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Home-Based Researchers Keep 10-Year Study Afloat During Pandemic

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

Even without a pandemic, figuring out the number of eggs a fish will lay during its spawning season is a difficult task. While this information is important to fishery biologists, long-term data are scarce. That hampers researchers ability to answer a fundamental question important for fishery managers: What affects the ability of marine fish, and fish populations, to replace themselves in an open ocean? The pandemic made answering this question even more difficult—but our researchers persevered.

“Many marine fish produce hundreds of thousands to millions of eggs per female per year, the survival of which determines the future abundance of a population,” said Mark Wuenschel, a fish biologist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Wuenschel is leading a long-term study on “fecundity”—a term for reproductive potential—in two commercial flatfish species, winter flounder and yellowtail flounder. “We had to have enough samples, and we had to work out the methodology to do it.”       

Annual fecundity — in this case, measured by the number of eggs — varies and depends on the size, age, and condition of the female fish. Environmental variables, such as temperature and available prey, also affect the growth, condition, and reproduction of the females. Like many things in life, timing is everything. To study fecundity, female fish have to be collected at just the right time from the right locations, and in large numbers. Then, lots of eggs need to be counted.

Enter Emilee Tholke and Yvonna Press, both center biologists who work with Wuenschel. They were granted access to their lab one day a week under specific safety protocols. They prepared egg samples and captured images of the eggs using a high-resolution camera with a macro lens and a microscope. Images were stored on a flash drive or transferred to a shared network file.

Then, working from home, each analyzed the images and entered the results into a shared database. Working from home not only kept the egg counts going, but ensured that critical sampling would continue, and prevented a back-log of sample processing work. This year’s effort completes a 10-year time-series of sampling, image analysis, and fecundity estimates for winter and yellowtail flounders.

Read the full release here

Maine Cod Fishery Posted Smallest Catch in History in 2020

April 5, 2021 — One of the oldest marine industries in the United States suffered the least productive year in its recorded history last year, in part because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Maine cod fishery stretches back centuries but has been in dire straits in recent years because of tough new management measures and a lack of fish.

The 2020 fishery brought 58,730 pounds of fish to the docks. That is more than 20,000 pounds less than 2017, which previously was the least productive year. The fishery routinely topped 10 million pounds per year in the 1980s and early ’90s.

Members of the industry said the pandemic played a role in last year’s low total because of such factors as the disruption to the broader seafood industry and the closure of restaurants.

“We had a pretty lean year,” said Jodie York, general manager of Portland Fish Exchange, a Maine auction house. “It really is in large part due to the pandemic.”

The fishery has also struggled in recent years because of cod population levels that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has described as “significantly below target levels.” The cod population off New England has suffered due to past years of overfishing and environmental change, marine regulators have said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

‘Déjà vu for Louisiana’s fisheries’: Fishermen to receive federal aid to offset COVID-19 losses

April 5, 2021 — Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry will receive $12.5 million in federal aid to help offset financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s part of a $255 million package approved by Congress in December as part of a larger COVID relief and budget bill.

“Our priority is to award these funds as quickly as possible using existing processes established under the CARES Act,” Paul Doremus, acting assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, said in announcing the aid last week.

It’s the second round of money aimed at helping fishermen weather the downturn in business caused by the pandemic.

Last year, Louisiana received $14.8 million from the CARES Act, which included about $300 million to aid the fishing industry throughout the U.S.

Read the full story at Houma Today