Saving Seafood

New lawsuit seeks protection zone for Northwest orcas

August 20, 2019 — A new U.S. lawsuit filed Monday seeks to establish a whale protection zone for endangered orcas in the Pacific Northwest.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Orca Relief Citizens’ Alliance sued NOAA Fisheries in U.S. District Court in Seattle, saying the agency has failed to act on a petition it filed in 2016.

The petition sought to bar vessels from a 10- to 12-square-mile (26- to 31-square-kilometer) area west of San Juan Island where the orcas, called southern resident killer whales, feed from April through September each year. Any vessels exempted from the ban would be required to abide by a “no wake” rule in the zone.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

NOAA settlement with Rafael clears path for big scallop, groundfish vessel selloff

August 20, 2019 — Now that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has settled its civil claims against Carlos Rafael and 17 of his former fishing captains, look for the wheeling and dealing to intensify for his 43 scallop and groundfish permits and a related 30 fishing vessels.

Almost two years after a federal judge sentenced Rafael to pay $300,000 in fines and restitution and spend 46 months in prison for 28 different criminal counts, including repeatedly lying about his catch to authorities and evading taxes, the 67-year-old, so-called “Codfather” of New Bedford, Massachusetts, reached an agreement on Monday to determine what civil penalties he might also pay.

NOAA budged little from the $3,356,269 it said in September 2018 that it would seek from Rafael, hitting him with a $3,010,633 civil money penalty. However, rather than revoking Rafael’s many limited access permits, as some in the fishing sector desired or even expected, NOAA has given him until Dec. 31, 2020 — about 16 months — to sell them along with the many fishing vessels he owns or controls through transactions reviewed and approved by the agency.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Update: Carlos Rafael to be banned from fishing, pay $3 million; captains also face penalties

August 20, 2019 — New Bedford fishing magnate Carlos Rafael will permanently give up all commercial fishing by March 31 and pay a $3 million penalty to settle the federal government’s civil claims against him, federal fishing authorities said Monday.

Allegations against the self-proclaimed “Codfather” included dozens of counts of misreporting groundfish species, underreporting groundfish, and other fishery violations related to scalloping, gear and restricted areas.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it settled with Rafael and his fishing captains Monday in an administrative proceeding.

Rafael is sitting in federal prison at Federal Medical Center Devens, where he reported in November of 2017 to serve a 46-month sentence for falsifying fishing quota, cash smuggling and tax evasion in a separate criminal case.

His attorney in the civil matter, John Markey, said that considering what an appeal would require, Rafael believes the settlement is the right thing to do for him, his family, and the captains and crews of his vessels.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Senator Warren Statement on NOAA Settlement with Carlos Rafael

August 20, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA):

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the following statement today following news that the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has reached a settlement of the civil case against Carlos Rafael:

“The U.S. Department of Commerce and the NOAA should do everything in their power to ensure that all of the fishing permits Carlos Rafael held remain in the Port of New Bedford. These permits sustain an industry that has been part of the fabric and the way of life in New Bedford for hundreds of years. Law-abiding fishing families and businesses have already suffered through no fault of their own, and don’t deserve to have their livelihoods taken away because of Rafael’s wrongdoing.”

Last October, Senator Warren sent a letter to the Commerce Department and NOAA urging them to keep the fishing permits in the hands of Massachusetts families and businesses.

NOAA Fisheries: Commercial Closure in Federal Waters for Atlantic Migratory Group Spanish Mackerel Northern Zone on August 24, 2019

August 20, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial harvest of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone in federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 24, 2019, and will re-open on March 1, 2020. The northern zone for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel includes federal waters from North Carolina through New York. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of Spanish mackerel in or from the northern zone federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits while the recreational sector is open, but those fish may not be sold.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

Commercial landings are projected to reach the commercial quota for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the quota from being exceeded.

DURING THE CLOSURE:

The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for Spanish mackerel does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, August 24, 2019, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

During the closure, a person on board a vessel that has been issued a valid Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for coastal migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in the northern zone under the recreational bag and possession limits, as long as the recreational sector for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel is open.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at https://www.ecfr.gov .

California sound system tries to keep whales and ships apart

August 19, 2019 — Scientists have installed an underwater sound system they hope will reduce collisions between whales and ships in the Santa Barbara Channel off Southern California.

A listening station on the channel floor is able to capture whale calls as far away as 30 miles (48 kilometers), the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. That device is connected by cable to a buoy floating above that transmits data by satellite to scientists on shore.

From there, captains can be alerted to slow their ships down or reroute.

It’s the latest attempt to prevent ships from running into whales in the channel, where cargo vessels in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach cross feeding grounds of endangered blue, fin and humpback whales.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

NOAA: ‘The Reefs Weren’t Damaged, They Were Just Gone’

August 19, 2019 — In October, Hurricane Walaka literally wiped East Island off the map, and with it the primary nesting grounds of thousands of threatened green sea turtles in French Frigate Shoals.

But until now it wasn’t clear what happened to the surrounding reefs and sea life in this remote stretch of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, about 550 miles from Honolulu.

Researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and their partner scientists returned this week from a 22-day expedition in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Divers discovered devastating damage to the coral at French Frigate Shoals, an atoll featuring a crescent-shaped reef. Photos show rubble not recognizable as the former coral reef, one of the most significant reef systems in the nearly 600,000-square-mile monument, NOAA officials revealed Thursday.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

Lobstermen invited to weigh in on whale protection plan

August 19, 2019 — The eight-community traveling road show to gather public comment on new protections for the imperiled North Atlantic right whales hits Gloucester on Tuesday evening and is expected to draw a big crowd at NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office in the Blackburn Industrial Park.

The Gloucester session, set to run from 6 to 9 p.m. at the GARFO headquarters at 55 Great Republic Drive, is the seventh of the eight scoping meetings and the first of two in Massachusetts. The other is scheduled for the next night in Bourne.

The sessions organized by NOAA Fisheries are in advance of a draft environmental impact statement for modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. They will provide a forum for stakeholders and others to comment on new protections proposed by the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team. Those include lobster gear modifications and a reduction of the number of vertical endlines to reduce whale casualties and mortalities.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Blooms, beasts affected as Alaska records hottest month

August 19, 2019 — Alaska has been America’s canary in the coal mine for climate warming, and the yellow bird is swooning.

July was Alaska’s warmest month ever, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sea ice melted. Bering Sea fish swam in above-normal temperatures. So did children in the coastal town of Nome. Wildfire season started early and stayed late. Thousands of walruses thronged to shore.

Unusual weather events like this could become more common with climate warming, said Brian Brettschneider, an associate climate researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ International Arctic Research Center. Alaska has seen “multiple decades-long increases” in temperature, he said.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

NOAA Report: Approximately 85% Of West Coast Estuary Habitat Lost

August 19, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — A report published in PLOS ONE reveals that “more than a century of development” has erased approximately 85% of historical tidal wetlands in California, Oregon and Washington. However, there is good news. Scientists with NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center have found potential restoration opportunities.

Estuaries are important as they serve as “critical nurseries” for juvenile salmon and steelhead while they transition from freshwater to the ocean.

“Given how valuable estuaries are to so many different species, it’s important to understand how much they have changed and what that means for fish and wildlife that depend on them,” explained Correigh Greene, a research biologist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, and co-author of the new study.

According to the researchers, estuaries were lost over the years because they were diked and drained for agriculture. Forested wetlands were also not widely recognized as estuary acreage. But there is a chance to restore these estuary habitats.

“By folding in these areas that may not have been recognized as part of estuaries, we have a better idea of just how important and extensive these estuaries were,” added lead author Laura Brophy, who also serves as director of the Estuary Technical Group at the Institute for Applied Ecology. “Now we can see new restoration opportunities that people didn’t realize existed.”

More restoration can come from low-elevation areas that are at great risk of flooding due to rising sea levels and climate change. NOAA researchers say that tidal restoration in these areas can “re-establish natural processes like sediment delivery.”

Find the full story on estuary habitat loss on the west coast here.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.