Saving Seafood

Slow Speed Zone South of Nantucket to Protect Right Whales

November 16, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is triggering a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area  or DMA) south of Nantucket.

This DMA was triggered by a November 15, 2020, sighting of an aggregation of right whales.

Mariners, please go around this areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where groups of right whales have been sighted.

South of Nantucket DMA is in effect through November 30.

40 59 N
40 23 N
069 05 W
069 52 W

Active Seasonal Management Areas November 1- April 30

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

  • Block Island Sound
  • Ports of New York/New Jersey
  • Entrance to the Delaware Bay
    (Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington)
  • Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay
    (Ports of Hampton Roads and Baltimore)
  • Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC
  • Within a continuous area 20-nm from shore between Wilmington, North Carolina, to Brunswick, Georgia.

Find out more and get the coordinates for each mandatory slow speed zone.

Read the full release here

Butterfish Working Group Meeting Set

November 16, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The first meeting of the working group focused on improving the butterfish stock assessment is set for November 18. The meeting will be held via Google meet.

For a list of working group members, the agenda, access to documents, and information on how to participate, visit the event website.

Research track assessments evaluate new datasets that can either inform or be used in new or existing stock assessment models.

Questions?

Contact Michele Traver, NEFSC Assessment Coordinator

Americans don’t eat enough fish and miss out on robust health benefits

November 13, 2020 — Eating fish can provide powerful advantages for the heart and brain, yet Americans eat less than half of the 26 pounds per year that experts recommend. By contrast, Americans buy seven times more chicken and beef annually than fish.

Why Americans don’t eat more fish has been pondered for a long time by health experts, fish farmers and fishermen themselves. One way to consider this question is production. Consumers can buy a product only if it’s available. The more they buy, theoretically, the more that item will be produced. In this case, a greater demand for fish would be stimulated if more fish were offered for sale.

More seafood could be made available for American consumers from global ocean sources given that at least 60% of seafood in the U.S. is imported. U.S. aquaculture has the capacity to significantly increase. Research conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries also indicates slightly more domestic wild-caught fish can be harvested.

Read the full story at Yahoo News

NOAA Fisheries Approves Electronic Reporting Requirements for Mid-Atlantic and New England Commercial Vessels

November 13, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries has approved a recommendation from the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils to require federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to submit vessel trip reports electronically as eVTRs within 48 hours of the end of a trip. This requirement will take effect November 10, 2021.

This action affects all commercial vessels holding federal permits for any species managed by the Mid-Atlantic or New England Fishery Management Councils (see this bulletin for a complete list of species). The requirement will also be extended to vessels issued for-hire (charter/party) permits for New England Council-managed fisheries (i.e., Northeast multispecies). Vessels issued a Mid-Atlantic Council for-hire permit have been required to submit vessel trip reports electronically since March 2018.

The effective date of this action is being delayed for 1 year, until November 10, 2021, to allow ample time for training on the various electronic reporting applications and to allow vessel owners and operators the time to find the appropriate application for their operations. Information on eVTR applications is available on the GARFO website. Additional information on training opportunities will be posted on the Mid-Atlantic Council’s Commercial eVTR page throughout the upcoming year.

Additional Information

Questions?

  • Fishermen: Contact Moira Kelly, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9218
  • Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed 2021 and 2022 Golden Tilefish Specifications and Emergency Action

November 13, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is proposing the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommended catch specifications for the 2021 Northeast/Mid-Atlantic golden tilefish fishery. These proposed catch limits are mostly status quo, with only a slight change in the final incidental quota to account for updated discard estimates. The quota for the individual fishing quota (IFQ) fishery would remain status quo. A summary of the Council’s recommended specifications is shown in the following table.

ABC=Acceptable Biological Catch, ACL=Annual Catch Limit, ACT=Annual Catch Target, TAL=Total Allowable Landings

Additionally, the Council requested NOAA Fisheries take emergency action to allow a one-time 5-percent carryover of unharvested IFQ quota into the 2021 fishing year to help mitigate the adverse impact of unprecedented regional closures of restaurants and fish markets during 2020.  This proposed rule includes temporary measures that would allow tilefish IFQ quota shareholders to carryover unharvested IFQ quota up to a maximum of 5 percent of their initial 2020 IFQ allocation.

All other management measures and requirements would remain unchanged. This includes the incidental landing limit of 500 lb (whole weight) or 50 percent (by weight) of all fish being landed, including tilefish, whichever is less. The recreational trip limit of eight fish per angler is also 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 November 30, 2020.

Read the full release here

NOAA Veterans Corps: Progress By The Numbers

November 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The NOAA Veterans Corps provides opportunities for military veterans to build their skills and work experience contributing to habitat and fisheries restoration projects.

Through strong partnerships, the year-long paid training program for veterans includes marine and freshwater restoration for native fish and other natural resources. Participants also conduct research and monitoring to track the progress of fish restoration projects and fish populations. These efforts are helping different threatened and endangered species recover, including:

Here are a few key metrics to help understand the NOAA Veterans Corps partnerships impact.

  • 8 years: Established in California in 2012, NOAA Veterans Corps partnerships have grown ever since.
  • 3 states: We now have veterans corps partnerships in California, Oregon and Washington. Each state has a unique experience for veterans, with different levels of field, research and community outreach opportunities to help prepare them for longer-term careers in resource management.
  • 22 partners: Throughout those states, we’re working with partners to help shape the unique veterans corps experiences.
  • 50+ veterans: In 2020, we have 14 veterans participating, and more than 50 have participated since the partnerships started in 2012. Many of these veterans furthered their education and gotten jobs in state and tribal natural resource agencies. A recent Washington participant even got hired to work at NOAA!

Read the full release here

Celebrating Veterans Serving in Habitat Conservation

November 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

This Veterans Day, join us in honoring military veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces and learn how NOAA and our partners work with veterans to build a community of habitat restoration practitioners across the nation. Our conservation and veteran corps community is made up of veterans, young adults, and others. These partnerships recruit, train, mentor, and employ workers to implement habitat restoration projects in support of long-term coastal restoration.

NOAA’s Veterans Corps partnerships are building on 8 years of growth, supporting habitat and fisheries restoration projects on the west coast.

Learn more about NOAA’s Veterans Corps partnerships

Read the full release here

National Fish Habitat Partnership Recognized by Congress

November 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On October 30, 2020 the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) was recognized by Congress with the signing of America’s Conservation Enhancement Act. The new law expands NFHP Board membership, authorizes funding to partner organizations, adds Congressional reporting requirements, and more.

The National Fish Habitat Partnership is a science-based, state-led initiative to protect, restore, and enhance aquatic ecosystems across the United States. It leverages the resources and expertise of federal, state, and tribal governments, and non-governmental and research organizations to achieve on-the-ground results for fish and aquatic habitats. This unique national partnership consists of a network of 20 state-led Fish Habitat Partnerships (FHPs). Each FHP focuses on improving fish habitat and aquatic communities at regional and local levels. Collectively, they have completed more than 1,000 projects in 50 states.

NOAA Fisheries has been a committed partner of NFHP since its inception in 2006. Through our participation, we conduct and fund projects that support our mission to achieve healthy coastal and estuarine ecosystems, productive and sustainable fisheries, conservation of protected resources, and resilient coastal communities.

“NOAA Fisheries is excited for the National Fish Habitat Partnership to be recognized by Congress,” said Samuel Rauch, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, NOAA Fisheries. “We look forward to continuing to protect, enhance, and restore important fish habitats across the coastal United States in support of sustainable fisheries and communities as a proud NFHP partner.”

In addition to serving as a member of the NFHP Board, NOAA Fisheries provides scientific and technical assistance and supports research and restoration efforts. We also provide in-kind support via Board staff and various committees in many of the 10 coastal FHPs.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Adjustments to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Risk Policy

November 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comment on a proposed rule that would adjust the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s risk policy. This action would adjust the Council’s risk policy by accepting a higher level of risk for stocks that are at or above biomass targets, resulting in the ability for the Council to set higher catch limits for healthy fisheries. This action would also remove the typical/atypical species designation when applied to the current risk policy allowing the Council to better use improvements in stock assessment and modeling approaches that can more appropriately account for and address overfishing vulnerability.

For more details, please read the rule as published in the Federal Register. You can provide comments through our online portal. Comments are due by November 26, 2020.

Read the full release here

U.S. coral reefs’ health assessed for the first time on a national scale

November 11, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA:

Coral reefs in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans received a “fair” score in the first-ever condition status report for U.S. coral reefs released by NOAA and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) today. While the overall scores were “fair,” the report highlights coral reefs are vulnerable and declining. This is the first time coral reefs in all U.S. states and territories have been assessed using standardized monitoring data, creating datasets that offer a baseline of coral health on a national scale.

The U.S. Coral Reef Condition Status Report was developed by NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program and UMCES’s Integration and Application Networkoffsite link using data collected between 2012 and 2018. The scores are denoted as “very good,” “good,” “fair,” “impaired,” and “critical.” The report was based on four categories when assigning a score: corals and algae abundance, reef fish populations, influence of climate on coral reefs, and human connections to reefs.

“Considering the more than $3.4 billion in annual economic benefits of coral reefs, these reports and the policy actions that they will inform are critical to our American Blue Economy,” said retired Navy Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator.

Coral reefs near higher density human populations are degraded, which is likely due to local stressors including land-based sources of pollution and damaging impacts from fishing.

“To conserve and restore coral reefs, we need to understand the overall condition of these  ecosystems,” said Jennifer Koss, director of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. “This report represents a snapshot of reef condition and is a great resource for communities and decision-makers throughout the nation. We hope the report starts a dialogue about the various factors and potential solutions to the threats affecting coral reefs.”

Greatest among the threats to coral reefs is climate change, according to the report. Warmer, more acidic seawater is negatively affecting coral reefs globally, no matter how remote they are.

“These status reports clearly show the impacts people are having on coral reef ecosystems,” said Heath Kelsey, director of UMCES’s Integration and Application Network. “Our work in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans shows a dire outlook for coral reef ecosystem health, from warming ocean waters, fishing, disease, and pollution from the land. Of all of these, climate change is the single biggest threat to shallow water coral reefs in the U.S., and worldwide.”

Read the full release here