Saving Seafood

‘Like Christmas in October.’ Deep-sea corals get new protections in the Gulf of Mexico

October 19, 2020 — The federal government has approved new protections for 500 square miles of deep-sea coral habitat in the Gulf of Mexico.

The protected areas are scattered across 13 reef and canyon sites from Texas to the Florida Keys that support an abundance of sea life, including snapper, grouper and other fish favored by commercial and recreational fishers.

The rules, approved Thursday (Oct. 15) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, prohibit fishing with bottom tending nets and other gear, which can rip apart corals that have lived for hundreds of years.

The environmental group Oceana has pushed for the protections for some 20 years.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for this,” said Gib Brogan, an Oceana campaign manager. “It’s like Christmas in October.”

Deep-sea corals, like their shallow and warm-water cousins, are actually colonies of small animals that build a common skeleton. But unlike tropical reef corals, deep-sea varieties live in cold, dark depths of up to 10,000 feet. Deep-sea corals form into tree, feather and fan shapes that host a variety of other species, including shrimp, crab and fish.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

NOAA Provides Funding to Lobster, Jonah Crab Research Fleet as Fishery Undergoes Landings Jump

October 16, 2020 — Last month, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center provided funding to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to support the Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Fleet, organized by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF). NOAA explained that both the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries need additional research and data.

For lobster, managers have recently noted the need for more data for the most valuable species in the United States. When it comes to Jonah crab on the other hand it was once considered bycatch of the lobster fishery, but growing landings mean more biological and fishery data is needed to create a stock assessment for the crab species.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Lengthy Process, Little to Show for Connecticut Fisheries

October 16, 2020 — Nearly seven months after the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law, eligible fisheries and related businesses can apply for $1.8 million in economic aid through the CARES Assistance to Fishery Participants (CAAFP) program.

On March 27, the CARES Act authorized U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to allocate $300 million in financial assistance to states, tribes and territories with coastal and marine fisheries that were negatively impacted by COVID-19.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) then made awards to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Connecticut is part of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which also includes Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

From the $300 million, 31 entities received funding. Connecticut’s allocation was $1.8 million, the 9th lowest on the list. Rhode Island received $3.3 million, New York received $6.7 million, New Jersey received $11.3 million, and Massachusetts received $28 million. Alaska and Washington received the highest amounts at $50 million each.

Read the full story at The Connecticut Examiner

NOAA Fisheries Announces Designation of Habitat Areas of Particular Concern for Deep-Water Coral and Associated Fishing Regulations in Gulf of Mexico Federal Waters

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

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries announces the final rule implementing Amendment 9 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coral and Coral Reef Resources in Gulf of Mexico U.S. waters (Amendment 9).  The final rule will be effective November 16, 2020.

The rule establishes 13 new habitat areas of particular concern with fishing regulations, designates 8 new areas without fishing regulations, and modifies the regulations in 3 existing areas.  These areas have been identified as having sufficient numbers and diversity of deep-water corals to be considered essential fish habitat.

Fishing regulations apply to fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, including fishing for highly migratory species.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES:

For the changes below, except where otherwise stated, bottom-tending gear is defined as:  bottom longline, bottom trawl, buoy gear, dredge, pot or trap, and bottom anchoring by fishing vessels.  Buoy gear does not refer to highly migratory species buoy gear, which is not a bottom-tending gear.

The rule:

  • Establishes the following areas as habitat areas of particular concern with regulations prohibiting fishing with bottom tending gear: West Florida Wall, Alabama Alps, L&W Pinnacles, Scamp Reef, Mississippi Canyon 118, Roughtongue Reef, Viosca Knoll 826, Green Canyon 852, AT 047, AT 357, Harte Bank, and Southern Bank.
  • Establishes Viosca Knoll 862/906 as a habitat area of particular concern with regulations prohibiting fishing with bottom-tending gear, but allows royal red shrimp fisherman to keep their nets in the water, but off the bottom, in this area.
  • Within the current Pulley Ridge habitat area of particular concern, establishes a new habitat area of particular concern with fishing regulations prohibiting all fishing with bottom-tending gear, except for long line gear.
  • Establishes the following areas as habitat areas of particular concern without fishing regulation: South Reed; Garden Banks 299 and 535; Green Canyon 140/272,234, and 354; Mississippi Canyon 751 and 885.
  • An interactive map of existing and new areas can be found online at http://portal.gulfcouncil.org/coralhapc.html.

Additionally, the final rule modifies the prohibitions on “fishing with bottom-tending gear” to “deployment of bottom-tending gear” for habitat areas of particular concern in the Gulf of Mexico, including those established in Amendment 9.  “Deploy” is defined for the purpose of these prohibitions to mean that the gear is in contact with the water.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER:  85 FR 65740, published October 16, 2020.

Read the full release here

Reminder: Vessel Trip Reporting Requirements for the Large Mesh Belly Panel Trawl

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

On March 5, 2020, NOAA Fisheries created a gear code, “OBP” for use in Vessel Trip Reports (VTRs) to report use of the large mesh belly panel trawl. Vessels may choose to use the gear in a number of fisheries and as an approved selective gear for vessels using the sector small mesh exemption.

Please note that vessel operators must report the new gear code “OBP” in their VTRs whenever they use a large mesh belly panel trawl.

If you have used a large mesh belly panel trawl on a past trip and believe that you did not use the appropriate gear code on your VTR for that trip, please call 978-282-8418 or email us to request a correction.

Information on VTRs and other reporting requirements are available on the Vessel Trip Reporting page, including a downloadable instructions document. The document lists gear codes and other information to help industry ensure that their submitted VTRs are accurate.

Read the full release here

COVID funding plan OK’d for NJ fishermen; sea bass, tuna hit after storm

October 16, 2020 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has approved New Jersey’s spending plan for $11.3 million in federal aid for revenue losses to the commercial and charter fishing industry suffered as a result of the pandemic, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. said.

“This is another step in the right direction to ensure that New Jersey’s fishing industry gets the funding it needs to weather the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing economic storm,” Pallone said.

According to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, eligible fisheries-related businesses include commercial fisheries, aquaculture businesses, processors, dealers, and recreational fishery businesses, including for-hire businesses as well as bait and tackle shops.

An online application will be available starting Monday through the Department of Environmental Protection’s electronic grants management system, NJDEP SAGE.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Mississippi, Connecticut join list of states with approved CARES Act spend plans

October 15, 2020 — Mississippi and Connecticut have been added to the growing list of states that have received CARES Act spend plan approval from NOAA Fisheries.

The two states will receive an allocated portion of the USD 300 million (EUR 256 million) that was released in May in order to offset negative revenue impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that sum, Connecticut will receive just over USD 1.8 million (EUR 1.5 million) and Mississippi will receive a little more than USD 1.5 million (EUR 1.3 million).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New Tools Available to Help the Public to Better Understand Fishing Impacts Associated with Offshore Wind Development

October 15, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries has developed new tools and analyses that will help the public better understand fishing impacts associated with offshore wind development.

To help analyze how fishing operations may be impacted by offshore wind energy projects, NOAA Fisheries combined vessel logbook and dealer report data from 2008-2018 compared to current offshore wind energy project areas. We identified where and when fishing occurred relative to these areas and estimated landings and fishing revenue associated with each project area.

Based on this process, NOAA Fisheries developed reports of potential socioeconomic impacts from each offshore wind project area based on historic data.  These reports include information on the amount of primary species landed, revenue associated with landings, gear types used, and communities affected by each offshore wind development project area.  This will help estimate the potential impacts of such development on managed fisheries and associated fishing communities.

The public can access and download data used to generate these reports using a web-based tool developed by NOAA Fisheries. This tool allows users to access summary data based on species, gear, port, and state.  Users can also conduct a customized query by filtering the data for several fields, including year, wind energy area, species, or fishery management plan.

Both the socioeconomic impact reports and data query tool are now available online.  All data included in reports or available through the new web-based query tool have been aggregated, as necessary, to protect data confidentiality.

Read the full release here

Bold Initiatives Chart Course for Stronger, More Resilient Seafood Sector

October 15, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We all have a stake in a stronger, more resilient U.S. seafood industry. Seafood is an important source of protein and other nutrients that are essential for strong bones, brain development, and healthy immune and cardiovascular systems. The U.S. seafood industry is a powerful economic driver—supporting 1.2 million jobs and adding $69.2 billion to the gross domestic product in 2017. And for decades, the United States has been a global leader in sustainable seafood production. In short, U.S. seafood is good for your health, good for the economy, and good for the planet.

While the pandemic has created serious, ongoing challenges, NOAA Fisheries has taken a proactive role in monitoring and adjusting to COVID-19. Our actions are driven in part by our rapid economic assessments that identified immediate and long term impacts on the seafood industry. The United States recently reaffirmed its commitment to building a stronger seafood industry. We’re taking bold steps to expand sustainable production and make U.S. products more competitive in domestic and foreign markets. In May, the President signed an Executive Order that will serve as the map for several exciting initiatives, including the creation of 10 Aquaculture Opportunity Areas.

Growing our domestic aquaculture industry is critical to expanding and stabilizing the supply of sustainable seafood in the face of environmental and economic uncertainty. Aquaculture operations diversify seafood production and provide a year-round source of high-quality jobs and economic opportunities in coastal communities. These jobs augment seasonal tourism and commercial fishing.

The first two Aquaculture Opportunity Areas will ultimately be located somewhere within the federal waters off southern California and in the Gulf of Mexico. By tapping into existing regional industry and infrastructure, each of the final 10 areas selected through 2025 will support new commercial marine farm sites.

Also under the Executive Order, the Department of Commerce is co-chairing the newly-established Seafood Trade Task Force. The group is charged with developing a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy that will support fair market access for U.S. seafood products. While the strategy is being developed, fishermen and other producers impacted by retaliatory tariffs can apply for direct support through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Seafood Trade Relief Program.

Read the full release here

Collins calls on NOAA Fisheries to resume ‘usual operational tempo’

October 14, 2020 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) should get back to its regular schedule of conducting fisheries research surveys, which have been cancelled since May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and several colleagues.

Additionally, NOAA should identify and resolve any challenges created by the pandemic that prevented this year’s surveys to ensure surveys are safely conducted in 2021, the lawmakers wrote in a Sept. 30 letter sent to Dr. Neil Jacobs, acting administrator at NOAA. Among the members who joined Sen. Collins in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Doug Jones (D-AL).

“In May 2020, NOAA Fisheries started canceling research surveys to protect the health of its crews and personnel at sea on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we understand that the agency has yet to resume its usual operational tempo,” Sen. Collins and her colleagues wrote. “Fishermen and communities across the country rely on these surveys as a basis for their livelihoods.”

Read the full story at The Ripon Advance