Saving Seafood

Connecticut Lawmakers Push For Expanded Assistance to Shellfish Farmers in Next COVID-19 Economic Relief Package

July 24, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT):

U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives John Larson (CT-01), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jim Himes (CT-04), and Jahana Hayes (CT-05), joined a letter led by U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) to House and Senate leadership to urge them to provide support for shellfish and aquaculture farmers as they negotiate the next COVID-19 economic relief package. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer, the Connecticut delegation asked that $500 million be provided in fisheries assistance, which would include shellfish farmers.

The lawmakers asked that the new funding be specifically targeted towards producers who were ineligible, or did not receive sufficient assistance from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), or from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Section 12005 funds. They note that many aquaculture businesses in Connecticut, including all molluscan shellfish and marine algae, were not made eligible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for CFAP assistance, and that available assistance for this industry from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) amounts to only $450,000.

“In our State of Connecticut, fisheries and aquaculture producers will receive $1.8 million in total funds from NOAA, divided between commercial fishing, recreational fishing, and wholesale and shellfish aquaculture. After these resources have been distributed, the entire shellfish industry in Connecticut will receive approximately $450,00 in assistance, a woefully inadequate sum which will be spread thinly throughout our State’s $30 million industry.

“Providing $500 million in additional NOAA fisheries assistance targeted to the most affected industries – especially shellfish – will be a lifeline to our nation’s shellfish farmers during this economically challenging time.”

The delegation went on to urge the House and Senate leaders to provide additional funding for USDA’s Section 32 purchasing program, with a focus on aiding the shellfish aquaculture sector:

“[…] USDA’s Section 32 program to purchase surplus commodities has provided significant assistance to agricultural enterprises to prevent steep price declines. We believe that shellfish aquaculture are an appropriate candidate to this purchase program. USDA has failed to avail Section 32 purchases to the shellfish industry, and we request additional funds for Section 32 purchases, with an emphasis on sectors that did not receive a purchase thus far in 2020, including shellfish aquaculture.

“We urge you to support this targeted assistance in any future COVID-19 package.”

To read the delegation’s full letter, click here.

Massachusetts Lawmakers Pen Letter to NOAA Over Observer Waivers

July 24, 2020 — The following is an excerpt from a letter addressed to NOAA Administrators from Massachusetts Legislators. Lawmakers in Massachusetts have requested the extending of At-Sea Monitoring Waivers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Under Secretary Jacobs, Mr. Oliver, Mr. Pentony, and Dr. Hare:

Thank you for extending the waiver for the requirement of At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) in the Northeast groundfishery through July 31, 2020. This action was critical to protecting the health and safety of the men and women in the Massachusetts commercial fishing industry,

While COVID-19 trends in the Northeast have been generally positive, many coastal areas continue to see cases rising, including Suffolk, Bristol, and Barnstable counties here in Massachusetts, all of Rhode Island, and Virginia Beach County, Virginia. As Senator Tarr’s June 30, 2020 letter to you, the commercial fishing industry remains among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 due to the inherent conditions of their working environment at sea. Furthermore, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have warned that this fall and winter will likely see a secondary outbreak of COVID-19.

Read the full letter here

Reminder: New Permitting and Reporting Requirements for Recreational Blueline and Golden Tilefish

July 24, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Beginning August 17, all recreational vessels fishing for blueline or golden tilefish must have a permit and report catch within 24 hours of returning to port.

Who Does This Impact?

  • Vessels fishing for or retaining tilefish from Virginia to Maine.
  • For-hire vessels holding an existing GARFO permit who take private recreational tilefish trips.
  • States may have additional permitting or reporting requirements for recreational fishing.

What Do I Need To Do?

  • Obtain a Private Recreational Tilefish Permit from the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO).
  • Report your trip with one of the available reporting options.

How Do I Get a Permit?

  • Start by registering an account on GARFO Fish Online.
  • Create a user name and password.
  • Existing permit holders may apply through their current Fish Online account.
  • Click Initial Private Recreational Tilefish Permit.

How Do I Report?

More information on recreational tilefishing can be found on our recent Bulletin.

Questions?

NOAA FISHERIES: Modifications to Charter Vessel and Headboat Electronic Reporting Requirements

July 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries has published a final rule to modify reporting requirements for the owners or operators of vessels with Charter Vessel/Headboat federal permits for Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish or Gulf coastal migratory pelagics.

WHEN THE RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

The final rule will be effective on January 5, 2021, for the trip declaration and trip level electronic logbook component of the rule. The effective date for the location tracking component of the rule will be announced at a later date.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES:

  • The owner or operator of a vessel with a Gulf federal for-hire permit must electronically declare (hail-out) a trip before leaving the dock, berth, beach, seawall, or ramp.
  • The owner or operator of the vessel must submit an electronic fishing report for each trip prior to offloading fish, or within 30 minutes after the end of the trip if no fish are landed.
  • The vessel owners or operators must install NOAA Fisheries approved hardware/software with location tracking capabilities that, at a minimum, archives vessel position data and transmits data to NOAA Fisheries. This requirement would not preclude the use of location tracking devices that provide real-time location data or vessel monitoring systems (VMS).
  • The location tracking portion of the hardware must be installed by a certified installer, permanently affixed to the vessel and turned on at all times, unless a power-down exemption is granted.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER:
85 FR 44005, published July 21, 2020

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

Whales Get A Break As Pandemic Creates Quieter Oceans

July 21, 2020 — When humpback whales migrated to Glacier Bay in Alaska this year to spend the long summer days feeding, they arrived to something unusual: quieter waters.

As the COVID-19 pandemic slows international shipping and keeps cruise ships docked, scientists are finding measurably less noise in the ocean. That could provide momentary relief for whales and other marine mammals that are highly sensitive to noise.

Through networks of underwater hydrophones, scientists are hoping to learn how the mammals’ communication changes when the drone of ships is turned down, potentially informing new policies to protect them.

“More needs to be done,” says Jason Gedamke, who manages the ocean acoustics program at NOAA Fisheries. “When you have animals that for millions of years have been able to communicate over vast distances in the ocean, and then once we introduce noise and have increased sound levels and they can’t communicate over those distances, clearly there’s going to be some impact there.”

Read the full story at NPR

Fishing industry seeks relief from observer coverage

July 21, 2020 — West Coast trawlers and fishing industry leaders looking to minimize the risk of exposure to the coronavirus are asking for an emergency waiver from a requirement to carry human observers.

The National Marine Fisheries Service provided a two-week waiver from observer coverage in the spring. Chris Oliver, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, clarified in a message posted Thursday that waivers remain available on a vessel-by-vessel basis.

According to a spokesman, the federal agency has issued some individual vessel waivers for trips in the past three months — all were for times when observers were not available, not for other reasons, such as a vessel operator’s concerns about the coronavirus.

Industry representatives argue that further steps are needed as the threat of the pandemic continues and case numbers rise.

Read the full story at The Astorian

NOAA Fisheries Removes Regulations Implementing the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program

July 21, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today we filed the final rule to eliminate the regulations implementing the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program (SAP).

The Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment eliminated Closed Area I in 2018. As a result, the SAP for this area is unnecessary. The SAP no longer provides access or allows activity otherwise prohibited by any closed or gear restricted area. No vessel has participated in the SAP since the start of fishing year 2018.

Removing the program from the regulations helps to avoid confusion and inconsistency with other regulations.

For more details, please read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register or our bulletin.

Evan Howell Appointed New Director for NOAA’s Office of Science & Technology

July 21, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA announced the appointment of Dr. Evan Howell as the new director of NOAA’s Office of Science and Technology. In this role, Dr. Howell will advocate and ensure a sound scientific basis for NOAA Fisheries science programs and resource conservation and management decisions. He will coordinate closely with six NOAA Fisheries science centers in Alaska, Northeast, Northwest, Pacific Islands, Southeast, and Southwest.

“The NOAA Fisheries science enterprise provides the foundation for understanding the dynamics of our marine ecosystems. We build on this understanding to provide sound science advice for the sustainable management of our commercial and recreational fisheries and the conservation of our protected species. As our new lead for NOAA Fisheries Office and Science and Technology, Dr. Evan Howell has the responsibility to help guide our agency through rapidly evolving technological and scientific capabilities and maintain our global leadership role. I have every confidence Evan will successfully meet these challenges based on his many years in science and leadership roles,” states Cisco Werner, Chief Science Advisor and Director of Scientific Programs for NOAA Fisheries.

For the past 5 years, Howell has served as the deputy director for the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, though he began work with NOAA Fisheries as a Cooperative Institute employee in the Pacific Region back in 1997. Overall, he has spent 15 of these 23 years as an ecosystem scientist, 3 years leading IT and data management development to support scientific research, and 5 years as deputy at the science center. Throughout his career, Howell has demonstrated his leadership and participated in scientific research coupling physical and biological processes to better understand critical habitat and possible climate effects on highly migratory and protected species in the central North Pacific ecosystem. As part of this research, Howell authored or co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers and participated in 11 NOAA or scientific partner research missions.

Read the full release here

The Pros And Cons Of Expanding United States Offshore Aquaculture In 2020

July 20, 2020 — An executive order issued by President Donald Trump on May 7th moved to open up federal waters to commercial fish farming (aquaculture). The area has previously been off-limits. The executive order intends to promote U.S. seafood production and create a hassle-free regulatory process for offshore aquaculture projects. While the aquaculture industry is celebrating, many conservationists and commercial fishers are not happy with the move.

Coastal waters in the U.S. are managed in zones under different authorities. The Submerged Lands Act of 1953 secured state control over waters from the coastline to three miles out to sea. Beyond that mark, waters are federally managed to 200 miles offshore. This federal zone is called the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). While nearshore aquaculture in the U.S. is regulated by states, there is currently no explicit authority in charge of permitting and regulating aquaculture in federal waters, which provides a significant stumbling block for anyone interested in starting up an offshore fish farm. The executive order designates the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the government agency lead on all aquaculture projects in the EEZ and also requires that all permitting decisions on new aquaculture projects be made within two years, significantly speeding up the process. “An executive order is needed to establish priority amongst the many agencies that have authority in the offshore space,” says Margaret Henderson, campaign manager for the aquaculture lobby group Stronger America Through Seafood.

Despite having the largest EEZ in the world, the U.S. currently has no commercial fish farms in any of it. NOAA fishery statistics indicate that approximately 90% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, however this estimate is debated by some that argue that it is far less given the fact that much of the fish caught in the U.S. is exported for processing, only to be sent back to be consumed. Regardless of the percentage, proponents argue that expanding U.S. offshore aquaculture will lower imports and stimulate domestic production.

Read the full story at Forbes

MASSACHUSETTS: Markey Touts Fisheries Aid, Hedges NOAA Question in New Bedford

July 20, 2020 — In a New Bedford campaign stop on Friday U.S. Sen. Ed Markey touted his work to procure coronavirus aid for the fisheries and to secure federal port infrastructure funding for the city’s working waterfront.

He also spoke of upcoming battles on Capitol Hill, blasted Republicans, and hedged when asked by local reporters if he would support construction of a new NOAA Fisheries science center in New Bedford — a federal investment Mayor Jon Mitchell and other local officials have long been pushing for.

Markey, 74, is facing a Democratic primary challenge from 39-year-old U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District. Kennedy, in visiting New Bedford last week, made NOAA the cornerstone of his stump speech, insisting that the government scientists who conduct stock assessments central to the regulation of the commercial fisheries should share geographic proximity with the industry, and that as such the brand-new lab should be built in the Whaling City.

Fisheries scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been headquartered in the seaside scientific community of Woods Hole since the 1960s, and plans are afoot to replace their aging lab facility. Mitchell has been a strong advocate for building the center in New Bedford, saying it could help heal the uneasy relationship between commercial fishermen and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service while bringing economic development and jobs to the city. However, communities on Cape Cod have pushed back, saying NOAA should stay in Barnstable County.

Read the full story at WBSM