April 23, 2020 — Seafood Harvesters of America sent U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross a letter on Thursday, 23 April, calling on the Commerce Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to communicate how it will use the USD 300 million (EUR 278.2 million) in COVID-19 relief funding to help the nation’s fishermen.
That money was allocated in the USD 2.2 trillion (EUR 2.04 trillion) CARES Act, which Congress passed last month.
April 23, 2020 — The Pacific sardine fishery on the U.S. West Coast appears to be headed for another year of being shut down after a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) assessment showed a low biomass.
The NOAA assessment estimated the Pacific sardine biomass will be at 27,547 metric tons by the summer – significantly less than the 150,000 metric tons needed to reopen the fishery to commercial fishing. Any fishery at less than 50,000 metric tons is considered to be overfished. The assessment estimates the sardine biomass was around 1.8 million metric tons in 2006.
April 23, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Today we published a notice in the Federal Register correcting the list of industry-funded monitoring (IFM) service providers that we approved to provide IFM services for the Atlantic herring fishery during IFM years 2020 and 2021 (April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022). When we first announced our approval of these providers, we accidentally left “industry-funded observer” off the list of services that East West Technical Services LLC was approved to provide. The notice corrects this error. The notice also contains contact information for each approved IFM service provider, as well as a complete list of the services that each company was approved to provide. For more information on IFM in the Northeast visit our website.
Exempted Fishing Permit Reminder
As an additional reminder, if you own a midwater trawl vessel issued a Category A or B herring permit and would like to be considered for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) to use electronic monitoring (EM) and portside sampling, instead of at-sea monitoring, to satisfy IFM requirements, please contact Maria Fenton at (978) 281-9196 no later than April 27, 2020.
Notifying NOAA Fisheries that you would like to participate in the EFP by April 27, 2020, will help us ensure we have sufficient information for you to participate, including ensuring that the Pre-Trip Notification System works properly for your vessel. Additionally, your notification will alert the EM service provider of your interest in the EFP, which will facilitate arranging system upgrades and your coverage in advance of IFM coverage beginning as early as June 2020. For more information about the proposed EFP, please read the Federal Register notice describing the project.
April 22, 2020 — It was December 2000, and both houses of Congress were itching to go home. They just needed to wrap up the budget — the new fiscal year was already 10 weeks old. At last, the House of Representatives announced that agreement had been reached.
There was only one problem. The Clinton administration was proposing restrictions on the billion-dollar Bering Sea pollock fishery, and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska, was having none of it.
“The fishing limits,” he said, reportedly pounding on his desk, “will put a considerable number of people out of work. Federal control of these magnificent fisheries is not going to be approved by this senator.”
As the man who controlled the purse strings, Stevens, an iconic World War II veteran known to Alaskans as “Uncle Ted,” was arguably the country’s most powerful senator and couldn’t be ignored.
April 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Lisa Methratta is the fishery biologist for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s offshore wind team. She brings academic training and professional experience in ecological research to bear on the study of offshore wind interactions with fish and fisheries.
“I am interested in designing new approaches for studying the ecological effects of offshore wind in marine ecosystems,” says Methratta, who previously worked for NOAA Fisheries as the national aquaculture liaison in the Office of Protected Resources. One of her tasks there was to lead an agency-wide working group examining the risks to protected species posed by offshore aquaculture.
“Wind power and aquaculture will each interact with the marine ecosystem in unique ways, many of which we are still learning about,” Methratta says. “Innovative, scientifically rigorous research will enrich our understanding of these interactions and support a healthy ecosystem with sustainable fisheries and industrial development in the offshore zone.”
April 22, 2020 — In the weeks since the coronavirus halted most restaurant operations, Virginia’s fishing industry has taken a big hit.
The information comes from an internal memo the Virginia Marine Resources Commission shared with the Daily Press.
The memo cites revenue potential loss from March through June ranging from $53 million to $68 million due to a near 90% decrease in market demand. The data was compiled to begin to understand the economic impact of COVID-19 on the fishing industry, both commercial and recreational, deputy commissioner Ellen Bolen said.
The information is anecdotal and gives broad calculations, she added.
The aquaculture industry ― which includes oyster and clam harvesters ― estimates it is losing between $3.5 and $7 million per month, according to the memo. The figures compiled do not factor in losses in supply such as bait, fuel and ice.
Commercial fishery jobs — some 18,220 around Virginia — includes harvesters, dealers, processors, importers, distributors and retail, according to data from the NOAA Fisheries Economics of the United States report.
April 22, 2020 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:
Dear Federal Permit Holders, Partners, and Stakeholders,
Providing seafood to the Country remains an essential function even in these extraordinary times. Adequately monitoring United States fisheries remains an essential part of that process. However, in recognition of numerous travel or social distancing restrictions or guidance, NOAA Fisheries continues to temporarily waive the requirement for federally-permitted vessels participating in the following federal fisheries to carry a fishery observer:
This waiver is in effect April 21 through May 4, 2020, after which time we will evaluate the need for another extension. This waiver does not apply to vessels that are currently at sea with an observer on board. In addition, this waiver applies only to human observer coverage and not to electronic monitoring requirements. Note, NOAA Fisheries is not issuing waivers for participants in the Atlantic HMS Shark Research Fishery. All other requirements, including reporting and pre-trip notification call-in requirements, remain in place.
This action is consistent with criteria in the agency’s emergency rule regarding issuing waivers from requirements to carry fishing observers during the COVID-19 pandemic (85 FR 17285, March 27, 2020). Specifically, the first criterion allows NOAA Fisheries to waive observer coverage if local, State, or national governments, or private companies or organizations that deploy observers pursuant to NOAA Fisheries regulations, restrict travel or otherwise issue COVID-19-related social control guidance, or requirement(s) addressing COVID-19-related concerns, such that it is inconsistent with the requirement(s) or not recommended to place an observer(s). At this time, State and local emergency requirements to shelter-in-place and otherwise restrict travel are hindering our ability to deploy observers.
NOAA Fisheries will continue to monitor and evaluate this situation. As we have done in other parts of the country, we will use this time to work with the observer service providers to implement adjustments to the logistics of deploying observers, ensuring qualified observers or at-sea monitors are available as soon as safely possible.
Observers and at-sea monitors are an essential component of commercial fishing operations and provide critical information that is necessary to keep fisheries open and to provide sustainable seafood to our nation during this time. We will continue to monitor all local public health notifications, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for updates. We are committed to protecting the public health and ensuring the safety of fishermen, observers, and others, while fulfilling our mission to maintain our nation’s seafood supply and conserving marine life.
Note, vessels permitted and authorized to participate in these federal fisheries are monitored in a number of ways in addition to the placement of at-sea observers. For example, HMS pelagic longline vessels must adhere to the electronic monitoring program for each trip. Additionally, there are vessel monitoring system requirements for various vessels in addition to logbook submissions. Therefore NOAA Fisheries maintains the ability to collect valuable information from these fleets even in the absence of at-sea observers due to the temporary waivers associated with COVID-19.
The Southeast Regional Office, the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Division within the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, and the Southeast Fisheries Science Center will evaluate the impacts of waivers on our fisheries and observer programs throughout this period by monitoring:
April 21, 2020 — The federal government is extending its suspension of the requirement for at-sea monitors in some East Coast fisheries until May.
Some fishing boats are required to carry workers on board who collect data about commercial fishing. They’re called observers or at-sea monitors, and the data they gather helps inform federal management of fisheries.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said its waiving the requirement in some Northeast fisheries until May 2. The agency waived the requirement to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
April 21, 2020 — Danielle Blacklock took over as director of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Aquaculture in mid-March, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to come to a head in the United States. Over the past decade, Blacklock has served in multiple positions at NOAA, most recently as a senior policy advisor for aquaculture. In that role, Blacklock completed a six-month assignment at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, focused on aquaculture sustainability globally. She also served as the acting deputy in the office for several months.
Blacklock is charged with overseeing the aquaculture component of NOAA’s sustainable seafood portfolio and providing the strategic vision for developing a stronger aquaculture industry in the United States. Nearly a month into her appointment, SeafoodSource connected with Blacklock to discuss her goals as director, the office’s response to COVID-19 complications and what the future of U.S. aquaculture looks like.
April 21, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
We are setting common pool possession and trip limits to ensure that the common pool fishery is able to fully utilize its available quotas. Effective on May 1, these possession and trip limits were developed based on the common pool sub-Annual Catch Limits set by Framework Adjustment 58 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. We also considered preliminary 2020 sector rosters, expected common pool participation, and common pool fishing activity in previous fishing years. During the fishing year, we will monitor common pool catches, and, will adjust common pool management measures as necessary.
Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock Special Access Program
Northeast multispecies vessels may not target yellowtail flounder within the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock Special Access Program (SAP) in fishing year 2020. Northeast multispecies vessels are not allowed to fish in this SAP using flounder trawl nets, but may fish in this SAP in 2020 to target haddock with a haddock separator trawl, a Ruhle trawl, or hook gear. This SAP is open from August 1, 2020, through January 31, 2021.
Regular B Days-at-Sea Program
The Regular B Days-at-Sea (DAS) program is closed for fishing year 2020. During this closure, Northeast multispecies vessels may not declare or use Regular B DAS.
More Information
For more details, read the notice and the permit holder bulletin.