Saving Seafood

Rule aimed at saving more sea turtles from shrimp boats gets mixed response

December 27, 2019 — A new federal rule aimed at protecting sea turtles from shrimping nets is getting mixed reactions from conservation groups.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has finalized a new rule that requires special metal grates known as TEDs, or turtle excluder devices, in more than 1,000 additional shrimping vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. The TEDs create an opening in shrimp nets to allow trapped turtles to escape before they drown.

The rule requires all vessels longer than 40 feet to install the special metal grates by April 2021. NOAA estimates the rule will save nearly 1,160 threatened or endangered sea turtles each year along the U.S. coast from Texas to North Carolina. The additional metal grates will also reduce the bycatch of sharks, sturgeon and other fish, NOAA said.

The conservation group Oceana praised the rule as “a step in the right direction.” The rule was developed in response to a 2015 Oceana lawsuit alleging the federal government was violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to monitor the shrimping industry’s impact on sea turtles and set limits on the number of sea turtles that can be killed.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

Electronic monitoring projects across US boosted by USD 3.9 million in grants

December 26, 2019 — Electronic monitoring projects across the United States recently received grants worth USD 3.9 million (EUR 3.4 million), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced.

The grants aim to modernize fisheries data management, monitoring, and reporting by creating tools that lower the costs of collecting and reviewing data.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New study looks at impact of ocean acidification on sea scallops

December 23, 2019 — Shannon Meseck, a research chemist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stood in a T-shirt, jeans and fishing boots as winter sunlight streamed in through the greenhouse windows of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy aquaculture lab. A couple of steps beyond the windows, the Cape Cod Canal raced by, a flat gray sheet of swirls and eddies.

Eight weeks of vital research on ocean acidification were drawing to a close, and Meseck was relieved and pleased. She’d already completed similar research on oysters and surf clams, but analyzing Atlantic sea scallops, the region’s preeminent fishery, was a tougher task.

The seawater at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s lab in Milford, Connecticut, was too warm for scallops, and filters on the water pumped into the lab stripped out the plankton and algae the scallops feed on. Milford Laboratory director Gary Wikfors, who had done some consulting with the academy when it set up its aquaculture lab years earlier, contacted the academy about a partnership. The research is being funded by a three-year NOAA grant of $172,000 annually.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

NOAA wins $1.6 million to help lobstermen adapt to whale rules

December 20, 2019 — NOAA Fisheries is adding an additional $1.6 million to current funding to help the New England lobster industry comply with additional protection measures for the imperiled North Atlantic right whales.

“The $1.6 million will support reducing the risk of entanglement of right whales in fishing gear while assisting the lobster fishing industry in adapting to the impacts of new measures to reduce the effects of trap/pot gear on right whales,” NOAA Fisheries said in a statement.

NOAA Fisheries said the additional funding will be dispersed with the assistance of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Further details will follow, NOAA Fisheries said.

Marine scientists say the total population of imperiled North Atlantic right whales continues to hover around 400.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Fisheries Announces Additional Funding to Support Recovery Actions for North Atlantic Right Whales

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

This year, NOAA Fisheries will add an additional $1.6 million in federal funds to current funding levels to support additional recovery actions for the North Atlantic right whale. The $1.6 million will support reducing the risk of entanglement of right whales in fishing gear while assisting the lobster fishing industry in adapting to the impacts of new management measures that mitigate the effects of trap/pot gear on right whales. These funds will assist the lobster fishing industry in complying with pending regulations and help to defray costs to support fishermen broadly. NOAA Fisheries plans to work through its partner, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), to expend these funds.

The North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered and fisheries gear entanglements and vessel strikes are among the leading causes of mortalities in both the U.S. and Canada. NOAA Fisheries and our partners are dedicated to conserving and rebuilding the North Atlantic right whale population.

For more information see our webstory.

Omega Protein says it will cooperate on Chesapeake menhaden cap

December 20, 2019 — Omega Protein said it will cooperate with interstate menhaden managers, after the Department of Commerce set a June 17, 2020 deadline for Virginia to come into compliance with the Chesapeake Bay cap on its reduction fishery or face a moratorium.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross formally concurred with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission finding of non-compliance, after the commission in October voted to insist the Reedville, Va.-based Omega Protein must adhere to the commission’s 51,000 metric tons bay cap.

Chris Oliver, the NOAA assistant administrator for fisheries, notified the commission Thursday of Ross’ decision.

“NOAA Fisheries also finds that this management measure is necessary for the conservation of the menhaden resource,” Oliver wrote in a letter to the commission. “The best available information shows that menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay are an important component of the overall health of the stock, and further that their role as forage for predator species in the Chesapeake Bay is critical to the marine environment.”

Omega officials, who faced off with critics for months before the commission vote, pledged Thursday to work toward solutions.

“Omega Protein will work with both the ASMFC and the Commonwealth of Virginia to lift the moratorium and bring the fishery back into compliance,” the company said in a prepared statement. “The company looks forward to working with the commission in the coming months as we move toward ecosystem-based measures, and will continue to support science-based fishery management and a healthy menhaden fishery.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

US commerce secretary Ross hands Virginia menhaden fishery its first moratorium

December 19, 2019 — Wilbur Ross, secretary of the US Department of Commerce, has agreed with Virginia governor Ralph Northam and placed the first-ever moratorium on the commonwealth’s menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay — one of the two largest in the US — delivering a potentially nasty blow to Omega Protein.

But the moratorium doesn’t go into effect until June 17, 2020, giving the Houston, Texas-based division of Cooke Inc. plenty of time to work with the state to get into compliance.

The ruling follows Omega Protein’s admission in September of violating a federal cap set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in the area. The ASFMC cut the bay cap by 41% in 2017, in what it described as a precautionary measure, but without a finding of overfishing.

In October, during its week-long meeting in New Castle, New Hampshire, the ASMFC voted unanimously (15-0) to advance its finding of noncompliance against the state of Virginia to Ross.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Read Omega Protein’s Statement Here

Read the letter from NOAA here

Putting Endangered Species on the Map

December 19, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In November, we launched Version 2.0 of the Section 7 Mapper, a new mapping tool that shows where threatened and endangered species are in New England and Mid-Atlantic waters. This tool helps people planning activities in our waters to understand where endangered marine species are and at what times of year.

Why did we build this tool?

Busy Oceans and Coasts

Coastal areas are humming with action. Ports, docks, piers, moorings, and marinas dot our shores and bays. Bridges span our rivers, barges sail up rivers to inland ports, and undersea cables criss-cross the ocean bottom. Vessels—ranging from enormous container ships and cruise ships to small recreational fishing boats and jet-skis—traverse our coastal and offshore waters daily.

People are constantly building structures, dredging shallow areas, restoring rivers and coastal habitats, replenishing beaches, and researching new sources of energy.

Underneath, around, and in between all these activities swim threatened and endangered fish, sea turtles, and marine mammals that live, feed, and grow there.

Projects Change Habitat

Human activities add noise, sediment, pollutants, and pressure to ocean habitats. They also displace these animals from spaces they use for breeding, egg-laying, nurseries, feeding, and other activities.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies, like the Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, the Navy, and even other parts of NOAA, to consult with NOAA Fisheries on projects or activities they are planning, funding, or permitting that may affect a threatened or endangered marine species or its critical habitat. This is called a “Section 7 Consultation.”

Read the full release here

Little-noticed document from US-China ‘phase one’ trade deal hints of positives for US seafood

December 19, 2019 — Language contained in a short, somewhat vague document included as part of the so-called “phase one” US-China trade agreement announced Friday — but not widely publicized — hints at some positive developments coming soon for US seafood harvesters, processors, wholesalers and exporters, Undercurrent News has learned.

But the seafood industry will likely have to wait another month for the details.

Under the heading of “expanding trade”, the US Trade Representative (USTR)’s two-page fact sheet, handed out to stakeholders, says China has committed to exceeding its 2017 purchase of US goods and services by no less than $200 billion, including “manufactured goods, food, agricultural and seafood products,” among other things.

It further adds that the increase should “continue on this same trajectory for several years after 2021 and should contribute significantly to the rebalancing of the US-China trade relationship.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Neil Jacobs, meteorologist and acting head of NOAA during a turbulent time, nominated to lead the agency

December 19, 2019 — Less than a month after Barry Myers, the controversial pick to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, withdrew from consideration, President Trump has nominated acting administrator Neil Jacobs to lead the agency.

Jacobs, a meteorologist, has been the acting head of NOAA since 2018, but the agency has been without a permanent leader since Trump was inaugurated, the longest rudderless stretch in its history. The agency is tasked with a diverse range of duties, including forecasting the weather, conducting climate research, managing the nation’s fisheries and more.

Jacobs sailed through Senate confirmation to serve as the assistant secretary of commerce or, in his current official capacity, acting head of NOAA. However, to be confirmed as permanent NOAA administrator, he will require a new confirmation vote.

Read the full story at The Washington Post