Saving Seafood

NOAA Wants More Cameras On Fishing Vessels And Fewer Biologists

November 19, 2019 — John Hankins owns the boat “Courageous,” which he sails out of Warrenton on the northern Oregon coast. He had a smile after returning from 25 days fishing for albacore.

“I’m full,” he said. “Both tanks!”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration didn’t assign a fisheries observer to his boat this trip. But he said, it happens fairly regularly.

“They’re usually not a problem for us. They’re measuring fish, they’re getting stats on the fish,” Hankins said.

Fisheries observers are biologists tasked with monitoring commercial fisheries to collect data for conservation and stock management. They also make sure boats are in compliance with certain rules, such as having required safety equipment on board.

“We had one on the boat one time that was a real pain, because they didn’t like us talking negatively about whales,” Hankins said. “And he got all bent out of shape for it. Other than that, we never have a problem with the observers.”

But, he said, most of the time, the observer is just another person on board, with a job to do.

Read the full story at OPB

Rebound in Groundfish Leads to New Flexibility for Fishermen, Protection for Deep-Sea Corals

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

Sweeping changes in West Coast groundfish fisheries adopted this week will reopen access for fishermen to productive fishing grounds where fish populations have rebounded. These changes will also protect sensitive deep-water habitat and deep-sea corals from bottom fishing.

The changes come in the form of an amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for groundfish off the West Coast. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended the amendment to NOAA Fisheries, which finalized it this week. The new provisions take effect January 1, 2020, and are widely supported by fishermen and other stakeholders.

The changes affect what is known as Essential Fish Habitat, or EFH, the habitat necessary to support sustainable fisheries. By law, the Council must minimize effects on EFH, and in 2005 did so for groundfish habitat. It established area closures that limited bottom trawling and other types of gear that contact the sea floor.

A review of the latest science and fishing results led the Council to increase protections for EFH in some places. It also reopened some important fishing areas that had been closed.

Read the full release here

Flood Prediction Helps People and Fish

November 18, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In the last 50 years, as the northeast has gotten significantly rainier, flood prediction has become increasingly important. In addition to helping the public, town planners, and emergency responders, understanding flooding is also important for fishway operators and fisheries managers. Floods can affect the timing of fish migrations. For example, as spring rains swell rivers, some sea-run fish swim upstream—sometimes for many miles—to spawn. American eels are known to migrate to the ocean during fall floods. Knowing what’s coming can help biologists and dam operators work together to create the best conditions for migration at dams and fishways.

While some watersheds flood quickly when it rains, others have natural or human-built storage. Reservoirs behind dams, as well as naturally occurring ponds and wetlands, can reduce flooding by delaying runoff into streams and rivers. Knowing which kinds of rain events will lead to flooding in particular river systems is key for communities in the watershed.

A Tale of Two Rivers: The Mystic and the Charles

The Mystic River watershed is a relatively small urbanized basin north of Boston, home to more than 20 communities. The Charles River drains an area approximately four times larger than the Mystic River watershed. It contains 23 Boston-area communities, including some to the west and southwest of the city.

In a recent study, researchers found that almost 90 percent of Mystic River flooding is immediately preceded by one to two days of large rainfall. In contrast, only about half the flooding events for the Charles are preceded by large rainfalls.

The researchers considered whether other factors besides large rainfalls could be associated with Charles River flooding. They found that flooding tends to happen when the watershed is “primed” for maximum streamflow. For example, if rainfall, soil moisture, and snowmelt increase for a month, the Charles watershed is more likely to flood. Since the Charles watershed contains more upstream storage, it is less likely than the Mystic to flood because of large rainfalls alone.

Read the rest of the story on our website or read the paper on which the story is based.

New Vessel Monitoring System Software Required for Vessel Owners

November 18, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The VMS unit installed on your vessel requires a software update to comply with recent regulatory changes and prepare for potential measures that still must be approved before going into effect.

Depending on your vendor, the new software will be released and available on November 25, 2019 (SkyMate and Woods Hole Group), or will update automatically on November 25, 2019 (McMurdo). Begin using this new software for trips after December 6, 2019.

Bulletins with additional information have been mailed and are also available on our website.

New Jersey Beach Walkers – Please Keep an Eye Out for Sea Turtles!

November 18, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The recent cold snap has caused a sudden uptick in the number of cold-stunned sea turtles washing up on beaches in northern, NJ – particularly Sandy Hook and Long Beach Island. We are asking all individuals walking these beaches, and beaches throughout the northeast, to report stranded turtles immediately to our stranding hotline at 866-755-6622. Responders from our Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network are standing by to help!

Please keep pets away from these turtles since they are in a severely distressed state. If possible, please move them above the high tide line and cover lightly with seaweed and stand by the animal until a trained responder arrives. We greatly appreciate your assistance in helping us save these endangered animals.

U.S. senators call for review of Canadian protections of endangered right whales

November 18, 2019 — Two U.S. senators from Massachusetts, including presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, are calling for an investigation of Canada’s regulatory measures to protect the North Atlantic right whale.

Democrat senators Edward Markey and Warren sent a letter this week to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arguing Canadian rules for protecting the endangered whales are less strict than those in the United States.

Their request notes New England lobster fishermen are currently responding to a federal plan that reduces the amount of rope in the water and requires lines that break more easily.

Read the full story at CTV

Group Discusses Potential Gear Restrictions At North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium

November 15, 2019 — An international group of scientists, conservationists, fisheries managers and others are gathered in Portland this week for the annual meeting of what’s called the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.

Federal regulators told the group that they are looking at a wide slate of measures to protect the endangered whales from entanglement in fishing gear. Some measures include reductions in the amount of lobster-trap rope allowed in the water and in the strength of that rope. The feds say they are also considering having a part of Cape Cod Bay that is now closed February to April closed to endlines but open to ropeless gear in the future.

Read the full story at Maine Public

Sen. Cantwell Language to Improve Legislation Getting Fisheries Disaster Aid to Fleets Passes Committee

November 15, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is determined to improve the process through which the nation’s fishing fleets survive fisheries disasters. Earlier this week, her provisions to reform the process passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Cantwell is a ranking member of the committee.

In September, Cantwell highlighted issues with the current process, including small business charter fishermen being excluded from the 2016 Coho fisheries disaster, an event that cost Washington State an estimated $100 million.

Cantwell’s provisions would expand and protect Tribal eligibility for fisheries disaster assistance and require charter fishermen to be included in economic relief.

“This legislation will help improve the federal fisheries disaster management program that impacted fishermen in coastal communities so that they will get financial relief faster,” Cantwell said. “As we all know, fisheries issues impact lots of different aspects of our community. But certainly the commercial and recreational fishermen deserve to be compensated as well, and with communities on our Pacific Coast that are very dependent on charter activities, I want to make sure, in the case of a disaster, that they too can apply and receive funding.

“The Coho disaster impacted Tribes, commercial fisherman, charter and recreational fisherman… but not all groups received adequate funding from NOAA,” Cantwell said at the September hearing. “In a shift from previous policy, the administration determined that the charter fishermen should not be included in the economic determination. Thus, I believe Washington did not receive adequate funding for this disaster.”

Cantwell is no stranger to the issues facing West Coast and Alaska fishing fleets. In 2015, she introduced bipartisan legislation to create a national ocean acidification monitoring strategy to prioritize investments in ocean acidification sensors to areas that need it most. In 2018, she worked with colleagues in the House and Senate to secure $200 million in federal funding to help communities with declared fisheries disasters. She has also fought to protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed from harmful mining and opposed drilling off the coasts of Washington and Oregon.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

NOAA Appoints Alexa Cole as Director for International Affairs and Seafood Inspection

November 15, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA announced the appointment of Ms. Alexa Cole as the new Director for NOAA Fisheries’ Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection. She will officially assume this role in the coming weeks and will work out of agency headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

As the Director for the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, Ms. Cole will lead the office’s work to ensure sound management of global marine resources. She will promote international engagement and cooperation to achieve effective, responsible marine stewardship and ensure sustainable fisheries management on a global scale. She will also oversee the office’s seafood inspection services, which support seafood safety.

“We are incredibly pleased to announce Alexa as our new director for the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection,” said Dr. Paul Doremus, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries. “She is a skilled negotiator and has ably represented the agency at high stakes international fisheries science and management meetings and treaty negotiations. Her unique experience as an attorney and a negotiator gives her the perfect skill set to take on this new role and lead this office into the future.”

Ms. Cole has held various positions within NOAA for more than 15 years, winning multiple awards over the years for her leadership and exceptional performance. She has served as Acting Director of the Office since May 2019. Prior to this role, Ms. Cole held leadership positions as Acting Chief and Deputy Chief in the Enforcement Section in the NOAA Office of General Counsel. In these positions, she supervised the Section’s unified and consistent enforcement of NOAA’s marine resource statutes through international, legislative, legal, and regulatory work. She also served as Senior Enforcement Attorney in the agency’s Pacific Islands Region. In this position, she prosecuted civil and criminal cases involving international and domestic fisheries and protected resources.

Read the full release here

Bill to streamline fishery disaster process clears Senate committee

November 15, 2019 — A U.S. Senate committee earlier this week passed a bill that would make changes to how NOAA Fisheries disaster relief program is managed.

On Wednesday, 13 November, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee passed S. 2346, the Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act. The bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), the committee’s chairman, calls for the disaster declaration to be streamlined by requiring the U.S. Commerce Secretary to evaluate a disaster request within 120 days.

Read the full story at Seafood Source