Saving Seafood

NOAA awards $2M for lobster research, much of it to be conducted in Maine

September 11, 2019 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program has awarded $2 million to lobster research projects and a regional lobster extension program.

Seven research projects were chosen through a competitive process that included expert review, according to a news release.

The projects aim to increase understanding of factors such as lobster biology, distribution and socioeconomic issues associated with a steep decline of landings in southern New England, as they pertain to Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine.

Collectively, the projects and the regional extension program are called the Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Ocean heatwave known as ‘The Blob’ is warming up the West Coast – and endangering animals

September 11, 2019 — It could be the return of “The Blob” and scientists are worried.

A huge mass of extra warm water extending from Baja California in Mexico all the way to Alaska and the Bering Sea could result in death for many sea lions and salmon, as well as toxic algae blooms that can poison mussels, crabs and other sea life.

When it happened in 2014 it was dubbed “The Blob” and disrupted sea life between Southern California and Alaska. Now it’s back.

The ocean heatwave began to form in June.

“Temperatures are about as warm as have ever been observed in any of these locations. It developed in mid-June and it’s gotten really big really fast,” said Nate Mantua, head of the Landscape Ecology Team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz, California.

Read the full story at USA Today

Reminder: Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock Recreational Measures

September 11, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are opening a two-week season for Gulf of Maine cod from September 15-30, 2019.

Possession limits are per person per day and size limits are minimum total length.

Cod and haddock on board a vessel must be readily available for inspection. Fillets must have at least 2 square inches of contiguous skin that allows for identification of fish species, while possessed on board and at the time of landing.

During multiple-day trips, a vessel may possess the daily limit up to the number of calendar days fished. Any trip covering 2 calendar days must be at least 15 hours in duration. The possession limit for the second day may be possessed only after the second calendar day begins, and the same applies for each additional day. For example, a vessel on a 2-day trip could not be in possession of more than 15 Gulf of Maine haddock, per person, on the first day of the trip.

Read more in the bulletin on our website.

If you have a mobile device, you can use the FishRules app to check recreational fishing regulations.

Read the full release here

Increase in Atlantic King Mackerel Commercial Trip Limits in the Atlantic Southern Zone March 1-September 30

September 11, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

  • NOAA Fisheries announces an increase in commercial king mackerel trips limits in the Atlantic Southern Zone during Season 1 (March 1-September 30).
  • During March each year, the commercial trip limit will increase from 50 to 75 fish between the Flagler/Volusia County, Florida, boundary and the Miami-Dade/Monroe County, Florida, boundary.
  • In addition, the commercial trip limit will increase from 75 fish to 3,500-pounds from April 1 through September 30 off Volusia County, Florida.
  • On September 1, 2019, the National Marine Fisheries Service reduced the trip limit from 75 to 50 fish south of Volusia County, Florida, to the Miami-Dade/Monroe County, Florida, boundary because 75% of the Season 1 quota was landed.
  • Therefore, the trip limit will remain at 50 fish for the area south of Volusia County, Florida, through September 30.

WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

  • These changes to the commercial trip limits will be effective on September 11, 2019.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

  • Commercial trip limits are changing as a result of Framework Amendment 6 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region.
  • For the month of March, between the Flagler/Volusia County, Florida, boundary and the Miami-Dade/Monroe County, Florida, boundary, the king mackerel commercial trip limit will be 75 fish.
  • Between April 1 and September 30, the trip limit will be 3,500-pounds off Volusia County, Florida.
  • There are no changes to the current April 1 through September 30 trip limit south of Volusia County, Florida, to the Miami-Dade/Monroe County, Florida, boundary.

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

Read the full release here

Sea Turtles For Swordfish? Feds May Lift Cap On Endangered Species

September 10, 2019 — Endangered turtles are at the center of a dispute between fishing regulators and environmentalists over how many turtles are too many to lose each year to fishermen on the hunt for swordfish in the waters off Hawaii.

Hawaii’s shallow-set longline fishery has been closed since March after fishermen accidentally caught the federal limit of 17 endangered North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles while targeting swordfish. That’s one of two species of sea turtles — the other is leatherbacks — that have shut the fishery down over the past decade when fishermen hit their caps. 

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has proposed new rules for both species in an effort to get fishermen back out on the water while considering the latest science. The final decision lies with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is expected to open up a public input session soon.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

NOAA Fisheries Announces Reduction of the Northern Red Hake Commercial Possession Limit

September 10, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective today, we are reducing the northern red hake commercial per-trip possession from 3,000 lb to 400 lb per day. Federally permitted vessels fishing for northern red hake may not exceed the incidental commercial possession limit of 400 lb per trip for the remainder of the 2019 fishing year, which ends on April 30, 2020.

This reduction is required by regulation because as of September 3, 2019, the northern red hake fishery is projected to reach or exceed 37.9 percent of the total allowable landings (TAL) on or around September 4, 2019.

Vessels that are currently on a trip when this reduction becomes effective may retain northern red hake up to the prior possession limit of 3,000 lb for the completion of that trip. Dealers issued federal permits for small-mesh multispecies may not purchase more than 400 lb of northern red hake per trip from federally permitted vessels for any trip that started after September 9, 2019 through the remainder of the fishing year (April 30, 2020).

For more information read the rule as filed in the Federal Register or the bulletin  posted on our website.

A giant warm-water mass—similar to ‘the blob’—could wreak havoc on West Coast marine life

September 9, 2019 — You might remember the blob.

Not the 1958 sci-fi movie, but the giant mass of warm water that formed in the Pacific Ocean in 2013 and continued to spread until 2015. It wreaked havoc on the West Coast marine ecosystem and dampened salmon runs.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have identified another expanse of warm water and say this marine heatwave could rival the blob. The impact on sea life could be devastating.

Ocean surface temperature maps show the warm mass stretching from Alaska to California. It currently “ranks as the second-largest marine heatwave in terms of area in the northern Pacific Ocean in the last 40 years, after ‘the Blob,'” according to NOAA.

Read the full story at SF Gate

Climate Change Will First Benefit, Then Hurt Loggerhead Sea Turtles

September 9, 2019 — For some animals, climate change is expected to become a major threat to their survival. For others, a warmer world may actually be beneficial. For the loggerhead sea turtle, it’s a little bit of both.

The loggerhead sea turtle’s vast range stretches across the globe and is composed of nine ‘distinct population segments’ according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Despite the loggerhead’s expansive range, five of the population segments are considered endangered, while the remaining four are considered threatened.

Given the poor state of loggerhead sea turtle populations worldwide, researchers want to understand how predicted changes in climate will further harm, or benefit, the species.

Read the full story at Forbes

MAINE: LePage op-ed in Wall Street Journal criticizes proposed lobstering regulations

September 9, 2019 — An opinion piece by former Gov. Paul LePage published in the Wall Street Journal criticizes federal officials for proposing restrictions on the lobstering industry that fishermen say would put them out of business.

LePage writes that the restrictions required by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association would not actually reduce the number of right whale deaths in the Gulf of Maine because, he says, “No whale deaths due to entanglements or ship strikes have been recorded in Maine waters since 1998.”

However, in September 2016, the Portland Press Herald reported that NOAA officials concluded the death of a 43-foot right whale found floating off Boothbay Harbor was most likely caused by entanglement in fishing gear ropes.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

NOAA mum on Maine defection

September 9, 2019 — So, you may have read in the pages of this here newspaper, or online at gloucestertimes.com, that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association on Aug. 30 informed NOAA Fisheries that it was repealing its support of the current federal plan to afford more protections to the imperiled North Atlantic right whales because of what it considers faulty science, an unfair portrayal of the lobster industry’s culpability and a rushed process.

When we reached out to NOAA Fisheries on Wednesday for comment on the seismic move by the nation’s largest lobster industry membership, we were told to expect a statement from NOAA Fisheries on Thursday. Thursday came and went, no statement. Probably Friday, we were told.

We checked back on Friday. Maybe, we were told. But it really felt like probably not.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times