Saving Seafood

Scientists warn West Coast ocean heat wave could pose major risk to whales, salmon, sea lions

September 6, 2019 — A heat wave forming off the west coast in the Pacific Ocean resembles a 2014-15 phenomenon that led to major disruptions to marine life along the western seaboard, federal scientists said Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wrote in a blog post that a growing belt of warm water that stretches from Alaska to California “ranks as the second largest marine heatwave in terms of area in the northern Pacific Ocean in the last 40 years, after ‘the Blob,’ ” referring to the 2014-15 heat wave.

“It’s on a trajectory to be as strong as the prior event,” said scientist Andrew Leising of NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif.

“Already, on its own, it is one of the most significant events that we’ve seen,”Leising added.

Read the full story at The Hill

Dorian’s deluge: Carolinas batten down for battering

September 6, 2019 — The death toll in the Bahamas rose to 23 as the eye of Hurricane Dorian moved off of South Carolina’s Cape Romain, near Myrtle Beach. At 2 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, Sept. 5, the storm was headed NNE with sustained winds of about 110 miles per hour, according to NOAA.

The hurricane was expected to bring an intense storm surge with heavy rainfall, high winds and tornadoes to the Carolinas before moving up the coast to lash the Northeast with bands of rain throughout the weekend.

Dorian’s hit comes almost exactly one year after Hurricane Florence came ashore near Wilmington, N.C., close to the South Carolina border.

On Thursday, the storm had knocked out power for about 250,000 customers in South Carolina, and about 360,000 residents of the state had evacuated. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a State of Emergency for all 100 counties in his state. Fishermen throughout the Carolinas were busy removing gear from the water as Dorian beat down on the Bahamas over the weekend.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Sneak Peek: 2019 Northeast Groundfish Assessment Peer Review

September 5, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Peer reviewers are evaluating 14 Northeast groundfish stock assessments September 9-13. The review meeting is at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Clark Conference Room, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

How Much Review?

To keep fisheries and fishery management successful in the Northeast, scientists provide information on about 60 fishery stocks in the form of stock assessments. Of these,14 groundfish stocks are under review this year.

There are two tracks for peer review – one for management and one for research. This ensures that the information needed for fishery management in a given year is available and that there is sufficient time to improve assessment science.

Management Assessments

The management assessment schedule is designed to provide set cycles for each stock. Some are assessed every year, some every two years, and so on. In a given year, the selected stocks are reviewed in the early summer or in the early fall.  The timing aligns with the fishery management timelines for the various stocks.

This way, all stocks are assessed often enough to provide managers with what they need to develop good management measures and appropriate catch limits.

All of the assessments under review this week are management assessments. These are designed to be simple, quick, and more efficient than research assessments.

Using the new assessment process, an oversight panel met in June. They determined how much detail to include in each groundfish assessment and how much time to devote to review. Assessments for 10 of the 14 stocks will be further examined by the peer reviewers. Assessments for four will be reported directly to the New England Fishery Management Council.

Read the full release here

Comments Wanted: NMFS To Open Pacific Cod in BSAI After January Closure

September 4, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — After closing the fishery January 12, 2019, NMFS proposes a short opening to clean up the remaining 2,650 metric tons of Pacific cod remaining in the 2019 apportionment for less than 60 feet vessles using hook-and-line or pot gear.

The agency is asking for comments online or by mail. NMFS is terminating the previous closure and is opening directed fishing based on the current catch of Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI and the harvest capacity and stated intent on future harvesting patterns of vessels in participating in this fishery.

The change would be effective noon Alaska local time, September 1, 2019, through midnight December 31, 2019. Comments must be received at the following address no later than 4:30 p.m., A.l.t., September 18, 2019.

* Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0089, click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.

* Mail: Submit written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.

In today’s Federal Register notice, the agency said “The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is impracticable and contrary to the public interest. This requirement is impracticable and contrary to the public interest as it would prevent NMFS from responding to the most recent fisheries data in a timely fashion and would delay the opening of directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI. Immediate notification is necessary to allow for the orderly conduct and efficient operation of this fishery, to allow the industry to plan for the fishing season, and to avoid potential disruption to the fishing fleet and processors. NMFS was unable to publish a notice providing time for public comment because the most recent, relevant data only became available as of August 27, 2019.

The AA also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the effective date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). This finding is based upon the reasons provided above for waiver of prior notice and opportunity for public comment.

Without this inseason adjustment, NMFS could not allow the fishery for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI to be harvested in an expedient manner and in accordance with the regulatory schedule. Under SEC 679.25(c)(2), interested persons are invited to submit written comments on this action to the above address until September 18, 2019.

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

ALASKA: Blue king crab fisheries in the Bering Sea are struggling

September 4, 2019 — Every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports to Congress on the status of U.S. fisheries. The report breaks the data down by region, and highlights which stocks are in “overfishing” and “overfished” status, as well as which stocks have been rebuilt.

The 2018 report, released in August, shows an Alaska stock was just added to the nation’s overfished list.

Krista Milani, a natural resource specialist with NOAA Fisheries in Unalaska, said the recently released report shows the number of U.S. fish stocks subject to overfishing remains at a near all-time low — meaning there are a lot of healthy, sustainable populations. But in Alaska, it’s not all good news.

“For the Alaska region, we didn’t have any fisheries that were in overfishing status, but we do have two stocks that are considered overfished,” Milani said.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

NJ leads country in fishing production

September 3, 2019 — I bet you didn’t know that New Jersey’s commercial saltwater fishing industry generated $6.2 billion in 2018 according to the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration, placing New Jersey fifth in the U.S. in commercial fishing production. That’s a lot of fish, and a lot more than fish.

“The Jersey Seafood industry is a tremendous benefit to the state’s economy with the responsible supply that is landed in our state each year,” NJ Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher said. “New Jersey is among the leaders in the country in several seafood categories because of our hard-working commercial fishermen and successful seasons year after year.”

In 2017, the total seafood catch in New Jersey was 198.6 million pounds placing New Jersey 10th in the country for catch. New Jersey ranks No. 1 in the nation in quahogs landed at 16.5 million pounds, second in sea scallops landed with 11 million pounds, second in Atlantic mackerel landed at 2.8 million pounds, second in surf clam harvest with more than 18.3 million pounds, and second in squid commercial landings at 24.9 million pounds.

Read the full story at My Central Jersey

Notice to Fishermen: 2019 Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Cost Recovery Tag Fees

September 3, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are announcing the 2019 cost recovery per-tag fees for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog individual transferable quota (ITQ) program.

We have calculated the fee for each cage tag based on the number of ITQ cage tags that were used to land surfclams or ocean quahogs during the 2018 fishing year, and the costs associated with operating the program in 2018. These fees are separate from, and in addition to, the price ITQ permit holders currently pay to the tag vendor to obtain cage tags each year.

2019 Cost Recovery Cage Tag Fees

Atlantic Surfclam: $0.92 per tag

Ocean Quahog: $0.55 per tag

The initial quota shareholder who first received the allocation of cage tags will be responsible for the fee even if the tag is leased, sold, or otherwise used by someone else.

For more information, please review the permit holder bulletin.

Accepting Applications for Groundfish At-Sea Monitoring Providers for Fishing Year 2020

September 3, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Sector at-sea monitoring provider applications for fishing year 2020 are due October 1, 2019.

If you would like to provide at-sea monitoring (ASM) services to groundfish sectors in fishing year 2020 (May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021), you must submit an application by October 1, 2019. Companies already approved to provide at-sea monitoring services in fishing years 2019 and 2020 do not need to apply again in order to provide services in 2020. We will review your application in accordance with the monitoring provider standards.

Refer to the posted bulletin for more information on what to include in an application.

Approvals will cover fishing year 2020. If we receive any applications under this announcement final decisions will be published in the Federal Register in November. There will be a future opportunity to apply for a two-year approval to provide services in fishing years 2021 and 2022.

Questions?

Contact: Maria Vasta, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9196

U.S. Territorial Bottomfish Stocks Less Healthy Than Previously Assessed

August 29, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Bottomfish stocks in three U.S. Pacific territories are not as healthy as previously thought, according to a new report from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. Scientists recently completed three new stock assessments for bottomfish species in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and American Samoa.

Stock assessment results differed among the regions. For the CNMI, the stock was healthy (not overfished and not experiencing overfishing). For Guam and American Samoa, the stocks were less healthy. The Guam stock was overfished but not experiencing overfishing, and the American Samoa stock was both overfished and experiencing overfishing.

Bottomfish include species of snapper, emperor, grouper, and jack. The assessments considered the health of multi-species groups of bottomfish in each territory. The bottomfish group in American Samoa has 11 species and the groups for the CNMI and Guam each have 13 species. The data showed that there were three species of bottomfish most commonly caught by fishers:

Read the full release here

How sustainability efforts are helping the New Jersey’s fishing industry

August 29, 2019 — Pete Dolan is the captain of the Ms. Manya, a commercial scallop boat. He’s ready to set sail on a week-long trip — and ideally, when he and his crew return, they will have caught a hefty 18,000 pounds of scallops. Business is booming in the state’s fishing industry, and Dolan claims federal regulations are to thank.

Before those regulations were put in place in the early 1980s, Dolan and his crew would have to spend more time on trips because anyone could go out and catch scallops, which meant supplies were low. But, sustainability efforts from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have created a more favorable scenario.

“We monitor what is landed, and the fishing industry reports what they land. The fishing dealers report what they purchased, and the agency that I work for makes sure there’s not too much fish coming in and there’s not enough that are left in the sea for future generations,” said NOAA port agent Joanne Pellegrino.

Read the full story at NJTV