Saving Seafood

SHELLEY WIGGLESWORTH: Please support our local commercial fishermen

May 2, 2019 — If you don’t think commercial fishermen are an endangered species – think again.

I have been very vocal over the years about my feelings on the commercial fishing industry being in jeopardy, and highlighting the importance of just what an integral part the industry plays in not only the economy, but the infrastructure as a whole, not only in our town and coastal towns across America.

As someone with deep ties to our community and the fishing community in particular, I am in a unique position working as a mate on a commercial fishing vessel, and being a journalist. I see so much firsthand that I hope the general public will take into account when I write about it. So here I go again, with more food for thought on an issue that is near and dear to my heart.

To anyone who really wants to support the local economy, please start by supporting local fishermen. Support them in all of their endeavors and their diversification efforts. Think about it. If fishing was not in jeopardy, many commercial fishermen would not be doing maritime related and other business venues.

Commercial fishermen help us all live better. Fishermen, and lobstermen in particular in Maine, are a crucial part of the local economy. Think of all the businesses that rely on fishermen to survive – restaurants, fish markets, stores, seafood processors, truckers that transport seafood, bait dealers, fuel companies for boats and to fuel the trucks that deliver fish, marine mechanics, boat builders, fishing gear manufacturers and much more.

In addition to choosing local over foreign sourced fish whenever possible, there are other ways to support local fishermen and their families, all the while strengthening the local economy. I will list those at the end of this article. Before I do, I would just like to remind folks of the never ending rules and regulations commercial fishermen face.

Restricting catch and the number of fishing days in an industry where many days to fish are already lost due to dangerous conditions at sea is detrimental. In addition to this, fishermen are regularly forced to change or stop using certain gear, such as lobstermen being forced to change their rope to avoid potentially tangling right whales. According to National Marine Fisheries Service data on rope removed from whales, there has been only one case of a right whale confirmed in Maine lobster gear in 2002, and this whale was last seen alive and gear free in 2017. Once again, as I type this, lobstermen are being forced to change lines to a 50% vertical line reduction (¾ toppers on all gear outside of 3 miles = 0.75 [weak rope] x 0.31 [1700lb rope reduction] X 0.50 [50% VL reduction] = 11.6% + 50% VL reduction = 61.5% reduction.) This change does not come without a price tag for lobstermen, not to mention the time they have to put in to comply, reducing days to fish on their own dime. When government regulations prove ineffective, the government creates new methods for fishermen to implement. They get paid to do this whether the methods and regulations work or fail. Fishermen do not.

Read the full story at SeaCoast Online

Senators seek to preserve Sea Grant program from Trump budget cuts

May 2, 2019 — A group of 25 U.S. Senators signed a letter last week to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee urging them to save a federal program they claim has helped the domestic seafood trade and coastal communities.

The letter comes about a month after the Trump Administration released its proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year. In that spending plan, the administration called for the elimination of the National Sea Grant program from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) budget. The Sea Grant program was one of three NOAA initiatives targeted for elimination.

The others are the Coastal Zone Management Grants and Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.

“These eliminations would allow NOAA to better target remaining resources to core missions and services,” the administration stated in its budget proposal.

However, the Senators contend the program, which consists of a network of programs based at 33 universities, helps states better manage and utilize their coastal resources.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Fisheries Proposes Squid and Butterfish Quotas for the 2019 Fishing Year

May 1, 2019 — The following was published by NOAA Fisheries:

Based on updated information, we are proposing an 8-percent increase in the 2019 commercial Illex squid quota. The previously approved 2019 annual quotas for longfin squid and butterfish would be maintained and would not be changed by this action.

The increased 2019 Illex quota is based on an evaluation that similar historic catch has not harmed the stock. As new information becomes available, we may revise the proposed quotas for future fishing years.

Read the proposed rule as published today in the Federal Register.

Comments on this rule must be received by 5 pm on May 31, 2019.

To submit comments, please use the Federal e-rulemaking portal, or send comments by regular mail to:

Michael Pentony
Regional Administrator
National Marine Fisheries Service
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA, 01930

Please mark the outside of the envelope, “Comments on the Proposed Rule for 2019 Squid and Butterfish Specifications.”

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Alyson Pitts, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9352
Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Michael Rubino takes on new role as NOAA Fisheries’ senior advisor for seafood strategy

April 30, 2019 — Dr. Michael Rubino has been appointed as the new senior advisor for seafood strategy at NOAA Fisheries, the agency announced on 29 April.

Rubino, who has served as the director of the Office of Aquaculture at NOAA Fisheries since 2011, will be in charge of leading the development of markets for U.S. fisheries products and oversee the expansion of new domestic aquaculture production in his new role. With a plethora of experience in seafood production and the science behind it, Rubino is an ideal fit for the new expanded position, according to NOAA Fisheries.

“We are thrilled that Michael is stepping into this new, expanded role,” Dr. Paul Doremus, the deputy assistant administrator for operations at NOAA Fisheries, said in a press release. “He has a wealth of experience leveraging partnerships across the seafood spectrum and will now play an even bigger role in the expansion of U.S. seafood production, economic growth, and new jobs.”

There will be two major responsibilities in store for Rubino as NOAA Fisheries’ new senior advisor for seafood strategy: First being to expand U.S. aquaculture production by forming partnerships with seafood companies, fishermen, seafood famers, scientists, government agencies, tribes, and others to support the adoption of sustainable aquaculture practices nationally; and secondly, helping to develop new markets for U.S. wild-capture fisheries, the agency said. To help fulfill these core responsibilities, Rubino will work closely with the Office of Aquaculture as it continues to lead the NOAA Fisheries’ work on aquaculture, and the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, as it continues to focus on market access and international trade.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New restrictions placed on New England fishing industry to protect whales

April 29, 2019 — Fishermen across New England are facing new restrictions after a panel of experts convened by the federal government agreed on Friday to a plan to step up protection of the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The group of federal and state officials, scientists, fishermen and environmental advocates, created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, capped a four-day meeting in Providence by reaching consensus on a plan to reduce entanglements in fishing gear, which is the leading cause of injuries to the whale and deaths. The measures, which include using weaker ropes or breakaway ropes and reducing the number of vertical lines in the water, will primarily affect the region’s lobster fisheries.

While the plan agreed to by the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team sets an overall goal of reducing whale deaths caused by fishing gear by 60 percent, each state will meet that target through a combination of different measures.

In Rhode Island, lobstermen will cut the number of end lines — the ropes that run vertically from traps on the ocean bottom to buoys on the surface — by 18 percent over the next three years and, on the remaining lines, use rope sleeves that would break apart under enough force. In Massachusetts, the reduction in vertical lines will be 30 percent and in Maine 50 percent.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

Should seals and sea lions be killed to help save the orcas?

April 26, 2019 — Seals and sea lions are competing with the Southern Resident killer whales for limited Chinook salmon stock. That has some people calling for a cull where the government would organize the hunting and killing of a certain percentage of sea lions and seals.

Sea lions and seals are often seen as adversaries of fishermen. Last year, more than a dozen sea lions were shot, many in the head, and washed up around Puget Sound; mostly in West Seattle.

A recent paper published by federal scientists shows pinnipeds eat twice as much salmon as Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound, and six times more salmon than recreational and commercial fishermen combined.

It’s created quite the debate over the recovery of Southern Resident killer whales who depend on salmon as their main food source.

Should seals and sea lions be killed to save orcas? The question is complex and scientists don’t all agree. Most aren’t sure if it would work. They’re also turning their attention to what they believe is the preferred prey of pinnipeds: forage fish.

At National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Manchester lab, scientists are studying steelhead migration through Puget Sound.

Read the full story at K5 News

Sea Grant Announces Funding Opportunity for Highly Migratory Species Research

April 26, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Sea Grant:

Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS), which include tunas, billfish, and sharks, are important to both the ecological health of ocean ecosystems and to commercial and recreational fisheries. However, knowledge gaps in the life history, biology, and population status of many of these species limit understanding and the ability to sustainably manage these species. Populations of HMS and the coastal communities that rely on the health of these important fish stocks could greatly benefit from improved, science-based management and conservation.

As part of the FY 2019 Appropriations Bill for NOAA, Congress directed the National Sea Grant College Program to spend up to $2 million to initiate a HMS research initiative focused on HMS species in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, including the interactions between yellow-fin tuna and oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. This direction, and priorities identified in the 2014 Atlantic HMS Management-Based Research Needs and Priorities document developed by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service in concert with industry and management stakeholders, was used to develop this initiative, which will support research to address critical gaps in knowledge about HMS in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean regions.

Letters of Intent are due May 15, 2019 (see formal announcement for details).

Full proposals are due June 19, 2019 (see formal announcement for details).

Read the full release here

Groundfish quota changes up for debate

April 26, 2019 — NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on its proposed rule revising catch limits for seven of the 20 groundfish stocks for the 2019 fishing season, but the real battle over commercial groundfish quotas probably will wait until after the next operational stock assessment in the fall.

The proposed rule, called Framework 58, calls for increasing the commercial quota for Georges Bank cod by 15 percent, Georges Bank haddock by 19 percent and Georges Bank winter flounder by 6 percent for the new fishing season that is set to begin Wednesday.

It also includes a 1 percent increase for witch flounder.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the proposed rule, published in the Federal Register, calls for a whopping 50 percent cut to the annual catch limit for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, a 1 percent reduction in the quota Gulf of Maine winter flounder and a 3 percent cut to the catch limit for Atlantic halibut.

“We’re still digesting the proposed rule and expect to submit our comments next week,” said Jackie O’Dell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition.

The deadline for public comment on Framework 58 is May 6.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Scallop ground closure to have ‘very little’ effect on New Bedford fishermen

April 26, 2019 — Federal fishing managers say they are shutting down a key scallop fishing area to some boats for nearly a year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says its closure will apply to the northern Gulf of Maine area. The closure goes into effect on Thursday and is scheduled to last until March 31, 2020.

NOAA says scallop boats that fish under federal regulations will not be able to fish for or possess scallops from the northern Gulf of Maine, nor will they be able to bring the scallops to land. The agency says the closure is required because the total allowable catch for the area is projected to be taken.

New Bedford scalloper Eric Hansen said the shut down will have “very little” impact on New Bedford fishermen, since they did not land any scallops in that area of the Gulf of Maine last year.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Pacific Reef Survey Finds Sea Turtle Populations on the Rise

April 25, 2019 — Sea turtle populations in Pacific coral reefs are increasing, according to a study that reveals the positive results of environmental protection efforts around the world and gives researchers information to protect these turtles from the effects of global changes.

Researchers from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center recorded numbers of threatened and endangered sea turtles for 13 years at 53 sites across four regions of the U.S. islands in the Pacific as part of a larger study of other marine life, according to a research article released Wednesday by PLOS ONE.

The sites were located between islands, atolls and reefs in American Samoa, the Hawaiian Archipelago, the Mariana Archipelago and the Pacific Remote Island Area complex. Each site was observed every two or three years in April, using a boat towing two scuba divers 49 feet underwater who recorded the species and numbers of turtles within sight.

Researchers observed two species specifically, the green and the hawksbill turtles. Green sea turtles greatly outnumbered hawksbill across the survey area, providing further evidence of the need to protect the endangered hawksbill.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service