Saving Seafood

October was record low month for US wild-caught shrimp in Gulf of Mexico

November 23, 2018 — It’s no wonder US wild-caught shrimp have been a little harder to find of late.

The 10.4 million pounds of shrimp caught by US commercial harvesters in the Gulf of Mexico during the month of October was the lowest for that month since records have been maintained, going back to 2002, reports the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), a trade association that represents the harvesters.

Based on data provided Wednesday by the fishery monitoring branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center, total landings for the month were about 30% below the prior 16-year historical average (14.8m lbs).

In particular, the low volumes were driven by a lack of reporting of any shrimp landings from the west coast of Florida, as well as only 3.6m lbs reported as landed in Louisiana – by far the lowest total for any October going back to 2002 and less than half of the prior 16-year average (7.7m lbs) for the state, according to SSA.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

NOAA research zeroes in on saving right whales

November 23, 2018 — Why is the endangered western North Atlantic right whale population growing far more slowly than those of southern right whales, a sister species also recovering from near extinction by commercial whaling?

NOAA Fisheries researchers and colleagues looked more closely at the question and have concluded that preserving the lives of adult females in the population is by far the most effective way to promote population growth and recovery.

North Atlantic right whales are frequently seen in the waters off the Cape, and most deaths are attributed to entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships, says NOAA.

Eighty-three percent of all individual North Atlantic right whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once in their lives, and 59 percent have been entangled two or more times, the research found.

The energy demands from the drag associated with entanglement can reduce the likelihood that a female can successfully reproduce.

Years between births also increases for females, given the recovery period needed from the physical costs of entanglements, which can last from months to years.

Read the full story at Wicked Local Harwich

 

ALASKA: Researchers work on better model for impact of fishery closures

November 21, 2018 — Fisheries managers are faced with a firestorm every time they decide to close a fishery because of poor returns or low population numbers. A new economic model is trying to help them see into the future to understand the effects of a closure before it happens.

Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Washington worked together on the model, finished in 2017 and published in the journal Marine Policy this past September.

It takes into account items like fishery participation, the amount of each vessel’s annual revenue that comes from the affected fishery, which vessels participate in other fisheries and the value of the fishery; the aim is to calculate the total impact when managers have to limit or close a fishery.

The origin of the idea came after a disastrous broad closure in salmon fishing on the West Coast in 2008. The closure, caused by poor salmon returns correlated to unfavorable ocean conditions, resulted in a federal disaster declaration and a $170 million relief distribution.

Had officials and fishery managers been able to estimate the impact better, relief funds might have been distributed sooner, said Kate Richerson, a marine ecologist with NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the lead author of the study.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

 

Quota bump for an economically important fish north of NC

November 21, 2018 — BOSTON — Federal fishing regulators are going to allow fishermen to catch more of an economically important species of fish on the East Coast.

The rule changes apply to blueline tilefish, which is a species that has been caught from Massachusetts to Florida over the years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s authorizing a quota bump north of the Virginia border with North Carolina.

The new quotas apply for 2019 to 2021 and they are 15 percent more than the 2018 limits. Commercial fishermen will be able to catch nearly 27,000 pounds of the fish, while recreational fishermen will be allowed nearly 72,000 pounds.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

 

Vineyard Wind loses backing of a fishing board, decision may have serious consequences for proposed offshore wind farm

November 21, 2018 — Vineyard Wind is facing an uphill battle to secure a key approval from Rhode Island coastal regulators for its 800-megawatt offshore wind farm after a state fishing board refused to back the $2-billion project.

The Fishermen’s Advisory Board, which advises the Coastal Resources Management Council on fishing issues related to offshore wind, voted unanimously Monday to deny its support out of fear that the layout of the project’s 84 towering wind turbines in Rhode Island Sound would close off fishing grounds that are considered some of the most productive for the state’s commercial fleet.

The proposal is now set to go before the coastal council on Nov. 27, with what’s known as a “consistency certification” on the line. Vineyard Wind has asked for a stay in proceedings, but CRMC executive director Grover Fugate made it clear at the meeting on Monday that the current layout doesn’t fit within the Rhode Island policy that guides offshore development.

“Because of the [Ocean Special Area Management Plan], we’re there to protect the [fishing] industry,” he said. “We’re there to ensure that it continues into the future.”

Even though the Vineyard Wind project would supply power to Massachusetts and be located in federal waters far from the Rhode Island coast, the state has jurisdiction through the consistency process. Under federal law, if a project would impact Rhode Island coastal resources or activities, such as fishing, it must be carried out in a way that is consistent with state policies.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

 

Human activities are impeding population growth of North Atlantic right whales

November 20, 2018 — On October 14, the crew of a US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship called the Henry B. Bigelow reported a whale carcass floating about 100 miles east of Nantucket, a small island off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The carcass was later identified as a sub-adult North Atlantic right whale.

After reviewing data collected from the deceased whale, scientists determined the probable cause of death was “severe acute entanglement,” according to NOAA. “The whale had multiple wounds indicative of a wrapping line entanglement, including pronounced ligature impressions with related deep concave defects indicating severe constricting abrasions. Entanglement wounds were strongly suggestive of numerous transverse body wraps involving the thorax (chest) and flippers.”

This is the third North Atlantic right whale known to have died this year — one died in January and another in August — and all three appear to have been the victims of entanglement in fishing gear left behind by humans or collisions with ships. The North Atlantic right whale is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

New research finds that these deaths caused by human activities are not just impacting individuals and their immediate family units, but actually impeding population growth among North Atlantic right whales altogether.

Like many other baleen whale species, North Atlantic right whales were nearly exterminated by historical commercial whaling. Their numbers gradually increased up until around 2010, when they started to decline once again. 2018 has actually been far less deadly for the whales than 2017, when NOAA confirmed 17 North Atlantic right whale deaths, which is equivalent to about 4 percent of their total estimated population of 450 individuals. It is believed that there are only about 100 females of breeding age left in the population.

There are three species of right whales in the world, the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica), and the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis). Peter Corkeron, head of a whale research initiative at NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, led an international team that studied the western North Atlantic population and three populations of southern right whales, which are listed as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, in order to determine whether or not the slow growth rate of North Atlantic right whales is attributable to humans.

Read the full story at Mongabay

 

MSC grants more time to menhaden fishery audit, but might not be needed

November 20, 2018 — The Marine Stewardship Council has granted auditors an extra three months – until March 6 — to finish their final report on whether to grant certification to the menhaden fishery on the Atlantic coast of the United States.

However, Ben Landry, public affairs specialist for Houston, Texas-based Omega Protein, the US’ largest harvester of menhaden and a division of the Cooke group of seafood companies, said he doesn’t think the extra cushion will be needed as the audit is expected to be wrapped up within weeks.

By certifying both the menhaden fisheries on the Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, MSC looks to bolster its presence in the US significantly. Combined, the two fisheries account for nearly 800,000 metric ton of fish — about 11% of all of the wild-caught fish in the US – second only to the already MSC-certified Alaskan pollock fishery, responsible for 1.5 billion metric tons, or 30%, based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

According to assessment reports by third-party assessors and NOAA data, roughly 70% of US landings by volume have been certified by MSC, including Alaskan pollock, and another 16% are currently under review, including the two menhaden fisheries, an MSC official told Undercurrent.

The menhaden fisheries are also North America’s largest source of fish for meal and oil, providing Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada-based Cooke with a large source of omega-3-enriched feed for its considerable salmon aquaculture operations. Cooke completed its acquisition of Omega Protein almost exactly one year ago.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Reduced speed zone to protect whale in effect to December

November 20, 2018 — NANTUCKET, Mass. — The federal government is asking mariners to slow down off of Massachusetts to help protect a severely endangered species of large whale.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it’s applying the voluntary vessel speed restriction zone in an area 21 nautical miles south of Nantucket. The designation is intended to protect a group of four North Atlantic right whales seen in the area on Sunday.

NOAA says the speed restriction zone will be in effect until Dec. 3. Mariners are asked to avoid the area or go through it at 10 knots or less.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

NOAA says watching for right whales during migrating season is more important than ever

November 19, 2018 — North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S.

20 right whale deaths were documented in 2017 and 2018. The NOAA is asking boaters to be cautious as the endangered whales migrate south.

Right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and scientists estimate there are just over 400 remaining.

Officials are reminding boaters and coastal residents, right whale calving season begins in mid-November and runs through mid-April.

Every winter, many right whales travel more than 1,000 miles from their feeding grounds off Canada and New England to the warm coastal waters of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida’s east coast.

To reduce the risk of collisions between right whales and boats, federal law requires ships and aircraft to stay at least 500 yards away from right whales.

Vessels 65 feet and longer are also required to slow to speeds of 10 knots or less in Seasonal Management Areas along the East Coast, including the calving and nursery area.

“Right whales often swim and rest just below the surface, and are invisible to approaching boats and ships,” said wildlife biologist Clay George of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “It’s important for ship operators to follow vessel speed rules, and for boaters to slow down whenever possible.”

NOAA and its partners conduct aerial and vessel surveys off the coast of Florida and Georgia throughout the calving season.

Read the full story at WTKR

 

Restoration projects seek to fight “tragic” decline in Gulf of Mexico oyster population

November 19, 2018 — Last week, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officially moved to cancel the state’s wild oyster season, which would have run from November through April.

Exploratory dives at oyster harvesting grounds had revealed a continued steep decline in the number of oysters in the state’s waters. Last year’s season was curtailed after fishermen harvested just 136 110-pound sacks of oysters, down from 7,000 sacks in 2013, according to the Associated Press.

Scott Bannon, director of the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said the findings revealed the apparent collapse of the region’s oyster ecology.

“It’s tragic, to be honest,” Bannon told AL.com.

Numerous factors have dealt blows not just to Alabama’s oyster grounds, but those of the entire Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, hurricanes, disease, and changes in freshwater flows to Gulf rivers and streams have collectively damaged the fishery to the point where up to 85 percent of the gulf’s original oyster reefs no longer remain intact.

According to a new report by The Nature Conservancy, “Oyster Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico,” this dramatic decline has damaged the stability and productivity of the Gulf’s estuaries and harmed coastal economies.

Seth Blitch, the director of coastal and marine conservation in Louisiana for The Nature Conservancy, told SeafoodSource the oyster habitat and the oyster fishery “is not in a particularly good place right now,” which could spell bigger problems for the region.

“Oysters, to me, are a great proxy to a lot of things,” he said. “If oysters are doing well, that’s a good indication of good water quality and of the health entire near-shore estuarine system. When oysters start to fail, that’s good indication there are larger issues at play.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source