Saving Seafood

Fight for New Fluke Quota in New York

October 26, 2018 — For many years, commercial fishermen in New York have complained about the inequities they faced in the numbers­­­ of summer flounder they could land (as well as other popular species), when compared to other states along the East Coast. The fight has gone on for nearly 30 years and continues to this day.

In April, the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council approved a summer flounder commercial issues draft amendment that rejected a motion by New York representatives to add provisions that would more adequately address the state-by-state quota inequity in the fluke fishery. Once again, the council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission solicited public comment on the draft amendment, which ended last week. While a decision has yet to be made, it’s very clear that frustration abounds concerning an imbalance between many on land and those who work on the water.

State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. has called for two additional options in the summer flounder commercial issues draft amendment — to negotiate new state quota shares of summer flounder and to include a coast-wide quota and management of summer flounder.

“The state-by-state quotas created by the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the Department of Commerce’s National Marine Fisheries Service, pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, are based upon faulty and incomplete collection data, which discriminate against commercial fishermen in the State of New York,” Mr. Thiele said in an Oct. 15 statement.

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

 

New Hampshire ‘AquaFort’ among 22 projects earning NOAA Sea Grant

October 26, 2018 — Researchers in New Hampshire have received federal funding to create an offshore aquaculture program that will be used to recruit fishermen in northern New England interested in raising steelhead trout and blue mussels.

Officials from the University of New Hampshire – which manages the state’s Sea Grant program – along with the state’s federal leaders announced the USD 747,673 (EUR 655,574) award last week. The grant was given to UNH for its new aquaculture program called “AquaFort.” It involves the hatching of rainbow trout in freshwater, and after eight months of development, the fish are transferred to the sea and become known as steelheads.

The university already has permits for the AquaFort site, which will be located less than two miles south of the Isle of Shoals.

“Warming ocean temperatures and invasive species have caused a decline in sea creatures such as blue mussels and steelhead trout, which has negatively impacted New Hampshire fishermen and the seafood industry,” U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) said in a statement. “By increasing seafood production through aquaculture training for fishermen and farmers, this federal grant to the University of New Hampshire will help expand economic opportunity on the Seacoast.”

The New Hampshire initiative was one of 22 projects that earned 2018 Aquaculture Research Awards grants by NOAA Sea Grant. All of the endeavors receiving a total of USD 11 million (EUR 9.6 million) will work on their projects over the next two to three years. Awardees must also receive a 50 percent match in funds from non-federal sources.

The Rhode Island Sea Grant program received USD 745,815 (EUR 654,052) to develop an online training initiative for entry-level workers that’s designed to improve worker safety and hone the skills necessary to get and keep a job in aquaculture. The training program will include a “train-the-trainer” aspect that could lead to a national deployment.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

The great US scallop ride of 2018 comes to an end

October 26, 2018 — When the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer coined the phrase in the 14th century that all good things must come to an end, surely he wasn’t talking about the buying of US sea scallops in 2018.

Or was he?

After staying below or just above $9 all spring and summer, the average price of 10/20s – the most common size of Atlantic sea scallops in the US — has rocketed up to $10.89 per pound this month and the deluxe size U-10s that were plentiful earlier in the season have virtually disappeared, reveals a review by Undercurrent News of landings at the seafood auction in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Add $1.50 to $2.00/lb. to cover both the auction’s offload charges (20 cents per lb) and the dealers’ margins to get a true sense of what scallops are selling for at wholesale, sources suggest.

The recent changes have scallop wholesalers reminiscing already about the spring and summer that were, when foodservice businesses began to put scallops back on the menu, and simultaneously wondering how they’re going to meet the challenge of scallop-hungry customers between now and April 1, 2019, the likely beginning of the next season.

“It was a great ride, one of the best rides in some time,” said Bob Mankita, a seafood buyer for JJ McDonnell, an Elkridge, Maryland-based wholesaler, of the spring and summer of 2018 scallop market. “Prices were low. There were a lot of U-10s. We got back a lot of lost customers. Now we just have to figure out how to handle the next five months.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Here’s how $1.4M in NOAA grants will be used to help Maine’s fishing industry

October 25, 2018 — Sea lice infestation costs the salmon aquaculture industry an estimated at $15 million annually in the United States and $740 million globally — and remains the greatest barrier to continuing and expanding salmon aquaculture in the oceans.

That’s the industry context underscoring the relevance of the $725,365 grant awarded to a University of Maine team to study potential new treatments for sea lice infestation.

The grant is one of two to UMaine that were announced recently by National Sea Grant College, a program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Both projects are expected to further advance the development of a sustainable marine and coastal aquaculture industry in the United States, according to a NOAA news release.

Heather Hamlin, Deborah Bouchard and Ian Bricknell of UMaine’s Aquaculture Research Institute will research an integrated approach to addressing sea lice control in the commercial culture of Atlantic salmon in sea pens. The project will address gaps in knowledge of sea lice biology and control methods, such as integrated pest management, and new, ecologically sensitive chemical compounds and their effects on nontarget species, such as lobsters.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

ASMFC Coastal Sharks Board Approves Addendum V

October 25, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Coastal Sharks Management Board approved Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Coastal Sharks. The Addendum allows the Board to respond to changes in the stock status of coastal shark populations and adjust regulations through Board action rather than an addendum, ensuring greater consistency between state and federal shark regulations.

Previously, the FMP only allowed for commercial quotas, possession limits, and season dates to be set annually through specifications. All other changes to commercial or recreational management could only be accomplished through an addendum or emergency action. In instances when addenda were initiated, the timing of when the addenda were completed and state implementation resulted in inconsistencies between state and federal shark regulations, particularly when NOAA Fisheries adopted changes through interim emergency rules.

Moving forward, Addendum V will allow the Board to change a suite of commercial and recreational measures, such as recreational size and possession limits, season length, and area closures (recreational and commercial) in addition to the current specifications for just the commercial fishery, throughout the year when needed. Under this provision, if the Board chooses to adjust measures through Board action, the public will be able to provide comment prior to Board meetings, as well as at Board meetings at the discretion of the Board Chair. Additionally, the Board can still implement changes in shark regulations through an addendum.

In addition, the Board considered proposed federal 2019 Atlantic shark specifications. Similar to recent years, NOAA Fisheries is proposing a January 1 open date for all shark management groups, with an initial 25 shark possession limit for large coastal and hammerhead management groups, with the possibility of in-season adjustments. The Board will set the 2019 coastal shark specifications via an email vote after the final rule is published later this fall.

Addendum V will be available on the Commission’s website (www.asmfc.org) on the Coastal Sharks webpage by the end of October. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootesmurdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board Sets Quotas for 201 9-2021 Fishing Seasons

October 25, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved the following coastwide commercial quotas for the 2019-2021 fishing seasons (May 1-April 30): 20,522,832 pounds for 2019/2020; 23,194,835 pounds for 202/2021, and 27,421,096 pounds for 2021/2022 (state-specific allocations are provided in table below). The quotas are consistent with the measures recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The Board also established a 6,000 pound commercial trip limit for the northern region states of Maine through Connecticut, while New York through North Carolina have the ability to set state-specific trip limits based on the needs of their fisheries. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils will forward their recommendations for federal waters (3 –200 miles from shore) to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval.

The quotas are based on the 2018 Stock Assessment Update, which indicates that while the population is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, biomass has declined, requiring an approximate 46% reduction in the 2019-2020 quota to ensure that overfishing does not occur. The next benchmark stock assessment is currently scheduled for completion in 2021.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Barndoor Skate Now Sustainable Seafood Choice After Years of Prohibited Fishing

October 24, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Fifteen years after the New England Fishery Management Council crafted the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan, fishermen are now able to harvest barndoor skate.

According to NOAA, the species became depleted during the 1960s and early 1970s due to foreign fleets. Numbers of barndoor skates remained low until the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which restricted foreign fleets from fishing 200 miles off the U.S. shore. The Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan was put in place in 2003 to rebuild the stock, and after several years of harvest being prohibited, commercial fishermen are once again allowed to catch limited numbers.

NOAA reports that fishermen in the directed skate fishery may now catch up to 650 pounds of barndoor skate wings per trip during the period of May 1 to August 21. From September 1 to April 30 fishermen are able to catch up to 1,025 pounds per trip.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

White House Touts President Trump’s Actions on Fishing

October 24, 2018 — The following was released by The White House:

“An ever-growing maze of regulations, rules, restrictions has cost our country trillions and trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, countless American factories, and devastated many industries.”

REAL RESULTS: President Trump’s efforts to cut burdensome and unnecessary red tape are bringing real change and delivering real results for Americans.

  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has taken action to free our fishermen from burdensome red tape while also promoting responsible fishing practices.
    • For instance, areas off the coast of New England have been opened to commercial sea scallop harvesting for the first time in years, netting an economic benefit of $654 million.

Read the full release here

South Atlantic Vermilion Snapper Commercial Trip Limit Reduced to 555 Pounds Whole Weight on October 26, 2018

October 23, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

WHAT/WHEN:
  • The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic is reduced from 1,110 to 555 pounds whole weight, or from 1,000 to 500 pounds gutted weight, effective 12:01 a.m., local time, on October 26, 2018.  
WHY THIS TRIP LIMIT REDUCTION IS HAPPENING:
  • When commercial landings of South Atlantic vermilion snapper reach or are projected to reach 75 percent of the quota, regulations are in place to reduce the daily trip limit.
  • The trip limit reduction is necessary to slow the rate of commercial harvest to avoid exceeding the quota.
AFTER THE TRIP LIMIT REDUCTION:
  • The 555-pound whole weight or 500-pound gutted weight trip limit will remain in effect until the end of the current fishing season on December 31, 2018, or when 100 percent of the quota is reached or projected to be reached, whichever occurs first.  The 2019 January through June vermilion snapper fishing season in the South Atlantic will open at 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2019, with a 1,110-pound whole weight or 1,000-pound gutted weight trip limit.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations.  Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at http://www.ecfr.gov.

MASSACHUSETTS: Portsmouth boat captain falsified fishing logs to get disaster funds

October 23, 2018 — A fishing boat captain, with a home port of Portsmouth, agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge stating he provided false fishing logs to state Fish and Game officials to fraudulently obtain fishery disaster-relief funds.

The captain, David Bardzik, endorsed the federal plea agreement with his attorney Jerome Blanchard on Oct. 10 and neither could immediately be reached for comment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Rombeau is prosecuting the case and a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office did not return a request for additional information.

The plea agreement, however, summarizes the case and a plea hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30 in U.S. District Court of New Hampshire.

Bardzik signed the agreement noting prosecutors could prove he operated the “for hire” sport fishing boat Ultimate Catch, “generally catering to small outings such as family day trips or bachelor parties.” The federal record notes in May 2015 Bardzik was notified that, based on a review of his records, he was not qualified to receive disaster-relief funds implemented after the fishing industry was impacted by Hurricane Sandy and in anticipation of quota cuts for groundfish stocks.

Fisheries directors from New England, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, distributed about $33 million of the disaster-relief funds, the plea agreement states. To qualify in New Hampshire, commercial and for-hire fishermen were required to have taken at least 15 trips in each of the calendar years 2010-2013 and have Fishing Vessel Trip Reports (FVTR) showing at lease one ground fish species was recorded as harvested.

In an appeal to the denial of federal funds, Bardzik submitted FVTRs documenting several 2013 fishing trips, several of which “were false or altered,” the plea agreement states. The reports are originally completed in triplicate and must account for every day in a fishing season, even if to report no trip was taken, the federal record notes.

When the state compared Bardzik’s original filings, with his filings on appeal for the federal money, “they noticed substantial discrepancies,” Bardzik’s plea agreement states.

Read the full story at Seacoast Online