Saving Seafood

New Bedford fishermen, businesses losing out while waiting on NOAA

June 20, 2018 — The wall of windows within the Harborview Room on the top floor of the Whaling Museum provided a look of serenity across the waterfront as the sun shined down on countless fishing vessels.

The conversation within the walls painted a much different picture as those from the fishing industry described the suffocating effects that NOAA’s groundfishing ban has imposed on fishermen and shoreside businesses.

“If something doesn’t happen with groundfishing soon, it’s gone,” general manager of Hercules SLR John Reardon said.

NOAA implemented the ban Nov. 20 and has continued because of an overage calculated at 72,000 pounds of grey sole, according to multiple people who spoke Monday evening.

The overage represents the amount of fish calculated by NOAA that Carlos Rafael misreported. He is serving a 46-month prison sentence, but the NOAA punishment aspect has held many along the waterfront hostage.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

AIS awarded $47m contract to monitor fishing in Northeast US

June 19, 2018 — The US National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has tapped AIS Inc., a Marion, Massachusetts-based company, to monitor fishing in the Northeast US for the next five years, the company said in a press release. The contract is worth $47 million.

The job will entail employing 80 to 100 observers riding on commercial fishing vessels all along the northeastern coast of the US, from Maine to North Carolina, covering 10,000 sea days per year, the company said. All observers must have a bachelor of science degree in biological or ecological services and pass a three-week training to test before becoming certified.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

HAWAII: Federal money coming for ocean management

June 18, 2018 — The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee this week passed the Commerce, Science, and Justice Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2019.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) worked to include $1 million to preserve Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, more than $36 million to improve tsunami warnings, and nearly $30 million to protect coral reefs in Hawaii and across the country.

“We were successful at including more federal funding to help us manage Papahanaumokuakea and protect our coral reefs,” said Schatz, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “This bill also funds our tsunami warning system so that we can strengthen tsunami forecasting and better protect Hawaii’s coastal communities.”

Key funding in the Commerce, Science, and Justice Appropriations Bill sought by Schatz includes:

  • $1 million for Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The bill authorizes NOAA to make a competitive grant of up to $1 million for research and management activities in Papahanaumokuakea. The funding is subject to a 100 percent non-federal match, and will bring new resources to keep our Hawaiian archipelago healthy and productive.
  • $31.6 million for the NOAA Tsunami Program. The program provides funding to coastal states for preparedness activities such as inundation mapping, disaster planning, and tsunami education. Despite deep cuts proposed by President Trump, Senator Schatz helped protect funding for this critical program.

Read the full story at The Garden Island

US considers upping reporting requirements for lobster harvesters

June 18, 2018 — The US’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seeking comment on changes that would increase reporting requirements for US lobster harvesters, including a requirement that federal lobster permit holders report on catches for each fishing trip.

The changes are part of Addendum XXVI to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for American Lobster, which has been approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA explained in a statement issued this week. They would “improve the scope and type of data collected in the lobster fishery in order to improve stock assessments, assess potential impacts of wind farms, and better assess interactions with marine mammals,” the agency said.

The changes are not yet in a proposed rule and “would be completed through a separate, future rulemaking,” the agency clarified.

Other recommendations for reporting requirements include having NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service collect data on where, when, and how long fishermen are fishing and expanding the agency’s offshore biological sampling program.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance Members Engage with Lawmakers, Represent Gulf in Washington

June 15, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance:   

Members of the Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance, representing Gulf fishermen, seafood dealers, and restaurants, travelled to Washington last Wednesday to participate in a roundtable hosted by the House Committee on Natural Resources. While in Washington, Alliance members also represented Gulf Coast seafood by participating in the 43rd Annual NOAA Fish Fry as the main event of Capitol Hill Ocean Week.

The round-table discussion was led by Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Rob Bishop (R-Utah), and addressed legislation that impedes economic growth and development along working waterfronts.

“Working waterfronts and our nation’s vast ocean resources are essential to coastal communities, generating billions of dollars each year,” read a statement issued by Chairman Bishop on the meeting. “We heard from real people whose livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean economy and their message was clear: without a rational regulatory framework, responsible economic growth and success is at risk.”

Participants also discussed legislation aimed at easing the pressure of unnecessary regulation, most notably the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2018 introduced by Rep. Neal Dunn, (R-Fla.).

“What the Gulf Coast needs is fair, equitable management of key species,” said GCSA founding member and Gulf Coast restauranteur, Dewey Destin. “Sustainable management is paramount to the survival of communities along the Gulf Coast, and we were able to express that while in Washington.”

 

At the NOAA Fish Fry, Alliance members drew awareness to Gulf-specific issues — like the management of Gulf red snapper. They also had the opportunity to communicate those issues to high-ranking government officials. Members spoke with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, and cooked Gulf red snapper and oysters alongside President Trump’s nominee to head NOAA, Barry Myers.

Alliance members that travelled to Washington include: Dewey and Parker Destin of the Dewey Destin Restaurant Group, David Krebs, President of Ariel Seafoods, and Greg Abrams, Owner of Greg Abrams Seafood.

Learn more about the GCSA  by visiting their site here.

 

 

 

 

Feds weigh costly new regulation for Maine lobstermen

June 15, 2018 — The federal government is considering requiring all Maine lobstermen to report their harvests after each outing, a move that may face stiff opposition from an industry worried about the cost.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requested comment on the proposal in a notice posted to the Federal Register on Wednesday. Maine is the only state that doesn’t require all lobstermen to report catch-level information after each haul, and the policy change is expected to receive backlash from its powerful fishery lobby.

“We’re going to get a lot of probably negative comments on this because it’s going to be a burden for people,” said Peter Burns, a lobster policy analyst with NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. “The lobster industry is very strong. For the longest time, they wanted to protect their fishing information, their proprietary business information.”

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Lobsters accounted for 44 percent of Maine’s total commercial catches in 2017, the largest portion of the 254 million pounds of fish netted, and brought in nearly $434 million. The total lobster supply chain adds as much as $1 billion to Maine’s economy each year, according to a 2016 study by the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association. The administration says only 10 percent of the state’s lobstermen currently report trip-level data.

Read the full story at the Washington Examiner

US Scallop Association advocates for competitive tariff rates

June 15, 2018 — When members of the American Scallop Association went to Washington last week to take in in the annual NOAA Fish Fry, the trade group used the opportunity to hand a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

In the letter, the ASA asks Ross for help in making their product more competitive for European exports. Specifically, the group cited the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, which the ASA claimed puts U.S. scallop producers at an 8-percent disadvantage against Canadian competitors.

The group wants Ross to resume trade negotiations with EU members as soon as possible and lock in tariff rates that mirror those for Canadian products.

“The ASA had a discussion focused on international trade with US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross about how CETA-rigged prices are causing irreparable harm to US companies trying to export lobster and scallops to the EU,” said John Whiteside, Jr., general counsel for the organization, in a statement.

The letter was delivered at a time when U.S. trade is in turmoil. President Trump has discussed placing tariffs on products imported from China, Canada and European allies, and in turn, leaders from those countries have threatened similar actions against U.S. goods.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA to Require Commercial Reef Fish Harvesters to Give Advance Notice of Landings

June 14, 2018 — The following was released by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries announces new measures affecting commercial reef fish fishermen. The purpose of this action is to improve compliance and increase management flexibility in the Gulf of Mexico individual fishing quota (IFQ) programs.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

  • All owners or operators of a commercial reef fish permitted vessel landing any commercially caught, federally managed reef fish from the Gulf of Mexico will be required to provide an advance notice of landing at least 3 hours, but no more than 24 hours, prior to landing. This applies even if the reef fish landed are not part of the IFQ program. Landing must occur at approved landings locations.
  • Any shares contained in IFQ accounts that have never been activated since January 1, 2010 will be returned permanently to NOAA Fisheries.
  • If needed, NOAA Fisheries will be allowed to withhold the distribution of IFQ allocation equal to the amount of an expected commercial quota reduction on January 1, the beginning of the fishing year, but will distribute that allocation if the expected reduction does not take place by June 1 of that year.

WHEN THIS RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

  • The actions to return non-activated shares and withhold quota in the event of an anticipated quota decrease will be effective July 12, 2018.
  • The advance notice of landing requirement will be effective January 1, 2019.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER:

83 FR 27927, published June 12, 2018

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Why are landing notifications being required for all commercial trips landing reef fish species, not just IFQ species?

  • One issue identified in a 5-year review of the red snapper IFQ program was additional enforcement efforts are needed to deter violations in the program.
  • Extending the landing notification requirement to all commercial reef fish trips should help to deter fishermen from illegally landing IFQ species or reporting IFQ species as another species (e.g., red snapper reported as vermilion snapper).
  • With this requirement, law enforcement and port agents can be alerted in advance of all reef fish trips returning to port and can meet vessels to inspect landings.

What information needs to be in the landing notification?

  • The landing notification must provide the vessel identifier (name and official vessel registration), date and time of expected landing, expected landing location, and certification that there are no IFQ species on board the vessel.
  • Landing locations must be on NOAA Fisheries’ pre-approved landing location list.
  • This does not change the landing notification required by the IFQ program.

When and how are landing notifications made?

  • Landing notifications can be made through the vessel monitoring system (VMS) required for federally permitted commercial reef fish vessels.
  • Notifications can be submitted by other NMFS-approved methods in the future (e.g., by phone) if they are developed.
  • Landing notifications need to be made at least 3 hours, but no more than 24 hours, prior to landing.

What are the landing notification time requirements?

  • A vessel can land anytime during the day and night, provided that a landing notification has been given between 3 to 24 hours prior to landing.
  • A vessel must landwithin 1 hour after the arrival time given in the landing notification. If a vessel is going to be more than 1 hour after the arrival time, a new notification with an updated arrival time must be submitted. The captain is not required to wait an additional 3 hours if only one superseding landing notification has been submitted for the trip.
  • Vessels are allowed to land prior to the 3-hour landing notification time of arrival if an authorized officer is present, is available to meet the vessel at the landing site, and authorizes the owner or operator of the vessel to land early.
  • Fishers only need to notify law enforcement in advance of landing, not offloading.

How do I find out if my landing location is pre-approved and what do I need to do to get a landing location approved?

  • A list of currently approved landing locations and a map can be foundhere (select view landings locations).
  • If your landing location is on this list, you do not need to submit a new one.
  • If your landing location is not on the list, then you must submit a new landing location.
    • Landing locations must be submitted by mailing a form to  263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701.
  • The landing location must contain a contact name and phone number, a location name, and the location’s street address, unless there is no street address on record.  If a particular landing location has no street address on record, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates for an identifiable geographic location must be provided in decimal degrees.
  • Landing locations must be publicly accessible by land and water.  No conditions may impede free and immediate access to the site by an authorized law enforcement officer or port agent.  Examples of which include, but are not limited to:  A locked gate, fence, wall, or other barrier preventing 24-hour access to the site; a gated community entry point; a guard animal; a posted sign restricting access to the site; or any other physical deterrent.  Other criteria may also be used by the Office of Law Enforcement when approving locations.
  • New landing locations will be approved only at the end of each calendar-year quarter.  To have a landing location approved by the end of the calendar-year quarter, it must be submitted at least 45 days before the end of the calendar-year quarter.  Quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.

Why must pre-approved landing locations be used?

  • Landing locations must be approved in advance to ensure the sites actually exist and law enforcement agents can access these sites.  The landing notification requirement is intended to provide law enforcement officers the opportunity to be present at the point of landing so they can monitor and enforce IFQ requirements dockside.
  • Landing locations are approved by NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement.

Which IFQ share accounts are being returned to NOAA Fisheries?

  • Shares in accounts that have never been activated since January 1, 2010, will permanently be returned to NOAA Fisheries on July 12, 2018.
  • The amount of shares in accounts that have not been activated since January 1, 2010, is small.
  • Because all the share accounts have not been activated, this means that not all the allocation is being harvested and the entire commercial quota cannot be caught.
  • The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council intends to redistribute these shares to IFQ program participants through a mechanism determined in Amendment 36B to the to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico, which is currently under development.

Why does NOAA Fisheries need to hold back some of the quota?

  • Sometimes a quota needs to be reduced quickly to address overfishing (too many fish being caught), or a change in status is detected through a recent scientific assessment of the population.
  • Under the IFQ programs, annual allocation is distributed to IFQ shareholders on January 1, and most IFQ program participants begin to use or transfer their allocation early in the year.
  • After shareholders begin transferring or landing allocation, it would not be possible to go back and withdraw allocation from shareholder accounts if a quota decrease became effective afterJanuary 1.
  • This action allows NOAA Fisheries to anticipate a decrease in the quota of any IFQ species or multi-species share categories after the start of a year and distribute a portion of the annual allocation to shareholders on January 1.

What if NOAA Fisheries is not able to reduce the quota in a timely fashion?

  • NOAA Fisheries understands that fishermen need time to plan to fish or transfer IFQ allocation.
  • If the quota decrease cannot be completed by June 1, then the withheld quota will be distributed back to IFQ participants that hold shares for the given share category at the time of distribution.
  • If the quota decrease is not effective by June 1, the distribution of allocation for the next year will be based on the reduced quota.

Read the full release at the Fishing Wire

Fishing for White, Brown, and Pink Shrimp is Open Off South Carolina in Federal Waters

June 14, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

WHAT/WHEN:

  • Federal waters adjacent to South Carolina state waters are open to fishing for white, brown, and pink shrimp as of 4:15 p.m., local time, June 13, 2018.
  • South Carolina state waters remain closed until the state determines an appropriate reopening date.  
WHY THIS REOPENING IS HAPPENING:
  • South Carolina closed its state waters to all shrimping on January 10, 2018, due to a prolonged period of water temperatures at or below 9°C in the region.
  • South Carolina requested NOAA Fisheries close federal waters off South Carolina to shrimping. The federal closure was effective January 17, 2018.
  • The purpose of the closure was to protect the white shrimp spawning population.
  • Observations of mature white shrimp, as well as evidence of recent and current spawning, provided by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, suggest the federal waters should be reopened off South Carolina to allow for harvest.
  • South Carolina officials will continue to monitor the white shrimp population to determine when it is appropriate to allow shrimp fishing to resume in state waters.
This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register.

NOAA eyes expanding reporting rules for lobstermen

June 14, 2018 — Federal fishing managers are asking for comments about potential changes to the way the U.S.’s lucrative lobster fishing industry is monitored.

The American lobster fishery is based in New England and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars every year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is looking to craft new rules about the way fishermen report their catch.

The NOAA is considering a recommendation to require all federal lobster permit holders to report on catches for each fishing trip. It’s also looking at expanding its own offshore sampling program.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Boston.com