Saving Seafood

Sens. King, Collins push for more research on ocean warming in Gulf of Maine

May 1, 2018 — U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King have urged the federal government to improve efforts to understand the causes and effects of the rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine, which threatens to disrupt Maine’s traditional fisheries and the ecosystem that supports them.

“We need greater resources, enhanced monitoring of subsurface conditions, and a better understanding of the diversity of factors that are simultaneously impacting the Gulf of Maine, from changes in circulation and water temperature to ocean acidification,” the senators wrote in a letter Monday to the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Tim Gallaudet.

“This effort is critical not just for Maine and New England states but for our country as a whole,” they added in the letter, which also called for greater cooperative research and monitoring efforts with Canada, which has sovereignty over the eastern half of the gulf. “Understanding the changes occurring in the Gulf of Maine with respect to warming ocean waters will allow us to better understand the impact to fisheries and benefit other waters similarly affected by climate change.”

Canadian scientists recently measured record-breaking temperatures in the deep water flowing into the principal oceanographic entrance to the Gulf of Maine – nearly 11 degrees above normal – and other researchers report warmer water has been intruding into some of the gulf’s deep-water basins. In a press release, the senators said their letter was prompted by an April 24 Press Herald story on these developments.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

NOAA Fisheries Announces Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

May 1, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective May 2, 2018

NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted Limited Access General Category scallop vessels effective 0001 hr, on May 2, 2018.

As of May 2, 2018, no Limited Access General Category scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. The scallop regulations require that we close this area once we project that 100 percent of the 2018 Limited Access General Category Total Allowable Catch for this area will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year, March 31, 2019.

Limited Access General Category vessels that have declared a trip into the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code, and have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001 hr, May 2, 2018, may complete their trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

Exemption for Maine and Massachusetts Vessels Fishing Exclusively State Waters

If you have a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop permit, you may continue to fish in Maine or Massachusetts state waters within the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area under the State Waters Exemption program. If you are fishing under an Individual Fishing Quota scallop permit (Limited Access General Category A), any pounds landed under a state waters only trip will still be deducted from your vessel’s allocation.

Exemption for Limited Access Vessels Fishing Compensation Trips Under the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program

This closure does not affect the Limited Access fleet that was allocated a separate Total Allowable Catch of 65,000 lb for the 2018 fishing year under Framework 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The Limited Access Total Allowable Catch will be harvested by vessels that are participating in the 2018 scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

For more details, read the notice as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin.

 

NOAA Fisheries Allocates Annual Catch Entitlements for 17 of 19 Groundfish Sectors for Fishing Year 2018

May 1, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is allocating 2018 quotas to 17 of 19 groundfish sectors based on catch limits approved in Framework 57 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

We are not allocating quota to Northeast Fishery Sectors 7 and 9, as we are still reviewing changes to their sector rosters for fishing year 2018, including related operational and overage payback issues.

We are also approving a new regulatory exemption that allows Day gillnet sector vessels to fish up to 150 gillnets in the Gulf of Maine if at least 50 of those nets are 10-inch or larger mesh and fished east of 70 degrees West longitude. Sectors requested this exemption to allow sector vessels to better target monkfish while on sector trips.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register.

 

NOAA Fisheries Sets 2018-2020 Catch Limits for Groundfish Stocks and Announces Other Management Measures for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan

May 1, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Through Framework 57, we have set catch limits for 20 groundfish stocks for the 2018-2020 fishing years (May 1, 2018-April 30, 2020), including the 3 stocks managed jointly with Canada.

Framework 57 increases quotas for 11 stocks compared to 2017, including: Georges Bank cod (139%), Gulf of Maine cod (41%), and Gulf of Maine haddock (190%). Quotas are decreasing for nine stocks, including Southern New England yellowtail flounder (-75%) and Gulf of Maine winter flounder (-45%).

We expect increases in the quotas for Gulf of Maine cod, Gulf of Maine haddock, and Georges Bank cod to provide additional economic revenue and flexibility to the commercial groundfish industry. Overall, we expect the measures in Framework 57 to generate $9 million in additional gross revenues this fishing year compared to last year.

Framework 57 also:

  • Revises the way common pool quotas are split between trimesters for six stocks.
  • Modifies the Atlantic halibut accountability measures.
  • Changes the trigger for the scallop fishery’s accountability measure for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder stock to when total catch exceeds the overall catch limit.
  • Revises the southern windowpane flounder accountability measure for the summer flounder, scup, and skate fisheries.
  • Sets a Georges Bank cod catch target of 138 mt for the recreational fishery and grants the Regional Administrator authority to set recreational measures for 2018 and 2019 to prevent the catch target from being exceeded. A separate rule implements new Georges Bank cod recreational measures.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin on our website.

 

NOAA Reminder to Skate Fishery: Barndoor Skates Still Prohibited, 2017 Quotas in Place

April 30, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

The new skate fishery regulations proposed within Framework Adjustment 5 will not be in place by May 1, 2018, the start of the fishing year.

Thus, the current regulations, including the prohibition on retention, possession, and landing of barndoor skates and the 2017 quotas, will remain in place until further notice. The wing and bait possession limits remain unchanged.

Framework Adjustment 5 proposes to:

  • Set quotas for the 2018-2019 fishing year;
  • Allow limited possession of barndoor skate in the skate wing fishery; and
  • Exempt vessels from some specific domestic skate regulations when fishing exclusively within the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Regulatory Area.

We plan to have the proposed rule out later this spring.

Get more information on skate fishery regulations.

 

Senators push for federal assessment of right whale deaths

April 30, 2018 — BOSTON — Eleven Democratic senators are asking the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct an urgent assessment of the impacts to the endangered North Atlantic right whale from fisheries in Canada.

The senators led by Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey said fishing communities across New England have worked to reduce impacts on marine mammals. Markey said last year most observed right whale deaths were in Canadian waters.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Herald

 

Feds Looking Into Health Of Scallops In The Atlantic

April 30, 2018 — Federal regulators are reviewing the health of sea scallops in the Atlantic Ocean to get a better handle on the status of the valuable shellfish.

Sea scallops are among the most valuable wild-harvested seafood products in the U.S. They were worth more than $485 million at the docks in 2016, a year in which fishermen harvested more than 40 million pounds of them.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes the assessment as a “scientifically rigorous review.” It will help inform future fishing regulations in the sea scallop fishery. The agency says assessment results will be available in July.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Maine Public

 

Massachusetts: Right Whales Spotted South of Vineyard

April 27, 2018 — With three North Atlantic right whales seen south of Martha’s Vineyard this week, mariners are advised to be on the lookout for the critically endangered animals.

NOAA Fisheries announced Thursday that a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone has been established in the area after the whales were seen on 19 nautical miles south of the Vineyard on April 24. Mariners are asked to avoid the area or transit at 10 knots or less.

The restriction zone is in effect until May 9. Voluntary and mandatory speed restrictions are also in effect in other areas.

North Atlantic right whales feed in the waters off New England in the late winter and early spring. Researchers estimate that there are about 433 right whales in existence. With recent whale deaths from fishing gear entanglement and a low birth rate, scientists say the species could go extinct in the next 20 years.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette 

 

Lawsuit challenges fishing methods that could threaten right whales

April 27, 2018 — BOSTON — A noted environmental activist has gone to court to stop the use of vertical buoy fishing lines in Massachusetts waters to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

In a lawsuit filed in late February in U.S. District Court in Boston, Cambridge-based conservationist Richard Maximus Strahan names the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the assistant administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, the commissioners of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, as a representative of its 1,800 members.

The lawsuit is the third filed in federal court this year related to protecting North Atlantic right whales.

Strahan is seeking a preliminary injunction to stop lobstermen’s association members from further lobster pot and gill net commercial fishing operations that could result in the entanglement of any endangered whale or sea turtle, according to the amended complaint. In that same order, Strahan seeks to stop government defendants from licensing those types of commercial fisheries operations unless they can scientifically demonstrate that endangered whales and sea turtles would not be killed or injured.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

NOAA Pilot Program Extends Snapper Season In Gulf of Mexico

April 27, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The fisheries management folks have finally thrown a bone to recreational anglers targeting American red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. The Feds at NOAA Fisheries has granted the Gulf states a two-year pilot management option allowing state management agencies the leeway to establish their own harvest guidelines in both state and federal zones.

The program, aka the “exempted fishing permit” gives Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission the right to manage the whole snapper enchilada for two years and they have established a 40-day recreational harvest to begin on June 11 and run through July 21. After years of ridiculously short open seasons, this is really a big deal for recreational anglers to get their fair share of the pie. It also shows that the feds have finally owned up to the fact that in some areas of the Gulf states, American reds are not a factor in state waters, the Gulf Coast south of the big bend, including the Suncoast, being one of them.

The exempted fishing permit does not apply to commercial harvesters or for-hire (charter) operations with valid federal reef permits. Those for-hire vessels have a separate harvest season that roughly runs concurrently with the new recreational regulation.

2018 Lionfish Challenge

The 2018 Lionfish Challenge kicks off on May 19 and will continue through to Sept. 3. The opener coincides with Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day on May 19. Both spear fishers and hook-and-liners can register to participate by going to MyFWC.com/Lionfish.

This year there will be tagged lionfish released that when brought in can garner participants up to $5,000 in cash prizes. Many non-cash prizes such as GoPro Cams, Engel Cooler products, Turtle Skin Gloves and more, are up for grabs.

The non-native and invasive lionfish have become a huge problem in Florida waters as they feed primarily on the fry of our most valued reef species as groupers and snappers. Any effort to cut down on this gluttonous invader should be encouraged. Their extremely good table value should help but must be handled with caution due to venomous spines. The venom is not life threatening but if you get stuck you would wish you hadn’t woke up that morning.

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