Saving Seafood

Delayed seismic testing decision puts energy industry at odds with Trump administration

May 29, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s long-awaited decision on whether to allow seismic testing for oil and gas beneath the Atlantic Ocean is causing heartburn for the the energy industry, which eagerly awaits the fulfillment of President Donald Trump’s push to allow offshore drilling in U.S. coastal waters.

Five seismic survey companies want federal permission to shoot loud, pressurized air blasts into the ocean every 10 to 12 seconds around-the-clock for months at a time over 330,000 square miles of ocean from Florida to the Delaware bay, in search of fossil fuel deposits beneath the ocean floor.

If approved, the activity would reverse an Obama-era denial of testing permits in the Atlantic Ocean and represent a major advance of Trump’s “America-First Offshore Energy Strategy.”

After the public-comment period ended in July 2017, many stakeholders expected the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to quickly approve the “incidental harassment authorizations” needed to move the permit applications forward.

But more than 10 months later, NOAA, one of two federal agencies that will decide the matter, still hasn’t approved the authorizations. The IHA would allow the seismic testing to harass or injure small numbers of marine mammals, which would otherwise be prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Read the full story at the Mclatchy DC Bureau

 

Could N.C. become the ‘Napa Valley of oysters?’

May 29, 2018 — MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — Steve Murphey pointed at an oyster shell resting atop the hill of granite stones.

“See, it worked,” quipped Murphey, the director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

The pile of granite Murphey was standing beside last week was one of several at the Port of Morehead City, days away from being spread across the Pamlico Sound near South River where it will become part of the Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary. The project — a joint endeavor of the N.C. Coastal Federation, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Restoration Center — is slated to reach 25 acres by the end of the summer, with as many as 15 more acres planned for next year depending on funding.

An acre of restored reef can support conservatively, a million oysters, biologists said. Some studies have recorded as many as five or six million on an acre, living on top of each other.

Oysters growing on the sanctuary cannot be harvested, giving them a chance to reproduce safely before moving on to other nearby reef sites where they can be captured.

“We’re giving them a good chunk of area to be able to stay and not be harvested and just give them time,” said Kaitlin DeAeth, a Division of Marine Fisheries biologist.

In recent years, shellfish have emerged as a topic on which environmental groups and the legislature can find common ground.

 

NOAA: ​2019 Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Grant competition is currently open.

May 29, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is pleased to announce the ​​2019 Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Grant competition is currently open. This year’s solicitation consists of two separate submission processes. All interested applicants must submit a 2 page Pre-Proposal to the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) posted at www.Grants.gov found here.  Applicants interested in submitting a full application after the pre-proposal review process must submit the full application through www.grants.gov.

Please note that under this one Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) there are two (2) competition links.  Please be sure to submit your pre-proposals to the “PRE PROPOSALS FY19 Saltonstall-Kennedy” link prior to July 23, 2018, ​the date specified in this NOFO.  Please be sure to submit your FULL Proposals to the “FULL Proposals FY19 Saltonstall-Kennedy” link prior to ​Novem​b​er 5, 2018, ​​​the date specified in this NOFO. Be sure to read the NOFO and follow the directions closely.

The goal of the S-K program is to fund projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable. The FY19 solicitation seeks applications that fall into one of three priorities:

  • Promotion
  • Development
  • Marketing
  • Marine Aquaculture
  • Support of Science that Maximizes Fishing Opportunities
  • Revenue and Jobs in U.S. Fisheries
  • Long-Term Sustainability of Marine Resources

For more information click here.

 

Oregon: Sea lions continue to eat endangered fish

May 29, 2018 — All the time, money and sacrifice to improve salmon and steelhead passage in the Willamette River won’t mean a thing unless wildlife managers can get rid of sea lions feasting on the fish at Willamette Falls.

That was the message Tuesday from Shaun Clements, senior policy adviser for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, who met at the falls with Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, and Suzanne Kunse, district director for U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore.

The group watched as several sea lions patrolled the waterfalls and nearby fish ladders. Clements said there could be as many as 50-60 sea lions in the area on any given day in April or early May, and the animals are responsible for eating roughly 20 percent of this year’s already paltry winter steelhead run.

As of May 22, ODFW has counted just 2,086 winter steelhead at Willamette Falls. That’s less than half of the 10-year average and 22 percent of the 50-year average.

ODFW applied in October 2017 to kill sea lions from Willamette Falls under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, though Clements said he does not expect a decision from the National Marine Fisheries Service until the end of the year. The department also tried relocating 10 California sea lions to a beach south of Newport earlier this year, only to see the animals return in just six days.

Read the full story at the Capital Press

 

North Carolina commission approves shrimp trawl measures aimed to reduce bycatch

May 24, 2018 — North Carolina’s Marine Fisheries Commission has approved new rules aimed at dramatically reducing the amount of bycatch taken in by shrimpers.

The commission approved by unanimous vote, at its 17 May hearing, to mandate that shrimp trawls, where more than 90 feet of headrope is allowed, use a gear combination. Tests showed the changes reduced finfish bycatch by 40 percent.

The measure takes effect 1 July 2019. It also comes after a three-year public-private stakeholder group first gathered to begin testing methods that reduce bycatch while minimizing shrimp loss.

Chris Stewart, a shrimp biologist with the state, said the group received about USD 500,000 (EUR 426,127) in grant funding and up to USD 165,000 (EUR 140,621) in in-kind corporate contributions to conduct the studies. Funding came from such groups as the MFC Conservation Fund, the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act and NOAA Fisheries’ Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

The bipartisan solution for saving sharks

May 24, 2018 — As a part of the generation that grew up watching “Jaws,” my wife and many others share President Trump‘s gut-level aversion to sharks. But if the conservation-themed documentaries that feed our fascination for them have taught us anything, it is that the fearsome caricature presented in the film gets these fish all wrong. Instead, they are some of the most captivating, complex and ecologically important creatures in the ocean. They also very rarely pose a danger to people.

The truth is that sharks have much more to fear from us than we from them.

Scientists and conservationists believe that trade incentives can help stop the decline, which is why we applauded when Reps. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act.

The bill would require any countries that wish to export shark, ray or skate products to the U.S. to demonstrate that they are effectively managing their fisheries, comparable to our measures for sustainability. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would certify that those products coming into the U.S. were from fisheries subject to responsible, science-based management to ensure the long-term health of shark, ray and skate populations. This approach is intended to incentivize other fishing countries to meet those standards or risk losing access to the U.S. market.

Fishermen in the U.S. are behind this idea because it levels the playing field with the rest of the world. Those who are already adhering to responsible management standards here in the U.S. should not be undercut by unsustainable catch and products coming in from overseas.

Read the full story at The Hill

 

Alabama anglers ready for expanded red snapper season

May 23, 2018 — Alabama’s recreational fishermen will be allowed to catch red snapper on weekends throughout the summer thanks to an experimental permit granted to the state from the federal government’s NOAA Fisheries.

Private anglers – fishermen who own boats and aren’t licensed by the state or federal government as charter boats – will be allowed to fish on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from June 1 through Sept. 3. The season will also include the entire week of July 4 and Monday, Sept. 3, Labor Day. Anglers are permitted two fish per day and the fish must be at least 16 inches in total length.

To fish for red snapper, anglers ages 16-64 must have a valid Alabama saltwater fishing license. Fishermen 65 and older and those younger than 16 are exempt from license requirements. They must sign up with the free Saltwater Angler’s Registry. It is available in the license section of www.outdooralabama.com.

The season for federally licensed charter boats runs straight through from June 1 through July 21.

Alabama Director of Marine Resources Scott Bannon explained that NOAA issues exempted permits to allow experimental programs outside the normal rules for the fishery.

Read the full story at the Alabama Newscenter

 

Zinke says Interior reorganization still on track in speech at Fort Peck

May 22, 2018 — FORT PECK, Mont. — It wasn’t a Sunday sermon, but those who skipped church to hear Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speak at Fort Peck Dam nonetheless received a parable — of two fish.

Zinke, a former Montana U.S. representative, told attendees that changes were underway to stop government agencies from offering differing views on matters like the environment or wildlife, differences that sandbag permitting of federal projects.

The fish, a trout and salmon, have become staples of the story, which Zinke, a Republican, has been telling since announcing a reorganizing of the Department of Interior.

“Imagine if you have a salmon and a trout in the same stream. Upstream you have a dam. Downstream you have irrigation and that stream passes by a Forest Service holding,” Zinke said. “It happens all the time. This is how our government manages our resources: The trout is managed by Fish and Wildlife Services through me. The salmon is Department of Commerce through NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). Upstream the water flow and temperature is often Army Corps of Engineers, except sometimes it’s BOR (Bureau of Reclamation).”

The government agencies pile up as the stream threads through a national forest and beyond.

Read the full story at the Billings Gazette

 

Conservation groups disagree with NOAA decision on Western Atlantic bluefin

May 22, 2018 — The decision by NOAA Fisheries to remove Western Atlantic bluefin tuna is not sitting well with conservationists.

Last week, the agency released its Status of U.S. Fisheries report for 2017. In it, officials announced that the number of stocks on the overfished list had dropped to 35, an all-time low. The Western Atlantic bluefin was among six stocks removed from the overfished list. NOAA, in a press release, said “significant scientific uncertainty” about the stock after last year’s assessment led to the ruling.

To be placed on the overfished list, NOAA officials must determine the stock’s population is too small. That differs from the overfishing list, where stocks with an excessive catch rate land. Overfished stocks may not necessarily be subject to overfishing currently, however, the stock cannot produce a maximum sustainable yield in its present condition. Other factors, such as environmental changes, also may put a stock on the overfished list.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

North Carolina: Oyster Restoration Partners Detail Progress

May 22, 2018 — MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — A little more than 30 visited the state port here Monday for a glimpse of the construction of a large-scale oyster restoration project.

Representatives from the North Carolina Coastal Federation, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, North Carolina Sea Grant, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other partners were joined by the media and citizens for the behind-the-scenes tour of the port.

The port is the staging area for year two of the three-year Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary project that’s part of the Sen. Jean Preston Oyster Sanctuary Network, a system of oyster sanctuaries. In March, 25,000 tons of granite were delivered to the port for the project.

The Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary in Pamlico Sound near the mouth of the Neuse River is the largest project of the federation’s 50 Million Oyster Initiative, which aims to restore 50 acres of oyster reef by 2020. In the first year of the project, 15 acres were built. Ten more acres are expected to be added this year.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online