Saving Seafood

Boston advocacy group sues NMFS twice

May 11, 2018 — The Conservation Law Foundation, a Boston, Massachusetts-based environmental advocacy group, filed two law lawsuits this week against the US’ top fishing regulatory agency over environmental concerns, Courthouse News reports.

In one lawsuit, filed against the US National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric assistant administrator Chris Oliver and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the group says the partial passage, on April 9, of  New England’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment failed to meet some of its initial goals, like minimizing the impact of fishing gear on fish habitats.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Mother of cod: We’re fishing exactly the wrong fish, scientists warn

May 11, 2018 — The bigger a female fish grows, the more eggs she lays — disproportionately so.

That’s the conclusion driven home in a report published Thursday in the journal Science. Biologists at Monash University in Australia and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama gathered egg data from 342 fish species across the world’s oceans.

At the extreme end, the vermilion snapper, Rhomboplites aurorubens, had a 400-fold difference in eggs between the littlest and biggest mama fish. A small female snapper lays around 4,000 eggs. A whopper of a vermilion snapper can deposit eggs by the million, study authors Diego Barneche and Dustin Marshall, colleagues at Monash University, told The Washington Post.

This research won’t come as a surprise to any field biologists who work with fish. Mark Wuenschel, who works at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and was not a part of this study, said the size effect was so well known it has an acronym among researchers: BOFFFF, for Big Old Fat Fecund Female Fish. But this work is valuable because a BOFFFF’s importance is often tough to assess, Wuenschel said — because these fish are fished out of the population.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Hawaii swordfish industry shut down to protect endangered turtles

May 11, 2018 — A federal court order to protect endangered loggerhead sea turtles has forced the National Marine Fisheries Service to immediately close the shallow-set longline fishery in Hawaii for the rest of the year.

A 2012 lawsuit filed by the Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Center for Biological Diversity, represented by the nonprofit law firm Earthjustice, was rejected in a Hawaii district court but they eventually won a split decision on appeal in December.

The parties reached an agreement Friday to settle the case. It included an immediate shutdown of the shallow-set longline fishery, which targets swordfish. NMFS implemented the closure Thursday.   

“The National Marine Fisheries Service, which is supposed to be protecting our wildlife, has instead been illegally helping the longliners push sea turtles to the brink of extinction,” Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff said in a news release.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

 

The Future of Fishing Is Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

May 10, 2018 — New England’s groundfish season is in full swing, as hundreds of dayboat fishermen from Rhode Island to Maine take to the water in search of the region’s iconic cod and haddock. But this year, several dozen of them are hauling in their catch under the watchful eye of video cameras as part of a new effort to use technology to better sustain the area’s fisheries and the communities that depend on them.

Video observation on fishing boats—electronic monitoring—is picking up steam in the Northeast and nationally as a cost-effective means to ensure that fishing vessels aren’t catching more fish than allowed while informing local fisheries management. While several issues remain to be solved before the technology can be widely deployed—such as the costs of reviewing and storing data—electronic monitoring is beginning to deliver on its potential to lower fishermen’s costs, provide scientists with better data, restore trust where it’s broken, and ultimately help consumers gain a greater understanding of where their seafood is coming from.

“Electronic monitoring is a tremendous tool,” says Brett Alger, national electronics technology coordinator for NOAA Fisheries. “It isn’t necessarily for everyone or every fishery,” but “we’re working collaboratively in all of our regions with fishermen on the ground to understand their needs. I expect it to grow.”

The technology is required for highly migratory longline species in the Atlantic (swordfish). It’s thriving in the Pacific coast groundfish industry, and dozens of other fisheries regions have pilot initiatives.

Read the full story at Civil Eats

 

Rep. Bill Keating: End in sight for groundfishing ban in New Bedford

May 10, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Bill Keating sees a finish line in sight to get New Bedford’s groundfishing boats back to work.

The Democratic U.S. representative spoke with NOAA’s regional administrator Mike Pentony on Wednesday and came away with the belief that the operational plans in Sectors VII and IX would be approved soon, potentially as soon as a few weeks.

“There’s great progress now on the road to beginning to fish,” Keating said. “And that’s good news.”

Keating said the rule-making process would be finalized for each sector by the end of the month. NOAA released its final rule allotting quota to sectors or fishing divisions at the end of April for the start of the 2018 fishing season. Sectors VII and IX were not provided quota.

After the rule is finalized, a comment period is required.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

NOAA considering letting fishermen take endangered skate

May 9, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — Federal fishing managers are considering allowing commercial fishermen to take a species of endangered skate that is currently prohibited.

Fishermen catch skates for use as food and bait on both coasts. They are currently prohibited from possessing barndoor skates, or bringing them to shore. Barndoor skates are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says proposed changes to the skate fishery include an allowance for limited possession of barndoor skates. The new rules weren’t yet in place on May 1, which was the start of the new fishing year, and the skates are still prohibited at the moment.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Washington Post

NEFMC Council Update – May 8, 2018

May 8, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:   

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) recently implemented or released announcements about several actions that were developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) or have Council involvement. The actions relate to groundfish, skates, monkfish, and Atlantic sea scallops. Here they are at a glance, followed by a list of upcoming New England Council committee meetings and Atlantic herring public hearings.

GROUNDFISH:  NOAA Fisheries implemented the following groundfish-related actions in time for the May 1 start of the 2018 fishing year.

SKATES:  The New England Council developed Framework Adjustment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan, which contains 2018-2019 specifications and management measures. At the end of April, NMFS announced that the framework would not be in place by the May 1 start of the 2018 fishing year and, as such, the fishery would continue to operate under 2017 regulations until further notice. Framework 5 proposes to allow possession of barndoor skates in the skate wing fishery under certain constraints. IMPORTANT: Possession of barndoor skates currently is prohibited until Framework 5 is implemented. The agency anticipates publishing a proposed rule later this spring. More information about Framework 5 is available at Council action and Skate Framework 5.

MONKFISH:  NOAA Fisheries announced that, on June 4, the agency will implement specifications for the 2018 monkfish fishing year. Days-at-sea allocations, possession limits, and total allowable landings will be the same as those implemented in 2017. The specifications are part of Framework Adjustment 10 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan, which was developed jointly by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils for fishing years 2017-2019. NOAA Fisheries approved the framework on July 12, 2017. View the latest permit holder bulletin at 2018 monkfish specs.

SCALLOPS:  The Council developed Framework Adjustment 29 to the federal Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. This framework contains management measures and specifications for the 2018 scallop fishing year and default measures for 2019, among other provisions.

  • NOAA Fisheries implemented Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Management Area measures on April 1, the start of the 2018 scallop fishing year. The permit holder bulletin is available at NGOM Management Area Open April 1.
  • Limited Access General Category (LAGC) fishermen harvested their 135,000-pound total allowable catch during the month of April. Effective May 2, NOAA Fisheries closed the NGOM area to LAGC fishermen but provided an exemption for: (1) Maine and Massachusetts vessels fishing exclusively in state waters; and (2) limited access vessels fishing “compensation trips” under the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. Details are available at NGOM closed to LAGC.
  • NOAA Fisheries implemented all other measures in Scallop Framework Adjustment 29 on April 19. The agency issued two permit holder bulletins to explain allocations and measures that apply to:
  • Limited Access Scallop Vessels
  • LAGC vessels

SCALLOP AND HERRING STOCK ASSESSMENTS:  Members of the New England Council staff and relevant Plan Development Teams are serving on working groups that are preparing benchmark stock assessments for Atlantic sea scallops and Atlantic herring.

  • The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s 2018 benchmark assessments website is located here.
  • The scallop and herring benchmark assessments will be peer reviewed June 26-29, 2018 during the 65thStock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee (SAW/SARC) meeting. The science center will provide a presentation on the assessment results to the New England Council during the Council’s September 25-27 meeting in Plymouth, MA. The science center’s Northeast Regional SAW webpage can be found at SAW/SARC 65.

UPCOMING MEETINGS:  Many of the New England Council’s committees will be holding meetings throughout the rest of May and into June. Follow these links for details.

Learn more about the NEFMC by visiting their site here.

 

Alaska: NOAA vet named head of crab group

May 8, 2018 — Jamie Goen, a veteran of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service as well as the International Pacific Halibut Commission, is the new executive director of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers.

Goen most recently worked as branch manager with the International Pacific Halibut Commission, overseeing its fisheries data collection programs.

Before that, she worked as the congressional affairs liaison to the head of NOAA. While at NOAA for 15 years, she worked on fishing quota programs, including serving as the lead on implementation of the Trawl Rationalization Program. In addition, she also worked in New England on the Atlantic Sea Scallop Quota Program.

“Goen comes with a wealth of experience in fisheries management, starting in her career traveling the world on oceanographic vessels running scientific equipment, having sailed every ocean except the Arctic,” Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

New study reveals cost of 2017 salmon fisheries closure

May 7, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Last year’s closure of the commercial ocean salmon troll fishery off the West Coast is estimated to have cost $5.8 million to $8.9 million in lost income for fishermen, with the loss of 200 to 330 jobs, according to a new model that determines the cost of fisheries closures based on the choices fishermen make.

Scientists hope the model, described for the first time this week in Marine Policy, will help policy makers anticipate the economic toll of fisheries closures. Such foresight may be especially useful as conditions in the California Current off the West Coast grow increasingly variable, leading to more potential closures, said lead author Kate Richerson, a marine ecologist with NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the University of Washington.

“We’re probably only going to see more of these closures in the future,” she said, “so being able to predict their effects and fallout for coastal communities puts us ahead of the curve in terms of considering those impacts in planning and management decisions.”

The new model estimates the future losses associated with fisheries closures based on the way fishermen reacted to previous closures. It anticipates, for instance, that many fishermen will simply quit fishing rather than shift their efforts to another fishery instead. In this way, the model accounts for the difficulty fishermen face in entering other fisheries with limited permits, Richerson said.

The research is the first attempt to predict the effect of fisheries closures before they happen, said Dan Holland, an economist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and coauthor of the study. The model, developed prior to the 2017 closure, also can help identify the most affected communities.

For example, Coos Bay and Brookings, Oregon, and Eureka, California, were among the hardest hit by the 2017 salmon closures because they are geographically located in the center of the closure that stretched from Northern California to Oregon. The closure led to the estimated loss of about 50 percent of fisheries-related employment in Coos Bay and about 35 percent declines in fishing-related income and sales. Predicted percentage declines in overall fishing-related income are lower than declines in salmon income, since many fishermen were predicted to continue to participate in other fisheries.

The study estimated that the closure led to a loss of $12.8 million to $19.6 million in sales. Richerson noted that the model estimates only the economic consequences of the closure to the commercial ocean salmon fishery and does not include the toll on recreational fisheries or in-river fisheries, which would make the total losses even higher.

The closure recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and adopted by NOAA Fisheries was designed to protect low returns of salmon to the Klamath River in Northern California.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center here.

 

Massachusetts: Rafael is behind bars, and New Bedford’s economy is paying the price

May 7, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — In the harbor off Leonard’s Wharf, the large steel boats with their signature green hulls are rusting in the salt air, their dormant nets still coiled as if ready to scoop up schools of cod or haddock.

In the parking lot behind Reidar’s Manufacturing, more than a dozen trawls molder in the dirt, their floats and cables weathered and waiting.

As the new fishing season begins, many of the city’s fishermen are unemployed, their suppliers stuck with excess inventory, and local officials are questioning whether the millions of dollars in lost revenue will cost the port its ranking as the nation’s most valuable, as it has been for the past 17 years.

Carlos Rafael, the disgraced fishing mogul known as “The Codfather,” is now in prison. But the consequences of his crimes are still being felt throughout New Bedford.

“It’s devastating what’s happened to us, and other businesses here,” said Tor Bendiksen, the manager of Reidar’s, a marine supply company.

Rafael, whose commercial fishing company was among the nation’s largest, pleaded guilty last year to flouting federal quotas and smuggling cash out of the country.

Six months ago, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration responded with an unprecedented punishment, temporarily banning 60 fishing permit-holders in the area from allowing their boats to operate and halting all operations by the fishing sector that failed to properly account for their catch.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe