April 13, 2018 — HYANNIS, Mass. — NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on its proposed recreational fishery management measures in 2018 for summer flounder, scup and black sea bass.
The proposals would increase the summer flounder harvest from 3.77 million to 4.42 million pounds and increase the scup harvest to 7.37 million pounds, up from 5.5 million.
April 13, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Legislation that would have the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hand its Endangered Species Act (ESA) authority over salmon and other fish to the Department of Interior (DOI) got a little dust kicked up around it on Thursday.
US representative Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Republican, suggested lawmakers take a fresh look at the Federally Integrated Species Health Act (FISH Act), HR 3916, at the beginning of a nearly two-hour hearing of the Natural Resources Committee’s panel on water, power and oceans that he chairs. The hearing was intended to discuss the fiscal 2019 budgets for NOAA and other agencies.
“Whether it comes to offshore fishing or management of fish species listed under the Endangered Species Act, NOAA has been a source of frustration for many of our constituents over the years,” Lamborn said. “… Both [Interior’s] Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA have direct jurisdiction over the ESA and have struggled to harmonize their views on protected species management. It’s time for a holistic approach on managing these species.”
Read the full story at Undercurrent News
April 12, 2018 — Getting ahead of the economic impacts that tend to accompany fisheries’ closures is the basis of a new predictive model put together by a team of scientists from NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NFSC) and the University of Washington.
When fisheries shut down, entire communities suffer, the scientific team recognized, and oftentimes, funds doled out to help fishermen weathering rough patches arrive months after they are needed. The new predictive model, which was published recently in the journal Marine Policy, is designed to help mitigate some of this damage, explained Kate Richerson, a marine ecologist at NFSC and the University of Washington, and the lead author of the model.
To develop their predictive standard, Richerson and her team focused on the 2017 closure of the U.S. West Coast’s salmon troll fishery, collating fish ticket data as a starting point.
“We looked at a pretty broad cohort of vessels and found that some of these vessels are almost entirely dependent on salmon, while others are almost entirely dependent on other fisheries,” Richerson said. “Then we looked at their predicted behavior and revenue under the conditions of a closure and under the conditions of an average year. And we used that in combination with this economic input-output model, which links fishing revenue to jobs and sales, to make a sort of back-of-the-envelope prediction of what the impacts of the 2017 closure might have been.”
They estimated the closure, leveled to protect struggling Chinook runs on the Klamath River, would cost trollers anywhere from USD 5.8 million (EUR 4.6 million) to USD 8.9 million (EUR 7.2 million), along with 200 to 330 jobs and USD 12.8 million (EUR 10.3 million) to USD 19.6 million (EUR 15.8 million) in sales. The numbers were confined to trollers, and would have likely been far higher with the inclusion of other fisheries, such as gillnetting and recreational fishing.
Read the full story at Seafood Source
April 12, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — On Sunday, the Pacific Fishery Management Council approved the management measures for the West Coast sardine fishery that were recommended by the California Pacific Sardine management team. The decision provides for 7,000 Mt for all uses, allowing fishermen a reasonable set aside for incidental take.
Diane Pleschner-Steele, Executive Director California Wetfish Producers Association said “We are very thankful to the Council for applying the best available common sense in making its decision, especially in light of the concerns expressed during the recent methods review and the earlier problems voiced about last year’s sardine panel review.”
“And we are especially grateful to NOAA Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver, who took the time to address the Council in support of sustainable fishing communities, as well as resources, saying in part, ‘We have to combine that scientific underpinning with practicality and common sense.’
“This is especially topical given the ongoing forage fish discussion and its relationship to California’s historic wetfish industry, which has been the foundation of our fishing economy for more than a century. All too often, that importance is largely ignored or dismissed with pleas to ‘leave most of the fish in the water for other predators.’ Our precautionary catch rules already do that.
“In sum, a big thank you to the Council for doing the right thing for sardine fishery management and for fishing families and communities up and down the West Coast.”
This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished with permission.
April 12, 2018 — Federal fishing regulators are allowing fishermen to harvest more skates, which are caught on both coasts for use as food and bait.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it’s increasing the per-trip possession limit for skate wing from 500 pounds to 4,100 pounds until April 30. The change went into effect on April 9.
Some states, including barndoor, thorny and smooth skates, are prohibited from commercial harvesting because of concerns about population status.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Times
April 12, 2018 — PORTLAND, Ore. — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
On Monday the Pacific Fishery Management Council added new protections for deep sea coral areas, modified areas that protect priority bottom habitat areas for groundfish, and reopened fishing in some areas that have been closed to groundfish fishing.
The Council is required by Federal law to identify and protect important fish habitat, while balancing the needs of coastal communities and the fishing industry.
The actions span the Federal waters off the U.S. West Coast. They establish protection for over 136,000 square miles of corals, rocky reefs and undersea canyons important to over 100 groundfish species such as rockfish, flatfish, and sablefish. The new protections include 135,000 square miles of deep water habitat to protect corals off the coast of California, in depths too great for most bottom fishing activities. The actions also reopen over 3,000 square miles of historical fishing grounds that were established to reduce harvest on overfished rockfish stocks. Nearly all of those stocks have subsequently been rebuilt to sustainable population levels, and the remaining stocks are rebuilding quickly. The combination of new closures and reopenings ensures important habitat protections while allowing added fishing opportunity for the bottom trawl fleet.
“This decision demonstrates the Council’s commitment to protecting important fish habitats including rocky reefs, corals, and sponges. The decision was informed by sound science and further informed by the fishing industry and environmental community who are to be commended for their important contribution to the Council’s decision. The result provides an increase in habitat protection while providing greater opportunity for our trawl fleet to more efficiently harvest target stocks,” said Council Chair Phil Anderson. “The West Coast trawl fishery has been reduced in size and transformed into a sustainable fishery including full accountability that provides the public with high quality fish products.”
The changes were made as part of a review which the Council and NOAA Fisheries initiated seven years ago. Many of the selected changes originated in a unique collaboration of fishing industry members and environmental advocates working together.
Seth Atkinson, a collaborative group member representing the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “By listening to each other and building trust, we worked together to improve fishing opportunity and increase protection for sensitive habitat areas. We built on fishermen’s deep knowledge of the seafloor, cross-referencing it with the latest scientific data, and pulled together a package of changes that would achieve both goals. This was possible only because of fishermen’s willingness to sit down and share their knowledge.”
The decision also considered input from Federal, Tribal and State agencies, and the general public. It included extensive analysis of the biological, social, and economic effects of the actions.
Bottom trawling is the practice of using a vessel to drag a net through the water, close to the seafloor, in order to catch fish. Most groundfish trawlers off the West Coast are relatively small, family-owned vessels. Trawling differs from trolling, which uses hooks and lines and is typically used to target salmon and tuna on the West Coast.
View the release in its entirety here.
April 11, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting from Tuesday, April 17 through Thursday, April 19, 2018. The public is invited to listen-in via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.
MEETING LOCATION: Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, CT 06355; Hilton Hotel Mystic.
START TIME: The webinar will be activated at 8:00 a.m. each day. However, please note that the meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The webinar will end at approximately 6:00 p.m. EST or shortly after the Council adjourns each day.
WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.
CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (914) 614-3221. The access code is 167-206-035. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.
AGENDA: The agenda and all meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at April 17-19, 2018 NEFMC Mystic.
SPECIAL EVENT: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Office of Renewable Energy Programs will be holding an open house on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in conjunction with the Council meeting. The event will be held in the Clipper Room near the Council’s main meeting room. BOEM has scheduled this open house to: (a) gather feedback on recently proposed commercial offshore renewable energy projects; (b) enhance communications between leaseholders and the fishing community; (c) answer questions about future leasing; and (d) solicit public comment on recently published public notices, including the Vineyard Wind project, which currently is under a 30-day public comment period with five public hearings scheduled from April 16 through April 19. Four will be held in Massachusetts (New Bedford, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Hyannis) and one in Kingston, RI. Learn more at Vineyard Wind notice and hearing schedule and visit open house.
GROUNDFISH NOTE: On Wednesday morning, the Council will receive an overview of Northeast Fishery Sector IX’s steps to address its shortcomings, as well as a summary of Sector IX’s proposed operations plan as submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. Because of recent information received from the industry, NMFS’s consultation with the Council on Sector IX likely will include: (a) discussion of the proposed Sector VII operations plan amendments that relate to Sector IX; (b) other sectors as they relate to Sector IX; and (c) effects on the sector system generally. The Council may provide recommendations to NMFS on any topics discussed.
THREE MEETING OUTLOOK: A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is available HERE.
April 11, 2018 — PORTLAND, Ore. — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
This week the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted ocean salmon season recommendations that provide recreational and commercial opportunities for most of the Pacific coast, and achieve conservation goals for the numerous individual salmon stocks on the West Coast.
The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2018.
“It has been another challenging year for the Council, its advisors, fishery stakeholders and the public as we strive to balance fishing opportunities with the conservation needs we are facing on Chinook and coho salmon stocks, both north and south of Cape Falcon,” said Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy. “The Council has recommended ocean salmon seasons on the west coast this year that provide important protections for stocks of concern, including Lower Columbia River natural fall Chinook, Puget Sound Chinook, Washington coastal coho, and Sacramento River fall Chinook.”
“This year’s package includes some very restrictive seasons in both commercial and recreational fisheries along the entire coast. Low abundances of Chinook and coho are in part due to the poor ocean conditions the adult fish faced as juveniles when they entered the ocean, and poor in-river habitat and water conditions. Tribal, commercial, and recreational fishers continue to bear a large part of the burden of conservation,” said Council Chair Phil Anderson.
Washington and Northern Oregon (North of Cape Falcon)
Fisheries north of Cape Falcon (near Nehalem in northern Oregon) depend largely on Columbia River Chinook and coho stocks. Overall, Columbia River fall Chinook forecasts are considered low to moderate compared to the recent 10-year average. Hatchery coho stocks originating from the Columbia River together with natural stocks originating from the Queets River and Grays Harbor are expected to return at low levels resulting in very low harvest quotas as was the case in 2017.
North of Cape Falcon, the overall non-Indian total allowable catch is 55,000 Chinook coastwide (compared to 90,000 last year) and 47,600 marked hatchery coho (the same as last year). Fisheries are designed to provide harvest opportunity on healthy Chinook returns primarily destined for the Columbia River, while avoiding coho stocks of concern.
Commercial Fisheries
Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries north of Cape Falcon include traditional, but reduced, Chinook seasons in the spring (May-June) and summer season (July through mid-September). Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries in this area will have access to a total of 27,500 Chinook (compared to 45,000 Chinook last year), and a marked coho quota of 5,600 (the same as last year).
Tribal ocean fisheries north of Cape Falcon are similar in structure to past years, with quotas that include 40,000 Chinook and 12,500 coho (the same as last year).
View the release in its entirety here.
April 10, 2018 — Maine is getting a $700,000 federal grant to collect details about how the lobster industry deploys its fishing gear, especially rope, in an effort to help protect endangered right whales.
The species recovery grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will underwrite a three-year project scheduled to start this summer to collect information that federal regulators need for future deciding right-whale protection regulations. The government is considering what steps it could take to protect the roughly 450 surviving members of the species in the wake of 17 North Atlantic right whale deaths last year in Canadian and U.S. waters.
“This research will ensure that future regulations are based on current, relevant data,” said Erin Summers, biological monitoring division director of the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the person who will lead the collection project. “Maine has been involved in the development and evolution of whale protection regulations over the past two decades. … This study is another example of Maine taking a leadership role in the protection of whales.”
Regulators will need to know how and where fishing gear is used throughout the Gulf of Maine to understand the relative risk of whale entanglement. That’s one of several factors known to play a role in the dwindling number of right whales – ship strikes are the other major cause of death, and scarcity of the whale’s favorite food, copepods, also contributes to dwindling reproduction rates.
The project will ask harvesters from Maine to Connecticut to voluntarily share information about how they rig and fish vertical lines, the rope that extends from the floating buoy to the string of lobster traps on the ocean floor. Data will include rope type and diameter, trap configuration and depth, and distance from shore. The project also will include a study on the breaking strength of vertical lines and the amount of load put on the lines during different hauling conditions.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald
April 10, 2018 — The National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS] has officially accepted Alabama’s plan to manage its own seasons for recreational red snapper fishing — paving the way for 47-day seasons in the next two years.
As Lagniappe has previously reported, the plan manages the season lengths in state and federal waters off the Alabama coast is part of a two-year pilot program approved by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council in February.
For the first time in years, Gulf states will be able to manage recreational snapper fishing off their respective coasts through individual Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) submitted to NMFS.
The decision comes after years of shorter and shorter snapper seasons that frustrated anglers and commercial fisherman alike until a consortium of Gulf leaders negotiated a compromise through U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that extended the 2017 season.
Gov. Kay Ivey announced Friday that Alabama’s plan, which will create a 47-day season, will be in place for the next two years. In 2018, it will run from June 1 to September 2 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the entire week on the Fourth of July. It would run concurrently in state waters and in federal waters, which begin nine miles from the coast.
“I am very pleased that the U.S. Department of Commerce, through the National Marine Fisheries Service, has granted Alabama an Exempted Fishing Permit for the next two red snapper seasons,” Ivey said of the plan’s approval. “Following the directives from President Trump to cut down on federal regulations, this decision empowers Alabama to manage our resources instead of bureaucrats in Washington.”
Ivey also noted the EFP program was made possible by language Sen. Richard Shelby added to the FY2017 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill. It directed the NMFS to develop the pilot program to allow states more control over reef fish management activities.
In a statement, Ivey said Alabama’s red snapper fishery is a big part of “the coastal culture and economy of” of the state and thanked Shelby and Rep. Bradley Byrne for their congressional efforts to give Alabama more autonomy in managing its coastal resources.
She also made a special note of the efforts Alabama is also indebted to Conservation and Natural Resources Commissioner Chris Blankenship made to push for alternatives to federal snapper seasons that had become shorter and shorter in recent years.
“The red snapper management granted by the EFP will allow Alabama to use the information from the Alabama Snapper Check Program, as well as the terabytes of fisheries data we have collected on the red snapper population in the Alabama Artificial Reef Zones, to show we can sustainably manage this fishery,” Blankenship said “I would like to thank Marine Resources Division Director Scott Bannon and Chief Biologist Kevin Anson for shepherding the permit request through the regulatory process.”
The federal charter season for red snapper is not included in Alabama’s new permit and is expected to be announced by NMFS sometime in April, though it is expected to be longer than the 2017 federal charter season, which stretched 49 days.
Ivey’s office said data collected through the Alabama Snapper Check Program the past four years was critical in securing the additional red snapper fishing days, and reminded fishermen they are still required to report their red snapper harvests through the program.
Only one report is required per vessel trip, and anglers can provide details via a smartphone app available under “Outdoor Alabama” in the iTunes or Google Play app stores; online at www.outdooralabama.com; or by paper forms available at select coastal public boat launches.
Read the full story at the Lagniappe Weekly