Saving Seafood

NOAA Announces Right Whale Speed Restriction Zone Off Nantucket

March 23, 2018 — NANTUCKET, Mass. — In an effort to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, NOAA Fisheries has implemented a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone off Nantucket.

The Dynamic Management Area 11 miles southwest of the island was established after six whales were spotted in the area on Tuesday.

Mariners are asked to avoid the area or travel at speeds of 10 knots or less through April 4.

At least 18 of the whales died over the last year and the population is estimated to be around 430.

Read the full story at Cape Cod

 

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Annual Catch Entitlements for Groundfish Sectors for Fishery Year 2018

March 23, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

NOAA Fisheries is proposing allocating 2018 quotas to groundfish sectors based on catch limits recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council.

We are also proposing to grant a new regulatory exemption that would allow Day gillnet sector vessels to fish up to 150 gillnets in the Gulf of Maine as long as 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 proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope: “Comments on the Proposed Rule to Allocate 2018 Sector Quotas.”

Learn more about NOAA by visiting their site here.

 

Fisherman who sued feds thrilled about funding for monitoring

March 23, 2018 — HAMPTON, N.H. — A commercial fisherman who sued the federal government over at-sea monitoring costs was thrilled Thursday when it was announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would fully fund the program under the omnibus government spending bill.

David Goethel, of Hampton, said he learned about the funding Wednesday.

“I’ve been sitting on this for 18 hours. I was like a cat that swallowed a canary. I didn’t want to spit out any feathers,” Goethel said Thursday afternoon.

NOAA used to pay at-sea monitoring fees but reduced contributions in recent years. Fishermen say their costs can be up to $700 per day.

Goethel’s wife, Ellen, said the news brought tears to her eyes.

“I can’t overstate enough how much this means to the fishermen of New England,” Ellen Goethel said.

The couple learned the news through an email from Erica Anhalt, a legislative assistant for U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH.

On Thursday morning, Shaheen issued a public statement.

“New Hampshire fishermen face enough daunting challenges — the last thing they need right now is to be further burdened with a costly regulatory fee,” said Shaheen.

Read the full story at the Union Leader

 

NOAA Fisheries Sets Management Measure for 2018 Northern Gulf of Maine Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

March 23, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries has set management measures in the Northern Gulf of Maine for the Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery for the 2018 fishing year (beginning April 1, 2018).

This action:

  • Sets the total allowable catch (TAC) for the Northern Gulf of Maine for the scallop fishery for the 2018 fishing year and the default TAC for the 2019 fishing year; and
  • Divides the annual TAC between the limited access and limited access general category fleets.

Prior to this action, limited access scallop vessels were able to fish in the Northern Gulf of Maine while on days-at-sea. To prevent excessive fishing in the area, this action prohibits the limited access fleet from fishing in the Northern Gulf of Maine while on days-at-sea, and only allows access if the vessel is participating in the scallop research set-aside program and is conducting a compensation fishing trip.

The remainder of Framework 29, including the full specifications for scallop fishery and adjustments to the several flatfish accountability measures, are being addressed in a trailing action.

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

 

New York State petitions feds demanding more equitable fluke quota

March 23, 2018 — New York State on Friday filed a petition with the federal government to demand a more equitable distribution of the commercial fluke quota, saying current rules put “unreasonable limits” on the state industry.

The petition, filed with a U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is a first step, officials said, toward changing a decades-old quota that leaves New York fishermen with just 7.6 percent of a catchable annual allocation for fluke up and down the East Coast. Other states such as North Carolina and Virginia get more than 20 percent each of the coastal quota, and often travel to New York waters to catch it.

Local fishermen who have complained of the low quota for decades had been expecting a lawsuit, after state officials visiting Long Island in November vowed to make good on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo promised litigation in a visit to Montauk in 2013.

But delays by an interstate fisheries commission addressing quota inequities until the fall forced the state to file the petition as a necessary first step toward litigation, officials said.

“Quite frankly, we lost patience,” Basil Seggos, commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said in an interview. His staff worked with New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s office to file the petition.

“The stringent limits on commercial landings of [fluke] in New York ports have made [fluke] fishing no longer an economically viable choice” for New York fishermen, because the “limited revenue generated by a trip often cannot offset the costs, including fuel, time, and vessel wear-and-tear.”

One longtime critic of the governor’s protections for commercial fishermen called the petition effort “weak.”

Daniel Rodgers, a Southampton lawyer and director for New York Fish, a fishermen’s advocacy group, expressed concern that the petition will only further delay action that fishermen need now.

Read the full story at Newsday

 

NEFMC Groundfish UPDATE – March 26-27 meetings POSTPONED, news roundup

March 23, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has POSTPONED two groundfish meetings.

  • Groundfish Advisory Panel, Monday, March 26, 2018:  This meeting is being RESCHEDULED to a date in early May; and
  • Groundfish Committee, Tuesday, March 27, 2018:  This meeting also is being RESCHEDULED to a date in early May.

Both meetings were intended to focus on Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23, which currently is under development. However, the technical analyses related to this amendment are not ready for discussion at either meeting.  New meeting dates will be announced soon on the Council’s Northeast Multispecies Webpage.

WHAT HAPPENED:  Staff from both the New England Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS – NOAA Fisheries) have been working at full strength to complete two critical actions that need to be implemented in time for the May 1 start of the 2018 groundfish fishing year.

  • Framework Adjustment 57 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management contains catch limits and other fishery specifications and measures for 2018.  NMFS published the proposed rule for this action on March 22.  It’s available at comment now on Framework 57.
  • Fishing Year 2018 Recreational Management Measures for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock and Georges Bank cod also were published on March 22 in separate proposed rule.  It’s available at comment now on 2018 recreational cod/haddock measures.

Completion of these two actions took top priority, and now work will resume on Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23.

ADDITIONAL GROUNDFISH ACTIONS:  Here are several other important groundfish-related actions that stakeholders should be aware of.

  • Groundfish Sectors: On March 23, NMFS published a proposed rule containing: (a) 2018 annual catch entitlements (ACE) to groundfish sectors; and (b) a new sector exemption pertaining to day gillnet vessels fishing in the Gulf of Maine. Details are available at comment now on proposed sector ACE and day gillnet exemption.
  • Yellowtail Flounder: On March 21, NMFS transferred 30 metric tons of unused quota of Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder from the Atlantic sea scallop fishery to the commercial groundfish fishery. Learn more at yellowtail flounder transfer.
  • Groundfish Charter/Party Control Date:  As a reminder, NMFS published a new control date for the Northeast multispecies charter/party fishery. The new control date is March 19, 2018. Specifics can be found at comment now on charter/party control date.
  • Juvenile cod: NMFS’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office has written a feature story on the Council’s Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) for inshore juvenile Atlantic cod. The HAPC went into effect January 3, 2018. Learn more at juvenile cod HAPC.

MORE INFORMATION:  Visit “Related News,” “Upcoming Meetings,” and “Past Meetings” on the Council’s groundfish webpage for press releases and documents associated with upcoming and past meetings. Go to stay in touch.

 

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Friday, March 30, 2018, Surfclam Focus

March 22, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

An ad-hoc sub-panel of the New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Friday, March 30, 2018 to peer review two reports related to surfclam dredging activity in the newly designated Great South Channel Habitat Management Area. The public is invited to listen via webinar or telephone.  Here are the details.

START TIME:  1:00 p.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting will be available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (951) 384-3421. The access code is 937-123-775. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will review the following two papers, which were supported by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries.

  • Analysis of ancillary survey data and surfclam fishery tow data for the Georges Shoals Habitat Management Area on Georges Bank and the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area; and
  • The “East of Nantucket” Survey.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING:  The Council plans to use the results of these studies to support decision-making in an upcoming management action.

  • The Council is seeking advice from peer reviewers about how the data and conclusions from the two studies might be used to support development and evaluation of alternatives to consider possible exemption areas for hydraulic clam dredge gear within the newly designated Great South Channel Habitat Management Area.
  • This 748-square-nautical-mile (nm) management area overlaps Nantucket Shoals and is located approximately 12 nm southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts and 6 nm east of Nantucket Island.
  • The reports summarize hydraulic dredge survey information for the habitat management area, including catches of clams and clam shells, as well as other components of the seafloor substrate.

MATERIALS:  Meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at SSC March 30, 2018 documents.

For a more detailed description of the meeting click here.

 

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Wants NOAA Fisheries to Reduce the Country’s Seafood Trade Deficit

March 22, 2018 — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross addressed U.S. fisheries regulations and his concern about the quality of seafood imports with the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, 20 March, and he said he’s looking for NOAA Fisheries officials to work harder to reduce the country’s seafood trade deficit.

Ross testified Tuesday 20 March before the House Appropriation Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies to discuss the fiscal year 2019 Commerce budget. He did not mention fisheries-related spending in his opening remarks, but he fielded several questions about it from House members during the hearing,

“It’s one of my pet peeves,” Ross said, when asked by U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi) what he planned to do to reduce the country’s seafood trade deficit. “I hate the idea that with all the water surrounding us and all the water inland that we have a trade deficit in fish. I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on the fisheries management group at NOAA to try to deal with the situation.”

Estimates indicate the seafood trade deficit to be about USD 14 billion (EUR 11.4 billion) last year, as the U.S. imports more than 90 percent of the products consumed by the public.

Ross said reducing the deficit needs a two-prong strategy. He said he wants to see the U.S. push for “maximum sustainable catch” from its fisheries while also placing a more critical eye on seafood produced from foreign farms.

“I think there’s some potential that some of the constraints we had on fresh catch here maybe need to be relaxed a little bit,” he said. “I think it’s easy to be a little bit overzealous and therefore hold down the production of fish. Second, I believe there are some inappropriate practices in some of the foreign countries in their aquaculture. It seems to me that we should be very careful about importing seafood from places that do not adhere to the same standards we would have for aquaculture here in the U.S.”

The FY2019 Commerce budget request includes USD 837.3 million (EUR 679.8 million) for NOAA Fisheries. That’s down nearly USD 8 million (EUR 6.5 million) from the FY2018 request of USD 845.1 million (EUR 686.3 million).

One of the programs again cut from the budget was the National Sea Grant Program, which oversees more than 30 programs tied to U.S. colleges. The programs act like agriculture cooperative extensions for marine industry and environmental research.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Shark trade bill gains industry, conservationist support

March 22, 2018 — A new bipartisan bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on 13 March would require new certifications for countries importing shark, ray, and skate parts and products to the United States.

H.R. 5248, the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act, would require all countries importing products related to sharks, rays, and skates obtain certification by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Certification would require evidence that the country has conservation policies, management, and enforcement in place that is comparable to similar programs in the U.S.

The bill was introduced to the house by Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) along with co-sponsors Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), and Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL). The goal, according to Webster and Lieu, is to promote the science-based regulations the U.S. has had in place for years while leveling the playing field between U.S. fisherman and their overseas competition.

“Fishing is a long-standing profession and treasured American pastime, and particularly important in Florida,” Webster said.  “This bill recognizes the sacrifices American fishermen have made to rebuild and sustain our shark populations. It encourages other nations wishing to export shark products to the United States to the same high standards for shark, skate, and ray conservation and management we apply to fishermen here.”

The bill has already garnered supporters from within the industry. Bob Jones, the executive director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association, said the bill represents “A better way forward.”

“This legislation goes a long way toward combating the threats facing global shark stocks by promoting the successful model of American shark management,” he said.

Other industry supporters include the Garden State Seafood Association, Directed Sustainable Fisheries, and the North Carolina Fisheries Association.

Conservation groups also support the bill. A coalition of more than 40 organizations including the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, have begun a campaign to support the passage of the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

US Says New Protections Will Help Build Cod Population

March 22, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government is touting new protections for young cod as a way to help rebuild the population of the fish.

The population of cod has plummeted off of New England, which was once home to a much larger fishery for the species. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says new fishing management rules include a Habitat Area of Particular Concern designation to help juvenile cod.

The zone stretches along the coast from Maine to Rhode Island and includes areas of rocky or vegetated habitats, as well as sandy areas nearby. NOAA says these areas need extra protection because they provide shelter from predators for young cod.

The agency says protection of the habitat is intended to try to give the cod a better chance to grow to maturity.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at US News