Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries drafting plan to end red snapper overfishing in the South Atlantic

October 23, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has taken the first steps towards implementing a plan to stop red snapper overfishing in the South Atlantic after years of alleged inaction by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. 

“NOAA Fisheries firmly believes that we must find ways to end overfishing and improve how the red snapper population in the South Atlantic is managed,” NOAA Fisheries said in a statement. “Currently, there are short commercial and recreational seasons, and low retention limits for red snapper.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Right whale population grows 4% but extinction remains a threat

October 22, 2024 — One of the rarest species of whale in the world has increased slightly in population, encouraging conservationists to call on the federal government and the shipping and fishing industries to do more to bring the giant animals back from the brink of extinction.

The North Atlantic right whale, which can weigh up to 150,000 pounds (68,039 kilograms) and lives off the East Coast, plummeted in population in the 2010s. The critically endangered whales, which are stressed by global warming and vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear, fell to fewer than 360 individuals by the early 2020s.

A group of researchers that studies the whales said Tuesday that the population increased to an estimated 372 in 2023. That’s an increase of about 4% from 2020, and “heartening news” after the whale’s population fell by about 25% from 2010 to 2020, researchers said in a statement.

Read the full article at ABC News

Judge gives NOAA more time to study offshore drilling risks

October 22, 2024 — A federal judge has agreed to give NOAA Fisheries until next spring to complete its revised analysis of how offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could harm the critically endangered Rice’s whale.

The decision is a key reprieve for the fossil fuel industry and the Biden administration. NOAA Fisheries was originally slated to lose its existing analysis Dec. 20, which threatened to temporarily shut down new and existing offshore development in the region. A finalized analysis must be in place for companies to proceed with offshore oil and gas drilling.

NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) will now have until May 21, 2025, before the existing analysis — called a biological opinion or BiOp — will be tossed out by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Read the full article at E&E News

NOAA Fisheries lays out research goals for US West Coast offshore wind plans

October 21, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has released its strategic plan for researching how offshore wind development on the U.S. West Coast could impact fisheries and protected marine life.

“Offshore wind is an important tool and technology to help reduce greenhouse emissions,” NOAA Fisheries West Coast Regional Administrator Jennifer Quan said. “We need to be prepared with sound science to help inform decisions affecting the marine species and the commercial and recreational fisheries that we manage, as well as other important uses of the marine ecosystem.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

RHODE ISLAND: As NOAA Evaluates Rhode Island’s CRMC, Advocates Push to Dissolve Agency’s Decision-Making Council

October 21, 2024 — Chris Powell knows the score when it comes to coastal regulations in Rhode Island.

A retired wildlife biologist who spent decades working for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) in its marine fisheries program, Powell knows the ins and outs of environmental permitting and regulations. His stint as a state employee included a temporary assignment to the state Coastal Resources Management Council, during a time when the regulatory agency was particularly short-staffed.

Powell had nothing but praise for the agency’s staff, both when he was assigned to the agency and after, when he interacted with CRMC staff as a member of the public. But he has concerns about the 10-member, politically appointed council that makes final decisions for the agency.

“CRMC has always had good staff where they try to do the right thing,” said Powell. “I attended many meetings, however, where the council overrode the recommendation of staff.”

Lifelong Rhode Islander and chairman of Warren’s Harbor Commission, Woody Kemp, has similar concerns. Warren is one of the smaller towns in Rhode Island, and thanks to sea level rise and coastal flooding, the town is shrinking. Kemp offered praise for the work completed by agency staff, but, he said, the council moves too slowly when making decisions. “It took us maybe 10 years to get approval for our harbor management plan,” he said.

“I would like to see more staff for timelier reviews of agency applications,” added Kemp.

Powell and Kemp were part of more than a dozen members of the public testifying in a state Department of Administration conference room recently about their experiences — on both sides of the table — with CRMC. The testimony is part of the evaluation process conducted regularly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of all the state coastal programs for which it provides funding and oversight as part of the 1972 Coastal Zone Management Act.

The CRMC is charged with regulating, developing and conserving the state’s 400 miles of coastline and ocean waters. But the agency’s council has a long history of controversy, of ignoring the broader public and, at times, the recommendations of CRMC staff when it comes to permitting decisions and project approvals.

Advocates of reforming the agency are putting pressure on NOAA to advise a restructuring of CRMC into a shape that abolishes the executive authority of the council.

Read the full article at EcoRi News

Biden announces USD 2 million for red snapper recovery efforts

October 18, 2024 — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has announced USD 2 million (EUR 1.8 million) to help red snapper populations recover in the Gulf of Mexico.

“This USD 2 million investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will boost NOAA’s ability to support red snapper populations by expanding scientific partnerships that improve data collection and help us understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change on fisheries in coastal regions nationwide,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: NOAA economists report plunging revenues for Alaska commercial fisheries

October 18, 2024 — The federal government published an “economic snapshot” in October that said Alaska’s commercial fishing industry in 2023 was about half as profitable as it was in 2021. Last year in particular marked one of the worst years for commercial fishermen in modern history.

Alaska Public Media’s Ava White talked with KMXT’s Brian Venua, who’s kept a close eye on commercial fishing, to break down the report.

This script has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Ava White: So Brian, it’s not a secret that there has been a major crash in fisheries in the last few years. What’s new about this report in particular?

Brain Venua: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration economists estimated that industry-wide profits have plunged in the last few years. As a whole, commercial fisheries in Alaska were estimated to be worth $1.8 billion dollars less in 2023 than in 2022.

That’s split between wholesale values being down by about a quarter year over year – about $1.2 billion dollars. Vessel revenues were also down by over $600 million, according to the report.

NOAA is the government agency that manages a lot of Alaska’s fisheries. According to data linked in the report, people in the industry asked NOAA for a sort of independent snapshot.

I think the big thing is that it helps put numbers to things that a lot of people already know – that commercial fishing has had a really tough time.

Read the full article at Alaska Pubic Media

ALASKA: Alaska commercial seafood industry lost USD 1.8 billion from 2022 to 2023

October 18, 2024 — The Alaska commercial seafood sector’s profitability declined 50 percent from 2022 to 2023, with the industry suffering a USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.7 billion) loss in the period according to an economic snapshot produced by NOAA Fisheries.

“Commercial fisheries have flourished in Alaska for generations, shaping social structures, cultural identity, and robust local economies. Beyond the economic impacts, the decline of fisheries in the region threatens a way of life, sense of place, community, and identity,” Alaska Fisheries Science Center Economist and lead author of the economic snapshot Steve Kasperski said.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA announces $2M investment to protect Gulf of Mexico’s red snapper

October 17, 2024 — NOAA said Wednesday $2 million provided by the Inflation Reduction Act is being awarded to fisheries partnerships for data collection and modeling to help understand and mitigate climate change impacts.

NOAA is partnering with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami.

The money will be used to improve scientific data and management decisions regarding the red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.

“This $2 million investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act, will boost NOAA’s ability to support red snapper populations by expanding scientific partnerships that improve data collection and help us understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change on fisheries in coastal regions nationwide,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in a statement.

Read the full article at UPI

 

ALASKA: NOAA Snapshot Charts Alaska Seafood Industry Losses, Points to Reasons

October 17, 2024 — The health of Alaska’s seafood industry is not, at this moment, particularly good. A new economic snapshot reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries agency (NOAA Fisheries) details a downturn over the past two years. It estimates the Alaska seafood industry suffered a $1.8 billion loss between 2022 and 2023, and the industry saw a 50 percent decline in profitability between 2021 and 2023.

“The Alaska seafood industry is a major contributor to the US seafood sector,” says Robert Foy, director of NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “The social and economic ramifications of Alaska’s losses have reverberated down the West Coast and across the country.”

Higher Costs, Changing Habits, Greater Competition, and Climate Change

Industry changes have resulted in more than 38,000 job losses nationwide and a $4.3 billion loss in total US output, representing the total dollar value of all goods and services produced. The most affected states—Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California—saw a combined loss of $191 million in state and local tax revenues.

Seafood is the top private sector employer in Alaska. For many Alaska coastal communities, fisheries are the primary contributor to their local economy, helping to shape their social structures and cultural identities.

Read the full article at Alaska Business