Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: Endangered sturgeon’s return to James River could be hurdle for industry

Dominion seeking federal permit to ‘take’ protected fish after dead ones found in power plant’s water intake

November 17, 2017 — In the James River south of Richmond, endangered Atlantic sturgeon have become so common that observant spring and fall boaters are nearly guaranteed to see one breach. It’s hard to miss — a 6– or 7-foot fish exploding out of the water, as if shot from a cannon, wiggling for a split second in midair, then belly-flopping back into the river with a theatrical splash.

Long-lived and enormous — in its 60-year lifespan it can grow to 14 feet and weigh as much as 800 pounds — the Atlantic sturgeon was harvested to the brink of extinction in the late 1800s. But after a century of marginal existence, this prehistoric-looking fish, with its flat snout and rows of bony plates covering its back, is staging a steady but still fragile comeback in the Chesapeake Bay.

The sturgeon’s increased presence could complicate matters for industrial facilities that draw water from that same stretch of river. In one case, it already has.

After finding two dead sturgeon larvae and one adult in its water intake system in the fall of 2015, Dominion Virginia Power’s Chesterfield Power Station began seeking an “incidental take” permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which would allow the company to continue operating despite a potential impact to the endangered fish. In its application for the permit, Dominion estimated that up to 846 sturgeon larvae and maybe two adult fish per year could be trapped or killed in the intakes over the next decade.

The fisheries service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will determine in the coming months whether to grant Dominion’s Chesterfield plant a federal permit under an Endangered Species Act provision that allows private entities to “take” a given number of an endangered or threatened species in the process of conducting otherwise lawful operations.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito: Massachusetts, SouthCoast working to ‘unleash’ region’s potential

November 17, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — For about eight hours Thursday, the SouthCoast replaced Boston as the state’s hub for Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito led the administration’s cabinet to the region beginning with an 8 a.m. stop at the SouthCoast Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting in Westport and ending with a ribbon cutting of the new refrigeration system at State Pier in New Bedford.

“This is an area of our state that has tremendous natural assets and has great leadership assets,” Polito said. “Together, state and local, we can work to catalyze private development to unleash even more potential.”

Polito also visited UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology, where she held a cabinet meeting, cut ribbon at the New Bedford Regional Airport and noted the progress of Noah’s Place Playground on Pope’s Island.

“I come away knowing that this area of the state should be a center for marine sciences,” Polito said. “And I believe that coupled with their manufacturing base, they can create a lot of opportunity right here locally.

So happy, so cold

Coats were required indoors as state Reps. Tony Cabral, Robert Koczera, Chris Markey and Bill Straus joined Polito in the refrigerated section of State Pier, which was filled with pallets of clementines.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

ALASKA: Seafood jobs in 2016 mirrored decline in harvests

November 15, 2017 — Fewer men and women went out fishing in Alaska last year, in a familiar cycle that reflects the vagaries of Mother Nature.

A focus on commercial fishing in the November Economic Trends by the Alaska Department of Labor shows that the number of boots on deck fell by 5 percent in 2016 to about 7,860 harvesters, driven by the huge shortfall in pink salmon returns and big declines in crab quotas.

Fishing for salmon, which accounts for the majority of Alaska’s fishing jobs, fell by 6.4 percent statewide in 2016, a loss of 323 workers.

The only Alaska region to show gains in fishing jobs last year was Southcentral, which includes the Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet fisheries, as well as fishing boats out of Homer, Seward and Kenai. All of the region’s fisheries added jobs in 2016, even salmon, scoring the state’s second-highest total employment at 1,661 harvesters.

Southeast Alaska had the state’s largest slice of fishing jobs in 2016 at 29 percent, or 2,275 fishermen. But that reflects a decline for the third straight year. The Panhandle’s harvesting employment dipped 0.8 percent in 2015 and then 2.3 percent in 2016, declining by 53 jobs.

Fishing jobs at Kodiak fell by 8.5 percent in 2016, erasing the job gains of the few prior years. That reflected a poor salmon season, where fishing jobs dropped 14 percent, combined with slight drops in fishing for pollock, cod and other whitefish.

Bristol Bay, where fishing jobs rely almost entirely on salmon, took the hardest hit last year. The 1,276 permits fished reflect a loss of 133 fishing jobs, or 9.5 percent.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

 

Center For Biological Diversity Takes Aim at California Dungeness Fishery With New Petition

November 15, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Center for Biological Diversity is attacking the California Dungeness Crab fishery again — this time under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

A petition, co-signed by the Turtle Island Restoration Network, asks the National Marine Fisheries Service to designate the California crab fishery as a Category 1 fishery under the Marine Mammal Protection Act because of its rising injuries to humpback, blue, killer and gray whales, the Center said in a press release. Moving the fishery into the top category of concern would prioritize state and federal resources to help protect whales along the West Coast, the statement also said.

But the press release fails to note the petition itself goes much deeper. The Center focuses on the Central American breeding population of humpback whales — which feed primarily in California waters.

CBD cites an estimated average of 1.35 mortalities per year between 2011-2015. The Center also references the potential biological removal (PBR) of 0.8 in the stock assessment is below the estimated mortalities.

“This shows that the California Dungeness crab pot fishery – and not the
Oregon or Washington Dungeness crab pot fishery – primarily impacts the Central America [distinct population segment]. Without additional information, all interactions of the California Dungeness crab pot
fishery should be assigned to the Central America DPS,” the center says in the petition.

However, the years cited do not include the most recent seasons, when fewer whales were entangled.

Furthermore, the Center requests NOAA add blue whales; the offshore stock of killer whales; and the endangered Western North Pacific population of gray whales — of which three of seven tagged whales have been documented on the West Coast — to the list of marine mammals injured or killed in the California crab fishery.

A 2017-18 Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP) report, a pilot program put together by the California Dungeness Crab Fishing gear Working Group, identifies four priority factors that evaluate elevated risk of whale entanglements: crab season delay, forage/ocean conditions, whale concentrations and rate of entanglements. The report uses established data sources and the expertise of the working group members to determine entanglement risks.

The Working Group determined the whale concentration risk level is moderate; rate of entanglements risk is low; the chance of a season delay is low; and whale forage and ocean conditions risk level also is low.

The Central California crab season opened today, although some smaller vessels may be holding off for better weather.

“We are excited with the on-time opening of our local Dungeness crab season,” Angela Cincotta, with Alioto-Lazio Fish Company, said this morning. “We pray that all of our fishermen stay safe while the weather bats them about the sea. We are thankful for their commitment to our industry and their respect of the oceans.”

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

 

U.S. Leads in Global Fisheries Management

November 13, 2017 — The United States has some of the best managed marine fisheries in the world. With that leadership comes the opportunity and responsibility to advance sustainable conservation and management practices on the high seas and, as appropriate, to support other nations in achieving similar outcomes in their economic zones. NOAA Fisheries, through the work of our Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection—along with our national program offices, regional offices, fisheries science centers, and international partners—leads the nation’s efforts in achieving globally sustainable resources and conservation of living marine resources while ensuring U.S. fishermen’s access to high-seas fisheries.

Much of this is achieved through bilateral engagement, participation in regional fishery management organizations, other multilateral conservation fora, and scientific exchanges. But we also use our role as a major importer of seafood by enforcing laws requiring seafood exported to the United States to originate from fisheries that have comparable conservation measures in place. Over the past year, the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection has worked to implement two new regulations:

  • The Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which established traceability requirements for certain priority fish species entering U.S. commerce.
  • The international import provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which require that seafood exported to the United States is from fisheries with measures in place to reduce the bycatch of marine mammals that are comparable in effectiveness to U.S. measures.

We are dedicated to the implementation and administration of these regulations and have engaged the governments and seafood producers of more than 100 nations this past year to explain the requirements of these regulations and gather information about their fisheries. In addition, we issued a report to Congress on international compliance with another law intended to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, to reduce the bycatch of protected species, and to ensure adequate shark conservation measures on the high seas.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

 

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rulemaking for American Lobster Fishery

November 15, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comments on the American lobster control date, changes to lobster trap gear marking requirements, and allowing substitute vessels to fish lobster traps for federally permitted but inoperable vessels.

In accordance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Addenda XXI and XXII to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for American Lobster, NOAA Fisheries may select January 27, 2014, or another date, as a control date for the lobster fishery, depending on public comment and input from the Commission.

The control date may be applicable, but not limited, to restricting the number of traps or permits an individual or business entity may own, with emphasis on Lobster Conservation Management Areas 2 and 3.

Part of the reason for this action is the continued poor condition of the Southern New England lobster stock. The stock has been experiencing recruitment failure (not enough young lobsters) since the early 2000s, which may be caused by both environmental factors and fishing.

Read the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as published today in the Federal Register.

The comment period is open through December 15.

Provide comments through regulations.gov, or send comments by mail to John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope: “Comments on Lobster ANPR.”

To learn more about NOAA visit their site here.

 

NOAA Fisheries Announces Final Blueline Tilefish Amendment to the Golden Tilefish Fishery Management Plan

November 14, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Correction: Date corrected in bold below.

NOAA Fisheries announces that we are implementing regulations for Amendment 6 to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. This action sets commercial and recreational management measures for the blueline tilefish fishery in the Mid-Atlantic. Blueline tilefish (Caulolatilus microps) is also known as grey tilefish.

This rule goes into effect on December 15, 2017.

Blueline tilefish have been managed for many years under the South Atlantic Council’s Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan, whose measures only apply south of the Virginia/North Carolina border. The fishery in the Mid-Atlantic was considered very small and remained unregulated until recently.

Recreational and commercial blueline tilefish catch has been increasing steadily in the Greater Atlantic Region (Virginia to Maine) since 2011. In 2014, commercial landings increased more than 20-fold from the previous several years’ average. This rapid increase in unregulated harvest represented a risk to the long-term sustainability of the stock, and triggered the Mid-Atlantic Council to request emergency management measures in 2015. Interim management measures took effect in June 2016, while the Council developed this proposed amendment.

Amendment 6 to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan manages the federal waters blueline tilefish fishery north of the Virginia/North Carolina border, as part of the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. The rule requires fishermen to hold a valid Greater Atlantic Region open access tilefish commercial or charter/party permit to ensure adequate reporting and monitoring of blueline tilefish fishing activity.

Through this action, we are implementing a commercial possession limit of 300 pounds per trip.

The recreational season will run from May 1-October 31, and will close as of December 15, 2017, when this rule becomes effective. When the fishery re-opens in May, recreational fishermen will have limits of:

  • 7 fish per person on Coast Guard inspected for-hire vessels (party boats)
  • 5 fish per person on uninspected for-hire vessels (charter boats), and
  • 3 fish per person on private recreational vessels.

Amendment 6 also calls for new permitting and reporting requirements for private recreational vessels. These measures are not being implemented at this time. Because they require additional development and outreach, they will be implemented later through a separate rule, and will not be in effect for the 2018 fishing season that starts on May 1, 2018.

More information is available in the final rule as filed in the Federal Register notice today, and in the permit holder bulletin on our website.

To learn more about NOAA Fisheries visit their site here.

 

Flounder fishing shut down in Rhode Island for rest of year

November 14, 2017 — PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The federal government is shutting down fishing of a popular species of flatfish in Rhode Island for the rest of the year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says boats fishing under a federal permit for summer flounder may no longer bring the fish to shore in Rhode Island. The shutdown went into effect early Tuesday morning and will last until the end of the year.

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

 

LED Lights Show Promise for Decreasing Salmon Bycatch in West Coast Whiting Fishery

November 10, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Light-emitting diodes – LEDs – are proving effective for lowering bycatch in fisheries besides West Coast pink shrimp.

A study by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center shows that LEDs are very effective in directing Chinook salmon to escape windows in Pacific hake trawl nets, according to a statement from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Chinook salmon bycatch in the hake fishery, the largest groundfish fishery on the West Coast, can be an issue; if too many Chinook salmon are caught, management measures may be implemented to conserve salmon stocks.

NMFS requested an Endangered Species Act Section 7 re-consultation on the take of salmon species in the West Coast groundfish fishery in 2013. Now, four years later, the biological opinion or “BiOp” and accompanying incidental take statement is scheduled to be completed in December.

However, avoiding salmon bycatch is an ongoing issue for the whiting fishery and the midwater rockfish fishery. The use of LEDs on the nets, similar to how they are used in the pink shrimp fishery to channel eulachon smelt out escape holes, may prove useful in the future. The LEDs researchers and fishermen used for this project were developed for use on longlines, designed for rugged use in the ocean environment.

The development of efficient, cost-effective LED technology has led to a growing list of innovative residential and industrial applications, according to the statement from NMFS. With NOAA Fisheries’ Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program funding, researchers found LEDs can play an important role in productive and sustainable fisheries as well.

Data show that Chinook salmon are much more likely to exit the nets where lights are placed—86 percent of escaped salmon used the well-lit, LED-framed openings. While further research is underway, the data suggest the LEDs can increase the salmon’s escapement overall, NMFS said.

Mark Lomeli, a researcher at the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, said the challenge was to develop a salmon excluder design to lower incidental salmon bycatch. He and other researchers worked with fishermen to use two sets of large, open escape windows that allowed salmon to swim out.

“Our data and video observations indicate that at deeper, darker depths where trawl nets go, light from the LEDs are enhancing the salmon’s ability to perceive the escape areas and the areas outside the nets,” Lomeli said in the NMFS report.

The key to keeping hake in and guide Chinook out is fish behavior. Salmon are stronger swimmers and can escape. By the time the whiting get to part of the net where the excluders are positioned, they are too fatigued to swim out.

Researchers said the technology could also be adapted for other fisheries, such as for reducing salmon bycatch in the Alaska pollock fishery.

“Many fishermen are aware of this technology now and use it if they think Chinook bycatch will be an issue,” Lomeli was quoted as saying in the statement. “It’s easy to use, relatively cheap, and widely available. You can easily clip the lights to the webbing of the net around the escape openings. With these research results in hand, the lights are on the shelf for them when they need them. We think these LEDs are low-hanging fruit for contributing to the recovery of this species, and can also play an important role in the stability of this fishery.”

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

 

Public skeptical of Navy bombing plans

November 10, 2017 — HILO, Hawaii — Despite Navy assurances that the military is using the latest science to protect marine mammals during bombing and sonar training exercises, most of the approximately 75 people attending a public meeting Thursday evening remained skeptical.

The meeting, the final of four across the Hawaiian islands, is part of the Navy’s draft environmental impact statement seeking permission from the National Marine Fisheries Service to continue military training activity over the next five years.

Capt. Vinnie Johnson, commanding officer, Pacific Missile Range Facility, said the Navy can remain stewards of the environment and protect marine mammals while conducting tests that are necessary for defense of the nation.

“We can be responsible stewards of natural resources, we can be responsible stewards of cultural resources and we can be responsible stewards of our community,” Johnson said.

Officials said mitigation measures such as trained lookouts aboard ships who halt exercises if marine mammals are seen in the vicinity and extra precautions during humpback whale season keep harm to a minimum.

Fewer than .03 percent of mammals are expected to die from testing, although many more could experience temporary behavioral effects, they said. Disorientation, fleeing the area, or in extreme cases, beaching can occur when the mammals’ activity is impaired by noises from bombing and sonar.

Johnson said the Navy was not testing prior to a beaching last month of pilot whales on Kauai, which resulted in five whale deaths. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists are still investigating.

Members of the public, bringing their messages through speeches, on paper, through oli and even in song, weren’t buying it. Impassioned speeches urged the military to clean up areas it’s already polluted before continuing bombing practices.

 

Read the full story at West Hawaii Today