Saving Seafood

Aquatic limbo

November 5, 2017 — Fourteen years is a long time.

Consider, in 14 years children go from being unable to do much more than eat, sleep and relieve themselves to walking, talking, and giving serious consideration to driving a car.

Fourteen years is also the length of time of three-and-a-half presidential terms; more than long enough to change the direction of an entire country and the fates of hundreds of millions of people.

Fourteen years is also an interminably long time to wait if your livelihood is at stake. And yet, it took the New England Fisheries Management Council 14 years to develop regulations regarding the protection of fishing habitats. That, in and of itself, would not be so bad; after all, one would hope that those involved would take the time necessary to get the science right on an issue where so much is at stake.

But it has now been two years since those regulations were passed, and there is little indication that they are any closer to being implemented.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

Headless 400-pound tuna found in Massachusetts woods

November 2, 2017 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Spotting a 400-pound tuna in the Massachusetts seaport of Gloucester, known as America’s oldest seaport, is not unusual. But finding a headless tuna in the woods is a bit odd.

State Environmental Police and federal fisheries regulators are trying to figure out who dumped the headless fish, which had to be hauled out of the trees by a tow truck.

Authorities won’t say exactly when the tuna was found or who tipped them off.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Fox News

 

Red snapper season could be too little, too late

November 2, 2017 — After three years of no allowable red snapper fishing off the South Atlantic coast, it opens back up today for the first in consecutive 3-day weekends for recreational fishermen. For a lot of charter fishermen, however, the chance to take advantage of the reopened fishery may have come and gone.

Scott Griffin of Goin’ Coastal Charters said he and his fellow captains really had less than a week to get the word out, and even then, years of atrophy to offshore charter business already had an impact.

“Most of the guys are concentrating inshore for trout and redfish right now,” Griffin said. “If it had been during the tourist season, it would have been a whole different story. We could’ve booked all six days. So, giving us one week’s notice in the middle of the fall, it basically does nothing for us. It’s a shame, too, because the fish are out there.”

The area covered goes from 3 miles out from the coast, to 200 miles, administered through federal regulatory bodies.

In the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meetings on Jekyll Island in March, discussion shifted between whether they were in a position to accurately know the health of the fishery, to the amount of by-catch — usually dead snapper thrown back into the water when caught during fishing for other species — to the continuing frustration of recreational anglers who maintain there are more than enough red snapper for both harvesting and maintaining the population.

Read the full story at the Brunswick News

 

Commercial Closure in Federal Waters for Atlantic Migratory Group Spanish Mackerel Northern Zone on November 7, 2017

November 2, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial harvest of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone in federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 7, 2017. The northern zone for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel includes federal waters off New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of Spanish mackerel in or from the northern zone federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits while the recreational sector is open.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

  • Originally, the 2017/2018 commercial quota for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone was 662,670 pounds. However, regulations allow for quota transfers between the northern and southern zones with the approval from the Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries to allow the commercial quota for both zones to be fully harvested. 100,000 pounds of Spanish mackerel were transferred from the southern zone quota to the northern zone quota. Therefore, the revised quotas are 2,567,330 pounds for the southern zone and 762,670 pounds for the northern zone.
  • Commercial landings are projected to reach the revised commercial quota for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the quota from being exceeded.

DURING THE CLOSURE:

  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for Coastal Migratory Pelagics.
  • The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for Spanish mackerel does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, November 7, 2017, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
  • During the closure, a person on board a vessel that has been issued a valid Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for coastal migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel in the northern zone under the recreational bag and possession limits, as long as the recreational sector for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel is open.
  • Commercial harvest for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel northern zone will re-open on March 1, 2018.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. For a full list of regulations visit the Federal Register here.

 

Cape Cod fishermen have high hopes for halibut

November 2, 2017 — CHATHAM, Mass. — On the U.S. side of the border Atlantic halibut are listed as a species of concern by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and fishermen are limited to one fish per trip.

Less than a half a day’s steam to the east, the same fish is the poster child for sustainable fishery management and generates between $100 million and $200 million a year for Canadian fishermen.

It’s a divergence shrouded in mystery as deep as the ocean on either side of the Hague Line, the boundary that separates the two nations out to the 200 mile limit of their exclusive economic zones. The target date to rebuild the U.S. Atlantic halibut stock to healthy levels is 2056, nearly 40 years in the future.

But Cape Cod fishermen believe the future may be happening now. They have been seeing more halibut in recent years and believe the science is wrong.

“Yes, we’re seeing more halibut, continuously,” said Jason Amaru, the captain and owner of the Chatham-based trawler Joanne A III. “The population seems to be recovering.”

Last year, the Nature Conservancy received a $270,000 federal grant to work with fishermen, scientists from NOAA, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada, and the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance to place satellite tags on halibut and take biological samples.

Grant money pays for Amaru to attach the tracking devices, which cost more than $3,000 each. He also takes biological samples: the ear bones that determine age, gonads that tell the stage of sexual maturity, the heart for genetic analysis, and documents where the fish was caught, its weight and length.

“Four years ago, we were talking to fishermen. They said they were seeing more halibut than ever before. It used to be like seeing a unicorn, one a year, then once a month, now every day,” said Christopher McGuire, marine program director for The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts, who spearheaded the drive for research money after listening to Cape fishermen. “We see that one fish a day being landed by a lot of fishermen.”

McGuire said he hopes the new data will show whether a resurgent Canadian halibut population is repopulating U.S. waters, or whether the U.S. fish are experiencing their own population boom.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times  

 

Fisheries council to undertake independent review

November 3, 2017 — The New England Fishery Management Council is undertaking an independent review it hopes will provide a sense of what it does well and where it needs to improve in the administration and management of the region’s fisheries.

The council on Thursday announced it is forming an external panel of managers and scientists from other regions and fisheries to administer the council program review, stating those selected will have “a strong understanding of U.S. federal fisheries management but no recent involvement or affiliation” with the council.

“As with the case of many organizations, it’s good to have third-party individuals look at our processes and see if they can be improved upon,” council Chairman John Quinn said Thursday. “We want to hear from everybody, from members of the fishing industry, non-governmental organizations and even government entities with whom we frequently interact.”

Quinn said the council hopes to answer three elemental questions with the review: What it’s doing right, what it’s doing wrong and “How can we improve the way we serve the people who are involved in our fisheries and the public overall.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times 

 

UM scientist awarded grant aimed to increase aquaculture production in the US

November 2, 2017 — University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (UM) Professor Daniel Benetti has been awarded $967,000 by Florida Sea Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The funding is just a portion of $9.3 million NOAA has slated for 32 projects around the country to help spur the development and growth of shellfish, finfish and seaweed aquaculture businesses. All projects include public-private partnerships and will be led by Sea Grant programs across the nation.

With each project, every two dollars of federal funding is matched by one dollar of non-federal funds, bringing the total investment to more than $13.9 million. UM successfully leveraged with matching funds from an ongoing research agreement with Aqquua, LLC, a US company investing in advanced technologies to further aquaculture development in the nation.

The projects include basic and applied research to improve efficient production of seafood, permitting of new businesses, management of environmental health issues, and economic success of aquaculture businesses.

Read the full story at PHYS

 

US fishermen’s catch up in value, volume declines slightly

November 1, 2017 — The federal government says American fisheries grew by a little more than 2 percent in value last year, even with fishermen bringing slightly less fish to shore.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says in an annual report released Wednesday that U.S. commercial fishermen brought 9.6 billion pounds (4.3 billion kilograms) of seafood to land last year — down 1.5 percent from 2015.

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

 

Rep. Walter Jones weighs in for North Carolina fishermen

November 2, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the office of Congressman Walter Jones:

Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) is moving to help Eastern North Carolina fishermen who could be hurt by legislation pending before Congress. The bills threaten America’s domestic shark fisheries, and a significant piece of those fisheries is in Eastern North Carolina. They are sustainably managed and help support the economy in coastal North Carolina and other small fishing communities around the country.

The bills – H.R. 1456 and S. 793 – purport to be an attempt to stop the practice of shark finning (i.e. the process of removing fins at sea and discarding the shark). They seek to do so by banning the sale of fins, even those harvested legally here in the United States. However well-intentioned the bill sponsors may be, the fact is that shark finning has been illegal in the United States for many years. Advocates for the legislation have countered with the false allegation that the practice is still widespread. They publicly claimed that NOAA Fisheries had 500 cases of shark finning over the last several years. That number sounded impossibly high to Congressman Jones, so in August he asked NOAA Fisheries for the real number of federal shark finning violations assessed over the past five years. According to NOAA, the real number is not 500, it is 22. The Associated Press recently ran a story correcting the record on the ‘fake news’ claims distributed by the bill’s supporters. You can find that story HERE.

“If foreign countries are failing to manage their shark populations appropriately, they should change their ways,” said Congressman Jones. “But we should not put U.S. fishermen out of business in the process.”

This week, Congressman Jones urged U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to join him in opposing the legislation. The Commerce Department is home to the regulatory agency – NOAA Fisheries – which manages the domestic shark fisheries. As Congressman Jones pointed out to Secretary Ross in a letter, federal law mandates that the domestic shark fishery be managed sustainably. According to renowned shark scientist, Dr. Robert E. Heuter of Florida’s Mote Marine Lab, America has “one of the best systems in the world for shark fisheries management and conservation.” The proof can be seen in NOAA Fisheries own data. NOAA Fisheries’ 2015 coastal shark survey captured and tagged “more than 2,800 sharks, the most in the survey’s 29-year history.” The leader of the survey stated that NOAA Fisheries has “seen an increase in the number of sharks in every survey since 2001,” and the agency called the survey results “very good news for shark populations.”

“Mr. Secretary, you know how important good jobs are to America’s future,” said Congressman Jones. “The sustainably managed U.S. shark fishery helps many hard working people in Eastern North Carolina and across the country support their families and their communities. For the sake of the American fishermen who make this country great, I respectfully ask you to oppose these bills.”

Congressman Jones has long been a strong supporter and advocate for Eastern North Carolina fishermen.

Additional information on Jones’ backing of North Carolina fishermen can be found here.

 

Government files appeal hoping to grab more Carlos Rafael permits

November 1, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Just when it felt safe to close the Carlos Rafael case, the government appealed Judge William Young’s decision regarding forfeiture on Wednesday.

A motion for reconsideration was filed Oct. 25 by the government seeking Young to alter his decision to force Rafael to forfeit four vessels and the accompanying permits. Young dismissed the motion a day later.

Wednesday’s appeal will be sent to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, according to court documents. It pertains only to Young’s determination of forfeiture.

Young sentenced Rafael to 46 months in prison on Sept. 25 after the New Bedford fishing mogul pleaded guilty to falsifying fishing quota, bulk cash smuggling and tax evasion in March. A decision on forfeiture wasn’t made until Oct. 11. U.S. Marshals seized the Bull Dog, the Lady Patricia, the Olivia and Rafaela and the Southern Crusader II a week later.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times