Saving Seafood

NE Fisheries Scientists Expect Drastic Changes as Gulf of Maine and Georges warm 7 to 9 degrees

May 19, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — A new paper by a number of scientists formerly with NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center suggests that there will be drastic changes in fisheries and the ports that depend on them during the next 60 to 80 years. Among the predictions for specific species, lobster and dogfish are likely to thrive. Also mid-Atlantic Fish like croaker and striped bass will find more suitable habitat in New England. The “changes will result in ecological, economic, social, and natural resource management challenges throughout the region,” said Kristin Kleisner, the lead author of the study. “It is important to understand large-scale patterns in these changes so that we can plan for and mitigate adverse effects as much as possible.”

The USDA said domestic catfish processors operate similarly to meat and poultry processing-only operations and can be subject to inspections just once per production shift. When the USDA adopted catfish inspections last March, inspectors practiced continuous inspection procedures so the agency could understand the fish slaughtering and production process. But the USDA said it is adopting the FDA’s definition of fish processing, which combines the slaughter and processing steps. This will exempt domestic catfish operators from continuous inspections once the program takes full effect this September.

In other news, Russia plans to significantly increase exports of cod and pollock to the Latin American market in coming years. Russia’s Federal Fishery Agency said demand for white fish in the domestic market is relatively low. Meanwhile, demand for white fish is up significantly in such countries as Brazil, Argentina and other Latin America states. To date, there are already several agreements to supply Russian cod and pollock to Brazil.

The season’s first catch of Copper River salmon will arrive in Seattle straight from Alaska this Friday. As per tradition, the Alaska Airlines Boeing “salmon 30 salmon” will deliver the fish to the Sea-Tac Airport. The seasoned opened this morning.

Finally, The Ecology Action Centre (EAC) said the suspension of the offshore Marine Stewardship Council certificate for the Newfoundland cod fishery in the 3Ps region confirmed its initial concern and objection to the designation. The EAC was among a group that objected to the 3Ps certification last year. “While we fully support efforts to both achieve and celebrate improvements in sustainable fisheries, we had deep concerns about this cod stock throughout the certification process. Suffice it to say we are not at all surprised that the issues we raised last year, including low bar for recovery, evidence of poor stock health and a high rate of mortality,” said Susanna Fuller, Senior Marine Conservation Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre.

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

NOAA Warns of Continuing Species Shifts Due to Warming Oceans

May 19, 2017 — Scientists using a high-resolution global climate model and historical observations of species distributions on the Northeast U.S. Shelf have found that commercially important species will continue to shift their distribution as ocean waters warm two to three times faster than the global average through the end of this century. Projected increases in surface to bottom waters of 6.6 to 9 degrees F (3.7 to 5.0 degrees Celsius) from current conditions are expected.

The findings, reported in Progress in Oceanography, suggest ocean temperature will continue to play a major role in where commercially important species will find suitable habitat. Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Maine have warmed faster than 99 percent of the global ocean over the past decade. Northward shifts of many species are already happening, with major changes expected in the complex of species occurring in different regions on the shelf, and shifts from one management jurisdiction to another. These changes will directly affect fishing communities, as species now landed at those ports move out of range, and new species move in.

“Species that are currently found in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and on Georges Bank may have enough suitable habitat in the future because they can shift northward as temperatures increase,” said lead author Kristin Kleisner, formerly of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)’s Ecosystems Dynamics and Assessment Branch and now a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund. “Species concentrated in the Gulf of Maine, where species have shifted to deeper water rather than northward, may be more likely to experience a significant decline in suitable habitat and move out of the region altogether.”

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire 

FISH FACTOR: Seafood values stable, new crab surveys and a fish promotion

May 17, 2017 — The U.S. seafood industry’s contribution to the nation’s economy sank a bit, while Alaska’s output increased slightly and dollar values held steady.

An eagerly anticipated annual report released May 9 by NOAA Fisheries measures the economic impacts of U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries.

It highlights values, jobs, and sales for 2015, along with a 10-year snapshot of comparisons. A second report provides the status of U.S. fish stocks for 2016.

The Fisheries Economics Report shows that including imports, U.S. commercial fishing and the seafood industry generated $144 billion in sales in 2015, a six percent decline from the previous year, and supported 1.2 million jobs, a 15 percent decline.

“However, it’s important to consider these figures are still above the five-year average. In fact, 2015 represents the second-highest level during that period,” Alan Risenhoover, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs said at a May 9 press teleconference.

For Alaska, commercial fishermen landed more than 6 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2015, a 6 percent increase from 2014, while the value of the catch held steady at $1.7 billion.

Fishing and processing in Alaska generated $4.4 billion in sales in 2015 and 53,400 jobs, of which 38,000 were fishermen.

Other highlights:

Pollock accounted for 54 percent of the total Alaska harvest volume.

Alaska crab values totaled $284 million, the highest level since 1999. Halibut received the highest dock price at $4.85 per pound in 2015; herring fetched the lowest price, averaging just one penny a pound.

Alaska pollock ($509 million), salmon ($413 million), and crab ($284 million) dominated landings revenue.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

Out at sea, under the watchful eyes of cameras, fishermen work as the government monitors catch

May 16, 2017 — Chris Brown has grown used to the five video cameras that record every move he and his two crew members make aboard the Proud Mary.

Since installing the equipment in January on the 45-foot otter trawler, whenever Brown steams out of Galilee in search of flounder and other groundfish in the Atlantic Ocean waters off Rhode Island, the electronic monitoring system kicks on.

And as Brown engages the boat’s hydraulics to haul in its nets, the cameras track everything he and his crew catch, all the fish they keep and all the fish they discard over the side.

The cameras may seem intrusive, but then Brown has an easy answer when asked about them.

“I’d much rather have a camera overhead than an observer under foot,” he said.

Brown is one of three Rhode Island fishermen who have signed on to a program that is testing out electronic surveillance as an alternative to human monitors that the federal government requires to be on board one in every seven fishing trips in the Northeast in an effort to stamp out overfishing.

The new program being led by The Nature Conservancy offers the potential for closer observation of commercial fishing, enhancing compliance with quotas and deterring misreporting.

Its supporters say it also provides more accurate data that will lead to better science and better regulations, all with the aim of supporting a fishing industry that is sustainable for years to come.

“There’s a mismatch between what fishermen say they see on the water and what the science says,” said Christopher McGuire, marine program director with The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts. “We’re trying to bridge that gap.”

Electronic monitoring on fishing boats is nothing new. It’s been in use in British Columbia, in Canada, for more than 15 years, was eventually adopted by American fisheries in the Pacific Northwest, and was tested by Cape Cod fishermen as far back as 2005.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

Barry Myers, AccuWeather chief executive, emerges as front-runner for NOAA’s top job

May 15, 2017 — Nearly four months into his administration, President Trump has yet to name the next leader of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But several individuals in the weather community say Barry Myers, chief executive of AccuWeather in State College, Pa., is the leading candidate.

Myers, who holds business and law degrees, has served as AccuWeather’s chief executive since September 2007 and has overseen the company’s strategic initiatives and global expansion. His strong business background is viewed as a major asset for an administration that has placed a great deal of value on private-sector experience.

The job of NOAA administrator is seen as a critical for advancing the nation’s weather forecasts and understanding climate change. The agency runs the National Weather Service, conducts and funds weather and climate research, and operates a constellation of weather satellites as well as a climate data center.

NOAA also has enormous responsibilities in understanding and protecting the nation’s coasts, oceans and fisheries.

Members of the weather and climate community, aware of Myers’s likely selection, said they think that he would bring strong corporate leadership to the position. But others were worried about his nontechnical background and a rocky relationship with the National Weather Service.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Proposed Federal Budget Would Eliminate Sea Grant Program

May 12, 2017 — In late March, President Trump proposed a budget that would slash the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s funding by 17 percent and eliminate several educational and research programs, if Congress approves. One of the proposed cuts would eliminate NOAA’s $73 million National Sea Grant College Program, which supports coastal research conducted through 33 university programs across the country, including every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico, Lake Champlain and Guam.

The Sea Grant program, according to Trump’s budget plan, is a low priority that primarily has a state and local impact. “Mr. Trump is trying to eliminate us, but we are one of the solutions,” says Paul Anderson, director of Maine Sea Grant. “It’s pretty evident the process the administration has gone through to identify these cuts was not articulate. It was just line-item mathematics.”

Anderson says he is “mystified” by the Trump administration and feels its decision to cut the program puts the nation’s health and safety at risk. “The things we have created in this nation are through lessons learned — from creativity and mistakes,” he says. “You create electrical safety standards because someone was electrocuted. There’s a role government has. Trump’s approach is so naive to any of those structures that it puts our nation at risk for all kinds of things. Health, well-being and good, safe, clean domestic food and water are important.”

Read the full story at Soundings

Anticipated fish report shows Alaska volume up, prices flat

May 13, 2017 — The U.S. seafood industry’s contribution to the nation’s economy slipped in 2015, while Alaska’s output increased slightly and dollar values held steady.

An eagerly anticipated annual report released by the fisheries branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) measures the economic impacts of U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries. It highlights values, jobs, and sales for 2015, along with a 10-year look at comparisons. A second report evaluates the status of U.S. fish stocks for 2016.

The Fisheries Economics Report shows that, including imports, U.S. commercial fishing and the seafood industry generated $144 billion in sales in 2015, a 6 percent decline from the previous year, and supported 1.2 million jobs, a 15 percent decline.

“However, it’s important to consider these figures are still above the five-year average. In fact, 2015 represents the second highest level during that period,” Alan Risenhoover, acting deputy assistant administrator for regulatory programs, said in a May 9 teleconference.

Alaska commercial fishermen landed more than 6 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2015, up 6 percent from the prior year — even though the value held steady at nearly $1.7 billion.

Read the full story at Alaska Dispatch News

Red snapper anger directed at Obama, but Trump could solve fishing frustrations

May 15, 2017 — President Donald Trump has stressed the need to make states the “laboratories of democracy.” He calls for fewer burdensome federal regulations, and declares that it’s past time to “drain the swamp.”

All of that could be quickly coming to a head in the coastal states where he secured some of his highest vote totals during last year’s election. State and local leaders are boiling mad over what they say are excessive federal regulations when it comes to fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Specifically, the frustration is directed at an all-time shortened season – three days — for recreational red snapper fishing within federal waters.

The Orange Beach City Council, on Tuesday, voted unanimously to forward its concerns in a written letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. In it, the city asks for an immediate lengthening of the recreational season to 46 days, spread over a series of three-day weekends.

The Baldwin County Commission is expected to take similar action on Tuesday.

If nothing happens between now and the first of June, city leaders and the anglers are poised to protest on June 4, the day after this year’s three-day season expires. Boaters are being encouraged to show up at scenic Perdido Pass, filling its waters, in a show of unity.

Read the full story at AL.com

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD: Catching ‘The Codfather’ should just be first step

May 15, 2017 — Two years ago, Carlos Rafael let it be known that he was ready to sell his New Bedford, Massachusetts-based fishing fleet and wholesale seafood dealership, a business that had combined assets of about $20 million.

But in a meeting with a couple of potential buyers from Russia, Rafael said the real asking price was $175 million and he assured them it would be well worth it. Pulling a ledger labeled “cash” from his desk drawer, the fishing mogul showed how he was able to falsify records to get around both tax law and fishing regulations, netting him millions of dollars in unreported income derived from systematically violating conservation limits.

But the buyers turned out to be undercover agents. And that’s how the feds finally caught up with “The Codfather.”

On March 30, Rafael pleaded guilty in federal court to a 28-count indictment that included charges of tax evasion, falsifying fishing quotas and conspiracy. He is facing up to six years in prison at his sentencing next month, but how much time he will spend behind bars is only one of the many questions that need to be resolved.

What will happen to his fishing fleet and its associated permits? Thirteen boats were connected with the indictment, and they are subject to seizure. But what about the rest of his 40-vessel fleet and wholesale business, which is still operating?

Read the full opinion piece at the Portland Press Herald

NOAA Fisheries – FB17-027: Commercial Closure for Vermilion Snapper in South Atlantic Federal Waters on May 17, 2017

May 12, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:

WHAT/WHEN:The commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m. on May 17, 2017. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of vermilion snapper in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational fishery is open.WHY IS THIS CLOSURE HAPPENING:

  • The 2017 January – June commercial catch limit is 431,460 pounds whole weight. Commercial landings are approaching the commercial catch limit and harvest should close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

AFTER THE CLOSURE:The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.  The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for vermilion snapper does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m. on May 17, 2017, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor. 

The second vermilion snapper season in the South Atlantic will open on July 1, 2017, with a 431,460 pounds whole weight catch limit, and a 1,100-pound whole weight or 1,000-pound gutted weight trip limit.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or by clicking here.