Saving Seafood

Oregon Sea Grant funding in the crosshairs

March 7, 2017 — A budget proposal reportedly being floated by the Trump administration would end Oregon State University’s Sea Grant program and could potentially gut other OSU programs as well.

The proposal calls for a 17 percent budget reduction to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which funds research on climate change, ocean conditions, weather patterns and other aspects of earth science. Among the NOAA programs targeted for elimination is Sea Grant, a research and education initiative at 33 U.S. universities, including Oregon State.

The proposed cuts were reported on Friday by the Washington Post, based on a four-page budget memo that has not been made public by the administration.

Oregon Sea Grant Director Shelby Walker said the funding cuts, if approved, would devastate her program. Currently, Walker said, Oregon Sea Grant gets about $2.4 million of its annual budget of $5 million from the federal agency, with another $1.2 million in matching funds from OSU tied directly to NOAA dollars.

“It would basically eliminate the program,” she said of the White House budget proposal.

Read the full story at the Corvallis Gazette-Times

NOAA cuts proposed by Trump could cut jobs in South Mississippi

March 7, 2017 — The agency whose satellite photographs alert Coast residents of approaching hurricanes could see deep budget cuts, putting jobs and programs in South Mississippi in jeopardy.

The Washington Post reports it obtained a four-page budget memo which shows the Trump administration is seeking to cut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration budget by 17 percent.

Even deeper cuts are proposed for fiscal year 2018, which starts Oct. 1, for NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. It would lose $126 million, or 26 percent of its funds under the current budget. NOAA’s satellite data division would lose $513 million, or 22 percent, the report says.

These programs have staff working at Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, along with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Weather Service, which both face 5 percent cuts.

The National Data Buoy Center, headquartered at Stennis under the National Weather Service, maintains a network of buoys that serve all U.S. coastal states and territories. They are used by the weather service supercomputers to produce computer-generated model forecasts of the atmosphere and climate used by recreational boaters, commercial interests and the U.S. military. The NDBC also is responsible for tsunami stations around the world.

NOAA has been at Stennis since the early 1970s and employs more than 250 federal employees and contractors, according to the NOAA website.

These early numbers frequently change during budget negotiations between the federal agency and the White House, and later between Congress and the administration, the article says. The budget figures cited by the Washington Post are part of the Office of Management and Budget’s “passback” document, and are a key part of the annual budget process during which the administration instructs agencies to draw up detailed budgets for submission to Congress.

NOAA representatives at Stennis declined comment on the budget report.

Many of these cuts are for agencies that study climate change. The budget proposal would eliminate the $73 million Sea Grant program that supports coastal research through 33 university programs, among them the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State, Jackson State and University of Mississippi.

Read the full story at The Sun Herald

Small-Boat Fishing Groups Make Pleas to New Congress

March 7, 2017 — Local fishermen were in Washington, D.C. earlier this month to present their issues and concerns to the new Congress.

Cape Codders and other fishermen from across the nation with the Fishing Communities Coalition make the trip whenever a large number new representatives or senators are elected.

Cape Cod Fisherman’s Alliance CEO John Pappalardo was among those who visited over 30 Congressional offices.

He said that securing funding for fisheries management, managing a sustainable industry, and providing a clearer financial path for new fishermen to join the career path were among the top talking points.

“Fisheries have been a bi-partisan issue, and I would expect that when we and other industry groups make the case for how important the jobs and the protein these fishermen provide are, it’ll be a pretty easy sell,” Pappalardo said.

He also said that there was some discussion over converting many of the species caught for export into a domestic product.

The importance of building on the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act was also touched on, he said.

Pappalardo said he advocated for the National Young Fishermen’s Development Program, an initiative which would tackle the increasingly high cost of entry and limited growth opportunities young men and women face in the career path.

The trip took place before the announcement of a potential federal budget cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Pappalardo said he and his colleagues will keep an eye on that.

Read the full story at Capecod.com

Sean Horgan: New Commerce secretary says US should be first in seafood

March 6, 2017 — The U.S. Senate took time out from its annual handball tournament last week and confirmed Wilbur Ross as the new commerce secretary, adding yet another billionaire to the Trump cabinet that has more of them than Danny Ainge has draft picks.

Ross is estimated to be worth about $2.9 billion, which means Commerce’s NOAA Fisheries might want to bypass Congress and put the arm on the new boss the next time its runs out of cash for at-sea monitoring.

Still, fishing stakeholders had to take some measure of comfort from his intention to make America first in the world in seafood by the reversing the trend of massive annual seafood imports.

“Given the enormity of our coastlines, given the enormity of our fresh water, I would like to figure out how we can become much more self-sufficient in fishing and perhaps even a net importer,” Ross told the senators during his confirmation hearing in January.

Bully for him. But how will he do it? Will his crusade translate into fewer regulations? Higher fishing quotas? Declaring war on seafood competitors?

The Politico website had its own suggestion:

“One action Ross could take to curb the amount of seafood the U.S. imports each year is to follow through on the Seafood Monitoring Program which the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration established during the waning days of the Obama administration,” it wrote in an analysis of the Ross confirmation. “That regulation, supported by environmental groups like Oceana, is aimed at reducing billions of dollars in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing each year by creating a traceability program to track imported seafood from point of harvest to point of entry in the U.S.”

Read the full opinion piece at the Gloucester Times

White House proposes steep budget cut to leading climate science agency

March 6, 2017 — The Trump administration is seeking to slash the budget of one of the government’s premier climate science agencies by 17 percent, delivering steep cuts to research funding and satellite programs, according to a four-page budget memo obtained by The Washington Post.

The proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would also eliminate funding for a variety of smaller programs, including external research, coastal management, estuary reserves and “coastal resilience,” which seeks to bolster the ability of coastal areas to withstand major storms and rising seas.

NOAA is part of the Commerce Department, which would be hit by an overall 18 percent budget reduction from its current funding level.

The Office of Management and Budget also asked the Commerce Department to provide information about how much it would cost to lay off employees, while saying those employees who do remain with the department should get a 1.9 percent pay increase in January 2018. It requested estimates for terminating leases and government “property disposal.”

The OMB outline for the Commerce Department for fiscal 2018 proposed sharp reductions in specific areas within NOAA such as spending on education, grants and research. NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research would lose $126 million, or 26 percent, of the funds it has under the current budget. Its satellite data division would lose $513 million, or 22 percent, of its current funding under the proposal.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

New Jersey asks new Commerce boss to stop fluke cut

March 3, 2017 — Wilbur Ross meet New Jersey’s summer flounder fishermen.

Ross is the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Commerce. As the department’s boss, he oversees management of fisheries through its Fisheries Office and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

He’s the person the Christie Administration, and state delegates are now trying to hook, and win over to their side on the summer flounder issue.

They wasted no time to petition Ross this week and ask him to put a hold on the new summer flounder regulations approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on Feb. 2.

The regulations call for a 30-percent reduction in the coastwide harvest of summer flounder on the Atlantic Coast. The regs were voted on after federal regulators reported the coastwide summer flounder population from Maine to North Carolina declined and fishermen overfished their quota last year.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Request for Comments: Modifications to Commercial Permit Restrictions for King and Spanish Mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Federal Waters

March 1, 2017 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries requests your comments on a proposed rule to remove the restriction on fishing for and retaining the recreational bag limit of king and Spanish mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf), South Atlantic, and Mid-Atlantic on a vessel with a federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel when the vessel is on a recreational trip and commercial harvest of king or Spanish mackerel in that zone or region is closed.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES:

  • Current regulations state that a person aboard a vessel with a federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel may not fish for or retain king or Spanish mackerel in or from federal waters under the bag limit if commercial harvest for the species is closed (i.e., the species, migratory group, zone, subzone, or gear is closed).
  • This regulation prevents commercial fishermen with a federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel from recreationally fishing on their commercial vessel outside of the commercial season for those species. Such a restriction does not exist under any other vessel or permit condition for other species in the Gulf or South Atlantic.
  • The proposed rule would remove the restriction on fishing for and retaining the recreational bag limit of king and Spanish mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Mid-Atlantic on a vessel with a federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel when the vessel is on a recreational trip and commercial harvest of king or Spanish mackerel in that zone or region is closed.

HOW TO COMMENT ON THE FRAMEWORK AMENDMENT AND PROPOSED RULE:

The comment period is open now through March 31, 2017.  You may submit comments by electronic submission or by postal mail.  Comments sent by any other method (such as e-mail), to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA Fisheries.  Relevant comments on both the framework amendment and proposed rule will be addressed in the final rule.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: 82 FR 12187, published March 1, 2017.

Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.

  1. Go to: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=NOAA_FRDOC_0001-4232
  2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.
  3. Enter or attach your comments.

Mail: Submit written comments to Rich Malinowski, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Why was the prohibition to restrict commercial vessels from retaining recreational bag limits originally implemented?

  • The regulations were originally considered necessary when the Gulf migratory group of king mackerel (Gulf king mackerel) was thought to be overfished (the population is too low) in the early 1990s, as a means of controlling fishing effort.

Why is the prohibition changing?

  • The current restriction prevents fishermen from recreationally targeting king or Spanish mackerel on their commercially permitted vessels when the commercial season is closed.
  • The restriction does not exist under any other vessel permit for other species in the Gulf or South Atlantic.
  • The most recent population assessment of king mackerel indicated that both Gulf and Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel are not overfished or experiencing overfishing (too many are being caught each year).

Where can I find more information on Framework Amendment 5?

  • Contact NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office

By Mail: Rich Malinowski

NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office

Sustainable Fisheries Division

263 13th Avenue South

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505

By FAX: (727) 824-5308

By Phone: (727) 824-5305

  • Framework Action 5 may be found online at the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office Web site by clicking here.
  • Additional information on management of king and Spanish Mackerel can be found on the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office Web site by clicking here.

 

New Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Lists U.S. Fisheries as a Top Department Priority

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – March 1, 2017 – In his first address (starts at 9:41 in the video) to Department of Commerce employees this morning, newly confirmed Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross included U.S. fisheries among his top priorities for the department.

In a list of ten challenges facing the Commerce Department’s 47,000 employees, including the launch of more NOAA satellites and changes to the methodology of the 2020 U.S. Census, Mr. Ross specifically identified the need for “obtaining maximum sustainable yield for our fisheries.”

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) refers to the largest catch that can be sustainably taken from a fish stock over an indefinite period of time. Promoting sustainable fishing by achieving maximum sustainable yield is one of the primary goals of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the chief law governing fisheries management in the U.S.

The U.S. commercial fishing industry is a vital part of the U.S. economy, with landings of 9.7 billion pounds of seafood in 2015 worth $5.2 billion, according to the latest “Fisheries of the United States” report from NOAA Fisheries. Nevertheless, nearly 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported into the country.

Mr. Ross has previously expressed his support for domestic fisheries and his desire to reduce America’s reliance on seafood imports, which has created an $11 billion trade deficit for the U.S. seafood industry.

“Given the enormity of our coastlines, given the enormity of our freshwater, I would like to try to figure out how we can become much more self-sufficient in fishing and perhaps even a net exporter,” Mr. Ross said at his January confirmation hearing, according to Politico.

Mr. Ross was confirmed in a Senate vote 72-27 Monday night. He is a successful billionaire investor and founder of the private equity firm WL Ross & Co., from which he has agreed to divest as he takes on his new government role.

Study finds preliminary recovery of coastal sharks in southeast U.S.

February 28, 2017 — The following was released by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science:

A new analysis of population trends among coastal sharks of the southeast U.S. shows that all but one of the 7 species studied are increasing in abundance. The gains follow enactment of fishing regulations in the early 1990s after decades of declining shark numbers.

Scientists estimate that over-fishing of sharks along the southeast U.S. coast—which began in earnest following the release of Jaws in 1975 and continued through the 1980s—had reduced populations by 60-99% compared to un-fished levels. In response, NOAA’s National Marine Fishery Service in 1993 enacted a management plan for shark fisheries that limited both commercial and recreational landings.

Now, says lead scientist Cassidy Peterson, a graduate student at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science, “We’ve shown that after over two decades of management measures, coastal shark populations are finally starting to recover and reclaim their position as top predators, or regulators of their ecosystem. Our research suggests we can begin to shift away from the era of  ‘doom and gloom’ regarding shark status in the United States.”

Joining Peterson in the study, published in the latest issue of Fish and Fisheries, were VIMS professor Rob Latour, Carolyn Belcher of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Dana Bethea and William Driggers III of NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and Bryan Frazier of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

he researchers say their study based on modeling of combined data from 6 different scientific surveys conducted along the US East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico between 1975 and 2014 provides a more accurate and optimistic outlook than previous studies based on commercial fishery landings or surveys in a single location.

“Data from shark long-lining operations or shark bycatch can be suspect,” says Peterson, “because what looks like a change in abundance might instead be due to changes in fishing gear, target species, market forces, or other factors.”

Research surveys are scientifically designed to remove these biases. Survey crews purposefully sample a random grid rather than visiting known shark hot spots, and strive to use the exact same gear and methods year after year to ensure consistency in their results.

But even with these safeguards, data from a single survey often aren’t enough to capture population trends for an entire shark species, whose members may occupy diverse habitats and migrate to different and far-flung areas depending on age and sex.

Read the full report at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Wilbur Ross: Make America first on seafood

February 28, 2017 — Wilbur Ross is expected to emerge as the Trump administration’s leading voice on trade after the Senate votes tonight to confirm him as Commerce Department secretary. He’s already singled out a surprising pet project: Reducing America’s reliance on seafood imports.

“Given the enormity of our coastlines, given the enormity of our freshwater, I would like to try to figure out how we can become much more self-sufficient in fishing and perhaps even a net exporter,” the 79-year-old billionaire businessman said at his confirmation hearing in January.

That would be a big job for anyone, since 85 percent, or some $20 billion, of seafood consumed in the U.S. comes from abroad. America is the second-largest seafood market after the 28-nation European Union, and the U.S. seafood industry runs an $11 billion trade deficit.

One action Ross could take to curb the amount of seafood the U.S. imports each year is to follow through on the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration established during the waning days of the Obama administration. That regulation, supported by environmental groups like Oceana, is aimed at reducing billions of dollars in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing each year by creating a traceability program to track imported seafood from point of harvest to point of entry in the U.S. Pros, Doug Palmer dives into Ross’ fishing expedition here.

Read the full story at Politico