Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Announces a Commercial Trip Limit for Dolphin in the Atlantic

December 30, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The final rule implementing Regulatory Amendment 1 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic (Regulatory Amendment 1) will publish in the Federal Register on December 30, 2016 (81 FR 96388). The final rule becomes effective on January 30, 2017.

The final rule establishes a commercial trip limit for dolphin of 4,000 pounds whole weight after 75 percent of the commercial sector annual catch limit has been reached. The trip limit applies to dolphin caught commercially from Maine through the east coast of Florida. The trip limit remains in place until the end of the fishing year or until the entire commercial annual catch limit is met, whichever comes first. The purpose of the trip limit is to reduce the chance of an in-season closure of the dolphin commercial sector as a result of the annual catch limit being reached during the fishing year, and to reduce the severity of social and economic impacts caused by these closures.

For more information on Regulatory Amendment 1, please visit the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office Website here.

NOAA Fisheries Proposes a Threatened Listing Determination for the Oceanic Whitetip Shark Under the Endangered Species Act

December 29, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries has completed a comprehensive status review under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) in response to a petition from Defenders of Wildlife to list the species. Based on the best scientific and commercial information available, including the status review report (Young et al., 2016), and after taking into account efforts being made to protect the species, we have determined that the oceanic whitetip shark warrants listing as a threatened species. We conclude that the oceanic whitetip shark is likely to become endangered throughout all or a significant portion of its range within the foreseeable future. Any protective regulations determined to be necessary and advisable for the conservation of the species under ESA section 4(d) would be proposed in a subsequent Federal Register announcement. Should the proposed listing be finalized, we would also designate critical habitat for the species, to the maximum extent prudent and determinable. We solicit information to assist in this listing determination, the development of proposed protective regulations, and the designation of critical habitat in the event this proposed listing determination is finalized.

See the full release at NOAA

NOAA Fisheries Announces Changes to the Current Seasonal Prohibition on Fishing with Black Sea Bass Pots and Gear Marking

December 29, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The final rule for Regulatory Amendment 16 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Regulatory Amendment 16) will publish in the Federal Register on December 29, 2016.  Regulations for the reduced size of the prohibited area for fishing for black sea bass with pots are effective December 29, 2016.  Regulations for the enhanced gear markings are effective January 30, 2017.

Currently, fishermen may not fish with black sea bass pots from November 1 through April 30, each year, in the entire management area for black sea bass in the South Atlantic.  The seasonal prohibition was established in 2013 as a precautionary measure to prevent interactions between black sea bass pot gear and whales during periods of large whale migrations, and during the right whale calving season off the U.S. southeastern coast.  Regulatory Amendment 16 would retain a November 1 through April 30 seasonal prohibition but would reduce the size of the prohibited area.  The goal is to reduce the adverse socioeconomic impacts to fishermen resulting from the current seasonal prohibition while continuing to provide the necessary protection to large whales in the South Atlantic region.

The new seasonal prohibitions are below.  The prohibition shown in Figure 1 will apply annually during November and April.  The prohibition shown in Figure 2 will apply annually from December 1 through March 31.  The coordinates for the new area seasonal prohibitions can be found here.

Regulatory Amendment 16 will also require an additional 12-inch wide purple band in three locations on black sea bass pot lines.  The goal is to enhance current gear marking requirements for black sea bass pots to distinguish black sea bass pot lines from other fishing lines.  Currently, three 12-inch color marks at the top, midway, and bottom sections of the buoy line are required.  Effective January 30, 2017, an additional 12-inch wide purple band must be added at the end of each 12-inch colored mark, making each of the three marks a total of 24 inches in length.  The new gear marking requirements are required in the following areas and during the following dates:  from September 1 through May 31 in the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) Offshore Trap/Pot Waters Area and Southern Nearshore Trap/Pot Waters Area, and from November 15 through May 31 in the ALWTRP Southeast U.S. Restricted Area North.  The areas and current gear marking requirements may be found here.

See the full release at NOAA

Are Maine halibut heading for trouble?

December 28, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Go to Scales, an elegant waterfront restaurant on a Portland pier, and a plate of pan-roasted halibut with hazelnuts, brown butter and new potatoes will cost you $38, tax and tip extra.

Over the decade between 2006 and 2015, the last year for which the Department of Marine Resources has figures, the boat price for halibut increased some 44 percent and landings increased from just 30,018 pounds worth about $139,000 to more than 93,000 pounds that brought fishermen some $623,000. Go down to the dock in Lubec or Stonington during May and June, when Maine fishermen are allowed to harvest halibut from state waters inside the three-mile limit, and $38 would buy you about 5 pounds of halibut, if you could buy less than a whole fish directly off the boat. And that’s the problem.

Now federal fisheries regulators are saying that halibut may be in trouble.

Of course, it isn’t just that Maine fishermen are landing more halibut. It’s fishermen from all over New England who are pulling in plenty of the pricy and delicious flatfish from federal waters.

In 2006, only Maine recorded halibut landings. In 2015, according to NOAA Fisheries, halibut landings throughout New England reached almost 216,000 pounds — worth about $1.4 million. Of that, about 123,000 pounds were landed outside Maine.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing in 2016: The year didn’t go swimmingly for industry

December 28, 2016 — The past year in the commercial fishing industry and along the city’s waterfront has been one of battles, as the city’s legendary fishing industry has fought to remain viable in the midst of regulatory, economic and environmental pressures.

Groundfishermen spent much of the year dueling with NOAA Fisheries over who should pay for mandated at-sea monitoring. And fishing advocates, led by the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, continued their crusade questioning the quality of the science NOAA uses in its stock assessments.

Lobstermen, NOAA scientists and elected representatives such as U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, took on Sweden over the Scandinavian country’s attempt to convince the European Union to list American lobsters as an invasive species and ban their importation.

Those skirmishes have taken place against the backdrop of the most disturbing and over-arching single piece of information to emerge in 2016 — the Gulf of Maine, already effectively shuttered to cod fishing and shrimping, is warming faster than 99.9 percent of the rest of the planet’s oceans and doing so at an accelerated rate.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

NOAA slashes recreational, commercial limits for flounder, black sea bass

December 27, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries is slashing 2017 and 2018 recreational and commercial catch limits for summer flounder and the 2017 commercial quota for black sea bass.

The sweeping cuts will impact both the commercial and recreational harvesting of the summer flounder. The cuts, based on the recommendations of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, will be most severe in 2017, when the commercial and recreational quota for the species is cut by 30 percent from current levels.

Those reductions will set the set the commercial quota at 5.66 million pounds and the recreational at 3.77 million pounds in 2017.

The 2018 reduction summer flounder catch limits is projected to be 16 percent below current levels, setting the commercial quota at 6.63 million pounds and the recreational catch limits at 4.42 million pounds.

The federal fishing regulator is cutting the commercial black sea bass quota by 31 percent in 2017 to 1.86 million pounds as “an automatic accountability measure” because the fishery exceeded its annual catch limit in 2015.

“In 2015, the commercial annual catch limit was exceeded due to both a 4 percent overage of the commercial quota and higher-than-anticipated estimated discards of black sea bass,” NOAA Fisheries said in announcing the cuts.

The agency, however, said it is possible that a final report on the black sea bass stock assessment, due in early 2017, might provide the impetus for increasing recreational and commercial catch limits in the midst of the next fishing season.

“It is possible that the next black sea bass assessment will provide justification for increasing the 2017 black sea bass catch limits for both the commercial and recreational fisheries,” NOAA Fisheries said. “If that is the case, we will work with the (Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council) to quickly implement revised catch limits mid-year. A final report for the assessment is expected in early 2017.”

The 2017 recreational harvest limit for black sea bass will hold steady at about 2.82 million pounds, according to NOAA Fisheries spokeswoman Jennifer Goebel.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

NOAA seeks comment on groundfish permitting rule

December 27, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would limit the number of permits and the amount of groundfish allocation one individual or entity could own in the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery.

According to NOAA Fisheries, the rule is designed “to promote diversity in the groundfish fishery and enhance sector management” by preventing excessive consolidation in the fishery by capping the number of limited access permits and the amount of a sector’s annual catch entitlement any one entity may own.

The final proposed rule, which the NEFMC submitted to NOAA in August, would limit any ownership entity from possessing more than 5 percent of all limited access groundfish permits in the fishery.

Currently, there are approximately 1,373 limited access permits operating in the fishery, so a 5 percent cap would limit any single ownership entity to owning approximately 69 permits.

“As of May 1, 2014, the most permits held by any entity is 55,” NOAA Fisheries said in the publication of the proposed rule. “Therefore, if approved, this alternative is unlikely to restrict any entity.”

The New England Fishery Management Council began work on the rule, also known as Amendment 18, in 2011.

“Subsequently, the stock status for many groundfish stocks declined and the associated annual catch limits were significantly reduced,” according to NOAA Fisheries’ summary of the proposed rule that was published Tuesday in the Federal Register. “As a result, some groundfish fishermen were concerned that implementing an accumulation limit could be problematic if it reduced flexibility and prevented them from obtaining additional quota necessary to maintain viable fishing operations.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times 

NOAA awards $8 million for coastal resiliency investments across the nation

December 22, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries is pleased to announce $8 million in recommended funding for 11 shovel-ready coastal resiliency projects in various sites across the country. These awards are part of NOAA’s continued commitment to build resilient coastal ecosystems, communities, and economies.

“Americans who live on the coast face enormous risks when Mother Nature strikes; however, it is natural infrastructure—wetlands, marshes, floodplains, and coral reefs—that often serve as our best defense. The selected projects will restore our natural barriers and help keep people, communities, and businesses safe,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for Fisheries.

Six projects aim to restore critical wetlands, marshes, and floodplains in Massachusetts, California, Washington, and Hawaii, which increase resiliency and offer flood protection for homes and businesses:

  • The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation will receive $250,000 to restore floodplain connectivity in the Teanaway Community Forest which will reduce peak flows and recharge groundwater for the nearby community and enhance streams for salmon by reducing water temperatures.
  • Ducks Unlimited will receive $1.5 million to transform 710 acres of former salt evaporation ponds in South San Francisco Bay into marsh and upland habitat which will increase resiliency to sea level rise and flooding.
  • The Nature Conservancy will receive $721,095 to support coastal habitat restoration on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu through invasive species removal, native species replanting, and traditional management practices to strengthen ecological and community resilience.
  • Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe will receive $1 million to restore the tidal connection between Kilisut Harbor and Oak Bay, Washington. This effort will provide passage for endangered juvenile salmon, and enhance cultural traditions of fishing and clam digging.
  • The Redwood Community Action Agency will receive $1,091,045 in funds to support a multi-phase project to enhance Martin Slough in Northern California which will reduce flooding on surrounding public and agricultural land and improve habitat for threatened salmonids.
  • The Town of Yarmouth, Massachusetts will receive $633,044 to replace a degraded and undersized bridge on a major transportation corridor in Cape Cod and allow for restoration of the estuary to reduce flooding for property owners caused by storm surge and also improve fish passage.

Two projects focus on coral reef restoration efforts in Florida and in Hawaii to help sustain many economically-important fisheries and natural barriers to storm surge:

  • The Coral Reef Alliance will receive $842,782 to reduce the flow of water and levels of nutrients and sediment that reach nearshore coral reefs off West Maui. In applying best management practices, the project will increase these reefs’ resilience to climate changes.
  • The University of Miami will receive $521,920 to restore coral reefs across Miami Beach and Key Biscayne which will improve the resiliency of threatened staghorn and elkhorn corals to sea temperature changes.

Read the full story at Phys.org

Union for Concerned Scientists Sets Up ‘Hotline’ for Federal Employees to Report ‘Political Meddling’ by the Trump Administration at NOAA

The Union for Concerned Scientists, led by Andrew Rosenberg, who served as northeast regional administrator, and later deputy director of the National Marine Fisheries Service, has established a hotline for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees to report allegations of “political meddling” by President-elect Trump and his incoming Administration.

“I am hearing a lot of worry,” Rosenberg told Bloomberg regarding a potential Trump selection to head the agency. “The worry is that they will be putting another ideologue in place,” Rosenberg said.

December 21, 2016 — The following is excerpted from a story by Michael Bastach. It was published yesterday in The Daily Caller.

Environmentalist worry over President-elect Donald Trump reached new heights when activists set up an anonymous hotline for government climate scientists to report “political meddling” by the incoming administration.

Bloomberg reports “outside scientists are setting up an anonymous hotline for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s employees to report political meddling” over fears Trump could delete public climate data and silence researchers.

“I am hearing a lot of worry,” Andrew Rosenberg, a top activist at the at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) in Cambridge, Mass., told Bloomberg. “The worry is that they will be putting another ideologue in place.”

UCS set up the hotline for climate scientists in the wake of news Trump’s administration could tamper with taxpayer-funded climate data. Interestingly enough, it’s a rumor they started.

Trump’s transition team has never said anything to indicate they would alter any public databases — a fact Freedman admitted. But it was too late, scientists, activists and media outlets began to preach the story as gospel.

Climate scientist and Slate columnist Eric Holthaus led the charge and asked people to fill it with climate data “you don’t want to see disappear.” Scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Pennsylvania created a “Guerrilla Archiving team” to download data before Trump could “delete” it.

Holthaus, to his credit, argued budget cuts are more likely to force agencies to jettison climate data rather than malicious acts by Trump appointees. But it’s hard to say since Trump has not nominated anyone to head NOAA or NASA.

Budget cuts could shrink some efforts to monitor the climate, but it’s unlikely to result in wholesale deleting of taxpayer-funded databases, along with the planes, buoys and weather stations that go along with it.

Read the full story at The Daily Caller

NOAA fisheries releases climate action plans

December 21st, 2016 — After years of preparation, NOAA Fisheries last Friday released five “regional action plans” to guide implementation of the agency’s national climate science strategy over the next five years.

The regions covered include the Northeast, Southeast, Pacific Islands, West Coast and Alaska.

The waters off the Northeastern states are among the fastest warming of the world’s oceans. Marine species from plankton to the largest whales are affected as a variety of ecosystem components — habitat, food webs, water temperatures, wind patterns — respond to climate change.

NOAA’s regional action plan for the Northeast addresses the Continental Shelf ecosystem, which extends from Maine to North Carolina and from the headwaters of local watersheds to the deep ocean. It was developed jointly by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole and the Greater Atlantic Region Fisheries Office in Gloucester, with input from a variety of sources.

Its goal is to provide “timely and relevant information on what’s changing, what’s at risk and how to respond,” according to NOAA. That information is “key” to minimizing the effects of climate change on the region.

“We are excited to release the Northeast Regional Action Plan, which was developed with input from many partners in the region,” Jon Hare, lead author of the plan and the director of NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center, said in a statement announcing the release of the plan.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American