Saving Seafood

The Feds Are Finally Doing Something About America’s Serious Seafood Fraud Problem

December 19, 2016 — Chances are you’ve rarely stopped to think about the origin and authenticity of the tuna, salmon, or unagi lining your sushi roll before breaking out the chopsticks. But for those occupying the surprisingly shady world of international seafood trade, this information is essential in determining the value, quality, and legality of the protein piled in your poke bowl.

For years, lax laws on fish imports have allowed many illegally fished and fraudulently labeled species to slip through the cracks and make their way into consumers’ California rolls. However, this week, the Obama administration announced new regulations in an effort to crack down on fishy industry behavior—pun intended.

In recent months, the administration faced added pressure to fortify seafood regulations by the nonprofit ocean advocates Oceana, after the organization issued a report revealing that one in five seafood samples in the world are fraudulent or mislabeled on some or all levels of the supply chain, from import to packaging to retail.

The new rules, which will go into effect on January 1, 2018, will require detailed tracking information to be kept on a number of priority species, from initial harvest to entry into US commerce, in hopes of maintaining a clear log of the source and history of any given fish. These species, which have been identified as the most likely to be passed off fraudulently, include a variety of tunas, sharks, Atlantic cod, and swordfish.

To implement these additional oversights, the Department of Commerce will create the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, a governmental body tasked with keeping a keen eye out for any illegally obtained or mislabeled products. While the economic implications of stricter regulations are still unclear, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that the current global economic impact of illegal and fraudulent fishing every year is easily in the billions.

In a statement from senior campaign director Beth Lowell, Oceana lauds the new regulations, calling the announcement “a groundbreaking step towards more transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain.” Lowell notes that “For the first time ever, some imported seafood will now be held to the same standards as domestically caught fish, helping to level the playing field for American fishermen and reducing the risk facing US consumers.”

Read the full story at VICE

Changing Climate, Oceans and America’s Fisheries

December 19th, 2016 — Fishing communities face extra challenges, as droughts, floods, rising seas, ocean acidification, and warming oceans change the productivity of our waters and where wildlife live, spawn and feed. And there is much at risk – marine fisheries and seafood industries support over $200 billion in economic activity and 1.83 million jobs annually.

NOAA last year set out a national strategy to help scientists, fishermen, managers and coastal businesses better understand what’s changing, what’s at risk and what actions are needed to safeguard America’s valuable marine resources and the revenues, jobs and communities that depend on them. Today, NOAA released regional action plans with specific actions to better track changing conditions, provide better forecasts, and identify the best strategies to reduce impacts and sustain our marine resources for current and future generations. Implementing these actions will give decision-makers the information they need now to sustain our vital marine resources and the many people that depend on them every day.

We are seeing dramatic changes, particularly in cooler-ocean regions like New England and Alaska where warming waters over the last twenty years are pushing fish northward or deeper to stay in cooler waters. In New England, known for its cod and lobster fishing, ocean temperatures have risen faster than many other parts of the world. Changes in the distribution and abundance of these and other species have affected where, when and what fishermen catch, with economic impacts rippling into the coastal communities and seafood businesses that depend on them. With better information on current and future shifts in fish stocks, fisheries managers and fishing industries can better plan for and respond to changing ocean conditions.

Read the full story at Marine Technology News 

Atlantic Ocean Area The Size Of Virginia Protected From Deep-Water Fishing

December 19, 2016 — Coral in an area in the Atlantic Ocean stretching from Connecticut to Virginia has been protected from deep-sea commercial fishing gear, by a new rule issued this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The protected area covers some 38,000 square miles of federal waters, NOAA says, which is about the size of Virginia. It’s the “largest area in the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico protected from a range of destructive fishing gear,” according to the NRDC, an environmental advocacy group.

The new regulations prohibit the use of bottom-tending fishing gear at depths below 1,470 feet. Boats are allowed to cross the protected area as long as they bring the banned heavy gear on board while they do so, according to the text of the rule. It is set to go into effect on Jan. 13.

It’s named the Frank R. Lautenberg Deep Sea Coral Protection Area, in honor the former New Jersey senator who was an advocate for marine conservation.

Coral grows extremely slowly and is vulnerable to damage from this kind of heavy equipment that drags along the sea floor. As the NRDC put it: “One pass of a weighted fishing trawl net can destroy coral colonies as old as the California redwoods in seconds.”

“They’ve lived a long time but they live in an environment that is cold, with huge pressure, without light,” Joseph Gordon, Pew Charitable Trust’s manager of U.S. northeast oceans, told Delaware Public Media. “And so fishing technology could damage them in a way that could take centuries to recover from.”

The area is also home to many other animals, the NRDC adds, “including the endangered sperm whale, as well as sea birds, sea turtles, tunas, sharks, billfish, and countless other species.”

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council began to look into setting up a protected area here in 2013, and NOAA issued a proposed federal rule in September 2016. It was finalized on Wednesday.

John Bullard, Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, hailed this rule as a “great story of regional collaboration among the fishing industry, the Mid-Atlantic Council, the research community, and environmental organizations to protect what we all agree is a valuable ecological resource.”

And Bob Vanasse, the executive director of Saving Seafood, which represents the commercial fishing industry, told Virginia’s Daily Press that he thinks this is “the right way to protect these resources.”

Read the full story at NPR

Fisheries officials seek count of booming seal population

December 19, 2016 — NANTUCKET, Mass. — Fisheries officials in Massachusetts are seeking a head count of the booming seal population that’s drawn great white sharks to Cape Cod waters in greater numbers.

The Cape Cod Times reported earlier this month that state Division of Marine Fisheries Director David Pierce said determining the size of the gray seal population size is “extremely important” for ecosystem management in New England at the recent Nantucket Seal Symposium.

But National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials warned the count could cost as much as $500,000.

New England fishermen have been calling for a seal population count for years to gauge its impact on cod, haddock, flounder, striped bass and other important species.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Times

NOAA approves Mid-Atlantic deep-sea coral canyons for protection

December 16, 2016 — Vulnerable deep-sea corals off Virginia and along the Mid-Atlantic just got final approval for federal environmental protection by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The move will protect a 38,000-square-mile swath of sea bottom from New York to the North Carolina border, or an area roughly the size of the state of Virginia. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council initiated the action for the deep-sea coral zone in 2015.

 Many of these corals grow in underwater canyons, including Norfolk Canyon — a steep gouge in the side of the Continental Slope about 70 miles off Virginia Beach.

John Bullard, administrator for NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, said the action represents the efforts of a wide variety of stakeholders.

“This is a great story of regional collaboration among the fishing industry, the Mid-Atlantic Council, the research community and environmental organizations to protect what we all agree is a valuable ecological resource,” Bullard said in a statement.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional bodies empowered by Congress in the 1970s to manage fisheries off the U.S. coast. It moved in June 2015 to adopt the Deep Sea Corals Amendment.

Bob Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood, a D.C.-based group that represents the commercial fishing industry, also praised the final designation Thursday as an example “of the right way to protect these resources.”

“This is a situation where the industry came together with the council, with NOAA and with environmentalists and came up with a plan that created a compromise that everyone could live with,” Vanasse said in a phone interview. “It’s a bright, shining example of how to do it right.”

Read the full story at The Daily Press

Feds spreading turtle-protection rules to more shrimp boats

December 16, 2016 — The federal government is tightening rules that make many shrimping boats use devices that keep sea turtles from dying in their nets.

The new rules could eventually save 2,500 turtles per year, said an announcement being published Friday in the Federal Register.

The change was made to settle a lawsuit that the activist environmental group Oceana filed last year, claiming old rules violated the Endangered Species Act by not addressing some deaths caused by shrimping in southeastern states.

Many shrimpers have used safety equipment called turtle-excluder devices for decades, but others have been exempt from rules requiring them. The new rules require the devices on skimmer trawls, pusher-head trawls and butterfly trawls, except for boats doing a different, shallow type of fishing in Miami’s Biscayne Bay.

The new rules are expected to affect about 5,800 boats.

On the Atlantic coast, the rules are projected to cost owners of affected boats an average of $1,365 in the first year, more than $1,200 of that being the cost of TED equipment.

The changes “may be a necessary and advisable action to conserve threatened and endangered sea turtle species,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in announcing the new rules.

All sea turtles in America’s coastal waters are considered either endangered or threatened.

The rule changes are targeted at shrimpers in the South.

Read the full story at The Florida Times-Union

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Comment on Modification of King Mackerel Management Measures for the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region

December 16, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on Amendment 26 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (Amendment 26).

Amendment 26 contains actions related to the king mackerel portion of the coastal migratory pelagics fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region.  These actions were proposed by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Council Fishery Management Councils following review of the most recent stock assessment, Southeast Data Assessment and Review 38 (SEDAR 38).

Actions in Amendment 26 would:

Modify the management boundary for the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel to create a year-round boundary at the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council would be responsible for management measures in the mixing zone, which includes the exclusive economic zone off the Florida Keys.

Revise reference points, update the acceptable biological catch and annual catch limits, and revise commercial quotas and recreational annual catch targets for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel. These proposed revisions are based on the results of the most recent stock assessment, SEDAR 38, and are included below in Table 1.1.

Create a limited incidental catch allowance for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel caught as bycatch in the shark gillnet fishery. This amendment would allow for the harvest and sale of two king mackerel per crew member per trip from the Northern Zone and three king mackerel per crew member per trip from the Southern Zone.

Establish a commercial split season for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel in the Atlantic Southern Zone. This split season would allocate 60% of the quota to season 1 (March 1-September 30) and 40% to season 2 (October 1 – the end of February).

Establish a commercial trip limit system for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel in the Atlantic Southern Zone.The commercial trip limit of 3,500 pounds would remain in the area north of the Flagler/Volusia county line and remain in effect year-round as long as the fishery remains open.  South of the Flagler/Volusia county line the trip limit would be 50 fish from March 1- March 31.  After March 31, the trip limit would increase to 75 fish for the remainder of Season 1.  For Season 2, the trip limit would be 50 fish, except that beginning on February 1, if less than 70 % of the Season 2 quota has been landed, the trip limit would be 75 fish.

Increase the recreational bag limit for Gulf of Mexico migratory group king mackerel to 3 fish per person per day.

Revise the annual catch limits and commercial zone quotas for Gulf of Mexico migratory group king mackerel.  These proposed revisions are included below in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1   2016/2017 Proposed Quotas for King Mackerel (pounds) under

Amendment 26
 Commercial
 Gulf of Mexico Migratory Group 
 Western Zone  1,231,360
 Northern Zone  554,112
 Southern Zone (hook-and-line)  646,464
 Southern Zone (gillnet)  646,464
 Atlantic Migratory Group
 Northern Zone (includes gillnets north of

Cape Lookout, NC)

  1,497,600
 Southern Zone (Total)  5,002,400
 Southern Zone (season 1)  3,001,440
 Southern Zone (season 2)  2,000,960
 Recreational
 Gulf of Mexico Migratory Group  6,260,000
 Atlantic Migratory Group  10,900,000

Request for Comments

The comment period on Amendment 26 ends on February 13, 2017.    You may obtain electronic copies of Amendment 26 from the NOAA Fisheries Web site  or the e-Rulemaking Portal (see Addresses section).

Addresses

You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2016-0120, by either of the following methods:

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.

1.  Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2016-0120.

2.  Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.

3.  Enter or attach your comments.

MAIL:  Submit written comments to Karla Gore, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

INSTRUCTIONS:  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.

Congressional Coalition Opposes Canyon Designation; Letter Calls Out ‘Additional Financial Stresses’

December 16, 2016 — OCEAN CITY, MD — Days after the Ocean City Mayor and Council fired off a letter last week opposing the designation of the Baltimore Canyon as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary, a coalition of U.S Congressmen sent a letter of their own to a federal official who could ultimately make the decision.

In October, National Aquarium officials announced they were seeking an Urban National Marine Sanctuary designation for the Baltimore Canyon, a vast 28-mile long and five-mile wide submarine canyon off the coast of Ocean City that lies at the center of the resort’s multi-million dollar fishing industry. According to the National Aquarium’s petition drive, a designation of the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary for the Baltimore Canyon “presents a unique opportunity to connect an urban population to the ecological treasure using cutting edge deep sea exploration technology.”

The announcement in October met with an immediate reaction from the resort’s area’s multi-million fishing industry, whose representatives fear a sanctuary designation would ultimately limit, restrict or prohibit recreational and commercial fishing in the canyon. During a meeting at the Ocean City Marlin Club late last month, aquarium officials assured fishing industry leaders the intent of the designation was not to impact fishing in the Baltimore Canyon, but could offer no assurances about potential changes in the uses allowed.

Last Monday, after hearing a presentation from attorney Mark Cropper, who represents several marina owners, fishing captains and other stakeholders about the potential “devastating” effects of a sanctuary designation for the Baltimore Canyon, the council fired off a letter to its representatives in Annapolis including Gov. Larry Hogan urging them to formally oppose the designation. Just two days later, the coalition of U.S. Congressman including Andy Harris, who represents Maryland’s 1st District, penned a letter of its own to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan expressing serious concern with the proposal and calling into question its legality. Along with Harris, signing the letter Congressmen Tom MacArthur, Walter B. Jones, Frank LoBiondo, Lee Zeldin, Chris Smith and Roy Wittman.

Read the full story at The Dispatch

NOAA Seeks Public Comment for Proposed Rule to Require Turtle Excluder Device Use for Skimmer Trawls, Pusher-Head Trawls, and Wing Nets (Butterfly Trawls)

December 16, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

In an effort to strengthen sea turtle conservation efforts, NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on a newly proposed rule.  The rule, if implemented, would require all skimmer trawls, pusher-head trawls, and wing nets (butterfly trawls) to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in their nets.  A TED is a device that allows sea turtles to escape from trawl nets.  The purpose of the proposed rule is to aid in the protection and recovery of listed sea turtle populations by reducing incidental bycatch and mortality of sea turtles in the southeastern U.S. shrimp fisheries.

Vessels participating in the Biscayne Bay wing net fishery in Miami-Dade County, Florida would be exempt from this rule because they operate by sight fishing and the agency does not currently believe this fishery presents a threat to sea turtles.

To further support the proposed rule, NOAA Fisheries also prepared a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), which includes:

  • a description of the purpose and need for evaluating the proposed action and other potential management alternatives;
  • the science and data used in the analyses, background information on the physical, biological, human, and administrative environments; and
  • a description of the effects of the proposed action and other potential management alternatives.

Request for Comments

The proposed rule and a notice of availability on the DEIS were published in the Federal Register on December 16, 2016.  Written comments on the DEIS and proposed rule must be received no later than January 30 and February 14, 2017, respectively, to be considered by NOAA Fisheries Service.  All comments received by NOAA Fisheries Service will be addressed in the final rule and final environmental impact statement.  Electronic copies of the proposed rule or the DEIS may be obtained from the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov and the NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office’s website http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pr.htm.

Public Hearings

We have scheduled six public hearings in January 2017 to solicit public comment on the proposed rule.  The dates, times, and locations of the hearings are as follows:

  1. Larose, LA – January 9, 2017, 4pm-6pm, Larose Regional Park and Civic Center, 307 East 5th Street, Larose, LA 70373.
  2. Gretna, LA – January 10, 2017, 12pm-2pm, Coastal Communities  Consulting, Inc., 925 Behrman Highway, Suite 15, Gretna, LA 70056.
  3. Belle Chasse, LA – January 10, 2017, 4pm-6pm, Belle Chasse Community Center, 8398 Highway 23, Belle Chasse, LA 70037.
  4. Biloxi, MS – January 11, 2017, 4pm-6pm, Biloxi Visitor’s Center, 1050 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi MS 39530.
  5. Bayou La Batre, AL – January 12, 2017, 10am-12pm, Bayou La Batre  Community Center, 12745 Padgett Switch Road, Bayou La Batre, AL 36509.
  6. Morehead City, NC – January 18, 2017, 12pm-2pm, Crystal Coast Civic  Center, 3505 Arendell Street, Morehead City, NC 28557.

How to Submit Comments

You may submit comments by either of the following methods.  Comments received through other means may not be considered.

Electronic Submissions:  Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:

http://www.regulations.gov

  • Enter the following docket number into the “Search” box:  NOAA-NMFS-2016-0151.
  • Select the appropriate title, and click “Submit a Comment.”  This will display the comment webform.
  • Attachments to electronic comments (up to 10 MB) will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

Mail:  Michael C. Barnette, NOAA Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, Protected Resources Division, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5505.

Pallone, New Jersey DEP push back against summer flounder cuts

December 16th, 2016 — This was one of the more consequential Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meetings in recent memory.

The council’s decisions that were made this week in Baltimore will have a major impact on fishermen, starting with recommendations for cuts to summer flounder, special management zones for artificial reefs, and final rules for a coral protection on the Continental Shelf.

SUMMER FLOUNDER

Anglers are facing the most restrictive fluke regulations yet as a 40-percent cut in the allowable coastwide harvest is being recommended.

It’s based on models that show summer flounder was overfished this year and its biomass is on the decline. Fishermen and legislatures refute that science.

Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) is asking NOAA to postpone any cuts until a benchmark assessment is complete. He said there continues to be legitimate concerns that the random sampling heavily relied upon by NOAA and the estimates produced are inaccurate.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is also taking a strong position against the reductions, which it said will cripple recreational and commercial fishing in New Jersey and be felt sharply throughout the Shore economy.

On Wednesday the council approved a non-preferred coastwide measure for a 19–inch minimum size limit, a four-fish bag limit and a season from June 1 – Sept. 15.

Read the full story at The Ashbury Park Press