Saving Seafood

Fifth Circuit sides with commercial fishermen in Gulf red-snapper case

February 12, 2017 — In a dispute pitting recreational anglers against commercial fishermen in the management of red snapper in Gulf waters, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has sided with the interests of the Charter Fisherman’s Association.

The Coastal Conservation Association and other private fishermen sued the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries and others in federal court in New Orleans in April 2015 challenging a rule that regulates the recreational sector of Gulf of Mexico red snapper.

Known as Amendment 40 to the Reef Fishery Management Plan, the rule adopted earlier in 2015 calls for “increased flexibility in future management of the recreational sector in order to reduce the likelihood of recreational-quota overruns, which could negatively impact the rebuilding of the red-snapper stock,” the opinion stated.

Read the full story at the Louisiana Record

NMFS fisheries regulation potentially affected by Trump executive order

February 8, 2017 — President Donald Trump’s executive order directing all federal agencies to repeal two existing regulations for each new one is affecting the ability of the National Marine Fisheries Service to regulate the U.S. fishing industry, according to industry groups and two Democratic U.S. representatives.

According to a letter sent to President Trump by House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva and Water, Power, and Oceans Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman, the executive order will prevent NMFS from opening or closing commercial and recreational fishing seasons in federal waters; making in-season adjustments to conservation and management measures; or implementing new or revised fishery management plans without first seeking a waiver from the Trump administration.

“All fisheries that take place in federal waters require regulatory action to open and close season, set catch limits, modify conservation and management measures, or adjust participation eligibility requirements,” the letter said. “In many cases, multiple regulations must be enacted each year for a single fishery and that is a good thing – American fishermen depend on active, science-based management to ensure that their individual operations and their industry are economically and environmentally sustainable.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

Marine Resources Education Program (MREP) Southeast Soliciting Applicants

February 9, 2017 — The following has been released by Marine Resources Education Program:

The Marine Resources Education Program (MREP) Southeast is formally inviting applications for all individuals interested in attending the 2017 Fisheries Science and Management workshops in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida.  

MREP Southeast is for anyone with a vested interest in federally managed marine fish from Texas to North Carolina. The workshop-based program specifically runs through the fisheries science and management processes, demystifies the acronyms and vocabulary, and equips fishermen with the tools to engage with tough issues facing the managers of our offshore fisheries. MREP provides a neutral setting away from contentious management issues for fishermen to work through the ‘how’ of the whole process, meet the people behind agency jobs, and share important feedback from the fishing community.

The program is offered as a series of workshops that build upon each other: a three-day Fishery Science Workshop followed by a three-day Fishery Management Workshop:  

  • Fishery Science Workshop       May 2-4, 2017 
    • Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
    • St. Petersburg, FL
  • Fishery Management Workshop      September 19-21, 2017
    • Westin Tampa Bay
    • Tampa, FL

Workshop presenters include NOAA Fisheries Regional Office and Science Center, the Fishery Management Councils, research institutions, and the fishing community. Workshops are designed and held as a collaborative effort, and they always provide for an industry moderator to help inject questions and keep the discussion real. Participants leave the workshops prepared to engage confidently in fishery management and better understand the science affecting their fishery.   

Apply Now! Interested individuals can find more information, including the application, at www.gmri.org/mrepsoutheast and by viewing the flyer (PDF) below.

Hope After Tragedy: New Stranded Marine Mammal Plan Coming After Humpback Whale Euthanized

February 7, 2017 — Hope was born from tragedy at a community meeting to discuss the stranding, and eventual euthanization of a humpback whale in Moriches Bay that left hearts broken and fueled residents to ignite a fire for change.

More than 100 residents turned out Tuesday at a community meeting organized to present information related to the November 2016 stranding of a humpback whale in Moriches Bay, which took place at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville.

“We were really pleased to see such a strong turnout and to hear from so many people. We look forward to working with the passionate Long Island community and our local stranding partners to develop new resources and new capacity for marine mammal stranding response,” said Jennifer Goebel, media relations, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story at the Westhampton Patch

Fisheries scientists teach science of marine mammals to Woods Hole-area elementary students

January 26, 2017 — New England has a rich maritime tradition, with the livelihood and leisure activities of many residents associated with the ocean in some way. The NOAA Outreach and Education on Protected Species (NOEPS) program strives to build connections between NOAA Fisheries science and local communities, enriching and supplementing the current science program. In order to achieve a significant impact in nearby small communities, the NOEPS program targeted all K-4th grade classrooms in the Falmouth Public School District.

In its third year, NOEPS gave classroom presentations to 10 schools in the New England area. The program, based out of NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, reached 1,790 students in 95 classrooms from preschool to high school in the 2015-16 school year. Educators had expressed a need for hand-on activities to engage students so the Northeast Fisheries Science Center designed a program to enrich and supplement the current science program as well as bring in marine science at the elementary level. Presentations focused on key marine mammal species and research conducted by NEFSC scientists, offering free one-hour lessons with hands-on activities, presentations, and projects on marine mammals for K-6 classrooms, and emphasizing the conservation and stewardship goals behind the science. In 2015-16, the program expanded to include K-3 classes in the Mashpee School District. In addition, NOEPS lessons and core educational materials are available for download by teachers.

Read the full story at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

MASSACHUSETTS: A civil exchange of fish numbers

February 5, 2017 — Every now and then, the discussion of fisheries management breaks the stranglehold of graphs and numbers and jargon and entries into the Federal Register that read as if they were compiled by a computer whose native tongue is Drone-on.

Now and then, the discussion distills into rational conversation between two people who find themselves on opposite sides of the regulatory equation. It may happen in person or by email. It doesn’t matter. They are moments to be celebrated.

One such moment happened last week, when life-long (and highly respected) Gloucester fisherman Rick Beal penned a letter ostensibly to the New England Fishery Management Council, but really meant for all fisheries regulators.

He thanked the council for its Jan. 25 action nearly doubling the grey sole quota for 2017 and said he was “particularly encouraged” by comments of NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Director David Pierce regarding the importance of industry input.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Canadian seafood industry braces for new U.S. traceability rules

February 2, 2017 — Canadian seafood producers will need to “raise their game” to satisfy new American seafood traceability rules, according to federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

The Seafood Import Monitoring Program was one of the final acts of the Obama administration.

It will require much more detailed information about catches before they are allowed into the United States.

“We need to raise our game to ensure that the Americans receive the evidence they require that our fisheries are compliant, as they are,” LeBlanc said.

Read the full story at CBC News

Atlantic fishing commission ignores New Jersey criticism and adopts cuts to flounder quota

February 2, 2017 — A proposal that likely will force New Jersey to make changes to its fishing regulations for summer flounder was advanced by a coastal fisheries management board Thursday despite strong opposition from state officials.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a regional agency that helps set fishing quotas for the 15 East Coast states, voted 10-2 to adopt the controversial new flounder rule, called Addendum XXVIII, which would drastically reduce New Jersey and other coastal states’ flounder catch limits.

The vote followed nearly three hours of debate among the coastal states’ representatives and fishery managers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for federal fisheries management.

New Jersey and Rhode Island were the only states to vote “no” on the proposal, which likely would force New Jersey to adopt its most stringent fishing regulations ever for anglers, such as a 19-inch minimum size limit, as well as a shortened season and reduced daily catch limit.

Read the full story at the Burlington County Times

NOAA Fisheries – FB17-006: Delay in Implementation of a Final Rule for Black Sea Bass and for Dolphin in Federal Waters of the Atlantic

February 2, 2017 — The following was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

Delay in Implementation of a Final Rule for Black Sea Bass and for Dolphin in Federal Waters of the Atlantic   

KEY MESSAGE: 

NOAA Fisheries has delayed the effectiveness of two final rules affecting fishermen in Atlantic waters: a requirement to mark buoy lines for black sea bass pots in the South Atlantic with purple marks, and a 4,000-pound whole weight trip limit for dolphin in the Atlantic after 75 percent of the commercial sector annual catch limit has been met or projected to be met. The delay is in accordance with a memorandum dated January 20, 2017, issued by the White House.     

HOW LONG WILL THE DELAY LAST: 

The delay in effectiveness began on January 20, 2017, and ends on March 21, 2017.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

Black Sea Bass: 

  • The requirement to mark buoy lines for black sea bass pots with purple marks is not effective now, but will be effective on March 21, 2017.
  • The final rule for Regulatory Amendment 16 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery published on December 29, 2016 (81 FR 95893).
  • The required additional buoy line markings for black sea bass pot gear (50 C.F.R. Part 622.189(g)) would have been effective on January 30, 2017.
  • This final rule also revised the seasonal prohibition on the use of black sea bass pot gear in the South Atlantic (effective December 29, 2016). The delay in effectiveness of the buoy line markings does not affect the modifications to the seasonal prohibition. Therefore, fishers can continue fishing with black sea bass pots as per the final rule for Regulatory Amendment 16.

Dolphin: 

  • The commercial trip limit for dolphin of 4,000 pounds whole weight after 75 percent of the commercial sector annual catch limit has been met or projected to be met is not effective now, but will be effective on March 21, 2017.
  • The final rule for Regulatory Amendment 1 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic published on December 30, 2016 (81 FR 96388).
  • This commercial trip limit for dolphin (50 C.F.R. Part 622.278(a)(3)(i)) would have been effective January 30, 2017.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: Memorandum announcing the delay in implementation of regulations (82 FR 8346, published January 24, 2017). Notice announcing the delay in implementations of final rules for black sea bass (Regulatory Amendment 16) and dolphin (Regulatory Amendment 1) (82 FR 8820, published January 31, 2017). 

‘Chevron Deference,’ Key Issue in Fisheries Management, Questioned by Supreme Court Nominee

February 2, 2017 (SAVING SEAFOOD) — On January 31, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. If confirmed, the Court may potentially reexamine the legal principle of Chevron deference, a principle that has heavily impacted fisheries management.

Chevron deference is a legal principle established in 1984, in the Supreme Court case of Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. It states that in cases when the meaning of federal laws is unclear, courts should prioritize the interpretations of the regulatory agencies, such as NOAA. Practically, this has the effect of bolstering the influence of the federal bureaucracy at the expense of judicial review. In the case of fishery management, this has resulted in several instances where courts have upheld agency decisions whose legality has been disputed by the fishing community.

Most notably, in Lovgren v. Locke the plaintiffs (including fishermen and several municipalities in New England) challenged the establishment of catch shares management in New England in 2010 as being in violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act. The First Circuit Court of Appeals relied on Chevron in ruling in favor of the Commerce Department. This principle also was cited last year by District Court for the District of New Hampshire as a reason why the lawsuit against NOAA’s at-sea monitoring industry funding requirements failed.

While the Supreme Court – including Justice Scalia – has previously applied Chevron deference on several occasions, Judge Gorsuch has expressed trepidation about its merits. In his concurring opinion for Gutierrez-Brizuela v. Lynch, Gorsuch wrote:

“What would happen in a world without Chevron? […] Surely Congress could and would continue to pass statutes for executive agencies to enforce. And just as surely agencies could and would continue to offer guidance on how they intend to enforce those statutes. The only difference would be that courts would then fulfill their duty to exercise their independent judgment about what the law is.”

While Judge Gorsuch has only been nominated recently, should he ascend to the High Court, look for a reexamination of the principle of Chevron deference in the coming years.