Saving Seafood

FLORIDA: Red Snapper Season Reopens In September

August 31, 2016 — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is opening up weekends in September and October for recreational red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Residents will be able to fish Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting Sept. 2 and on Labor Day.

The daily bag limit is two fish per person with a fish minimum size limit of 16 inches.

In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration kept commercial and recreational red snapper fishing in South Atlantic federal waters closed. This was due to exceeding the allowable catch limit in the 2015 season.

Read the full story at WFSU

NOAA Fisheries Announces Availability of Draft Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Road Map for Public Comment by October 15, 2016

August 30, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Resilient, productive ocean fisheries are critical to our economy and way of life.  Managing these fisheries over the long-term means taking into account more than just one species at a time. It requires a holistic, science-based approach that looks at the entire ecosystem. This approach is known as Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM).

NOAA Fisheries has developed an agency-wide EBFM policy, which outlines a set of principles to guide our actions and decisions over the long-term. It directs continued progress toward development and implementation of EBFM approaches. It also ensures our commitment to incorporate EBFM into the agency’s resource management decisions.

NOAA also recently released a EBFM draft “road map” to guide implementation of the EBFM policy over the next five years. The road map outlines actions we can take now to further the policy’s 6 guiding principles:

  • Implement ecosystem-level planning
  • Advance understanding of ecosystem processes
  • Assess risks and vulnerabilities
  • Explore trade-offs
  • Incorporate ecosystem considerations into management advice
  • Maintain ecosystem resilience and social well-being

Interested parties can send their comments on the draft road map no later than October 15, 2016 to Heather.Sagar@noaa.gov and Jason.Link@noaa.gov.  Further information can be found online here.

CONNECTICUT: Beneath the waves, climate change puts marine life on the move

August 29, 2016 — There was a hefty irony to the announcement by Connecticut’s two U.S. senators earlier this summer that they were joining the sponsorship for a National Lobster Day next month.

The iconic symbol of the state’s fishing industry for years, Long Island Sound was once flush with lobster, traps and people who made their livings from them.

But no more.

Connecticut’s lobster landings topped 3.7 million pounds a year, worth $12 million, in the late 1990s, but by 2014 had diminished to about 127,000 pounds worth a little more than $600,000.

Instead of the picture of fishing success, lobster has become the face of climate change in New England: a sentinel of warming water, ocean acidification and other man-made impacts that have sent them and dozens of other marine animals scurrying in search of a more hospitable environment.

“We’ve found quite dramatic shifts in where species are found,” said Malin Pinsky, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist with the Rutgers University Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources who researches how climate change affects fish and fisheries. He has used data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create OceanAdapt, which includes animations that regionally show how dozens of marine species have moved in the last 50 years. “Especially here in the Northeast you have something like American lobster about 200 miles further north than they used to be, and other species shifting similar amounts.”

Read the full story at the Connecticut Mirror

Fishing industry fears Obama’s power over coastal waters

August 25, 2016 — The prospect that President Barack Obama could designate as marine monuments areas off the Massachusetts and California coasts is being met with resistance from various fishing groups and port-town mayors. If Obama uses his authority under the Antiquities Act to name as federal monuments the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts, and many of the seamounts, ridges and banks off California’s coast, commercial fishing would be significantly restricted and the viability of two of the country’s most important fishing ports would be threatened — Monterey, Calif., and New Bedford, Mass., (the nation’s highest-grossing fishing port), the mayors of those ports argued in letters to the White House on Wednesday.

The mayors — Jon Mitchell of New Bedford and Clyde Roberson of Monterey — and industry groups, like the National Coalition for Fishing Communities, also argue such actions would sidestep the fishery management system overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which makes decisions based on scientific analysis and public input to ensure the sustainability of seafood stocks.

Read the full story at POLITICO

NOAA Training Aims To Stop Illegal Fishing within U.S. territories and International Waters

August 24, 2016 — In June the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) entered into force globally, marking a major milestone in the effort to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. To maximize the effectiveness of the PSMA, broad implementation is critical and international capacity building has become of the utmost importance. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) stepped up to ensure domestic implementation of the operational provisions went forward as quickly as possible. The Office of Law Enforcement has also begun the important task of working with international partners on training and implementation as well.

NOAA has responsibility for enforcing marine resource laws of the United States and is the lead agency for enforcement of the PSMA. The Office of Law Enforcement was also tasked with providing technical assistance to other countries for the PSMA, under the President’s Task Force. So, they went to work on an implementation plan, as well as creating training modules for state, territorial, and international partners. Before the training was initiated in the U.S. territories, there was a three-day conference with staff from OLE headquarters, national training team and Pacific Island Division. In this meeting, national level training materials were refined and tailored to the specific needs of the Pacific Island Region as well as reviewed to ensure the modules were comprehensive, but as simple as possible.

“We wanted to make sure that the training material is easy to understand, yet covers all areas necessary to meet PSMA requirements,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Martina Sagapolu of OLE-PID. “We knew the implementation of PSMA will directly impact American Samoa because this is the main U.S. port where the foreign fleet delivers its catch daily. The (Pago Pago) port sees all sizes of FFV and the inspection process under PSMA is arduous. Ensuring the training material was simple yet straightforward is critical for our partners.”

After the conference, training commenced — first with American Samoa, then Guam.

“The training was extremely beneficial to all involved,” said Special Agent Todd Dubois, Assistant Director of Operations for the Office of Law Enforcement. “The American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources officers that participated in the workshop were very receptive to the implementation training. There were numerous discussions that highlighted the importance of information sharing, collaborative enforcement efforts and thorough vessel inspections to further promote PSMA compliance and combat IUU fishing.”

Read the full story at the U.S. State Department

Trip Limit Decreased to 500 Pounds per Trip for Commercial Harvest of Vermilion Snapper in Federal Waters of the South Atlantic

August 23, 2016 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic is reduced from 1,000 pounds gutted weight to 500 pounds gutted weight, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) August 28, 2016. NOAA Fisheries has determined 75 percent of the July-December quota of 431,460 pounds whole weight will be landed by August 28, 2016.

Reduction of the commercial vermilion snapper trip limit when 75 percent of the July-December quota is reached in federal waters of the South Atlantic complies with regulations implemented under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. The 500-pound gutted weight trip limit applies to vessels with a South Atlantic Unlimited Snapper-Grouper Permit fishing for vermilion snapper in or from the federal waters in the South Atlantic region. The 500-pound gutted weight trip limit will remain in effect until the end of the current July – December 2016 fishing season or until the quota is reached and vermilion snapper closes, whichever occurs first.

NORTH CAROLINA: Group to Get Grant to Build Oyster Reefs

August 23, 2016 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has given preliminary approval to a $1.3 million grant to the N.C. Coastal Federation for oyster restoration in Pamlico Sound, boosting the organization’s multi-decade efforts to turn the state into what founder and executive director Todd Miller believes can be “the Napa Valley” of oysters.

The money is part of $9 million for 17 habitat-restoration projects in coastal states. NOAA recommended all of the projects last month. Final approval depends on a legal review and on NOAA’s budget for the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The federation could receive as much as $4.3 million over a three-year period.

Miller said he believes that will happen, because even though federal budget appropriations have been uncertain in recent years, this program has been consistently well-funded. Either way, he said, it’s one of the most significant grants his organization has received, both in amount, but especially in potential effects on the state’s economy and a crucial part of its marine the environment.

In large part, that’s because the money leverages existing state appropriations to increase the acres of reef restored in North Carolina’s sounds. This year the state legislature appropriated $1.3 million for oyster restoration efforts in the state. The federal grant doubles the total funds available for oyster restoration in the next year.

As a result, Miller said, the federation and the state will embark on a joint effort that will be “industrial in scale” and will undoubtedly create jobs, both now, during construction, and in the future, as the oysters attracted to the reefs are harvested and sold.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

Recreational Harvest of Golden Tilefish in Federal Waters of the South Atlantic Will Close on August 27, 2016

August 23, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

Recreational harvest of golden tilefish in South Atlantic federal waters will close, at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on August 27, 2016. Recreational harvest in federal waters will reopen at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on January 1, 2017. The recreational annual catch limit for golden tilefish is 3,019 fish. Reports indicate that recreational landings have exceeded the 2016 annual catch limit for the recreational sector.

During the closure:

  • Recreational harvest or possession of golden tilefish in or from the federal waters of the South Atlantic is prohibited.
  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels which have a valid charter/headboat permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.
    This closure is necessary to protect the golden tilefish fishery by limiting the amount that landings exceed the recreational annual catch limit.

Atlantic Herring Eastern Maine Spawning Closure in Effect Starting August 28, 2016 and Extending through September 24, 2016

August 23, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The Atlantic herring Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. In 2016, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved a one-year pilot of a new forecasting method that relies upon at least three samples, each containing at least 25 female herring in gonadal states III-V, to trigger a spawning closure. However, if sufficient samples are not available then closures will begin on predetermined dates.

There are currently no samples for the Eastern Maine spawning area to determine spawning condition, therefore the Eastern Maine spawning area will be closed starting at 12:00 a.m. on August 28, 2016 extending through 11:59 p.m. on September 24, 2016. Vessels in the directed Atlantic herring fishery cannot take, land or possess Atlantic herring caught within the Eastern Maine spawning area during this time and must have all fishing gear stowed when transiting through the area. An incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip/ calendar day applies to vessels in non-directed fisheries that are fishing within the Eastern Maine spawning area.

Eastern Maine spawning area includes all waters bounded by the following coordinates:

Maine coast   68° 20’ W

43° 48’ N       68° 20’ W

44° 25’ N       67° 03’ W

North along the US/Canada border

NOAA awards $5.4 million in grants for endangered, threatened species recovery

August 22, 2016 — NOAA has awarded $5.4 million in grants to states and tribes in all coastal regions to help in the recovery of endangered and threatened marine species. The agency also opened a call for 2017 proposals under the Species Recovery Grants Program, authorized under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act.

This year’s awards include $3.9 million for 17 new grants to 12 states and one federally recognized tribe. The remaining funds will support seven continuing state projects and one continuing tribal project. Visit our website for highlights of this year’s new state and tribal projects.

The funding supports management, research, and outreach efforts designed to bring vulnerable species to a point where Endangered Species Act protections are no longer necessary.

Read the full release at NOAA.gov