Saving Seafood

Conviction After US Shrimp Mislabelling Case

August 27, 2015 — A North Carolina seafood processor and wholesale distributor faces a felony conviction after Federal prosecutors exposed the company’s shrimp mislabelling scheme.

The prosecution also resulted in a $100,000 fine, forfeiture of more than 20,000 pounds of shrimp and three years’ probation.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina joined forces to investigate and prosecute Alphin Brothers Inc., in a case that saw the company admit to falsely labelling tens of thousands of pounds of shrimp.

“This case is an example of coordinated law enforcement, both state and federal, working together with the tools they already have to crack down on fish fraud,” said Lisa Weddig, Secretary of the Better Seafood Board (BSB.)

Read the full story at The Fish Site

 

New Comprehensive Bering Sea Climate Change Study to Focus on Fish and Fishing and Provide Insights for Management in a Changing Marine Environment

August 26, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

The southeastern Bering Sea is an enormously productive ecosystem. It produces over 40% of the nation’s total annual fish catch. The pollock fishery operates here — one of the nation’s most important commercial fisheries in both annual yield and value. It is also home to an exuberant diversity of wildlife, from seabirds to seals to whales. However, as the climate changes, the species here, and the people who rely on them, will have to adapt.

To understand these changes, government and academic scientists are working together to assess their possible biological and ecological consequences. This work will provide insights that fishery managers can use to help ensure the sustainability and resiliency of this rich and dynamic ecosystem.

An Unprecedented Effort with National and Global Implications

NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Research’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and the University of Washington, through the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, are taking a multi-disciplinary approach, combining physical oceanography and fisheries science, to provide abundance estimates for key fish stocks and potential management options for the future.

Scientists will produce various projections of what the Bering Sea ecosystem will look like under different climate and fishing scenarios. For instance, rising sea temperatures will likely cause some species to thrive and others to decline. Reliable predictions of these changes will allow fishermen and coastal communities to plan ahead and will help resource managers ensure that fisheries and the seafood supply remain stable over the long term.

Although this study focuses on the Bering Sea, it will generate new methods of interdisciplinary research that NOAA Fisheries hopes to replicate in other parts of the nation. Under the NOAA Fisheries Climate Strategy, staff are developing regional action plans to anticipate and respond to climate change. Information generated through this study will contribute to development of an Alaska regional action plan.

“We’re really excited about this project because it’s part of a broader effort to produce a global picture of fish productivity and best fishery management practices in a changing marine environment,” said Anne Hollowed, co-project lead and supervisory research fishery biologist at NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

NOAA Fisheries also plans to share the results of this project with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This international body is preparing a 2021 report on the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems and coastal communities.

Building Blocks in Place Making Effort Possible

Several models already exist for the region that look at climate, ocean and air circulation patterns, the ecosystem, fish stock health and the socio-economics of fishing communities and businesses.

“We plan to expand the scope of existing models by incorporating varied data and, in some cases, combining models to generate future climate scenarios,” said Andre Punt, project lead for the University of Washington.

Focus Species

Over this three-year project, scientists will use biological data for several commercially and ecologically important fish species, for which linkages exist between fish productivity and climate variability. Key species include walleye pollock, Pacific cod, arrowtooth flounder, northern rock sole and snow crab.

Scientists will try to account for what fish species eat and what eats them. In other words, they will add a range of data to the models that considers the entire food chain, from plankton through top predators like whales and humans. They will also incorporate oceanographic data such as water temperature, salinity, currents, and biogeochemistry into the models.

“It’s both exciting and daunting to see how environmental data are used in a multi-disciplinary framework. It raises new challenges for ocean and climate modeling, and opens new doors,” said Wei Cheng, a physical oceanographer from the University of Washington and NOAA affiliate with the Pacific Marine Environmental Lab participating in the project.

“We know that widespread change is coming to Alaskan marine ecosystems with the potential to affect everything from sea ice to fisheries,” said Kirstin Holsman, co-project lead and research scientist, NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “Through this coordinated, multi-pronged research effort, we can better understand what that change will look like, what uncertainty there is, and how we can adjust our management to continue the region’s legacy of sustainable fisheries under climate change.”

Read the full release from NOAA

 

NOAA’s new Climate Science Strategy outlines efforts to build resilience

August 25, 2015 — As ocean conditions continue to change, putting ocean ecosystems and the communities that rely upon them at risk, today, NOAA took a first step in providing regional fisheries managers and stakeholders with information they need to reduce the effects of climate change and build resilience.

“NOAA just announced that for the globe the month of July—and actually, the entire year so far—was the warmest ever recorded, driven largely by record warm ocean temperatures,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “Those warmer waters – along with rising seas, coastal droughts and  – are already putting people, businesses, and communities at risk. With this strategy, we’re taking a proactive approach in providing information on current and future conditions to try and reduce impacts and increase our resilience.”

The NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy identifies seven key steps to increase production, delivery, and use of climate-related information to support the management of fish stocks, fisheries, and protected species. The steps focus on how a  affects living marine resources, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them, and how to respond to those changes.

Read the full story at Phys.org

Mislabeled shrimp case ends in conviction

August 25, 2015 — A North Carolina seafood processor and wholesale distributor faces a felony conviction, a $100,000 fine, forfeiture of more than 20,000 pounds of shrimp and three years’ probation after Federal prosecutors exposed the company’s shrimp mislabelling scheme.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina joined forces to investigate and prosecute Alphin Brothers Inc., in a case that saw the company admit to falsely labelling tens of thousands of pounds of shrimp.

U.S. Attorneys used the Lacey Act as the centre piece of their prosecution. Federal law makes it illegal to “make or submit any false record, account, or label for, or any false identification of, any fish or wildlife that has been or is intended to be imported, transported, purchased or received from any foreign country, or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.”

Read the full story at World Fishing & Aquaculture

 

NOAA Fisheries Eliminates “Did Not Fish” Reports and Simplifies Vessel Baselines

August 25, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries announces two changes in regulations that apply to Federal fishing permit holders.

First, we have eliminated the requirement for vessel owners to submit “did not fish” reports for the months or weeks when their vessel was not fishing.

Second, we have removed some of the restrictions for upgrading vessels listed on Federal fishing permits:

  • We have eliminated the one-time vessel upgrade restriction, but kept in place the 10% limit on length increases and 20% limit on horsepower increases.
  • We have removed gross and net tonnages from the vessel specifications considered when determining whether a vessel upgrade is allowed.

Both of these provisions become effective tomorrow, August 26. For more information, read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register, or the permit holder bulletin, both available online.

Further Investigation Planned in Whale Deaths in Alaska

August 20, 2015 — JUNEAU, AK — A federal agency announced plans Thursday for a more intense investigation into what caused the deaths of 30 large whales in the western Gulf of Alaska since May.

NOAA Fisheries declared the deaths an “unusual mortality event,” triggering a new-level investigation that brings with it access to additional resources. The agency said the deaths are about three times the historical average for the region.

Julie Speegle, a spokeswoman for NOAA Fisheries in Alaska, said a leading hypothesis for the deaths is harmful algal bloom toxins but she noted that there currently is no conclusive evidence linking the two.

Officials have only been able to get samples from one of the 30 whales. Teri Rowles, NOAA Fisheries’ marine mammal health and stranding response coordinator, told reporters during a teleconference Thursday that large-scale whale deaths are among the toughest to investigate, partly because the carcasses often are floating, rarely beached and difficult to access for examination. In Alaska, bears feeding on washed-up whale carcasses create safety concerns for researchers who want to collect samples, she said.

Read the full story at the New York Times

Scallop Abundance Found off Southern New Jersey Coast

August 21, 2015 — There could be as much as 500 million dollars worth of scallops waiting to be harvested off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware.

“If they all grow up. It’s going to be worth a lot of money over several years,” said Dvora Hart, a mathematical biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Photo images taken by NOAA’s Habcam this spring revealed the high density of scallops located in the Elephant Trunk, a fishing ground offshore of the two states. Dvora estimates there could be as many as 7.9 billion scallops in a 1,200 square mile zone in the trunk.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

No changes to monitors, Bullard says

August 18, 2015 — Who says no one writes letters anymore? The battle over at-sea monitoring and other issues within the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery is just full of them.

On Tuesday, NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard sent a letter to the New England Fishery Management Council declining two more requests the council made in June to modify the at-sea monitoring program, while saying the request for analyzing ways for streamlining the at-sea monitoring (ASM) program is underway.

On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker, following up on his pledge made last Thursday during a trip to Gloucester, waded further into the at-sea monitoring fray with his own letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, whose department oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Baker’s letter, signed by members of the state’s congressional delegation, sought Pritzker’s support for NOAA’s continued funding of ASM rather than following through with the federal agency’s plan to shift the cost of at-sea monitoring — estimated at $600 to $800 per observer trip — to the already-beleaguered permit holders when federal funds run out, projected now to be at end of October.

Baker’s letter also questioned the necessity of NOAA’s expansion of other forms of monitoring within the Massachusetts and New England lobster fleets.

Bullard’s letter on Tuesday to NEFMC Executive Director Tom Nies followed the same rejective tone as his letter about two weeks ago that rejected the council request — also made at its June meeting — for NOAA to use its administrative authority to suspend all groundfish at-sea monitoring for the remainder of the 2015 season.

 

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

Mass. Governor, Congressional Delegation to Obama Administration: Fund At-Sea Monitoring for New England Fishermen

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — August 20, 2015 — Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and all nine Members of Congress from Massachusetts have called upon the Obama Administration to reverse recent policy decisions and continue the funding of at-sea monitoring for Northeastern fishermen. While the agency currently funds at-sea monitors, fishermen will have to assume the full cost of the program beginning this year, which the industry contends they will be unable to afford.

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, Governor Baker and the Massachusetts Congressional delegation expressed “serious concern over recent actions taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” The signatories are especially critical of the agency’s current at-sea monitoring policy, specifically its plan to shift funding of the program from NOAA onto fishermen, noting that such a move could potentially bankrupt the industry.

The Republican Governor and the all-Democratic Congressional delegation have joined forces to criticize the Administration decision and the heavy costs that individual fishermen are likely to incur as a result of this policy, especially in light of the fact that fishermen are still recovering from the federal economic disaster declared by the Commerce Department in 2012.

Citing a NOAA analysis of the transfer, the letter notes that monitors will cost the fishery $2.64 million in the first year alone, and would lead to an estimated 60 percent of the vessels in the fishery operating at a loss. According to the Governor and legislators, this amounts to an “unfunded mandate that could lead to the end of the Northeast Groundfishery as we know it.”

At its June meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council requested that NOAA take administrative actions to “improve the efficiency of the program,” as well as “reduce costs of the [at-sea monitoring program] without compromising compliance” with current laws. In its response to the Council, NOAA rejected these requests, stating that they were not “consistent with current regulatory requirements and statistical standards.”

The Gloucester, Massachusetts-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, which represents a significant percentage of the groundfish fleet, criticized NOAA’s decisions, while coming out in support of efforts by Gov. Baker and Congress to force a change in agency policy.

“The Council has questioned the benefits and the costs to the groundfish fishery of the at-sea monitoring program, and has given their clear directive to the Agency to either suspend or make the existing program more cost effective,” said Jackie Odell, Executive Director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition. “All requests made to date have received an astounding ‘no’ from NOAA. The Northeast Seafood Coalition strongly supports the requests made by the Council, Governor Baker and Members of Congress. When is enough, enough?”

In addition to Secretary Pritzker, the letter was sent to Sens. Thad Cochran and Barbara Mikulski, and Reps. Hal Rogers and Nita Lowey. Gov. Baker and Sens. Warren and Markey are joined by Reps. Richard Neal, Jim McGovern, Michael Capuano, Stephen Lynch, Niki Tsongas, William Keating, Joseph Kennedy, Katherine Clark, and Seth Moulton as signatories of the letter.

Read the letter from Gov. Baker and the Massachusetts Congressional delegation

Read the NEFMC’s request to NOAA on at-sea monitoring

Read NOAA’s rejection of the NEMFC’s at-sea monitoring request

 

ASMFC Finds Delaware Out of Compliance with Addendum III to the Interstate FMP for American Eel: Noncompliance Finding Forwarded to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior

August 19, 2015 — ARLINGTON, VA – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has found the State of Delaware out of compliance with the mandatory management measures contained in Addendum III to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Eel. The Commission has notified the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior of its finding.  This action was taken pursuant to the provisions of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act of 1993.

The State of Delaware has failed to effectively implement and enforce the provisions of Addendum III to the FMP for American Eel. Specifically, Delaware has not implemented the following regulations required by Addendum III:

•     9” minimum size for yellow eel recreational and commercial fisheries

•     ½” x ½” min mesh size for yellow eel pots

•     Allowance of 4”x4” escape panel in pots of ½” x ½” mesh for 3 years (beginning on January 1, 2014)

•     Recreational 25 fish bag limit per day per angler

•     Crew and Captain involved in for-hire are exempt and allowed 50 fish bag limit per day

The implementation of these measures is necessary to achieve the conservation goals and objectives of the FMP to rebuild the depleted American eel stock. In order to come back into compliance the State of Delaware must implement all of the above measures.  Upon notification by the Commission, the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior have 30 days to review the recommendation and determine appropriate action, which may include a federal moratorium on fishing for American eel in Delaware’s state waters.

For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, Director, Interstate Fisheries Management Program, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.