Saving Seafood

Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Rule is Now Final

June 29, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries today announced that it is finalizing regulations to implement the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Omnibus Amendment developed by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils. NOAA Fisheries published a proposed rule on January 21, 2015, with a comment period open through February 20, 2015.

This amendment will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, July 30, 2015.

Under federal fisheries law, NOAA Fisheries is required to establish a standardized bycatch reporting methodology to assess the amount and type of bycatch occurring in all federally managed fisheries.

This amendment was developed, in part, to respond to a U.S. District of Columbia Court of Appeals mandate. The amendment adds various measures to improve and expand on the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology previously in place for 13 fishery management plans for fisheries operating in New England and Mid-Atlantic federal waters.

Read the final rule, as filed in the Federal Register, and the supporting documents for this final rule.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.

 

Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) Proposals Recommended for Funding under the FY14/15 Program

June 29, 2015 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries Chief Eileen Sobeck announced Friday that the agency is recommending funding for 88 marine fisheries research projects via the 2014-2015 Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) Grant Program. According to the announcement, awards totaling $25 million represent the most significant amount of funding ever granted by NOAA under the decades-old program. The complete list is available at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mb/financial_services/skhome.htm.

Check here for a detailed list of Greater Atlantic Region (Maine to North Carolina) projects that, according to Regional Administrator John Bullard, comprised 38 percent of the total awards nationwide.

The announcement adds that application approval and funds obligation is not final. Divisions of NOAA and the Department of Commerce, NOAA’s parent agency, must still give final approval for the projects. Successful applicants will receive funding in the near future.

 

NOAA recommends $900K for UMass Dartmouth fisheries research

June 26, 2015 — WASHINGTON – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recommended a dozen Massachusetts-based marine research programs receive funding this year including more than $900,000 for UMass Dartmouth to conduct four projects whose aim is to  improve the cost-effectiveness and capacity of programs to observe fish.

Some of the money will be used to maximize fishing opportunities and jobs; increase the quality and quantity of domestic seafood; and improve fishery information from U.S. territories.

The programs will be conducted through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program.

The Department of Commerce must still sign off on the projects before applicants will receive funding.

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times

 

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Fish auction wins $363K grant for facility upgrades

June 26, 2015 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — For the second consecutive year, the Cape Ann Seafood Exchange on Rogers Street is the lone local recipient of a Saltonstall-Kennedy grant award, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.

CASE, according to NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard, received $363,604 in this round of funding for its three-pronged strategy that, according to its application, will “enhance and help secure the long-term viability of CASE as a major stakeholder and critical asset to the New England fishing industry and the Gloucester waterfront.”

The funding will be used to accelerate CASE’s plans to upgrade its facility while expanding its capacity “to purchase, process and market under-utilized species,” CASE said in its application.

Read the full story at Gloucester Times

 

 

NOAA recommends $2.6 million for Massachusetts

June 25, 2015 — WASHINGTON — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that it has recommended a dozen Massachusetts-based marine research programs receive funding this year through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program.

The 12 projects are among 88 nationwide that have been recommended to receive funding totaling $25 million. The goal of the research is to maximize fishing opportunities and jobs, improve key fisheries observations, increase the quality and quantity of domestic seafood, and improve fishery information from U.S. territories. The Department of Commerce must still sign off on the projects before applicants will receive funding.

Among the Massachusetts research projects recommended for funding are:

– $497,060 for the Coonamessett Farm Foundation to conduct to research projects that seek to improve ecosystem-friendly scallop dredges and research offshore essential fish habitat of southern New England winter flounder;

– $912,079 for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to conduct four projects that will improve the cost-effectiveness and capacity for observations and maximize fishing opportunities and jobs;

– $774,640 for four New England Aquarium projects related to haddock, skates and cusks, and field test an electric decoy for reducing shark bycatch in longline fishing;

– $96,181 for a Center for Coastal Studies project to reduce bycatch in the sea scallop fishery;

– And, $363,604 for Cape Ann Seafood Exchange to support infrastructure and innovation.

Read the full story from the Worcester Telegram

 

New GIS Shapefiles Available on NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region Website

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

NOAA Fisheries announces the publication of new and updated GIS (Geographic Information Systems) shapefiles on the Greater Atlantic Region’s GIS website.

Recent additions and updates include:

* North Atlantic right whale

* Northeast multispecies

* Scallops

* Sea turtles

* Atlantic large whales

We will continue to add new shapefiles and geospatial data to our GIS website as they become available.

Questions about GIS? Please contact Dean Szumylo via email at dean.szumylo@noaa.gov.

NOAA Fisheries Announces the Re-opening of the Commercial Sector for Atlantic Dolphin

June 24, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

Because we understand that commercial Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) vessels may occasionally catch Atlantic dolphin, we want to make sure Atlantic HMS permit holders are aware of the following action.

NMFS announces the re-opening of the commercial sector for Atlantic dolphin (dolphin) in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Atlantic states (Maine through the east coast of Florida) through a temporary rule. The most recent landings for dolphin indicate the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) has not yet been reached. Therefore, NMFS re-opens the commercial sector for dolphin at 4:15 p.m., local time, June 24, 2015, and it will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, June 30, 2015 in the EEZ of the Atlantic. A June 30, 2015, closure will minimize the risk of the commercial ACL being exceeded and provides more sufficient notice to fishermen of the closure.

For more information, please contact the NMFS Southeast Regional Office Sustainable Fisheries Division at 727-824-5305

 

Commercial Harvest of Atlantic Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi) Extended to June 30, 2015

June 24, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

The commercial harvest of Atlantic dolphin from Maine through the east coast of Florida will reopen from 4:15 p.m. (local time), June 24, until 12:01 a.m. (local time) June 30.

Atlantic dolphin

A previous Federal Register notification announced the commercial sector for dolphin would close at 12:01 a.m. June 24, 2015. However, a landings update indicates the dolphin catch limit has not yet been met. Information received from fishermen after the notification indicates that some vessels are far offshore and need additional time to return to port. Therefore, we are reopening the commercial sector for five days to allow for the catch limit to be caught and for vessels to return to port without having to discard dolphin.

The operator of a vessel with a federal commercial permit for dolphin-wahoo that is landing dolphin for sale must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such dolphin prior to 12:01 a.m. (local time), June 30.

The prohibition on sale does not apply to sale or purchase of dolphin that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m. (local time), June 30 and held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

During the closure:

  • Harvest or possession of dolphin is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits.
  • Sale and purchase of dolphin is prohibited.
  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels with a federal commercial permit.

This closure is necessary to protect the dolphin-wahoo fishery because the commercial annual catch limit will be reached.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has developed a fishery management plan amendment that would increase the commercial sector’s dolphin allocation from 7.54% to 10%, and the resulting catch limit from 1,157,001 pounds whole weight to 1,534,485 pounds whole weight. If the amendment is approved and landings are below the catch limit, the commercial sector will be reopened later this year.

Questions? Call 727-824-5305 or fax 727-824-5308.

 

DON CUDDY: If it’s the same, it will never be different

June 23, 2015 — DON CUDDY — We are having a serious problem in New England with the performance of the models used in fishery management. To remedy a situation that, along with some other factors, has led to the current crisis in the groundfish industry, we need new data … and maybe we need new models.

All the researchers will tell you that the existing models have trouble performing well when fish stocks, such as Gulf of Maine cod, Georges Bank cod and Georges Bank yellowtail are low. With healthy stocks, a certain amount of scientific uncertainty can be factored in as a buffer. But with low abundance, the margin for error is very thin, and fishermen and their families pay the price. When catch limits are cut, a small variation can mean the difference between an independent fisherman remaining on the water or being forced out of business.

I had a call last Monday from a producer of the “Today” show in New York. They were looking to profile a day in the life of a New England fisherman. I contacted veteran fisherman Frank Mirarchi, whose opinion pieces will be familiar to readers of The Standard-Times. In fact, his latest one, advocating electronic monitoring of the catch, ran that same day. But Frank told me he just sold his boat and is an ex-fisherman. This is what is happening to the single-boat owner around New England.

Getting better data is a theme familiar to anyone with connections to the fishing industry in New England. It is central to the mission at the Center for Sustainable Fisheries and was the focus of the forum CSF sponsored at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in May.

Read the full opinion piece from The New Bedford Standard-Times

 

GLOUCESTER TIMES: Disaster aid belongs to the fishing industry, not NOAA

June 23, 2015 — The following is an excerpt from an editorial published in the Gloucester Daily Times:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has in recent weeks been casting about for a pool of money to tap for its controversial onboard fishing vessel monitoring program. Efforts to make fishermen pay directly for the program – yet another unfunded federal mandate – have so far fallen short.

Not to be deterred, however, NOAA administrators have come up with an even more disturbing idea – take the money from the emergency funds the government set aside for fishermen.

On Friday, NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard said the $2.5 million needed to pay for at-sea monitoring for the rest of this fishing season could come from yet-to-be-delivered federal fishery disaster aid.

“The states sill have about $10 million in the ‘third bin,'” Bullard said. “(Monitoring) would be an eligible use of those funds.” 

We’re sorry, Mr. Bullard. That money is already spoken for.

The so-called “third bin” of the roughly $33 million allocated to the five coast New England states and New York last year is set aside for a permit buyback and boat buyout program that would allow fishermen to leave the industry without facing total financial ruin.

That plan has been delayed by squabbling over how to develop a system that would fairly split the money among the states. The extended bureaucratic wrangling has raised the possibility the $10 million could be spent elsewhere, and it prompted NOAA’s leaders to suggest they get a cut.

Read the full editorial at the Gloucester Daily Times