Saving Seafood

New England lobstermen say they’ll likely sue if NOAA expands fishing restrictions

November 8, 2023 — The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has promised it will challenge NOAA in court if the administration finalizes an expansion to the Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA) – a region of the ocean off the coast of the Northeast U.S. that prohibits lobster fishing.

NOAA is proposing modifications to the MRA that will add the temporary “wedge” closure area to the permanent closures, which last from 1 February to 30 April. The “wedge” is an area of approximately 200 square miles in between two of the existing closures that remain open to fishing.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Assessing Vulnerability of Fish and Invertebrates to Climate Change in the Southeast

November 6, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries published two new assessments of climate vulnerability for fish and invertebrates in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Large Marine Ecosystems. While all of the species assessed are projected to face significant exposure to climate-driven changes, some are expected to be much more susceptible than others.

Climate change is significantly impacting our global ocean ecosystems. Warming seas and changing ocean chemistry are driving changes in the distribution, abundance, life cycles, and population dynamics of marine life. These changes are already impacting businesses and communities that depend on marine resources and are expected to increase with continued changes in the planet’s climate and ocean systems.

To understand how climate change is anticipated to affect important fishery species, we initiated a series of Climate Vulnerability Assessments. Most recently, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center led assessments for both the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Large Marine Ecosystems. The reports identify fish and invertebrates that are most vulnerable to projected climate impacts, the primary drivers of these vulnerabilities, and which species are expected to be more resilient.

RHODE ISLAND: NOAA Updates Recreational Fishing Policy to Reflect Climate Crisis, Increase Diversity

November 6, 2023 — Recreational fishing is an important economic driver for the Ocean State, bringing in as much as $160 million annually when you include hotel stays and restaurant, bait shop, and marina spending by visitors.

More than 80,000 Rhode Islanders fish recreationally, with an equal number of out-of-staters coming here to fish, according to the Rhode Island Environmental Monitoring Collaborative.

Warming seas, habitat loss, and changes in the movement of bait fish are impacting the state’s recreational and commercial fisheries. Atlantic bluefin tuna, a popular species commonly fished off the Ocean State coast, is one of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean species projected to be impacted by warmer waters and habitat loss.

Other iconic Rhode Island species, such as cod and lobster, have been moving north for a while. Once-abundant winter flounder is now difficult to find.

Read the full article at EcoRi News

US House, Senate jousting over FDA, NOAA funding

November 3, 2023 — The U.S. Senate passed a package of appropriations bills in late October that included funding for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The legislation includes key provisions for the domestic seafood industry and brings Congress one step closer to providing funding for fiscal-year 2024 and avoiding a government shutdown. Congress agreed to a last-minute deal in September to avert a partial shutdown, but that agreement expires 17 November.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Conservationists to sue NOAA Fisheries after killer whale deaths in Alaska

November 2, 2023 — The Center for Biological Diversity is planning to sue NOAA Fisheries following the revelation that nine killer whales have been killed during commercial fishing operations in the Bering Sea so far this year.

In October 2023, NOAA Fisheries announced that ten killer whales had been taken as bycatch by groundfish trawlers operating off the coast of Alaska. Only one of the whales survived the encounters.

Read the fool article at SeafoodSource

HAWAII: From Ocean to Plate: How the Longline Fishery Feeds Hawaiʻi

November 1, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Pacific Islands have a long history and deep connection with the ocean and all it provides. Sustainable seafood is key to the health and well-being of both the people and the economy. The fishing and seafood industry in Hawaiʻi supports thousands of jobs and generates more than $1 billion in sales each year. This video tracks the path fish caught in the Hawaiʻi longline fishery, such as yellowfin tuna and swordfish, takes from the ocean to your plate—in the form of poke bowls, sushi, and other delicious meals.

The fleet efficiently distributes its harvest to the local seafood community—while retaining its premium quality—through the Honolulu Fish Auction. The auction is the anchor for the commercial fishing industry; it starts between midnight and 1 a.m. each day, when boats begin unloading. Hundreds of fish are carefully inspected to ensure quality and then displayed on the refrigerated auction block, and bidding begins at 5:30 a.m. Restaurants, retailers, and wholesalers bid on seafood that they know will be both fresh and high quality.

Fortunately for fans of U.S. seafood, thriving and resilient seafood communities—like the Hawaiʻi longline fishery—is the goal of NOAA Fisheries’ National Seafood Strategy.

Red Snapper Act wins approval from US House Natural Resources Committee

October 31, 2023 — The U.S. House’s Natural Resources Committee has voted to advance the Red Snapper Act, legislation that would limit NOAA Fisheries’ ability to close fisheries in the South Atlantic until a new red snapper survey is completed and incorporated into the stock assessment.

The legislation is the latest front in the battle between NOAA Fisheries and red snapper fishermen, the latter of whom argue that the regulators’ official stock assessment does not reflect the growing abundance of red snapper. The Red Snapper Act would prevent NOAA from implementing area closures in the South Atlantic until after the completion of the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count, an independent study that is set to deliver new data by 2025.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Major funding packages for Gulf of Mexico fisheries research, data collection

October 30, 2023 — New research initiatives with $16.8 million in RESTORE funding  from the federal government will conduct collaborative ecosystem science research for use by natural resource managers in the Gulf of Mexico.

NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center is involved in two new projects.

A team of researchers will study red tide and reef fish modeling. The team will update and improve an ecosystem model of the West Florida Shelf to account for red tide mortality when assessing Gulf of Mexico reef fish. The project will develop new approaches to map red tides using satellites, and map oxygen concentrations in relation to red tides. These products will be incorporated into a fisheries ecosystem model to estimate red tide mortality on valuable commercial and recreational species.

Those estimates will be used in stock assessments and recommendations on the amount of reef fish that can be caught each year in 2024–2028.

A second project will focus on building next-generation fishery forecasting capacity. The project team will address limitations and uncertainties in the stock assessment process by developing novel model diagnostics and interim assessment methods.

“We will incorporate these new methods into active stock assessments. This will provide more efficient and reliable stock projections used to derive overfishing limits and acceptable biological catch estimates,” according to a statement from the science center.

In all, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is awarding $16.8 million to 32 organizations working across 10 projects to conduct collaborative ecosystem science research.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Biden administration announces USD 20 million in funding for fisheries management addressing climate change

October 28, 2023 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and NOAA announced an additional USD 20 million (EUR 18.9 million) in funding for NOAA to assist regional fishery management councils with tackling the impact of climate change on fisheries management.

The funding, according to a release from NOAA, will be provided via the Inflation Reduction Act to support the various councils’ work on climate-related fisheries management and implementation.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US bill encouraging offshore aquaculture draws opposition

October 28, 2023 — A bill introduced in the U.S. Congress designed to encourage offshore aquaculture has drawn opposition from a coalition of fishermen opposed to the practice.

The SEAfood Act would authorize NOAA to create an offshore aquaculture assessment program, establish a grant program for aquaculture centers of excellence, and order two reports on aquaculture regulations. Don’t Cage Our Oceans, a group opposed to offshore finfish farming, came out against the legislation this week, claiming offshore aquaculture allows “chemicals, diseases, and untreated waste to flow into the open ocean where it poses harms to wildlife, and fishing, and coastal communities.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource