Saving Seafood

Sea Turtles For Swordfish? Feds May Lift Cap On Endangered Species

September 10, 2019 — Endangered turtles are at the center of a dispute between fishing regulators and environmentalists over how many turtles are too many to lose each year to fishermen on the hunt for swordfish in the waters off Hawaii.

Hawaii’s shallow-set longline fishery has been closed since March after fishermen accidentally caught the federal limit of 17 endangered North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles while targeting swordfish. That’s one of two species of sea turtles — the other is leatherbacks — that have shut the fishery down over the past decade when fishermen hit their caps. 

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has proposed new rules for both species in an effort to get fishermen back out on the water while considering the latest science. The final decision lies with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is expected to open up a public input session soon.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

NOAA Fisheries Announces Reduction of the Northern Red Hake Commercial Possession Limit

September 10, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective today, we are reducing the northern red hake commercial per-trip possession from 3,000 lb to 400 lb per day. Federally permitted vessels fishing for northern red hake may not exceed the incidental commercial possession limit of 400 lb per trip for the remainder of the 2019 fishing year, which ends on April 30, 2020.

This reduction is required by regulation because as of September 3, 2019, the northern red hake fishery is projected to reach or exceed 37.9 percent of the total allowable landings (TAL) on or around September 4, 2019.

Vessels that are currently on a trip when this reduction becomes effective may retain northern red hake up to the prior possession limit of 3,000 lb for the completion of that trip. Dealers issued federal permits for small-mesh multispecies may not purchase more than 400 lb of northern red hake per trip from federally permitted vessels for any trip that started after September 9, 2019 through the remainder of the fishing year (April 30, 2020).

For more information read the rule as filed in the Federal Register or the bulletin  posted on our website.

A giant warm-water mass—similar to ‘the blob’—could wreak havoc on West Coast marine life

September 9, 2019 — You might remember the blob.

Not the 1958 sci-fi movie, but the giant mass of warm water that formed in the Pacific Ocean in 2013 and continued to spread until 2015. It wreaked havoc on the West Coast marine ecosystem and dampened salmon runs.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have identified another expanse of warm water and say this marine heatwave could rival the blob. The impact on sea life could be devastating.

Ocean surface temperature maps show the warm mass stretching from Alaska to California. It currently “ranks as the second-largest marine heatwave in terms of area in the northern Pacific Ocean in the last 40 years, after ‘the Blob,'” according to NOAA.

Read the full story at SF Gate

Climate Change Will First Benefit, Then Hurt Loggerhead Sea Turtles

September 9, 2019 — For some animals, climate change is expected to become a major threat to their survival. For others, a warmer world may actually be beneficial. For the loggerhead sea turtle, it’s a little bit of both.

The loggerhead sea turtle’s vast range stretches across the globe and is composed of nine ‘distinct population segments’ according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Despite the loggerhead’s expansive range, five of the population segments are considered endangered, while the remaining four are considered threatened.

Given the poor state of loggerhead sea turtle populations worldwide, researchers want to understand how predicted changes in climate will further harm, or benefit, the species.

Read the full story at Forbes

MAINE: LePage op-ed in Wall Street Journal criticizes proposed lobstering regulations

September 9, 2019 — An opinion piece by former Gov. Paul LePage published in the Wall Street Journal criticizes federal officials for proposing restrictions on the lobstering industry that fishermen say would put them out of business.

LePage writes that the restrictions required by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association would not actually reduce the number of right whale deaths in the Gulf of Maine because, he says, “No whale deaths due to entanglements or ship strikes have been recorded in Maine waters since 1998.”

However, in September 2016, the Portland Press Herald reported that NOAA officials concluded the death of a 43-foot right whale found floating off Boothbay Harbor was most likely caused by entanglement in fishing gear ropes.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

NOAA mum on Maine defection

September 9, 2019 — So, you may have read in the pages of this here newspaper, or online at gloucestertimes.com, that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association on Aug. 30 informed NOAA Fisheries that it was repealing its support of the current federal plan to afford more protections to the imperiled North Atlantic right whales because of what it considers faulty science, an unfair portrayal of the lobster industry’s culpability and a rushed process.

When we reached out to NOAA Fisheries on Wednesday for comment on the seismic move by the nation’s largest lobster industry membership, we were told to expect a statement from NOAA Fisheries on Thursday. Thursday came and went, no statement. Probably Friday, we were told.

We checked back on Friday. Maybe, we were told. But it really felt like probably not.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

NAFO Consultative Committee Meeting September 16 in Gloucester MA

September 9, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is holding a public meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Consultative Committee.

NAFO is a regional fisheries management organization that coordinates scientific study and cooperative management of the fisheries resources of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, excluding salmon, tunas/marlins, whales, and sedentary species (e.g., shellfish).

This meeting will help to ensure that the interests of U.S. stakeholders in the fisheries of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean are adequately represented at the Annual Meeting of the Organization.

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Consultative Committee members and all other interested U.S. stakeholders are invited to attend.

Meeting Details

Date: September 16, 2019

Time: 1 pm – 3:30 pm EST

Location: Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930

Questions?

If you would like information about webinar access or have other questions about this meeting, please contact Moira Kelly, Regional Office, 978-281-9218

Scientists warn West Coast ocean heat wave could pose major risk to whales, salmon, sea lions

September 6, 2019 — A heat wave forming off the west coast in the Pacific Ocean resembles a 2014-15 phenomenon that led to major disruptions to marine life along the western seaboard, federal scientists said Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wrote in a blog post that a growing belt of warm water that stretches from Alaska to California “ranks as the second largest marine heatwave in terms of area in the northern Pacific Ocean in the last 40 years, after ‘the Blob,’ ” referring to the 2014-15 heat wave.

“It’s on a trajectory to be as strong as the prior event,” said scientist Andrew Leising of NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif.

“Already, on its own, it is one of the most significant events that we’ve seen,”Leising added.

Read the full story at The Hill

Dorian’s deluge: Carolinas batten down for battering

September 6, 2019 — The death toll in the Bahamas rose to 23 as the eye of Hurricane Dorian moved off of South Carolina’s Cape Romain, near Myrtle Beach. At 2 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, Sept. 5, the storm was headed NNE with sustained winds of about 110 miles per hour, according to NOAA.

The hurricane was expected to bring an intense storm surge with heavy rainfall, high winds and tornadoes to the Carolinas before moving up the coast to lash the Northeast with bands of rain throughout the weekend.

Dorian’s hit comes almost exactly one year after Hurricane Florence came ashore near Wilmington, N.C., close to the South Carolina border.

On Thursday, the storm had knocked out power for about 250,000 customers in South Carolina, and about 360,000 residents of the state had evacuated. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a State of Emergency for all 100 counties in his state. Fishermen throughout the Carolinas were busy removing gear from the water as Dorian beat down on the Bahamas over the weekend.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Sneak Peek: 2019 Northeast Groundfish Assessment Peer Review

September 5, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Peer reviewers are evaluating 14 Northeast groundfish stock assessments September 9-13. The review meeting is at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Clark Conference Room, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

How Much Review?

To keep fisheries and fishery management successful in the Northeast, scientists provide information on about 60 fishery stocks in the form of stock assessments. Of these,14 groundfish stocks are under review this year.

There are two tracks for peer review – one for management and one for research. This ensures that the information needed for fishery management in a given year is available and that there is sufficient time to improve assessment science.

Management Assessments

The management assessment schedule is designed to provide set cycles for each stock. Some are assessed every year, some every two years, and so on. In a given year, the selected stocks are reviewed in the early summer or in the early fall.  The timing aligns with the fishery management timelines for the various stocks.

This way, all stocks are assessed often enough to provide managers with what they need to develop good management measures and appropriate catch limits.

All of the assessments under review this week are management assessments. These are designed to be simple, quick, and more efficient than research assessments.

Using the new assessment process, an oversight panel met in June. They determined how much detail to include in each groundfish assessment and how much time to devote to review. Assessments for 10 of the 14 stocks will be further examined by the peer reviewers. Assessments for four will be reported directly to the New England Fishery Management Council.

Read the full release here