Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaskan fishing groups and tribes welcome changes to federal fishery guidelines

May 22, 2023 — Fishing groups and tribes in the U.S. state of Alaska are eyeing potential updates to federal fishing guidelines as a chance to change how several hallmark fisheries in the state are regulated.

Last week, NOAA Fisheries issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, welcoming public input on a number of topics, including climate change, equity in the representation of local fishing communities, and trawl bycatch. The agency will be accepting public comments offering suggestions on how to improve national standards to address those issues until 12 September, 2023.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Locals testify against expanding marine monument

May 22, 2023 — THE local opposition to a proposed expansion of a marine national monument in the Pacific Remote Islands was clear Friday, as most public commentators expressed their frustrations and aired their concerns to representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA was on island to collect public comments regarding a proposal to expand the boundaries of marine protections at Howland and Baker Islands, and Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll, as well as encompass the areas under one marine national monument.

Most speakers against the expansion of the national marine monument shared one or more of the following basic arguments: the NOAA process to establish the sanctuary was too unilateral, in that it came from the federal government with not enough input from the Pacific; Pacific peoples were already conserving marine resources prior to NOAA’s establishment; and American Samoa’s fish canning industry will be damaged if the PRI national monument is expanded.

Read the full article at Marianas Variety 

Northeast Fisheries, Ecosystems Continue To Depart From Historical Norms

May 19, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The fisheries of the Northeast span from Northern Maine down to the tip of North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras. These centuries-old fisheries harbor stories of trials and tribulations, perfect storms, and generations of tradition. It wouldn’t be out of line to describe these fisheries and the people involved as strong, hardworking, and able to weather any challenge that history has thrown at them. However, the continued effects of climate change pose another threat to these storied fisheries and the ecosystems that support them. NOAA’s 2023 State of the Ecosystem reports show that environmental conditions continue to push historical boundaries, altering the ecosystems, their inhabitants, and their productivity. Results from these reports will be discussed in-depth during a public OneNOAA Seminar on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 12pm ET.

The annual State of the Ecosystem reports are presented as two reports, focusing on the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. They describe changes in physical, chemical, biological, and socioeconomic indicators that, when compiled, help describe the health of the Northeast ecosystem over time. These measurable characteristics of the environment are selected using NOAA’s Integrated Ecosystem Assessment framework. As part of the assessment process, NOAA scientists and collaborators work closely with stakeholders in their respective communities to identify components of the ecosystem that are important for monitoring the health of the ecosystem as well as the human communities that rely on these systems. Results from the annual State of the Ecosystem reports are presented to the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils to inform management groups about important trends and changes in the ecosystem and move towards the usage of ecosystem-wide science in making management decisions, a holistic approach known as ecosystem-based fishery management.

 

ALASKA: Representative Peltola applauds NOAA Fisheries’ proposal to revise key National Standards for fisheries management

May 19, 2023 — Thursday, Representative Peltola applauded the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Fisheries division announcement of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, which would allow revisions to the division’s Guidelines for National Standards, specifically sections (NS) 4 (allocations), 8 (communities), and 9 (bycatch).

Read the full article at KINY

U.S. Department of Commerce allocates $220 million in fishery disaster funding to AK and WA

May 18, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the allocation of over $220 million in fishery disaster funding, appropriated by Congress in the 2022 and 2023 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Acts. The funding will address fishery disasters that occurred in multiple Alaska and Washington fisheries between 2019 and 2023.

“Fishery disasters have devastating effects on local communities and our blue economy,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This disaster funding provides much needed assistance to our fishing industry and we will work with the affected communities to begin the difficult work of helping them recover.” 

NOAA Fisheries Announces Projects Recommended for Saltonstall-Kennedy Funding

May 17, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is recommending 40 projects for over $11 million under the 2023 Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Competitive Grants Program. The list of projects is available online. In the Greater Atlantic there are 14 projects for $3,720,532.00

The goal of the S-K program is to fund projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable.

Read more at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA to test AI electronic monitoring in New England clam survey

May 18, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries wants to improve its electronic monitoring of clam harvesting with artificial intelligence, and it hopes to begin collecting imagery to develop the technology this August.

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center is looking for a contractor to install video cameras on a commercial clamming vessel, the ESS Pursuit, develop a machine learning algorithm that can automatically process that video, and produce a large library of images for future artificial intelligence development.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA announces advisors for proposed Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary

May 16, 2023 — Today, NOAA announced members of a new sanctuary advisory council for the proposed Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary.

The council will provide the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries with advice and recommendations to guide NOAA during the designation process for the proposed sanctuary. Council members also serve as liaisons to their communities, building a strong connection between the sanctuary and stakeholders.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

How fishermen market their catch: a national survey

May 16, 2023 — Now open until June 2023, a NOAA Fisheries survey on national seafood marketing practices aims to fill a gap in our understanding of the domestic seafood market in the U.S.

A national survey on direct marketing practices among U.S. seafood harvesters, developed by the University of Maine, Agricultural Marketing Services of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and National Marine Fisheries Service, was born from a simple question: “How do fishermen market their catch?” National Fisherman first mentioned the survey project, which is  funded by NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Sustainable Fisheries and the USDA, in July 2022.

Farmers are used to similar surveys, which have been common since 2015, when the USDA began monitoring direct marketing practices by farmers through the Local Food Marketing Practices Survey. Data from these surveys are used to estimate the scale of direct marketing practices. Although they are important to define future strategies, and so are a well established practice in the agricultural sector, they  do not exist in the seafood sector.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA publishes a new Aquaculture Science Advice Handbook

May 14, 2023 — There is a mounting interest in marine aquaculture – or farmed seafood – development in the United States, and now NOAA has published a new Aquaculture Science Advice Handbook.

Important for nutrition, for local jobs and for climate-ready food systems, aquaculture is growing in the United States, as more people is attracted to the potential it offers. For decades, aquaculture production was tiny, but it is growing lately for a series of reasons. One of them is climate change: as it creates numerous threats for fishermen, aquaculture offers a viable solution to keep working in the industry. Last February National Fisherman reported how in Maine, an idea imported from Japan is helping to diversify the seafood harvesting business.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman