Saving Seafood

First known right whale calf of season washes up dead in North Carolina

November 24, 2020 — The hopes for the North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species, grew dimmer Friday as a calf washed ashore dead on a barrier island off of North Carolina, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

It was the first documented newborn of the calving season, and the service says every new birth is crucial to the species avoiding extinction.

The service estimated there were just 366 of the whales alive in January 2019, including just 94 breeding females, making them one of the rarest mammals in the world. Scientists at the Fisheries Service told the Globe in October that as little as one death per year threatens the survival of the species.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

North Carolina facing lawsuits from recreational fishing groups over marine management

November 18, 2020 — The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is facing lawsuits from two recreational fishing groups, alleging the agency exhibits “abject failure in properly managing the state’s coastal fisheries resources.”

The lawsuits have been filed by the North Carolina Coastal Fisheries Reform Group (NCCFRG) and most recently, by the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina (CCA).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

North Carolina state fisheries under legal attack

November 12, 2020 — The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is fielding attacks from two recreational fishing groups, alleging the agency exhibits “abject failure in properly managing the state’s coastal fisheries resources.”

The lawsuits have been filed by the North Carolina Coastal Fisheries Reform Group (NCCFRG) and most recently, by the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina (CCA).

Both actions take aim at the state’s “public-trust responsibilities to manage coastal fish stocks in a way that protects the public-trust rights of the public.”

According to Glenn Skinner, executive director of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, these attacks on the state’s fisheries agencies and the commercial industry are nothing new, but he has noted a change.

“While none of this is surprising, the number of attacks has definitely increased,” says Skinner. “There seems to be an effort to ‘go for the throat’ lately on multiple fronts. Attacks such as these mirror a lot of what’s gone on in other states, especially regarding the CCA.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Coast Guard in search of 2 men missing from overturned fishing vessel in North Carolina

November 11, 2020 — The U.S. Coast Guard and other first responders are still searching for two people in the water after an overturned fishing vessel was found near Beaufort Inlet in North Carolina Tuesday morning.

The missing boaters have been identified as George Hamilton Andrews from Raleigh and William (Bill) Watkins Merriman IV from Wilmington. The duo was last seen leaving Atlantic Beach Sunday for a fishing trip.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received a report from a fishing vessel around 8 a.m. that a 35-foot recreational vessel was found overturned approximately three nautical miles outside of Beaufort Inlet.

TowBoat U.S. deployed a diver and determined there was no one onboard the vessel, but all the lights and gear were still energized.

Sector North Carolina issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and directed the launch of search and rescue assets. The Coast Guard is searching an area that spans approximately 200 square nautical miles.

Read the full story at WAVY

SAFMC seeks applicants for advisory panels

November 5, 2020 — Carteret County residents with experience in fisheries have an opportunity to apply for an advisory position with an interstate fishery management council.

 The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, an interstate fishery management agency with jurisdiction in the federal waters 3-200 miles offshore of the southeastern states, including North Carolina, is soliciting applicants for several open seats on its dolphin wahoo advisory panel, as well as the outreach and communications advisory panel and a commercial representative on the law enforcement advisory panel. The council’s advisory panels inform and guide the council in developing and implementing federal fishery management plans.

Instructions on how to apply and application forms are available online from the council’s website, safmc.net/about-safmc/advisory-panels/.  Anyone with questions may contact SAFMC public information officer Kim Iverson by email at Kim.Iverson@safmc.net or by calling 843-571-4366.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

MARYLAND: Ocean City hopes multi-state wind deal brings more collaboration to local level

November 5, 2020 — Last week Gov. Larry Hogan announced that Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina would work together to develop the offshore wind industry off the three states. Now Ocean City is hoping that same collaboration trickles down to their level.

The agreement between the three Mid-Atlantic states will form a joint partnership called the Mid-Atlantic Regional Transformative Partnership for Offshore Wind Energy Resources (SMART-POWER), according to a copy of the agreement.

The new partnership goal is to help more rapidly develop the offshore wind industry and “promote the Mid-Atlantic and southeast United States as an offshore wind energy industry hub.”

Maryland is currently in the process of building two offshore wind projects off the state’s coast.

Read the full story at Delmarva Now

North Carolina will work with Maryland, Virginia to grow offshore wind industry

November 2, 2020 — An agreement announced Thursday could help North Carolina turn winds over the Atlantic Ocean into electricity sooner, according to an industry official.

North Carolina will join Maryland and Virginia in the “Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Transformative Partnership for Offshore Wind Energy Resources,” which they are calling SMART-POWER for short. Unlike those states, North Carolina doesn’t have legislative mandates or executive orders with targets for offshore wind production, much less actual turbines in the water like Virginia.

The new partnership means North Carolina can apply the lessons already learned in nearby states, said Katharine Kollins, president of the Southeastern Wind Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for the growth of wind energy.

“North Carolina has been trying to get traction within the wind industry for a while, and some of these states farther north are further along in the process,” Kollins told The News & Observer.

Read the full story at The News & Observer

Lawsuit: Pipeline could push 2 fish species to extinction

October 29, 2020 — Environmental groups have filed a legal challenge against the Mountain Valley Pipeline that says the project could push two endangered species of fish to extinction.

The Roanoke Times reports that the legal challenge was filed Tuesday in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. It involves the Roanoke logperch and the candy darter species of fish.

The route of the 300-mile long pipeline would go from northern West Virginia to southwestern Virginia and connect with an existing pipeline in North Carolina.

The coalition of environmental groups also asked the federal appeals court to review a recent biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency had found that construction of the pipeline is not likely to jeopardize protected fish, bats and mussels.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at CBS 19

NORTH CAROLINA: Division of Marine Fisheries accepting applications for CARES Act Fisheries Relief Program

October 27, 2020 — The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting applications for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Fisheries Relief Program. The financial assistance is available to eligible commercial fishermen, for-hire fishing operators, seafood dealers and processors, and marine aquaculture operations with revenue losses in the spring of 2020 greater than 35% as compared to the prior 5-year average revenue.

The division has mailed application packets to eligible license, lease, and permit holders. Application packets are available on the CARES Act Fisheries Assistance Information webpage or at division offices for eligible stakeholders who are not licensed by the division.

North Carolina received $5.4 million from the CARES Act to provide financial relief through direct payments to fishery-related stakeholder groups affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants will be required to complete the application, an affidavit, and provide supporting materials that document loss of revenue greater than 35% from March 1 to May 31, 2020 as compared to the average revenue from the same period of the previous five-years (March 1 to May 31, 2015-2019).

Read the full story at the Island Free Press

Six critically endangered sawfish found dead on the side of the road in Florida Everglades

October 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is conducting an investigation involving the deaths of six critically endangered smalltooth sawfish in Everglades City, Fla. An employee with Everglades National Park reported the dead sawfish and two dead bonnethead sharks to NOAA experts. Two of the sawfish are missing their rostra (saws). One other had its meat removed, leaving only the carcass.

The animals were found along the causeway between Everglades City and Chokoloskee Island, Fla. A sawfish biologist from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will perform a necropsy on the animals to try to determine the cause of death.

Smalltooth sawfish are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. They were once found in the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida and along the East Coast from Florida to North Carolina. Their distribution has decreased greatly in U.S. waters over the past century. Today, the species is generally only found off the coast of Florida, especially southwest Florida where sawfish give birth. They reproduce every other year and give birth to just 7-14 young. The loss of these six animals is nearly equivalent to one mother’s entire litter.

NOAA officials seek information from anyone who may have details about this incident and are offering a reward up to $20,000 for information leading to a criminal conviction or the assessment of a civil penalty.

Please call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-853-1964. Tips may be left anonymously.

Read the full release here