Saving Seafood

North Carolina attorney general files federal lawsuit to block offshore drilling

August 26, 2020 — Attorney General Josh Stein on Wednesday announced he has filed a lawsuit that seeks to block the Trump Administration from allowing seismic exploration for oil and gas off the North Carolina coast.

“Protecting our state’s beautiful natural resources – and the critical economic benefits they bring to our state – is one of the most important mandates of my job,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “North Carolinians have made their views crystal clear: We do not want drilling off our coast. I am going to court to fight on their behalf.”

Seismic testing uses powerful airguns that blast sounds at the ocean floor repeatedly for long periods of time. Marine experts say these sounds can harm sea life and coastal resources – and could have significant impacts on North Carolina’s fishing and tourism industries.

Read the full story at WECT

Flounder: Summer landings on track; reductions coming for southern allocations

August 18, 2020 — Summer flounder is a popular commercial fishery in the Mid-Atlantic region, with North Carolina allocated the largest share at 27.44 percent. Despite the widespread disruption in markets from covid-19, the state’s fleet by early summer was on track for landings just slightly lower than 2019.

Preliminary statistics show 69 North Carolina vessels representing 131 trips had landed 744,479 pounds of summer flounder by late June, with a value of $2.67 million distributed to 16 dealers.

“Landings of summer flounder appear to be somewhat down from last year, but the trend seems similar,” said Lee Paramore, biologist supervisor with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. “Since we can modify trip limits to stay within quota, it may be possible to allow for increased harvest if landings remain down relative to last year.

“There a lot of factors that can impact landings, and we haven’t yet determined if covid will play a part, but currently the fish houses here that typically land summer flounder have been operating at same level.”

The state’s commercial landings for summer flounder have been consistent since 2008 ,with the exception of 2012-13, where excessive shoaling in Oregon Inlet limited the number of trawl boats able to land in North Carolina. Annual commercial landings averaged 2.25 million pounds of summer flounder since 2008.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: Recreational fishermen sue trawlers, state over coastal shrimping

August 6, 2020 — A group of recreational fishermen and fishing guides sued some of the state’s largest shrimping companies and state regulators this week, taking a long-running fight over coastal fishing rules to federal court.

The lawsuit accuses shrimp trawlers of violating state and federal rules, killing off large populations of fish and churning up sediment as a byproduct of dragging shrimp nets across the sea floor. The group asks a federal judge to enforce the rules in place.

“Each defendant independently and significantly has harmed North Carolina’s coastal waters by using non-selective, destructive trawling equipment to harvest shrimp, or by allowing such shrimp trawling practices to continue despite federal and state laws prohibiting such activities,” the lawsuit states.

Read the full story at WRAL

MAFMC: New Permitting and Reporting Requirements for Recreational Blueline and Golden Tilefish

August 4, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office published a final rule on July 16, 2020 establishing permitting and reporting requirements for recreational vessels fishing for tilefish north of the North Carolina/Virginia border. Beginning on August 17, 2020, any recreational vessel that intends to target or retain blueline or golden tilefish will be required to:

  • Obtain a Federal private recreational tilefish vessel permit through the GARFO Fish Online website.
  • Submit electronic vessel trip reports (eVTRs) through a NMFS-approved eVTR application within 24 hours of returning to port from any recreational trip targeting or retaining tilefish.

Recreational tilefish anglers will be able to choose between several eVTR applications, which currently include the NOAA Fish Online mobile app (for Apple iOS devices), the NOAA Fish Online web portal, the SAFIS eTrips/mobile 2 application (for Apple, Android, and Windows 10 devices), and SAFIS eTrips Online

Coming Soon: New Recreational Tilefish Reporting App

In response to feedback from recreational fishermen related to this permitting/reporting action, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has been working with Harbor Light Software to develop a user-friendly application called “eFIN” where anglers can submit reports via Apple or Android devices. eFin was developed with input from private anglers and is designed to provide a simple, user-friendly interface. eFin is expected to be available for all users in the coming weeks. Updates on the availability of this application will be sent to the Council’s email list and posted on the Recreational Tilefish Permitting and Reporting page.

Mariners found on life raft after escaping burning boat off Outer Banks, officials say

July 17, 2020 — Two mariners were 15 miles off Cape Lookout — on North Carolina’s Outer Banks — Thursday morning when their boat caught fire and started taking on water.

One of mariners aboard the 35-foot fishing boat, named Double G, made a mayday call to the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, according to a news release from the Coast Guard.

The two then threw on life jackets, grabbed a satellite phone and abandoned ship on a life raft, the release says.

Watchstanders with the Coast Guard put out an urgent marine information broadcast in response to the mayday call and launched a boat crew to the scene in a 47-foot motor lifeboat, the release says.

A Navy oiler nearby, hearing the Coast Guard’s broadcast, also sent a helicopter crew to the scene to assist.

Read the full story at The News & Observer

SAFMC seeks applicants for advisory panels

July 14, 2020 — Local fishermen, commercial and recreational, as well as those with other connections to fishing and the marine environment have an opportunity to offer advice to interstate fishery managers.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is soliciting applicants for open advisory panel seats. The council is an interstate fishery management agency with jurisdiction in the federal waters off the Atlantic coast from the southeastern U.S., including North Carolina. The council’s advisory panels inform and guide the council in developing and implementing federal fishery management plans.

Applications must be received by Monday, Aug. 10 for consideration by the council during its Sept. 14-18 meeting currently scheduled for Charleston, S.C.

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

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

Summer flounder: good news on quota, but waiting for restaurants’ return

July 7, 2020 — The $25.2 million East Coast market for summer flounder — although a reliable bread-and-butter fish — has faced ups and downs in quotas over the years.

The 2020 commercial quota is 11.53 million pounds, while the recreational harvest limit is 7.69 million pounds. The highest percent of commercial allocation goes to Virginia (21.32 percent) and North Carolina (27.44 percent) while Delaware, Maine and New Hampshire have the smallest allocations.

Anecdotally, in the last few years, the price per pound for jumbo summer flounder (4 pounds or larger) decreased, with some vessels getting around 50 cents less per pound for jumbos compared to smaller sizes. As market conditions have shifted relative to quotas over the past few years, there is some speculation that markets prefer smaller product that fits better on a plate.

Now 2020 is the first full year with higher quotas for the fishery — but with the covid-19 crisis and its impact on markets globally, it remains to be seen if quotas will be fully utilized.

“It’s going to be very hard to predict summer flounder landings for 2020 at this point. Last year, the quotas were revised upward by about 50 percent, based on the new stock assessment, but that change wasn’t implemented until midyear,” says Kiley Dancy of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council staff.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: Hard-Hit Oyster Growers Ineligible For Aid

June 23, 2020 — Oyster sales in North Carolina and other coastal states throughout the country tanked when restaurants halted dine-in service in March as part of the effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

“Everyone – East Coast, West Coast – once COVID-19 shut down restaurants pretty much all growers saw their sales drop between 95 and 100%,” said Chris Matteo, East Coast Shellfish Growers Association North Carolina representative. “Restaurants are our primary client. Most high-end and middle-tier restaurants aren’t normally involved in the takeout business. Even the ones that did pivot to takeout, people just generally aren’t comfortable buying or selling raw shellfish for takeout. The market collapsed.”

Oyster farmers are among the ranks of numerous American growers who’ve experienced tremendous crop losses as a result of the pandemic. Yet oysters are not on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of specialty crops, leaving shellfish farmers out of the running to receive federal aid afforded other farmers, including the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

NORTH CAROLINA: Commercial Flounder Season Announced

June 16, 2020 — The open and close dates for 2020 commercial flounder seasons in North Carolina were announced Monday by Division of Marine Fisheries Director Steve Murphey.

The season for the Northern Management Area, which includes Albemarle, Roanoke, and Croatan sounds and their tributaries, will open Sept. 15 and close Oct. 6

The season for the Central Management Area, which includes Pamlico Sound, and the Tar, Pamlico, Neuse and Pungo rivers and their tributaries, will open Oct. 1 and close Oct. 19.

The season for the Southern Management Area, which includes Core Sound and all internal coastal waters south of Core Sound to the state line, will open Oct. 1 and close Nov. 2.

The minimum size limit will remain at 15 inches total length. For specific management area lines, coordinates, maps and gear restrictions, see Proclamation FF-25-2020.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online