Saving Seafood

Are catch shares an effective tool for fisheries management?

March 30, 2017 — A Brunswick County senator’s proposed resolution opposing catch-share fisheries management is drawing praise from the fishing community.

In fisheries managed by catch shares, certain fishermen or companies are assigned individual limits for a given species during a season, a strategy the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says allows fishermen to make decisions based on market conditions and avoid hazardous weather conditions.

Many North Carolina fishermen have expressed great concern about catch shares reaching their waters and are supporting Senate Bill 370. Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, introduced the bill, which would communicate to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries and the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission that the Senate opposes catch share management off the N.C. coast.

Rabon did not respond to phone calls and a text message seeking comment on his resolution, which says catch shares give private ownership of federal fisheries to individuals, cause consolidation of fishing fleets and lead to lost jobs. A virtually identical resolution was adopted March 7 by the South Carolina House.

Read the full story at Star News 

Senators file bill to expand aquaculture

March 30, 2017 — Two lawmakers from coastal North Carolina filed a bill Monday to encourage the Wilmington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to allow shellfish cultivation and aquaculture activities in North Carolina waters containing submerged aquatic vegetation.

Sens. Norman Sanderson (R-Carteret) and Bill Cook (R-Beaufort) described Senate Bill 410 as an economic development driver that is also good for the environment.

“With our acres of pristine waters and a large and growing interest in cultivated oysters, the potential for the industry in the state is huge,” said Sanderson and Cook in a press release. “Our goal is for North Carolina to become the ‘Napa Valley’ of oysters. A single adult oyster can filter and clean up to 50 gallons of water a day — thus our waters will be cleaner and our economy will grow.

“North Carolina’s estuaries are well-known for being some of the most productive in the world. We have the second largest estuary system in the United States and the largest contained in one state. Amending this federal rule has tremendous potential to create new jobs with the shellfish and aquaculture industry.”

The federal rule in question aims to protect submerged aquatic vegetation, but the bill sponsors contend it is too restrictive.

“This policy is more stringent than policies used in other coastal states, including the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said the senators in a statement. “Shellfish lease applications in North Carolina have been routinely denied by the Division of Marine Fisheries due to the presence of any submerged aquatic vegetation. Virginia falls under the Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in that state, after the individual lease holder has a preconstruction notification, their lease can have a certain amount of submerged aquatic vegetation under certain conditions.”

Read the full story at North State Journal 

NORTH CAROLINA: Dare County GOP confronts N.C. GOP chair on shrimp vote

March 29, 2017 — In the wake of the N.C. Fisheries Commission’s approval of a petition putting greater limits on shrimp trawling, the Dare County GOP has written a letter requesting that N.C. GOP Chairman Robin Hayes appear before its executive committee and “provide relevant information regarding his personal involvement and influence in the 2016 appointment process of members of the North Carolina Fisheries Commission.”

In its letter to Hayes, dated March 16, the Dare GOP said the commission’s approval of the petition represented a decision to “ignore science and destroy our state’s shrimping industry,” and accused Hayes of intervening improperly in the process of selecting commission members.

The letter goes on to say that, if Hayes does not comply with that request to appear before the local party, he should resign his post as state party head.

The Dare County Board of Commissioners has also expressed anger at the Fisheries Commission’s Feb. 16 decision to adopt the petition from the N.C. Wildlife Federation calling for new regulations on shrimp trawling after five advisory committees had voted to deny the petition.

The petition calls for all inshore waters and the ocean out to three miles to be designated as special secondary nursery areas. It also proposes limiting tow times to 45 minutes and trawling to three days per week in the estuarine waters and four in the ocean during daylight hours.

Read the full story at the Outer Banks Sentinel

REP. JONES TESTIFIES ON BEHALF OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA SHRIMPERS

March 16, 2017 — The following was released by the office of Representative Walter B. Jones:

Today at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) testified on behalf of Eastern North Carolina shrimpers in strong support of continuing anti-dumping duty orders against imported warmwater shrimp from Brazil, China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. The ITC first enacted these orders more than 10 years ago to offset cheating by foreign producers, and to help level the playing field for American shrimpers. 

“Shrimping is an integral part of Eastern North Carolina’s heritage and economy,” said Congressman Jones. “Hard working Eastern North Carolina fishing families have been devastated by unfairly traded foreign shrimp.  If these orders aren’t continued, I have no doubt that producers from communist China, Vietnam and elsewhere will start illegally dumping shrimp into our market again.  That is unacceptable, and I hope the ITC will stand up for American workers.”

Background: In the early 2000s, the U.S. shrimp market nearly collapsed. Unfairly traded imports from Brazil, China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam flooded the U.S. market at prices below the cost of production overseas. As a result, the American shrimp industry was forced to slash production and lay off workers.   Many shrimpers abandoned the profession, sometimes after generations. The duty orders on dumped shrimp, first imposed in 2005, have helped bring stability to the market.  Under international trade law, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is required to review existing anti-dumping orders every five years to determine if revocation would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping, and as a result, material injury to American shrimpers.  If the ITC does not come to that conclusion, the orders would be revoked.  Today, the ITC held a public hearing on that review.  The commission is expected to vote on the matter on May 2, 2017.

Watch Representative Jones’ testimony here

NORTH CAROLINA: New Leader for Marine Fisheries Sought

March 10, 2017 — A search is underway by state environment officials for a new director for the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.

Braxton Davis has been serving in the role for the last 11 months, as well as serving as the director of the Division of Coastal Management. The divisions had separate directors before April, when Davis was appointed to head both.

The Department of Environmental Quality cites the Davis’ workload as the reason for finding a new lead for DMF.

“Braxton has been an outstanding leader for our agency and has served admirably as the chief for these two divisions for almost a year,” said Michael Regan, secretary for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. “Braxton and I and our leadership team have discussed the workload of managing two divisions, and we all agree that oversight of both divisions is more than one person can handle in a long-term situation.”

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

EFP Application for Snapper-Grouper Catch Share Pilot Program Pulled After Widespread Opposition

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – March 10, 2017 – The South Atlantic Commercial Fishing Collaborative pulled its application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) in the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery on Wednesday after a letter of opposition from Rep. Walter Jones (NC-3) and widespread opposition from fishermen. The EFP would have allowed the Collaborative access to numerous species in the snapper-grouper fishery as part of a pilot catch share program.

Rep. Jones wrote to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council on Wednesday urging opposition to the EFP application. In his letter, Rep. Jones cited widespread opposition among commenters on the Council’s draft vision blueprint to including a voluntary catch share program as a part of South Atlantic snapper-grouper management. He also cited a similar EFP proposal that was put forward and rejected in 2013.

“Clearly, the overwhelming sentiment of permit holders, and the precedent of prior council actions, argue for opposition to this application,” Rep. Jones wrote. “The snapper-grouper permit holders of the South Atlantic have not only not given their consent to this proposal, they appear to be nearly unanimous in their opposition.”

The North Carolina Fisheries Association, a commercial fishing trade group, also opposed the application on the basis of their longtime opposition to catch shares.

Read the full letter from Rep. Jones here

State searching for head of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

March 8, 2017 — The following was released by the the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries:

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is seeking applicants for the division’s director. The news release is below, and the link to the posting is:

 https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/northcarolina/jobs/1682472/division-director-division-of-marine-fisheries

 For more information, please contact Patricia Smith.

Patricia Smith

Public Information Officer

Division of Marine Fisheries

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

252 808 8025    office

252 342 0642    mobile

Tricia.Smith@ncdenr.gov

Pair pleads guilty to illegal fishing

March 8, 2017 — The United States Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday in federal court that David Saunders Jr. and Michael Potter pleaded guilty to federal charges regarding the illegal harvest and sale of Atlantic striped bass from federal waters off the coast of North Carolina.

According to the indictments and information in the public records, in February 2010, a special agent with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received information that commercial trawlers were illegally fishing for Atlantic striped bass in federal waters off the coast of North Carolina.

Upon receiving the information, NOAA engaged the assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard and a patrol vessel in the area intercepted one of 17 commercial trawlers.

Based on its review, NOAA determined that in seven separate fishing trips between Jan. 27, 2009, and Feb. 9, 2010, Saunders, then Captain of the Bridgot Denise, a commercial trawler, harvested approximately 14,579 pounds of Atlantic striped bass from the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). He sold the fish to a fish dealer in Wanchese, NC. The estimated fair market retail value of the 14,579 pounds of illegally harvested fish exceeds $116,000.

Read the full story at WECT

Impact of shrimping regulations felt far and wide along North Carolina coast

March 1, 2017 — For months at a time, fisherman Dennis Aultman lives on his boat, the “Bertie P,” where he said he spends his time trawling along places like the “the Pamlico Sound and out off of the beach off of Ocracoke and Kitty Hawk.”

He’s just one of hundreds of North Carolina fishermen who said any changes to the industry would affect their livelihoods.

The N.C. Wildlife Federation introduced a petition last November to the state Division of Marine Fisheries that adds new regulations on shrimpers.

“I don’t understand why they want to shut us down,” said Aultman. “It creates jobs for a lot of people other than just us.”

But David Knight of the N.C. Wildlife Federation said the organization sees the regulations as a necessity.

“Those that are saying this is about banning shrimp trawling in North Carolina are incorrect,” said Knight. “That statement is untrue. If you look at our petition and read it closely, we want there to be more restriction on these nursery areas.”

Read the full story at WNCT 9

NORTH CAROLINA: Shrimp Trawling Proposal Moves Forward

February 28, 2017 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted February 16th to grant a petition for rulemaking and began drafting rules to implement it. If adopted, the rules will limit shrimp trawling in most North Carolina waters.

According to the Division of Marine Fisheries, shrimp are the second most economically important fishery in North Carolina.  In communities like Englehard, Lowland, Hobucken and Down East Carteret County, many commercial fishermen make their living trawling for shrimp in the Pamlico Sound.  That’s why a petition to reclassify most internal waters is a contentious topic right now.

At a public hearing last Thursday in Wilmington, the North Carolina Fisheries Commission voted 5-3 to grant a petition for rulemaking that if adopted would limit shrimp trawling in most North Carolina waters.  Proponents say the changes would greatly reduce bycatch and help bolster populations of commercially valuable finfish.  Those against the measure say it will raise the price of locally caught shrimp and could decimate the shrimping industry in North Carolina.  Jerry Schill is the President of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a nonprofit organization that lobbies local, state and federal policymakers on behalf of commercial fishermen.

“It was not surprising to us but it was very disappointing after you come off an advisory committee meeting in New Bern where the five advisory committees votes overwhelmingly to recommend that the Commission reject the petition or deny the petition.  And they went ahead and accepted it anyway which was very disappointing.”

The petition, submitted on November 2nd by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, and modified on January 12th asks the commission to designate all coastal fishing waters not otherwise designated as nursery areas (including the Atlantic Ocean out to three miles from shore) as special secondary nursery areas.  It also seeks to establish clear criteria for the opening of shrimp season and define the type of gear and how and when gear may be used in special secondary nursery areas during shrimp season.  Since the meeting, advisor with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation David Knight says he’s received a positive response from people who feel the recommendations are a step the right direction.

Read the full story at Public Radio East