Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: Proposed shrimping regulations worry coastal fishermen

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — The N.C. Wildlife Federation submitted a petition earlier in November calling for restrictions on shrimp trawling along the coast, saying more regulations are necessary to protect important nursery areas.

But local long-time fishermen in eastern North Carolina don’t necessarily agree, and the regulations on catching shrimp could have detrimental effects on the industry.

“If the consumer is looking for fresh, local seafood, I think these regulations like this will put fisherman out of business and make the American consumer to have to buy more imports,” said Jack Cox, Blue Ocean Market. “That’s something that we don’t want to do.”

The petition includes restrictions like limiting trawling to three days per week, limiting head rope length to 90 feet and making nets smaller.

“It’s also asking that they limit tow times to 45 minutes and that they open Pamlico Sound on a shrimp count,” said Patricia Smith, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

The count would require 60-count shrimp, or 60 shrimp per pound, in the Pamilico Sound before trawling would be allowed in those waters.

Read the full story at WNCT

NORTH CAROLINA: Petition’s aim: Gear bans or resource protection?

November 28, 2016 — MOREHEAD CITY, N.C.– A conservation organization’s request that the state adopt stricter rules for shrimping and recreational spot and croaker isn’t sitting well with a local seafood industry advocacy group.

Jerry Schill, president of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the state fishing industry, says the association thinks the petition for rulemaking from the N.C. Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the state’s natural resources, will lead to gear bans that could put shrimping in North Carolina in jeopardy.

However, David Knight, NCWF policy consultant, said the petition is meant to protect fish and their habitat and actually assist fishing communities by doing so.

The Southern Environmental Law Center presented a petition for rulemaking, on behalf of the NCWF, to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Nov. 17 in Kitty Hawk at the commission’s regular meeting.

The petition requests several changes to shrimping regulations, special secondary nursery area (SSNA) designation for all coastal fishing waters not already designated nursery areas and additional regulations for recreational spot and croaker fishing. The petition is under review for completeness by the MFC chairman, Sammy Corbett, and the commission’s legal counsel, Phillip Reynolds of the N.C. Department of Justice, after which it will go out for public comment.

Patricia Smith, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries public information officer, said Mr. Corbett and Mr. Reynolds are still reviewing the petition as of Tuesday. According to a press release from the DMF, the state agency which enforces the regulations created by the MFC, the commission has 120 days from the date of the petition’s submission, Nov. 2, to take action granting or denying the request for rulemaking.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

NORTH CAROLINA: Marine Fisheries Commission seeking advisory board members

November 23, 2016 — MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission is accepting applications for fishermen and scientists interested in serving on various advisory boards.

Two regional advisory committee and three standing advisory committees — Finfish, Habitat and Water Quality, and the Shellfish/Crustacean committees — review matters referred to them by the commission and recommend management strategies. Committees may also bring issues pertaining to the region or subject matter to the commission’s attention.

The MFC chairman appoints members to the committees for three-year terms and several terms will expire in January.

To serve on a committee applicants must not have had a significant fisheries violation within the past three years.

Individuals interested in serving should be willing to attend meetings at least once every two months and actively participate in the committee process, which includes reviewing scientific documents and issue papers to make recommendations on management issues.

Read the full story at JD News 

South Atlantic States Schedule Public Hearings on Cobia Public Information Document

November 21, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Arlington, VA – The South Atlantic states of Virginia through Florida have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Public Information Document (PID) for the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Cobia. The details of the scheduled hearings follow.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission

December 6, 2016; 6 PM

2600 Washington Ave, 4th Floor

Newport News, Virginia 23607

Contact: Joe Cimino at 757.247.2236

 

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

December 8, 2016; 6 PM

Doubletree by Hilton Atlantic Beach

2717 West Fort Macon Road

Atlantic Beach, North Carolina

Contact:  Michelle Duval at 252.808.8011

December 15, 2016; 5 PM

Dare County Government Administration Building

Room 168

954 Marshall C. Collins Drive

Manteo, North Carolina

Contact: Michelle Duval at 252.808.8011

 

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

December 12, 2016; 6 PM

Port Royal Sound Maritime Center (adjacent to Edgar C Glenn boat ramp on the Chechessee River)

310 Okatie Highway

Okatie, South Carolina

Contact: Mel Bell at 843.953.9007

 

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

December 14, 2016; 6 PM 

New Smyrna City Hall

City Commission Chambers (accessible via the South entrance from Julia Street)

210 Sams Avenue

New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Contact: Jim Estes at 850.617.9622

As the first step in the FMP development process, the PID provides stakeholders with an opportunity to inform the Commission about changes observed in the fishery and provide feedback on potential management measures as well as any additional issues that should be included in the Draft FMP. Specifically, the PID seeks comment on the management unit; goals and objectives of the plan; commercial and recreational measures; coastwide, regional or state-by-state measures; and other issues.

This action responds to a request by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) for the Commission to consider joint or complementary management of the resource in light of the significant overage of the 2015 recreational annual catch limit (ACL) and the impact of those overages to state management. Further, during most recent years, a majority of recreational landings of cobia along the Atlantic coast occurs in state waters. The Commission considered this request in August and agreed to move forward with the development of a complementary FMP.

Widely distributed throughout the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, cobia are managed as two distinct groups – the Gulf Migratory Group and the Atlantic Migratory Group. The Atlantic Migratory Group, which range from New York to Georgia, is managed by the SAFMC. The east coast of Florida falls under the Gulf Migratory Group. The SAFMC manages the east coast of Florida sub-ACL which is set by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. Recreational landings of the Atlantic Migratory Group in 2015 were approximately 1.5 million pounds, 145% over the ACL, resulting in a June 20, 2016 closure of the fishery by NOAA Fisheries. Commercial cobia landings in 2015 were 83,148 pounds, 38% over the ACL. Late landings reports in 2015 precluded a timely closure of the commercial fishery.

Concerns were expressed by some states whose recreational seasons would have been significantly reduced by federal waters closure due to the 2015 quota overage. Instead of following the federal closure, several states developed alternate management strategies to reduce economic impacts to their state fisheries which resulted in differing regulations for federal and state water fishing. An intent of the complementary Cobia FMP is to provide the states the flexibility to respond to changes in the fishery and stock that meet their state fisheries needs without impacting federal fishermen while meeting the goals and objectives of the FMP.

Stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the PID either by attendingg state public hearings or providing written comment. The PID can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/CobiaPID_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 6, 2017 and should be forwarded to Dr. Louis Daniel, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at ldaniel@asmfc.org (Subject line: Cobia PID).

NORTH CAROLINA: Anglers angling for tougher rules on shrimp trawlers

November 18, 2016 — KITTY HAWK, N.C. — On a sunny fall day when commercial fishermen would normally be on the water hoping for a big catch, many were crammed into a dimly lit hotel ballroom in Kitty Hawk on Thursday trying to head off proposed rules that could limit future catches.

The state Marine Fisheries Commission is considering a petition from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation to adopt regulations for shrimp trawlers operating in coastal sounds that would reduce the size of their nets, limit how long nets could be pulled in the water, permit shrimping only three days per week and eliminate night-time shrimping.

The goal of the changes, according to Wildlife Federation officials, is to protect fish nurseries.

“We have found doing the research – looking at the science, looking at the data and doing the analysis – that we are losing too many fish to shrimp trawling,” David Knight, a policy consultant for the Wildlife Federation, told the commission.

“It’s kind of crazy that it comes up now because we just passed, last year, the shrimp plan,” commission Chairman Sammy Corbett said.

One of the proposals would cut the length of the head rope attached to the top of a trawler net from 220 feet to 90 feet.

Read the full story at WRAL

Can North Carolina’s Local Seafood Movement Help Save its Fishermen?

November 16, 2016 — North Carolina’s commercial fishermen—who work primarily in independent, small-scale operations—landed 66 million pounds of fish last year, but rather than ending up on North Carolina plates, the majority was whisked out of state to markets where it could fetch a higher price.

“I think more New Yorkers eat North Carolina seafood than North Carolinians,” says Ann Simpson, who grew up in a small town on the coast and currently directs North Carolina Catch, a partnership of smaller organizations working to strengthen the state’s local seafood economy.

To fill the void created by the export of its catch, North Carolina—like most states—ships in seafood from abroad. Today, around 90 percent of the seafood Americans eat has been imported from places like China, Thailand, Canada, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Ecuador, and the average fish travels more than 5,400 miles between the landing dock and point of sale.

“People come to the coast looking for fresh seafood, and for the most part, they’re getting seafood from halfway around the world, which they’re eating in a local setting,” says Noelle Boucquey, assistant professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College, who studied North Carolina’s fisheries while at Duke University. Patronize a vendor at the Outer Banks Seafood Festival in Nags Head, and you’ll face the same conundrum.

Read the full story at Civil Eats

NC State Researcher affiliate begins project on Atlantic menhaden fisheries management

November 10th, 2016 — With 500 years of fishing in his family’s lineage, the second interviewee of the day spoke longer than most.

He explained how his Swedish parents emigrated to New Jersey in the 1950s, assuming that America was “the place to be” to solidify their fishing future. They made their new home in Cape May at the southern tip of that state, home to a robust fishing economy and history. Their catch would include scallops, loligo squid and mackerel — the area was, and still is, rife with seafood.

This fisherman was talking with me about Atlantic menhaden. This small oily fish represents a critical piece of the food chain for many fisheries, a source of bait for lobstermen and crabbers, and an essential ingredient for omega-3 oil products, such as human supplements, animal feeds and even lipstick.

I had made the trek from Raleigh to Cape May to better understand the socioeconomic dimensions of the Atlantic menhaden fishery, tracking the fish from its Atlantic Ocean home to its final form as fish food, health product and other uses. My goal is to inform the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, or ASMFC, menhaden board about the role that fish plays for fishermen and the folks that process, distribute and buy it. The ASMFC funded the study to provide socioeconomic data on the menhaden industry.

Read the full story from NC State University here  

NORTH CAROLINA: 3 Marine Fisheries Commission members reappointed, one new member appointed

November 9th, 2016 — Gov. Pat McCrory has reappointed three members of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, but it was his fourth appointment of Nov. 2 that has commercial-fishing interests seething and recreational fishing interests cheering what appears to be a super-majority on the nine-member board for recreationals.

Six days before the election, McCrory re-appointed commissioners Allison Willis, Mark Gorges and Chuck Laughridge, Willis to a commercial seat. Gorges and Laughridge swapped chairs, with Gorges now in a recreational seat and Laughridge in an at-large seat. The fourth appointment, to an at-large seat vacant since the resignation of Wilmington restaurant owner Keith Rhodes last November, went to Brad Koury of Burlington.

The appointment of Koury, described as a “businessman, sportsman and conservationist” certainly didn’t sit well with the commercial fishing industry.

“The appointments announced by Governor McCrory on Nov. 2 are astounding,” said Jerry Schill, president of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a trade group representing commercial fishermen. “The two at-large seats were filled by recreational fishermen, meaning that the (Commission) will now be three from the commercial perspective, five recreational and one scientist. Rather than fill the at-large seats with individuals from a different viewpoint, such as a restaurant owner or seafood consumer, the governor assures the continuing decimation of commercial fishing communities along our coast.”

Schill was also unhappy with the reappointment of Gorges and Laughridge. A lawsuit filed earlier this fall to which the NCFA was a party, alleged that several Commission members violated the N.C. Open Meetings Law, and Schill questioned whether commissioners named in the lawsuit should have kept their seats on the board.

Sammy Corbett, chairman of the nine-member Commission, echoed Schill’s comments about Koury’s appointment, but had no problems with the reappointments.

“I’m disappointed with the appointments. I really was hoping for more balance on the Commission. I expected Alison, Chuck and Mark to be reappointed. That’s good. We have worked with them and have a good relationship,” Corbett said. “I just didn’t think we needed another CCA guy on the Commission.

Read the full story at North Carolina Sportsman 

NORTH CAROLINA: SCIENTIST GOES IT ALONE ON CLIMATE CHANGE TO SAVE HIS STATE

October 31st, 2016 — This 19th century fishing village stands three feet above sea level at the bottom of the coastal plain known as the Inner Banks. It is home to 301 people, a small fishing fleet that has seen better days, and is surrounded by 18 miles of dikes, including a 7-foot steel barrier installed a couple of hurricanes ago, courtesy of FEMA’s millions.

When Stan Riggs, a coastal geologist, visited here two weeks after Hurricane Matthew blew through, Swan Quarter was dry behind its barricade. But the surrounding landscape remained sodden, and the signs of saltwater intrusion from storm surges and rising tides that Riggs likens to “a creeping disease” are visible all across the plain. Whole “ghost forests” poisoned by saltwater stand sentinel to rising tides.

“We cannot engineer our way out of this,” he says. “We can build bigger and bigger dikes, but the net changes are driven by ocean dynamics, and it’s on a one-way track right now.”

Read the full story at the National Geographic 

Fishing for flood relief: Businesses sign on to aid Eastern North Carolina

October 28th, 2016 — One county restaurant and a seafood business are joining forces to cook up support for Hurricane Matthew flood victims in Lenoir and Greene counties.

Restaurant owners Jessica Murphy and chef Kevin Davis of La Perla Restaurant & Bar in Morehead City are encouraging other county restaurants to do the same.

From Sunday until Saturday, Nov. 5, the restaurant will serve fish stew, with proceeds going to the United Way in Lenoir and Greene counties for flood victims.

Blue Ocean Market in Morehead City is donating the fish to the restaurant to create the stew.

Ms. Murphy said Kinston chef Vivian Howard, star of PBS’s “A Chef’s Life,” is inviting chefs in the state to serve Eastern North Carolina fish stew during those days to raise money for Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts. Ms. Howard is the owner of Chef and the Farmer Restaurant in Kinston.

Ms. Murphy said Ms. Howard sent an email out to restaurant owners in the state inviting them to take part in the fundraising effort, and as soon as she saw it, she wanted to participate.

Read the full story at Carteret County News-Times