Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: Pamlico, Pungo, Neuse and Bay rivers to close to anchored, large-mesh gill nets

September 22, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

Some rivers and creeks in the central coastal area of North Carolina will close to anchored, large-mesh gill nets at 5 p.m. Thursday due to interactions with Atlantic sturgeon.

The action closes Management Unit C under the state’s Atlantic Sturgeon Incidental Take Permit, which includes the Pamlico, Pungo, Neuse and Bay rivers and their tributaries. The closure impacts all anchored, large-mesh gill nets, including those set under a Recreational Commercial Gear License.

The closure will remain in effect until Dec. 1.

This marks the first management unit closure in North Carolina resulting from interactions with Atlantic sturgeon under the incidental take permit since July 2014.

The action is required by the incidental take permit, which allows for anchored, large-mesh gill net interactions with six Atlantic sturgeon, only two of which can be dead, in Management Unit C during the fall season (Sept. 1- Nov. 30). Once the allowed interactions are approached or met, the waters must close for the remainder of the season.

As of today, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ staff have observed four live and one dead Atlantic sturgeon interactions with anchored, large-mesh gill nets in Management Unit C. The figures that state officials have observed are approaching the legal limit for these kinds of interactions in Management Unit C.

For details of the closure, see Proclamation M-15-2015 at http://www.ncmarinefisheries.net/proclamations.

North Carolina’s estuarine gill net fishery is managed under incidental take permits for sea turtles and Atlantic sturgeon. The permits are issued to the state by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The permits authorize limited takes of these species, listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, as part of conservation plans that divide the state’s internal coastal waters into management units. The permits require observer coverage, so that the management units are closely monitored for interactions with sea turtles and Atlantic sturgeon. An annual number of allowed interactions with each species is assigned to each gear type in each management unit. If the number of interactions is approached or met, the management unit must close for the remainder of the season or year.

For more information, contact Chris Batsavage, the division’s Protected Resources Section chief, at 252-808-8009 or 252-241-2995, or via email at Chris.Batsavage@ncdenr.gov.

 

HARTFORD COURANT: Cost of Outdated Rules? Millions Of Dead Fish

September 21, 2015 — This is utterly crazy. Hundreds of thousands — perhaps even millions — of pounds of edible and valuable fish are being wasted every year, thrown overboard from commercial fishing boats off the Connecticut coast, due to long-outdated federal regulations that have not kept up with a changing climate and shifting fish populations.

The problem, as The Courant’s Gregory Hladky has reported, is that catch quotas for some species are based on where the fish were when regulations were created decades ago, not where they are today.

Take, for example, summer flounder or fluke. Catch quotas to protect and rebuild the species were set in 1990, based on data gathered in the 1980s. The concentration or biomass of the species was then off the mid-Atlantic coast, so North Carolina and Virginia fishermen got large quotas, 30 percent and 20 percent respectively, while Connecticut got 2.25 percent.

So too with black sea bass, for which Connecticut fishermen are limited to 1 percent of the commercial catch, about 22,000 pounds of black sea bass this year, while boats from North Carolina get to 11 percent of the total and Virginia fishermen get 20 percent.

Read the full editorial at Hartford Courant

RUSS LAY: CCA’s small numbers has large grip on N.C. politics, fisheries

September 15, 2015 — Approach any recreational angler wetting a line from the surf, a pier, a bridge or a boat and ask, “Are you a member of the CCA?”

It’s far more than an even bet that not only will the response be “No,” but more than likely, “What is the CCA?”

But visit legislators in Raleigh and ask them about the Coastal Conservation Association. Chances are every single lawmaker knows of the CCA and has likely been lobbied by a representative of the group.

When Sam Walker and myself traveled to Raleigh in 2014 to interview Sen. Bill Cook and Rep. Paul Tine, we brought with us a basket of questions.

At that time we both were researching the Marine Fisheries Commission in North Carolina and how the CCA might be influencing the panel.

We were also interested in the Game Fish Bill, legislation pushed by the CCA almost every legislative session to ban the commercial sale or harvest of three popular fish species in North Carolina: red drum, striped bass and speckled trout.

Read the full opinion piece at The Outer Banks Voice

NORTH CAROLINA: Fisheries joint enforcement, charter boat logs repealed

September 15, 2015 — A new law passed this summer by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Pat McCrory rolls back a pair of controversial fisheries management measures approved by state lawmakers in 2014.

Senate Bill 374, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cook (R – Beaufort), repeals the for-hire coastal recreational fishing licenses logbook requirement and ends a joint agreement that allowed NOAA Fisheries Enforcement to also have jurisdiction in state waters.

Some members of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission members and staffers at the Division of Marine Fisheries said the log book was going to be required by federal regulators in the near future, and imposing the rule last year divided the recreational fishing community along interest group lines.

Charter industry participants cited the distraction of keeping and recording catches when the captain should be attending to the safety of the boat and the fishing needs of their clients.

Read the full story at the Outer Banks Voice

 

NORTH CAROLINA: Local legislators cast for answers on flounder issue

September 15, 2015 — RALEIGH, N.C. — Fry it, broil it, stick it in a stew — flounder has as many possible preparations as there are chefs clamoring to serve it.

But the fish’s popularity is cause for concern along the North Carolina coast. Fisheries experts say southern flounder are over fished and need stringent management to save them. Commercial fishermen disagree, prompting state legislators — including three from Southeastern North Carolina — to get involved. The fish fight has erupted into an all-out battle focused on the state’s nine-member Marine Fisheries Commission, now tasked with finding a solution that will pacify policy makers, unburden fishermen and keep the flounder swimming.

“I think this is relatively newer to the legislators, and I think they probably jumped the gun on it,” said commission member Mike Wicker, who is also a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I think they want to represent what their constituency would like them to represent, but I don’t think they’ve had enough time to understand what their constituency wants.”

Read the full story at Star News Online

NORTH CAROLINA: Fish wars swirl around NC’s diminishing southern flounder

September 12, 2015 — Not the prettiest nor the most elusive of fish, the flat, oval-shaped southern flounder is nonetheless a tasty staple along the North Carolina coast, whether it’s caught by fishing rod or purchased in a seafood market or restaurant.

These days the southern flounder is making waves that reach all the way to the state capital, pitting recreational anglers against commercial operators, setting a regulatory commission’s members against one another and their staff, and prompting legislators to wade into a controversy that is the territory of the executive branch. Accusations of political threats and retaliation abound.

The controversy centers on how extensively the flounder is being over-fished. Conservationists and recreational anglers say the fish is so popular that its numbers are in danger of being depleted, and point out that the catch has dropped by 60 percent in the past 20 years. But commercial fishermen say the two groups are being alarmists and are trying to take a shortcut around the process that is in place to regulate fishing.

The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources notes that the smaller catch could be caused in part by stricter regulations. Commercial anglers have succeeded in convincing the environmental agency to reverse its initial support for temporary limits, and have brought a halt to the proposed rewrite of the regulations.

The stakes are large: Ninety-six percent of all the southern flounder that went into commercial markets in the United States in 2013 came from North Carolina waters. Last year, 1.7 million pounds were caught that sold to dealers for $4.8 million.

Read the full story at the The News & Observer

 

Battle for control of North Carolina seafood is complicated

September 12, 2015 — North Carolina’s fishing resources generate millions of dollars a year, and many come to the beach to enjoy what they believe is freshly caught seafood that comes from local docks to the seafood market or a restaurant table.

But much of it is not local. Snow crab, king crab, the vast majority of shrimp and scallops, as well as flounder and other lesser-known delicacies are more often than not brought in from other states and foreign countries.

While some state government agencies spend tax dollars urging people to consume North Carolina seafood, other departments and even elected officials are exerting efforts in the opposite direction, essentially making it increasingly difficult for commercial fishermen to harvest local seafood.

Read the full story from The Outer Banks Voice

More sharks along East Coast: 2,800 tagged this spring

September 8, 2015 — If it seems like there were more sharks than usual near the coast this spring, that’s because there were. A team of federal researchers, part of the longest-running coastal shark research program along the East Coast, captured and tagged more than 2,800 sharks — the most in 29 years of population monitoring before the summer season got underway.

“We caught fish throughout the survey,” said Lisa Natanson, a scientist at the Narragansett Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center and leader of the coastal shark survey. “Sandbar sharks were all along the coast, while most of the dusky sharks were off North Carolina. We captured a bull shark for the first time since 2001 and recaptured 10 sharks previously tagged by our program and two sharks tagged by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.”

No one is sure why the numbers were up. It could have been the fish were simply concentrated in the study area from Florida north to Delaware during the time the sampling occurred. That could have been driven by any number of factors ranging from water temperatures to availability of prey, said Shelley Dawicki, a spokeswoman for the science center.

Read the full story at Delaware Online

 

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for 9/7/15

September 9, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

NCFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MONDAY SEPT. 14

The NC Fisheries Association Board of Directors will meet Monday, Sept. 14 at the Washington Civic Center located at 110 Gladden St., Washington, N.C.  Meetings are open to all members.

ASMFC 74TH ANNUAL MEETING PRELIMINARY AGENDA

MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION SEA TURTLE COMMITTEE TO MEET

The Sea Turtle Advisory Committee to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington.  The committee is scheduled to review information from the division’s At-Sea Observer Program, including the number of large-mesh gill net fishing days in each management unit, and to give feedback on potential amendments to the state’s Sea Turtle and Atlantic Sturgeon incidental take permits.

For more information contact Chris Batsavage, Protected Resources Section chief, at 252-808-8009 or Chris.Batsavage@ncdenr.gov.

NMFS CUTS VERMILION SNAPPER COMMERCIAL DAILY TRIP LIMIT 

The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic is reduced from 1,000 pounds gutted weight to 500 pounds gutted weight, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) Sept. 10, 2015. NOAA Fisheries has determined 75 percent of the July-December quota of 438,260 pounds whole weight will be landed by Sept. 10, 2015.  For more information see the news release.

PUBLIC INFORMATION DOCUMENT FOR AMENDMENT 1 TO THE INTERSTATE FMP FOR TAUTOG

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

-South Atlantic Vermilion Snapper Commercial Trip Limits Change Effective Sept. 10

-South Atlantic Gag and Wreckfish Catch Limits Change Effective Sept. 11

-Atlantic Mackerel Slippage Consequences Measures Effective Sept. 11

-USCG Mandatory Dockside Inspections Required Effective Oct. 15

DEADLINES:

Sept. 10 – NMFS Updated Draft Acoustic Guidelines Comments

Sept. 14 – NMFS Generic Amendment to Snapper-Grouper, Golden Crab and Dolphin-Wahoo FMPs Comments

Sept. 17 – 2016 Commercial Atlantic Shark Season Comments

Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. – 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring Research Set Aside Applications

Sept. 25 – MAFMC Cooperative Research Proposals

Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. – MFC Kingfish and Interjusdiction FMP Update Comments

Oct. 2 – MFC Proposed Rules Comments

Oct. 2 – MAFMC Unmanaged Forage Species Scoping Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.

 

Sept. 9-10 – Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel Meeting, Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, 8777 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD and via webinar

Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. – NCFA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington Civic Center, 110 Gladden St., Washington

Sept. 14 at 6 p.m – Oyster and Hard Clam Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee Meeting, DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. – MAFMC Scoping Hearing for Unmanaged Forage Species,

DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. – MFC Sea Turtle Advisory Committee Meeting, DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

PROCLAMATIONS: 

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (GRAY TRIGGERFISH, VERMILION SNAPPER)

View a PDF of the release here

 

2015 Coastal Shark Survey Reveals Shark Populations Improving off U.S. East Coast

September 8, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

The longest running coastal shark research survey along the East Coast has completed its 2015 field work, capturing and tagging more than 2,800 sharks, the most in the survey’s 29-year history. The results are very good news for shark populations.

“We caught fish throughout the survey,” said Lisa Natanson, a scientist at the Narragansett Laboratory of  NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and leader of the coastal shark survey.

“Sandbar sharks were all along the coast, while most of the dusky sharks were off North Carolina. We captured a bull shark for the first time since 2001, and recaptured 10 sharks previously tagged by our program and two sharks tagged by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.”

The survey began in 1986 and is conducted every two to three years. It covers coastal waters from Florida, where coastal shark species concentrate during the winter and spring, north to Delaware, where many shark species migrate during spring and summer as more northerly waters warm. Following this migratory route, at this time of year, makes it easier to survey the whole population.

Read the whole story, see images on our website, and find out about the research team’s daring rescue off North Carolina!