Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Announces Atlantic Mackerel Fishery Closure

October 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is closing the entire Atlantic mackerel fishery in federal waters through the end of the fishing year on December 31, 2021.

Effective at 0001 hour on October 15, 2021, vessels are prohibited from fishing for or landing more than 5,000 lb of Atlantic mackerel per trip in or from federal waters through December 31, 2021. Vessels may not land Atlantic mackerel more than once per calendar day.

The most recent management track assessment from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center concluded that the species remains overfished and overfishing increased slightly. We are implementing this closure to minimize additional catch for the remainder of the current fishing year.

If you have started a trip prior to October 15, 2021, you may offload and sell more than 5,000 lb of Atlantic mackerel from that trip, as long as the vessel entered port before 0001 hr on October 15, 2021.

For more information, please read the notice as filed in the Federal Register, and the permit holder bulletin posted on our website.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Alyson Pitts, Regional Office, 978-281-9352

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

Scallops: NEFMC Receives 2021 Survey Season Overview; Updates on Framework 34 and Other Work Priorities

October 1, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council received a high-level overview of the 2021 scallop survey season when it met by webinar for its September 28-30, 2021 meeting. It also received a progress report on Framework Adjustment 34 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan and short updates on: (1) the Scallop Survey Working Group’s recent meeting; and (2) a project to evaluate the scallop fishery’s rotational area management program.

Scallop survey coverage this year was extensive throughout the range of the resource. Several surveys were conducted on Georges Bank and in the Mid-Atlantic. These were done by three survey partners under the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program (RSA) and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Participating RSA partners included:

• Coonamessett Farm Foundation;
• UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST); and
• The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).

SMAST and the University of Maine also conducted RSA surveys in the Gulf of Maine, including on Stellwagen Bank.

Overall, the survey groups discovered that biomass in the Mid-Atlantic Access Area is down substantially. While blips of pre-recruit scallops occasionally were found, the survey teams did not see signs of another strong incoming year class. Most of the remaining scallops in this area are nine years old, stemming from the exceptional 2013 year class, which has run its course. As such, 2022 fishing activity in the Mid-Atlantic Access Area is expected to be minimal, and the Scallop Plan Development Team (PDT), Scallop Committee, and Scallop Advisory Panel are discussing the possibility of reverting this area to open bottom.

Two Bright Spots

Survey teams did find evidence of recruitment in the New York Bight and Nantucket Lightship West areas. The Council is considering establishing rotational closures to protect concentrations of small scallops in both locations. Closures such as these are the premise behind rotational management. Areas with small scallops are closed to fishing activity to give the animals time to grow to a harvestable size. A few years down the road, the closure areas are reopened and fishing is allowed to take place on larger scallops.

The New York Bight area that’s under consideration for a closure (see blue box in map at right) contains multiple years classes, including many smaller scallops with growth potential that will not recruit to the fishery in fishing year 2022 (see closeup shots below at right). Establishing a rotational closure in the New York Bight would provide an opportunity to improve yields for all scallops, especially the smaller ones, and increase the potential for downstream recruitment to the Hudson Canyon and Elephant Trunk areas in the Mid-Atlantic, as recent research suggests is possible.

Surveys conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Coonamessett Farm Foundation using a Habitat Camera Mapping System (HabCam) showed high densities of very small scallops – less than 35 millimeters in shell height – in the western portion of Nantucket Lightship (see graphics below). HabCam is a towed underwater camera that takes a constant stream of images along the seafloor. It is a survey tool that can help identify new beds of very small seed scallops, also referred to as spat. The Scallop Plan Development Team will analyze establishing a second rotational closure to cover Nantucket Lightship West in addition to the New York Bight. If the new year class of seed scallops in Nantucket Lightship West survives and continues to grow, these scallops should be ready to start contributing to the fishery several years down the road.

Current Biomass

The highest concentrations of harvestable biomass were found in Nantucket Lightship South and within Closed Area II on Georges Bank. These are the areas the PDT will analyze for possible access area fishing in 2022. Most of the scallops in Nantucket Lightship South will be 10 years old in 2022. These slow-growing scallops continue to be available in dense concentrations and, despite their smaller size, have drawn high prices on the market.

Survey teams saw some modest signs of recruitment in Closed Area II in the southeast portion, extension, and Habitat Area of Particular Concern (colored orange above).

As part of its work on Framework 34, the Scallop Plan Development Team is analyzing several possible configurations for Closed Areas II access area trips under two trip limit options – 18,000 pounds and 15,000 pounds – with trading allowed in 9,000-pound and 15,000-pound increments. The PDT also will provide a range of possibilities for open area fishing days. Biomass in Closed Area I is no longer high enough to support an access area trip for the limited access fishery. However, the PDT is looking at two options for this area: (1) reverting it to open bottom; and (2) reserving the area for LAGC IFQ access area fishing and RSA trips. LAGC IFQ is the acronym for the limited access general category individual fishing quota component of the fishery.

Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM)

In the Gulf of Maine, most of the biomass is located on Stellwagen Bank. The portion of the biomass that’s inside the Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area, meaning north of 42ᴼ 20’, is protected by a closure that will remain in place until changed by Framework 34. The biomass on Stellwagen Bank south of 42ᴼ 20’ is open bottom and available for fishing by the limited access and LAGC IFQ components of the fishery.

Framework Adjustment 34 – What’s Next?

Framework 34 includes 2022 fishing year specifications, 2023 default specifications, and other provisions. It also is the vehicle that will put in place measures developed under Amendment 21, which is under review by NOAA Fisheries. The amendment and framework are expected to be implemented concurrently by the start of the new fishing year, which is April 1, 2022.

The Council will take final action on Framework 34 during its December 7-9, 2021 meeting. Between now and then, the Scallop PDT, Committee, and Advisory Panel will hold several meetings to prepare final recommendations for the Council’s consideration. Keep tabs on the Council’s scallop webpage for a list of upcoming meetings.

• Meeting materials used during the Council’s September scallop discussion are posted HERE.

• View the presentation for a quick overview of what’s in Amendment 21 and the timeline for implementation of the amendment and Framework 34.

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

 

ASMFC Schedules State Data Review Workshop for Bluefish for November 3-4, 2021

September 29, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

In advance of the upcoming bluefish research track stock assessment* to be conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Bluefish Working Group, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will be holding a State Data Review Workshop on November 3-4, 2021. At this workshop, the Bluefish Technical Committee (TC) will review state data sets that could support the assessment, including fishery-independent surveys, fishery-dependent sampling programs, and life history studies. The TC will develop a report summarizing the available data sets and make recommendations for the Bluefish Working Group.

As part of this data review, the Commission welcomes submission of data sources from stakeholders and the public. Data sources include, but are not limited to, data on recreational and commercial landings and discards, catch per unit effort, biological samples (age, length, and/or sex), and life history information (growth, maturity, fecundity, spawning stock biomass weights, natural mortality). The Commission is also interested in socioeconomic data or analyses, especially those related to recreational bluefish demand. For data sets to be considered at the workshop, data must be sent in with accompanying methods description to Dr. Katie Drew kdrew@asmfc.org by October 25, 2021.

The Workshop will be held via webinar and is open to the public. To register for the webinar, visit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1647966037747393550. For more information on submitting data, including the appropriate format, and/or attending the upcoming virtual Workshop, please contact Dustin Colson Leaning, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at dleaning@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740. For more information on the Bluefish Working Group or the research track assessment process, please contact Michele Traver, NOAA Fisheries Federal Assessment Process Lead, at michele.traver@noaa.gov.

* Research track assessments are designed to be carried out over several years and can focus on research topics or on one or more individual stocks; evaluate an issue or new model that could apply to many stocks; and/or consider extensive changes in data, model, or stock structure. Research track assessments may provide the basis for future management track assessments.

Squid processors help new Northeast science center study

September 24, 2021 — Researchers from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center have installed a new electronic data collection system at five shortfin squid processing facilities across the region, a project that NMFS officials say will help “support good management of a burgeoning fishery.”

With a lot of squid available to measure, researchers hope this pilot project will show that processors can help increase the amount of real-time data on this relatively short-lived species.

The Squid Electronic Size Monitoring Pilot Project is new, and was developed by a team of science center researchers including:

• The Cooperative Research Branch, which specializes research with industry partners.

• The Information Technology Division, which manages and develops data and information gathering systems.

• The Population Dynamics Branch, which studies the distribution, abundance, and population dynamics of commercial species like the shortfin squid.

This team worked alongside industry to design the system. The goal is to create a standardized data stream of northern shortfin squid size and weight provided by processors. The northern shortfin squid (Illex illecebrosus) is fast-growing and lives for less than a year. At any given time, there are multiple cohorts (groups of similarly aged squid) in the population with a wide range of body sizes and weights.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

‘No easy answers’ WHOI building project designed for sea-level rise

August 26, 2021 — The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is one of the leading organizations focused on ocean research, exploration and education. Its vessels roam the world’s oceans, their researchers explore the deepest oceanic canyons and the shallows of a salt marsh.

For an institution that has experienced, researched and documented the impacts of climate change on the ocean, it follows that when it contemplated building a new $100 million dock and waterfront support facilities, WHOI would incorporate sea-level rise into their planning.

“This is critical infrastructure to what we do,” said Rob Munier, WHOI vice president for marine facilities and operations. “Others can contemplate alternatives, including retreat (from the waterfront), but we have to be there. It’s part of our ability to do our mission.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

ASMFC & NOAA Fisheries Select Coonamessett Farm Foundation to Conduct Components of the At-Sea Monitoring Training Program

August 24, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), has selected the Coonamessett Farm Foundation to conduct components of the At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) Training Program for NEFSC. Training will include identifying target and bycatch species in Atlantic groundfish fisheries, collecting and reporting fisheries-dependent data following federal guidelines, and instruction in offshore safety and survival.

At-sea monitors collect data aboard commercial fishing vessels that are used to manage and monitor annual catch limits in the Northeast groundfish sectors. A sharp increase in the required ASM coverage rate (up to 100%) and observer attrition during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the need for approximately 140 new at-sea monitors. Coonamessett Farm Foundation will take on the majority of the training with support from NEFSC. ASM training by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation will start this year and extend at least through 2022.

To learn more about becoming an at-sea monitor, contact one of the companies that provides at-sea monitors to the NEFSC’s Northeast Fisheries Observer Program. A list is posted here:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/fisheries-observers/sea-monitoring-northeast

For more information on Coonamessett Farm Foundation ASM training award, please contact Tania Lewandowski (Tania.Lewandowski@noaa.gov), Tasha O’Hara (tohara@cfarm.org), or Quinn McWatters (qmcwatters@cfarm.org).

Scallop RSA Program: Time to Submit Applications for 2022-2023 Awards Based on Council Research Priorities

August 18, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries has begun soliciting proposals for research projects to be carried out under the 2022-2023 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. The submission deadline is October 22, 2021.

Proposals should respond to the research priorities established by the New England Fishery Management Council. During its June 2021 webinar meeting, the Council determined that resource surveys should be the highest priority for the next round of RSA awards. The Council also identified two “high priority” and three “general research” categories, which are summarized in the table below and described in more detail in this letter to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

The Scallop RSA Program is a joint effort between the Council, which manages the scallop fishery and sets research priorities, and NOAA Fisheries, which administers the competition, oversees awarded projects, and monitors set-aside harvest activities.

Read the full release here

Ambrose Jearld, Jr.: Researcher, Educator, Mentor and Advocate for Diversity and Inclusion

August 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Ambrose Jearld, Jr. has spent his life around animals and water—both freshwater and seawater. He was born in 1944 into a Navy family in Annapolis, Maryland, and grew up on the family farm in Orrum, North Carolina. He attended elementary school there, but returned to Annapolis in sixth grade and graduated from Wiley H. Bates High School in 1961. He credits his high school biology teacher and the Boy Scouts for encouraging his interests in science.

He graduated from Maryland State College, now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry in 1965. He was just one course away from a double major when he graduated. “My family wanted me to go into teaching, but I wanted to do research and instead went straight into science,” he recalled recently. With a brother and sister heading to college soon, he took a few years off after college to work at “a good-paying job” as a chemist at Publicker Industries Inc. in Philadelphia.

A Fateful Meeting

Meeting Bradford Brown changed the course of Jearld’s career. Brown was a fisheries scientist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Woods Hole Laboratory from 1962 to 1965 and from 1970 to 1984. In He had taken a position as assistant leader with the newly established Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program at Oklahoma State University-Stillwater to complete his Ph.D . The Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program in the United States Geological Survey is a joint effort between federal and state governments. It is also a host university offering graduate students research opportunities in fisheries and wildlife sciences.

Brown was recruiting black graduate students to the program. He met two of Jearld’s former professors, who were also completing their Ph.D.s at OSU. They recommended he speak with Jearld. Although some people were skeptical about Jearld heading to Oklahoma given the civil rights climate in the country, Jearld accepted the full ride offer. That meant a research assistantship award that covered all expenses.

Less than a week after he arrived in Stillwater Jearld was headed to his first scientific meeting as a graduate student with Brown and three other white men whom he did not know. The 1967 meeting was for the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society in New Orleans. The meeting was part of the annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners. They had to deal with the intense heat and driving hours in a packed station wagon with no air conditioning. More importantly, they had not discussed safety or how to deal with segregated facilities en route to the meeting. The trip was memorable for many reasons.

Read the full release here

More endangered right whales using New England wind energy areas

August 4, 2021 — North Atlantic right whales, one of the most endangered species in the world, are spending more time in southern New England waters where immense offshore wind energy installations are to be built.

A new analysis, published in the July 29 edition of the journal Endangered Species Research, shows how measures to protect the whale population – estimated at only around 366 animals – will be crucial if the Biden administration’s drive to develop offshore wind is to succeed.

“We found that right whale use of the region increased during the last decade, and since 2017 whales have been sighted there nearly every month, with large aggregations occurring during the winter and spring,” said Tim Cole, lead of the whale aerial survey team at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and a co-author of the study, in a summary of the findings issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Marine mammal researchers at the New England Aquarium and colleagues at NEFSC and the Center for Coastal Studies examined aerial survey data collected between 2011–2015 and 2017–2019 to quantify right whale distribution, residency, demographics, and movements in the region.

The New England Aquarium used systematic aerial surveys, and NEFSC and the Center for Coastal Studies directed surveys conducted in areas where right whales were present, to document aggregations of right whales. Aerial photographs of individual right whales to help estimate the whales’ abundance and residency times, and the photos identify individual whales by distinctive patches of raised tissue on their head, lips, and chin, and by scars on their body.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

2021 Atlantic Cod Stock Management Workshops

July 30, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The New Hampshire Sea Grant, New England Fishery Management Council, and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center will be hosting a workshop series focusing on the management implications of restructuring Atlantic cod stocks from August 12 – September 20.

This five-part series will focus on the management implications of a potential split in Atlantic cod stocks into five distinct biological stocks, instead of the two that are currently managed. These workshops follow up on the previous series that focused on the science behind the decision and draws from the 2020 report by the Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group.

Presentations by technical experts will be followed by an open public discussion ensuring information is available to best inform the cod stock assessment process.

Registration is required to participate.