Saving Seafood

Proposed striped bass regulations draw mixed reaction

September 9, 2019 — On Aug. 29, I attended the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission striped bass public hearing in Dover. It began at 6 p.m. and by my count there were 13 members of the public in attendance.

The representative from ASMFC presented a summary as to why further restrictions were required on striped bass. This is due to the fact that the spawning stock biomass (large females) has fallen below the level that the scientists believe is needed to sustain the stock. Also, the entire striped bass population is overfished and overfishing is occurring. Therefore, action must be taken to stop the overfishing and restore the striped bass spawning stock biomass in the shortest amount of time.

Three options were presented for public comment. Option 1: Status quo. Take no action and keep the current regulations in place. Option 2: Place an 18 percent reduction on the commercial quota and an 18 percent reduction on the recreational catch. Option 3: Place a 1.8 percent reduction on the commercial quota and a 20 percent reduction on the recreational catch.

Read the full story at the Cape Gazette

ALASKA: Blue king crab fisheries in the Bering Sea are struggling

September 4, 2019 — Every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports to Congress on the status of U.S. fisheries. The report breaks the data down by region, and highlights which stocks are in “overfishing” and “overfished” status, as well as which stocks have been rebuilt.

The 2018 report, released in August, shows an Alaska stock was just added to the nation’s overfished list.

Krista Milani, a natural resource specialist with NOAA Fisheries in Unalaska, said the recently released report shows the number of U.S. fish stocks subject to overfishing remains at a near all-time low — meaning there are a lot of healthy, sustainable populations. But in Alaska, it’s not all good news.

“For the Alaska region, we didn’t have any fisheries that were in overfishing status, but we do have two stocks that are considered overfished,” Milani said.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

U.S. Territorial Bottomfish Stocks Less Healthy Than Previously Assessed

August 29, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Bottomfish stocks in three U.S. Pacific territories are not as healthy as previously thought, according to a new report from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. Scientists recently completed three new stock assessments for bottomfish species in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and American Samoa.

Stock assessment results differed among the regions. For the CNMI, the stock was healthy (not overfished and not experiencing overfishing). For Guam and American Samoa, the stocks were less healthy. The Guam stock was overfished but not experiencing overfishing, and the American Samoa stock was both overfished and experiencing overfishing.

Bottomfish include species of snapper, emperor, grouper, and jack. The assessments considered the health of multi-species groups of bottomfish in each territory. The bottomfish group in American Samoa has 11 species and the groups for the CNMI and Guam each have 13 species. The data showed that there were three species of bottomfish most commonly caught by fishers:

Read the full release here

Global Overfishing Could be Helped by New Indicators

August 12, 2019 — In a new paper published in “Science Advanced,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers Jason Link and Reg Watson from the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine Antarctic Studies suggested new ways of monitoring and managing overfishing.

They suggest a broader, whole ecosystem-focused approach to monitoring and research, rather than the population-by-population, smaller scale approach that most management uses now.

“In simple terms, to successfully manage fisheries in an ecosystem, the rate of removal for all fishes combined must be equal to or less than the rate of renewal for all those fishes,” said Link.

Link is the senior scientist for ecosystem management at NOAA Fisheries and a former fisheries scientist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Mackerel, small but economically important, hits ‘overfished’ list

August 6, 2019 — For the first time, the Atlantic mackerel — native to the Gulf of Maine — has been added to a federal list of overfished species.

The listing appeared in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2018 Status of U.S. Fisheries Annual Report to Congress.

The report details the status of 479 managed stocks or stock complexes in the U.S. to identify which stocks are subject to overfishing, are overfished, or are rebuilt to sustainable levels, according to a news release.

Although the number of U.S. fish stocks subject to overfishing remains at a near all-time low, the Atlantic mackerel was added to the list for the first time.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

NOAA: Number of sustainable US stocks near record high

August 5, 2019 — US federal fishing regulators say that the number of US fish stocks at sustainable levels remains at a near-record high.

Some 90% of US stocks are not subject to overfishing, regulators believe.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its annual Status of the Stocks report Aug. 2, which, as is required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, details the stocks that are regulated as “overfished” or subject to “overfishing.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NOAA marks Northwest salmon runs, Atlantic mackerel, bigeye overfished

August 5, 2019 — Pacific Northwest king (chinook) and silver (coho) salmon runs plagued by drought and warmer ocean waters are new additions to the overfished species list in the federal 2018 Status of U.S. Fisheries released Friday.

In the Atlantic, bigeye tuna joined the overfished list — reflecting the continuing inability of international regulators to rein in other nations’ fleets in the eastern Atlantic. For the first time, Atlantic mackerel between North Carolina and Maine are declared overfished, based on a first comprehensive assessment.

The good news, according to NOAA, is that rebuilding sustainable fisheries is still on its slow upward track since 2000, with 45 stocks now declared rebuilt. The latest is the Gulf of Maine smooth skate, after a 9-year rebuilding effort that included a prohibition on landings.

That success follows the 2016 rebuilding of barndoor skate in New England waters. “The renewed fishing opportunity and market for barndoor skate wings, following its rebuilt status, may lay the market foundation for a smooth skate fishery in the future,” the annual NMFS report noted.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Less overfishing, more overfished: NOAA report reveals environmental impacts to stocks

August 2, 2019 — The 2018 NOAA report on the status of U.S. fisheries has been released, and reveals that environmental factors are having the most impact on stocks that are overfished.

The report, which NOAA puts together every year, indicates that less species were subject to overfishing in 2018 than in 2017 – 28 versus 30 – a year that saw all-time low numbers of overfishing and overfished stocks. That means more than 90 percent of stocks are being fished at a sustainable level.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Maryland plan to boost oysters criticized as administration makes push for approval

July 25, 2019 — Maryland natural resources officials say they have an “ambitious,” science-based plan for putting the state’s troubled oyster fishery on a path to sustainability in the next eight to 10 years. They want to get on with it.

But others say the plan falls short because it fails to set a goal for rebuilding the state’s decimated oyster population and doesn’t make a firm enough commitment to stop overfishing. They’re hoping the General Assembly will order a do-over.

At a legislative briefing on the Department of Natural Resources’ proposed oyster management plan on July 23, a key lawmaker predicted the legislature would do just that.

Montgomery County Del. Kumar Barve, chairman of the House Environment and Transportation Committee, said he was “a little disappointed” that Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed legislation that he and Anne Arundel County Sen. Sarah Elfreth sponsored.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Asia Minute: Managing North Pacific Ocean Fish

July 23, 2019 — One concern that Hawaii shares with other island nations is the sustainability of ocean fish. Overfishing is a concern in many areas of the Pacific, but last week eight economies agreed to set limits for one kind of fish.

The Pacific saury may not top your list of favorite fish. You might not even be familiar with it.

Or maybe you know it as the mackerel pike — or by its Japanese name “sanma.” It’s a long silvery fish, pretty oily, that’s very popular in Japan – especially in the fall.

And last week in the midst of summer, it helped make a little history.

For the first time ever, eight economies that disagree about a lot of other things agreed to set catch limits on this fish. Canada, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and Vanuatu signed on to an annual catch quota.

Read the full story at Hawaii Public Radio