Saving Seafood

Stakeholder Engagement Meeting for American Plaice Stock Assessment

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

Improving Assessments for American Plaice

The American Plaice Working Group will be hosting a stakeholder engagement meeting in Gloucester, MA, on Friday, September 24th, from 10 AM – 1 PM.  You can also participate through Webex. This meeting link will be sent to your email upon registration.

The meeting will begin with a presentation on the American plaice Research Track Assessment process with a focus on fishery data, survey data, and a review of previous stock assessments. An open discussion will follow with time for questions and comments on the fishery and survey data, research track process including methods and timeline, or any other input or questions. The working group is specifically interested in getting on the water experience from stakeholders.

If you would like to register for the stakeholder meeting (either virtual or in-person) please RSVP here no later than Thursday, September 23rd.

Fisheries Stock Assessments Research Track

Research Track Stock Assessments Seeking Working Group Members

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

Fisheries Stock Assessments: Research Track

We are soliciting working group members for our 2022 and 2023 research track stock assessments. These working groups will carry out the analytical work required for the species-specific or topic-based research track stock assessments. Peer reviews for American plaice and spiny dogfish will occur in spring of 2022. Peer reviews for black sea bass and bluefish will occur in fall of 2022. Peer reviews for Atlantic cod and Applying State Space Models will occur in 2023. If you are interested in being a member of any of these working groups, please fill out this google form by March 29th, 2021.

Questions?

Contact Michele Traver, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Read the full release here

Blue Harvest inks deal to acquire 35 Rafael groundfish vessels for $25m

November 26, 2019 — One of the most anticipated forced sell-offs in the history of US commercial fishing – the unloading of Carlos Rafael’s fleet in New Bedford, Massachusetts — looks to be on the verge of completion.

Blue Harvest Fisheries, a US scallop and groundfish supplier backed by New York City-based private equity Bregal Partners, has signed a purchase agreement to buy at least 35 vessels and skiffs and all of their associated permits from Carlos Rafael for nearly $25 million, documents obtained by Undercurrent News confirm.

The deal includes millions of pounds of quota for at least eight types of fish in the Northeast multispecies fishery, including cod, haddock, American plaice, witch flounder, yellowtail flounder, redfish, white hake, and pollock.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NGOs condemn EU Parliament’s decision to ‘overfish Atlantic waters’

October 29, 2018 — The European Parliament has voted to approve the multiannual plan for management of north-east Atlantic waters, despite the plan’s allowance for unsustainable fishing, said Oceana, ClientEarth and Seas at Risk.

The Western Waters, an area that stretches from Portugal to France, Ireland and the UK, is a heavily-used fishery for cod, haddock, plaice, sole and Norway lobster. In 2017, the area yielded 368,000 metric tons of produce, with a combined first sale value of roughly €1.4 billion.

However, current estimates suggest that as much as 41% of the region’s stocks are overfished. Environmental NGOs have been putting pressure on the EU Parliament to reduce catch quotas in the region as part of the 2013 commitment in the common fisheries policy (CFP) to end overfishing in European waters by 2020 at the latest.

The latest vote has agreed to allow fishing at levels above the scientifically-advised maximum sustainable yield, a move that many NGOs have condemned as being adverse to the objectives laid out in the CFP.

“The Parliament has agreed fishing mortality ranges that, at their upper limit, can exceed the fishing rates above scientifically advised sustainable levels,” said Andrea Ripol, fisheries policy offer at Seas At Risk. “This means that stocks will not be restored to healthy levels, bringing negative socioeconomic impacts in the longer term.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News