Saving Seafood

Puzzling out the red drum: Fish population surveys contradict each other

May 16, 2016 — The sought-after red drum might be severely overfished since 2010 in the Southeast but not the mid-Atlantic, according to the latest survey. Or the reverse might be true.

The problem is in the metrics: Just how do you count all the fish in the sea? That’s what a federal commission in charge of regulating the catch told its staff recently while not approving — yet — an assessment that would suggest the Southeast stock is in trouble again. Improve the metrics.

At stake is whether or how to tighten management, and potentially catch restrictions, on one of the most popular game fish in the Lowcountry.

The bottom line is that some sort of tighter management is expected to be mandated of that stock, said Robert Boyles, S.C. Department of Natural Resources deputy marine resources director and a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the federal group in charge of maintaining the fishery.

“The results basically suggest there are reasons to be concerned. The questions are how concerned should we be and what do we do about it,” he said.

Read the full story at The Post and Courier

Mississippi bill would allow pogy boats to keep more red fish

February 10, 2016 — A bill in the state Senate Ports and Marine Resources Committee would greatly increase the number of red drum a commercial fishing boat could have on board.

That, a conservation group says, is unacceptable.

“All of this has been done without any public scrutiny,” said F.J. Eicke of the Coastal Conservation Association. He said the conservationists were not included in any discussions about the bill.

Sen. Brice Wiggins of Pascagoula said he was asked by Omega Protein, which fishes for menhaden in Mississippi waters, to file the bill.

“They are looking out for their captains,” Wiggins said. “The way the law is now, there is zero tolerance. This allows law enforcement some leeway. As in any kind of law, there should be flexibility.”

Wiggins said the boat captains are responsible for the fines and have a violation that stays on their record that could hurt them during jobs searches.

The bill would increase from zero to 45 the number of red drum, also known as red fish, that can be kept by boats that fish with purse seines. Eicke said the red fish population is getting healthier but “we’re not where we need to be.

“And now they want to allow them to take 45 fish every trip.”

That’s not the only part of the bill the CCA doesn’t like.

A couple of times, “shall” would be changed to “may,” which Eicke said would enable law enforcement to let violators off with lesser penalties. Under both the current and proposed law, fines are $100 per red drum. But the penalty also would cost the violator the nets used to catch the fish. The change adds leeway to that penalty, though, by changing “shall” to “may.”

 

 

First-Ever Federal Rules for Offshore Fish Farming Issued

January 11, 2016 — The first-ever federal regulations for large-scale fish farming in the ocean were issued Monday, opening a new frontier in the harvesting of popular seafood species such as red drum, tuna and red snapper.

The new rules allow the farming of fish in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The rules — in the making for years — were announced in New Orleans by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan said the Gulf rules could spur similar rules in other U.S. waters. She said it was time for the United States to open up this new market, which she said could help the U.S. meet its seafood demands.

Fish farming is contentious, with fishermen and environmentalists warning it could harm the marine environment and put fishermen out of work.

Typically, offshore farming is done by breeding fish in large semi-submersible pens moored to the seafloor. The practice is common in many parts of the world, and Sullivan said the United States has fallen behind. About 90 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported and more than half of that is farmed, she noted.

She said expanding fish farming has numerous benefits.

“It’s good for the balance of trade, it’s good for the food security of the country,” she said. She said it could create jobs, too.

The new rules allow up to 20 fish farms to open in the Gulf and produce 64 million pounds of fish a year. The farms can start applying for 10-year permits starting in February, she said.

Read the full story at ABC News

House Committee Holds Hearing on Gulf Red Snapper Legislation

November 2, 2015 — While former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s eleven-hour testimony before the 17-month-old House Select Committee on Benghazi took center spotlight on Capitol Hill, the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans met to a packed room filled with Gulf commercial and charter-for-hire fishermen to hear public testimony on H.R. 3094, the “Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act” which gives Gulf States control of the red snapper fishery.

Sponsored by Louisiana Republican Representative Garret Graves, and endorsed by all five Gulf state fisheries managers, the new legislation would remove Gulf red snapper from federal management authorized by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and place it under state management.

In his opening remarks, the bill’s author said he was convinced the Gulf states themselves could do a better job at managing red snapper than the federal government. Rep. Graves said he had repeatedly reached out to get input on the legislation from the commercial industry, but received none. However, he did thank Stan Harris, CEO of the Louisiana Restaurant Association and Board Member of the Gulf Seafood Institute, for his input.

During his opening remarks, Ranking Member Jared Huffman of California stated that the red snapper issue is as contentious as California water issues in terms of items being considered by the House Resources Committee.

The Subcommittee, chaired by Louisiana Representative John Fleming, heard testimony from seven witness including Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Executive Director Nick Wiley and David Cresson, Executive Director of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), who spoke in favor of the legislation.

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood Institute

 

ASMFC 74th Annual Meeting Final Agenda and Meeting Materials Now Available

October 22, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The final agenda and meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 74th Annual Meeting can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting; click on the relevant Board/Committee name to access the documents for that Board/Committee. The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of meetings. Interested parties should anticipate meetings starting earlier or later than indicated herein.

For ease of access, meeting materials for all the Boards/Sections, including the ISFMP Policy Board and Business Session are combined into one PDF (http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2015AnnualMeeting/CombinedFiles.pdf). This PDF does not include materials for any other committees that will be meeting; nor does it include the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review of Red Drum, which can obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2015AnnualMeeting/RedDrumAssmt.pdf.Some documents may be large, so please be patient downloading. Supplemental materials will be posted to the website next Wednesday, October 28th.

Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 8:00 a.m. on November 2nd, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:45 p.m.) on November 5th.  The webinar will allow registrants to listen to the proceedings of the Commission’s management boards/sections during the  74th Annual Meeting, November 2-5, 2015. Registrants will also be able to view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise during the streaming of the broadcast, the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. To register for the webinar, please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2086181846563838978.

Board/Section summaries, presentations, and audio files will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting the week of November 9th.

As a reminder, the guidelines for submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action) are as follows: 

1.   Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included with the main meeting materials.

2.   Comments received by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.

3.   Following the Tuesday, October 27, 2015 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies).

The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.  As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.