Saving Seafood

Fisherman’s Perspective: Electronic Monitoring Needs to Pay Off for Fishermen

January 28, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

This is part two of our interview Rick Bellevance, a charter fisherman out of Point Judith, Rhode Island and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council, about his experiences using electronic monitoring and reporting. In this part, we focus on electronic monitoring. Read Part 1 for Rick’s take on electronic reporting.

Getting Started in Electronic Monitoring

You just recently started a pilot project using cameras to attempt to verify eVTR recreational fishing reports. Why did you start this project?

I started the project on electronic monitoring as a way to validate my electronic vessel trip reports. I grow frustrated with folks who feel like they need to double, triple, and quadruple check our vessel trip reports. I honestly believe that we all try hard to accurately report what we catch and what we throw back. This was my way of being able to show a full season of how my business works. So those cameras are, in my opinion, recording what I already know, and I want to have an opportunity to show that to people.

Where are the cameras located on your boat?

One camera is on the railing on my bridge that shoots down into the cockpit and captures all the anglers in the back of the boat and all of the fishing activity. There is a second camera that is focused straight down on the station where we generally measure all the fish to determine if they are legal-sized or not. And so as I understand it, they can take the images from the angler reeling in the fish. Then the fish is then captured by the camera where it gets measured, and you can see whether the fish is discarded or retained. That system validates the numbers of discards and kept fish that we reported.

Have you seen the video? How are the cameras on the vessel working out so far?

I did see a little snippet from the program. It’s really cool how you can see the fish get caught on the first camera, and then see the fish measured and tossed or kept on the second camera.

Read the rest of the interview on our website.

Mako Shark Populations Take Half-Century to Recover from Overfishing and Bycatch Kills

January 27, 2020 — An essay in the January newsletter of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association claimed that populations of shortfin mako sharks — a popular sport fish and a tasty offering on local menus — are “in crisis,” with fewer and smaller mako sharks being caught compared to 25 years ago.

The piece — on pages 8, 31, and 32 in the association’s newsletter — written by Long Island, N.Y., attorney Charles Witek, a recreational fisherman who identifies himself as a consultant on fisheries management issues, also criticizes the measures adopted to reduce shark mortality and the long timeline for rebuilding the population.

“Even if such reductions could be achieved, it will take about 50 years to return the shortfin mako stock to something resembling a healthy level of abundance,” Witek wrote. “Which, in turn, means that I and probably most of the people reading this article, will never see a healthy mako population in our lifetimes.”

Although shark biologists in southern New England disagree that makos are “in crisis,” those surveyed agree that the species is being overfished and that, even if targeted fishing for the species around the world was eliminated entirely, it would likely take at least several decades for the species to recover to healthy levels.

Read the full story at EcoRI

Warmer ocean means changing fish populations in Narragansett Bay

January 27, 2020 — It will come as no surprise to local anglers that different fish species are now found in Rhode Island waters. In some cases, these fish are displacing ones traditionally found here, and scientists are trying to understand which species pose the greatest threat to the native marine populations of Narragansett Bay.

Students presented some of the findings Thursday at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. The talks on the bay’s marine food web were part of the monthly Bay Informed series sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant and open to the public.

“It gets more complicated when you start realizing that there’s a lot of different predators for any given species,” said Maggie Heinichen, a master’s degree candidate. They’re not just eaten by one thing. And it gets even more complicated when you look at an entire ecosystem.”

Scientists have looked at changes at both the bottom and the top of the food web, analyzing fluctuations in populations of organisms at the bottom, like plankton, and of fish at the top level such as striped bass.

Read the full story at The Westerly Sun

American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshop Scheduled for February 24-27 in Narragansett, RI

January 21, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a second American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshop on February 24 – 27 at the University of Rhode Island Bay Campus, 215 South Ferry Street, Narragansett, Rhode Island. The stock assessment, which is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2020, will evaluate the health of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank and Southern New England stocks and inform management of this species.  The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data*, when the public will be asked to leave the room.

The draft agenda for the workshop is available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/AmericanLobsterAssessementWorkshopII_DraftAgenda_Feb2020.pdf. For more information about the assessment or attending the upcoming workshop (space will be limited), please contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
 
* Each state and federal agency is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of its data and deciding who has access to its confidential data.  In the case of our stock assessments and peer reviews, all analysts and, if necessary, reviewers, have been granted permission by the appropriate agency to use and view confidential data. When the assessment team needs to show and discuss these data, observers to our stock assessment process are asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.

Fishermen, wind farm developers at odds

January 8, 2020 — A group representing New England fishing interests on Tuesday called for special travel lanes through offshore wind farms proposed off the coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, putting the fishermen at odds with wind farm developers who want to retain as much space as possible for their turbines.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance called for the creation of six travel lanes, each one four nautical miles in width, through the entire lease area off the coast of the two states. The offshore wind developers in November had proposed no special travel lanes, choosing instead to let fishermen navigate through turbines set one nautical mile apart traveling north and south and seven-tenths of a nautical mile going diagonally.

Federal regulators, who had hoped the two sides would find some common ground on their own, will now have to decide the best approach.

Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, criticized federal regulators for leaving the issue of safe navigation through the wind farms to negotiations between fishermen and wind farm developers outside the regulatory process. She said it was disappointing that such an important safety issue is still being talked about so late in the regulatory process.

Read the full story at Commonwealth Magazine

Groundfish: NEFMC Approves Framework 59; Receives Progress Report on Amendment 23

December 17, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its early December meeting in Newport, RI, the New England Fishery Management Council approved Framework Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Among other provisions, the framework includes 2020-2022 specifications for 15 groundfish stocks in the Northeast multispecies complex, as well as total allowable catches (TACs) for three groundfish resources on Georges Bank that the U.S. shares with Canada.

Also on the groundfish end, the Council received:

  • A presentation from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) on the recent operational assessments for 14 groundfish stocks – the report and presentation are available here;
  • A report from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) on the SSC’s overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for groundfish stocks and Atlantic sea scallops – the presentation and related documents can be found here;

Read the full release here

US has only one offshore wind energy farm, but a $70 billion market is on the way

December 16, 2019 — Just three years ago five giant wind turbines in the waters off Block Island, Rhode Island, started spinning 30 MW of electricity to that tiny community of about a thousand residents. While it remains the only offshore wind farm in the U.S., that’s about to dramatically change.

According to the Department of Energy, offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 2,000 GW of capacity per year, nearly double the nation’s current electricity use. Even if only 1% of that potential is captured, nearly 6.5 million homes could be powered by offshore wind energy within the next decade.

Today states along the Eastern Seaboard, from Maine to Virginia, are poised to join a renewable-energy revolution that will not only provide clean, green electricity but also create tens of thousands of jobs, revitalize distressed port cities and spur economic growth in dozens of coastal communities.

“We are in an incredible growth period,” said Laura Morton, a senior director at the American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C. She cited a recent white paper from the Special Initiative for Offshore Wind that projects a $70 billion business pipeline in the U.S. by 2030.

Read the full story at CNBC

Scallops: NEFMC Approves Framework 32 for 2020 Fishing Year

December 11, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

On December 5 during its meeting in Newport, RI, the New England Fishery Management Council approved Framework Adjustment 32 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The framework includes specifications for the 2020 fishing year, default specifications for 2021, and measures to mitigate impacts on Georges Bank yellowtail flounder and northern windowpane flounder.

The new specifications are expected to result in roughly 52 million pounds of projected landings in 2020 with an estimated ex-vessel value of close to $487 million. Landings of this magnitude, while lower than the 2019 projection of roughly 62.5 million pounds, will remain well above the historical average.

The resource, which is not overfished or subject to overfishing, is considered healthy. Conservative management has greatly contributed to high fishery landings and revenues in recent years. Based on results from the 2019 scallop surveys, large scallops from the remarkably strong 2012 and 2013 year Full-time limited access scallopers will be allocated 24 open area days-at-sea and, as depicted in the map above, six access area trips in the 2020 fishing year, which begins on April 1. – New England Fishery Management Council graphic classes are expected to continue supporting the majority of fishing in rotational access areas in fishing year 2020.

Read the full release here

New England flounder can offload in three states

December 11, 2019 — A rule change long sought by the southern New England dragger fleet will allow crew to offload their summer flounder catch in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut all in one trip.

The pilot program announced by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries will permit boats to call at ports in all three states during flounder seasons, without the longstanding requirement that they first land their Massachusetts trip limit and then head out for another trip.

Provided boats hold flounder permits in all three states, the reciprocal can let them land three 1,000-pound increments – one in each state – on a single trip. Industry advocates say it will lead to less waste and better safety, particularly during the winter months.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

New rule allows New Bedford fishermen to stop throwing away fish

December 9, 2019 — A regulatory change long sought by groundfishermen — which will lessen the dangers of working at sea, reduce fuel costs and stabilize fishing stocks — is expected to go into effect Jan. 1 in the Bay State for the start of the winter fluke season, officials said.

The change, which is also expected to be made in Rhode Island and Connecticut, will allow fishermen to make one trip and then return to the three states and offload their catches without going back to sea after every offload, officials and fishermen said. The conditions are that they must have licenses to catch fluke in the states where they offload, and the states must be open for catching fluke.

Currently, fishermen go to sea, come back to a port in Massachusetts and offload their catch, discarding fish that are over their quota. Then they return to sea for a second time, offload a second catch in Rhode Island, if they have a license there, and again discard fish that are over the limit. Finally, they make a third trip to sea, offload their catch in Connecticut, if they have a license there, and again discard any fish beyond their quota.

“We just want to go from state to state and not kill fish unnecessarily. Anyone who thinks fishermen don’t care about fish is wrong,” said Tony Borges, owner and captain of Sao Paulo, an 87-foot dragger out of New Bedford. “We want to catch all the limits (in one fishing trip) and deliver it.

“It is so much better than going out and unload, and going out and unload, and going out and unload, if they (the states) are open (for catching fluke),” he said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times