Saving Seafood

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

F/V Darana R Hosts NOAA Fisheries Scientists During Fall Survey

December 3, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A dozen scientists and staff members from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center visited the 90-foot F/V Darana R in Point Judith, Rhode Island on October 3. The stop was a port call in the midst of the fall NorthEast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (NEAMAP) survey off the coast of Rhode Island.

Science Center staff learned about the vessel, its equipment, and the survey.  After some discussions in port, most stayed aboard as the vessel headed out to sea to sort fish from two tows made during an afternoon demonstration.

This was a great opportunity for staff from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to get out to sea for a few hours to see how they conduct the NEAMAP survey, and have a chance for Virginia Institute for Marine Science (VIMS) and Northeast Fisheries Science Center researchers to talk with each other and with the captain and crew about their operation. They are proud of it, and we appreciate their willingness to have us aboard,” said Anna Mercer, chief of the science center’s Cooperative Research Branch.

Each fall since 2006 the NEAMAP inshore trawl survey team has worked southward from Rhode Island toward Cape Hatteras, sampling juvenile and adult fish from dawn until dusk during four legs.

Read the full release here

NEFMC – Important Meeting Update – Time Changes for Tuesday, December 3 Agenda iIems

December 2, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

This is an important update from the New England Fishery Management Council about its December 3-5, 2019 meeting in Newport, RI.

WHAT’S GOING ON:  Due to the winter storm that is impacting the region, the Council will begin its meeting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, December 3 instead of 9 a.m. as originally scheduled in order to allow for additional travel time.
 
HAS THE AGENDA CHANGED:  The Council is not eliminating any agenda items.  However, timeslots have been adjusted to account for the delayed start, and the order of a few items has shifted.
  • Most notably, the open period for public comment and the update titled “Carlos Rafael Case/Misreporting Issues” both will take place following the lunch break under the revised agenda.
  • The item titled “Draft National Standard 1 Technical Guidance” now will be discussed prior to the lunch break.
WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE:  Visit the meeting webpage at NEFMC December 3-5, 2019 Newport, RI.
QUESTIONS:  Contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

Network could deliver wind power across southern New England

November 25, 2019 — The company that is turning the site of a former coal-burning power plant in Somerset into a green energy center has filed a federal application to develop a single transmission network that could deliver power from offshore wind farms to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Anbaric, a Wakefield-based company that focuses exclusively on transmission, said it filed its application with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for “non-exclusive rights-of-way to develop the Southern New England OceanGrid,” which it described as an “independent, open-access” offshore wind transmission system.

If approved, the company said its plan would be to link existing wind lease areas to one common transmission network and then deliver as much as 16,000 megawatts of clean power to the three southern New England states. The project’s benefits, according to Anbaric, would include greater efficiency, improved reliability, and limited environmental impacts.

“As offshore wind’s potential gains momentum, it’s time to think big and plan rationally. It becomes clearer every day that transmission must lead the way towards greater scale, reliability, and efficiency, just as it has in Europe,” Anbaric CEO Edward Krapels said. “Individual wind farm developers have gotten the industry off to a good start, but we now need a networked grid to minimize conflict and create a truly reliable offshore transmission system that will substantially de-risk wind projects.”

Read the full story at The Boston Globe