Saving Seafood

Maine Wants to Return Salmon, Herring to Historic Habitat

May 21, 2018 — AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine state project aims to bring salmon and river herring back to a tributary of one of the state’s major rivers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is using its Species Recovery Grants to States Program to award more than $310,000 to the Maine Department of Marine Resources for the project. The state wants to restore salmon and herring back to Togus Stream.

The stream is a tributary of the Kennebec River. The state says the river was once home to the fish, but the construction of barriers has blocked them from their historical habitat for more than two centuries.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at US News

 

NOAA report: Number of overfished stocks in U.S. reaches all time low

May 17, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The number of domestic fish stocks listed as overfished has reached an all-time low, with three species of West Coast rockfish rebuilt to sustainable levels, according to the 2017 Status of U.S. Fisheries report to Congress. The number of stocks on the overfishing list also remained near all-time lows, an encouraging indicator that the U.S. fishery management system is achieving its long-term sustainability goals.

“Ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks provides two key benefits for the American people,” said Chris Oliver, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “First, it strengthens the value of U.S. fisheries’ contribution to the economy, which in 2015 exceeded $208 billion dollars. Second, it supports the communities and marine ecosystems that depend on healthy fisheries.”

Three West Coast stocks were rebuilt to target levels in 2017, bringing the total number of rebuilt U.S. marine fish stocks to 44 since 2000:

  • Bocaccio
  • Darkblotched rockfish
  • Pacific ocean perch

The overfishing list at the end of 2017 included 30 stocks, and the overfished list included 35 stocks. Overall, 91 percent of U.S marine fish stocks are not subject to overfishing and 87 percent are not overfished.  A stock is on the overfishing list when the harvest rate – a direct result of fishing activities – is too high. A stock is on the overfished list when the population size of a stock is too low, whether because of fishing or other causes, such as environmental changes.

Six stocks were removed from the overfishing list:

  • Sailfish – Western Atlantic
  • Blue king crab – Pribilof Islands
  • Puerto Rico Wrasses Complex
  • Coho salmon – Puget Sound: Hood Canal
  • Winter flounder – Georges Bank
  • Witch flounder – Northwestern Atlantic Coast (due to significant scientific uncertainty, the status of this stock cannot be determined following a 2017 assessment)

Six stocks came off the overfished list:

  • Yelloweye rockfish – Pacific Coast
  • Winter flounder – Georges Bank
  • Gray triggerfish – Gulf of Mexico
  • Red snapper – Gulf of Mexico
  • Pacific ocean perch – Pacific Coast
  • Bluefin tuna – Western Atlantic (due to significant scientific uncertainty, the status of this stock cannot be determined following a 2017 assessment)

“Rebuilding stocks to fully utilize our fisheries is one way NOAA can reduce our nation’s seafood deficit,” said Oliver. “We look forward to exploring innovative approaches to fisheries management and working with our partners to ensure America’s fisheries remain the world’s most sustainable.”

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and our other social media channels.

 

How the world’s second largest indoor salmon farm could take shape in Maine

May 11, 2018 — BELFAST, Maine — You might have to squint through the trees to spot the world’s second largest salmon farm in Belfast, according to computer renderings unveiled Wednesday.

Nordic Aquafarms, a Norwegian aquaculture firm, says its due diligence, the process used to determine whether the project would be feasible, is about 90 percent complete, and is ready to start applying for permits.

Nordic hosted its latest information session at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast on Wednesday night.

In its first phase, Nordic would build a 300,000-square-foot building on a 40-acre plot near the Northport town line. The building will be about 10-15 feet shorter than surrounding trees, largely hiding it from view, according to Nordic’s CEO Erik Heim.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

Washington state places voluntary ‘no-go’ zone along western San Juan Island to protect orcas

May 9, 2018 — OLYMPIA, Wash. — State fish and wildlife managers are asking boaters to avoid an area along the west side of San Juan Island in an effort to protect a dwindling population of Southern Resident killer whales.

Despite state and federal government protection, the population of Southern Resident killer whales has declined from 98 whales in 1995 to just 76 in December 2017.

The state said major threats to the whales include a lack of chinook salmon,  disturbance from vessel traffic and increased noise, and toxic contaminants.

“The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will be working with partner agencies and stakeholder groups to help educate people about the voluntary ‘no-go’ zone, which applies to all recreational boats – fishing or otherwise – as well as commercial vessels, the department said.

Read the full story at KCPQ

 

Chinese fish farm tests deep-sea waters with ‘world’s biggest’ salmon cage

May 8, 2018 — A Chinese fisheries company will soon launch a massive deep-sea salmon farming facility in the eastern province of Shandong to help meet the country’s growing appetite for seafood.

Shandong Wanzefeng Fishery, the operator, said a fully submersible net cage called Deep Blue No 1, the world’s biggest, was delivered to the shipyard of state-owned Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry on Friday, state-run Xinhua reported.

The 35-metre-high cage will be deployed in the Yellow Sea about 130 nautical miles east of Rizhao where the cold water is believed to be a suitable habitat for the fish.

Wang Yu, head of the Hubei Marine Engineering Equipment Research Institute, which designed the system, said the cage had a volume of 50,000 cubic metres and could generate a harvest of about 1,500 tonnes of salmon per season.

Read the full story at the South China Morning Post

 

New study reveals cost of 2017 salmon fisheries closure

May 7, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Last year’s closure of the commercial ocean salmon troll fishery off the West Coast is estimated to have cost $5.8 million to $8.9 million in lost income for fishermen, with the loss of 200 to 330 jobs, according to a new model that determines the cost of fisheries closures based on the choices fishermen make.

Scientists hope the model, described for the first time this week in Marine Policy, will help policy makers anticipate the economic toll of fisheries closures. Such foresight may be especially useful as conditions in the California Current off the West Coast grow increasingly variable, leading to more potential closures, said lead author Kate Richerson, a marine ecologist with NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the University of Washington.

“We’re probably only going to see more of these closures in the future,” she said, “so being able to predict their effects and fallout for coastal communities puts us ahead of the curve in terms of considering those impacts in planning and management decisions.”

The new model estimates the future losses associated with fisheries closures based on the way fishermen reacted to previous closures. It anticipates, for instance, that many fishermen will simply quit fishing rather than shift their efforts to another fishery instead. In this way, the model accounts for the difficulty fishermen face in entering other fisheries with limited permits, Richerson said.

The research is the first attempt to predict the effect of fisheries closures before they happen, said Dan Holland, an economist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and coauthor of the study. The model, developed prior to the 2017 closure, also can help identify the most affected communities.

For example, Coos Bay and Brookings, Oregon, and Eureka, California, were among the hardest hit by the 2017 salmon closures because they are geographically located in the center of the closure that stretched from Northern California to Oregon. The closure led to the estimated loss of about 50 percent of fisheries-related employment in Coos Bay and about 35 percent declines in fishing-related income and sales. Predicted percentage declines in overall fishing-related income are lower than declines in salmon income, since many fishermen were predicted to continue to participate in other fisheries.

The study estimated that the closure led to a loss of $12.8 million to $19.6 million in sales. Richerson noted that the model estimates only the economic consequences of the closure to the commercial ocean salmon fishery and does not include the toll on recreational fisheries or in-river fisheries, which would make the total losses even higher.

The closure recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and adopted by NOAA Fisheries was designed to protect low returns of salmon to the Klamath River in Northern California.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center here.

 

Murkowski: Fight against Frankenfish isn’t over

May 4, 2018 — AquaBounty may have won federal approval on April 26 for a genetically engineered salmon facility in Indiana, but they won’t be able to produce GE salmon there, says Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

The Alaska Republican’s comments on May 1 came in the wake of Federal Drug Administration approval of an application for an AquaBounty salmon facility in Indiana last week. The company began developing genetically engineered salmon in 1996 and received an FDA approval in 2005 to sell it for human consumption.

Murkowski said the fight against “Frankenfish” is not over and she would continue to push for clear labeling of the product if it is to enter into the U.S. marketplace and for proper oversight.

Genetically engineered salmon currently are evaluated under the FDA’s New Animal Drug Application, a program intended to oversee antibiotics and medicines used on animals and livestock.

Read the full story at the Cordova Times

 

Washington: Invasive bat-eating fish threatens salmon future

May 3, 2018 — There is a rapidly growing threat to salmon in the Columbia River that biologists say could wipe out tens of millions of dollars in restoration efforts.

On the surface of Lake Roosevelt, it may look like a picture-perfect day. Underwater, the scenery is anything but perfect.

The Spokane Tribe built a boat to deal with the invasive predator lurking beneath the surface.

“Hit ’em hard. Hit ’em now. Hit ’em with all we got,” said tribal Fisheries Manager Brent Nichols.

Nichols believes northern pike were brought here illegally, considered a fun sport fish to catch.

The tribe has been setting nets for years, trying to wipe out northern pike. But they just keep catching more.

“What happens is you see this explosion of the population size. So, we could go from 200 to 300 fish one year and three years later be looking at tens of thousands of fish in the same system,” Nichols explained.

Read the full story at KING5

 

Judge upholds Klamath River injunction

May 2, 2018 — A federal judge in San Francisco will not suspend or modify a court injunction aimed at protecting threatened coho salmon from a deadly parasite in the Klamath River.

The ruling, handed down late Monday by Judge William Orrick, further delays the start of irrigation season for local farmers and ranchers heading into what is expected to be a difficult drought year.

Scott Cheyne, assistant director of the Klamath Irrigation District, said the holdup is already having a negative effect on agriculture across the basin — wheat fields are stunted, ranchers are worried about growing enough forage for cattle, and row crops, such as garlic, are especially under stress.

“We’re looking at some higher temperatures coming,” Cheyne said. “We did get some moisture over the weekend, but it’s far from getting us where we need to be.”

PacifiCorp, which operates a system of hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, did agree last week to transfer 10,500 acre-feet of water to the Bureau of Reclamation to begin charging canals on the Klamath Project. Operators began releasing 100 cubic feet per second of water from Upper Klamath Lake on April 26.

Read the full story at the Capital Press

 

3 reasons we’re farming Atlantic salmon in Puget Sound

May 1, 2018 — Every time I report on the Great Atlantic Salmon Escape of 2017, someone asks me the same question: Why don’t we just farm Pacific salmon species in Puget Sound?

Listener Michael Hrankowski wrote in recently with that exact question. Well, here’s why not.

First, there’s the business reason.

The difference between farming Atlantic salmon and farming Pacific species is like the difference between raising cattle and raising bison. Atlantic salmon are docile, they don’t get into fights in the pens, and they get fat fast.

In other words, they’ve been domesticated. They’re the cows of the sea.

Second, there’s the historical reason.

In 1971, scientists from the Northwest Fisheries Science Center started to raise Atlantic salmon in the Pacific Northwest with the end goal of shipping the fish back east to restore Atlantic salmon runs in New England. Halfway through the project, fisheries officials back in New England decided they didn’t want the fish because of the possibility that viruses and parasites from the Pacific Ocean might be introduced into the Atlantic.

Read the full story at KUOW