Saving Seafood

U.S. blocks Mexican fishermen from ports, cites years of illegal fishing in U.S. waters

February 9, 2022 — Along the U.S.-Mexico maritime border, the incursions occur almost daily. The boats are outfitted with small outboard motors, powerful enough to flee pursuing Border Patrol and Coast Guard vessels.

The Mexican skiffs are loaded not with drugs or migrants, but with red snapper, sea turtles and sharks.

U.S. officials say the threat posed by Mexican fishermen casting their nets illegally in U.S. waters has grown so acute that for the first time in years, they’ve banned Mexican fishing vessels from entering U.S. ports.

“These vessels … will be denied port access and services,” said Lauren Gaches, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She said the sanction was being applied in response to Mexico’s “continued failure to combat unauthorized fishing activities by small hulled vessels in U.S. waters.” It took effect Monday.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

NOAA, menhaden industry study turtle interactions

January 20, 2022 — Working with the Gulf of Mexico menhaden fleet, NOAA researchers are working on a methodology for learning about potential sea turtle interactions with purse seines, using a combination of at-sea observers, drones and electronic monitoring cameras on menhaden boats.

One of NOAA’s Gulf Spill Restoration projects – funded by the BP natural resources damage settlement stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion – the turtle study began in 2020 and conducted field trials with industry vessels over five days in October 2021, according to a NMFS summary Jan. 19.

Typically deployed in teams of menhaden steamers with 40-foot seine boats, the fleet harvests menhaden for processing into pet, aquaculture and livestock feeds, fertilizer and fishing bait. In the Gulf of Mexico that brings the possibility of protected sea turtles showing up in nets, but “there isn’t a strong understanding of if and when sea turtles are caught,” according to NMFS.

The project is developing methods for observing those fishing operations to better understand turtle interactions, and to identify how the industry can take voluntary measures to reduce and avoid those occurrences.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

20 endangered sea turtles flown from New England to Florida to avoid freezing

December 13, 2021 — Twenty critically endangered juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were flown from New England to the subtropical Florida Keys to convalesce at the Marathon Turtle Hospital after being rescued from Cape Cod Bay’s frigid coastal waters.

Each of the turtles suffers from “cold stunning,” a hypothermic reaction that occurs when sea turtles are exposed to cold water for a prolonged time, according to hospital manager Bette Zirkelbach. They arrived Friday by private plane.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

On the Water: A Look at Life as an Observer October 13, 2021

October 18, 2021 — Keenan Carpenter has always loved being on the water. Growing up in Florida, he dreamed of a pro fishing career. Today, you can often find him casting his rod from the beach or on a kayak in his spare time. But as he moved through his studies in marine sciences at Jacksonville University, he found another way to channel his affinity for fishing and his background in sciences—as an observer for NOAA Fisheries.

“I watch what gets taken out of the ocean to ensure there’s more to get taken out later,” Carpenter says of his work. As one of about 850 observers contracted by NOAA Fisheries, Carpenter acts as the agency’s eyes and ears on the water. Observers collect data from commercial fishing vessels on what’s caught and what’s discarded, and track interactions with seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals. The data are critical “puzzle pieces of the whole picture,” as Carpenter says, underpinning the decisions made for sustainable fisheries management.

Read the full story from NOAA Fisheries

 

NOAA asks for help locating stranded sea turtles

August 30, 2021 — Federal ocean managers are asking beachgoers in New England and elsewhere to keep an eye out for stranded turtles.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office said several species of sea turtle will still be in the area for a few months. Healthy sea turtles normally should not be out of the water in the region, the office said.

The office asked anyone who sees a turtle on the beach to report it. Species that could be spotted include loggerhead, leatherback, green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the office said.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

NOAA Asks for Help Locating Stranded Sea Turtles in New England

August 30, 2021 — Federal ocean managers are asking beachgoers in New England and elsewhere to keep an eye out for stranded turtles.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office said several species of sea turtle will still be in the area for a few months. Healthy sea turtles normally should not be out of the water in the region, the office said.

The office asked anyone who sees a turtle on the beach to report it. Species that could be spotted include loggerhead, leatherback, green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the office said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at NBC Boston

See a Stranded or Entangled Turtle? Call the NOAA Hotline!

August 20, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Report stranded or entangled sea turtles so that network responders can help

Although summer is coming to an end, leatherback, loggerhead, green, and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are still in our area for another few months.

Beached Turtles

Report any sea turtles you see on the beach. In most of the states in our region, healthy sea turtles should not be out of the water.

Report Distressed Turtles in the Water

When you are boating, report any distressed, entangled, or dead sea turtles in the water. Live turtles in need of medical assistance or wrapped up in rope or other debris need the help of the dedicated, trained responders in our stranding and disentanglement network. Your call will start a potentially life-saving response. Network members have training and experience to assess turtle health, provide medical care if necessary, and safely disentangle turtles. Turtles that are released with line still wrapped around their bodies may later die due to this entanglement. Well-meaning attempts to disentangle turtles without training and experience can put both the people and the turtle at risk.

Make the Call!

  • Call our stranding and entanglement hotline: 866-755-6622 (NOAA Hotline).
  • If out of cell phone range, call the Coast Guard on Channel 16.

Stand By Your Turtle!

After you report a turtle in distress, we need you to keep the animal in sight from a safe distance and wait for responders to arrive. Like any first responders, we need time to get on scene, so please keep an eye on the animal from a safe distance; responders will have a much easier time relocating the turtle with you at its side. Sea turtles are very strong, and a stressed animal can act unpredictably, so give them space.

The Sea Turtle Stranding and Disentanglement Network team includes animal care specialists, researchers, and veterinarians with years of experience disentangling and treating injuries to sea turtles. They will evaluate the animal and determine the best course of action.

Our network of dedicated, trained responders have years of experience in responding to sea turtles in distress. They need your help to stand by turtles without taking action. Just like waiting for an ambulance, please wait for the experienced responders to arrive to assess the turtle’s health and provide the care it needs. Standing by and guiding the responder to the turtle’s location are the two best things you can do to help the animal.

Find out more: Sea Turtle Disentanglement Network

Read the full release here

Turtles, Tourism, and Traffic – Keeping Hawaiʻi Honu Safe

August 13, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Sea turtles have long been a key part of the cultural and natural resource heritage of Hawaiʻi. Once sought for their meat, Hawaiian green sea turtles, or honu, suffered a sharp population decline from overharvest in the early 20th century. Today, honu in Hawaiʻi are making a comeback thanks to the support of dedicated community members, and state and federal protections. Increasing numbers of honu in Hawaiʻi mean there is more opportunity for observing them on beaches and in nearshore waters, and where their behavior can be predictable, honu have become a sought-after tourist attraction.

The convergence between turtles, tourists, and traffic can create challenges in areas where the infrastructure may not be sufficient to support large numbers of wildlife viewers. For instance, residents of the North Shore of Oʻahu have expressed concerns about traffic congestion near the popular turtle viewing beach of Laniākea. This situation is not unique to Oʻahu. Communities throughout the Hawaiian Islands are experiencing similar issues that require collaborative solutions.

As the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation works to address traffic and pedestrian safety issues at Laniākea, we at NOAA Fisheries continue to study the basking honu population and work collaboratively on the management and conservation of honu at this and other locations throughout the state.

Read the full release here

New Turtle Excluder Device Requirements for all Skimmer Trawl Vessels 40 Feet and Greater in Length Take Effect on August 1, 2021

July 15, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

  • On August 1, 2021, a final rule goes into effect amending the definition of tow time and requiring the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) designed to exclude small sea turtles in the nets of skimmer trawlers 40 feet and greater in length in the Southeastern U.S. shrimp fisheries.
  • For the purposes of this rule, vessel length is the length specified on the vessel’s state registration or the U.S. Coast Guard vessel documentation required to be onboard the vessel while fishing; if there is a difference in documented vessel length, the lesser length will be used.
  • Beginning August 1, 2021, skimmer trawl vessels 40 feet and greater in length must have TEDs installed in any net that is rigged for fishing.

Additional Information:

New Protected Species Handling and Reporting Information for the Shrimp Trawl Fisheries

June 29, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

In an effort to strengthen sea turtle conservation efforts, NOAA Fisheries has produced new outreach materials for the safe handling, release, and reporting for protected species incidentally captured by shrimp trawlers. The outreach placards for sea turtles, smalltooth sawfish, and giant manta ray are attached to this bulletin, and are also available on our website.

Any captured sea turtle in a comatose or lethargic state must be retained on board, handled, resuscitated, and released according to our established procedures, as deemed practicable and in consideration of best practices for safe vessel and fishing operations. Fishers are legally required to follow these procedures per regulations at 50 CFR 223.206(d)(1). The continued use of turtle excluder devices, in addition to the proper handling, resuscitation, and release of incidentally-captured sea turtles in the shrimp fisheries, are key reasons for the ongoing recovery of threatened and endangered sea turtle species.

Likewise, smalltooth sawfish and giant manta ray must be released in a manner that avoids further injury, to the maximum extent practicable.  Proper handling of any protected species incidentally caught during fishery operations is essential to increase the likelihood of its survival.

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

Read the full release here