Saving Seafood

More sharks along East Coast: 2,800 tagged this spring

September 8, 2015 — If it seems like there were more sharks than usual near the coast this spring, that’s because there were. A team of federal researchers, part of the longest-running coastal shark research program along the East Coast, captured and tagged more than 2,800 sharks — the most in 29 years of population monitoring before the summer season got underway.

“We caught fish throughout the survey,” said Lisa Natanson, a scientist at the Narragansett Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center and leader of the coastal shark survey. “Sandbar sharks were all along the coast, while most of the dusky sharks were off North Carolina. We captured a bull shark for the first time since 2001 and recaptured 10 sharks previously tagged by our program and two sharks tagged by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.”

No one is sure why the numbers were up. It could have been the fish were simply concentrated in the study area from Florida north to Delaware during the time the sampling occurred. That could have been driven by any number of factors ranging from water temperatures to availability of prey, said Shelley Dawicki, a spokeswoman for the science center.

Read the full story at Delaware Online

 

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for 9/7/15

September 9, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

NCFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MONDAY SEPT. 14

The NC Fisheries Association Board of Directors will meet Monday, Sept. 14 at the Washington Civic Center located at 110 Gladden St., Washington, N.C.  Meetings are open to all members.

ASMFC 74TH ANNUAL MEETING PRELIMINARY AGENDA

MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION SEA TURTLE COMMITTEE TO MEET

The Sea Turtle Advisory Committee to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington.  The committee is scheduled to review information from the division’s At-Sea Observer Program, including the number of large-mesh gill net fishing days in each management unit, and to give feedback on potential amendments to the state’s Sea Turtle and Atlantic Sturgeon incidental take permits.

For more information contact Chris Batsavage, Protected Resources Section chief, at 252-808-8009 or Chris.Batsavage@ncdenr.gov.

NMFS CUTS VERMILION SNAPPER COMMERCIAL DAILY TRIP LIMIT 

The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic is reduced from 1,000 pounds gutted weight to 500 pounds gutted weight, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) Sept. 10, 2015. NOAA Fisheries has determined 75 percent of the July-December quota of 438,260 pounds whole weight will be landed by Sept. 10, 2015.  For more information see the news release.

PUBLIC INFORMATION DOCUMENT FOR AMENDMENT 1 TO THE INTERSTATE FMP FOR TAUTOG

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

-South Atlantic Vermilion Snapper Commercial Trip Limits Change Effective Sept. 10

-South Atlantic Gag and Wreckfish Catch Limits Change Effective Sept. 11

-Atlantic Mackerel Slippage Consequences Measures Effective Sept. 11

-USCG Mandatory Dockside Inspections Required Effective Oct. 15

DEADLINES:

Sept. 10 – NMFS Updated Draft Acoustic Guidelines Comments

Sept. 14 – NMFS Generic Amendment to Snapper-Grouper, Golden Crab and Dolphin-Wahoo FMPs Comments

Sept. 17 – 2016 Commercial Atlantic Shark Season Comments

Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. – 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring Research Set Aside Applications

Sept. 25 – MAFMC Cooperative Research Proposals

Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. – MFC Kingfish and Interjusdiction FMP Update Comments

Oct. 2 – MFC Proposed Rules Comments

Oct. 2 – MAFMC Unmanaged Forage Species Scoping Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.

 

Sept. 9-10 – Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel Meeting, Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, 8777 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD and via webinar

Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. – NCFA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington Civic Center, 110 Gladden St., Washington

Sept. 14 at 6 p.m – Oyster and Hard Clam Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee Meeting, DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. – MAFMC Scoping Hearing for Unmanaged Forage Species,

DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. – MFC Sea Turtle Advisory Committee Meeting, DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

PROCLAMATIONS: 

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (GRAY TRIGGERFISH, VERMILION SNAPPER)

View a PDF of the release here

 

2015 Coastal Shark Survey Reveals Shark Populations Improving off U.S. East Coast

September 8, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

The longest running coastal shark research survey along the East Coast has completed its 2015 field work, capturing and tagging more than 2,800 sharks, the most in the survey’s 29-year history. The results are very good news for shark populations.

“We caught fish throughout the survey,” said Lisa Natanson, a scientist at the Narragansett Laboratory of  NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and leader of the coastal shark survey.

“Sandbar sharks were all along the coast, while most of the dusky sharks were off North Carolina. We captured a bull shark for the first time since 2001, and recaptured 10 sharks previously tagged by our program and two sharks tagged by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.”

The survey began in 1986 and is conducted every two to three years. It covers coastal waters from Florida, where coastal shark species concentrate during the winter and spring, north to Delaware, where many shark species migrate during spring and summer as more northerly waters warm. Following this migratory route, at this time of year, makes it easier to survey the whole population.

Read the whole story, see images on our website, and find out about the research team’s daring rescue off North Carolina!

 

Cape Cod’s great white sharks head closer to shore

August 31, 2015 — July and the first week of August are often thought of as the dog days of summer, but if last year and this year are any indication, August and September could become the shark days of summer.

On Monday, researchers encountered 23 great white sharks from Chatham to Orleans, including three off Nauset Beach. The burgeoning population of sharks visiting the Cape has prompted local officials to rethink how they protect the swimming public from a potentially dangerous encounter.

While video footage of each shark seen Monday will still have to be analyzed to make sure they are 23 unique sharks and not repeats, it continues a trend in recent weeks, with 17 new sharks identified in one day three weeks ago and 19 in one day a week and a half ago.

More disturbing to beach managers is a pattern in recent weeks of great white sharks cruising in shallow water at swimming beaches along the coastline of the Outer Cape, prompting the temporary closing of some of the region’s most popular beaches.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

NOAA Announces Final Amendment 6 to Atlantic Highly Migratory Species FMP

August 17, 2015 — The following was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): 

Effective August 18, 2015

Final Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 6) implements a range of management measures for the Atlantic commercial shark fisheries. 

Who is affected?

 Amendment 6 could affect:

  • Any commercial shark fisherman.
  • Any dealers who buy or sell sharks or shark products (information specific to dealers will be disseminated separately). 

What will it do?

The full range of alternatives considered can be found in the final environmental impact statement and/or final rule, which can be found at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/documents/fmp/am6/index.html

This action implements the following measures: 

  • Commercial Retention Limit: Increases the large coastal shark (LCS) retention limit for shark directed limited access permit holders to a maximum of 55 LCS other than sandbar sharks per trip with a default of 45 LCS other than sandbar sharks per trip; 
  • Adjusts the sandbar shark research fishery quota to 90.7 mt dw (199,943 lb dw).

NMFS may adjust the commercial retention limit and sandbar shark research fishery quota before the next fishing season or mid-season based on various factors including the fishing rates from the current or previous years.  

  • Atlantic Regional Quotas (Figure 1): 

-Establishes a management boundary in the Atlantic region along 34° 00′ N. latitude (approximately at Wilmington, North Carolina) for the small coastal shark (SCS) fishery; maintains the non-blacknose SCS quota linkage with the blacknose shark quota south of the 34° 00′ N. latitude; and prohibits the retention and landings of blacknose sharks north of the 34° 00′ N. Latitude.

-Establishes a non-blacknose SCS Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 489.3 mt dw and increases the SCS commercial quota to 264.1 mt dw (582,333 lb dw).

Figure 1: Map depicting the modifications to the quota linkages for the non-blacknose SCS and blacknose quotas along the new management boundary in the Atlantic region

  • Gulf of Mexico Regional and Sub-Regional Quotas (Figure 2): 

-Splits the Gulf of Mexico regional commercial quotas for aggregated LCS, blacktip, and hammerhead sharks along 88° 00′ W. longitude;

-Establishes a non-blacknose SCS TAC of 999.0 mt dw and increases the non-blacknose SCS commercial quota to 112.6 mt dw (248,215 lb dw); and

-Prohibits the retention of blacknose sharks in the Gulf of Mexico.

Figure 2: Map depicting new Gulf of Mexico blacktip, aggregated LCS, and hammerhead shark sub-regions and sub-regional quotas

  • Commercial Vessel Upgrading Restrictions: Remove current upgrading restrictions for shark limited access permit holders.

The following fisheries will remain open or will re-open as a result of this action:

  • In the Atlantic Region:
    • The non-blacknose SCS fishery north of 34° 00′ N. Latitude will re-open with 63 percent (165.5 mt dw) of the 264.1 mt dw quota reminding.
    • The aggregated LCS (blacktip, bull, tiger, spinner, silky, nurse, and lemon) and hammerhead shark (scalloped, great, and smooth) fisheries have been open since July 1 and will remain open; the commercial retention limit for these fisheries will increase from 36 LCS other than sandbar sharks per trip to 45 LCS other than sandbar sharks per trip. 
  • In the Gulf of Mexico Region:
    • The non-blacknose SCS fishery will re-open with 59 percent (66.4 mt dw) of the 112.6 mt dw quota remaining.

90-Day Findings to List the Smooth Hammerhead and Bigeye Thresher Shark as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act

August 11, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries announces a 90-day finding on a petition to list the smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena) range-wide or, in the alternative, any identified distinct population segments (DPSs), as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and to designate critical habitat concurrently with the listing. We find that the petition and information in our files present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted.

NOAA Fisheries also announces a 90-day finding on a petition to list the bigeye thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus) range-wide, or in the alternative, as one or more DPSs identified by the petitioners as endangered or threatened under the ESA. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for the species worldwide.

Accordingly, in both instances we will conduct a status reviews of smooth hammerhead shark and bigeye thresher shark to determine if the petitioned actions are warranted.

Comments on the proposed rule for smooth hammerhead shark must be received by October 13, 2015. For more information see the proposed rule.

Comments on the proposed rule for bigeye thresher shark must be received by October 13, 2015. For more information see the proposed rule.

 

The Shark Fishermen of New England

August 6, 2015 — MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass. — Ever since Steven Spielberg set a shark fin gliding through the waters of a fictional New England town, Martha’s Vineyard has become irrevocably associated with the movie “Jaws.” The photographer Maggie Shannon was born more than a decade after the film was shot on the island, in 1974, but growing up on the Vineyard she had a “Jaws” poster hanging from her wall, and would attend the annual Monster Shark Tournament that took place each July. Since then, the Vineyard—its close-knit year-round community, the legacy of “Jaws,” and the island’s relationship to the many tourists who descend upon it each year—has become a central subject of her work.

For her new series, Shannon joined one of the fishing crews who participated in this year’s Monster Shark event, documenting the bait, the blood, and the physicality involved in hauling sharks from the ocean.

Read the full story at The New Yorker

Northwest Atlantic Shark Cooperative Research Fishery

July 16, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Sharks are vital to the health of the ecosystems they inhabit, and some represent an important resource for commercial and recreational fishing communities. While federal fisheries laws are designed to ensure sustainable shark populations, cooperative research by commercial fishermen is a key component for supporting sustainable fishery management of sharks in the Northwest Atlantic.

Each fall, commercial fishermen are given the opportunity to apply for, and if qualified, to be randomly selected to participate in the research fishery. Fishermen who are interested, can sign up for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) News to receive notice about how to apply along with other information about shark and HMS fisheries.

Learn more from our shark researchers about the science behind shark fishery management in the Northwest Atlantic. Watch our latest Youtube video!

And for more shark science videos, visit NOAA Fisheries YouTube channel.

 

 

SOUTH CAROLINA: Myrtle Beach considers ban on chumming from fishing piers

July 13, 2015 — MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — It’s not unusual for fishermen on the 2nd Avenue Pier in Myrtle Beach to clean their catch right on the pier and then throw the fish remains back in the ocean.

But city officials worry that tossing that fish debris, or chum, into the water can attract sharks to the area, and shark bites have been a problem for swimmers on other beaches this summer.

“The idea here is to take away any accidental chance that somehow a fisherman could, by accident, draw a shark into the swim zone,” said city spokesman Mark Kruea.

At Tuesday’s regular meeting, city council will consider a ban on chumming from the city’s fishing piers.

Read the full story at WPDE.COM

 

SHARK-DETECTING BUOYS PUT IN PLACE OFF MASSACHUSETTS COAST

July 13, 2015 — MASSACHUSETTS — The South Shore’s first shark-detecting buoy was set afloat off Duxbury Wednesday, with three more placed along the Plymouth coastline Friday.

The buoys, attached to acoustic receivers, will track any tagged sharks swimming within a 200-yard radius.

“We’re trying to get a sense of local movements of white sharks and their behaviors for the purpose of public safety,” said Gregory Skomal, a senior biologist with the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

The receivers on the buoys detect sounds emitted by the transmitters on tagged sharks, Skomal said. The receivers will record the date and time when the shark swims by, he said, and scientists from the Division of Marine Fisheries will download information from the receiver every couple of weeks.

Tracking buoys have floated off Cape Cod since 2010, monitoring shark movements in Chatham, Orleans, and Truro, Skomal said, and additional receivers have been added each year.

Plymouth harbormaster Chad Hunter said Friday that officials are seeking information about the sharks’ behavior that might help keep residents safe.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe