Saving Seafood

Plan to save New England shrimp fishery will go to public

March 20, 2017 — The public will have a chance to comment on a plan to change the way New England’s shuttered shrimp fishery is managed with an eye toward saving it.

The regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has been working on a plan to try to make the fishery more sustainable in the long term. It includes options such as changing the way the quota system is managed.

An arm of the commission has voted to send the plan out for public comment.

Regulators shut down the fishery in 2013 amid declining populations of shrimp. Scientists say warming ocean temperature is one factor hurting them.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WCSH 6

REP. JONES TESTIFIES ON BEHALF OF EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA SHRIMPERS

March 16, 2017 — The following was released by the office of Representative Walter B. Jones:

Today at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) testified on behalf of Eastern North Carolina shrimpers in strong support of continuing anti-dumping duty orders against imported warmwater shrimp from Brazil, China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. The ITC first enacted these orders more than 10 years ago to offset cheating by foreign producers, and to help level the playing field for American shrimpers. 

“Shrimping is an integral part of Eastern North Carolina’s heritage and economy,” said Congressman Jones. “Hard working Eastern North Carolina fishing families have been devastated by unfairly traded foreign shrimp.  If these orders aren’t continued, I have no doubt that producers from communist China, Vietnam and elsewhere will start illegally dumping shrimp into our market again.  That is unacceptable, and I hope the ITC will stand up for American workers.”

Background: In the early 2000s, the U.S. shrimp market nearly collapsed. Unfairly traded imports from Brazil, China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam flooded the U.S. market at prices below the cost of production overseas. As a result, the American shrimp industry was forced to slash production and lay off workers.   Many shrimpers abandoned the profession, sometimes after generations. The duty orders on dumped shrimp, first imposed in 2005, have helped bring stability to the market.  Under international trade law, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is required to review existing anti-dumping orders every five years to determine if revocation would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping, and as a result, material injury to American shrimpers.  If the ITC does not come to that conclusion, the orders would be revoked.  Today, the ITC held a public hearing on that review.  The commission is expected to vote on the matter on May 2, 2017.

Watch Representative Jones’ testimony here

Managers consider catch quotas for still-closed shrimp fishery

March 15 — Regulators are set to finalize the draft amendment for managing northern shrimp and it appears limiting entry will not be part of the new management strategy for the beleaguered Gulf of Maine fishery.

“Limited access has been used in a number of fisheries along the Atlantic coast to control effort while maintaining access by harvesters who have demonstrated a history in the fishery,” states the draft of management Amendment 3 regulators will consider when they convene Thursday in Portland, Maine. “However, during the scoping process for Amendment 3, the (northern shrimp) section decided not to pursue limited entry as a means of controlling effort and stabilizing the fishery.”

Instead, the northern shrimp section, which manages the the Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery under the mandate of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, will consider management options such as restricting fishing effort with hard state-specific total allowable catch quotas, as well as instituting mandatory gear and more-timely reporting requirements.

Of course, none of that really matters until regulators can re-open the fishery. It is dominated by Maine shrimpers but also populated by fishermen from Massachusetts and New Hampshire — many of them groundfishermen and lobstermen using the northern shrimp as a secondary fishery.

The Gulf of Maine, already home to a cod fishery in crisis, recently entered its fourth consecutive season closed to northern shrimp fishing.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section to Meet March 16, 2017: Meeting Materials Now Available

March 9, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section will meet on March 16, 2017 from 10 AM – 12:30 PM at the Westin Portland Harborview, 157 High Street, Portland, Maine 04101. Phone: 207.775.2411. At the meeting, the Section will review and consider approval of Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp for public comment.  The materials for the meeting are available here.  The combined document includes a draft agenda; Draft Amendment 3 for Public Comment; a PDT Memo on Plan Goals and Objectives; the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment Terms of Reference and Timeline; and a Memo on Northern Shrimp Stock Assessment Subcommittee Membership. If Draft Amendment 3 is approved for public comment, the Commission will issue a press release on the document’s availability for public comment as well as the details of state hearings to gather public input.

For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org.

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Trains 15,000 Shrimp and Tilapia Farmers Asia, South Pacific

March 7, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership wrapped up a major aquaculture training program in Indonesia, Thailand, and China that instructed thousands of shrimp and tilapia farmers with modern training designed to improve the industry in these regions.

Organizers initially expected the project to attract 12,500 farmers. But by the December 31, 2016 finishing date, more than 15,000 farmers in all three countries had participated in the training.

“This project has exceeded expectations because of the hard work of many committed partners to deliver improvements based on a detailed, local understanding of what farmers want,” said Anton Immink, SFP’s Aquaculture Director. “We recognize there is still a long way to go for many of these farmers, but we encourage others to actively engage in the improvements needed.”

The program, funded with the support of Walmart Foundation and IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative – has led to improvements in environmental and disease management across shrimp and tilapia farms in all three countries.

Ir. Rizal, head of the aquaculture unit of the Provincial Office of Marine and Fishery Affairs in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, said, “This training helped us improve the knowledge of traditional farmers in West Kalimantan to practice better farming. With better farming we hope that farmers can improve their shrimp and fish harvest.”

Training topics included: Better aquaculture practices; better post-harvest practices; better business management; group formation and management; value of zonal management; Code of Good Practice in Aquaculture; ecological farming, health management, and market outlook.

Sally Ananya, Director of The Food School, one of the partners in Thailand, said “The focus on smaller-scale producers and the specific inclusion of women in the training has been particularly valuable, as the contribution of these groups is often overlooked in projects aiming at improvements in shrimp farming.”

For some farmers, including Chareon Yongstar of Thailand, the training served as an eye-opener.

“I have learned so many practical best practices that I can apply at my farms,” he said. “But more importantly, the experience has raised more questions and made me realize how much more I don’t know. I hope there is a continuation of this program.”

SFP will continue to work closely with the international buyers to understand how these producers fit into existing supplies or how some of them can continue the improvements they have started to become part of the international supply chain.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

MASSACHUSETTS: Shrimp lovers lining up for local catch

March 2, 2017 — Joe Jurek knew his catch would be popular. He just didn’t know how popular.

Jurek, a Gloucester-based groundfisherman who specializes in yellow-tail flounder on most fishing days, now holds the rarified position as the only Massachusetts fisherman allowed to fish for northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine.

His tenure as shrimper-in-residence will last only two more weeks, much to the dismay of local northern shrimp lovers — including Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken — who literally have trooped down to the dock with buckets to try to buy the cold-water delicacies. The local shrimp have disappeared from seafood retail shops in the last four years the shrimp fishery has been closed.

“Once people found out about it, it was like a bunch of seagulls,” said Romeo Theken, who along with a couple other dozen friends put in an order for about 230 pounds of the small, sweet shrimp. “Now people know the process, that they have to sign in at the auction and buy it through a seafood dealer.”

Jurek said he’s averaging 350 to 400 pounds of the shrimp per fishing day, which he lands at the Cape Ann Seafood Exchange at an average off-the-boat price of about $6.50 a pound.

Jurek, owner and skipper of the 42-foot FV Mystique Lady, is the lone Massachusetts participant in the eight-week Gulf of Maine winter shrimp sampling program. The study also includes eight trawlers from Maine and one from New Hampshire.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Impact of shrimping regulations felt far and wide along North Carolina coast

March 1, 2017 — For months at a time, fisherman Dennis Aultman lives on his boat, the “Bertie P,” where he said he spends his time trawling along places like the “the Pamlico Sound and out off of the beach off of Ocracoke and Kitty Hawk.”

He’s just one of hundreds of North Carolina fishermen who said any changes to the industry would affect their livelihoods.

The N.C. Wildlife Federation introduced a petition last November to the state Division of Marine Fisheries that adds new regulations on shrimpers.

“I don’t understand why they want to shut us down,” said Aultman. “It creates jobs for a lot of people other than just us.”

But David Knight of the N.C. Wildlife Federation said the organization sees the regulations as a necessity.

“Those that are saying this is about banning shrimp trawling in North Carolina are incorrect,” said Knight. “That statement is untrue. If you look at our petition and read it closely, we want there to be more restriction on these nursery areas.”

Read the full story at WNCT 9

NORTH CAROLINA: Shrimp Trawling Proposal Moves Forward

February 28, 2017 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted February 16th to grant a petition for rulemaking and began drafting rules to implement it. If adopted, the rules will limit shrimp trawling in most North Carolina waters.

According to the Division of Marine Fisheries, shrimp are the second most economically important fishery in North Carolina.  In communities like Englehard, Lowland, Hobucken and Down East Carteret County, many commercial fishermen make their living trawling for shrimp in the Pamlico Sound.  That’s why a petition to reclassify most internal waters is a contentious topic right now.

At a public hearing last Thursday in Wilmington, the North Carolina Fisheries Commission voted 5-3 to grant a petition for rulemaking that if adopted would limit shrimp trawling in most North Carolina waters.  Proponents say the changes would greatly reduce bycatch and help bolster populations of commercially valuable finfish.  Those against the measure say it will raise the price of locally caught shrimp and could decimate the shrimping industry in North Carolina.  Jerry Schill is the President of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a nonprofit organization that lobbies local, state and federal policymakers on behalf of commercial fishermen.

“It was not surprising to us but it was very disappointing after you come off an advisory committee meeting in New Bern where the five advisory committees votes overwhelmingly to recommend that the Commission reject the petition or deny the petition.  And they went ahead and accepted it anyway which was very disappointing.”

The petition, submitted on November 2nd by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, and modified on January 12th asks the commission to designate all coastal fishing waters not otherwise designated as nursery areas (including the Atlantic Ocean out to three miles from shore) as special secondary nursery areas.  It also seeks to establish clear criteria for the opening of shrimp season and define the type of gear and how and when gear may be used in special secondary nursery areas during shrimp season.  Since the meeting, advisor with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation David Knight says he’s received a positive response from people who feel the recommendations are a step the right direction.

Read the full story at Public Radio East

NORTH CAROLINA: Tale of two sides: Opponents, backers of shrimp trawling petition weigh in

February 23, 2017 — NEW BERN, N.C. — A fishing industry advocacy group said the proposed state regulations in a recently approved petition could sink shrimp trawling in North Carolina, but a recreational fishermen’s environmental nonprofit thinks shrimping will just need to change.

Representatives from the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit industry group that advocates for the state seafood industry, and the North Carolina branch of the Coastal Conservation Association, an interstate nonprofit dedicated to protecting the coastal environment, spoke Tuesday to a crowd of about 84 people at the regular meeting of the Coastal Carolina Taxpayer’s Association at the Stanly Hall Ballroom. The association invited them to provide their opinions on the petition for rulemaking approved Thursday by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission.

Jerry Schill, NCFA executive director, said the association thinks the proposed special secondary nursery areas are the biggest problem with the petition’s proposed rules.

“The people who created this petition, they don’t understand the history of the (shrimp trawl bycatch) issue,” he said. “The fishing industry created nursery areas in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the term ‘bycatch’ came up.  Now we have turtle excluder devices in shrimp trawls and sea turtles have rebounded. Finfish bycatch is still an issue, but bycatch reduction devices are being used.”

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

New Rules Could Be Coming to Shuttered Maine Shrimp Fishery

February 23, 2017 — Interstate regulators are holding a pair of meetings to determine how to manage New England’s depleted shrimp fishery in the future.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has been considering new ways to manage Northern shrimp, which have declined as waters have warmed. The fishery is currently shut down.

Regulators are looking at ways to manage the fishery when and if it reopens. They are considering options such as state-by-state quotas, mandating different types of gear and adding new reporting methods.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News