September 13, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking wild-catch U.S. shrimp producers to bid on 229,800 cases of shrimp under its Section 32 program.
Bids are due by 20 September, and the accepted bids will be announced by midnight on 28 September, the agency said in a notice.
Read the full story at Seafood Source
August 31, 2021 — Blasting onshore at the end of August, Hurricane Ida sent its immense storm surge coursing through coastal areas of the U.S. state of Louisiana, with winds reportedly gusting up to 172 miles per hour.
After landing at near-category 5 hurricane strength, Ida passed between Galliano and Houma, Louisiana, sustaining 130 mph winds. Through Sunday, 29 August.
August 18, 2021 — A man in the U.S. state of Rhode Island has been accused of bilking nearly USD 1 million (EUR 855,000) from major broadliners in the U.S. by fraudulently purchasing seafood from them.
Paul Diogenes, also known as Paul Dejullio, created a fictitious catering company – LePage Catering – in order to obtain credit from US Foods, Performance Food Group, and other distributors to purchase more than USD 831,700 (EUR 711,000) in product. Diogenes bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of lobster, sea bass, shrimp, scallops, filet, ribeye steak, and wild boar, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.
August 17, 2021 — Mexican officials recently met with their U.S. counterparts in Washington D.C. to formally request a lifting of the U.S. embargo on Mexican wild-caught shrimp.
In April 2021, the U.S. State Department withdrew Mexico’s certification under Section 609 of Public Law 101-162, barring Mexico from exporting any of its wild-caught shrimp to the United States. In a statement at the time, the State Department said Mexico’s efforts to protect sea turtles were “no longer comparable to that of the United States.”
August 13, 2021 — Louisiana’s attorney general has sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in New Orleans federal court to stop it from implementing a regulation that obliges certain shrimp fishermen to install devices that keep endangered sea turtles out of their catch.
In a Wednesday complaint, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the rule that took effect on Aug. 1, about a week before the beginning of the state’s shrimping season, will have “devastating consequences” on the fishermen’s already thin profit margins, and has sowed confusion with fishermen unable to find enough suppliers of so-called turtle-excluder devices for their fishing nets because the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the supply chain.
Landry makes claims that the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirements for reasoned decision-making.
NMFS spokesperson Kate Brogan said the agency is reviewing the complaint.
August 9, 2021 — Maine’s long-shuttered shrimp fishing business has a chance to reopen in the coming winter, but the warming of the ocean threatens to keep the industry shut down.
Maine shrimp were once a winter delicacy, but the fishery has been shut down since 2013. Scientists have said environmental conditions in the warming Gulf of Maine are inhospitable for the cold water-loving shrimp.
An interstate regulatory board is scheduled to make a decision this fall about whether to extend a moratorium on the shrimp fishery that is slated to end this year. Scientists have not seen a lot of good signs that suggest reopening the fishery is a good idea, said Dustin Colson Leaning, a fishery management plan coordinator for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates the business.
“Looking at recent data hasn’t been very encouraging, and as you know, the ocean temperature isn’t cooling,” Leaning said. “On the environmental side, it doesn’t seem to be encouraging.”
July 30, 2021 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries today released its annual Stock Overview of state managed marine fisheries species.
The 2021 North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Stock Overview reviews available information, such as long-term trends in catch, biological data and management, through 2020 to determine the overall condition of North Carolina’s state-managed species. It also provides links to information on federally-managed and interstate-managed species important to North Carolina.
Highlights of this year’s stock overview for state managed species include:
For more information, contact Lee Paramore at 252-473-5734.
ASMFC 2021 Summer Meeting Webinar Supplemental Materials Now Available
Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2021 Summer Meeting Webinar are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2021-summer-meeting-webinar for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, all supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2021SummerMeeting/2021SummerMtgSupplementalCombined.pdf.
Below is the list of documents included in the supplemental materials.
American Lobster Management Board – Revised Meeting Overview and Workgroup Report on Vessel Tracking Devices in Federal Lobster and Jonah Crab Fisheries
Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Revised Draft Agenda & Meeting Overview; Draft FMP Review; Technical Committee Memo on Review of Juvenile Abundance Index for the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River; Staff Memo on Potential Options and Timelines to Address Commercial Quota Allocation; Advisory Panel Nominations; and Public Comment
Tautog Management Board – Industry feedback on Tautog Commercial Harvest Tagging Program
Sciaenids Management Board – Atlantic Croaker and Red Drum FMP Reviews; and Florida FWC Commercial Atlantic Croaker Implementation Plan
Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board Concurrent with Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council – FMP Reviews for Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass; and Policy Board Directive to Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board
Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Public Comment
Business Session – Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment Summary, and Draft Amendment for Public Comment
Webinar Information
Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, August 2 at 1:30 p.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3 p.m.) on Thursday, August 5. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. To register for the webinar go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1268548762865393678 (Webinar ID: 606-517-315).
Each day, the webinar will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so that people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter. If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.
If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can may also call in at 415.655.0052. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar; see webinar instructions for details on how to receive the PIN. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, you can do so by dialing 415.655.0052 (access code: 904-450-431).
Public Comment Guidelines
To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings. Please note these guidelines have been modified to adapt to meetings via webinar:
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide an opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comment will not provide additional insight to the board.
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.
In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).
Comments should be submitted via email at comments@asmfc.org. All comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.
July 15, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Key Message:
Additional Information:
July 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
What/When:
NOAA Fisheries announces federal waters from 9 to 200 nautical miles off Texas will open to shrimp trawling beginning 30 minutes after official sunset, local time, on July 15, 2021, corresponding to the time Texas opens its waters to shrimp trawling.
Why This is Happening:
June 29, 2021 — Avanti Frozen Foods Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Thai Union, is recalling major branded and private-label shrimp in the United States because of the potential for salmonella contamination.
Affected brands include Safeway’s Waterfront Bistro, Whole Foods’ 365, Censea, Chicken of the Sea, Hannaford, Meijer, Open Acres, Honest Catch, and CWNO.