Saving Seafood

News for the South Atlantic Region

ASMFC Approves 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan

May 2, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission unanimously approved its 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan at its 2019 Spring Meeting. The Strategic Plan revises the Commission’s long-term vision to “Sustainable and Cooperative Management of Atlantic Coastal Fisheries” and establishes eight major goals and related objectives to pursue this vision. The Strategic Plan will guide the Commission’s activities over the next five years and will be implemented through annual action plans.

“The states recognize circumstances today make the work of the Commission more important than ever before. The Strategic Plan articulates the mission, vision, goals, and objectives needed to accomplish the Commission’s mission,” said Commission Chair James J. Gilmore of New York. “It serves as the basis for annual action planning, whereby Commissioners identify strategies to tackle the highest priority issues and activities for the upcoming year. With 27 species currently managed by the Commission, finite human and fiscal resources, changing ocean conditions, and ever-increasing political pressures, Commissioners recognize the absolute need to prioritize activities. The Commission must dedicate staff time and resources where they are needed most and address less pressing issues only as resources allow. A key to prioritizing issues and maximizing efficiencies will be working closely with the three East Coast Regional Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries.”

Read the full release here

ASMFC Presents Annual Awards of Excellence

May 2, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented its Annual Awards of Excellence to an esteemed group of fishery and data managers, scientists, law enforcement officers and environmental attorneys for their outstanding contributions to fisheries management, science and law enforcement along the Atlantic coast. Specifically, the award recipients are Robert Ballou for management and policy contributions; Geoffrey White, Coleby Wilt, Alex DiJohnson, Sarah Rains, Michael Celestino, and John Sweka for science and technical contributions; and Casey Oravetz, Sara Block, Banumathi Rangarajan, Lauren Steele, Shane Waller, Shennie Patel, and Joel La Bissonniere for law enforcement contributions.

“Every year a great many people contribute to the success of fisheries management along the Atlantic coast. The Commission’s Annual Awards of Excellence recognize outstanding efforts by professionals who have made a difference in the way we manage and conserve our fisheries,” said ASMFC Chair Jim Gilmore of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. “I am humbled by the breadth and extent of accomplishments of this year’s recipients and am grateful for their dedication to Atlantic coast fisheries.”

Read the full release here

Federal fisheries managers will reduce striped bass catches

May 1, 2019 — After years of listening to anglers begging for a fix, federal fisheries managers on Tuesday decided to tighten regulations to help the striped bass population rebound.

In its 2018 stock assessment, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission declared the species as overfished. Virginia anglers reporting less fish in the Chesapeake Bay and none in the ocean have known this for a decade.

Now the ASMFC is looking for ways that states from North Carolina to Maine can help reduce mortality. Solutions will affect the number of fish taken by both recreational anglers and commercial fishermen.

Last week Virginia fisheries managers decided to do away with the annual spring trophy season, allowing anglers to take only two fish a day that fit into a 20- to 28-inch slot limit. That season runs from May 16 to June 15.

Read the full story at The Virginian-Pilot 

SOUTH CAROLINA: One of last SC commercial fishing hubs could close. Land trust seeks funds to save it.

April 29, 2019 — Larry Mcclellan can look from the porch of his century-old farmhouse out across Jeremy Creek where the shrimp boats rock under their hanging nets.

Mcclellan captains one of the boats there and his son captains another. The creek, which leads to the rich Bulls Bay shellfish waters, is his livelihood and his life. The hub of it all, where the boats are moored, is the Carolina Seafood dock.

That’s how integral Carolina Seafood owner Rutledge Leland’s business is to McClellanville, the modest fishing village north of Charleston.

The seafood dock is the cultural heart of the place. And it could be lost.

Mcclellan was among a roomful of town residents who turned out at a Charleston County Greenbelt meeting last week to support an East Cooper Land Trust request for funding to conserve the Carolina Seafood dock as an open space and cultural heritage worth protecting with sales tax dollars, but also as a business.

Read the full story at The Post and Courier 

NORTH CAROLINA: Offshore drilling suspended on NC coast, fishing industry has mixed reactions

April 29, 2019 — The Trump administration has put a suspension on plans to expand offshore drilling off the North Carolina coast, leading to mixed reactions from the state fishing industry.

Randy Robinson, a representative of Brunswick County on the N.C. Fisheries Association Board of Directors thinks that the presence of offshore drilling “isn’t necessarily a bad idea.“ He considers that offshore drilling could play a role in increasing the net amount of jobs for North Carolinians.

Additionally, Robinson blames the N.C. Wildlife Federation for causing more damage than offshore drilling would do. He explains that the organization’s push to reduce trawls and limit the length of nets for fishing shrimp has negatively affected commercial fishing across the state’s coast.

Read the full story at WECT

Offshore drilling plans postponed, including off Georgia coast

April 26, 2019 — The Trump administration is suspending plans to expand offshore drilling, including plans to drill off Georgia after a recent court ruling blocked drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told the Wall Street Journal.

Bernhardt said the agency would delay indefinitely its five-year plan for oil and gas drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf as the case goes through the appeals process.

“By the time the court rules, that may be discombobulating to our plan,” Bernhardt told the Wall Street Journal in a report published Thursday. The plans had been expected to be released in the near future.

Read the full story at Savannah Morning News

South Carolina shrimpers start their season earlier than usual

April 25, 2019 — Wednesday, 24 April, marked the start of the commercial shrimping season in South Carolina, U.S.A., with fisherman taking to the water two months earlier than they had been able to do in 2018, according to a report from state newspaper the Post and Courier.

A warmer winter has been cited as the reason behind the early start, the newspaper said. State shrimpers like Tommy Edwards, who works out of Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, are meeting the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) decision to open the fishery now with enthusiasm.

“It’s looking promising this year because it’s not July,” Edwards told the Post and Courier. “I don’t think we’ll see a lot of shrimp at first but at least we can get to work.”

The fishery appears to be bouncing back after experiencing the fifth worst die-off of shrimp and other species seen since the 1950’s in January 2018, when a cold snap of snow and ice rattled the region.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Reminder – Public Hearings on Best Fishing Practices, Powerhead Gear – Scheduled via Webinar Next Week

April 24, 2019 — The following was published by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is currently seeking public input on Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 29 that includes proposed requirements designed to help improve survival of released fish. The amendment would also modify current regulations for the use of powerhead gear. Public hearings on proposed measures and alternatives will be held next Tuesday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 1 via webinar beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The Council is also seeking public comment on a proposal to add two species of mackerel to the Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan as ecosystem-component species to recognize their importance as prey. Public scoping webinars are also scheduled in May as noted below.

PUBLIC HEARING AND SCOPING
Public Hearings (Webinar): Best Fishing Practices and Use of Powerhead Gear
(Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 29)
* Tuesday, April 30 at 6:00 PM Webinar registration
* Wednesday, May 1 at 6:00 PM Webinar registration

The draft amendment addresses use of best fishing practices to improve survival of released snapper-grouper species, including alternatives for the use of descending devices and/or venting tools to release fish experiencing barotrauma (injury due to the expansion of the gas when reeled up from depth) and modifications to current non-stainless steel circle hook requirements. The amendment also includes measures to modify powerhead regulations.

The public hearing summary and presentations are available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/public-hearings-scoping-meetings/. The online public comment form is also available and public comment will be accepted until 5 p.m. on May 10, 2019.

Public Scoping (Webinar): Bullet and Frigate Mackerels

(Option to add species to the Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan)
* Tuesday, May 7 at 6:00 PM Webinar registration
* Thursday, May 9 at 6:00 PM Webinar registration

The Council is considering adding bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP as ecosystem component species, acknowledging the role the two currently unmanaged species play as important prey for both dolphin and wahoo.

Learn more and provide your comments!
http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/public-hearings-scoping-meetings/

NORTH CAROLINA: No wetlands, no seafood

April 24, 2019 — Commercial fishermen are used to overcoming challenges. Whether it’s extreme weather events or a changing market and regulations, we work hard and adapt to carve out a living for our families.

We represent a new generation of fishermen that depends on the productivity of our coastal waters for our livelihoods. We can’t earn a living for ourselves and our families unless the water is clean and capable of supporting fish and shellfish. We also need waters that are not polluted so it is safe for us to harvest and sell our catches to consumers young and old.

But now politicians in Washington are trying to gut the Clean Water Act, removing vital protections for streams and wetlands. Particularly catastrophic, the proposal would cause a dramatic and unprecedented loss of protection for more than half of the nation’s wetlands and millions of acres of wetlands in North Carolina — Southern Pocosins, Carolina Bays and Pine Savannas — are all at risk. Our estuaries and fisheries won’t likely survive the losses, nor will our livelihoods.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Maryland officials join opposition to offshore seismic tests

April 22, 2019 — Maryland officials have joined a host of congressmen in opposing the Trump administration’s plan to start underwater seismic testing along the Atlantic coast, operations that could lead to increased domestic production of oil and gas, but also could be harmful to marine animals.

The offshore seismic testing would be part of oil and gas exploration from Florida up the East Coast to Delaware, including the coast of Maryland.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and eight other attorneys general joined as parties to a lawsuit aimed at stopping the testing, which they said would subject marine creatures such as whales, porpoises, and dolphins to extremely loud sounds.

Read the full story at WTOP