Saving Seafood

News for the South Atlantic Region

Fishing Then & Now: A look at marine protected areas

March 7, 2022 — Thirty years ago, [National Fisherman’s] then-editor Jim Fullilove made a prophetic statement on no-take marine reserves.

“The perceived simplicity of the no-harvest zone idea makes it dangerous,” Fullilove wrote on page 6 of the March 1992 edition. “Fencing off reserves is a fishery management tool that could become the darling of politicians and special-interest groups with anti-fishing agendas and little regard for the complexity of fish population dynamics.”

At the time, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council was considering roping off 20 percent of the coastal waters off of each state in the region to be designated as reserves.

As of Feb. 12, 2009, the council had established eight deep-water marine protected areas off the four states in its jurisdiction — North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

Despite the fact that the council spent the better part of two decades designing and establishing these areas, there is no conclusive evidence — more than a decade after their implementation — that they are working.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: NCDMF Distributes $4.3M in CARES Funds to Commercial Fishing and Seafood Industry Participants

March 4, 2022 — Commercial fishermen and seafood dealers in Carteret County and elsewhere in North Carolina are getting $4.3 million in federal assistance for income losses due to COVID-19.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries announced Feb. 17 more than $4.3 million in financial relief is on its way to eligible members of the fishing industries who sustained income losses from March to December of 2020, during the ongoing pandemic.

During the week of Feb. 14-18, the division issued funds to 265 commercial fishermen and marine aquaculture operations, for-hire fishing operations, seafood dealers and processors deemed eligible for relief from the federal North Carolina Consolidated Appropriations Act Fisheries Relief Program, or CARES Act II.

According to DMF, in Carteret County, $612,763.33 in CARES funding was sent to 67 recipients. Of these recipients, 53 were commercial fishermen or aquaculture operations, three were for-hire fishermen and 11 were seafood dealers or processors.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Access to red snapper in South Carolina waters could improve with new legislation

February 23, 2022 — Nearly 13 years ago, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determined the South Atlantic red snapper stock was overfished and undergoing overfishing. The fishery was closed in 2010 with a 35-year rebuilding plan put in place.

Ever since, red snapper have been virtually inaccessible for recreational anglers in South Atlantic waters which stretch from North Carolina southward through the east coast of Florida.

Save for occasional mini-seasons ranging from three to nine days in some, but not all, of those years, anglers have been forced to release red snapper.

As the numbers and size of red snapper have increased over the past dozen years, so has frustration among recreational anglers not only in South Carolina but throughout the South Atlantic Region.

Red snapper are almost exclusively caught in federal waters (3-200 miles offshore), typically in depths of about 60-120 feet off South Carolina. The reef species is very susceptible to barotrauma, which occurs when the rapid change in pressure as fish are reeled in causes the gases in the fish’s body to expand.

Read the full story at The State

NOAA Fisheries Completes 5-Year Review of Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales

January 5, 2022 — Every 5 years, NOAA Fisheries reviews the status of species listed under the Endangered Species Act to make sure they have the protection they need. We have completed our review of endangered Southern Resident killer whales and confirm they should remain listed as endangered.

The review also underscores the work we must still do to recover this declining species. We have made important strides, including:

  • Expanding critical habitat
  • Limiting commercial and recreational Chinook salmon fishing in years of low abundance
  • Releasing more salmon from hatcheries to supplement their prey
  • Funding restoration of habitat essential to the salmon the whales depend on as prey

However, we must work with our partners to do more.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

 

Cheap imports depress US swordfish market

December 30, 2021 — Low production, the ongoing COVID-19 health and economic crisis, and a flood of product from Canada are depressing the U.S. commercial swordfish market in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic, according to some industry members.

“Production levels are the lowest they’ve been since the beginning of time,” Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S.A.-based Day Boat Seafood Owner Scott Taylor said. “There have been no positive developments whatsoever. I have more boats sitting at the dock than I have fishing.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Gulf of Mexico Swordfish: Lingering covid effects, cheap imports depress market

December 22, 2021 — Low production, the ongoing covid-19 health and economic crisis, and a flood of product from Canada are depressing the U.S. commercial swordfish market in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic, according to some industry members.

“Production levels are the lowest they’ve been since the beginning of time,” lamented Scott Taylor, operator of Day Boat Seafood in Fort Pierce, Fla. “There have been no positive developments whatsoever. I have more boats sitting at the dock than I have fishing.”

Taylor cited a litany of hits to the fishery: Covid’s impacts on the restaurant industry which drives U.S. demand for swords; new U.S. government regulations, including gear restrictions and the possible closure by the Biden administration of New England’s fish-rich Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument; a deluge of cheaper product from Canada dumped in U.S. markets recently; rising fuel prices; and a lack of new blood entering the U.S. commercial fishing industry.

Taylor said the average boat price is about $4, which he calls “unsustainable.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

The Southeast For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting Program (SEFHIER) Thanks Program Participants and Offers Year End Reminders

December 17, 2021 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Key Message:

•NOAA Fisheries thanks fishermen for their participation in the SEFHIER program, informs participants about program requirements, reminds participants of frequently asked questions (FAQs), and provides an update of the program progress.

•For further information, SEFHIER participants can contact the program help desk at 1-833- 707-1632, and select option 3, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., ET, excluding federal holidays. Also, fishermen can visit the program website at https://go.usa.gov/xMBjm for more information about the program.

Thank You:

•As the first year of NOAA Fisheries’ SEFHIER program comes to a close, SEFHIER extends a sincere thank you to the constituents who are participating in the program and have offered suggestions for improving the program.

•Over the past year, SEFHIER staff has made many enhancements to the program based on input from fishermen. Through Fishery Management Council meetings, webinars, mailings, region specific toolkits, conference calls, dock talks, and calls to our hotline, constituents have listened, provided feedback, complied with regulations, and helped make this program a success.

•SEFHIER also thanks the staff of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils for helping to host webinars, create and distribute informational toolkits, and sharing SEFHIER messages to reach federally permitted for-hire fishermen.

Preliminary 2021 Highlights:

•70,834 Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and South Atlantic/Atlantic logbooks received,

•41,033 Gulf declarations received,

•~64% of Gulf for-hire federally permitted vessels and ~60% of South Atlantic/Atlantic federally permitted vessels have registered an account with an approved reporting vendor,

•SEFHIER staff answered more than 1,000 incoming calls and assisted constituents with program-related outreach on nearly 6,000 outgoing customer service calls.

Regulation Reminders:

(Please refer to the SEFHIER FAQs page for more information.)

•Federally permitted Gulf for-hire vessels

•Trip declarations are required every time a vessel moves on the water (i.e., bait/ice trips, transportation to/from marinas and private docks, sunset cruises).

•For dually federally permitted for-hire and commercial reef fish vessels, you must complete both a commercial reef fish and for-hire trip declaration when going on a for-hire trip. NOAA Fisheries is actively investigating how to streamline the vessel monitoring system (VMS) declaration process for dually commercial reef fish and for-hire federally permitted vessels. Currently, these programs have different regulatory declaration requirements.

•For-hire declarations can only be completed using a SEFHIER approved reporting platform (VMS or software). Gulf for-hire declarations are not approved for submission on the VMS IVR line.

•All federally permitted for-hire vessels

•All federally permitted for-hire vessels are required to submit logbooks with information on catch and effort. This information is required to be reported regardless of where the vessel is fishing. All logbooks must be submitted electronically through SEFHIER approved software.

•Gulf federally permitted for-hire vessels: Logbooks must be submitted prior to removing fish from the vessel. If no fish were harvested, the logbook must be submitted within 30 minutes of landing.

•South Atlantic/Atlantic federally permitted for-hire vessels: Logbooks must be submitted weekly, by 11:59 pm, local time, the Tuesday following a reporting week (Monday-Sunday). A no-fishing report must be submitted if a vessel does not go fishing in a reporting week (Monday through Sunday).

• Reporting Highly Migratory Species (HMS)

•If you are using eTrips/Mobile2, the application will prompt for the HMS required questions, and only one submission is required to comply with both SEFHIER and HMS programs. If you are using the VESL reporting application, you will still need to complete the HMS reports using the HMS Program.

FAQ Reminders:

•Questions from participants have often been related to trip type, trip activity, economic questions, and reporting errors.

•For answers to these and additional SEFHIER questions, please refer to our SEFHIER FAQs page (broken out by topic) for detailed answers to some of our most frequently asked questions:

•General Program Requirements

•General Reporting Requirements

•Electronic Logbook Questions

•Gulf Trip Declaration Questions

•Gulf of Mexico VMS requirement Questions

•Gulf of Mexico Intercept Validation Survey Questions

•Dually Permitted For-Hire Vessel Questions

Reporting Reminders:

•eTrips:

•While eTrips/Mobile2 is approved, eTrips/Online is not approved for SEFHIER. See the program website, under Approved Software, for more information on what software is approved for the program.

•For South Atlantic/Atlantic federally permitted for-hire vessels, no fishing reports are only accepted 30 days in advance per program requirements, regardless of what the application will allow. Any form submitted in excess of the 30 days will not count towards program compliance and will need to be resubmitted.

•Landing location is a required field on the Gulf declaration. SEFHIER declarations combine traditional hail-out and hail-in information into one form. The hail-in information, estimated return time and landing location, are used by law enforcement and SEFHIER Validation Surveyors to know in advance when a vessel will be landing with catch.

•To submit a logbook, click the send/submit button on the application. Without clicking send/submit, the logbook will remain pending in the application. A confirmation screen will confirm a successful submission. This report is then saved to your device; if needed, you can show a law enforcement officer your trip submission confirmation.

•Software application vendors are required to have helpdesks. Please call them if/when you have trouble with your application. They are here to help you!

•eTrips:  Help Desk Phone Number: 1-800-984-0810

•VESL: Help Desk Phone Number: 1-202-883-8375

SEFHIER Staff Are Also Here To Help You:

•SEFHIER website

•Toll free phone number: 1-833-707-1632 (8:00 am – 4:30 pm ET, Monday through Friday),

•Program email: ser.electronicreporting@noaa.gov

•SEFHIER specific For-Hire Fishery Bulletins are now available: sign up for and view Fishery Bulletins here

•Sign up for recreational fisheries related NOAA text alerts (standard text messaging rates apply) by texting:

•GULFRECFISH to 888777 (Gulf) or

•SATLRECFISH to 888777 (South Atlantic)

 

Recruitment Announcement Communication and Digital Media Specialist

December 17, 2021 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina, is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit of the Atlantic off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and east Florida to Key West. The Council is responsible for Coastal Migratory Pelagics from New York to Florida and for Dolphin/Wahoo, from Maine to Florida.

The Communication and Digital Media Specialist (CDM) position is responsible for developing a wide range of communication products in support of Council activities. The CDM serves as the Council’s webmaster and administrator for outreach and communication software products and assists other staff in developing documents and graphics to support the Council’s communication needs. Duties include developing digital and print media outreach materials, working closely with other staff to develop graphics and visual aids for Council documents and presentations, and managing the Council’s website and application platforms. The CDM is expected to work effectively in a team-oriented environment with minimal direct supervision while managing multiple tasks simultaneously and meeting deadlines.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

•Manage website structure and framework

•Manage and post website content

•Serve as the POC for website design and hosting contractors

•Monitor website use and analytics to inform decision making relevant to updates

•Coordinate third party software vendors and software applications

•Stay current with digital media developments and assist with design or selection of future applications

•Create user-friendly digital and print media in support of Council activities

•Develop documents and graphics to effectively convey technical information to general audiences

•Foster cohesively branded content across multiple communication products and tools

•Manage end-to-end digital projects and coordinate workflow both internally and with outside collaborators

•Serve as a liaison with federal, state, and NGO partners for digital media management

•Participate in outreach activities and events

•Other duties as assigned

See the complete recruitment announcement available from the Council’s website for additional information and application instructions.

 

Council Exploring Options to Reduce Release Mortality and a Holistic Approach to Management of Snapper Grouper Species

December 15, 2021 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council are beginning to explore ways to reduce the number of fish that are released in the Snapper Grouper Management Complex and improve survival rates for those fish that are released. The multi-species complex includes 55 species of snappers, groupers, porgies, grunts, and amberjacks. “We simply have to get a handle on these regulatory discards,” explained Council Chair Mel Bell during the Council’s meeting last week in Beaufort, North Carolina. “Fishermen also play a key role in improving the survival rate for released fish and ultimately determining the future of the fishery.” The Council has consistently encouraged the use of Best Fishing Practices including a descending device requirement and hook modifications for snapper grouper fishermen in federal waters in place since July 15, 2020.

According to the latest stock assessment for Red Snapper, discard mortality (the number of fish that are released and die) accounts for 90% of the overall fishing mortality, primarily from the recreational fishery as anglers continue to fish year-round for other snapper grouper species. Large numbers of discards affect managers’ ability to prevent overfishing while also reducing the number of fish that can be kept and landed by the fishery. The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee determined the Red Snapper stock continues to be overfished and undergoing overfishing largely due to discard mortality, and in September provided the Council a total Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) for Red Snapper of 25,000 pounds. Under law, the Council may not set an annual catch limit that exceeds that ABC, leaving little room for an opening of the fishery when the updated ABC is implemented. However, given that the majority of Red Snapper mortality is due to discarded fish, the Council recognizes that reducing discard losses is necessary to prevent overfishing and could possibly increase the amount of fish available to harvest.

The Council is moving forward with a Release Mortality Reduction Framework Amendment to address the Red Snapper ABC recommendation while looking at possible ways to reduce release mortality and end overfishing. After reviewing input from its Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel, Council members discussed ideas for reducing the number of fish that are released and increasing survivorship of released fish, including: restricting access to specific areas (spatial or depth) where Red Snapper congregate; gear modifications such as requirements for single hooks, leader lengths, and lines per person; daily weight limits of per person; and seasonal openings. “The Council has a legal mandate to end overfishing and address the Acceptable Biological Catch level from its SSC,” said Jessica McCawley, Chair of the Council’s Snapper Grouper Committee. “We know some of these ideas may be of concern to fishermen and certainly welcome input as we consider things such as regional differences or sector differences in this fishery. One size may not fit all.”

The Council will begin soliciting public input and suggestions for how to best reduce the number of released fish and improve release mortality in early 2022 and discussions will continue during its March 2022 meeting in Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Over the last year the Council has been investigating recreational permits or licenses for the Snapper Grouper fishery as a tool to help identify the universe of fishermen and improve data collection. The Council will receive a final report from a Recreational Reporting Workgroup during its March 2022 meeting.

The Council is also considering a holistic approach to managing the Snapper Grouper fishery and approved the use of a Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) to robustly evaluate management impacts across the fishery. The Council intends to use the MSE to evaluate varying strategies to achieve management objectives to rebuild overfished stocks and prevent overfishing, while balancing the needs for fishery access, resource use, and accommodating sector and geographical differences in the fishery. Updates on the MSE will be provided to the Council as the project gets underway.

Other Business

The Council approved Amendment 32 to the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery Management Plan with actions affecting Gulf Migratory Group Cobia, including the Florida East Coast Zone. The fishery is managed jointly by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. A recent stock assessment for Gulf Migratory Group Cobia indicates the stock is not overfished but is undergoing overfishing. Actions in the amendment include a reduction in the daily possession limit from 2 fish to 1 fish per person per day with a vessel limit of two fish per trip. The reductions would apply to both recreational and commercial sectors. The amendment would also increase the minimum size limit to 36 inches fork length for the Florida East Coast Zone. Amendment 32 must be approved by the Secretary of Commerce before measures are implemented.

Additional information about the December 2021 Council meeting, including Story Maps, committee reports, and other materials is available from the Council’s website at: https://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/council-meetings/. The next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is scheduled for March 7-11, 2022, at the Westin Hotel, Jekyll Island, Georgia.