Saving Seafood

Mid-Atlantic Council Seeks Applicants for Advisory Panels

March 22, 2021 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is soliciting applications from qualified individuals to serve on nine advisory panels. Advisory panels provide information and recommendations to the Council during the development of fishery management plans, amendments, specifications, and other initiatives. One of the chief responsibilities of advisory panels is the development of annual Fishery Performance Reports. These reports provide the Council and SSC with information about the factors that influenced fishing effort and catch within each fishery during the previous year. Learn more about advisory panels here.

Advisory panels are composed of individuals with diverse experience and interest in Mid-Atlantic fisheries. Members include commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, for-hire operators, commercial dealers, scientists, environmentalists, and other members of the interested public. Most advisory panels meet 1-2 times per year. Members are compensated for travel and per diem expenses for all meetings. Individuals who are appointed to advisory panels serve for three-year terms. All current advisory panel members must reapply in order to be considered for reappointment.

The Council is accepting applications for the following advisory panels:

  • Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
  • Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish
  • Surfclam and Ocean Quahog
  • Tilefish
  • Bluefish
  • Ecosystem and Ocean Planning
  • River Herring and Shad
  • Dogfish (jointly managed with New England Council)
  • Communication and Outreach (NEW – see below for details)

How to Apply

Anyone interested in serving on an advisory panel may apply online or download an application at www.mafmc.org/advisory-panel-application. Applications can also be obtained by calling (302) 518-1143 or emailing msabo@mafmc.org.

Completed applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 23, 2021.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Mary Sabo at (302) 518-1143, msabo@mafmc.org.

Information About the New Communication and Outreach Advisory Panel

The Council is soliciting applicants for a new Communication and Outreach (C/O) Advisory Panel. Formation of this advisory panel was identified as a priority in the Council’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan and 2021 Implementation Plan. The C/O Advisory Panel’s primary purpose will be to provide advice and recommendations on effective strategies for achieving the Council’s communication objectives. Specific tasks may include:

  • Helping to identify effective communication tools and approaches for reaching Council stakeholders;
  • Providing feedback on the content and delivery of Council communication and outreach products;
  • Identifying opportunities to increase public understanding and awareness of the Council and its managed fisheries;
  • Informing the Council about topics of stakeholder interest or high priority communication needs; and
  • Reviewing and providing feedback on draft communication products (e.g. web pages or fact sheets), as needed.

Similar to the Council’s other advisory panels, membership on the C/O Advisory Panel should reflect the diverse interests of the Mid-Atlantic Council’s stakeholders. Members may include commercial and recreational fishermen, for-hire operators, representatives from non-governmental organizations, scientists/academics, members of the general public, fishery managers, and communication/outreach professionals.

Labeyrie joins Chinese squid fisheries improvement project

January 6, 2021 — A major European seafood brand has joined a fishery improvement project (FIP) for squid in Chinese waters.

Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, France-based Labeyrie Fine Foods, a producer and distributor of value-added seafood and other food products to European retailers under the Labeyrie, Delpierre, Blini, Comptoir Sushi, and Ovive brands, has joined the East China Sea and Yellow Sea Squid Fishery Improvement Project, launched in 2018.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

As China draws fire on IUU, China’s squid capital enjoys record growth

October 29, 2020 — With Chinese leaders meeting in Beijing this week to finalize the country’s five-year economic blueprint, the operators of China’s self-declared capital of squid processing are hailing a record growth in landings and processing volumes during the outgoing five year plan.

Officials from the Zhoushan National Distant-Water Fishery Industry Base invited regional media to tour the industrial park and port facilities to mark the completion of the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which will give way next year to the 14th Five-Year Plan, a document produced by the central government to guide China’s economy.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

To Further the ‘Calamari Comeback,’ Rhode Island Delegation is Angling to Give Ocean State Fishermen a Greater Say on Squid Quotas

October 21, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Jack Reed (D-RI):

In an effort to give Rhode Island fisherman a voice and voting representation on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), which manages some of the most important fish stocks for the state’s commercial fishing industry – chief among them squid, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representatives James Langevin and David Cicilline, today announced the reintroduction of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Fairness Act.  The bill would add Rhode Island to the list of seven states with voting representation on the MAFMC, a regional management board that establishes fishery management rules for stocks primarily caught in federal waters adjacent to the mid-Atlantic coast.

“This is an issue of fairness.  The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is a key decision making body that determines what happens off the coast of Rhode Island, but our state doesn’t have a seat or say right now.  Our fishermen deserve appropriate representation on this council.  Mid-Atlantic-regulated stocks now represent the majority of landings for Rhode Island commercial fishermen.  It is time that our state has formal representation on this council and this legislation will ensure they get it,” said Senator Reed, who has been pushing this issue since 2005.

“As climate change heats up the oceans, fish that once lived in the warmer mid-Atlantic have migrated north to the waters off New England,” said Senator Whitehouse.  “We’re fighting to get Rhode Island fishermen more of a say in the rules for catching fish that are now plentiful off our coast.”

“Rhode Island’s fishermen must have a voice in the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s decisions, which increasingly affect the future of Rhode Island’s fisheries,” said Congressman Langevin, lead author of the House bill. “Our state has a proud history of providing quality seafood for our nation, but climate change and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continue to threaten our fishing industry. As the Mid-Atlantic Council confronts these pressing challenges, we are reintroducing the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Fairness Act to ensure Rhode Island has a seat at the table.”

“Getting a seat at the MAFMC table would be a major win for Rhode Island’s fishermen,” said Congressman Cicilline. “The loss of restaurant revenue during this pandemic has devastated our commercial fishing and seafood industries. Rhode Island fishermen have worked hard to overcome these challenges this year, and including them on the Council will give them an even better opportunity to succeed.”

The catch of Rhode Island commercial fishermen represents a significant percentage of commercial landings of the Mid-Atlantic fishery, and is greater than most of the states represented on the Council.  According to data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), between 2014 and 2018, Rhode Island accounted for approximately a quarter of the commercial landings by value from stocks under the MAFMC’s sole jurisdiction.

According to a 2019 report from NOAA’s commercial landings database: There were 32 million pounds of squid landed by Rhode Island fishermen with a value of $31 million.  This represents about 40 percent of the state’s total commercial fisheries landings by pounds and 28 percent of total landings value.

Without representation on the MAFMC, Rhode Island cannot participate fully in development of fishery management plans for Mid-Atlantic stocks, many of which are crucial to the Rhode Island seafood economy.

The Rhode Island Fishermen Fairness Act would add two places for Rhode Island representation to the 21 member Council.  One seat would be appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce under recommendations from Rhode Island’s Governor.  The second seat would be filled by Rhode Island’s principal state official with marine fishery management responsibility.  To accommodate these new members, the MAFMC would increase in size from 21 voting members to 23.

Call for Butterfish & Squid Working Group Members

October 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are currently soliciting working group members for both the butterfish and Illex squid research track stock assessments.  The research track peer review meeting will occur in November 2021.

If you are interested in being a member of either working group, please fill out the online questionnaire (a Google form) by October 16, 2020.

The specific tasking for the butterfish and Illex squid working groups is detailed in the questionnaire.

The Role of Working Groups in Northeast Fishery Stock Assessment

Working groups carry out the analytical work required for the stock assessment or topic, including developing and implementing the research plan and terms of reference that are provided by the Northeast Region Coordinating Council.

Questions?

Contact Michele Traver, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

NOAA Fisheries Announces Illex Squid Directed Fishery Closure

August 28, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is closing the directed fishery in federal waters through the end of the fishing year, December 31, 2020.

Effective at 0001 hour on August 31, 2020, vessels are prohibited from fishing for or landing more than 10,000 lb of Illex squid per trip in or from federal waters through December 31, 2020. Vessels may not land Illex squid more than once per calendar day.

Landings information analyzed by NOAA Fisheries projects the Illex squid fishery will meet 95 percent of the annual quota for the 2020 fishing year on August 31, 2020.

If you have started a trip prior to August 31, 2020 you may offload and sell more than 10,000 lb of Illex squid from that trip, as long as the vessel entered port before 0001 hr on August 31, 2020.

For more information, please read our permit holder bulletin.

Pacific Squid: Trade hurdles to China remain, but prices are steady

August 21, 2020 — The California squid fleet faced stiff tariffs, covid-crimped markets and a slow start to the season. Oceanic conditions, on the plus side, appear to have improved for the 2020 season.

“It’s been going OK,” says Diane Pleschner-Steele , executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association, in Buellton. “I don’t think they’re setting the world on fire, but they’re catching.”

According to PacFIN, the 2020 harvest of squid for California, Oregon and Washington stood at around 42,000 short tons as of early July. Based on data from previous years, Pleschner-Steele adds that this year’s preliminary catch of 10,107 short tons for California (according to California Department of Fish and Wildlife as of June 26) and other oceanographic data suggests that the fishing grounds indeed felt the effects of El Niño conditions in 2018 and 2019. 

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Rhode Island touts its ‘calamari comeback’ in Democratic convention

August 20, 2020 — Squid made up most of the 48 million pounds landed at Point Judith, R.I., during 2018, a year when the port brought in $64 million, according to the latest National Marine Fisheries Service statistics.

So when the covid-19 pandemic shut down restaurants around the country – and with them most demand for fried calamari, the ubiquitous casual-dining appetizer – the Rhode Island seafood industry took a huge hit.

But fishermen and their supporters in state government regrouped, with a new licensing system to allow fishermen to sell directly to customers as “our restaurant and fishing industry have been decimated” by the lockdowns, state Democratic Party chairman Joe McNamara told the national television audience during the Tuesday evening broadcast of the national Democratic presidential convention.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Rhode Island won the roll call with a platter of calamari and a tribute to the state appetizer

August 19, 2020 — Rhode Island won the roll call.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joseph McNamara highlighted the state’s official appetizer during the roll call of the largely virtual Democratic National Convention Tuesday. McNamara stood on Oakland Beach in Warwick behind Iggy’s Boardwalk alongside John Bordieri, the executive chef of the Rhode Island seafood mainstay, holding a platter laden with Rhode Island-style calamari — a mix of battered-and-fried squid, sliced banana peppers, and olive oil dressing.

“Rhode Island, the Ocean State, where our restaurant and fishing industry have been decimated by this pandemic, are lucky to have a Governor, Gina Raimondo, whose program lets our fishermen sell their catches directly to the public, and our state appetizer, calamari, is available in all 50 states,” McNamara said.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Regulators to allow increased squid fishing this year

August 11, 2020 — Federal fishing regulators are allowing increased harvesting of a species of squid this year because of reports that the species can withstand it.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it’s increasing the accepted biological catch of shortfin squid from about 57 million pounds to about 66 million pounds. Fishermen bring the squid to shore in New England and the mid-Atlantic states for use as food by humans.

Read the full story at the Associated Press