Saving Seafood

DON CUDDY: Collaborative research can save the New England groundfish industry

October 25, 2015 — These days it seems as though every story about the New England groundfishery contains a headline with “crisis” or “disaster” in it, often followed by claims and counterclaims from fishermen, environmental groups and fishery regulators. Yet amidst all the controversy there is general agreement on one point: the need for better fishery science, to enable more timely and more accurate stock assessments.

The data used for fish stock assessment in the Northeast is derived primarily from the annual spring and fall surveys conducted by the Henry B. Bigelow, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s 208-foot research vessel. The results are largely distrusted by many fishermen who contend that NOAA is using the wrong bottom-trawl gear on a vessel that is in any case too large for the task. Furthermore, fishermen say, random sampling of the vast survey area is not sufficient to develop an accurate picture of stock abundance.

To get a better picture of what is happening in the ocean the fishing industry has been urging NOAA Fisheries to engage in more collaborative research, using commercial fishing vessels with crews working alongside fishery scientists. This is not a radical idea. It is already in effect in fisheries on the West Coast and it is also happening here in the shallower coastal waters of the northeastern seaboard. The Bigelow’s deep draft of 19.5 feet precludes it from working inshore.

Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

MAFMC Recommends Spiny Dogfish Quota Reduction for 2016

October 15, 2015 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Mid-Atlantic Council Votes to Reduce Spiny Dogfish Quota for 2016

At last week’s meeting in Philadelphia, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council recommended a substantial cut in the spiny dogfish commercial quota for next year. Following a review of the most recent scientific information, public comments, and advice from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Spiny Dogfish Advisory Panel, the Council voted to set the 2016 commercial quota at 25.3 million pounds, a 50% reduction from the 2015 quota of 50.6 million pounds. If approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the new measure will go into effect May 1, 2016. 

The Council’s decision was driven by the recent spiny dogfish stock assessment update, which estimated the stock’s biomass to be at 87% of the rebuilt target in 2015. Although the stock was found to be neither overfished nor subject to overfishing, the new estimate of stock biomass was a marked decrease from the 2013 update, which indicated that the stock’s biomass was at 135% of the target.  

The Council received a considerable number of comments from the fishing industry, with the majority in opposition to the proposed cuts. Several commenters expressed concern about the accuracy of the trawl survey data used in the assessment update and requested that the Council maintain status quo regulations until a benchmark assessment for the stock has been completed. 

After extensive discussion, the Council approved the SSC’s recommended acceptable biological catch (ABC) limit of 37.0 million pounds. After accounting for management uncertainty, projected discards, Canadian landings, and recreational landings, this ABC translates into a commercial quota of 25.3 million pounds for 2016. However, because the fishery has not taken the full quota in recent years, the recommended quota for 2016 would still be 11% above the landings in the most recent fishing year. 

Given that the survey data from 2014 was not included in the 2015 update due to a mechanical breakdown in the NEFSC trawl survey, the Council also requested that the SSC determine an overfishing limit (OFL) and ABC for 2016 using averaged data to fill in the missing 2014 data point. The SSC will meet later this year to consider this request. 

Finally, because the spiny dogfish fishery is managed jointly, the New England Fishery Management Council must also make recommendations for spiny dogfish specifications at its upcoming meeting in December. 

New York Tautog PID Public Hearing Date Changed from October 1 to September 28

September 15, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING PRESS RELEASE REVISES THE MEETING DATE OF NEW YORK’S PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TAUTOG PUBLIC INFORMATION DOCUMENT. THE HEARING WILL NOW BE CONDUCTED ON SEPTEMBER 28TH FROM 6 TO 8 PM. THE MEETING LOCATION REMAINS THE SAME.

ASMFC Releases Tautog Public Information Document for Public Comment

States Schedule Public Hearings for late September/early October 

Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Tautog Management Board is seeking public comment on the Public Information Document (PID) for Draft Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Tautog. The PID responds to the findings of the 2015 benchmark stock assessment which, unlike previous coastwide assessments, evaluated stock status regionally to reflect differences in life history characteristics and harvest patterns. Based on its endorsed regional approach, the assessment also recommended associated biological reference points to guide management at the regional scale. Since tautog are currently managed on a coastwide basis, the Board initiated the PID to consider a new regional management approach.

As the first step in the development of an amendment, the PID seeks to gather information concerning the tautog fishery and to provide an opportunity for the public to identify major issues and alternatives relative to the management of this species. Input received at the start of the amendment development process can have a major influence on the final outcome of the amendment. Issues presented in the PID include FMP goals and objectives, adaptive management, monitoring requirements and illegal fishing of tautog.  In addition, in order to streamline the development of the plan amendment, the PID seeks specific input on the selection of regional stock areas for management use.

The states of Massachusetts through Virginia have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the PID. The details of those hearings follow.

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Tuesday, September 29th at 6:30 PM

Fairfield Inn & Suites

Vineyard Conference Room

185 MacArthur Drive 

New Bedford, Massachusetts

Contact: David Pierce at 617.626.1532

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Wednesday, September 30th from 6 – 9 PM

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corless Auditorium

South Ferry Road

Narragansett Rhode Island

Contact: Jason McNamee at 401.423.1943

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Thursday, September 24th at 7 PM

CT DEEP Marine Headquarters

Boating Education Center (Rear Building)

333 Ferry Road

Old Lyme, Connecticut

Contact: David Simpson at 860.434.6043

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Monday, September 28th at 6 – 8 PM

Bureau of Marine Resources

205 North Belle Mead Road

East Setauket, New York

Contact: Steve Heins at 631.444.0435

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

Tuesday, September 22nd from 6:30 – 9:30 PM

Ocean County Administration Building

Public Hearing Room 119

101 Hooper Avenue

Toms River, New Jersey

Contact: Russ Allen at 609.748.2020

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

Thursday, October 8th at 6 PM

DNREC Auditorium

89 Kings Highway

Dover, Delaware

Contact: John Clark at 302.739.9914 

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Wednesday, October 7th at 5 – 6:30 PM

Ocean Pines Library Conference Room

11107 Cathell Road

Ocean Pines, Maryland

Contact: Michael Luisi at 410.260.8341

Virginia Marine Resources Commission

Tuesday, October 6th at 6 PM

2600 Washington Avenue, Third Floor

Newport News, Virginia

Contact: Rob O’Reilly at 757.247.2248

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the PID either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The PID is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/TautogAm1PID_PublicComment_Aug2015.pdf and can also be accessed on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 23, 2015 and should be forwarded to Ashton Harp, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at aharp@asmfc.org (Subject line: Tautog PID). For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, at aharp@asmfc.orgor 703.842.0740.

                                                               

MENHADEN ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT PLAN

July 8, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Based on the findings of the 2015 Atlantic Menhaden Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board initiated Draft Amendment 3 to the Fishery Management Plan. The Draft Amendment will consider changes to the management program including the development of ecological reference points that reflect Atlantic menhaden’s role as a forage species. To aid in the development of these reference points, the Commission has established a multi-disciplinary working group to identify potential ecosystem goals and objectives for Board review and consideration. The working group contains a broad range of representation including, Commissioners, advisors, and technical representatives to provide various perspectives on menhaden management.

“This workshop reflects the Commission’s continued commitment to fully evaluating the importance of Atlantic menhaden to the ecosystem and harvesters. This process will benefit from the expertise and input of managers, stakeholders, and scientists that are committed to the sustainable management of this valuable resource,” stated Board Chair Robert Boyles from South Carolina. “The anticipated outcome of the workshop will be potential goals and objectives for ecosystem management that the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board will consider as part of the Public Information Document for Draft Amendment 3.”

Read the full story at The Fisherman 

 

The Scallop Scoop: Survey Forecasts A Banner Year In Atlantic

July 1, 2015 — Scallop fishermen off the East Coast could soon see one of their biggest bumper crops ever. A federal survey in waters off Delaware is predicting a boom in the next couple of years for the nation’s most valuable fishery.

Every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration looks for young sea scallops on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. This year, when they stuck their camera in the water, they got a huge shock, says Dvora Hart, a research analyst with NOAA’s Fisheries Service.

“We were seeing concentrations of several hundred per square meter, and to give a perspective on that, one per square meter is actually a high concentration,” says Hart.

Hart estimates they saw about 10 billion scallops off Delaware and southern New Jersey alone — probably due to increased spawning at a closed fishing area farther north. The closure of the fishing area gave the scallops more time to spawn — which they do each spring and fall. The larvae floated downstream and became the billions of scallops Hart saw in the mid-Atlantic this year. Closures like this are designed to boost spawning but “some years have more luck than others,” Hart says.

Read the full story at NPR

 

ASMFC Begins Preparations for Joint 2016 Benchmark Stock Assessments for Atlantic Croaker and Spot

ARLINGTON, Va. — June 30, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has begun work on the joint benchmark stock assessments for Atlantic croaker and spot. The spot assessment will be the first coastwide assessment for this species, while the Atlantic croaker assessment will build upon the last benchmark assessment conducted in 2010. The assessments will evaluate the health of Atlantic croaker and spot populations and inform future management of these species. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public (with the exception of discussion of confidential data).

The Commission welcomes the submission of data sets that will improve the accuracy of the assessments. These include, but are not limited to data on growth, maturation, migration, genetics, tagging, recruitment, natural mortality, abundance/biomass, and fishery removals. An essential need is data to inform the stock assessments of discards and bycatch in other directed fisheries (e.g., the South Atlantic shrimp trawl fishery). For data sets to be considered at the Data Workshop, the data must be sent in the required format, with accompanying methods description, to the Commission by August 1, 2015. All available data will be reviewed and vetted by the Atlantic Croaker and Spot Stock Assessment Subcommittee for possible use in the assessments. For those interested in submitting data, please contact Jeff Kipp (jkipp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740), Stock Assessment Scientist, for details.

The Data Workshop will take place September 21-25, 2015 with the location to be determined.  The assessment workshop and peer review will be conducted in 2016. For more information on the Atlantic croaker and spot stock assessment process, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.