Saving Seafood

Plan would protect 21 coral hot spots in Gulf of Mexico

November 15, 2019 — A plan to protect corals in the Gulf of Mexico is close to becoming a law, drawing cheers from environmental groups who believe leaving the corals alone would help vulnerable ocean ecosystems to grow.

The plan would create 21 protected areas off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Thirteen of the areas would carry new commercial fishing restrictions, and that has attracted the attention of fishing groups, who want the government to take a cautious approach.

Pew Charitable Trusts has characterized the plan as a way to protect nearly 500 square miles of slow-growing coral “hot spots,” and is championing the protection plan as a way to spare vulnerable corals from fishing gear. The proposal would prohibit gear such as bottom trawls and dredges that can disrupt the corals.

Sandra Brooke, an oceanographer and coral ecology expert at Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory, said it’s important to spare the corals because of their importance to the marine environment and because they can have value for the development of new medicines.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WRAL

NOAA: Request for Comments on Red Snapper Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

August 8, 2019 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) developed six amendments to the Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish Resources in the Gulf of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP) to allow the five Gulf of Mexico states some management authority for private angler red snapper recreational fishing. The Council has transmitted these Amendments to NOAA Fisheries.

  • NOAA Fisheries requests your comments regarding the changes these Amendments would make to Gulf of Mexico private recreational red snapper management in federal waters. Comments are due by October 7, 2019.
  • Amendment 50A includes actions that affect all states and Amendments 50B-F analyze actions specific to each Gulf of Mexico state (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas, respectively).
  • NOAA Fisheries will also publish a proposed rule to implement these changes and will send another Fishery Bulletin to request comments at that time. Comments on both the amendment and proposed rule will be considered in the final rule.

Read the full story at Fishing Wire

Below Average Season Predicted for 2019 Gulf of Mexico Brown Shrimp Harvest

July 29, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Scientists at the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center’s Galveston Laboratory have prepared the following information on prospects for the 2019 brown shrimp season (July 2019–June 2020) in the western Gulf of Mexico.

According to NOAA fisheries, although local environmental factors (temperature, rainfall amounts, and tidal heights) should have contributed to favorable conditions for brown shrimp recruitment and growth in Texas, freshwater inflow into Galveston Bay (on which the forecast model is based) from the Trinity River watershed resulted in salinities near zero in much of the bay. Subsequently, the availability of suitable nursery habitat was limited to West and Lower Galveston Bay. Likewise, growth may have been affected by the lower salinities.

They add, similarly, early spring temperatures in Louisiana would have suggested favorable conditions for an average production. However, Louisiana was inundated with freshwater runoff due to unprecedented Mississippi River flows this spring. These freshwater events have offset the early spring favorable conditions to a much less favorable environment for brown shrimp production.

Overall, the western Gulf of Mexico could expect an annual brown shrimp production of approximately 40.6 million pounds during the 2019–2020 season.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Shark population dramatically increasing along Texas Gulf Coast

July 19, 2019 — According to scientists, sharks are quickly increasing in numbers along the Texas coast.

“With the work that the government is putting in, we’re definitely seeing a lot more sharks,” said local fisherman Cris Southers. “A lot healthier sharks [too].”

Throughout the last few weeks, multiple fishermen have received media attention after catching large sharks along Texas beaches.

“If you’re in the water, you’re likely near a shark,” said Dr. Greg Stunz, a professor of marine biology.

According to Dr. Stunz, the shark population along the Texas coast is larger than it has been in years. The professor credits the increase in shark numbers to new U.S. government regulations, and education.

“They’ve really rebounded, due to stricter regulations,” said Dr. Stunz.

The professor works alongside the Harte Research Institute, an organization the tracks and studies the movement of sharks.

Read the full story at News 4 San Antonio

Red snapper tagging program paying early dividends

June 17, 2019 — When Texas anglers catch a red snapper between now and the end of the year, they might be landing more than the most popular reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico and the makings of some wonderful meals. That red snapper could prove a pretty good payday for its captor and provide crucial information in an unprecedented research project aimed at benefiting the fish and the anglers who target them.

As part of a two-year program titled “The Great Red Snapper Count,” fisheries researchers earlier this year captured 4,000 red snapper from offshore waters along the length of the gulf coast, from Key West to Brownsville. They fit those snapper with small streamer tags — bright yellow, thin plastic tubes that resemble a short piece of spaghetti on which is printed an identifying number and a request that the person catching the fish call a contact number printed on the tag.

Also printed on each tag is “Reward $250.” Some of the 4,000 snapper are fit with two tags, upping the reward to $500 for the person reporting the capture of those fish.

The tagged snapper were released where they were caught, in dozens of offshore locations off the coast of the five Gulf states. And, barely two weeks into the recreational snapper fishing season in federal waters off Texas, a little less than 100 anglers have landed tagged snapper, reported their catch and claimed their $250-$500 reward.

“They’re thrilled,” said Dannielle Kulaw, project coordinator for the program, which is based out of Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and the person who answers when anglers call the contact number on the tags. “There hasn’t been one unhappy person. And we’re happy, too.”

Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle

Texas passes law allowing oyster aquaculture

June 5, 2019 — Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed a bill into law establishing a new regulatory framework allowing for oyster aquaculture on the state’s Gulf Coast.

Before passage of House Bill 1300, Texas was the only coastal state in the U.S. that didn’t allow oyster mariculture off its coasts. The new law allows oysters to be raised for their pearls, as well as their shells and meat.

Set to go into effect, the new law requires the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to adopt rules that would establish a program to regulate the process of growing oysters. Abbott signed the bill into law last month, the last day of the 2019 session of the Texas Legislature.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery recommended for MSC; Atlantic hung up

June 5, 2019  — Now both of the US’ big purse seine menhaden fisheries have been recommended for certification by the Marine Stewardship Council, though how fast harvesters and processors are able to start carrying the label remains to be seen.

Omega Protein and Daybrook Fisheries, on Tuesday, announced that the menhaden fishery in the Gulf of Mexico has been recommended for MSC by the independent certification body SAI Global. Stakeholders now have 15 working days to submit formal objections to an independent adjudicator.

Houston, Texas-based Omega Protein, acquired by Canada’s Cooke in late 2017, and Daybrook, an Empire, Louisiana-based wholly owned subsidiary of South Africa’s Oceana Group, both source menhaden from the gulf and requested MSC certification in June 2017.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Gulf shrimp season closing Wednesday

May 8, 2019 — The Gulf of Mexico commercial shrimp season for both Texas and federal waters will close 30 minutes after sunset on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, until a still-to-be-determined date in July.

The closing date is based on samples collected by the Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) using trawl, bag seine, and other information gathered from the shrimping industry.

Data collected regarding TPWD bag seine catch rates of brown shrimp, mean lengths of shrimp in April 2019, percent of samples containing shrimp, and periods of maximum nocturnal ebb tidal flow indicate a May 15 closing date is appropriate. Typically, once the shrimp reach about 3½ inches long, they begin their migration to the gulf.

Read the full story at the Victoria Advocate

Omega Protein: New York menhaden law a ‘feel good’ for environmentalists

April 26, 2019 — Omega Protein says it won’t be hurt by a new law that blocks it from fishing for menhaden in New York state waters in order to preserve the forage fish for whales and other wildlife because it never goes there.

Rather, it’s “feel-good legislation for the environmental community, but it will have zero impact on the company’s operations”, commented Ben Landry, director of public affairs for the Houston, Texas-based division of Canada’s Cooke, when called by Undercurrent News Tuesday for a response.

The legislation passed unanimously, 61-0, by New York’s Senate in February (companion bills S. 2317 and A. 2571) went into effect immediately upon being signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday. The new law, which was sponsored by Democratic senator Todd Kaminsky and assembly member Steve Englebright, prohibits the taking of menhaden with the use of purse seine nets within three miles of the state’s coast.

Because menhaden are sensitive to oxygen levels in the water and can die off by the thousands when large schools become too confined in one area during hot weather, the law allows the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to issue a temporary order to allow purse seiners to reduce the population.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Game wardens, Coast Guard chase off illegal fishing boats

April 23, 2019 —  Texas game wardens and U.S. Coast Guard patrols chased eight “lanchas” fishing illegally in U.S. waters back into Mexico on Saturday, confiscating and removing 10 miles of illegal long-lines.

The Mexican fishermen were illegally setting long-lines in the Gulf of Mexico off Cameron County shores, and game wardens confiscated those and freed game fish including 40 sharks and king mackerel along with a single sea turtle.

Long-lining, which is banned in Texas waters, uses hundreds or even thousands of baited hooks attached to a single line. Texas waters stretch nine nautical miles from shore and, following a tip, the wardens and Coast Guard found the lanchas setting their lines a mile to a mile-and-a-half from shore in U.S. waters.

Game wardens found so many illegal long-lines had been set that they had to continue their mop-up operations Sunday.

Lanchas are speedy open boats favored by inshore fishermen and are usually 20 to 30 feet long and powered by outboard motors. The boats cross into U.S. waters and captains set long-lines and then head back to Mexican waters before returning five or six hours later to haul in their catch.

Read the full story at The Valley Morning Star