Saving Seafood

Feds triple the size of the Gulf of Mexico’s largest coral sanctuary

January 20, 2021 — The Gulf of Mexico’s largest coral sanctuary just got a lot bigger.

The federal government on Tuesday formally approved the expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, increasing its size from 56 square miles to 160 square miles.

Tripling the sanctuary’s size will better protect fragile coral reefs that support a variety of fish and other marine life off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, said G.P. Schmahl, the sanctuary’s superintendent.

“From an economic point of view, it’s critical for fish that are important both recreationally and commercially,” he said, noting the abundance of red snapper, grouper and mackerel in the sanctuary. “If you fish the Gulf of Mexico, these areas are where the fish you want to catch have spawned and grown.”

The expansion “has been a long haul,” Schmahl said. Initially proposed under the administration of President George W. Bush and formalized under President Barack Obama, the process finally concluded concluded during the final week of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

Seafood companies sue federal government, claim Trump administration plays favorites with tariff relief money

October 26, 2020 — The Trump administration was taken to court on 21 October by three seafood-related companies that claim the federal government’s trade policies has harmed their businesses.

Texas-based Houston Seafood Company, LLC along with Gulf Marine Product Co., Inc. and Ningbo Trading Company, LLC, both based in Louisiana, filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for Southern Texas.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Louisiana helps inshore shrimpers buy turtle escape hatches

October 14, 2020 — Louisiana will help inshore shrimpers buy turtle escape hatches that will be required next year for some boats in the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern Atlantic, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Tuesday.

The $250,000 program will pay up to 60% of the cost for two of the grates called “turtle excluder devices,” or TEDs, a news release said. Some of the money comes from BP payments to restore the Gulf after the oil spill in 2010.

Big offshore shrimp trawlers have had to use such devices since late 1989. Protests against that rule included shrimp-boat blockades of Texas and Louisiana ship channels.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

As more restaurants fall to pandemic pressures, others embrace new delivery and ghost kitchen models

September 10, 2020 — U.S. restaurants continue to face closures and bankruptcies as the COVID-19 pandemic makes a major impact on foodservice operators’ profitability.

Houston, Texas-based Luby’s is the latest financial victim of the coronavirus crisis, reporting in a press release that it has implemented a plan of liquidation and dissolution to dissolve the company.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Fisheries revises seafood reporting requirements in wake of Hurricane Laura

September 2, 2020 — NOAA Fisheries has announced revised reporting requirements for federal seafood dealers in portions of both Texas and Louisiana through 5 October in response to the damage caused by Hurricane Laura.

In a bulletin released 31 August, NOAA Fisheries identified several Texas counties and Louisiana parishes that will be under new reporting requirements due to the determination of “catastrophic conditions” existing in the area. Hurricane Laura hit Southwest Louisiana in the morning of 27 August, bringing with it 150-mile-per-hour winds.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Gulf Fishing Family Hurting After Hurricane Laura Destroys Cameron, Wrecks Havoc on Surrounding Area

September 1, 2020 — The Gulf fishing fleet docked at or near Cameron, LA bore the brunt of Hurricane Laura as it roared ashore in the early hours of August 27th as a category four storm. In one area alone, ten of the 15 shrimp boats tied-up sank to the bottom of Bayou Contraband after being ravaged by rough waters and constant winds gusting up to 135 mph.  The Gulf Seafood Foundation is calling upon government officials in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi for an immediate coordinated seafood specific disaster relief effort for fishermen, seafood processors and the extended seafood family.

“We are calling upon both our state leaders and federal representatives to quickly get monetary help for our fishing communities,” said Raz Halli, president of the Gulf Seafood Foundation.  More than 120 miles of Gulf coastline was impacted by the storm, a coastline that is home a variety of commercial fishermen.  Even though Mississippi was not impacted by this storm, we are calling upon their representatives to join our effort because their fisheries still have not received compensation for the fresh water diversion that ravished their fisheries last year.”

Sitting a mere three feet above sea level, Cameron has been an epicenter for hurricanes.  In 2005 Hurricane Rita hit the city, home to just over 6000 residents, with winds clocked at more than 120 mph. Three years later Hurricane Ike leveled Cameron with a 12-foot storm surge.

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News

Revised Reporting Requirements for Federal Seafood Dealers in Portions of Texas and Louisiana through October 5, 2020

August 31, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

  • Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane on August 27, 2020.
  • NOAA Fisheries has determined that catastrophic conditions exist in the following Texas counties and Louisiana Parishes:
    • Texas:
      • Orange, Jefferson, Chambers, Harris, and Galveston
    • Louisiana:
      • Saint Tammany, Orleans, Saint Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, Saint Charles, Lafourche, Terrebonne, Saint Mary, Iberia, Vermilion, and Cameron
  • Therefore, for any federally permitted dealer in the affected area who does not have access to electronic reporting, NOAA Fisheries is authorizing, through October 5, 2020:
    • Delayed reporting of trip tickets to NOAA Fisheries; and
    • The use of paper-based reporting forms for red snapper and grouper-tilefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) participants.
    • Dealers are to report all landings through the state trip ticket program as soon as possible.

MORE INFORMATION:

  • Federal dealers in effected areas are released from the weekly reporting requirement of trip tickets to NOAA Fisheries through October 5, 2020, but must report all landings as soon as possible. For questions, contact the Fisheries Monitoring Branch: 305-361-4581.
  • The electronic systems for submitting landings and IFQ information to NOAA Fisheries will continue to be available to all dealers. Participants shall continue to use the electronic systems if it is accessible.
  • NOAA Fisheries has previously provided IFQ dealers the necessary paper forms and instructions for reporting during catastrophic conditions. Paper forms are also available upon request by calling IFQ Customer Service at the phone number listed above or by writing:
            • NOAA Fisheries
              Southeast Regional Office
              Sustainable Fisheries Division
              263 13th Avenue South
              St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505
  • The IFQ program functions available to participants in the geographic area affected by catastrophic conditions will be limited for those using the paper-based system. There will be no mechanism for transfers of IFQ shares or allocation for those using the paper-based system during catastrophic conditions.
  • Assistance in complying with the requirements of the paper-based system will be available via IFQ Customer Service 1-866-425-7627 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern time.
  • Regulations implementing dealer reporting and the IFQ programs provide for delayed reporting and IFQ paper-based reporting in the event of catastrophic conditions. These regulations require NOAA Fisheries to determine when the catastrophic conditions exist, the duration of the catastrophic conditions, and which participants or geographic areas are affected.
  • NOAA Fisheries will continue to monitor and reevaluate the areas and duration of the catastrophic conditions. A subsequent Fishery Bulletin will be published if additional notice is needed.

Seafood industry navigates rough waters as debts, inventory rise higher

August 4, 2020 — When it comes to business plans during the coronavirus pandemic, the seafood industry has found itself at sea.

“We don’t have a clue,” said Jure Slabic, an oysterman in Galveston, Texas. “We haven’t processed a single oyster since March 23.”

More than most foodstuffs, the seafood industry depends on restaurants that put a premium on freshness. Consequently, the coronavirus shutdowns slammed fishers, leaving boats at the dock, inventory stacked or tossed as debt piles up.

Read the full story at The Washington Times

Gulf Shrimp Fishery to Re-Open Off Texas on July 15, 2020

July 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT/WHEN:

NOAA Fisheries announces federal waters from 9 to 200 nautical miles off Texas will open to shrimp trawling beginning 30 minutes after official sunset, local time, on July 15, 2020, corresponding to the time Texas opens its waters to shrimp trawling.

WHY THIS IS HAPPENING:

  • The waters off Texas are closed to shrimp fishing annually to allow brown shrimp to reach a larger and more valuable size prior to harvest, and to prevent waste of brown shrimp that might otherwise be discarded because of their small size.
  • The fishery closed May 15, 2020.
  • The re-opening date for Texas waters is based on the results of biological sampling by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
  • In addition, Texas regulations only allow a 60-day closure; the 60 day period expires July 15, 2020.

Read the full release here

Red snapper: A conservation success story

June 26, 2020 — The darkest days are seemingly in the past for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.

A restoration of the fishery, decades in the making, has blossomed into one of the most recent success stories in conservation.

“We have more snapper now than in anyone’s lifetime,” said Greg Stunz, director of the Harte Research Institute’s Sportfish Center at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

“And they’re big snapper.”

A federal plan to rebuild the fishery by 2032 is well ahead of schedule.

The goal is to increase the spawning potential to 26 percent, which means the stock would produce about a quarter of the eggs that an unfished population would. The estimated spawning biomass of red snapper in the Gulf is currently about 20 percent, a long climb from the sub-2 percent low mark of 1990.

Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle