Saving Seafood

Second lawsuit filed in at-sea monitoring dispute

March 10, 2020 — A second lawsuit has been filed in a U.S. federal courthouse against a rule, scheduled to take effect Monday, 9 March, that would require Atlantic herring fishermen to pay for independent monitors aboard their vessels.

Seafreeze Fleet LLC and two vessels it owns filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NOAA Fisheries in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island last week. It comes a couple of weeks after New Jersey fishermen filed a similar lawsuit over the rule.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Earl Comstock

March 4, 2020 — The following was released by the U.S. Department of Commerce:

I would like to thank Earl Comstock for honoring his commitment to serve for three years as Director of Policy and Strategic Planning at the Department of Commerce. I value his wise counsel, his deep policy expertise, his innovative thinking and leadership, and I thank him for his service to the American people. I know he will excel in whatever new role he takes on and wish him the very best.

Read the statement here

Secretary Ross appoints Regional Fishery Management Councils for 2019

July 1, 2019 — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the 2019 Regional Fishery Management Council appointments on Thursday, a move that was applauded by the recreational boating and fishing communities.

The appointments include Scott Lenox, Tim Griner, Dr. Tom Frazer, Troy Williamson, Peter Hassemer, Marc Gorelnik, Cora Campbell and Nicole Kimball.

A coalition of recreational and fishing groups said the new appointees have a “proven ability to balance all factors in complicated fishery management decisions.”

“These appointments are an important step forward for America’s recreational fishing and boating community, and we’re grateful that the Department of Commerce continues to move in the right direction on this issue,” said Center for Sportfishing Policy president Jeff Angers in a statement.

The Regional Fishery Councils are “where the rubber meets the road” in terms of federal marine fisheries management, said American Sportfishing Association government affairs vice president Mike Leonard.

“While the overall balance of the councils still skews toward commercial fishing despite the two sectors being on par with each other economically, we appreciate Secretary Ross making continued progress in addressing this historic inequity,” said Leonard.

Read the full story at Trade Only Today

Florida senators back push for federal help with red tide

May 31, 2019 — Florida’s senators are pushing the Commerce Department to issue a disaster declaration over Florida’s wildlife-killing red tide.

Florida’s latest bout with red tide brought images from up and down the state’s Gulf Coast of dead fish washing ashore after being choked by a surge of oxygen-hogging algae.

“Southwest Florida’s coasts have provided an important source of opportunity for generations of families who have built their livelihoods on these productive waters,” Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, both Republicans, wrote in a Wednesday letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “To best support these working families in their time of need following the recent significant and persistent red tide events, we ask for your assistance in promptly fulfilling the State of Florida’s request for a federal fishery resource disaster declaration.”

Read the full story at The Hill

Pacific Council Finalizes Generally Improved Salmon Seasons for 2019

April 17, 2019 — Most salmon trollers can expect better ocean salmon seasons this year — while also meeting conservation goals, fishery managers said Monday.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council finalized its recommendations for 2019 salmon seasons at its meeting in Rohnert Park, Calif., for seasons beginning in May.

The seasons must still be approved by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, but managers said that is expected.

The adopted regulations for Chinook salmon reflect the improved status of Sacramento River fall Chinook, Oregon managers said in a notice to industry. Rogue River fall Chinook and Klamath River fall Chinook populations both are in good and fair condition, respectively, they added.

Also, most of the north migrating stocks of Chinook (Oregon Coastal Chinook stocks from the Nehalem River south to the Elk River as well as a number of Columbia River Chinook stocks) are in moderate to poor condition. These north migrating stocks of Chinook contribute very little to Oregon’s ocean seasons but are very important to Oregon’s inside estuary and river recreational seasons.

The commercial ocean troll salmon seasons north of Cape Falcon will have very limited Chinook salmon quotas again this year. The ocean fishery will be managed by quotas, season length, and vessel landing week (Thursday-Wednesday) limits. The early Chinook salmon-only season will start on May 6. The season will continue until the overall quota of 13,200 Chinook or the Leadbetter Pt., Washington, to Cape Falcon (in northern Oregon) subarea cap of 1,800 Chinook is taken, or June 28, whichever comes first. Fishermen will be limited to 100 Chinook per vessel for the period of May 6-15 and then shift to a 50 Chinook per vessel per landing week (Thursday-Wednesday), beginning May 16.

The summer all-salmon fishery north of Cape Falcon will open on July 1 and continue through the earlier of the overall Chinook quota of 13,050 Chinook or 30,400 fin clipped coho, managers said in the notice to fishermen. Trollers will also be limited to 150 adipose fin-clipped coho during the landing week (Thurs-Wed) per vessel.

This year’s fisheries were designed to take advantage of a higher number of coho salmon forecast to return to Washington’s waters as compared to recent years, Kyle Adicks, salmon policy lead for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a press release. However, projected low returns of key Chinook stocks in Puget Sound prompted fishery managers to restrict fisheries there.

“We’re able to provide more opportunities to fish for coho in some areas, particularly in the ocean and Columbia River, than we have been able to do for several years,” Adicks said. Coho fisheries generally benefit sport fishermen but can constrain commercial fishermen targeting Chinook if coho is taken incidentally. “But continued poor returns of some Chinook stocks forced us to make difficult decisions for fisheries in Puget Sound this year.”

Again in 2019, fishery managers projected another low return of Stillaguamish, Nooksack and mid-Hood Canal Chinook and took steps to protect those stocks.

WDFW Director Kelly Susewind acknowledged the reductions in Puget Sound salmon fisheries are difficult for both fishermen, primarily sport fishermen, and the local communities that depend on those fisheries.

“Reducing fisheries is not a long-term solution to the declining number of Chinook salmon,” Susewind said. “The department will continue working with the co-managers, our constituents, and others to address habitat loss. Without improved habitat, our chinook populations will likely continue to decline.”

Limiting fisheries to meet conservation objectives for wild salmon indirectly benefits southern resident killer whales. The fishery adjustments will aid in minimizing boat presence and noise, and decrease competition for Chinook and other salmon in these areas critical to the declining whales, WDFW said in a press release.

In the rest of Oregon, from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain near Port Orford in southern Oregon, the Chinook salmon season will be open April 20-30, May 6-30, June 1-Aug. 29, and Sept. 1 through Oct. 31. Beginning Sept. 1, a 75 Chinook salmon per vessel weekly limit (Thursday through Wednesday) will be in place.

From Humbug Mt. to the Oregon/California border, the commercial troll fishery will be open April 20-30 and May 6-30. Beginning June 1, landing week (Thurs-Wed) limits of 50 Chinook per vessel will go into effect along with monthly quotas of 3,200 Chinook in June; 2,500 in July; and 1,200 in August (8/1-29).

“I really appreciate everybody’s work this week,” Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Division Deputy Administrator Chris Kern said on the Council floor. “[It was] a lot of hard work, but I feel pretty good about where we landed.”

Similarly, California trollers should expect more time on the water this year.

Brett Kormos, with the Marine Region of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, noted the two primary rivers, Sacramento and Klamath River, that contribute fall Chinook to ocean salmon fisheries are still in a rebuilding phase or overfished status. Still, “we are also looking at increased harvest opportunities in both commercial and recreational sectors in 2019 compared to 2018,” Kormos said.

Fishery managers modeled the seasons and limits to allow for a Sacramento River fall Chinook spawning escapement of 160,129 hatchery and natural area adults.

This story has been republished here with the permission of SeafoodNews.com. 

The shutdown: How the furloughs affect federal fisheries

January 23, 2019 — When the staff of the New England Fishery Management Council returned to their offices following the winter holiday break to a partial shutdown of the federal government, there was cause for concern, but no alarms were set off.

“We were OK at first,” said Janice Plante, the council’s public affairs officer. “We were plugging along post-holidays, doing what we could without being in touch with our federal partners. There’s always plenty to do to start a new year.”

Then the calendar alerts began popping up, signifying that the days ahead were about to become a lot more difficult for the staff.

“The deeper we’ve gone into [the shutdown],” said Plante, “the more challenging it has become for all of us.”

President Donald Trump refuses to sign any fiscal 2019 appropriations bills that do not include $5.6 billion for the construction of his campaign-promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and Democratic leaders refuse to sign off on any new bill that includes funds for the wall.

The stalemate has led to an estimated 800,000 federal workers furloughed or forced to work without pay. NOAA employees, working under the Department of Commerce, involved in the regulation of commercial fisheries and stationed in the regional fishery science centers fall under the furloughed category.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Cooper calls for federal help for fisheries hit by Florence

November 9, 2018 — Gov. Roy Cooper is calling for federal help for North Carolina’s commercial and recreational fisheries impacted by Hurricane Florence in September.

In a letter to Secretary Wilbur Ross, Cooper asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to declare a federal fishery resources disaster, because of the damage caused by Hurricane Florence. Declaring a federal fishery resource disaster can assist with long-term relief for families that rely on recreational and commercial fisheries.

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice 

MASSACHUSETTS: US Senator Elizabeth Warren urges NOAA, DOC to keep fishing permits in New Bedford

October 18, 2018 — United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) sent a letter 15 October to the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration urging both organizations to keep 42 federal fishing permits in the town of New Bedford.

NOAA has called for the permits revocation in the wake of the Carlos Rafael, or “Codfather,” case. Rafael is currently serving a 46-month prison sentence for his role in quota and tax evasion schemes in New Bedford, which included misreporting hundreds of thousands of pounds of groundfish catches.

Most recently, NOAA has issued a 51-page superseding charging document related to the case that would increase the civil penalties associated the case from USD 1 million (EUR 867,000) to USD 3 million (EUR 2.6 million).

In the letter, Warren calls on the organizations to punish Rafael, not New Bedford.

“He pleaded guilty to crimes associated to this case, and is rightly in jail, but many innocent people are also paying the price for his crimes,” Warren wrote. “These permits cover a significant portion of the ground fish industry and have an economic footprint that goes far beyond fish landings.”

New Bedford’s landings, and economy, were both impacted heavily by a lengthy ban on all groundfishing that NOAA enacted in the wake of the quota misrepresentation. A blanket ban on all 60 sector IX vessels lasted through to July of this year, sending landings into sharp decline.

That economic impact, which is harming many businesses in New Bedford, is why the permits should stay, Warren said.

“Millions of dollars of regional economic activity depend on Mr. Rafael’s permits remaining in the City of New Bedford,” she wrote. “An innocent community should not be collateral damage for one business’s crimes.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Regulators want reports from lobstermen to fill ‘giant black hole of data’ on offshore fishery

June 18, 2018 — The National Marine Fisheries Service wants all Maine lobstermen who haul traps in federal waters to share their fishing data.

Currently, only lobstermen who fish for something else, such as groundfish, must share their data with federal authorities, but the service wants to start collecting better data on the growing offshore fishery. It has announced its plan to draft a new rule that will require all those who lobster in federal waters to report exactly when, how and where they fish.

“There is a giant black hole of data when it comes to the offshore lobster fishery, which appears to be growing and changing fast,” Peter Burns, a National Marine Fisheries Service fishing policy analyst, said on Friday. “Lobster is so important, not just in Maine, but in New England, too. We need more data to better understand this lucrative fishery and protect it.”

The proposal has a long way to go before it could go into effect, requiring two rounds of public hearings and approval from the highest level of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The first round of public comments must be submitted by July 16. If the agency decides to move ahead, it would solicit public comment one more time. The process could take up to a year.

If the rule is implemented, it would affect roughly 1,000 Maine lobstermen who fish offshore in federal waters but don’t currently have to submit a report, Burns said. About 2,000 federally licensed lobstermen, mostly from Maine, already report the trips because they hold some other federal fishing license, Burns said. About 4,000 Maine lobstermen hold commercial licenses to fish in state waters.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

South Atlantic Council Delays Changes to Atlantic Cobia Management

Fishery managers to wait for Stock ID Workshop preliminary results available in June

March 12, 2018 — JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

After reviewing public comment and considering various management alternatives and timing, members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council decided to delay approval of an amendment to remove Atlantic cobia from the current federal management plan. The amendment is designed to reduce complicated regulations and improve flexibility in the management of Atlantic cobia from Georgia to New York.  If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the move would allow for the fishery to be managed solely by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

The decision came after Council members discussed the need to wait for preliminary results from a Cobia Stock ID Workshop scheduled for April. The current management boundary between Florida and Georgia was established following a 2013 stock assessment. Fishermen and others have expressed concerns about the boundary change since that time. The Council decided to wait until their June 11-15, 2018 meeting, when preliminary results from the Stock ID workshop and Advisory Panel recommendations would be available for consideration before moving forward. Council members also heard concerns from legal counsel that the document should further specify what will happen to regulations in federal waters before the amendment’s approval.

Prized for their delicious taste and relatively large size, the recreational harvest of Atlantic cobia has increased in recent years. The recreational fishery closed in federal waters in June 2016 after landings estimates exceeded the annual catch limit the previous year and closed again in January 2017, as state landings were expected to exceed the federal catch limits. The recreational fishery is currently open in federal waters, but subject to closure by NOAA Fisheries should catch estimates exceed the annual catch limit currently in place. Fish harvested in state waters count against the annual catch limit.

The majority of Atlantic cobia are harvested in state waters, within 3 miles of shore in North Carolina and Virginia. They can also be found offshore and occur more readily in federal waters off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina as they migrate northward to spawn. Cobia harvested along the east coast of Florida are considered part of the Gulf of Mexico stock and are managed separately.

At the request of the Council, the ASMFC began developing an interstate management plan for Atlantic cobia last year. That plan will become effective in state waters from Georgia to New York in April 2018 and aligns with current federal regulations for Atlantic cobia. Under the ASMFC Interstate Plan, state-specific allocations are established based on the current federal annual catch limit of 620,000 pounds, with North Carolina and Virginia receiving the majority of the allocation based on previous landings.

Individual states have submitted plans for Atlantic cobia (including regulations for a minimum size limit, vessel limit, and season) to the ASMFC based on those allocations. The state regulations are designed to keep harvest levels below the allocated state-specific pounds of Atlantic cobia. Under federal law, the states may also request that state regulations for Atlantic cobia be extended into federal waters.

Comments from fishermen and others received during public hearings held in January and as part of the March Council meeting primarily supported removing Atlantic cobia from the federal management plan and providing the states more latitude in setting regulations based on the ASMFC Interstate Plan.

Once fully removed from the federal management plan, Atlantic Group Cobia would beregulated in both state and federal waters under ASMFC. The Cobia Stock ID Workshop is scheduled for April 10-12, 2018 in Charleston, SC and a benchmark stock assessment will be conducted in 2019. For additional information, visit: http://sedarweb.org/sedar-58.

Other Business

The Council considered over 600 written comments and heard public testimony this week, before voting to send a letter to NOAA Fisheries expressing their concerns on an Exempted Fishery Permit request to conduct research and evaluate pelagic longline catch rates in a portion of an area off the east coast of Florida currently closed to longline fishing. The majority of the comments received, including those from recreational fishing organizations, were in opposition to the permit, citing concerns about discards of recreational and commercially important species, impacts to protected resources, increased landings of dolphin fish, and other concerns. The Council will submit its formal recommendations and a copy of all comments received on the Exempted Fishery Permit to NOAA Fisheries, the agency responsible for making the final decision on issuance of the permit.

The Council also continued work on Snapper Grouper Amendment 46 to improve recreational data collection. The amendment includes options for a private recreational snapper grouper permit designed to improve effort estimates that may eventually be used to improve landings estimates. The amendment also includes options for recreational reporting requirements.  A separate framework amendment will also be developed to address best fishing practices. The Council provided guidance on actions and alternatives.    Two amendments are being developed as part of the Council’s Vision Blueprint for the snapper grouper fishery, a long-term approach to management developed with stakeholder input. Vision Blueprint Regulatory Amendment 26 addresses recreational measures including modifications to aggregate species composition, removal of size limits, changes to bag limits and gear requirements for certain deepwater species, and modifications to shallow water species. Regulatory Amendment 26 would also reduce the recreational minimum size limit for gray triggerfish off the east coast of Florida for consistency with state regulations. Vision Blueprint Regulatory Amendment 27 addresses commercial measures, including alternatives for split seasons for blueline tilefish, snowy grouper, greater amberjack and red porgy. Changes to the trip limit for vermilion snapper, jacks, and modification to the seasonal prohibition on red grouper are also being considered. The Council approved both amendments for public hearings to be held later this spring.

Charter fishermen targeting snapper grouper species in federal waters off the South Atlantic are required to have a federal South Atlantic For-Hire Snapper Grouper permit. At the request of the Council’s Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel and considering public input, the Council reviewed an options paper for public scoping to get input on establishing a moratorium on the issuance of these permits. The moratorium is being considered to help improve logbook reporting compliance, recreational data quality, business planning, professionalize the for-hire fleet, address localized overcapacity, and other concerns. The Council provided recommendations for the scoping document and will review it again during its June 2018 meeting.

The Council bid an emotional farewell to Dr. Michelle Duval, the Council representative for the NC Division of Marine Fisheries and former Council Chair. Dr. Duval also served as Chair as the Council’s Snapper Grouper Committee for several years and was commended for her leadership and guidance during her service on the Council. She joins her husband Scott as they move to Pennsylvania.

Final Committee Reports, a meeting Story Map, Meeting Report and other materials from this week’s Council meeting are available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/council-meetings/. The next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is scheduled for June 11-15, 2018 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.