Saving Seafood

Lawsuit threatened over ship strikes on whales near California ports

March 11, 2020 — An environmental nonprofit has moved closer to pursuing a lawsuit claiming the Trump administration is not providing enough protection for whales and sea turtles threatened by ship strikes near ports along California’s coastline.

On March 2, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a “notice of intent to sue,” in which it demanded that the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Coast Guard change how they protect marine life within the next 60 days or face legal action.

Ships near the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the nation’s two busiest ports, are on a voluntary slow-down program to reduce the striking of whales and curtail air pollution. But data from marine mammal experts and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicate voluntary compliance has not sufficiently reduced the number of ship strikes.

“Ship strikes kill far too many endangered whales off California’s coast, and the Trump administration can’t keep ignoring a deadly threat that’s only getting worse,” said Brian Segee, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We want good science to determine how shipping lanes are placed and managed. Ships simply don’t need to kill as many whales and sea turtles as they do.”

Read the full story at The Mercury News

WPFMC Leaders Express USCG Appreciation for Combatting IUU Fishing in Western Pacific Region

March 2, 2020 — Western Pacific Fishery Management Council Chair Taotasi Archie Soliai and Executive Director Kitty M. Simonds laud the US Coast Guard’s recent success in combating illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in the Western Pacific Region.

On Monday, the Maritime Executive reported that for the first time since 2012, the Coast Guard’s Honolulu-based 14th District intercepted foreign vessels illegally operating within the U.S. exclusive economic zone waters off Guam and Hawai’i.

Read the full story at Seafood News

WPRFMC: Kudos to the Coast Guard for Combatting IUU Fishing in the Western Pacific Region

February 28, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Taotasi Archie Soliai and Kitty M. Simonds, chair and executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, laud the US Coast Guard’s recent success in combating illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in the Western Pacific Region.

On Monday, the Maritime Executive reported that for the first time since 2012, the Coast Guard’s Honolulu-based 14th District intercepted foreign vessels illegally operating within the US exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters off Guam and Hawai’i.

“While regulation compliance among US fishers is near 97 percent, some of the lowest policed areas, such as the waters in the Western and Central Pacific, are responsible for the highest percentage of significant violations,” said Lt. Jason Holstead. He reported that the Coast Guard has addressed foreign incursions in the EEZs of partner countries and IUU fishing on the high seas but not in the US EEZ in the past eight years.

The interdiction of the foreign vessels in the US EEZ came on the heels of last week’s 2020 State of the United States Coast Guard address delivered by Admiral Karl Schultz. “China, with the world’s largest distant water fishing fleet, is one of the worst predatory fishing offenders, engaging in what we call illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing–or IUU,” Schultz said. “This is far more than just about conservation and sustainability, this is a national security challenge warranting a clear response.”

Schultz noted that many Pacific Island Countries, “and even American island territories, lack the capability and capacity to fully police their sovereign waters …”

“To enhance maritime domain awareness across the Pacific Ocean, we are fostering a partnership with Global Fishing Watch,” Schultz said. Additionally, the Coast Guard is “on track to take delivery of the first two 154-foot Fast Response Cutters to be home-ported in Guam” by the end of the year, Schultz added. They will replace 40-year-old vessels and strengthen the Coast Guard’s capabilities in the region.

“We have advised the government over the years that China is an aggressive player in Oceania in search of natural gas, minerals, fish and other raw materials,” said Simonds. “This aggressiveness is in part demonstrated by its heavy subsidizing of its fishing fleets.” According to Marine Policy (vol. 68), in 2013 the Chinese central government spent $6.5 billion on fisheries subsidies. In recent years, China’s South Pacific albacore catch has increased to 40 to 50 percent of the total catch for all countries, while the catch by American Samoa has decreased to 2 percent of the total catch, which has jeopardized the local albacore longline fleet. In response, the Council recommended allowing the local fleet access to waters from 12 to 50 nautical miles of shore in the US EEZ around American Samoa. “It is good to see that our government has begun to recognize the threat to our nation’s fisheries in the Western Pacific,” Simonds said.

Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longline Association, noted that China’s presence is in the Eastern Pacific as well. It recently received a quota for 6,000 metric tons (mt) of longline-caught bigeye tuna transferred from Japan. Korea also received a 2,000-mt quota transfer from Japan. “One third of Hawai’i effort is in Eastern Pacific,” Martin said, noting that 8,000 mt is equivalent to the total annual bigeye tuna catch of the Hawai’i longline fleet in both the Western and Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific combined.

The issue of international tuna management and enforcement is on the agenda for the Council’s 181st meeting, which convene March 10-12 in Honolulu. Prior to this meeting, the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee will meet next week to review the scientific aspects of the topics on the Council’s agenda. For more information on these meetings, go to http://www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars/ or contact the Council at (808) 522-8220 or by email at info.wpcouncil@noaa.gov.

Coast Guard Commandant: Illegal Chinese Fishing a ‘National Security Challenge’ That Warrants U.S. Response

February 27, 2020 — The “Great Power Competition” with Russia and China isn’t limited to winning allies in geostrategic flash points or sailing through contested areas to promote freedom of the seas, according to the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Near-peer adversaries “are actively exploiting other nations’ natural resources, including fish stocks. In many cases [they are] challenging the sovereignty of smaller or less-developed nations,” Adm. Karl Schultz said in his annual State of the Coast Guard address, live-streamed Feb. 20 from Charleston, South Carolina.

Schultz identified China, which has the world’s largest distant water fishing fleet, as “one of the worst predatory fishing offenders,” engaging in Illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing (IUU). The problem goes beyond conservation and sustainability, he said — “This is a national security challenge warranting a clear response.”

An essential protein source for more than 40% the world’s population, fish stocks are critical to the sovereignty and economic security of many nations. The most conservative estimates put the annual loss to the global economy from IUU fishing at more than $23 billion.

Read the full story at Seapower

USCG Intercepts Illegal Fishing Vessels Off Guam and Hawaii

February 27, 2020 — For the first time in eight years, the U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted illegal fishing vessels within American EEZ areas in the Central and Western Pacific. Fishing boat interdiction is a common task for the Coast Guard off the coast of Texas, where Mexican “lancha” fishing boats are routinely intercepted in U.S. waters, but IUU fishing by foreign vessels is almost unheard of in America’s far-flung Pacific Ocean EEZ regions.

“While we’ve seen incursions into the EEZs of partners and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on the high seas, these are the first interdictions we’ve had in the U.S. EEZ since 2012,” said Lt. Jason Holstead of the Coast Guard’s 14th District, which is responsible for most of the Pacific from Hawaii west. “The combination of partnerships, electronic methods, and putting assets on the scene to catch violators in the act is essential to deterring IUU fishing in Oceania.”

In both cases, the Coast Guard was conducting surveillance flights in the zones off Guam and Hawaii with HC-130 aircraft crews based near Pearl Harbor. Case packages for the intercepts were forwarded to the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement for further action, and the investigations are pending.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

NTSB: Poor crew training, oversight led to tuna seiner fire

February 14, 2020 — On 6 December, 2018, the 228-foot tuna seiner Jeanette sank off Tutuila Island, a part of American Samoa, after being on fire for nearly 23 hours. The estimated damage exceeded USD 15 million (EUR 13.8 million). There was no loss of life.

The Jeanette, which was built in 1975 and owned by C & F Fishing LTD in San Diego, California, but home ported in America Samoa, caught fire and sank as a result of inadequate crew training and oversight, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s marine accident brief.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

REMINDER: You Can Renew Your Permits Online

February 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A reminder that commercial and recreational fishermen can renew their current federal fishing permits online using our web-based system in Fish Online.

In the online system, you do not have to include/upload copies of your Coast Guard documentation or your state registrations. Also, gear codes are no longer required.

Submissions via mail and fax will remain options, but we recommend fishermen take advantage of the speed and ease of renewing their permits online.

To access the online renewal and application systems, create or sign-in to your Fish Online account and click on Application Forms in the left margin. For assistance with Fish Online, call our Help Desk at 978-281-9188.

They filleted their fish at sea. That’s against the law, Coast Guard says

February 7, 2020 — The U.S. Coast Guard stopped a sport fishing boat off Key Largo Monday and found several conservation violations, including the importation of queen conch, the harvest of which has been illegal in Florida since the 1980s, according to the agency.

A boarding party from the Cutter Charles David, Jr. pulled over the vessel, the Salt Shaker II, about 13 miles southeast of Key Largo and found 10 fillets of snapper and grouper, and 26 fillets of wahoo “in illegal carcass condition,” according to the Coast Guard, meaning the fish were filleted at sea.

Officer Bobby Dube, a spokesman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said any fish that has a legal bag limit, meaning anglers can only keep a certain amount, must be brought back to shore whole.

Read the full story at the Miami Herald

Fishermen who died at sea remembered, as investigation continues

January 30, 2020 — The community is mourning the loss of a local fisherman and his crew member, while the U.S. Coast Guard continues to investigate the cause of their deaths at sea.

The Maine Marine Patrol identified Capt. Arnold “Joe” Nickerson IV, 60, of Arundel, and crew member Chris Pinkham, 44, of Boothbay Harbor, as the two fishermen who were pulled unresponsive from the ocean Jan. 23 after the Coast Guard received an emergency alert.

The two men and their boat, the Hayley Ann, a 42-foot ground fishing vessel based out of Kennebunkport, were located near Cashes Ledge, about 70 miles off the shore of Portland, according to Maine Marine Patrol spokesperson Jeff Nichols.

After the alert, an airplane responded, and its crew spotted the sinking vessel and a life raft floating nearby, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Zachary Hupp.

About half an hour later, two Coast Guard helicopters also arrived. A rescue swimmer, lowered to the water from one of the aircrafts, confirmed that the life raft was empty, according to Hupp. The swimmer also confirmed that there were two people in the water, both unresponsive and floating face-down.

The Coast Guard contacted a nearby fishing vessel, the Ella Christine, and its crew diverted to the scene and assisted in recovering the two fisherman.

Read the full story at SeaCoast Online

Maine fishermen who died after boat sank identified

January 27, 2020 — The Maine Marine Patrol has identified the two fishermen who died Thursday after their boat sank.

Officials say 60-year-old Captain Joe Nickerson, of Arundel, and his crew member 44-year-old Chris Pinkham, of Boothbay Harbor, were pulled from the water about 50 miles off the coast of Portland on Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard says a distress radio signal was sent out around 12:30 p.m. from a boat called the “Hayley Ann.”

The Coast Guard spotted an empty life raft and the Hayley Ann sinking.

Read the full story at WGME