Saving Seafood

Cooke-owned Omega Protein calls 10% cut in menhaden fishing quota ‘not unreasonable’

October 22, 2020 — Cooke-owned Omega Protein in Virginia said the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) decision on Tuesday to cut the US Atlantic coast menhaden quota by 10 percent “is not an unreasonable step.”

ASMFC voted 13 to 5 to cut the quota to 194,400 metric tons for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

In response to the reduced catch limit, Omega released a statement saying the company “recognizes the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s decision to reduce the coastwide [harvest] by 10 percent, while not preferred, is not an unreasonable step toward moving to ecological management of this species,” reported the Chesapeake Bay Magazine.

Read the full story at IntraFish

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Board Sets 2021 Specifications for Horseshoe Crabs of Delaware Bay Origin

October 21, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2020 season. Based on the allocation mechanism established in Addendum VII, the following quotas were set for the States of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia, which harvest horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin:

The Board chose a harvest package based on the Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee’s and ARM Subcommittee’s recommendation. The ARM Framework, established through Addendum VII, incorporates both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to set optimized harvest levels for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. The horseshoe crab abundance estimate was based on data from the Benthic Trawl Survey conducted by Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech). This survey, which is the primary data source for assessing Delaware Bay horseshoe crab abundance, does not have a consistent funding source. Members of the Delaware and New Jersey U.S. Congressional Delegations, with the support of NOAA Fisheries, have provided annual funding for the survey since 2016.

For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 orcstarks@asmfc.org.

Menhaden board lowers allowable catch by 10% for Atlantic coast states, Chesapeake Bay’s cap stays the same

October 20, 2020 — The Atlantic Menhaden Management Board voted to lower the total allowable catch for Atlantic menhaden coast-wide by 10% in response to a change in management that considers the role the tiny oily fish plays as food for others.

After a few hours of discussion Tuesday morning, the board voted at its online meeting to lower the allowable catch to 194,400 metric tons for 2021 and 2022. No change was made to the allocation of menhaden that can be caught in the Chesapeake Bay, which is capped at 51,000 metrics tons. Maryland was among the states voting in favor of the change.

The total allowable catch was last changed in 2017, when the board increased it from 200,000 metric tons to 216,000 metric tons.

Earlier this year, the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board, a subset of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, approved the use of a new ecological reference point model to inform management that considers menhaden’s role as food for other species such as rockfish and bluefish. Instead of focusing on menhaden abundance as a single species, the model examines the interactions between the tiny silver fish and other key species in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, where it plays a vital role in the food chain, eating up plankton and being eaten in turn by larger fish and whales.

Using those new reference points, which assume striped bass are also fished sustainably, managers calculated different catch scenarios for the next two years.

Read the full story at the Capital Gazette

VIRGINIA: ‘Our Sundays Are Different’: Reedville Fishing Community Shares Their Passion for Family, Community, and Menhaden Fishing

October 19, 2020 — The following was released by Omega Protein:

Sundays have always been different in Reedville, Virginia, a community created and sustained by the menhaden fishery. For over 140 years, Sunday has been the day when the fleet leaves the dock for the open water, and fishermen set out to sustainably harvest menhaden and earn a living.

Yesterday, at the start of another fishing week, fishermen and their families shared their experiences in the new Omega Protein video Our Sundays Are Different.

In the video, fishermen share what Sundays mean to them. It’s a day when they must say goodbye to their families, churches, and community, but also an opportunity to work a good paying job and provide for their loved ones.

“I do it for one reason, and the same reason my father did it and my grandfather did it before me, and that’s to earn a livelihood that I can take care of my family comfortably,” says Kenny Pinkard, a fisherman with Omega Protein.

“For me to be leaving early and go fishing and not watch football, it just makes sense,” says George Ball, another Omega Protein fisherman. “I don’t get paid to watch football, and I’m the only income in my home.”

Family members also share how their Sundays have been shaped by fishing, and how the fishing season has become an important part of their daily lives.

“I would say our Sundays, at least during the fishing season, have always been a little emotional,” says Taylor Deihl, the Marketing and Social Media Coordinator for Omega Protein, whose father is the captain of a menhaden fishing vessel. “That first Sunday of every season, me and my older sister would always go out to the truck with my dad, rain or shine, to hug him bye. So I’ve grown up in this industry, throughout my life it’s been my way of life.”

Since its founding, Omega Protein has been an integral part of the Reedville community. We are proud to be a part of the region’s long fishing tradition, and will continue to ensure that, for the people of Reedville, Sundays will always be different.

View the video here

Offshore wind project completes final step, ready to deliver renewable energy to Virginians

October 15, 2020 — Dominion Energy announced Wednesday that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project has completed the final stage of testing and is ready to enter commercial service providing clean, renewable energy to Virginians.

“This is a monumental day for the Commonwealth and the burgeoning offshore wind industry in America as CVOW is ready to deliver clean, renewable energy to our Virginia customers,” said Joshua Bennett, Dominion Energy vice president of offshore wind.

“Our team has worked diligently with key stakeholders and regulators while safely navigating through the coronavirus pandemic to complete this vitally important project that is a key step to reducing carbon emissions,” Bennett continued.

The next step for the two turbine, 12-megawatt project is submitting final documentation to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to complete its technical review — which is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Read the full story at WAVY

Mid-Atlantic Seismic Blasts Halted

October 14, 2020 — Oil and gas drilling companies are standing down from seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean this year, to the relief of environmental groups and wildlife advocates in the Chesapeake Bay region.

The industry said in a status conference before the U.S. District Court in South Carolina that it will not move ahead with testing for oil and gas reserves this year. The current seismic blasting authorizations expire November 30, and renewing them would require another round of environmental review and public comment.

Bay Bulletin first reported two years ago the federal approval for five companies to do seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maryland and Virginia, as a first step to gas and oil offshore drilling.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Congress extends Bay Program, related conservation efforts

October 5, 2020 — The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a sweeping conservation measure that provides continued support for several key Chesapeake Bay initiatives and creates a new program to support fish and wildlife habitat restoration efforts in the watershed.

The America’s Conservation Enhancement Act provides support for two dozen conservation initiatives around the nation that were rolled into a single piece of legislation and overwhelmingly approved by the House on Oct. 1.

The Senate had already approved the bill without controversy, and it is expected to be signed by President Trump.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Relief is coming for Virginia fisheries, although payments likely won’t be large

October 2, 2020 — Fisheries managers are close to being able to roll out relief for Virginia’s hard-hit fishing industries, although a small federal allocation to the commonwealth means payments aren’t likely to be large, Virginia Marine Resources Commission officials said Tuesday morning.

“Because there were so little funding and such great economic damage, the idea of the sort of trying to make sure you make up the loss for people was not an option on the table,” VMRC Deputy Commissioner Ellen Bolen said during a presentation to the commission. “We just did not have enough money.”

Virginia’s fisheries have been pummeled by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as restaurants, one of their primary customers, have shuttered or severely curtailed their business. Officials have estimated direct losses to the industry of at least $100 to $120 million, not accounting for trickle-down effects to associated business like boat-building.

Read the full story at NBC 12

CARES Act spend approvals clears USD 13.2 million for fishery aid in four states

October 1, 2020 — Four states that recently gained CARES Act spend plan approvals are now in the process of distributing aid, which all together totals just over USD 13.2 million (EUR 11.2 million) in funds.

The four states – North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, and Rhode Island – represent collectively less funding than many individual states. Currently just over USD 114.1 million (EUR 97.1 million) in funds have been cleared for release through spend plans, with the largest recipient so far – Massachusetts – receiving just over USD 28 million (EUR 23.8 million).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Shad recovery efforts not paying off, study shows

September 21, 2020 — The American shad’s Atlantic population remains at a historic low, despite longstanding commercial fishing bans in several states and millions of dollars invested in restoring the fish’s habitat.

That sober news comes from the most comprehensive survey yet of the species’ status on the East Coast and the first of any kind in 13 years. The sprawling assessment by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission designates the shad population as “depleted” from Maine to Florida.

“There should be a lot more shad than there are out there,” said Michael Bailey, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientist and one of the assessment’s authors.

In the Chesapeake Bay region, the study suggests that the rate of death among adult shad — a key measure of a population’s health — is “unsustainable” in the Potomac River but “sustainable” in the Rappahannock and York.

Once one of the largest commercial fisheries along the coast and around the Bay, shad catches have bottomed out at about 1% of their late-1800s levels. Although the shad fishery has all but disappeared in the Chesapeake, scientists contend that the species serves a critical ecological role in the estuary as a vital link in its food chain.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal