Saving Seafood

Shrimping has begun off the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Maryland could be next.

December 5, 2019 — White shrimp are being pulled by the thousands from the water off the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

The water is not usually warm enough for them. But from this year forward, the shrimp are likely here to stay.

White shrimp, which thrive in the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic Ocean, typically only venture as far north as North Carolina in any significant numbers. A ghost of a shrimp market has existed off Virginia for only one or two weeks out of the year, but this year, it’s something different.

This fall, six watermen have been granted licenses to trawl for much larger quantities of the succulent 4-8 inch shrimp in an experimental fishery, which stretches three miles off the ocean side of Virginia Beach and three miles off the ocean side of the Eastern Shore, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission reports.

Read the full story from the Salisbury Daily Times at Delmarva Now

Conservation Partners to Restore Nearshore Habitat in Virginia

December 5, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Chesapeake Bay is full of special places–including Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. Much of this area, which is bounded to the north by the Rappahannock River and to the south by the York River, is rural. Many residents make their livelihood from farming or fishing, thanks to the region’s vibrant ecosystem.

The waters surrounding Middle Peninsula are also treasured by people and wildlife alike, but like many parts of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, development, pollution, and runoff from upstream areas threaten their health. To ensure a healthy future for the habitat found here, NOAA and partners are working to restore nearshore habitat for fish and other Bay species.

NOAA and the Virginia Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve recently convened partners from around the Middle Peninsula to discuss the future for nearshore habitat restoration projects that support resilient coastal communities and economies. At the workshop, participants learned more about each others’ efforts, highlighting where they can work together most effectively.

The workshop also included presentations by experts on the importance of habitat to coastal communities in the area, how to use science throughout restoration projects, restoration project ideas that partners could team on, as well as opportunities for participants to make other plans for future work together.

As a result of enthusiasm for work in this geographic area, the Chesapeake Research Consortium is holding a competition (PDF, 5 pages) to help one or two organizations design a nearshore habitat restoration project in the watersheds of the York and Piankatank rivers and Mobjack Bay. The projects that receive funding will design a “shovel-ready” habitat restoration project to help reduce wave energy and erosion while providing nearshore habitat and coastal resiliency. Funding will go toward development of a project design and monitoring plan, making it easier for the project to receive funds for implementation down the road.

Read the full release here

REVISED: States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda (Public Hearing Webinar Moved to January 18th)

December 4, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board (Board) releases two documents for public comment: Draft Addendum III to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Croaker and Draft Addendum III to the Omnibus Amendment to the Interstate FMPs for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout. The states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addenda. The details of those hearings, as well as an ASMFC Public Hearing webinar, follow.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

December 3, 2019 at 6 PM

  • Tawes State Office Building
  • C1 (Lobby) Conference Room
  • 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
  • Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285

December 16, 2019 at 6 PM*

  • Wor-Wic Community College
  • 32000 Campus Drive, Hazel Center Room 302, Salisbury, MD 21804
  • Contacts: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285 and John Clark at 302.739.9914
    • * Held jointly with the DE Division of Fish & Wildlife

Virginia Marine Resources Commission

  • January 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM
  • 380 Fenwick Road, Ft. Monroe, VA 23651
  • Contact: Adam Kenyon and Somers Smott at 757.247.2200

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

  • December 5, 2019 at 6 PM
  • N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Southern Regional Office
  • 127 Cardinal Drive Extension, Wilmington, NC 28405
  • Contact: Chris Batsavage at 252.808.8009

REVISED: ASMFC Public Hearing Webinar

The Board initiated the development of the Draft Addenda for Atlantic croaker and spot to incorporate updates on the annual traffic light approach (TLA) and propose changes to the management program. In the absence of an approved stock assessment, which is the case for both species, the TLA is conducted each year to evaluate fishery trends and develop management actions (e.g. bag limits, size restrictions, time and area closures, and gear restrictions) when harvest and abundance thresholds are exceeded. The TLA assigns a color (red, yellow, or green) to categorize relative levels of indicators on the condition of the fish population or fishery. For example, as harvest or abundance increases relative to its long-term average, the proportion of green in a given year will increase and as harvest or abundance decreases, the amount of red in that year will increase. The Board annually evaluates the proportion of red against threshold levels to determine if management action is required. In recent years, fisheries for both Atlantic croaker and spot have experienced declines in harvest, but not declines in abundance as indicated by fishery-independent surveys used in the TLA. Therefore, management action has not been triggered. The lack of triggering management action with these harvest declines has raised concerns, leading to re-evaluation of TLA methods and the proposal of changes to management.

Both Draft Addenda present updates to resolve issues with the TLA analyses in order to better reflect stock characteristics, based on recommendations from the Atlantic Croaker Technical Committee and Spot Plan Review Team. Each Draft Addendum also presents options for four issues that address the TLA management triggering mechanism, triggered management responses for the recreational and commercial fisheries, and evaluation of the population’s response to triggered management actions.

The Draft Addenda are available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlCroakerDraftAddIII_PublicComment_Oct2019.pdf and http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/SpotDraftAddIII_PublicComment_Oct2019.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 10, 2020 and should be sent to Dr. Michael Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org(Subject line: Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda III).

The Board will meet at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February to review public comment and consider final approval of the Addenda.

New offshore wind project will be the biggest in the U.S.

November 29, 2019 — When Captain Bartholomew Gosnold sailed his ship Godspeed from London to the New World in 1607, the trip would have taken two months with favorable winds. Instead, the journey took 144 days, a bleak beginning for the ill-fated settlement of Jamestown, Va., the first permanent English settlement in America. Gosnold died only four months after making landfall, and the colony soon spiraled into death and cannibalism.

The importance of harnessing wind has not been lost on Virginia, and a little more than 300 years later, it is seen as a way to propel the state into a future of clean energy. 

Dominion Energy has proposed the largest offshore wind project in the U.S., a plan that will have more than 220 giant wind turbines spinning off the coast of Virginia Beach.

“We’re committed to reducing our carbon emissions by 55 percent by 2030,” Dominion Energy spokesman Jeremy Slayton tells Changing America. “Our customers are telling us they want more solar and wind, and more reliable electric service. We’re responding by investing in renewables and a transformed energy grid. It will help them reduce their carbon footprint, give them more control over their energy usage and bills, and reduce the quantity and duration of outages,” says Slayton.

Read the full story at The Hill

Carlos Rafael Inks $25 Million Deal with Blue Harvest Fisheries

November 29, 2019 — The highly-anticipated forced sell-off of “Codfather” Carlos Rafael’s fishing fleet appears to be near completion, only months after the convicted criminal unloaded his scallop boats.

Undercurrent News reports that Blue Harvest Fisheries has inked a $25 million deal to buy at least 35 vessels and skiffs from Rafael along with their permits and fishing quotas. Blue Harvest maintains fleets in Fairhaven and in Newport News, Virginia. It is backed by Bregal Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm.

The pending deal with Blue Harvest – which still must survive a “right of first refusal” where other harvesters could step forward – comes as Rafael remains behind bars.

Rafael was arrested in 2016 following a federal sting, and was convicted on 28 criminal counts in 2017. Rafael admitted to raking in illegal profits and gaming the system by mislabeling 700,000 pounds of harvested fish over four years. He also illegally avoided paying taxes. Rafael was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. To settle a separate civil suit with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, he was forced to sell his fishing fleet, pay $3 million in penalties, and never engage in the world of commercial fishing again.

Read the full story at WBSM

States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda

November 27, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board (Board) releases two documents for public comment: Draft Addendum III to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Croaker and Draft Addendum III to the Omnibus Amendment to the Interstate FMPs for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout. The states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addenda. The details of those hearings follow.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
December 3, 2019 at 6 PM
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Tawes State Office Building
C1 (Lobby) Conference Room
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285
 
December 16, 2019 at 6 PM*
Wor-Wic Community College
32000 Campus Drive
Hazel Center Room 302
Salisbury, MD 21804
Contacts: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285 and
John Clark at 302.739.9914
* Held jointly with the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife
 
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
January 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
380 Fenwick Road
Ft. Monroe, VA 23651
Contact: Adam Kenyon and Somers Smott at
757.247.2200

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

December 5, 2019 at 6 PM
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
Southern Regional Office
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC 28405
Contact: Chris Batsavage 252.808.8009
 
The Board initiated the development of the Draft Addenda for Atlantic croaker and spot to incorporate updates on the annual traffic light approach (TLA) and propose changes to the management program. In the absence of an approved stock assessment, which is the case for both species, the TLA is conducted each year to evaluate fishery trends and develop management actions (e.g. bag limits, size restrictions, time and area closures, and gear restrictions) when harvest and abundance thresholds are exceeded. The TLA assigns a color (red, yellow, or green) to categorize relative levels of indicators on the condition of the fish population or fishery. For example, as harvest or abundance increases relative to its long-term average, the proportion of green in a given year will increase and as harvest or abundance decreases, the amount of red in that year will increase. The Board annually evaluates the proportion of red against threshold levels to determine if management action is required. In recent years, fisheries for both Atlantic croaker and spot have experienced declines in harvest, but not declines in abundance as indicated by fishery-independent surveys used in the TLA. Therefore, management action has not been triggered. The lack of triggering management action with these harvest declines has raised concerns, leading to re-evaluation of TLA methods and the proposal of changes to management.
 
Both Draft Addenda present updates to resolve issues with the TLA analyses in order to better reflect stock characteristics, based on recommendations from the Atlantic Croaker Technical Committee and Spot Plan Review Team. Each Draft Addendum also presents options for four issues that address the TLA management triggering mechanism, triggered management responses for the recreational and commercial fisheries, and evaluation of the population’s response to triggered management actions.
 
The Draft Addenda are available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlCroakerDraftAddIII_PublicComment_Oct2019.pdf andhttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/SpotDraftAddIII_PublicComment_Oct2019.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment.Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 10, 2020 and should be sent to Dr. Michael Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda III). 
 
The Board will meet at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February to review public comment and consider final approval of the Addenda.

VIRGINIA: Gov. Ralph Northam calls for freeze on menhaden fishing after company broke Bay catch limit

November 21, 2019 — With a tough letter accusing a Canadian-owned firm of stealing Virginia fish, Gov. Ralph Northam asked for a federal freeze on catching menhaden.

Northam said the freeze was needed because Reedville-based Omega Protein had exceeded a cap set on the menhaden catch in Chesapeake Bay earlier this year. Omega is owned by Cook Aquaculture Inc., of New Brunswick.

The governor’s request to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross came in the wake of a finding by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that Virginia had violated the cap because of Omega’s operation.

The commission cut the Bay cap by 41% in 2017, in what it described as a precautionary measure, but without a finding of overfishing.

“Despite direct appeals by Virginia’s Marine Resources Commissioner and myself that Omega abide by the 51,000 metric ton limit, the company has continued over-harvesting menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay even after exceeding the cap,” Northam wrote in his request to Ross.

Read the full story at The Daily Press

Striped bass decline spurs new look at mycobacteria

November 6, 2019 — When Wolfgang Vogelbein peered at striped bass sores through a microscope 22 years ago, he knew he was looking at something very different than what was grabbing headlines at the time.

Pfiesteria piscicida — the so-called “cell from hell” — was being blamed for fish kills in Maryland and making people sick.

But what Vogelbein saw through his lens wasn’t the result of a harmful algae toxin. It was a nasty bacterial infection, creating ugly sores on the outside of fish and lesions on the inside.

The infections were caused by mycobacteria, a type of bacteria that are widespread in the environment, but not typically associated with problems in wild fish. Suddenly, though, it was turning up in large numbers of the Chesapeake Bay’s most prized finfish.

“I thought I would be spending the rest of my career working on myco,” recalled Vogelbein, a fish pathologist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

East Coast fishery managers order 18% cut in striped bass harvest

November 4, 2019 — Acting to stem serious declines in the striped bass population, East Coast fishery managers have ordered an 18% harvest reduction for the coming year. How that will be done in the Chesapeake Bay remains to be seen.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s striped bass management board on Wednesday agreed to the reduction after an extended debate over how to respond to a scientific assessment earlier this year that found the commercially and recreationally valuable species has been overfished for some time.

The board ordered an 18% cut in commercial harvest quotas in all East Coast states. It also called for comparable recreational catch restrictions. In coastal waters, anglers would be limited to just one fish per day between 28 and 35 inches in length, while in the Bay it would be just one fish per day at least 18 inches long. Anglers are allowed to keep two fish a day now in Maryland; Virginia has already reduced its limit from two to one.

Because the assessment found that many fish were dying after being caught and released, the board also ordered states to require that recreational anglers use circle hooks, which are less likely to injure the fish, beginning in 2021.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Virginia is all-in on offshore wind but Dominion’s decision raises questions about cost, competence

November 4, 2019 — It’s not every day that the names of a major utility and the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization share space on a banner. But at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual offshore wind conference earlier this month in Boston, the logos of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club and Dominion Energy bookended those of half a dozen state agencies, educational institutions and business development organizations on a banner proclaiming Virginia’s commitment to offshore wind.

The banner anchored a large corner booth showcasing the strengths Virginia brings to the growing industry. Broad stakeholder support is one advantage; unlike Massachusetts, Virginia has seen little opposition to its plans for developing the 112,799-acre offshore wind energy area 27 miles out from Virginia Beach.

This broad stakeholder support is the product of more than a decade of work on the part of researchers, environmental organizations, the business community and elected leaders from both parties.

For the Sierra Club and Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration, offshore wind offers carbon-free, renewable energy and a way to position the Virginia as a leader in the green economy. For the Port of Virginia and Virginia Beach Economic Development, it brings new business opportunities. For Old Dominion University and Virginia Tidewater Community College, it’s a chance to train young people and participate in ground-breaking research in ocean science and engineering. And for Dominion Energy, it offers a new avenue for profit and a way to rebrand itself as a clean energy company without having to shed its core investments in fracked gas.

Read the full story at the Virginia Mercury