Saving Seafood

The ocean is full of drifting DNA. The United States needs to collect it, researchers say

January 23, 2019 —  U.S. government agencies monitoring fisheries, endangered species, and environmental impacts ought to leverage the DNA present in every drop of seawater, say the organizers of a conference on marine environmental DNA (eDNA), held at Rockefeller University in New York City in November 2018. Biological surveys based on eDNA are reliable and poised to cut costs and save time, they argue in a report released last week.

The report calls for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other government agencies that survey marine life to add the technology to their standard palette of assessment techniques.

“We are exploring all pathways to get the critical information of what animals are where and how many there are,” says conference attendee Michael Weise, who manages the Office of Naval Research’s Marine Mammals and Biology program in Arlington, Virginia. “We are already developing our capabilities using eDNA and we will continue to push that forward. There are gaps and challenges, but I think they are surmountable in the near term.”

Read the full story at Science

February 2019 MAFMC Meeting Cancelled

January 22, 2019 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The February 2019 meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has been cancelled due to the government shutdown. The Council is considering rescheduling some of the planned agenda items for a shorter meeting tentatively scheduled for March 6 and 7 in Virginia Beach. However, feasibility of this option is highly dependent on when the government reopens. For additional information, please contact Chris Moore (cmoore@mafmc.org, 302-526-5255).

Please note that a number of committee and advisory panel meetings have also been cancelled as a result of the shutdown. Updates about cancellations and rescheduled meeting dates are being posted on an ongoing basis at http://www.mafmc.org/newsfeed/2019/federal-shutdown-effects-on-mafmc-meetings.

Red snapper study to include $250 tags on fish

January 21, 2019 — When the red snapper season begins this summer in the Gulf of Mexico, some fish will carry $250 and even $500 worth of tags, as part of a study to estimate just how many of the popular sport and table fish live in the Gulf. The fish can be released as long as the tags are snipped off.

Scientists plan to tag 3,000 to 5,000 red snapper during April and May, said Greg Stunz of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, who is leading a team of 21 scientists from the five Gulf states and Virginia. He said some will use university research boats, but others will go out with anglers, charter captains and commercial boats – and researchers hope to get tags back from all three fishing groups.

Each tag will be worth $250. Some fish will carry two tags, to help scientists learn how many of the tags fall out. Those are the potential $500 fish. The tubular tags are about 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 centimeters) long but only a couple of millimeters wide, Stuntz said, making them easy to snip off at the bottom.

Each has a yellow plastic insert bearing a five-digit tag number starting with the letters RS, and the words “Reward $250. Keep tag” and a phone number to call.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

In Pictures and Words: Bringing back North Carolina oysters after Hurricane Florence

January 21, 2019 — Over the past three to four decades many of the areas that were open to wild oyster harvests have been closed due to water quality concerns, often near the headwaters of creeks and rivers hit by pollutants from farms and industrial developments.

But oyster farms along the North Carolina coast are on the rise, and even after the devastating impact of Hurricane Florence on the shellfish industry, aquaculture represents the state’s hope in catching up with states like Virginia.

Last week, Port City Daily spent the day with two oyster farmers from Three Little Spats Oyster Company, who discussed the role of aquaculture in an industry that has seen wild oyster populations drop over the years, and their hope for Stump Sound’s resurgence as one of the state’s best regions for oysters and commercial fishing.

Read the full story at Port City Daily

NORTH CAROLINA: Trawlers catching “unheard of” amounts of shrimp off Corolla

January 14, 2019 — South of the Virginia border, the shores off Corolla have become an Outer Banks hot spot to catch winter shrimp.

Trawlers have clustered there within 3 miles of shore in recent weeks, each bringing in as much as 20,000 pounds of the delicacy per trip.

Last week, the “Capt. Ralph” hauled in 30,000 pounds, the most ever for the crew, said Ashley O’Neal, manager of O’Neal’s Sea Harvest.

In the past, 12,000 pounds was a good catch no matter where it came from, he said.

“This 30,000-pound stuff is unheard of,” O’Neal said. “We are seeing a lot of shrimp.”

In 2016, North Carolina shrimpers harvested a record 13.2 million pounds, worth $28.2 million. It was a 45 percent increase over the previous year, according to state statistics. The record fell again in 2017 with a harvest of 13.9 million pounds worth $29.6 million. The 10-year average is just short of 8 million pounds. Most of the catch comes from estuaries like the Pamlico Sound.

Shrimp consumption in the United States reached a new record in 2017 at 4.4 pounds a person per year, making it America’s favorite seafood, according to NOAA Fisheries. More than 90 percent of what’s eaten in the U.S. comes from foreign markets raised on farms.

Read the full story at the Daily Press

Oyster farming bills brewing in Virginia, Maryland legislatures

January 10, 2019 — Jockeying has already begun in Virginia over legislation to determine the fate of the state’s coal ash pits, and new oyster-related measures are in the works in both Maryland and Virginia as the two states’ lawmakers begin their annual legislative sessions today.

In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam last week declared his support of legislation that would require coal ash produced by the state’s power plants to be removed from unlined pits and either recycled or deposited in safer, lined landfills.

The byproduct of coal-fired electricity generation, the ash is laced with heavy metals and has been linked to cancer, respiratory problems and other illnesses. An estimated 30 million tons are being stored at sites near Chesapeake Bay tributaries.

Dominion Energy, which owns the sites, estimates that such a cleanup would cost billions of dollars. The Richmond-based company has long advocated leaving the ash where it is, capping it with a layer of soil and a synthetic liner. Legislators have delayed that plan for the last two years, though, amid opposition from environmental groups.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Atlantic Menhaden Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshops Scheduled for Early April 2019

January 8, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Ecological Reference Points (ERP) Workgroup and Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Subcommittee (SAS) will be meeting April 1 – 5, 2019 at the Commission’s office, 1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 200A-N, Arlington, VA. The ERP Workgroup will meet April 1 – 3 and the SAS will meet April 3 – 5. Both groups will be exploring various modeling approaches to evaluate the health of the stock and inform the management of the species in an ecological context. The deadlines for the submission of data and alternate single-species and multispecies/ecosystem models have passed.

It is anticipated a second round of workshops will be held in June or July 2019 to finalize both assessments for peer review in late 2019 through the SouthEast Data Assessment Review process. Visit the Commission’s website calendar (http://www.asmfc.org/calendar/) for information on the dates and times of those meetings.

All Commission assessment workshops are open for public attendance. Time may be allotted for public comment at the discretion of the Chairs of the ERP Workgroup and SAS, but may also be limited to keep the workshop on schedule. Due to the use of confidential data in this assessment, some portions of the workshop may be “closed door,” for which only members of the ERP Workgroup and SAS with clearance to view confidential data may be present. Additionally, to ensure adherence to confidentiality laws, there will be no remote public access via webinar or conference call for this meeting.

For more information about the assessments or attending the upcoming workshops (space will be limited), please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Read the full release here

Fisheries on both VA, MD legislative agendas for 2019

January 3, 2019 — Oysters will be on the legislative menu in Maryland in 2019, while Virginia lawmakers will have menhaden on their plates. But for legislators gathering in both states in January, many of the environmental issues confronting them will be leftovers from previous years.

In Annapolis, environmentalists hope to capitalize on an infusion of dozens of newly elected legislators to push through bills that have failed to gain traction in years past. In Richmond, activists face a different situation, seeking to make headway in an election year, with all of the legislative seats up for grabs.

Here are some of the environmental issues lawmakers in each state can expect to face.

Maryland

Oysters: In the wake of a troubling scientific assessment of Maryland’s oyster population, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is seeking legislation to protect the five Bay tributaries selected for large-scale restoration from being reopened to harvest and to lay out a framework for the development of a new fishery management plan for the species.

A Department of Natural Resources stock assessment found in November that the number of market-size bivalves last season was half of what it had been 15 years earlier, and that the shellfish were being overfished in roughly half of the state’s waters. The assessment had been ordered by the General Assembly in 2017 after the DNR moved to open some state oyster sanctuaries to supplement a faltering commercial harvest. Lawmakers blocked the DNR move until the assessment was complete.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Governors, attorneys general join fight against seismic testing

December 28, 2018 — North Carolina’s Attorney General Josh Stein, along with attorneys general from Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia and New York have moved to take their own action stop the proposed use of airguns to survey the Atlantic Ocean floor for oil and gas.

“North Carolina’s beautiful coastline supports tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity,” said Stein in a statement. “That is why I am fighting this move to take our state one step closer to offshore drilling. I will continue to do everything in my power to protect our state’s coast.”

A lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS, and federal officials was filed last week in South Carolina by a coalition of local and national non-governmental organizations.

“In moving to intervene on the side of the organizations, the attorneys general are seeking to file their own complaint on behalf of their respective states,” according to the announcement.

The seismic testing surveys is one step closer to allowing offshore drilling, “An action that would result in severe and potentially irreparable harm to our coastline and its critically important tourism and fishing economy,” the release continued.

Five private companies applied in 2014 and 2015 to the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, for permits to use air guns for seismic testing to search for oil and gas on the Atlantic Ocean floor.

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice

ASMFC 2019 Winter Meeting Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

December 18, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2019 Winter Meeting, February 5-7, 2019, in Arlington, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-winter-meeting. Materials will be available on January 23, 2019 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-winter-meeting.

A block of rooms is being held at The Westin Crystal City, 1800 S. Eads Street, Arlington, VA 22202. Meeting attendees can make reservations online via Star Group Website at http://www.starwoodhotels.com/ or call The Westin Crystal City at 703.486.1111 as soon as possible and mention the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to obtain the group room rate of $181.00 plus tax single/dbl. Please be aware you must guarantee your room reservation with a major credit card or one night’s advance payment. Hotel reservations must be made by Monday, January 7, 2019. Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date. If you are being reimbursed by ASMFC for your travel, please make your reservation directly with the hotel. Reservations made through travel websites do not apply toward our minimum number of required reservations with the hotel. Please note, cancellations at The Westin must be made by 4:00 p.m. two days prior to arrival to avoid penalty and an early departure fee of $100.00 will apply when checking out prior to the confirmed date. If you have any problems at all regarding accommodations please contact Cindy at 703.842.0740 or at crobertson@asmfc.org.

Read the full agenda here