June 10, 2016 — 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 2016 Summer Meeting, August 2-5, 2016 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-summer-meeting. Materials will be available on July 20, 2016 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-summer-meeting.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Three fisherman came to the rescue of Naval aviators off the coast of North Carolina Thursday morning. Something went wrong during a Navy training mission and two F/A-18F Super Hornets crashed into the water below.
All four of the aviators on board survived, and a recreational boat made a big difference in the immediate moments after the crash.
10 On Your Side’s Liz Kilmer spoke exclusively to Rob Schutrumpf, one of the men on the “Pammy,” who came to the rescue.
“There was something that looked like a wing or a tail burning and that’s kind of what clued us in to where they were before the helicopter got here,” he said.
May 27, 2016 — This past Tuesday, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted 5-4 to keep the Commonwealth’s cobia season open until August 30th of this year. The debate lasted well over four hours. The National Marine Fisheries Service issued a South Atlantic Marine Fishery Council order that would have closed the cobia fishery starting June 20th spanning from Georgia to New York. As a response, this order didn’t sit well with Virginia anglers and others serviced by the fishing industry in the state.
Here is the deal the commission reached regarding the cobia fishery in Virginia:
The Commission did raise the size limit from 37 to 40 inches, kept a one-fish per person possession limit, instituted a two-fish daily vessel limit, allowing only one of those fish to be more than 50 inches, for all vessels including for-hire (charter and head boats). The Commission also voted prohibited the gaffing of cobia by recreational anglers. In addition, the Commission decided to close the fishery on August 30 and will begin a reporting system for recreational anglers to report their cobia catches to the agency. The Commission had been requested by the National Marine Fisheries Service to close the recreational cobia fishery on June 20 because federal data showed the Georgia-New York allowable recreational catch of cobia was greatly exceeded in 2015 and Virginia alone caught the entire coastal quota.
May 26, 2016 — A monument honoring Northern Neck menhaden watermen, including spotter pilots, who died at sea will be unveiled and dedicated at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum, 504 Main Street, Reedville.
This project is a cooperative effort between the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum and the Kilmarnock Museum, said RFM director Shawn Hall.
More than 70 names of watermen who have perished while at sea are inscribed on the monument. Extensive research was conducted to establish the names. As new entries are identified, they will also be added to the memorial, said Hall.
The program will include a short talk on how the memorial came into being. Also, there will be a reading of the names inscribed with the traditional ringing of a ship’s bell, pealing once for each name, he said.
May 26, 2016 — The following is excerpted from a story published today by the Boston Globe:
Shortly after dawn last Friday, the R/V Hugh R. Sharp was towing a sophisticated array of sensors and cameras along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Then suddenly, the research vessel shuddered.
Within seconds, the line went slack, and the team of scientists and volunteers realized the $450,000 camera system was lost, somewhere off the Virginia coast.
Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said they believe the cable connecting to the camera system, known as HabCam, snagged on the remains of the Bow Mariner, a well-known wreck in the area.
The scientists lost contact with the HabCam as a college student was piloting it. HabCam, which is about 10 feet long and weighs 3,700 pounds, was at a depth of about 240 feet, some 90 miles southeast of Delaware Bay.
The Sharp has only several weeks available in the spring to survey scallops, which last year had a catch valued at nearly $425 million, more than three-quarters of which went to fishermen in New Bedford.
Those representing fishermen said they’re deeply concerned about the prospects for this year’s survey.
“This will create uncertainty in the scallop assessment, meaning there’s a greater chance that we’ll catch too few scallops, which will be a short-term loss, or too many, which will be a long-term loss,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the Fisheries Survival Fund, a trade group that represents scallopers throughout the Northeast.
Some in the fishing industry blame NOAA for allowing a college student to pilot the HabCam. They also raised questions about whether the incident occurred as a result of problems with another NOAA ship, the Henry B. Bigelow, which required unexpected maintenance this spring that delayed its survey of groundfish stocks more than ever before.
“I’m told that because of the Bigelow fiasco, [NOAA] transferred more experienced people from the scallop survey to the groundfish survey to try to make up for lost time,” said Robert Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood, a Washington-based group that represents the fishing industry.
“Since the volunteer wasn’t as experienced, and since the captain was apparently driving directly into the path of a 600-foot sunken tanker, they didn’t react quickly enough,” he added.
May 19, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
ARLINGTON, Va. — The states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks. The details of those hearings follow.
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
June 28, 2016 at 7 PM
Marine Headquarters
Boating Education Center
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: Colleen Giannini at 860.447.4308
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
June 28, 2016 at 6:30 PM
Bureau of Marine Resources
205 North Belle Mead Road
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at 631.444.0435
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
June 22, 2016 at 6:30 PM
Nacote Creek Marine Law Enforcement Office
360 North New York Road, Mile Marker 51
Port Republic, New Jersey
Contact: Russ Allen at 609.748.2037
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
June 21, 2016 at 3:30 – 5:00 PM
Ocean Pines Library Conference Room
11107 Cathell Road
Ocean Pines, Maryland
Contact: Michael Luisi at 410.260.8341
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
June 23, 2016 at 5:00 PM
Dare County Center
Courthouse Campus
950 Marshall C. Collins Dr.
Manteo, North Carolina
Contact: Holly White at 252.264.3911
The purpose of the Draft Addendum is to maintain consistency between federal and state FMPs, where possible, and to better incorporate the intent of the smooth dogfish limited exception in the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 (SCA) into state regulations.
Under current regulations, commercial fishermen with only a state commercial fishing license can land smooth dogfish with corresponding fins removed from the carcass. The Draft Addendum proposes to amend the FMP to allow smooth dogfish carcasses to be landed with corresponding fins removed from the carcass as long as the total retained catch, by weight, is composed of at least 25 percent smooth dogfish. This option is consistent with the federal catch composition requirement, which was included in NOAA Fisheries’ final rule for Amendment 9.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained here or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on July 11, 2016 and should be forwarded to Ashton Harp, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at aharp@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum IV).
May 19, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
ARLINGTON, Va. — The states of Rhode Island through Delaware have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 2 the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden. The details of those hearings follow.
Rhode Island Division of Fish & Wildlife
June 20, 2016 at 6:00 PM
University of Rhode Island Bay Campus
Corliss Auditorium
South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Jason McNamee at 401.423.1943
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
June 28, 2016 at 7:00 PM
Marine Headquarters
Boating Education Center
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson at 860.434.6043
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
June 29, 2016 at 6:30 PM
Bureau of Marine Resources
205 North Belle Mead Road
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Jim Gilmore at 631.444.0430
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
July 7, 2016 at 6:30 PM
Atlantic County Library (Galloway Twp. Branch)
306 East Jimmie Leeds Road
Galloway, New Jersey
Contact: Russ Allen at 609.748.2037
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
June 23, 2016 at 6:00 PM
Easton High School
723 Mecklenburg Avenue
Easton, Maryland
Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
July 6, 2016; 6 PM
DNREC Auditorium
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware
Contact: John Clark at 302.739.9914
The Draft Addendum proposes modifying the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision. Specifically, it considers allowing two licensed individuals to harvest up to 12,000 pounds of menhaden bycatch when working from the same vessel fishing stationary, multi-species gear – limited to one vessel trip per day. Bycatch represents less than 2% of the total coastwide landings.
The practice of two permitted fishermen working together from the same vessel to harvest Atlantic menhaden primarily occurs in the Chesapeake Bay pound net fishery. This practice enables the fishermen to pool resources for fuel and crew. However, the practice is currently constrained by the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision, which includes a 6,000 pound/vessel/day limit. The Draft Addendum seeks comment on whether the provision should be revised to accommodate the interests of fixed-gear fishermen who work together, as authorized by the states and jurisdictions in which they fish.
The intent of Draft Addendum I is to add flexibility to one element of the bycatch allowance provision while the Board prepares to address menhaden management more comprehensively through the development of Draft Amendment 3 to the FMP over the next two years. A subsequent press release on the public hearing schedule and Draft Addendum I availability will be distributed once state hearings have been scheduled.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained here or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on July 11, 2016and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mware@asmfc.org(Subject line: Draft Addendum I).
May 19, 2016 — Yes, it is starting to sound like a broken record. But the stakes are too high to not talk about cobia before an incredibly important meeting Tuesday at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission in Newport News.
The commission that afternoon will decide whether or not it will comply with federally ordered rules that will shut down cobia fishing along the East Coast on June 20.
North Carolina’s fisheries managers meet today and Friday to decide whether that state will go non-compliant. Should Carolina do so, the feds most likely would make the coastal closing date earlier.
The thing is, cobia in the two states are almost exclusively caught in state waters inside three miles. In the past, state agencies usually have adopted federal water rules in fear of suffering paybacks from the feds. But not always.
May 18, 2016 — The overall health of Chesapeake Bay improved in 2015, according to scientists at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The largest estuary in the nation scored a C (53%) in 2015, one of the three highest scores since 1986. Only 1992 and 2002 scored as high or higher, both years of major sustained droughts.
“We’d expect to see improvements after a drought year because nutrients aren’t being washed into the Bay, fueling algae blooms and poor water quality,” said Bill Dennison, Vice President for Science Applications at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. “However, in 2015 stream flow was below normal, but nowhere near the drought conditions in 1992 and 2002. Thus, the high score for 2015 indicates that we’re making progress reducing what’s coming off the land.”
The overall score for the Chesapeake Bay Health Index for 2015 was 53%, compared with 50% in 2014 and 45% in 2013. There were strong improvements in many regions throughout the Bay, such as the Choptank River, Upper Eastern Shore, Lower Western Shore, and the Rappahannock River. There were no regions that had lower scores in 2015 compared to 2014. Improvements could be related to a number of factors, including several years of moderate weather, sewage treatment upgrades, use of winter cover crops by farmers, and reductions in atmospheric nitrogen deposition.
May 16, 2016 — To feed a hungry world, it’s no longer enough to catch wild seafood. Many fisheries are in decline because of overfishing, environmental stresses or both, and human demand for protein has never been greater. That means aquaculture has to be a growing part of the world’s food supply. Here in North Carolina, it’s also an essential component in growing the economies of our coastal communities.
A case in point is the state’s oyster fishery, which once supplied much of the East Coast, but now can’t even meet demand from within North Carolina. Our state is working hard to emulate our neighbors to the north, who through state-sponsored shellfish research hatcheries have bred a better oyster, able to thrive in Chesapeake Bay and other Virginia waters.
In 2011, North Carolina began supporting a hatchery, right here on the CREST Research Park in Wilmington. UNC Wilmington faculty researchers and student workers are using selective breeding techniques, supplemented by some high-tech genetic research, to develop new strains of oysters to suit our state’s waters. The hatchery is also working with scallops, which are more challenging to grow but more lucrative to sell, as well as sunray Venus clams. But oysters are its primary product.
A recent comparison of oyster cultivation in North Carolina and Virginia, conducted by the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, showed that in 2005, the two states were roughly even, each producing roughly a quarter-million dollars’ worth of farmed oysters. But while Virginia’s production exploded, reaching almost $10 million in just seven years, our state’s aquaculture operations barely doubled their output.