Saving Seafood

New restrictions placed on New England fishing industry to protect whales

April 29, 2019 — Fishermen across New England are facing new restrictions after a panel of experts convened by the federal government agreed on Friday to a plan to step up protection of the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The group of federal and state officials, scientists, fishermen and environmental advocates, created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, capped a four-day meeting in Providence by reaching consensus on a plan to reduce entanglements in fishing gear, which is the leading cause of injuries to the whale and deaths. The measures, which include using weaker ropes or breakaway ropes and reducing the number of vertical lines in the water, will primarily affect the region’s lobster fisheries.

While the plan agreed to by the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team sets an overall goal of reducing whale deaths caused by fishing gear by 60 percent, each state will meet that target through a combination of different measures.

In Rhode Island, lobstermen will cut the number of end lines — the ropes that run vertically from traps on the ocean bottom to buoys on the surface — by 18 percent over the next three years and, on the remaining lines, use rope sleeves that would break apart under enough force. In Massachusetts, the reduction in vertical lines will be 30 percent and in Maine 50 percent.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

Should seals and sea lions be killed to help save the orcas?

April 26, 2019 — Seals and sea lions are competing with the Southern Resident killer whales for limited Chinook salmon stock. That has some people calling for a cull where the government would organize the hunting and killing of a certain percentage of sea lions and seals.

Sea lions and seals are often seen as adversaries of fishermen. Last year, more than a dozen sea lions were shot, many in the head, and washed up around Puget Sound; mostly in West Seattle.

A recent paper published by federal scientists shows pinnipeds eat twice as much salmon as Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound, and six times more salmon than recreational and commercial fishermen combined.

It’s created quite the debate over the recovery of Southern Resident killer whales who depend on salmon as their main food source.

Should seals and sea lions be killed to save orcas? The question is complex and scientists don’t all agree. Most aren’t sure if it would work. They’re also turning their attention to what they believe is the preferred prey of pinnipeds: forage fish.

At National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Manchester lab, scientists are studying steelhead migration through Puget Sound.

Read the full story at K5 News

Omega Protein: New York menhaden law a ‘feel good’ for environmentalists

April 26, 2019 — Omega Protein says it won’t be hurt by a new law that blocks it from fishing for menhaden in New York state waters in order to preserve the forage fish for whales and other wildlife because it never goes there.

Rather, it’s “feel-good legislation for the environmental community, but it will have zero impact on the company’s operations”, commented Ben Landry, director of public affairs for the Houston, Texas-based division of Canada’s Cooke, when called by Undercurrent News Tuesday for a response.

The legislation passed unanimously, 61-0, by New York’s Senate in February (companion bills S. 2317 and A. 2571) went into effect immediately upon being signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday. The new law, which was sponsored by Democratic senator Todd Kaminsky and assembly member Steve Englebright, prohibits the taking of menhaden with the use of purse seine nets within three miles of the state’s coast.

Because menhaden are sensitive to oxygen levels in the water and can die off by the thousands when large schools become too confined in one area during hot weather, the law allows the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to issue a temporary order to allow purse seiners to reduce the population.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Whale protection team to start work on new rules

April 24, 2019 — It’s still too early in the year for lobster fishing to be in full swing, so it was quiet enough on the water this week to hear the distant sound of dropping shoes from a meeting of the NOAA Fisheries Large Whale Take Reduction Team meeting that began Tuesday morning in Providence, R.I.

The four-day meeting of some 60 state and federal fisheries management officials, scientists, fishermen, and conservation group representatives was scheduled to discuss ways to further reduce serious injury and mortality of endangered North Atlantic right whales attributed to lobster traps and other trap and pot fishing gear.

By the time the meeting ends on Thursday, the Take Reduction Team could propose some stringent measures affecting the Maine lobster fishery.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander 

New England Fisheries Officials, Lawmakers Want NOAA To Slow Proposed Rules On Lobster Gear

April 24, 2019 — The top marine resources officials from Maine and New Hampshire, joined by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District, are sharply criticizing the federal government’s efforts to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale and are calling for a slowdown of plans to impose new rules that could be costly for New England’s lobster fleet.

In a letter sent Friday to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Patrick Keliher, and his counterpart in New Hampshire say federal fisheries managers botched the rollout of a new and apparently flawed risk-assessment model.

It’s supposed to help measure the effectiveness of various strategies to reduce the chance that whales will be injured or killed by entanglement in fishing gear, from using weaker rope or breakaway rope for hauling traps to a specialized gadget that would cut line when a whale becomes entangled, imposing trap limits or targeted closures of areas where whales are known to be swimming.

“There are some things that are coming out of that tool and some questions that we have about the model or some of the ideas in it that doesn’t really pass the straight-face test for us,” says Erin Summers, Maine DMR’s point-person on the whale issue, during a NOAA webinar introducing stakeholders to the risk-assessment model.

Read the full story at Maine Public Radio

UPDATE: New fishing rules on agenda to protect rare whale

April 23, 2019 — This week is shaping up to be the week of the North Atlantic right whale, as regulators, conservationists and fishing stakeholders convene in New England to hammer out new measures to protect the imperiled cetaceans from potentially deadly entanglements in fishing gear.

The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team is set to meet Tuesday through Friday in Providence, Rhode Island. The proceedings will be closely watched by segments of the Northeast commercial fishing industry — particularly Massachusetts and Maine lobstermen — to gauge the impact on future fishing.

“Tackling entanglements is critical to the recovery of the North Atlantic right whale population, and we can’t do it without the assistance and cooperation of those who know best how the fishing industry interacts with large whales,” Mike Pentony, the Gloucester-based regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries, said in a statement. “The continued participation and dedication of our industry, science, (non-governmental organizations) and agency partners is absolutely necessary to future success.”

The population of the North Atlantic right whales peaked at about 480 in 2010 before another downward trajectory emerged, fueled in part by an unprecedented 17 mortalities in U.S. and Canadian waters in 2017, particularly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery.

Today, whale researchers estimate the North Atlantic right whale population hovers around 411.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Explaining California’s sudden humpback entanglement surge

April 22, 2019 — Every year, humpback whales make their annual trek from tropical calving grounds to feed in the cold, nutrient-rich waters off the coast of California. Historically, they arrived to feast in June just as the Dungeness crab fishery was closing and gear was being pulled in for the season. But in 2012, they arrived a few weeks earlier than normal. In 2014, they were a month early. By 2015, the humpbacks arrived in April, a full two months earlier than the norm.

That shift has been dangerous for the whales. In March, it was the subject of a lawsuit settlement that prompted an early end to the Dungeness crab season. Some of our own research has determined the cause: climate change.

Humpback sightings from the Golden Gate Bridge are a hallmark of summer in San Francisco. The whales come to feed where the narrow straits of the Bay meet the ocean. Marine life abounds here, where nutrient-dense water feeds blooms of phytoplankton. They are then eaten by zooplankton, including krill, tiny reddish shrimp-like crustaceans which are a favored food for whales. Seasonal blooms of these tiny animals support the ecosystem bottom-up, producing a massive marine buffet for fish, birds and other marine mammals. Predators gorge themselves in the summer and fall when this area supports the most amount of food.

Where there are high concentrations of fish, there are people catching them, and the whales’ earlier arrival has driven more interactions with West Coast fisheries. Since 2014, the number of whales entangled in Dungeness crab pots has escalated dramatically, with 129 cases reported between 2015 and 2017, compared to around 10 each year in previous decades.

Read the full story at the San Francisco Examiner 

Maryland officials join opposition to offshore seismic tests

April 22, 2019 — Maryland officials have joined a host of congressmen in opposing the Trump administration’s plan to start underwater seismic testing along the Atlantic coast, operations that could lead to increased domestic production of oil and gas, but also could be harmful to marine animals.

The offshore seismic testing would be part of oil and gas exploration from Florida up the East Coast to Delaware, including the coast of Maryland.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and eight other attorneys general joined as parties to a lawsuit aimed at stopping the testing, which they said would subject marine creatures such as whales, porpoises, and dolphins to extremely loud sounds.

Read the full story at WTOP

Voluntary Vessel Speed Restriction Zone East of Boston to Protect Right Whales

April 22, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) has been established east of Boston to protect an aggregation of 11 right whales sighted in this area on April 19.

This DMA is in effect through May 5, 2019.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less. Whales were spotted in or near shipping lanes so please be especially vigilant when traveling in these areas.

DMA coordinates:

  • 42 40 N
  • 42 02 N
  • 070 20 W
  • 071 15 W

ACTIVE SEASONAL MANAGEMENT AREAS (SMAs)

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Cape Cod Bay SMA — in effect through May 15

Off Race Point SMA– in effect through April 3

Mid-Atlantic U.S. SMAs (includes Block Island) — in effect through April 30

Great South Channel SMA — in effect through July 31

More info on Seasonal Management Areas

Right Whales Are Migrating

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. With an unprecedented 20 right whale deaths documented in 2017 and 2018, NOAA is cautioning boaters to give these endangered whales plenty of room. We are also asking commercial fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales, remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements, and use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are slightly more than 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

Read the full release here

NOAA: Team to Focus on Right Whale Survival This Week

April 22, 2019 — The following was published by NOAA Fisheries:

On April 23, a group of approximately 60 fishermen, scientists, conservationists, and state and federal officials will come together to discuss ways to further reduce serious injury and mortality of endangered North Atlantic right whales caused by trap/pot fishing gear. The group will meet in Providence, Rhode Island for four days. At the end of the meeting, they hope to agree on a suite of measures that will reduce right whale serious injuries and deaths in fishing gear in U.S. waters from Maine to Florida to less than one whale per year, the level prescribed by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

“Tackling entanglements is critical to the recovery of the North Atlantic right whale population, and we can’t do it without the assistance and cooperation of those who know best how the fishing industry interacts with large whales,” says Mike Pentony, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region. “The continued participation and dedication of our industry, science, NGO, and agency partners is absolutely necessary to future success.”

About Right Whales

These whales, which got their name from being the “right” whales to hunt because they floated when they were killed, have never recovered to pre-whaling numbers. Due in part to conservation measures put in place to protect these whales from incidental entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes, we saw steady population growth from about 270 right whales in 1990 to about 480 in 2010. But in 2010, another downward trajectory began. This downward trend, exacerbated by an unprecedented 17 mortalities (particularly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery) in 2017, brought a new urgency to modify the existing Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.

That Plan, developed by the team of stakeholders meeting next week, identifies a number of conservation measures from area closures to gear modifications that U.S. fixed gear fishermen have already implemented. Despite these efforts, today the population is estimated to be fewer than 411 whales. Only twelve births have been observed in the three calving seasons since the winter of 2016/2017, less than one third the previous average annual birth rate for right whales. This accelerates the trend that began around 2010, with deaths outpacing births in this population.

Take Reduction Planning

The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that if serious injuries and mortalities to a population of marine mammals due to U.S. commercial fisheries is above a level that the stock can sustain, NOAA Fisheries convene Take Reduction Team to develop consensus recommendations on how to reduce this threat.

The immediate goal of a Take Reduction Team is to develop a to reduce incidental mortality and serious injury to a level, known as the “potential biological removal” level, that allows the stock to stabilize or grow, rather than decline. Although it’s been in existence since 1997, the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan has not been able to consistently reduce serious injuries and mortalities to below the potential biological removal level.

Cost of Entanglement

Entanglements are currently the leading cause of known right whale mortality. More than 80 percent of right whales carry scars that indicate that they have been entangled in fishing lines, and nearly 60 percent of those are entangled more than once. Not all entanglements drown whales.  Some prevent a whale from feeding, increase the energy a whale needs to swim and feed and cause pain and stress to the animal, which weakens it. Biologists believe that the additional stress of entanglement is one of the reasons that females are calving less often; females used to have calves every 3-5 years, and now are having calves every 6-10 years.

In recent years, most documented fishing gear entanglements of large whales (like right and humpback whales) that result in serious injury and mortality come from trap/pot gear. The traps lie on the ocean floor and are connected to buoys at the surface by long vertical buoy lines.

Many whales that are entangled are discovered after the event, with no gear attached. In some instances, gear is retrieved, analyzed, and stored for future analysis; much of this retrieved rope is consistent with buoy lines. That said, 71 percent of all recovered/observed gear (2009-2018) from right whales cannot be matched to a specific fishery or site.

Strategies for Reducing Risk

In Providence next week, the Team will be developing and discussing potential measures to modify the Take Reduction Plan, including updates to the current gear marking strategy, seasonal area closures, and reducing the risk of vertical lines through the use of weak rope. Many of these measures were proposed by Team members during an October 2018 meeting to discuss possible options to discuss at the April 2019 meeting. In advance of this meeting, the team particularly requested two things: 1. Clarification of a target percent reduction in serious injury and mortality, and 2. An ability to evaluate and compare different risk reduction elements from Team proposals.

A Target Reduction Level

Based on the 2016 population estimate, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s North Atlantic right whale stock assessment establishes a potential biological removal level of 0.9 whales per year — i.e. slightly less than one whale suffering human-caused mortality or serious injury from any source in a given year.

Currently, NOAA Fisheries estimates that U.S. fisheries are responsible for 2.5 to 2.6 observed serious injuries and mortalities each year. Scientists estimate that we only observe 60 percent of the serious injuries and mortalities, which would bring the U.S. total to about 4.3. To get to 0.9 will require a reduction of 60-80 percent of serious injuries and mortalities.

A Risk Analysis Decision Tool

Determining how to judge the expected conservation value of any particular measure is a complicated task. To create a model to assess risk reduction, the model needs to first identify the current risk landscape, overlaying information on the density of trap/pot vertical lines, the distribution of whales, and the relative risk of the gear configuration associated with the lines (strengths/diameters of lines, lengths of trawls). Working collaboratively, the model combines Industrial Economics Inc.’s improved trap/pot vertical line model and the Duke Marine Spatial Ecology Lab’s marine mammal density model, as well as risk assessment weights provided by Take Reduction Team members, Agency large whale scientists and managers, and permitted whale disentanglers. With these data sets, scientists at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center developed a risk assessment tool that will be used at next week’s meeting.  This tool represents a substantial leap forward and provides the Team with the best available information to determine risk and support their deliberations.

Next Steps

After this meeting, we will use recommendations from the Team to begin rulemaking in May. At various points during rulemaking there will be a continued opportunity for public comment.

“I’m confident we have the right people around the table to tackle this problem,” says Mike Asaro, Acting Protected Resources Assistant Regional Administrator. “This is a complex issue but with the cooperation and active engagement from the people who know this issue best, I have hope that following the meeting, we will have a solid set of conservation measures to proceed to rulemaking that will allow the fishing industry and whales to coexist and thrive.”