Saving Seafood

Maine’s governor objects to petition requesting vertical-line prohibition

June 26, 2020 — The U.S. state of Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, has written a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross objecting to a recent petition that aims to prohibit the use of vertical lines in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries in four areas off the New England coast.

The petition was submitted by The Pew Charitable Trusts earlier this month, with the intention of protecting the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale. Right whales are one of the most endangered mammal species in the world, and entanglement with vertical lines have led to new regulation that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association has objected to.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Pew petitions for vertical-line fishing closures off New England “to protect right whales”

June 18, 2020 — The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted a petition for rulemarking to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on 18 June urging him to take immediate action “to protect North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in federal waters off of New England.”

In a letter to Ross, Pew proposed a series of fisheries closures it says are “designed to afford the greatest protections for right whales, while minimizing the impact on fishermen.” The organization identified four areas off of New England where fisheries employ high-risk gear – such as lobster and crab traps with thick vertical ropes – and suggested that Ross designate closures during times when right whales are likely to be present.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Rep. Golden introduces legislation to make disaster relief funds available to fishermen

June 11, 2020 — In a bipartisan effort, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) on Thursday introduced legislation to make additional disaster relief available to thousands of fishermen whose businesses are harmed by a pandemic.

The legislation would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act to allow fisheries disasters to be declared due to pandemic, such as COVID-19.

“For the last few months, many Maine fishermen and lobstermen have had almost nowhere to sell their catch because COVID-19 has nearly shut down demand for fresh seafood all over the world,” Golden said. “Coronavirus is just as much of a disaster for this fishery as it would be if a Category 5 hurricane hit, and our lobstering and fishing communities deserve the same relief fisheries receive for other disasters. My bipartisan bill with Congressman Graves would make pandemics an allowable reason to declare a fisheries disaster, opening up a process to direct federal relief funds to affected fishing communities. Lobstermen and fishermen need this support right now, and the need will only grow if a second outbreak of COVID-19 happens this fall.”

A fisheries disaster declaration uses an established process for appropriating and distributing federal relief funds to fisheries and fishing communities during an unexpected event that causes significant losses.

To make the disaster declaration, a governor must request a fishery’s disaster declaration from the Commerce Secretary, along with a requested amount of relief funds for their fishery. If the Commerce Secretary agrees with the disaster declaration, in most cases the fishery is awarded the amount requested by the governor.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

JOHN FIORILLO: Offshore aquaculture has Trump’s backing, but that’s just the beginning

June 9, 2020 — When it comes to unprecedented moments in seafood industry history, May’s executive order from President Donald Trump is certainly near the top.

The needs and desires of the US fishing and aquaculture sectors have traditionally not been the focus of Oval Office inhabitants, making Trump’s May 6 proclamation a truly unique moment.

It’s not uncommon for US presidents to use executive orders to unilaterally pursue policy objectives, but that doesn’t lessen the significance or the potential of Trump’s “Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth” decree as far as its impact on the seafood industry, particularly the US aquaculture sector.

While the order seeks to streamline fisheries regulations and promote more fair seafood trade, much of the value of this executive order will be determined by whether the United States evolves into the aquaculture powerhouse it has been threatening to become for nearly 30 years.

Read the full opinion piece at IntraFish

U.S. Regional Councils Call for Removal of Fishing Restrictions in Marine National Monuments

June 5, 2020 — In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross last week, the nation’s eight regional fishery management councils reiterated their recommendation that President Trump restore management of fishing throughout U.S. federal waters, including Marine National Monument waters, to the councils as implemented by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

In the letter, the councils wrote, “The ban on commercial fishing within Marine National Monument waters is a regulatory burden on domestic fisheries, requiring many of the affected American fishermen to travel outside U.S. waters with increased operational expenses and higher safety-at-sea risks.” They further wrote, “Marine National Monument designations in their present form hinder the Councils’ ability to sustainably manage fisheries throughout their range, and they restrict the Councils and the National Marine Fisheries Service from acquiring invaluable knowledge about the stocks and the marine ecosystem made available through catch-and-effort and observer data.”

The letter also reiterated previous council letters from 2017 and 2016, and the councils’ 2016 Outcomes Statement and Recommendations, calling for fisheries management in all U.S. federal waters to be conducted through the public process of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

In 2017, the councils wrote, “Designations of marine national monuments that prohibit fishing activities–especially those that did not receive adequate economic and social impact review and did not allow for a robust public review process–have disrupted the ability of the Councils to manage fisheries throughout their range as required by MSA and in an ecosystem-based manner.”

In its 2016 letter, the councils wrote, “We believe fisheries management decisions should be made using the robust process established by the MSA and successfully used for over forty years.”

Last week’s letter was the result of a Council Coordination Committee meeting that brought together leaders of the nation’s eight regional councils by videoconference for the first of their biannual meetings.

Read the full letter here

MASSACHUSETTS: Kennedy: Coronavirus aid for fisheries ‘insufficient’

June 4, 2020 — The $28 million in COVID-related federal assistance to help the Massachusetts seafood industry is insufficient “and will not address the economic pain felt throughout the commonwealth,” U.S. Senate candidate Joseph P. Kennedy III stated in a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Kennedy, who represents the state’s 4th congressional district, blamed the insufficiency on the lack of employment data in the funding methodology used by NOAA Fisheries to distribute the $300 million in federal fisheries assistance to individual states.

In May, NOAA Fisheries, which is part of the Commerce Department, announced Massachusetts will receive $28,004,176, or 9.3% of the $300 million contained for fisheries assistance in the Coronavirus Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Disaster funding granted to Gulf of Mexico fisheries hit by spillway opening

May 18, 2020 — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the allocation of USD 88 million (EUR 80.6 million) in disaster-relief funding to Gulf of Mexico fisheries in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to counter the impacts of the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

The Bonnet Carre Spillway is a flood control system for the Lower Mississippi Valley, with its opening releasing massive amounts of freshwater from the river into the Gulf of Mexico. In April, the spillway was opened for the third straight year, something that has never happened in the spillway’s history.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Luria demands $10 million in funding to support Virginia fisheries

May 14, 2020 — On Wednesday, Congresswoman Elaine Luria released a letter written to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross outlining the need for nearly $10 million in relief for Virginia’s fisheries and complete transparency with NOAA’s recent funding distribution.

The CARES Act, Section 12005 directs the Department of Commerce to distribute $300 million to the seafood and fishery industry businesses that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

NOAA released its plan last week for distributing these funds throughout each state, of which $4,520,475 is slated to go to Virginia fisheries, which is about 1.5% of the total allocation.

“It is unacceptable that NOAA’s allocation decision does not reflect the dramatic losses Virginia watermen have faced as a result of this pandemic and does not accurately calculate the contribution of Virginia’s fisheries industries to the national seafood industry,” said Luria. “I urge NOAA to immediately revise its allocation formula to provide Virginia at least $10 million in CARES Act fisheries funding.”

Read the full story at WAVY

CARES Act provides more than $5M for North Carolina commercial fishing industry

May 14, 2020 — Commercial fishermen in North Carolina will receive more than $5 million in federal financial assistance through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an announcement last week, saying the U.S. Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by Sec. 12005 of the CARES Act to states, tribes and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Under the act, North Carolina’s commercial fishermen will receive $5,460,385.

U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the relief package will support America’s fishermen and the seafood sector’s recovery.

“Thank you President (Donald) Trump, (U.S. Treasury) Secretary (Steven) Mnuchin and our congressional leaders of both parties for your work to pass the historic legislation that is bringing much needed relief to America’s fishermen,” Mr. Ross said. “This administration stands with the men and women working to provide healthy and safe seafood during this uniquely challenging time, while our U.S. fisheries work to continue to support 1.7 million jobs and to generate $200 billion in annual sales. The nation is grateful to our fishermen for their commitment.”

Read the full story at Carolina Coast Online

VIRGINIA: Northam administration says federal fisheries relief ‘falls woefully short’

May 12, 2020 — Virginia’s waters are unusually still this spring.

Ordinarily, May 1 is the start of the charter boat season, a day that sees convoys of boats head out from the ports of coastal Virginia for deeper waters where fish are sought by daytrippers. By then, crabbing and oystering, which usually begin in March, are in full swing. So are the commercial fisheries, many of which operate year-round.

Not so this year. Like so many other industries, fisheries, whether commercial or recreational, have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. And while U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Thursday announced $300 million in relief funding for fisheries around the nation, Virginia’s top natural resources official says the state’s $4.5 million allocation is nowhere near enough to stem the tide of losses.

“This funding falls woefully short of even beginning to address the devastating impacts fisheries and aquaculture businesses have suffered due to COVID-19,” said Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Matt Strickler in a statement. “The fishing industry in Virginia supports thousands of jobs and generates millions in revenue. The administration must release more funding to help our coastal communities and businesses.”

Read the full story at The Virginia Mercury