Saving Seafood

NEFMC SSC Meeting Live Streaming Information

August 5, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet on Wednesday, August 10, 2016.  The public is invited to participate via webinar or telephone.  Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION:  Hilton Garden Inn, Boston Logan Airport, 100 Boardman Street.  Hotel information is available here.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting will be available here.

There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (914) 614-3221.

The access code is 960-909-979.

Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will develop overfishing levels (OFLs) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for (1) Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for fishing year 2017; (2) monkfish for fishing years 2017-2019; and (3) Atlantic deep-sea red crab for fishing years 2017-2019.  The SSC also may take up other business as necessary.

MATERIALS:  Meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at SSC Aug. 10, 2016 meeting.

SUSAN POLLACK: Fishing For Progress: Saying No To ‘No Women On Board’

June 10, 2016 — In 1982, as supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment fought claims that that the proposed amendment to the Constitution would destroy the American family, I confronted an older mythology: Women are bad luck on boats.

I was a young maritime reporter for The East Hampton Star on Eastern Long Island. I loved boats and the sea, and I’d always loved adventure. That summer, I planned to join local fishermen aboard a state-of-the-art Japanese squid ship. This was several years after the United States enacted its 200-mile limit, but before American fishermen had fully developed a squid fishery of their own. In exchange for sharing their technical know-how, the Japanese would be permitted to catch squid in our waters.

I was game.

But as I was readying my boots and gear, I received an unexpected warning from the American sponsors of the U.S-Japan venture: no women on board.

Surely, something must be wrong: I’d spent the previous five years in gurry-soaked oil skins reporting on life at sea on American draggers, lobster boats, bay scallopers, gillnetters, long-liners and clamming rigs. I’d photographed the sun rising over the stern of a dragger hauling its catch of yellowtail and blackback flounders, cod, haddock and scup. I’d spent bone-chilling winter days in an open skiff, culling bay scallops – separating the delicate fan-shaped bivalves from whelks, rocks and seaweed. I’d danced on the boat, not for joy, but to keep warm.

On summer evenings, I’d helped my neighbor lift his gillnets, gingerly plucking out sharp-toothed bluefish and the occasional striper. And I’d finally succeeded in filleting a flounder without mangling the fragile flesh.

Read the full story at WBUR

Populations of salmon, flounder added to overfishing list

April 21, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government has added several populations of economically important food fish, including stocks of salmon and flounder, to its list of fish stocks that are being subjected to overfishing.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday that three regional populations of Chinook salmon and one regional population each of Coho salmon, summer flounder, yellowtail flounder and winter flounder are suffering from overfishing.

NOAA produces an annual update of its list of fish that are either subject to overfishing or have been overfished to the point where populations are too low. The report informs conservation and management efforts.

Overall, the number of fish on the “overfishing” list climbed from 26 to 28, and the number on the “overfished” list rose from 37 to 38.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New Bedford Standard Times: Bring more electronic monitoring to fishery

April 19, 2016 — In the sustainable fisheries conference held at Rhode Island College last week, audience members were asked various demographic and opinion questions about the ocean, fisheries, and management that were tabulated and presented on the spot. Unscientific, yes, but very interesting. The question of whether the groundfish fishery is sustainable was asked of the audience before and after, and the results suggest that some opinions were changed — for the positive — by the two hours of discussion.

When asked who would be best to regulate the fishery, the answer showed the thoughts of those in the audience based on biases and attitudes, but there is only one answer to that question. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, passed by Congress and administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is the fishery’s manager, and that won’t change.

One very important part of that manager’s charge is ensuring both conservation and economic goals are considered in its management.

One policy tool for those goals is at-sea monitoring, which aims to provide accurate data on what is caught and what is thrown back. Accurate assessments support effective management and more successful fishing. It has been a point of contention for several years, as the cost of monitoring is to be borne by the industry, not the regulator. Cost aside, monitoring can help fishermen.

Hauling up less abundant species like Gulf of Maine cod or yellowtail flounder creates a dilemma for the fisherman. His options are to throw legally landed fish back into the ocean to avoid the choke species mechanism that limits the harvest of abundant stocks, or to take the fish back to port to be counted against the quotas, and hasten the day the fishing season comes to an end.

Read the full editorial at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Proposed fishing framework: Something for everyone to hate

March 23, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries has opened the public comment period for the proposed management rule that includes withering cuts to several groundfish species and reductions in the overall level of at-sea monitoring (ASM) coverage for the beleaguered groundfish fleet.

It seems the proposed rule, also known as Framework 55, has a little bit of something for everyone to hate. They have until close of business on April 5 to submit their comments to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Environmental groups, such as Oceana, are bitterly criticizing the projected reduction in ASM for groundfish boats to about 14 percent from about 24 percent, saying the rule will “weaken the chances of recovery for this historic fishery.”

Fishermen point to the further reductions in what they already consider minuscule catch quotas and say those reductions — combined with the absorption of the costs for ASM — could finally be the management initiative that shutters the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery for good.

Savage quota cuts

The catch limits, set by the NOAA Fisheries for the 2016 fishing season that begins May 1, include savage cuts to the annual catch limits for gray sole (55 percent), Georges Bank cod (66 percent), northern windowpane flounder (33 percent) and Gulf of Maine yellowtail flounder (26 percent).

“We will not have a fishery as we know it anymore,” Vito Giacalone, policy director for the Northeast Seafood Coalition, said on Tuesday. “In fact, I think you can already make the case that we don’t have a fishery you can recognize now compared to any period in the past.”

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Groundfish Catch Limits and Modifications to the At-Sea Monitoring Program

March 23, 2016 — We are seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would set 2016-2018 catch limits for all 20 groundfish stocks, adjust the groundfish at-sea monitoring program, and adopt several sector measures.

Catch Limits

The new catch limits proposed for all 20 groundfish stocks are based on stock assessments conducted in late 2015.

The proposed allocations for Gulf of Maine cod, Georges Bank cod, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder, and witch flounder could limit the operation of the groundfish fishery. However, these reductions are necessary to prevent overfishing for these stocks, which are all at historically low levels.

Based on the proposed allocation increases for Gulf of Maine haddock (150 percent) and Gulf of Maine cod (30 percent), we are proposing trip limit increases and season extensions for the recreational groundfish fishery in a separate action.

At-Sea Monitoring

The 2016 fishing year (May 1, 2016, through April 30, 2017) is the first full year that sectors will be responsible for the costs of at-sea monitoring. We worked with the New England Fishery Management Council to develop a set of reasonable modifications to the at-sea monitoring program to make the program more cost-effective while still reliably meeting monitoring groundfish catch.

The proposed changes include:

  • Elimination of the coverage requirement for certain sector trips with low groundfish bycatch;
  • Adjustment of method  NOAA Fisheries uses to set the annual coverage level to use more years of discard information and stock health to predict coverage levels; and
  • Reduction of the target at-sea monitoring coverage level of 14 percent for the 2016 fishing year (down from 24 percent for 2015).

Read the release at NOAA Fisheries

Announcing 2016 Fishing Opportunities in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area

March 1, 2016 — We are announcing 2016 fishing opportunities in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area for U.S. fishing vessels.

Read the announcement as filed in the Federal Register.

Background

The United States is a Contracting Party to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization or NAFO. NAFO is an intergovernmental fisheries science and management body whose convention on Northwest Atlantic Fisheries applies to most fishery resources in international waters of the Northwest Atlantic. 

NAFO’s Fisheries Commission is responsible for the management and conservation of the fishery resources in its Regulatory Area.

What NAFO fishing opportunities are available to U.S. fishing vessels?

NAFO manages Atlantic cod, yellowtail and witch flounders, Acadian redfish, American plaice, Greenland halibut, white hake, capelin, shrimp, skates, and Illex squid. NAFO maintains conservation measures for these species (in its Regulatory Area), including catch limits that are allocated among NAFO Contracting Parties. 

Who can apply for these fishing opportunities?

Any U.S. fishing interests (e.g., vessel owners, processors, agents, others). 

How do I apply?

Send an expression of interest in writing to:

John K. Bullard

U.S. Commissioner to NAFO

NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office 

55 Great Republic Drive

Gloucester, MA 01930 

phone: 978-281-9315

John.Bullard@noaa.gov

For more information, read the Federal Register announcement, visit the NAFO website, or contact:

Michael Ruccio

NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office

55 Great Republic Drive

Gloucester, MA 01930 

phone: 978-281-9104

fax: 978-281-9135

Michael.Ruccio@noaa.gov

The deadline is March 15.

Canadian yellowtail flounder re-certification proof that fishery rebuilding works

October 29, 2015 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Demonstrating a continuous commitment to sustainable fishing practices, the Ocean Choice International (OCI) Grand Bank Yellowtail Flounder Fishery has been re-certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fishery Standard as being sustainable and well managed.

Over its first five year period of certification, to continue to meet the MSC’s robust Standard, the fishery worked to meet nine conditions for improvement, including reducing bycatch and minimizing damage to marine habitats. Their success in achieving these conditions demonstrates that MSC certification helps to provide an effective path to continued positive change on our oceans.

“We take great pride in ensuring all our fisheries operate in a responsible and sustainable manner and we are pleased with the re-certification of yellowtail flounder,“said Blaine Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer of OCI. “As a global leader in responsible management and sustainable fisheries we continue our efforts and commitment as stewards of our oceans and marine environment.”

Read the full story at Marine Stewardship Council

SMAST researchers employ new methods of fish geolocation

October 9, 2015 — Researchers at the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology are hoping that new methods of figuring out where fish go in the Gulf of Maine will begin to lead to a much better understanding of what is happening below the surface, aiding in stock assessments.

Dr. Geoffrey Cowles and his research assistants, graduate students Doug Zemeckis and Chang Liu, are partners in a multi-institution effort to tag yellowtail flounder, monkfish, and now cod to learn much more than past methods could tell them.

Called geolocation, the multi-partner research is using new measurements to begin to sort out where fish go after they are tagged and before they are (hopefully) recaptured.

Zemeckis went to sea on a state research vessel, and tagged dozens of cod with lipstick-sized devices that record temperature and pressure. Those can tell researchers quite a lot about where the fish spend their time.

Unlike simple tags, which just show where the fish was released and where it was caught, these devices record the data, which is being recovered and analyzed using methods that are still being developed.

Zemeckis said that since GPS signals do not penetrate water, global positioning doesn’t work for tracking fish.

Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA Fisheries Announces Common Pool Area Closure in Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic

July 28, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

We are closing the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder Trimester TAC Area to common pool vessels using trawl and sink gillnet gear for the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31.

The area will reopen at the start of Trimester 2 on September 1.

We are required to close this area because the common pool fishery has caught over 90 percent of its Trimester 1 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Southern New England/ Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder.

Read the permit holder bulletin.

Questions? Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, at 978-281-9103 or allison.ferreira@noaa.gov.