Conservation & Environment

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – Captain Paul Eidman will give a talk on restoring what he sees as the Atlantic Ocean’s most important fish beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the Cape May Court House library at 30 Mechanic Street.

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – Captain Paul Eidman will give a talk on restoring what he sees as the Atlantic Ocean’s most important fish beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the Cape May Court House library at 30 Mechanic St.

Over exploitation of the Atlantic's prized menhaden fishery has implications for anglers and coastal lovers from Maine to Florida and for the marine ecosystem, according to event organizers. Menhaden fish are also named mossbunker or pogy.

Menhaden Defenders seeks to restore Atlantic menhaden populations so that they can fulfill their vital ecological role. The group is comprised of anglers and conservationists along the East Coast.

The current state of fishing in the Atlantic has raised his concern and turned Eidman into an ocean advocate who hopes to protect the fish for future generations.

Eidman grew up fishing with his father and grandfather on Long Island and brought his love of fishing to New Jersey in the 1970s.

He is an experienced saltwater fly fishing guide for striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, false albacore and Bonito.

Read the article at Shore News Today.

Analysis: The menhaden fishery, contrary to the article's claims, is not "over-exploited." While overfishing was judged to have occured in 2008, it is the only time it has happened in the last ten years. Additionally, the ASMFC has determined that the menhaden fishery is currently not overfished.

 

 

In early January, the Associated Press released a story titled “Has Overfishing Ended? Top U.S. Scientist Says Yes.” Based largely on statements by Dr. Steve Murawski, a former National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) chief scientist, the piece was widely distributed and generated scores of articles around the country and beyond.

In fact, Murawski, now a professor at the University of South Florida, noted in the AP story that “we are the only industrialized fishing nation who actually has succeeded in ending overfishing.” Unfortunately, as illustrated by the NMFS First Quarter 2011 Status of U.S. Fisheries report, the struggle to end this enduring problem in U.S. waters isn’t over—at least not yet.

Over the past 20 years, I’ve had the chance to work on fisheries management issues with the U.S. Coast Guard and NMFS, with Congress and in the nonprofit sector. The progress we have made on several fronts is quite remarkable. And I look forward to the day America can write the obituary for one of the most pernicious problems in our oceans.

Yet according to the latest NMFS report on the status of U.S. fisheries released in March—after Murawski’s statements—39 of America’s most valuable commercial and recreational fisheries are still subject to overfishing. Moreover, 26 of these populations being fished at unsustainable levels are highly depleted. Setting annual catch limits based on the best available science remains a critical step toward rectifying these problems.

Read the complete stroy from Talkingfish.org

 

BOSTON — Sept. 13, 2011 — A series of new television and print ads debuting next week from the famed Boston-based restaurant Legal Sea Foods may not sit well initially with some marine conservationists, as the humorous spots unconvincingly take both sides of the sustainability debate. 

But the intention of the new ad campaign is to encourage the public to better understand the complexity of the situation and make more informed decisions on what we should and should not eat.  The ad campaign, created by the New York advertising agency DeVito/Verdi, focuses on three types of fish – salmon, trout and crab – that enjoy ample stocks.

The print ads and television commercials mirror each other, with each one focusing on a specific fish and the need to "save" the species.  In one, we see a majestic salmon flying through the air as it makes its way upstream.  The voiceover and copy state: "Save the salmon.  Save it so our children can witness the grace and beauty of this noble fish.  Or, just save it so we can saute it with our fabulous lemon chive butter sauce."

Legal Sea Foods has long taken an active role in the sustainability debate, making strong arguments for the protection of both endangered fish and commercial fishermen.  Roger Berkowitz, president and CEO of Legal Sea Foods, stated that the objective of the ad campaign is to encourage a discussion on the topic and to open everyone's eyes to the nuances of the issue.

Read the complete story from PR Newswire

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON – Oceana, the largest international advocacy group working solely to protect the world’s oceans, issued the following statement from Dr. Michael Hirshfield, chief scientist and senior vice president for North America, in response to today’s announcement by Dr. Jane Lubchenco, United States Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, and Maria Damanaki, European Union Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, of their signing of a historic agreement to combat the global problem of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing:

"Oceana applauds today’s announcement that the U.S. and E.U. are planning to combat pirate fishing worldwide by committing real resources towards enforcement. As leading fishing nations, the U.S. and E.U. members have an obligation to keep illegal fish out of the world market. If carried out, this agreement could significantly improve the declining state of the world’s oceans.

IUU fishing hurts our oceans and honest fishermen, and undermines every effort to protect our oceans through responsibly managed fisheries. Pirate fishers do not comply with safety measures, do not use legal fishing gear, do not follow fisheries management regulations, and do not comply with regulations on quotas, fishing areas, closed seasons or prohibited species.

The U.S. also needs to establish a seafood traceability system similar to what is already in place in the E.U. Passing legislation pending in the Senate that deals with illegal fishing and seafood fraud would be a great first step.”

Read the complete story from Oceana

 

 

 

 

 

 

Public meetings are now scheduled to let the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) know how you feel about better protecting the population of Atlantic menhaden.

Hearings in the Chesapeake Bay region will be:

• Sept. 26, 7 p.m.,  Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control, Lewes Field Facility, 901 Pilottown Road, Lewes, Del. For more information, contact Jeff Tinsman at Jeffrey.Tinsman@state.de.us.

• Oct. 11, 6 p.m., Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources, Tawes State Office Building, C1 Conference Room, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, Maryland. For more information, contact Lynn Fegley at lfegley@dnr.state.md.us.
• Oct. 17, 6 p.m.,  Virginia Marine Resources Commission, Northumberland High School Auditorium, 201 Academic Lane, Heathsville, Va. For more information, contact Jack Travelstead at jack.travelstead@mrc.virginia.gov.
• Oct. 18, 6:30 p.m., Potomac River Fisheries Commission, John T Parran Hearing Room, 222 Taylor Street, Colonial Beach, Va. For more information, contact AC Carpenter at ac.prfc@verizon.net.
Menhaden filter plankton from coastal waters and serve as a major food source for striped bass and a range of fish, marine mammals, and sea birds. They also are the object of an intense industrial fishery for manufacturing cosmetics, fish oil pills, and animal feed, and are caught and used as bait for crabs and other species.

A recent assessment of menhaden stocks found them at their lowest levels since records have been kept and concluded that menhaden, often dubbed “the most important fish in the sea,” have been overfished for most of the past 50 years. ASMFC, therefore, is proposing new standards for management to rebuild the population. One proposal maintains the status quo.

If you think ASMFC should take more aggressive action to protect menhaden, better show up at one of the hearings or write the ASMFC by going to its website, www.asmfc.org, and clicking on “Public Input” and the “Draft Addendum V…. Menhaden.” Public comment closes Nov. 2. Make no mistake: influential, well-heeled interests are working hard to oppose changes in current menhaden management. If you disagree, speak up.

Read the full article at the Bay Daily.

 Analysis: The article makes the misleading claim that menhaden have been overfished for "most of the last 50 years." While overfishing had occured 32 times in the last 50 years, it has only occured once in the last ten years, and the most recent ASMFC assessment concludes that the population is not overfished. There is also considerable doubt as to menhaden's effectiveness as filter feeders, as a recent Virginia Instute of Marine Science study concluded they have negligible impact on water quality.

 

 

For sharks, life at the top of the ocean food chain is becoming safer — at least from human predators.

The last 12 months have seen a flurry of laws, regulations and industry actions to end the international trade in the age-old delicacy, including bans on shark fin sales in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and parts of Canada.

Last week, the California Senate also voted to ban the sale or possession of shark fins — a billion-dollar global trade that has led to the brutal deaths of tens of millions of sharks a year and resulted in many open-ocean shark species being threatened with extinction. The Bahamas and Honduras have prohibited shark fishing in the last two years.

“We’re really enthusiastic to see good things finally starting to happen for sharks,” said Elizabeth Wilson, a marine wildlife expert at Oceana, a nonprofit conservation group that has long campaigned against the trade.

Read the complete story from The New York Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's Legislature sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill seeking to ban the sale, trade or possession of shark fins on Tuesday, over the objections of two senators who called the measure racist because the fins are used in a soup considered a delicacy in some Asian cultures.

The bill has split the Asian delegation in the Legislature. It was introduced by Assemblyman Paul Fong, D-Cupertino, and was supported by Sen. Carol Liu, D-Pasadena, who said it is needed to protect endangered shark species.

Others disagreed. Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, noted that the bill would ban only part of the shark while permitting the continued consumption of shark skin or steaks.

"This bill goes out of its way to be discriminatory," Lieu said. "They single out one cultural practice."

Critics of the practice, which already is restricted in U.S. waters, estimate that fishermen kill 73 million sharks each year for their fins. They said it is particularly cruel because the wounded sharks often are returned to the ocean to die after their fins are removed.

Read the complete stroy from The Associated Press

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of little fish just had a big week.

During the first week of August, fish that don’t typically get the lavish attention enjoyed by more charismatic megafauna finally got some recognition that might keep them from disappearing.

The NRDC is spearheading an effort to get river herring (shorthand here for blueback herring and alewife) listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, while the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) showed overwhelming support for new efforts to protect and rebuild the decimated menhaden stock.

The chances that you’ve ordered any of these fish off a menu are slim at best, but chances are very good that they’ve snuck their way into your life in myriad other ways.  While river herring had their commercial heydays up until the 1970s, they are more likely to be caught now as bait for your lobster dinner or inadvertently scooped up by fishermen seeking out squid, AKA calamari, or by factory trawlers seeking Atlantic herring, the “herring” you usually find in cans on supermarket shelves.  As for menhaden, in the 18th century they had their culinary fans, but these days you’re far more likely to eat something else that has eaten menhaden whole in the wild, like striped bass, tuna and bluefish, or  ground-up as fishmeal, like chickens, pigs or farmed salmon. Or perhaps you take a fish oil supplement made with menhaden or walk on linoleum floors made with the fish.

For fish you don’t think of much, they’re ubiquitous little guys.

So why the need for protection?  In both cases, the stock has been decimated, especially over the past half century.  Massive numbers of river herring once swam up rivers all along the Atlantic coast to spawn, but after centuries of overfishing, dam construction, water pollution and rising water temperatures, landings of the once-abundant fish have plummeted 98 percent since the mid-20th century.

The menhaden story is a bit more…political.  While menhaden has had some recent moments in the media sun since being bestowed with the title “most important fish in the sea,”  for a long time the oily fish was seen as little more than fertilizer for crops or food for other animals that we’d rather eat.  Since the late 1800’s, menhaden has been a commodity, not wildlife, valued more as an ingredient for gear lubricant and lipstick than for its crucial role as water filterer and food for bigger Atlantic and Gulf coast fish.  As a result of factory-scale overfishing, the menhaden stock is at its lowest point in recorded history.

Now there is just one company left responsible for catching nearly all menhaden: Omega Protein.  So notorious is the company in the fishery management world that every Atlantic state, except Virginia, has banned the company’s ten or so industrial fishing trawlers from their coastal waters (North Carolina allows some limited access).

Ah, but Virginia has its reasons.  First, Omega Protein’s only Atlantic coast menhaden processing plant is in…Virginia. And the only state where the legislature, not fisheries scientists, regulates menhaden is …Virginia.  So when the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted on August 2nd at its meeting in Virginia (Perfect!) to publicly release a plan that would reduce the menhaden harvest, the only “no” vote was from…Virginia.

Read the full article at Ecocentric Blog.

 Analysis: While the article claims that atlantic menhaden are subject to "factory-scale overfishing," menhaden are currently not overfished. The most recent ASMFC stock assessment concluded that while there was slight overfishing in 2008, the population was not overfished. 2008 was also the only year in the past 10 where overfishing was found to have happened.

 

 

 

EDENTON, N.C. — Wildlife officials say the tens of thousands of fish dying in North Carolina rivers are just a sign of more fish kills to come after Hurricane Irene.

The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., reported (http://bit.ly/o4Qclh) that thousands of dead fish have been seen floating in the Roanoke, Tar and Neuse rivers. Minor and spotty fish kills are occurring in the Scuppernong, Chowan, Perquimans and other rives.

Read the complete story from The News Observer.

 

 

 

 

 

The superintendent of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary has refused to reveal to his ad-hoc advisory subcommittee any details about the area he has in mind for a no-fishing zone to be used to study the impact of fishing on one of America's favorite fishing grounds.

Superintendent Craig MacDonald also told the subcommittee Thursday — to the frustration of a number of the eight members — that he might not be ready to unveil his plan for the "ecological research area," somewhere inside the 843 square miles between the tips of Cape Ann and Cape Cod, to the meeting of the full Sanctuary Advisory Committee set for Sept. 14 in Dedham.

"I'm a little bit weary of waiting," said David Pierce, the deputy director of marine fisheries for the state. Pierce is a member of both the subcommittee and New England Fishery Management Council, which regulates fishing inside Stellwagen.

"We have identified an area that we think is appropriate" to be the research setaside, the superintendent announced at the meeting, but deflected repeated attempts to elicit or draw from him details.

MacDonald also flatly refused to give a rough estimate of the size of the research area he has in mind.

 

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times