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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Invite Public Input on Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument Management Plan

December 5, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries are seeking public input to guide the future management of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

Located 130 miles east-southeast off the coast of Cape Cod, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation in 2016 to protect and conserve its unique and pristine habitats, historic objects, and features of high scientific interest for current and future generations of Americans. As the first marine monument in the Atlantic, it is renowned for its rich and unique biodiversity, including deep-sea coral communities and concentrations of marine wildlife.

The public’s engagement will help guide the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument Joint Management Plan—a long-term vision and framework to provide proper care for the Monument’s ecosystem, marine life, and natural and historical resources, as well as set priorities and goals for management in the future.

The Management Plan will consider the Monument’s potential for research, exploration, conservation, learning, engagement, and more. We invite the public to share their ideas and suggestions to help set the Monument’s long-term vision and guide stewardship priorities.

Public engagement sessions are as follows:

In-Person

Mystic Aquarium- Tuesday, December 6 at 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.- 55 Coogan Blvd, Mystic, CT 06355
New England Aquarium- Monday, December 12 at 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m – 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110

Virtual

Friday, December 9 at 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Zoom)
Monday, December 19 at 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Zoom)

Registration for Public Engagement Sessions can be found here: Registration: Public Engagement Sessions-Monument Management Plan

Northline Seafoods CEO Ben Blakey floats new business model for Alaska seafood processing

December 5, 2022 — Ben Blakey is the CEO of Sitka, Alaska, U.S.A.-based Northline Seafoods, which announced on 30 November, 2022, it is planning to build a floating salmon-processing platform to operate in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

SeafoodSource: What is your background in the seafood industry and why did you pursue this project?

Blakey: I grew up working in Bristol Bay. My family had a processor, Snowpack Products, that operated from the early 1980s until it was sold to Icicle [Seafoods] in 2012. So basically, since I could walk, I’ve been involved in Alaska’s fishing industry. I grew up from mending nets to buying and operating fishing boats. I’ve worked in fleet management. Then I did some work in processing. My life’s work has been in Bristol Bay’s fishing industry.

SeafoodSource: How does Northine Seafoods’ new vessel, the Hannah, fit into Bristol Bay’s salmon supply chain?

Blakey: It’s a floating fish-processing platform, primarily focused on quickly freezing the fish. We won’t do any value-added processing in Bristol Bay, we will just buy fish from fishermen and take fish from tenders and then we’ll freeze them immediately in whole, round form. We’re not heading or gutting them, we’re just trying to stabilize them as quickly as possible, so that when they are thawed out that they’re in as fresh of a state as possible. What that means is we’re going to have a smaller labor footprint. We will be able to do 750,000 to a million pounds of fish a day with 23 people working on the floor. So it will be extremely efficient from a labor perspective. In addition, we won’t use standardized container transport. Currently, the vast majority of frozen salmon leaving Alaska end up in 40-foot frozen containers. We will instead just store them inside of our barge, which can carry north of 14 million pounds of frozen product. So those will be shipping costs that we don’t have to pay. Instead, we will just haul the entire barge south back to the Pacific Northwest after the salmon season, meaning the barge will act as a consolidated or integrated shipping option. We will store the fish on the vessel until we plan to have them processed or they go to market. With the barge acting effectively as a cold storage facility, that will mean there’s far less movement of the product – we won’t have to transport it on trucks through ports, forklift them around or tuck them into cold storage.

SeafoodSource: Are you going to be contracting with tenders or local fishermen?

Blakey: No, we will have our own dedicated fleet. And we will hire and utilize our own tenders to help serve the fleet and provide buying access.

SeafoodSource: With the uptick in fish being caught in Bristol Bay in recent years, is this additional storage and processing capacity necessary there?

Blakey: There is a need for it. Last year was an extremely large run, which saw an excess of capacity and an excess of what existing processors could freeze. But aside from the run size, there were issues with other parts of the supply chain, including a shortage of containers, and there’s been a shortage of cold storage nationwide, and trucking fees have gone up substantially since the start of the [Covid-19] pandemic.

Beyond there being a need for it, we are simplifying and making the supply chain more efficient. One major part of that will be our use of integrated ultra-low temperature facilities, freezing and story all of our products at negative 25 degrees Fahrenheit, which allows it to be extremely fresh when it’s thawed out and reprocessed in the lower 48 [U.S. states]

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA and BOEM announce joint strategy for fisheries surveys

December 5, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are announcing a joint strategy to address potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on NOAA Fisheries’ scientific surveys. The Federal Survey Mitigation Strategy underscores the agencies’ shared commitment to the Biden-Harris Administration’s clean energy goals of responsibly advancing offshore wind energy production while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use.

NOAA Fisheries’ surveys are essential for sustainably managing our nation’s fisheries. For 150 years, the agency’s scientists have collected survey data that form the basis of the science-based management of America’s federal fisheries, support the protection and recovery of marine mammals and endangered and threatened species, and increase understanding and conservation of coastal and marine habitats and ecosystems for future generations.

“This joint strategy will help ensure the quality of NOAA’s fisheries surveys and data are maintained while the nation develops offshore wind energy,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, acting assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, and deputy NOAA administrator. “Our fisheries surveys allow NOAA to monitor important trends for individual species over time, with the broader goals of understanding marine ecosystems, particularly in the face of climate change, and supporting sustainable fisheries.”

“BOEM values our partnership with NOAA to proactively address key challenges as we work together to achieve the Administration’s ambitious offshore wind goals,” said Amanda Lefton, BOEM director. “We are committed to incorporating the best available science into our decision making processes as we continue to advance the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. By taking an all-of-government approach, we can leverage the expertise and resources of our federal partners to ensure responsible development of offshore wind energy.”

During the environmental review of the first offshore wind energy project on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, BOEM and NOAA Fisheries identified major adverse impacts on surveys conducted in the Northeast region. In response, a draft survey mitigation strategy was developed and made available for public comment earlier this year. Now finalized, the strategy identifies the essential components of mitigating the impacts of offshore wind energy development on the surveys.

The five goals of the strategy are:

Mitigate impacts of offshore wind energy development on NOAA Fisheries surveys.
Evaluate and integrate, where feasible, wind energy development monitoring studies with NOAA Fisheries surveys.
Collaboratively plan and implement NOAA Fisheries survey mitigation with partners, stakeholders, and other ocean users using the principles of best scientific information available and co-production of knowledge, including fishermen’s local ecological knowledge and indigenous traditional ecological knowledge.
Adaptively implement this strategy recognizing the long-term nature of the surveys and the dynamic nature of wind energy development, survey technology and approaches, marine ecosystems and human uses of marine ecosystems.
Advance coordination between NOAA Fisheries and BOEM in the execution of this strategy and share experiences and lessons learned with other regions and countries where offshore wind energy development is being planned and underway.

The strategy — while focused on New England and the Mid-Atlantic — will serve as a model to address the impacts of offshore wind on NOAA Fisheries surveys in other regions. Nationally, NOAA Fisheries assesses the status of approximately 450 fishery stocks, 200 marine mammal stocks and 165 threatened and endangered species (recognizing that some marine mammals are also endangered). These assessments rely on more than 50 long-term, standardized surveys, many of which have been ongoing for more than 30 years.

Offshore wind energy development plays an important role in U.S. efforts to combat the climate crisis and build a clean energy economy. The White House has set a goal of significantly increasing the nation’s offshore wind energy capacity to 30 gigawatts by 2030 and an additional 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind technology by 2035.

BOEM is the lead federal agency responsible for leasing the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf for offshore energy development. NOAA Fisheries is responsible for stewardship of the nation’s living marine resources including fisheries, marine mammals, endangered and threatened species and their habitats and ecosystems. Both agencies share responsibilities for resource management, research, public engagement and other requirements related to promoting offshore wind energy development, protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use.

Change slow in coming to South Atlantic red snapper as talks continue

December 5, 2022 — With the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) meeting next week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) received an update this week in Panama City on what remains the hottest topic — lack of access to the red snapper fishery.

There is some progress, however.

“According to a recent stock assessment, red snapper remains overfished and is undergoing overfishing, and this is driven by high recreational discards,” FWC Fisheries Management Director Jessica McCawley said.

“To end overfishing, the Council discussed several short-term options, including the closures that FWC has been opposing. The Council is moving forward, in the short term, with reducing the red snapper quota and implementing recreational gear modifications in order to reduce discards. They’re considering requiring single-hook rigs and no automatic reels.”

The Council is also working toward providing more outreach regarding best practices for returning fish to the water alive.

Read the full article at Florida Politics

The EPA is now one step away from a veto that would ban Pebble mine

December 6, 2022 — Federal regulators are one step away from action that would protect the Bristol Bay watershed and crush the dreams of those who want to see a mine developed to extract ore from the massive Pebble deposit in Southwest Alaska.

Casey Sixkiller, the Region 10 administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, on Thursday announced he sent a recommendation to EPA headquarters to protect the area by vetoing the proposed mine.

“If affirmed by EPA’s Office of Water during the fourth and final step, this action would help protect salmon fishery areas that support world-class commercial and recreational fisheries, and that have sustained Alaska Native communities for thousands of years, supporting a subsistence-based way of life for one of the last intact wild salmon-based cultures in the world,” he said in a written statement announcing the action.

The announcement is the latest in a long string of setbacks for the Canadian-owned company that wants to mine gold and copper from the Pebble deposit.

Read the full article at KTOO

Aquarium to host public input session on plan for national marine monument

December 3, 2022 — Mystic Aquarium will host one of two live public sessions seeking input on a management plan for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument on Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 6 to 8 p.m.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will hold the mandated public engagement session as the first of seven steps to develop the Monument Management Plan.

The plan will oversee the long-term care and preservation of the monument, designated by President Barak Obama in 2016.

Read the full article at The Day

EPA proposes restrictions to block proposed Alaska mine

December 3, 2022 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed restrictions that would block plans for a copper and gold mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region that is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

A statement from the regional EPA office said discharges of dredged or fill material into the waters of the U.S. within the proposed Pebble Mine footprint in southwest Alaska would “result in unacceptable adverse effects on salmon fishery areas.”

“This action would help protect salmon fishery areas that support world-class commercial and recreational fisheries, and that have sustained Alaska Native communities for thousands of years, supporting a subsistence-based way of life for one of the last intact wild salmon-based cultures in the world,” regional EPA administrator Casey Sixkiller said in a statement.

Read the full at the Associated Press

EPA takes next step on Bristol Bay protection

December 3, 2022 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made a key move Dec. 1 toward prohibiting development of the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed – one more step toward a “final determination” by the agency that would block the mine.

“If affirmed by EPA’s Office of Water, this action would help protect salmon fishery areas that support world-class commercial and recreational fisheries and that have sustained Alaska Native communities for thousands of years, supporting a subsistence-based way of life for one of the last intact wild salmon-based cultures in the world,” said Casey Sixkiller, EPA’s Region 10 administrator, in a statement announcing his recommendation to agency leadership.

Sixkiller transmitted a recommended determination “to prohibit and restrict the use of certain waters in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed as disposal sites for certain discharges of dredged or fill material associated with developing the Pebble Deposit.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

How ORCA can help NOAA Fisheries observers

December 1, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries observers face a daunting task on commercial fishing vessels to do their job and record key data as the crew hauls in catch. Project ORCA may change this soon… and ORCA 2 is coming next.

The killer whale, also known as orca, is the ocean’s top predator. There is another ORCA, though, the Onboard Record Collection Application project – or ORCA for short – that will reign supreme by making paper forms obsolete for observers on commercial fishing vessels, as they transition to a tablet for instantly and accurately enter the vital data they collect .

The project is an initiative of the West Coast Region Observer Program (WCROP) which also has the support of the Pacific Islands Region Observer Program ((PIROP)), and the Pacific Fisheries Information Network to Develop Electronic Reporting for Pelagic HMS Fisheries Observers.

The joint project goal to develop electronic reporting (ER) for HMS fisheries observers (e.g., drift gillnet, setnet, deep-set buoy, and longline) is a focus area of the HMS PSG. The WCROP and PIROP place NOAA Fisheries-trained observers aboard fishing vessels with the primary focus of monitoring the incidental take of protected species, and additionally to record details on fishing activity, gear configuration, as well as the catch and disposition of target and non-target fish.

Recording key data on commercial fishing vessels is often a daunting task for NOAA Fisheries observers, who need to do their job as the boat rocks and the wind blows hard, while shuffling through different waterproof paper forms, to register different details. That’s about to change, though, as observers on the West Coast are transitioning from paper forms to a more efficient and accurate tablet-based system.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Biden wants to launch 16 offshore wind farms. Can he?

December 1, 2022 — The agency tasked with realizing President Joe Biden’s offshore wind ambitions needs to move fast.

To meet the administration’s larger decarbonization goals, the White House wants to help raise 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030 — a pledge that will require pushing 16 individual wind farms through the regulatory gauntlet by the end of Biden’s first term.

So far, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has only approved two of those farms.

“Industry is kind of concerned that projects aren’t quite getting through the permitting phase quick enough,” said Sam Salustro, vice president of strategic communications at the Business Network for Offshore Wind. “We really have to keep the pace up or even accelerate it to hit not only BOEM’s identified goals but our shared national goals.”

With the recent midterm elections ushering in a partial resurgence of GOP power on Capitol Hill, the pressure on the administration to future-proof the wind industry will only grow. This could become even more crucial if the levers of power fully flip with the 2024 election and a Republican president less keen on advancing renewables over fossil fuels is elected.

The politics matter because the offshore wind industry is at a pivotal moment — poised to rapidly expand in the United States but pressured by near-term challenges like rising costs and global competition for a limited number of resources to build and install thousands of turbines over the next decade (Climatewire, Nov. 15).

The pro-wind Biden administration has been a boon for many developers, who had grown skittish during the final days of President Donald Trump’s term, when progress in reviewing offshore wind farms ground to a halt and the sitting president uttered disparaging inaccuracies about the industry — like that noise generated from turbines cause cancer.

But despite the Biden administration’s aggressive policy blueprint for approving the first fleet of wind arrays off the nation’s coast, permitting takes time, a reflection of the pressure on the Interior Department’s small offshore energy agency as it seeks to build up its ranks.

“They’re building the muscle memory to do it, building up their capacity,” said Josh Kaplowitz, vice president of offshore wind at the American Clean Power Association and a former lawyer at Interior advising BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs. “It’s still a relatively new program.”

Permitting has long been a pinch point for offshore wind in the United States, where currently a two-turbine pilot project off the coast of Virginia is the only one that’s finished construction in federal waters. The five-turbine project near Block Island in Rhode Island is located in state waters.

The largest hurdle to getting projects to construction is BOEM’s completion of an environmental impact statement, or EIS, that consists of thousands of pages detailing a project’s specific impacts on everything from sea turtles and migratory birds to marine life and air quality. Each wind array’s construction and operations plan requires this environmental review, which BOEM says generally takes about two years to complete.

The two wind farms BOEM has advanced through the EIS to approval are Vineyard Wind off the coast of Massachusetts and South Fork Wind, which will serve New York. Both are scheduled to finish construction and start operating next year.

To date, wind developers have filed 17 other construction and operation plans with the bureau. Ten of those have entered the environmental review process. But only three projects have advanced to a draft EIS: proposed arrays off the coasts of Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey.

Most of the construction and operations plans that BOEM is fielding stacked up during the Trump administration, a backlog that helped inspire the Biden administration’s target of clearing 16 wind arrays by 2025.

When the Biden administration took over it was like “a dam that was released,” said Kaplowitz. “BOEM is playing catch-up.”

Since taking office, the Biden administration has marshaled resources to ease the growing logjam of projects, observers acknowledged, perhaps most importantly by working with Congress to direct cash to the bureau to hire dozens of new staff.

That’s been a priority for Amanda Lefton, a former New York state official who was appointed as BOEM director in February 2021 and immediately begin swelling the then-30-employee office of renewable energy programs (Greenwire, May 24).

BOEM has enlarged that crew, expanding to roughly 70 people. It’s also borrowed expertise to meet wind demand from regional offices like the one in the Gulf of Mexico — the bureau’s largest regional office and one historically focused on offshore oil and beach restoration.

Read the full article at E&E News