Management & Regulation

ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Atlantic coastal states from Maine to Maryland have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Public Information Document (PID) for the Draft Fishery Management Plan for Cancer Crab. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled hearings follow.

 
Maine Department of Marine Resources
September 22, 2014; 6 PM
Casco Bay Lines Ferry Terminal
Conference Room
56 Commercial Street
Portland, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553
 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
September 24, 2014; 6 – 8 PM
Fairfield Inn and Suites, Vineyard Room 
185 McArthur Drive
New Bedford, Massachusetts
Contact: Dan McKiernan at 617.626.1536
 
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
September 25, 2014; 6 PM
URI Narragansett Bay Campus,
Coastal Institute Auditorium
South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Jeff Mercer at 401.423.1937
 
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
September 15, 2014; 7PM
Marine Headquarters
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme Connecticut
Contact: Colleen Giannini at 860.447.4308
 

Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
September 24, 2014; 5 PM
Ocean Pines Branch Library
11107 Cathell Road
Berlin, Maryland
Contact: Craig Weedon at 410.643.4601 x 2113
 

As the first step in the development of a FMP, the PID seeks public input on information concerning Cancer crab fisheries, including the identification of major issues and options relative to the management of these species. The PID was initiated in response to concern about increasing targeted fishing pressure for Jonah crab and rock crab (collectively referred to as Cancer crab). Both species have long been considered a bycatch in the lobster fishery, however, growing market demand has doubled landings in the past seven years. Landings of both species in 2012 was over 12 million pounds and estimated to be worth over $9 million. Given the absence of state and federal management programs and stock assessments for Cancer crab, there is concern the current harvest may compromise the sustainability of the resource.
 
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the PID either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The PID is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/Crab_PID_forPublicComment_Aug2014.pdf and can also be accessed on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org ) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 3, 2014 and should be forwarded to Kate Taylor, Senior FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at ktaylor@asmfc.org (Subject line: Cancer Crabs). For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Press Contact: TINA BERGER, 703.842.0740

 

August 27, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today NOAA is announcing the closure of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of fishing year 2014, through April 30, 2015.   This action is intended to prevent further overage of the common pool’s annual quota of Eastern Georges Bank cod.  We expect this to affect less than 5 vessels.
 
Please see below for a brief summary and highlights of this action. A pre-publication PDF of the Federal Register Notice is also attached.  As always, please contact me at (202) 482-7940 and/or Craig.Woolcott@noaa.gov for additional information.
 
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States:
Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Common Pool Fishery; Closure
 
 
SUMMARY:  This action closes the Eastern U.S./Canada Area for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of fishing year 2014, through April 30, 2015.  Based on recent data, the common pool fishery has caught 130 percent of its Eastern Georges Bank cod total allowable catch, triggering the regulatory requirement to close the area for the remainder of the fishing year.  Between August 15, 2014 and August 21, 2014, the common pool catch went from 38 percent to 150 percent of the trimester TAC. This action is intended to prevent further overage of the common pool’s annual quota of Eastern Georges Bank cod.
 
This action closes the Eastern U.S./Canada Area to common pool vessels for the remainder of fishing year 2014, through April 30, 2015.  We have projected that the common pool fishery has exceeded its Total Allowable Catch for Eastern Georges Bank cod.  We are required to close the Eastern U.S./Canada Area when we project that the Total Allowable Catch will be caught to prevent quota overages.  The area will reopen at the start of the 2015 Fishing Year, on May 1, 2015.
 
Additionally, this action closes a portion of Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic to common pool vessels using trawl and gillnet gear for the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 2014.  We have projected that the common pool fishery has caught over 90% of its Trimester Total Allowable Catch for Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder.  We are required to close a stock area when 90 percent of the Trimester Total Allowable Catch has been caught to prevent quota overages.  The area will reopen at the start of Trimester 2, on September 1, 2014.
 
Highlights:

– We are closing the Eastern U.S./Canada Area for the remainder of the 2014 fishing year through April 30, 2015.  The area will reopen at the start of the 2015 fishing year on May 1, 2015.  This closure is required by regulation because recent information shows that the common pool fishery has exceeded its Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Eastern Georges Bank cod as of August 189 2014.

– The TAC for Eastern Georges Bank cod for FY 2014 is 3 mt.  The common pool has caught approximately 4 mt, or 130 percent of the quota.  The overage will be deducted from the following FY.

– We expect this to affect less than 5 vessels.

– 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, 2014.  The area will reopen at the start of Trimester 2 on September 1, 2014.  This closure is required by regulation because recent information shows that the common pool fishery has exceeded 90 percent of its Trimester 1 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder as of August 20, 2014.

– Between August 15, 2014 and August 21, 2014, the common pool catch went from 38 percent to 150 percent of the trimester TAC.

 

August 26, 2014 — “There were 65 people who didn’t have a job in 2013 who did in 2012. There was significant economic impact. And at Pew, they go through our SEC filings and see we had a good year in 2013, but that was not related to the fish harvest. There were positive global trends in fish oil and fish meal prices,” Landry said. In addition, Omega Protein has continued to diversify out of being a strictly marine supply-based company; in 2013 it purchased Wisconsin Specialty Protein, a whey protein producer and earlier purchased ingredient supplier Cyvex Nutrition, all which contributes to the company’s bottom line.

Ben Landry, director of public affairs for Omega Protein corporation, took issue with the way a Pew Charitable Trusts writer characterized the menhaden fishing quotas that have been place for the past year.  The quotas have not been uniformly enforced and were not based on strong science to begin with, Landry said.

Landry penned an opinion piece for the trade journal National Fisherman on the 20% quota cut on the Atlantic mendhaden harvest that was put into place in 2013 after a stock assessment in 2012.  The fish are harvested in many areas along the eastern seaboard, but 85% of the total harvest is caught by boats operating out of Virginia in and near Cheasepeake Bay, and Omega Protein’s fleet catches more than 75% of the Virginia harvest. The small, oily forage fish are also caught in the Gulf of Mexico, which is where Omega Protein catches the bulk of its harvest.

Omega Protein, which is based in Houston, cut back its eastern fleet by two boats in the face of the restrictions, and laid off 65 employees in Virginia.

Success doesn’t include loopholes

Landry’s piece  took issue with a blog post by Peter Baker of the Pew Charitable Trusts .  Baker had been involved in the effort to get the limits put into place in the first place by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Baker said the quota reduction had left 300 million more menhaden (also called bunker and pogies) in the ocean to feed other marine life, and that Omega Protein had prospered even in the face of the restrictions, recording record profits in the period.

First off, Landry said that Omega Protein was and would continue to be fully compliant with fishing limits that are in place. Omega Protein is the largest processor of omega-3 fish oil for the dietary supplement market based in the United States. But Landry took issue with Baker’s assessment that the limits had been “successfully” implemented, when a number of loopholes in the scheme remain.

“If there is a harvest limit in place, Omega Protein is going to be 100% compliant with that limit,” Landry told NutraIngredients-USA. “But if there is a limit, there needs to be some sense of actual conservation. You can’t have other states sending down an edict that they are not going to comply because they think that their allocation is too low.”

Read the full story at NutraIngredientsUSA

 

August 26, 2014 — “There were 65 people who didn’t have a job in 2013 who did in 2012. There was significant economic impact. And at Pew, they go through our SEC filings and see we had a good year in 2013, but that was not related to the fish harvest. There were positive global trends in fish oil and fish meal prices,” Landry said. In addition, Omega Protein has continued to diversify out of being a strictly marine supply-based company; in 2013 it purchased Wisconsin Specialty Protein, a whey protein producer and earlier purchased ingredient supplier Cyvex Nutrition, all which contributes to the company’s bottom line.

Ben Landry, director of public affairs for Omega Protein corporation, took issue with the way a Pew Charitable Trusts writer characterized the menhaden fishing quotas that have been place for the past year.  The quotas have not been uniformly enforced and were not based on strong science to begin with, Landry said.

Landry penned an opinion piece for the trade journal National Fisherman on the 20% quota cut on the Atlantic mendhaden harvest that was put into place in 2013 after a stock assessment in 2012.  The fish are harvested in many areas along the eastern seaboard, but 85% of the total harvest is caught by boats operating out of Virginia in and near Cheasepeake Bay, and Omega Protein’s fleet catches more than 75% of the Virginia harvest. The small, oily forage fish are also caught in the Gulf of Mexico, which is where Omega Protein catches the bulk of its harvest.

Omega Protein, which is based in Houston, cut back its eastern fleet by two boats in the face of the restrictions, and laid off 65 employees in Virginia.

Success doesn’t include loopholes

Landry’s piece  took issue with a blog post by Peter Baker of the Pew Charitable Trusts .  Baker had been involved in the effort to get the limits put into place in the first place by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Baker said the quota reduction had left 300 million more menhaden (also called bunker and pogies) in the ocean to feed other marine life, and that Omega Protein had prospered even in the face of the restrictions, recording record profits in the period.

First off, Landry said that Omega Protein was and would continue to be fully compliant with fishing limits that are in place. Omega Protein is the largest processor of omega-3 fish oil for the dietary supplement market based in the United States. But Landry took issue with Baker’s assessment that the limits had been “successfully” implemented, when a number of loopholes in the scheme remain.

“If there is a harvest limit in place, Omega Protein is going to be 100% compliant with that limit,” Landry told NutraIngredients-USA. “But if there is a limit, there needs to be some sense of actual conservation. You can’t have other states sending down an edict that they are not going to comply because they think that their allocation is too low.”

Read the full story at NutraIngredientsUSA

 

August 25, 2014 — An oceans policy group in Washington is downplaying American Samoa’s concerns over President Obama’s proposed expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

KHJ News Washington correspondent Matt Kaye reports:
 
Island governors, lawmakers and others are making their concerns known to President Obama.
 
But expansion supporters are also expected to have Obama's ear on his proposed expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine Monument.
 
Michael Gravitz is with the non-profit Marine Conservation Institute.

But Gravitz claims neither the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council or the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission has the data.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at Talanei.com

August 21, 2014 — Fewer striped bass would be fished from local waters as soon as next year under a series of options being considered by federal fisheries regulators that seek to sustain a vital coastal species that has seen a 20 percent harvest decline since 2008.

Regulators in coming weeks will seek public comment on a long list of proposals to bolster the striped bass population, including reducing the commercial fishing harvest by up to 25 percent annually. Sport fishers could see a change in the size and number of fish taken, most likely to one striper a day, from a current two.

Several options propose allowing anglers to keep two fish, but of larger size, with higher limits phased in over time.

"We're trying to strike a balance," said Jim Gilmore, marine resources bureau chief of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, which will conduct forums and enforce any new rules. "We don't want to put people out of business. It's a viable fishery."

The long list of options is proposed in a draft plan released Thursday by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which manages striped bass and other coastal fish.

"Even though the stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, the spawning stock biomass [the critical striped bass breeders] is approaching its overfished threshold" the report says. "In addition, a similar downtrend has been observed in total harvest with approximately a 19 percent decrease since 2008."

Read the full story at Newday

CHATHAM, Mass. — August 21, 2014 — Here we are in the third week in August, and striped bass is still on restaurant menus and being sold in fish markets.

That hasn't happened in six years.

In fact, with 33 percent of the total striped bass quota — nearly 368,000 pounds — still left to be caught, experts say restaurants can keep this supremely local fish on their menus right through the summer, maybe into fall.

"The price (paid to fishermen) has stayed high. And I think (the quota) will last into September, if not later," said Alex Hay, chief operating officer for Mac's Seafood, which has four fish markets and three restaurants on the Outer Cape.

Fishermen are getting between $4 and $5 per pound as compared with $3 a pound last year.

The downside is that wholesale prices remain high and the price to retail customers is at $17 to $26 a pound.

"The locals aren't used to paying those kinds of prices," said Andy Baler, owner of Nantucket Fish Co., a wholesale and retail seafood business located in Dennis and Chatham. He estimated sales of striped bass are down by about 50 percent.

Prices are high, Hay said, but he pitches striped bass as a top-shelf product along with swordfish and halibut. And, he said, customers appreciate a local product now that the region's fishermen aren't catching much cod or haddock.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] — August 21, 2014 — Striped bass, also known as rockfish in some areas, is not currently overfished; however the ASMFC is proposing a suite of three optional cutbacks in the recreational and commercial harvest based on concerns the female spawning stock biomass is falling below a benchmark level.

The ASMFC draft addendum containing these proposed cutbacks will be discussed at public meetings scheduled this month and next along the U.S. Atlantic coast range of this fish and including Chesapeake Bay

The draft addendum proposes new fishing mortality (F) reference points, as recommended by the 2013 benchmark stock assessment, and associated management measures to reduce F to a level at or below the proposed target within one or three years.  It responds to results of the 2013 Atlantic striped bass benchmark assessment indicating  F in 2012 was above the proposed F target, and female spawning stock biomass (SSB) has been steadily declining below the target since 2006. This means even though the stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, SSB is approaching its overfished threshold and stock projections show SSB will likely fall below the threshold in the coming years. In addition, a similar decline has been observed in total harvest.  In response to these factors, the Draft Addendum proposes management options to reduce fishing mortality to the target level.

The Draft Addendum includes a suite of management options to reduce recreational and commercial harvest along the coast and in the Chesapeake Bay under three reduction timeframes. The timeframes include (1) reducing F to its target in one year with a 25% reduction in 2013 harvest in 2015 (2) reducing F to its target within three years with a 17% reduction in 2013 harvest in 2015, and (3) reducing F to its target within three years with a 7% sequential reduction in harvest for three consecutive years starting in 2015.  Specific options to be considered include bag, size, slot and trophy size limits for the recreational fishery and quota reductions for the commercial fishery.

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

August 21, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

To make it easier to find the latest news and developments pertaining to the groundfish disaster spend plan, we have created a new webpage with links to various information. 

http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/mediacenter/ongoing/muldisasterfundupdate.html

This page will be updated periodically when new information on this topic is shared.  So be sure and check back.  For ease of finding, you may want to book mark this page.

To stay informed and up-to-date on other ongoing issues and topics of interest, please visit our Newsroom and click on Ongoing News in the blue bar at the top of the page.   The current list of topics that appear there include:

Groundfish Disaster Spend Plan Updates 
Gulf of Maine Cod
River Herring
Fishing Through Tough Times — a living document that includes various ongoing activities to assist the groundfish industry

We expect to add to this menu as new issues emerge. 

Maggie Mooney-Seus
Communications Officer
NOAA Fisheries
978-281-9175
Marjorie.Mooney-Seus@noaa.gov

 

August 19, 2014 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

For those who might be interested, the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary staff has issued a notice calling for applicants who are interested in serving on the Sanctuary Advisory Panel. The SBNMS contact information is provided below if you have any questions.

SBNMS is seeking Sanctuary Advisory Council  applicants for the following seats:
At Large (Alternate)
Conservation (two Alternates)
Maritime Heritage (Primary Member)
Maritime Heritage (Alternate)
Mobile Gear Commercial Fishing (Alternate)
An application form is attached or can be downloaded from the Sanctuary’s website at http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/.  Applications are due by September 30, 2014.

Federal Register Notice can be viewed at: (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-08-15/pdf/2014-19235.pdf)

For further information please contact Elizabeth.Stokes@noaa.gov or tel: 781.545.8026 x201.

Elizabeth Stokes
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
175 Edward Foster Road
Scituate MA  02066
Tel:  781.545.8026 x201