Saving Seafood

Management & Regulation

US Gulf of Maine offshore wind auction attracts scant interest

October 30, 2024 — A U.S. auction of offshore wind development rights in the Gulf of Maine on Tuesday drew bids for only half of the eight offered leases, for a total of just $21.9 million in high bids, in the latest sign of deep industry malaise.

The sale was a stark display of the lack of industry appetite for new investment after a year of high-profile setbacks that include canceled projects, two shelved lease sales in Oregon and the Gulf of Mexico and a construction accident at the nation’s first major offshore wind project.

It also demonstrated a reluctance to bet big money on projects that will require floating wind turbines, an emerging technology required in very deep waters like those of the Gulf of Maine.

After just one round of bidding, four of eight offered leases sold to developers Avangrid (AGR.N), opens new tab and Invenergy, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said. They were among 14 companies that had been qualified to bid at the sale.

Read the full article at Reuters 

FLORIDA: Florida invests USD 1 million in fisheries recovery following hurricanes

October 30, 2024 — The U.S. state of Florida has awarded USD 1 million (EUR 924,274) to help the state’s struggling commercial fisheries and aquaculture sector recover from damage inflicted by a trio of hurricane landfalls.

“The [state’s] fishing industry took a direct hit from hurricanes Debby and Helene, and so did the hardworking Floridians who make their living on the water,” Governor Ron DeSantis said in a statement. “Today’s investments will help to rebuild critical waterside infrastructure and help get Floridians in the fishing and aquaculture industries back to full operations.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Walton Family Foundation: 80 percent of Americans care about sustainable seafood, food security, oceans

October 30, 2024 — A new poll has found that most Americans care about sustainably produced seafood, food security, and protection of the world’s oceans.

The poll, released by the Walton Family Foundation (WFF) – a Bentonville, Arkansas, U.S.A.-based philanthropic organization established by Walmart founders Sam and Helen Walton – in honor of National Seafood Month, found that more than four out of five Americans agree that it is important to promote the production of sustainable seafood.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

These divers are trying to make a dent in Maine’s ‘ghost gear’ problem, one abandoned trap at a time

October 30, 2024 — There’s a chill in the air on this overcast morning in late September, as Buzz Scott steers his boat, the “Hurry Sundown,” out of a Rockland marina and toward the granite breakwater that protects the harbor.

He points to small specks displayed on the vessel’s navigation system. They’re abandoned fishing traps sitting on the ocean floor. Scientists estimate there are millions of them littering the bottom of the Gulf of Maine.

The plastic-coated wire traps are torn loose from their buoy lines in storms or accidentally cut off by propellers in high-traffic areas and collect at the bottom of Maine’s many coves and harbors.

“I think right in here is going to be a gold mine,” Scott said. “There’s one every ten feet it looks like on the sonar.”

Scott’s nonprofit, OceansWide, has been training scuba divers to recover derelict, or “ghost gear,” from the seafloor. They’ve primarily been diving in Boothbay Harbor but are in Rockland for the first time.

Scott tosses a buoy with a small orange flag into the water to mark their dive spot.

Read the full article at Maine Public

ALASKA: Pink salmon collapse in Homer spurs call for disaster relief

October 30, 2024 — The City of Homer recently sent a formal request to Alaska’s Governor, urging the state to declare a fishery disaster for the pink salmon season. The city council’s request highlights the far-reaching economic impacts of the poor 2023 harvest, which has left commercial fishermen and their families struggling to recover from the financial shortfall. With many relying on pink salmon as a significant portion of their livelihood, Homer joins other Alaskan communities in calling for state and federal disaster relief to offset losses.

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), pink salmon, also known as “humpies,” are a critical part of the state’s commercial fishing industry. They are valued not only for their economic role but also for their ecological importance. These fish typically follow a two-year life cycle, returning to Alaskan rivers in odd-numbered years. However, variability in ocean conditions, freshwater survival, and rising temperatures have introduced uncertainty in population forecasts. In 2023, runs across the Gulf of Alaska underperformed, with fewer fish returning than predicted, leaving fishermen in financial jeopardy.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

MAINE: Maine groups receive federal grants to help train the next generation of fishers

October 30, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has awarded USD 387,404 (EUR 356,478) to two Maine-based groups to help train the next generation of fishers.

“Maine is known around the world for our proud fishing heritage thanks to the generations of hardworking men and women who have sustained it,” Maine’s congressional delegation said in a joint statement. “These investments in youth workforce development will help ensure that young Mainers entering the commercial fishing sector have the skills and support they need to succeed, preserving the strength of this vital industry now and into the future.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ASMFC 82nd Annual Meeting Presentations and Recordings Now Available

October 30, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Presentations and recordings from last week’s 82nd Annual Meeting are now available athttps://www.asmfc.org/home/2024-annual-meeting; just click on the relevant link at the Board or Committee header in the agenda. Recordings can also be found on the Commission’s YouTube Channel athttps://www.youtube.com/ASMFCvideos.

 
Additionally, the final 2025 Action Plan can be found at https://asmfc.org/files/pub/2025ActionPlan.pdf. 

Biden-Harris Administration, NOAA make $95 million available for fish passage as part of Investing in America agenda

October 30, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries announced two funding opportunities totaling $95 million through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to support new fish passage projects, with one focused on tribes. Projects will help protect and restore migrating fish and their habitats, and support communities and economies that depend on these resources.

“Thanks to President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this investment will further NOAA’s efforts to work with partners to strengthen safe passage for migratory fish, ensure healthy and sustainable fisheries, support local economies, and help boost communities’ resilience to climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. 

Every year, millions of fish attempt to migrate to their spawning and rearing habitats to reproduce. They are often blocked from completing their journey by human-made barriers, such as dams and culverts. When fish cannot reach their habitat, they cannot reproduce and maintain or grow their populations. Fish passage projects reopen these pathways and are important for the protection and restoration of migrating fish and their habitats. 

The two funding opportunities announced today are:

“These investments reflect a continuation of decades of work by NOAA Fisheries to  recover threatened and endangered migratory fish and support the sustainability of commercial, tribal and recreational fisheries,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “Our work with tribal organizations to improve fish passage is vital for building long-term tribal capacity to sustain and manage culturally significant resources and habitats.”

These competitions will prioritize projects that demonstrate a broad base of community support. Projects developed with inclusive practices that incorporate meaningful strategies to engage a diverse range of community groups, including tribes and underserved communities, will also be prioritized. 

Tribes are eligible to apply to both funding opportunities, to support barrier removal efforts that benefit tribally-important migratory fish and to build tribal organizational capacity to participate in developing current and future fish passage projects.

NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation has run four funding opportunities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. To date, the program has funded 214 awards totaling $985 million through these competitions.

The application deadline for the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Funding Opportunity is February 10, 2025 and the deadline for applications for the Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage Funding Opportunity is February 27, 2025. 

Additional information is available on the NOAA Fisheries website. 

Is U.S. Wild-Caught Shrimp Sustainable? The Short Answer Is Yes

October 30, 2024 — U.S.-harvested shrimp is nutritious, delicious… and sustainable! The shrimp fishery has also historically been a culturally important economic engine. It provides a livelihood for thousands of U.S. commercial fishermen. U.S. shrimp are a sustainable seafood option and the United States sets a global precedent for shrimp trawl bycatch reduction. But our nation’s shrimp industry is struggling to stay afloat and there’s confusion about its sustainability. Here are the facts about U.S. wild-caught shrimp.

What Makes Wild-Caught Shrimp Sustainable?

United States fisheries are among the largest and most sustainable in the world, thanks to strong science and a dynamic management process. Sustainable seafood is fish, shellfish, and seaweeds harvested or farmed in ways that protect the long-term health of species populations and ecosystems. Wild-caught U.S. shrimp is no exception. It’s a smart seafood choice due to its sustainable management and responsible harvest practices under NOAA Fisheries regulations.

Most U.S. shrimp are caught in the Southeast from Texas to North Carolina. Three species—white shrimp, pink shrimp, and brown shrimp—make up the vast majority of the shrimp caught. Together, they are one of the most valuable fisheries in the region. The life history of shrimp makes them resilient to overfishing. They are short-lived, fast-growing crustaceans—often reaching 7 to 8 inches in length within 2 years. They rapidly reproduce—typically when they reach 5 inches in length—and are often referred to as an “annual crop.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

US chooses winning bids in first commercial sale for floating offshore Atlantic wind

October 29, 2024 — The U.S. government chose winning bids Tuesday to develop wind power off New England in the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic coast.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a lease sale and selected nearly $22 million in winning bids for four lease areas from two firms. The sale is a major step toward accelerating President Joe Biden’s goal of dramatically expanding offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

Environmentalists praised the lease sale, though commercial fishermen who have questioned the expansion of offshore wind said they remain opposed. The lease areas are in the Gulf of Maine, which is a critical fishing ground for the U.S. lobster industry.

The awarding of the leases is “a critical step in our fight against climate change,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Read the full article at Associated Press