Saving Seafood

State and Local

NORTH CAROLINA: Extensive study aims to help state better manage fisheries

February 13, 2024 — A study ordered by the legislature has scientists taking a deep dive into North Carolina’s fisheries management to help the future of state-regulated coastal marine species.

The North Carolina General Assembly in the 2021-22 state budget tasked researchers with a “Study of the Coastal and Marine Fisheries of the State” to come up with recommendations on ways the state might improve how it manages 13 regulated species.

To do this, researchers are examining a multitude of information gathered over the past few decades and study trends in everything from water temperatures to commercial harvest patterns.

The study, led by a team of nine researchers who fall under the umbrella of the North Carolina Collaboratory, is expected to wrap sometime next year. The legislature created the policy research entity in 2016. The Collaboratory is to share its recommendations to state lawmakers no later than June 30, 2025.

That deadline was bumped from June 30 of this year, which marks the 27th anniversary of the Fisheries Reform Act of 1997 and the 50th anniversary of the Coastal Area Management Act, or CAMA.

Read the full article at CostalReview.org

Endangered species listing sought for horseshoe crabs

February 13, 2024 — Apetition filed Feb. 12 with NOAA Fisheries seeks federal Endangered Species Act protection for the American horseshoe crab, a long-ubiquitous species whose populations have  “crashed in recent decades because of overharvesting and habitat loss,” according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

The center and 22 other environmental groups from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico states want regulators to restrict horseshoe crab harvests for commercial whelk and eel fisheries, and for crab blood used by biomedical companies.

“We’re wiping out one of the world’s oldest and toughest creatures,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These living fossils urgently need Endangered Species Act protection. Horseshoe crabs have saved countless human lives, and now we should return the favor.”

Horseshoe crabs come ashore in spring along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, laying their eggs in massive beach spawning events. One of the largest gatherings happens on Delaware Bay beaches, where the concentrations of crabs eggs attract migrating shorebirds including red knots.

But “horseshoe crab populations have declined by two-thirds in the Delaware Bay, their largest population stronghold,” according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Early alarms over declining crab and shorebird numbers led New Jersey officials to first restrict commercial crab harvests in the late 1990s.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Farther offshore, next New York Bight wind leases still draw opponents

February 12, 2024 — Six offshore wind lease areas in the New York Bight are more than 30 miles offshore of the region’s bustling suburbs and seaside resorts – distance that might have defused resistance to the wind energy projects before.

Now opposition groups that grew in reaction to nearshore projects, like Ørsted’s cancelled Ocean Wind plan off New Jersey, show few signs they will accept a new round of proposals farther east to the horizon.

Over 100 visitors walked through a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management public scoping session Feb. 8 in a Toms River, N.J., hotel meeting room, talking to BOEM workers and giving the agency testimony in video interviews and writing. The agency has grown to prefer the low-key scoping process – in-person and online – to fulfill its legal obligations to gather public input short of full-blown public hearings.

The visitors were not shy with opinions.

“What we’re really worried about is the cabling. It’s death,” said Ed Baxter, a commercial fisherman with the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.

The offshore leases now being planned for wind power development would need turbine towers linked by a network of power cables, and linked by energy export cables coming ashore near New York City and Sea Girt, N.J. A future cable network would potentially shut mobile gear fisheries like scallop dredging out of those routes, if fishermen can’t be safe that their gear won’t snag on cables, said Baxter.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US seafood trade deficit hit USD 20.3 billion in 2023

February 13, 2024 — The U.S. seafood trade deficit reached USD 20.3 billion (EUR 18.8 billion) in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. imports dipped sharply from USD 30 billion (EUR 27.8 billion) in 2022 to around USD 25.3 billion (EUR 23.5 billion) in 2023, while exports fell slightly from USD 5.1 billion (EUR 4.7 billion) in 2022 to approximately USD 5 billion (EUR 4.6 billion) in 2023, NOAA trade data showed.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NEFMC Seeks Contractor to Help Plan and Convene 8th National Scientific Coordination Subcommittee Workshop

February 13, 2024 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is looking for an independent contractor to assist with planning and convening a national workshop and preparing the workshop proceedings.

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: The application deadline is 8:00 a.m. on Monday, March 11, 2024. This is a temporary contractor role, commencing on or about March 18, 2024. Work is expected to be completed by December 31, 2024.

 

WHAT IS THIS WORKSHOP ABOUT:  The Scientific Coordination Subcommittee (SCS) of the Council Coordination Committee is convening its 8th workshop, known as “SCS8.” The workshop is being organized by a steering committee that includes Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) members and staff from each of the eight U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries. The workshop theme is: Applying ABC control rules in a changing environment.

 

WHEN AND WHERE: The New England Council is hosting this three-day public workshop August 26-28, 2024 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, MA. About 70 people are expected to attend in person with additional participation through a listen-only webinar option.

 

WHAT IS THE CONTRACTOR’S ROLE: The contractor will: (1) assist with planning all phases of the workshop; (2) convene and attend the workshop in August 2024; and (3) draft a workshop proceedings report. The contractor will work closely with Dr. Rachel Feeney, coordinator of the New England Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee. Work will be conducted in collaboration with SSC Chair Dr. Lisa Kerr and Council staff.

 

  • Further details about the contractor’s responsibilities under the three distinct phases of this work are outlined in the request for proposals.

 

DESIRED EXPERIENCE AND DEMONSTRATED SKILLS: The Council is seeking applicants with, among other skills:

 

  • Demonstrated experience in event planning or meeting convening with the ability to manage logistics for conferences or meetings with over 20 attendees;
  • Strong writing and speaking skills;
  • A demonstrated ability to summarize complex topics and recommendations in clear, easily read documents;
  • Familiarity with the use of scientific information in the fishery management process; and
  • A general knowledge and understanding of federal fisheries management, stock assessment, and catch advice recommendations (preferred but not required).

 

WHY IS THE WORKSHOP THEME ABOUT ABC CONTROL RULES: The SCS8 theme is of interest to all eight U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils, SSCs, and NOAA Fisheries. It’s an appropriate follow-up to the 7th SCS workshop on Adapting Fisheries Management to a Changing Ecosystem. 

 

A core function of each Council’s SSC is to provide recommendations for setting acceptable biological catch (ABC) consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the ABC control rules established in fishery management plans. Applying ABC control rules in a manner that consistently achieves management goals has become increasingly difficult as climate change has influenced rapidly changing environments.

 

The SCS8 workshop will focus on exploring strategies to adapt ABC control rules given the highly variable and changing dynamics of climate, recruitment, and productivity.

 

APPLICATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Interested professionals are encouraged to submit a letter of interest, current resume or CV for all members who will work under the contract, and a proposed budget for this work.

 

Letters of interest and supporting materials should be addressed to Executive Director Cate O’Keefe, NEFMC, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. Email submissions should be sent to cokeefe@nefmc.org. Questions concerning this proposal should be directed to the same email address.

 

IMPORTANT REMINDER: All application materials must be received no later than 8:00 a.m. on March 11, 2024. Additional details are described in the request for proposals

NOAA takes ‘hard look’ at growing salmon to feed orcas

February 13, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries started doing something in 2020 that it had never done before: pay hatcheries to grow juvenile chinook salmon specifically to help feed an endangered population of southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest.

Four years later, the agency said the program is producing roughly 20 million fish at 35 different hatcheries every year, providing food for the 75 orcas remaining in the wild.

“It’s the only one I know that’s producing live prey for a predatory species,” said Michael Milstein, a public affairs officer for NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast region.

Read the full article at E&E News

 

Retailers, restaurants expecting banner week due to Lent, Valentine’s Day

February 12, 2024 — U.S. retailers and restaurateurs are expecting high upcoming seafood sales as the 40-day Lenten season kicks off the same day as Valentine’s Day on 14 February.

“There is normally a bump for seafood on Valentine’s Day, but with Lent on top of that, it should be a banner week for seafood,” Jason Resner, the meat and seafood sales, merchandising, and procurement lead for Downers Grove, Illinois, U.S.A.-based retailer Fresh Thyme, told SeafoodSource.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Commercial fisherman sues US shale oil producers

February 12, 2024 — A U.S. commercial fisherman has filed suit against domestic shale oil producers, alleging that the companies conspired with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to artificially raise the prices for marine fuel.

“Every time marine fuel prices go up, the amount I can make on the water goes down,” San Francisco, California, U.S.A.-based commercial fisherman John Mellor said. “While the CEOs of these oil companies are lining their pockets, I’m out here counting pennies to figure out how to just make a living.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource