Saving Seafood

Law

Preservation Society of Newport County asks judge to stop offshore wind project

October 25, 2024 — The Preservation Society of Newport County is asking a judge to halt work on a controversial wind farm located 15 miles offshore.

The Preservation Society, which owns the famed Newport Mansions, sued the federal government last year after the Revolution Wind project was approved.

Their complaint names the U.S. Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as defendants.

In a new court filing, the Preservation Society asked a judge to rule in their favor before the case heads to trial. They claim BOEM broke the law by not considering the consequences the turbines would have on the Newport Mansions and other historic landmarks.

Read the full article at WPRI

More Striped Bass Restrictions Possible for Chesapeake Bay Fisheries

October 25, 2024 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) held a meeting this week to review recent studies that suggest the Chesapeake Bay’s striped bass (or rockfish) populations continue to struggle.

According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation,a 2024 stock assessment update showed the number of rockfish remains below sustainable numbers despite multiple recent efforts to reduce their mortality. Studies conducted in Maryland and Virginia suggest similar issues with lower levels of juvenile fish in consecutive years.

“If an upcoming stock assessment prior to the rebuilding deadline of 2029 indicates that the stock is not projected to rebuild by 2029, with a probability greater than or equal to 50 percent, the Board can respond via Board action, essentially by changing management measures via a vote to pass a motion, as opposed to an addendum or an amendment,” Dr. Katie Drew said at the ASMFC meeting.

Read the full article at WBOC

Press Releases, Meeting Summaries and Motions from the ASMFC 82nd Annual Meeting Now Available

October 25, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Press releases, meeting summaries and motions from this week’s meetings are now available athttps://asmfc.org/files/2024AnnualMeeting/2024AnnualMeetingSummary.pdf. This document can also be found at https://asmfc.org/calendar/meeting-archive. Presentations and recordings from the meetings will be posted to https://www.asmfc.org/home/2024-annual-meeting early next week. Wishing you all a good weekend.

 

ASMFC and MAFMC Approve Changes to Summer Flounder Commercial Mesh Size Exemptions

October 25, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) have jointly approved modifications to two exemptions from the summer flounder commercial minimum mesh size requirements. The Board adopted these changes through Addendum XXXV to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, and the Council recommended identical measures through a framework action which will be submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service for review and implementation.

Current regulations for the summer flounder trawl fishery require a minimum mesh size of 5.5-inch diamond mesh or 6.0-inch square mesh to retain more than 200 pounds of summer flounder from November through April, or 100 pounds of summer flounder from May through October. The Small Mesh Exemption Program provides an exemption from these requirements for authorized vessels fishing in a designated area from November 1 through April 30. This exemption is designed to allow vessels to retain some bycatch of summer flounder while operating in other small-mesh fisheries. Through this action, the Board and Council agreed to expand the exemption area by moving the boundary of the northern portion of the area approximately five miles west, then connecting the western boundary to the southern scup Gear Restricted Area. While this has the appearance of notably increasing the size of the exemption area, a large portion of the area overlaps with the Frank R. Lautenberg deep sea coral zone, where bottom tending gear is already prohibited. The intent of this change is to increase economic opportunities for industry while continuing to protect the summer flounder stock and prevent regulatory discards.

The Board and Council also voted to implement a tiered monitoring approach for the Small Mesh Exemption Program. Current regulations allow the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office Regional Administrator to terminate the program for the remainder of the season if vessels fishing under the exemption are discarding on average more than 10%, by weight, of their entire catch of summer flounder per trip. Under the new tiered monitoring approach, the discard trigger will be increased to 25%, and once the trigger is reached, a more detailed review of discards will be conducted to determine whether the exemption should be rescinded. The intent of this review is to allow for a more comprehensive consideration of the drivers of, and appropriate response to, discards.

Finally, the Board and Council approved a revised definition of the term “flynet” as it relates to the flynet exemption from the summer flounder commercial minimum mesh size requirements. The revised definition encompasses similar high-rise net types which have very large mesh in the wings, with mesh size decreasing through the body of the net. These nets are not designed to catch flatfish and generally catch small amounts of summer flounder.

Addendum XXXV, including the map showing the approved boundaries, will be posted athttps://asmfc.org/species/summer-flounder under Management Plans and FMP Reviews once the map is finalized. Updates on the Council’s framework will be posted athttps://www.mafmc.org/actions/summer-flounder-commercial-mesh-exemptions.

For more information, please contact either Chelsea Tuohy, ASMFC Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at ctuohy@asmfc.org or Kiley Dancy, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, at kdancy@mafmc.org.

 

Spiny Dogfish Board Approves Draft Addendum VII for Public Comment to Consider Action to Reduce Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch

October 25, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved Draft Addendum VII to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Spiny Dogfish for public comment. The Draft Addendum considers potential measures to maintain consistency with the federal Fishery Management Plan in response to the proposed rule to implement Spiny Dogfish Framework Adjustment 6.

The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils developed Spiny Dogfish Framework Adjustment 6 in response to a 2021 Biological Opinion and 2022 Action Plan that called for reducing bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in spiny dogfish gillnet fisheries. The coastwide Atlantic sturgeon population is made up of five distinct population segments, all of which are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and Atlantic sturgeon harvest has been under a coastwide moratorium in federal and state waters since 1998. The Commission’s Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic sturgeon maintains the moratorium through at least 2038, and while the 2024 stock assessment update showed signs of improvement, the stock remains depleted coastwide.
The Board initiated Draft Addendum VII in August 2024 after the Councils recommended measures to NOAA Fisheries to prohibit overnight soaks for federal spiny dogfish permit holders on gillnets with 5”-10” mesh in November and May for a certain area of state and federal waters off of New Jersey, as well as for gillnets of 5.25”-10” mesh in November through March in specified areas off of Maryland and Virginia. The options in the Draft Addendum aim to establish equivalent overnight soak restrictions for spiny dogfish harvesters in state waters that do not possess a federal spiny dogfish permit.
The Draft Addendum will be posted to the website next week at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. A subsequent press release will provide details on the public hearing schedule and how to submit written comments. The Board will meet to review submitted comments and consider final action on the addendum in February at the Commission’s Winter Meeting.
The Board also revised the commercial quota for the 2024/2025 fishing from 11,331,747 to 10,249,260 pounds to be consistent with the federal quota. For more information, please contact James Boyle, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at jboyle@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Environmentalists sue New York, New Jersey and Delaware over endangered sturgeon

October 25, 2024 — New York, New Jersey and Delaware were accused in federal lawsuits Thursday of improperly allowing Atlantic sturgeon to be killed by commercial fishing operations even as the prehistoric fish is on the brink of disappearing.

The three parallel lawsuits filed by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Hudson Riverkeeper accuse the states of violating the Endangered Species Act by not obtaining necessary permits that allow commercial fisheries to catch and kill Atlantic sturgeon while they fish for other species such as striped bass and summer flounder. The environmentalists say the once thriving fish’s recovery is threatened because they are unintentionally caught in commercial nets as “bycatch.”

Atlantic Sturgeon in the Delaware River and Hudson River were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2012.

“The Atlantic sturgeon of our two rivers are at risk from being wiped from the face of this earth within our lifetime,” Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum said during an online news conference.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

More Vineyard Wind blades must be removed, repaired

October 24, 2024 — The Vineyard Wind project must remove an unknown number of blades that have already been installed south of Martha’s Vineyard while it repairs others, the company announced Wednesday. The project also received permission from the federal government this week to resume blade installation after it removes and repairs the components in the coming weeks.

The latest announcement suggests investigations found more defective blades similar to the blade that failed in July, and comes after the project quietly delivered at least four turbine blades from New Bedford to Cherbourg, France, where GE Vernova operates a blade manufacturing plant.

Both companies had not responded to questions as to why blades were being shipped to Europe from the U.S., but on Wednesday, a GE spokesperson told The Light the repair work will occur “in the water/at the turbine, in other cases at the [marshaling] harbor and our factory in Cherbourg, France.”

The companies said they would be “strengthening” the blades “as needed to support the safety and operational readiness of this project,” but it is unclear what is meant by “strengthening” — whether it means applying more adhesive or fiberglass — or where in the blade the repair work will occur.

During an earnings call with investors Wednesday morning, GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said the last few months for offshore wind have been “difficult for us.”

“We can say today that a very small proportion, low single-digit proportion of our manufactured blades in totality also had a manufacturing deviation similar to the blade” that failed at the Vineyard Wind site, Strazik said. “In those cases, we are taking action on those blades.”

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Vineyard Wind is given the OK to move forward after blade failure in July

October 24, 2024 — After months of delay, Vineyard Wind has announced it was given the OK to remove a damaged blade and complete its wind turbine project 15 miles south of Nantucket.

In July, a GE Genova-manufactured wind turbine blade broke off, falling into the ocean and littering nearby beaches with floating debris and sharp fiberglass, which angered residents.

The failure occurred at Vineyard Wind’s offshore wind farm, which began delivering energy from five of its planned 63 wind turbines in February.

Read the full article at Boston.com

Marine Debris From Hurricanes Helene And Milton Could Take Years To Remove

October 24, 2024 — The recovery and cleanup process following hurricanes Helene and Milton will take months or even years to fully complete.

But the cleanup extends well beyond people’s homes and businesses. Marine debris has also found its way onshore, as well as into Florida’s canals and rivers, adding another layer to the cleanup.

“After hurricanes, they create a large pulse of debris in a short amount of time,” explains Ashley Hill, the Florida Regional Coordinator for NOAA’s marine debris program.

Hurricanes are so powerful that they are able to move large amounts of water. The water displacement, combined with the wind and storm surge, pushes trash, plastic and debris that has been floating around the Gulf of Mexico on the Florida coast and inland. All the trash now has to be picked up and removed.

What is marine debris?

Marine debris is any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material that intentionally or unintentionally ends up in our oceans or Great Lakes, according to NOAA.

“Anything human-made and solid can become marine debris once lost or littered in these aquatic environments,” says NOAA. “Our trash has been found in every corner of our ocean.”

Just one year after Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, more than 250,000 cubic yards of marine debris had been reported removed at an estimated cost of $43 million, according to NOAA.

Hurricanes carry marine debris well inland

Hill explains that the marine debris removal following hurricanes Helene and Milton will take a very long time and is also very expensive.

“We’re finding things months, sometimes years after a particular hurricane,” said Hill. “A great example of that is we’re getting close to funding projects that will be removing some debris that we still have remaining from Hurricane Ian, which made landfall about two years ago.”

Read the full article at The Weather Channel

China’s Pacific fleet reportedly using squid ship as hospital to evade scrutiny

October 24, 2024 — Lack of transparency is a constant in the Chinese fleet dedicated to squid fishing in South American waters. Turning off their satellite-tracking systems, duplicating their identities within satellite-based monitoring systems, and transshiping their catch onto other vessels without informing the authorities: These are some of the strategies Chinese fishing vessels use to circumvent the law, according to organizations that monitor the fleet’s activities.

This is particularly worrying because several of the vessels that make up this huge fleet have a history of illegal fishing and forced labor.

What happens on board these vessels that operate in shadows?

In an attempt to answer this question, at least partially, Artisonal, a civil society organization based in Chorrillos, Peru, that’s dedicated to monitoring fishing fleets, followed the course of the Zhe Pu Yuan 98. The fishing vessel operates as a makeshift hospital attending to sick crew members from sister ships in the same fleet.

In the last three years, 37 crew members in critical condition and one who died were transferred from Chinese vessels to the Port of Callao on the central coast of Peru. The Zhe Pu Yuan 98 alone transferred 15 of the crew members in critical condition, according to the Artisonal report, which is based on disembarkation records.

A hospital at sea

“The vessel Zhe Pu Yuan 98 was repeatedly entering the Peruvian port, which was rather unusual,” said Eloy Aroni, director of Artisonal. Moreover, all of its entries were so-called forced arrivals, a protocol used when a ship needs to enter a port in an emergency. All this raised the organization’s suspicions.

According to Aroni, in July 2020 a team from The Outlaw Ocean Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit journalism group, confirmed that the Zhe Pu Yuan 98 was being used as a floating hospital for the Chinese fleet of squid vessels operating on the high seas.

“The ship was modified to provide medical assistance to fishermen who operate in the South Pacific. A small operation room was established, and a doctor was brought on board to attend to the sick or injured crew members,” Artisonal wrote in a summary of the report.

However, according to The Outlaw Ocean Project, when the patients’ conditions became critical and the only doctor on board was no longer able to assist them, the patient was transferred to port to be taken to a hospital on land.

Read the full article at Mongabay