August 21, 2015 — ARLINGTON, VA — The following has been released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Further Investigation Planned in Whale Deaths in Alaska
August 20, 2015 — JUNEAU, AK — A federal agency announced plans Thursday for a more intense investigation into what caused the deaths of 30 large whales in the western Gulf of Alaska since May.
NOAA Fisheries declared the deaths an “unusual mortality event,” triggering a new-level investigation that brings with it access to additional resources. The agency said the deaths are about three times the historical average for the region.
Julie Speegle, a spokeswoman for NOAA Fisheries in Alaska, said a leading hypothesis for the deaths is harmful algal bloom toxins but she noted that there currently is no conclusive evidence linking the two.
Officials have only been able to get samples from one of the 30 whales. Teri Rowles, NOAA Fisheries’ marine mammal health and stranding response coordinator, told reporters during a teleconference Thursday that large-scale whale deaths are among the toughest to investigate, partly because the carcasses often are floating, rarely beached and difficult to access for examination. In Alaska, bears feeding on washed-up whale carcasses create safety concerns for researchers who want to collect samples, she said.
Read the full story at the New York Times
Scallop Abundance Found off Southern New Jersey Coast
August 21, 2015 — There could be as much as 500 million dollars worth of scallops waiting to be harvested off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware.
“If they all grow up. It’s going to be worth a lot of money over several years,” said Dvora Hart, a mathematical biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Photo images taken by NOAA’s Habcam this spring revealed the high density of scallops located in the Elephant Trunk, a fishing ground offshore of the two states. Dvora estimates there could be as many as 7.9 billion scallops in a 1,200 square mile zone in the trunk.
Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press
Majuro Workshop Explores Management Options for Pacific Bigeye Tuna Overfishing
August 20, 2015 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:
MAJURO, REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS (21 August 2015) A workshop to discuss bigeye tuna management in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) was convened by the Marshall Islands Marine Resource Authority (MIMRA) and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) on Aug. 19-21, 2015, in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands. The workshop brought together representatives from Asian, U.S. and Pacific Island purse-seine and longline fishing industries, government officials of Pacific Island countries, and representatives from the Forum Fisheries Agency, Parties to the Nauru Agreement, Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Secretariat of the Pacific Community, and non-governmental organizations. The workshop was chaired by Andrew Wright, former executive director of the WCPFC.
Bigeye tuna, which is currently overfished in the WCPO, is subject to international management through the WCPFC. The objective of the workshop was to identify options that could help improve the existing WCPFC bigeye conservation and management measure.
As summarized by Kitty Simonds, WPFMC executive director, “The workshop was the second in a series that was started in April 2015 in Honolulu to address bigeye overfishing. The workshop embodied the spirit of cooperation that was present in the development of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which was initiated 20 years ago by the Majuro Declaration. It is critical that the fishing industries and governments work together to improve the status of bigeye; only through international cooperation can effective tuna conservation and management measures be adopted and implemented.”
Over the course of the three-day workshop, participants discussed purse-seine and longline management options, avoiding the transfer of a disproportionate conservation burden on Small Island Developing States and Territories (SIDS), compliance issues and key bigeye tuna research themes. The outcomes of the workshop are a contribution to the consultations that will involve all WCPFC members that will take place in the lead up to this year’s annual session of the Commission in Bali in December.
According to Glen Joseph, MIMRA director, “The status quo is not acceptable for bigeye conservation, and workshops like the one we just held are critically important to advance options and views on management measures well before the Commission meets in Bali in December. For most of the Pacific Islands, all we have is tuna, and we have to do everything in our power to ensure that tuna resources are sustainably managed.”
No changes to monitors, Bullard says
August 18, 2015 — Who says no one writes letters anymore? The battle over at-sea monitoring and other issues within the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery is just full of them.
On Tuesday, NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard sent a letter to the New England Fishery Management Council declining two more requests the council made in June to modify the at-sea monitoring program, while saying the request for analyzing ways for streamlining the at-sea monitoring (ASM) program is underway.
On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker, following up on his pledge made last Thursday during a trip to Gloucester, waded further into the at-sea monitoring fray with his own letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, whose department oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Baker’s letter, signed by members of the state’s congressional delegation, sought Pritzker’s support for NOAA’s continued funding of ASM rather than following through with the federal agency’s plan to shift the cost of at-sea monitoring — estimated at $600 to $800 per observer trip — to the already-beleaguered permit holders when federal funds run out, projected now to be at end of October.
Baker’s letter also questioned the necessity of NOAA’s expansion of other forms of monitoring within the Massachusetts and New England lobster fleets.
Bullard’s letter on Tuesday to NEFMC Executive Director Tom Nies followed the same rejective tone as his letter about two weeks ago that rejected the council request — also made at its June meeting — for NOAA to use its administrative authority to suspend all groundfish at-sea monitoring for the remainder of the 2015 season.
Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times
MSC piloting innovative seafood traceability tool
August 17, 2015 — The following has been released by the Marine Stewardship Council:
The MSC is exploring new ways of providing additional protection from seafood fraud in its supply chain. Over the past two years we have been piloting a new traceability tool, the MSC Online Transaction Solution (MOTS), and are seeking feedback to shape its continued development.
Pioneering tool
To date there has been no online tool available that can securely handle and verify information about seafood supply chain transactions on a global scale.
The new tool cross-checks and verifies sales and purchases of seafood products made by processing, distribution and retail companies as they move through the complex global supply chain.
Since its development in 2012, the online verification tool has been trialled in seven European and fifteen Chinese companies. The current plan is to roll the tool out to over 3,000 supply chain companies handling certified products in over 34,000 sites around the world.
Invitation to help shape the tool
This is the second and final opportunity for industry partners to offer their expertise, and help shape an effective tool that meets current and future industry demands.
How to take part in consultation
The public consultation is open from 17 August to 18 September 2015.
If you are a seafood industry professional, you can:
Share your insights in our online consultation >
Join our online interactive MOTS workshop > (2 and 3 September)
The workshops are designed for supply chain companies to offer practical solutions on seafood transaction and verification. Spaces are limited, so please register your interest by email to standards@msc.org.
Meeting industry needs and global best-practice
“The MSC’s segregation and traceability program is widely recognised as one of the most effective systems for tracking seafood along the supply chain” said Titia Sjenitzer, Senior Product Integrity Manager at the MSC. “However, the seafood industry is dynamic. Demand for certified sustainable seafood continues to grow, and other certification schemes such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), are working with the MSC and using our Chain of Custody Standard. This means that more scalable monitoring mechanisms are required to ensure the MSC’s system remains efficient and effective”.
Over 3,000 organisations, operating from over 34,000 sites in more than 60 countries currently hold an MSC Chain of Custody certificate. These organisations are responsible for handling over 18,000 products that are sold with the MSC ecolabel in around 100 countries.
DNA testing shows that 99% of MSC labelled products are correctly labelled, demonstrating the integrity of the current system. However, the MSC is seeking to evolve its tools and systems in order to ensure that its Chain of Custody Standard continues to lead the industry in ensuring a traceable supply chain for seafood.
Using latest technologies, the tool will complement, but not replace, the existing MSC Chain of Custody system.
“We took part in trialling the MSC Online Transaction Solution and felt it is an important addition to our business. The tool provides us with added confidence that our brand and products are running through a secure and genuine supply chain handling only certified seafood” said Alex Olsen, A. Espersen A/S, MSC certified processing company in Denmark.
If the pilot proves successful, the new tool will be implemented across the full program by 2018. The tool will verify seafood sale and purchase transaction information (such as volume, species, invoice number and transaction date) to mitigate the risk of non-sustainable products being labelled and sold as certified.
ASMFC Finds Delaware Out of Compliance with Addendum III to the Interstate FMP for American Eel: Noncompliance Finding Forwarded to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior
August 19, 2015 — ARLINGTON, VA – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has found the State of Delaware out of compliance with the mandatory management measures contained in Addendum III to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Eel. The Commission has notified the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior of its finding. This action was taken pursuant to the provisions of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act of 1993.
The State of Delaware has failed to effectively implement and enforce the provisions of Addendum III to the FMP for American Eel. Specifically, Delaware has not implemented the following regulations required by Addendum III:
• 9” minimum size for yellow eel recreational and commercial fisheries
• ½” x ½” min mesh size for yellow eel pots
• Allowance of 4”x4” escape panel in pots of ½” x ½” mesh for 3 years (beginning on January 1, 2014)
• Recreational 25 fish bag limit per day per angler
• Crew and Captain involved in for-hire are exempt and allowed 50 fish bag limit per day
The implementation of these measures is necessary to achieve the conservation goals and objectives of the FMP to rebuild the depleted American eel stock. In order to come back into compliance the State of Delaware must implement all of the above measures. Upon notification by the Commission, the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior have 30 days to review the recommendation and determine appropriate action, which may include a federal moratorium on fishing for American eel in Delaware’s state waters.
For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, Director, Interstate Fisheries Management Program, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
NOAA Fisheries Announces 2nd Reduction in Northern Red Hake Possession Limit
August 19, 2015 — NOAA Fisheries announces that the possession limit for Northern red hake will be reduced from 1,500 lb per trip to 400 lb per trip effective on Monday, August 24. This revised possession limit will be in effect for the remainder of the 2015 fishing year (April 30, 2016) to ensure the total allowable landings will not be exceeded.
State leaders express concern about NOAAs “oppressive” observer funding decision
August 19, 2015 — NEW BEDFORD, MA — Public officials statewide are criticizing a recent decision by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association requiring fishermen in the groundfishing industry to pay for federally mandated observers.
The Baker-Polito administration sent an letter to federal partners Monday expressing “serious concern” about the requirement, and urging their support in covering the costs of the At-Sea-Monitoring (ASM) program for the Northeast fishery, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
“While we, too, respect the importance of proper fisheries management, we question the fiscal and programmatic decisions that the agency has made of late with regards to the Northeast Fishery,” states the letter, which was sent to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and members of the U.S. House and Senate appropriations committees.
Baker and Mass. congressional delegation urge federal officials to pay for ground fishing observers
August 19, 2015 — In an effort to reduce the financial burdens on the region’s struggling fishermen, Governor Charlie Baker and the state’s congressional delegation urged federal officials this week to pay for a controversial program that requires observers to monitor fishermen who catch cod, flounder, and other bottom-dwelling fish.
In a letter sent to the secretary of the US Department of Commerce, which oversees the nation’s fishing industry, Baker and the delegation expressed “serious concern” about a decision this year by the National Marine Fisheries Service to require the region’s fishermen to pay for the observer program.
Fishermen insist they can’t afford to pay for the observers, especially after major cuts to their quotas. The Fisheries Service estimates that it costs $710 a day every time an observer accompanies a fisherman to sea, and the agency’s research has suggested that requiring fishermen to cover those costs would cause about 60 percent of their boats to operate at a loss.
“To shift the cost of this ineffective program onto the fishery just as the industry begins to rebuild is not only imprudent, but irresponsible,” Baker and the delegation wrote. “This equates to an unfunded mandate that could lead to the end of the Northeast Groundfish Fishery as we know it.”
Read the full story at the Boston Globe