August 13, 2021 — For eight years, Tanya Ives has been traveling up from Washington each summer to work at the Yukon River’s only fish processing plant: Kwik’Pak Fisheries. The plant sits outside of Emmonak at the river’s mouth. Normally at this time of year, Ives would be packing up chum salmon harvested by commercial fishermen along the Yukon River to sell around the world. But this summer, she’s doing the opposite.
A How-To Guide for Reporting Potential Marine Wildlife Harassment in Hawai‘i
August 13, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Imagine you’re scrolling through social media and a video pops up of a Hawaiian monk seal resting on the beach. The first few seconds of video capture the natural beauty of the wild seal, peacefully slumbering on the sand. But suddenly, someone appears from the side of the frame and starts to mischievously tiptoe toward the sleeping seal. You shout through the screen and try to stop this person from what is inevitably going to happen. But despite your efforts, another one of our Hawaiian monk seals is touched and disturbed.
Reports of people disturbing protected marine wildlife have significantly increased over the last decade. And over the past few years, multiple incidents involving potentially illegal encounters with protected marine species have gone viral on social media, including two recent videos of people touching and disturbing monk seals. These concerning and disrespectful images and videos have, understandably, upset many people in Hawaiʻi and across the country. Incidents like these should be reported to NOAA Fisheries or the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Here’s what you need to know about reporting potentially illegal marine wildlife interactions, how NOAA responds to reports, and what the laws are regarding protected marine wildlife.
West Coast CARES Act Funding, Spend Plans in Various Stages of Completion
August 13, 2021 — As fishermen and processors in Washington are receiving checks from the first round of COVID-19 relief, managers in California and Oregon are moving ahead with proposed spend plans for Round Two.
Round One funding, announced in May 2020, included $300 million provided by Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also called the CARES Act, to states, tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants that were negatively affected by COVID–19.
Turtles, Tourism, and Traffic – Keeping Hawaiʻi Honu Safe
August 13, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Sea turtles have long been a key part of the cultural and natural resource heritage of Hawaiʻi. Once sought for their meat, Hawaiian green sea turtles, or honu, suffered a sharp population decline from overharvest in the early 20th century. Today, honu in Hawaiʻi are making a comeback thanks to the support of dedicated community members, and state and federal protections. Increasing numbers of honu in Hawaiʻi mean there is more opportunity for observing them on beaches and in nearshore waters, and where their behavior can be predictable, honu have become a sought-after tourist attraction.
The convergence between turtles, tourists, and traffic can create challenges in areas where the infrastructure may not be sufficient to support large numbers of wildlife viewers. For instance, residents of the North Shore of Oʻahu have expressed concerns about traffic congestion near the popular turtle viewing beach of Laniākea. This situation is not unique to Oʻahu. Communities throughout the Hawaiian Islands are experiencing similar issues that require collaborative solutions.
As the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation works to address traffic and pedestrian safety issues at Laniākea, we at NOAA Fisheries continue to study the basking honu population and work collaboratively on the management and conservation of honu at this and other locations throughout the state.
Skeptics of sea otter reintroduction getting organized on Pacific Coast
August 13, 2021 — Sea otters are undeniably cute, but cuteness only goes so far when major economic interests are at stake. That’s an inference you can make from the emergence of organized pushback to the possible reintroduction of sea otters along the Oregon Coast.
A trade group, the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, enlisted 24 maritime interests to sign on to a letter expressing grave concerns about bringing back sea otters. Some of the signatories include the ports of Ilwaco, Astoria, Newport, Coos Bay and Brookings, the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers and Columbia River crab fishermen.
“We’re hoping to get ahead of the curve here and get something on the record,” said Lori Steele, executive director of the Portland-based WCSPA.
In the letter sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week, the skeptics said the voracious appetite of sea otters would put the furry animals in conflict with fishermen and shellfish harvesters. The letter also raised red flags about the prospect of permitting difficulties for port projects, dredging and offshore wind farms if another protected marine mammal species were present.
“Our message to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is really, proceed with caution and be extremely thoughtful about potential impacts of this before doing anything,” Steele told the Port of Astoria Commission during its most recent meeting.
Electronic tracking system considered for lobstermen in federal waters
August 13, 2021 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering requiring electronic tracking for the lobstermen who fish in federal waters.
The commission’s American Lobster Management Board initiated a draft addendum last week with the goal of collecting spatial and effort data from lobster and Jonah crab fishermen.
“In my opinion, this is the single most important thing the American Lobster Board can do to ensure the viability of the American lobster fishery,” said Dan McKiernan, the board’s chairman. “Through the proposed action, the board seeks to significantly improve our understanding of stock status, identify areas where lobster fishing effort might present a risk to endangered North Atlantic right whales and provide important information to help reduce spatial conflicts with other ocean uses, such as wind energy development and aquaculture.”
The management board has expressed interest in implementing these types of requirements over the last few years and has supported efforts to look into the systems and technology that would be needed to collect the data.
In May, the board created a working group that had representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, state and federal law enforcement and members of the board to study electronic tracking. The working group recommended that data be reported at a minimum rate of one ping per minute for at least 90 percent of the fishing trip in order to tell the difference between when the fishermen are lobstering and when they are in transit. It would also be able to calculate the number of traps per trawl. Cellular tracking devices are the preferred technology for the tracking.
Louisiana sues feds over ‘devastating’ rule for its shrimpers
August 13, 2021 — Louisiana’s attorney general has sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in New Orleans federal court to stop it from implementing a regulation that obliges certain shrimp fishermen to install devices that keep endangered sea turtles out of their catch.
In a Wednesday complaint, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the rule that took effect on Aug. 1, about a week before the beginning of the state’s shrimping season, will have “devastating consequences” on the fishermen’s already thin profit margins, and has sowed confusion with fishermen unable to find enough suppliers of so-called turtle-excluder devices for their fishing nets because the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the supply chain.
Landry makes claims that the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirements for reasoned decision-making.
NMFS spokesperson Kate Brogan said the agency is reviewing the complaint.
Florida fishermen work with NMFS to track red tide
August 13, 2021 — Another eruption of red tide on the southwest Florida coast has brought fish kills and public health advisories to beaches, and commercial fishermen are pitching in the help scientists map out the effects.
Fishermen who work offshore of the Tampa Bay region are providing oceanographic data to NMFS’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center, as part of the center’s ongoing collaboration with the Florida Commercial Watermen’s Conservation.
The non-profit group is dedicated to science-based water quality testing and marine stewardship, founded and operated by commercial fishermen in response to devastating red tide blooms of the last five years.
The group trains and outfit fishermen with water monitoring kits, for its mission ‘to quantify the environmental and oceanographic conditions before, during, and after red tide blooms to better understand their dynamics and provide timely decision-support to increase the resilience of fishermen and fishing communities on the west coast of Florida to red tide events.”
Strelcheck to lead NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast region
August 13, 2021 — Andy Strelcheck will begin his new role Sunday as regional administrator for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, which oversees North Carolina and is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Strelcheck, who began his career with NOAA in 2004, succeeds retired Regional Administrator Dr. Roy Crabtree, who was in the position since 2003. Strelcheck has worked in marine fisheries research and management and managed protected resources and habitat conservation.
“I’m honored to make this announcement,” NOAA Fisheries’ Assistant Administrator Janet Coit said in a statement. “He’s done an incredible job acting in the position since the beginning of the year and we’re looking forward to him officially taking on this important role.”
The Southeast region, which has responsibility for marine ecosystems from Texas to North Carolina and the U.S. Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, works with three fishery management councils, state and federal partners, the fishing industry, and other stakeholders to manage and conserve federal commercial and recreational fisheries, marine mammals, endangered and threatened species, habitat and more, according to NOAA.
At the agency, Strelcheck previously oversaw data analyses and analytical work that supported fishery management council regulatory actions, led the development and operation of the commercial red snapper and grouper-tilefish individual fishing quota programs, valued at more than $50 million annually. He most recently served as deputy regional administrator. Before that, he served as a fishery plan coordinator and branch chief for the region’s commercial catch share programs in southeast regional office’s Sustainable Fisheries Division.
CALIFORNIA: US Interior secretary touts Humboldt County offshore wind project
August 13, 2021 — Federal and state officials gathered at Woodley Island in Eureka on Tuesday to highlight Humboldt County’s promising future as a leader in offshore wind energy, a move that would bring thousands of jobs to the Humboldt Bay region.
Joined by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory and California Energy Commissioner Karen Douglas, North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman praised the Biden administration’s effort to pursue offshore wind energy in California.
“We’re getting it done here in California — that’s one of the most exciting things in the face of this daunting climate crisis,” Huffman said. “It is a big deal that today on Humboldt Bay we are being visited by the top environmental officials in the United States of America.”
Standing before Woodley Island’s iconic “Fisherman” statue after a tour of Humboldt Bay on the Madaket, Haaland said she was “thrilled to have the opportunity to see the excitement surrounding the future of this area.”
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