Saving Seafood

State and Local

MAINE: World weighs in on fate of 4 Maine dams blocking passage of endangered salmon

June 10, 2024 — The fate of four dams in Maine that are hindering the migration of wild Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish has drawn international attention after federal regulators gave preliminary approval in March to relicense one dam and require all four to improve fish passages, moves that will allow the dams to operate for several more decades.

The stakes couldn’t be higher, pitting the potential survival of a species against business interests. Maine is the only U.S. state where wild Atlantic salmon have survived in a few rivers, including the Kennebec and Penobscot. That is forcing parties involved to weigh whether the dams are producing enough electricity to justify ongoing operations now that alternative energies including solar and wind are coming online.

Environmentalists and others are advocating for removal of the four dams on the Kennebec River to give the best chance for wild Atlantic salmon, which are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, to repopulate. Their numbers have dwindled from about 200,000 before the dams were built to fewer than 2,000 now.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

NOAA finds Alaska Chinook salmon may need to be ESA-listed

June 10, 2024 — A preliminary review by NOAA Fisheries found that Alaska Chinook salmon may need to be listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).

“This is an encouraging first step in what we hope will be a listing of Southeast Alaska Chinook under the Endangered Species Act,” Wild Fish Conservancy Senior Ecologist Nick Gayeski said. “Listing should provide the many at-risk Chinook populations in this region stronger protection from harm in the near term and initiate the development of scientifically credible recovery plans.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Hawai‘i Longline Fishery Sees Revenue Decline in 2023 Due to Drop in Fish Prices at Honolulu Fish Auction

June 10, 2024 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

A report prepared for the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council highlights a nearly 8% decline in revenue for the Hawai‘i longline fishery due to a drop in average fish prices at the first point of landing in Honolulu Harbor. The 2023 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report, which monitors fish catch and revenue, will be presented to scientists and advisors of the Council’s 152nd Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) meeting from June 11-13, 2024, for advice on shaping the future of fisheries management in the Western Pacific Region.

The report indicates that while the Hawai‘i longline fishery landed slightly more fish in 2023, greater yields did not lead to higher revenue. Industry representatives confirmed better catch rates towards the end of 2023, but overall it was a very tough year for the fleet. It was further noted that the volume and price of subsidized foreign imports, coupled with all-time high operational costs, are causing severe economic impacts on the fleet, which is the State’s largest food producer. The Hawai‘i longline fleet consists of 150 U.S.-flagged vessels operating out of Honolulu Harbor. The SSC will discuss this information to provide scientific advice on management of this fishery.

Electronic monitoring is in the planning stages for tracking protected species interactions with the Hawai‘i longline fisheries. SSC discussions will address delays due to funding shortfalls, the reduction in human observer coverage and potential pathways for phasing in electronic monitoring to meet regulatory obligations.

The SSC will also advise the Council on catch limits for the main Hawaiian Islands deep-seven bottomfish fishery. The 2023 report showed recent bottomfish catch has been well-below current limits, and the fishery is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. A new stock assessment will help the SSC quantify the risk of overfishing and uncertainty.

A recent national focus on climate change and environmental justice requires the Council to look at ways to manage fisheries for resiliency. To support this effort, the SSC will review revisions and suggestions from various advisory groups on research priorities that promote climate change resiliency, equity and environmental justice, and regulatory efficiency in fisheries management.

The SSC meeting is open for both in-person and remote participation via web conference. Attendees can access the full agenda, background documents and instructions for connecting to the meeting and providing oral public comments at www.wpcouncil.org/event/152ssc-meeting.

Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets June 24-26 at the Ala Moana Hotel, Hibiscus Ballroom in Honolulu. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/199th-council-meeting.

DC Circuit to hear battle over Virginia offshore wind

June 8, 2024 — Critics of an offshore wind farm in Virginia are taking their fight against the project to a powerful federal appeals court.

In a Wednesday filing, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Heartland Institute, and National Legal and Policy Center said they are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reverse a May ruling that denied their bid to block a 176-turbine Dominion Energy wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach.

A lower court found that the challengers had failed to show that they would face irreparable harm if the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind commercial project moved forward.

Read the full article at E&E News

Report: Illegal fishing and labor abuse rampant in China’s Indian Ocean fleet

June 8, 2024 — The Chinese distant-water fishing fleet is a formidable force. For one thing, it’s the largest in the world, with at least 2,500 vessels — but likely many more. These vessels, many of which are propped up by government subsidies, are present in all of the world’s major oceans and countless coastal areas. The fleet’s sheer size and geographical span means it takes a sizeable volume of marine fish out of the sea: an estimated 4 million metric tons yearly.

Experts say the Chinese distant-water fleet also participates in a disproportionate amount of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and exploitative practices such as shark finning and human rights violations. Previous reporting on these issues has usually focused on parts of the world such as the coastal waters of West Africa, or around the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Latin American countries like Ecuador and Argentina, where the Chinese distant-water fleet has drawn attention and stirred controversy. However, a recent report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a U.K.-based nonprofit organization, highlights the illegal and unsustainable activities of the Chinese distant-water fleet in the Southwest Indian Ocean, a global hotspot for marine biodiversity and home to commercially important tuna species like yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and bigeye (Thunnus obesus).

Published in April, the EJF report draws primarily from crew testimonials to paint a grim picture of the Chinese distant-water fleet behaving badly in the seas off the coast of East Africa. They describe illegal shark-finning operations, with crew cutting the fins off dozens of sharks every night before throwing the still-living bodies overboard; captains ordering crew to kill dolphins and false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) so they can collect their teeth and jaws; North Korean workers kept on vessels indefinitely, unable to go home even after completing multiyear contracts; and sick crew members forced to work until they collapse and die

The report authors say the Chinese distant-water fleet’s behaviors pose a “serious threat to the sustainability of global fisheries and the wellbeing of fishers, and the millions of people who rely on the ocean for their livelihoods” and also undermine “good governance and the rule of national laws and international regulation in fisheries.” The authors also shine a light on China’s substantial investment in the blue economy in the Southwest Indian Ocean region, including the building of ports and fisheries infrastructure, which they say may make “heavily indebted countries … feel obligated to allow Chinese business ventures to access [marine] resources,” to the detriment of the environment and local communities.

Read the full article at Mongabay

Study links increased vessel traffic to uptick in East Coast whale strandings

June 8, 2024 — More than 500 whales were stranded on the East Coast between 1995 and 2022. Many of those were discovered in our region.

WSHU’s Sabrina Garone spoke with Dr. Lesley Thorne of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Thorne led a study that looked into the possible explanations.

WSHU: Of those hundreds of strandings, most of those happened between 2016 and 2022. Your study took a look at some of the reasons for this. Could you take me through the major findings?

LT: We looked at patterns of large whale strandings relative to that of different threats to large whales. And we focused on humpback whales, which are the species that strand most frequently on the East Coast. Vessel strikes, where whales are struck and hurt by vessels, and entanglement in fishing gear are major threats that face whales globally. So, we looked at patterns of vessel traffic and fishing efforts.

And we also looked at activities occurring along the U.S. East Coast associated with offshore wind development. And what we found was that mortalities and serious injuries due to vessel strikes increased threefold during this time period post-2016. We did not find any evidence that offshore wind development, or site assessment surveys for offshore wind development, played a role in the increase in whale strandings. In short, our analysis suggested that vessel strikes were an important driver, and that vessel strikes were exacerbated by increases in traffic in key regions. As well as key changes in humpback whale habitat use and distribution.

Read the full article at WSHU

OREGON: Oregon Coast shellfish harvesting closure expands to clams after poisonings

June 8, 2024 — A week after closing mussel harvesting across the Oregon Coast due to high levels of toxins, officials expanded that closure to include razor and bay clams.

Oregon’s departments of Agriculture and the state Fish and Wildlife jointly announced the closure Thursday.

The agencies said people should avoid the types of shellfish because of unprecedented levels of toxins caused by some species of algae.

Read the full article at OPB

Central Atlantic Environmental Assessment Released Preparing for Wind Sale

June 8, 2024 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) continues to move at a fast pace to advance the U.S. offshore wind energy sector. Today it is announcing the availability of its final Environmental Assessment for potential offshore wind development off the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia coasts collectively known as the Central Atlantic region.

The proposal for the offshore wind lease sale for two areas along the Central Atlantic was announced in mid-December 2023. In January and February, BOEM first released its draft of the environmental impact and then ren the mandated public comment period. The review concluded that there would be no significant impacts from lease issuance after reviews including a site assessment and site characterization activities such as geophysical, geological, and archaeological surveys.

The next step in the process would be publishing a final sale notice at least 30 days prior to the proposed auction. BOEM reports that it plans to hold the sale for the Central Atlantic region later this year.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive