Saving Seafood

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Canadian government stands ground on surf clam review

December 24, 2015 — The Canadian government will not back down on a decision to order further review of a plan to expand harvesting in the country’s offshore surf clam fishery, the Chronicle-Herald reported.

The recently elected government of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is reconsidering the previous government’s plans to increase the Arctic surf clam quota for 2016, and allow new firms to enter the fishery.

In July, months before the October defeat of previous prime minister Stephen Harper, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) said science supported the expansion of the country’s offshore Atlantic surf clam fishery, with a potential increase to the total allowable catch (TAC) from 2015’s 38,756 metric tons to 52,655t, plus bycatch, in 2016.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NEW JERSEY: Garden State Seafood Association Fisheries Workshop and Holiday Party

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — November 18, 2015 — The Garden State Seafood Association will host a Fisheries Workshop on December 11, 2015 at the Jacques Cousteau Coastal Center in Tuckerton, NJ. The GSSA will also host its annual Holiday Party later in the evening at the Tuckerton Seaport. The GSSA Board and Staff will all be in attendance, as well as local officials. For more details contact Greg DiDomenico at 609-675-0202 and Heather Larson at 940-642-2806.

View a PDF of the Fisheries Workshop Draft Agenda

View a PDF of the Holiday Party invite

 

VIDEO: Maryland Watermen React to Increase in Menhaden Quota Increase

CAMBRIDGE, Md. — May 6, 2015 — Two years ago, a group of watermen calling themselves the Harvesters Land and Sea Coalition filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.  They said the science behind those 2010 and 2012 assessments was bad, but they lost their court case on technicalities.

Early this year, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announced a new benchmark assessment had been created for the menhaden, using new data sets, which showed the fishery was actually in good shape.  Tuesday, the commission upped the quotas on menhaden by 10 percent, making captain Rob Newberry, one of the watermen involved in that lawsuit, very happy.

“This is a regulation that’s been overturned and it’s great for us, I mean it’s only 10 percent but you have to start somewhere.  It’s a great thing for us,” said Newberry.

Read the full story from WBOC

A Tale of Two Rivers: River Restoration Projects Make Progress

May 4, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

The Greater Atlantic Region boasts dozens of large and important rivers, as well as our nation’s largest estuary-the Chesapeake Bay. We rely on rivers for drinking water, irrigation, transportation, food, recreation, and electricity. In our push for development, we overlooked the importance of these rivers as habitat for fish–among them, river herring, sturgeon, Atlantic salmon, striped bass–with sometimes disastrous results for these species.

Since 1996, the NOAA Restoration Center has supported approximately 874 community restoration projects in the region, benefiting almost 1,500 acres of estuarine and riparian habitat and opening more than 1,000 miles of in-stream habitat for migratory fish.

Un-Build It and They Will Come

The Penobscot Watershed, one of NOAA’s Habitat Focus Areas, is important habitat for 11 species of migratory fish. Until recently, three dams blocked habitat from access by these fish. In 2012, the Great Works Dam came down, and in 2013, the Veazie Dam was removed. At the Milford Dam, a fish lift (like an elevator) was installed, giving fish access up to the Howland Dam. Now, NOAA Fisheries is working with other federal and state agencies, hydropower dam owners, the Penobscot Indian Nation, and seven conservation groups as part of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust to build a bypass around the Howland Dam, a nature-like alternative route that will give fish access to historic spawning, nursery, and rearing grounds. The amazing thing? The fish are coming back. In 2014, more than 255 Atlantic salmon, 800 American shad, and 180,000 river herring used the Milford fish lift, giving them access as far up as the Howland Dam. Read the whole story.

Conserving the Choptank

Of the 18 rivers running through the Delmarva Peninsula (part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem), the Choptank River is the longest. Providing critical habitat for spawning striped bass and river herring, and historically abundant oysters, this Habitat Focus Area is getting special attention from NOAA Fisheries. The Greater Atlantic Region’s Habitat Conservation Division is working with local communities to improve water quality and recover species, and is studying the role “living shorelines” might play in helping this river recover from years of pollution and neglect. Read the whole story.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov or 978-281-9175.

 

Saving Seafood Announces New Website and New National Coalition

WASHINGTON — April 27, 2015 (Saving Seafood) — This week, we are making some changes and announcements at Saving Seafood. 

Five years ago, we created Saving Seafood with funding from a small group of New England industry members.

Since then, the site has become a crucial tool for education and time-sensitive communication with industry members, regulators, legislators, and scientists. Today, Saving Seafood is the 3rd most visited seafood news website, and the most visited site focused on domestic harvesting and processing.

From the start, however, Saving Seafood has been more than a website.  In addition, to being an information source, Saving Seafood plays a significant role as a powerful advocacy tool for the commercial fishing industry.  We regularly work with industry leaders and academics to produce informed analysis rebutting inaccuracies and omissions of fact in materials distributed by anti-fishing groups, and work with journalists to produce better media coverage of the industry.

Saving Seafood has evolved into one of the strongest voices for fishermen, the role they play in our economy, and the communities who rely on them.

We’re exceedingly proud of the work we’ve done, the growth we have experienced, and the new opportunities that growth presents. In the past year, we have seen our readership grow and transform from our New England origins to the national reach that we have today.

UPDATED TECHNOLOGY

You will soon see a new Saving Seafood website. In addition to the greater visual appeal of the redesign, we have updated the technology behind the site to add a number of improvements, including:

  • A mobile friendly interface for a better experience on phones and tablets,
  • Ability to embed video in stories,
  • Ability to include photos in news alerts,
  • Integration of our social media platforms, making it easier to share stories on Facebook and Twitter,
  • Opportunity to place promotional banners on the site, recognizing the contributions of the industry members, organizations and friends, whose financial support makes the site and our work possible.

A NATIONAL COALITION OF FISHING COMMUNITIES

In addition to the communications work already being done through Saving Seafood, Mayor Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, Massachusetts and the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission have provided us with support as we take the successful model developed through Saving Seafood and apply it nationally.

The National Coalition of Fishing Communities will have members in three categories: municipalities, the fishing industry, and fishing organizations.

New Bedford’s position as the nation’s most economically valuable fishing port, lends itself perfectly to a leadership role in the coalition, and Mayor Mitchell has already reached out to partner with other local leaders in fishing communities around the nation. At the same time, Saving Seafood staff members have been reaching out to industry and organizations. A significant number of fishery groups, fishermen, processors, and support businesses have already agreed to join and support the effort.

The formal announcement and launch of the coalition is still to come, but if you have interest please contact Saving Seafood at info@savingseafood.org

Just like Saving Seafood, the Coalition will not compete with existing groups, but rather will serve to amplify the voice of legitimate fishing groups around the nation.

We’re hoping we can count on you for support. We also need you to help us bring together the organizations where you work and the groups in which you hold memberships to join us in this effort.

MORE TO COME:

As we roll out the new Saving Seafood, we’ll have more announcements and new efforts to announce in the coming week

Thank you to all of our funders, supporters, partners, and readers who have made the past five years possible and with whom we look forward to a stronger future.