Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Announces Availability of Draft Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Road Map for Public Comment by October 15, 2016

August 30, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Resilient, productive ocean fisheries are critical to our economy and way of life.  Managing these fisheries over the long-term means taking into account more than just one species at a time. It requires a holistic, science-based approach that looks at the entire ecosystem. This approach is known as Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM).

NOAA Fisheries has developed an agency-wide EBFM policy, which outlines a set of principles to guide our actions and decisions over the long-term. It directs continued progress toward development and implementation of EBFM approaches. It also ensures our commitment to incorporate EBFM into the agency’s resource management decisions.

NOAA also recently released a EBFM draft “road map” to guide implementation of the EBFM policy over the next five years. The road map outlines actions we can take now to further the policy’s 6 guiding principles:

  • Implement ecosystem-level planning
  • Advance understanding of ecosystem processes
  • Assess risks and vulnerabilities
  • Explore trade-offs
  • Incorporate ecosystem considerations into management advice
  • Maintain ecosystem resilience and social well-being

Interested parties can send their comments on the draft road map no later than October 15, 2016 to Heather.Sagar@noaa.gov and Jason.Link@noaa.gov.  Further information can be found online here.

NEFMC April/May Newsletter

May 6, 2016 — The Council Report summarizes major actions approved at NEFMC meetings or highlights items of interest.

At its April 19-21 meeting in Mystic CT, the Council approved actions related to the development of its fishery management plans. The issues involved:

  • Development of a Deep Sea Coral Amendment
  • Atlantic Herring Amendment 8
  • The Industry-Funded Monitoring Amendment
  • Sea Scallops and the NGOM Area
  • EBFM
  • Spiny Dogfish
  • At-Sea Monitoring
  • Small Mesh Multispecies

Read the full newsletter as a PDF

MAFMC Meeting, February 9-11 in New Bern, North Carolina

January 21, 2016 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

 

Double Tree by Hilton New Bern

100 Middle Street

New Bern, NC 28560

Telephone 252-638-3585

Webinar:  

For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/february2016/

Briefing Materials:

Briefing materials will be posted on the February 2016 Meeting page as they become available.

Agenda

Tuesday, February 9th

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Executive Committee – CLOSED SESSION

  • SSC membership and process

10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Collaborative Research Committee

  • Review and discuss preliminary alternatives for long-term collaborative research

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. Council convenes

1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Unmanaged Forage Fish

  • Consider comments from the Fishery Management Action Team, Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Advisory Panel, and Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Committee meetings on list of species, management alternatives, and other aspects of the amendment
  • Review and approve public hearing document

4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NROC Party/Charter Electronic Reporting Project

George Lapointe

Wednesday, February 10th

9:00 a.m. Council convenes

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management

  • Review Interactions White Paper Discuss EAFM Guidance Document (First Draft)

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Fisheries Dependent Data Project

Jen Anderson – GARFO

12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. Ricks E Savage Award

12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Law Enforcement Report

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Scup Gear Restricted Areas – Framework Meeting 2

  • Review AP input
  • Review analysis of impacts
  • Select final alternative

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Omnibus Industry Funded Monitoring Amendment

  • Select preferred alternatives for standard cost responsibilities, framework provisions for IFM programs, service provider requirements, a prioritization process to allocate federal funding, and monitoring set-asides

Thursday, February 11th

9:00 a.m. Council Convenes

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Marine Recreational Information Program

  • Update on implementation activities

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Naming the Deep Sea Coral Protection Areas

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Business Session

  • Organization Reports 
  • Liaison Reports 
  • Executive Director’s Report
  • Science Report
  • Committee Reports
  • Continuing and New Business 

View a PDF of the Agenda 

Webinar/Agenda for NEFMC Meeting, Portland, ME, Dec 1-3, 2015

November 25, 2015 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold its Dec 1-3 meeting in Portland, ME. Please take a look at the details below if you would like to listen in. 

Location: For further information about the venue, check Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, ME

Meeting Materials: See the agenda here Dec 1-3, 2015 Council Meeting Agenda and meeting materials at www.nefmc.org/calendar/december-2015-council-meeting 

Webinar Registration: See https://global.gotowebinar.com/ojoin/9120951799557371650/300000000000299567 for online access to the meeting.

The webinar will be activated beginning at 8:00 a.m. each day and end at approximately 6:00 p.m. EST .

Charges for Listening: There are no charges if you access the webinar via your computer. If dialing in, your normal phone charges will apply.

Dial in number: Toll: +1 (646) 307-1720

Access Code: 399-520-213

View a PDF of the Meeting Agenda

Are “Strongly Protected” MPAs the Future of Ocean Conservation?

November 19, 205 — A new paper in science by Jane Lubchenco and Kirsten Grorud-Colvert discusses the recent progress and advocates for creating and enforcing “strongly protected” marine protected areas (MPAs). For the purposes of this paper, strongly protected MPAs are those that restrict all commercial activity and allow only light recreational or subsistence fishing. Today only 3.5% of the ocean is protected but only 1.6% is strongly protected. The 10% protection goal for coastal marine areas by 2020 decided recently at the Convention on Biological Diversity is too loosely defined and should be specific to strongly protected MPAs or marine reserves. However it should be noted that significant progress has been made in establishing more strongly protected MPAs in the past decade, which, “reflects increasingly strong scientific evidence about the social, economic and environmental benefits of full protection.”

The authors highlight seven key findings suggesting that such MPAs are indeed needed in a greater percentage of global oceans. Successful MPA programs must be integrated across political boundaries but also with the ecosystems they assist – an ecosystem-based management approach is essential. Engaging users almost always improves outcomes. MPAs may improve resilience to future effects of climate change, but there is no question that, “Full protection works,” such that primary ecological goals are almost always met with strongly protected MPAs.

In conclusion, six political recommendations are outlined. An integrated approach is equally important in the political balance for successful MPAs – other management schemes must be considered and dynamic planning is most effective in preparation for changing ecological systems. There is no one-size-fits-all method for MPAs. Top-down or bottom-up approaches have been successful and to determine the right strategy stakeholders should always be involved in the process. Perhaps most importantly, user incentives need to be changed in order to alleviate the economic trauma of short-term losers.

Read the full story at CFOOD

 

 

Fisheries of the South Atlantic; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

ACTION: Notice Of A Public Meeting.

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting of its Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management (Habitat) Advisory Panel (AP) in N. Charleston, SC. The meeting is open to the public.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  • DATES:
  • ADDRESSES:
  • FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
  • SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    • Special Accommodations

DATES: The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17, 2015, and from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 18, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Meeting address: The meeting will be held at the Florida Fish and Wildlife and Resources Institute (FWRI), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 100 8th Ave. SE., 3370, St. Petersburg, FL; telephone: (727) 896-8626.Show citation box

Council address: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N. Charleston, SC 29405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, Public Information Officer, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N. Charleston, SC 29405; phone: (843) 571-4366 or toll free: (866) SAFMC-10; fax: (843) 769-4520; email: kim.iverson@safmc.net.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Items to be addressed or sessions to be conducted during the Habitat AP meeting include but not limited to: The review and completion of a redrafted Council Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Policy Statement on Energy Exploration, Development and Transportation; a presentation on the Florida Artificial Reef Program and discussion on the developing Artificial Reef Policy Statement; a roundtable discussion on issues associated with South Atlantic Climate Variability and Fisheries and South Atlantic Food Webs and Connectivity for possible future policy statement development; and a Panel member working session highlighting regional research program activities and facilitating the update of Volume V of Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) II, Regional Programs and Data Needs and associated appendices presenting Council, State, Commission and partner research, monitoring and data needs. Other status reports will focus on regional ecosystem modelling, threats to EFH, and EFH updates associated with FEP II development.

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS: The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for auxiliary aids should be directed to the council office (seeADDRESSES) 5 days prior to the meeting.

The times and sequence specified in this agenda are subject to change.

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Nov. 2, 2015

November 2, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

REMINDER: WEBINAR Q&A SNAPPER GROUPER REGULATORY AMENDMENT 25 TONIGHT!

NOAA REPORT FINDS 2014 COMMERCIAL CATCH OF U.S. SEAFOOD ON PAR WITH 2013

Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and New Bedford, Mass., remain top fishing ports; recreational anglers took 68 million fishing trips in 2014. 

America’s commercial and recreational fisheries show continued stability and make a large contribution to the nation’s economy thanks to sustainable fisheries management policies, according to a new report from NOAA Fisheries.  U.S. fishermen landed 9.5 billion pounds of fish and shellfish, valued at $5.4 billion, in 2014, according to the new edition of NOAA Fisheries’ annual report, Fisheries of the United States 2014, released today. These figures are similar to those from 2013; both the volume and value continue to remain higher than the average for the past five years.Figures for recreational fishing activities remained strong; 10.4 million anglers took 68 million trips and caught nearly 392 million fish in 2014. See the full report here.  

MAFMC COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH COMMITTEE MEETING 

The council’s Collaborative Research Committee will meet via webinar on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.  to identify research priorities for the council’s upcoming collaborative research funding opportunity.  The council has undertaken a short-term (2015-17) initiative and intends to provide funding for several projects that address specific, council-defined research topics pertaining to mid-Atlantic fisheries.  During this meeting, the committee will identify approximately 4-6 research priorities which will be used to guide the solicitation of proposals and selection of projects to receive funding.  A detailed agenda and background documents will be made available on the council’s website prior to the meeting.  

ASMFC 74TH ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA AND MATERIALS 

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

–Commercial harvest of yellowtail snapper in South Atlantic federal waters will close Oct. 31

DEADLINES:

Nov. 4 – Atlantic HMS SEDAR Pool Nominations

Nov. 9 – NMFS Proposed Rule on ICCAT Bluefin Electronic Documentation Comments

Nov. 16 – SAFMC Proposed Federal Management Measures Comments

Nov. 19 – Derelict Fishing Gear Recovery Project Applications

Dec. 16 – NMFS Draft Ecosystem-based Fishery Management Policy Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.    

Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. – Question and Answer Webinar for Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 25

Nov. 2-5 – ASMFC Annual Meeting, World Golf Village Renaissance, St. Augustine Resort, 500 Legacy Trail, St. Augustine, Fl

Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.– SAMFC Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 25 Public Hearing

Nov. 9-10 – Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee Meeting, Providence Biltmore, 11 Dorrance Street, Providence, RI

Nov. 12  at 6 p.m. – SAFMC Dolphin Wahoo Regulatory Amendment 1 Public Hearing to address commerical trip limits for dolphin

Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. – MAFMC Collaborative Research Committee Meeting via webinar

Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. – Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel Meeting via webinar

Nov. 18-20 – Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting, Jennette’s Pier, 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head

Nov. 18-20 – ASMFC River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop, Linthicum, MD

Nov. 30 at 12:30 p.m. – NCFA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington Civic Center, 110 Gladden St., Washington

PROCLAMATIONS: 

SCUP – COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS – ATLANTIC OCEAN-NORTH OF CAPE HATTERAS

SPINY DOGFISH-COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (YELLOWTAIL SNAPPER)

GILL NETS – ALBEMARLE SOUND AREA- MANAGEMENT UNIT A-OPENING PORTIONS OF ALBEMARLE SOUND AND TRIBUTARIES  

RULE SUSPENSION – GILL NET RESTRICTIONS: INTERNAL COASTAL WATERS – OPENING MANAGEMENT UNITS B AND D1

2015-2016 OYSTER MECHANICAL HARVEST RESTRICTIONS

View a PDF of the Weekly Update here

Fisheries of the South Atlantic; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

October 2, 2015 — The following notice was released by NOAA:

ACTION: Notice Of A Public Meeting.

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting of its Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management (Habitat) Advisory Panel (AP) in N. Charleston, SC. The meeting is open to the public.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  • DATES:
  • ADDRESSES:
  • FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
  • SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    • Special Accommodations

DATES: The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17, 2015, and from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 18, 2015.

ADDRESSES:

Meeting address: The meeting will be held at the Florida Fish and Wildlife and Resources Institute (FWRI), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 100 8th Ave. SE., 3370, St. Petersburg, FL; telephone: (727) 896-8626.

Council address: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N. Charleston, SC 29405.

Read the full notice from the Federal Register here

NORTH CAROLINA: Weekly Update for Sept. 28, 2015

September 28, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

WEEKLY UPDATE: 9/28/2015

NORTH CAROLINA FISHERIES ASSOCIATION

“Serving the Commercial Fishing Families of North Carolina since 1952”

Phone: (252) 745-0225 – www.ncfish.org

Jerry Schill, President: jerryschill@ncfish.org Cell: 252-361-3015  

Lauren Morris, Membership/Operations Manager:  

laurenmorris@ncfish.org  Cell: 252-725-2468

NCFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MONDAY

The association’s board of directors will meet 2 p.m., Monday, Oct. 5 at the Washington Civic Center located at 110 Gladden Street in Washington.  As always all members are welcomed and encouraged to attend, however, the board will be discussing the southern flounder management crisis at this meeting, and so we strongly urge all the fishery’s participants who are able to attend.  We need your input on this critical issue.  

SAMFC MOVES FORWARD TO PROTECT SPAWNING AREAS

Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council held lengthy discussions on the proposed designation of areas to help protect spawning fish and associated habitat during their meeting last week in Hilton Head, South Carolina. After reviewing both written and public comment received during a second round of public hearings, the Council narrowed their preferred alternatives to five Spawning Special Management Zones (SMZs) as proposed in Amendment 36 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan. Of the eleven candidate sites included in the amendment, the Council selected the following sites as preferred: 1) a five square mile area off the coast of North Carolina known as the South Cape Lookout site; 2) a 3.1 square mile area off the coast of Georgetown, South Carolina called “Devil’s Hole” or “Georgetown Hole”; 3) a 2.99 square mile artificial reef site off the coast of South Carolina known as Area 51; 4) a 2.99 square mile artificial reef site off the coast of South Carolina known as Area 53; and 5) a one square mile area off the east coast of the Florida Keys referred to as the “Warsaw Hole”. For more information, see the news release. 

NMFS RELEASES DRAFT ECOSYSTEM-BASED MANAGEMENT POLICY 

NOAA Fisheries is developing an agency-wide ecosystem-based fishery management policy, which outlines a set of principles to guide its actions and decisions over the long-term.  The draft policy goals and framework are informed by NOAA Fisheries’ own practices and experience from that of its partners.  These ideas are intended to limit neither discussion nor consideration of other potential policy goals. Read the draft policy and learn more about how to comment here. Comments on the proposed policy are due Dec. 16, 2015. 

CONGRESSMEN JONES & YOUNG FILE BILL TO PREVENT MARINE MONUMENT DESIGNATIONS WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT

Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-North Carolina) and Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) have cosponsored H.R. 330, the Marine Access and State Transparency (MAST) Act.  The bill would prevent President Barack Obama, or any future president, from unilaterally designating offshore areas as “national monuments” and restricting the public’s ability to fish there.  Instead, the bill would require a president to get the approval of Congress and the legislature of each state within 100 nautical miles of the monument before any “monument” designation could take effect.

The bill comes in response to increasing speculation that President Obama may follow the example of his predecessor George W. Bush and unilaterally designate large swaths of coastal America as “national monuments.”  In 2006, President Bush short circuited the established process of public consultation and input and unilaterally designated 84 million acres off the coast of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands as a national monument. The new monument, which is larger than 46 of America’s 50 states, was then closed to fishing.    

“Presidents from both parties have abused their monument designation authority for far too long,” said Congressman Jones.  “No president should be allowed to just lock up millions of acres of fishing grounds by fiat, with no public input whatsoever.  Frankly, it’s un-American, and it must be stopped.  I am proud to be the first member of Congress to join my friend Don Young in fighting for this legislation, and I urge the rest of my colleagues to get behind it.” 

For additional information, please contact Maria Jeffrey in Congressman Jones’ office at (202) 225-3415 or at maria.jeffrey@mail.house.gov.

UPCOMING MAFMC COUNCIL MEETING

The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s October 2015 meeting on Oct. 6 – 8, 2015 in Philadelphia, PA. The meeting will be held at the Doubletree Philadelphia Center City, 237 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Telephone 215-893-1600. Additional details and briefing materials will be posted on the  October 2015 Council Meeting page.

INTERESTED CANDIDATES FOR SAFMC SEAT EXPIRING IN 2016

Members interested in serving in the obligatory seat for the South Atlantic Marine Fishery Commission, please let Lauren know.  You can email or give her a call at 252-725-2468.

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

–Commercial Scup Winter II quota and possession limits increase effective Nov. 1

DEADLINES:

Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. – MFC Kingfish and Interjusdiction FMP Update Comments

Oct. 2 – MFC Proposed Rules Comments

Oct. 2 – MAFMC Unmanaged Forage Species Scoping Comments

Dec. 16 – NMFS Draft Ecosystem-based Fishery Management Policy Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.    

Sept. 28-29 – Southeast Data, Assessment and Review Steering Committee Meeting via Webinar

Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. – NCFA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington Civic Center, 110 Gladden St., Washington

Oct. 6-8 – MAFMC Meeting, Philadelphia, PA

PROCLAMATIONS: 

RULE SUSPENSION – GILL NET RESTRICTIONS: INTERNAL COASTAL WATERS

TRAWLING, SPECIAL SECONDARY NURSERY AREA (OPENING: Core Sound, West Bay, and Turnagain Bay) 

GILL NETS – ALBEMARLE SOUND AREA- MANAGEMENT UNIT A-OPENING EASTERN PORTION

RULE SUSPENSION – GILL NET RESTRICTIONS: INTERNAL COASTAL WATERS-OPENING MANAGEMENT UNIT B AND E

STOP NETS – MULLET BEACH SEINE FISHERY – ATLANTIC OCEAN – CARTERET COUNTY

GILL NETS – BOGUE BANKS

STRIPED BASS SEASON – COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS – ALBEMARLE SOUND MANAGEMENT AREA

STRIPED BASS RECREATIONAL SEASON – ALBEMARLE SOUND MANAGEMENT AREA

STRIPED BASS RECREATIONAL SEASON – CENTRAL SOUTHERN MANAGEMENT AREA

View a PDF of the Weekly Update here

Northeast Fisheries Science Center Releases Strategic Science Plan 2016-2021

September 28, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

After an extensive development and review process, NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center is proud to release our new Strategic Science Plan. The plan reflects our strategy for ecosystem-based science supporting stewardship of living marine resources under changing climatic conditions. Collaboration and partnerships are cornerstones of the plan, and were essential to its development. 

We would like to extend our sincere thanks for the input and participation of hundreds of partners, stakeholders, and staff in its formulation. In the coming years, this Plan will guide us as we build on a strong foundation of excellence in marine science. 

We now turn towards implementation, with an intention to increase organizational efficiency, reduce research gaps, and work more effectively with partners and stakeholders to meet our collective needs. 

Questions? Contact Nicole Bartlett, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, at 508-495-4723 or Nicole.Bartlett@noaa.gov.

Credit: NEFSC/NOAA