Saving Seafood

Sturgeon habitat in focus

September 6, 2017 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — Federal fisheries managers have taken a significant step toward promoting the recovery of the nation’s depleted Atlantic sturgeon resource.

Last week, NOAA Fisheries designated a vast area along the Atlantic coastline as critical habitat for the Atlantic sturgeon. The critical habitat designation will require federal agencies to consult NOAA Fisheries if they operate or fund activities that may affect designated critical habitat in more than 3,968 miles of important coastal river habitat from Maine to Florida.

Atlantic sturgeon was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2012.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

River herring, hurt by dams and climate, might be endangered

September 5, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government is reviewing the status of a pair of river herring species to see if the little fish should be listed under the Endangered Species Act because of factors including dams and climate change.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is looking at the health of the alewife and blueback herring populations. The fish live in rivers from Maine to Florida, and conservationists have long made the case that their declining populations pose a major problem for the health of ecosystems along the East Coast.

The herring species are estimated to be at about 3 percent of their historical abundance, fisheries service biologist Tara Lake said in August. The damming of rivers and the creation of other obstructions, she said, has reduced their access to habitat to 5 percent of its historic amount.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Westerly Sun

The ESA Litigation Cartel

Americans Become Less Litigious as Frivolous ESA Litigation Quintuples

August 29, 2017 — The following was released by The Scope, a newsletter by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

According to recent polling from Public Opinion Strategies, 87% of voters agree that there are too many lawsuits filed in America. In fact, “Americans, reputed to be the most litigious people in the world, are filing far fewer lawsuits.” However, despite these developments, suits from fringe elements of the national environmental lobby are growing more rampant.

Here’s the good news: in 1993, 10 out of every 1,000 Americans filed a tort lawsuit. In 2015, that number declined to 2 out of 1,000 Americans filing suit. By contrast, environmental litigation, especially cases filed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), has experienced a sustained spike.

ESA has been abused by a small group of deep-pocketed special interest litigants to enforce their own policy preferences and to line the pockets of their attorneys and organizations. The ESA imposes no cap on attorneys’ fee awards that these special interest plaintiffs can recover from the federal government. The absence of such a cap was originally designed to ease the financial burden on citizens protecting themselves against federal actions. But when wealthy ideological groups repeatedly abuse the law in order to enrich themselves with taxpayers’ money, where do we draw the line?

As the Committee continues its work to improve and modernize the ESA, it’s a question worth asking.

Curtailing Species Recovery

ESA Litigation Cartel Fact #1: Two litigious environmental groups alone – WildEarth Guardians and Center for Biological Diversity – have filed over 1,500 lawsuits since 1990. That’s one new paralyzing lawsuit filed roughly every week over the past three decades from just two so-called “environmental” organizations.

Outcome: Valuable taxpayer resources are drained from actual species recovery – the very purpose of the ESA in the first place – to line the pockets of a few large-scale litigants.

Drowning Resources from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 

ESA Litigation Cartel Fact #2: ESA-related sue-and-settle agreements quintupled during the Obama administration compared to previous administrations. In 2011, as part of a “mega-settlement” with the same two environmental groups, the FWS agreed to review over 250 species as well as actions impacting 1,053 species without public review or state input.

Outcome: Consequently, FWS devoted nearly all of its species petition and listing budget to comply with lawsuits, siphoning valuable taxpayer resources away from actual species recovery.

Costing the Taxpayer Millions

ESA Litigation Cartel Fact #3: Federal agencies have paid out $30 million for ESA-related litigation since 2009, and the Department of the Interior alone has shelled out $14 million on ESA-related attorney’s fees in the same time frame.

Outcome: Between 2009 and 2012, “sue and settle” agreements between environmental groups and the federal government resulted in over 100 new regulations with more than $100 million in annual compliance costs and – once again – more resources shifting away from actual species recovery.

MASSACHUSETTS: State Rep. Straus request reveals NOAA has yet to penalize Rafael

August 25, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Through a public records request, Rep. William Straus said he discovered that NOAA hasn’t disciplined Carlos Rafael since the indictment has been released.

That included an incident on Aug. 5, 2016, which occurred after the indictment, where public records also show that the Coast Guard cited the Lady Patricia, a Rafael vessel listed in the indictment, for “fishing without proper VMS designation.”

NOAA defines its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) as a system supporting law enforcement initiatives and preventing violations of laws and regulations. It is used as evidence in the prosecution of environmental laws and regulations including regional fishing quotas, the Endangered Species Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Rafael pleaded guilty in March to falsely labeling fish quotas, tax evasion and smuggling money.

NOAA said it doesn’t comment on ongoing cases, but it said it isn’t uncommon for the organization to issues penalties after criminal proceedings.

Straus, D-Mattapoisett, had requested from NOAA all charging documents involving Rafael.

“There was a pattern of behavior which concerned me about its impact on what we want to have in terms of managing the fishery,” Straus said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA Fisheries Designates Critical Habitat for Atlantic Sturgeon

August 16, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries today designated critical habitat for Atlantic sturgeon–an important step to ensuring their recovery.

The critical habitat designation will require federal agencies to consult NOAA Fisheries if they operate or fund activities that may affect designated critical habitat in more than 3,968 miles of important coastal river habitat from Maine to Florida. Atlantic sturgeon was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2012 and is comprised of the threatened Gulf of Maine distinct population segment and the endangered New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina, and South Atlantic distinct population segments.

The ESA requires that NOAA Fisheries designate critical habitat when a species is listed as threatened or endangered. Under the ESA, critical habitat is defined as specific areas within the geographical areas that are occupied by the species, that contain physical or biological features essential to the conservation of that species, and that may require special management considerations.

The designation of critical habitat does not include any new restrictions or management measures for recreational or commercial fishing operations, nor does it create any preserves or refuges. Instead, when a federal agency funds, authorizes, or carries out activities that may affect critical habitat, it must work with NOAA Fisheries to avoid or minimize potential impacts to critical habitat. The activity of the federal agency may need to be modified to avoid destroying or adversely modifying the critical habitat.

“We look forward to working with our federal partners to reduce potential impacts to Atlantic sturgeon critical habitat,” said Samuel D. Rauch III, deputy assistant administrator for regulatory programs at NOAA Fisheries. “Our focus now will be on providing guidance to federal agencies to help them carry out their actions efficiently and effectively while minimizing impacts to habitat that is critical to these endangered and threatened populations of sturgeon.”

Atlantic sturgeon are anadromous and use coastal and estuarine waters throughout their lives, and travel to rivers to spawn or lay their eggs. Unlike some anadromous fish, sturgeon do not die after spawning and will return to spawn multiple times. They can grow up to 14 feet long, weigh up to 800 pounds, and live up to 60 years.

Historically, Atlantic sturgeon inhabited approximately 38 rivers in the United States spanning from Maine to Florida. Scientists identified 35 of those as spawning rivers. Atlantic sturgeon can now be found in approximately 32 of these rivers, and spawn in at least 20 of them. Critical habitat areas in coastal rivers were identified based on physical and biological features, such as soil type in the river bed, water temperature and salinity, and underwater vegetation, that are essential to the conservation of Atlantic sturgeon, particularly for spawning and development.

Atlantic sturgeon were harvested heavily in the twentieth century, particularly for their eggs (or roe) used for caviar. Overfishing led to a decline in abundance of Atlantic sturgeon, and in 1998 the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission issued a coast-wide moratorium on the harvest of Atlantic sturgeon, and NOAA Fisheries followed with a similar moratorium in federal waters.

More information on the critical habitat designation is available in the Federal Register notice and on our website.

Request for Information: NOAA Fisheries Announces River Herring Status Review

August 15, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is initiating a new status review of alewife and blueback herring. In a status review, we evaluate the best scientific and commercial data available on the current status of the species. We use these reviews to determine whether listing under the Endangered Species Act is warranted.

Through this announcement, we are requesting submission of information on alewife and blueback herring rangewide, including any information on the status, threats, and recovery of the species that has become available since the previous listing determinations in 2013.

Please submit your information by October 16, 2017, either through the e-Rulemaking portal or by mail to:

Tara Trinko Lake

NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region

55 Great Republic Drive

Gloucester, MA 01930

Request for Comments: Application for Incidental Take of Atlantic Sturgeon in the James River, Virginia.

August 15, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We recently received an application from Dominion for an Endangered Species Act Section 10(a)(1)(B) Incidental Take Permit for activities associated with their Chesterfield Power Station along the James River in Chesterfield, Virginia.

We are considering issuing a 10-year permit to the applicant that would authorize take of endangered Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) from the Chesapeake Bay Distinct Population Segment (DPS) incidental to the withdrawal of cooling water from the James River and sampling required by the Clean Water Act.

Dominion’s application for an Incidental Take Permit, their draft habitat conservation plan, and our draft environmental assessment are all available at Regulations.gov for public review and comment.

Comments are due on September 13, 2017.

NOAA awards $5.8 million in grants to support endangered, threatened species recovery

Application period for 2018 grants now open

August 11, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA announces the award of $5.8 million in species recovery grants to states and tribes to promote the recovery of endangered and threatened marine species, ranging from large whales to tiny shellfish.

This year’s awards include almost $1.1 million for six new grants to four states and one federally recognized tribe. The remaining $4.7 million will support 22 continuing projects for 20 states and two tribes.

Species Recovery Grants provide funding to states and tribes to support management, research, and outreach efforts designed to recover vulnerable species to a point where Endangered Species Act protections are no longer necessary. Funding may also support monitoring of species under consideration for protection or species recently removed from the list of endangered and threatened species.

Both new and continuing projects focus on the recovery of extremely vulnerable species as part of NOAA’s Species in the Spotlight initiative, including Cook Inlet beluga whales, Atlantic salmon, white abalone, and Southern resident killer whales.

“Helping these species recover means bringing partners to the table to tackle critical conservation challenges at the local level,” said Donna Wieting, director of NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources. “These grants are an effective way for us to help states and tribes work with us to recover our most vulnerable marine species.”

In the Greater Atlantic Region, we awarded funds for one new grant:

  • Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries: Right Whale Surveillance and Habitat Monitoring in Cape Cod Bay and Adjacent Waters

And awarded continuing grants to:

  • Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control: Conservation andRecovery of Juvenile Sturgeons in the Delaware River
  • Maine Department of Marine Resources: Migratory characterizations of Atlantic salmon smolts and adults in the Penobscot River, Maine
  • Maryland Department of Natural Resources: Reproductive Habitat of Chesapeake Bay DPS Atlantic Sturgeon in the Nanticoke Estuary
  • New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish and Wildlife: New Jersey Atlantic and Shortnose Sturgeon Research and Management
  • Penobscot Indian Nation: Atlantic Salmon Management and Outreach Project
  • Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: Assessment of critical habitats for recovering the Chesapeake Bay Atlantic sturgeon distinct population segments – Phase II: A collaborative approach in support of management

In addition, the 2018 call for proposals is now open, with a continued focus on recovering NOAA’s Species in the Spotlight. Tribal applications and state applications are due November 1, 2017. To apply, please visit www.grants.gov.

NOAA rejects bid to list tuna as endangered

August 9, 2017 — The Trump administration on Tuesday chose not to list the Pacific bluefin tuna as an endangered species, rejecting a petition by the largest global conservation group that the U.S. is a member of, with France, South Korea, Australia, and several other countries.

The Commerce Department’s National Marine Fisheries Service announced the decision after a 12-month review of the request that started under the Obama administration.

In response, environmentalists are organizing an international boycott of sushi restaurants, decrying what they say is the startling reversal of the agency’s original intent to list the tuna under the Obama administration.

The agency said that it looked at all factors affecting the bluefin tuna’s habitat, and based “on the best scientific and commercial data available … and after taking into account efforts being made to protect the species, we have determined that listing of the Pacific bluefin tuna is not warranted,” the agency said in a notice published in the Federal Register.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature had petitioned the U.S. government to list the tuna after assessing “the status of Pacific bluefin tuna and categorized the species as ‘vulnerable’ in 2014, meaning that the species was considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild,” the notice read.

Read the full story at the Washington Examiner

Tuna won’t be listed as endangered, Trump administration says

August 8, 2017 — Rejecting a petition from environmental groups, the Trump administration announced Monday that it will not list Pacific bluefin tuna — a torpedo-shaped fish that can grow to 1,000 pounds and which sells for $100,000 or more per fish in Japanese sushi markets — as endangered, despite that fact that the animal’s population has fallen 97 percent.

Even with heavy fishing pressure, the steely fish, which swim 6,000 miles between California and Asia, still number about 1.6 million, officials from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Monday.

“The Pacific bluefin tuna does not meet the definition of threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act; that is, it’s not likely to become extinct either now or in the foreseeable future,” said Chris Yates, assistant regional administrator for protected resources at the NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region in Long Beach.

“The population has been at low levels before and has rebounded,” he added.

Environmental groups, however, were disappointed. They have compared bluefin tuna to elephant tusks or shark fins — products that come from an important, but vulnerable, species and command high prices for status value.

Read the full story at the Mercury News