Saving Seafood

Off the hook – Researchers find mortality of cod caught and released off Gloucester is half of original estimate

December 21, 2015 — With cod at historically low population levels and commercial fishermen limited to landings that are just a fraction of what they once were, the recreational catch is now believed to account for as much as one-third of total landings of Gulf of Maine cod.

But recreational landings data was considerably poorer than the commercial data, which made it hard to estimate their true impact on the population or know the effectiveness of regulatory measures.

Solving the cod crisis will take a lot of research. Now, scientists are no longer restricted to their lab. As a recent study shows, creative thinking and technology can turn the ocean into a lab, and the results can be more precise and minimize the regulatory impact on fishermen.

A key missing piece in the puzzle was information on how many fish died after they were released by anglers. Lacking key data such as length and weight of released cod resulted in the assumption that 100 percent of those fish died. Missing data can lead to underestimating the population size, with overly strict regulations, said Michael Palmer, National Marine Fisheries Service research fishery biologist.

Researchers started collecting length and weight data in 2005 after regulators tightened reporting requirements for recreational fishermen. In 2011, a panel arrived at a consensus that 30 percent of cod released by anglers died. But Palmer was concerned that there were no directed studies, in the U.S. or internationally, to truth-test the estimate.

Read the full story at Cape Cod Times

 

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Dec. 7, 2015

December 8, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

MFC SEEKS COMMENTS ON DRAFT OYSTER AND HARD CLAM PLANS, 2015 COASTAL HABITAT PROTECTION PLAN 

Fishermen and others will get a chance to comment on future management of oysters and clams and coastal habitat at a series of public meetings to be held in the coming weeks.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will hold four meetings to receive public comments on draft amendments to the Oyster and Hard Clam fishery management plans and on the 2015 Coastal Habitat Protection Plan.

The meetings will be held in conjunction with Marine Fisheries Commission advisory committee meetings scheduled for:

Dec. 8, 5:30 p.m.

Shellfish/Crustacean AC

N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office

5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City 

Contacts: Anne Deaton

Phone: 252-808-8063

Email: Anne.Deaton@ncdenr.gov 

Trish Murphey

Phone: 252-808-8091

Email: Trish.Murphey@ncdenr.gov

Read agenda

Dec. 9, 5:30 p.m.

Southern Regional AC

Department of Environmental Quality Regional Office

127 Cardinal Drive Ext., Wilmington 

Contact: Trish Murphey

Phone: 252-808-8091

Email: Trish.Murphey@ncdenr.gov

Read agenda

Dec. 10, 5:30 p.m.

Northern Regional AC

Department of Environmental Quality Regional Office

943 Washington Square Mall, Washington 

Contacts: Katy West

Phone: 252-948-3884

Email: Katy.West@ncdenr.gov

Holly White

Phone: 252-473-5734

Email: Holly.White@ncdenr.gov

Read agenda

Dec. 14, 1:30 p.m.

Habitat and Water Quality AC

Department of Environmental Quality Regional Office

943 Washington Square Mall, Washington 

Contacts: Anne Deaton

Phone: 252-808-8063

Email: Anne.Deaton@ncdenr.gov

Katy West

Phone: 252-948-3884

Email: Katy.West@ncdenr.gov

Read agenda


Whether to re-open shallow bays (less than six feet deep) of Pamlico Sound to mechanical harvest.The draft oyster plan amendment looks at:

  • Whether to continue the monitoring trigger of 26 percent legal-sized live oysters to determine when to close mechanical harvest (adopted in Supplement A to Amendment 2 to the N.C. Oyster Fishery Management Plan).
  • Whether to make hand harvest limits the same statewide.
  • How to mitigate harvest effort impacts on oyster resources in the Southern region.

The draft clam plan amendment looks at:

  • Whether to increase the recreational maximum daily harvest limit for hard clams.
  • Whether to allow the use of power hauling equipment in the hand harvest of hard clams.
  • Whether to modify mechanical clam harvest lines to exclude areas no longer fished.
  • The draft amendments to the oyster and clam plans also consider multiple changes to the shellfish lease program, changes to the shellfish license, and shading requirements for shellfish.

The draft 2015 Coastal Habitat Protection Plan contains four goals and four priority issues:

  • Goal 1 – Improve effectiveness of existing rules and programs protecting coastal fish habitats — includes five recommendations to enhance permit compliance, monitoring, outreach, coordination across environmental commissions and management of invasive species.
  • Goal 2 – Identify and delineate strategic coastal habitats — includes two recommendations regarding mapping and monitoring fish habitat, assessing their condition and identifying priority areas for fish species.
  • Goal 3 – Enhance and protect habitats from adverse physical impacts – includes eight recommendations on expanding habitat restoration, managing ocean and estuarine shorelines, protecting habitat from destructive fishing gear and dredging and filling impacts.
  • Goal 4 – Enhance and protect water quality – includes eight recommendations to reduce point and non-point sources of pollution in surface waters through encouragement of best management practices, incentives, assistance, outreach and coordination. This applies not only to activities under the authority of the Department of Environmental Quality, such as development and fishing, but for all land use activities, including forestry, agriculture and road construction.

Priority issues for the plan’s implementation actions include oyster restoration, living shorelines, reducing sedimentation in tidal creeks and developing metrics to evaluate habitat trends. 

Find the draft amendments to the Oyster and Clam fishery management plans at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/fmps-under-development. Find the draft 2015 Coastal Habitat Protection Plan at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/habitat/chpp/downloads.

For more information, contact Catherine Blum, division fishery management plan coordinator, at 252-808-8014 or Catherine.Blum@ncdenr.gov.

NC MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION SEEKS ADVISERS

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for commercial and recreational fishermen and scientists to advise it on various fisheries issues.  For information on the types of committees, requirements and how to apply see the news release.  Applications are due by Dec. 15.  

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

–South Atlantic Commercial Hook-and-Line Golden Tilefish Fishery will close Dec. 8

DEADLINES:

Dec. 15 – MFC Adviser 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.    

Dec. 7-10 – MAFMC Meeting, The Westin Annapolis, 100 Westgate Circle, Annapolis, MD

Dec. 7-11 – SAFMC Meeting, DoubleTree by Hilton Oceanfront Hotel, 2717 W. Fort Macon Rd., Atlantic Beach, NC

Dec. 16 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. – MAFMC Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel, Radisson Hotel Providence Airport, 2081 Post Road, Warwick, RI, 02886

PROCLAMATIONS: 

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (GOLDEN TILEFISH-HOOK & LINE)

POUND NET SET CLOSURE PERIOD

GILL NETS – ATLANTIC OCEAN SEASONAL MAXIMUM MESH SIZE EXCEPTIONS

GILL NETS – ALBEMARLE SOUND AREA- MANAGEMENT UNIT A- OPEN LARGE MESH GILL NETS IN WESTERN ALBEMARLE SOUND

 

Read a PDF of the Weekly Update here

Wellfleet, Mass. shellfisherman charged with illegal sales to restaurants

December 2, 2015 — WELLFLEET, Mass. — A Wellfleet man had his state commercial shellfishing license suspended and was charged with 45 violations of state shellfishing regulations after he allegedly was caught selling oysters to at least two Outer Cape restaurants without having a wholesale license.

The evidence also indicates that David Paine, 57, may not have complied with regulations that protect the public from infections from the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Paine was arraigned in Orleans District Court on Monday on violations of state shellfishing regulations between July 2014 and June of this year. His girlfriend, Kristi Johns, 41, who is a co-owner of Paine’s aquaculture grant, was arraigned Oct. 26 on four counts of violating fisheries regulations in arranging for sales of the oysters to The Whitman House in Truro.

Neither Paine nor Johns could be reached for comment. The phone number listed to them has been disconnected.

According to a report by Massachusetts Environmental Police Officer Daniel McGonagle contained in court documents, Paine sold oysters directly to The Whitman House and The Lost Dog Pub in Orleans. McGonagle wrote in his report that on June 22, he and Environmental Police Sgt. Kevin Clayton were notified of a possible oyster violation by a state Department of Public Health inspector who was investigating The Whitman House for allegedly selling striped bass before the season opened and marketing it as pollock.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

Pangasius water content causes uproar

November 30, 2015 — It seems as though the Vietnamese government’s decision at the end of last year to delay implementation of the regulation to limit glazing and humidity (added water) levels on pangasius exports could hit sales to the EU hard.

In mid-November, a leading Dutch newspaper Telegraaf picked up on a television program shown in the Netherlands in which it was claimed that pangasius fillets imported from Vietnam on sale in Dutch supermarkets were found to contain up to 30 percent water.

Comments from 140 consumers who had purchased pangasius reacting to the article ranged from “nothing you would eat” to something that cannot be politely translated into English.

As reported in SeafoodSource on 6 January, pangasius exporters had objected to the regulation, Decree No. 36, which was due to come into force on 1 January, saying it would cost them business.

Decree 36 would have restricted glazing on frozen pangasius fillets, to no more than 10 percent and humidity to 83 percent of the product weight. As a result of their petition, the introduction of the regulation was postponed for a year.

While the exporters agreed that these restrictions would help to increase the quality and image of Vietnam’s pangasius abroad, they said they wanted more time to measure the impact on their customers. They were adding water to the fish in order to meet their customers’ requirements for prices below the then quoted USD 3.40 (EUR 3.18) per kilogram.

Read the full story at Seafood Source