Saving Seafood

NEFMC Groundfish UPDATE – March 26-27 meetings POSTPONED, news roundup

March 23, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has POSTPONED two groundfish meetings.

  • Groundfish Advisory Panel, Monday, March 26, 2018:  This meeting is being RESCHEDULED to a date in early May; and
  • Groundfish Committee, Tuesday, March 27, 2018:  This meeting also is being RESCHEDULED to a date in early May.

Both meetings were intended to focus on Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23, which currently is under development. However, the technical analyses related to this amendment are not ready for discussion at either meeting.  New meeting dates will be announced soon on the Council’s Northeast Multispecies Webpage.

WHAT HAPPENED:  Staff from both the New England Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS – NOAA Fisheries) have been working at full strength to complete two critical actions that need to be implemented in time for the May 1 start of the 2018 groundfish fishing year.

  • Framework Adjustment 57 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management contains catch limits and other fishery specifications and measures for 2018.  NMFS published the proposed rule for this action on March 22.  It’s available at comment now on Framework 57.
  • Fishing Year 2018 Recreational Management Measures for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock and Georges Bank cod also were published on March 22 in separate proposed rule.  It’s available at comment now on 2018 recreational cod/haddock measures.

Completion of these two actions took top priority, and now work will resume on Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23.

ADDITIONAL GROUNDFISH ACTIONS:  Here are several other important groundfish-related actions that stakeholders should be aware of.

  • Groundfish Sectors: On March 23, NMFS published a proposed rule containing: (a) 2018 annual catch entitlements (ACE) to groundfish sectors; and (b) a new sector exemption pertaining to day gillnet vessels fishing in the Gulf of Maine. Details are available at comment now on proposed sector ACE and day gillnet exemption.
  • Yellowtail Flounder: On March 21, NMFS transferred 30 metric tons of unused quota of Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder from the Atlantic sea scallop fishery to the commercial groundfish fishery. Learn more at yellowtail flounder transfer.
  • Groundfish Charter/Party Control Date:  As a reminder, NMFS published a new control date for the Northeast multispecies charter/party fishery. The new control date is March 19, 2018. Specifics can be found at comment now on charter/party control date.
  • Juvenile cod: NMFS’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office has written a feature story on the Council’s Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) for inshore juvenile Atlantic cod. The HAPC went into effect January 3, 2018. Learn more at juvenile cod HAPC.

MORE INFORMATION:  Visit “Related News,” “Upcoming Meetings,” and “Past Meetings” on the Council’s groundfish webpage for press releases and documents associated with upcoming and past meetings. Go to stay in touch.

 

Under President Trump, changing political tide opens water for anglers

March 21, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is known for hitting the golf course but his administration is now putting the power of the presidency behind another favorite American pastime: fishing.

During his little more than a year in office, the president has promoted the iconic, multi-billion-dollar recreational fishing industry that felt marginalized under the previous administration. Barack Obama routinely sided with environmental advocates concerned about long-term damage from overfishing but Trump, the father of two avid anglers, has tacked in a new direction.

“President Donald Trump was the best thing that ever happened to fishermen,” said Jim Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance which fought the Obama administration to overturn limits on what private anglers could catch in federal waters. “Some of them don’t realize it but they will.”

Almost from the beginning, Trump made it clear the ocean was a frontier to be exploited not only for its energy potential but also for recreational and food sources.

“The fisheries resources of the United States are among the most valuable in the world,” the president declared last year in a White House proclamation designating June 2017 as National Ocean Month. “Growing global demand for seafood presents tremendous opportunities for expansion of our seafood exports, which can reduce our more than $13 billion seafood trade deficit.”

In contrast, a similar proclamation by Obama in 2016 warned about “jeopardizing marine populations and degrading oceanic habitats.”

The Trump administration also increased recreational fishing access to three fish stocks protected under tight catch limits.

  • Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross personally approved a plan in June extending the recreational fishing season for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico from three to 42 days last summer even though his own agency warned it would lead to significant overfishing.
  • In July, Ross once again intervened. This time, he sided with New Jersey to loosen restrictions on the harvest of summer flounder, known as fluke, over the objections of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Commission Chair Douglas Grout said he was “very much concerned about the short and long‐term implications of the Secretary’s decision on interstate fisheries management.”
  • In the fall, the South Atlantic  Fishery Management Council working closely with the Trump administration allowed recreational snapper fishing from Jupiter Inlet Florida to the North Carolina- Virginia for the first time since 2014. Kellie Ralston, Florida Fishery Policy Director of the American Sportfishing Association, called it “a victory” for anglers while Environmentalists called it a “risky move” given that red snapper in the South Atlantic is still recovering.

Read the full story at USA Today

 

ASMFC: Meeting Summary, Motions, and Presentation from March 20th Now Available

March 20, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The meeting summary, motions, and presentation from today’s conference call of the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board are below and can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.

Meeting Summary & Motions http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SFlounderScupBSB_Board_MtgSummary_March20_2018.pdf

Presentation http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SFlounderScupBSB_BoardPresentation_3_20_18.pdf

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here

 

NEFMC: Council Update – March 19, 2018 – Scallops, Herring, Groundfish, more

March 19, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

ATLANTIC SEA SCALLOPS:  The 2018 scallop fishing year will begin on April 1.

  • The New England Fishery Management Council developed Framework Adjustment 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which contains 2018 fishery specifications and other measures. Visit “Related News” and “Framework 29” on the Council’s Scallop Webpage. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) currently is reviewing the framework for approval and implementation.
  • Northern Gulf of Maine measures are expected to be in place by April 1. The proposed rule is available at NGOM Framework 29 measures. NMFS will publish the final rule soon.
  • The remainder of Framework 29 will not be in place by April 1. Therefore, the 2018 scallop default measures implemented through Framework Adjustment 28will kick in. NMFS’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) published a side-by-side comparison of the measures at Defaults vs. Framework 29 Guide.
  • On March 15, NMFS published the proposed rule containing the remainder of the Framework 29 measures, meaning everything exceptthe NGOM actions. The agency is collecting public comment through March 30. Visit Framework 29 proposed rule for details.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE: In addition to Framework 29, the scallop fleet must wait for the Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 final rule to be published before being able to access the new Closed Area I and Nantucket Lightship-West Visit the New England Council’s Habitat Webpage and NMFS Approves “Majority” of Council’s Habitat Amendment for more information.
  • The New England Council’s Scallop Advisory Panel (AP) will meet March 21, 2018 in Providence, RI. The Council’s Scallop Committee will meet the following day at the same hotel in Providence. Details and documents are available at Scallop Committee March 22, 2018 meeting.

ATLANTIC HERRING:  Effective March 14, NMFS prohibited Atlantic herring midwater trawl vessels from directed fishing in the Mid-Atlantic/Southern New England Catch Cap Area after projecting that the fishery’s river herring/shad catch cap had been harvested. The herring midwater trawl possession limit is 2,000 pounds in this area for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year, which ends December 31.

  • ATLANTIC HERRING DETAILS: Additional details and a map showing the Mid-Atlantic/Southern New England Catch Cap Closure Area can be found at NMFS herring fishery bulletin.
  • ATLANTIC MACKEREL FISHERY: The Atlantic mackerel fishery, which is managed by the Mid-Atlantic Council, also reached its river herring/shad catch cap. Effective February 27, NMFS prohibited federally permitted mackerel vessels from possessing more than 20,000 pounds of mackerel per trip through December 31. Learn more at NMFS mackerel fishery bulletin.
  • The New England Council’s Herring Committee and Herring AP will meet jointly on April 4 in Boston to, among other things, discuss the implications of the river herring/shad catch cap accountability measures (AMs) being triggered in both the Atlantic herring and Atlantic mackerel fisheries. The Committee and AP also will review a draft white paper considering the addition of river herring and shad as “stocks in the Atlantic herring fishery.” The meeting notice is available at April 4 Herring Committee/AP meeting. Related documents will be posted on this same page as they become available.

GROUNDFISH:  Effective March 1, NMFS extended its previous emergency action to remove the 2017 southern windowpane flounder AMs for non-groundfish trawl vessels. The emergency action will run through April 30, the end of the 2017 fishing year.  Read the notice at emergency action extension. A map of the area is available at bulletin.

  • The New England Council’s Groundfish AP will meet March 26, 2017 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Logan Airport in Boston. The Groundfish Committee will meet the following day at the same location primarily to discuss Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23 and work-to-date on 2018 groundfish priorities.  The meeting notice is available at March 27, 2018 Groundfish Committee Meeting. Related documents also will be available on this page shortly.

GROUNDFISH RECREATIONAL:  At the request of the New England Council, NMFS published a new control date that may be used to determine future participation in the Northeast multispecies charter/party fishery. The new control date is March 19, 2018. This replaces the previous March 30, 2006 control date, which many members of the industry considered to be “stale” and not reflective of current conditions in the fishery. NMFS is collecting public comment on the new date through April 18. The notice is available at March 19, 2018 control date. Learn more about the New England Council’s recent recreational actions at January 31 decision-making.

RED HAKE:  NMFS has notified the New England Council that the Southern Georges Bank/Mid-Atlantic stock of red hake is now subject to overfishing and overfished based on the recent 2017 assessment. As such, the Council will be working to develop measures to end overfishing and rebuild the stock.  Read the Federal Register notice and visit the Council’s Small-Mesh Multispecies Webpage.

DOGFISH, MID-ATLANTIC SPECIES:  Spiny dogfish is jointly managed by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Councils. The Mid-Atlantic, which has the administrative lead over the Spiny Dogfish FMP, is soliciting applications from qualified individuals to serve on the Dogfish Advisory Panel.

  • The application deadline is April 20, 2018.
  • All current advisory panel members must reapply in order to be considered for reappointment.
  • The Mid-Atlantic Council also is accepting applications for seven other advisory panels, which are the: River Herring and Shad AP; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass AP; Mackerel, Squid, Butterfish AP; Surfclam and Ocean Quahog AP; Tilefish AP; Bluefish AP; and Ecosystem and Ocean Planning AP.
  • Additional information and an application form are available at serve on an advisory panel.

Learn more about the NEFMC by visiting their site here.

 

ASMFC: Meeting materials for the March 20th conference call of the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board

March 16, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Meeting materials for the March 20th conference call of the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board are now available at – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SFlounderScupBSB_BoardMaterials_3_20_18.pdf. The conference call will begin at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to listen to the discussion by phone (866.214.0726, followed by passcode: 993961) and view the webinar using the following link https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6931931919817605123.

Time permitting, there will be a limited opportunity for the public to provide comments. The Board Chair will outline the procedures for accepting public comment at the beginning of the conference call. We request the public and other nonparticipating attendees to please mute their phones in order to minimize distractions to the Board’s deliberations.

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

MAFMC Reminder: Electronic Reporting Requirements for Party/Charter Vessels with Mid-Atlantic Permits

March 7, 2018 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Beginning Monday, March 12, 2018, all charter and party vessel operators holding a federal permit for species managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be required to electronically submit Vessel Trip Reports for all trips carrying passengers for hire. These electronic Vessel Trip Reports (eVTRs) must be submitted through a NOAA-approved software application within 48 hours of entering port following the end of a fishing trip. This regulation applies to all vessels with these permits, including vessels outside of the Mid-Atlantic region, regardless of where they are fishing when carrying passengers for hire.

This action is not a change in reporting requirements; it is an administrative modification to the method and timing for submitting VTRs.

This change applies to all vessels with federal Greater Atlantic Regional charter or party permits for any of the following species:

  • Atlantic mackerel
  • Squid
  • Butterfish
  • Summer Flounder
  • Scup
  • Black sea bass
  • Bluefish
  • Tilefish

Electronic Reporting Information and Resources

For more information, visit the Mid-Atlantic Council’s For-Hire Electronic Reporting page or the NOAA Fisheries Summary of eVTR Reporting Requirements. Additional details about eVTR software applications and contacts/support for eVTR problems are available here.

Training Opportunities

The Council has hosted several training sessions to help for-hire vessel operators prepare for these upcoming electronic reporting requirements, including two workshops in April 2017, two workshops in February 2018, and a webinar in March 2018. A recording of the webinar can be viewed online at this link.

On March 16, 2018, The Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) will host a workshop on using the SAFIS eTrips software in Riverhead, NY. Registration is required, and participation will be limited to the first 25 captains who sign up. View the announcement for additional details.

Contact

Individuals with questions about eVTRs should contact Daniel Luers, Sustainable Fisheries Division, at 978-282-8457 or email at Daniel.Luers@noaa.gov.

Quick Links

Learn more about the MAFMC by visiting their site here.

 

NMFS Weighing Privately Funded Assessment of Summer Flounder Stock

February 23, 2018 — For the first time, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will consider privately funded science in formulating regulations for summer flounder.

Funded by the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund (SSFFF) and its contributing partners, a groundbreaking sex-structured model created by Dr. Patrick Sullivan of Cornell University was presented in January to the NMFS’ Stock Assessment Workshop in the hope of obtaining a clearer picture of the summer flounder population.

The ultimate goal is to improve the accuracy of the next stock assessment and consequent management advice.

The summer flounder fishery is of vital importance to the recreational and commercial fishing sectors along the Atlantic Seaboard and its continued health is a key concern among stakeholders.

Dr. Sullivan, who developed the model with renowned fisheries researcher Dr. Mark Maunder, presented the findings to NMFS staff at the Summer Flounder Stock Assessment Workgroup at Woods Hole, Mass.

During the past 10 years, Dr. Maunder has been working on fluke population research for SSFFF and his work has been highly successful in developing important findings that have helped stave off significant quota reductions.

Based on 10 years of research conducted by the SSFFF team of scientists, the group now believes that the present stock assessment does not represent the best available science. A new and comprehensive stock assessment model which incorporates the latest findings is considered critically important in guaranteeing the survival of this vital fishery.

Read the full story at OnTheWater

 

Jim Lovgren: A hard look at NOAA’s observer program

February 21, 2018 — With the Trump administration looking to reduce burdensome regulations and slash unnecessary bureaucratic jobs, it’s time for them to take a hard look at NOAA’s fishery observer program. This program has grown from a handful of employees just two decades ago, now to hundreds of them who swarm fishing docks each day looking for a ride. And if you dare refuse, you face possible fines, or NMFS enforcement will not allow you to go fishing.

I’m the owner of a 75-foot fishing vessel out of Point Pleasant, N.J. And in the last two years, I have seen my observer coverage double, despite my best efforts to avoid them. The coverage in the Mid-Atlantic has substantially increased because NMFS has put most New England fishermen out of business, so instead of reducing the workforce, they in true bureaucratic tradition increase coverage on those left — this despite the fact that the Mid-Atlantic fisheries have already had extensive coverage for more than 20 years. There is no new data to be gathered. It is simply an effort to enrich the observer provider companies and increase the workforce in the Northeast Fishery Science Center, which has to collate and analyze the data.

Since we have had such extensive fishery coverage over the years, why do we need to increase it? What exactly do they expect to find? In the summer flounder fishery in New Jersey, thousands of observed trips have been taken over the years. Do they expect to find something different?

The data will be the same. The coverage is redundant and a waste of taxpayer dollars. And soon it will be the death knell of the independent fisherman, as NMFS expects them to pay the $750 a day to the observer companies, which in many cases is more than the boat makes on a trip. Also the more data that gets gathered, the more employees at the science center need to analyze it. The pathetic performance of the science center in regard to stock assessments is legendary and documented by the National Academy of Sciences study of fishery management plans. More data will not help them until they fire the incompetent people who still are doing the same stock assessments.

Recently the newest boat at our dock, totally refurbished less than a year ago, was informed that an observer had gotten bed bugs from it. The problem here is that it was an observer who brought the bedbugs onto the boat in the first place. The boat in question had new mattresses and bedding, with the same crew since its arrival. What they also had was an army of observers rotating on their boat, observing scallop and other fisheries. These observers hop from boat to boat, carrying their bags and bedding with them. Many of them are stationed in a group home near large fishing ports, where they live with up to nine other observers in the same small rental, sharing beds and furniture. They have become modern-day Typhoid Marys with the ability to contaminate multiple boats and houses with bedbugs, lice, crabs and fleas, among other unsanitary conditions. Observers and their belongings and group homes should be required to undergo weekly health examinations, just as fishermen are required to have their safety equipment checked.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Addendum XXX for Recreational Black Sea Bass Management

February 12, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXX to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. The Addendum establishes a regional allocation of the coastwide Recreational Harvest Limit (RHL) to address state concerns regarding equity and accountability in recreational black sea bass management.

From 2012-2016, the recreational fishery was managed under an ad-hoc regional management approach, whereby the states of Massachusetts through New Jersey individually crafted measures aimed at adjusting harvest by the same percentage, while the states of Delaware through North Carolina set their regulations consistent with the federal waters measures. While this approach allowed the states flexibility in setting management measures, some states expressed a need for increased equity and accountability in managing harvest to coastwide catch limits.

Accounting for geographic differences in the stock and fishery interests, Addendum XXX uses a combination of exploitable biomass information from the latest stock assessment and historical harvest to regionally allocate the coastwide RHL. The final allocation is based on a hybrid of the allocation options that were presented in the Draft Addendum. The three management regions are defined as Massachusetts through New York, New Jersey as a state-specific region, and Delaware through North Carolina; their respective allocations of the 2018 coastwide RHL are 61.35%, 30.24%, and 8.41%. The Technical Committee will work with the states to develop regional proposals for Board review and approval in March 2018.

To improve accountability, the states within each region will be collectively responsible for managing harvest to their regional allocation through the cooperative development of recreational measures. To increase regional consistency in measures, each region will establish a standard set of measures, with each state in the region afforded the flexibility to adjust their measures up to one inch in minimum size and three fish in possession limit. The Addendum also initiates the development of a new process for evaluation and specification of measures against the annual catch limit, which aims to provide more year-to-year stability in management measures.

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

One Square Mile in Massachusetts: While Scallops Soar, Groundfishing Struggles In New Bedford

February 9, 2018 — The Port of New Bedford is often touted as the most lucrative in North America. That’s thanks mainly to the popularity, and apparent abundance, of scallops. But the success of scallops may be masking hard times for other parts of the fishing industry.

Pat Kavanagh owns three fishing boats in New Bedford. Two for catching groundfish like cod, haddock and flounder. The other is a scallop boat. Right now, that’s his moneymaker.

“As far as groundfishing, groundfishing’s been tough for the last twenty years,” said Kavanagh.

He’s tight lipped about how much he actually makes from the three boats each year.

“But I can say it’s a damn good thing we’ve got a scalloper,” said Kavanagh.

Like many fishermen, Kavanagh got into this business through family, working on his father’s boat. But since the 1980s regulations have tamped down on fisheries, and it’s become harder to get a start in the business. Groundfish prices have fallen, and Kavanagh says buyers are looking elsewhere for product.

“The world has gotten smaller with airplanes and flying fish around,” said Kavanagh. “So we’re competing with the world and there’s some pretty cheap fish out there and there’s actually some pretty good fish.”

The fleet has dwindled, and in the last year, New Bedford suffered another major blow. Carlos Rafael, the owner of a local groundfishing fleer pleaded guilty to falsifying his catch. He’s now serving a four-year prison sentence. His fleet sits impounded at the docks. Federal regulators have suspended his boats from fishing.

Whether you worked with Rafael or not, the shrinking fleet has put strain on other businesses, including Levin Marine across the harbor in Fairhaven, which makes netting for groundfishing.

Read the full story at Rhode Island Public Radio