Saving Seafood

News for the Gulf of Mexico Region

BOEM Announces Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Gulf of Mexico Geological and Geophysical Surveys

October 4th, 2016 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the availability of a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that recommends strong measures to protect marine mammals and coastal environments in the Gulf of Mexico from the potential impacts of geological and geophysical (G&G) surveys for oil, gas and minerals.

Completion of the draft PEIS was a condition of a federal court settlement between BOEM and the National Resource Defense Council and other co-plaintiffs announced earlier this year.

“BOEM’s recommended approach offers the strongest practicable safeguards in an effort to eliminate or reduce impacts to marine mammals and the environment,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “We continue to conduct research and monitor the science of this field and work with other agencies and stakeholders to create and maintain the protection of these resources.”

The draft PEIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of G&G survey activities on marine mammals, fish, corals, and other environmentally sensitive species in the seabed and water column of the Gulf’s Outer Continental Shelf. The surveys will inform oil and gas exploration and sand extraction in Federal and adjacent state waters. G&G surveys use various technologies to determine whether areas have high potential for energy development or extraction of minerals, such as sand used for coastal restoration; and to identify potential hazards and environmental concerns.

Read the full story at Ocean News & Technology 

BP oil disaster might have hurt Bluefin tuna rebuilding, study says

October 3, 2016 — The release of 4 million barrels of oil in the 87 days following the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion in April 2010 occurred just as Atlantic bluefin tuna had returned to the Gulf of Mexico to spawn, and a small but significant percentage of the adult fish and their eggs and larvae were likely exposed to the toxic oil, according to a new study announced Friday (Sept. 30).

The study led by scientists with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and Stanford University concludes that the oil cumulatively covered 3.1 million square miles where fish, eggs and larvae were present in the weeks immediately after the accident.

When combined with other stressors affecting this species of tuna — including overfishing and warming seas caused by climate change — the addition of the oil’s impact “may result in significant effects for a population that shows little evidence of rebuilding,” the study published in Nature: Scientific Reports concluded.

The study, funded by the Natural Resource Damage Assessment for the BP spill required under the federal Oil Pollution Act, made use of computer modeling based on information gathered from 16 years of electronic tagging of 66 tuna that kept track of individual fish locations, temperatures and oscillating diving patterns. The information was compared with satellite observations of the breadth of oil from the spill on the surface of the Gulf to estimate the potential impacts.

Barbara Block, a Stanford professor of marine scientists and expert on Atlantic bluefin tuna, said in a Friday interview that the tagging program took advantage of earlier tagging information that indicated many of the Gulf-spawning tuna migrate back and forth from the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada. Researchers captured adult tuna in Canada and installed the tags. When the fish returned to Canada a year later, the tags dropped off and were collected, and their data was added to a long-term database on fish movements.

The information collected from the tags helped the scientists confirm their theories about the spawning habits of the huge fish, which can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds at maturity, and begin reproducing about 10 years after birth.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Marine mammal expert: Underwater port noise is a legitimate concern

September 26th, 2016 — The Port of Gulfport will spend thousands of dollars on a “bubble curtain” device, designed to dampen sound waves from a pile-driving project.

National Marine Fisheries Service requires mitigation because the underwater sounds could be harmful to fish or dolphins.

The federal requirement came as quite a surprise to several of the port commissioners, but the impact of underwater noise is a significant issue for marine scientists.

Construction sounds from the port not only resonate along the nearby Coast, they sometimes travel underwater into the adjoining Mississippi Sound.

“We have one of the largest dolphin populations in the United States that inhabits the Mississippi Sound. Plus, it’s also a nursing ground for these animals,” said Institute for Marine Mammal Studies director, Dr. Moby Solangi.

Dolphins rely on sound and echoes for their survival.

“They locate their fish through sound, they locate their mates through sound, they find their habitat through sound. If they become deaf, they’re unable to survive,” Solangi said.

Read the read full story at WTVM

Report questions Louisiana fish safety testing

September 26th, 2016 — Gulf oil spill recovery money intended for testing to ensure fish caught off Louisiana were safe for consumers instead paid for unnecessary iPads, cameras, boats and now-missing fishing equipment, state auditors said, calling the safety program so mismanaged it couldn’t even declare if the catch was fit to eat.

Energy giant BP PLC gave Louisiana millions of dollars for the program aimed at restoring confidence in the state’s multibillion-dollar seafood industry after a massive oil spill fouled the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. But auditors said they believe hundreds of thousands of dollars were misspent.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office found “insufficient sampling of fish for contamination from the oil spill, excessive costs and missing property” in part of the $10.5 million BP-financed seafood safety program overseen by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the years after the spill.

A preliminary draft of the auditor’s report, which hasn’t been released publicly, was obtained by The Associated Press.

Beyond problems with the seafood safety program, the auditors say they found widespread financial issues across the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries: questionable purchases, free-wheeling spending with little oversight and missing fishing equipment, drones, guns and other items that belong to the state. And it said the department’s management and employees may have violated the agency contract with BP “and state law” in the fish testing program.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at KOAM 7 

Gulf council seeking input from fishermen for coral reef protection

September 23, 2016 — Fishermen will be able to provide input for coral protection areas in the Gulf of Mexico at a workshop Monday hosted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott, 142 Library Drive, Houma.

The council’s scientists recommended protecting 47 areas in the Gulf, but with the help of the Coral Advisory Panel and Shrimp Advisory Panel, the number has been narrowed to 15 priority areas.

The meeting is to get feedback from fishermen who use bottom-contacting gear in federal waters in the Gulf before the council begins its public scoping process. Another meeting is to be held in Alabama.

“Most of the areas, no one fishes in, but there is one area off the boot of Louisiana and several off Texas and Florida where there is some fishing activity. They want to get feedback from fishermen to see how much impact it would have to fisheries,” said Julie Falgout, seafood industry liaison with Louisiana SeaGrant.

Generally, fishermen won’t trawl in areas where there are coral reefs as it would damage gear, Falgout said. But when a reef area is protected, there is an additional boundary area that surrounds the reef that may impact fishing.

“The council wants feedback from the fishermen to see if it’s going to be a big problem for a lot of fishermen or for one or two fishermen and see if they need to go back to the drawing board to rework the maps,” she said.

Read the full story at The Daily Comet

Report questions Louisiana fish safety testing

September 22, 2016 — BATON ROUGE, La. — Gulf oil spill recovery money intended for testing to ensure fish caught off Louisiana were safe for consumers instead paid for unnecessary iPads, cameras, boats and now-missing fishing equipment, state auditors said, calling the safety program so mismanaged it couldn’t even declare if the catch was fit to eat.

Energy giant BP PLC gave Louisiana millions of dollars for the program aimed at restoring confidence in the state’s multibillion-dollar seafood industry after a massive oil spill fouled the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. But auditors said they believe hundreds of thousands of dollars were misspent.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office found “insufficient sampling of fish for contamination from the oil spill, excessive costs and missing property” in part of the $10.5 million BP-financed seafood safety program overseen by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the years after the spill.

A preliminary draft of the auditor’s report, which hasn’t been released publicly, was obtained by The Associated Press.

Beyond problems with the seafood safety program, the auditors say they found widespread financial issues across the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries: questionable purchases, free-wheeling spending with little oversight and missing fishing equipment, drones, guns and other items that belong to the state. And it said the department’s management and employees may have violated the agency contract with BP “and state law” in the fish testing program.

“Overall, our procedures identified a lack of management oversight over LDWF funds and operations,” Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera’s office says in the draft report, which notes the findings are subject to further review and revision.

Purpera said Wednesday the draft was being circulated for responses from agency officials. Changes could be made before the public release of the audit within the next two weeks, he said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at KOAM

LOUISIANA: Embattled Melancon says governor supports his red snapper strategy

September 16, 2016 — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Charlie Melancon called a full staff meeting Thursday, where he attempted to rally employees behind his leadership in the midst of ongoing challenges facing the agency.

“There’s some good news for some, and some bad news for others,” he told the crowd gathered at the department’s Baton Rouge headquarters. “The good news, for the majority, I believe, is I am here for the duration. Some people have exaggerated … my demise.

“For some, the bad news is I am here for the duration.”

Melancon has drawn heat in recent months, particularly from the recreational-fishing community, over his handling of red snapper management. The previous administration, headed by Secretary Robert Barham, pushed to transfer management authority of the popular reef fish to the five Gulf states, but Melancon has expressed his desire to maintain the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s control of the fish.

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

LOUISIANA: Shrimpers may face new turtle-protection rules

September 14, 2016 — New rules aimed at preventing endangered sea turtles from getting caught and killed in shrimp nets could have an impact on local fishermen.

Federal officials are revising the rules dealing with turtle-excluder devices used in shrimp nets in a court settlement with an international conservation group. In its lawsuit, Oceana alleged that the federal government violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to:

— Determine whether shrimping in the Southeast puts sea turtles at risk of extinction.

— Monitor fishing’s impact on sea turtles.

— Set a limit on how many sea turtles can be caught and killed.

As part of the settlement, the federal government agreed to propose revised regulations by Dec. 15.

“Year after year, the federal government allows tens of thousands of sea turtles to drown in shrimp trawl nets in the Gulf and Atlantic in violation of federal law,” Oceana campaign director Lora Snyder said Monday in a news release. “Oceana is pleased that the Obama administration has finally recognized its responsibility to take action to recover these amazing and vulnerable creatures before it’s too late, and we hope the rule will do just that.”

Read the full story at Houma Today 

LOUISIANA: LDWF snapper-management cost estimate undermined

September 13, 2016 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ contention that state-run management of red snapper would cost more than $10 million in its first year alone was undermined Wednesday when Congressional officials confirmed the federal government would still pay for stock assessments and research efforts in the Gulf of Mexico — absorbing most of the LDWF cost estimate.

The news came during LDWF’s “Red Snapper Education Day” that featured speakers hand-picked by the department to inform members of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission and the general public on the status of the snapper fishery.

The department, led by Secretary Charlie Melancon, has come under fire from recreational anglers since midsummer for opposing H.R. 3094, which would remove management of Gulf red snapper from the federal government and award it to the Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority, a group comprised of representatives from each of the five states.

Congressman Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge) sponsored the bill.

Recreational anglers — who received an 11-day federal snapper season in the Gulf this summer — have long complained the federal system is highly-politicized, mismanaged and favors commercial fishermen.

The prior LDWF administration labored for years to strip management from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, and worked closely with Graves as the bill made its way through the Congressional process.

Melancon contended in June that an amendment offered by U.S. House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) to eliminate from the bill federal funding of state management was a “poison pill” designed to kill the legislation in Washington, D.C.

Read the full story at Louisiana Sportsman

LOUISIANA: Oyster shortage causes closed harvest areas

September 12, 2016 — GRETNA, La. — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the state’s oyster industry is suffering and as a result, several harvesting areas will be off-limits.

WDSU-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2cjCgEK) that oyster season opened Wednesday in parts of Louisiana. However, a low oyster population is causing problems for oyster farmers.

Factors contributing to the low resources include too much fresh water in the areas in which the oysters grow and the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

Oyster farmer Matthew Lepetich says he believes the oyster stock never recovered after Hurricane Katrina.