Saving Seafood

News for the Gulf of Mexico Region

FLORIDA: Are mahi fleeing Florida to beat the heat?

September 18, 2024 — Under a sky glowing orange from the dawn sun, Martin Grosell gunned his twin-engine sportfishing boat toward the Gulf Stream one morning in August, in search of one of his and South Florida’s favorite fish: mahi.

On board, sprawled on a beanbag, was one of his best anglers, his youngest daughter Camilla, 12.

“She’s born and raised doing this and she’s caught a lot more fish than most in South Florida,” Grosell said, then admits: ”Most of the time, it’s actually her telling me what to do.”

Grosell is an ichthyologist — a marine biologist who studies fish — at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School where he specializes in mahi. As one of the principal investigators for a research project studying lasting impacts from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, his lab looked at how the massive spill harmed two of the state’s most popular trophy fish – bluefin tuna and mahi.

Read the full article at WLRN

US Gulf of Mexico oil firms begin hurricane damage checks, ports reopen

September 13, 2024 — U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil producers on Thursday were conducting safety checks and preparing to restart some output after Hurricane Francine disrupted operations, while a Louisiana oil refinery ramped up production and export ports reopened.

Francine missed Texas and hit the Louisiana coast on Wednesday with up to 100 mph winds (161 kph), knocking out power to up to 375,000 customers and bringing heavy rains and flooding to the state. Its winds dropped quickly and the storm was over southern Mississippi on Thursday where another 14,000 customers were without power.

As drillers began to assess damage, the extent of Francine’s impact on energy production emerged with new, higher estimates of lost output from the 169 offshore platforms evacuated.

Energy producers reported on Thursday they had shut-in 42%, or 730,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Gulf of Mexico oil production and 53%, or nearly 992 million cubic feet of natural gas, offshore regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.

Read the full article at Reuters

Industry groups appeal court order threatening Gulf of Mexico oil production

September 13, 2024 — The American Petroleum Institute, the largest oil trade group in the United States, has joined forces with several other top energy industry organizations to protest a court order they claim threatens oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

API, EnerGeo Alliance, the National Ocean Industries Association, and Chevron USA said the order puts “current and future U.S. energy supply” at risk in an appeal filed Wednesday evening.

Read the full article at The Washington Examiner

LOUISIANA: Hurricane Francine Reaches Louisiana, Bringing Strong Winds and Heavy Rain to Wider Gulf Coast

September 12, 2024 — Tropical Storm Francine strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday night, with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and gusts of up to 101 mph recorded by an oil platform Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm prompted Louisiana residents to move inland, and oil and gas companies to stop a quarter of their production, according to the United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, as Reuters reported. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for several areas.

The hurricane center said hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge were expected to begin this afternoon.

“Outer rainbands are starting to move onshore of the coast of southern Louisiana. These conditions will continue to deteriorate over the next couple of hours. Ensure you are in a safe location before the onset of strong winds or possible flooding,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Read the full article at ecowatch

Offshore oil braces as Francine approaches Gulf Coast

September 11, 2024 — Roughly a quarter of the nation’s offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is shut down Tuesday as Tropical Storm Francine approaches the Gulf Coast, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Francine, which is barreling northeast in the western Gulf of Mexico, is predicted to become a hurricane by landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, with heavy rain and storm surges, according to NOAA. But the storm has already driven oil and gas workers out of its path, according to BSEE.

As of Tuesday, offshore oil and gas workers have been evacuated from 130 production platforms, or about 35 percent of the manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, where most U.S. offshore oil and gas is produced, according to BSEE.

Read the full article at E&E News

Fishing and oil industries pause due to Hurricane Francine

September 11, 2024 — According to the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Francine is expected to grow into a hurricane today, Tuesday, Sept. 10, and land as a hurricane on Wednesday over Louisiana, where Gov. Jeff Landry has declared a state of emergency. U.S. oil and gas companies have paused production due to the storm, and sources have released notices to remind fishermen and boaters alike to plan to protect their boats and other assets.

Francine began as a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened further into a tropical storm on Monday. Forecasters expect the storm to move ashore as a possible Category 2 hurricane as it has been slightly gaining speed and shifting eastward, causing weather alerts as far as the Florida border. According to BBC, residents along the upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines are being warned of life-threatening storm surges and have been urged to complete hurricane preparations by Tuesday evening.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

FLORIDA: Innovative technologies could help revive Florida’s storied oyster fishery

September 10, 2024 — A group of experts from the University of Florida have authored a report proposing the use of innovative technology that could help revive Florida’s once-prolific Apalachicola Bay oyster fishery.

Apalachicola Bay, located in northwest Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, was long the source of most of the oysters sold in the southeast U.S. state and comprised about 10 percent of those sold across the entire country. The bay’s oysters were famous for their quality and taste and an economic driver in the region, producing USD 6.6 million (EUR 6 million) worth of sales in 2011.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Top oil trade group warns court order could shut down Gulf of Mexico production

September 10, 2024 — The American Petroleum Institute, the largest oil trade group in the United States, is warning that a court order issued last month could shut down all oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil industry group sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday, saying that the decision issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland could put the country’s “economic security in jeopardy.”

It comes just weeks after the district court ruled in favor of a number of environmental groups that filed a lawsuit after the National Marine Fisheries Service issued its 2020 Biological Opinion on offshore oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read the full article at The Washington Examiner

FLORIDA: Destin charter captains on longer red snapper season: ‘Worst I have seen in a long time’

September 4, 2024 — For some, it was business as usual. But most all agree the red snapper season was a bit long.

This year, vessels with a federal for-hire reef permit, which is most of the Destin charter fleet, had 88 days in federal waters to catch red snapper. Their season started on June 1 and ended Aug. 28 in the Gulf of Mexico.

The 88-day season (about 3 months) was the longest in more than a decade.

“We stayed steadily busy for both boats for the whole summer,” said Capt. Tyler Brielmayer of the charter boat First Light and owner of Nothin Matters.

Read the full article at The Destin Log

New protections for the Rice’s Whale in the Gulf of Mexico delayed until December

August 29, 2024 — The Gulf of Mexico is haunted by a ghost. The animal is as big as a school bus, but glides unseen through the ocean’s twilight zone, its low moans echoing in the dim water. A creature so elusive, researchers can spend days searching without ever glimpsing one.

This is the Rice’s whale, one of the Gulf of Mexico’s largest and most mysterious animals. Found nowhere else on Earth, it is the only baleen whale that lives in the Gulf year-round.

Previously thought to be a sub-species of the Bryde’s whale, the Rice’s whale was only declared a unique species in 2021. Yet experts fear it could disappear before people ever get to know it. NOAA Fisheries researchers estimate that fewer than 100 Rice’s whales remain in the Gulf, with recent counts putting that number as low as 50.

“Our scientists have not been seeing many calves when they do surveys for Rice’s whales, which is obviously problematic,” NOAA Fisheries Southeast Large Whale Recovery Coordinator Clay George said.

NOAA Fisheries was to publish a new critical habitat designation for the species this week under a settlement agreement with environmental organizations to better protect the endangered whale. But the parties have agreed to extend the deadline to no later than Dec. 2

Read the full article at WUFT