Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Adjusts the Atlantic Herring Specifications for 2019

February 7, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, we are adjusting Atlantic herring specifications for 2019. This in-season adjustment reduces 2018 Atlantic herring specifications and sub-annual catch limits (ACLs) for 2019 to prevent overfishing and lower the risk of the stock becoming overfished. All other Atlantic herring specifications, including river herring and shad catch caps, remain unchanged from 2018.

The 2018 Atlantic herring stock assessment concluded that while Atlantic herring was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring in 2017, Atlantic herring catch would need to be reduced to prevent overfishing and lower the risk of the stock becoming overfished.

At its September 2018 meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council requested we use an in-season adjustment to reduce Atlantic herring catch limits for 2019 to prevent overfishing. We published a proposed rule in November 2018. The herring acceptable biological catch (ABC) we proposed for 2019, as well as the resulting ACL and sub-ACLs, while consistent with methods used to set recent specifications, were higher than limits recommended by the Council.

The Council reviewed our proposed Atlantic herring catch limits for 2019 at its December 2018 meeting and recommended that we further reduce herring catch limits to better account for scientific uncertainty and achieve conservation and management objectives. For these reasons, we are reducing the herring specifications and sub-ACLs for 2019 consistent with the Council’s recommendations.

For more information read the rule as filed in the Federal Register and posted on our website.

NOAA: Another US government shutdown could reduce next Atlantic scallop harvest

February 4, 2019 — Should the US government slide into another partial shutdown on Feb. 15, it’s likely that the harvesters of Atlantic scallops off the coast of New England could be looking at smaller landings, warns an article published in Forbes Magazine.

Michael Pentony, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s administrator for the greater Atlantic region, warned last week that his group was already backed up as a result of the shutdown that was at least temporarily halted after 35 days on Jan. 25 when he briefed the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) at its New Hampshire meeting, as reported by Undercurrent News.

But should president Donald Trump and Democratic party leaders not reach an agreement over his demands for a wall on the Mexican border in 11 days, the shutdown would resume and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) probably wouldn’t be able to make the deadline necessary to implement regulations necessary to increase scallop harvest before the season kicks off on April 1, Forbes warned. That means the earlier default quota would have to be used.

Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the Fisheries Survival Fund, is quoted as suggesting treating Feb. 15 as if another shutdown was going to happen.

“Get everything that you can get done now,” he said. “Hopefully it’s not going to be a shutdown. But I think it’s foolish to assume it won’t be a shutdown again. We don’t know. Nobody knows.”

But Minkiewicz also was concerned about the next season.

“During the whole 35 days that we’ve been shut down, the government was supposed to be moving (next season’s) package forward. Is that 35-day delay going to not allow us to have that in place for April 1? I don’t know the answer to that yet,” he said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Cod Fishing Still Closed off New England in Wake of Shutdown

February 1, 2019 — Recreational cod fishing will remain off limits in one of New England’s most significant bodies of water for at least the first several months of this year.

Possession of cod in the Gulf of Maine was prohibited during 2018. The New England Fishery Management Council met this week to consider recreational fishing rules for species such as cod and haddock.

The fishery council says the long federal shutdown has left recreational fishermen wondering what will happen on May 1, which is the start of the 2019 fishing year. The council says rules for Gulf of Maine cod and other species will remain in effect unless they are replaced with new measures. That means Gulf of Maine cod are still off limits.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

Pentony’s NOAA shutdown update: Herring limits got action; permits piled up

January 31, 2019 — Some of the cost of the US federal government’s partial 35-day shutdown must now be borne by New England’s commercial fish and shellfish harvesters waiting for their permits to be renewed, but earlier this week Michael Pentony described how his staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was trying to mitigate the pain.

In a briefing provided to the New England Regional Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) at their meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, Pentony, the director of NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), said his team was prioritizing the backlog of new fishing permit requests as well as renewal requests that didn’t get attention. (Undercurrent News has been  provided a recording of the comments.)

Fishing vessel permits begin to expire on March 1 for several species, including red crab, squid and butterfish, and scallop permits expire on April 1, he noted. Permits for several other species expire on May 1.

The backlog of permit renewals “was the thing that really kept me up at night as the shutdown dragged on and on with no end in sight for a while”, Pentony told the NEFMC.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Groundfish: NEFMC Discusses Recreational Issues, Amendment 23, Data, New Sector

January 31, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

On January 30, midway through its three-day meeting in Portsmouth, NH, the New England Fishery Management Council covered a wide range of groundfish-related issues. These included:

  • The Fishery Data for Stock Assessment Working Group’s final report;
  • The peer review of the working group’s report by a subpanel of the Scientific and Statistical Committee;
  • A brief overview of the December 17, 2018 meeting of the Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel (NTAP), which included an announcement that NTAP is soliciting candidates through February 22, 2019 to serve on the panel;
  • A progress report on Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23;
  • Consideration of whether the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) should approve a new lease-only groundfish sector called Mooncusser Sector, which the Council supported based on a recommendation from its Groundfish Committee that followed guidance on the process for new sectors;
  • A short update on the Council’s Groundfish Catch Share Review – here’s the draft outline; and
  • A number of recreational fishing issues.

Read the full release here

Fishery Managers Begin Unsnarling Mess Left by Shutdown

January 29, 2019 — Federal fishing managers are beginning the process of determining how the nation’s harvest of wild fish has been impacted by the government shutdown.

The New England Fishery Management Council is meeting this week in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The council is one of several charged by the feds with crafting fishing regulations and managing fisheries.

Members of the council said Tuesday their meeting this week will primarily be about determining how the 35-day federal shutdown has affected fishery management plans. The shutdown left the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mostly shuttered, and that halted the scientific work that managers rely on to write regulations.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

Shutdown pushes Maine fishing community to the brink of crisis

January 29, 2019 — Terry Alexander has fished for 40 of his 57 years, catching groundfish in the winter and squid during the summer months, off New York and Rhode Island.

Throughout the 35-day federal shutdown that ended — perhaps temporarily — on Friday, the Cundy’s Harbor man and his four employees continued to head out on the “Jocka” to haul in groundfish such as cod, haddock, flounders and pollock. Alexander said the shutdown may have long-term consequences for him and for other Mainers who make their living fishing for groundfish.

“If they have another shutdown, it could be catastrophic for New England groundfishing,” he said by phone from a meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Alexander said a memo Monday from the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region regional administrator Michael Pentony about the backlog of work for federal regulators only added to that worry.

Pentony wrote that staff would focus on a significant backlog of time-critical work accumulated during the 35-day shutdown.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MAFMC and NEFMC Seek Applicants for Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel (NTAP)

January 24, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council & Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel (NTAP) is seeking qualified candidates to serve on the panel. Current members and all interested parties are encouraged to apply. The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, February 22, 2019 by 5:00 p.m.

The NTAP is a joint advisory panel of the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. It is comprised of Council members, as well as fishing industry, academic, and government and non-government fisheries experts who provide advice and direction on the conduct of trawl research. It is supported by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC). Additional information about the NTAP is available at www.mafmc.org/ntap.

The panel consists of 20 members as follows:

  • Two members each from the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (4 total)
  • Up to three fishery stakeholder representatives appointed by each Council (6 total)
  • Two academic and non-academic scientists appointed by each Council (4 total)
  • Two members from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (2 total)
  • Four staff members from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (4 total)

NTAP was established in 2015 to: (1) bring commercial fishing, fisheries science, and fishery management professionals in the northeastern U.S. together to identify concerns about regional research survey performance and data; (2) identify methods to address or mitigate these concerns; (3) and promote mutual understanding and acceptance of the results of this work among peers and in the broader community.

The panel is co-chaired by representatives of the New England and Mid-Atlantic Councils who are jointly responsible for conducting meetings and coordinating with the NEFSC to ensure that meeting summaries and other products are produced and distributed.

The NTAP charter requires a regular review of its membership. NTAP currently is seeking applications for membership. Key areas of expertise that will be important in the selection of successful applicants include: Gear design and construction, trawl gear efficiency, trawl mensuration, fish behavior, fishery acoustics, and survey statistics and stock assessments.

How to Apply
Anyone interested in applying for the NTAP may download an application at www.mafmc.org/ntap. Applications can also be obtained by calling the Mid-Atlantic Council office at (877) 446-2362. Completed applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. Friday, February 22, 2019.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Matt Seeley, Mid-Atlantic Council staff, at mseeley@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5262.

Shutdown hampers planning for management of fisheries

January 23, 2019 — The New England Fishery Management Council will meet as scheduled next week, but the agenda for the three-day meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will be colored by the ongoing shutdown of much of the federal government.

While the council is not scheduled to vote on any final actions, the shutdown has precluded a legion of scientific and fisheries management staff at the Gloucester-based Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office and NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center from contributing analysis and participating as they normally would in the management process.

“It’s really affected the plan development teams,” said Janice Plante, council spokeswoman. “Without their participation, the plan development teams just can’t get the analyses done. We knew this would be one implication of the shutdown. But the longer and longer it goes on, the more and more we miss their participation.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

The shutdown: How the furloughs affect federal fisheries

January 23, 2019 — When the staff of the New England Fishery Management Council returned to their offices following the winter holiday break to a partial shutdown of the federal government, there was cause for concern, but no alarms were set off.

“We were OK at first,” said Janice Plante, the council’s public affairs officer. “We were plugging along post-holidays, doing what we could without being in touch with our federal partners. There’s always plenty to do to start a new year.”

Then the calendar alerts began popping up, signifying that the days ahead were about to become a lot more difficult for the staff.

“The deeper we’ve gone into [the shutdown],” said Plante, “the more challenging it has become for all of us.”

President Donald Trump refuses to sign any fiscal 2019 appropriations bills that do not include $5.6 billion for the construction of his campaign-promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and Democratic leaders refuse to sign off on any new bill that includes funds for the wall.

The stalemate has led to an estimated 800,000 federal workers furloughed or forced to work without pay. NOAA employees, working under the Department of Commerce, involved in the regulation of commercial fisheries and stationed in the regional fishery science centers fall under the furloughed category.

Read the full story at National Fisherman