NMFS Archives - Page 21 of 110

Four-year forecasts possible for Hawaii bigeye tuna fishery

August 14, 2020 — Measuring the extent of microscopic ocean plant life around Hawaii could reliably predict bigeye tuna catch rates four years out for Hawaii’s deep-set longline fleet, according to a new study by researchers at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

“Bigeye tuna are the primary target species of Hawaii’s most valuable commercial fishery, a longline fishery with landings that are valued at over $100 million and that account for nearly half the United States tuna landings,” NMFS scientists Phoebe A. Woodworth-Jefcoats and Johanna L. K. Wren wrote in their study, published July 22 in the journal Fisheries Oceanography.

“A reliable predictor of targeted species catch rates could help the fishery time fishing activity and plan capital improvements. It could also potentially inform adaptive management and facilitate ecosystem‐based fisheries management.”

Using routine oceanographic measurements including satellite data for sea surface chlorophyll and temperature, the researchers calculated the median size of microscopic plants, called phytoplankton, over the calendar year and the extent of the fishery area around the Hawaiian Islands.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Feds: NW Atlantic Leatherback Turtle Population Listing Change Not Warranted; Species Still at Risk

August 13, 2020 — A new review of leatherback sea turtle science found that seven distinct populations of leatherback sea turtles face a high extinction risk, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The federal agencies released the information Monday, noting that all seven are currently listed as endangered. Neither agency proposed a change to current global listings since a petition to identify the Northwest Atlantic population as a distinct population segment and threatened, not endangered, under the Endangered Species Act was unjustified.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Groups File Petition for Additional Speed Limits Along Atlantic Coast to Protect Right Whales

August 13, 2020 — Earlier this month a number of conservation groups came together to file a petition seeking additional speed limits along the Atlantic Coast to protect North Atlantic right whales. The letter, submitted to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver on August 6, begs the National Marine Fisheries Service to take action to prevent and mitigate the continuing threat of vessel strikes.

The call for action comes shortly after the death of a calf this past June. As SeafoodNews reported, the deceased North Atlantic right whale was spotted off the coast of Elberon, New Jersey, on June 25. The whale was ultimately identified as a male calf of whale #3560. A necropsy conducted by NOAA revealed evidence of at least a pair of vessel collisions.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Make ship speed limits mandatory to protect right whales, advocates say

August 11, 2020 — Vessel speed limits must be mandatory offshore when endangered northern right whales are present, because ship strikes are a leading cause of deaths in the whale population now down to only around 400 animals, ocean conservation groups say in an appeal to the U.S. government.

“The unprecedented number of recent deaths and serious injuries warrants the agency acting quickly to ensure that this endangered species receives the protections necessary to reduce the risk of vessel strikes and ensure its continued existence throughout its range,” the groups state in a petition submitted Aug 6 to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Chris Oliver, administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

“The time has come for NMFS to follow through on the promises it made in 2008 to expand the ship speed rule based on the best available scientific data to address the urgent crisis the right whale faces,” according to the groups Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife, Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund.

“While the species faces a plethora of threats, collisions with marine vessels remains one of the two primary threats inhibiting the species’ recovery and threatening its continued existence,” according to the groups. “Since 2017, just over half of the known or suspected causes of mortality for the species have been attributed to vessel strikes, closely followed by incidental entanglements in fishing gear.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

LARRY BARKER: Lobstering restrictions will hurt much more than Maine’s fishermen

August 11, 2020 — Maine’s lobster industry is threatened by “a perfect storm” as it faces a crippling lack of demand because of both the pandemic and the China trade war, and a cascade of impacts from the development of government-mandated restrictions seeking to protect the endangered right whale. All Mainers should be aware of how political pressure to reverse the decline of right whales is affecting our fishermen, bringing with it disastrous ripple effects that will affect tens of thousands of livelihoods across our treasured state. Despite Maine’s stellar track record in protecting right whales, this battleground recently resulted in the loss of a sustainability certification, which means loss of even more markets for Maine lobster.

The Maine lobster industry is the backbone of our coastal communities from Portland to Eastport. Machias Savings Bank has been one of Maine’s leading sources of financing for this industry for decades and we understand that as the industry ebbs and flows, so do the economies of Maine’s coastal communities.

Since the 1990s, Maine lobstermen have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the protection of whales by making significant changes to how they fish, consistently adhering to whale-protection standards, participating in discussions of best practices to ensure whale safety and being actively involved in the development of new materials and techniques that are safer for whales. According to data collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service, no right whale deaths or serious injuries have ever been documented in Maine lobster gear. I have many good friends who are lobster fishermen. My son is a lobster fisherman. I have asked many of them about this issue and not only have they never had a right whale tangled in their gear, they have never seen a right whale while tending their gear in Maine!

Read the full opinion piece at the Portland Press Herald

Right whales pose more problems for Maine lobster industry

August 10, 2020 — Last month, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, violated federal environmental protection laws several years ago when a “biological opinion” it issued failed to give adequate consideration to the risk the lobster fishery posed to endangered right whales.

On Monday, the Maine lobster industry was back in federal court in Washington, D.C., as the judge began the hearing testimony on what remedies he should impose to bring the fisheries service, and the lobster fishery, into compliance with those laws.

At risk for Maine fishermen is the continued use of lobster traps marked by vertical buoy lines.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

NMFS looks to resume Northeast observer coverage in August

July 31, 2020 — At-sea observer coverage in the Northeast will resume Aug. 14, but NMFS officials say they will continue to waive monitor requirements on a trip-by-trip basis if covid-19 safety protocols cannot be met.

“Providing seafood to the country remains an essential function even in these extraordinary times, and adequately monitoring United States fisheries remains an essential part of that process,” NMFS administrator Chris Oliver said in a statement issued Thursday.

Oliver said waivers can still be allowed for specific trips in both full and partial observer-covered fisheries, under two sets of conditions: when observers or at-sea monitors are not available for deployment, or when companies providing observer services “cannot meet the safety protocols imposed by a state on commercial fishing crew or by the vessel or vessel company on its crew.”

“Within our limited authority, our efforts are intended to ensure observers and monitors are following the same safety protocols that fishermen are following,” said Oliver.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Feds: White hake, winter flounder overfished

July 30, 2020 — Gulf of Maine white hake, Georges Bank winter flounder and Atlantic Coast bluefish have been added to a list of fish stocks considered “overfishered,” according to a federal government report.

The report, released Tuesday, also said that the list of fish stocks subject to overfishing in the U.S. fell to an all-time low in 2019.

The National Marine Fisheries Service tracks the health of species that U.S. fishermen seek for commercial and recreational fishing. The agency places stocks on its overfishing list when the rate of catch is too big.

The agency determined that only 22 of 321 fishing stocks were subject to overfishing last year, the agency said on Tuesday. Fish stocks are sub-populations of fish species that typically live in a geographic area.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Sen. Cantwell Criticizes “Slow and Inefficient” Implementation of Fishery Disaster Relief Funding, Calls for Streamlining Process

July 30, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA):

Today at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the top Democrat on the committee, highlighted the devastating impacts COVID-19 has had on the seafood sector and called for a streamlining of the fishery disaster process, criticizing the “slow and inefficient and cumbersome implementation” of fishery disaster relief by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service.

The fisheries sector makes up 60 percent of Washington state’s 30 billion dollar maritime economy, which supports over 146,000 jobs. In her opening statement, Cantwell discussed how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has decimated the seafood industry, resulting in a decrease of $21 million in revenue for West coast fisheries—a 40 percent decline compared to the previous five-year average. In January alone, Washington Dungeness crab fishery saw a 37 percent decline in revenue from the previous year. Overall, U.S. seafood sales have dropped an estimated 95 percent this year.

“Despite this staggering economic data, many fishermen have not been able to access the COVID relief funding from the Paycheck Protection Program, the Main Street Lending Program, or even qualify for unemployment based on the nature of their businesses and tax structures,” Senator Cantwell said. “USDA food purchase programs have not been able to provide the support for most seafood products, and some USDA programs, including the Farmers to Families Box Program, specifically block wild caught seafood from eligibility to the program, another blow to the industry.”

“That is why I fought so hard to secure $300 million dollars for the seafood sector in the form of grants and other assistance in the CARES Act to address the loophole. Unfortunately, the industry has yet to see a single dollar of relief due to a slow and inefficient and cumbersome implementation through NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.”

At the hearing, Cantwell also highlighted legislation she introduced with Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) that would streamline the fishery disaster process. “While this bill was written before COVID, it is clear even now…that this is an important aspect of what we need to be doing,” Senator Cantwell said.

Senator Cantwell has been a long-time leading advocate for fishing communities and sustainable fisheries management. In March, Cantwell secured $300 million in economic relief for fishermen suffering from the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, including $50 million for Washington fishermen, from the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In May, Cantwell successfully ensured the release of more than $8.4 million in fishery disaster funds to Washington state communities and Tribes. Cantwell has advocated for reforms to the fisheries disaster process to ensure that small business charter fisherman are included in the Disaster Relief Recovery Act, and throughout her time in the Senate Cantwell has worked with her colleagues to help securefunding for fishing communities impacted by federally-declared disasters.

Video of Senator Cantwell’s opening statement can be found HERE and audio HERE.

Video of Senator Cantwell’s Q&A with witnesses can be found HERE and audio HERE.

NEFMC Approves List of 2020-2024 Research Priorities and Data Need

July 28, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its late-June webinar meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council reviewed and approved a list of research priorities and data needs for 2020-2024. The Council developed this list for two primary reasons.

It clearly identifies and rates the information the Council needs to best manage the fisheries within its jurisdiction; and
It complies with a provision in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act asking regional fishery management councils to provide the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) with Council priorities to inform the agency of each Council’s needs. The agency then uses this information as it develops budgets and sets its own research priorities.

The Council submitted the 2020-2024 list, which contains 108 items, to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) of NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full release here