Saving Seafood

Eligible Guam fishermen can now apply for $1M in COVID relief funding

October 29, 2020 — The Department of Agriculture’s (DOAG) Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR) will help distribute nearly $1 million to eligible fishers in Guam.  DAWR received approval of their spend plan and a notice to proceed.

Guam is the first territory to be approved.  Out of 31 eligible states and territories, Guam is 1 of the first 17 approved.  With this approval, DAWR is now ready to begin accepting and reviewing application packets to be processed for direct payments to fishers.  Payments will be mailed directly to fishers by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Fishers who registered with DAWR, and were found to be eligible, may apply for the relief funding.  Registration was a necessary first step in the relief process as it enabled DAWR to calculate payment amounts, which was an integral part of the spend plan.

Read the full story at the Pacific News Center

November 2020 Briefing Book available online (November 2020 PFMC meeting)

October 23, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Briefing Book for the November 9-10, 12-13, & 16-20, 2020 Council meeting has been posted to the Council’s website on the “November 2020 Briefing Book” webpage.

The Briefing Book contains the meeting agenda, “situation summaries” (brief summaries that provide background for each agenda item), reports and materials for each agenda item, and public comment submitted to our e-portal. Advisory body and committee agendas and memos are also available.

For further information:

PFMC: November 9-10; 12-13 and 16-20, 2020 PFMC Meeting Notice (Online) and Agenda Now Available

October 12, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 9‐10, 12‐13 and 16‐20, 2020 by webinar only, to address issues related to groundfish, Pacific halibut, salmon, highly migratory species, coastal pelagic species, and administrative matters.

Please see the November 9-10; 12-13; and 16-20, 2020 Council meeting notice on the Council’s website for further updates and details regarding webinar participation; schedule of advisory body meetings, our E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines. There will be no meetings scheduled on November 11, or during the weekend of November 14‐15, however, the meeting will continue daily on Monday, November 16 at 8 a.m. through Friday, November 20, 2020. Meetings of advisory bodies will also be conducted by online meetings based on the schedules in the agenda. There will be one opportunity for public comment daily in each of the online meetings.

Instructions for how to connect to the online meetings will be posted on the Council’s November 2020 Meeting webpage prior to the first day of the meeting.

For further information:

PFMC makes recommendations on Executive Order 13921: Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth

October 8, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

On May 7, the President signed Executive Order 13921, Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth.  The Order focuses on the importance of seafood; combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; removing regulatory burdens; and streamlining aquaculture permitting. It implements the Port State Measures agreement and other measures to combat IUU fishing, and makes NOAA the lead on certain aquaculture projects.

The Order requests that each Council submit a prioritized list of actions by November 2 to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and to increase production within sustainable fisheries. The Pacific Council’s list, determined in September, includes modifying the non-trawl rockfish conservation areas by reducing the areas, adjusting troll incidental landing limits, and allowing use of midwater jig gear; and increasing utilization in the whiting mothership sector. The Council will also request that the Secretary of Commerce work with the Department of Interior to modify U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules to reclassify sea urchins and squid as shellfish.

Additionally, the Council identified several crucial funding needs: ongoing survey work needed for groundfish and coastal pelagic species stock assessments, increased funding for creel surveys and biological sampling of ocean salmon fisheries, and funding for electronic monitoring.

The Order calls for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (working with other agencies) to propose nationwide permits for finfish aquaculture, seaweed aquaculture, and combined aquaculture (finfish and seaweed) projects; and calls for Federal agencies including Councils to identify at least two “Aquaculture Opportunity Areas” (AOAs) that are suitable for commercial aquaculture every year for five years. A programmatic environmental impact statement will then identify suitable species, gear, and reporting requirements for those locations. Public input will be solicited at several points during the process.

Diane Windham of NOAA’s Aquaculture Program briefed the Habitat Committee on the selection of two AOAs in Federal waters. These areas are described as areas having high potential for commercial aquaculture. NOAA selected Southern California and the Gulf of Mexico for further evaluation based on existing spatial information and industry interests. Specific locations and spatial configurations will be determined through public processes involving stakeholders and government bodies.

The Council will request NMFS conduct an essential fish habitat consultation on the AOAs early in the process, as part of the programmatic environmental impact statement, and will emphasize the importance of communication and coordination between Federal and state processes in regard to AOAs. Part of the consideration AOAs should include is a review of fishing regulations and fishery patterns with respect to siting aquaculture projects. Any public comment periods on AOA, specific proposed sites, or environmental review documents should include dates that overlap a scheduled meeting of the Pacific Council.

PFMC: Groundfish Management Team to hold online meeting November 6, 2020

October 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will hold an online meeting to discuss items on the Pacific Council’s November 2020 meeting agenda.  This meeting is open to the public.  The meeting will be held Friday, November 6, 2020, starting at 9 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time) and ending at 12 p.m., or when business for the day is complete.

Please see the meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Todd Phillips at 503-820-2426; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

PFMC: Request for Nominations for a Vacancy on the Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel Representing the Conservation Community

October 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is seeking qualified candidates to consider for a vacant Conservation position on its Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS).  The successful candidate will serve out the remainder of the 2019-2021 Council advisory body term. To ensure consideration, nominations should be received at the Council office no later than 5 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday, October 19, 2020.

For more information please see the vacancy announcement on the Council website.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Kerry Griffin at 503-820-2409; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

PFMC: Pre-Assessment Workshop to be held online October 26-27, 2020

October 1, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) and the NMFS Northwest Science Center will hold an online workshop to review data and analyses proposed to inform new assessments for Dover sole, copper rockfish, quillback rockfish, and squarespot rockfish scheduled to be conducted next year, which is open to the public.  The meeting will be held Monday, October 26, 2020, starting at 12:30 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) and ending at 4:30 p.m., or until business for the day is complete.  The pre-assessment workshop will continue on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 beginning at 12:30 p.m. and continuing until 4:30 p.m. or until business for the day has been completed.

Please see the Workshop meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer John DeVore at 503-820-2413; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

PFMC: September 2020 Council Decision Summary Document online

September 23, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council met September 11 and September 14-18, 2020 via RingCentral webinar. The September 2020 Council Meeting Decision Summary Document contains the highlights of significant decisions made during that meeting. Results of agenda items that do not reach a level of highlight significance are typically not described in the Decision Summary Document.

  • Visit the September 2020 meeting webpage and look under “Key Documents” to download the Decision Summary document
  • If you have questions regarding the September 2020 meeting or the Decision Summary document, please contact Council staff at 503-820-2280; toll free 1-866-806-7204
  • Media inquiries, please contact:  Ms. Jennifer Gilden at 503-820-2418

Fishing groups applaud Pacific sardine rebuilding plan, Oceana calls it a failure to act

September 22, 2020 — The Pacific sardine fishery on the U.S. West Coast has officially been given a rebuilding plan by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), a move that fishermen applauded and environmental organization Oceana has decried as a “failure to act.”

The development is the latest in years of complications for the fishery, which was closed in 2015 after surveys showed a lack of acceptable biomass in the species. The most recent assessment by NOAA earlier this year looked as though the fishery was on track for yet another year of closures.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Pacific Council Unanimously Approves Pacific Sardine Rebuilding Plan

September 18, 2020 — The Pacific Fisheries Management Council yesterday approved a rebuilding plan for the northern stock of Pacific sardines that incorporates the current status quo harvest policy, one of several alternatives before the panel.

The council chose Alternative 1 in large part because it was supported by the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Management Team, an advisory body to the council, along with fishermen, processors, and allied fishing businesses along the West Coast.

Read the full story at Seafood News