Saving Seafood

NEW JERSEY: Belford Seafood Co-op boats idle after in-season closure

August 4, 2017 — MIDDLETOWN, N.J. — Fourteen fishing trawlers at Belford Seafood Cooperative are sitting idle after fishermen have met the commercial summer flounder quota a month ahead of schedule.

Roy Diehl, president of the cooperative, said the reason for the quick end to the season is strict conservation measures put in place this winter by a regional fishery commission.

“They say there’s no fish. Well, we caught our whole summer quota in two weeks, so there’s plenty of fish out there,” said Diehl.

In February the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cut the coastwide summer flounder quota by 30 percent from Maine to Florida, citing a drop in the biomass of the stock.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Trump Administration Decision Signals Possible Shift In Fishing Regulations

August 1, 2017 — When it comes to regulatory issues, the fishing industry often finds itself facing off against environmentalists. And some recent moves by the Trump administration seem to be leaning more in the direction of siding with fishermen.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the regulatory body that sets the rules for the fishing industry, is meeting this week, and one of the topics of conversation is a recent decision regarding fishing in New Jersey.

The ASMFC said the population of summer flounder – also known as fluke –has been declining since 2010 and is at serious risk. So the commission reduced limits on how much could be caught. New Jersey came up with alternative plan which the state asserted would protect the fish, while still allowing more fishing. But the fisheries commission rejected the New Jersey plan, saying too many fish would be caught, and that it would be bad for the population.

Ordinarily, the federal government listens to the commission’s recommendations. But last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce rejected its recommendation, allowing New Jersey to go ahead with its plan. The ASMFC says this is the first time since passage of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act in 1993 and the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act in 1984 that the secretary of commerce rejected a noncompliance recommendation by the commission.

“I do think it’s healthy for the administration to not simply rubber stamp everything that is done by these commissions, but rather have an actual role in it,” said Bob Vanasse, executive director of an industry group called Saving Seafood. “And I do think that elections matter,” he said.

Vanasse said this is an example of Trump administration listening to the fishing industry.

“I think there’s definitely been a shift in how the commercial fishing industry, how their issues are being addressed by this administration,” he said. “And I think, frankly, it’s a mistake to think it’s some kind of right-wing, Trump administration, erroneous action. I think it’s actually, overall, positive.”

Vanasse said another example of that positive impact is the federal review that’s happening now of national monuments, including Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which is about 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The Obama administration designated it an offshore monument near the end of his presidency, closing it off to a lot of fishermen.

Vanasse said the Trump administration’s review of that monument designation is an example of something that’s being handled responsibly by people who have careers in this area — not just political appointees.

Read and listen to the full story at WGBH

PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY: One way or another, NJ victory in flounder fight won’t last long

July 31, 2017 — Several months of fighting over catch restrictions for summer flounder, a.k.a. fluke, culminated earlier this month in a striking victory for New Jersey fishing interests and their representatives.

Federal regulators wanted to cut the catch 30 percent by increasing the size of keeper fish an inch (to 19 inches in the ocean and nearby waters, 18 in Delaware Bay), imposing a daily limit of three fish and setting a 128-day season.

Since January, fishing groups such as the Jersey Coast Anglers Association and federal representatives have pushed to avert the restrictions, at least until a fresh assessment of the flounder stock can be made.

Rep. Frank LoBiondo and fellow delegates from New Jersey in January sent the first of four letters against the restrictions to Obama administration Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. When that got nowhere, a letter went to her replacement in the Trump administration, Wilbur Ross … and then in April one to the chair of the House panel considering a LoBiondo-sponsored bill requiring a new stock assessment.

Read the full editorial at the Press of Atlantic City

NEW JERSEY: State distributes 20K free hooks to help protect summer flounder

July 27, 2017 — Fourteen county bait and tackle shops will participate in a state push to reduce summer flounder mortality by giving away large J-hooks supplied by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The larger hooks are part of a DEP campaign to educate the fishing public on how to safely release summer flounder that do not meet minimum size requirements, according to a statement.

“We are asking all anglers to help protect summer flounder for future generations,” DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said. “New Jersey is fully committed to doing the right thing by using science and public education to conserve a species that is critical to the fishing culture and economy of New Jersey.”

The “If You Can’t Keep It, Save It!” campaign focuses on the proper methods and gear to use to reduce unintentional mortalities that can occur when flounder that do not meet minimum length requirements are returned to the water, he said.

Read the full story at Shore News Today

MSA Reauthorization Fault Lines on Recreation and Stock Target Flexibility Exposed in House Hearing

July 25, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In last week’s hearing on HR200, the latest version of amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the flash points between recreational and commercial fisheries management — one of the most visible in the suite of proposed changes to the MSA — were made clear.

The last time Magnuson-Stevens was amended, stock conservation efforts were strengthened and the standards to which the regional council system was held, were tightened. This go-around, “flexibility” in allowing conservation methods and goals to be more responsive to needs in the recreational sector is getting some traction in Congress.

HR 200, authored by Alaska’s Representative Don Young, eases requirements for a 10-year rebuilding plan, extends state’s jurisdiction to 9 miles in certain regions, and shifts authority to MSA when other laws, such as the Endangered Species Act or the Antiquities Act (to create marine monuments), are involved.

At last week’s hearing, four industry representatives before the House Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans provided balanced comments from both the commercial and recreational sectors. The four — Nick Wiley, Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission; Jeff Kaelin from Lunds Fisheries; Charles Witek, New York angler and fisheries writer; and Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longliners Association — were invited to comment on “Exploring the Successes and Challenges of the Magnuson-Stevens Act” and the viability of HR 200.

The questions posed after testimonies, most focused on summer flounder, red snapper, and recreational involvement in these fisheries, shed light on what House members are thinking.

Chairman Doug Lamborn, from Colorado, noted that the “best available science” may be improved upon “dramatically, by using fisheries-based platforms.” He added that “if we work with commercial and recreational fishermen to improve the science, we’ll get more buy in.”

“Scientific uncertainty is killing us — it really is,” noted Kaelin. He explained that when uncertainty is high, managers use precautionary methods to set catch limits, season times, size limits, etc. “The error bars are like this,” Kaelin said, stretching his hands apart. “And all the decisions are being made at the lower end of the error bars.”

Lamborn said, “That indicates that we must pass this legislation.”

He also noted that “restrictive ACLs (annual catch limits) that were applied across all recreational programs may not work. It works well for the commercial sector, but not recreational.

“HR 200 would help in this matter,” Lamborn said.

Witek pushed back on some assertions that MSA was failing in management of red snapper, summer flounder, and other contentious fisheries stocks.

“The [summer founder] decision has done very serious harm to the interjurisdictional cooperative management on the east coast,” Witek said, referring the Secretary Ross’s recent overturning of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission decision that New Jersey was in violation of summer flounder catch limits, the penalty of which would be a moratorium on that fishery.

“The Secretary’s decision has taken the stick away,” Witek said. “The stick was the moratorium. The carrot was a compromise. Other states are now looking for a pass from the Secretary, for instance with striped bass in the Chesapeake.”

Witek said the red snapper decision to extend the red snapper recreational fishery by more than a month in the Gulf “could very well be the death knell to red snapper in the Gulf coast.

“It’s a death spiral that I see no way out of. Except the Gulf council may have a way out of it because they’re talking about changing the definition of overfished stock. By shifting the goals posts they solve the problem,” Witek said.

While Lamborn said the current MSA needs improved science, better transparency and more flexibility, subcommittee member Jared Huffman (California) said MSA is working well, noting that over 40 stocks have now been rebuilt under the MSA guidance and that the precursor to HR200, HR 1335 would not be acceptable by the U.S. Senate.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Trump administration steps in on fishing limits, and the implications could ripple

July 25, 2017 — [Commerce Secretary Wilbur] Ross earlier this month dismissed the findings of the 75-year-old Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which concluded that New Jersey was violating a conservation plan for summer flounder that all the other states in the compact approved. Many conservationists thought that New Jersey, while following protocols, was bowing to the fishing industry.

The decision, which effectively allows New Jersey to harvest more summer flounder, marked the first time the federal government had disregarded such a recommendation by the commission, and it drew a swift rebuke from state officials along the East Coast.

Officials in New Jersey, which has one of the region’s largest fluke populations, had drafted an alternative plan that they said would do more to protect the fishery, but it was rejected by the commission, whose scientists concluded the plan would result in nearly 94,000 additional fish being caught. Ross, who oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, overruled the commission, allowing New Jersey to proceed.

“New Jersey makes a compelling argument that the measures it implemented this year, despite increasing catch above the harvest target, will likely reduce total summer flounder mortality in New Jersey waters to a level consistent with the overall conservation objective,” Chris Oliver, assistant administrator of fisheries at NOAA, wrote the commission in a letter on behalf of Ross.

“This is the first time that no one asked me for a formal recommendation,” said John Bullard, NOAA’s Greater Atlantic regional administrator. “The secretary’s decision goes against long-standing protocol, and there’s a cost to that.”  He added: “There’s a reason to have regional administrators, because their experience and knowledge is valuable in making decisions like this one. This is an unfortunate precedent.”

“Ross was brilliant in his decision,” said Jim Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance in New Jersey, which represents thousands of recreational fishermen across the country. “The Trump administration has challenged a broken fishery management system in this country, and I applaud them for doing it.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

NEW JERSEY: Freeholders Praise Washington’s Approval Of Flounder Limits

July 22, 2017 — The federal government’s decision to cap flounder fishing limits at levels favored by the state, county and local fishermen is a win for the entire Jersey Shore, Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said.

“We are very pleased with this decision that maintains the limits that the state already imposes on daily flounder catches,” Vicari said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) earlier this month affirmed New Jersey’s summer-flounder fishing size, bag limits and the length of the fishing season, meaning all rules adopted by the state earlier this year will remain in effect through early September.

The decision also won final approval from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

In approving the state plan, Ross rejected a proposal to reduce the annual flounder haul by 34 percent and instead found that New Jersey’s existing rules are in compliance with the safe and sustainable management of summer flounder.

The Freeholders in April passed a resolution favoring the existing limits and rejecting the proposed 34 percent decrease, saying the change would have harmed the local tourism economy and done nothing to protect the flounder population.

Read the full story at Jersey Shore Online

Fishing Report: U.S., fisheries panel disagrees on flounder targets

July 20, 2017 — Wilbur Ross, the U.S. commerce secretary, notified the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) that he has found the State of New Jersey to be in compliance with the new Summer Flounder Fishery Management Plan. The decision circumvents the work of the commission that provides coastwide management of summer flounder (fluke) in our area.

“New Jersey makes a compelling argument that the measures it implemented this year, despite increasing catch above the harvest target, will likely reduce total summer flounder mortality in New Jersey waters to a level consistent with the overall conservation objective for the recreational fishery,” Ross stated in a letter to the commission.

In a press release last week, the ASMFC stated: “Based on the latest stock assessment information, summer flounder is currently experiencing overfishing. Spawning stock biomass has been declining since 2010 and is just 16 percent above the threshold. If the stock falls below the biomass threshold, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the Council to initiate a rebuilding program, which could require more restrictive management measures.”

The Magnuson-Stevens Act puts fish first in this nation to ensure that fish stocks are rebuilt. Having more than 40 fish stocks successfully rebuilt proves the fish-first policy works. When decisions — such as the commerce secretary’s decision to allow New Jersey to make its own summer flounder regulations — are allowed, they put the interests of individual states first.

This is a recipe for disaster. States are subject to local political pressure to put local interests first, and the fish will take a back seat. The big concern with last week’s decision is that other states will decide to fish the way they want to regardless of what’s best for the fish, and we could end up with total chaos.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

MAFMC August 2017 Council Meeting Agenda

July 19, 2017 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Meeting Materials: Briefing documents will be posted at http://ww.mafmc.org/briefing/august-2017 as they become available.

Public Comments: Written comments must be received byWednesday, July 26, 2017 to be included in the Council meeting briefing book. Comments received after this deadline but before close of business on Thursday, August 3, 2017 will be posted as “supplemental materials” on the Council meeting web page. After that date, all comments must be submitted using an online comment form available at available at http://www.mafmc.org/public-comment. Comments submitted via the online form will be automatically posted to the website and available for Council consideration.

Webinar: For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/august2017.

Agenda

PDF Version

Tuesday, August 8th

9:00 a.m. Council Convenes

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Surfclam/Ocean Quahog

  • Excessive Shares Amendment
    • Review scoping comments for excessive shares alternatives
    • Discuss next steps for amendment development
  • Surfclam OFL/ABC discussion

11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. Risk Policy Framework – Meeting 1

  • Initiate framework
  • Review risk policy and ABC framework alternatives

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Demersal Committee Meeting as a Committee of the Whole with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Boards

1:00 p.m.  – 2:00 p.m. Bluefish Specifications

  • Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations for 2018 specifications
  • Recommend any changes if necessary
  • ASMFC Bluefish Fishery Management Plan review

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Scup Specifications

  • Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations for 2018 – 2019 specifications
  • Recommend changes to 2018 specifications if necessary and consider setting specifications for 2019

3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Summer Flounder Amendment

  • Approve Demersal Committee and ASMFC Board recommendations regarding alternatives

Wednesday, August 9th

9:00 a.m. Demersal Committee Meeting as a Committee of the Whole with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Boards

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Summer Flounder Specifications

  • Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations regarding previously implemented 2018 specifications
  • Recommend any changes if necessary

10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Summer Flounder Recreational Issues

  • Report from Board’s Summer Flounder Recreational Working Group on work toward short- and long-term improvements to recreational specifications process

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Black Sea Bass Specifications

  • Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations regarding previously implemented 2018 specifications
  • Recommend changes if necessary

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Black Sea Bass Recreational Issues and Amendment Consideration

  • Discuss potential opening of black sea bass wave 1 fishery in 2018
  • Report from Board on addendum for 2018 black sea bass recreational management
  • Report from Board on potential reconsideration of northern states’ wave 6 measures
  • Review initiation of black sea bass amendment (December 2015 motion)

3:00 p.m. Council Convenes

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Law Enforcement Reports

  • NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
  • S. Coast Guard

3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management Risk Assessment

  • Review and approve draft risk elements for risk matrix

Thursday, August 10th

9:00 a.m. Council Convenes

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Business Session

  • Committee Reports
    • SSC
  • Executive Director’s Report, Chris Moore
    • Chub mackerel amendment update
    • MAFMC involvement in NEFMC Groundfish Framework 57 (southern windowpane flounder accountability measures)
    • Review timing of the Nantucket/Martha’s Vineyard Squid Buffer Framework Action
  • Science Report, Rich Seagraves
  • Organization Reports
    • NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Office
    • NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
    • NOAA Office of General Counsel
    • Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
  • Liaison Reports
    • New England Council
    • South Atlantic Council
    • Regional Planning Body
  • Continuing and New Business

Feds shutting down Massachusetts flounder fishery for year

July 19, 2017 — Federal fishing regulators are shutting down the summer flounder fishery in Massachusetts for the year because fishermen are nearing the end of their quota.

Summer flounder are the subject of a major commercial fishery on the East Coast, with fishermen bringing more than 10 million pounds of them to land most years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Massachusetts fishermen are projected to meet or exceed their quota for the fish Wednesday.

The East Coast summer flounder fishery has been the source of a disagreement between the Trump administration and interstate fishing regulators in recent months. An interstate commission announced in June that it had found the New Jersey summer flounder fishery out of compliance with rules.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald