Daily Archives: October 25, 2022
State of Alaska Federal Fishery Disaster Request
October 21/2022 – The Honorable Gina Raimondo, Secretary, United States Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20230 Re: State of Alaska Federal Fishery Disaster Request Dear Secretary Raimondo: In accordance with Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and Section 308(b) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (IFA), I am writing to request you declare a fishery disaster determination for the 2022/23 Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries. I also request that you expedite a disaster
determination for the 2021/22 Bristol Bay red king crab fishery. >click to read<, Sincerely, Mike Dunleavy, Governor 21:18
Panel hears debate on whether dead fish are pollutants
A Fourth Circuit panel heard arguments Tuesday over whether dead fish dumped back into the water by shrimping boats counts as pollution under the Clean Water Act. “You never know what you’re going to pull up fishing,” attorney Brian David Schmalzbach of McGuireWoods, who argued on behalf of shrimp fisheries, told the three-judge panel.,, And, your honors, contrary to the briefing from the appellees, this is right down the middle of the barrel of the Clean Water Act,” said attorney James L. Conner of Calhoun Bhella & Sechrest, who represents the North Carolina Coastal Fisheries Reform Group, at Tuesday’s hearing. “Are you still arguing that putting live fish back in the water is a pollutant?” Conner began to respond but Rushing interjected with a follow-up question. “You’re not arguing that live fish are a biological material? Only dead fish are a biological material?” she asked. >click to read< 20:00
Commissioner’s Update – Good News? Cautiously Optimistic
The Center for Biological Diversity, in their case against the National Marine Fisheries Service, has done an about face. In their first filing, they had asked Judge Boasberg to implement new rules to achieve the required risk reduction within 6 months, but their filing last Friday asked the Judge to implement a two-year process to develop and implement those rules. They also asked the Judge to vacate the current Biological Opinion so that it can be rewritten while the new rules are being developed. Why they changed their position is not known, but DMR, NMFS, MLA, MLU and Mass Lobstermen all asked for a similar process that was two years or longer. In any event, this development is good news, but the Judge must agree before this is final. I am cautiously optimistic that he will agree that time is needed, given the complexity and difficulty of what we are facing. We expect a decision on this case in November. >click to read the rest< 14:01
Experts quizzed over freeport, dredging and algal blooms as crab deaths on coast investigated
The deaths of thousands of sea creatures washed up on Teesside’s beaches are to be investigated in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Teesport operator PD Ports, the Environment Agency, a Whitby fishing association and academics will give evidence to MPs about the mass sea deaths. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee will hear from witnesses about the crustacean deaths after committee chair Conservative Sir Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, branded the situation “disturbing”. A Defra investigation earlier this year concluded the cause of the crab deaths to be a naturally occurring algal bloom but campaigners believe dredging has unearthed historical toxins – including a chemical called pyridine – which has caused the deaths. >click to read< 12:15
Rebuild Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Industry – A fundraiser by Anna Erickson
2022 Irish Groundfish Survey Set to Begin Next Week
The annual Irish Groundfish Survey for 2022 will be carried out by the Marine Institute off the Northwest, West and South Coasts of Ireland from next Monday 31 October to Friday 16 December. The IGFS is a demersal trawl survey consisting of approximately 170 fishing hauls of 30-minute duration each in ICES areas VIa, VIIb, VIIg and VIIj. The Marine Institute requests that commercial fishing and other marine operators keep a two-nautical-mile area around the tow mid-points clear of any gear or apparatus during the survey period outlined above. Further details can be found in the Marine Notice attached below. >click to read< 10:39
Lobstermen may get temporary delay on new right whale restrictions
The lobster industry, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Center for Biological Diversity are involved in federal court negotiations over imposing new and tougher restrictions on fishing. The CBD brought a suit against the federal agency, arguing the rules imposed earlier this year don’t do enough to protect the endangered whales, as required by federal law. The National Marine Fisheries Service, which is part of NOAA, said it needed two years, while the CBD suggested just six months,,, >click to read< 08:57
North Atlantic right whale’s decline slows, but population falls again
The decline of an endangered species of whale slowed last year, as it lost about 2% of its population, but scientists warn the animal still faces existential threats and is losing breeding females too fast. The North Atlantic right whale’s population was more than 480 in 2010 and fell by more than 25% over the following decade. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, a group of scientists, government officials and industry members, said Monday that the population fell to an estimated 340 last year. That is a decline of eight animals from the previous year, when the population was initially thought to be even fewer. >click to read< Meanwhile in Canada, no right whale deaths have been reported in Canadian waters in three years. >click to read< 08:02
