A federal appeals court on Friday reversed a judge’s decision that would have effectively shuttered an Alaska salmon fishery, a result environmentalists sought in order to protect endangered whales and threatened wild Chinook salmon populations. A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that a judge in Seattle last year abused his discretion by vacating a key authorization issued by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Services for the fishery’s summer and winter Chinook salmon harvests. U.S. District Judge Richard Jones at the urging of the Wild Fish Conservancy had in May 2023 vacated part of a so-called incidental take statement the fisheries service issued in 2019 that authorized the commercial Chinook salmon troll fishery in southeast Alaska. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:39
Tag Archives: National Marine Fisheries Service
A Rebuttal to a Recent Commentary: Alaska trawl fisheries are vital and under attack by those using myths
This campaign to ban trawling – a sustainable fishing method responsible for a substantial majority of fishery landings in the Alaska Region and nationally – poses a direct threat to Alaska’s coastal economy, seafood sector and way of life. If you enjoy wild seafood – fish sandwiches or shrimp; fish sticks or scallops; fish tacos or rockfish – you are enjoying seafood caught by “trawl” or “dredge” fishing gears that touch the seafloor. It’s true that these fishing methods, like every farm, aquaculture facility and fishing operation on the planet, impact the environment. But, what’s also true is that the impacts of trawl fishing in Alaska are continually monitored to ensure long-term ecosystem health. The recent commentary authored for the Alaska Beacon by Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon and David Bayes is the latest effort to demonize sustainable trawl fisheries. Like other attacks on our sector, the commentary comes from a vocal few that play fast and loose with the facts. By Sam Wright, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:43
Federal judge dismisses Alaska trawlers’ lawsuit that sought to overturn halibut limits
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to overturn new halibut bycatch limits on deep-sea trawlers that fish in federal waters off Alaska. The lawsuit was filed by Groundfish Forum Inc., a Seattle-based trawl trade group, after the North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed a rule that reduces halibut bycatch limits for many trawlers when there are fewer halibut in Alaska waters. The National Marine Fisheries Service, in charge of implementing the rule, moved to dismiss the lawsuit, and U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled in favor of the agency on Nov. 8. Intrafish, a trade publication, first reported on the ruling. The lawsuit has been a major issue in fishing communities across the Gulf of Alaska. Some of those communities joined the federal government in defense, as did various fishing and conservation organizations. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:22
Right whale population grows 4%, but extinction remains a threat
Conservationists are calling on the government, shipping and fishing industries to save the North Atlantic right whale from extinction despite an increase in its population. Researchers studying the whales said this week that the population increased to an estimated 372 in 2023. That’s an increase of about four percent from 2020, and “heartening news” after the whale’s population fell by about 25 percent from 2010 to 2020. The population of the right whale, which can weigh up to 150,000 pounds (68,039 kilograms) and lives off the East Coast, plummeted in the 2010s. Stressed by global warming and vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear, their numbers fell to fewer than 360 by the early 2020s. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:29
In surprising move, Bering Sea snow crab fishery to reopen after 2 year closure
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Friday afternoon that Bering Sea fishermen will be allowed to harvest a total of about 4.7 million pounds of opilio, also known as snow crab, for the first time in two years. According to Fish and Game, estimates of total mature male biomass are above the threshold required to open the fishery. The announcement comes as a surprise to many fishermen, after roughly 10 billion snow crabs disappeared from the Bering Sea over a span of four years, and Fish and Game closed the fishery in 2022. Recently, scientists have learned that the disappearance was likely due to ecological shifts, and there’s been little hope within the industry that stocks would recover anytime soon. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:49
Tribal groups, seeking restrictions on Alaska’s Bering Sea trawlers, get day in court
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason heard oral arguments Thursday in a lawsuit filed by two of Alaska’s largest tribal groups against federal managers of the state’s groundfish trawl fisheries. The Association of Village Council Presidents and the Tanana Chiefs Conference claim the federal government has failed to adjust trawling rules in the Bering Sea and off the Aleutian Islands to compensate for the ongoing salmon crisis on Alaska’s Interior rivers. Victory by the plaintiffs could lead to new restrictions on the world’s largest trawl fishery. If plaintiffs lose, the status quo is likely to continue. On Thursday, Gleason asked plaintiffs whether they’re seeking a halt to trawl fishing in the Bering Sea. No, the plaintiffs said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:27
Right whales and offshore wind: reflections on an uneasy coexistence
Michael Moore has spent decades studying North Atlantic right whales. He’s seen somewhere around 150 of them. It’s a feat, given that now there are just about 360 left in the world. But the veterinarian, author, and scientist emeritus from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution had never seen an offshore wind farm up close — until last week. “Look at them. All out in neat little rows,” he said, standing at the rear of a 53-foot charter boat that offered a closeup view of construction on Vineyard Wind, 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. About half of the planned 62 turbines are fully constructed, reaching more than 250 meters into the sky. When the boat slowed down to pass beneath one of the turbines, Moore was awestruck by the length of a blade. “Right whales are 40 to 50 feet,” he said. “So, you can stretch seven right whales along the length of one of these blades.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:48
International Whaling Commission meets this week, will they discuss the US whale slaughter? By Jim Lovgren
The International Whaling Commission [IWC] meets this week from September 23 rd to the 27 th , in Lima Peru. The commission was established in 1946 and is a specialized regional fishery management organization created to provide for the proper conservation of various different Whale species, with the goal of supporting the orderly development of the Whaling industry. For two hundred years fishing vessels hunted down Whales bringing some species to the brink of extinction. Unlike the American slaughter of Buffalo, where they were killed solely for their hide, and the carcass left to rot, the Whaling industry utilized almost every part of these animals, with many indigenous populations being dependent on them as their main food source. This brings us to the present marine mammal slaughter being perpetrated by multi-national wind companies along the US east coast. In 2016 NOAA declared an unusual marine mammal mortality event was taking place with Humpback, Minke, and Northern Right Whales. Around that time research and construction was started on the Block Island wind project. more, >>CCLICK TO READ<< 16:11
New England Fishermen Stage Floating Protest at Vineyard Wind Site
I am continuing to keep an eye on the Vineyard Farms offshore blade failure near Nantucket. A few weeks ago, the facility was closed because of the failure of Vineyard Wind’s newly installed wind turbines, and the city was poised to sue. After one blade failed and ended up in the water, the beaches were cluttered with sharp fiberglass shards, which is a sub-optimum condition at the height of the summer tourist season. The vessels, hoisting anti-offshore wind flags and blasting air horns, departed early Sunday morning from ports in New Bedford, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Rhode Island and along the Cape, converging at about noon on the site of the crippled Vineyard Wind turbine. “The blade collapse was an eye-opener to a lot of people who before didn’t know that offshore wind is a disaster for the ocean,” said Shawn Machie, 54, who is captain of the New Bedford scalloper F/V Capt. John. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:36
US appeals court allows Alaska fishery to remain open
Lobster’s nightmare: Vicious Atlantic wolffish is one scary catch in the Gulf of Maine
Atlantic wolffish are vicious looking. Their head is huge with gaping teeth that protrude from their lips both top and bottom, giving them a severe overbite. Their tail is tapered with long dorsal and anal fins, which give it a look of an eel. Beware to anyone trying to get a hook out of their mouth! These fish enjoy cold water and can be found throughout the Gulf of Maine to Labrador and down to the Great South Channel of Georges Bank in New England. Amazingly, they can survive in some of the coldest water by producing “antifreeze” proteins stored in their blood and livers. This keeps their blood from freezing under extreme conditions. Around age 5-6, they reach maturity and begin mating. It appears that wolffish are solitary animals except during the mating season, according to NOAA, which occurs in the Gulf of Maine during the fall. The wolffish find mates and remain together until the female lays her eggs. Lobsters beware! The teeth of the wolffish allow them to eat and crush almost anything they want, and what they want are lobsters. They have several rows of very sharp teeth. My husband, always a biologist, when he was fishing commercially regularly dissected the fish he caught to see what they had been eating. Twenty years ago, he opened a 20-pound wolffish and found 21 lobster tails and more body parts in its stomach! more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:20
Vineyard Wind Installed the Largest Offshore Turbines in the World. Were They Ready for Primetime?
When Vineyard Wind completed the installation of the first GE Vernova Haliade-X 13-megawatt wind turbine in the waters southwest of Nantucket in October 2023, the company trumpeted it as “the largest turbine in the western world.” It was supposed to be one of the 62 turbines that would make up the first large-scale, commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. But just nine months later, the project has been suspended by the federal government after the now infamous turbine blade failure on July 13th that left Nantucket’s beaches and the waters surrounding the island littered with fiberglass and styrofoam debris that is still being recovered. While offshore wind energy production has a decades-long track record in Europe and Asia, the Vineyard Wind project was the first of its kind in the United States, and the turbines Vineyard Wind is installing are larger and more powerful than any that have come before it. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:55
Vineyard Wind crisis: Fishermen blast feds for saying they don’t care about whales
The claim came during a Thursday hearing in Boston federal appeals court as two fishing groups look to toss Vineyard Wind’s underlying permit, arguing regulators failed to analyze how the project would impact the environment and fishermen. “The alliance, as a trade association representing the fishing industry, does not have any interest in protecting right whales,” said attorney Thekla Hansen-Young, representing the Department of the Interior, the National Marine Fisheries Service, among other federal agencies, in the dispute. Hansen-Young was referring to the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, one of the groups fighting the feds and Vineyard Wind. Seafreeze Shoreside Inc. is the other. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:06
Federal fishing monitoring program needs overhaul, GAO says
Only days after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the federal government’s program placing human observers on commercial fishing boats, a federal watchdog said NOAA Fisheries should do a better job monitoring the industry. A report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office said NOAA Fisheries — also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service — has failed to execute its program as Congress intended under law. “NMFS’ efforts to track its performance in reducing and monitoring bycatch do not align with key elements of evidence-based policymaking related to performance management,” GAO said in the report, which was requested by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:19
Fishermen Who Were Forced to Pay $700 Per Day to Government-Mandated Observers on Their Boats Get Big News from SCOTUS
Members of the 18th-century British Parliament, unelected by American colonists, tried to take money from those colonists without their consent. Hence, the American Revolution ensued. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 40-year-old ruling that had allowed unelected federal regulators, acting the part of the British Parliament, to commit such travesties of justice as requiring fishermen to pay for government-mandated regulators on their boats — a requirement that, according to CBS, could cost the fishermen more than $700 per day. The true magnitude of Friday’s ruling, however, involved far more than fishing boats. In fact, it struck at the heart of American progressivism by eviscerating the insidious claim that federal “experts” know best. In so doing, it took one small-but-crucial step towards dismantling the permanent federal state that actually governs in Washington, D.C. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:18
Conservative groups cleared to continue legal fight to protect whales from Biden-backed offshore wind farm
A coalition of conservative organizations have standing to continue fighting a Biden administration wind project in Virginia, a federal judge determined. However, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the District of Columbia, a Biden appointee, denied the plaintiff’s petition for a preliminary injunction to halt construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project from going forward. The plaintiffs sued the Biden administration and Dominion Energy to protect the North Atlantic right whale under the Endangered Species Act. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:56
Graves, Wicker Urge NOAA to Catch Better Data for Fisheries Management
U.S. Congressman Garret Graves and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker – along with U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (Texas), U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman and 20 other bipartisan Members of Congress – urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Assistant Administrator Janet Coit to modernize the data used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and bring better science to the table for fisheries management. “Historically, the federal government’s fisheries data management has been a failure. Their system overestimates what has been caught, which gives us less opportunity to fish. There are real solutions on the table to reverse this trend .“We know that there’s better and more precise fisheries management data being collected by the states than what the federal government can provide, and we want NMFS to use the best data and science,” said Congressman Graves. “Our children and grandchildren deserve sound science and sustainable fisheries management. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:23
Some Fishermen Blame California Water Policies for Salmon Season Closures
The Pacific Fishery Management Council unanimously recommended the closure of all California commercial and recreational ocean salmon fisheries through 2024, after a similar closure last year, blaming drought, climate and other factors for dwindling stocks. “While incredibly painful to fishing families and fishing communities, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations supports the closure,” said George Bradshaw, president of PCFFA. “We all need to be doing everything we can to give Californias salmon a chance to recover. It has to be an all hands-on deck effort to ensure survival for our Central Valley and Klamath salmon runs.” Video, more, >>click to read<< 09:14
Federal advisory group recommends curtailed Oregon ocean salmon fishing again; closing California season
Recommendations for the ocean salmon seasons off the coasts of Oregon, California and Washington were made last week with some OK news for some fishermen and devasting news for those in California. Once again. The Pacific Fishery Management Council — which oversees fishing along the West Coast — voted unanimously Wednesday to once again shut California’s commercial and recreational chinook salmon fisheries through the end of the year. Its recommendations are similar to those made in 2023, which was the first time such a closure occurred in 14 years. Oregon and Washington fared better – but still not very good. more, >>click to read<< 08:18
Commercial fishing fleet still waiting for its homeport
Members of Gig Harbor’s fishing fleet have waited more than a decade for the city to build a Commercial Fishing Homeport, which has been part of the plan for Ancich Park since 2013. It looks like they will have to wait at least another year. Negotiations between the city and the National Marine Fisheries Service over mitigation for the $3.2 million project have stalled. The city likely will miss the so-called “fish window” for overwater construction this year. The city already has a design, local and state permits, and financing — including a substantial donation from the Gig Harbor Commercial Fishermen’s Club. But it doesn’t have the go-ahead from NMFS, which determines what mitigation is necessary to proceed. For the local commercial fishing industry, the clock is ticking. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:36
Mass. Lobstmen Win Case Fighting Feds’ Fishing Closure
A Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday that the National Marine Fisheries Service illegally closed a 200-square-mile swath of ocean to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales, backing a legal challenge by a lobster fishing industry group. In a ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge William G. Young said the agency’s permanent seasonal closure of the so-called wedge area to lobster fishing in February 2023 to avoid whale entanglements with fishing gear was contrary to a federal budget law passed the previous December that hit pause on new regulations for the lobster industry until the end of 2028. “This court is convinced that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 is clear on its face, and it clearly applies to bar the final wedge closure rule,” Judge Young said. more, >>click to read<< 12:35
Federal Council Announces California Ocean Salmon Season Alternatives for 2024
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) has produced three options for ocean salmon seasons beginning May 16, 2024. Two of the three alternatives would authorize short ocean salmon season dates and establish small harvest limits for commercial and sport fishing off California in 2024. The third alternative would close the ocean fisheries off California for a second consecutive year. The alternatives were approved by the PFMC for public review Monday. Meanwhile, abundance of Klamath River Fall Chinook is forecast at 180,700 adults. At this level of abundance, the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan authorizes only low levels of fishing on these stocks, and requires management be designed to allow most of the adult population to return to the river to spawn. links, more, >>click to read<< 11:11
Federal judge to rule on reduction in trawler halibut bycatch
A U.S. District court judge is expected to issue a decision this spring on a lawsuit filed by the Groundfish Forum challenging a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) decision setting abundance-based limits on halibut bycatch in the Amendment 80 Bering Sea trawl fishery. The Groundfish Forum, based in Seattle, filed its complaint with the U.S. District Court in Anchorage on Dec. 19, challenging the new halibut bycatch rules that were first adopted by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and subsequently approved by NMFS. On Feb. 29, the Halibut Defense Alliance intervened on the side of NMFS over concerns about the number of halibut taken as bycatch by Amendment 80 vessels in the Bering Sea, saying the limits on halibut bycatch would ensure more equitable access to halibut fisheries. The alliance is a broad coalition of commercial harvesters, charter operators, processors and community organizations representing halibut-dependent communities in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. more, >>click to read<< 19:52
NOAA postpones controversial bottom trawling experiment in Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea
The project, called the Northern Bering Sea Effects of Trawling Study, or NETS, has been envisioned as an experiment to examine impacts of commercial bottom trawling in an area of the Bering Sea where it is currently banned. Bottom trawling is a method of fish harvesting that uses nets to sweep the seafloor. While it is prohibited in the Northern Bering Sea, the shift in fish populations caused by climate change may build pressure for bottom trawling there in the future, according to the study plan. The study has been designed as a multiyear project to start as early as this August. It was to be conducted by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service, also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service. News of the decision came in an emailed letter from Janet Coit, director of NOAA Fisheries, to tribal organizations that had expressed opposition to the project. more, >>click to read<< 09:52
Alaska tribes, green group take aim at planned bottom-trawling study in northern Bering Sea
Three tribal governments and an environmental organization on Thursday served notice to federal agencies that they are planning a lawsuit to block a fishing experiment along the seafloor in the northern Bering Sea. The practice of bottom trawling, sweeping a net to catch fish on or near the seabed, is currently prohibited in the Northern Bering Sea, which is abbreviated in legal documents as NBS. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service is planning to deploy some commercial trawling gear in selected spots over the coming summers to see what impacts, if any, result to the habitat and the marine life dependent on it. The research project is called the Northern Bering Sea Effects of Trawling Study, or NBET. It is focused on specific areas north and south of St. Lawrence Island and would potentially simulate effects of commercial harvests. more, >>click to read<< 08:10
Cape May fishermen at center of major U.S. Supreme Court case
Wayne Reichle, owner of Lund’s Fisheries.
On Wednesday, the justices heard testimony in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The justices are deciding whether to uphold or overrule the four-decades old Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council decision. The justices heard three-and-a-half hours of oral argument this week. Multiple media outlets reported the justices asked questions indicating that the Chevron doctrine is unlikely to remain fully intact. The fishermen are challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service for requiring the herring industry to take on the cost of paying observers. Who is supporting the fisherman and why? The fishermen are represented by the Cause of Action Institute and New Civil Liberties Alliance. Groups such as the Cato Institute, Christian Employers Alliance, and members of Congress such as Sen. Ted Cruz and Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, have filed briefs in support of the fishermen. more, >>click to read<< 12:15
Preserving our heritage and livelihood – A shrimper’s stand against unjust regulations
I’ve been a shrimper for over 45 years. It’s more than just a job; it’s a legacy that’s been passed down through generations in my family. Since I was 15, I’ve been working in the waters of Plaquemines Parish, my workplace, my passion, and my source of livelihood. Today, as I continue to bring the finest Gulf shrimp to your tables, I find myself fighting not only for my job but for the very soul of Louisiana’s shrimping heritage. The recent rule by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) mandating the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) on skimmer trawl vessels longer than 40 feet is a real threat to our community. This rule, though it may seem well-intentioned, is an example of overreach and disregard for our industry’s reality. more, >>click to read<< 13:44
Louisiana Shrimp Association sues federal government over turtle excluder device requirement
The Louisiana Shrimp Association (LSA) has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regarding a 2019 rule that requires the installation of turtle excluder devices (TED) on fishing trawlers. TEDs have been required on shrimp trawlers in certain circumstances since 1987 in order to separate sea turtles, sharks, and other large bycatch so they can escape through an opening in the netting. But in 2015, the ocean conservation organization Oceana sued the government arguing that the rules were insufficient and claiming that over 53,000 estimated sea turtles were still being killed via shrimp nets each year. Video, more, >>click to read<< 19:32
Following Legal Victory for Maine Lobstermen’s Association, State Receives $17 Million from NOAA to Improve Data on Right Whale
This federal funding comes just months after the federal court of appeals ruled in favor of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) in their lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) — a subagency of NOAA — for adopting improperly-founded regulations against the industry. In September of 2021, the MLA filed a lawsuit against the agency alleging that their efforts to protect the NARW were unlawful, as the regulations promulgated were founded upon a “simplistic and false premise” that “exaggerates and arbitrarily inflates the risk posed by the Maine lobster fishery.” The MLA stated that the NOAA’s analyses was “unlawful” as they “did not rely on the best available scientific information, made erroneous and arbitrary assumptions unsupported and contradicted by data and evidence, relied on an outdated and flawed methodology to model projections of the North Atlantic right whale population, and inexplicably failed to account for either the positive impact of mitigation measures already or soon-to-be employed by the Maine lobster fishery.” more, >>click to read<< 07:09
Sonoma County snags disaster relief designation for salmon fishery devastation
“Small businesses in Sonoma County that rely on salmon fishing for their livelihood were devastated when the fishery was shut down,” said county Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, whose district encompasses the Sonoma Coast. Hopkins added the business loans are intended “to help them recover. The SBA also lists other, bordering counties, with the presumption that those “may have suffered economic injury as well.” These include Napa, Marin, Solano, Mendocino and Lake. “We have lost 80% of our fleets in the last 40 years,” said Glen Spain, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, which manages about a dozen fishing groups. He defined California’s $45 million fishing industry as being especially hard hit with state Fish and Wildlife’s permits dropping from 7,744 in 1980 to 1,006 this year. “These loans are trying to keep people intact as much as possible,” Spain said. photos, more, >>click to read<< 14:38
Maine lobstermen signal opposition to participating in ropeless testing program
Maine lobstermen are signaling their hesitation to participate in a multimillion-dollar program the state is launching to test new ropeless technology that the federal government soon may require to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Lobstermen have been largely unhappy with the regulations, fearing that the regulations will destroy the lobstering industry as they know it. Maine’s congressional delegation succeeded in securing legislative approval for a reprieve that stalls the regulations from going into effect until Jan. 1, 2029. Industry groups also have succeeded in taking NOAA to court, where the regulations are still tied up. Even so, the clock is ticking and the Department of Marine Resources wants to be prepared for what it expects is an inevitable regulation. more, >>click to read<< 06:31
