Tag Archives: National Marine Fisheries Service
Observer changes, Gulf ratz on tap for North Pacific council
Changes to the observer program and discussion of a possible Gulf of Alaska rationalization program are back on the menu at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s October meeting. The council, which will meet Oct. 8-14 in Anchorage, will also approve crab fishery catches, take final action on Pacific cod fishery for the Community Development Quota, or CDQ, fleet and take action on Bering Sea crab fishery provisions. Read the rest here 14:20
New England Fishery Management Council punts – Officials struggle to find cod fix
With the federal government now drawing up emergency measures to address a cod disaster in waters from Maine to Rhode Island, the New England Fishery Management Council approved two plans in the hope that one of them would provide a longer term solution to the problem. But it was more like throwing water on the fire after the barn’s burned down as both of them included closing down large areas of inshore fishing grounds for much of the year. Another alternative essentially prohibits any Gulf of Maine cod landings at all by commercial or recreational fishermen.,,, Read the rest here 10:10
Emergency plan on cod fishing off of New England sought from federal regulators
The National Marine Fisheries Service expects to implement emergency measures in November aimed at stemming cod fish decline in the Gulf of Maine. The fisheries service is crafting the measures at the request of the New England Fishery Management Council, which asked for them at its meeting in Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Wednesday. The measures will apply to the current fishing year, which ends April 30 Read the rest here 08:43
North Carolina DMF treading water on JEA, waiting for approval from top government officials
The state budget, echoing a directive from the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, gave Dr. Louis Daniel, NCDMF’s executive director, the authority to enter into an Joint Enforcement Agreement with the that would provide the state with an estimated $600,000 per year to allow the marine patrol and NMFS enforcement officers to respond to fisheries violations in either state or federal waters off North Carolina. Read the rest here 14:54
Oregon charter captain sentenced for harvesting protected salmon
A Warrenton, Ore., charter boat captain pleaded guilty and was sentenced earlier this month for harvesting federally protected wild coho salmon on charter trips with sport fishing clients. Read the rest here 14:31
US GAO study: Fish Stock Assessments vary in number, frequency
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Florida Republican Marco Rubio, asked the GAO last year to examine how fish are counted. They want to know how the federal , a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, determines which stocks are healthy and which ones need protection. Read the rest here 08:07
Pollock Fleet Sees Spike in Squid Bycatch – Exceeding the Bycatch Quota
While salmon is still the main species that pollock fishermen are trying to avoid taking as bycatch this summer, there’s another creature that’s been causing problems in the Bering Sea. Along with their pollock, fishermen have pulled up about 1,100 metric tons of slimy, pink squid this summer. That’s more than four times their catch limit,,, Read the rest here 08:57
Summer flounder fishing rules to get examined and overhauled
Summer flounder fishing rules for the Atlantic Ocean may get an overhaul. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is starting a process to prepare an environmental impact statement and plan a scoping process to change the fishery management. NMFS is announcing the effort in the Federal Register of Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014. NMFS plans a series of 14 public scoping meetings where the public can speak between Sept. 22 and Oct. 29. Read the rest here 08:23
The Patriot Ledger – OUR OPINION: Save the whales, but don’t kill lobster fishing
At the core of the dispute is the claim by NOAA, the National Marine Fisheries Service and others that the whales traversing the seas not far from our coasts are increasingly at risk of becoming snared by the trap lines and other gear of lobster fishing as they surface and dive while foraging for food. But NOAA hasn’t outlined the specific data showing the need for such action,,, Read more here 13:38
North Carolina: New rules set for gill-net fishing
Gill-net fishermen have new requirements designed to protect an addition to the endangered species list. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently signed an agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service that implements a statewide incidental take permit for Atlantic sturgeon in the estuarine large-mesh and small-mesh anchored gill net fisheries. Read more here 15:26
Fisheries enforcement in the Gulf under the JEA – On offshore patrol
Thanks to a Joint Enforcement Agreement between LDWF and U. S. National Marine Fisheries (Service), wildlife agents also patrol federal waters extending from Louisiana’s boundary waters to 200 miles seaward into the Gulf. The federal waters are also known as the Exclusive Economic Zone. Read more here 09:50
The Chuckleheads are planning another Lawsuit. – Marin group plans suit to help protect sperm whales
(They just went through this.) “These endangered sperm whales should be protected from these gillnets,” said Joanna Nasar, spokeswoman for the Turtle Island Restoration Network. “It’s time for the fisheries service to stop these nets from being used.” <Read more here> 22:23
South Shore Fishermen Taking a Beating! FISHY BUSINESS: No vacation, just a battle for fishermen facing regulations
Many of us are enjoying the recreation that Scituate’s shores and water access afford both residents and our friends that visit from elsewhere for vacation, despite a few drizzly weekends. Unfortunately, the past month was no vacation for the commercial fisherman. <Read more here> 11:03
Captain Paul Cohan, Gloucester: NOAA’s latest data doesn’t pass smell test
I smell a rat,,,, NOAA and its National Marine Fisheries Service stinks to high heaven,,,, If there was ever any doubt about the catastrophic effects of “catch shares” it should now be dismissed. Sectors, ITQ’s, Closures, and Consolidation, have not created conservation — instead devastation of all, well most, involved, both fish and fishermen, as well as those who depend upon them. As much at fault, perhaps more so are the environmental non-government organization — or ENGO’s. For it was their infiltration of NOAA at the highest levels that facilitated this debacle. GDT letter <Read more here> 07:28
North Carolina – New rules set for gill-net fishing
Gill-net fishermen have new requirements designed to protect an addition to the endangered species list. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently signed an agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service that implements a statewide incidental take permit for Atlantic sturgeon in the estuarine large-mesh and small-mesh anchored gill net fisheries. <Read more here> 13:50
RALEIGH NC: Observer funds, JEA clear state legislature
The legislature is pushing forward with a budget that will create a new fund for an At-Sea Observer Program for commercial fisheries and allow the state Division of Marine Fisheries to make a joint enforcement agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service. While a commercial fishing organization first proposed the fund, a joint agreement between state and federal fishery agencies. <Read more here> 11:03
Barnegat Light NJ – The harvest of the sea – “It’s not an easy business”
BARNEGAT LIGHT – It was like Christmas morning, solving a Rubik’s cube, and the movie Groundhog Day all rolled into one as soon as the Grand Larson III docked at Viking Village.,, Currently, boats like the Grand Larson III, licensed by the National Marine Fisheries Service, are permitted to harvest scallops in controlled growing areas only 15 days of the year, said Kirk O. Larson, the boat’s owner, who is also the mayor of Barnegat Light. Read more here 14:29Pollock Fleet Sees Spike in Squid Bycatch
While salmon is still the main species that pollock fishermen are trying to avoid taking as bycatch this summer, there’s another creature that’s been causing problems in the Bering Sea. Along with their pollock, fishermen have pulled up about 1,100 metric tons of slimy, pink squid this summer. That’s more than four times their catch limit,,,Read more here 11:48
Steller sea lion lawsuit parties ask court to change timeline on reimbursement decision
Fishing industry plantiffs and federal defendants have asked for a new timeline to decide reimbursements in the lawsuit over Steller sea lion protection measures.The Alaska Seafood Cooperative, The Groundfish Forum and the Freezer Longline Coalition asked the federal government to reimburse them $1,208,409.87 for attorney fees and costs in the lawsuit. Read more here 13:08
BOSTON – Local fishermen protest new lobster restrictions
State legislators and members of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association gathered at the State House on Wednesday to voice concerns about new regulations banning the use of lobster trap and pot gear from Jan. 1 to April 30 off much of the state’s coast. “It seems the new regulations are quite draconian and are being proposed without a corresponding public policy based on facts,” Read more here 12:35
Marine Corps to comply with marine mammal protection
CHERRY POINT -The Marine Corps has requested a five-year authorization from National Marine Fisheries for incidental deaths of bottlenose dolphins during training at Brant Island Bombing Target and Piney Island Bombing Range. Read more here 21:27
Judge rules Beringia bearded seals improperly listed as threatened
The National Marine Fisheries Service erred in using a 100-year projection as justification for granting Endangered Species Act protections to the Alaska-dwelling population of that seal, U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline ruled. Whether Beringia bearded seals will ultimately retain Endangered Species Act protections was unclear Friday. Beistline ordered NMFS to correct deficiencies in its study of the population. Read more here 08:18
Frustrated South Shore lobstermen fear impact of new restrictions
Lobsterman Michael Duane gets by without a paycheck for two-and-a-half months each year, but he says going much longer than that would be difficult. Duane could face that reality next winter, as new regulations set by the National Marine Fisheries Service ban the use of lobster trap and pot gear from Jan. 1 to April 30 off much of the state’s coast. The measure aims to eliminate whale entanglements with lobster gear. What a bunch of bureaucratic crap! Read more here 13:09
Keating: concerned that the parameters of the (disaster aid spending) plan neglects the fishermen who need assistance most.
Despite the extensive negotiations, I remain concerned that the parameters of the plan neglects the fishermen who need assistance most.,, Further, fishermen with multiple permits may be eligible to be compensated multiple times, while other active permit holders are entirely excluded from the relief. Read more here 07:24
Pressure mounting for US tuna fleet to secure tuna rights after ‘no deal’
A shareholder in the largest U.S. tuna fleet this week decrying the ‘no deal’ conclusion of American treaty negotiations with Pacific Island nations that leaves the United States tuna fleet without fishing access to the Pacific Ocean in 2015. Read more here 10:06
Chatham fishermen not impressed with federal aid package – No Buy Back, “Please take care of fishermen first.”
Chatham fishermen at the Thursday meeting were highly critical of the first phase of the aid package, which will soon issue a $32,000 check to each of the 191 qualifying permit holders,,. Diodati said that sentiment was universal at the four meetings he hosted. One state proposal for direct assistance to crewmen stipulated that they needed to show they earned 50 percent of their gross income from fishing. Read more here 08:49
Forage fish management key to protecting Pacific Ocean ecosystem health
Pacific sardine populations have shown an alarming decline in recent years, and some evidence suggests anchovy and herring populations may be dropping as well. The declines could push fishermen toward other currently unmanaged “forage fish,” Read more here 10:35 The Forage Fish Farce
Carteret officials respond to loggerhead protections
Nearly a year after threatening a lawsuit over proposed federal rules intended to protect loggerhead sea turtles, Carteret County officials got a response to its concerns. It wasn’t what they had hoped for. “Nada. Nothing,” “This is very disappointing, especially after we had a little bit of a victory with the National Park Service decision and saw how that process worked,” Read more here 10:07 (it won’t stop predation, though.)
Hammerheads classified as protected
The National Marine Fisheries Service on Thursday classified as endangered and threatened four distinct populations of hammerhead sharks. The new classification responds to a petition filed by the environmental groups WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals. Read more here 16:16
National Marine Fisheries Service plans new environmental compliance policy
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