Tag Archives: NMFS
Oral argument scheduled for observer lawsuit
Oral argument in the lawsuit over the federal observer program is scheduled for April. Judge H. Russel Holland will hear from The Boat Company, the Fixed Gear Alliance and the federal government regarding the marine observer program instituted last year. Read more@alaskajournal 19:31
New Definition for Halibut Guides Could Impact Sports Fisheries
A federal agency that oversees halibut and other fish species has revised its definition of sport fishing guides, a decision that is splitting charter fishermen and could have larger impacts on sport fishing in the state. NOAA Fisheries NMFS has said the new definition aims to close a “guide-assisted” loophole that allows unguided anglers to receive help from guides working from shore or on a different boat, while still allowing them to enjoy the “generally more liberal” regulations for unguided fishermen. Read more@ktuu 10:49
NMFS to hold public hearing regarding proposed rule for tuna conservation measures for 2014 through 2016
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is seeking comments on a proposed rule to continue the purse seine closure period of 62 days in the years 2014, 2015, and 2016. Please see the Federal Register notice dated February 5, 2014 for the proposed rule and information regarding the public hearing that will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. PST, February 12, 2014, in Long Beach, CA. Comments must be submitted in writing by February 25, 2014. Please contact the following persons for further information: Heidi Taylor, NMFS, phone: 562-980-4039; or Celia Barroso, NOAA/NMFS Affiliate, phone: 562–432–1850. 21:56
2014/2015 Atlantic Herring and 2014 Mid-Atlantic Research Set-Aside Awards Announced
State of Alaska Backs Feds in Lawsuit over Fisheries Management – Video
A group of fish processors, permit holders and crew members are suing the federal government over a measure giving the Department of Commerce broad authority to manage and conserve coastal fisheries. The 312-member United Cook Inlet Drift Association says the state’s salmon management plan is inadequate. The group is suing to make the federal government the lead regulator in state waters. Read [email protected] 08:53
Drought imperils California salmon, steelhead
SANTA CRUZ — The sensitive populations of fish that spawn in Northern California’s creeks and rivers are starting to suffer from the brutal drought threatening the state’s water supplies. In Sonoma and Santa Cruz counties, the National Marine Fisheries Service has heard reports of anglers catching endangered coho salmon trapped by low water flows. In the American River, water levels have dropped to a 20-year nadir, endangering the redds, or nests of eggs, laid by chinook salmon, a consumer staple that supports hundreds of Bay Area fishermen. Read more@contracostatimes 14:21
On Bluefin, Let’s Take The Best We Can Get – Charter Captain John McMurray
So I’m reading another press release about how anglers are getting screwed on bluefin with HMS Amendment 7 (which seeks to address bluefin bycatch in the pelagic longline fishery), and feel compelled to respond, or at least set the record straight. Sure, there are a few things I’d like to see happen with this amendment that likely won’t, but if you are at all concerned about bluefin stocks, or rather bluefin abundance, Read [email protected] 10:22
Tests show China banned Puget Sound geoduck clams safe to eat
SEATTLE — Washington state health officials said Tuesday that their arsenic testing has confirmed that geoduck clams harvested from a bay in Puget Sound are safe to eat, following toxicity concerns that prompted China to ban imports of West Coast shellfish. Read more@thecolumbian 08:51
In halibut turf wars, no one’s looking out for the little guy
The time is well past for contemplating why the U.S. government would stick it to Alaska halibut fishermen least able to defend themselves, but that doesn’t make the question moot. Too long it has been ignored, and in that regard I am forced to contemplate the long-ago comments of an acquaintance highly placed in the hierarchy of the bureaucracy dictating the management of fisheries in the north Pacific Ocean. For reasons about to become obvious, this person will remain nameless. Suffice to say, however, that it was a member of a federal bureaucracy that is supposed to protect the interests of all Americans Read more@alaskadispatch 14:08
Sam Novello urges eased whiting limits – Getting the bureaucracy run around
Novello said he first approached National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency staff with his idea and was told to bring his proposal to the NEFMC. ”I think they were giving me a bit of the runaround,” Novello said. He then contacted the Newburyport-based NEFMC and said he was told no changes could be made to the area’s fishing schedule until 2015 at the earliest. ”That’s it,” Novello said. “That’s all I got.” Not so, said Andrew Applegate, NEFMC’s small mesh multi-species plan coordinator. Applegate said he did not shut the door on Novello’s proposal, that he instead told the Gloucester fisherman that the process for changing the regulations is a lengthy one, involving the development of new rules, the submission of the rules for review and then the actual implementation by NOAA Fisheries NMFS. more@gdt 00:35
Proposed Tuna Regs Unfairly Target New England Fleet
Maine’s congressional delegation is urging federal regulators to revise proposed rule changes for the management of Atlantic bluefin tuna. The concern – which is shared by lawmakers from other coastal New England states – is that the region’s traditional, near-shore tuna fleet is being unfairly targeted for a problem over which they have no control. But federal regulators say that’s not the case. Tom Porter has more@mpbn 19:31
Tholepin Blog has NMFS on the Defensive! – They say you’re not credible, when even they can’t get it right?
“Tholepin is not a credible source,” she wrote. The blogger was, at the time, quoting the federal agency’s own figures for numbers on bycatch. (Julie)Speegle NOAA, subsequently warned “I usually urge (use of) our standard statement ‘Catch numbers may change as more information becomes available’ because the data will likely change.” And in subsequent emails with Speegle, it did turn out that Tholepin’s report of “228,800 pounds of halibut wasted by draggers just last week” was wrong. It was under-reported by 478 pounds. The actual quantity was 229,278 pounds. more@alaskadispatch 22:45
NRDC, Center for Biological Diversity file petitions – NMFS considers pinto abalone for endangered list
A 6-inch Pacific Ocean marine snail prized for its delicate flavor and colorful shell will be considered for endangered or threatened species status. The National Marine Fisheries Service announced last week that it will conduct a status review for pinto abalone, which are found from Alaska to Baja California. more@sacbee 08:48
Should the Scallop Industry that saved itself from NMFS doom regulate itself? You’re damned right it should!
Fisheries Survival Fund tells Senators scallopers have earned the right to self-regulation; Argues regulators failed to solve problems when they could – Eric Hansen and Drew Minkiewicz of the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) , which represents the majority of the full-time Limited Access scallop fleet, testified this morning at a Senate field listening session – Our investments and sacrifices have paid off. more here 09:04
Southeast AK pink salmon catch for 2014 to be “average”
The Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest in 2014 is predicted to be in the average range, with a point estimate of 22 million fish (80% confidence interval: 8–36 million fish). more@fishradio
A “Golden Opportunity” Don’t take NOAA for an answer – Video
What we have here is a golden opportunity. This report ( National Academy of Sciences report) about how NOAA manages fish has been percolating for what, three or four years? Former NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco ordered up this study to deflect the hailstorm of criticism she endured following the catch shares and sector management scheme started strangling the Northeast groundfishery. more@southcoasttoday 09:31
The Eastern Population Segment of Steller Sea Lions Will be Removed from the Endangered List
The eastern population segment includes Steller sea lions from Cape Suckling south to the Channel Islands in California. As part of the delisting NOAA has created a post-delisting plan that will be place for the next 10-years. NOAA confirms that the delisting of the eastern Steller sea lion population will take effect 30-days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register. more@kdlg 22:40
It ain’t lookin’ good. Federal shutdown could keep crab fishermen on the docks
Alaska’s crab fisheries could be a casualty of the government shutdown. All crab seasons officially open Oct. 15, but as of Oct. 8, the National Marine Fisheries Service did not have the staff to issue permits before the season started. NMFS is not responsible for the Community Development Quota fisheries, however, and in its announcements ADFG has said that those fisheries will open as scheduled. more@alaskajournal 13:40
Murkowski, Young, Hastings, Press Pritzker – “We urge you to use your authority consistent with the Antideficiency Act to responsibly manage the 2013 Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab fisheries.
The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery in Alaska is scheduled to open next Tuesday, October 15th, but before crab fishing boats are allowed to fish, they must be issued quota permits by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – which the Department of Commerce has shuttered for issuing permits until the government is funded. [email protected] 09:27
Seismic airgun activities place Georgia’s right whales at risk during oil exploration
Highly endangered right whales, which give birth in the waters off Georgia, could be harmed by the use of seismic airguns to explore for oil and gas there, said panelists at a forum Thursday night at Savannah State University. In its draft environmental study, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimates that seismic airgun activities planned for an eight-year span for the Atlantic will injure and possibly kill 138,500 dolphins and whales. more@savannanow 17:56
October 1, 2013 Closure of the New York Summer Flounder Fishery
NMFS announced that the 2013 commercial summer flounder quota allocated to New York has been harvested. Effective 0001 hours, October 1, 2013, fishing vessels issued a Federal moratorium permit for the summer flounder fishery may no longer land summer flounder in New York for the remainder of the 2013 calendar year Click here to read more. 13:51
Back in Black: Black Sea Bass Stock is Rebuilt
The wait wasn’t easy but it’s over. NOAA Fisheries has declared the southern stock of black sea bass successfully rebuilt. With that, the combined commercial and recreational catch limit for this popular species has more than doubled, to 1.8 million pounds. The southern stock of black sea bass ranges from Cape Hatteras, NC to the Florida Keys. For the communities along that stretch of coast, the higher catch limit is extremely good news. [email protected] 13:47
US agency promises to drop references to MSC; Walmart, Sodexo voice support for ASMI – By John Sackton, Seafood News
The US federal agency GSA (General Services Administration) announced it is dropping guidelines for federal purchases of seafood that could have excluded Alaska salmon and other sustainable seafood from national parks and military bases. The GSA and other government procurement agencies also promised to use NOAA’s guidance in their sustainability requirements, and to avoid the use of third party certifications. By John Sackton, Seafood News more@undercurrent 08:36
NMFS proposes reduced halibut bycatch limits for Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries
NOAA Fisheries NMFS (according to the Federal Register) is seeking public input on a plan that would tighten limits on the amount of halibut bycatch that could be caught in the commercial groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska. The proposed fishery management plan amendment, “Amendment 95,” would minimize halibut bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries to the extent practicable while preserving the potential for the full harvest of groundfish in the GOA. [email protected] 15:11
Laine Welch at Fish Radio wrote about this notice, and it’s worth clicking the link .17:47
National Research Council’s Fisheries report boosts both sides
“As we continue to digest the report, we are very pleased to see a variety of third-party findings that mirror what our organization and our fishermen have been saying for a number of years,” Northeast Seafood Coalition executive director Jackie Odell said in a statement. Most specifically, according to Odell, the report trumpeted the coalition’s and fishermen’s long-held position that there is a greater need for management flexibility in the Northeast groundfish fishery to account for shifting environmental and ecological conditions, as well as “the inherent limitations of science and a mismatch between policymakers’ expectations for scientific precision and the complex dynamics of the ecosystem.” more@GDT 04:14
The Port St. Joe Port Authority takes first steps on dredging channel
“This is a pretty significant endeavor,” Perry said. “It is a very aggressive (timeline). We want to be able to vet out issues and refine the scope (quickly).” The urgency on the seagress study is that such studies must be completed between March and September and reviewed by a National Marine Fisheries Service field survey in September. If the port misses that window a seagrass survey and in turn approval from the National Marine Fisheries Service could not be completed until 2014. more@thestar 09:59
Economic Performance of U.S. Catch Share Programs
This report provides basic information on the economic performance of U.S. catch share programs using a standard set of indicators that are uniformly applied across these highly diverse programs. The EDF swill [email protected] NMFS report 17:34
Hawai’i Fishermen’s Alliance Petition To Delist the North Pacific Population of the Humpback Whale from Endangered Species Act
NMFS announce a 90-day finding on a petition to identify the (Megaptera novaeangliae) as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and delist the DPS under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The humpback whale was listed as an endangered species in 1970 under the Endangered Species and Conservation Act of 1969, which was later superseded by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). We find that the petition viewed in the context of information readily available in our files presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. more here 13:44
Fisheries of the E E Z Off Alaska; Amendment 95 to the FMP for Groundfish – comment period ends (10/28/2013)
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