Tag Archives: US Commerce Department
Federal Funding Allocated for Salmon Fishing Disaster
On April 6, 2023, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) acted unanimously to recommend a full closure of California’s 2023 commercial and recreational ocean salmon seasons due to extremely low population estimates for Sacramento and Klamath river fall Chinook salmon. Within hours of the recommendation, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his administration’s request for a federal fishery disaster declaration to support impacted communities. Looking ahead to the 2024 season, the PFMC will consider the alternatives for the 2024 salmon seasons at its meeting April 5-11 in Seattle. This meeting is open to the public. more, >>click to read<< 11:45
Peconic Bay bay scallop fishery – Scallop Disaster Declared, But Some Hope for 2022
Ask any bayman, and all would agree that the bay scallop fishery in the Peconic Bay estuary system in the past two years was a total calamity. As such, it was no surprise to learn that the United States Department of Commerce recently declared the events of 2019-20 a fishery disaster. The declaration makes the fishery eligible for disaster assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Baymen may also qualify for disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration, according to the Department of Commerce. The department has balances remaining from previously appropriated fishery disaster assistance and will determine the appropriate allocation,,, >click to read< 10:27
Senator Rubio Brings Back the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act
Rubio has been pushing the “Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act” since 2018 and he reintroduced it this week. The bill “would require any country that seeks to export shark, ray, and skate to the US to first demonstrate it has a system of science-based management to prevent overfishing and a prohibition on the practice of shark finning” and ensure other nations “must also receive certification from the NOAA that its fisheries management policies are on par with US practices” and modifies the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act. >click to read< 08:54
North Atlantic Right Whale: Maine Certified Sustainable Lobster Association loses MSC certification despite sustainable management of the Maine lobster fishery
The Maine Certified Sustainable Lobster Association (MCSLA) announced today that its Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification will be suspended due to a recent decision in the federal case Center for Biological Diversity v. Ross. The certificate suspension is occurring despite continued sustainable management of the Maine lobster fishery and remains the direct result of NOAA’s 2014 biological opinion on the impact that lobster fishing has on right whales. The MCSLA is anticipating NOAA’s 2020 draft biological opinion, which may be made public as soon as August 2020. Once the 2020 biological opinion is finalized and implemented, the MCSLA will work to quickly regain its MSC certification. >click to read< 11:45
Seafood industry visa fix in question after Coronavirus outbreak
With the aid of lawmakers, seafood businesses in Maryland, Virginia, Alaska and North Carolina last month won federal approval of an additional 35,000 visas for non-immigrant workers, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Within days, the coronavirus pandemic began shutting down businesses, including restaurants and retail outlets the seafood industry supplies. Some seafood operations let employees go, while others have hired fewer people than they would in a more typical season. Jack Brooks, president of J.M. Clayton Seafood Co. in Cambridge, Maryland, explained that the seafood industry is a seasonal business and the coronavirus has hit the hardest during the industry’s prime time. >click to read< 13:16
Press Release: The Center for Sustainable Fisheries fully supports Fishermen in lawsuit
Costs for at-sea monitors will force many fishermen out of business. The Center for Sustainable Fisheries fully supports the lawsuit filed in New Hampshire last week by Cause of Action. The Washington-based watchdog group, which focuses its attention on government overreach, is suing the federal government on behalf of our commercial fishermen in New England. The case is crystal clear. It stems from the high cost for at-sea monitors and the insistence, by NOAA’s intransigent National Marine Fisheries Service, that fishermen must now foot the bill for monitors because the agency has run out of money. Read the press release here 17:43
NMFS Announces Approval of Three New England Groundfish Rules for Fishing Year 2015 (May 1, 2015-April 30, 2016)
Today, NOAA Fisheries announces three actions affecting the Northeast Multispecies fishery. These are the final rules implementing Framework Adjustment 53 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan and the Sector Operations Plans for 2015-2016, and the interim final rule that implements additional recreational measures for the Northeast Multispecies fishery. Read the rest here. If you can stand it.
Commerce appoints Blue North CEO to serve on NPFMC
The US Commerce Department is appointing Blue North Fisheries CEO and President Kenny Down to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC). “This is an out-of-cycle appointment. He has been appointed because John Henderschedt resigned,” Speegle said. Henderschedt is executive director of the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum. Read the rest here 14:32
