In the case of both fish stocks, U.S. fishermen have not been able to catch the U.S. quotas designed to ensure that the stocks are fished sustainably. While these species are managed internationally, the United States manages the domestic part of these fisheries by taking into account the ecosystem and working to reduce bycatch of turtles and other species. This approach increases expenses for U.S. fishermen and makes it more difficult for them to compete in the marketplace with cheaper imports from fishing nations that subsidize their fleets and do not use an ecosystem approach.

“Swordfish are nearly rebuilt, yet our fishermen are only catching 54 percent of the U.S.
quota. Bluefin tuna are a more complicated story. U.S. fishermen have followed quotas based on scientific recommendations designed to end overfishing. There may be ways to fish more of the U.S. quotas for both stocks in a sustainable manner.” – Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA Assistant Admin. for NOAA’s Fisheries Service

The public process will also be a chance to examine using “catch shares,” which would allocate a portion of the total catch to a person, company, community or sector, to better manage these fisheries. NOAA will examine novel ways to limit the bycatch of sea turtles, marine mammals, or undersized, prohibited and spawning fish in the bluefin and swordfish fisheries.

Jim Balsiger says they’ve “heard a number of ideas from constituents and we want to broaden the conversation to include recreational fishermen, environmental organizations and the general public on how best to manage these valuable highly migratory fish species.”

This effort to involve the public comes as NOAA’s Fisheries Service announces this season’s bluefin tuna quota for U.S. commercial and recreational fishermen. The rule puts in place reductions in overall quota that were adopted at the November 2008 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the international body that manages tuna, swordfish and other species that cross international boundaries.

The rule, which published on June 1, raises the daily catch limit from one to two bluefin tunas for recreational fishermen. NOAA had originally proposed a daily limit of one but raised the limit to two per day after reviewing comments from the fishing industry and analyzing the change for consistency with the bluefin tuna rebuilding program. The new rule maintains the three-fish per day limit for commercial fishermen.

NOAA received many comments and suggestions during the recent bluefin tuna rule making on ways to improve long-term management of bluefin and swordfish. These proposals will now be part of this summer’s public process.

In addition to considering catch shares and by-catch reduction, some of the proposals that will be discussed include:

• • an industry request to lower the commercial minimum size for bluefin tuna from 73 to 65 inches
• • an industry request to allow more bluefin tuna to be landed that have been incidentally caught in longline fishing gear
• • a proposal to allow approximately 5,000 commercial tuna fishermen who use rod and reel to land swordfish at low catch levels

Public comments on bluefin tuna fishery issues will close June 30, while comments on all other issues, including swordfish, will remain open until Aug. 31.

All meetings will begin with an opportunity for people to view information on the issues raised in the public process and ask questions at 5 p.m., followed by a presentation and opportunity for public comment beginning at 6 p.m.

The closest public meeting to us here on Shem Creek will be held next Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. on June 25 at:

Roanoke Island Festival Park
1 Festival Park
Manteo, N.C. 27954

You can learn more about the public comment process or the bluefin tuna quota at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA seeks our input on governing Swordfish, Bluefin Tuna fishing

There is plenty of information on the NOAA site for those interested, but what I found particularly interesting with respect to our own Large Marine Ecosystem – LME#6 covers the SouthEast – are two points:

1. NC’s Albemarle-Pamlico Sound is one of the largest and most productive aquatic systems in NA.
2. The SE US Continental Shelf is one of a few LME’s that have experienced long-term cooling since 1957.

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA: World’s large marine ecosystems are heating up

Find out more at http://www.panda.org/coraltriangle.

From the Shem Creek blog.

The healthiest sea on the planet

From the Shem Creek blog.

Sustainable fishing levels won’t be back until 2032

For the Atlantic coast, it mentions 5 points in particular:

1. Large ships must obey a 10-knot speed limit in times and areas where endangered right whales are likely to
   congregate. These areas include calving / nursery areas in waters off Georgia and Florida, and a number of ports in the Northeast.
2. East Coast trap and pot fishermen are also switching from floating to sinking ground-line to help reduce the risk of entangling large whales. A large number of North Atlantic right whales were sighted in the Gulf of Maine in December 2008, leading researchers to believe they have identified a wintering ground and potentially a breeding ground for this endangered species.
3. Scientists are analyzing underwater sounds within the Stellwagen Banks National Marine Sanctuary to support a global monitoring network for ocean noise, an important step in protecting marine mammals.
4. NOAA Fisheries Service completed a research cruise to evaluate five proposed Marine Protected Area sites off the U.S. South Atlantic coast. The survey areas included spawning habitat for five species of grouper and two species of tilefish.
5. The Habitat Mapping Camera System (Habcam) was developed in collaboration with the fishing industry and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute as a noninvasive sampling tool. When towed by a commercial scallop boat, it can collect 300,000 high resolution images per day without damaging underwater habitat.

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA releases 2008 Business Report for Fisheries Service

Headquartered here in N. Charleston, the SAFMC is a federal agency, but their decision will have to meet final approval from the National Marine Fisheries Service – likely not to take effect until the red snapper’s summer spawning season.

“The sad part is these kinds of (overfishing) problems should have been addressed long ago. As with anything, the more you delay it, the more severe it is (to deal with). We’re paying the piper now. No matter what the council finally decides, ‘you’re looking at a very limited fishery even when it’s restored.’” – Dick Brame of the CCA

Many red snapper fishermen – not to mention seafood connoisseurs & sushi lovers – are upset and confused with the decision, because fishermen are seeing a glut of larger fish at or above the 20-inch limit – scientists say some unusually strong spawning seasons from several years ago are what’s causing that.

“I don’t like having to do it. The big picture is that red snapper stocks are in very bad shape.” – Duane Harris,
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Chairman

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:
4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201
North Charleston, SC 29405
phone 843.571.4366
toll free 866.SAFMC-10
fax 843.769.4520
safmc@safmc.net

From the Shem Creek blog.

Red snapper fishing may soon be illegal

THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

There is little doubt that worldwide aquaculture growth will slow, albeit with growth spurts for particular species and regions. The success of the industry is bringing out constraints that were only potential when it started to grow. These obstacles will not simply disappear. Persistent efforts will remove or reduce them, but then others will arise. However, it is equally true that aquaculture will continue to grow in response to demand for fish and seafood generally. It will not come to a standstill.

As aquaculture entrepreneurs – large and small, modern and artisanal – and governments increasingly collaborate to remove knowledge constraints (those they are best equipped to handle and those that yield the best returns for the effort), the aquaculture industry will start to reduce its dependence on wild stocks. Currently, its need for broodstock, seed and feeds slows development. Once this dependence has been reduced, the industry will start to benefit from gains similar to those long enjoyed by the livestock industry, in particular those of selective breeding.

From the Shem Creek blog.

We will all windup eating fish from selective breeding

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is meeting today in Key Largo, Florida to address a variety of issues affecting federal fisheries management and alternatives for protecting deepwater coral areas in this area.

To expand the coral images below and see how beautiful they are is only half the story: the proposed Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based Amendment 1 would protect what is currently thought to be the largest contiguous distribution of deepwater ecosystems in the world. Over 23,000 square miles of deepwater habitat would be designated as Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (CHAPCs – see 1st image below).

Many are concerned over the state of our deepwater corals, and rightfully so. Unlike reef-building tropical corals, deepwater corals are found beyond the reach of sunlight and are adapted to the dark environment. Different from shallow water corals, deepwater coral polyps do not contain the symbiotic algae that provide their tropical cousins with energy via photosynthesis. Instead, deepwater corals rely on catching passing food in the water column.

As a result, deepwater corals grow very slowly, from less than one centimeter to up to two centimeters per year. Deepwater coral colonies tend to be found in areas where there are strong water currents, which supply food and remove sediments that would otherwise smother the coral polyps. They are also typically found along rocky ledges or in narrow regions.

Deepwater coral systems are receiving increased attention worldwide, because they are rich in diversity and provide habitat for many species, ones that we never see in the supermarket or restaurant, but are still doing their part in the ecosystem deep underwater.

Further reading:

1. A Profile of the Charleston Bump

Proposed coral HAPCs
(Credit: NOAA)

Southeastern deep sea coral
(Credit: NOAA)

Charleston Bump surface temp deflection
(Credit: NOAA)

 

From the Shem Creek blog.

New deep sea fishing rules designed to protect coral

As a result, 7 fish stocks were removed from the overfishing list in 2007. Approximately 40 stocks are still experiencing overfishing according to NOAA, but the NOAA Fisheries Service and the fishery management councils are in the process of ending overfishing for all of these as well.

NOAA’s action provides guidance on how to comply with new annual catch limit (ACL) and accountability measure (AM) requirements for ending overfishing of those fisheries managed by Federal fishery management plans. Changes to the Act are effective February 17, 2009.

Meanwhile, here’s a one-minute video on overfishing:

“The commercial seafood industry and recreational saltwater fishing provide our nation food, jobs and other incredible benefits…” – Jim Balsiger, acting A.A. for NOAA Fisheries Service.

Finally, here are some common acronyms used in the fishery business:

btw: I couldn’t find which 7 species were removed from the overfishing list for the life of me! If you find out, please let me know. TIA!

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA’s final guidance on Annual Catch Limits to end overfishing

Along with this map is a listing of all the rivers and lakes throughout South Carolina. I suppose with all the creeks we have around here, there’s no way they could cover all of them (yet), but maybe that will be included down the road (hint, hint).

Still, the DHEC Fish Advisory website is a great resource for you to check out; another is the NOAA FishWatch site, which focuses on the sustainability of fisheries nationwide.

Here’s the Cooper River breakdown:

It gives suggested meal quantities and schedules per week & per month, and any restrictions that may currently be in place.

• Cooper River East Fork – from Quinby Creek to the “T”
• Cooper River West Fork – from Diversion Canal to the “T”
• The “T” to Bushy Park, and
• Downstream of Bushy Park.

For further information, contact: Bureau of Water: Phone: (803) 898-4300 – Fax: (803) 898-4215

From the Shem Creek blog.

“Fish Smart, Eat Smart” DHEC fish advisories