September 11 - Wicked Tune-Up for Tuna Rules - Fishermen who catch tuna with harpoons, hand gear, purse seine nets, and longlines gathered last Wednesday in Gloucester, MA, for a hearing on proposed changes to the way we manage the catch of the Atlantic bluefin tuna. Bluefin are highly prized for the sushi market and for recreational fishing. Strong, sleek, and muscular, these fish are astonishingly fast giants that can reach well over a thousand pounds. But their popularity has led to plummeting populations and has landed the bluefin on the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

September 12 - The Bottom Line: Rebuilding Plans Work for U.S. Fisheries - By Lee Crockett, The Pew Charitable Trusts. A congressional hearing this week on the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act examined a new report from the National Academies on the law’s effectiveness in rebuilding depleted fish populations. As a member of the peer-review panel for the report, I can attest to the amount of work that went into this study, which clearly recognizes our nation’s overall success in restoring fish stocks.

September 13 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, September 13 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, fishing stakeholders respond to a report and hearing on Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization and rebuilding requirements; a seasonal lobster closure begins in Long Island Sound; Serious Eats highlights Maine lobstering; New Bedford’s Working Waterfront Festival will take place September 28-29; GMRI’s Out of the Blue campaign continues with a focus on whiting; new research shows changes in marine life distribution follow the direction and speed of climate change.

September 4 - We can restore river herring, but the Mid Atlantic Council and NOAA Fisheries need to step up - This post was written by John McMurray, a charter fishing captain and MAFMC member. We should acknowledge and stress that we can rebuild this culturally and economically important fish that has historically been a critical part of the marine food chain. And that we can, at least to some extent, control mortality both inshore and offshore. A stocks-in-the-fishery designation would give us the tools to do that. It won’t be easy for NOAA Fisheries, or Council staff, to make it happen, but it’s their/our obligation.

September 6 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, September 6 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, an NAS report evaluates the success of the Magnuson-Stevens Act; EDF’s Sarah Smith argues that closed areas can help fisheries build resilience to climate change; species distribution in New England is changing, with bonito, black sea bass, and squid moving north; Maine’s record seafood revenues in 2012 were mostly from lobster; UMass scientists prepare to tag juvenile bluefin tuna; USFWS will no longer stock the Merrimack with salmon; the NEFMC releases the agenda for its next meeting; Massachusetts closes 40 oyster beds; PCB resistant killifish in New Bedford Harbor stump scientists.

July 29 - Overfishing Threatens Genetic Diversity of Winter Flounder - New research by scientists in six bays of Long Island, New York, shows that overfishing of winter flounder living in these bays has led to severe inbreeding, a factor that is not typically considered in marine fisheries management.

August 2 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, August 2 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, fishermen and environmentalists are disappointed with NMFS’ rejection of observer requirements for the herring fleet; industry members say that uncertainty in stock assessments means catch limits should be eased; the NEFMC chairman tells NOAA that observer requirements for closed areas access are excessive; the Island Institute hosts a symposium on fisheries and climate change; oyster thieves hit another Cape Cod farm; three fishery management councils agree to protect deep-sea corals; NOAA announces a new fisheries research grant opportunity; scientists begin an expedition to tag twenty great white sharks off Chatham.

New England’s cod populations are at their lowest levels in history, thanks to decades of chronic overfishing and habitat destruction. Fisheries scientists agree that protecting vital fish habitat is key to restoring these once-plentiful fish species. How does the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) respond? Yesterday NOAA proposed to allow new bottom trawling and other forms of commercial fishing in areas of New England’s ocean that have been protected for almost twenty years. NOAA’s assessment, which did not include a full analysis of the impacts and benefits of removing this protection as required by federal law, actually concludes that, for three of the four areas, opening them to trawling and other forms of fishing is “likely to yield only small increases in net benefit.”  NOAA’s assessment also finds that, in one of the areas, the opening will result in a reduction in net benefits to offshore lobstering, which will not be allowed at times when groundfishing is permitted.

The trade-offs exchanged for this “small increase in net benefit” are many, and they include the value of almost two decades of ecological restoration. Protecting habitat promotes the recovery of Georges Bank haddock and has rejuvenated the valuable scallop stocks. If NOAA’s own environmental assessment concludes that these protected areas harbor larger, more productive fish, why is NOAA allowing access to kill fish that could help overfished stocks to rebound or healthy stocks to remain healthy?

Also at risk is any role that these areas might play in the long-term protection of fish habitat. For more than eight years, the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has been “developing” a grand plan, known as the Omnibus Habitat Amendment, designed to meet federal law requirements to protect fish habitat against the damaging impacts of fishing gear. A final decision on the Amendment is expected in ten months. Bizarrely, NOAA is proposing to open areas now that are under consideration for future protection. What will be the remaining value of this habitat after trawls have been allowed to ply them for months? Let’s face it, NOAA, any trawling will diminish this area’s habitat value and trawling for two months will eliminate it. The fact is that if NOAA’s proposal is completed it will effectively preempt the NEFMC’s assessment of these areas and remove them from inclusion in any future habitat protection plan without the fully required analysis.

If the benefit that these areas play in rebuilding and maintaining fish stocks and the fact that they are under consideration in a federally-mandated habitat protection plan was not enough to convince NOAA that opening these areas was a bad idea, the agency should have at least been convinced by the role that they play in buffering against climate change impacts. This is especially so given that NOAA’s strategy for helping fish adapt to climate change is to “conserve habitat to support healthy fish,” and one its means for achieving that is “to reduce negative impacts of capture practices and gear on important habitats for fish.” Sadly, this action could not be more diametrically opposed to these strategies.

NOAA’s proposal appropriately retains protection from trawling for places in the Gulf of Maine like Cashes Ledge, an underwater mountain range 80 miles off the coasts of Massachusetts that harbors the largest and deepest kelp forest on the eastern seaboard and shelters some of the most diverse habitat and wildlife in the region. The agency should extend its rational thinking beyond the Gulf of Maine and retain all existing protected areas until a full consideration of the functions, values and merits of new and existing protected areas has been completed as part of the Omnibus Habitat Amendment process.

The public has until July 26 to comment on NOAA’s proposal to open nearly 3,000 square miles of protected habitat to commercial trawling. Please take action here.

Reinforcing the need to protect vital ocean habitat areas and end overfishing of New England’s severely depleted groundfish, the Conservation Law Foundation and Earthjustice filed a pair of lawsuits in federal district court challenging the shortsighted and damaging groundfish regulations developed by the New England Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for the 2013 fishing year.

The first lawsuit challenges NMFS’s plan to open several groundfish conservation areas in New England that have been closed for at least a decade to commercial fishing for cod, haddock, and flounder.

The second suit challenges a plan to boost 2013 catch limits for several New England groundfish stocks beyond the allowable science-based limits by “carrying over” ten percent of the quota from 2012 that fishermen were unable to catch.

The science is clear—cod stocks are in their worst shape ever in the history of New England fishing. Cod on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine are at nine percent of healthy levels, and they aren’t improving. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries’ most recent trawl survey showed the lowest number of cod in the historical record. Many fishermen couldn’t come close to meeting their quotas last year because fish populations are so low. Fisheries scientists say there is no cause for optimism that stocks will rebound any time soon.

Despite this overwhelming evidence, the fishing industry—now enabled with a deeply misguided lawsuit from Attorney General Martha Coakley—has placed growing pressure on regulators to allow fishermen to catch more fish and trawl previously protected habitat. These NMFS actions will allow fishermen to apply for access to 5,000 square miles of previously protected habitat. These vitally important areas, such as Cashes Ledge and the Western Gulf of Maine Closed Area, have been protected from the most damaging fishing gear for well over a decade, but are now at risk to being opened to new fishing pressure. Allowing new bottom trawling would damage critical spawning and nursery areas. Further, despite catch limits that already match or exceed the highest levels recommended by scientists, NOAA will allow fishermen to carry over ten percent of their quota from last year, effectively authorizing even more overfishing.

NOAA’s actions are legally and scientifically wrong, plain and simple. Authorizing continued overfishing won’t create more fish. NMFS’s actions to potentially allow new fishing in protected areas have been implemented through a shoddy process that undercuts responsible development of fishery management plans and ignore the requirement to complete a full environmental impact statement. That’s a clear violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

These suits make a simple request of NMFS—to follow the science and the law. The agency must show leadership in ending overfishing and protecting vital habitat areas like Cashes Ledge, or there is little hope for the future of New England’s iconic fisheries and a healthy ocean.

The most important species are not always the biggest, fastest, or most charismatic. The silvery Atlantic Menhaden usually averages only about 12 to 15 inches in length when it is full grown. But, it’s the massive size of a menhaden school which makes this the most valuable fish you’ve most likely never heard of. Menhaden are among the most important forage species along the Atlantic seaboard and a vital food source for dozens of other species.

For decades the menhaden harvest was among the highest catch in tons of any fishery in the nation, and gross overfishing was a strong concern among other fishermen who understand the menhaden’s valuable role as a forage fish. But this isn’t the first time that menhaden have been in the news or that efforts have been tried to establish a more sustainable fishing level. In a landmark move last year, East Coast fishery managers—responding to a plea for action by more than 90,000 people —committed to advancing new protections for Atlantic menhaden. Now is the time to make sure these plans become real improvements on the water.

Right now we need your help in sending the message that Menhaden need better management! Send a message before Nov. 16^th!

Menhaden populations have plummeted 90 percent over the past 25 years and remain at an all-time low—just 10 percent of historic levels. Because these small fish are prey for larger animals, this decline threatens to disrupt coastal and marine food webs and affect the thousands of fishing, whale-watching, and bird-watching businesses that menhaden help support.

We need to leave more menhaden in the ocean to promote their recovery. There is no limit on the total amount of these fish that can be caught at sea. Every year, hundreds of millions of them are ground up to make fertilizer; fish meal for farm animals, pets, and aquaculture; and oil for dietary supplements.

On Dec. 14, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will make decisions that are critical to the recovery of Atlantic menhaden and the ocean wildlife that depends on them for food. Let the commission know that it’s time to bring the menhaden fishery into the 21^st century.

Please take a few minutes to send a letter to the Atlantic States Fisheries Commission before Nov. 16^th!

Or you can do the right thing by writing a letter to Dr. Louis Daniel, vice chair, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission via the ASMFC staff and urge them to:

• Set an enforceable catch limit;
• Reduce the overall amount caught each year; and,
• Follow-through on commitments to restore the menhaden population.

Thank You for your help – now pass it along to your friends!

Atlantic Menhaden are small but vital for a healthy ocean ecosystem

September 10 – New Study Shows Overfishing Costs Southeast and Gulf Regions Millions Per Year – By Lee Crockett of the Pew Environment Group. There’s an old saying that a penny saved is a penny earned. This sound financial advice is equally true for management of U.S. ocean fish resources. As I’ve said before, conserving our ocean fish populations is a prudent economic investment. The converse is also true: Overfishing is bad economic policy.

September 14 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, September 14 – This week in Fish Talk in the News: A disaster declaration for the New England groundfish fishery; fishermen oppose an increase in the minimum landing size for conch; an increase in seafood-borne illness in Maine; a new study of the importance of forage fish; NMFS denies a request to alter the gillnetting closure intended to protect porpoises; Shaw’s expands its sustainable seafood choices; a study suggests seal culling wouldn’t help fish; John Bullard continues his public listening sessions; and the US Court of Appeals upholds catch shares for West Coast groundfish.

This post was originally published on TalkingFish.org.

Despite its caption, the “Transparent and Science-Based Fishery Management Act of 2012,” H.R. 6350, introduced by U.S. Representative John Runyun of New Jersey just hours before Congress adjourned for summer recess on August 2^nd is a misguided piece of legislation.  It brings political interference and micro-management back into fisheries management, thwarts science-based decisions, costs jobs and any hope of increased prosperity for hundreds of fishing families, eliminates government and fisherman accountability for a public resource, and reverses the painful progress and sacrifice that has been made in recent years to restore many of America’s once-bountiful fisheries.

New England certainly doesn’t need this bill.  All it would do here is to pull fishing families and businesses back into the tar pit of mismanagement and economic and social decline from which they have been struggling to escape for the past two decades. Whatever Representative Runyan’s intentions might be, the only outcome this legislation guarantees is more chaos and productivity losses in this nation’s fisheries.

In 2006, important accountability provisions were introduced into the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and recent reviews of fisheries management indicate that they are working to rebuild fish stocks. Despite this success, Representative Runyun is trying to un-do these provisions. In 2006, 28 % of the nation’s fisheries for which data was available were overfished; in those fisheries with adequate data, 26% of them were subject to overfishing. By June 2012, just one or two years after the new Magnuson measures took effect, 23% remained in an overfished condition and overfishing was down to 17%. Not great after 35 years of federal management but headed the right way. Unfortunately, New England’s fish stocks–the poster child for what happens with “management flexibility”—remained among the worst in the nation.

New England managers have destroyed hundreds of good fishing businesses and plummeted cod populations to levels never seen in history by catering to short term economic interests at the expense of long term profitability.  In the New England groundfish fishery, overfishing and mismanagement have resulted in significant revenue losses. If stocks were at managed at sustainable levels, current groundfish revenues could be three times greater – infusing New England’s economy with nearly $170 million in additional dockside revenues compared to 2010 revenues. In New England, we’ve seen the human and ecological damage caused by ”flexible fishery management.” It doesn’t work. Not for the fish and not for the fishermen..

If Congressman Runyun cared about fisheries, he would lead the charge to secure adequate federal appropriations for better research, better stock assessments, more data, better assessment technology research and development, and innovative gear research by fishermen, not file backward laws. Unfortunately, he appears to be more interested in demagoguery and ideology than he is in solving real fisheries problems. From where I sit, his legislation is a political distraction to the real work that needs to be done —  restoring sustainable fisheries and communities in New England.

August 7 – Brooklyn’s Mermaid’s Garden tells us what it’s like to run a CSF – Bianca Piccillo and Mark Usewicz are the presidents of Mermaid’s Garden, a Brooklyn, NY based community supported fishery (CSF) and sustainable seafood consulting organization.

August 10 – More Congressional Fisheries Misdirection – Despite its caption, the “Transparent and Science-Based Fishery Management Act of 2012,” H.R. 6350, introduced by U.S. Representative John Runyun of New Jersey just hours before Congress adjourned for summer recess on August 2nd is a misguided piece of legislation.

August 10 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, August 10 - This week in Fish Talk in the News: U.S. district court demands stricter regulations for Atlantic river herring; a NOAA workshop on catch per unit effort and landings per unit effort; new low-interest loans for small-scale fishermen; congressional delegates express concern over menhaden stock assessments; sustainable seafood is also the healthiest seafood; sustainable Maine squid grow in popularity; the Out of the Blue program to promote underutilized local seafood wraps up; and the Maine lobster glut causes protests in Canada.