Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS February 2016
Commercial Fishing News MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
NOAA expands
opportunities for U.S. aquaculture Groundbreaking rule opens the door for seafood farming in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico
NOAA fi led a fi nal rule today imple- menting the nation’s fi rst comprehensive regulatory program for aquaculture in fed- eral waters. The groundbreaking rule creates a coordinated permitting system for the Gulf of Mexico, opening the door for the region to expand seafood production and create new jobs in an environmentally sustainable manner.
“As demand for seafood continues to rise, aquaculture presents a tremendous op- portunity not only to meet this demand, but also to increase opportunities for the seafood industry and job creation,” said Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., NOAA administrator. “Ex- panding U.S. aquaculture in federal waters complements wild harvest fi sheries and supports our efforts to maintain sustainable fi sheries and resilient oceans.”
Aquaculture is the practice of raising marine species in controlled environments. In the U.S., federal waters begin where state jurisdiction ends and extend out to 200 miles offshore. In this case, federal waters begin three nautical miles off Louisiana, Missis- sippi and Alabama and nine nautical miles off Texas and the west coast of Florida. “While this framework is the fi rst of its kind in federal waters, the states already support many successful and thriving aqua- culture operations in their waters,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA adminis- trator for fi sheries. “Allowing this type of seafood production will not only reduce U.S. dependency on imports, but also provide a domestic source of sustainable fi sh protein
and create jobs.”
The new rule authorizes NOAA Fisher- ies to issue permits to grow species such as red drum, cobia, and almaco jack in federal waters in the Gulf for an initial period of 10 years. The rule took into account thousands of public comments.
The permit process includes compre- hensive safeguards to ensure healthy oceans and coasts and considers other uses of ocean space, such as fi shing. The rule implements environmental safeguards, including a baseline survey, monitoring, and reporting requirements. In addition to a NOAA permit, farming fi sh in federal waters also requires permits from the U.S. Environmental Pro- tection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. NOAA Fisheries is working with these agencies to set up a coordinated permitting process for the Gulf.
“This is all about managing and expand- ing seafood farming in an environmentally sound and economically sustainable way,” said Michael Rubino, director, NOAA Fisheries Offi ce of Aquaculture. “The per- mit process we’ve laid out accounts for the region’s unique needs and opens the door for other regions to follow suit.” Right now, there are no commercial aquaculture operations in federal waters. But three offshore mussel farms received federal permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last year – two off Massachusetts and one off California. The Army Corps and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are also considering an application for a com- pany seeking to farm fi sh in federal waters off California.
Commercial farming of marine species, such as oysters, clams, mussels and salmon, have operated in state waters for many years.
For example, U.S. aquaculture products generated $1.4 billion in value in 2013—20 percent of total U.S. seafood production and fi shery products by value.
Statement from Paul Doremus, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries/NE Fisheries Science Center
On December 23, 2015, the Falmouth Enterprise published a story that NOAA “is exploring the possibility of relocating the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to a new facility outside of Woods Hole.” While the story suggests that relocation may be imminent, we are in fact very early in the process of considering how best to update the buildings and associated operations of the 54-year-old Woods Hole complex. The Enterprise story also contains statements from a Science Center employee that do not represent the views of the agency. At this point, NOAA has not made a decision to relocate the laboratory and will only pur- sue a recapitalization option after extensive analysis and consultations with the Admin- istration and Congress. Right now, NOAA is conducting a
large-scale study that will evaluate all of our options for upgrading the Woods Hole com- plex. Studies like this are a normal business practice for long-term planning. This type of study requires the agency to evaluate multiple options to inform the overall deci- sion-making process. While NOAA Fisheries is fully commit- ted to maintaining its scientifi c capabilities in the Northeast, the condition of that labora- tory, built in 1961, will make it increasingly diffi cult for NOAA to continue its tradition of world-class fi sheries science in the region into the future.
The current study will be completed sometime in the spring. Starting with this study, Fisheries will continue to work with NOAA and the Department of Commerce to ensure they have everything they need to evaluate our options, including information on potential community impacts, costs and benefi ts to our mission, and the ability for our Agency to continue to do our scientifi c work in the Woods Hole area. We look forward to working further
with the Administration, with Congress, and with all of our partners in the region as we evaluate our options for upgrading our facilities and providing the best long-term support for our scientifi c work in the North- east.
CANADIAN
FISHING NEWS Saguenay Fjord Winter Recreational Groundfi sh Fishery
December 22, 2015
Québec, Quebec – The ice fi shing season on the Saguenay Fjord will begin on January 16 and end on March 6, 2016.
Following consultations with ice
fi shing stakeholders, the Department has determined that the fi shing season will be 45 days. However, in order to authorize fi shing up until spring break without signifi cantly increasing the fi shing effort, fi shing will be prohibited every Tuesday in January and February (January 19 and 26, and Febru- ary 2,9,16 and 23, 2016). The recreational groundfi sh fi shery is under federal jurisdic- tion; therefore, the prohibition of fi shing every Tuesday in January and February does not apply to species under provincial jurisdiction such as Smelt. It is everyone’s responsibility to check the applicable mea- sures for this species.
Each person is allowed to catch a maxi-
mum of fi ve groundfi sh per day of any type, except Atlantic Halibut, Atlantic Wolffi sh, Northern Wolffi sh, Spotted Wolffi sh, Skate and White Hake. Fishers are required to release these species.
For the safety of those participating in
ice fi shing, DFO emphasizes that access to fi shing sites is conditional on ice thickness and in accordance with municipal regula- tions.
Please note that Canadian Coast Guard spring icebreaking operations on the Sa- guenay River will begin on or around March 7, 2016. The Coast Guard strongly recom- mends that all hikers, fi shers and snow- mobilers leave the ice during icebreaking activities, as shifting ice may create a danger for anyone in the area.
Minister Tootoo Sets Arctic Surf Clam Total Allowable Catch A review of science and further consulta- tions will occur before a spatial management system and new entrants are considered December 18, 2015 - Ottawa, Ontario The Honourable Hunter Tootoo, Min- ister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced that the Total Al- lowable Catch (TAC) for Offshore Arctic surf clams will be set at 38,756 tonnes for 2016, which is the level it has been at for a number of years. Prior to any change in the TAC and any decision on new entrants, the Minister has asked for science work to be completed and work undertaken to consider a spatial management system, which has been recommended by two independent studies of the fi shery.
Underscoring the Government of
Canada’s commitment to the precautionary principle, the Minister said that managing fi sheries based on robust scientifi c evidence is a priority. He said further decisions about this fi shery will not be taken until he is confi - dent of its long-term sustainability and until further consultations could be held through
120
7530 Olympic View Dr. Unit 105, Edmonds, WA 98026 · (425) 774-7595
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31