Month: December 2019

FEN December 2019 Call Minutes

Posted on by Julie A. Lively

Tue, Dec 3, 2019 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM CST

National Level

Bryan Fluech- Georgia Sea Grant:

  • The assembly is still interested in knowing what networks exist and are meeting, but at this point nothing dedicated is planned
  • OH is hosting next SG week. Agents often don’t make it to National SG week so not sure if it would be useful to overlap unless clear communication from the top encouraging or discouraging agents, etc.

 

South Atlantic

Bryan Fluech- Georgia Sea Grant

  • Shrimp production is up and going really well this year.
  • SC has a new fisheries specialist
  • Group from SG working with South Atlantic Council to work with outdoor writers and descending gear with private funds
  • Shark depredation continues to be an issue and continuing to look at funding, currently with SA and Gulf SG programs.
  • Public high school in Macintosh County program up and running with technical college (safety, navigation, biology, etc.). Will get some technical college credit and have advisory board with industry input.
  • Research is underway looking at alternative jellyfish uses such as a thickener

Shelly Krueger – Florida Sea Grant via email

 

Mid-Atlantic

Sara Mirabilio – North Carolina Sea Grant

  • Mid Atlantic SG meeting March 24-26 in Maryland.
  • Working with the regional shark depredation as it is a large problem right now with lots of areas and lots of gear types. Trying field prototype of gear that is working really well in tank tests.  Trials will hopefully start by the end of August.
  • Lost NCSG Aquaculture specialist to the National Office- hoping to rehire for someone for January.
  • NC hiring climate resilience specialist as Jessica Whitehead went to new statewide office
  • 7-9- Fish Camp 2.0. They did a pilot young fishermen training in 2018.  Finally got funding through a license fee pot of money.  So will do a statewide 3-day event (Communications, Fishery Science and Management, and Business).  Will send the agenda and information on the program after the call.

 

Alaska

Gabe Dunham- Alaska Sea Grant

  • Bristol Bay forecast is 6% higher than 10-year average and is looking great. Temperatures have been increasing which could be part of why.
  • Normal cool pool of water near the Bearing Straight that acts as barrier isn’t there anymore so pollock is moving up
  • Run failure for North peninsula Chinook salmon
  • King crab and salmon trawl still running
  • January 20, 2020 Young Fishermen Program (Management, Science, Business) with some more technology with Poll Everywhere to get business questions.
  • Processors and Leadership Program out of Kodiak also working
  • Crew Class- 1-day workshop to mimic Young Fishermen program but at 1-day level for boat crew (mending nets, be a good boat roomie, finances, etc.). Did these in 8 small communities focused on gill netters. Used the High Schools to help recruit and used local people to help with the event.  Hoping to get more funding to bring this to more areas.
  • Community resilience specialist is still working on adaptation program
  • Based on question- Pebble Mine is still a major issue

 

Great Lakes

Titus Seilheimer- Wisconsin Sea Grant

  • Few new fishery faces at Michigan Sea Grant bring the total of Upper Peninsula Michigan to three including Lauren Jescovitch based at Michigan Tech and Martha Gerig based in Marquette; MN has an open position in Fisheries and Aquaculture, which they started reviewing.
  • Great Lakes regional meeting was this fall and the fisheries session met
  • New national office funded aquaculture program on all the Great Lakes (minus Champlain) with regional advisory council and efforts in all the states
  • Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Trail (based on the Maine trail) is looking to expand throughout the Great Lakes region. It’s mostly MI and WI but encouraging the other states to add points of interest related commercial fishing (and other fisheries).
  • Great Lakes-wide education program on lake sturgeon is starting to come together
  • Lake Champlain (Mark) shared project on lake trout, but is planning to retire in the next year or two
  • Trawl bycatch work on whitefish will lead to the gear being approved based on Titus’s work

 

AFS- Reno session: Cooperative research session had 16 talks and more posters.  It was well-attended with a lot of SG participation.  A written summary is attached at the end.

 

Gulf of Mexico

Julie Lively- Louisiana Sea Grant

  • Freshwater has been a major topic across the Gulf all year.
  • Coastal restoration projects that would lead to increased freshwater input into the system are being examined based on this year by the industries.
  • Shrimp and oyster landings are down.
  • Louisiana Fisheries Forward Summit- March 11, 2020 in New Orleans
  • Workforce/ greying- at the Summit will be broad topic; did round table day on the topic in Louisiana; leadership program pilot in 2020 coming
  • Prestige oysters undergoing MSC
  • GSMFC still meeting- Laura P. from TX will be the new chair

 

North Pacific

Amanda Gladics (via email):

 

 

Western Pacific

Kelley Anderson Tagarino- Hawaii Sea Grant (via email):

  • Sea Grant National Aquaculture grant awarded to HI Sea Grant entitled, “ESTABLISHING A HAWAI‘I-PACIFIC AQUACULTURE CONSORTIUM: A REVITALIZATION AND EXPANSION OF AN AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.”  The aim of this project is to revitalize and expand an aquaculture development program through the establishment of an aquaculture-focused, collaborative program that is geographically and sectorally inclusive across Hawai‘i and the Pacific region.

 

  • Federally mandated minimum wage hike again causes StarKist Samoa Tuna Cannery to threaten to leave American Samoa.

 

  • Annual allowable catch of bottomfish in American Samoa drastically reduced by recent Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Council (WestPac) recommendation.

From http://www.wpcouncil.org/press-release-interim-bottomfish-measure-addresses-overfishing-allows-american-samoa-fishery-to-operate-24-october-2019/

“A recent draft stock assessment by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) indicates that the federally managed bottomfish complex in American Samoa is overfished and experiencing overfishing…  After deliberations the Council voted on a suite of recommendations to address the anticipated stock status determination by NMFS as well as ways to improve the accuracy of future stock assessments. The Council requested that NMFS implement interim measures to reduce overfishing while it develops a rebuilding plan for the stock. The Council noted that the change in the stock status and harvest limits due to the 2019 stock assessment was a “drastic change.” The Council also noted that “immediate ending of overfishing is expected to result in a severe economic and cultural impact to the communities that utilize these resources for commercial, subsistence, religious and cultural purposes.” The Council requested that the interim measure implements an annual catch limit for 2020 at a level that reduces overfishing while increasing biomass through the duration of the interim measure.”

 

  • Other relevant comments presented at the WestPac Council meeting come from US Rep Aumua Amata, “Fishing forms the backbone of our local economy.” She noted that the U.S. purse-seine fleet, which provides tuna to the American Samoa-based cannery, pays up to $2 million annually per vessel in access fees to fish in foreign exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters. Restoring the ability of U.S. fishermen to access U.S. EEZ waters that are now closed due to marine national monument regulations “remains the Interior Department’s clear recommendation,” she added. “It is my priority to get this important decision onto the President’s agenda.” She said that the Chinese longline fleet has soared to more than 500 and now catches 45 percent of the South Pacific albacore, while the American Samoa longline fleet has dropped from 60 vessels to 13 active vessels. “The US must be alert to the actions of China, monitor how that affects our fleet, and be constantly active and engaged in the Pacific region,” she said.  From – http://www.wpcouncil.org/press-release-lt-governor-congresswoman-territory-commerce-department-stress-importance-of-fisheries-to-the-u-s-territory-of-american-samoa-23-october-2019/

 

 

 

  • Webinars:
    • Software options
      • Zoom at NC State
      • Others?
    • Shark Depredation- Sara M. February
    • Aging of the Fleet- Julie L. April
    • Role is disaster payments-Bryan F. June
    • Rope-less Gear- Bryan
  • Listserv: Sara Mirabilio: will send for a mass edit
  • In person tag alongs: send along if there are any national meetings we want to tag onto
  • Next call in February

 

APPENDIX:

Extension Education and Cooperative Research to Address the Needs of Fishing Industry Stakeholders  

 

https://afs.confex.com/afs/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Session/8096

 

Co-Chairs/Co-Organizers:

Dr. Douglas Zemeckis (Rutgers Cooperative Extension) (zemeckis@njaes.rutgers.edu)

Scott Baker (North Carolina Sea Grant) (bakers@uncw.edu)

Dr. Carolynn Culver (California Sea Grant) (cculver@ucsd.edu)

Dr. Titus Seilheimer (Wisconsin Sea Grant) (tseilheimer@aqua.wisc.edu)

Dr. Angela Collins (Florida Sea Grant) (abcollins@ufl.edu)

 

Summary:

Fisheries face many challenges and extension education is designed to address these challenges, including the needs of industry stakeholders. Cooperative research partnerships bring together scientists and industry stakeholders to produce new knowledge to help meet these challenges. This symposium included 16 oral presentations and 3 posters that provided lessons learned in extension education programs and cooperative research projects related to recreational, commercial, and artisanal fisheries from both marine and freshwater ecosystems throughout the United States. Projects ranged from training programs, data synthesis and interpretations, and collections of essential fisheries information. Talks highlighted key components enabling success, such as effective communications with clear expectations and roles, and stakeholder engagement during or throughout the project. Extension provides a valuable bridge between academic researchers, fishery managers, and the “white boots on the boat”. Challenges and opportunities of integration of results from cooperative research projects into fisheries management policy were discussed, including sustained research funding. The symposium demonstrated that stakeholder involvement greatly benefits the success of fisheries research projects and is an efficient and cost-effective way to incorporate data that are often otherwise unavailable. Additionally, participation in the process encourages stakeholder buy-in and future collaborations.