River Herring Bycatch Avoidance
River Herring Bycatch Avoidance in the Atlantic Herring and Mackerel Fishery
Midwater Trawl Vessels
Mike Armstrong, PhD Bill Hoffman Brad Schondelmeier
Kevin Stokesbury, PhD Dave Bethoney, PhD Ray Jarvis
Rhode Island Bottom Trawl Vessels
Presentation Overview 1. Introduction and Program History 2. Portside Sampling – MA DMF Objectives, Design, Improvements, Results
3. River Herring Bycatch Avoidance– MA DMF/SMAST/ MWT and RI SMBT Objectives, Design, Improvements, Results
4. Program Evaluation – Does it work? Shortcomings, Successes and Take-aways
5. Research Set-Aside Summary– Review 2014, discuss 2015 Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Introduction - Participating Fisheries • Midwater Trawl Vessels (MWT)- Avg. 61,653mt/year since 2008 - Concentrate on MA landings only (>63% of MWT landings from Area1A, 1B, 2)
Credit: JJ Johnson
• Small-mesh Bottom Trawl Vessels (SMBT)- Avg. 4,500mt/year since 2008 -
Concentrate on RI landings only (>85% of BOT herring landings)
Credit: www.boatbanter.com
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
1. Program History
MA DMF Portside Sampling Program 1 Full-time Biologist
Rhode Island Smallmesh BT vessels
MA-based MWT Vessels
NFWF funds 50% MA/MWT sampling, RHBA Program
TNC funds RI SMBT sampling, extension of RHBA Program
TNC funds both MWT and RI SMBT RHBAs Bridge $ gap to RSA
RSA… RI SMBT MWT Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling MA DMF
OBJECTIVES: • Characterize Landings •
Sampling Goals – –
50%+ of MWT trips (landing in MA) 25-50% of RI SMBT trips (as $ allows)
•
Provide RH%, tow locations to RHBA daily
•
Collect river herring LFs and samples – –
•
Age&Growth analysis Genetic studies
Supplement NEFOP sampling
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling MA DMF DESIGN: • Representative, whole-boat samples - Subsampling of unsorted landings - Expand species %s vessel hail • ID all fish to species level - 100 random LFs on target spp • LFs on all priority spp (RH/Shad, GFish) • Digital, waterproof scales - More accurate weights, fewer samplers needed
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling IMPROVEMENTS:
MA DMF
2008-2010 Subsample, Lot sample and Census samples Co-sampled Trip (Portside vs. At-sea) Analysis 1. Cieri/Corriea (July 2010, 52 trips) “Relatively low levels of agreement of occurrence”, “no correlations between PS and AS estimates of trip weight” 2. Dean (May 2011, 30 trips) Lot and Census sampling not representative of NEFOP sampling
2012-current Only subsamples of unsorted fish, whole-boat offloads sampled Micah Dean 2011
From Dean 2011: “None of the trips where both protocols [Portside Unsorted (PU) and At-sea (AS)] detected a species had significant differences in bycatch estimates,” and… “For the 24 trips that were sampled by both methods, 75% had a higher sample size under PU sampling. As a result, the average CV from PU sampling was 42% less than that achieved under AS on the same trips.” Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling MA DMF RESULTS: Grant/ Fishery
% Coverage
# Trips Sampled
Tons Sampled
By trip
By wgt
# Vessels Sampled
NFWF (MWT) Oct’10-May’13
271
55,528
50%
53%
13
TNC (SMBT)
Dec’11-current
230
6,241
31%
32%
8
TNC (MWT)
Dec’13-current
30
5,271
prelim
prelim
11
Time Period
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling MA DMF RESULTS: 301 trips (and 61,759 mt) for $288,906 in MWT fishery (since 2010) 230 trips (and 5,106 mt) for $101,297 in SMBT fishery (since 2011) Costs include: – – – – –
Contracting of Portside Samplers 1 Field Coordinator (75%MWT/25%SMBT) Indirect Supplies SMAST support Cost / Trip
2011
2012
2013
MWT
$
1,067
$
959
$
SMBT
$
-
$
674
$
Cost / 100mt
2011
MWT
$
SMBT
$
2012 526 $ -
$
2014
1,562
2013 $
826
1,872
$
2,408
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
$
1,126
523 $
416
prelim
326 $
461
AVERAGE
$
2014
AVERAGE
prelim
$
557
$
1,979
1,997
3. River Herring Bycatch Avoidance Programs MADMF/SMAST/MWT/SMBT OBJECTIVES: NFWF • Reduce RH bycatch by 50%, • Bycatch reduction independent of management action
TNC • Replicate NFWF RHBA, • Make data available to managers, • Modernize communications with vessels
• Increase fishermen’s awareness of RH bycatch issues/trends • Create real-time data communication system Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2013 MWT Grids Observed bycatch Mid-Water trawls 2000-Sept2010 35 tows (of ≈350) > 2,000kg 80% of bycatch by weight
High: Alosine weight >1.25% of target species weight Moderate: Alosine weight between 1.25% and 0.2% Low: Alosine weight 50%
SMAST Classify Trip: HIGH
MODERATE
Create Advisory Data in 1000 emails) High sampling rates, sampling data used to inform management, decrease RH estimate CVs Buy in from NGOs- Funding from Nature Conservancy, interest/support from others 3 publications, with more to follow
• •
Reactive Real-time (often proactive) Micah Dean Made Portside Sampling a viable option for cost-effective fishery monitoring…
•
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
4. Program Evaluation Successes, Shortcomings and Take-aways Low RH Bycatch– – – –
Accountability and Collaboration Familiar fishing grounds, if not Test tows Choice of multiple fishing grounds Net staying 1+fm off bottom
Higher RH bycatch– – – – –
Race to fish, derby fishery Unfamiliar fishing grounds Scratching Towing on/near bottom Re-entries
‘Lose a trip to save a season’ Massachusetts MarineFisheries
4. Program Evaluation Did we reduce River Herring bycatch? Many Caveats… No control group ↑ variable data Degree of captains behavior modification What would they have caught? RH populations highly variable No RH assessment or index Area sub-ACLs ↑ variable (1A: 21k mt 4k mt) Landings outside MA lower sampling rates RH bycatch a function of X,Y (as well as Z, and time) But… Looking at 10 years of RH bycatch expansions… Massachusetts MarineFisheries
4. Program Evaluation Did we reduce River Herring bycatch?
RH Bycatch Expansion Data Sources: 2005-2007 Cieri, Nelson, Armstrong (ASMFC) 2008-2012 Micah Dean, Herring PDT (FW3, AppendixII) 2013-2014 DMF preliminary (using portside and NEFOP) Massachusetts MarineFisheries
4. Program Evaluation Did we reduce River Herring bycatch? % Above/Below 10-year RH/S Average Sampling data source
NEFOP
NEFOP/MADMF/MEDMR
NEFOP/MADMF
Publication
Cieri et al
NEFMC FW3 Appendix II
MADMF prelim.
MWT SMBT
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
10-yr AVG
GOM
-43%
-82%
-78%
135%
121%
196%
-91%
-86%
-73%
-97%
46.42
CC/521
-17%
-96%
484%
-3%
-100%
-98%
-79%
-7%
-63%
-22%
54.38
SNE
-66%
-75%
-25%
295%
-23%
-70%
-70%
30%
101%
-98%
151.24
-66%
253%
-100%
22%
-29%
-42%
-65%
99%
-73%
80.36
-76%
124%
138%
1%
-21%
-67%
-13%
54%
-79%
332.40
SNE
Annual Total
-61%
RHBA vs nonRHBA years:
Expanded River Herring/ Shad (metric tons) GOM MWT CC/521 SNE SMBT SNE Annual Total
Expanded RH (metric tons) (2005-2014)
RH Bycatch Rates RH/S Proportion (2008-2014 only) MWT
2008
NEFOP/MADMF/MEDMR
NEFOP/MADMF
NEFMC FW3 Appendix II
MADMF prelim.
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
GOM 0.0069 0.0050 0.0082 0.0004 0.0017 0.0023 0.0002
SNE
RHBA AVG/
7-yr AVG non-RHBA AVG % Reduction 0.0035
17.16%
82.84%
0.0002 0.0020 0.0041 0.0047 0.0043
0.0038
100.67%
-0.67%
0.0209 0.0032 0.0021 0.0046 0.0107 0.0155 0.0005
0.0082
89.60%
10.40%
0.0163 0.0122 0.0097 0.0050 0.0201 0.0074
0.0118
85.08%
14.92%
CC/521 0.0073 SNE
SMBT
RHBA AVG 6.8 31.2 137.2 70.1 227.7
RHBA AVG/ Non-RHBA AVG non-RHBA AVG % Reduction 72.8 9.30% 90.70% 69.8 44.67% 55.33% 160.6 85.43% 14.57% 85.5 81.99% 18.01% 388.8 58.58% 41.42%
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Current Status Sampling winter herring fisheries (MWT-15 trips and SMBT-33 trips) integrating NEFOP data daily Administering two River Herring Bycatch Avoidance Programs MWT (as of 1/16/2015)
SMBT (as of 1/16/2015)
Herring/Shad
Low (less than 0.5% River Herring/Shad Moderate (0.5% to 1.0%) High (above 1.0%)
Source: www.umassd.edu/smast/bycatch
Using funds from TNC and RSA Massachusetts MarineFisheries
5. 2014 RSA Summary • •
•
2014 RSA Statistics 8 Participating RSA Vessels 1A RSA harvested from late Oct. – early Dec. Area
RSA Quota Distributed
RSA Herring Landed
River Herring bycatch
Funds Generated
1A
936mt
757.5mt
4.0mt
$56,813
1B
138mt
0
0
0
2
900mt
0
0
0
15 total trips (100% sampled; 13 MA DMF, 4 NEFOP) Species composition (DMF portside data) Atl. Mackerel Atl. Herring Silver Hake (Whiting) Blueback Herring Alewife Long Finned Squid Haddock Spiny Dogfish American Shad Other
Weight (mt) 1,887.49 775.74 27.89 2.19 1.78 0.77 0.65 0.28 0.13 0.20
% of All RSA catch 69.98% 28.76% 1.03% 0.08% 0.07% 0.03% 0.02% 0.01% 0.00% 0.01%
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2014 1A MWT (including RSA)
5. 2015 RSA • • •
Improvements RSA Trips held to higher standard DMF sampling confirm Atl. Herring hails (create weigh-out slips) Responsible Fishing Agreement-
Hoping for increased RSA productivity in 2015 Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Acknowledgements MWT Industry Fishing Vessels: Western Venture, Osprey, Endeavour, Challenger, Enterprise, Retriever, Sunlight, Starlight, Providian, Voyager, Jean McCausland, Isabel Taylor, Nordic Explorer, Dona Martita Numerous Industry members: Owners, managers, captains, shoreside personnel
SMBT Industry Fishing Vessels: Heather Lynn, Ocean State, Sea Breeze Too, Darana R, Prevail, Lightning Bay, Elizabeth&Katherine Numerous Industry members: Owners, captains, shoreside personnel
Collaborators
Funding Sources
Northeast Fisheries Observer Program Maine Dept. of Marine Resources NOAA Study Fleet A.I.S., Inc. Alison Bowden Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Questions and Comments
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Midwater Trawl Vessels
Mike Armstrong, PhD Bill Hoffman Brad Schondelmeier
Kevin Stokesbury, PhD Dave Bethoney, PhD Ray Jarvis
Rhode Island Bottom Trawl Vessels
Presentation Overview 1. Introduction and Program History 2. Portside Sampling – MA DMF Objectives, Design, Improvements, Results
3. River Herring Bycatch Avoidance– MA DMF/SMAST/ MWT and RI SMBT Objectives, Design, Improvements, Results
4. Program Evaluation – Does it work? Shortcomings, Successes and Take-aways
5. Research Set-Aside Summary– Review 2014, discuss 2015 Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Introduction - Participating Fisheries • Midwater Trawl Vessels (MWT)- Avg. 61,653mt/year since 2008 - Concentrate on MA landings only (>63% of MWT landings from Area1A, 1B, 2)
Credit: JJ Johnson
• Small-mesh Bottom Trawl Vessels (SMBT)- Avg. 4,500mt/year since 2008 -
Concentrate on RI landings only (>85% of BOT herring landings)
Credit: www.boatbanter.com
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
1. Program History
MA DMF Portside Sampling Program 1 Full-time Biologist
Rhode Island Smallmesh BT vessels
MA-based MWT Vessels
NFWF funds 50% MA/MWT sampling, RHBA Program
TNC funds RI SMBT sampling, extension of RHBA Program
TNC funds both MWT and RI SMBT RHBAs Bridge $ gap to RSA
RSA… RI SMBT MWT Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling MA DMF
OBJECTIVES: • Characterize Landings •
Sampling Goals – –
50%+ of MWT trips (landing in MA) 25-50% of RI SMBT trips (as $ allows)
•
Provide RH%, tow locations to RHBA daily
•
Collect river herring LFs and samples – –
•
Age&Growth analysis Genetic studies
Supplement NEFOP sampling
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling MA DMF DESIGN: • Representative, whole-boat samples - Subsampling of unsorted landings - Expand species %s vessel hail • ID all fish to species level - 100 random LFs on target spp • LFs on all priority spp (RH/Shad, GFish) • Digital, waterproof scales - More accurate weights, fewer samplers needed
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling IMPROVEMENTS:
MA DMF
2008-2010 Subsample, Lot sample and Census samples Co-sampled Trip (Portside vs. At-sea) Analysis 1. Cieri/Corriea (July 2010, 52 trips) “Relatively low levels of agreement of occurrence”, “no correlations between PS and AS estimates of trip weight” 2. Dean (May 2011, 30 trips) Lot and Census sampling not representative of NEFOP sampling
2012-current Only subsamples of unsorted fish, whole-boat offloads sampled Micah Dean 2011
From Dean 2011: “None of the trips where both protocols [Portside Unsorted (PU) and At-sea (AS)] detected a species had significant differences in bycatch estimates,” and… “For the 24 trips that were sampled by both methods, 75% had a higher sample size under PU sampling. As a result, the average CV from PU sampling was 42% less than that achieved under AS on the same trips.” Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling MA DMF RESULTS: Grant/ Fishery
% Coverage
# Trips Sampled
Tons Sampled
By trip
By wgt
# Vessels Sampled
NFWF (MWT) Oct’10-May’13
271
55,528
50%
53%
13
TNC (SMBT)
Dec’11-current
230
6,241
31%
32%
8
TNC (MWT)
Dec’13-current
30
5,271
prelim
prelim
11
Time Period
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2. Portside Sampling MA DMF RESULTS: 301 trips (and 61,759 mt) for $288,906 in MWT fishery (since 2010) 230 trips (and 5,106 mt) for $101,297 in SMBT fishery (since 2011) Costs include: – – – – –
Contracting of Portside Samplers 1 Field Coordinator (75%MWT/25%SMBT) Indirect Supplies SMAST support Cost / Trip
2011
2012
2013
MWT
$
1,067
$
959
$
SMBT
$
-
$
674
$
Cost / 100mt
2011
MWT
$
SMBT
$
2012 526 $ -
$
2014
1,562
2013 $
826
1,872
$
2,408
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
$
1,126
523 $
416
prelim
326 $
461
AVERAGE
$
2014
AVERAGE
prelim
$
557
$
1,979
1,997
3. River Herring Bycatch Avoidance Programs MADMF/SMAST/MWT/SMBT OBJECTIVES: NFWF • Reduce RH bycatch by 50%, • Bycatch reduction independent of management action
TNC • Replicate NFWF RHBA, • Make data available to managers, • Modernize communications with vessels
• Increase fishermen’s awareness of RH bycatch issues/trends • Create real-time data communication system Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2013 MWT Grids Observed bycatch Mid-Water trawls 2000-Sept2010 35 tows (of ≈350) > 2,000kg 80% of bycatch by weight
High: Alosine weight >1.25% of target species weight Moderate: Alosine weight between 1.25% and 0.2% Low: Alosine weight 50%
SMAST Classify Trip: HIGH
MODERATE
Create Advisory Data in 1000 emails) High sampling rates, sampling data used to inform management, decrease RH estimate CVs Buy in from NGOs- Funding from Nature Conservancy, interest/support from others 3 publications, with more to follow
• •
Reactive Real-time (often proactive) Micah Dean Made Portside Sampling a viable option for cost-effective fishery monitoring…
•
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
4. Program Evaluation Successes, Shortcomings and Take-aways Low RH Bycatch– – – –
Accountability and Collaboration Familiar fishing grounds, if not Test tows Choice of multiple fishing grounds Net staying 1+fm off bottom
Higher RH bycatch– – – – –
Race to fish, derby fishery Unfamiliar fishing grounds Scratching Towing on/near bottom Re-entries
‘Lose a trip to save a season’ Massachusetts MarineFisheries
4. Program Evaluation Did we reduce River Herring bycatch? Many Caveats… No control group ↑ variable data Degree of captains behavior modification What would they have caught? RH populations highly variable No RH assessment or index Area sub-ACLs ↑ variable (1A: 21k mt 4k mt) Landings outside MA lower sampling rates RH bycatch a function of X,Y (as well as Z, and time) But… Looking at 10 years of RH bycatch expansions… Massachusetts MarineFisheries
4. Program Evaluation Did we reduce River Herring bycatch?
RH Bycatch Expansion Data Sources: 2005-2007 Cieri, Nelson, Armstrong (ASMFC) 2008-2012 Micah Dean, Herring PDT (FW3, AppendixII) 2013-2014 DMF preliminary (using portside and NEFOP) Massachusetts MarineFisheries
4. Program Evaluation Did we reduce River Herring bycatch? % Above/Below 10-year RH/S Average Sampling data source
NEFOP
NEFOP/MADMF/MEDMR
NEFOP/MADMF
Publication
Cieri et al
NEFMC FW3 Appendix II
MADMF prelim.
MWT SMBT
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
10-yr AVG
GOM
-43%
-82%
-78%
135%
121%
196%
-91%
-86%
-73%
-97%
46.42
CC/521
-17%
-96%
484%
-3%
-100%
-98%
-79%
-7%
-63%
-22%
54.38
SNE
-66%
-75%
-25%
295%
-23%
-70%
-70%
30%
101%
-98%
151.24
-66%
253%
-100%
22%
-29%
-42%
-65%
99%
-73%
80.36
-76%
124%
138%
1%
-21%
-67%
-13%
54%
-79%
332.40
SNE
Annual Total
-61%
RHBA vs nonRHBA years:
Expanded River Herring/ Shad (metric tons) GOM MWT CC/521 SNE SMBT SNE Annual Total
Expanded RH (metric tons) (2005-2014)
RH Bycatch Rates RH/S Proportion (2008-2014 only) MWT
2008
NEFOP/MADMF/MEDMR
NEFOP/MADMF
NEFMC FW3 Appendix II
MADMF prelim.
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
GOM 0.0069 0.0050 0.0082 0.0004 0.0017 0.0023 0.0002
SNE
RHBA AVG/
7-yr AVG non-RHBA AVG % Reduction 0.0035
17.16%
82.84%
0.0002 0.0020 0.0041 0.0047 0.0043
0.0038
100.67%
-0.67%
0.0209 0.0032 0.0021 0.0046 0.0107 0.0155 0.0005
0.0082
89.60%
10.40%
0.0163 0.0122 0.0097 0.0050 0.0201 0.0074
0.0118
85.08%
14.92%
CC/521 0.0073 SNE
SMBT
RHBA AVG 6.8 31.2 137.2 70.1 227.7
RHBA AVG/ Non-RHBA AVG non-RHBA AVG % Reduction 72.8 9.30% 90.70% 69.8 44.67% 55.33% 160.6 85.43% 14.57% 85.5 81.99% 18.01% 388.8 58.58% 41.42%
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Current Status Sampling winter herring fisheries (MWT-15 trips and SMBT-33 trips) integrating NEFOP data daily Administering two River Herring Bycatch Avoidance Programs MWT (as of 1/16/2015)
SMBT (as of 1/16/2015)
Herring/Shad
Low (less than 0.5% River Herring/Shad Moderate (0.5% to 1.0%) High (above 1.0%)
Source: www.umassd.edu/smast/bycatch
Using funds from TNC and RSA Massachusetts MarineFisheries
5. 2014 RSA Summary • •
•
2014 RSA Statistics 8 Participating RSA Vessels 1A RSA harvested from late Oct. – early Dec. Area
RSA Quota Distributed
RSA Herring Landed
River Herring bycatch
Funds Generated
1A
936mt
757.5mt
4.0mt
$56,813
1B
138mt
0
0
0
2
900mt
0
0
0
15 total trips (100% sampled; 13 MA DMF, 4 NEFOP) Species composition (DMF portside data) Atl. Mackerel Atl. Herring Silver Hake (Whiting) Blueback Herring Alewife Long Finned Squid Haddock Spiny Dogfish American Shad Other
Weight (mt) 1,887.49 775.74 27.89 2.19 1.78 0.77 0.65 0.28 0.13 0.20
% of All RSA catch 69.98% 28.76% 1.03% 0.08% 0.07% 0.03% 0.02% 0.01% 0.00% 0.01%
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
2014 1A MWT (including RSA)
5. 2015 RSA • • •
Improvements RSA Trips held to higher standard DMF sampling confirm Atl. Herring hails (create weigh-out slips) Responsible Fishing Agreement-
Hoping for increased RSA productivity in 2015 Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Acknowledgements MWT Industry Fishing Vessels: Western Venture, Osprey, Endeavour, Challenger, Enterprise, Retriever, Sunlight, Starlight, Providian, Voyager, Jean McCausland, Isabel Taylor, Nordic Explorer, Dona Martita Numerous Industry members: Owners, managers, captains, shoreside personnel
SMBT Industry Fishing Vessels: Heather Lynn, Ocean State, Sea Breeze Too, Darana R, Prevail, Lightning Bay, Elizabeth&Katherine Numerous Industry members: Owners, captains, shoreside personnel
Collaborators
Funding Sources
Northeast Fisheries Observer Program Maine Dept. of Marine Resources NOAA Study Fleet A.I.S., Inc. Alison Bowden Massachusetts MarineFisheries
Questions and Comments
Massachusetts MarineFisheries
