Fish and Wildlife Service Redefines Shellfish

 FWS.gov, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Modernizes Shellfish Definition, Reduces Regulatory Ambiguity. "Final rule clarifies that cephalopods such as squid are included in regulatory definition of shellfish."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a final rule updating the regulatory definition of "shellfish" to eliminate outdated language, improve regulatory clarity, and reduce unnecessary burdens on the regulated community.

Under 50 CFR part 10, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulates the import and export of wildlife and wildlife products. The regulations provide an exemption from certain import and export requirements for shellfish.

The final revisions clarify that cephalopods—including squid, octopus, and cuttlefish—are included within the regulatory definition of shellfish. The update aligns federal regulations with modern scientific understanding and longstanding commercial practice.

 

“America’s seafood industry operates in a global marketplace, and our regulations should reflect modern science and common sense,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik. “This update removes an unnecessary regulatory burden on U.S. squid fisheries, provides greater certainty for seafood producers and exporters, and aligns our regulations with longstanding commercial and international practice.”

These changes help ensure that commercially harvested squid fisheries are treated consistently with other seafood products under existing import and export regulations. By clarifying the scope of the shellfish exemption, the rule reduces unnecessary regulatory requirements and associated costs for seafood producers, processors, importers, and exporters.

The Service developed the rule in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help ensure consistency across federal agencies.

The rule does not alter existing conservation authorities, wildlife protections, or management responsibilities. Instead, it updates definitional language to better reflect current scientific understanding and longstanding industry practice.

OK, that make sense, but I wonder how many days they spent working on it. 

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Redness a bit late, but within reason.

Virginia Fish Shows Rebound

Roanoke logperch

US Fish and Wildlife Service: Local fish no longer at risk of extinction "Roanoke logperch populations found in twice as many streams since listing as a result of survey and dam-removal efforts led by the Service and its partners."

Based on a review of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has determined that the Roanoke logperch, a large freshwater darter, is no longer at risk of extinction. The Service is proposing to remove the fish from the endangered species list.

The Roanoke logperch, or Percina rex, is known as the king of the darters because of its size relative to others in the family. These fish grow to six inches long, on average, have strongly patterned fins and can be identified by the orange band on their dorsal fins. This band is particularly bright on mature males. Roanoke logperch have noticeably bulbous snouts, which they use to overturn small pebbles and shells when hunting for invertebrates.

These resourceful fish will use all parts of the stream over the course of their lifetimes. They need fast-moving water for foraging. The quick current washes fine sediment from gravel, leaving small pebbles and shells for logperch to overturn when hunting for food. They will also spawn in these strong currents. The fertilized eggs then float downstream to be distributed among the slower-moving shallow pools at the water’s edge.

When the Roanoke logperch was listed as endangered in 1989, it was found in only 14 streams. In the years since, Roanoke logperch surveys and habitat restoration have more than doubled the species range, with 31 occupied streams as of 2019. It can be found in larger streams in the upper Roanoke, Smith, Pigg, Otter, and Nottoway River systems and Goose Creek in Virginia and in the Dan, Mayo, and Smith River systems and Big Beaver Island Creek in North Carolina.

This delisting is largely a result of successful Roanoke logperch surveys and aquatic-restoration projects led by the Service and its partners. With help from the Service’s National Fish Passage Program, Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration settlement funds, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program funds, and/or funding provided by other partners, multiple dams and barriers have been removed in both Virginia and North Carolina, connecting hundreds of miles of Roanoke logperch habitat. Nationwide, the program has helped remove over 3,400 barriers to aquatic connectivity and reopened access to over 61,000 stream miles.

I'm generally in favor of removing dams in the mid-Atlantic region, with only a few minor exceptions (see Conowingo dam). In most cases, they are relatively small, and most no longer serve their historical purpose of providing mechanical power to the early industries that grew up along the fall line. They do, however, block migration of fish, and cause changes in the streams. They can also be removed, and the damage reversed with minimal effort. However, I'm not convinced the success of the Roanoke Logperch is among the better excuses, just one of the more notable outcomes. 

USFWS Plans Southern Maryland Land Grab

USFWS map shows the proposed
areas of the national wildlife refuge

Chesapeake Bay Mag wants us to Weigh In On New National Wildlife Refuge Proposed For Southern MD. Not just no, but hell no!

A new national wildlife refuge could be carved out in Southern Maryland and now is your chance to weigh in on the plan. If approved, this would be the first national wildlife refuge in the Bay region in 26 years.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is looking for about 40,000 acres of woodlands, farm fields and wetlands for the wildlife refuge. Those acres would be in sections within a much larger framework of 577,400 acres over five counties.

Dan Murphy, of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office, says those acres wouldn’t necessarily be contiguous. Rather, the agency wants to create a network of “habitat hubs of forests and streams and corridors between those hubs” to help protect threatened and endangered species, waterfowl and migratory birds.

He said it would be modeled after the Rappahannock wildlife preserve, which was established in the 1990s. USFWS used federal money to acquire the rights to 20,000 acres in the Rappahannock River valley in Virginia and looked to state and non-government agencies as partners to help preserve more land.

In Southern Maryland, the agency would be working with the American Chestnut Land Trust, Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, The Maryland Environmental Trust, the Chesapeake Conservancy, Charles County and others on the project.

“This gives us the opportunity to spend money in that landscape and pursue the most important places to protect,” Murphy said.

The plan is based on a 2018 conservation plan that USFWS developed in partnership with the Southern Maryland Conservation Alliance after three public listening sessions that year. You can see the draft proposal, land protection plan and environmental assessment at fws.gov/project/evaluating-new-refuge-lands-southern-maryland. You can submit comments on the plan at FW5southernmarylandplan@fws.gov from now through Aprill 22.

The Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge would be the seventh such refuge in the Chesapeake region, including Blackwater, Nanticoke, Eastern Neck and Martin on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the Patuxent and Rappahannock River Valley refuges in Maryland and Virginia on the Western Shore. It would stretch across Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince Georges and St. Mary’s counties and be divided into four units based on watersheds: The Lower Patuxent – Calvert Unit, the Nanjemoy – Mattawoman Unit, the Zekiah – Wicomico Unit, and the McIntosh Run – St. Mary’s Unit.

Murphy said USFWS would purchase land outright or acquire development rights from willing sellers.

Willing, or "willing" sellers. How much will they be willing to offer after they've restricted you from being able to do much on your land.

A closer look at Biden's win over Trump in Maryland

I see that virtually all of Calvert County is in the desired area for some reason or another, as well as large chunks of St. Marys and Charles County. Is it a coincidence that the designated area bears a substantial similarity to the map of the results of the 2020 Presidential election ?