Saving Seafood

Conservation & Environment

ACFHP Seeks Nominations for Melissa Laser Fish Habitat Conservation Award

August 25, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic Costal Fish Habitat Partnership:
                                                                                                                                 
The Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership is seeking nominations for its Melissa Laser Fish Habitat Conservation Award, which is bestowed upon individuals deemed to further the conservation, protection, restoration, and enhancement of habitat for native Atlantic coastal, estuarine-dependent, and diadromous fishes in a unique or extraordinary manner. The award was established in memory of Dr. Melissa Laser who passed away unexpectedly on April 27, 2010.  Melissa was a biologist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources where she worked tirelessly to protect, improve and restore aquatic ecosystems in Maine and along the entire Atlantic Coast. Nominations will be accepted until September 16. For more information, please visit http://www.atlanticfishhabitat.org/acfhp-seeking-nominations-for-melissa-laser-fish-habitat-conservation-award-3/.              
                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                      

Massachusetts: How Gloucester won lion’s share of fishing aid

August 25, 2015 — All things considered, it could not have gone much better.

The small working group assembled by Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken in February was tasked with helping identify and contact city waterfront businesses that might be eligible to receive some of the $750,000 in federal funds set aside to help Massachusetts shoreside businesses damaged by the ongoing groundfish disaster.

The committee identified 15 Gloucester businesses willing to go through the application process. All 15 were qualified by the state Division of Marine Fisheries to receive financial aid, with 13 maxing out at $26,786, and two of the businesses receiving $16,071.

Collectively, the 15 Gloucester fishing-related businesses — companies that sell fishermen everything from fuel to ice, from fishing slicks and gear to accounting services — received $380,360.

It was the greatest number of businesses from any single fishing community to receive the assistance, as well as the largest amount of money (50.7 percent of the total $750,000) sent to any of the Bay State’s groundfishing ports to help shoreside, fishing-related businesses.

By comparison, consider New Bedford. The historic whaling city on the state’s southeast coast — and now, thanks to its burgeoning scallop fleet, the state’s most lucrative port — had 10 of its shoreside businesses collectively receive $246,430.

Boston, Salem and South Dennis each had one business qualify for the financial assistance that was earmarked for shoreside businesses from the $8.3 million contained in the second phase, or Bin 2, of the federal disaster relief. Scituate had two.

There was, it seemed, a true recognition on the part of state officials at the Division of Marine Fisheries, as well as other fishing stakeholders throughout the state, that Gloucester — on the water and off — still sits at the very epicenter of the groundfish fishing disaster.

“We were thrilled with the result,” city Chief Administrative Officer Jim Destino said. “We thought if we could get $370,000 of the $750,000, that would have been fabulous. I don’t think we really believed we would get anything above that.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

New England fishermen say federal money needed for monitors

August 25, 2015 — Federal fisheries regulators want fishermen to pay to have somebody watch what they catch and what they throw back.

And, while Gov. Charlie Baker told federal officials last week that they should foot the bill, local fishermen are hoping the state will reconsider and use its share of federal disaster money to pay for the observers required on commercial fishing trips.

The extra eyes on deck cost $710 daily, and fishermen say that hits smaller vessels especially hard.

“What small business can afford to be $710 in the hole before they even open their doors?” Chatham fisherman John Our said.

Expenses are already high for fuel, crews, bait and gear, fishermen say. Haddock, though plentiful, are too far offshore for them to catch, and their traditional species of choice, cod, have disappeared from local waters, mired at historically low population levels.

Cape boats now have to travel farther to catch monkfish, or land skates and dogfish from local waters at just a fraction of the price of cod.

A typical skate trip, at 35 cents per pound and grossing $1,100, would be left with less than $400 to split between the boat and crew, said Chatham fisherman Jan Margeson.

“We don’t gross enough money to afford this,” said Margeson, who proposed allocating federal disaster money to fishermen who actually carried observers.

The fleet will pay an estimated $10,000 per vessel annually to cover the cost of the observers, but its fishermen catch very little of the groundfish species that are in trouble, Our said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

New Jersey: Coast Guard launches search for sunken fishing boat in Sandy Hook Channel

August 26, 2015 — STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies were searching for a fishing boat that reportedly capsized off the coast of New Jersey on Tuesday evening, authorities said.

A witness notified the Coast Guard Sector New York command center that a 40-foot steel fishing trawler known as “El Jefe” had begun taking on water at around 4:30 p.m. in the Sandy Hook Channel and sunk shortly after, according to a statement issued by the Coast Guard.

Read the full story at Silive.com

 

 

Mislabeled shrimp case ends in conviction

August 25, 2015 — A North Carolina seafood processor and wholesale distributor faces a felony conviction, a $100,000 fine, forfeiture of more than 20,000 pounds of shrimp and three years’ probation after Federal prosecutors exposed the company’s shrimp mislabelling scheme.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina joined forces to investigate and prosecute Alphin Brothers Inc., in a case that saw the company admit to falsely labelling tens of thousands of pounds of shrimp.

U.S. Attorneys used the Lacey Act as the centre piece of their prosecution. Federal law makes it illegal to “make or submit any false record, account, or label for, or any false identification of, any fish or wildlife that has been or is intended to be imported, transported, purchased or received from any foreign country, or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.”

Read the full story at World Fishing & Aquaculture

 

Gloucester Schooner Festival – Welcomes Navy and Schooner Columbia

August 25, 2015 — The following was released by the Gloucester Schooner Festival: 

The story line of this year’s 31st annual Gloucester Schooner Festival, which runs from September 4th to September 6th, is all about Essex built and Essex inspired schooners. And the arrival of the 610’ USS Fort McHenry, but we’ll get to that.

The signature or attraction schooner at this year’s Festival is the replica Columbia. The original Columbia was a 141’ classic Gloucester Fishing Schooner built at the historic A.D. Story shipyard of Essex, Massachusetts in 1923. That fall, the Columbia, designed for speed, challenged the Bluenose, Canada’s legendary schooner in the International Fishermen’s Cup Races in Halifax. Nearly winning the title, the Columbia was narrowly defeated by the Bluenose and was one of the few American schooners to provide a challenge to Bluenose. (The other being the Gertrude Thebaud which beat the Bluenose in the Lipton Cup in 1930. The trophy is on display at Maritime Gloucester.). The replica Columbia was built by Brian D’Isernia at his boat yard, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, in Panama City, Florida. The Schooner is currently sailing to Sable Island, where the vessel was lost with all hands in a gale on August 24, 1927. Following a memorial service at sea, the Columbia will make the return trip to Gloucester that never occurred. The Columbia is slated to arrive in Gloucester on the morning of Thursday, August 27, 2015, in advance of the Schooner Festival. “This is such a great story,” says Schooner Committee Chair, Daisy Nell Collinson. “We hope the public will come out in great numbers to welcome the Columbia and, over the weekend, celebrate the great history of schooners from Essex and Gloucester.”

This year’s schooner race on Sunday, September 6th, includes three of the remaining five Essex-built working schooners. The schooners Adventure (1926), Lettie G. Howard (1893), and the Roseway (1925) will all be racing this year. The Highlander Sea (1924) will be resting comfortably at the Gloucester Marine Railways as it enviously observes its wooden peers (pun intended) as they compete for the Esperanto Cup. Of the remaining “intact” Essex-Built Schooners, only the Ernestina-Morrissey will be missing from this austere group. The Massachusetts owned schooner is being rebuilt in the state of Maine. Joining their elders will be the schooners Thomas Lannon, Ardelle and the Fame, all built over the last 20 years by 11th generation boat builder Harold Burnham at his boat yard in Essex.

The Schooner Festival will also feature a major attraction vessel — the USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43), which is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, the 1814 defense of which inspired The Star-Spangled Banner. This 610’ vessel is actively deployed around the world for combat and humanitarian purposes. It carries as many as 22 officers and 391 enlisted sailors. The ship will be available for public tours on Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday. “The City of Gloucester is honored to have the USS Fort McHenry in our historic harbor,” says Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo-Theken. “We hope the community and weekend visitors take this opportunity to board the ship and honor the great men and women serving our country.” For more information about this Navy vessel, go to http://www.fort-mchenry.navy.mil/.

On Saturday, September 5th Maritime Gloucester will host its annual Heritage Day celebration from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The event is free to the public. Over 25 artisans, food vendors and community organizations will be set up on Schooner Way and down Webster Pier with demos, family activities & more! Children’s storytelling and songs with Daisy Nell. Chick & Ellen will be performing their country blues and folk tunes. Maritime Gloucester exhibits will be open with 1/2 price admission throughout the day. Schooner Adventure will offer free deck tours and Schooner Ardelle will be offering one-hour sales for a discounted fee. For a complete list of the Gloucester Schooner Festival schedule, go to http://gloucesterschoonerfestival.net/?page_id=23

Lead sponsors of the Festival include: the City of Gloucester, First Ipswich Bank, Market Basket and Institution for Savings. For a full list of sponsors, go to the Festival’s website. The Festival raises much needed funds from the community by offering Schooner Festival raffle in addition to corporate support. Please purchase raffle tickets (available at Maritime Gloucester) or during Maritime Heritage Day. These funds directly support efforts to put kids on the water.

NOAA Fisheries Eliminates “Did Not Fish” Reports and Simplifies Vessel Baselines

August 25, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries announces two changes in regulations that apply to Federal fishing permit holders.

First, we have eliminated the requirement for vessel owners to submit “did not fish” reports for the months or weeks when their vessel was not fishing.

Second, we have removed some of the restrictions for upgrading vessels listed on Federal fishing permits:

  • We have eliminated the one-time vessel upgrade restriction, but kept in place the 10% limit on length increases and 20% limit on horsepower increases.
  • We have removed gross and net tonnages from the vessel specifications considered when determining whether a vessel upgrade is allowed.

Both of these provisions become effective tomorrow, August 26. For more information, read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register, or the permit holder bulletin, both available online.

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for August 24, 2015

August 24, 2015 — JERRY’S UPDATE

Jerry’s comments will be sent separately later this week.

SOUTHERN FLOUNDER SUPPLEMENT VOTE POSTPONED

The Marine Fisheries Commission did not vote on the proposed supplement to the southern flounder plan at its business meeting last week as expected.  More information will be posted as it becomes available.

MAFMC AUGUST MEETING REPORT

ASMFC FINDS DELAWARE OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH AMERICAN EEL PLAN

The ASMFC has found the state of Delaware out of compliance with the mandatory management measures contained in Addendum III to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Eel. The commission has notified the secretaries of Commerce and the Interior of its finding.  This action was taken pursuant to the provisions of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act of 1993.  For more information see the news release.

NMFS MAINTAINS CURRENT BLUEFIN TUNA COMMERCIAL LIMIT

The National Marine Fisheries Service maintains the current Atlantic bluefin tuna general category (commercial handgear) daily retention limit of four large medium or giant bluefin (i.e., 73″ or greater) per vessel per day/trip for Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, 2015. This adjustment is intended to provide a reasonable opportunity to harvest the U.S. bluefin tuna quota without exceeding it, while maintaining an equitable distribution of fishing opportunities; help achieve optimum yield in the fishery; and collect a broad range of data for stock monitoring purposes. For more information see the news release.

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

-South Atlantic Gag and Wreckfish Catch Limits Change Effective Sept. 11

-Atlantic Mackerel Slippage Consequences Measures Effective Sept. 11

-USCG Mandatory Dockside Inspections Required Effective Oct. 15

DEADLINES:

Aug. 26 – Green Sea Turtles ESA Uplisting Comments

Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. – Snapper-Grouper Regulatory Amendment 36 Comments

Sept. 1 – SAFMC Snapper-Grouper Draft Vision Blueprint Comments

Sept. 4 – Cape Fear River Restoration Scoping Document Comments

Sept. 10 – NMFS Updated Draft Acoustic Guidelines Comments

Sept. 14 – NMFS Generic Amendment to Snapper-Grouper, Golden Crab and Dolphin-Wahoo FMPs Comments

Sept. 17 – 2016 Commercial Atlantic Shark Season Comments

Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. – 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring Research Set Aside Applications

Oct. 2 – MFC Proposed Rules Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.

 

Aug. 31-Sept.1 – ASMFC Menhaden Ecosystem Management Workshop

Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. – MFC Rules Public Hearing, DMF Central District Office, 5285 Hwy 70 W, Morehead City

Sept. 9-10 – Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel Meeting, Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, 8777 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD and via webinar

PROCLAMATIONS: 

COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL SHARK HARVEST

CRAB TRAWLING AND TAKING SHRIMP WITH NETS (OPENING CAPE FEAR RIVER)

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – RECREATIONAL PURPOSES (HOGFISH)

Massachusetts: Oars and Flowers: Gloucester Remembers Lost Fishermen

August 25, 2015 — There were tears — there always are — as the flowers were thrown on the water, recognizing Gloucester’s many losses to the sea.

There were Carol Figurido, Vincie Curcurum and Josie Russo, Gloucester women who lost loved ones to the ocean deep. They were just three among the many who attended Gloucester’s annual Fishermen’s Memorial Service held Saturday evening at the Fishermen’s Memorial on Stacy Memorial.

Figurido spoke of her grandfather — and the 5,383 other Gloucestermen whose names grace the Fishermen’s Memorial Cenotaph — at the ceremony. She came to know Thomas Isaac Moulton through relatives and family history. A ship’s cook, Moulton, 48, and five other Gloucestermen went down with the fishing vessel Mary E. O’Hara in 1941, before Figurido was born.

Vincie Curcuru lost her brother, John Orlando, 59, when the fishing vessel Patriot went down on Jan 3, 2009. He was crewing for his son-in-law.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Seafood technology: When ‘net’ means more than catching fish

August 24, 2015 — For generations Maine’s fishermen have used nature — both their own internal sense of navigation and measurements like water temperature — to find rich fishing grounds. But with increasing competition, broader distribution, more government regulations and a desire by customers to trace food sources, the seafood industry is turning to technology to help automate tasks from the boat through the dock, processors, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and onto the consumer’s plate.

“Boat to Plate” is one such nascent effort by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and other collaborators. The goal is within a few years to create a database including the boat, fisherman, catch, distribution and other information so the seafood can be traced if there’s a food safety issue, and so consumers can download an app to learn about the fish on their plate using a QR or quick response code, the two-dimensional code that contains and retrieves more information more quickly than a traditional bar code.

“We’re thinking of ways to get more value out of fish and catch more fish,” explains Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association in Brunswick. “Farmers are successful [in the farm-to-table movement]. Until recently, we haven’t been.”

Read the full story at Mainebiz