July 15, 2013 — The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance, in cooperation with the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, are asking individuals to participate in a survey related to gray seals. View the survey from the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance and the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment
MASSACHUSETTS: Lobster tail sales ban is lifted
July 15, 2013 — A few years ago, Outback Steakhouse called Bill Adler, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association, about a surf-and-turf problem.
In Massachusetts, the restaurant chain couldn't just buy a box of frozen American lobster tails plucked from New England waters to later prepare and plate shell-on beside a filet. Instead, the restaurants were forced to feature spiny lobster tails sourced from the Gulf of Mexico or South African or Australian waters, leaving Outback with a question for Adler: What's going on here in Massachusetts?
The answer, Adler said, was the law, which allowed for processing but not sales of American lobster tails within state lines.
That is, until Friday, when Gov. Deval Patrick signed a 2014 budget that includes an amendment allowing processed and frozen Homarus americanus — commonly known as "American" — lobster tails to be possessed and sold in Massachusetts for the first time.
State Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, proposed rewording the law to allow sales of lobster tails in-state earlier this year, and it was later attached to the budget. In approving the $33.6 billion spending plan, Patrick used his line-item veto to slash $240 million in transportation funding and $177 million in aid for cities and towns, but the lobster tail proposal survived.
"This is really a jobs bill and something that, in a very real way, will help our fishermen," Peake said. "We think this will open up a whole new market for Massachusetts lobstermen, increase demand, the price per pound and put a little more money in their pockets."
The change comes after similar decisions in Maine and other New England states, which had bans in place but decided to allow for sales of American lobster tails in recent years.
Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times
Plan to reopen New England fishing spots debated
BOSTON, Mass. — July 14, 2013 — A plan to allow certain New England fishermen back into fishing grounds where they've long been banned was so objectionable to environmentalists that two groups sued to kill it months before it was officially released.
And after the proposal was unveiled last week, fishermen who once backed the idea called the plan a useless gesture that does nothing for their struggling industry.
None of the criticism surprises the Northeast’s top fishing regulator, John Bullard. But he says it doesn’t mean the proposal to reopen 3,000 square miles of Atlantic Ocean can’t work.
‘‘We recognize it’s probably not going to make anyone happy,’’ Bullard said. But, he added, ‘‘We think it’s a responsible way to make abundant stocks accessible to people.’’
The plan, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is not yet in effect, pending a period of public comment.
It was devised after a December vote by regional regulators that gave fishermen permission to ask to work sections of previously forbidden fishing grounds. It details where fishermen can ask for access and the conditions under which it could be granted.
The closed areas, located in the Gulf of Maine and to the south and east of Cape Cod in Georges Bank, were off-limits as far back as 1994 to fishermen who target bottom-dwelling groundfish, such as cod and haddock. Regulators shut down the grounds to protect the fish and their nurseries.
But fishermen argued last year that the closures became obsolete in 2010 when regulators decided to instead try to protect groundfish with tough catch quotas.
They argued that with huge cuts in those quotas coming in 2013, it made sense to reopen at least some sections of the closed areas so fishermen could harvest the healthy fish species reportedly there, such as redfish and haddock.
Read the full story by Jay Lindsay from the Associated Press at Boston.com
New England Farmer’s Union asks for thanks for Congressman Keating for his leadership on dogfish
July 8, 2013 — Last week a coalition of commercial fishing and dogfish processing organizations banded together to encourage the spiny dogfish industry. Spiny dogfish is plentiful and has the potential to support these fisheries as other groundfish supplies dwindle and overseas markets for dogfish decline.
A letter was submitted to the Deputy Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of USDA, requesting the Section 32 commodity purchase of spiny dogfish in response to the New England groundfish disaster and continuing degeneration of overseas dogfish markets. The second letter was submitted to the entire New England delegation, seeking their support for this collaborative industry request. The list of industry supporters includes:
– Associated Fisheries of Maine
– Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Association
– Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association (now the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance)
– Eastern Fisheries Inc.
– Maine Lobstermen’s Association
– Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association
– Marder Trawling Inc.
– Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association
– Northeast Seafood Coalition
– Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association
– Seatrade International Co. Inc.
– Sustainable Fisheries Association
– Zeus Packing Inc.
In response to the action, Congressman Bill Keating (D-MA) and his staff helped secure the support of the entire New England delegation to submit a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture requesting the support of USDA for this innovative solution to a fisheries crisis.
Read the full story from the New England Farmers Union
Someone needs to eat these things, say scientists shocked by lionfish surge
July 12, 2013 –Voracious lionfish are out-eating sharks, barracudas, and seemingly every other predator in the Caribbean Sea, researchers say.
That’s fueling renewed concern about the spiny little invader from the East, which has decimated native fish in Atlantic coastal and Caribbean waters.
Scientists have a message for their fellow humans: eat these guys, please. Other animals aren’t quite up to the job.
Lionfish are only safe to eat after careful removal of their venomous, stinging spines—which deter many predators.
Lionfish are quite tasty by many accounts.
Last month, the first expedition to use a deep-diving sub to study Atlantic Ocean lionfish found something disturbing. Despite efforts to control their populations, at 100 yards or meters deep, there were still sizeable populations of lionfish, and the animals were big, as long as 16 inches (41 cm), scientists said.
That raises new concerns because big fish in many species can reproduce far more than little ones. They naturally eat more. Lionfish are also known to travel considerable distances and move to various depths.
Read the full story at World Science
Keeping it Clean with Woods Hole Sea Grant’s Jeffrey M. Brodeur
July 15, 2013 — When it comes to the future of New England’s fisheries, questions are raised about the health of the ocean itself. Especially when it comes to plastic. One of the many people concerned about the health of our oceans is Jeffrey M. Brodeur. He is a communications and outreach specialist with the Woods Hole Sea Grant program, and runs many beach clean ups based around marine debris and plastic pollution. We asked Brodeur about his work with marine debris, and how he found himself working for Sea Grant.
1 . What is your earliest memory of the ocean and/or fish?
My earliest memories of the ocean aren't so much about the water and coast itself, but the people who exposed me to it and engendered a love for that environment. I grew up visiting family and friends on the Cape and Islands, so for me a day at the beach, a boat ride or a fishing trip was filled with conversation, laughter, exploration and love. Some of those people still sit in the same exact spot of beach during the summer as they did when I was an infant; people have been born and people have died, but the overall circle remains. All those people really planted a seed that I have just built and tweaked over the ensuing years to get to where I am today.
2. How did you go from the Coast Guard to your current work with Sea Grant?
I'm actually still in the Coast Guard; I'm a Lieutenant in the Coast Guard Reserve, working at the First District Headquarters in Boston where I help with Operational Planning and Resources. Over my career, though, I've also done search and rescue, boating safety and maritime law enforcement. Being a Reservist has allowed me to follow one career path in the civilian world, which was journalism and public relations, while doing another part-time. It's been a great experience. I was hired by Sea Grant after working in non-profits in Philadelphia to do communications and my boss told me to find an issue I was passionate about and run with it. I leaned toward both commercial fisheries issues and marine debris based strictly on personal background and interests and haven't looked back; I'll be forever in her debt for that because I've really been able to become immersed in two fascinating topics that fit with Sea Grant's mission while giving me a chance to have an impact. Plus it gets me out of the office regularly!
3. What is the most challenging part of studying marine debris?
For me, it's that it never stops coming. Every time I go out, there's trash to be picked up of some sort, even if I was at a particular location just a short time previously, so that can be a bit frustrating. I really have to tell myself that every little bit helps and that what we take off during a cleanup would probably stay there for who knows how long degrading if we hadn't removed it. I also wish people would realize how pervasive it is; yes, it's perhaps not the biggest issue we're facing, or even the biggest environmental issue, but it's having an impact on humans and marine life and that impact is significant.
Read the full story at NPR affiliate WCAI
California Congressman introduces bill to refinance decade-old fishing industry loan
June 12, 2013 — Legislation aimed at alleviating the financial hardship of a federal loan that has been weighing on Pacific Coast groundfish fisherman for nearly a decade has moved one step closer to passing, North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman's office announced on Thursday.
Introduced into Congress this week, Huffman's “Revitalizing the Economy of Fisheries in the Pacific Act” picks up where a bipartisan bill introduced in September 2012 by former North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson left off, and would allow for the refinancing of a $35.7 million buyback loan authorized by Congress in 2003.
In a press release, Huffman called the bill — his second piece of legislation to be introduced since he took office in January — “… a win-win for small businesses and the environment.”
The opportunity to refinance the loan at a lower interest rate would give local groundfish fishermen the same opportunities as any homeowner or business, and would not require the federal government to spend any new money.
“The success of our local fishermen is essential to the health of the North Coast's economy, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to repay the debt on a decade-old federal loan,” Huffman said in the release. “The combination of interest payments, new fees, and rising fuel costs are putting small businesses in our coastal communities at risk.”
The bill, Huffman said, will let fishermen refinance existing loans at today's lower interest rates “just like any other homeowners or business owner would do.”
Read the full story at the Eureka Times-Standard
2013 World Seafood Congress September 28th-October 3rd
July 12, 2013 — The World Seafood Congress will meet September 28th – October 3rd in St. John’s, NL, Canada.
The goal of the Seafood Congress organizers is to build on existing and create new partnerships between IAFI members and all seafood professionals and specialists to benefit global seafood trade. It also aims to profile innovation in seafood and provide opportunities for maximum participation by all economies involved in seafood trade – including developed and developing economies. This is accomplished through various means throughout the international event– expert panels, debates, workshops and formal presentations.The
About IAFI
The International Association of Fish Inspectors (IAFI) is a relatively new (established in 1999) and growing organization serving the world fish inspection community. IAFI exists to promote the exchange of ideas and information, foster interaction, understanding and professional collaboration among individuals, organizations, and governments, disseminate knowledge about fish, seafood, and associated products inspection, and promote advancement of the state-of-the-art in fish inspection research and education.
Read the full story at Persishable News
Visit the World Seafood Congress Website
Coonamessett Farm Foundation Seeks Scallopers Interested in Electronic Monitoring Program
July 14, 2013 — Since 2009, the Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) has been developing an industry based electronic data collection system. CFF uses funding from the scallop Research Set-Aside Program so that the fishing industry can have its own independent source of scientific and fishing data.
The project is now in field testing, and NOAA and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission have provided additional funding to test a similar system that would transmit required data to the government electronically, replacing the paper system and its associated time lags.
Below is the project's summary and goals. Current funding will pay to install 24 systems on scallop vessels fishing out of mid-Atlantic ports and, if there are extra, some additional ports.
Scallopers interested in participating should e-mail Ron Smalowitz with your name, vessel ID information, port and personal contact information.
Project Summary
In order to better monitor Allowable Catch Limits (ACL) of sea scallops and Sub-ACLs of bycatch species allocated to the limited access fleet, CFF has worked with partners to develop a real time electronic reporting system. One objective of the system is to have the U.S. scallop fleet regularly report their tow data, bycatch, and scallop catch electronically to a database accessible by the Fisheries Survival Fund (an industry organization), the NOAA Northeast Regional Office and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. The data would act as an electronic log book and would be available to the entire fleet in order to alert fishermen of hot-spot areas of high yellowtail flounder to scallop meat catch ratios.
This information would enable fishermen to make informed decisions regarding where to fish in order to avoid the yellowtail flounder bycatch that may trigger accountability measures. Success with yellowtail reporting may be the first step in using this two-way communication and data system for dynamic area action programs for species such as loggerhead turtles, windowpane, and winter flounder. This project will continue the refinement of the software and introduce broadband technology to allow cheaper and faster data transfer between vessels and shore.
John Kerry lends support to closed-door negotiations over protecting waters around Antarctica
July 12, 2013 — The guardians of Antarctica’s marine wealth gather in Germany on Sunday for a fresh round of talks on creating the world’s largest ocean sanctuary.
Two plans of unprecedented scope are on the table, aimed at protecting vast, pristine waters and 16,000 species from human predation.
But whether one scheme, both — or none — gets approval is unclear, given Russian and Chinese concerns that the restrictions are too draconian.
One proposal, floated by the United States and New Zealand, would cover 1.6 million square kilometers (640,000 square miles) of the Ross Sea, the deep bay on Antarctica’s Pacific side.
The other, backed by Australia, France and the European Union (EU), would protect 1.9 million sq. km (733,000 sq. miles) of coastal seas off East Antarctica, on the frozen continent’s Indian Ocean side.
The three-day meeting in Bremerhaven, Germany, gathers 24 nations plus an EU delegation in the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
Read the full story at The Raw Story