June 15, 2017 — State Senator Bruce Tarr and state Representative Brad Hill were among those who turned out at Tonno in Gloucester June 12 to try owner Anthony Caturano’s best soft-shell green crab dish. The tasting was the latest for the Ipswich-based Green Crab R&D Project , which is addressing the invasive species problem by creating a market for its use. In recent weeks, green crab also has appeared at the Ipswich Ale Brewery and at Woodman’s in Essex. “We’ve been on a full-court press to try to confront the green crab from an environmental perspective and an economic perspective, but if we can find a way to market them, then the market forces will control the population,” Tarr said. Caturano’s creation received high praise all around. “I’m a big seafood person,” Hill said, “and if you’re a fan of seafood, this is something you’re going to like.”
NORTH CAROLINA: Watermen, locals descend on Raleigh to fight fisheries bill
June 14, 2017 — Hundreds of commercial fishermen and their families, along with local government and agency leaders spent Wednesday walking the halls of the North Carolina Legislative Building in an effort to battle a bill they say could shut down the entire industry.
House Bill 867 would attempt to rewrite the Fisheries Reform Act, which is the body of statutes that provides the framework for fisheries management in North Carolina.
The event was organized by North Carolina Watermen United and the North Carolina Fisheries Association.
Those who came to support the bill were instructed by Jerry Schill, director of government affairs for the NCFA, to visit with as many legislators as possible to share their stories of how the measure would be detrimental to their livelihoods.
But just as opponents were arriving on Jones Street in Downtown Raleigh, many wearing white T-shirts and red buttons calling for a no vote, word trickled out that the legislation was being amended.
Rep. Beverly Boswell, R-Kill Devil Hills, told a gathering of local officials from Dare County and commercial fishing business leaders and advocates that legislators were working on possible changes to the bill until 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Boswell gave the group a list of legislators to talk with about the potential impact to not just the fishing industry, but Dare County and North Carolina as a whole.
NOAA recommending $1.5 million for Maine
June 14, 2017 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that it was recommending six Maine fisheries research projects for a total of $1.5 million in Saltonstall-Kennedy program grants.
In line for funding, but still subject to final approval, are grants to the following.
The Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education, $278,000 for demonstrating aquaculture technologies designed to increase the supply, quality and diversification of domestic seafood and field experiments with cultured arctic surf clams. Last Friday, the organization celebrated the groundbreaking of a $5.8 million expansion of its facilities on Beals Island.
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute, $288,888 to study the issue of “choke species” in a changing climate. Choke species are fish with very small landings quotas. Fishermen who haul them in as bycatch may be forced to stop fishing for other species.
The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, $141,092 to continue and expand the 2015 tagging effort studying lobster migration and growth on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine.
The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, $298,932 to study the phytoremediation potential of farmed kelp in connection with shellfish aquaculture.
The University of Maine, $299,623 to evaluate the life history and stock structure of yellowfin tuna in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.
The University of Maine, $275,308 to assess the potential for the sustainability of fishing-dependent coastal Maine communities in the face of environmental and socioeconomic change.
LOUISIANA: Read emails between Wildlife & Fisheries employee and vendor who got big contract
June 14, 2017 — Emails published as part of a Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report show a cozy relationship between a former Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries employee with purchasing authority and a company that ultimately got a big contract with the agency.
The report details a months-long investigation into nearly $55,000 worth of missing fishing equipment that was purchased by Eric Newman and a team he managed in Venice to collect fish tissue samples after the BP oil spill. Auditors found nearly $20,000 worth of fishing equipment matching the description of the missing gear at a home and camp shared by Newman and his wife, Monique Savoy, who was part of the Venice team.
The report also documents relationships Newman had with vendors seeking to do business with the department, including Bloodydecks, LLC. As part of the investigation, auditors found emails between Newman and Bloodydecks representatives, and presented those emails in the report:
Tall Ships bringing Super Bowl-like security to Boston
June 14, 2017 — The city is bracing for massive security at this weekend’s Tall Ships extravaganza, with the historic event given the feds’ highest terror alert — Super Bowl-level — amid heightened concerns over ISIS attacks.
Homeland Security officers are set to meet today to go over the security net being planned for Sail Boston 2017. An estimated 2 million people are expected to attend the harborfest that kicks off Friday.
The dire warning comes after a suicide bombing in Manchester, England, in May that killed 22 concertgoers followed by an ambush around London Bridge that left seven dead earlier this month.
Former Boston police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, who now runs a security firm that will be working the event, said the worry is warranted.
“My police contacts and public safety contacts are telling me this is a very serious event,” Davis said. “There will be a significant show of force out there, no question. Due to the world situation they’ll see a significant increase in security personnel.”
A Coast Guard spokeswoman confirmed that the event, which runs from Friday to next Thursday, received a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) of 1 from the Department of Homeland Security, the rating indicating the most risk for an event.
Level 1 events require extensive federal coordination and have significant national or international importance, and have included presidential visits and party nominating conventions.
In comparison, annual high-security events like the Boston Marathon or the Fourth of July parade are designated SEAR 2, Boston Police Department spokesman Lt. Michael McCarthy said, adding that other recent SEAR 1 events included the United Nations Assembly and the Rose Bowl Parade and game.
MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center Celebrates First Anniversary
June 13, 2017 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:
The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center invites the public to join us as we celebrate our 1st anniversary on June 24th and 25th. The weekend will feature a model boat show, walking tours, performances of maritime music and storytelling, and anniversary cake.
On Saturday, June 24th, Big Boats, Little Boats will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Center and on Pier 3. This free event features a model boat show; walking tours of the working waterfront; a fishing vessel tour; mini-tugs dockside at Pier 3; and Center exhibits. In addition, Whaling City Expeditions will offer harbor tours at a reduced rate with coupon.
That evening, The Souls of the Sea Trio will perform from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The benefit concert takes place under a tent at the Center and features Allen Estes, Sal Baglio, and Matt Leavenworth. These three nationally acclaimed singers, songwriters, and musicians perform musical tributes to the lives and experiences of the fishermen of the North Atlantic and their families. Their original and musically diverse songs are a unique interpretation of life around the working waterfront. A cash bar will be available. Tickets for the concert are $20 and all proceeds benefit the Center.
On Sunday, June 25th, the public is invited to the anniversary party from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus kicks off the event at 11:00 a.m. Following welcome remarks by Laura Orleans, Executive Director, and Phil Mello, Board Chair, anniversary cake by Ellen’s Creations and ice cream from the Ox Cart will be served. Storyteller Jackson Gillman will perform at 12:45 p.m. In addition, children’s craft activities will be available and the Ox Cart will be selling food and beverages.
The Center is grateful to BayCoast Bank and the National Endowment for the Arts for their generous support of these events.
The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through exhibits, programs, and archives. The Center is open free of charge, Thursday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is located at 38 Bethel Street, in the heart of the National Park. The Center is wheelchair accessible and has free off-street parking. For more information, please email programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call the Center at (508) 993-8894.
Alaska budget deadlock would spell disaster for state’s fisheries
June 12, 2017 — Want a fishing license to crew on a salmon boat this summer? Got friends or family visiting who want to wet a line for a prized Alaska catch? Don’t count on it.
If the Alaska legislature continues to defy its constitutional obligation to pass a budget, those opportunities will be lost because there won’t be any state workers to issue fishing licenses. Layoff notices went out on June 1 to thousands of state employees who will be off the job at the July 1 start of the fiscal year.
That’s just one of the lesser impacts of the legislative impasse, hundreds of which are now being outlined by the governor and state agencies as the deadline approaches.
Here’s an overview of potential fishery related impacts from various divisions:
The Commercial Fisheries Division, which receives nearly all its management money from the state general fund, will be hit the hardest. The budget deadlock would bring all state fisheries to a screeching halt, and thousands of processing workers who live in or come to Alaska each summer would suddenly find themselves out of a job.
The biggest punch, of course, would be felt by the salmon fisheries — and the harm could extend well beyond this year.
Field staff at remote weirs, towers and salmon sonar counting projects from Southeast to Kotzebue will be pulled, said Scott Kelley, division director with the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game.
“A ballpark count is 40-50 projects for commercial fisheries. That doesn’t include projects operated by Sport Fish which are oftentimes equally important for overall salmon assessment, as well as aerial and foot surveys,” he said.
The stall means that managers’ ability to forecast future salmon escapement goals and collect other critical data also would be significantly compromised.
Cancelled harvests also could force too many salmon to head upstream and exceed the carrying capacity of food and oxygen in their home lakes or streams.
“That entirely depends on the strength of a given run,” Kelley explained. “In rearing limited systems, where the more spawners we put in the more fry we get, we could see significant impacts in terms of future yields. If we put a big number of sockeye into a system above the upper end of an escapement goal, the result could be reduced yield when that brood year returns over 3 to 5 years. If there are more fry than feed, they could have reduced in-lake survival, reduced marine survival because they leave freshwater smaller and less fit than normal. Prey densities also take a hit and take a while to recover.”
Maine elver fishermen caught $12 million worth of eels this season
June 12, 2017 — Maine elver fishermen netted more than $12 million in baby eels in the season that ended last week — the fourth-highest grossing year since 1994, officials said.
The season came to a close last week with 9,282 pounds of elvers caught in Maine, which is 334 pounds shy of the statewide catch limit, according to Maine Department of Marine Resources.
Maine, where more eels are caught than any other state, has a yearly statewide limit of 9,616 pounds on elver harvests, and by law the season ends either when that quota is reached or on June 7.
Maine’s 1,000 or so licensed elver fishermen on average earned just above $1,300 per pound this year, keeping the average price above $1,000 per pound for the fifth time in the past six years. The highest average price was in 2015, when fishermen earned more than $2,100 per pound but a cold spring resulted in fishermen catching only 5,200 pounds of elvers statewide.
The $12 million annual harvest value is the fourth-highest total for the fishery since 1994, according to DMR statistics. The highest-ever statewide harvest value was $40.3 million in 2012.
Maine’s elver fishery has been one of the state’s most valuable fisheries since 2011, when changes in global supply and demand made prices in Maine nearly quintuple, from $185 per pound to nearly $900 per pound. The baby eels, about 2,000 of which comprise a pound, are shipped live to East Asia, where they are raised in aquaculture ponds and later harvested for the region’s seafood market.
New Jersey Congressman Blasts Plan To Use Underwater Air Guns To Look For Oil In The Atlantic
June 9, 2017 — The Trump Administration wants to look for oil and natural gas under the Atlantic Ocean using seismic air guns, a proposal that doesn’t sit well with a South Jersey congressman.
The National Marine Fisheries Service wants permits to use those air guns from Delaware to Central Florida. Republican Congressman Frank LoBiondo is dead set against the proposal.
“This was started by President Obama while he was in office with his Department of Commerce,” LoBiondo told KYW Newsradio. “It was a dangerous and dumb idea then and it continues to be a dangerous and dumb idea now.”
The oil and gas industry is pushing for these surveys, and five companies have applied through the Interior Department to get those permits.
LoBiondo’s reasons for opposing the plan are mostly economic.
“Why would we want to take a risk on endangering our tourist season, endangering our fishing, commercial and recreational? It is beyond me, and there’s no good reason why, if they had to do this, it couldn’t be done in February,” he added.
MAINE: Midcoast lobster pound co-op sees a promising future in aquaculture
June 12, 2017 — The Bremen Lobster Pound Co-op on Keene Neck has been a fixture of Bremen’s working waterfront for decades. After a merger between the fishermen’s association and Community Shellfish LLC, the co-op’s new owner is looking to keep it that way.
Boe Marsh is a Bremen selectman and owns Community Shellfish LLC, a dealer in lobster, clams and shrimp. The company buys from harvesters at its processing and distribution center at 656 Waldoboro Road in Bremen and at the co-op.
The co-op will continue in its current role as a base of operations for local lobstermen and other commercial fishermen, and Marsh is reintroducing aquaculture, a field the co-op first experimented with in previous years.
Marsh hopes to repurpose the co-op’s two lobster pounds for aquaculture space, particularly the growth and harvesting of oysters and clams, while keeping the co-op open and available to local lobstermen and commercial fishermen.
According to Marsh, co-ops across Maine have long used lobster pounds — roughly 50 are spread along the state’s coast — to house and nourish lobsters during the height of the crustacean’s season. The co-ops used plentiful groundfish to sustain the lobsters when a seasonal surplus tends to drive prices down, saving the lobsters for a time of year when they are more valuable.
Marsh said this practice has changed in recent years because of the rising cost of groundfish, such as herring, and the development of technology to keep the lobsters indoors. Some tanks use thermal elements to keep the lobsters in hibernation for two to three months.
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