State and Local

March 16, 2014 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

Dredging and bottom surveying of the federal channel in Portland Harbor is ongoing in the area from the green can #3 off of the Portland Pipe Line Pier #2 to the Veterans Memorial Bridge. This work will continue until March 27th. The area is being worked with two large barge mounted cranes with 28 and 56 yard buckets. This project is nearing its completion and these barges will move from location to location in the dredge area at a moment’s notice. The Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Portland Harbor Commission request lobstermen keep their gear clear of the entire area until the completion of the work. For more information contact the Portland Harbor Master at 207-772-8121.

 

 

March 16, 2014 — The Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission announced on Monday it has approved new regulations affecting the commercial striped bass fishery, which are expected to be implemented prior to the start of the season. Usually, most of the space in this column is reserved for recreational fishing, however the new sweeping changes are big news and many recreational saltwater fishermen get their commercial licenses to be able to sell the striped bass they catch.

Opening day of the season has long been a bone of contention among Southeastern Mass. anglers as it typically opens after the first week of July, when most of the migrating fish have left Buzzards Bay and are off Cape Cod. Local anglers will be happy to hear that the new opening date is June 23, with the fishery to remain open until MarineFisheries projects that the quota — approximately 1.15 million pounds for 2014 — has been landed.

The new open fishing days are Mondays and Thursdays only. It is illegal to harvest striped bass for commercial purposes on all other days of the week.

The daily possession and landing limits for commercial fishermen have been lowered and are now based on the type of commercial fishing permit held. Fishermen holding a commercial lobster or boat permit with a striped bass endorsement will have a daily limit of 15 fish for the boat. Validation of a registered vessel is required to obtain a commercial lobster or boat permit. This limit applies to the permit holder regardless of the number of striped bass endorsements held or trips taken in a day. It also applies to the vessel regardless of the number of striped bass endorsement holders onboard or trips taken in a day.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times 

 

DENNIS, Mass. — March 14, 2014 — Move over, snowy owls. The latest creatures to captivate binocular-toting beachgoers could be the biggest draw of them all.

At least a dozen rare and enormous North Atlantic right whales have been observed feeding in Cape Cod Bay closer to shore than normal in the Mid-Cape area, mainly off Dennis beaches. During high tides, curious nature enthusiasts have descended on sandy spots such as Mayflower Beach this week to catch a glimpse of the massive mammals in the distance.

Charles "Stormy" Mayo, a senior scientist for Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, said right whales typically feed a mile or more out at sea in this area, so the ability to spot them from shore presents a "very special opportunity."

The right whales are there for the delicious seafood, but if the food moves, so could they. It's unclear how long the giants of the deep will stick around off the Dennis coast.

"There's a very dense concentration of plankton that has been really wafted in by currents up close to the shore, and the right whales have followed it in as they always do — into the shallow waters close to the Dennis shore," Mayo said.

North Atlantic right whales — which are about 56 feet long and weigh up to 70 tons — call Cape Cod Bay waters home during the winter and spring seasons. There are only 510 North Atlantic right whales in the world, according to the Provincetown center.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., — March 13, 2014 — The following was released by the New Bedford Ocean Explorium and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute:

The Ocean Explorium will open its doors for the second complimentary Family Science Night on Thursday, March 20, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.  "Life Without Sunlight" is the theme for this event, related to the exhibit "Life, Smoke, and Fire – Underwater:  Deep Sea Vents Explored" which includes artifacts from expeditions to the deep sea floors.

Visitors will have an opportunity to meet Woods Hole Chief Scientist Dr. Stefan Sievert.  Dr. Sievert will place a call to the research vessel Atlantis, working in the Gulf of Mexico, to speak with Dr. Dorsey Wanless, Geology and Geophysics Postdoctoral Fellow.

During the previous Free Family Science Night, Dr. Sievert was the aboard the Atlantis and took the telephone call from his colleagues.  Visitors to the Ocean Explorium can ask questions of the scientists on-board the research vessel.

The Ocean Explorium's own Explorer in Residence, Rhonda Moniz, will also be on hand.  Ms. Moniz is founder and director of operations for Benthic Exploration, a company that specializes in marine technology including ROV, AUV, side scan, and sub-bottom profiling technology.

There will be hands-on activities and special Science on a Sphere® presentations.  Find more information about the research expedition at http://divediscover.whoi.edu/; find more information about the Ocean Explorium and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution outreach collaboration at http://divediscover.whoi.edu/sos.

Family Science Night is made possible through funding from the National Science Foundation.

 

 

March 13, 2014 — Despite a pool of more than $75 million in federal appropriations for fisheries disaster relief from Hurricane Sandy and other storm damage, New Jersey, at $1.5 million, has received a pittance compared with other regions, according to state legislators and anglers associations.

Marine industry losses in both commercial and recreational fishing because of Sandy have been estimated at $121 million in New Jersey and $77 million in New York, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The two states have been told to split $3 million allocated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service for the recovery, officials told the Inquirer. NOAA has not indicated how funding disbursements were determined.

But one of the six places NOAA is distributing money for declared disasters in 2012 and 2013, Alaska — removed by 4,600 miles from where Sandy made landfall in Brigantine, N.J., on Oct. 29, 2012 — will receive $21 million of the funds for issues with its salmon fisheries. States in New England directly affected by Sandy — Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island — will receive the largest share, $33 million, for depleted fish stocks.

Read the full story here

March 12, 2014 — A new report shows that Bristol Bay produced 31-percent of the world’s commercially caught sockeye salmon last year. That’s down significantly from previous years. The new “Sockeye Market Analysis” report was prepared by the McDowell Group for the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.

The report shows that global sockeye production declined 17-percent last year down to 290-million pounds. Bristol Bay made up 31-percent of that total, which is down from the 45-percent from 2010 to 2012. The McDowell group notes that prior to 2013, Alaska typically accounted for 70-percent or more of the global sockeye production. Last year Bristol Bay produced 92-million pounds of sockeye. The new report shows that sockeye accounted for just 5-percent of the global salmon production last year. That includes wild and farmed salmon.

The McDowell Group acknowledges that it’s very difficult to discern exactly where Bristol Bay sockeye are sold but they believe that the U.S. domestic market remains the largest market for sockeye products from Alaska. Back in 2012, 44-percent of Alaska’s sockeye went into the domestic market. The 2012 data shows that Japan and the United Kingdom were the 2nd and 3rd largest markets for Alaska’s sockeye products. The market analysis shows that Seattle and Portland had the most sockeye sales per capita. Other cities in the top 10 include Denver, Kansas City, and the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area. Back in 2012, 49-percent of the first wholesale value of Bristol Bay’s sockeye was in the H&G and fillet product forms. Canned salmon accounted for 42-percent of the value. Roe accounted for 6-percent of the value, followed by fresh and smoked products, which each made up 1-percent of the value.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at NPR affiliate KDLG 

 

March 12, 2014 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

Due to the forecast for potentially hazardous weather conditions, the lobster industry meetings hosted by Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at the York Village Fire Department at 10:00 AM and the Scarborough High School Cafeteria at 5:00 PM have been postponed and will be re-scheduled for a future date. Notification of the re-scheduled meetings will be issued and posted on the Department of Marine Resources website.
 
For a schedule of upcoming meetings, visit http://www.maine.gov/dmr/news/2014/lobstermeetings.htm

 

CHATHAM, Mass. — March 12, 2014 — Commercial striped bass fishermen will have to make do with a lot less this year as state fishing regulations for the summer season cut in half the number of days they can go fishing and the number of fish they can catch each day. State fishery officials at public hearings said the move was needed to try to extend the season, improve fish prices paid to fishermen, and try to spread the catches to more ports.

In 1995, the striped bass season lasted 57 days before the annual quota was caught and fishing stopped. For the past two summers, its closed after just 16 days. That's due in part to a large aggregation of striped bass that has been gathering close to shore off Chatham in July, making it easy to catch as much as 60 percent of the quota in a short span of time.

While fishermen understood the need, and showed up by the hundreds at public hearings, many were disappointed by last week's vote by the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission, saying it cut deep into the profitability of the dedicated commercial striped bass fishermen.

"Our guys were fairly displeased by the 15-fish bag limit," said Darren Saletta, the executive director of the Massachusetts Commercial Striped Bass Association. At a public hearing in Plymouth a month ago, many commercial fishermen accepted the reduction in fishing days but argued for a daily limit close to the 30 fish allowed last year.

Saletta said the 15-fish limit, which would now be the total amount of fish allowed for the boat regardless of how many commercial fishermen with permits were onboard, meant that many would have to go fishing solo. For those who have to travel from an Upper or off-Cape port, the profits would likely go into fuel with just 15 fish.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

March 11, 2014 — Kodiak fish processor North Pacific Seafoods pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to illegally dumping ammonia into the Kodiak city sewer, while the processor’s chief engineer faces charges of his own.

District Court Judge Ralph Beistline imposed $205,000 in criminal penalties, $55,000 of which should go to the city for “hazardous waste response training” and equipment for sewer and fire department employees, according to an Alaska U.S. Attorney's Office press release.

Kodiak is located near the northeastern tip of Kodiak Island. Life on the island, the largest in Alaska and the second largest in the U.S., revolves largely around maritime activities including commercial fisheries and fish processing plants as well as a large U.S. Coast Guard base.

North Pacific Seafoods is a Seattle-based company and a subsidiary of Japanese corporation Marubeni. It owns five seafood processing plants in Alaska.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Steward, the illegal disposal happened in late November 2011. Employees at Alaska Pacific Seafoods “dumped approximately 40 pounds of ammonia waste from its refrigeration system” into the sewer. Sewage plant employees noticed an odor wafting through their facility and requested the city’s fire department help locate the source of the pungent smell.

“The chief engineer for the Alaska Pacific Seafoods facility at first denied discharging the ammonia when asked about” the odor, according to the release. But the sewer employees traced the ammonia back to the fish processing plant.

According to a plea agreement, the employees donned protective gear and accessed multiple locations along a sewer line to trace the source, a manhole in a public street near the fish processing plant.

Read the full story at the Alaska Dispatch