State and Local

NEW BEDFORD, Mass, — Mayor Jon Mitchell Tuesday urged the organization responsible for setting catch limits for fish species shared between the United States and Canada to negotiate a Georges Bank yellowtail flounder quota for the 2014 fishing year that does not result in further harm to the fishing industry.

In a letter to its members, Mitchell called on the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee to reach a quota of no less than 500 metric tons for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder.

"Georges Bank yellowtail is bycatch for the scallop fishery, which brings in approximately $400 million in direct annual revenue to New Bedford," said the mayor, in a news release Tuesday. "Taking into account the groundfish and scallop fisheries' ancillary businesses, Georges Bank yellowtail is tied to nearly $1.3 billion in annual economic activity in Greater New Bedford."

The Transboundary Committee is a government-industry board composed of representatives from Canada and the United States. It gives guidance on harvest strategies, resource sharing and management processes for Canadian and U.S. management authorities for the cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder on Georges Bank.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

September 4, 2013 — The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation Lobster Research Fleet Pilot Project (known as the "On-Deck Data Program" focuses on testing methods to improve the collection and management of fishery dependent data. Specifically, the pilot program is designed to explore  and test new technologies that will enable lobstermen fishing in Lobster Management Areas 2 and 3 to collect and relay much-needed biological data to managers and scientists monitoring the lobster stock in these areas.

The technologies being piloted in this project include the use of onboard waterproof tablets, electronic calipers, and internet relay of data.  The project uses a lobster research fleet approach that includes six lobster fishing vessels in each management area, with vessels strategically chosen to provide area coverage. Click here to see the vessels in the Lobster Research Fleet. Click here to see the coverage of the Lobster Fleet.

Data collection is focused on both retained and discarded lobsters, including:
— Carapace length
— Sex
— Females – egg bearing and/or V-notch
— Presence of shell disease

Additional data recorded includes:
— Date of sampling
— Location of samples (longitude/latitude)
— Soak time of traps
— Number of traps sampled
— Total number of lobsters sampled per set of traps.
— Data for lobsters caught in a subset of ventless traps is also reported, and lobstermen have the option of entering notes regarding general observations e.g. tides, weather conditions, other species in traps, etc.

The project is being approached as a collaborative endeavor among lobstermen, and state/regional/federal scientists with a Project Steering Committee comprised of representatives from the lobstermen who fish in Lobster Management Areas 2 and 3, state managers from the RI Department of Environmental Management and the MA Division of Marine Fisheries, and staff from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Click here to view members of the Project Steering Committee.

For more information: 

See the research project webiste

Read the press release

See the members of the project steering committee

See the list of participants 

August 29, 2013 — Copper River Seafoods, the Alaska-owned seafood manufacturer and marketer with roots in Cordova, will withdraw support of a London-based certification program in 2014, after learning Prince William Sound is still adrift in the assessment process.

"Copper River Seafoods believes in choice, but cannot support a certification model that fails to certify all fisheries within a state that is a global model for sustainable fisheries management," the company said in a statement released Aug. 28.

Company officials cited the Alaska Salmon Fishery public comment draft report from the Marine Stewardship Council as a reason for its decision. The report highlights state of Alaska fisheries management practices, including long-term data collection, focus on salmon escapement, and the knowledge and experience of staff of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "Unfortunately, the report passes only 13 of the 14 Alaskan fishing areas, leaving Prince William Sound in assessment until additional information is gathered," the company said.

"Therefore, Copper River Seafoods plans to withdraw support for the MSC in 2014. If the MSC chooses to certify all of Alaska's salmon fisheries, Copper River Seafoods will reassess whether MSC can again be a viable option for customers."

Copper River Seafoods is also certified under the United Nations' Food and Agriculture-based Responsible Fisheries Management certification program sponsored through the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, as are more than 40 other seafood entities.

Copper River Seafoods has until now supported both the MSC and the FAO-based RFM models at the request of customers whose corporate sustainability policies required third-party assurance that Alaska's fisheries were responsibly managed. Supporting both models and advocating for choice has always been important to Copper River Seafoods, so no single certification would have control in the marketplace, company officials said.

Alaska's fisheries were among the first, in fact, to be certified by MSC. The Alaska Constitution since 1959 has mandated sustainability in fisheries.

Read the full story at The Cordova Times 

September 1, 2013 —  On Friday, the state recalled oysters harvested since July 22 and ordered the immediate closure of 40 commercial oyster beds in Plymouth Harbor, Kingston Bay, Duxbury Bay, the Bluefish River and the Back River due to three reports of gastroenteritis caused by the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus. There are commercial oyster farms in Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury.

Fresh oysters are for slurping and savoring, but the chef at Tosca, the high-end restaurant on Hingham Harbor, had to toss out 400 of them after the state shut down local oyster farms at the start of the Labor Day weekend.

“We sell about 200 or 300 oysters during a typical weekend, and Labor Day is a very busy weekend,” chef Brian Hennebury said Sunday.

The oysters from Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury that Hennebury usually serves may have been among the local oysters state officials say sickened at least three people.

The recall left local restaurants scrambling to find safe oysters for the weekend.

Jessica Warner of Oro in Scituate Harbor said the restaurant normally serves local oysters but has found alternatives.

“We haven’t been able to get them from Duxbury, so we’ve been getting them from the Cape – from Dennis and Wellfleet,” Warner said.

This is the first time a specific harvesting area in Massachusetts has been implicated in a Vibrio outbreak. Outbreaks are typically attributed to higher temperatures and brackish water.

Within 24 hours of ingestion, Vibrio causes diarrhea, vomiting, fever and chills that can last three days. Blood infections occur in about 10 percent of cases.

The three ill people who became infected with Vibrio have recovered, the state Department of Public Health said in a press release.

State authorities are required to take action when shellfish sicken two or more people not from the same household. The state must close the harvest area responsible for an outbreak.

Read the full story at the Patriot Ledger 

YORK, Maine — September 2, 2013 — The York Lobstermen's Association selected Thomas Kinton of York as the first recipient of a new scholarship aimed at benefitting the working waterfront.

Kinton was awarded $500 toward his studies in power engineering at the Maine Maritime Academy. "We were looking for somebody going into a marine industry," said Mike Sinclair, head of the association. "He fit the criteria to a T."

Read the full story from Seacoastonline

September 3, 2013 — Fishermen and boaters of Cape Ann and other parts of the North Shore are seeing a marked increase in long fin squid, a species normally more common south of Cape Cod.

It’s the second summer of a squid population explosion, from the Cape to Southern Maine, said Michael Armstrong, assistant director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries’ Gloucester field station.

“We’ve always had them (long fin squid), but in less numbers,” said Armstrong. “Their abundance is through the roof … It’s even more pronounced this year.”

Armstrong said the word “boom” would be an accurate description, with long fin squid numbers increasing tenfold, at least.

The inky invertebrates are so plentiful that it’s become popular to catch them, both to eat and to use a bait. The increase in squid fishing has caused friction recently at some North Shore docks — between authorities, boaters and other fishermen.

Earlier this summer, Marblehead town officials banned fishing from town-owned docks and floats, after overcrowding by squid anglers became a problem.

Read the full story from the Gloucester Times

PORTLAND, Maine, — September 3, 2013 — The state's newest labor union was celebrated Monday during the Southern Maine Labor Council's annual Labor Day breakfast at the Irish Heritage Center.

Rock Alley of Jonesport, president of the new Maine Lobstermen's Union, said he was overwhelmed by the support lobster fishermen across the state have received as they pushed forward their grassroots effort to organize.

"It just blew my mind away. It was incredible to see what was available for support for lobster fishermen," Alley told the 150 workers, labor leaders and elected officials at the breakfast.

Doug Born, president of the Southern Maine Labor Council, said every Labor Day is "a good excuse to get together with our fellow union brethren and enjoy solidarity." This Labor Day had even more reason to celebrate because of the new lobstermen's union, he said.

"In this day and age, it's highly unusual (to see a new union), especially with such a historically independent group," he said. "It's a real treat that we have a new union in Maine. The collective voice is a stronger voice. It's given voice to workers who literally had no voice. They now have the ability to speak out and be heard."

Alley said between 500 and 600 lobster fishermen have joined the new union, with more expressing interest. They held their first meeting last month in Vinalhaven, about seven months after Alley first heard of the idea of organizing. The meeting included lobstermen from Machiasport, Jonesport, Stonington, Boothbay, Vinalhaven and other fishing communities.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald 

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — August 31, 2013 — The Cape Elizabeth resort, along with a handful of other restaurants across the state, recently committed to feature at least one responsibly harvested fish species from the Gulf of Maine on their menu.

In the basement of the posh Inn by The Sea, executive chef Mitchell Kaldrovich conducts a fish fry. 

He fillets a piece of white fish in a skillet as flames shoot up all around. The “nice, flakey fish” turns a golden brown and the chef plates it on a bed of quinoa tabbouleh with an artistic dash of yogurt lime sauce.

Moments later, as diners at Sea Glass restaurant overlooking the Atlantic Ocean delve into this succulent pollock entree, they nurture themselves and at the same time help sustain a healthy seafood ecology.

The Cape Elizabeth resort, along with a handful of other restaurants across the state, recently committed to feature at least one responsibly harvested fish species from the Gulf of Maine on their menu.

The intent is to relieve pressure on once plentiful but now sparse cod and haddock fisheries by focusing on fish such as dogfish, whiting and redfish, long considered understudies for the stars of the sea.

“We are changing people’s tastes so they will broaden their palates and be ready to eat what the fishermen bring in,” said Rauni Kew, public relations manager for the eco-conscious inn. “Because if they only have cod to bring in, they are all going to starve.”

This year, the commercial cod quota in the Gulf of Maine, which includes Massachusetts and New Hampshire, is 78 percent lower than last year. The term “overfishing” gets bandied about, but the culprit is as vast as the Atlantic, says Jen Levin, sustainable seafood program manager for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

“Fish populations have a dynamic and natural ecosystem that influences food and water temperatures and affects where they like to live,” said Levin. “Scientists are reticent to say, ‘Here’s the answer,’ there are so many different things going on with fish stock populations.”

To take the spotlight off fish that aren’t available and create demand for those that are, the institute went straight to the source.

In February, it launched a culinary partnership with Sea Glass and several Portland eateries such as Local 188 and Five Fifty-Five as well as The Jordan Pond House Restaurant on Mount Desert Island.

Read the full story and watch the video from the Bangor Daily News