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A calico lobster turned up at a Maryland fish market. The chances of finding one: 1 in 30 million

January 15, 2019 — He spared her life and named her Eve. Now instead of a lobster pot she’s going to live in an aquarium.

The owner of a fish market in suburban Washington was sifting through his daily seafood delivery from Maine in late December when he came across a curious find: a lobster with a speckled, orange-and-black shell. It turned out to be a rare calico lobster.

The odds of catching one are about one in 30 million.

The owner of the Ocean City Seafood market in Silver Spring, Maryland, who wants to be identified only as Nicholas, didn’t want to send the crustacean to a restaurant to become someone’s dinner. So he set her aside.

“He didn’t know why she was special,” said Rita Montoya, a spokeswoman for the market. “He just formed a bond with her.”

Read the full story at CNN

‘Lobster War’ Tackles Global Issues From a Tiny Island in Maine

January 8, 2019 — Machias Seal Island is an unlikely location for an international border dispute, a heated and increasingly dangerous conflict and an illuminating flashpoint for the worldwide crisis that is global warming, and yet here we are. The island off of Cutler is about 20 acres’ worth of bare rock, protected puffins and seals, and the only manned lighthouse left on the coast. (More on that later.) It’s just another speckled rock in the Gulf of Maine, weathering the warring tides between the United States and Canada in unassuming silence.

Machias Seal Island – and the miles of fishing grounds around it – is also the subject of the new film “Lobster War.” Hardly hyperbole, the title refers to the fact that the changing environment in the gulf has turned the largely ignored waters surrounding the island into one of the most contentiously contested fishing grounds in the world, and how its newfound value is emblematic of the coming conflicts caused by manmade global warming in miniature. Co-directed by Boston Globe reporter David Abel and filmmaker Andy Laub, the film, which screens at The Strand Theatre in Rockland on Sunday and the Lincoln County Community Theater in Damariscotta on Jan. 17, is the duo’s third collaboration. Like their previous films, “Sacred Cod” and “The Gladesmen,” “Lobster War” was inspired by Abel’s position as environmental reporter at the Globe, a job that necessarily brings him to Maine quite frequently.

Read the full story at Maine Today

Film Notes: ‘Lobster War,’ Screening in Woodstock, Documents a Changing Fishery

January 4, 2019 — Before deciding whether to see Lobster War: The Fight Over the World’s Richest Fishing Grounds at Woodstock Town Hall Theatre next week, Upper Valley cinephiles need to distinguish David Abel’s new documentary from Lobster Wars, plural.

While Lobster Wars, a six-part reality TV series that ran on the Discovery Channel in 2007, followed fishermen from the United Kingdom pursuing crustaceans over Georges Bank, the feature Lobster War (singular) focuses on American and Canadian lobstermen pursuing the creatures around an island off Maine’s Down East that both countries claim.

Abel is screening Lobster War, which does not yet have a distributor, at venues around New England. The veteran print journalist’s current tour, which follows a round of film-festival appearances, is scheduled to begin in the fishing town of Gloucester, Mass., tonight and to make its Vermont premiere in Woodstock on Wednesday.

“My first two docs were on cable, on network distribution deals that hemmed us in except for the odd festival,” Abel, who writes about environmental issues for the Boston Globe, said during a telephone interview on Wednesday. “This is the first time I’ve decided to go the theater route.

“It’s really gratifying to show your work, to meet folks who are really interested in these issues.”

Climate change is the issue at the center of Lobster War, which documents a dispute between fishermen from Maine and Atlantic Canada. Over the last decade, with ocean waters warming off the New England coast, lobsters have been migrating north and east in search of colder waters for breeding, many of them are now clustering in a 277-square-mile patch of ocean described in the movie as a “Gray Zone” around Machias Seal Island.

Read the full story at Valley News

John Bullard still bullish on politics, boats

Decemeber 17, 2018 — When last we saw John Bullard, the big man was sitting in his sun-splashed office at NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office in Gloucester’s Blackburn Industrial Park, wearing an authentic, white Red Sox home jersey with David Ortiz’ No. 34 on the back.

By then, Bullard, who shepherded this region of NOAA Fisheries through the ongoing cod crisis, the remapping of available fishing areas, quota cuts, the imperiled state of right whales and the beginning of the end for Carlos Rafael, already had committed to heading off toward the pasture of retirement. He seemed totally relaxed and completely at ease.

We’ve been meaning to reach out to him for quite a while, if for no other reason than to talk about the Red Sox’ World Series championship and maybe a bit of Pats patter, particularly in the wake of the hideous defeat last week in the heat of South Florida.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Documentary Tracks Territory Dispute Over Lobster Bounty

December 7, 2018 — While many communities, including the Vineyard, have seen extreme declines in lobster populations over the years, the species has rebounded further north in a disputed area on the border of the United States and Canada. Fueled by warming waters due to climate change, this newly robust lobster area is being claimed by both countries, and it’s been dubbed the gray zone.

Lobster War, a new film about the building tension in the gray zone off the coast of Maine, will screen on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center. Film director and Boston Globe reporter David Abel will appear for a question and answer session via Skype. He will be joined by Tubby Medeiros and Wes Brighton of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, both of whom lobster in the waters around the Vineyard.

Speaking with the Gazette by phone, Mr. Abel said he learned about the gray zone through his environmental reporting for the Boston Globe.

“I’m interested in telling stories that look at how climate change affects us and how it’s not an abstract threat, but it’s having a real impact on people’s lives,” he said.

Read the full story at The Vineyard Gazette 

Omega Protein’s Menhaden Fishery Passes MSC Assessment; Public Comment Period Initiated

December 4, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS —  The US purse seine menhaden fishery operated by Omega protein has been recommended for MSC certification by SAI Global.

Today the assessment body released its draft report for public comment.  Scores for the three principal areas were quite high.

The MSC system is based on the target fishery achieving a score of 80 or above in a range of criteria, organized under 3 principles:  health and sustainability of target species; the status of the ecosystem and the environmental impact of fishing, and the management system in place.

Scores are averaged, and a fishery must exceed a score of 80 in each of the three main areas to be recommended for certification.

The menhaden fishery was scored at 82.5 on the target species health; at 87.4 on the ecosystem health, and at 92.2 on the management system in place.

Within these areas there were three specific issues that scored below 80, which will become conditions that need to be addressed in the five year plan for improvement following a successful certification.

The three issues identified by SAI Global as conditions are first, that Omega Protein must provide evidence of a harvest strategy that is designed to take into consideration the role of menhaden as a forage fish in the overall Northwest Atlantic ecosystem, meaning that if ecosystem impacts are identified, there must be a mechanism to reflect those impacts in the harvest strategy.

The second issue is that the client must implement a harvest control rule that ensures the exploitation rate is kept below a level where serious ecosystem impacts could occur, and the client will be expected to keep the stock fluctuating around a target level consistent with ecosystem needs.

The third condition is that every five years there must be a review of alternate measures related to bycatch.  The certifier recommends that more work be done on bycatch in the fishery.

The overall conclusion is to strongly recommend certification.  Under the MSC process, stakeholders have the right to lodge objections or suggest changes to the report.  Normally these types of suggestions are negotiated between the parties, and if no agreement can be reached, a stake holder may appeal the certification decision to a review board.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

MSC gives Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery six more months to deliver report

November 29, 2018 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has granted independent auditor SAI Global an extra six months — until June 6 — to finish its final report on whether to grant certification to the menhaden fishery in the US’ Gulf of Mexico.

The report was due Dec. 6, in a little more than a week. However, in requesting more time, SAI Global had noted unforeseen delays that included “a new benchmark stock assessment”, “additional consultation”, “substantial stakeholder submittals” and the “development and revision of the client action plan”, reveals MSC’s letter approving the delay, sent Monday to lead auditor Ivan Mateo.

If the new June 6 deadline is not met, the MSC warns, the application must be withdrawn.

The note about receiving a “substantial” number of stakeholder comments is interesting as several groups, including the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) and Recirculating Farms Coalition (RFC), have let their opposition to MSC certification of the Gulf menhaden fishery be known. The fishery currently maintains no limits on its harvest of menhaden, which is a forage fish relied upon heavily by numerous other fish and bird species.

“Notably, the MSC label has become a well-known marker for fisheries that strive for sustainability,” said Marianne Cufone, RFC’s executive director, and Cynthia Sartou, GRN’s executive director, in a jointly signed letter sent earlier to the accrediting organization. “To certify gulf menhaden, with its lack of transparency and information, would most certainly tarnish MSC’s reputation and weaken public confidence in the label.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NOAA Fisheries Seeking Nominations for Committee

November 26, 2018 — HYANNIS, MASS. – NOAA Fisheries is accepting nominations to fill vacant positions on the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC).

The committee advises the Secretary of Commerce and NOAA on developing and implementing regulations, policies and programs critical to the mission and goals of the NOAA Fisheries Service.

Committee members represent commercial, recreational, subsistence, and aquaculture fisheries interests; tribes; seafood industry; protected resources and habitat interests; environmental organizations; academic institutions; consumer groups; and other living marine resource interest groups.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Daniel Cohen, founder of Atlantic Capes, wind farm, sustainability champion, dead at 63

November 23, 2018 — Daniel “Danny” Cohen, the founder of Atlantic Capes Fisheries, one of North America’s largest scallop, clam, oyster and finfish harvesters and processors, and a major champion of wind farming and sustainable fishing practices, has passed away at the age of 63.

Cohen, who died in Cape May, New Jersey, heroically battled cancer for an extended period of time, an obituary published by Saving Seafood confirms.

The Fall River, Massachusetts-based company Cohen started in 1976 after graduating from Cornell University, in New York, with a degree in architecture, has grown into a fully integrated seafood company operating out of three states — Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey —  with more than 400 employees, 25 harvesting vessels, two unloading facilities, three processing plants and a fleet of delivery trucks, based on details contained on the company website.

Scallop industry executives, including those at competing companies, expressed their sadness on Wednesday.

“His passing marks the end of an era. He was a pioneer of the scallop industry, one of the men at the roundtable,” said Rob Rizzo, a commodities manager and longtime scallop industry professional at Eastern Fisheries, in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

“He was always professional, always a gentleman. He was a selfless champion of sustainable fishing and the scallop industry, standing up for everyone in the industry. And he treated everybody from the captains and crew of his vessels to the truck drivers and the workers in the processing plants as if they were equally important to his organization,” he said.

“It’s a very sad day. He will be greatly missed.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Atlantic Capes Fisheries Founder Danny Cohen Passes Away After Battle With Cancer

November 23, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Danny Cohen, the founder and CEO of Atlantic Capes Fisheries, passed away on Tuesday after battling cancer. He was 63-years-old.

Cohen started Atlantic Capes Fisheries after taking over a small fishing dock and several fishing boats that his father, Joseph Cohen, left to him. Over the years he served as Chairman of the National Fisheries Institute Scientific Monitoring Committee, and was a member of the NFI Clam Committee. He also worked with Rutgers University and founded Cape May Salt Oyster Company, “re-vitalizing the Delaware Bay oyster industry by growing disease resistant shellfish.”

National Fisheries Institute president John Connelly released the following statement on Cohen’s passing:

Danny Cohen, founder of Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc. was uniquely committed to both the sustainability of the resource and the sustainability of his employees.

Danny was influential in organizing efforts to promote the sustainable harvest of clams, scallops, and other seafood. He took a long-term view of the fisheries and encouraged a balance between industry and environment that would prove an instrumental equilibrium for crew, vessels, and the fish.

Even as Atlantic Capes grew to a multi-species company with dozens of boats, a fleet of trucks and hundreds of employees, his strategy and steady leadership remained the same.

Danny is remembered for serving as Chairman of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) Scientific Monitoring Committee and on the NFI Clam Committee.

His foresight, innovation, commitment, and his unforgettable laugh, will be missed.

Cohen is survived by his daughter Dorit, his sister Maxi, brother Barry and sister-in-law Ronnie, and his companion Sharon. A funeral will be held Sunday, November 25 at 10:30 a.m. at Shirat HaYam in Ventnor, NJ. Shiva will follow at Barry and Ronnie Cohen’s home in Linwood, NJ.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.