Saving Seafood

What’s on a real roll? Demand for the Maine lobster

November 25, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — The demand for lobster is on a roll — often literally. And that is helping to keep the price that Maine lobstermen are getting for their catch near historic highs.

The annual per-pound price first rose above $4 in 2004 and stayed there through 2007, then fell sharply during the recession. In 2015, annual price paid to Maine lobstermen reached $4.09 a pound, the first time it had topped the $4 mark since 2007.

This year, dockside prices for lobster have been close to or above the $4 level throughout the summer and fall, when most lobster is caught and prices usually dip to reflect the ample supply.

The demand for lobster has been buoyed, in part, by the number of casual restaurants that now include it on their menus and by the growing popularity of lobster rolls sold from roadside food trucks, according lobster industry officials.

“No question, more people are offering lobster up and down the [restaurant] hierarchy,” Matt Jacobson, head of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, said. “More awareness and more vendors is great, and drives demand.”

Among the eateries boosting demand for lobster rolls are the Luke’s Lobster chain of restaurants, franchised food trucks, such as Cousins Maine Lobster, and even McDonald’s, which has served lobster rolls at its New England locations the past two summers.

Jim Dow of Bar Harbor, vice president of Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said that, despite the mild weather last winter and warmer-than-usual water in the Gulf of Maine this past spring, there was not a repeat of the glut of new-shell lobster that in 2012 sent prices plummeting to their lowest point in decades.

“We did not get a big burst when the shedders first started” in early summer, Dow said. “They came in, but it was short-lived.”

Dow, who fishes out of Bass Harbor on Mount Desert Island, said that while fisherman in that area have been getting around $4 to $4.50 per pound this fall, the price of bait has been much higher than last year. This year he is paying $45 to $50 per bushel of herring, compared with $25 a year ago.

“Our bait price doubled,” Dow said, adding that fuel prices have stayed relatively low.

Patrice McCarron, executive director of Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said recently that the increase in bait costs could mean that many lobsterman earn less money this year even if their gross revenues rise.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Lobstermen, scientists concerned about sea level, temperature rise

November 10, 2016 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Lobstermen and scientists are concerned about rising sea temperatures and sea level rise in the state’s Seacoast region.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, went out on a lobster boat out of Portsmouth harbor Aug. 30 to talk to fisherman about concerns they have for the potential for temperature rise in the waters and how it could impact the state’s prized, $23 million a year fishery.

Waiting for her on the dock as she returned were officials from the Rockingham County Planning Commission to discuss a related issue: sea level rise and its impacts on the seacoast.

The two go hand in hand because they are both linked to climate change.

The largest high tide of the year, the King Tide, is expected on New Hampshire’s seacoast Nov. 15.

It will give residents a glimpse into the future, where high water could be the norm. Hopefully, there will not be a weather event late that morning which would possibly impact low-lying structures.

Scientists predict that the average high tide in New Hampshire could rise by two feet in the next 35 years and be six feet higher by the year 2100 due to climate change.

These tides could damage homes, infrastructure and the tourist economy of the state.

Both Shaheen and her Republican counterpart, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, together worked successfully last month to fight off an effort by Sweeden to ban the import of the American lobster. The European Union rejected Sweden’s request on Oct. 14.

Read the full story at WMUR

ASMFC lobster board tackles fishery issues

November 8, 2016 — BAR HARBOR, Maine — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s lobster board adopted no new policies affecting Maine lobstermen during its annual meeting in Bar Harbor at the end of October, but the group did discuss future options for trip reporting, crab bycatch and improving the lobster stock in Southern New England.

The board relies on data from dealer and harvester reporting to make management decisions.

“The technical committee (which provides scientific advice to the management board) highlighted data deficiencies in federal waters,” Fishery Management Plan coordinator Megan Ware said.

Most state fishery departments conduct their own lobster surveys, such as the Department of Marine Resources settlement survey, ventless trap survey and sea sampling program. But each state is different.

“States are collecting a variety of this information, but it’s not uniform,” Ware said.

Offshore waters — beyond the three-mile limit — have become an increasingly important part of the fishery and they are outside the scope of the state programs.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

Swedish official won’t rule out national lobster ban

October 20, 2016 — A Swedish-backed proposal to ban live American lobster from the European Union as an invasive species has failed, though the possibility remains that the Scandinavian country could pursue its own ban, according to a Swedish diplomat.

“The political basis to do that is not there now,” Andreas von Uexkull, minister counselor at the Swedish embassy in Washington D.C., told the News Service on Tuesday of the decision by Europe’s government.

News emerged Friday that Europe would not ban the bottom-dwelling critters, which are a popular restaurant item. Sweden had sought to ban importation of live American lobsters, fearing they threaten European lobsters.

Uexkull raised the possibility of a regional or national ban of American lobster.

“We’ll see,” Uexkull said of the idea.

He said Norway had also proposed listing the creature as an invasive species, but is not a member of the European Union.

Lobster exports make up a significant piece of the Massachusetts lobster fishery’s business.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Interstate lobster conservation plan up for key vote soon

October 20, 2016 — BAR HARBOR, Maine — Interstate fishing managers will vote next week on whether to send a proposal to try to rebuild the southern New England lobster population out for public comment.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has been working on new management measures to try to preserve lobsters in the waters of southern New England.

The commission is meeting on Oct. 27 in Bar Harbor, Maine, to decide whether to send the management proposal to the public for consideration.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

European Union decides it won’t ban imports of American lobster

October 17th, 2016 — The European Union has decided the American lobster isn’t an invasive species after all, averting a ban on the live import of Maine’s iconic crustacean.

The EU’s Committee on Invasive Alien Species told Sweden, the member nation that had sought the ban after discovering American lobsters off its coast, that it would not list Homerus americanus for technical reasons, even though Sweden’s argument had persuaded the forum of EU scientists who study alien species to pursue the listing just one month ago.

Instead, the committee – which is the political side of the alien species issue as compared to the forum, which is the scientific side – told Sweden that it couldn’t find support for an invasive species listing, which would trigger an import ban among member countries, according to an EU Commission source. However, it might one day explore other measures to protect the European lobster that wouldn’t be as disruptive to trade.

American lobster industry officials celebrated the apparent victory Friday, saying the decision had saved a $200 million-a-year export industry.

“This would have had a massive impact throughout the industry, from the fishermen on up to the processors to the restaurants who serve our lobsters and consumers who eat them,” said Annie Tselikis, marketing manager for Maine Coast Co. and a spokesman for the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association. “We are thrilled. We don’t have specifics about the decision, but are thrilled the European market is not in question.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald 

Lawmakers call lobster ban ‘excessive’ in letter to EU

September 29th, 2016 — Sweden’s push to list live American lobsters as an invasive species and ban their import by the full European Union is “an excessive and unscientific response” that jeopardizes its $125 million lobster trade with Massachusetts, according to Rep. Seth Moulton, Sen. Edward J. Markey and the remainder of the state’s congressional delegation.

In a letter sent today to the EU’s directorate-general for the environment that listed Moulton and Markey as the lead signatories, the Bay State delegation picked up where many North American scientists and fisheries regulators have left off in the escalating international trade tiff.

“Isolated reports of individual American lobsters found in European waters do not constitute the invasion of an alien species,” the delegation wrote to Daniel Calleja Crespo. “This possible designation is not merited because, as indicated in the data provided to the (EU) Scientific Forum by the United States and Canada, there is no evidence that American lobster can reproduce in waters as warm as those of coastal Europe.”

They also insist that the initial Swedish risk assessment, which serves as the basis for the Swedish claim, “failed to demonstrate that interbreeding between European and American lobsters produces fertile offspring” and an “outright ban of the importation of live American lobster to the EU is an excessive and unscientific response.”

The import ban, they argued, would dismantle the $200 million trans-Atlantic lobster trade between Canada and the United States with the 28 members of the EU and severely and negatively impact the Massachusetts lobstermen and lobster sellers who annually send about $125 million worth of live American lobsters to the EU.

A link to the letter can be found here 

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times 

Two Maine lobstermen accused of running illegal fishing operation

September 13, 2016 — Two midcoast lobstermen have been charged with running an illegal fishing operation.

Duston Reed, 34, of Waldoboro was arrested Aug. 18 and charged with fishing lobster traps that were not marked by a buoy, fishing untagged lobster traps, falsifying physical evidence and tampering with a witness, the Maine Marine Patrol said in a news release Monday.

Jeremy Yeaton of Friendship, Reed’s sternman, was arrested Aug. 28 and charged with falsification of physical evidence. Yeaton removed marine electronics used to navigate and locate fishing gear from Reed’s vessel, Outer Limits, the marine patrol said.

Marine patrol officers recovered 40 unmarked, untagged lobster traps during the seven-month investigation, a significant violation of Maine’s marine resource laws, marine patrol Col. Jon Cornish said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

GEORGE LAPOINTE and TOM TIETENBERG: Reducing Maine’s carbon footprint

September 8, 2016 — We know the threat of climate disruption to Maine is real in part because we are experiencing early warning signs. The science is also clear that the problems will escalate if we do not act to further reduce carbon pollution.

There are now many important examples of how a warming climate threatens Maine, and here is one that strikes close to home for many Mainers: our changing marine environment could spell serious trouble for commercial fishing and all those who rely on it for a living. Consider the following:

• The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99 percent of world’s oceans.

• Maine’s shrimp fishery has been closed for several years now, attributed in part to warmer waters.

• Lobstermen and other fishermen are bringing up in new species from warming waters with their catch — presence of new species is not usually a good sign. For example, warming weather contributes to large increases in green crab populations, which ravages Maine clam flats and eelgrass beds.

• Clams and other shellfish face an existential threat: the same carbon pollution that is warming the globe is making ocean water more acidic and that makes it more and more difficult to build a shell.

These problems affect many Mainers, from commercial fishermen to all the households and businesses that they interact with. Commercial fishing is a $2 billion part of Maine’s economy, employing roughly 39,000 people.

Read the full opinion piece at Central Maine

Sweden’s proposed ban on American lobsters clears first hurdle

September 7, 2016 — The scientific arm of the European Union says there is enough evidence to move forward with a review of Sweden’s request to declare the American lobster an invasive species.

America and Canada contend Sweden’s bid to protect the European lobster from its larger American cousin, which has been found in small numbers in North Atlantic waters, lacks any scientific evidence of a pending invasion, and had hoped to squelch the proposal this summer.

But on Tuesday, the Scientific Forum on Invasive Alien Species, which is made up of experts appointed by each EU member state, confirmed the validity of Sweden’s scientific risk assessment, setting in motion a broader review that could lead to the ban of live imports into the 28-nation coalition.

An EU spokeswoman said the opinion is a first step in a long process that would not reach a conclusion until the spring, at the earliest. It will be reviewed and possibly considered for a vote by the Alien Species Committee. If approved, the motion would go to the full European Union Commission for a final vote.

“This does not prejudge in any way the decision on whether the commission will propose the lobster for listing,” said Iris Petsa. “This is a preliminary opinion on a purely scientific risk assessment and not a decision as to whether to ban the species.”

Lobstermen in the U.S. and Canada stand to lose $200 million in business with EU countries if the ban becomes a reality. In its additional review, the European Union Commission will consider the implications for international trade, as well as alternative means to protect Europe’s native lobster, Petsa said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald