Saving Seafood

ASMFC To Review Harvest Estimates

July 1, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Management Boards will meet via conference call on Wednesday, July 6 at 10:00 a.m. to review the latest recreational harvest estimates from the Marine Recreational Information Program. These data indicate that preliminary estimates of 2015 recreational harvest were underestimated for both bluefish and black sea bass. While the uptick in harvest will have no impact to 2016 bluefish recreational management measures since the annual catch limit was not exceeded, it will likely have implications for 2016 black sea bass recreational management measures. On the conference call, the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board will consider possible changes to state regulations for 2016.

The public is welcome to listen in on the discussion by phone (888.394.8197; passcode 815277) and view the WEBINAR. The meeting agenda is posted to the Commission website. Meeting materials will be posted shortly. Time permitting, there will be a limited opportunity to provide comments at the end of the agenda. The Board Chair will provide additional information on the procedures for accepting public comment at the beginning of the conference call. We ask the public and other nonparticipating attendees to please mute their phones in order to minimize distractions to the Board’s deliberations.

Read the release at The Fisherman

Sens. Collins, King Applaud Funding to Help Reimburse Maine Fisherman for At-Sea Monitoring Program

June 27, 2016 — WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today welcomed an announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that it will fund an estimated 85 percent of the sea days needed for the At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) Program for the current fishing year. Beginning July 1, groundfish fishermen covered by the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan will be reimbursed for their at-sea monitoring costs through an arrangement with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

“The At-Sea Monitoring Program is an important tool that helps us to responsibly manage Maine’s critical ocean resources,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “Maine’s hardworking fishermen shouldn’t bear an unfair financial burden in supporting the ASM program. We applaud NOAA for stepping up to help reimburse our fishermen, and will continue to fight for the Maine groundfish industry moving forward.”

Read the full press release at the newsroom of Sen. Collins

MARYLAND: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Considers Menhaden Regulation Changes

June 24, 2016 — FISHING CREEK, Md. — Life is about to possibly get easier for menhaden fisherman in Maryland.  Menhaden, a popular bait fish, are regulated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, or ASMFC.  Several years ago, an ASMFC report indicated that the menhaden stock was being overfished.  However, a report that came out a year ago showed that the fishery was in fact strong.  The ASMFC is now undoing some of the regulations it passed to protect the species.

It has been years since the ASMFC said that menhaden over fishing was occurring.  One lawsuit and several years later, watermen are still feeling the effects of the regulations put in place to protect the species.

“When they cut us 20 percent, some of our buyers went to alternative bait like razor clams and the price of bait went up.  They went somewhere else so it has really hurt our industry.  We can’t sell as much as we were before,” said Boo Powley, a fifth generation waterman.

Read and watch the full story at WBOC

In Shift, NOAA Says Fish Fleets Will Be Reimbursed For Monitoring Costs

June 24, 2016 — Deviating from plans that had caused an uproar, federal fishing regulators plan to announce Thursday that some of the fishing industry’s costs for groundfish monitoring will be reimbursed this year.

The at-sea monitoring program places regulators onboard vessels and in March the federal government started shifting the cost for the monitoring onto the fishing industry, according to Northeast Seafood Coalition Executive Director Jackie Odell.

“The fishery’s just not in a profitable place to be taking on this additional burden,” Odell told the News Service. She said, “There are some boats that are going out, but it’s a mixed bag.”

A memo dated Thursday from a National Marine Fisheries Service official sent to congressional offices and obtained by the News Service said the federal regulators anticipate federal funds can cover at-sea monitoring for about 85 percent of the days at sea for the current fishing year. The memo cautioned that the agency does not “expect this situation to recur in future fishing years.”

“Beginning July 1, groundfish fishermen will be reimbursed for their at-sea monitoring costs through an arrangement with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission,” the federal memo stated. “The arrangement will last until funds are expended, and is not expected to cover costs for the entire year or be repeated in the future.”

Read the full story from the State House News Service at WBUR

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Management Boards to Meet Via Conference Call to Review Recent Recreational Harvest Estimates

June 24, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Management Boards will meet via conference call on Wednesday, July 6 at 10:00 a.m. to review the latest recreational harvest estimates from the Marine Recreational Information Program. These data indicate that preliminary estimates of 2015 recreational harvest were underestimated for both bluefish and black sea bass.  While the uptick in harvest will have no impact to 2016 bluefish recreational management measures since the annual catch limit was not exceeded, it will likely have implications for 2016 black sea bass recreational management measures. On the conference call, the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board will consider possible changes to state regulations for 2016.

The public is welcome to listen in on the discussion by phone (888.394.8197; passcode 815277) and view the webinar using this link. The meeting agenda is posted to the Commission website here.  Meeting materials will be posted next week. Time permitting, there will be a limited opportunity to provide comments at the end of the agenda. The Board Chair will provide additional information on the procedures for accepting public comment at the beginning of the conference call. We ask the public and other nonparticipating attendees to please mute their phones in order to minimize distractions to the Board’s deliberations.

NOAA To Reimburse 85 Percent Of Costs For Fishing Monitors

June 24, 2016 — The following is excerpted from a story published yesterday by the Gloucester Times:

NOAA Fisheries today said it will reimburse Northeast groundfishermen an estimated 85 percent of the 2016 sea days needed for at-sea monitoring, alleviating if only temporarily the burden of fishermen assuming the costs of the observer program.

In a reversal of its previous stance and statements, NOAA said any groundfish sector trip beginning on or after July 1 may be eligible for the reimbursement of at-sea monitoring costs through a program the federal fisheries regulator is developing with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The agency also stressed the reimbursement program is temporary and unlikely to last beyond the 2016 fishing season but “preserves the the contract relationships sectors already have in place” with third-party at-sea monitoring providers.

Federal groundfish permit holders absorbed the costs of at-sea monitoring — estimated at an average of $710 per day per vessel —  on March 1 after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had exhausted the funds budgeted for that program.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Northeast Fishery Observer Sea-Day Schedule Posted, Short-Term Reimbursement for Groundfish At-Sea Monitoring Available July 1

June 23, 2016 — The following was released by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center:

Today NOAA Fisheries published the 2016 Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Annual Discard Report with Observer Sea Day Allocation and the resulting final 2016 sea-day schedule for our Northeast Fishery Observer Program.

This year we are able to fully fund our SBRM monitoring program and will use remaining funds to offset some of industry’s costs of the groundfish at-sea monitoring program.

Any sector trip beginning on or after July 1 may be eligible for reimbursement of at-sea monitoring costs though a program we are developing with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Because this support is not likely to last for the entire year, this method preserves the contract relationships sectors already have in place with at-sea monitor providers.

Changing ecosystem, disease challenge lobster industry

June 14, 2016 — In the past decade, the Gulf of Maine has seen an increase in the number of lobsters and a higher demand for lobsters in international markets, which have translated into a boom for Maine’s lobster industry. Recently, however, there have been concerns about what effect a changing climate and disease threats may have on the lobster population off the coast of the state.

As water temperatures rose in the Atlantic off the coast of southern New England and Maine, lobster landings off the coast of Maine rose from under 40 million pounds in 1981 to 140 million in 2013, according to data from Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

By contrast, landings in southern New England went from just over 20 million pounds in 1997, to less than 5 million pounds in 2013.

That change in population is both a boon and a benefit to the lobster economy Down East.

“In New England, we’re sort of straddling the adverse and the positive effects, if you will, of a warming climate,” said Richard Wahle, a marine researcher at the University of Maine. “The fishery has all but collapsed in southern New England, whereas not too much farther north, just into the Gulf of Maine, we’re seeing record abundance of lobsters.

“Things have just really taken off in the past 10-15 years” in the eastern part of Maine, Wahle continued.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

ASMFC 2016 Summer Meeting Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

June 10, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Summer Meeting, August 2-5, 2016 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-summer-meeting. Materials will be available on July 20, 2016 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-summer-meeting.

Read the full agenda as a PDF

Regulators revisit chance of reopening Maine shrimp fishery

June 9, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Interstate fishing regulators are revisiting the possibility of reopening Maine’s shuttered shrimp fishery, which has been closed due to factors stemming from warming oceans.

Maine shrimp were once a popular seafood item in New England, but regulators shut the fishery down in 2013 when catch cratered.

Scientists say warming ocean temperatures are inhospitable for the shrimp, and make it difficult for their populations to recover.

Fishery managers with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission are opening up the possibility of new regulations to manage the fishery. Fishery Management Plan Coordinator Max Appelman says new regulations would address issues such as overcapacity in the fishery.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at NBC Bangor