Saving Seafood

Ropeless fishing options floated

November 15, 2018 — Whales and fishing gear increasingly occupy the same areas of ocean in the Gulf of Maine, and whales being injured or killed by entanglement with gear continues to be a top concern of scientists and regulators.

While most Maine lobstermen say they have never even seen a right whale close to the Maine coast, statistics collected by NOAA explain why right whales are exposed to a high risk of entanglement off the Maine coast.

Based on data collected by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, there are some 2.9 million lobster traps in the water within 50 miles of the Maine coast. Even with an average of fewer than five whales per month passing through Maine waters, the density of gear makes the risk of entanglement very high.

Last week, scientists and other interested parties met for a day-long meeting on one idea they hope will reduce entanglements: ropeless fishing. The Ropeless Consortium meeting was held Nov. 6, the day before the annual meeting of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC) at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The meeting was closed to the press, but an agenda and overview of the meeting was available online.

“It was very cool to see how advanced the technology is and the many companies and groups working on development around the world,” said Zack Klyver, lead naturalist for Bar Harbor Whale Watch, who attended the meeting. “The conservation community were excited about the idea that this could be a long-term 100 percent fix to all whale entanglement.”

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Trimester 3 Effort Controls Revised

November 13, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts revised the effort control measures for the 2018 Area 1A Trimester 3 (October 1 – December 31) fishery. Board members, with input from industry, agreed to seven (7) consecutive landing days until 92% of the Area 1A sub-ACL is projected to be harvested. Vessels may only land once every 24-hour period.

  • Beginning on November 16, 2018: Vessels in the States of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may land Atlantic herring starting at 12:01 a.m. on seven (7) consecutive days a week.

Trimester 3 landings will be closely monitored and the directed fishery will close when 92% of the Area 1A sub-ACL is projected to be reached. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip once the fishery is closed. For more information, please contact Megan Ware at 703.842.0740 ormware@asmfc.org.

Read the full announcement here

New protections for herring but lobster bait crunch imminent

November 12, 2018 — Fishing managers are considering extending new protections to Atlantic herring, but catch quotas for the important bait fish are still likely to plummet before the end of the year, which is bad news for the American lobster industry.

Herring is the most important bait source for the lobster fishery, which is one of the most lucrative marine industries in New England. A recent scientific assessment of the herring population says the fish’s population has fallen in the past five years.

An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted last month to initiate changes to try to better protect spawning herring off of New England.

The new protections are coming at a time when the lobster and herring fisheries are expecting a dramatic cutback in herring quota. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expected to propose new rules about herring fishing this month and implement them by early 2019, when next year’s herring fishing season starts.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bradenton Herald

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Advisory Panel & Section Meeting Materials Now Available

November 12, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Meeting agendas and materials are now available for the November 15 & 16 meetings of the Northern Shrimp Advisory Panel and Section. Links to those materials follow and can also be found on the Commission website at available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.

American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshop Scheduled for January 28-31, in New Bedford, MA

November 8, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will hold the American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshop at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, 836 South Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford, MA. The stock assessment, which is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2020, will evaluate the health of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank and Southern New England stocks and inform management of this species.  The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data*, when the public will be asked to leave the room.  

The Commission welcomes the submission of alternate assessment models. For alternate models to be considered, the model description, model input, final model estimates, and complete source code must be provided to Jeff Kipp, Senior Stock Assessment Scientist, at jkipp@asmfc.org by December 28, 2018. Any models submitted without complete, editable source code and input files will not be considered.

For more information about the assessment or attending the upcoming workshop (space will be limited), please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

* Each state and federal agency is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of its data and deciding who has access to its confidential data.  In the case of our stock assessments and peer reviews, all analysts and, if necessary, reviewers, have been granted permission by the appropriate agency to use and view confidential data. When the assessment team needs to show and discuss these data, observers to our stock assessment process are asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.

 

Ruling Soon On New England Shrimp Fishery

November 8, 2018 — Fishing regulators are collecting the final comments from the public before deciding whether New England’s shrimp fishery should remain closed for another year.

Scientists and environmentalists have portrayed the shrimp fishery as a victim of climate change, as the warming temperature of the Gulf of Maine has made the shrimp’s habitat inhospitable. The fishery was shut down in 2013.

An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission was collecting comments about possible new rules for the fishery, should it ever reopen, through 5 p.m. Wednesday. It’s expected to make a decision next week about whether to allow a fishing season in 2019.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Maine Public

Fisheries regulators to deliver the shrimp season news next week

November 6, 2018 — The wait will soon be over for gourmets and harvesters who yearn to know whether Maine shrimp will be on their plates — or in their nets — this winter.

Next week, fisheries regulators will meet over two days in Portland to consider the health of the Northern Shrimp resource and changes to the Northern Shrimp Fishery Management Plan, Most important, they will also determine whether there will be a shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Maine this winter and if so, how large it will be.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Technical Advisory Panel and Regulatory Section will meet on Thursday, Nov. 15, and Friday, Nov. 16, respectively, at the Maine Historical Society at 489 Congress St. in Portland.

The panel will meet Thursday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. to review public comment on Draft Addendum I to the management plan, review the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment and prepare recommendations about both adoption of the draft addendum and the dates and landings quota, if any, for the 2019 shrimp fishing season for consideration by the Northern Shrimp Section.

On Friday, the section will meet from 9 a.m. to noon to consider the advisory panel’s recommendations, then take final action on the proposed changes and set specifications for the 2019 season.

The addendum would give each of the three states that have shrimp landings — primarily Maine but also New Hampshire and Massachusetts — the authority to allocate its shrimp landing quota set by the ASMFC between gear types in the event the fishery reopens. In the last years that there was a commercial fishery — there has been a moratorium on fishing since 2013 — trawlers caught about 90 percent of shrimp landed but there was a growing trap fishery.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Rule change for shuttered shrimp fishery could be coming

November 5, 2018 —  Fishery managers are seeking feedback on potential changes to New England’s long-shuttered shrimp fishery if it ever reopens.

Shrimp fishing has been shut down off Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire since 2013. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering changes to the way it allocates quota in the fishery.

The commission’s holding public hearings in Augusta, Maine, on Monday and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Boston.com

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel to Meet November 15 & 16

November 1, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp  Advisory Panel (AP) and Section (Section) will meet on November 15 and 16, 2018, respectively, at the Maine Historical Society, Reading Room, 489 Congress Street, Portland, Maine. The AP will meet November 15 (1:30 – 4:30 p.m.) to review public comment on Draft Addendum I, review the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment, and formulate AP recommendations for the Section’s consideration on both the Draft Addendum and the 2019 fishery specifications. The Draft Addendum proposes providing states the authority to allocate their state-specific quota between gear types in the event the fishery reopens. The Section will meet November 16 (9 a.m. – Noon) to consider final action on Addendum I and set 2019 specifications. Meeting materials will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive by November 9th.
 
For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Menhaden Fishing Operations Sustainable, Says Menhaden Fisheries Coalition

October 29, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) is maintaining that their members’ fishing operations are sustainable and in compliance with menhaden regulations. The statement from MFC comes ahead of the annual Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

“The recent misleading attacks on menhaden fishermen have claimed that the fishery threatens the food supply of marine mammals and other predator species, despite there being no evidence to support this allegation,” the MFC states. “Instead, the best available science points to a thriving menhaden population that is successfully meeting its ecological roles.”

According to MFC, the ASMFC has delivered “good news” for the Atlantic menhaden stock over the past three years. An analysis conducted by MFC also found that 92% of Atlantic menhaden are left in the water “to serve as food for predators and to meet other environmental functions.”

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