Saving Seafood

Alaskan fishermen aren’t the only ones noticing the rise of Atlantic halibut

May 22, 2018 — As prices and demand for Pacific halibut have fallen in Alaska, commercial fishermen say a new Canadian competitor is to blame. Since 2012, Canadian imports of fresh Atlantic halibut have grown roughly 60 percent.

Historically, Atlantic halibut has not competed with its close relative on the West Coast since New England and Canadian fishermen overfished stocks in the late 1880s. But as the catch continues to grow north of the border, fishermen in New England are working towards restarting a fishery in U.S. waters.

That could have a serious impact on Alaska’s halibut industry.

Atlantic halibut seems to have been on the tip of the commercial fishing industry’s tongue in Alaska as imports from Canada continue to carve out a significant slice of the New England fresh halibut market.

Prices on the docks in Alaska have fallen about $2 per pound, and there’s a surplus of halibut in the freezer from last year that isn’t selling.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

 

Right whale sightings prompt temporary closing of East Coast fishing areas

May 22, 2018 — East Coast fishermen were scrambling to move their traps this weekend after the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced plans to temporarily close a section of the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Tuesday, to protect two endangered right whales spotted swimming in the waters during aircraft surveillance.

The decision is the latest attempt to avoid a repeat of last year, when 12 whales died in Canadian waters, either from being struck by boats or tangled in fishing ropes that stretch from the surface to the traps below.

The department has already permanently closed a section of the gulf where whale populations are known to congregate, but that is lucrative for snow crab fishermen. This has raised concerns that if temporary closings also expand, fishermen may not be able to fill their quotas, or will be forced to cluster in certain areas and risk overfishing, said Carl Allen, the president of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union.

“It’s been tough,” he said, speaking on Monday from his home in Cap-Pele, N.B. “Today, anybody [with traps in the newly closed area is] scrambling to get out there and get their gear on their boat. Hopefully they can find a place where the crab hasn’t already been picked over.” The closing was announced on Sunday, giving fishermen 48 hours notice to remove traps from the areas or face possible fines. The area, which is east of the Miscou Island and just north of the area where fishing is already prohibited, will be closed for at least 15 days, longer if the whales remain, according to a department statement.

Read the full story at The Globe and Mail

 

Pacific Whiting Fishery Opens Today to Same Harvest Levels as in 2017

May 16, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Pacific whiting fishery opens today and the National Marine Fisheries Service has released the final harvest specifications and tribal allocatons.

Based on the most recent stock assessment and negotiations with Canada, the U.S, total allowable catch (TAC) for this year is 441,433 mt. The harvest specifications are identical to 2017.

Tribal allocation, 77,251 mt; research and bycatch set-aside, 1,500 mt; harvest guideline, 362,682 mt.

The HG s further allocated to the trawl sectors as: catcher-processors, 34 percent, 123,312 mt; motherships, 24 percent, 87,044 mt; and shoreside, 42 percent,152,327 mt.

NMFS said it will add Pacific whiting to shoreside quota share accounts this week.

U.S. and Canadian scientists and fishery managers met earlier this year to discuss the stock assessment and joint TAC. Last year, Canada caught more than 50 percent of its quota. The U.S. had a productive year as well, catching more than 80 percent of its quota. Bycatch was not as much of a problem in 2017 as it had been in 2016, they said.

Year classes from 2010 and 2014 continue to contribute to the high TACs and success of the fisheries.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

NEFMC: Cod Stock Structure Symposium – June 19, 2018, Registration Information

May 15, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

New Hampshire Sea Grant and the University of New Hampshire (UNH), in conjunction with a steering committee, are hosting a symposium on the structure of Atlantic cod populations in the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England regions, as well as nearby Canadian waters, namely Georges and Brown Bank and the Scotian Shelf. Fishermen are encouraged to attend.

EVENT TITLE:  “Cod Population Structure and New England Fisheries Symposium: Furthering our understanding by integrating knowledge gained through science and fishing”

DATE AND LOCATION:  Tuesday, June 19, 2018 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the UNH Campus at the Elliot Alumni Center. Light breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided. Travel expenses may be provided for fishermen who are attending.

WHAT’S THIS ABOUT:  According to the steering committee, the symposium will provide an opportunity to explore and talk about “the current understanding of the stock structure of cod.” New information from recent scientific studies will be discussed, and recreational and commercial fishermen will share on-the-water experience and knowledge. The symposium will help: (1) identify areas of common ground in the understanding of cod population structure; (2) identify areas of remaining uncertainty; and (3) broaden knowledge of alternative management options that may be considered in the future to accommodate the evolving understanding of cod stock structure. The steering committee said, “The symposium contributes to a new process focused on reevaluating cod stock structure in U.S. waters.”

SYMPOSIUM OBJECTIVES:

  • Present recent findings among regional scientists studying Atlantic cod stock structure in U.S. and adjacent Canadian waters.
  • Capture insight and feedback from fishermen on what is being observed on the water to incorporate into the developing model by researchers.
  • Identify areas of common ground in the understanding of cod population structure and areas of remaining uncertainty.
  • Learn about a series of alternative management options that may be considered in the future to accommodate the evolving understanding of cod stock structure.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:  Sign up at Cod Population Structure Symposium.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM:  Contact Erik Chapman, New Hampshire Sea Grant Director, at (603) 862-1935, Erik.Chapman@unh.edu.

COD STRUCTURE WORKING GROUP:  The symposium will precede a June 20-21, 2018 meeting of the Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group. The working group was formed in February 2018 to “determine the most appropriate representation of Atlantic cod stock structure for use in regional stock assessments based on currently available information.” Background on the group is available at Working Group Formation Plan. The list of working group members and upcoming meetings can be found at Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group.

Learn more about the NEFMC by visiting their site here.

 

Lobster industry fears weaker shells, but evidence is mixed

May 14, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — More people outside the U.S. are enjoying the New England tradition of cracking open a freshly cooked American lobster, and that experience hinges on one thing — the lobster getting there alive.

That’s a looming problem, according to some members of the American lobster industry, who are concerned that lobsters’ shells are getting weaker. Scientific evidence about the issue paints a complicated picture.

U.S. lobster exports to Asian countries have increased exponentially this decade, and American shippers prefer lobsters with hard, sturdy shells to survive the long journey to places such as Beijing and Seoul.

But some members of U.S. industry have complained in recent years of poor shell quality among lobsters, most of which are plucked from the ocean off Canada and New England. They’ve raised concerns about warming ocean waters or acidification of the ocean having a negative effect on lobster shells.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

Solons shaking sabers over right whales

May 7, 2018 — The plight of the North Atlantic right whales certainly remained in the news last week, as a group of U.S. senators from New England, including Edward Markey of Massachusetts, hinted at a possible trade action against Canada if our neighbors to the north don’t impose stricter protections for right whales.

Then U.S Rep. Seth Moulton and other members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation got in on the rattling of cutlery with a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Munchin urging them to require Canada to “apply for and receive a comparability certificate” for any of their commercial fisheries implicated in the incidental killing of North Atlantic right whales.

Or else.

“If Canada cannot secure a comparability finding for those fisheries then the (Marine Mammal Protection Act) requires the National Marine Fisheries Service, in cooperation with the Department of the Treasury and Department of Commerce, to impose a ban on the importation of commercial fish or products from fish harvested in those fisheries,” the letter stated.

The diplomatic grumbling served as a backdrop to the seasonal return of the right whales to Massachusetts — including a feeding fest on Friday off the rocky cliffs that separate Long Beach from Good Harbor Beach chronicled in the Saturday pages of the GDT and online at gloucestertimes.com.

(And thanks to Marty Del Vecchio for generously sharing his great images with us for that story.)

Residents and workers in the area reported seeing up to about a dozen of the imperiled marine mammals, with some of them venturing within 25 feet of the rocks in a galvanizing display of nature in the raw.

The best line of the morning belonged to Anthony Erbetta of Marblehead, who was working with his buddy Nick Venezia, also of Marblehead, on restoring and renovating a cliffside home on High Rock Terrace.

Told that they were right whales, Erbetta said: “Right whales, left whales. I really don’t think we should get into whale politics.”

Actual good news on whales

It may not involve the right whales, but according to a piece in the New York Times, humpback whales are forging a comeback in the southern oceans near Antarctica.

The piece reported a new study shows that humpback whales that live and breed in those waters have been hard at work making little humpbacks, “with females in recent years having a high pregnancy rate and giving birth to more calves.”

The higher levels of whale recruitment represent a stark contrast to the condition of the humpback populations in the 19th and 20th centuries, when they were hunted nearly to extinction.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

Lobster prices high, but dropping as summer approaches

May 7, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — Lobster prices are high in the U.S. right now, but members of the industry expect them to come down soon as the Canadian catch creeps up and America’s summer haul gets going.

One-pound lobsters, which Mainers call “chicks,” are selling for about $12 per pound to consumers, which is a couple of dollars per pound more than six months ago. The U.S. lobster industry, based heavily in Maine, is in a slow mode as fishermen get ready to pull traps in the summer.

The lack of fishing effort and high prices have caused some in the seafood industry to raise the possibility of a shortage, but industry members say quite the opposite is true. Canada’s spring fishing season is just starting to heat up, which means prices already are starting to track back down, industry members said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

 

As US officials step up to protect the right whale, senators ask about Canadian actions

May 2, 2018 — Over the next two months, federal officials will step up patrols in the northeast Atlantic as they look to do more to save an endangered species.

U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA Law Enforcement personnel will monitor for illegally placed fishing gear in the region through 30 June, according to a USCG news release. The air and sea patrols, which started on Tuesday, 1 May, are being done in accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act to limit interactions with North Atlantic right whales migrating into the region.

Officials estimate only 450 such whales are alive, and just a quarter of those are females in breeding age. Last year, NOAA investigated 17 right whale deaths in U.S. and Canadian waters. Of those, officials determined fishing gear entanglements or boat collisions were responsible for seven fatalities.

Coast Guard officials will also patrol the water and inspect lobster and gillnet gear left unattended to further decrease the chances for interaction with the whales.

While the Coast Guard and NOAA ramp up activities, a group of 11 U.S. senators from the region want to make sure Canada is doing everything it can to prevent right whale deaths as well.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

US wants proof Canada saves whales, but some scientists balk

May 1, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — A group of Democratic senators says the U.S. should audit the job Canada is doing to protect endangered whales, but the Canadian government and some U.S. scientists are reacting coolly to the idea.

The senators, led by Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, cite the dire status of North Atlantic right whales as a reason to put some pressure on Canada. The right whales number only about 450 and suffered through a year of 17 deaths in 2017, and 12 of the deaths were in Canada.

The senators said in an April 25 letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the agency should conduct a review of Canada’s right whale conservation standards, and consider prohibitions on some Canadian seafood imports if they are too weak. The U.S. imported more than $3.3 billion worth of Canadian seafood in 2017.

“Determining as quickly as possible whether Canada’s fishermen are being held to the same level of accountability as those in America is a critical step for taking swift action to protect this treasured species,” Markey said.

Canada believes it’s making a lot of strides to protect the whales, and also wants to avoid negative effects on the countries’ trade relationship, said Lauren Sankey, a spokeswoman for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Senators push for federal assessment of right whale deaths

April 30, 2018 — BOSTON — Eleven Democratic senators are asking the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct an urgent assessment of the impacts to the endangered North Atlantic right whale from fisheries in Canada.

The senators led by Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey said fishing communities across New England have worked to reduce impacts on marine mammals. Markey said last year most observed right whale deaths were in Canadian waters.

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