Saving Seafood

Trawler critics aim to appeal court’s herring decision

April 6, 2022 — Gulf of Maine fishermen are looking to appeal a federal judge’s reversal of an exclusion zone that keeps herring mid-water trawlers 12 miles offshore.

The March 4 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston could reopen some Northeast waters to mid-water herring trawlers, reversing the 2019 rule change that shut them out of a broad swath of the nearshore Atlantic from Long Island to the Canadian border.

In November 2019 the National Marine Fisheries Service approved a measure by the New England Fishery Management Council to create an exclusion zone for mid-water trawling 12 miles offshore – with a bump out to 20 miles east of Cape Cod.

The Sustainable Fisheries Coalition, representing trawl operators, brought their appeal soon after to the federal court, arguing the New England council’s science advisors could not identify adverse impacts, and that trawling critics brought more influence to bear on the council and NMFS.

In his opinion Judge Sorokin wrote that the “localized depletion” concept put forth by those in opposition to the mid-water trawlers has not been adequately defined by NMFS, leading him to decide the exclusion zone decision violated National Standard 4 of the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Management and Conservation Act.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Fishing Industry to Get COVID Relief Funding

March 21, 2022 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety Block Grant Program is awarding $1.1 million in federal funding for Massachusetts seafood processors and wholesale dealers for expenses related to COVID-19.

Reimbursement will be administered through the Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries and will cover costs such as workplace safety measures, transportation, retrofitting facilities, and worker housing.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

 

Mid-water trawlers see win in challenge to Northeast herring exclusion zone

March 15, 2022 — A federal court ruling could reopen some Northeast waters to mid-water herring trawlers, after a 2019 rule change that shut them out of a broad swath of the nearshore Atlantic from Long Island to the Canadian border.

U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston ruled Marcg 4 in favor of a lawsuit brought by the Sustainable Fisheries Coalition, a trade group representing companies that fish for herring and mackerel. In November 2019 NMFS approved a measure from the New England Fishery Management Council to create an exclusion zone for mid-water trawling 12 miles offshore – with a bump out to 20 miles east of Cape Cod.

It was a culmination of two decades of debate over the impact of mid-water trawling, and complaints from other fishermen that it caused “localized depletion” of forage fish, disrupting ecosystems and their seasonal access to groundfish, tuna and other species.

“The council recommended the midwater trawl restricted area to mitigate potential negative socioeconomic impacts on other user groups resulting from short duration, high-volume herring removals by midwater trawl vessels,” NMFS Northeast regional administrator Michael Pentony wrote in 2019 in a decision letter approving the New England council’s proposal.

But in his opinion Judge Sorokin wrote that the “localized depletion” concept has not been adequately defined by the agency. That led him to decide the exclusion zone decision violated National Standard 4 of the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Management and Conservation Act.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NEFMC Initiates Action for HAPC in Southern New England; Discusses Great South Channel Habitat Management Area

February 18, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will be developing a Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) in Southern New England to place additional conservation focus on Council-managed species that rely on essential fish habitat (EFH) within this area, which is south of Cape Cod.

During its February 1-3, 2022 webinar meeting, the Council initiated a framework adjustment to pursue the new HAPC. It also:

  • Discussed the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area (HMA) and the clam industry’s request for additional access to the HMA beyond the current three exemption areas;
  • Received a summary of the white paper titled “Habitat Management Considerations for the Northern Edge of Georges Bank,” which will help inform future discussions if the Council decides to consider habitat management changes on the Northern Edge as a work priority down the road;
  • Received an update on offshore wind activities in the Greater Atlantic Region (see presentation);
  • Was informed that the Council was finalizing its comment letter on the Amitié Subsea Cable project, which runs between Massachusetts and France and the United Kingdom; and
  • Agreed to submit a comment letter on the Running Tide Technology project, which proposes to grow kelp on the northwestern portion of Fippennies Ledge in the Gulf of Maine.

Read the full release from the NEFMC

Federal lawmakers want to save the North Atlantic right whale

February 18, 2022 — One of New England’s most critically endangered species is getting some love from federal legislators.

On Thursday, Congressional Democrats introduced a bill focused on saving the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, would start a new grant program, making $15 million available each year for the next decade to projects that can reduce the risks of entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes.

North Atlantic right whales live almost exclusively along the eastern coasts of the United States and Canada. Many spend time in late winter and early spring feeding in Cape Cod Bay.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

Despite threats from fellow fishermen, lobstermen press Mass. to allow ropeless fishing in closed areas

February 1, 2022 — The lobstermen viewed themselves as trailblazers, even calling themselves “Pioneers for a Thoughtful Coexistence.” That was before fellow fishermen threatened to burn their boats and accused them of trying to steal their catch.

In an effort to prove that there’s a way for their industry to resume fishing in coastal waters where Massachusetts banned lobstering to protect endangered whales, they have asked regulators to allow them to set their traps without vertical buoy lines. Those heavy ropes, which connect traps on the seafloor to buoys on the surface, have entangled large numbers of North Atlantic right whales, scientists say, seriously injuring or killing the critically endangered species.

If the state approves their proposal, which has received support from right whale scientists and environmental groups, it would be the first time commercial lobster fishing would be allowed without buoy lines in any state waters.

“I’ve been trying my best to get our guys back fishing,” said Michael Lane, 46, a lobsterman who fishes 800 traps out of Cohasset. “I’ve seen so much taken away from us, for years; it’s nice to finally have the chance to see something going in the right direction. This could be a win for the fishing community.”

To protect right whales, some areas along the coast, such as Cape Cod Bay, have since 2015 been closed to lobster fishing between February and May, when large numbers of them feed in those waters. As the decline of the whales’ population has accelerated — scientists estimate their numbers are down 30 percent in the last decade — federal officials pressured the state to act. As a result, state officials last year expanded the three-month ban on traditional lobster fishing to most of its coastal waters.

“I do not expect to issue a decision for a few more weeks,” said Dan McKiernan, director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

He declined to comment on whether he’s inclined to permit ropeless fishing. “I am still gathering information from staff and considering the extensive comments,” he said.

After years of protesting the annual closures, officials at the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association urged McKiernan to reject the pioneers’ proposal, arguing that it could lead to “catastrophic” conflicts with other fisheries.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Solving a mystery: How researchers found missing North Atlantic right whales

December 27, 2021 — Until recently, researchers tracking the well-being of the world’s most endangered great whale could count on North Atlantic right whales showing up in several key areas at certain times of the year seeking food, love, or a safe place to give birth.

In winter and early spring, a large portion of right whales could be found in Cape Cod Bay feeding on copepods, their favorite food. They then moved to the Bay of Fundy for summer feeding, where New England Aquarium researchers had been studying them since the 1980s.

But in 2010, and in the years to follow, they went missing. Although they still showed up in Cape Cod Bay, for the past decade the Bay of Fundy has been largely a right whale ghost town. The same was true for the Great South Channel east of Cape Cod and the northern edge of Georges Bank.

It took a combination of detective work and luck to eventually find them — and where they ended up dramatically altered the landscape for whale survival and fisheries management.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

20 endangered sea turtles flown from New England to Florida to avoid freezing

December 13, 2021 — Twenty critically endangered juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were flown from New England to the subtropical Florida Keys to convalesce at the Marathon Turtle Hospital after being rescued from Cape Cod Bay’s frigid coastal waters.

Each of the turtles suffers from “cold stunning,” a hypothermic reaction that occurs when sea turtles are exposed to cold water for a prolonged time, according to hospital manager Bette Zirkelbach. They arrived Friday by private plane.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

Work starting on 1st commercial-scale US offshore wind farm

November 19, 2021 — U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland joined with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday to mark the groundbreaking of the Vineyard Wind 1 project, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States.

The project is the first of many that will contribute to President Joe Biden’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and to Massachusetts’ goal of 5.6 gigawatts by 2030, Haaland said at the event in the town of Barnstable on Cape Cod.

The first steps of construction will include laying down two transmission cables that will connect Vineyard Wind 1 to the mainland.

The commercial fishing industry has pushed back against the wind farm.

In September, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance — a coalition of commercial fishing groups — filed a legal challenge to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of the Vineyard Wind 1 project with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

The approval of the wind farm “adds unacceptable risk to this sustainable industry without any effort to minimize unreasonable interference with traditional and well-managed seafood production and navigation,” the group said at the time.

Read the full story at the AP

Biden Avoids Lawsuit After Restoring Marine Monument Protections

November 12, 2021 — The Biden administration will avoid a lawsuit filed in a Washington, D.C., federal court after reversing its predecessor’s decision to open protected waters to commercial fishing.

Conservation groups sued after former President Donald Trump opened the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to fishing. The monument is 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and it supports endangered whales and deep-sea corals.