Saving Seafood

Cape Cod fishermen anticipated cod collapse

March 25, 2016 — Dogfish Neck? Cape Skate? Pollock Peninsula?

Can this still be Cape Cod without the cod? There still is cod, and they’re still being caught, but the stocks have collapsed and that was further underlined this week when a Georges Bank quota cut of 62 percent to 762 metric tons was proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Management Council on Monday. That follows an earlier massive cut during the last three-year management period – totaling a 95-percent reduction over the last four years.

Outer Cape fishermen are ahead of the curve – most have already abandoned cod.

“We experienced the lack of cod first. It’s been a long time so several years ago our fishermen transferred to other fish. A lot fish for monkfish, skate, dogfish so the cod rules don’t impact them” explained Claire Fitz-Gerald, Policy Analyst for the Chatham based Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance.

As recently as 2003 Chatham fishermen brought in 1,053,290 pounds of cod to Chatham Fish Pier while the dogfish catch was 224,589 pounds in 2004 (there was no record for 2003). Now those numbers are flipped. In 2012 just 113,406 pounds of cod were landed at Chatham’s Pier, while 936,563 pounds of dogfish, 64,191 pounds of pollock, 287,753 pounds of skate were brought in.

Read the full story at The Cape Codder

MASSACHUSETTS: Proposed exemption good for Cape Cod fishermen

CHATHAM, Mass. (March 24, 2016) — When a fisherman is getting just pennies to the pound for fish, paying an additional $710 for someone to ride along and count each one can really cut into the bottom line.

“We couldn’t afford the $700,” said Chatham fisherman Jan Margeson. “It would have put you into a negative day.”

Margeson and other Cape Cod fishermen who pursue relatively low value species like skate and dogfish argue they use nets with such a large mesh that almost all other species simply swim right through and escape.

The observers they are occasionally required to carry are intended to double check the amounts of groundfish, like cod, haddock and flounder they are catching along with dogfish and skates. But Cape fishermen say they don’t catch any of the groundfish and feel the observers, known as “At-Sea Monitors,” are unnecessary and expensive.

Newly proposed regulations released for public comment this week confirm what Cape fishermen have been saying for years, by granting them an exemption to the requirement to carry the monitors on nearly all their fishing trips for skate and dogfish, which became the dominant species landed in Cape ports after the decline of groundfish, especially cod, in recent years.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Chatham, state officials contest federal right to control fishery

December 9, 2015 — CHATHAM — The state, town and federal governments are fighting over ownership of the ocean within the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.

Unless something changes dramatically in the next few months, a court will have to decide who can manage fisheries in the area, according to Chatham officials and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claimed ownership and management of the 3,000 acres of water and ocean bottom west of North and South Monomoy islands in its final draft of a new plan meant to guide management of the wildlife refuge for the next decade or more. The comment period on the draft expired Monday and the state attorney general’s office, the state Department of Fish and Game, and the town of Chatham all filed comments, along with an additional two dozen or more letters and emails submitted as of early Monday, according to Elizabeth Herland, Fish and Wildlife project director.

In the comments, the town and attorney general disputed the service’s claim that it was granted ownership and control over the disputed area in a 1944 court decision that established the refuge through a land taking. In her comments, Healey called the assertion erroneous and threatened legal action unless the federal agency revises its stance.

The town is also contemplating legal action, said Jeffrey Dykens, chairman of the selectmen.

“We would like to avoid litigation but we are keeping all our options open,” Dykens said.

Read the full story at Cape Cod Times

 

MASSACHUSETTS: CCCFA Promotes Abundant Dogfish

September 8, 2015 — Tired of hearing about local surfers and swimmers terrorized by great white sharks?

Turn the tables with a knife and fork and dine on “Cape Shark”.

What’s that, you wonder? It’s what we used to call dogfish, and actually still do, but not when it’s on the menu.

The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance has launched a marketing campaign to promote one of the most abundant local fish.

“We have a (two-year) grant from the government to explore domestic markets and we’re working with a whole team of people,” explained Nancy Civetta of the Alliance.

With many fisheries, such as cod, heavily restricted, dogfish, which has been viewed as a pest as much as a potential harvest, offer opportunity. The total permitted catch is 50 million pounds. In 2014 9.3 million pounds were landed in Massachusetts and so far this year 4 million pounds have been caught – an amazing 74 percent of what’s been landed nationally. Massachusetts is dogfish central.

In 2011 Chatham placed second nationally (to Gloucester) in pounds of dogfish landed with 2.8 million pounds (worth $14.2 million) and in recent years that number has gone way up. Civetta estimated it might’ve been close to 6 million pounds last year. But without local buyers the price is low.

Read the full story from Wicked Local