Saving Seafood

Fish council seeking input on monitor rule

July 6, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council has been toiling for two years on the amendment that would set monitoring levels for vessels in the Northeast groundfish fishery and now appears to be hitting the home stretch.

Final action on the measure — known as Amendment 23 — now is expected at the council’s September meeting. The meeting, Sept. 29 to Oct. 1,  currently is set for the Beauport Hotel Gloucester on Commercial Street, but could be shifted to a webinar depending on the state of the COVID-19 virus and its associated restrictions.

The council, which extended the public comment period to Aug. 31, already has held three public hearings via webinar on Amendment 23 and plans more in July and August. The next is scheduled for July 16 at 4 p.m. and interested participants can access all related documents in the Amendment 23 library on the council website, nefmc.org.

The council also is reaching out to commercial fishermen and other stakeholders, offering a variety of platforms to help them understand the complexities of the amendment and ease their participation in the online public hearings.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

For Maine Lobstermen, a Perfect Storm Threatens the Summer Season

July 6, 2020 — As he pulled alongside one of his lobster pots, marked by a red and yellow buoy on the Penobscot Bay, Mike Hutchings extracted and measured several of the crustaceans that would contribute to his 130-pound catch that day. It was a decent haul but his assessment of the fishing season was grim: “The worst it’s ever been.”

Mr. Hutchings’s catch on the final Saturday in June came as the lobster trade approached its money-making time. With the Fourth of July holiday around the corner, Mr. Hutchings and his fellow lobstermen were supposed to be gearing up for a major payday as out-of-staters, cruise ships, warmer weather and bounties of lobsters, having just molted their shells and been lured into the thousands of traps anchored on the rocky bottom of Maine’s coastal waters, came together in a seasonal windfall.

But like many businesses across the country, the Maine lobster industry, which makes up the bulk of the fishing revenue the state brings in every year, is being battered by the coronavirus, which has crushed the tourism trade that Mr. Hutchings and his fellow fishermen rely on for a living.

Read the full story at the New York Times

Ocean-Going Robots Poised to Enter Bering Sea to Start Unconventional Fisheries Survey

July 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Three saildrones left Alameda, California in May and have arrived at Unimak Pass in Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands. The ocean drones have sailed nearly 2,700 miles at a walking pace, about 2.5 miles per hour (2 knots), which is just about the distance from Seattle to Miami. Once they navigate through the pass, the drones will enter the Bering Sea. This is where they will conduct a two month-long acoustic survey of walleye pollock. They are expected to reach their first survey station in about a week.

Several key standard manned-vessel surveys were cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data the drones collect will help to fill in the gap for fisheries stock assessment scientists who monitor the changes in pollock populations to advise fisheries management. The sonar measurements made by the ocean drones will provide valuable insights on pollock abundance and distribution in 2020.

Stay tuned. We will share more when ocean drones reach their destination.

Read the full release here

MASSACHUSETTS: Atlantic Capes Fisheries Donates 10,000 Pounds of Fresh Seafood to South Coast Food Banks

July 2, 2020 — Atlantic Capes Fisheries has partnered with local food banks in Fall River and New Bedford, Massachusetts, to donate 10,000 pounds of fresh seafood.

“It’s important for us, as part of the South Coast community, to support members of our community who are in need,” said Jeff Bolton, CEO of Atlantic Capes Fisheries. “We hope that this donation of fresh seafood will provide some relief to those experiencing food insecurity during this difficult time.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

CALIFORNIA: A San Diego Pier-to-Plate Seafood Market Is a Lifeline for Fishermen

July 2, 2020 — On the morning of March 18, Shane Slaughter loaded groceries, bait, and other provisions into his pickup truck. He was preparing for a week-long trip to the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California, where he and another fisherman harvest spot prawns on Slaughter’s 42-foot boat.

But something was off; they weren’t receiving text messages from the wholesalers who buy their coveted crustaceans, which end up in sushi bars and high-end restaurants throughout California.

“It was eerily quiet,” Slaughter said. “Our product is typically in super-high demand, but we weren’t hearing back from people we normally hear back from in seconds.”

With $400 worth of bait thawing in the cooler, the fishermen looked online to discover that restaurants throughout the state had been ordered to close their dining rooms to slow the spread of COVID-19. Some restaurants were still offering takeout and delivery, but Slaughter knew his prawns—like many sea critters—weren’t well-suited for the to-go menu.

Read the full story at Civil Eats

Paycheck Protection Program extended again, allowing more 1099 claims

July 2, 2020 — As the deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program’s small business extension drew to a close this week, Congress scrambled to approve an extension of the program to Aug. 8. Meanwhile, fishing businesses hurried to submit applications under the original deadline as new guidelines opened a door to the industry.

On Thursday, June 25, the Small Business Administration announced that the loan program, which was established as part of the CARES Act, would be expanded specifically to address a gap for the commercial fishing industry to include filings for 1099 workers.

“Extending the program to fishermen impacted by the pandemic will be a critical lifeline so they can continue to provide Americans with the safest, most sustainable seafood in the world,” said Leigh Habegger, executive director of Seafood Harvesters of America.

But the application deadline was Tuesday, June 30, giving the industry just four business days to collect paperwork and file — at the height of the summer season.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Senator Tarr Letter on NOAA ASM Waivers

July 2, 2020 — The following is an excerpt from a letter from Massachusetts Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr to multiple federal regulators in regards to at-sea monitor waivers:

The current waiver from the requirement of At Sea Monitoring (ASM) in the Northeast groundfishery is a critically important safeguard not only for the health and safety of those engaged in this fishery, but also for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 crisis, and should not be ended as our nation continues to confront devastating impacts of this disease. Accordingly, I write to join with Congressman Moulton and Congress Keating and the Massachusetts Fishing Partnership to request that you extend this waiver and the essential health protections that it provides.

Read the full letter here

Coronavirus in Maine: Lobster Industry Hit Hard Despite Few Cases

July 2, 2020 — Blaine Olsen, a lifelong lobsterman, was navigating his 30-foot boat off the coast of Stonington, Maine, when his sternman, who’s also his wife, yelled above the diesel engine’s din about the pittance the local cooperative was paying harvesters. He shot Ginny a doleful stare for a good five seconds.

“Holy sh-t, man,” he said. “It costs us $600 a day to go out.” The dock price — $2.25 a pound for soft-shell lobsters — was half what it was a year ago, making it virtually impossible to earn a profit.

The novel coronavirus has barely touched the public health of this corner of rural Down East Maine, with Hancock County reporting just 16 cases and one death as of June 30. Its economic health is another matter: The fallout from Covid-19 threatens a historically bad year for the Olsens and the rest of the state’s lobster industry.

Fear of contagion and the near-total shutdown of restaurants and cruise lines, where most consumers eat the crustaceans, have devastated demand. Infection-prevention protocols at processing plants have cut capacity, and the drop in air traffic has snarled the logistics of shipping live creatures. Hopes for a recovery anytime soon are dim because prices already typically fall in July.

Some 80 percent of American lobster, the U.S.’s most valuable marine fishery, comes from Maine. And more so than anywhere else, Maine lobster comes from the waters around Stonington. Lobstermen in this county hauled almost a third of the 101 million pounds (worth $485 million) landed statewide last year.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Ranking Member Chabot Statement on PPP Extension

July 2, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH):

Today, House Committee on Small Business Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH) issued the following statement on House passage of S. 4116, a bill that extends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application period to August 8, 2020.

“Passage of this bill is welcome news, especially as many small businesses continue to face an uphill climb on the road to economic recovery.

This legislation will give more small businesses the chance to access the Paycheck Protection Program – a program that has already helped millions across the country. It also ensures the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) program will continue to operate once PPP funds are exhausted.

While our work is not done, I am glad Congress has yet again come together in a bipartisan, bicameral manner to support America’s small businesses.”