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MAINE: Small Area Added to Penobscot Closure in Response to Monitoring Program

June 21, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) announced today that it will add a small area to the current lobster and crab fishing closure in the mouth of the Penobscot River in response to data gathered during 2014. The area will be added through rulemaking that takes effect Tuesday, June 21, 2016 and will extend the closure’s southern boundary to between Squaw Point on Cape Jellison and Perkins Point in Castine.

In February 2014, the department closed an area in the river that extends from Wilson Point across to Fort Point and north into the river after receiving information from a federal court-ordered study, the Penobscot River Mercury Study (PRMS). The area within the 2014 closure where lobster harvesting had occurred is approximately 7 square miles out of more than 14,000 square miles in the Gulf of Maine where lobsters are harvested. The additional area adds nearly 5.5 square miles to the closure.

To confirm the methodology and results in the PRMS and to determine whether or not to change the closure boundaries, the Department conducted monitoring in 2014 and 2015 of lobster and crab in the closed area and beyond it. Results of 2015 monitoring work are not yet available but will be evaluated as soon as they are.

Data from DMR monitoring work done in 2014 are from areas inside the original closure, including Odom Ledge, South Verona, and Fort Point, and three areas outside the closure, including Cape Jellison, Turner Point, and Sears Island. All areas had been previously sampled except Cape Jellison. Results from the PRMS and 2014 DMR sampling were similar in that mercury concentrations in lobster tail and claw tissue decreased geographically from north to south.

Levels in lobsters sampled from the Cape Jellison shore, an area immediately adjacent to the closure, and the shore adjacent to Turner Point, were lower than most of the other areas sampled in 2014, yet elevated enough to warrant including in the closure.

On average, tails in 40 legal size lobsters harvested for testing during 2014 along the south eastern shore of Cape Jellison contained 292.7 nanograms (a billionth of a gram) of mercury per gram of tissue (ng/g) while claws contained much less, at 139.2 ng/g. According to the FDA, canned white tuna contains 350 ng/g of mercury.

In addition to lobsters, crabs were also included in the original closure and evaluated in the on-going monitoring work. “Despite insufficient data on crabs in the PRMS study, we wanted to include them in the initial closure as a precaution,” said Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “While the 2014 study does not show levels of concern for crabs, the closure will continue to include crabs because of enforcement challenges and to provide time to continue to analyze the data.

“We are adding this very small, targeted area to the closure so consumers can continue to be confident in the exceptional quality of Maine lobster,” said Commissioner Keliher.

The department will host a public meeting to discuss the closure at the Bucksport Area Performing Arts Center at the Bucksport Middle School at 100 Miles Lane in Bucksport on Tuesday, June 28 at 5:30 p.m.

A Frequently Asked Question document, a chart of the closure area, and a copy of the report titled “Penobscot River Estuary Lobster and Rock Crab Mercury Study” can be found here.

Spiny lobster and squid lead California’s fishing economy, says new report

May 27, 2016 — While California’s seafood sales overwhelmingly relied on imported animals, commercial fisheries landed nearly 360 million pounds of fin- and shellfish in 2014, according to a federal report released Thursday with the most recent figures on the nation’s fishing economy.

The state’s seafood industry, including imports, generated a whopping $23 billion — more than 10 percent of the nation’s $214 billion total sales in 2014 from commercial harvest, seafood processors and dealers, wholesalers and distributors, and importers and retailers.

As such, most of California’s nearly 144,000 industry jobs came from the import and retail sectors, according to NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Fisheries Economics of the U.S. 2014 report. Nationally, 1.83 million jobs are supported by the fishing industry.

California shellfish were the most lucrative product in the state’s home-grown seafood market, with crabs and spiny lobsters native to Southern California getting the most money per pound of all the species fished, at $3.37 and $19.16 per pound, respectively.

But market squid were overwhelmingly the most commonly landed species, with 227 million pounds caught.

“In California, shellfish have always been more important, at least in terms of value,” said Diane Pleschner-Steele, executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association. “This includes squid and Dungeness crab — usually the top two fisheries in value, and spiny lobster, which was an $18 million fishery in 2015.”

California fishers relied heavily on healthy market squid stocks in 2014 but, as El Niño weather conditions entered the following year, squid landings dropped significantly, Pleschner-Steele said.

“We’re now just starting to see squid landings, but at low volumes,” she said.

Read the full story at the Long Beach Press-Telegram

NOAA: Dungeness crab in peril from acidification

May 19, 2016 — The Dungeness crab fishery could decline West Coastwide, a new study has found, threatening a fishing industry worth nearly a quarter-billion dollars a year.

Scientists at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle found that pH levels likely in West Coast waters by 2100 at current rates of greenhouse-gas pollution would hurt the survivability of crab larvae.

Increasing ocean acidification is predicted to harm a wide range of sea life unable to properly form calcium carbonate shells as the pH drops. Now scientists at the NOAA’s Northwest Fishery Science Center of Seattle also have learned that animals with chitin shells — specifically Dungeness crabs — are affected, because the change in water chemistry affects their metabolism.

Carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, is pumped into the atmosphere primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. Levels of atmospheric C02 have been steadily rising since the Industrial Revolution in 1750 and today are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years — and predicted to go higher.

When carbon dioxide mixes with ocean water it lowers the pH. By simulating the conditions in tanks of seawater at pH levels likely to occur in West Coast waters with rising greenhouse gas pollution, scientists were able to detect both a slower hatch of crab larvae, and poorer survival by the year 2100.

Read the full story at the Seattle Times

Lower oxygen level in oceans could be more prominent by 2030s

April 29, 2016 — Reduction in the amount of oxygen present in oceans is already evident in some parts of the world. But as per a new study, the loss of ocean oxygen would be more prevalent in larger sections of oceans between 2030 and 2040. Currently, climate experts can’t say for sure if the fluctuation in the oxygen level is due to natural causes or it is due to climate change.

Decline in ocean oxygen will leave fish, crabs, squid, sea stars and other marine life to face struggle in breathing. Matthew Long from National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) was of the view that loss oxygen in the ocean has been considered as one of the serious side effects of warming atmosphere.

Professor Long mentioned, “Since oxygen concentrations in the ocean naturally vary depending on variations in winds and temperature at the surface, it has been challenging to attribute any de-oxygenation to climate change”.

Scientists have explained that warming surface waters absorb less oxygen. The oxygen that is absorbed faces more trouble in travelling deeper into the ocean. The researchers have used the NCAR-based Community Earth System Model in order to study the impact of climate change.

Read the full story at Maine News Online

FLORIDA: Men sentenced for poaching spiny lobsters in Miami-Dade waters

April 5, 2016 — MIAMI — Two South Florida men have been sentenced for illegally poaching spiny lobsters in Miami-Dade County.

On Tuesday, 54-year-old Donny Caridad Gonzalez and 77-year-old Nemesio Garcia Gonzalez appeared in court to be sentenced for the crime that occurred on May 9, 2015.

According to officials, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers observed a suspicious lobster shell inside a crab trap, even though the boat owner claimed no lobsters were on the boat. As officials investigated the boat, an officer found a total of 87 wrung lobster tails, 66 of which were undersized.

The lobsters were illegally collected outside of regular lobster season, which is Aug. 6 through March 31.

Read the full story at WSVN

North Carolina Fisheries Association – Weekly Update for March 28, 2016

March 29, 2016 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

CARTERET COUNTY FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION is meeting on Saturday, April 9th at 6:30pm in Marshallberg. The group will be planning their annual Fish Fry scheduled for May, among some other things.

================================================================

SKIMMER TRAWLS:

Last week we listed information about potential new regs for skimmer trawls. For those of you who use skimmer trawls, you will receive a mailing from us in the next couple of days about this issue.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT!

After looking it over, contact us at the office or an NCFA Board member about your thoughts as we will be discussing the subject at our Board meeting next Monday in Washington. The list of Board members and their phone numbers is listed in the mailing. If you’d like to attend the Board meeting, feel free to do so and participate in the discussion. The meeting begins at noon at the Civic Center in Washington NC.

For more info, contact NCFA’s biologist, David Bush: (910) 777-1605, or by email.

NOAA Fisheries hosts public meetings in April to discuss potential skimmer trawl regulations in Southeast US:

NOAA Fisheries is considering new regulations in the shrimp fishery of the southeastern United States based on information indicating sea turtles are vulnerable to capture by skimmer trawls and tow times may not be as effective in reducing bycatch-related mortality as turtle excluder devices. The agency will host five public meetings around the region to discuss and receive input from fishermen and other constituents on alternatives to reduce sea turtle bycatch and mortality.

These public meetings are the first stage in a multi-step process required by the National Environmental Policy Act to ensure that Federal agencies evaluate the environmental impacts of major Federal actions. During these meetings, the public is provided with an opportunity to assist us in determining the scope of issues that require analysis. The analysis of issues and the environmental impacts of the proposed actions will be presented in a draft Environmental Impact Statement, which will be made available for public comment. The notice of intent to prepare the draft statement will be published in the Federal Register on March 15, 2016.

Additionally, we prepared a scoping document and a list of frequently asked questions as aids to the public on the upcoming scoping process. These documents are available on the NOAA Fisheries website at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/protected_resources/index.html. The scoping document describes the major issues, current management and legal requirements, and identifies potential management measures to reduce interactions, and in particular, lethal interactions, between sea turtles and trawl fisheries.

There are several meetings being held but the North Carolina meeting is:

Morehead City, NC — April 13, 2016, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m., Crystal Coast Civic Center.

Scoping comments may also be submitted during a concurrent 45-day comment period. When they publish the draft EIS, it will also have a 45-day public comment period.

=================================================================

FROM THE DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES:

State seeking public comment on management options required to improve blue crab stock

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting public comment on management options for the blue crab fishery. The management measures are required under Amendment 2 to the N.C. Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan to improve the condition of the state’s blue crab stock.

Division staff will discuss the possible management measures and receive public comment at the following upcoming advisory committee meetings:

Southern Regional Advisory Committee

April 6, 5:30 p.m.

DMF Central District Office; Morehead City

Northern Regional Advisory Committee

April 7, 5:30 p.m.

DEQ Washington Regional Office; 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

Shellfish/Crustacean Advisory Committee

April 14. 6 p.m.

DMF Central District Office; Morehead City

Additionally, comments can be directed by phone to division biologists Jason Rock at 252-948-3874 or Corrin Flora at 252-264-3911, or by email to Jason.Rock@ncdenr.gov or Corrin.Flora@ncdenr.gov.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is scheduled to consider management action at its May meeting. Possible management options include:

* Increasing the minimum size limit for male and immature female crabs

* Establishing a seasonal size limit on peeler crabs

* Reducing the tolerance of sub-legal size blue crabs to a minimum of 5 percent and/or implementing gear modifications to reduce sublegal catch

* Eliminating the harvest of v-apron immature hard crab females

* Restricting the harvest of sponge crabs

* Prohibiting all harvest of sponge crabs and/or requiring sponge crab excluders in pots in specific areas

* Closing the crab spawning sanctuaries from Sept. 1 to Feb. 28 and possibly imposing further restriction

* Expanding existing and/or designating new crab spawning sanctuaries

* Closing the fishery by season and/or gear

* Gear modifications in the crab trawl fishery

Management measures will be implemented by proclamation following the commission’s May meeting.

Management action is required under Amendment 2 to the N.C. Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan, adopted by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission in November 2013. Amendment 2 uses an adaptive management framework based on the condition of the Blue Crab Traffic Light, which requires annual evaluation of three indicators to determine if any change in management is warranted. The indicators are adult abundance, the abundance of juvenile crabs in the stock (recruit abundance), and production (which evaluates the reproductive potential or resilience of the stock).

The annual evaluation has been completed, and management thresholds have been exceeded, requiring management action.

For more information, go to http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/home under “Hot Topics.”

SOUTHERN FLOUNDER:

Thanks to those of you who have contributed to our Southern Flounder Fund. Those funds will be used exclusively for issues related to southern flounder, either legally or other avenues to address the situation.

If you have not yet contributed, please do so ASAP!

Send your donations to:

NCFA

2807 Neuse Blvd; Suite 11

New Bern, NC 28562

Please make your check out to NCFA/Southern Flounder Fund or to the NC Fisheries Association and be sure to put Southern Flounder Fund in the memo.

==============================================================

CALENDAR

Apr 4; Noon; NCFA Board meeting; Civic Center; Washington NC

Apr 6; 5:30pm; MFC Southern Advisory Cmte; DMF office; Morehead City

Apr 7; 5:30pm; MFC Northern Advisory Cmte; DEQ office; Washington

Apr 9; 6:30pm; Carteret County Fishermen’s Association; Marshallberg

Apr 11; 6:00pm; Oyster/Hard Clam Advisors; DMF office; Morehead City

Apr 12-14; MAFMC meeting in Montauk, NY

Apr 13; 2:00-4:00pm; Skimmer Trawl meeting; Civic Center; Morehead City

Apr 13; 5:30pm; Finfish Advisors; DEQ office; Washington

Apr 14; 6:00pm; Shellfish/Crustacean Advisors; DMF office; Morehead City

Apr 25; North Carolina General Assembly convenes for the Short Session

May 2-5; ASMFC Spring Meeting; Westin; Alexandria, VA

May 18-20; MFC meeting; Civic Center; Morehead City

View a PDF of the Weekly Update

Invasive species? Try new culinary treat

March 3, 2016 — It’s not easy being green . . . crabs, that is. Then, how could it be?

The green crabs are the poster child of invasive seafood species, prompting their fair share of hand-wringing and vitriol — not to mention legislative action here in Massachusetts to figure out ways to mitigate the far-flung eco-damage they’ve foisted on animal and plant species throughout the state’s Great Salt Marsh that stretches more than 20,000 acres from Cape Ann to the New Hampshire border.

Many people talk about the green crabs, but Spencer Montgomery is actually trying to do something about them. In short, he’d like restaurants and large-scale institutional food purveyors to start using them in recipes and for the consuming public to start eating them. 

Montgomery, a seafood buyer for Woburn-based food vendor Dole & Bailey, is trying to build up a consuming market for the small, ubiquitous crabs, even if he has to do it one chef and harvester at a time.

“There’s really no reason we shouldn’t be selling hundreds of pounds of the green crabs each week,” Montgomery said. “It would be better to get them out of the water to help protect our other seafood species and the marine environment, but they’re also a real alternative for chefs looking to use crabs and crab flavors in different ways and at a far lower price.”

Montgomery said he recently filled orders for about 70 pounds of the crabs from three New England restaurants and now he’s looking to build up his network of harvesters to handle the future demand he envisions from restaurants, hotels, universities and hospitals.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

NYSDEC Jonah Crab Public Hearing Date Changed from March 23 to April 6

March 1, 2016 – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The states of Maine through Maryland have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The details of those hearings follow.

Maine Dept. of Marine Resources

March 17, 2016; 6-8 PM

Casco Bay Lines Conference Room

56 Commercial Street

Portland, Maine

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

 

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

March 14, 2016; 5:30 PM

New Bedford Fairfield Inn and Suites

185 McArthur Drive

New Bedford, Massachusetts

Contact: Dan McKiernan at 617.626.1536

 

March 15, 2016; 6:00 PM

MA DMF Annisquam River Field Station

30 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Contact: Dan McKiernan at 617.626.1536

 

Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management

March 16, 2016; 6-9 PM

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corliss Auditorium

South Ferry Road

Narragansett, Rhode Island

Contact: Scott Olszewski at 401.423.1934

 

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

April 6, 2016; 6:30 PM

205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1

East Setauket, New York

Contact: Rachel Sysak at 631.444.0469

 

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

April 4, 2016; 2-4 PM

Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce

12320 Ocean Gateway

Ocean City, Maryland

Contact: Craig Weedon at 410.643.4601 ext. 2113

 

The Draft Addendum proposes changes to the incidental bycatch limits for non-trap gear (e.g., otter trawls, gillnets) and non-lobster trap gear (e.g., fish, crab, and whelk pots). For non-trap gear, the Draft Addendum includes options to maintain, increase, or eliminate the bycatch limit, while options for non-lobster traps include establishing bycatch limits of varying size or maintaining no limit on these gears. The intent of the Draft Addendum is to cap incidental landings of Jonah crab while ensuring the inclusion of current participants in the Jonah crab fishery. The FMP currently prescribes a 200 crab per calendar day/500 crab per trip incidental bycatch limit for non-trap gear; however, concerns were expressed over the appropriateness of these limits. Data submitted by the New England Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries illustrate while 97-99% of trips from 2010 through 2014 were within the current limit, there were several trips above the limit. Furthermore, current bycatch landings were sufficiently low, accounting for approximately 0.1% of total landings.

Bycatch limits for non-lobster trap gear were added as a second issue for consideration in the Draft Addendum to address concerns regarding the lack of effort controls on non-lobster traps and the potential for trap proliferation. Data submitted by NOAA Fisheries show between May 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015, 194 trips landed Jonah crab with whelk pots, crab pots, and fish pots. Of these, 80 trips landed 100 crab or fewer and 115 trips landed 200 crab or fewer.  Approximately 45 trips landed between 200 and 500 crab and 40 trips landed more than 450 crab.  Landings from Maryland show between 2012 and 2015, 33 trips landed Jonah crab with fish pots. All of these trips were under 200 pounds. Reports also indicated from 2014-2015, 36 trips landed Jonah crab with whelk pots. Average landings per trip with whelk pots were under 500 pounds; however, there is concern that these whelk pot landings may in fact be rock crab, a closely related species which is often misreported as Jonah crab.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/JonahCrabDraftAddendumI_PublicComment_Feb2016.pdf or via the Commission’s website,www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on April 18, 2016 and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mware@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum I).

                                                               

MAINE: Lobster licensing bill runs into concerns about pressure on the fishery

February 17, 2016 — AUGUSTA — An effort to reduce waiting lists for entry into the $457 million lobster fishery is running into concerns that a proposal to create a new class of license would put more pressure on a lobster population that the industry and regulators agree is already “fully exploited.”

The proposal, drafted by the Department of Marine Resources, is designed to reduce the nearly 300-person waiting list, which was established 16 years ago after regulators began limiting entry into a fishery with a long tradition of local control and industry-led conservation efforts. The bill would create a new, limited lobster and crab fishing license for a reduced number of traps; increase the age from 18 to 23 before someone who has gone through the industry’s apprenticeship program is put on a waiting list; and remove special fees for applicants age 70 or older, among other provisions.

But several members of the Legislature’s Committee on Marine Resources are skeptical of the proposal because of its relatively modest impact on reducing the waiting list and the unforeseen consequences it could have on a fishery that has posted record landings for reasons that are not fully understood. The wariness is shared by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the leading trade group representing the industry, as well as the Maine Lobstering Union, a recently formed labor union. Roughly 123 million pounds of lobster were landed in 2014, with the value of the catch at nearly $457 million, a record. Regulators and the industry do not believe that those landings will continue.

Carl Wilson, director of the Bureau of Marine Science and the state’s leading lobster biologist, told legislators Wednesday that the proposal likely wouldn’t have a “huge negative impact” on the fishery. He said the effect would probably be the equivalent of the unreported landings of lobster that are cash sales.

However, Wilson also acknowledged that there are some “troubling” indicators that the industry could be headed for a downturn. The indicators are different from the ones that appeared before the collapse of the fishery in southern New England.

Read the full story at Portland Press Herald

NORTH CAROINA: Marine officials and fishermen exchange concerns about fishing risks

January 27, 2016 — SNEADS FERRY, Onslow County – Officials from Camp Lejeune met with dozens of commercial fishermen at the Sneads Ferry Community Center Wednesday evening to discuss and exchange concerns about possible risks in a part of the New River.

“We’re soliciting public feedback to determine the next steps ahead as we try to mitigate this hazard,” said Camp Lejeune Public Affairs Director Nat Fahy.

At issue is a 2012 to 2014 study that turned up more than 7,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance and debris from the waters alongside Camp Lejeune’s K-2 range.

For now, the base says it will put up signs warning against activities that would disturb the bottom of the river–activities like clam raking, crabbing, and anchoring.

Our position is very simple and that is that these are not federal waters, the waters don’t belong to the military, they are state waters,” said Jerry Schill, President of the North Carolina Fisheries Association.   “Camp Lejeune cannot enact restrictions in these waters.  That can only come from the Army Corps of Engineers.”

Read the full story at WCTI News

 

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