Department of Marine Resources Archives - Page 4 of 5

Law Changes for 2016 Maine Elver Season Improve Opportunity for Harvesters

March 15, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

A recently passed bill will improve Maine elver harvesters’ chances of landing all of the state’s 9,688 pounds of quota. The changes come just in time for the 2016 elver season, which starts on March 22, 2016.

“Last year Maine left over 4,400 pounds of quota in the water,” said Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “That represents more than $9,600,000 in potential income that Maine harvesters could not access.

“While a cold, dry spring in 2015 made it hard for harvesters, in-season closures and the length of the season compounded that problem. This year the management improvements we have put in place will allow us to provide more flexibility and better opportunity for Maine elver harvesters.”

One provision within the law will eliminate the 48-hour closures each week while another will lengthen the season by a week.

“The 48-hour closures were established at a time when there was no limit on the amount harvesters could land,” said Commissioner Keliher. “Because this is now a quota based fishery, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s technical committee and eel management board voted unanimously to allow Maine to eliminate in-season closures.”

“Now, with the quota system and the ability to monitor the harvest in near real-time with swipe cards, both of which we implemented in 2014, we can manage this fishery with precision. That means better prospects for fishermen and better protection for the resource.”

The new law will also provide an additional week of harvesting opportunity. Previously the season went from March 22 to May 31. This year it will last until June 7. “Last year, migration started late because of the cold spring, so there were elvers running strong at the end of the season. But unfortunately we had to close it on the statutorily mandated date. The combined success of our quota and swipe card systems allows us to extend the season a week and provide more opportunity for fishermen,” said Commissioner Keliher.

This season harvesters will also have an opportunity to choose their gear type rather than continue to use the type they were previously authorized to fish. “While the law will not allow harvesters to choose more gear than they are currently authorized to use, we want to provide people with the flexibility to fish the gear type they prefer.”

The new law also authorizes Commissioner Keliher to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with Maine’s tribes if they request a waiver of the requirement to allocate individual fishing quotas. The agreement would allow tribal members to fish under an overall tribal quota, rather than an individual quota. “This compromise acknowledges the unique interests of the tribes while maintaining the important measures that have allowed Maine to protect and preserve this valuable fishery for all license holders.”

Maine commercial fishing regulators are working on a string of closures to scalloping grounds

March 16, 2016 (AP) — MACHIAS, Maine — Maine commercial fishing regulators are working on a string of closures to scalloping grounds around the state as the season nears its end.

A spokesman for the state Department of Marine Resources says the agency is working on an emergency action that would close areas such as the Inner Machias Rotational Area, Wahoa/Jonesport Reach and Gouldsboro Bay and Dyers Bay.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Daily Journal

Andy Mays Honored with Maine DMR Award of Excellence

March 14, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

Andy Mays a scalloper and lobster fisherman from Southwest Harbor has received the first annual Maine Department of Marine Resources Award of Excellence. The award, presented by DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher during the Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport, recognizes industry members who participate with the Department to ensure a sustainable future for Maine’s commercial fisheries. Mays was honored for his long-term service on DMR advisory councils.

“Through his work on DMR advisory councils over the years, Andy has set an exemplary standard of engagement and active participation for industry. As Commissioner I have come to rely on Andy for his informed, colorfully blunt and straightforward opinions and ideas. His advice and input is always a welcome and valuable contribution to the fisheries management process. There is no one more deserving of this first annual award.”

(Caption: Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher presents Andy Mays of Southwest Harbor with the first annual Award of Excellence. Photo courtesy of Mark Russell Photography)

MAINE: Elver fishermen unite as tribes agree to new rules

March 9, 2016 — ROCKPORT — Last year, Maine fishermen harvested elvers worth more than $11.4 million from the state’s streams and rivers. That made the fishery for the tiny, translucent juvenile eels the fourth most valuable in the state, but it still wasn’t a good year.

A cold, dry spring delayed the migration of elvers from the sea into the rivers where harvesters set their gear. As a result, Maine fishermen landed just 5,259 pounds of the tiny wrigglers, little more than half the 9,688-pound quota allocated the state by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The good news was that those elvers were worth $2,171 per pound to the harvesters fortunate enough to catch some.

When the Maine Elver Fishermen Association gathered for its annual meeting Saturday morning, harvesters received some good news from Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher and former MEFA Executive Director Jeffrey Pierce.

Emergency legislation enacted that morning should give fishermen a better chance to actually fill the quota, and Keliher said he also hoped it would reduce friction over the elver fishery between the state and Maine’s four tribal governments.

Of immediate consequence, the new law extends the elver season, which begins on Tuesday, March 22, from May 31 to June 7 and allows fishing every day of the week. Under the prior law, the fishery was closed on weekends as a conservation measure.

Initially, LD1502 gave Keliher flexibility to set the 48-hour closures before the season to take account of the tides and minimize the impact on the industry. With fishing limited by a fixed quota since 2014, though, the closure became unnecessary.

The legislation also allows licensed fishermen to chose before each season starts what type of gear they will use — fyke nets or dip nets. It does not, however, authorize the use of more gear.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Maine DMR to pay out last of $3 million in federal aid

March 8, 2016 — AUGUSTA — The Department of Marine Resources will soon be making the third and final payment of federal disaster relief funds to 32 eligible Maine-based fishermen who hold federal Northeast Multispecies (groundfish) permits. The payment will total $1.02 million.

To qualify, Maine groundfish permit holders must have landings of more than 5,000 pounds in any one fishing year from 2010-2013. In addition, permit holders must have landed a minimum of 5,000 pounds of groundfish in either fishing year 2013 or 2014. Fishing years run from May 1 to April 30.

“The intent of these criteria is to focus disaster relief efforts on permit holders who have historical dependence on groundfish and have had continued reliance on the groundfish fishery during the disaster years,” DMR Deputy Commissioner Meredith Mendelson said recently.

According to Meldelson, the department understands that the Maine groundfish industry saw declines in many years preceding the disaster declaration by the secretary of commerce. The declaration was made based on what were, at the time, prospective revenue losses from the major reduction in Gulf of Maine cod quota available for the 2013 fishing year. DMR’s allocation of relief funds reflects the impact of that specific reduction.

The payments allocated to eligible permit holders were based on a formula developed by DMR after several outreach meetings with industry. Those payments, ranging from approximately $9,100 to $44,044, will reflect landings in fishing years 2013 and 2014 individually and combined.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

No date set to reopen Mississippi oyster season

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — February 17, 2016 — State Department of Marine Resources officials say the future of oyster season reopening is still dependent on the flood level of the Pearl River.

During the regular February meeting on Tuesday of the Commission for Marine Resources, director of the Office of Marine Fisheries Joe Jewell said he doesn’t have a definitive answer for when the season will reopen.

Jewell said water samples were collected Monday and will be conducted again on Wednesday.

He says the tests show the amount of bacteria brought into the Gulf of Mexico from the fresh water of the Pearl River.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Times

Maine to pay for research in effort to keep lobster fishery healthy

February 4, 2016 — Maine’s lobsters are about to get new scrutiny.

The Department of Marine Resources has put out a call for proposals to gauge the impact of warming Gulf of Maine waters on lobster biology, populations and susceptibility to disease. A separate study will attempt to measure the economic impact of Maine’s most valuable fishery beyond what lobstermen are paid for their catch.

The department has earmarked up to $700,000 to pay for the studies, with the money coming out of the Lobster Research, Education and Development Fund. The money in that fund comes from sales of the lobster license plate.

Research proposals are due Thursday. The department’s request for proposals suggests the contracts will be awarded by early March, but department spokesman Jeff Nichols said the timing depends on how many proposals are received and how quickly a panel is formed to review them.

The department said it needs the research to determine how to help maintain the industry’s remarkable health over the past 20 or 30 years. Lobster landed in Maine was valued at a record $465.9 million in 2014, up more than fourfold in the past two decades. The catch by 5,818 commercial license holders made up 78 percent of the value of commercial fishery landings in the state.

Carl Wilson, director of the department’s Bureau of Marine Science, said “there are sufficient questions” about what’s happening with climate change and its impact on the Gulf of Maine to warrant more study.

Read the full story at Portland Press Herald

Maine DMR Hosts Visitors from People’s Republic of China for Fisheries Talk

February 1, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

As part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Leadership Program, the Maine Department of Marine Resources hosted visitors from the People’s Republic of China’s State Oceanic Administration on Thursday, January 28, 2016. The visitors included Ms. Danhong Chen with the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (3rd from right), Mr. Jilu Wu with the China Institute for Marine Affairs (2nd from right), and Mr. Antao Wang with the Department of International Cooperation (far right). Discussing Maine and U.S. fisheries enforcement were (left to right) U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant J.G. Pierre Spence, Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher, NOAA Supervisory Enforcement Officer Eric Provencher, U.S. Coast Guard Commander Jamie Frederick, and Maine Marine Patrol Colonel Jon Cornish.

Maine issues emergency closure to scalloping around Vinalhaven, Fox Island Thorofare

January 14, 2016 — AUGUSTA, Maine — The Department of Marine Resources in-season surveys conducted on Jan. 7 and 8, in specific scallop-fishing regions observed significant declines in scallop biomass densities, according to a Jan. 14 news release.They also determined that seed scallops were being illegally taken.

“An immediate conservation closure is necessary to reduce the risk of unusual damage and imminent depletion of the scallop resource in the Vinalhaven and Fox Island Thorofare and the Whiting and Dennys Bays,” said the DMR.

Therefore, DMR is adopting emergency regulations to close these areas Saturday, Jan. 16. In addition, a correction to the South Portland Harbor Targeted Closure will also be included to ensure enforceability of this area.

Vinalhaven and Fox Island Thorofare

In the Lower Penobscot Bay and Outer Islands Rotational Area, Marine Patrol, sea sampling, in-season surveys and direct industry reports indicate that the majority of fishing activity has been focused in the Fox Island Thorofare and around the inshore islands (Leadbetter, Hurricane, and Greens Islands) west and southwest of Vinalhaven.

Strong catches were reported during the first three weeks of the season, with upward of 20 vessels fishing and easily able to reach their daily landings limit by as early as 10 a.m. However, over the following weeks, Catch per unit effort decreased with vessels taking the majority of the day to reach their daily landings limit and the fleet began working in more exposed areas outside of the sheltered islands, indicating that the majority of legal sized scallops had been harvested from these areas.

Read the full story at Penobscot Bay Pilot

States prepare to review new rules for herring fishery

ELLSWORTH, Maine — December 28, 2015 — The new year will soon be here, and with it comes a new round of significant changes to the rules governing the herring fishery.

Next week, the Department of Marine Resources will hold a public hearing on what is known as “Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Management Plan for Atlantic Herring.”

Hearings are also scheduled in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The new rules proposed by the interstate Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will bring big changes to the fishery that is the primary supplier of bait to Maine’s lobster industry. In 2014, the last year for which DMR has data, still preliminary figures show that fishermen landed just over 104 million pounds of herring, worth some $16.3 million, in Maine. Scientists from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute have determined that about 70 percent of that herring (some 70 million pounds) is used by Maine lobstermen as bait.

According to the ASMFC, the new rules would affect the inshore Gulf of Maine — called Area 1A — herring fishery to reflect changes in both the herring resource and the fishery itself. The key changes deal with the closure of the fishery during spawning season and would impose a requirement that herring boats completely empty their fish holds before starting each fishing trip.

Regulators generally consider the herring stock to be abundant, especially compared with just a few years ago when overfishing had seriously depleted the fish population.

The herring stock in Area 1A now includes more fish that are larger and older compared with the time when overfishing was a problem. The evidence suggests that the larger fish spawn earlier than smaller herring, and that the start of the spawning season varies from year to year.

Read the full story from the Mount Desert Islander