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
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)
March 12, 2016 — STONINGTON, Maine — A Sedgwick fisherman is facing criminal charges and a possible three-year suspension of his lobster license because of a violent ocean confrontation last fall in which he allegedly rammed another fisherman’s boat, shot off a flare gun and intentionally broke a line on one of that fisherman’s traps.
Carl W. Gray, 41, is facing a civil charge of tampering with another fisherman’s gear and three criminal charges associated with the Oct. 5 incident. He has been charged with operating a watercraft to endanger and theft by unauthorized taking, both Class E misdemeanors, and a Class C felony charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, according to court documents filed in Ellsworth.
A Maine Department of Marine Resources hearing on the civil tampering charge was held Feb. 24 at the Hancock County Courthouse so Gray could make his case about why the proposed three-year suspension, which has yet to go into effect, should not be imposed.
At the hearing, a former Marine Patrol officer who responded to the incident recapped the alleged events.
Owen Reed, who works as a Maine State Police trooper, told Susan Cole, the DMR officer conducting the hearing, that he was contacted Oct. 5, 2015, by a third party and told that brothers Caleb Heanssler and Zachary Heanssler had gotten into an altercation with Gray several miles out to sea from Stonington.
According to Reed, the brothers told him that during the altercation, Gray tried to ram Caleb Heanssler’s boat, that Gray recklessly shot off a flare and that Gray intentionally broke a line to one of Zachary Heanssler’s traps by attaching it to his boat and gunning his engine.
March 9, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
A new approach to scallop monitoring in Maine state waters has led to changes in scallop abundance estimates that will result in the reopening of three important fishing grounds this season.
The areas opening are Inner Machias Rotational Area, Wahoa/Jonesport Reach and Gouldsboro Bay and Dyers Bay, which were closed through emergency rulemaking by the Maine Department of Marine Resources on December 13, 2015. The Department will open the areas the week of March 14 by allowing the emergency regulation to lapse.
“The Maine scallop fishery has seen significant advances in both science and management in recent years,” said Maine DMR Science Bureau Director Carl Wilson. “In 2012 the DMR, working closely with industry, implemented rotational management and targeted in-season closures. These new management tools were developed to continue rebuilding the resource in areas that had been closed for three years, while supporting a sustainable fishery.”
Under the new management strategy, pre-season dredge surveys were used by the DMR to estimate abundance and harvestable biomass in areas likely to be subject to heavy harvesting pressure. DMR staff uses estimates of scallop biomass removed from these areas based on port sampling, sea sampling, and industry feedback to make decisions about timing of in-season closures. Closures occur when 30%-40% of the harvestable biomass in an area has been removed.
To further improve understanding of the scallop resource and the impacts of the fishery, the Department piloted in-season dredge surveys in Cobscook Bay during the 2014-15 fishing season. Results from the 2014-15 in-season surveys allowed Cobscook Bay to remain open two weeks longer than the pre-season survey originally supported. “This is a valuable tool that we are using to validate our initial projections,” said Wilson.
During the current 2015-16 season, in-season surveys have been used in Cobscook Bay as well as Machias Bay, Gouldsboro Bay and western Vinalhaven. After comparing results of the pre and in-season surveys, DMR scientists found discrepancies that needed further investigation to fine-tune biomass estimates and projections.
As a result of this in depth analysis, Department scientists determined that there remains approximately 13,500 pounds in the Inner Machias Rotational Area and 4,500 pounds in Gouldsboro Bay to be harvested.
Corrected projections of harvestable biomass and in-season surveys both revealed that less than the targeted 30% of the harvestable biomass had been removed from these areas, both of which were closed by emergency action in December 2015. As a result, these areas along with Wahoa/Jonesport Reach and Dyers Bay will temporarily re-open to fishing the week of March 14.
“The in-season surveys allow DMR scientists to better evaluate pre-season estimates and to more effectively assess the scallop resource in specific areas,” said Wilson. “This in turn enhances the timeliness and precision of management decisions. This season, the additional analysis has provided Maine scallop harvesters with late season fishing opportunity.”
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
March 5, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
Maine’s commercially harvested marine resources topped $600 million in overall value in 2015, according to preliminary data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The total,$631,768,531, reflects an all-time high and an increase of more than $33 million over the previous record set in 2014.
The largest single increase in value was in Maine’s lobster fishery. The fishery saw the overall landed value jump by more than $37 million and the average per pound value increase by more than 10 percent, going from $3.70 per pound in 2014 to $4.09 per pound in 2015.
The overall value of Maine’s lobster fishery was again by far the highest at $495,433,635. When factoring in bonuses paid to harvesters as reported by 11 of Maine’s 19 lobster co-ops, the overall landed value of Maine’s lobster fishery reached $510,680,048.
2015 marked the fourth year in a row and the fourth year ever in which Maine lobster harvesters landed over 120 million pounds, with landings totaling 121,083,418 pounds. “Maine’s lobster fishery continues to be a major engine for our coastal economy,” said Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher.
“This past year saw a continuation of steady and historic lobster landings throughout the season. The increase in value reflects growing demand for Maine lobster.
“While this year’s value and landings are great news for our coastal economy, we also recognize that lobster represents more than 81 percent of the overall value of our commercial fisheries,” said Commissioner Keliher. “It shows that we all must be working hard to build and sustain our commercial fisheries and to create more diverse opportunity, be it with traditional commercial fisheries or an expanding the role of aquaculture. This work is critical to ensure we can adapt to changes in landings and value in future years.”
Maine’s softshell clam industry retained its second place standing in overall value at $22,536,086, a record for the fishery. The jump in value came on the strength of a 47 cent per pound increase over 2014. At $2.46 per pound, 2015 landings netted harvesters a 23 percent increase in per pound value over 2014 despite a drop in landings of one million pounds.
At $2,171 per pound, Maine’s elver fishery was by-far the most lucrative of Maine’s commercial fisheries on a per pound basis. Despite a season in which landings were well below the state quota due to a cold, dry spring that slowed elver migration and challenged harvesting, overall value increased by nearly $3 million. At $11,422,381, the elver fishery was Maine’s fourth most lucrative behind herring at $13 million.
DMR officials consider 2015 a continuation of the successful rebuilding effort for Maine’s scallop fishery despite a decline in value and meat pounds landed. “We expected 2015 to be lean in terms of landings,” said Commissioner Keliher. “But considering that Maine scallop harvesters landed more than ten times the amount harvested in 2005, this fishery is on the right track.”
More landings data can be found at http://www.maine.gov/dmr/comfish.htm.
March 1, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
The Maine Department of Marine Resources will soon be issuing the third and final payment to thirty-two Maine-homeported commercial Northeast Multispecies (groundfish) permit holders who are eligible to receive direct assistance under federal disaster relief funding.
To be eligible, Maine-homeported groundfish permit holders must have landings of over 5000 pounds in any one Fishing Year from 2010-2013. In addition, permit holders must have landed a minimum of 5000 pounds of groundfish in either Fishing Year 2013 or 2014.
“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,” said Maine DMR Deputy Commissioner Meredith Mendelson. “We know that Maine’s groundfish industry has seen declines in many years preceding this disaster declaration. However, the Secretary of Commerce’s 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. Accordingly, our allocation of relief funds reflects the impact of that specific reduction.”
The amounts allocated to eligible permit holders were based on a formula developed by the Maine Department of Marine Resources after several outreach meetings with industry. Amounts issued will reflect landings in Fishing Years 2013 and 2014 individually and combined.
Awards under this formula will range from approximately $9,100 to $44,044.
The funds are a portion of the $3.3 million allocated to Maine from the $75 million allocated by U.S. Congress to help with six fishery disasters, including the disaster declared in 2012 by the Secretary of Commerce as a result of significant quota cuts for key New England groundfish stocks.
Of the $75 million, $32.8 million was allocated to the Northeast groundfish industry. The allocation of those funds was negotiated among the state fisheries agency directors and announced in June, 2014.
The agreement split the $32.8 million evenly, allocating a third of the funds to each of three areas. $11 million was paid out as direct aid to permit holders in the northeast who have landed a minimum of 5000 pounds of groundfish stocks in any one fishing year since 2010.
In October, 2014, fifty-two of Maine’s federal groundfish permit holders received $32,500 each. In 2015, the DMR distributed $640,005 to help Maine’s groundfish fleet and related shoreside industries by rebating dealer landings and handling fees.
February 18, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
Katherine Thompson has been hired by the Maine Department of Marine Resources as the lead lobster sampling program scientist. Thompson, a Ph.D. student in Marine Biology at the University of Maine, will be responsible for the coordination, implementation, and participation in the lobster sea sampling program in all seven-lobster management zones as well as the juvenile lobster ventless trap survey.
Thompson’s responsibilities will include supervision of DMR scientific staff and contractors who participate in the sea sampling and ventless trap survey programs.
The DMR sea sampling program places trained observers onto commercial lobster boats to gather data on the near shore lobster fishery. The ventless trap survey uses specially modified traps distributed along the coast to help the DMR characterize the juvenile lobster population in Maine waters.
Thompson will also manage the lobster research program database, oversee data entry compilation and annual summary statistics/reports for publication and will assist in writing grant reports. In addition, she will present survey results at lobster zone council meetings.
Thompson brings to the position experience both in commercial fishing and fisheries research. Raised in a fishing family in New Harbor, Thompson served as a sternman for a Round Pond lobster fisherman during summers while she pursued a degree in Biology from Smith College. The vessel she worked on participated in DMR’s ventless trap survey, providing her first experience with cooperative research. After graduating, Thompson completed an internship in lobster research through Bigelow Laboratory focusing on the settlement index survey conducted by Dr. Richard Wahle.
In 2013 Thompson received her Master’s degree in Living Marine Resource Science and Management from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology. Her Master’s thesis project provided the first conclusive evidence of semiannual scallop spawning in U.S. waters on Georges Bank, which has important implications for management of the fishery.
From 2013 to 2014, Thompson served as a Supervisory Research Biologist for Coonamessett Farm Foundation, a scientific research and education foundation based in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
In January 2015 she began her doctoral studies at the University of Maine focusing on northern shrimp reproduction and distribution.
“I’m excited about working closely with industry, especially here in my home state,” said Thompson.
“Katherine’s experience in scientific research of multiple fisheries provides a strong foundation for her work here at DMR,” said DMR’s Lead Lobster Biologist Kathleen Reardon. “She has the strong academic and practical experience in marine science and commercial fishing to help move our monitoring programs forward.”
February 11, 2016 — The scalloping season is scheduled from December through March or April, depending on which fishing zone you’re in.
State waters are broken up into three zones, each with its own set of rules.
Wednesday, Caitlin Burchill took us scallop fishing in Cobscook Bay, an area which has since been closed to scallop fishing for the season.
The Department of Marine Resources says they’ve made the scallop fishery their top priority.
While Maine may be known for lobster, they want fisherman to have another seafood to fall back on.
In recent years, the DMR has implemented special closures, shorter seasons, and fishing limits, among other things, to help rebuild the fishery after it was overfished and hit rock bottom in 2005.
State regulators say it’s working, but what do fishermen think about all the rules?
Caitlin Burchill looks into it.
===
Tim Sheehan sees scallop harvesters at the end of a hard day’s work.
Many stop by his store in Perry to sell him fresh caught Cobscook Bay scallops.
“Everyone needs to eat and the prices are going up and up and up. Years ago, guys would fish all day to get $5 a pound. Well now, I’m paying them $12.50 and you know for a half a days work, not that they don’t have huge overhead, it’s pretty good days pay,” said Sheehan.
A better price perhaps thanks to the creation of fishery management plans.
Trisha Cheney overseas the scallop fishery for the Department of Marine Resources.
“We base all of our management on the best available science, so we also have a science team that’s in the field collecting information,” said Cheney.
The state also gets input from fishermen.
“Three different management approaches in three different areas of the state, and it’s based on what the harvesters want in that area and we’ve seen different success in those areas as well,” said Cheney.
But when Cheney calls for closures, she understandably gets some angry phone calls.
February 11, 2016 — The scalloping season is scheduled from December through March or April, depending on which fishing zone you’re in.
State waters are broken up into three zones, each with its own set of rules.
Wednesday, Caitlin Burchill took us scallop fishing in Cobscook Bay, an area which has since been closed to scallop fishing for the season.
The Department of Marine Resources says they’ve made the scallop fishery their top priority.
While Maine may be known for lobster, they want fisherman to have another seafood to fall back on.
In recent years, the DMR has implemented special closures, shorter seasons, and fishing limits, among other things, to help rebuild the fishery after it was overfished and hit rock bottom in 2005.
State regulators say it’s working, but what do fishermen think about all the rules?
Caitlin Burchill looks into it.
===
Tim Sheehan sees scallop harvesters at the end of a hard day’s work.
Many stop by his store in Perry to sell him fresh caught Cobscook Bay scallops.
“Everyone needs to eat and the prices are going up and up and up. Years ago, guys would fish all day to get $5 a pound. Well now, I’m paying them $12.50 and you know for a half a days work, not that they don’t have huge overhead, it’s pretty good days pay,” said Sheehan.
A better price perhaps thanks to the creation of fishery management plans.
Trisha Cheney overseas the scallop fishery for the Department of Marine Resources.
“We base all of our management on the best available science, so we also have a science team that’s in the field collecting information,” said Cheney.
The state also gets input from fishermen.
