Saving Seafood

MAINE: Fishermen’s Forum provides a glimpse into an uncertain future

March 13, 2017 — Last Chance. Outnumbered. Endangered Species. These are the names of some of the lobster boats that were represented at this year’s Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport. They reflect the sense of uncertainty that surrounds the commercial fishing world.

The men and women who fish those boats were out in force to discuss catch, markets, bait, price, the health of the stock and fisheries management. The number of hours on the water represented by the fishermen assembled would be mind-boggling, if it could be calculated.

A unique gathering, the star attraction of the forum is the fishermen themselves. Weathered faces, barrel chests and brawny forearms filled the halls. On a desperately cold day, many fishermen were in T-shirts. And for those still standing after a grueling day of meetings, there was dinner and then story-telling that continued into the night.

The forum is not just for lobstermen. There are representatives from just about every Maine fishery: scallops, clams, worms, groundfish, elvers, halibut, seaweed. Seminars held over three days explored the issues facing each of those fisheries.

These men and women are the deans of fishing, willing to set aside this time to meet, think and talk about how to protect the species they fish, and to provide essential input based on their experience on the water. It is important to their future that some of the younger harvesters are showing up, too.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

GLEN MELVIN RECEIVES 2017 DMR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

March 8, 2017 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

Glen Melvin a shellfish and elver harvester from Waldoboro has received the second annual Maine Department of Marine Resources Award of Excellence. The award, presented by DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher during the recent Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport, recognizes industry members who participate with the Department to ensure a sustainable future for Maine’s commercial fisheries. Melvin, pictured here with Commissioner Keliher during the award ceremony, was honored for his work on the Shellfish Advisory Council. “Glen is never shy about telling me what he thinks,” said Commissioner Keliher. “I have come to rely on him for straightforward, unvarnished opinions. He doesn’t always tell me what I want to hear, but that reality check is important for fisheries managers. His contributions are always appreciated and he is extremely deserving of this honor.”

Trump’s proposed cuts to NOAA alarm Maine’s marine community

March 7, 2017 — A Trump administration proposal to slash funding for the federal government’s principal marine agency and eliminate the national Sea Grant program is prompting alarm in Maine’s marine sector because it depends on services provided by both.

President Trump wants to slash the budget of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the agency responsible for fisheries management, weather forecasting, nautical surveys and assisting marine industries – by 17 percent, The Washington Post reported Friday. And he wants to eliminate NOAA’s Sea Grant program, the marine equivalent of the federal agricultural extension and research service, in the fiscal 2018 budget, which begins Oct. 1.

“There was a lot of concern when the news broke, and a flurry of messages went out to our congressional delegation from fishermen and aquaculturists who understand how they benefit from Sea Grant,” said Paul Anderson, director of Maine Sea Grant at the University of Maine in Orono, one of 33 Sea Grant universities in the country. “I don’t now if on October 1st we will all of a sudden not exist.”

The news has sent reverberations across Maine’s marine community, which has long benefited from the partnership between UMaine and the federal government. Sea Grant researchers created the Fishermen’s Forum – the industry’s premier event – in 1976, and also helped found the Portland Fish Exchange and the university’s Lobster Institute, which researches issues of concern to the industry.

Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said the cuts to NOAA would be terrible for fishermen. “The industry relies pretty heavily on their forecast reports on the wind and the wave heights and make decisions day to day if they are going to go out, so those satellites are really important,” she said. “And nobody loves (the National Marine Fisheries Service), but keeping them fully funded and their research going is essential to manage our fisheries.”

She noted that recent cuts to the agency’s right-whale monitoring program had hurt fishermen because if scientists didn’t have time to find the whales, they had to assume they weren’t there, increasing the regulatory burden on lobstermen, whose gear the whales sometimes get entangled in.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Marine Patrol Officer Brandon Bezio Receives 2017 MLA Officer of the Year Award

March 6, 2017 — The following has been released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources: 

Marine Patrol Officer Brandon Bezio, who serves in the St. George-Warren Patrol, receives the 2017 Maine Lobstermen’s Association Maine Patrol Officer of the Year Award. The award, presented Saturday, March 4, 2017, at the Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport, is an annual recognition of Marine Patrol Officers who provide outstanding service in support of the Maine lobster industry. Pictured with MPO Bezio is Marine Patrol Colonel Jon Cornish (left), MLA Board President David Cousens (2nd from right), and MLA Executive Director Patrice McCarron (right). (Photo courtesy of Mark Haskell Photography)