Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: $25M port bill awaits Gov. Baker’s pen

August 9, 2016 — Gloucester and its fishing community could benefit from a $25 million bond authorization to assist the state’s Designated Port Areas — but only if Gov. Charlie Baker signs the bill and includes the money in his capital spending program.

The funds, largely dedicated to revitalizing and sustaining the waterfront infrastructure of the state’s nine Designated Port Areas outside of Boston, are included in a comprehensive economic development bill passed last week by legislators and now awaiting Baker’s signature.

“I’ve spoken to him personally and I’m fairly confident the governor will sign the bill,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester, who was instrumental in engineering the inclusion of the funds. “The next step will be to get the funds included in the governor’s spending program. That’s when the real lobbying will start.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Boat with series of mystery owners sinks

August 2, 2016 — The Irish Piper did not go quietly. But finally it did go.

The 41-foot wooden boat, one of the more infamous vessels in Gloucester because of its previous owners’ penchant for abandoning it at various boat yards and dockages, had its own Irish wake Monday when the city cut up the boat at Rose Marine and disposed of it. The city had recovered the boat Saturday from about 37 feet of water in the southeast harbor where it sank Thursday.

The Piper, however, did not give up all its secrets as it went to its final demise — most significantly, who legally owned the boat and abandoned it on the Gloucester Harbor mooring for nearly a month this summer.

“That’s a little murky,” said Gloucester Harbormaster T.J. Ciarametaro on Monday afternoon.” All we know is some guy bought it at auction, but we haven’t been able to track down exactly who. We’ve got several possible names, but we’re not sure yet exactly who owned it, so I don’t want to start naming anybody without knowing for sure.

“But now it belongs to the city of Gloucester and in a few hours, it’s going to be in a Hiltz dumpster somewhere,” he said.

Calls to the U.S. Marshals Service in Boston on Monday seeking information on the successful bidders for the vessel at auction went unreturned.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Recreational fishermen can target cod starting Monday

July 29, 2016 — As of Monday, recreational anglers will get a chance to reacquaint themselves with the much-coveted Gulf of Maine cod when federal fishing restrictions for the species are lifted until the end of September.

But don’t expect a windfall. The bag limit for the iconic species, whose stock NOAA Fisheries maintains is in freefall, will be one cod per fisherman per day.

Still, for recreational fishermen, party boats and larger charter operations, it just might work out that the opportunity to catch one cod a day is enough to lure bigger crowds aboard the boats. Tom Orrell, owner of Gloucester-based Yankee Fleet, certainly hopes that’s the case.

“Our numbers were a little light in July and we’ve been wondering if maybe if some of our recreational fishermen made a conscious decision to wait until they had a chance to land cod,” Orrell said. “So, we’re kind of holding our breath to see what happens.”

Up to this point in the season, Orrell said, his customers have been hauling big numbers of haddock and cusk from around the waters off Cape Ann and farther out. But there is no discounting the allure of the cod.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Fisheries grant program to top $10 million

July 28, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries estimates it will provide $10 million in funding for the 2017 Saltonstall-Kennedy grant program for projects concentrating on sustainable fisheries and coastal fishing communities, the federal fisheries regulator announced.

The $10 million is based on initial estimates of seafood import tariff revenues and could fluctuate higher or lower, according to Susan Olsen, who coordinates the Saltonstall-Kennedy program within NOAA’s Gloucester-based Greater Atlantic Region.

“It has the opportunity to grow or shrink, but based on our estimates, the $10 million figure was reasonable,” Olsen said.

In 2016, NOAA Fisheries recommended $11 million in funding for 50 projects nationally, which was about $1 million more than the agency initially said it expected to distribute as part of the grants program. Neither of the two applicants from Cape Ann — Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute and the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund — made the final cut for funding in 2016.

This year’s application process includes changes from years past that NOAA Fisheries said “will help applicants sharpen their submissions for greater success.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Cowhide? Lobstermen looking at bait alternatives

July 25, 2016 — Gloucester is Massachusetts’ No. 1 lobster port when it comes to landings, with Rockport in the No. 3 spot.

And when it comes to bait to catch the shellfish, local lobstermen usually use herring.

But the Massachusetts herring fishery will be restricted in an attempt to mitigate a shortage of the bait fish that threatens the lobster fishery.

So, lobstermen are looking further afield to tempt lobsters’ palates and into their traps.

Gerry O’Neill, who owns the two 141-foot mid-water trawlers Challenger and Endeavour, says while fresh herring may be in shorter supply on Cape Ann than in the past, he has frozen fish ready to go at Cape Seafoods on the Jodrey State Fish Pier.

Joey Ciaramitaro of Capt. Joe & Sons, a lobster dealer on East Main Street, says many of the lobstermen who sell their catch to his company are already using alternative baits.

“They’re using cowhides and stuff,” he said.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Massachusetts fishing restricted amid lobster bait crunch

July 22, 2016 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — The Massachusetts herring fishery will be restricted in an attempt to mitigate a shortage of bait fish that threatens the lobster fishery.

The interstate Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has voted to cut the number of days that herring boats can bring the fish ashore from five to two. The changes are in effect from Sunday to Sept. 30.

Maine cut its herring days down to two earlier in the season. Regulators say that reducing the number of days will prevent the fishery from catching its entire quota too quickly.

The problem is that fishermen aren’t catching herring far out at sea, which has increased pressure in inshore waters.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Boston Globe

Herring limits expanded to prolong catch of lobster bait

July 21, 2016 — An interstate fishing council has extended some of Maine’s emergency Atlantic herring restrictions to Massachusetts to try to close a loophole that threatened to derail the summer supply of lobster bait.

On Wednesday, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted 2-1 to cut the number of days that herring boats can land fish each week within its jurisdiction from five to two, with Maine and New Hampshire representatives voting in favor of the landing day reduction and Massachusetts voting against it. Under its emergency rules, Maine had already cut its landing days down to two in an attempt to prolong the availability of fresh herring throughout the lobster season, but boats that fished that area could still land for five days if they sailed to a Massachusetts port such as Gloucester.

Maine regulators are trying to balance the lobster industry’s demand for fresh bait now, when season is just beginning but offshore herring is in short supply, with its need for fresh bait through the end of summer, when the inshore summer herring quota is in danger of running out. While lobstermen don’t like a bait shortage at any time, the industry is supporting Maine’s herring restrictions to make sure there will still be fresh bait available when they need it most.

Maine regulators who lobbied on behalf of the regional rule change say one large boat that usually fished for menhaden has begun to fish heavily for herring and bring it to Gloucester. They argued that boat, which fishermen described as 160 feet long with a 50-foot seine, could undermine Maine’s efforts to stretch the 19,400 metric ton quota of herring that can be taken from Maine’s coastal waters through September, and punish Maine’s herring fleet, which has supported the state’s effort to balance the need to prolong the quota and still keep at least some herring coming in for lobstermen to bait their traps.

“Without constraints on the landing (in Massachusetts) we would not make it into August, much less September,” said Terry Stockwell of Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

MASSACHUSETTS: Gloucester Schooner Festival: Preparations For Another Great Weekend

July 14, 2016 — The following was released by Maritime Gloucester:

There are three key story lines for this year’s 32nd annual Gloucester Schooner Festival, which runs from September 2nd to September 4th.

First, the Schooner Columbia, last year’s winner, returns to the Festival to defend its title. The original Columbia was a 141’ classic Gloucester Fishing Schooner built at the historic A.D. Story shipyard of Essex, Massachusetts in 1923. The replica Columbia was built by Brian D’Isernia at his boat yard, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, in Panama City, Florida. “It is great to have her here in Gloucester,” says Schooner Committee Chair Daisy Nell, “and her captain Karl Joyner raced her to victory. What a tribute to the old Essex schooners to have this modern recreation join us.”

Second, Gloucester’s flagship schooner Adventure celebrates its 90th birthday this year. Built in Essex at the Story Shipyard in 1926, she is celebrating with a busy summer including welcoming thousands across her deck during the Festival weekend.

Third, this year’s Festival is dedicated to a great friend of the festival and to Cape Ann, Kay Ellis, who passed away earlier this year. Kay, with her husband Tom built the Schooner Thomas A. Lannon in Essex in 1997, and brought her to Gloucester Harbor to offer public sails and charters. Kay’s warm personality, business acumen, and commitment to promoting maritime heritage on Cape Ann are sorely missed. Their son Capt. Heath Ellis continues to operate the Lannon and will, once again, participate in this year’s races.

Despite the changes on the waterfront this year – Maritime Gloucester’s docks are being torn down in August — nearly twenty schooners have signaled their interest in returning to Gloucester to participate in the weekend. Maritime Heritage Day takes place Saturday, September 3rd from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm. This year Heritage Day will take place on Harbor Loop and under the First Ipswich Tent located in front of Maritime Gloucester. Maritime heritage organizations and area environmental groups and will be set up with interactive exhibits along with local crafters demonstrating their art. Music will be provided during the afternoon and lunch will be available on the pier. This is a great and fun event for families and visitors to Gloucester Schooner Festival weekend. Admission to the Museum will be free this day, and deck tours will be available on some boats, such as the Schooner Adventure, which will be berthed at the State Fish Pier. The event is followed by a Lobster Bake at the Gloucester House and Fireworks over Gloucester.

The race on Sunday includes the Esperanto Cup, the Mayor’s Award, Ned Cameron Trophy and the Betty Ramsey Trophy.

Lead sponsors of the Festival include: First Ipswich Bank, the City of Gloucester, Market Basket and Institution for Savings. For a full list of sponsors, go to the website. The Festival raises much needed funds from the community by offering Schooner Festival raffle in addition to corporate support. Please purchase raffle tickets (available at Maritime Gloucester) or during Maritime Heritage Day. These funds directly support our efforts to put kids on the water.

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing line recycling program comes to Gloucester

July 12, 2016 — The state Division of Marine Fisheries is trying to get the word out to recreational anglers: It’s time to begin recycling discarded monofilament fishing line before it finds its way into the state’s oceans, streams and lakes as a danger to marine creatures and vessels alike.

DMF has initiated a new program, aimed at both education and conservation, called the Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program, based largely on a program started by the Iowa-based Berkley Conservation Institute.

The program’s ultimate goal is to create a network of marked recovery bins at popular fishing locations throughout the state where recreational anglers can dispose of the monofilament as a first step toward recycling the synthetic fishing line into fishing habitats or other products.

“Our focus is to educate the recreational fishermen so they can understand the substantial impact this material has on wildlife,” said Maren Olson, who works on the angler education and clear vessel programs at DMF. “It doesn’t biodegrade and it doesn’t go away.”

Read the full story in the Gloucester Daily Times

Massachusetts to invest $1.1M on Jodrey fish pier renovations

July 8, 2016 — The Jodrey State Fish Pier is the best performing and most well-run of the state’s four fish piers, emerging as a model for potential changes to Massachusetts’ other three fish piers, according to an evaluation of the state fish pier system by the administration of Gov. Charlie Baker.

The evaluation, funded by the Seaport Economic Council and performed by a working group of representatives from a number of state agencies, has resulted in two positives for the 78-year-old fish pier named for Edward R. Jodrey, the Gloucester barber who championed its construction in 1930s:

The Baker administration announced this week it will fund $1.1 million in renovations at the pier that covers approximately 8 acres at the head of the harbor, part of what the administration says is its continued “commitment to deepening the economic impact of state maritime facilities.”

Those funds will be used to repair the deteriorating roof atop the 40,000-square-foot cold storage and freezing operation that is one of the array of businesses housed in the three buildings on the pier.

Perhaps more important in the long run, the evaluation showed the Jodrey State Fish Pier, which is operated at a profit by MassDevelopment, is at the top of the class among the state’s four fish piers, an operations model for those located in New Bedford, Fall River and Plymouth.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times