Gulf of Maine Archives - Page 21 of 100

MAINE: Dock Talk: An array of risks

April 8, 2021 — In June 2019, Maine’s Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill requiring the state Public Utilities Commission to approve the contract for an offshore wind pilot project in Maine. This project will operate an 11-MW turbine off of Monhegan Island.

Though touted as research to explore clean energy alternatives, this project is an experiment. And during this experiment, power generated will be sold for profit, likely to out of state consumers. Information from this research will not just benefit scientists, but also big-money energy investors who want to develop wind farms throughout the Gulf of Maine.

“When you a look at a chart of where all the preferred wind farm leases are on the East Coast and compare that to the chart NMFS has made showing the most heavily fished areas, almost every lease is based directly on or adjacent to the best grounds,” said fisherman Glen Libby.

There is a lot more at stake here than may meet the eye. Drilling the ocean meters down, placing cables and topping with an artificial cover for miles will at the very least disrupt and at the very worst destroy countless marine life habitats, ecosystems and breeding grounds, which will influence the food chain from there on up, not to mention the unknown long-term effects chemicals coating the underground cables may have on the environment and consumers.

Electromagnetic fields and noise from offshore wind turbines can interrupt the natural cycles of robust native species as well as endangered and protected marine species — including right whales, for which lobstermen have changed fishing practices and gear to avoid doing any potential harm.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Maine Cod Fishery Posted Smallest Catch in History in 2020

April 5, 2021 — One of the oldest marine industries in the United States suffered the least productive year in its recorded history last year, in part because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Maine cod fishery stretches back centuries but has been in dire straits in recent years because of tough new management measures and a lack of fish.

The 2020 fishery brought 58,730 pounds of fish to the docks. That is more than 20,000 pounds less than 2017, which previously was the least productive year. The fishery routinely topped 10 million pounds per year in the 1980s and early ’90s.

Members of the industry said the pandemic played a role in last year’s low total because of such factors as the disruption to the broader seafood industry and the closure of restaurants.

“We had a pretty lean year,” said Jodie York, general manager of Portland Fish Exchange, a Maine auction house. “It really is in large part due to the pandemic.”

The fishery has also struggled in recent years because of cod population levels that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has described as “significantly below target levels.” The cod population off New England has suffered due to past years of overfishing and environmental change, marine regulators have said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

Cod fishing season to reopen in Gulf of Maine while regulators consider industry’s future

April 5, 2021 — Federal fishing regulators are reopening the recreational fishery for cod in the Gulf of Maine for two weeks while they consider the future of the industry.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday that recreational anglers and for-hire vessel operators can harvest cod from the Gulf of Maine from April 1 to April 14. They’re limited to one cod per day.

Cod fishing was once the backbone of the New England economy, but the fishery collapsed after years of overfishing and is vulnerable to environmental changes. The New England Fishery Management Council has recommended status quo measures for recreational Gulf of Maine cod fishing for the 2021 fishing year, which starts May 1.

Read the full story at Central Maine

April Edition of NOAA Navigator Now Available!

April 2, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The NOAA Navigator is a bi-monthly informational insert that we publish in Commercial Fisheries News.

The April issue of the Navigator is now available. Articles in this edition include:

Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Season Reminder
Coonamessett River Restoration
Study on Ocean Acidification
Fisheries Stock Assessments Underway
Reporting and Permitting Updates

Questions?

Contact Kate Swails, Regional Office, 978-282-8481

MAINE: Fishing gear removed from path of offshore wind project survey

April 1, 2021 — Maine Marine Patrol officials and local fishermen have made headway over the last week in clearing fishing gear from a 23-mile long path being surveyed for an offshore wind development project, state marine officials say.

The monthlong survey for the New England Aqua Ventus project began earlier this month, but the presence of fishing gear on the path was making it difficult for the vessel conducting a survey of the seafloor to do its work, according to a project spokesperson and Maine Department of Marine Resources officials.

Fishermen were asked to move their gear in advance of the survey, but given the contentious issue of wind development of the Gulf of Maine, some fishermen felt they shouldn’t have to move their traps for a project that they feel threatens their livelihood.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Reminders for For-Hire Vessels and Tilefish Anglers

March 30, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Reporting

As the recreational fishing season gets going, we are reminding all GARFO permitted vessel operators about the current reporting requirements:

For-hire (party and charter) vessels that hold federal permits for species managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council must submit their Vessel Trip Reports (VTR) electronically.
Vessels issued only a Northeast multispecies (groundfish) charter/party permit may report on paper or electronic VTRs, until later this fall when e-VTRs will be required. You are encouraged to start reporting electronically as soon as possible.

Tilefish anglers on private vessels must submit their VTRs electronically for trips targeting or catching golden and blueline tilefish.

All fishermen can choose from several smart devices and web-based apps to report electronically. For more information and technical support, go to our Vessel Trip Reporting web page. You can also contact your local Port Agent

Upcoming Recreational Cod and Haddock Seasons

The recreational Gulf of Maine cod and haddock season opens on April 1. Read our notice for more information on these fisheries.

Slow Down for Whales

Endangered North Atlantic right whales have returned to Massachusetts waters. We encourage vessel operators to slow down to 10 knots or less to avoid deadly collisions with these whales. In some of these waters, speed restriction measures are in place and enforced. Learn more about federal and state speed restrictions and use the Whale Alert App to stay informed about right whale detections and Right Whale Slow Zones.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact William Duffy, Analysis and Program Support Division, 978-290-1723

Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Maine wants lobstermen to move gear from wind power cable survey route

March 24, 2021 — Acting on direction from Gov. Janet Mills, Maine’s marine resources commissioner on Wednesday asked captains who fish along a planned wind turbine cable survey route to voluntarily haul their gear, or he would have to tell the Marine Patrol to move it out of the way.

In a notice addressed to “Lobster harvesters who fish in or near the Monhegan survey route,” Pat Keliher sympathized with fishermen upset about the prospects of floating offshore wind projects coming to the Gulf of Maine. And he told them that a gear count done over the past day by the Marine Patrol found far fewer buoys in the survey path than a survey vessel had reported.

But there’s still too much gear inside the route for the survey vessel to do its work, Keliher said, noting that it was in everyone’s interest to complete the survey to determine if the cable can be buried. He asked fishermen to cooperate and remove any remaining gear for the next two weeks.

“The developer has committed to working with the department to ensure that fishing will be allowed around and over the cable route,” Keliher wrote to the lobstermen. “I hope that we can find a way forward to complete this survey and achieve that goal.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Cod fishing season to reopen in Gulf of Maine

March 24, 2021 — Federal fishing regulators are reopening the recreational fishery for cod in the Gulf of Maine for two weeks while they consider the future of the industry.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Recreational Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock Season Opens April 1

March 22, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Recreational anglers and for-hire vessel operators are reminded that this year cod may be harvested from the Gulf of Maine from April 1 through April 14. Anglers may harvest 1 cod per day with a minimum length of 21 inches during this season.

Additionally, anglers may begin harvesting haddock in the Gulf of Maine on April 1, with a limit of 15 haddock per angler per day, and a minimum length of 17 inches. Fishing for groundfish, including cod and haddock, is prohibited in the “Whaleback” Closure from April 1 through June 30.

The harvest of cod and haddock is permitted year-round outside the Gulf of Maine.

Anglers must release all cod and haddock that do not meet the minimum size requirements, or during seasons or in areas where their harvest is prohibited. Anglers are encouraged to use circle hooks to minimize discard mortality of released fish, and are also encouraged to target haddock or other abundant stocks to minimize unintended cod mortality. Anglers interested in targeting haddock this season are encouraged to use Massachusetts DMF’s Haddock Fishing Guide.

The New England Fishery Management Council has made recommendations for status quo recreational measures for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock for fishing year 2021, starting May 1, 2021. We are still considering the Council’s recommendation, and will make a determination soon.

Anglers can find out more about recreational groundfish regulations, including bag limits and seasons in federal waters, on our website. Other resources for recreational anglers in the Greater Atlantic Region can be found here.

Read the full release here

Mental Health and the Modern Fisherman

March 18, 2021 — In 2005, Randy Cushman spent two days trolling through the Gulf of Maine, searching for Gary Thorbjornson’s body. Thorbjornson was family—not by blood, but in all the ways that really count. The men had grown up together, fishing the gulf’s waters since they were kids, and the intervening decades had sculpted their lives into similar shapes: careers in commercial fishing, marriages at about the same time, children of about the same age, and a tight-knit fishing community around Port Clyde, Maine.

While fishing on a foggy day in mid-July, the distress call came through: Thorbjornson’s boat was flooding, and the crew were panicking. “We have to get the fuck off this boat,” Thorbjornson yelled. By the time Cushman arrived, the crew, including Thorbjornson’s own son, were alive and safely aboard a rescue boat, but their fishing vessel was at the bottom of the ocean and Thorbjornson had vanished. The search began, hours lapsing into days as teams traversed the waters, looking for a body that might offer the Thorbjornson family a scrap of closure.

“His father called me, told me to stay,” Cushman says. “The coast guard gave up and then the other boats. I stayed like four to six hours longer and I called him back and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore. It’s killing me.’”

In Brunswick, Maine, 90 minutes west of Port Clyde, Monique Coombs has watched this silent stoicism play out over and over again in fishing communities. Coombs is the director of community programs for the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA), a nonprofit trade group dedicated to restoring commercial fishing in the Gulf of Maine. She’s seen fishermen just like Cushman endure the pain of lost loved ones, life-changing injuries, economic hardships, and the barrage of stresses endemic to the commercial fishing industry without seeking help, and she’s seen the legacy of depression and substance abuse that often follows. These problems have gotten worse, she says, ever since COVID-19 disrupted the state’s US $674-million seafood industry, shoving already unstable families even closer to financial collapse. But Coombs has a plan to fight back. Just over one year ago, her team won a grant to launch a pilot program aimed at addressing mental health in commercial fishing communities. The grant, awarded by the Fisher Charitable Foundation, is small—only $5,000, all of which goes to producing informational materials on managing anxiety and depression. But Coombs has much bigger ambitions.

Read the full story at Hakai Magazine