Saving Seafood

Whale-protection grant to fund study of how Maine lobstermen deploy their gear

April 10, 2018 — Maine is getting a $700,000 federal grant to collect details about how the lobster industry deploys its fishing gear, especially rope, in an effort to help protect endangered right whales.

The species recovery grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will underwrite a three-year project scheduled to start this summer to collect information that federal regulators need for future deciding right-whale protection regulations. The government is considering what steps it could take to protect the roughly 450 surviving members of the species in the wake of 17 North Atlantic right whale deaths last year in Canadian and U.S. waters.

“This research will ensure that future regulations are based on current, relevant data,” said Erin Summers, biological monitoring division director of the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the person who will lead the collection project. “Maine has been involved in the development and evolution of whale protection regulations over the past two decades. … This study is another example of Maine taking a leadership role in the protection of whales.”

Regulators will need to know how and where fishing gear is used throughout the Gulf of Maine to understand the relative risk of whale entanglement. That’s one of several factors known to play a role in the dwindling number of right whales – ship strikes are the other major cause of death, and scarcity of the whale’s favorite food, copepods, also contributes to dwindling reproduction rates.

The project will ask harvesters from Maine to Connecticut to voluntarily share information about how they rig and fish vertical lines, the rope that extends from the floating buoy to the string of lobster traps on the ocean floor. Data will include rope type and diameter, trap configuration and depth, and distance from shore. The project also will include a study on the breaking strength of vertical lines and the amount of load put on the lines during different hauling conditions.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

The Turning Tides of New England Fisheries

April 5, 2018 — Andrew Applegate’s family has been in the fishing business since his ancestors moved from Cranbury, New Jersey, to the Sandy Hook area around 100 years ago. Along with some commercial fishing, Applegate’s father ran a couple of large party fishing boats out of Atlantic City, and through the decades the family caught whatever was available. But now, Applegate is part of a New England fishing community forced to depend on fast-changing marine species they’ve never seen in the region before, and give up on others that are dying out.

The Gulf of Maine has witnessed its cod stocks collapse but its lobster population explode. To the south, in contrast to their current success north of Cape Cod, lobsters have suffered shell-wasting disease and poor productivity down into the Mid-Atlantic. And black sea bass is being found in northern New England when 20 years ago that would’ve been unheard of, says Michael Pentony, regional head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Atlantic fisheries division. In the face of such changes, those involved in fisheries management are trying to prepare for a murky future. Reliable and more timely data paired with flexible regulations could, they hope, allow those in the business to adapt as fisheries change in the coming years.

These changes are forcing some to disregard historical knowledge gathered in logbooks by generations of fishermen who recorded where to catch certain fish at certain times of the year, says Ben Martens, the executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

“Now you just have to throw those out. They don’t work anymore. And every year is completely different from the year before,” Martens says. “Sometimes we have water that’s too warm; this year we had cooler water. We’re seeing a lot more turbulence in what’s happening in our planning and in our business stability.”

Read the full story at Ozy

NOAA Fisheries Announces New Habitat Management Measures for New England Fisheries

April 4, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries has approved measures of the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2. This amendment updates the Essential Fish Habitat designations required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act with the latest scientific information, and minimizes the effect of fishing on that habitat while balancing the economic needs of the fishing industry.

The approved measures include:

  • Revisions to the essential fish habitat designations for all New England Fishery Management Council-managed species and life stages;
  • New Habitat Areas of Particular Concern to highlight especially important habitat areas;
  • Revisions to the spatial management system within the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and the southern New England area to better align with scientific advice on how and where to protect essential fish habitat while balancing the economic needs of the fishing industry;
  • Establishment of two Dedicated Habitat Research Areas, seasonal spawning protection measures, and a system for reviewing and updating the proposed measures.

The approved measures are effective on April 9, 2018.  

Two important notes:

Closed Area I North will remain closed until April 15 to protect spawning. This closure applies to all fishing vessels, except vessels in transit, vessels fishing with exempted gears, vessels fishing in the mid-water trawl exempted fishery, charter and party vessels, private recreational vessels, and scallop dredges.

The Spring Massachusetts Bay Spawning Closure will be closed April 15-30. This closure applies to all vessels, except vessels without a federal northeast multispecies permit fishing exclusively in state waters, vessels fishing with exempted gears or in the mid-water trawl purse seine exempted fishery, scallop vessels on a day-at-sea, scallop vessels in the dredge exemption area, transiting vessels, and charter/party and private recreational vessels.

For more information, read the permit holder bulletin. Also, see the map of the final approved habitat areas below. The dashed lines show the boundaries of the existing closed areas and habitat closures.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region by visiting the site here.

 

Endangered status of Atlantic sturgeon up for review

March 27, 2018 — Federal fishing regulators say they are conducting a five-year review of threatened and endangered populations of Atlantic sturgeon.

Populations of sturgeon are listed as threatened in the Gulf of Maine and endangered in New York Bight, the Chesapeake Bay and off the Carolinas and South Atlantic.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the Endangered Species Act requires the agency to conduct the review to ensure the listings are still accurate. The listings are intended to be based on the best available scientific data.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said last year that a sturgeon stock assessment indicated the population is still very low compared to its historical abundance. They face threats such as climate change, ship strikes and fishing.

Sturgeon suffered overfishing in the 20th century when it was harvested for eggs for caviar.

Shortnose sturgeon are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as an endangered species throughout their range. Atlantic sturgeon are listed as five distinct population segments with those that hatch out in Gulf of Maine rivers listed as threatened, and those that hatch out in other U.S. rivers listedas endangered.

Once thought to number less than 100 in the Merrimack, the river’s shortnose sturgeon population has been on the rebound, researchers have said. Atlantic sturgeon are also found in the Merrimack, up to the Essex Dam in Lawrence.

Two distinct groups of adults, numbering more than 2,000, inhabit the river. One group includes fish born in Haverhill’s spawning grounds, while the other consists of fish born in Maine rivers such as the Kennebec and Androscoggin, which migrate to the Merrimack.

Researchers say that for much of the year, sturgeon are looking for food in the lower part of the Merrimack — from Amesbury to the Joppa Flats in Newburyport — and live there from November to March.

Haverhill is the only place in the river where sturgeon lay their eggs, and that happens in the spring.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

Feds seek comments on plan for more cod, haddock catch

March 26, 2018 — U.S. fishing regulators are soliciting feedback from the public about a plan to increase catch quota for a slew of key fish stocks, some of which are jointly managed with Canada.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plans to increase quota for Georges Bank cod by 139 percent, Gulf of Maine cod by 41 percent and Gulf of Maine haddock by 190 percent. The agency also wants to increase eight other stocks and decrease nine others.

The agency says increased cod and haddock quota would provide “economic revenue and flexibility” to Northeastern fishermen. The haddock stock has been strong, but the cod stock has plummeted this decade and has been the subject of intensive rebuilding efforts by regulators.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Annual Catch Entitlements for Groundfish Sectors for Fishery Year 2018

March 23, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

NOAA Fisheries is proposing allocating 2018 quotas to groundfish sectors based on catch limits recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council.

We are also proposing to grant a new regulatory exemption that would allow Day gillnet sector vessels to fish up to 150 gillnets in the Gulf of Maine as long as at least 50 of those nets are 10-inch or larger mesh and fished east of 70 degrees West longitude. Sectors requested this exemption to allow sector vessels to better target monkfish while on sector trips.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope: “Comments on the Proposed Rule to Allocate 2018 Sector Quotas.”

Learn more about NOAA by visiting their site here.

 

NOAA Fisheries Sets Management Measure for 2018 Northern Gulf of Maine Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

March 23, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries has set management measures in the Northern Gulf of Maine for the Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery for the 2018 fishing year (beginning April 1, 2018).

This action:

  • Sets the total allowable catch (TAC) for the Northern Gulf of Maine for the scallop fishery for the 2018 fishing year and the default TAC for the 2019 fishing year; and
  • Divides the annual TAC between the limited access and limited access general category fleets.

Prior to this action, limited access scallop vessels were able to fish in the Northern Gulf of Maine while on days-at-sea. To prevent excessive fishing in the area, this action prohibits the limited access fleet from fishing in the Northern Gulf of Maine while on days-at-sea, and only allows access if the vessel is participating in the scallop research set-aside program and is conducting a compensation fishing trip.

The remainder of Framework 29, including the full specifications for scallop fishery and adjustments to the several flatfish accountability measures, are being addressed in a trailing action.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register, and the permit holder letter available on our website.

 

NOAA Update for Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery: Default Measures in Place for Start of the Fishing Year

March 16, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region:

Effective Date: April 1, 2018

Please note that we will not have Framework 29 in place by April 1, the start of the Atlantic Sea Scallop fishing year. Therefore, the default measures published in 2017 will take effect on April 1. We do expect to have Framework 29 finalized in April, which will likely adjust scallop allocations for the 2018 fishing year.

Please read the permit holder letter on our website for the Framework 29 proposed allocations so you can consider these adjustments when planning your fishing activity between April 1 and the implementation of Framework 29.

We separated the Northern Gulf of Maine Measures from Framework 29 to ensure that these measures would be in place before April 1, and are on track to do so.

We will be sending a separate bulletin describing those measures once we publish the final rule.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region by visiting their site here.

 

Climate change threatens coastal life as we know it

March 9, 2018 — The Gulf of Maine is getting warm — quick. From 2004–2013, sea temperatures there rose faster than almost any other location on Earth.

Why it matters: The Gulf is home to a number of endangered species, and the fisheries there bring in several billion dollars per year to the U.S. and Canada, but the Gulf’s future hangs in the balance. Researchers are scrambling to understand what the warming water means for the people and animals who rely on the ecosystem, particularly as the changes there provide a glimpse into the future of coastlines around the world.

Why it’s warming

The Gulf of Maine lies at the intersection of several major ocean currents, including the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, which moves dense, cold water down and toward the equator. Fresh water from melting sea ice seems to be weakening this current, which could be causing the Gulf to warm faster than other regions.

A combination of cold winters, warm summers, and dramatic tides make the Gulf one of the most productive ecosystems in the ocean. It’s a critical habitat for right whales, seabirds like puffins, humpback whales, bluefin tuna and other species.

Read the full story at Axios

 

Maine critics throw cold water on Trump administration’s offshore drilling plan

The proposal to open 90 percent of the nation’s coastline – including the North Atlantic – to oil and gas exploration draws widespread opposition at an event held by federal officials in Augusta.

March 8, 2018 — AUGUSTA, Maine — Fishermen, environmentalists and lawmakers from Maine’s coast called on the Trump administration Wednesday to exclude the North Atlantic from a plan to potentially reopen much of the nation’s coastline to oil and gas exploration.

Representatives with the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management were in Augusta for an open house-style event to field questions about President Trump’s controversial offshore energy proposal. The draft plan released in January calls for reopening 90 percent of the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards to oil and gas drilling, a seismic shift from the 6 percent now available to energy companies. The public comment period on the draft plan closes Friday.

Just two of the 47 proposed lease sales would be in the North Atlantic region stretching from Maine to New Jersey. But the mere prospect of oil drilling in the Gulf of Maine or Georges Bank – and the accompanying environmental risks – was enough to draw more than 60 people to a pre-emptive event held before the bureau’s open house.

Kristan Porter, a fisherman from Cutler who is president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, recalled how one of his predecessors told Congress in 1970 that Maine fishermen were “100 percent against” allowing oil drilling in the Gulf of Maine. Nearly 50 years later, Porter said, nothing has changed.

“Allowing the exploration of oil and gas … could devastate our fisheries, our fishermen and our communities,” Porter said at a news conference. “Maine’s fishing industries are dependent on Maine’s clean water. Even minor spills could irreparably damage the Gulf of Maine.”

Porter was joined at the event by representatives of the Natural Resources Council of Maine and other environmental groups, the aquaculture industry, tourism advocates, and Democratic, Republican and independent politicians. All four members of Maine’s congressional delegation also oppose the plan.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald