Gulf of Maine Archives - Page 81 of 99

What’s on a real roll? Demand for the Maine lobster

November 25, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — The demand for lobster is on a roll — often literally. And that is helping to keep the price that Maine lobstermen are getting for their catch near historic highs.

The annual per-pound price first rose above $4 in 2004 and stayed there through 2007, then fell sharply during the recession. In 2015, annual price paid to Maine lobstermen reached $4.09 a pound, the first time it had topped the $4 mark since 2007.

This year, dockside prices for lobster have been close to or above the $4 level throughout the summer and fall, when most lobster is caught and prices usually dip to reflect the ample supply.

The demand for lobster has been buoyed, in part, by the number of casual restaurants that now include it on their menus and by the growing popularity of lobster rolls sold from roadside food trucks, according lobster industry officials.

“No question, more people are offering lobster up and down the [restaurant] hierarchy,” Matt Jacobson, head of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, said. “More awareness and more vendors is great, and drives demand.”

Among the eateries boosting demand for lobster rolls are the Luke’s Lobster chain of restaurants, franchised food trucks, such as Cousins Maine Lobster, and even McDonald’s, which has served lobster rolls at its New England locations the past two summers.

Jim Dow of Bar Harbor, vice president of Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said that, despite the mild weather last winter and warmer-than-usual water in the Gulf of Maine this past spring, there was not a repeat of the glut of new-shell lobster that in 2012 sent prices plummeting to their lowest point in decades.

“We did not get a big burst when the shedders first started” in early summer, Dow said. “They came in, but it was short-lived.”

Dow, who fishes out of Bass Harbor on Mount Desert Island, said that while fisherman in that area have been getting around $4 to $4.50 per pound this fall, the price of bait has been much higher than last year. This year he is paying $45 to $50 per bushel of herring, compared with $25 a year ago.

“Our bait price doubled,” Dow said, adding that fuel prices have stayed relatively low.

Patrice McCarron, executive director of Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said recently that the increase in bait costs could mean that many lobsterman earn less money this year even if their gross revenues rise.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Tuna’s Declining Mercury Contamination Linked to U.S. Shift Away from Coal

November 23, 2016 — Levels of highly toxic mercury contamination in Atlantic bluefin tuna are rapidly declining, according to a new study. That trend does not affect recommended limits on consumption of canned tuna, which comes mainly from other tuna species. Nor does it reflect trends in other ocean basins. But it does represent a major break in the long-standing, scary connection between tuna and mercury, a source of public concern since 1970, when a chemistry professor in New York City found excess levels of mercury in a can of tuna and spurred a nationwide recall. Tuna consumption continues to be the source of about 40 percent of the mercury contamination in the American diet. And mercury exposure from all sources remains an important issue, because it causes cognitive impairment in an estimated 300,000 to 600,000 babies born in this country each year.

The new study, published online on November 10 by Environmental Science & Technology, links the decline directly to reduced mercury emissions in North America. Most of that reduction has occurred because of the marketplace shift by power plants and industry away from coal, the major source of mercury emissions. Pollution control requirements imposed by the federal government have also cut mercury emissions.

Progress on both counts could, however, reverse, with President-elect Donald Trump promising a comeback for the U.S. coal industry, in part by clearing away such regulations.

For the new study, a team of a half-dozen researchers analyzed tissue samples from nearly 1,300 Atlantic bluefin tuna taken by commercial fisheries, mostly in the Gulf of Maine, between 2004 and 2012. They found that levels of mercury concentration dropped by more than 2 percent per year, for a total decline of 19 percent over just nine years.

Read the full story at Scientific American

Shrimp may be plentiful in Gulf of Mexico, but not Maine

November 18, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — State and federal fisheries regulators have imposed a moratorium on shrimp fishing in the Gulf of Maine for the fourth consecutive season because of “the depleted condition of the resource.”

Meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., last Thursday, Northern Shrimp Section of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission extended the current moratorium on commercial fishing for the 2017 fishing season that would, if fishing were allowed, begin Dec. 1.

The Section also approved a 116,845 pound (53 metric ton) “research set aside” to scientists to continue to collect important biological data about the size of the shrimp population and where the shrimp are located. As a practical matter, that means 15 fishermen chosen by lottery from among those who apply will have a chance to harvest, and sell, a few shrimp. Preference will be given to individuals in the lottery using specific gear designed to limit the catch of small shrimp and who were active in the shrimp fishery June 7, 2011.

According to the scientific evidence, the news for Northern shrimp, and the fishermen who made a living chasing them in winter, is grim.

In 1969, Maine fishermen landed more than 24 million pounds of shrimp. Total landings, including those in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, totaled more than 28 million pounds.

After a steady decline, landings surged to 17.9 million pounds in Maine (21 million pounds overall) during the 1996 season that ran from December 1995 through April 1996.

During the truncated 2013 season, the last before the moratorium, Maine shrimp landings were just over 639,000 pounds.

According to the ASMFC, the latest stock status report for Gulf of Maine northern shrimp indicates that measures of both abundance and biomass volume over the past four years “are the lowest on record” for the 33 years during which the surveys have been done.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Season for Maine shrimp closed for fourth winter

November 14th, 2016 — As expected, the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission will close the Gulf of Maine to shrimping in 2017 for the fourth consecutive season.

The ASMFC’s shrimp section, the panel responsible for setting the northern shrimp regulations, voted to extend the closure throughout 2017 and to establish a 53-ton research set-aside that effectively will produce the only shrimp harvested in the next year from the Gulf of Maine.

The shrimp section decision to shutter the beleagured fishery for a fourth consecutive season because of the vastly imperiled state of the northern shrimp stock follows the earlier recommendation of its northern shrimp technical committee.

The technical committee based its recommendation on its survey of the 2016 northern shrimp stock that showed northern shrimp remain in critical condition, with historic lows in biomass, spawning and recruitment.

“Abundance and biomass indices for 2012-2016 are the lowest on record of the 33-year time series,” according to the technical committee’s summary of the stock assessment. “Current harvestable biomass is almost entirely composed of the 2013 year class. Recruits from the 2015 and 2016 year classes are not expected to reach exploitable size until 2018 and 2019, respectively.”

Tina Berger, ASMFC spokeswoman, said representatives from Maine offered a motion for a directed, albeit limited, fishery rather than an extension of the moratorium into the fourth season, but that was struck down due to the continuing depleted state of the stock.

The 53-ton research set-aside more than doubles the 2016 RSA of 22 metric tons.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times

Maine Lobstermen to Join in Shrimp Research Project

November 11th, 2016 — As the commission that regulates Atlantic fisheries is due to vote on whether to keep the shrimp fishery open for another year because of population concerns, a research project at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute is looking to get some real numbers about those populations.

The institute is sending Maine lobstermen out with acoustic equipment that will help them learn where the shrimp are congregating over the winter, and where they lay their eggs.

Adam Baukus, a research associate at GMRI, says using sound allows researchers to cover a lot more ground. “The sampling is being done in areas that haven’t been surveyed in the past, but in the future fisheries managers may use the results to figure out whether it’s time to reopen the shrimp fishery.”

It’s been closed since a population collapse during the 2013 fishing season that’s thought to be related to warming ocean temperatures.

Read the full story at Maine Public Radio

Moratorium on Northern Shrimp Commercial Fishing Maintained for 2017 Season

November 11th, 2016 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

In response to the depleted condition of the northern shrimp resource, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section extended the moratorium on commercial fishing for the 2017 fishing season. The Section also approved a 53 metric ton (mt) research set aside (RSA) to allow for the continued collection of much needed biological data.

The 2016 Stock Status Report for Gulf of Maine (GOM) Northern Shrimp indicates abundance and biomass indices for 2012–2016 are the lowest on record of the thirty-three year time series. Recruitment indices for the 2010–2015 year classes are also poor and include the three smallest year classes on record. As a result, the 2012–2016 indices of harvestable biomass are the lowest on record. Current harvestable biomass is almost entirely composed of the 2013 year class.

“By increasing the 2017 RSA, which is above last year’s 22 mt quota and that recommended by the Technical Committee for 2017 (13.6 mt), the Section sought to strike a balance between providing limited fishing opportunities to the industry while collecting valuable data to allow for the continued monitoring of the northern shrimp resource,” stated Section Chair Dennis Abbott of New Hampshire.

Recruitment of northern shrimp is related to both spawning biomass and ocean temperatures, with higher spawning biomass and colder temperatures producing stronger recruitment. Ocean temperatures in western GOM shrimp habitat have increased over the past decade and reached unprecedented highs within the past several years. This suggests an increasingly inhospitable environment for northern shrimp and the need for strong conservation efforts to help restore and maintain a fishable stock. The Northern Shrimp Technical Committee considers the stock to be in poor condition with limited prospects for the near future. The 2016 Stock Status Report is available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5823782c2016NorthernShrimpAssessment.pdf.

To maintain the time series of data collected from northern shrimp commercial fishery catches, a cooperative winter sampling program was approved with a 53 mt RSA quota. This program allows for the continued collection of biological data (e.g. size composition, egg hatch timing) from GOM northern shrimp fishery catches in the absence of a directed fishery. The RSA will include the participation of 10 trawlers (8 Maine trawlers, 1 Massachusetts trawler, and 1 New Hampshire trawler) and 5 trap fishermen, fishing for 8 weeks from mid-January to mid-March. The trawlers will have a maximum trip limit of 1,200 pounds per trip, with 1 trip per week, while the trappers will have a maximum possession limit of 500 pounds per week, with a 40 trap limit per vessel. Preference will be given to individuals in the lottery with double Nordmore grates and having history prior to the June 7, 2011 control date.

For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

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Tina Berger

Director of Communications

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 200A-N

Arlington, VA 22201

Sound technology helping scientists assess health of Maine shrimp population

November 10th, 2016 — This winter, a small fleet of Maine fishermen will head out to hunt for northern shrimp, even though the fishery itself has been closed for three years.

They won’t be landing the New England delicacy so it can be eaten. The fishermen will use acoustic transducers, and a few nets and traps, to help the Gulf of Maine Research Institute learn where these small pink crustaceans congregate in our near-shore waters over the winter, where they lay their eggs. Using sound waves to survey a species as small as shrimp is a new challenge for scientists.

“We have found low-frequency sound waves are good at detecting big fish, like cod, and high frequencies are good at detecting small organisms like shrimp,” said research associate Adam Baukus of GMRI. “The technology allows us to cover a lot more of the ocean than we can with trawls or traps alone. With sound, we can do 40 miles at a time. … Traditional (trawl) surveys are lucky to cover a quarter mile.”

To collect the data, GMRI has outfitted 10 lobster boats with echosounders, high-tech fish finders, to conduct monthly surveys of near-shore waters from Kittery to Cutler in January, February and March, which is the height of what used to be a $70 million fishing season. The lobstermen, who receive small stipends to cover fuel costs, will survey the same 40-mile-long stretch of water each time.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission likely to keep Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery closed

November 8, 2016 — Maine shrimpers are all but resigned to another year of being unable to pursue their quarry in the Gulf of Maine, with a regulatory board set to decide this week whether to allow a season this winter.

Maine shrimp are fished in the Gulf of Maine and were a popular winter seafood for years, but regulators shut the fishery down after a collapse during the 2013 fishing season, and it has remained closed since. The shrimp have struggled to rebuild populations as waters have warmed.

A board of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is set to decide Thursday whether fishing will be allowed this year. A committee of scientists has advised the board it’s not a good idea, with temperatures off New England inhospitable to the shrimp.

Spencer Fuller, a shrimp and lobster buyer with Cozy Harbor Seafood in Portland, said his company was once the largest processor of Maine shrimp in the country, and it has suffered. He said that he is prepared for another year of closure, but that it will send residual troubles through Maine’s seafood industry.

“All you have to do is look back to the history of shrimp here in the state of Maine and the contributions it has made over the last 60 years,” Fuller said. “It’s a big deal not only for us, but for the wharfs we deal with, markets we deal with.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Cold-water shrimp industry poised for shutdown to continue

November 7, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Maine shrimpers are all but resigned to another year of being unable to pursue their quarry in the Gulf of Maine, with a regulatory board set to decide this week whether to allow a season this winter.

Spencer Fuller, a shrimp and lobster buyer with Cozy Harbor Seafood in Portland, said his company was once the largest processor of Maine shrimp in the country and has suffered. He said that he is prepared for another year of closure, but that it will send residual troubles through Maine’s seafood industry.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Seattle Times

Gulf of Maine shrimp season likely to be canceled

October 28th, 2016 — The Gulf of Maine has been closed to shrimping for the past three seasons and it now appears regulators will continue the shutdown throughout the upcoming 2017 season.

When the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission’s shrimp section convenes Nov. 10 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, members will be greeted with a recommendation from its northern shrimp technical committee that the closure extend through a fourth consecutive season.

“Given the continued poor condition of the resource and poor prospects for the near future, the NSTC recommends that the Northern Shrimp Section extend the moratorium through 2017,” the technical committee wrote in the summary of its 2016 Gulf of Maine northern shrimp stock assessment.

According to the assessment, not much has changed since the ASMFC closed the shrimp fishery following the 2013 season in which harvesters landed only 55 percent (346 metric tons) of the total allowable catch of 625 metric tons set by ASMFC for that season.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times