Saving Seafood

MAINE: Pogy fishery reopens with strict new rules

August 16, 2016 — Maine made bait fishermen and lobstermen happy Monday when it reopened its pogy fishery after concluding there is still enough menhaden left in the Gulf of Maine to keep the population healthy.

Those who hunt for nearshore schools of the flat, oily-fleshed silver fish – the second most popular lobster bait in Maine after herring – must follow strict new rules to prevent unusual damage or imminent depletion of the Atlantic menhaden. If they limit their fishing days to three and their catch to no more than 120,000 pounds a week, Maine fishermen can use up the remaining 2.3 million-pound quota allotted to Maine, Rhode Island and New York during a so-called “episodic” fishing event, when pogies are deemed unusually plentiful in New England waters.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources closed the traditionally quiet fishery on Aug. 5 after initial landing reports indicated the state had used up its usual pogy quota of 166,000 pounds a year and was racing through an extra 3.7 million “episodic event” pounds given to qualifying New England states much faster than expected. With the herring shortage already creating a tight bait market, DMR didn’t want to risk running out of pogies just as the lobster season peaks, when the state’s biggest commercial fishery, with a value of nearly $500 million in landings, need them most. Any overage could also trigger severe federal penalties.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Study finds ship noise disrupting humpback whale feeding

August 12, 2016 — One of the biggest threats to humpback whales spending their summers in New England is being hit by a passing ship.

But a collision isn’t all they have to fear. A study published Wednesday found that low-frequency noise from passing freighters and cargo ships near the coast could be disrupting their ability to feed.

A team of researchers examining the foraging behavior of 10 whales in the Gulf of Maine found that some of these 40-ton cetaceans descended more slowly in the presence of ships, giving them less time to find the food they’d normally consume. The whales also conducted fewer side-roll maneuvers — a technique they use to feed on a type of fish known as a sand lance that’s found just above the sea floor.

“Overall, I was kind of surprised that we were able to detect any response statistically just because these humpback whales are very adaptable,” said Hannah Blair, a graduate student at Stony Brook University in New York who led the analysis on the data.

Whales, dolphins and other marine life depend heavily on sound to communicate with one another and to search for food. A growing body of evidence in recent decades suggests noise caused by humans, including ship noise, is wreaking havoc on marine life. It masks sounds produced by prey and alters the behavior of prey.

Findings like these prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in July to announce a project to address noise that impacts aquatic species and their habitat over the next 10 years. The goals include educating the public about the problem and “minimizing the acute, chronic and cumulative effects of noise on marine species and their habitat.”

The study offers the first evidence that noise could be harming the feeding behavior of humpback whales.

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

NOAA Fisheries Considers Moving Trawl Surveys to Fishing Vessels

August 2, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries is initiating a planning process to support its intention to transition part or all of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s spring and fall bottom trawl surveys from the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow to fishing industry vessels provided that survey data collection quality and time series integrity can be maintained.

“The bottom trawl survey is perhaps the most valuable ecological data set that we maintain at the Center,” said Bill Karp, the center’s director. “Those data are critical for many of the fishery stock assessments in the region and are mined by a wide variety of researchers for other purposes. By sharing the responsibility for gathering these data with the fishing industry, I think there will also come greater shared confidence in the results obtained using them.”

A typical survey covers about 400 stations off the Northeastern U.S. in the Gulf of Maine, On Georges Bank and south to Cape Hatteras. The scientific trawl is towed to collect marine species, while a variety of environmental and oceanographic data are also being collected. Biological samples are taken from trawled animals for a variety of studies and to calculate an index of catch per tow by species. The resulting data are used to study everything from food habits to habitat use and the effects of climate change.

Transitioning such a large-scale data gathering enterprise to commercial vessels is a complex challenge, but Karp notes it has been done in the past, both when it needed to move from one research vessel to another and elsewhere in the world where commercial fishing vessels are used for this purpose. “It’s important to note, “said Karp, “that this will happen providing we can also maintain survey data collection and time series integrity.”

The target timeframe for the transition is five years. A science center working group is being established to develop options and criteria for making the shift. They will work closely with industry during this process through the Northeast Trawl Survey Advisory Panel, convened jointly by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the New England Fishery Management Council, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The NEFSC bottom trawl survey is the longest-running of its kind in the world. The first trip was in May 1963, and since then seasonal surveys have been conducted annually. The surveys are conducted from government research vessels operated by NOAA and her predecessor agencies.

Read the full release from NOAA

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

Cod and climate: North Atlantic Oscillation factor in decline

July 28, 2016 — In recent decades, the plight of Atlantic cod off the coast of New England has been front-page news. Since the 1980s in particular, the once-seemingly inexhaustible stocks of Gadus morhua — one of the most important fisheries in North America — have declined dramatically.

In 2008, a formal assessment forecasted that stocks would rebound, but by 2012, they were once again on the verge of collapse. Two years later, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration instituted an unprecedented six-month closure of the entire Gulf of Maine cod fishery to allow stocks to recover.

While overfishing is one known culprit, a new study co-authored by researchers at UC Santa Barbara and Columbia University finds that the climatological phenomenon known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is also a factor. And it contributes in a predictable way that may enable fishery managers to protect cod stocks from future collapse. The group’s findings appear in the journal PLOS ONE.

“In the 1980s, the North Atlantic was stuck in a positive phase of NAO,” said lead author Kyle Meng, an economist at UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. “We show not only that positive NAO conditions diminish a few consecutive cohorts of cod larvae but also that this effect follows a cohort as it matures.”

Read the full story at Science Daily

Maine fishermen testing a ‘game-changer’ for protected cod

July 25, 2016 — GEORGETOWN, Maine — Like many Maine fishermen, Bryan Kelley faces a dilemma as he looks to diversify beyond the lobster that account for the bulk of his catch.

To target pollock, which are relatively common in the Gulf of Maine, he has to fish in the same areas frequented by cod, a type of groundfish protected through strict federal catch limits.

“We literally have to stay away from the codfish,” Kelley said while standing on his 40-foot boat moored in the Five Islands harbor of Georgetown. “I could fill this with codfish if I wanted to, but that wouldn’t help anybody in this sector and that is not why we are out here.”

To help him catch the groundfish he wants and avoid the species he doesn’t, Kelley has begun experimenting with a contraption akin to a conventional fishing reel on steroids and with an electronic brain. The “automatic jigging machines” loaned to Kelley and a handful of other fishermen by The Nature Conservancy allow them to more accurately target the water column where pollock hang out and stay off the bottom where cod lurk. The machines’ simple hooks and lures also ostensibly reduce inadvertent “by-catch” of cod while avoiding other downsides of trawlnets and gill nets more commonly used by fishermen.

“That’s part of the draw of it: It’s the quickest and easiest I have ever rigged anything up in my life,” Kelley said.

Geoff Smith, marine program director at the Maine chapter of the The Nature Conservancy, said preliminary reviews of the machines have been largely positive.

“This project is really about helping fishermen target those healthy stocks (of fish) while avoiding the codfish to allow them to rebuild,” said Smith, whose organization owns several groundfish permits in the Gulf of Maine. “We really feel that these jigging machines, if fished properly, can be selective and have minimal impact on the seafloor. … And if they work for fishermen, we think they could be a real game-changer.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Modifies Area 1A’s Trimester 2 Landing Days

July 21, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commision:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section (Section) members from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts met via conference call on Wednesday July 20, 2016 to discuss Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) days out measures for Trimester 2 (June 1 to September 30). The call was initiated to discuss increased effort in the fishery and equitable fishing opportunities. As of July 18, 2016, 41.3% of the Area 1A Trimester 2 quota (19,480 mt) had been harvested.

Section members, with input from industry, modified the days out effort control measures for Area 1A Trimester 2 as follows:

July 24 through September 30: Vessels may land herring two (2) consecutive days a week until further notice. All other days are designated as days out of the fishery (e.g., vessels may not land herring).

· Vessels in the State of New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may land herring starting at 12:01 a.m. on Mondays up to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesdays.

· Vessels in the State of Maine may land herring starting at 6:00 p.m. on Sundays up to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Two landing days will become effective beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 24 and will remain in place until changed by additional notice.

Counting cod: New trawl survey aims to determine status of iconic fish

July 18, 2016 — SCITUATE, Mass. — The coastline had melted into a gray slurry, its shapes barely visible through intermittent rain and mist, when the Miss Emily made her first of two scheduled tows last week about seven miles off this South Shore port.

Despite the weather, the waters remained sedate as the 55-foot gillnetter, skippered by owner Capt. Kevin Norton, steamed at about three knots for 30 minutes, its net set at 36 fathoms, or about 216 feet.

Its target? What else? The iconic, oft-debated and oft-elusive cod.

“It will be interesting to see what we come up with today,” Norton said as he feathered the Miss Emily through the harbor and out into open waters. “Usually, at this time of year, there’s nothing really here because the water has begun to warm and the fish already have moved further out.”

On this day, as he has all summer, Norton was not fishing so much for himself as he was for the people of the commonwealth, by way of the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries.

While most of what came on deck from his nets would be his to sell, the primary mission of the trip was to assist the state agency with its ongoing industry-based trawl survey, which aims to help determine the true status of the Gulf of Maine cod stock.

“This whole survey is designed with cod in mind,” said Micah Dean, a research scientist at DMF. “There’s never been a fishing-industry trawl survey in June or July, so this should give us a new perspective.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: State fisheries survey underway in Gulf of Maine

July 18, 2016 — SCITUATE, Mass. — Over the past seven years, Kevin Norton watched the number of commercial groundfish vessels working out of his home port drop precipitously from 17 in 2009, to just four today.

“If not for the (federal fisheries) disaster money, there’d be no one left,” Norton said about fishermen who catch New England’s most familiar species like cod, haddock and flounder.

On July 11, Norton stood at the wooden wheel of Miss Emily, his 55-foot dragger. He was the only groundfisherman leaving from Scituate Harbor that day. He said he’d be tied up at the dock like the other three if he hadn’t been selected by the state to help Division of Marine Fisheries scientists conduct eight months of scientific research.

“All of our lives depend on this (the scientific data used to set fishing quotas),” he said. “That’s why this survey is so important.”

Massachusetts received more than $21 million in federal fisheries disaster aid, most of which was distributed to fishermen. But the state kept some for research projects, including $400,000 for an eight month Industry-Based Survey of random tows throughout the Gulf of Maine, from Cape Cod Bay up to Portland, Maine, focusing on cod, but counting and cataloging the fish and other species they catch.

“Science is the key to getting it right,” said Matthew Beaton, the state secretary of Energy and the Environment. Beaton and state Department of Fish and Game Commissioner George Peterson were on board the Miss Emily July 11 and helped sort the catch.

The state survey is part of Gov. Charlie Baker’s promise to help fishermen answer some of the key questions plaguing fishery management, Beaton said. Fishermen contend they are seeing a lot of cod in the Gulf of Maine, but their observations don’t match NOAA stock assessments that show historically low populations. The disconnect, fishermen say, results from the federal government using a vessel and net that have had trouble catching cod and performing surveys in the wrong places at the wrong time of year.

While it catches and documents all species it encounters, the state survey was designed to evaluate the status of Gulf of Maine cod, said principal investigator and DMF fisheries biologist William Hoffman. Its timing — April to July and October to January — mirrors peak spawning times for this cod stock. Similar surveys were done from 2003 to 2007 and, with the summer work now complete, Hoffman said they have found fewer cod in the places they previously sampled and didn’t find any major aggregations in deep water areas.

“We really need to do this for at least three years before we can draw any solid conclusions,” Hoffman cautioned. “But right now, surveying at the same time, in the same area, (as the previous survey) we’re seeing less fish.”

The trip on July 11 netted just one cod.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Days Out Conference Call Scheduled for Wednesday, July 20 at 3:00 PM

July 18, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts will meet via conference call on Wednesday July 20, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) days out measures for Trimester 2 (June 1 to September 30). The states are concerned the current rate of landings will result in the trimester quota being reached before September 30th. Fishermen and other interested parties are welcome to listen in and participate at the Chair’s discretion.

Current days out measure:

July 15 – September 30: Vessels may land herring 5 consecutive days a week until further notice. All other days are designated as days out of the fishery.

Join the conference call by dialing 1.888.394.8197 and entering the passcode 499811 when prompted.

Please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or aharp@asmfc.org for more information