Saving Seafood

Fishermen, scientists to evaluate NOAA stock assessments

June 13, 2016 — The most incendiary divide between groundfishermen and fishing regulators in the past two years has been the discrepancy between what NOAA Fisheries says its stock assessments show and what fishermen are seeing on the water.

The groundfish assessments by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — particularly for the iconic Gulf of Maine cod stock and certain flounders — have been uniformly dire, leading to the virtual shuttering of cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine and scant quotas for other species.

Fishermen — including commercial groundfishermen, charter captains and even lobstermen — paint a very different portrait of what they are seeing on a daily basis: cod, cod everywhere, and not a one they can catch.

On June 20, the city’s Economic Development and Industrial Corporation and fishing stakeholders will host a presentation by a team of University of Massachusetts scientists on their current findings and methodology for fish population counting in the Gulf of Maine.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Chinese travel pros test Gloucester’s waters — and lobster

June 9, 2016 — The world, it seems, keeps coming to Gloucester. And eating pretty well when it’s here.

The last two years have seen the city’s international profile grow significantly through its participation in events such as the Seafood Expo North America in Boston and subsequent city-organized visits to America’s oldest seaport by seafood buyers from around the world.

In April, the city hosted a large delegation of Chinese seafood buyers and executives to lay the groundwork for potentially generating more seafood trade — particularly lobsters — between Gloucester and the most populous country on the planet.

Each of the events has usually involved a luncheon showcasing the bounty of seafood that local fishermen pull from the waters around Cape Ann and the Gulf of Maine.

On Wednesday, the city shifted gears a bit by welcoming a group of 10 travel and tour professionals from Sichuan Province in southwest China. The group is being hosted by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism to explore bringing more Chinese tourists to Massachusetts — and, by extension, Gloucester.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Maine must address the threat of ocean acidification

June 6, 2016 — Mainers have strong cultural, historic and economic ties to the ocean. The health of the ocean is critical to our way of life. Ocean acidification is a growing problem that could damage the health of the ocean and have drastic consequences for Maine’s coastal economy.

Ocean acidification results when there is increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere goes up, a large proportion of it – up to 40 percent – gets dissolved in rainwater. From here it ends up in lakes, ponds, rivers and ultimately the ocean.

In addition to the increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, nutrients in the runoff from the land, like fertilizer, also increase the amount of carbon dioxide entering the ocean. The increased carbon dioxide reacts with the water to form carbonic acid, making it more acidic.

The increased acidity of sea water impacts marine life. One of the most important effects is how the acid changes the way organisms use calcium. Calcium is critical to the entire food chain in the Gulf of Maine. The planktons, which make up the base of the food chain, decrease in number as the acidity of the ocean rises, and this in turn has an impact on finned fish.

For shellfish, the impact is even more dramatic. The acid interferes with the way shellfish such as clams, mussels, scallops and even the iconic Maine lobster build their shells. It also can corrode shells. If we don’t find and adopt solutions, ocean acidification could cause major problems for most, if not all, of Maine’s commercial fisheries.

Read the full story at the Portsmouth Herald

ASMFC April/May 2016 Issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available

June 2, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Inside This Issue

ASMFC Presents Annual Awards of Excellence page 1

Upcoming Meetings page 2

From the Executive Director’s Desk page 3

Gulf of Maine Lobster Warrants Close Monitoring 

Species Profile page 4

Coastal Sharks

Proposed Management Actions page 6

Atlantic Menhaden

Coastal Sharks

Fishery Management Actions page 7

Jonah Crab

Atlantic Menhaden

ASMFC Urges Transparency and Public Input in Proposed New England Offshore and Canyons Seamounts Monument Decision-making page 9

In Memoriam page 9

Science Highlight page 10

River Herring Data Standardization Workshop

ACCSP Announces 2016 Funding Awards page 11

ASMFC Comings & Goings page 15

New Species Coordinator Assignments page 16

On the Legislative Front page 16

Read the full newsletter at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

Read past issues of Fisheries Focus

BILL GERENCER: Fishermen needlessly on the hook for uncertainties of stock estimates

June 2, 2016 — BOWDOIN, Maine — Proper stock assessments are the key to sound fisheries management here in New England. The current and now primarily survey-based assessments are heavy with uncertainty and always assumed to be overstated. Given the changes in the available stock assessment data created by 20 years of regulations, the uncertainty only seems to be increasing.

The fact that the R/V Bigelow, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s primary fishery research vessel, delayed the survey this year is a significant threat to fishermen: We have been told that there are very few codfish in the Gulf of Maine, but this spring, fishermen have found it impossible to set a net in the water without catching codfish. This does not correlate well with the assessment advice.

Many boats have simply tied up to avoid codfish. The late start taken by the survey cruise has most likely missed significant codfish “data” as the research vessel remained at the dock.

Even with an on-time start, the survey method employed by the R/V Bigelow covers only a tiny sliver of the available fishing bottom and puts the survey gear on the bottom for a very short time during trips made in the spring and fall. The R/V Bigelow has also become famous in the fishing community for its demonstrated inability to catch cod and flatfish alongside commercial vessels catching those species and in areas fishing boats declared off limits to themselves because of the presence of codfish.

The low annual catch limit for codfish is tied directly to the low numbers provided by the most recent stock assessments. The low limit has resulted in small codfish allocations to each commercial fishing boat. Once a boat harvests its cod allocation, it will be prohibited from fishing for the duration of the fishing year even if it has significant allocation of other species.

Read the full opinion piece at the Portland Press Herald

FISHY BUSINESS: Tracking whales with mobile app

May 20, 2016 — SCITUATE, Mass. — The weather is getting better and many people are thinking about getting out on the water. A few sail boats can be seen offshore in the brisk springtime wind and more than a few recreational fishing boats are at mooring in Scituate Harbor.

This is also the traditional time for the North Atlantic right whales to leave their wintertime home in Cape Cod Bay and head for the Great South Channel southeast of Nantucket. This year the right whales are acting differently and scatting more than their normal migration.

Dr. David (Dave) Wiley, research coordinator at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, suggests that the change in behavior is probably due to warmer than normal waters in the Gulf of Maine, a change that is having effects on many species.

We are lucky to have a variety of whales that make their home in the Gulf of Maine or are seasonal visitors. Watching a whale breach or play with other whales is a truly amazing experience that many of us can enjoy simply by boarding a private vessel in Scituate Harbor. Along with the joy and excitement of observing the whales comes responsibility.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

‘Saving New England Fisheries’ to air on New Hampshire Public Television

May 16, 2016 — PORTSMOUTH, NH — The documentary “Saving New England Fisheries” was premiered during a screening on Friday night at the Sheraton in Portsmouth.

The hourlong special, created for New Hampshire Public Television, is hosted by Willem Lange. It traces the history of groundfishing in the Gulf of Maine, and balances the work scientists are doing to conserve natural resources against the need for commercial fishermen to make a living from the ocean.

One of the fishermen featured in the film is David Goethel, owner of the 44-foot fishing trawler Ellen Diane out of Hampton. Goethel is suing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration over its at-sea monitoring program in federal court. He said that he has had to pay for in-person monitors since March, at the cost of approximately $700 per trip.

The government used to cover that cost.

Read the full story at the Manchester Union Leader

At ‘Lobster Hack,’ crowd takes in-depth look at building a better lobster trap

May 16, 2016 — Drop a lobster pot in front of a bunch of problem solvers, mix in a handful of fishermen, add some craft beer and what do you get?

The organizers of Drink Tank, a recreational think tank that calls itself a party with a purpose, were hoping for enough collaboration and creativity to make a better lobster trap.

“Everyone associates lobster with Maine, but very few people know how the whole process works,” said Drink Tank co-founder Kate Garmey. “Everybody knows the lobster trap, or has at least seen a buoy, so it’s something we’re all familiar with, but the mechanics of it are a little more mysterious. … So it is an opportunity to learn something. Once you learn all the pain points and all the issues that lobstermen have, it’s really interesting to think about, ‘How could we make that better?’”

Zach Whitener, who grew up lobstering and now works at Gulf of Maine Research Institute, told the crowd of about 50 people who attended the “Lobster Hack” at the Open Bench Project at Thompson’s Point on Wednesday that the design of lobster traps hasn’t changed much over the last 120 years; only the materials to build them have. Steel has replaced wood. Biodegradable rings help lobsters escape lost traps. The vertical lines that connect traps to buoys now must break if a large sea mammal, like a right whale, becomes entangled.

China killed thousands of Maine jobs. Now it’s eating up the state’s lobsters.

May 16, 2016 — LITTLE CRANBERRY ISLAND, Maine — The long journey from this remote island of free-spirited fishermen to the most populous country in the world began, as it does most mornings, at just about sunrise. Bruce Fernald, a sixth-generation fisherman, loaded his 38-foot fiberglass boat with half a ton of bait and set out in search of Maine’s famed crustacean: the lobster.

One by one, Fernald checked the 800 traps he had placed along 30 square miles at the bottom of the Gulf of Maine. He quickly hauled each wire cage onto his boat, reached a gloved hand inside and plucked out the lobster lurking within. The young ones, the breeders and the crusty old ones were thrown back into the water. The rest were dropped into a saltwater tank to keep them alive and energetic on their 7,000-mile trip to China.

“Just do everything you can to not stress them out,” Fernald, 64, said of his cargo. “The less stressed they are, the more healthy they’ll be, just like people.”

Little Cranberry, an island of 70 inhabitants, and China, a nation of 1.4 billion people, increasingly find themselves connected by the shifting currents of the world economy. The rise of China’s middle class has coincided with a boom in Maine’s lobster population, resulting in a voracious new market for the crustaceans’ succulent, sweet meat. Exports of lobsters to China, nonexistent a decade ago, totaled $20 million last year. The bright red color of a lobster’s cooked shell is considered auspicious, making it a staple during Chinese festivals and at weddings.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Key Scallop Fishing Area in Maine to Be Closed for 9 Months

May 13, 2016 — Federal regulators are shutting down scallop fishing in the northern Gulf of Maine, which is one of the most important harvesting areas for the shellfish.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday that fishermen have reached their quota for the area and it will be closed starting Friday. The closure of the area to federally permitted scallop boats will last until next Feb. 28.

The closure is the first of its kind since the current quota system was implemented in 2008, New England Fishery Management Council analyst Deirdre Boelke said. She said it’s unlikely to have a dramatic impact on the availability or price of scallops nationally.

Read the full story at ABC News