Saving Seafood

April 2017 Council Meeting in Avalon, NJ

March 21, 2017 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Meeting Materials: Briefing documents will be posted at http://ww.mafmc.org/briefing/april-2017 as they become available.

Public Comments: Written comments must be received by Wednesday, March 29, 2017 to be included in the Council meeting briefing book. Comments received after this deadline but before close of business on Thursday, April 6, 2017 will be posted as “supplemental materials” on the Council meeting web page. After that date, all comments must be submitted using an online comment form. Comments submitted via the online form will be automatically posted to the website and available for Council consideration. A link to this form will be available at http://www.mafmc.org/public-comment.

Webinar: For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/april2017.

Tuesday, April 11th

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. River Herring & Shad Committee

  • Review draft metrics for river herring and shad conservation

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Council Convenes

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. State of the Ecosystem and EAFM

  • Report on the state of the Mid-Atlantic portion of the Northeast Large Marine Ecosystem, Dr. Sarah Gaichas – Ecosystem Dynamic and Assessment Branch, NEFSC
  • Continue discussion and development of EAFM Risk Matrix
  • Discuss next steps in EAFM development/implementation

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Law Enforcement Reports

3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Chub Mackerel Amendment

  • Review amendment development and scoping plans

Wednesday, April 12th

9:00 a.m. Council Convenes

9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Ricks E Savage Award

9:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Golden Tilefish Specifications

  • Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations regarding 2018 – 2020 specifications
  • Adopt recommendations for 2018 – 2020

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Blueline Tilefish Specifications

  • Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations regarding 2018 – 2019 specifications
  • Adopt recommendations for 2018 – 2019

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. A Review of Potential Approaches for Managing Marine Fisheries in a Changing Climate – Presentation, NMFS SF representative

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Hudson Canyon Sanctuary Proposal

  • Presentation, discussion and comment

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Update on Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology, Jon Hare – NEFSC

  • Challenges faced in 2016-2017 and plans for 2017-2018

3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Industry Funded Monitoring (IFM) Amendment

  • Consider previous action on IFM Amendment
  • Possible adoption of IFM Amendment

Thursday, April 13th

9:00 a.m. Council Convenes

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Business Session

  • Committee Reports
    • River Herring & Shad
    • Ecosystem & Ocean Planning
    • Highly Migratory Species/Law Enforcement
      • Adopt recommendations for HMS permit/reporting issues
  • Executive Director’s Report, Chris Moore
  • Science Report, Rich Seagraves
  • Organization Reports
    • NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Office
    • NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
    • NOAA Office of General Counsel
    • Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
  • Liaison Reports
    • New England Council
    • South Atlantic Council
    • Regional Planning Body
  • Continuing and New Business

The Stubborn Staying Power of the Alewife Herring

March 16, 2017 — Among the rich natural resources that attracted humans to New York’s harbor was a small migratory fish the colonists called the alewife or sawbelly. As these river herring crowded into spawning creeks every spring, they were noted by the earliest French Jesuits, Dutch trappers and English settlers, and were caught and consumed with abandon by Native Americans and colonists alike.

Alewives are bony, tasty, nutritious and relatively easy to preserve; and, in colonial times, they were abundant. The fish could be eaten by humans or fed to pigs or other livestock. It is highly likely that the famous agricultural mentoring between Squanto, a Patuxet native to what is now Massachusetts, and the pilgrims memorializes yet another less obvious use of herring: as fertilizer for the colonists’ inaugural crops.

Middens and hearths excavated throughout the Northeast are filled with the bones and scales of herring dinners past. But as human settlements grew, both the value and limits of this communal resource became obvious. Alewives were protected by the first known fishery regulations in North America, which date to 1623 in Plymouth Colony. Over time, net sizes, harvest schedules and set locations, as well as catch limits, were all strictly regulated in order to protect these valuable fish.

Read the full story at the New York Times

NEFMC: Weather Update for Coral Workshops, Herring MSE Peer Review

March 13, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

As a result of the winter storm that’s forecasted for our region on Tuesday, the New England Fishery Management Council is: (1) modifying the schedule for its two Coral Workshops; and (2) reminding members of the public who are interested in the Atlantic Herring MSE Peer Review that a webinar option is available.  Here are the details.

CORAL WORKSHOP #1, NEW BEDFORD, MA:  This workshop will begin as planned at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 13 and extend into the early evening to accommodate as much of the original two-day agenda as possible.  The second day of the workshop — Tuesday, March 14 — has been cancelled to avoid unnecessary travel.  The workshop will be held at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 185 MacArthur Drive, New Bedford, MA 02740.

CORAL WORKSHOP #2, PORTSMOUTH, NH:  This workshop will take place on Wednesday, March 15 as originally scheduled, but the start-time has been advanced by two hours — from 9:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. — to allow additional travel time.  The workshop will be held at the Sheraton Harborside, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801.

CORAL INFORMATION:  Visit the Council’s Coral Workshops webpage to access all meeting materials, including the agendas for both workshops, maps, and presentations.

QUESTIONS:  Email Michelle Bachman at mbachman@nefmc.org.

 

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ATLANTIC HERRING MSE PEER REVIEW:  The March 13-15 MSE peer review will proceed as planned on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at the Embassy Suites near Boston Logan Airport.  Technical experts involved in the peer review will be traveling to and from the meeting outside of the forecasted storm window. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. each day.

ALTERNATIVES TO TRAVELING:  Members of the public who are concerned about traveling may listen to the discussion via webinar or telephone.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/473795069

There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (312) 757-3121.

The access code is 473-795-068.

Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.  Also, please be sure to mute your telephone or computer microphone upon joining the meeting so there will be no interference.

MATERIALS:  Meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at MSE documents.

QUESTIONS:  Email Deirdre Boelke at dboelke@nefmc.org.

Drop in herring a mystery in Maine as bait price booms

March 13, 2017 — ROCKLAND, Maine — Maine’s booming lobster industry has a big problem involving a little fish.

The state’s iconic lobster fishery is healthy, having set records for volume and value in 2016. But the fishery for herring, a small schooling fish that lobsters love to eat, is another story.

Herring is suddenly the second-most valuable fishery in the state, and Maine’s most valuable species of fish, bringing in $19 million at the docks in 2016. It’s also the most popular bait used in lobster traps, and the climb in value corresponds with demand from the hungry lobster fishery and a drop in catch of herring off of New England.

Scientists and fishermen are trying to figure out why Maine’s Atlantic herring catch — the largest in the nation — has fallen from 103.5 million pounds in 2014 to 77.2 million last year. The per-pound price of the fish at the dock has gone up 56 percent since 2014, and that price is eventually borne by people who buy lobsters.

“The whole dynamic of the fishery has changed,” said Jeff Kaelin, who works in government relations for Lund’s Fisheries, which lands herring in Maine.

Kaelin, and others who work in and study the fishery, thinks climate and the way the government manages herring may have played a role in the decline of catch. Atlantic herring are managed via a quota system, and regulators have slashed the quota by more than 40 percent since the early 2000s.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Fishing fatality prompts call for safer vessels

March 13, 2017 — The brother of the 51-year-old fisherman from Alert Bay who died when the Miss Cory capsized is calling for safety improvements to the industry.

Mel Rocchio was in the engine room when the vessel took less than two minutes to capsize Monday afternoon after listing in calm waters near Comox, off Cape Lazo. It was the first day of the commercial seine roe-herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia.

Four other crew members survived.

Rocchio’s brother, Jim, also a veteran of the commercial fishing industry, said a 19.5-metre-long boat doesn’t sink that fast unless there are “catastrophic failures.”

He said he wants to see a full investigation into his brother’s death.

“If anything, we need to learn from this,” he said. “I really feel in my heart that no one else should have to go through this. Identify the problem and correct it so other people don’t lose a brother, or uncle or grandfather.”

Glenn Budden, a marine investigator with the Transportation Safety Board, said witnesses reported the boat was alongside another boat and hauling up the catch when the accident happened.

Read the full story at the Times Colonist

Family identifies missing fisherman as Mel Rocchio of Alert Bay

March 10, 2017 — Mel Rocchio of Alert Bay has been identified by family as the fisherman who is missing and presumed drowned after a fishing boat capsized Monday off Comox.

WorkSafe B.C., Transport Canada and the RCMP are investigating what caused the Miss Cory, a 19.5-metre wooden vessel, to capsize on opening day of the commercial seine roe-herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia.

The four others on the boat were rescued by vessels fishing in the waters off Cape Lazo.

Rocchio had been fishing out of the Campbell River Fisherman’s Wharf for about 15 years, according to Phyllis Titus, manager of the Campbell River Harbour Authority.

Titus, who met Rocchio about seven years ago, said he was the type of person who became instant friends with anyone who crossed his path.

“He always made you laugh while being as quiet as a mouse or as loud as an ox,” Titus said. He was the type of friend “who’s willing to help anyone, any time.”

Rocchio was married, and while the couple did not have children, he treated his nieces and nephews like his own children.

Read the full story at the Times Colonist

Atlantic Herring MSE Peer Review, March 13-15, 2017, Live Streaming

March 8, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council: 

The New England Fishery Management Council is conducting a peer review of the Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) that is being used to help identify the range of possible Atlantic herring acceptable biological catch control rules. The peer review will be conducted Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, March 13-15, 2017. The public is invited to listen-in via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION:  Embassy Suites, Boston Logan Airport, 207 Porter Street.  Hotel information is available at Embassy Suites.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m. each day.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting will be available at:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/473795069  

There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (312) 757-3121.  

The access code is 473-795-068.  

Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.  Also, please be sure to mute your telephone or computer microphone upon joining the meeting so there will be no interference.

AGENDA:  A panel of experts has been invited to evaluate the methods, data, and results of the MSE and determine whether the MSE is sufficient for the Council to use in identifying and analyzing a range of ABC control rule alternatives for Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. As part of this process, Atlantic herring, predator, and economic models were developed to evaluate control rules and performance metrics. 

MATERIALS:  Meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at MSE documents.

QUESTIONS:  Call Deirdre Boelke at (978) 465-0492 ext. 105 or email her at dboelke@nefmc.org. 

The Status of Maine Fisheries

February 22, 2017 — Maine’s Department of Marine Resources Commissioner will discuss the health of Maine’s fisheries – from scallops to herring, shrimp to lobster – and measures to protect them.

Guest: Patrick Keliher is a Gardiner native. He has spent much of his life in the woods and on the waters of Maine. His career has involved work as a registered Maine hunting guide and charter boat captain. He also served as Executive Director of the Coastal Conservation Association of Maine, the Executive Director of the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission, and Acting Commissioner of the department before being appointed by Governor LePage to serve as Maine’s Department of Marine Resources Commissioner in 2012.

Listen to the interview and read the full story at Maine Public

Plan Aimed at Preventing Lobster Bait Shortage Up For Debate

February 21, 2017 — Fishing regulators say public hearings will take place on a plan to make the Atlantic herring fishery run more smoothly.

Herring are a key fish on the East Coast because they are important bait for lucrative species, especially lobster. Last year’s lobster season was hindered for several weeks by a herring shortage.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is working on a plan to more evenly distribute the herring quota during the fishing year. Public hearings are planned in several states that are home to herring fisheries.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at CapeCod.com

Fishermen forced to share pounds in herring fishery

February 1, 2017 — New restrictions are being put into place for the upcoming spawn-on-kelp herring fishery in Southeast Alaska to address a declining population. For the first time, fishermen are required to share spawning structures with several others. KFSK’s Angela Denning reports:

The spawn-on-kelp fishery allows fishermen to catch herring near Craig and Klawock and put them into floating net pens called pounds. Blades of kelp are also put in there for the herring to spawn on. The eggs are then sold to Asian markets.

Scott Walker is the Area Management Biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Ketchikan. He’s been helping manage the spawn-on-kelp fishery since it began in 1992.

“We have been seeing throughout Southeast Alaska right now a downturn of herring stocks,” Walker said.

Read the full story at KFSK Community Radio