Saving Seafood

NOAA Supports American Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Fleet Led by Fishermen

October 14, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Fleet, organized by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF), was established in 2013. It has collected biological data from nearly 160,000 American lobsters and about 90,000 Jonah crabs from the Gulf of Maine and south to the Mid-Atlantic.

In September, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center provided funding to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to support the research fleet’s work.

“I am thrilled that we were able to work with the Commission to provide support for the Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Fleet,” says Anna Mercer, Science Center  Cooperative Research Branch Chief. “The project exemplifies the value of working with fishermen to address science needs and has tangible impacts on the stock assessments and management of these valuable species. I look forward to following along as this research continues and expands.”

Read the full release here

ASMFC to Convene Jonah Crab Data Workshop

September 25, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will convene a Data Workshop to evaluate data for future stock assessments. Currently, there is no stock-wide assessment for Jonah crab. The purpose of the workshop is to evaluate all available data sources to determine whether enough data of sufficient quality are available to conduct a stock assessment.  The Workshop will be conducted virtually by webinar November 16-18, 2020, and is open to the public. The workshop agenda will be available on the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/calendar/11/2020/Jonah-Crab-Data-Workshop/1623 in advance of the workshop.

In preparation for the workshop, the Commission is requesting data from academia, member states, federal partners, non-governmental organizations, participating jurisdictions and stakeholders. The Commission welcomes the submission of data sources that will aid in conducting a stock-wide benchmark stock assessment and allow for a determination of stock status. This includes, but is not limited to, data on catch per unit effort, tag-recapture data, biological samples (individual length and weight), and life history information (growth, maturity, natural mortality). For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format with accompanying description of methods to Jeff Kipp, Senior Stock Assessment Scientist, at jkipp@asmfc.org by November 2, 2020.

For more information about the workshop including presentation of materials, please contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Maine’s governor objects to petition requesting vertical-line prohibition

June 26, 2020 — The U.S. state of Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, has written a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross objecting to a recent petition that aims to prohibit the use of vertical lines in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries in four areas off the New England coast.

The petition was submitted by The Pew Charitable Trusts earlier this month, with the intention of protecting the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale. Right whales are one of the most endangered mammal species in the world, and entanglement with vertical lines have led to new regulation that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association has objected to.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Pew requests area closures in the name of right whales, suggests trap and line limits as next step

June 18, 2020 — On Thursday, June 18, Pew submitted a petition to the Commerce Secretary requesting an immediate shutdown of some federal waters off the coast of New England to commercial lobster and Jonah crab fishing. A letter signed by Peter Baker of Pew Charitable Trusts and attorney Purcie Bennett-Nickerson accompanied the petition.

“Specifically, we request that you designate one year-round closure south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and three seasonal offshore closures in the Gulf of Maine in which the use of vertical lines in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries is prohibited,” the letter states. “The proposed areas have been scientifically identified as posing the greatest risk of entanglement to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.”

U.S. lobster fleets and fishery leaders have long been leaders in reducing interactions with marine mammals, often voluntarily implementing expensive gear changes, and time and area closures. The fleets targeted by the petition have also been working through NMFS’ Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team to develop a NOAA-mandated 60 percent reduction in vertical lines in the water.

“Why are they bringing these proposals forward at this point?” asked Dave Borden, executive director of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association and an Area 2 lobsterman. “Pew as an organization never offered a comprehensive fix that I know of.”

Atlantic commercial lobstering organizations are also working on a deadline to provide material for a federal case and did not receive notice on the petition from Pew.

“They did not distribute a copy to us,” Borden said. “I’ve been working on the depositions for the right whale case that are due tomorrow.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NOAA to implement new regs on Jonah crab fishery

November 14, 2019 — The profile of the humble Jonah crab, once considered mere bycatch in the lobster fishery, continues to rise.

On Dec. 19, NOAA Fisheries will implement new regulations that will sharpen the scope and definition of the Jonah crab fishery in federal waters by establishing permitting requirements and setting size and possession limits.

The new federal measures closely replicate Jonah crab fishery management plans already enacted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates Jonah crabs on an interstate level, and many East Coast states — including Massachusetts.

“The federal regulations that are being issued mirror those set in place by ASMFC when they released the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan in 2015,” said Derek Perry, a crab biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. “More than 99% of Jonah crabs are caught in federal waters, so this is mostly a federal waters fishery.”

So, beginning on Dec. 12, only vessels with a federal American lobster trap or non-trap permit may retain Jonah crab in federal waters. The minimum size will be the same as set by Massachusetts for state waters — 4.75 inches across the carapace.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Fisheries Sets Management Measures for the Jonah Crab Fishery

November 12, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries has approved federal measures for the Jonah crab fishery that complement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Jonah Crab.

Approved measures include:

Sector

Management Measure

Requirement

Commercial

Vessel permitting

Landing requires a federal lobster permit

Minimum size

4.75-inch (12.065-cm) carapace width

Broodstock protection

Prohibit retention of egg-bearing females

Incidental limit

Up to 1,000 crabs per trip

Incidental latch definition

Up to 50 percent of weight onboard

Dealer permitting and reporting

Federal dealer permit required and mandatory Federal dealer reporting

Recreational

Broodstock protection

Prohibit retention of egg-bearing females

Catch limit

50 crabs per day

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

How eating sea bass and crab can help Maine lobstermen

April 8, 2019 — A group of Rhode Island fishermen who witnessed southern New England’s near-shore lobster fishery evaporate and its offshore fishery diminish dramatically in their time on the water came to last month’s Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockland to give lobstermen here a bit of seasoned advice: Embrace ecosystem change while you’re in a good position to do so.

These southerly neighbors acknowledge the Maine lobster fishery is currently rockin’. Preliminary numbers released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources set the value of last year’s 119 million-pound lobster haul at $484.5 million, up from $438 million generated by 112 million pounds of lobster harvested in 2017. Both years are down, though, from the all-time high lobster landings of 132 million pounds (worth $541 million) set in 2016.

The two-species Rhode Island fishermen told their Maine counterparts they should be targeting are Jonah crab and black sea bass. The former have long lived in offshore waters in the Gulf of Maine and the latter, a tasty fish historically found in the mid-Atlantic region, are showing up farther north because of warming waters.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Jonah Crab Moves Mainstream In Gulf Of Maine After Decades As Lobster Bycatch

April 2, 2019 — Regulators are taking comments on plans to expand a lucrative new crab fishery that’s stirring interest in the Gulf of Maine.

Jonah crabs are a native species that, until recently, was mainly caught as bycatch – by accident – in lobster pots.

Now, as warming waters push the lobster fishery north, more fishermen – especially in southern New England – are targeting Jonah crabs on purpose to supplement their income.

New Hampshire Fish and Game biologist Josh Carloni says in Northern New England and the Gulf of Maine, lobster is still king – but that could change.

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

Feds look to create Jonah crab fishery

March 22, 2019 — Fifteen years ago, the Jonah crab was barely an afterthought to fishermen and fishery managers alike.

When the crabs were considered at all, it was chiefly as unregulated bycatch to the American lobster industry. Untargeted and largely unloved by fishermen and unknown by consumers, the crabs became the living embodiment of a niche fishery.

But then something happened: landings of Jonah crabs exploded, from nearly 3 million pounds in 1994 to more than 17 million pounds in 2017 — with more than 70 percent of the haul coming out of Massachusetts waters. They are used as food, sometimes to substitute for the popular and more expensive Dungeness crab.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Measures for the Jonah Crab Fishery

March 21, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comments on proposed measures for the Jonah crab fishery that complement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Jonah Crab.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recommended these measures for managing Jonah crabs in federal waters. The management plan was initiated after an increase in landings.

Proposed measures include limiting Jonah crab harvest to those who already have a limited-access American lobster permit, a minimum size, protection for egg-bearing females, and incidental catch limits.These proposed regulations do not expand trap fishing effort. They propose to regulate the catch of Jonah crabs that is already occurring in the American lobster fishery.

For more details or to comment on the proposed measures, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register and the draft environmental impact statement on our website.