Saving Seafood

Georgians boycott Maine lobster industry after right whale dies

April 27, 2021 — Maine’s lobster industry is keeping a wary eye on a consumer boycott launched in Georgia.

Conservation groups there charge that New England’s lobster gear and trap-rope risk entangling and killing endangered right whales, and they said seafood lovers should choose other options.

The right whale has been Georgia’s official “state marine mammal” since 1985.

“The North Atlantic right whale is beloved, and those of us who love the Georgia coast just really celebrate the season when the whales come south to give birth,” said Alice Keyes, the coastal conservation director for an organization called 100 Miles, so-named for Georgia’s hundred-mile shoreline.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Midcoast fishermen can resume activity in offshore wind project’s proposed cable route

April 21, 2021 — Lobstermen who were forced to move traps along a 23-mile long route off the coast of Monhegan can resume fishing activity in the area. Last week, vessels conducting a survey for an offshore wind project completed their work along the route.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources sent a notice to fishermen on Friday stating that gear, like lobster traps, that were relocated to accommodate the New England Aqua Ventus survey can be moved back to their original locations.

Fishermen were asked to voluntarily move their traps so a survey of the seabed floor along the wind project’s proposed cable route could be conducted. But given the contentious issue of wind development of the Gulf of Maine, some fishermen felt they shouldn’t have to move their traps for a project that they feel threatens their livelihood.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Aquaculture, traditional fishing square off at public hearing on bill to review Maine’s lease process

April 14, 2021 — Tensions over Maine’s aquaculture industry again spilled into the Legislature on Tuesday as lawmakers held a public hearing on a proposal that would conduct a broad review of the way state regulators approve leases.

The bill is a concept draft that seeks a sweeping overhaul and review of how aquaculture projects are vetted and approved by the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Critics say the approval process of projects along Maine’s vast coastline is too permissive, resulting in sprawling aquaculture farms that conflict with the state’s traditional fishing industries, such as lobstering.

Jon Lewis, a Boothbay resident who worked as the agency’s director for aquaculture for 23 years, told lawmakers on the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee that the disputes over projects are on the rise.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

FLORIDA: Key Largo Fisheries Credits Power Of Internet Sales With Their Survival

April 6, 2021 — A little more than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, we’re learning what worked well with some businesses to help them survive.

For Key Largo Fisheries, it was their website.

“We shipped a lot of stone crabs, fresh fish, Key West pink shrimp, whole tails, whole lobsters,” said Key Largo Fisheries’ Tom Hill.

Keeping the iconic fishery, market, and cafe in the northern Keys up and running had a lot to do with the internet sales.

“We were fortunate in that we were able to start serving people via the web, an awful lot of people looked at our website, taking lots of orders online,” said Hill.

Boxes of Key Largo Fisheries seafood shipped directly to their clients’ doorsteps which helped them expand.

Read the full story at CBS Miami

Northeast herring: As catch limit screws tighten, bait dealers seek alternative sources

April 5, 2021 — New rules in the herring fishery aimed at improving sustainability for the important lobster bait fish are impacting fishermen, dealers and others.

The fishery, mostly centered in Massachusetts and Maine, grew in the 1960s but has been in decline since the 1980s. In 2018, 43,878 metric tons were landed. But by 2019, 12,998 mt (valued at $9.72 million) was landed. 2020 landings were 9,368.5 mt (valued at $6.77 million), according to NOAA economist Min-Yang Lee.

The 2021 fishing season started Jan. 1, with an annual catch limit of 11,571 mt, divided among four herring management areas. However, once Framework 8 to the herring management plan is implemented, the total ACL will be set to 4,128 mt. The 2020 stock assessment shows spawning stock biomass to be at its lowest value since the late 1980s.

Wayne Reichle, president of Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May N.J., calls the quota reductions “a disaster for the region’s herring fishery.” Reichle says fleet has stayed within quota the last few years, so the low biomass and poor recruitment is “attributable to the stress of a cold-water fish being challenged by a warming ocean.” Many say it is too early to predict to what extent herring supplies will impact prices, given the newest reductions. In mid-March, herring prices in Maine were about $250 per barrel at the docks.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

ASMFC 2021 Spring Meeting Webinar Preliminary Agenda

April 5, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The agenda is subject to change. Bulleted items represent the anticipated major issues to be discussed or acted upon during the webinar. The final agenda will include additional items and may revise the bulleted items provided below. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein.

Public Comment Guidelines

To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board  approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings. Please note these guidelines have been modified to adapt to meetings via webinar:

For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide an opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.

For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comment will not provide additional insight to the board.

For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.

In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).

  1. Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of the webinar (April 19) will be included in the briefing materials.
  2. Comments received by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 27 will be included in the supplemental materials.
  3. Comments received by 10:00 AM on Friday, April 30 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.

Comments should be submitted via email at comments@asmfc.org. All comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.

Read the full release here

MAINE: Stonington top port in state for 2020

March 29, 2021 — Maine’s commercial fisheries are thriving in spite of a pandemic year, tariffs on trade with China and looming issues affecting lobsters and lobstermen. The Maine Department of Marine Resources announced on March 24 an ex-vessel value of $516,796,614 for the state’s 2020 commercial landings.

Even Governor Janet Mills weighed in: “Maine fishermen and seafood dealers weathered one of the most difficult years in memory, but through hard work and an unwavering dedication to quality, they were able to once again provide tremendous value for seafood consumers, and a vital economic foundation for Maine’s coastal communities.”

Lobsters account for nearly 80 percent of the ex-vessel value, hauling in $405,983,832 worth of lobsters to Maine ports. DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher noted a 5 percent decline in lobster landings by pound compared to 2019. Nonetheless, the 96-million-pound catch was the ninth highest in Maine’s history. A higher than usual boat price of $4.20 per pound — compared to the $3.76 average — helped bring up the ex-vessel landing value for 2020.

The elver fishery, which saw dealer prices drop 75 percent to just over $500 per pound, still netted $5,067,521 for harvesters.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

In historically tough year, Maine fishermen brought in history’s 9th-most valuable catch

March 26, 2021 — Despite unprecedented market losses, Maine fishermen brought in over a half-billion dollars for their catch in 2020.

Valued at $516.8 million, the ex-vessel value, or price paid at the dock, of Maine’s commercially harvested marine species was the ninth-highest on record.

Maine’s lobster fishery once again accounted for most of the state’s overall landed value, with the lobster catch totaling $405.98 million.

While the landed value was down from $491.2 million in 2019 and the 2016 peak of $540.7 million, it was the seventh straight year that the lobster fishery exceeded $400 million.

“Maine’s lobster industry faced tremendous uncertainty in 2020,” Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher said in a news release. “At this time last year, the industry was facing a pending market collapse due to COVID-19, but industry’s response was remarkable.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Despite pandemic, Maine’s 2020 lobster haul was better than expected

March 25, 2021 — Maine’s lobster industry weathered the coronavirus pandemic better than expected, with the value of the 2020 landings decreasing only 17 percent from the previous year despite the closure of many of its traditional markets such as restaurants and cruise ships.

The overall haul was valued at almost $406 million, a decrease from 2019’s $491 million but still only the seventh time in the history of the fishery that the landed value exceeded $400 million, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Marine Resources.

Maine fishermen hauled 96.6 million pounds of lobster in 2020, a 5 percent decrease from the 101 million pounds in 2019 and the first time in almost a decade that landings fell below 100 million pounds.

Dustin Delano, a lobsterman in Friendship and a vice president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, attributes the drop to a decrease in effort, not in supply.

“We decreased effort significantly from March to July, from when we heard about the virus,” he said, “We were skeptical, so guys took their time setting their gear out for summer.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

MAINE: The Intense, Lobster-Fueled Fight Over America’s First Floating Wind Farm

March 25, 2021 — There’s a rumble brewing out in the ocean, and it could forecast some troubles ahead for renewable energy. It involves some of Maine’s small fishermen, a high-profile wind project in the state, and an aggressive showdown with a research vessel earlier this week.

Erik Waterman is a fourth-generation fisherman in South Thomaston, Maine who has been fishing in the area for more than 30 years. (His daughter also fishes, he said in a Facebook direct message, and his grandmother was an independent lobsterwoman. “I’m pretty proud,” he said). He said that word of Sunday’s protest, which he joined on his fishing boat and emphasized was “peaceful,” spread by word-of-mouth through local fishing communities. By his count, between 80 and 90 boats participated.

The boat that the lobstermen surrounded on Monday was actually conducting a seabed survey for the cable, completing some of the research needed to determine the impacts of the Aqua Ventus project. For his part, Waterman—who sent over a picture of him and his daughter with a 460-pound (209-kilogram) bluefin tuna he said they caught in the area where the wind turbine would be installed—said he is afraid of what the installation of this one turbine could mean for the rest of the ocean where he fishes.

“We fear for our livelihood because if this single turbine gets a foothold, it will most definitely snowball up and down our pristine coast,” Waterman said. “Our way of life providing seafood for the world will be forever altered.”

While a lobsterman’s salary is on the modest end, it’s still a coveted profession in Maine, where some wait decades for a chance to get a commercial lobster fishing license with the state. Maine lobstermen have enjoyed a healthy harvest over the past decade, with record-high sales and demand for their product accompanied with high levels of catch, which some scientists say is attributable to warming waters in the Gulf of Maine. But as the waters keep warming, some studies project that lobster populations could decline as much as 60% by 2050.

But even a huge deployment of offshore wind all along the East Coast would only take up a tiny portion of the ocean, NREL noted, meaning “fishing would continue normally in most ocean areas.” Experts have said that it appears that offshore wind turbines in Europe may actually have beneficial effects on some species of fish (fish may like the artificial reefs that moored turbines provide). There’s still comparatively little research, however, on the specific impacts offshore wind could have on fisheries. That’s particularly true around U.S. shores, which is simply because there are so few offshore wind farms, said Miriam Goldstein, the director of ocean policy at the Center for American Progress.

“A lot of [the research] comes from Europe, so it’s not completely analogous,” she said. “And the reason for that is that Europe has a lot of wind farms, and the U.S. has two.”

However, Goldstein pointed out that there is a large body of research how fish and other ocean life have responded to another type of structure that’s been in US waters for decades: oil rigs. And from that research, it appears that the impact is mixed.

“Putting a bunch of hard structures in the ocean is good for things that like it and not good for things that don’t,” Goldstein said, noting that some oil rigs have become coveted spots to fish red snapper.

Read the full story at Gizmodo