Saving Seafood

MAINE: Lobstermen Cry ‘Foul’ Over Proposed Searsport Harbor Dredging

October 15, 2015 — The state of Maine has long been synonymous with deep forested tracts of wilderness stretching from its western boundary with the Connecticut lakes in far northern New Hampshire, up to its northern border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick. The state has long been associated with pristine springs, rivers and lakes, the habitat of its signature majestic large antlered moose – and all the while conjuring up images of the ubiquitous Poland Spring water bottle.

The southern and “downeastern” end of Maine is composed of miles of sandy beaches that gradually give way to rocky crags, jutting coastline, and hundreds of small rock outcrops and islands dotted with salty old lighthouses. This rocky coastline is the perfect breeding ground for the one sea creature that Maine is famous for, and makes up the heart of the state’s predominant seafood export – that delectable crustacean, the Maine lobster.

It also appears the “typical Maine rocky coastline” is the prime location where these tasty crustaceans are caught and eventually get exported far and wide to consumers’ tables. This is according to the most recent Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report, released last month. Of note, an interesting statistic gleaned from this NOAA study is: “… More than 98 percent of the total GOM (Gulf of Maine) catch has come from inshore NMFS statistical areas.”

This statistic is of great importance as it puts one such lobster breeding-ground right in the crosshairs of an ambitious U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and Maine DOT proposed project to dredge and deepen the channel in Searsport – to the tune of approximately $13 million – to allow two Canadian oil companies, Sprague Energy and Irving Oil, to off-load their crude oil at a local terminal at Mack Point.

At issue for these two oil companies is that they would prefer not to wait for a high tide to off-load their cargo at the terminal, and thus save – by their account – approximately $845,000 per year. To accommodate these oil companies, the COE would risk jeopardizing prime lobster breeding-grounds in western Penobscot Bay, by dumping approximately 1 million cubic yards of dredge spoils from the Searsport channel in areas of Penobscot Bay containing numerous pockmarks created by methane venting.

Read the full story at Triple Pundit

 

The enigma behind America’s freak, 20-year lobster boom

October 6, 2015 — Drizzled in butter or slathered in mayo—or heaped atop 100% all-natural Angus beef, perhaps? The question of how you like your lobster roll is no longer the sole province of foodies, coastal New Englanders, and people who summer in Maine. American lobster has gone mainstream, launching food trucks from Georgia to Oregon, and debuting on menus at McDonald’s and Shake Shack.

Unlike almost anything else that gets eaten on a bun, Maine lobster is wild-caught—which typically makes seafood pricier. So how has lobster gone from luxury eat to food-truck treat?

The reason boils down to plentiful supply, plain and simple. In fact, the state’s lobster business is the only fishery on the planet that has endured for more than a century and yet produces more volume and value than ever before. And not just slightly more. Last year, Maine fishermen hauled ashore 124 million pounds of lobsters, six times more than what they’d caught in 1984. The $456 million in value those landings totaled was nearly 20% higher than any other year in history, in real terms. These days, around 85% of American lobster caught in the US is landed in Maine—more than ever before.

Even more remarkable than sheer volume, though, is that this sudden sixfold surge has no clear explanation. A rise in sea temperatures, which has sped up lobster growth and opened up new coastal habitats for baby lobsters, is one likely reason. Another is that by plundering cod and other big fish in the Gulf of Maine, we’ve thinned out the predators that long kept lobster numbers in check. Both are strong hypotheses, yet no one’s sure we really understand what’s going on.

Read the full story at Quartz

Maine fishermen cash in as lobster cracks $4 a pound

October 9, 2015 — It’s a combination that seems to defy the laws of supply and demand – a large catch tends to lower wholesale prices. But that’s not happening this year even with Maine fishermen on track for another huge catch – about four times greater than what was harvested annually from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Industry experts say growing demand for processed lobster meat is allowing the market to absorb the additional catch while maintaining near-record prices paid to fishermen. They also say that Maine’s 4,500 commercial lobstermen, who for the most part fish from July through November, have benefited from some good timing.

The supply of Canadian lobsters available for processors this spring was down because there was so much ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that the fishing season was delayed. That means Maine lobsters were in high demand once the season kicked off in mid-July, a couple of weeks behind schedule.

And when the lobsters finally migrated to Maine’s coastal waters to shed their shells, they came at a steady pace rather than all at once.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

CONNECTICUT: Managers consider how to save southern New England lobsters

October 2, 2015 — OLD LYME, Connecticut (AP) — An interstate regulatory committee is set to meet to discuss new management possibilities for southern New England’s imperiled lobster population.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Southern New England Lobster Subcommittee is meeting in Old Lyme on Friday. The group will consider potential management tools to help preserve the species, which has crashed to record low levels.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Herald

 

MAINE: State seeks to reduce waiting times for lobster licenses

ELLSWORTH, Maine — September 28, 2015 — Fishermen are used to having to wait until they catch something, but there are many in Maine who don’t think it is right that they should have to wait a decade or more to catch lobster.

The state Department of Marine Resources agrees that the waiting list for lobster licenses in most fishing zones along the coast is too long and, if possible, something should be done to reduce the time it takes to get a license.

At a meeting last week in Ellsworth — one of several DMR has held over the past month along the coast — Commissioner Patrick Keliher told a group of nearly 60 people that he wants to make waits predictable, so that applicants will know roughly how long it will be before they get their license. But, he added, the department wants to avoid increasing the number of active lobster traps in the fishery, which he said already is being “fully exploited” by licensed fishermen.

“What do people on the waiting list want?” Keliher asked the group at Ellsworth High School, most of whom were fishermen with and waiting for lobster licenses. “They want predictability.”

Read the full story from the Bangor Daily News

Fishermen worry as black sea bass stake New England claim

September 25, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – As waters warm off the coast of New England, black sea bass are moving north and, fishermen say, threatening the region’s most valuable aquatic species: the lobster.

The influx of sea bass – among a number of species that are appearing in greater numbers off of Maine and New Hampshire as ocean temperatures climb – has some fishermen and lobstermen saying the best solution is to ease restrictions on catching the newcomers.

The sea bass prey on lobsters, a much more economically important commercial species and a key piece of New England’s culture, and quotas that have drifted downward in recent years should be increased, fishermen said.

“What we need is a major increase in the allowable catch, both commercially and recreationally, because black sea bass are wiping out your lobsters,” said Marc Hoffman, a Long Island, New York, recreational bass fisherman.

Hoffman, who sits on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission advisory panel for sea bass, said the time to raise the quota is overdue. He said it is particularly important in southern New England waters, where fishing managers say the population of lobsters has fallen to the lowest levels on record.

Black sea bass are a sought-after sport fish, but they are also popular as food and are growing in commercial value – federal statistics show black sea bass were worth a record of more than $8.5 million in 2013.

Scientists with the commission say more research is needed to determine just how abundant black sea bass are in New England waters. But about a quarter of the black sea bass caught in 2013 came ashore in New England; the fish is more often caught in the mid-Atlantic states, especially New Jersey and Virginia.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at New Jersey Herald

 

Fish like a girl: This 23-year-old lobsterwoman from Maine is her own boss

September 24, 2015 — Only about four percent of the 5,000 lobster licences granted by the state of Maine are currently owned by women. Of the 205 women who make up that four percent, 73 of them are under the age of 35.

“It’s frustrating, but I don’t care,” Samuels said. “The more I do it, the more people get it. The guys at the harbor are really nice. It’s mostly older men, yacht people and people at the farmer’s market where I sell on Fridays who are surprised that I’m a woman running my own boat.”

Samuels’ father, Matt, has fished out of Rockport for nearly 40 years. Samuels was born at a hospital down the road, and before she ever went home, Matt brought her down to the wharf. By the time she was seven years old, she had her student lobster fishing license. By 13, she’d fished the 200 hours necessary to get her commercial licence. A year later, at 14, she got her first boat.

“I called it the Miss Understood,” she said. “I thought I was really clever.”

Samuels is still living with her father in Searsmont, a town about 17 miles inland from Rockport Harbor, while she saves money to buy land and build her own place.

“I always knew I wanted to fish,” she said. “Though I went through a phase at 15 or 16 where I was like, ‘This is so much work, I don’t understand why I do this.’ It was one of those things where everyone would come back to school after the summer and talk about going to water parks and stuff and I’d be like, ‘I baited bags.’”

Lobstering is hard, physical work, and requires at least two people. The sternman baits the traps and measures the lobsters as the captain drives the boat and pulls up the buoys. Sadie’s sister, Molly, is her sternman—woman, rather—during the summer when she’s not at college.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

MASSACHUSETTS: Working Waterfront festival gives visitors a free, fun behind-the-scenes look

September 24, 2015 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Do you know how to properly cook and eat a lobster, or how to fillet a fish?

Perhaps you’d like to watch some of New Bedford’s most handsome fishermen model the latest in fishing gear, listen to some sea chanteys, cheer for your favorite in a nautical tattoo contest, or tour a scallop boat.

These are just a few of the many fun-filled and fascinating activities the 12th annual Working Waterfront Festival will offer guests of all ages as they explore the rich cultural history and get an inside look at the city’s dynamic fishing industry and bustling waterfront.

According to Laura Orleans, festival director, this year’s theme, “Every Object Tells a Story,” will be interpreted in various ways, including several skills demonstrations and a new area at the entrance to Steamship Pier where large industry objects, including a full-sized groundfishing net, will be displayed.

“The Working Waterfront Festival provides a rare opportunity for the public to get an inside look at the commercial fishing industry which not only generates over a billion dollars for our local economy each year, but is also a huge part of our culture and history,” Orleans continues.

Orleans says that this year’s festival is “a great mix of old favorites” such as the scallop shucking contest and seafood cooking throwdown, as well as new activities such as the fishing gear fashion show and nautical tattoo contest.

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Dwayne Samson, captain in ‘murder for lobster’ case, sentenced to 10 years

September 22, 2015 — A Cape Breton lobster boat captain who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of another fisherman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Dwayne Matthew Samson was given 103 days of credit for time served at the Supreme Court sentencing hearing in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. He was also handed a lifetime ban on owning firearms.

The sentencing marks the final chapter of the so-called murder for lobster case.

The D’escousse man is one of three men convicted in the death of Philip Boudreau.

He pleaded guilty in May.

Read the full story at CBC News

 

Battle on Lobster Fishery Entry Brewing in Maine Legislature

September 9, 2015 — There’s another battle brewing in Maine’s lobster industry, but this is one that likely will be fought in the Legislature rather than on the water.

Out to about 12 miles offshore, Maine waters are divided from east to west, into seven Lobster Management Zones. Lobstermen are required to declare which of the zones they will fish in based, generally, on where they live.

Six of those zones have waiting lists established under the state’s “limited entry” law, of people who have completed a state-mandated apprenticeship program and want a license to fish for lobster in the zone. The number of new licenses available each year depends, in eastern Maine, on the number of licenses surrendered each year. In western Maine, new issues are based on the number of trap tags surrendered. Every licensed commercial lobsterman is entitled to fish up to 800 traps, each of which must be marked with a plastic tag purchased each year from the Department of Marine Resources.

In some of those zones, the waiting list, and the waiting times for a new license, are extremely long.

In Zone D — around western Penobscot Bay — there are 59 on the list, which stretches back to November 2005. In Zone B, around Mount Desert Island including Frenchman Bay over to Schoodic Point, the waiting list includes 55 names and stretches back to May 2005.

With decade-long waits for a new license (the shortest list contains 28 names and dates to 2007,) fishermen on the list have been pressing Governor Paul LePage and their state legislators, and the Governor and the legislators have been pressuring the Department of Marine Resources to develop a new limited entry system with what DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher described last Monday as “a predictable time frame” for people waiting for licenses.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American