Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: In a major effort to protect endangered whales, state officials plan to ban lobster fishing for several months a year

December 18, 2020 — In a major step to protect North Atlantic right whales, state officials are poised to ban lobster fishing in all Massachusetts waters during periods when the critically endangered species typically feeds in the region.

The proposed restrictions, which could be devastating for hundreds of fixed-gear fishermen from Buzzards Bay to Ipswich Bay, would prevent commercial lobstermen from setting their traps between February and May, and potentially longer if whales remain offshore. They would also require the state’s 800 lobstermen to use special rope that breaks more easily under pressure from whales, limit the state’s recreational lobster catch, and curtail the use of vertical mesh lines known as gillnets.

State officials said the rules, which were proposed a few weeks after scientists estimated that there are only about 356 right whales remaining, are likely to take effect as soon as February, after a public comment period.

“The draft regulations are designed to reduce the risk of endangered whales becoming entangled in fixed fishing gear,” said Dan McKiernan, director of the Division of Marine Fisheries who noted during recent online hearings that 32 right whales have died and another 14 have sustained life-threatening injuries since 2017.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

If you recently bought Maine seafood online, 2020 might be the reason why

December 16, 2020 — Though 2020 will be remembered for many things, it also may be remembered as the year when online, direct-to-consumer sales of Maine seafood took off.

In a year that saw continued wrangling over foreign trade agreements — which hampered overseas sales of Maine lobster, the state’s dominant seafood product — and a severe drop in restaurant sales due to precautions aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19, many seafood harvesters and producers have sought to connect directly with consumers to stay afloat.

A new marketing initiative launched this month by the state — created with $1 million in COVID-19 federal relief funds — is the latest effort geared toward making it easier for consumers to buy Maine seafood directly from distributors and retailers. A website borne of that initiative, SeafoodfromMaine.com, follows suit with other sites such as Localcatch.org and Lukeslobster.com that aim to connect consumers and sellers directly online, or to guide consumers to retailers that sell locally sourced seafood.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Lobstermen Raise Concerns Over Proposed Regulations to Protect Endangered Whales

December 10, 2020 — The state is asking for public feedback on new rules to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in fishing gear.

At a public hearing on Tuesday, the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries (DMF) shared its recommendations to extend a seasonal commercial-gear closure to areas north and east of the Cape from February 1 through April 30.

Dan McKiernan, DMF director, also explained new requirements for vertical buoy lines that would mandate that they break apart when exposed to 1,700 pounds of pressure.

“A recent study by the New England Aquarium on whale entanglement showed ropes with low breaking strength can reduce serious injury and mortality by at least 72 percent,” he said.  “Cooperative research with commercial lobsterman has demonstrated that ropes of these breaking strength are strong enough in most cases to allow for the successful hauling of lobster gear.

“In essence,” he said, “this research and proposal tried to hit the sweet spot for a line that is safe for the industry and beneficial for right whales.”

Read the full story at CAI

Online ‘Entangled’ film screening and panel discussion presented by University of Maine

December 7, 2020 — The University of Maine Hutchinson Center will host a free online screening of award-winning documentary “Entangled” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11. The film will be introduced by filmmaker David Abel and followed by a discussion featuring a panel of researchers and industry experts.

The film will be shown online and the discussion will take place via Zoom. There is no cost to participate. To register, visit the Hutchinson Center website.

“Entangled” is an award-winning, feature-length film (75 minutes) about how climate change has accelerated a collision between one of the world’s most endangered species, North America’s most valuable fishery, and a federal agency mandated to protect both. The film chronicles the efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales from extinction, the impacts of those efforts on the lobster industry, and how regulators have struggled to balance the vying interests. Directed by David Abel and Andy Laub — makers of “Lobster War” and “Sacred Cod,” “Entangled” won a 2020 Jackson Wild Media Award, nature films’ equivalent to the Oscars. It also won Best Conservation Film at the Mystic Film Festival.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Lobster stock levels remain high in Gulf of Maine, but future issues cause concern

December 4, 2020 — When it comes to availability of their catch, the “now” looks solid for local commercial lobster fishermen, based on findings reported in the 2020 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment. The assessment reported the stock at “record high abundance levels” in the Gulf of Maine. The good news continued: “Stock projections conducted as part of the assessment suggested a low probability of abundance declining below the abundance target over the next 10 years.” The Gulf of Maine lobster fishery now accounts for 90 percent of U.S. lobster landings, and, overall, landings increased fivefold in Maine from 1982 to when they peaked in 2016.

The outlook for southern New England remained poor, with a depleted fishery and no signs of resurgence. The research was conducted by several organizations, including the Department of Marine Resources, Gulf of Maine Research Institute and the University of Maine’s Sea Grant program and Lobster Institute. The assessment, released in October, was based on surveys conducted from 2016 through 2018.

However, once the research turns to the number of juvenile lobster settling on the sea floor, the future looks more uncertain.

“There’s this really puzzling disconnect between the surging numbers of lobsters we’ve been seeing over the past decade and the decline in larval settlement that we’ve seen,” said Richard Wahle, director of The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

EU agrees to eliminate tariffs on US lobster

December 1, 2020 — The European Union parliament has officially passed a mini trade deal with the U.S. that will see all tariffs on U.S. lobsters dropped for the next five years.

In a vote with 638 affirmative, 45 against, and 11 abstentions, the parliament confirmed that all U.S. lobster imports to the E.U. will no longer be subject to an 8 percent tariff, retroactive to 1 August. The tariffs will be removed for the next five years, and the E.U. will work to make the removal permanent.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

BANGOR DAILY NEWS: Supporting Maine fishermen in tragedy and triumph

November 30, 2020 — “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.”

Those words are from the Bible’s Psalm 107. Some of them are also engraved on the Fisherman’s Memorial in Gloucester, Massachusetts, honoring lives lost at sea.

Tragically, it seems that four more Maine fishermen have been lost. The Coast Guard suspended its search on Nov. 24 for the missing crew of the Emmy Rose, a Portland-based commercial fishing vessel that was en route to Gloucester when it sank in the early hours of Monday, Nov. 23.

All four of those crewmembers are from Maine: skipper Robert Blethen, Jeffrey Matthews, Michael Porper and Ethan Ward.

“The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one,” said Capt. Wesley Hester, search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard’s First District. “We extend our condolences to the friends and loved ones of these fishermen during this trying time.

A candlelit vigil was held in Portland Wednesday night. Thousands of dollars have already been raised to support their families. Public officials have spoken out.

Read the full opinion piece at the Bangor Daily News

Maine’s lobstermen and women hope Biden can boost fortunes

November 27, 2020 — Donald Trump positioned himself as a friend of New England’s lobster industry, campaigning hard in Maine, and even had lobsterman Jason Joyce speak at the Republican national convention.

But the president’s prolonged trade war with China resulted in a rocky few years for the industry.

Following Biden’s win in the presidential election, which saw him take three out of four electoral votes in Maine, which, along with Nebraska, has a split system, members of the industry now say they are looking forward to some much-needed stability.

Stephanie Nadeau, owner of the Lobster Company, a dealer in Arundel, Maine, said the industry needs assurance that it will be able to sell lobsters to other countries without punitive tariffs and is hopeful that such comfort will come in January following the inauguration of the Democratic president-elect.

She said of life under the Trump administration: “You can’t plan. You can’t live in chaos. The trade war, was it going to last a week, was it going to last a month, was it going to last four years? How do you operate around that?”

Read the full story from The Guardian at MSN

MAINE: Lobster industry hopes for stability after tumultuous Trump era

November 23, 2020 — President Donald Trump positioned himself as a friend of New England’s lobstermen, but members of the industry said they are looking forward to something that has been lacking in the crustacean business: stability.

Trump’s trade war with China led to a rocky few years for the industry, which is based mostly in Maine. Trump, who campaigned hard in Maine and won an electoral vote in the state, touted economic aid and environmental reforms intended to benefit the business. The Republican Party even had Maine lobsterman Jason Joyce speak at he its national convention.

What the industry really needs is assurance that it will be able to sell lobsters to other countries without punitive tariffs, said Stephanie Nadeau, owner of The Lobster Company, an Arundel, Maine, dealer. She and others said they are hopeful that assurance will arrive under Democratic President-elect Joe Biden.

“You can’t plan. You can’t live in chaos,” she said. “The trade war, was it going to last a week, was it going to last a month, was it going to last four years? How do you operate around that?”

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

NOAA awards $850,000 for tracking, reporting lobster harvests

November 20, 2020 — Grant funds continue to flow into the Maine commercial lobster fishery on the heels of $2 million research grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative announced in September. NOAA is also behind these awards directed at monitoring the fishery: 

  • A grant of$250,000 to further test and develop vessel monitoring systems for lobster vessels. According to the Maine Department of Research, the funds will purchase 20 monitoring devices, cover staff verifying data generated by the trackers and fund integration of monitoring data with the new DMR harvester reporting application currently being created. 
  • A grant of$600,000 to meet the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASFMC) requirement to have 100 percent lobster harvest reporting in place by January 2024. The DMR plans to use the funds to support yearly maintenance on a new harvester reporting application, and to hire more staff. 

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander