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.
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.
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?”
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?”
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:
November 19, 2020 — There’s a lot of debate recently about the seal population in New England, specifically off the coast of Maine.
Once nearly extinct, experts are now seeing a rapid increase in the number of seals in the Gulf of Maine due to decades of legal protection.
Biologists say there are three points to consider: While the increase in harbor seals is creating a healthier ecosystem for the gulf of Maine, it’s also creating problems for local lobstermen who say they’re a threat to their livelihoods, and it’s drawing new and potentially dangerous fish into our waters at a rate the state has never seen before.
“Here we have a pretty big population of seals,” Rusty Court, who’s been lobstering off the coast of Monhegan and Boothbay Harbor for 50 years, said.
November 13, 2020 — A European Union committee has approved a trade deal that would eliminate import duties on Maine lobsters sold to Europe.
The European Parliament’s international trade committee voted 40-2 to approve the deal — which would assist the lobster industry across the United States — on Tuesday. It awaits a vote by the full European Parliament, as well as the more powerful European Council, before it can be enacted.
The trade deal cements an agreement between the EU and the U.S. from August that would decrease European tariffs on American lobster products by 8 percent to 12 percent. In return, the U.S. would reduce tariffs on prepared meals, ceramics, lighters and glassware.
November 12, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The September/October 2020 issue of ASMFC Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5fad9e9dFishFocusSeptOct2020.pdf
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Upcoming Meetings
page 2
Report from the Chair
page 3
Species Profile
American Lobster
page 4
Fishery Management Actions
Atlantic Cobia
Horseshoe Crab
Spiny Dogfish
page 6
Science Highlight
ACFHP Launches Fish Habitat Conservation Area Mapping and Prioritization Project
page 10
On the Legislative Front
U.S. Congress Advances Marine Debris and Conservation Bills
page 11
ACCSP Facilitates Compromise for Meeting Federal Dual-permitted VTR Requirements
page 12
Employee of the Quarter
page 13
Comings & Goings
page 13
Past issues of Fisheries Focus can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/search/%20/%20/Fishery-Focus
November 12, 2020 — European Union lawmakers have voted in favor of a trade deal that would see the bloc’s tariffs on U.S. lobsters removed.
The approval came via a 40–2 vote by the E.U. parliament’s trade committee, and follows up on a deal struck in August between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan. That deal would remove tariffs of 8 to 20 percent on imports of lobsters to the E.U., while the U.S. would half duties on imports of certain glassware, ceramics, disposable lighters, and prepared meals.
November 11, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:
The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) welcomes today’s announcement that lawmakers in the European Parliament’s trade committee have voted in favor of removing tariffs on U.S. lobster and encourage the full Parliament to back the deal when they vote.
The duties on live and frozen U.S. lobster shipped to the EU had been between 8 and 20 percent, but as part of a mini trade deal announced by the Trump Administration in August, the rate will drop to zero. The deal passed in the Parliament committee with 40 votes in favor and 2 against, illustrating the overwhelming interest of the EU in opening the market to delicious, sustainable American lobster.
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the entire seafood supply chain, including U.S. lobster, so this trade triumph could not come at a more pivotal time. It will directly help the men and women on the water, in the processing plants, and the folks who play a role in the distribution and logistics that get lobsters from our waters to dinner tables in the EU.
NFI applauds President Trump and Ambassador Lighthizer for focusing on U.S. seafood exports. We also commend Senator Susan Collins on her steadfast advocacy for the U.S. seafood community.