October 16, 2020 — East Coast Seafood Group told SeafoodSource on Friday, 16 October, it remains committed to its Maine Fair Trade Lobster brand despite the announcement it had sold its 100,000-square-foot facility in Gouldsboro, Maine, U.S.A. to salmon aquaculture start-up American Aquafarms.
The New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based company did not disclose the sale price, but said it will continue operations there until the transfer is finalized.
October 15, 2020 — Those looking to learn more about what’s going on in the lobster industry will want to check out a series of webinars being hosted by the University of Maine Lobster Institute.
Last week the Lobster Institute hosted their first online event, titled “Collaborative Chats: Successful Research Partnerships in the Lobster Industry.” The webinar, which was co-hosted by Amalia Harrington from Maine Sea Grant and Jessica Waller from the Maine Department of Marine Resources over Zoom, included an hour-long slideshow presentation followed by a Q&A.
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.”
October 14, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Atlantic Herring Management Board – Letter from Mike Pentony to New England Fishery Management Council
Winter Flounder Management Board – Draft Working Papers of the 2020 Assessment Update Reports for Gulf of Maine and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Winter Flounder Stocks
American Lobster Management Board – Draft Fishery Management Plan Reviews for the 2019 Fishing Year for American Lobster and Jonah Crab
Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Advisory Panel Recommendations on 2021-2022 Fishery Specificationsand Public Comment
South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Revised Agenda & Meeting Overview; Atlantic Cobia Draft Addendum I Public Hearing and Written Comment Summaries; Draft Fishery Management Plan Reviews for the 2019 Fishing Year for Red Drum, Atlantic Croaker and Atlantic Cobia
Executive Committee – Revised Agenda
Horseshoe Crab Management Board – ARM Subcommittee and Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee Call Summary
Spiny Dogfish Management Board – Revised Meeting Overview; MAFMC Scientific and Statistical Committee Report: Revised Risk Policy for 2021
Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Public Information Document for Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass
ACCSP Coordinating Council – Draft Agenda; Draft Proceedings from October 2020; FY21 Proposals; Funding Decision Process; Committee & Program Updates
Business Session – Draft 2021 Action Plan
Live-Streaming
Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, October 19 at 9:00 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:45 p.m.) on Thursday, October 22. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. Meeting participants and attendees can register for the webinar at https://attendee.
Each day, the webinar will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so that people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter. If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio-related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.
If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can also call in at 562.247.8422 (a pin will be provided to you after joining the webinar); see webinar instructions for details on how to receive the pin. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, you can do so by dialing 562.247.8422 (access code: 225-820-088).
Public Comment Guidelines
With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings. Please note these guidelines have been modified to adapt to meetings via webinar.
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).
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.
October 8, 2020 — From bibs into bags, a Maine company is recycling the heavy-duty rubber bibs worn by fishermen into a line of products.
“I want to find a way, and these bibs might be the way to connect people to this industry,” Rugged Seas co-owner Taylor Strout said.
Strout and his wife Nikki Strout have known the fishing industry their entire lives.
“I wanted to create a product that when people came, and they visited the coast of Maine, that they could not only take something home with them, but leave something for the fishermen too,” Taylor Strout said.
Through their company, Rugged Seas, the Strouts make a line of merchandise that includes tote bags, backpacks, wallets and clothing.
Nearly all of them are made from discarded rubber bibs donated by fishermen.
October 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Supplemental materials will be posted to the website on Wednesday, October 14th. For those Boards that have FMP Reviews and Compliance Reports on their agendas, the compliance reports are not posted due to their large file sizes. If you would like a copy of a specific state’s or jurisdiction’s compliance report, please contact the respective FMP Coordinator.
The agenda is subject to change. 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. It is our intent to begin at the scheduled start time for each meeting, however, if meetings run late the next meeting may start later than originally planned.
Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, October 19 at 9 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:45 p.m.) on Thursday, October 22. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. Meeting participants and attendees can register for the webinar athttps://attendee.
Each day, the webinar will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so that people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter. If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio-related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.
If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can also call in at 562.247.8422 (a pin will be provided to you after joining the webinar); see webinar instructions for details on how to receive the pin. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, you can do so by dialing 562.247.8422 (access code: 225-820-088).
Public Comment Guidelines
With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings. Please note these guidelines have been modified to adapt to meetings via webinar.
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).
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.
October 2, 2020 — As editor and publisher of National Fisherman, Jerry Fraser says, one principle always came to his mind amid the ceaseless debates over management, gear types, the ocean environment and the future of fisheries.
Equity.
“I don’t say you shouldn’t be careful, and I don’t say fishery management doesn’t work,” says Fraser, 67, who retired in 2019 after nearly a half-century career in fishing and journalism.
“Fishery management shouldn’t be preoccupied with making it easy. It should make it equitable,” says Fraser. “It’s a tough racket. There’s no argument that’s going to satisfy everyone.”
During a stormy new era of enforced consolidation, transferable quotas and catch share systems, Fraser says he looked for the balance of preserving fisheries and fishing communities.
“You can make a lot of economic arguments against keeping small farms,” he says. “If you make a priority of preserving this industry, we would come out in a different place.”
Fraser’s own life took different turns, from a New York City kid to beginner fisherman during summers in Maine, two threads that wound together to form his adult working life.
October 1, 2020 — The transatlantic trade conflict isn’t showing signs of winding down any time soon, and a ruling from the World Trade Organization means that a fresh round of retaliatory tariffs could jeopardize the nascent economic recoveries in both the U.S. and the European Union.
The WTO gave the EU authorization to impose tariffs on $4 billion of U.S. exports over illegal government aid provided to Boeing Co., according to two people familiar with the decision. The EU previously said it would act on the levies immediately to counteract $7.5 billion of tariffs Washington placed on European goods in a separate case involving Toulouse, France-based Airbus SE.
The judgment comes at a delicate moment, with the U.S. presidential election just over a month away and as the U.S. and the EU struggle to recover from coronavirus-induced recessions. The EU tariffs will target coal producers, farmers and fisheries, in addition to aircraft makers, all politically important industries for President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress.
October 1, 2020 — The U.S. International Trade Commission heard testimony Thursday, 1 October, on the effect the trade agreement between Canada and the European Union has had on America’s lobster industry.
The Canada-E.U. pact, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), has had a detrimental effect on U.S. lobstermen and exporters since it took effect three years ago, according to Robert DeHaan, the vice president for government affairs for the National Fisheries Institute. DeHaan said the deal meant U.S. exporters faced 8 percent tariffs on live lobsters and up to 20 percent on value-added products while their Canadian counterparts paid no levies on the same products, providing them with a significant competitive advantage.
September 28, 2020 — Maine’s lobster fishermen braced for a difficult summer this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but then the unexpected happened. They kept catching lobsters, and people kept buying them.
The pandemic has posed significant challenges for the state’s lobster fishery, which is the nation’s largest, but members of the industry reported a steady catch and reasonable prices at the docks. Prices for consumers and wholesalers were low in the early part of the summer but picked up in August to be about on par with a typical summer.
The Maine lobster industry is in the midst of a multiyear boom, and fishermen have caught more than 100 million pounds (45,360,000 kilograms) for a record nine years in a row.