Saving Seafood

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD: Maine lobster fishery doesn’t need a lecture on ethics from PETA

August 2, 2018 — One of the most interesting things about living in Maine is seeing all the people who come to visit us every summer.

But one group’s annual appearance is something that we don’t look forward to much – it’s the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and its annual attack on the lobster fishery.

This year, PETA has tried to make a splash by buying advertising at the Portland International Jetport, hoping to dissuade visitors from eating lobster while they’re here. It features a picture of a lobster that says: “I’m ME, not Meat! See the individual. Go Vegan.”

The question of whether lobsters see themselves as individuals separate from all other beings on the planet with a life that has a beginning and an end – in other words, whether they have consciousness – is too much to answer in this space. Let’s just say we strongly doubt it.

But as to the question of whether eating Maine lobsters can be considered ethical, we do have an opinion. It is.

The Maine lobster fishery is one of the most sustainable in the world. The men and women who bait traps have a history of self-imposed conservation measures and are governed by thoughtful regulations going back to 1879.

Read the full opinion piece at the Portland Press Herald

CFRF Lobster & Jonah Crab Research Session 8/30/18

August 2, 2018 — The following was released by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation:

Please join the CFRF and its collaborators for a Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Session on Thursday, August 30, 2018 from 4-6 PM at the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island. The Research Session will include:

  • Discussion of the Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Fleet, including reflections from participant fishermen, data summaries, plans for the future, and viewing of the project documentary video.
  • Presentations from collaborators at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries on Jonah crab size at sexual maturity and the sustainability of the Jonah crab fishery.
  • Presentations from lobster and Jonah crab stock assessment scientists at the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center focusing on the use of the Research Fleet’s data in the lobster stock assessment and Jonah crab management plan.

To read more about the project and for project updates visit the project web page here.

RSVP to Aubrey at (401) 515-4892 or aellertson@cfrfoundation.org .

The research session is being held at the Commercial Fisheries Center of RI, Building 61B, URI East Farm Campus, Kingston, RI  (click here for directions).

Fresh or frozen? Arkansas has to rely on trucks and planes for faster water-to-table seafood

July 30, 2018 — If you live on a coastline, fresh seafood means a couple of hours — or less — from sea to table to mouth.

Earlier that day, that fish was alive. Somebody caught it and took it to a dock, from whence somebody quickly delivered it to a restaurant or the market, where you ordered or bought it.

In Arkansas, where even the southern tier of counties is several hundred miles from salt water, seafood is truly “fresh” only if somebody just fished it from a river, lake or stream. In a few rare instances, a cook may have pulled it, live, from a restaurant tank. (For example, live lobsters.)

In the current culinary context, however, “fresh” seafood mostly means is that it isn’t frozen. In most cases, it’s packed on ice — well, not necessarily ice, but technological ice: gel pacs or dry ice that keep it at a constant temperature — at the dock or in a warehouse so it stays chilled but doesn’t freeze.

It ships by airplane to a seafood distributor or auction house in an intermediate city such as Memphis or Dallas. And then it’s trucked to restaurant kitchens and markets around the state, the biggest restaurant markets being Little Rock, Fayetteville and Bentonville.

By that time, it has been, perhaps, en route anywhere from 18 to 36 hours. It still qualifies as “fresh” because it hasn’t been “frozen.” And streamlined shipping methods have made that a pretty quick turnaround, according to a pair of Little Rock restaurateurs who run multiple establishments that serve seafood and a local scion of a New England family that supplies it.

‘SMELL THE OCEAN’

“When we do a special at Oceans at Arthur’s, say, halibut from Alaska, it was caught Monday and Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, it’s here,” says Manjeev De Mel, general manager at the three Little Rock restaurants owned and operated by Jerry Barakat — Arthur’s Prime Steakhouse; its west Little Rock sibling, Oceans at Arthur’s; and Hillcrest’s Kemuri sushi, seafood, robata.

Read the full story at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

 

Vineyard Wind, R.I. fishermen still at odds over turbines

July 30, 2018 — NARRAGANSETT, R.I. — Nearly four months into a review of its proposal by Rhode Island coastal regulators, Vineyard Wind has been unable to allay fears that its proposed offshore wind farm of up to 100 turbines would harm the state’s fishing industry.

With a key approval from the Coastal Resources Management Council at stake, the New Bedford-based company has agreed to a two-month extension in an attempt to bridge the divide with agency staff and Rhode Island fishermen over the $2-billion project that would be built in 250 square miles of ocean south of Martha’s Vineyard.

At a recent meeting with the company and fishermen, Coastal Resources Management Council executive director Grover Fugate announced the stay, which pushes back a decision by the agency until Dec. 6.

The delay comes after Fugate sent a letter to Vineyard Wind signaling that the agency is unlikely to award a “consistency certification” to the 800-megawatt wind farm as it’s currently configured. Fugate recommended an alternate layout of the turbines to minimize impacts to fishing grounds for squid, lobster and other species that are critical to Rhode Island fishermen.

During the meeting last Thursday of the Fishermen’s Advisory Board, which advises the council on fishing issues related to offshore wind, Rhode Island fishermen complained that Vineyard Wind never took their needs into account when designing the wind farm. Over three hours of back and forth that at points grew heated, they repeatedly said that the orientation of the wind farm and the spacing of the turbines would make it nearly impossible for them to fish within its boundaries.

“You’re talking about gutting an entire industry, the Rhode Island industry,” said Lanny Dellinger, a lobsterman who heads the board. “If you do this, we’re all out of business.”

After the meeting, Fugate was asked if the council could approve the current design of the project.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

 

Maine Lobster Industry Has Yet to Feel Full Impact of China Tariffs

July 27, 2018 — Bob Baines does not believe new foreign tariffs will have an immediate impact on the Maine lobster industry.

“The state is catching mostly new-shell lobsters that don’t ship well to China or the EU yet,” he said, plucking a few twisting lobsters from his haul to display the small number mature enough for an overseas voyage.

That won’t last, Baines said, and harder shells will come with more difficult trade barriers.

Moving quickly around the deck of his lobster boat Thrasher, Baines unloaded flat crates of live catch onto a dock adjacent to the Spruce Head Fisherman’s Co-Op, where he serves as president of the South Thomaston nonprofit that brokers sales for more than 40 dues-paying members.

Read the full story at The Free Press

All shell, no shock: Lobster prices strong, season picks up

July 26, 2018 — New England’s lobster industry faces big new challenges in selling to Europe and China, but the trouble hasn’t caused prices to budge much for American consumers.

The business is in the midst of its busiest part of the year, when tourists flock to coastal states with a beachside lobster dinner in mind. Summer is also when prices tend to fall a bit because it’s when the majority of lobsters are caught.

But the prices haven’t fallen much. Retailers are selling live lobsters in the $7 to $12 per pound (per 0.45 kilogram) range in Maine, where the American lobster industry is based. That’s not too far behind recent summers.

“It’s starting to pick up, so of course the price is dropping. But that’s pretty normal,” said William Adler, a lobsterman out of Green Harbor, Massachusetts. “Now it’s starting to come alive, and prices are still good right now.”

Members of the industry are concerned about heavy new tariffs applied by China to U.S. seafood this month, because that country is a major lobster buyer. Canada also recently brokered a deal with the European Union to remove tariffs on Canadian lobster exports to Europe, while the U.S. has no such agreement.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Akron Legal News

Sen. Jack Reed joins New England senators to designate a ‘National Lobster Day’

July 26, 2018 –In celebration of one of New England’s favorite crustaceans, Sen. Jack Reed is joining in the fight to designate Sept. 25 as “National Lobster Day.”

Reed is joining a bipartisan group of Senators from New England to introduce the new legislation. He said “National Lobster Day” would honor the lobsters’ economic, historic, cultural and culinary contributions to Rhode Island and across the nation.

“National Lobster Day is a fun and tasty way to pay tribute to our local lobstermen and women and the important economic impact lobsters have on Rhode Island’s economy,” Reed said. “It is a great way to celebrate an industry that supports hundreds of Rhode Island families and helps bring tourists to the area to enjoy delicious, freshly caught lobster and seafood.”

The resolution is being led by Maine’s Sen. Angus King and Sen. Susan Collins.

Reed also said “National Lobster Day” would help Rhode Island’s restaurants boost sales.

“Whether you enjoy lobster fresh off the boat, or with fresh-made pasta, Rhode Island offers plenty of ways to join the celebration,” Reed said.

Read the full story at WPRI

Documents Released on Trump Administration Defense of National Monument Actions

July 25, 2018 — In today’s print edition, the Washington Post published an article by Juliet Eilperin on the Trump administration and national monuments. The article, based on internal documents from the Interior Department, was critical of senior officials for allegedly dismissing positive information on the benefits of national monuments.

The majority of the story focused on land-based monuments, but with regard to marine monuments, the Post reported that,“On Sept. 11, 2017, Randal Bowman, the lead staffer for the review, suggested deleting language that most fishing vessels near the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument ‘generated 5% or less of their annual landings from within the monument’ because it ‘undercuts the case for the ban being harmful.’”

Saving Seafood executive director Bob Vanasse was quoted in the article noting that “‘Trump administration officials have been more open to outside input than their predecessors.’ … ‘They had a lot of meetings with our folks but didn’t listen,’ he said of Obama officials, adding even some Massachusetts Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about the New England marine monument’s fishing restrictions.”

The article suggested that Mr. Bowman, a career Interior Department employee and not a Trump administration appointee, purposefully excised information from logbook data indicating that, on the whole, most vessels fishing near the monument generate just 5 percent of their landings from within the monument.

However, there are valid reasons to be cautious about the logbook-data driven 5 percent statistic. There are more sources available to characterize fishing activity – in addition to just logbooks, formally known as “vessel trip reports”, which was the sole source cited in the email referenced in the Post story. While, as the material references states, the information comes from NOAA and the fishery management councils so it can be presumed accurate, the context is missing.

An Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) survey identified recent (2014-2015) fishing activity within the boundaries of the National Monument that, if the Obama executive order is not reversed, will be closed to the fishery in the future. The results indicate that 12-14 percent of the offshore lobster fishery effort and 13-14 percent of revenue ($2.4-2.8 million annually) for the lobster and Jonah crab fishery comes from the area of the National Monument. This revenue is significantly higher than that derived from the vessel trip report (logbook) analysis, which is only about $0.7 million annually.

The document cited in the Post story correctly cites the $2.4-$2.8 million annual revenue in those fisheries, but it does not make clear the significant percentage of offshore revenue that comes from the monument area. Similarly, when the document cites $1.8 million from the Monument region annually (2010-2015), that includes only the $0.7 million lobster trap revenues derived from vessel trip reports, not the total indicated by the ASMFC survey for more recent years.

While it is generally accurate, if one looks at the entire fishing industry in the region, to make the statement that only a small number of vessels derive more than 5 percent of their revenue from the Monument area, for those vessels and fisheries that conduct significant portions of their operations in the monument area, the economic harm is significant.

Also, in a document attached to the story, a margin comment erroneously states that NOAA advised the Interior Department that the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for red crab was “revoked.” That is not the case. In 2009, the red crab fishery became the first MSC-certified fishery on the East Coast. The certification was never revoked. The certification expired because the participants in the fishery determined that the cost to pursue renewal of the certification exceeded the financial benefits they anticipated would arise from maintaining it, and they decided voluntarily to allow it to lapse.

Read the full Washington Post story

Read further coverage of this story from E&E News

Changes coming to herring fishery as bait crunch looms

July 25, 2018 — New England’s lobster fishing industry is again facing the possibility of a bait shortage, and ocean managers are looking to make some tweaks to the herring fishery.

The lobster and herring fisheries are tied to each other because herring is the preferred bait for lobster traps. But fishermen in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have sometimes had trouble getting enough bait in recent summers.

An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission changed some of the rules about herring fishing off of New England starting on Monday. The rules have to do with how many days herring fishermen can operate, and how much fish they can bring to land.

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

All shell, no shock: Lobster prices strong as season picks up

July 23, 2018 — New England’s lobster industry faces big new challenges in selling to Europe and China, but the trouble hasn’t caused prices to budge much for American consumers.

The business is in the midst of its busiest part of the year, when tourists flock to coastal states with a beachside lobster dinner in mind. Summer is also when prices tend to fall a bit because it’s when the majority of lobsters are caught.

But the prices haven’t fallen much. Retailers are selling live lobsters in the $7 to $12 per pound range in Maine, where the American lobster industry is based. That’s not too far behind recent summers.

“It’s starting to pick up, so of course the price is dropping. But that’s pretty normal,” said William Adler, a lobsterman out of Green Harbor, Massachusetts. “Now it’s starting to come alive, and prices are still good right now.”

Members of the industry are concerned about heavy new tariffs applied by China to U.S. seafood this month, because that country is a major lobster buyer. Canada also recently brokered a deal with the European Union to remove tariffs on Canadian lobster exports to Europe, while the U.S. has no such agreement.

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