Saving Seafood

Bullard’s right whale challenge angers lobstermen

April 4, 2018 — In January, on his way out the door of NOAA Fisheries and into retirement, former Regional Administrator John K. Bullard didn’t hesitate when asked for the most critical management issue facing the federal fisheries regulator.

Clearly, he said, it is the desperate plight of the North Atlantic right whales.

Bullard may have left behind the daily responsibilities of running the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, but he took his bully pulpit with him.

On Monday, he published an op-ed piece in the Boston Globe challenging the U.S. commercial lobster industry — predominately based in Maine and Massachusetts, where Gloucester and Rockport are the top ports — to take the lead in trying to head off the extinction of the North Atlantic right whales.

“The $669 million lobster industry must assume a leadership role in solving a problem that it bears significant responsibility for creating,” Bullard wrote in his piece. “Entanglements occur in other fixed-gear fisheries, but the number of lobster trawls in the ocean swamps other fisheries.”

While he also carved out a role for scientists, non-governmental organizations and fishery managers in the hunt for solutions, Bullard’s emphasis on the lobster industry did not sit well with local lobstermen, who believed their industry was being singled out.

“Most of what I have to say you probably couldn’t print,” said longtime lobsterman Johnny “Doc” Herrick, who ties up his Dog & I at the Everett R. Jodrey State Fish Pier. “We’ve done everything that they’ve asked us to do.”

“And then some,” said Scott McPhail, the skipper of the Black & Gold lobster boat, which also docks at the state fish pier. “They won’t be happy until we have to drop and haul all our gear out of the water at the end of every day we fish.”

‘Canada needs to get on board’

Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, said her membership continues to be concerned that the focus for solving the North Atlantic right whale crisis is zeroed in on the lobster industry.

“We feel like we’re continually in the cross-hairs,” she said.

Casoni and lobstermen cited, as examples of the industry’s cooperation, existing modifications to gear and area closures. They spoke of the lobstermen’s role in joint research projects and of a fishery that prides itself on self-regulation, where cheating often is dealt with in camera among the boats.

They also pointed out that the majority of whale mortalities are the product of ship strikes and that 12 of the 17 North Atlantic right whale deaths in 2017 occurred in Canadian waters.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

Word of Gloucester Seafood Processing reopening catches city leaders by surprise

April 3, 2018 — The comments last week by the founder of the Mazzetta Company that the seafood processor will resume processing fresh fish at its largely dormant Gloucester Seafood Processing plant caught many by surprise — including city officials.

Tom Mazzetta, the chief executive officer of the Illinois-based seafood conglomerate that bears his family’s name, told a respected fishing website that the Gloucester Seafood Processing plant in the Blackburn Industrial Park will resume operations before the year is out.

“We’ll be processing the finest fish in New England before the end of the year,” Mazzetta was quoted as saying in the Undercurrentnews.com piece.

On Monday morning, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken said the city has not heard a peep from anyone at the Mazzetta Company about re-firing daily operations at Gloucester Seafood Processing which the company unexpectedly — and without explanation — shuttered in December 2016, a little more than a year after it first opened.

“We haven’t heard a word, not from anyone in Illinois or from anyone associated with the plant here,” Romeo Theken said during an event Monday with NOAA Regional Administrator Mike Pentony at the city’s alewife fishway in West Gloucester.

According to the online story posted late last week, Mazzetta declined to expand on the company’s plans beyond his simple statement.

He wouldn’t say if Gloucester Seafood Processing also would be processing lobsters, as it did when it first opened in 2015, or what the size and composition of the new work force will be following the re-opening.

He didn’t reveal whether the property at 21-29 Great Republic Drive, which was listed online for sale last December (with an asking price of $17 million) will be coming off the market. He also refused to shed any light on why Gloucester Seafood Processing was closed in the first place.

Mazzetta did not respond Monday to phone calls from the Gloucester Daily Times seeking clarification and amplification on his comments to the website.

Mazzetta, with the assistance of city and state tax sweeteners, bought the former Good Harbor Fillet property in the industrial park for about $5 million in 2014 from High Liner Foods.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

Atlantic marine monument suit can move forward

March 30, 2018 — Fishing organizations are set to proceed with their suit against the federal government to reopen fishing grounds in New England.

President Obama established the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument, which included a blanket commercial fishing ban in an area that was already closed to some gear types under the New England Fishery Management Council’s jurisdiction.

The lawsuit has been held up since April 2017 by a Trump administration review of several national monuments created under the Obama administration. Recent filings at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia say the hold was lifted in mid-March.

The lawsuit argues that Obama never had the authority to establish the monument under the the Antiquities Act, given that the ocean is not “land owned or controlled by the federal government,” as the act stipulates.

In December, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended making changes to marine national monument policies and proposed shifting the responsibility for controlling fishing within the monument to the regional fishery management councils.

“No president should use the authority under the act to restrict public access, prevent hunting and fishing, burden private land, or eliminate traditional land uses, unless such action is needed to protect the objects,” wrote Zinke in his recommendation.

Since Zinke’s official recommendations, no public action has been taken by the administration to address his statement.

Fishing industry leaders involved with the suit are ready to pick up where they left off.

“The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association is optimistically encouraged, given the forward movement of the lawsuit,” said Beth Casoni, executive director of The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “We are hopeful to regain the fishing grounds that were taken away from the fleet and to set a legal precedent through the court that will prevent any further draconian actions against the fleet.”

While lobster and deep-sea red crab fisheries were granted a 7-year grandfather period, all other commercial fishing was banned when the 5,000-square-mile monument was established in order to protect deep-sea corals and vulnerable species like North Atlantic right whales.

“To lose a big area that we have historically fished has quite an impact on quite a lot of people here,” Jon Williams, a New Bedford, Mass., crabber and a member of plaintiff group Offshore Lobstermen’s Association told the Associated Press.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

NMFS Northeast Administrator Michael Pentony taking on whale crisis

February 23, 2018 — In January, Michael Pentony was named to replace John Bullard as the new Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Office. Pentony has been with NOAA since 2002 and was most recently the Assistant Regional Administrator for the Sustainable Fisheries Division. Prior to joining NOAA, he was a policy analyst for five years at the New England Fishery Management Council.

Supervising recreational and commercial fisheries, as well as overseeing the welfare of marine species like whales and seals in 100,000 square miles of ocean from the Canadian border to Cape Hatteras and the Great Lakes is no easy task. Pentony inherited a region of tremendous potential but beset by problems both environmental and regulatory.

“The number one issue right now is the right whale crisis,” Pentony said in a phone interview Thursday. “It will occupy our resources and energy for the next several years until we can reverse the trend. That’s going to be a significant challenge.”

NOAA has the unenviable task of managing fisheries so that fishermen get the maximum sustainable yield out of commercial species while being legally bound to protect and restore the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Pentony’s agency has been named in two recent lawsuits that homed in on its management of the New England lobster industry, one of the primary culprits responsible for whale deaths through entanglement in buoy lines.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency. We have to take action and look at all possible avenues,” Pentony said. “We have a lot of faith in the (Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team) process…Right now everything has to be on the table because it’s such a crisis.”

At the same time, lobsters, which are critical to the economy of many small coastal communities, particularly in Maine, are showing some signs that their boom years may be coming to an end. “Hopefully, lobster in the Gulf of Maine is not going to be a problem like we’ve seen in Southern New England lobster. It’s something we are keeping an eye on,” Pentony said.

A large part of the decline of the lobster population to the south of Cape Cod was warming waters due to climate change. Pentony said a warming ocean and its effect on stock abundance, prey, water currents, temperature gradients, increased susceptibility to disease, impacts many species. Many are on the move, seeking cooler water, perhaps in habitats that provide less food or inadequate protection from predators. Others require management changes that could take time.

Black sea bass, for instance, appear to be moving north into the Gulf of Maine where they were rarely seen in numbers. But the bulk of the quota is held by southern states. Unless higher quotas are negotiated for New England fishermen, they could find their fishery on other species restricted by a limit on black sea bass while losing out on selling the bass they do catch.

“That’s a climate change issue and a management conundrum,” Pentony said. “We have management challenges on stocks that are in poor shape, but even on a healthy stock we have these challenges.”

Pentony would like to see the expansion of aquaculture, both shellfish and finfish.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

Maine: Lobstermen must report total catch

February 22, 2018 — New regulations passed February 6 by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requires 100 percent catch reporting by all Maine lobster and Jonah crab fishermen within five years. Developing an electronic reporting method for Maine fishermen is also under way.

“We argued against it heavily for quite a while,” Sen. Brian Langley (R-Ellsworth) said. “Stonington lands more than all of Southern New England.”

Langley, along with Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher and Stephen Train of Long Island, represent Maine on the commission.

“It’s like a game of Survivor down there,” Langley added. With the collapse of the lobster industry in Southern New England, “Maine sometimes is up against other states.”

Currently, only 10 percent of Maine lobstermen, selected randomly within specific categories, are required to file catch reports for each trip. Fishermen in the 14 other ASFMC member states report all their catch.

However, Maine has the largest lobster fishery of all member states, producing about four-fifths of the nation’s lobster harvest.

“It’s unfortunate states with a few hundred fishermen voted for Maine fishermen,” said Rep. Walter Kumiega (D-Deer Isle), House Chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources and 2018 candidate for state senator.

Keliher’s motion to maintain current harvester reporting efforts was amended to add that 100 percent harvester reporting be required within five years—better than the immediate adoption of the regulation that had been earlier presented. A further amendment, that if a commercial harvester landed less than 1,000 pounds of lobster or Jonah crab in the previous year a monthly summary could be submitted, was also successful. The amended motion unanimously passed, as did a provision to develop electronic reporting.

Read the full story at Island Ad-Vantages

 

Scientists: New lobster fishing technology could save whales

February 20, 2018 — FALMOUTH, Mass. — Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are urging New England lobstermen to begin using new technology to help prevent the deaths of rare right whales.

The Boston Globe reports scientists from the institution recently met with fishermen to push for the use of traps that can be brought to the surface using radio signals that can inflate bags or send lines to the surface, rather than relying on ropes connected to buoys.

Scientists say that over the past year, at least 18 right whales have died, many after becoming entangled in the ropes. They say there are just 450 of the whales left in the world and just 100 breeding females.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WTOP

 

Head of Maine’s largest commercial fishing advocacy group to retire after 27 years

February 20, 2018 — David Cousens, the president of Maine Lobstermen’s Association since 1991, has decided to step down from the advocacy group.

“I’ve been doing it for so long, it’s time for the younger generation to step up,” the South Thomaston lobsterman said Thursday. “I’m retiring from the political [stuff].”

Cousens says he officially will step down at the MLA annual meeting, which will be held Friday, March 2 as part of the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport.

Cousens, 60, said he wants more time to focus on lobster fishing, spare time to spend with his first grandchild who is expected to be born soon, and less time on the road driving to fishery management gatherings throughout the Northeast.

“I burned out I don’t know how many trucks,” said Cousens, adding he drives between 25,000 and 30,000 miles each year just going to meetings.

He also said someone else should take the lead in addressing what has turned into the dominant factor that likely will shape Maine’s $500 million lobster fishery for years to come: whale conservation.

As Maine’s lobster fishery has changed in recent decades, with many fishermen going further offshore and using more durable rope and multi-trap trawls, it also has faced increased scrutiny from regulators and conservationists who say whales are increasingly at risk of entanglements. In 2009 and again in 2014, lobstermen were required to change how they fish in order to reduce the threat of entanglement to whales, which are protected by federal law.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

To protect right whales, scientists propose major changes for lobstermen

February 20, 2018 — WOODS HOLE, Mass. — Without prompt action to reduce entanglements in fishing lines, North Atlantic right whales could disappear from the planet over the next two decades, scientists say.

In response, scientists here on Cape Cod are proposing a novel way to save the species — one that many New England lobstermen fear could destroy their livelihoods.

At a recent meeting with a host of skeptical lobstermen, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution presented the concept of ropeless fishing, a nascent technology that eliminates the need for the long, taut ropes that extend from millions of traps at the bottom of the ocean to their buoys at the surface. These ropes have killed many of the docile mammals.

“I want to see a profitable, sustainable lobster industry that’s not abusive to the animals,” said Michael Moore, director of the Marine Mammal Center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “But what’s happening now isn’t working. We’re painfully and inexorably squeezing the life out of these animals.”

Over the past year, at least 18 right whales have died — a grave blow to a species with only about 450 left in the world and just 100 breeding females. Scientists fear they’re not reproducing fast enough and could face extinction as soon as 2040.

The problem, Moore and his colleagues say, is that most fatalities appear to be the result of right whales becoming entangled in fishing lines. In a federal survey of right whale deaths between 2010 and 2014, scientists found that 82 percent died as a result of entanglements. The rest died from ship strikes.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

 

Managers approve rules for better lobster catch data

February 8, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — Interstate fishing managers say they have approved a new set of rules for lobster and crab fishing that they expect will improve data collection about the two valuable species.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved the new rules earlier this week. The commission says the new rules expand the amount of data fishermen are required to report and prioritizes development of electronic reporting.

The new rules apply to lobsters and Jonah crabs. The commission says both fisheries are expanding in offshore areas.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News & World Report

Request for Comments: Proposed Rule to Increase Catch Levels in Federal Waters and Prohibit Recreational Harvest of Spiny Lobster in the South Atlantic Using Traps

February 2, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries requests your comments on the proposed rule for Regulatory Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for Spiny Lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic (Regulatory Amendment 4). Regulatory Amendment 4 would increase the catch limit for spiny lobster based on updated landings information and revised scientific recommendations; and prohibit the use of traps for recreational harvest of spiny lobster in federal waters off North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Comments are due by March 4, 2018

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES: 

  • The proposed rule would increase the catch limit for spiny lobster from 7.3 million pounds to 9.6 million pounds.
  • Currently, recreational harvest of spiny lobster using traps is prohibited in federal waters off Florida, but is allowed in federal waters off North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The proposed rule would make the prohibition consistent throughout the federal waters off all four states in the South Atlantic region.

HOW TO COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED RULE: 

The comment period is open from February 2, 2018, through March 4, 2018. You may submit comments by electronic submission or by postal mail. Comments sent by any other method (such as e-mail), to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA Fisheries.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER:
83 FR 4890, published February 2, 2018

Electronic Submissions:Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.

  1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0125.
  2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.
  3. Enter or attach your comments.

Mail: Submit written comments to Nikhil Mehta, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Why increase the catch limits for spiny lobster?

  • Current catch limits for spiny lobster are based on landings from fishing years 2000/2001 through 2009/2010. This time period included years where landings were historically low.
  • The Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils’ Scientific and Statistical Committees recommended specifying catch limits for spiny lobster using a longer time series of spiny lobster landings (fishing years1991/1992 through 2015/2016).
  • The longer time period isbetter suited to capture the dynamics of the fishery that are influenced by factors beyond spiny lobster biology and harvest, such as environmental conditions.
  • The proposed increase in catch limits is based on the best scientific information available.

Why would recreational harvest of spiny lobster using traps be prohibited in federal waters off North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia?

  • Use of traps to catch spiny lobster by recreational fishermen off Florida is prohibited.
  • To date, the public has expressed little interest in using traps for the recreational harvest of spiny lobster off North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This may be due to a daily bag or possession limit for spiny lobster from federal waters other than Florida, of two per person for commercial and recreational fishing, year-round.
  • The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is concerned that recreational use of trap gear may become more popular and result in potential negative impacts on essential fish habitat and result in an increase in the use of vertical lines that may interact with protected species (entanglement issues).
  • Trap gear also has the potential to “ghost” fish (trap continues to fish after it is lost).
  • Because spiny lobsters are larger in size in federal waters off Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina than off Florida, current trap configuration may not be efficient in capturing spiny lobster. Recreational traps used off Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina may require larger entrances which could result in greater bycatch of fish, crabs, and other invertebrates.
  • The proposed rule would make the trap prohibition for recreational fishermen consistent throughout the federal waters off all four states in the South Atlantic region.
  • Consistent regulations regarding this prohibition would aid law enforcement and avoid confusion among the fishers.

Where can I find more information on Regulatory Amendment 4? 

  • Contact NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office

By Mail: Nikhil Mehta

NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office

Sustainable Fisheries Division

263 13th Avenue South

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505

By FAX: (727) 824-5308

By Phone: (727) 824-5305

Access this and other Fishery Bulletins from NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office by clicking here.