Saving Seafood

MAINE: Lobstermen fear new rules as Biden revokes Trump executive orders on regulation

February 18, 2021 — New executive orders are flying off President Joe Biden’s desk.

Many of those orders seek to reinstate regulations lifted by former President Donald Trump or enact new ones.

Mainers who make a living on the water are particularly concerned about new regulations, and Maine’s Congressional delegation is concerned, as well.

They’ve sent multiple letters to federal agencies, attempting to inform the rulemaking process on fishery management plans.

Thousands of lobstermen say they fear that new regulations could leave them trapped.

“It could put a few of the smaller guys right out of business because they can’t compete with it,” lobsterman George Anderson said.

Conservation groups say it’s endangered whales that are feeling the pinch as they get tangled in rope.

Read the full story at WGME

MAINE: Local legislators float several fisheries bills

February 18, 2021 — The 130th Maine Legislature has released a list of bills proposed in the House and Senate, and local representatives are focused on the commercial fishing industry, alongside other constituent concerns.

The lobster fishery, in particular, is grappling with the prospect of offshore wind energy development and conservation measures, both of which could affect lobstermen and their livelihood.

While more than 1,600 bills have been introduced since the Legislature opened session on Dec. 2, 2020, many are just working titles as the proposed legislation is prepared for committee review.

Fisherman and state Rep. William “Billy Bob” Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) is sponsoring “An Act to Prohibit Offshore Wind Energy Development” (LD 101). Last November, Governor Janet Mills proposed a floating offshore research array of wind energy turbines in the Gulf of Maine, and on Jan. 25 confirmed the project. No decision has been made on a site. After an outcry from the fishing industry, she also has proposed a 10-year moratorium on new wind energy development in Maine-managed waters.

Mills has said that by “focusing on floating offshore technology deep in the Gulf of Maine where the wind is strongest, we will protect Maine’s maritime heritage and coastal economy while being out front in this new competitive industry.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Proposed 2021-2026 Specifications for the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries

February 17, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comments on a proposed rule that would set the commercial harvest quotas for Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs for the 2021 through 2026 fishing years based on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommendation.

The proposed quotas, which have remained unchanged since 2004, are:

  • Atlantic surfclams: 3.4 million bushels
  • Ocean quahogs: 5.36 million bushels
  • Maine ocean quahogs: 100,000 Maine bushels

In addition, the Atlantic surfclam minimum size limit would be suspended for 2021, as it has been every year since 2005. There is currently no minimum size for ocean quahogs.

For more details on the proposed specifications, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. The comment period is open through March 4, 2021.

Questions?

Industry: Contact Laura Hansen, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9225

Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Maine’s richest scallop fishing grounds closed for year

February 12, 2021 — Maine fishing regulators are closing the state’s richest scallop fishing grounds in the coming days.

The state is closing Cobscook, Whiting and Dennys bays for the rest of the fishing season starting Sunday to help conserve the scallop population, the Maine Department of Marine Resources said Friday. Cobscook Bay is home to some of the most productive scallop fishing in the state.

Scallops may still be harvested by drag boats only on Feb. 15 and by divers only on Feb. 20, the marine department said. The St. Croix River, another key scallop fishing area, will remain open until further notice, the department said.

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

Ropeless Fishing Shows Promise, But There’s a Catch: Financial, Safety, Technology Challenges

February 12, 2021 — The lobster industry could be getting a new sound.

On a cold January morning, a lobster trap sitting on a table at a manufacturing facility in Wareham is rhythmically beeping. Two final beeps have a special meaning.

“So that’s the release confirmation,” explained Rob Morris, who sells acoustic release systems for the underwater technology company EdgeTech.

With this technology, lobstermen can send the acoustic signal from a phone app to a trap on the ocean floor. The signal triggers an airbag, with a line attached, to launch up to the surface, allowing the traps to be hauled in. These “ropeless” systems do away with the high number of vertical lines that run from buoys on the surface down to traps on the ocean floor.

Looking at this table, Morris sees the future of the fishery – and many conservationists share that hope. Ropeless fishing eliminates vertical lines in the water column that are blamed for around half of all reported North Atlantic right whale deaths.

But experts say the transition to ropeless is moving too slowly. By the time working gear can get into the boats of thousands of lobstermen across New England, it may be too late to save critically endangered right whales.

It’s being held up by technical, regulatory, and financial factors.

Read the full story at WGBH

MAINE: Local fisherman tests the waters with oyster venture

February 10, 2021 — Chris Kane’s small oyster farm in Western Bay is off to a successful start. A local lobster fisherman for the last 15 years, Kane was recently granted a limited purpose aquaculture license to try his hand at growing the tasty bivalve.

Farming oysters not only can help supply fresh products to meet market demand but can also help keep the waters and the surrounding environment clean. Oysters eat naturally occurring plankton and algae and an adult oyster can also filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day.

“Since people started farming oysters, I have heard that there are now wild growing populations of oysters, which is good,” said Kane.

Last year, Kane applied for a limited purpose aquaculture (LPA) license from the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) to grow oysters. LPAs differ from a standard aquaculture lease in that their term is only for one year and the cultivation space is limited to up to 400 square feet. It didn’t take long for the DMR to approve Kane for a LPA license.

“You have to do the paperwork and you can’t just apply to put one anywhere,” said Kane, adding that “it took me a while to really pick a good site out.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Maine Startup Aims To Pull Carbon Out Of The Atmosphere By Growing — And Then Sinking — Kelp Farms

February 10, 2021 — The fight against climate change has long focused on scaling back humanity’s emissions of planet-warming carbon-dioxide. But a movement is growing to think bigger and find ways to actually pull existing CO2 out of the air and lock it up somewhere safe.

One Maine startup has an innovative approach that’s drawing attention from scientists and investors: grow massive amounts of seaweed and then bury it at the bottom of the deepest sea, where it will sequester carbon for thousands of years.

On a fishing boat a few miles out in the Gulf of Maine, Capt. Rob Odlin and Adam Rich are tossing buoys into the water. Each is tethered to a rope entwined with tiny seeds of kelp, a fast-growing seaweed.

“We’re just fishing for carbon now, and kelp’s the net,” Odlin says.

Read the full story at Maine Public

Entrepreneurs are finding new ways to use fish waste at a Maine co-working space

February 10, 2021 — Patrick Breeding and his partner developed a cream to fight dry skin from lobster waste out of necessity.

He and girlfriend Amber Boutiette were bioengineering graduate students at the University of Maine studying ways to use lobster byproducts, the parts that are tossed away. At the same time Boutiette was unable to find a product that relieved her eczema, a condition that makes skin red and itchy.

The duo discovered a protein in a lobster circulatory fluid that helps the crustacean heal wounds, developed the cream and last November formed Marin Skincare to sell it. The initial batch of the cream sold out in two months, Breeding said.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

$400K in federal funds may help open new markets for Maine aquaculture

February 9, 2021 — A research project looking at new and underserved markets for Maine’s aquaculture industry has been awarded $400,499 in federal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant program.

The award, announced Friday, will go to the Maine Sea Grant, according to a news release.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous negative impact on all seafood producers,” said Sebastian Belle, the association’s executive director. “The work that will be done in this project will be critical in helping our members adapt to and recover from the challenges they are facing.”

The award will support the research of potential new and underserved markets for Maine-grown aquaculture products, and will fund efforts to seek partnerships between aquaculture and wild capture supply chains.

“Maine’s aquaculture industry has undergone significant growth and diversification in recent years, creating new jobs and economic opportunities in our state,” U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a joint statement.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Fresh mesh: Technology gives the ancient fishing technique of seining a total overhaul

February 5, 2021 — While the earliest incarnations of trawling can be traced back to the 1700s, the earliest versions of seine fishing are depicted on Egyptian tombs from 5,000 years ago. With advances in net technology, sensors and haulers, there is nothing primitive in the way seiners operate today.

Barry Matthews comes from a purse seining family on Canada’s Campobello Island, just across the international bridge from Lubec, Maine.

“Ivan (Matthews) practically invented it,” says Matthews, who launched his boat, the Ocean Venture, six years ago and bought a powerful seine skiff built in Seattle.

Things have changed since Ivan’s day. “I buy twine in bales from another country,” says Matthews. “They come in 50-fathom sections, and we put them together. The biggest we use is 400 fathom, 200 meshes deep, about 60 fathom. They’re a lot bigger than what we used to use. Used to be 6 pounds per fathom, now it’s 20-25 per fathom. We’re using 3/4-inch cable.”

Matthews talks about the greater weight of the nylon seines he hauls aboard, but Menon “Gopa” Gopakumar, of the India-based fiber producer Garware Technical Fibres, is excited about new fibers for nets.

Read the full story at National Fisherman