August 19, 2020 — Last year, Maine’s lobster fishery brought in almost $500 million to the state, and even more when you count the economic benefits to dealers, processors and restaurants. Now, with the pandemic hindering the market for lobsters locally and around the world, this signature industry has been impacted severely. We will talk about how the industry is facing challenges, and what efforts are underway to find new ways to market lobsters and connect with consumers.
The Last Lobster Supper?
August 17, 2020 — Mark Ring has been fishing the Stanley Thomas for nearly 30 years. With its red hull, the sturdy boat is the watercraft incarnation of Ring himself—a burly guy with permanently ruddy cheeks just above the hairline of his Vandyke beard. It is his second boat. It is also his last. Ring started lobstering when he was a teenager. Back then, he recalls, he didn’t have to go far from shore to set his traps. He’d head out and, barring thick morning fog, he could see the coastline and hundreds of lobster buoys bobbing in the waters before him. “You could drop your cages and hear them hit the bottom,” Ring says in a steep North Shore accent, leaning against the Stanley Thomas’s worn center console while remembering the old days. He’d haul his yellow traps up from the sea floor, the ropes slimy with algae, the cages bursting with lobsters aggressively clawing to get out. After a typical nine-hour day, Ring would return to the marina, hoist his traps onto the wet deck, and offload 2,000 lobsters.
That’s all changed now. The days are longer and the haul is harder won. When Ring motors out predawn from the backshore Gloucester marina where he’s docked the Stanley Thomas for years, he must power out farther to deeper, colder water. “The lobsters are just not settling in 6 feet of water like they did 15 years ago,” he says. “They want to find the optimum temperature. And that temperature is at 20 feet.” When Ring heads back in at the end of a long day, the lobsters in his traps have far too much legroom. He is netting less than half of what he used to.
In the face of climate change, throughout New England, the American lobster is vanishing, and the lobsters that remain are quickly heading farther out to sea in search of colder waters. Rising pH levels in the waters closer to shore have also contributed to weaker shells, which reduce the chances the lobsters will make it to market alive. More often than not, lobstermen are tossing this weak-shelled catch back into the ocean. Such factors help explain why lobstermen across New England are seeing the weight of their landings continue to dip; last year, Maine’s landings dropped by 21 million pounds, to about 100 million, the lowest in more than a decade.
That’s a steep decline, but it’s nothing compared to what will become of the industry if the self-coronated “Prince of Whales,” New Hampshire’s Richard “Max” Strahan, has his way. He has all but made it his mission to end lobster fishing in order to save the endangered North Atlantic right whale—and, as a result, the future of the beloved lobster roll as we know it is looking pretty bleak. His adversaries have a different nickname for him: Mad Max.
A career endangered-species activist, Strahan sports an overgrown mustache, a floppy fisherman’s hat, and a smug grin. He’s filed more lawsuits than he can practically count on behalf of the right whale, and never eats seafood. “I’ve ruined more than a few clambakes,” he says. “Just try to put a lobster in a pot in front of me!” He has been arrested multiple times, and his frequent outbursts have earned him a police escort at most meetings of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, where he shows up to advocate for whales and also trade insults with lobstermen. For very good reasons, his only listed contact is a post office box.
Dam Impact Analysis Model Helps Researchers Assess Atlantic Salmon Survival
August 14, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries Atlantic salmon researchers have found that Atlantic salmon abundance can increase as more young fish and returning adults survive their encounters with dams. Also, progress in rebuilding the population will depend heavily on continuing stocking of hatchery fish raised especially for this purpose. This information is based on a life history model and new information on changes in the Penobscot River watershed.
The remaining remnant Atlantic salmon populations in the United States are located in Maine, with the largest population in the Penobscot River. Numerous factors play a role in salmon recovery — from predation and habitat degradation to pollution and climate change. The two most influential factors are survival of fish as they navigate dams in the river, and survival during the marine phase of their life. Atlantic salmon are born and remain in fresh water for 1-3 years and migrate downriver through estuaries into the sea. Then they spend 1 to 2 years at sea before returning to the river where they were born to spawn.
“Our findings indicate that Atlantic salmon abundance can increase as survival at dams from the lower to the upper watershed increases. Hatchery supplementation will be necessary to sustain the population when survival is low in egg-to-smolt and marine life stages,” said Julie Nieland, a salmon researcher at the science center’s Woods Hole Laboratory in Massachusetts and lead author of the study. “Increases in survival during both of these life stages will likely be necessary to attain a self-sustaining population, especially if hatchery supplementation is reduced or discontinued.”
For New England lobstermen, resilience in ‘a season of uncertainty’
August 13, 2020 — “Gimmie a Hulla” motors across the glassy harbor, backed by the silhouettes of trees and the rocky shoreline. Yvonne “Beba” Rosen is heading out to haul her lobster traps at 5:30 a.m., as she does five days a week, April through November.
This is a tough season so far for Ms. Rosen, but over her 15 years of lobstering off Vinalhaven, Maine, she’s always been a better fall fisherman, she says. This season is like no other – the lobsters are slow to appear, but more than that, the coronavirus has caused trade to plummet and tourists to stay home.
Ms. Rosen squints into the sun, now sitting just above the horizon, and half shouts over the guttural diesel engine. “Tourists come to Maine to eat lobster. That’s what they do,” she says grimly, hands on the wheel.
Without the regular influx of tourists, and with restaurants across the country closed entirely or open with limitations, lobstermen in Maine and Cape Cod have gotten creative to keep operating their boats, exercising the resilience for which the industry is known.
A slow spring is not unusual, although this one was difficult because “markets were really feeling the brunt of the supply chain,” says Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
LARRY BARKER: Lobstering restrictions will hurt much more than Maine’s fishermen
August 11, 2020 — Maine’s lobster industry is threatened by “a perfect storm” as it faces a crippling lack of demand because of both the pandemic and the China trade war, and a cascade of impacts from the development of government-mandated restrictions seeking to protect the endangered right whale. All Mainers should be aware of how political pressure to reverse the decline of right whales is affecting our fishermen, bringing with it disastrous ripple effects that will affect tens of thousands of livelihoods across our treasured state. Despite Maine’s stellar track record in protecting right whales, this battleground recently resulted in the loss of a sustainability certification, which means loss of even more markets for Maine lobster.
The Maine lobster industry is the backbone of our coastal communities from Portland to Eastport. Machias Savings Bank has been one of Maine’s leading sources of financing for this industry for decades and we understand that as the industry ebbs and flows, so do the economies of Maine’s coastal communities.
Since the 1990s, Maine lobstermen have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the protection of whales by making significant changes to how they fish, consistently adhering to whale-protection standards, participating in discussions of best practices to ensure whale safety and being actively involved in the development of new materials and techniques that are safer for whales. According to data collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service, no right whale deaths or serious injuries have ever been documented in Maine lobster gear. I have many good friends who are lobster fishermen. My son is a lobster fisherman. I have asked many of them about this issue and not only have they never had a right whale tangled in their gear, they have never seen a right whale while tending their gear in Maine!
Right whales pose more problems for Maine lobster industry
August 10, 2020 — Last month, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, violated federal environmental protection laws several years ago when a “biological opinion” it issued failed to give adequate consideration to the risk the lobster fishery posed to endangered right whales.
On Monday, the Maine lobster industry was back in federal court in Washington, D.C., as the judge began the hearing testimony on what remedies he should impose to bring the fisheries service, and the lobster fishery, into compliance with those laws.
At risk for Maine fishermen is the continued use of lobster traps marked by vertical buoy lines.
Trump’s pitch to Maine lobstermen falls flat
August 7, 2020 — President Trump is struggling to win over Maine voters with his recent pledge to lift restrictions for the state’s lobster industry.
Trump was beaming when he traveled to the state just two months ago to tell lobstermen he was reversing protections for some 5,000 miles of ocean territory in a bid to open it to fishing.
“You’re going to go fishing in that area now that you haven’t seen for a long time,” Trump said at a roundtable with representatives from Maine’s fishing industry. “Lobstermen and seafood producers, I want to just congratulate you.”
But the state’s lobstermen aren’t celebrating. That’s because the area Trump aims to reopen is 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod — far beyond the reach of Maine’s day-boat lobstermen.
“This doesn’t help the Maine fisherman at all,” Leroy Weed, 79, who has had a lobster license since he was 10 years old, said of Trump’s reversal of protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off of Cape Cod.
Feds cancel study of Maine’s imperiled shrimp fishery
August 7, 2020 — The federal government is canceling a research survey about New England’s imperiled shrimp fishery due to challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Maine shrimp fishery has been shut down for several years because of concerns such as poor survival of young. Scientists have said environmental conditions in the Gulf of Maine have put the future of the fishery at risk.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was scheduled to perform a research survey about the fishery this year, but announced its cancellation this week. The agency said it’s also canceling a handful of other research surveys off the East Coast and Gulf Coast because of “uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the unique challenges those are creating for NOAA Fisheries.”
The shrimp were once a popular winter seafood item. Fishermen also harvested them in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
ASMFC: August 7 Atlantic Herring Days Out Call Canceled; Next Call Scheduled for August 14
August 5, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts set effort control measures for the Area 1A fishery via Days Out webinars. Current effort controls for Season 1 (June – September) are detailed in Memo 20-50 which is available on the Commission’s website (click here).
The previously scheduled Days Out call on August 7, 2020 at 8:30 AM has been cancelled. Given the current rate of landings in the Area 1A fishery, and that the weekly landings limit has not been fully harvested by all vessels, the states have decided a Days Out call is not warranted at this time.
The Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are scheduled to reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort on:
- Friday, August 14, at 8:30 – 10:00 am
- You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at the following link:https://global.
gotomeeting.com/join/924867957 . If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. The meeting will be using the computer audio (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (646) 749-3122 and enter access code 924-867-957 when prompted. The webinar will start at 8:00 a.m., 30 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.
If it is decided that this meeting is also not needed, it may be canceled. Please contact Max Appelman, FMP Coordinator, at mappelman@
The announcement can also be found here – http://www.asmfc.org/files/
Northeast Groundfish Retail sales recovering, but prices stay down
August 5, 2020 — “Well, we’ve had an interesting first part of the fishing year,” says Bert Jongerden, general manager of the Portland Fish Exchange on Maine’s waterfront. “Prices have been very weak — I’m surprised by how much the lack of restaurant markets is impacting the pricing of groundfish.”
Generally, Jongerden notes, “a groundfish trawler averages around $2 a pound. But, right now, trawlers are getting around $1.25 to 1.30 a pound. It’s about 65 percent off this year, compared to last year.” Amid the continuing covid-19 closures, supermarket retail has been steadier, but it hasn’t made up for restaurant demand.
As New York City markets are beginning to open back up, “pollock, haddock and hake are moving along pretty well, but at reduced prices while flatfish like dabs, grey sole and monk tails are weak,” says Jongerden.
It’s been challenging to find markets for flatfish, which are typically popular in restaurants as full-plate fish. Jongerden says challenges for flatfish markets are compounded by the fact that processors along the northeast coast are having difficulty getting flatfish cut and processed.
“Finding cutters was challenging before covid-19 hit, but the pandemic has exacerbated things,” he says. “Processors have to be careful now, using screens and adjusting so workers aren’t close to one another. It all has a trickle-down effect.”
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