Saving Seafood

Though Maine’s lobster harvest was smallest in 9 years, value remained steady

March 9, 2020 — Despite a cold, late spring that took a toll on the state lobster catch in 2019, driving landings down 17 percent, record-high prices kept the catch’s overall value steady from the previous year.

Maine fishermen hauled 100.7 million pounds of lobster in 2019, according to figures released Friday by the state Department of Marine Resources at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. That was the smallest catch since 2010, but it was the ninth year in a row that Maine broke the 100-million-pound mark.

Despite the slow start, Maine fishermen eked out a good year. A 20 percent increase in the per-pound boat price of lobster meant the overall value of Maine’s haul remained pretty stable, coming in at $485.4 million, despite the double-digit decrease in 2019 total landings.

Kristan Porter’s end-of-the-year bottom line looked about the same as it did in 2018. The lobsterman from Cutler, who is president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, hauled less lobster, but he sold that smaller catch for a higher price, embodying the association’s motto, “Fish smarter, not harder.”

“We don’t fish for pounds, we fish for dollars,” Porter said. “Yeah, we got started late, and that was scary, but most guys finished strong. Overall, landings were down, but we’re still leaps and bounds ahead of our historical average. So I don’t think there is cause for alarm, at least not yet.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Maine lobstermen to federal regulators: We’re not killing whales

March 9, 2020 — Federal fishing regulators found themselves in the hot seat at this year’s annual Maine Fisherman’s Forum as the lobster industry sounded off about looming right whale rules that threaten to upend the country’s most valuable fishery.

Phillip Torrey, a sixth-generation lobsterman from Winter Harbor, told regulators it was unfair to ask Maine fishermen to give up any more than they already have to protect the endangered whale without proof that they are the ones causing them harm.

“If you could show us that we were killing right whales, we would do whatever you asked,” Torrey told regulators. “If it was a a court case, no district attorney in the world could put us to trial because they’d say they have no evidence against us, Maine fishermen.”

Torrey was one of more than 150 people who turned out to see the National Marine Fisheries Service field questions about its right whale policy, like why impose fishing restrictions on the $485 million-a-year lobster industry when data shows that it is Canadian fishermen and ships that are killing whales.

Fishing gear entanglement is the cause of most known right whale deaths or serious injuries, said Regional Administrator Michael Pentony. The agency is issuing draft regulations for the lobster industry this summer because it represents at least 90 percent of the gear in U.S. whale habitat, he said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Winds of change: Maine Fishermen’s Forum highlights offshore wind power

March 6, 2020 — Today kicks off the 45th annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine. This year’s conference program includes all the usual updates on marketing Maine lobster, racing lobster boats, management of a range of New England fisheries — groundfish, herring, eels, scallops — data collection and safety.

New this year is a full day of seminars on offshore wind (taking place all day today, March 5) that will be packed with information fishermen and other working waterfront stakeholders can use: What projects are underway, how they are permitted and what NOAA’s role is and will be. Stay tuned for an update here.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, led by Annie Hawkins, has a board of directors that represents fishing communities up and down the East Coast. The group also recently launched a West Coast coalition that will serve as advocates and watchdogs on the left coast.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Northeast Market Report: 2019 Year in Review

March 6, 2020 — Lobsters and sea scallops continued to top Northeast fisheries in value during 2019 – with oysters more modest in volume but rapidly gaining as a growth sector.

On the downside, it looks like tough times for herring will continue into 2020, and there’s no return in sight for Maine’s northern shrimp fishery.

WINNERS

Lobster: Although catch dropped by more than 15 percent this season, the commercial lobster fishery still hauled in 100 million pounds, according to Maine’s Department of Marine Resources. While that marks a 20 million-pound drop from 2018, many still feel positive about the industry’s trajectory over the past decade — after all, the 2019 catch is still above historical averages. Early on, worries about bait availability, right whale protections, trade deals with China, and a potentially larger drop in catch had the industry on edge, for good reason — lobster is worth more than $450 million to Maine’s economy.

“After a very slow start, the harvest numbers increased in the late fall and winter, and from deeper water and farther offshore,” said Steve Train, a lobsterman from Long Island, Maine. “Whether this is a one- or two-year thing because of cold springs and late sheds, or the beginning of a trend where the resource is shifting because of a change in climate, is still to be determined. But one thing appears obvious: The resource is healthy.” Export of lobster to China dipped by 46 percent after a tariff was imposed in 2018, and the coronavirus outbreak further disrupted the trade in lobsters from the U.S. and Canada.

Oysters: The taste for oysters seems to have no end in sight, and 2019 was no exception. The East Coast Shellfish Growers Association Executive Director Bob Rheault said that along the Atlantic coast “farmed oyster production has doubled in the past five years. There has been some consolidation — bigger firms buying smaller ones, and lots of new entrants” with most farms aiming to increase production. Despite half a decade of increased East Coast production, prices have trended up slow and steadily. The association estimates the total East Coast oyster industry is valued at $90 million, although many states lack good data. Rheault says raw bars are hot.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Maine to Take Final Comments on Belfast Salmon Farm Proposal

March 4, 2020 — Maine officials are taking the final comments on a proposal to build a large, land-based salmon farm in Belfast.

Nordic Aquafarms of Norway wants to build the facility, which would produce tens of millions of pounds of salmon per year.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources hosted a public hearing about the proposal on Monday night, and the state is taking comments on it until March 12. The proposal has been contentious in the community because of the scope of the project, which would use tanks to grow the fish.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at NBC Boston

Nine Mainers win a new elver license out of over 3,600 applicants

March 4, 2020 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources announced that it has officially awarded nine elver licenses that were available to eligible residents of the state, out of more than 3,600 applicants to the license.

The massive number of applicants is likely thanks to high price that elvers – the juvenile form of eels – has commanded in recent years. Last year, the season starting on 22 March kicked off with values of over USD 2,500 (EUR 2,237) per pound, with the season-long average sitting at USD 2,000 (EUR 1,790) per pound.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAINE: Nordic Aquafarms completes permit hearings

March 3, 2020 — Nordic Aquafarms (NAF) has completed the last hearing for state-level permitting required for the company to complete its planned USD 500 million (EUR 447.9 million) salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility in Belfast, Maine.

The hearings, which occurred on 2 March, were for a state-level permit for the removal and disposal of subtidal excavation material and the company’s plans to ensure local fisheries aren’t impacted. The removal of material is part of the company’s plan to locate inlet and outlet pipes for the facility in the nearby Penobscot Bay.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAINE: Dozens weigh in on proposed land-based salmon farm in Belfast

March 3, 2020 — More talk about Nordic Aqaufarms’ permit application regarding the DEP Monday night in Belfast.

The company wants to build a land-based salmon farm in the town capable of producing millions of pounds of fish per year.

Some officials with the Department of Marine Resources listened to comments and concerns about the proposed facility’s potential impacts on not only fishing activities but also the fishing industry.

All public comments will be passed along to Maine DEP.

Some are worried about possible environmental concerns and sediments too.

“To disturb the bottom sediments in this area for the Nordic Aquafarms project, would cause a few contaminations problems,” explained Lobsterman David Black.

“We’ve been talking about a lot of different parts of the project for a long time, but we think we are getting really close. We’ve told our case and we feel that all the information is out there for a decision.,” Edward Cotter, Nordic Aquafarms, Senior Vice Pres. Projects said.

Cotter added if they get all the approval they need to build the proposed facility, they’d like to start construction in the summer or fall.

Read the full story at WABI

MAINE: Herring hearing

March 2, 2020 — Atlantic herring, which is the fish used for bait by most Maine lobstermen, was expensive and hard to come by in 2019.

In 2020, the catch limit set by interstate fishery regulators will be even lower than last year, but the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is working on ways to provide more flexibility in how the quota is allocated.

A hearing on Draft Addendum III for the herring fishery management plan is planned for March 9 at 6 p.m. at the Maine Department of Marine Resources Augusta office.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative announces its 2020 strategy

February 28, 2020 — The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC) has released its 2020 strategic plan, which is focused on “promotion, protection, and partnership.”

The MLMC is funded via fees paid by the state’s lobster industry, based on a bill approved by the state’s legislature. The organization’s mission is to promote the U.S. state of Maine’s lobster brand in the media and restaurant business.

Read the full story at Seafood Source