Saving Seafood

Culinary events seek to build demand for Maine’s underappreciated fish

February 5, 2020 — A new series of events called “What’s the Catch?” seeks to build consumer awareness of Maine’s underutilized fish species.

Greater consumption of species like monkfish, redfish, flounder and hake could help fishermen who primarily depend on the lobster fishery to diversify their income. And that’s an important consideration if today’s robust lobster stocks ever decline, Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, told Mainebiz.

The association is collaborating with Luke’s Lobster on the series, which features a different fish species at four monthly events and highlights fishermen and the working waterfront.

Hosted the second Wednesday of each month from January through April, the series is part social event and part educational.

The January event featured monkfish. The next event, featuring redfish, is scheduled for Feb. 12, from 6-8 p.m., at Luke’s Lobster on the Portland Pier. The March 11 event features flounder, and the April 8 event will focus on hake.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Fed-up Maine fishermen organized the nation’s first labor strike in 1636

January 30, 2020 — The first organized labor strike over working conditions and wages in the history of what would become the United States happened in Maine in 1636. Toiling in brutal conditions, with their pay withheld for more than a year, six fishermen walked off the job and never came back. Now, 384 years later, unions, lawmakers and historians want to commemorate the event.

“The story of the fishermen strike shows us that Maine workers have resisted and fought back against unfair treatment since before Maine was even a state,” said Andy O’Brien, communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO. “At a time of record wealth and income inequality, we need to keep telling these stories to inspire a new generation of Maine workers.”

The Maine AFL-CIO is a federation of more than 160 local labor unions representing roughly 40,000 workers across the state. It has helped craft a joint resolution for the Legislature recognizing the strike as historically significant and asked Rep. Scott Cuddy, D-Winterport, to sponsor it. Cuddy plans to submit the resolution during the current session.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Fishermen who died at sea remembered, as investigation continues

January 30, 2020 — The community is mourning the loss of a local fisherman and his crew member, while the U.S. Coast Guard continues to investigate the cause of their deaths at sea.

The Maine Marine Patrol identified Capt. Arnold “Joe” Nickerson IV, 60, of Arundel, and crew member Chris Pinkham, 44, of Boothbay Harbor, as the two fishermen who were pulled unresponsive from the ocean Jan. 23 after the Coast Guard received an emergency alert.

The two men and their boat, the Hayley Ann, a 42-foot ground fishing vessel based out of Kennebunkport, were located near Cashes Ledge, about 70 miles off the shore of Portland, according to Maine Marine Patrol spokesperson Jeff Nichols.

After the alert, an airplane responded, and its crew spotted the sinking vessel and a life raft floating nearby, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Zachary Hupp.

About half an hour later, two Coast Guard helicopters also arrived. A rescue swimmer, lowered to the water from one of the aircrafts, confirmed that the life raft was empty, according to Hupp. The swimmer also confirmed that there were two people in the water, both unresponsive and floating face-down.

The Coast Guard contacted a nearby fishing vessel, the Ella Christine, and its crew diverted to the scene and assisted in recovering the two fisherman.

Read the full story at SeaCoast Online

Fishing industry mourns loss of two respected lobstermen

January 28, 2020 — Maine’s fishing industry is mourning the loss of captain Arnold Nickerson IV of Arundel and his crew Christopher Pinkham of Boothbay Harbor. The two died at sea off Portland while fishing aboard Nickerson’s lobster boat, the Hayley Ann, on Jan. 23.

Nickerson was known by most as Joe.

“I’ve known Joe for years, and he has been an incredibly valuable contributor for two terms on the [Department of Marine Resources] Advisory Council, especially with regard to the groundfish and elver fisheries with which he was most directly involved,” the department’s commissioner, Patrick Keliher, said in a news release.

“I chose him to serve on the council because of his perspective as an experienced, successful fisherman and his calm and constructive approach to problem solving,” Keliher continued. “He was committed to the proper management of Maine’s marine resources, and was willing to give his time to help his fellow fishermen. I always valued his insights and ideas. He was a first-rate fisherman, and an excellent representative for Maine’s fishing community.”

“It is hard to state the depth of the profound sadness that we have all felt at the news that Joe Nickerson and his crew Chris Pinkham perished at sea while out fishing,” Ben Martens, the association’s executive director, said in a press statement.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Final 2019 Maine lobster harvest landings were better than first feared

January 28, 2020 — Despite all of the concerns expressed about the 2019 Maine lobster harvest, landings improved at the end of the year and weren’t as bad as feared, Sheila Adams, vice president of sales and marketing and co-founder of processor Maine Coast, told attendees at the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference last week.

Though lobster can be harvested all year off the coast of Maine, the season typically picks up in earnest in July and August. So many in the industry were made nervous in November when Maine harvesters were widely reported as saying they believed their landings were going to finish 2019 between 30% and 50% lower than the 2018 season total (about 54,000t).

Based on Urner Barry estimates, shared at the event, the 2019 harvest in Maine was not quite as bad as that, garnering about 43,226t, down 21% from the year before. The state of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources never publishes its official tally for the previous year’s lobster harvest until March, so it will be a while before the final numbers are known.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Fishing community mourns crew lost at sea as hard workers, devoted to their families

January 27, 2020 — Arnold “Joe” Nickerson and Chris Pinkham were remembered Friday as devoted family men and hardworking, experienced members of Maine’s commercial fishing community.

The two men were fishing aboard Nickerson’s boat, the Hayley Ann, about 50 miles southeast of Portland on Thursday when the vessel is believed to have either capsized or quickly flooded. They did not have time to make a radio call, although the boat’s automatic emergency beacon apparently floated free and sent a distress signal. Both men were dead when a  fellow fishermen pulled them from the water.

Nickerson, 60, was a well-known and widely respected fishing boat captain. He lived in Arundel with his wife, Sharon, and had a young grandchild. His boat was named after his grown daughter, according to a friend.

Hayley Brown, 29, Nickerson’s daughter, said in an interview Friday that her father spent his whole working life as a fisherman.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Maine fishermen who died after boat sank identified

January 27, 2020 — The Maine Marine Patrol has identified the two fishermen who died Thursday after their boat sank.

Officials say 60-year-old Captain Joe Nickerson, of Arundel, and his crew member 44-year-old Chris Pinkham, of Boothbay Harbor, were pulled from the water about 50 miles off the coast of Portland on Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard says a distress radio signal was sent out around 12:30 p.m. from a boat called the “Hayley Ann.”

The Coast Guard spotted an empty life raft and the Hayley Ann sinking.

Read the full story at WGME

Two Fatal Fishing Accidents in One Week off New England

January 24, 2020 — The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating two fatal fishing accidents in a week off the U.S. East Coast – a sinking that claimed the lives of two fishermen off Maine and a man-overboard resulting in loss of life off Nantucket

Two fishermen were found dead in the water off the coast of Portland, Maine on Thursday after the Coast Guard responded to a distress signal from the fishing boat Hayley Ann. 

At about 1230 hours on Thursday, the USCG received an EPIRB distress signal from the Hayley Ann. Two helicopters from Air Station Cape Cod and one fixed-wing aircraft responded to the scene at a position about 45 miles off the coast of Portland. At about 1350 hours, they spotted an empty life raft and two bodies face-down in the water, according to local media.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

MAINE: Elver license lottery: Big prize for a lucky few

January 23, 2020 — Want to get rich quick, or at least have a chance to earn a nice piece of change?

Last Thursday, the Department of Marine Resources opened a lottery that will give nine lucky winners the chance to apply for elver fishing licenses for the upcoming season. The lottery runs until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21. The 10-week elver season starts March 22 and runs through June 7.

An elver fishing license isn’t worth its weight in gold. It’s worth a lot more.

In 2018, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission set a total landings quota for Maine elver harvesters of 9,688 pounds. Of that, just under 2,070 pounds are allocated among Maine’s four federally recognized tribes, which issue their own fishing licenses to tribal members. DMR allocates the balance, some 7,566 pounds, among harvesters licensed by the state.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Maine’s 10-year economic development plan spotlights aquaculture

January 23, 2020 — Janet Mills, the governor of the U.S. state of Maine, recently announced a 10-year strategic economic development plan to grow the state’s economy, and has included aquaculture as a target industry to support and cultivate. The plan is designed to combat poor economic growth in the state caused by lethargic gross domestic product, a shrinking workforce, and subpar state wages.

“This strategic plan creates a road map to foster collaboration, drive innovation, jump start growth, and, ultimately, achieve a diverse, forward-looking economy that offers everyone an opportunity to succeed,” Mills said in announcing the plan, according to MaineBiz.

Read the full story at Seafood Source