Saving Seafood

MAINE: State rejects group’s petition to change aquaculture lease process

July 17, 2019 — The Department of Marine Resources rejected a petition to change the criteria for aquaculture lease applications on the basis that the request was “not realistic,” “arbitrary” and could have a “perverse outcome” for some applicants.

Meanwhile, the company pitching a 40-acre oyster aquaculture lease on Maquoit Bay continues to await the department’s decision on its application, which is now two months overdue.

A group known as Save Maquoit Bay, composed of coastal property owners, lobstermen and fishermen, submitted a 189-signature petition asking officials to include a stipulation requiring the department to consider whether any other locations near a proposed lease site could “accommodate the proposed activities while interfering less with existing and surrounding uses of an area.”

The petition requested the actions to be imposed statewide, Mere Point Oyster Co.’s proposed 10-year, 40-acre lease has been mired in controversy. A marathon three-day hearing that spanned several months wrapped up in mid-January after waterfront property owners and lobster fishermen spoke out against what they saw as conflicting uses of the bay and the potential infringement on valuable lobstering grounds. Some of the lobstermen who spoke out against the lease also are members of Save Maquoit Bay.

The department had 120 days to make a ruling, which would have been May 15, but according to Jeff Nichols, communications director of the department of marine resources, “depending on the complexity of the application and the evidence, it may take longer.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Extra menhaden quota awarded to Maine as lobster bait shortage concerns heat up

July 17, 2019 — As the peak summer season begins to beat down on Maine’s lobster harvesters, state officials have stepped in to help ease some of the bait shortage burdens pressuring the sector as of late.

Last week, the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Management Council approved Maine’s request to reopen its recently closed menhaden fishery for an additional 4.7 million pounds of catch, according to a recent report from the Portland Press Herald. On 30 June, the state had to end its menhaden fishing season early after it determined that harvesters had exceeded the annual quota of 2.4 million pounds for the key bait species by 1.5 million pounds.

With the state’s fleet of more than 100 vessels seemingly docked for the summer, menhaden were still being found in abundance in Maine waters from Kittery to Penobscot Bay, prompting officials to petition the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Management Council for extra quota.

With their wish granted, state officials are hopeful that “landing the extra menhaden quota now that peak lobster season has started and bait demand is picking up will help ease fears of a shortage predicted as a result of a 70 percent reduction of landings for herring, Maine’s most popular lobster bait,” the Portland Press Herald explained. Prices were already rising when the herring season opened on Sunday, 14 July, noted a special bulletin issued by Maine.gov one day later.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Maine lawmakers say new rules will come at lobster industry’s expense

July 16, 2019 — Maine elected officials are pushing back with gusto against new federal measures to protect the imperiled North Atlantic right whales because of the impact of the new regulations on the state’s vital lobster industry.

The moves by Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who characterized the whale protection measures as “foolish” and an “absurd federal overreach,” and the state’s congressional delegation ultimately could have repercussions on Massachusetts’ lobster industry.

Or not. No one seems to know right now.

“The actions by Maine were a bit of a surprise, but nothing has been determined yet,” David Pierce, director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, said Monday. “At this point, we don’t know what the federal government is going to do in response. There will be upcoming meetings and discussions, but right now it’s really wait and see.”

On Friday, Mills penned an open letter to the Maine lobster industry in which she said federal regulators have not provided specific evidence that the nation’s largest commercial lobster fleet is a primary threat to the remaining stock of North Atlantic right whales, now estimated at about 410.

“There is a disturbing lack of evidence connecting the Maine lobster industry to recent right whale deaths,” Mills wrote in the letter. “The Maine lobster industry is not the primary problem for right whales.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

More Bait Fish Expected to Help Maine Lobstermen With Crunch

July 16, 2019 — The reopening of the fishery for a species of schooling fish could boost Maine‘s lobster industry during a season in which its favored bait might be hard to come by.

The Portland Press Herald reports regional fishing managers have approved Maine’s request to reopen the fishery for menhaden. That could make available a few million pounds of the bait fish, which are also called pogies.

The most popular lobster bait in Maine is Atlantic herring, but that fishery has been subject to deep quota cuts in recent years because of concerns about the stability of its population.

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

MAINE: Governor pushes back at feds on protection for rare whales

July 15, 2019 — A directive for new protections for endangered right whales represents an “absurd federal overreach” that places an unfair burden on Maine’s signature lobster fishery, Gov. Janet Mills said.

She ordered the state Department of Marine Resources to draft an alternative plan that would reduce the impact on lobstermen.

“My administration will not allow any bureaucrat to undermine our lobster industry or our economy with foolish, unsupported and ill-advised regulations,” she wrote in a letter this week to the lobster industry.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants the state to present a plan in September for reducing the lobster industry’s threat to right whales by 60%.

The plan would mean reducing by half the number of lobster trap lines that could entangle whales. It would also require weaker rope for traps in federal waters.

But the Democratic governor says that Maine’s lobster industry isn’t the “primary problem” and that there’s a “disturbing lack of evidence” connecting it to recent right whale deaths. Six have died in recent weeks in Canadian waters.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Maine delegation asks for help easing tariff impact on lobster industry

July 15, 2019 — Maine’s Congressional delegation is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to include funding for Maine’s lobster industry as USDA finalizes its aid package for agricultural producers affected by China’s retaliatory tariffs.

U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, have signed a letter that reiterates an earlier request of relief for Maine’s lobster industry amid the ongoing trade war with China, according to a news release.

“Retaliatory tariffs have caused a very significant export market for Maine lobster — China — to all but disappear,” the letter says.

The delegation requested “significant” funds for Maine’s lobster industry through USDA’s Agricultural Trade Promotion Program.

“ATP funding will help to develop new export markets for Maine lobster, decreasing the blow of Chinese tariffs on an iconic American industry,” the letter said.

In June, the delegation sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to provide financial assistance to lobster businesses hurt by the ongoing trade war with China, similar to the relief being provided to American farmers.

The delegation noted that prior to the Trump administration’s tariffs imposed on a variety of Chinese goods, China had become the second largest importer of Maine lobster.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

How lobster went from the ‘poor man’s protein’ to the delicacy we eat today

July 15, 2019 — Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: It’s no secret that lobsters are pricey. And a standard lobster dinner in a restaurant can set you back $38 or more. Lobsters are considered a gourmet dish today, but there was a time when they were known as the cockroaches of the sea and even served to prisoners. So when did lobsters become such a delicacy? And why are they so expensive? There are a lot of species of lobster, but we’re interested in the recognizable, clawed lobsters you might see on the menu: Homarus americanus and Homarus gammarus, better known as American and European lobster. These two species are very similar. The biggest difference is their color. We went to Ed’s Lobster Bar in New York City to speak to someone who has a lot of experience buying, preparing, and cooking the crustacean.

Ed McFarland: So, one of the hardest things about working lobster is, truthfully, it’s the price range of lobster, and it fluctuates greatly and from year to year, and the price increases. And the yield when you clean a lobster is very low. So you could buy a pound-and-a-half lobster, I think this is what most people don’t understand, is in a pound-and-a-half lobster, there’s probably only 4 ounces of meat out of a hard-shell lobster. So there’s not much yield that comes out of the lobster. So when you’re cleaning the lobster yourself to make lobster rolls, it really turns into a very, very expensive product.

Narrator: To fully understand what makes lobster so expensive, we need to take a look at its history, because it wasn’t always as revered as it is now. Lobster’s history varies across the world, but, for a long time, it was a source of food for many of the poorest in society.

During the Viking era, lobsters as food became much more popular in northern Europe as boats more suited to deep-sea fishing became available. And by establishing meat-free days for certain religious holidays, the church also increased the demand for seafood, including lobster.

Across Europe, lobsters became associated with status and a lavish lifestyle. And they were often featured in paintings to show wealth. But the value of lobster remained low in North America. Native Americans used lobsters as fishing bait and crop fertilizer, a practice that European colonists later copied.

Read the full story at Business Insider

Maine lawmakers ask Trump to intervene against lobster trap rules

July 12, 2019 — All four members of Maine’s US congressional delegation are asking president Donald Trump to personally intervene against the implementation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of new lobster trap rules that they say could impose unnecessary economic hardships on harvesters in the state.

The rules, which are intended to preserve endangered North Atlantic right whales, are expected to go into effect in two years, forcing a 50% reduction in lobster trap lines. However, the members of Congress suggest in a three-page letter sent to the White House on Wednesday that “there is no credible evidence indicating the rules would have real impacts on the agencies’ stated goals”.

“Your administration has made a point of targeting regulations that you believe are ill-conceived or overly burdensome,” says the letter, signed by Democratic representatives Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree and senators Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent. “By applying the same logic to Maine’s lobster industry and intervening in the implementation of NOAA’s regulations on Maine lobstermen, you can prevent unfair harm to an iconic Maine industry and save many good American jobs.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Maine lobstermen get new bait option amidst herring quota cuts

July 12, 2019 — Maine lobsterman have gained a new option for baiting their traps as Cooke Aquaculture USA has secured permission from the state’s Department of Marine Resources to process and use whole blackbelly rosefish as lobster bait.

The new bait comes as the fishery’s main source of bait, herring, has faced a significant cut to quotas in 2019 and potentially beyond. The New England Fishery Management Council elected to slash the herring quota from nearly 50,000 metric tons (MT) to just over 15,000 MT – a 70 percent reduction – in the wakes of biomass surveys that indicated substantial declines in recruitment and biomass of the fish.

That quota cut means the lobster industry has to go without roughly 55 million pounds of bait in 2019; and the management council may cut quotas further in 2020 and 2021.

“Lobstering is an important part of the communities where we operate. Lobster fisherman are our friends, neighbors, and in many cases, family,” Glenn Cook, CEO of the Cooke Inc. family of companies, said in a release.  “When we learned about the bait shortage and its impact on the lobster industry in Maine, we began to explore possible solutions.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAINE: Mills comes out against ‘foolish’ federal regulations to protect right whales

July 12, 2019 — Gov. Janet Mills is directing the Maine Department of Marine Resources to come up with an alternative to a federal plan to protect the endangered right whale from the state lobster industry, saying she won’t allow “foolish” regulations to make life harder for the state’s fishermen.

“I stand with you,” Mills wrote in an open letter to the lobster industry Thursday. “I will do everything I can as your governor to protect your rights and your livelihoods, and defend Maine’s lobster industry in the face of absurd federal overreach.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has ordered Maine to craft a detailed plan to reduce the lobster industry’s threat to right whales by 60 percent by September. Federal regulators say entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes are driving the whale’s decline, with just over 400 of them left.

But state regulators, and now Mills, say Maine isn’t to blame for the decline.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald