Saving Seafood

Lobstermen fear 2019 bait crisis due to herring quota cuts

October 1, 2018 — Herring and lobster fishermen alike expressed concern that quota cuts and vessel restrictions in the herring fishery approved this week by the New England Fishery Management Council will hurt Maine’s lobster fishery next season.

Maine Public reported the regulatory agency approved a quota of around 15,000 tons for next year, down from 55,000 this year. It also established a 12-mile buffer zone for large fishing boats called mid-water trawlers that will prevent them from fishing close to shore.

Ryan Raber, co-owner of Portland bait business New England Fish Co., told Maine Public he’d likely have to lay off some crew and staff. Patrice McCarron, the executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, predicted acute bait shortages in the lobster fishery.

Earlier this summer, the prospect of a shortage of herring bait for Maine’s lobster fishing fleet drove price increases for bait fish and fueled concern about the long-term availability of bait in future years.

The herring fishery is overseen by the New England Fishery Management Council. The quota is driven by a 2018 benchmark stock assessment, conducted by the Atlantic Herring Stock Assessment Working Group. The assessment indicated that recruitment — incoming year classes of newly born fish — has been poor for several years. The working group said that four of the six lowest estimates of herring recruitment occurred in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

 

Scientists Say Black Sea Bass Behavior Could Be Affected by Offshore Wind

October 1, 2018 — WOODS HOLE, Mass. — Scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center say that offshore wind energy construction could affect the behavior of Black Sea Bass.

Black Sea Bass live up and down the east coast from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, providing a significant ecological and economic importance.

The fish are also attracted to structurally complex habitats, often found around rocky reefs, mussel beds, cobble and rock fields, and artificial habitats like shipwrecks.

Scientists, commercial and recreational fisherman have expressed their concerns about how the sounds that come with the development of offshore wind energy overlapping with the natural habitats of Black Sea Bass.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

 

Potential slash of herring quota could lead lobstermen to sit out season

October 1, 2018 — A proposal by the New England Fisheries Management Council on 25 September to make large changes to the herring fishery could lead to many Maine, U.S.A.-based lobstermen to sit out the next season.

The NEFMC’s Amendment 8, which was in the works for years, will lead to multiple changes to the region’s herring fishery. Boats using midwater trawl gear will be banned from within 12 nautical miles, and a new control rule was created that takes into account the herring fishery’s impact on other fisheries in the region.

Most importantly from the perspective of the lobstermen, however, was the drastic cut in quota that the new decisions represented. The quota has fallen from north of 100,000 tons to just under 50,000 tons, with the proposal potentially setting the future quota at just over 21,000 tons.

That massive reduction was criticized at the hearing by Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.

“There’s no one that has more at stake,” she said during the hearing. “The lobster industry will bear the brunt of all the decisions that are made here.”

The lobster industry was already seeing a bait shortage on the horizon. As early as July, the industry was anticipating a bait shortage, according to reports in the Portland Press Herald.

“The price of herring for bait is already high,” Port Clyde, Maine lobsterman Gary Libby told the Press Herald in July 2018. “A lower quota will only create more hardship for lobster fishermen because the price of bait is the biggest expense, and with projected lower catch of lobster in the next few years we will need bait at a cost that will help fishermen maintain their businesses that helps the local economy.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ASMFC: Atlantic Herring Western Maine Spawning Closure in Effect Oct. 4, 2018 through Oct. 31, 2018

September 28, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic Herring Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved a forecasting method that relies upon at least three samples, each containing at least 25 female herring in gonadal states III-V, to trigger a spawning closure. However, if sufficient samples are not available then closures will begin on predetermined dates.

There is currently no samples for the Western Maine spawning area to determine spawning condition. Therefore, the Western Maine spawning area will be closed starting at 12:00 a.m. on October 4, 2018 and extending through 11:59 p.m. on October 31, 2018. Vessels in the directed Atlantic herring fishery cannot take, land, or possess Atlantic herring caught within the Western Maine spawning area during this time and must have all fishing gear stowed when transiting through the area. An incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip/calendar day applies to vessels in non-directed fisheries that are fishing within the Western Maine spawning area.

Western Maine spawning area includes all waters bounded by the following coordinates:

43° 30’ N     Maine coast
43° 30’ N      68° 54.5’ W
43° 48’ N         68° 20’ W
North to Maine coast at 68° 20’ W

A PDF version of this announcement can be viewed here

 

Cut bait: Regulators move to slash Atlantic herring catch

September 28, 2018 — The New England Fishery Management Council voted this week to approve a new management approach to the region’s Atlantic herring fishery that will significantly scale back catch limits for the species over the next three years.

Based on the council’s latest stock assessment, recruitment numbers were lower than the previous low point in the 1970s when record catches essentially wiped out the fishing. Assessments show that recruitment numbers have been well below average for the species since 2013.

The regulation change, called Amendment 8, has been in the works for several years. The herring committee created nine alternatives for the management plan, ranging from taking no action on the previous management plan to a 50-nautical-mile prohibition on all midwater trawling gear.

The council decided to approve an allowable biological catch control rule, a revised version of Alternative 4B, which will slash the total allowable catch of herring from 49,900 tons to 21,266 tons in 2019. The 2018 total of 49,900 tons was already slashed from the year’s original ACL of 110,500 tons of Atlantic herring. A shortage in herring landings also means a shortage of lobster bait throughout New England.

“There’s no one that has more at stake,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “The lobster industry has already been dealing with issues related to bait, and the latest decision by the council will likely cause those problems to be even worse.”

The Gulf of Maine herring fishery was shut down by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission for much of September as the fleet neared its catch limit.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Herring quota’s sting may lead Maine lobstermen to sit out next spring

September 27, 2018 — At the height of the season, Brooklin lobsterman David Tarr spends $600 to $800 a day to bait his traps with herring, pogies or redfish.

While some Maine lobstermen swear by herring, Tarr is willing to play the field based on price and availability. Unlike most of his peers, Tarr also has the luxury of a personal bait cooler, which allows him to buy bait when the price is right, salt it himself and store up to 200 barrels of it away – $40,000 of bait, enough for a half-season of fishing – for use during tough times.

On Wednesday, one day after the New England Fisheriesy Management Council voted to recommend slashing the yearly herring quota by 80 percent, Tarr figured tough times are coming. He plans to spend the spring stocking his bait cooler before the lobster season kicks into high gear and bait prices go up, possibly doubling at the peak of the season.

One thing that Tarr probably won’t be doing in the spring? Lobstering.

“At a certain point, it is just not worth it,” Tarr said. “I won’t go fishing just to pay for my bait.”

Every lobsterman will be doing exactly the same math, Tarr said. They’ll look at their daily bait bill, and then lobster prices. Then they’ll figure out how much lobster they would have to catch just to cover their bait bill, and estimate the likelihood of surpassing that threshold. For Tarr, that means he needs to land three crates of lobster – about 270 pounds – to cover his daily bait bill alone.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Who Has The Edge In The Lobster Trade War?

September 27, 2018 — There are few New England scenes as iconic as the ol’ lobster shack. Local crustaceans being served up fresh and delicious in whole or in roll form. Well, it turns out that “just-off-the boat” experience has pretty broad appeal … like as far away as China.

“There’s always been a demand for it, but they wanted the live lobster,” said Arthur Sawyer, a Gloucester lobster fisherman and President of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “Live lobster — ya know — it’s like a 36 hour thing to get to China.”

A decade ago, the Chinese market for U.S. live lobster was essentially nonexistent. But a few years back, shippers finally worked out how to reliably get fresh live lobster to China. It was a game changer. Last year, the country imported nearly $150 million worth.

“There’s a whole lot of exporters that have gotten into the lobster business strictly because of China,” said Sawyer.

But live lobster got swept up in the trade war this July, when Beijing slapped a 25 percent tariff on U.S. imports. And just three months in, it’s already having an impact here. Vince Mortillaro, a local wholesaler, said China has stopped buying from him completely, and he’s has had to lay off three employees.

“They’re affecting me a lot,” he said of the tariffs. “We’re losing like 40,000 pounds of sales a week.”

For now, the pinch wholesalers are feeling has yet to trickle down to lobster fishermen on the boats, who sell to the wholesalers, or the lobster-craving public. As for why? Well, it’s complicated. Live lobster exports are an important part of the equation. But a sizable chunk of New England total haul each year gets sold off to be processed.

Read the full story at WGBH

NEFMC Reelects Dr. John Quinn as Chair and Terry Stockwell as Vice Chair

September 27, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

At the start of its September 24 -27, 2018 meeting in Plymouth, MA, the New England Fishery Management Council reelected Dr. John Quinn of Massachusetts and Terry Stockwell of Maine to serve as Council chair and vice chair for another term. The two ran unopposed and were ushered in unanimously.

This marks Dr. Quinn’s third consecutive year as chairman. Prior to that, he served three years as Council
vice chair under Stockwell. The two switched leadership positions during 2016 but continued to work
together as a team to direct the Council’s management and policy initiatives. “I appreciate the confidence the Council has shown in me over the past couple of years,” said Dr. Quinn. “I look forward to doing more good work with all of our Council members and stakeholders.”

Dr. Quinn recently was promoted to Assistant Dean of Public Interest Law and External Relations at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) School of Law. He is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he spent 18 years. He also represented many fishing interests while practicing law in private practice for over two decades in New Bedford before joining UMass.

Read the full release here

Plans for second-largest oyster farm in US state of Maine runs into resistance

September 27, 2018 — An effort to launch what would be the second-largest oyster farm in the US state of Maine is running into some resistance, the Portland Press Herald reports.

Doug Niven and Dan Devereaux, owners of The Mere Point Oyster Co., in Brunswick, have planned a 40-acre oyster farm in Maquoit Bay, consolidating 26 aquaculture licenses to produce about 5 million oysters annually.

The bay is about 3,000 acres and the Maine Department of Marine Resources limit for aquaculture farms is 100 acres. A site review shows the farm unlikely to affect boat traffic or hinder lobster harvesters and bait fishermen.

But some residents, calling themselves the Maquoit Preservation Group, attended a meeting of the Brunswick Town Council last week to voice concerns about the proposal, including especially the impact on the environment and the amount of noise produced by the oyster tumbler. One resident compared the oyster sorting machine to having a cement mixer on the water. They say they were surprised to learn of the size of the farm, as most other oyster farms in the area are just five to 10 acres.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Maine lobstermen say move to avert collapse of herring fishery will have dire consequences

September 26, 2018 — Regulators are taking drastic steps to avert a collapse of the herring fishery, adopting trawling bans and proposing rock-bottom quotas.

While environmental groups and those who fish species that rely on herring for food, like striped bass and tuna, cheered the action, the Maine lobster industry was left wondering how it will survive without its favorite bait. Patrice McCarron, the executive director of the Maine Lobstermen Association, predicted it will force some lobstermen off the water.

“It is going to be really devastating,” McCarron told the New England Fisheries Management Council on Tuesday. “People aren’t going to be able to fish. There’s just not going to be enough bait. If you do get bait, you’re going to be on rations. The price of bait is going to skyrocket. … A lot of people are going to go out of business.”

About 70 percent of all herring landed in the U.S. ends up as bait, mostly for the lobster industry. In the last five years, as lobster hauls increased, the demand for herring went up, too, just as herring landings began to fall, McCarron said. That has driven up the bait price. In 2013, Maine lobstermen were paying $30 a bushel. Now, a bushel costs $45 on the coast, or $60 on the islands.

McCarron expects the price of bait to double next year, which would be a disaster for Maine lobstermen, she said. Her organization has been meeting with Maine bait dealers to talk about their storage capability, which she said was limited, and herring alternatives such as pogeys and redfish, whose prices likely will rise as lobstermen are forced to abandon herring as bait.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald