Saving Seafood

MAINE: Longtime fisheries advocate receives prestigious ‘Hero of the Seas’ award

May 16, 2017 — Robin Alden, executive director of the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, received a prestigious “Hero of the Seas” award from the international Peter Benchley Ocean Awards nonprofit organization.

Named in honor of the author of “Jaws,” the 10 annual awards recognize “outstanding achievement across many sectors of society leading to the protection of our ocean, coasts and the communities that depend on them.” Alden’s award recognizes her career “working at the grassroots, engaging fishermen’s knowledge and participation to build sustainable, healthy coastal fisheries and fishing communities.”

She received the award at a gala event on May 11 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.

“It is just unbelievable to have international recognition for Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries basic approach: that the knowledge fishermen have about the ecology they work in every day is important to a healthy fisheries and our communities,” Alden said in a news release.

She added, “This is a great time for this award. Fisheries are at a turning point because climate change is forcing fishery regulators to face the fact that the ocean changes all the time. Constant change makes real time, on-the-ground observation so much more important than the old approach of primarily depending upon abundance predictions. We — fishermen, scientists and regulators — have to learn how to learn and act together.”

Read the full story at Mainebiz.com

Maine Marine Patrol Searching for Missing Man on Androscoggin River

May 13, 2017 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

Maine Marine Patrol is searching for a missing man who, according to eye witness reports, fell from his boat into the Androscoggin River near Brunswick last night.

The man, Stephen Wines, 27 of Bailey Island, was on board a small boat in the Androscoggin with his brother William, 30 of Bailey Island, when eye witnesses on shore reported seeing them pass by in the water. The incident was reported to 911 at approximately 8:40 p.m.

Lifeflight of Maine and the Brunswick Fire Department conducted a search while Marine Patrol and Brunswick Police Department conducted an investigation of the incident last evening.

The boat has been recovered and life jackets were on board, however reports indicate that neither man was wearing a life jacket at the time of the incident. 

According to Marine Patrol reports, William made it to shore and was transported to a nearby hospital where he was treated and released.

The Marine Patrol along with Brunswick Police Department and the State Police/Marine Patrol Dive Team are continuing the search today, focusing their efforts near Bay Bridge Landing.

Regulators push pause on allowing greater striped bass catch

May 12, 2017 — Fishing regulators are pulling away from a plan to liberalize the regulation of the commercial and recreational striped bass fishery.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission was considering sending new rules for the fishery out to public comment, but chose not to this week. The commission will instead wait until the results of a new assessment of the striped bass stock.

Striped bass have been fished commercially from Maine to North Carolina over the years. The fishery was worth more than $18 million in 2015. Striped bass are also a very popular recreational sport fish.

The commission had been considering allowing more catch of the fish. Members were concerned that changing the management of the fishery could result in over-harvest.

Read the full story at Central Maine 

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Approves Public Hearing Document on Draft Amendment 3 for Public Comment New England States Schedule Public Hearings

May 12, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) releases Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Northern Shrimp for public consideration and input. The states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Draft Amendment. The details of those hearings follow.

Maine Department of Marine Resources

Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at 6 PM

Maine Department of Marine Resources

Conference Room #118

32 Blossom Lane

Augusta, Maine

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

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Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 6 PM

Ellsworth City Hall Conference Room

1 City Hall Plaza

Ellsworth, Maine

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

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New Hampshire Fish and Game

Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 7 PM

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095

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Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries

Monday, June 5, 2017 at 6 PM

MA DMF Annisquam River Station

30 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Contact: Kelly Whitmore at 978.282.0308

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The Section initiated Draft Amendment 3 with the intention of considering a limited entry program to address overcapacity in the fishery. In the 2010 and 2011 fishing seasons, increased fishing effort and untimely reporting resulted in early season closures and an overharvest of the total allowable catch (TAC). The 2012 fishing season was further restricted, resulting in a 21-day trawl season and a 17-day trap season. In the 2013 fishing season, despite the fact that only 55% of the TAC was harvested, the fishing mortality rate (0.53) was estimated above the target (0.38). In December 2013, the Section established a moratorium for the 2014 fishing season due to recruitment failure and a collapsed stock. The moratorium was maintained each year, through 2017, in response to the continued depleted condition of the stock.

Due to the uncertainty about if and when the resource would rebuild and the fishery reopen, the Section shifted the focus of Draft Amendment 3 to consider measures to improve management of the northern shrimp fishery and resource. Proposed options in the Draft Amendment include state-by-state allocations and accountability measures to better manage effort in the fishery. The Draft Amendment also explores the mandatory use of size sorting grate systems to minimize harvest of small (presumably male) shrimp, as well as reporting measures to ensure all harvested shrimp are being reported.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Amendment either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. The Draft Amendment can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/NShrimpDraftAmd3_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website,www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on June 21, 2017 and should be forwarded to Max Appelman, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mappelman@asmfc.org (Subject line: Northern Shrimp). For more information, please contact Max Appelman at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

US fishing industry retracted a bit in 2015; $208B in sales

May 11, 2016 — America’s fishing industry declined slightly in 2015 as fishermen contended with environmental and market forces, the federal government says.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday released its “Fisheries Economics of the United States” report for 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are available. The report says U.S. fisheries contributed a little less than $208 billion in sales, a decline from nearly $214 billion in 2014, which the government stressed was a “banner year.”

The number of fisheries jobs was also down 12 percent, to 1.6 million. But the NOAA noted the 2015 totals were better than they were four years earlier and were the second best year in the period from 2011 to 2015.

The NOAA said environmental factors included marine toxins; El Nino, a naturally occurring worldwide climate phenomenon that starts with unusually warm water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and then changes weather worldwide; and the Pacific Ocean’s “warm blob,” an area of relatively warm water off the West Coast. Those factors drove down the value of crab, squid, hake and salmon, the agency said.

Environmental factors have also been felt on the East Coast, where warming ocean waters are among the factors blamed for the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery.

“In New England in particular, we’re seeing some of these environmental changes,” said Alan Risenhoover, an administrator with NOAA. “That affects some stocks.”

The NOAA’s report mentioned one of the strongest fisheries in the country was the Maine lobster fishery. The value of all the lobster caught in Maine has climbed from $237 million in 2009 to more than $500 million in 2015.

Read the full story from The Associated Press at The Gloucester Times 

Driven By Lobster, Value of Maine Fisheries Landings Rises

May 10, 2017 — Landings of finfish and shellfish in Maine accounted for over $588 million in revenue in 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are available, and more than 39,000 jobs, according to numbers released Tuesday by NOAA Fisheries.

The total landings in Maine for 2015 were up more than $40 million compared to 2014 and up more than $112 million compared to 2013.

Rita Curtis, a NOAA Fisheries division chief for economics and social analysis, says American lobsters drive Maine fisheries.

“Maine lobster was up again, about $40 million. Prices were up we’ll say about 10 percent, more or less. Soft shell clams were up,” she says.

Curtis says, across the board, there was a lot of good news for Maine.

Read the full story at Maine Public

MAINE: Fishing surveillance bill amended

May 10, 2017 — A bill that would authorize the Department of Marine Resources to conduct surreptitious electronic surveillance of lobster boats drew mixed reviews at a hearing by the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee in April.

But at a work session last Wednesday, the committee voted to recommend passage of an amended version of the bill.

Introduced by Rep. Walter Kumiega (D-Deer Isle) at the request of the Department of Marine Resources, LD 1379 — as initially formulated — would have given the DMR commissioner authority to approve installation of electronic tracking devices on lobster boats without first getting a warrant from a judge. The approval would have been based on an affidavit from the chief of the Marine Patrol that he had “probable cause” to believe that a civil violation of the laws regulating the placement or hauling of lobster gear had occurred.

At its work session last week, the committee scrapped the idea of authorizing the commissioner to approve installation of tracking devices and took a new approach.

According to committee Co-chairman Kumiega, the committee opted to make four kinds of conduct “associated with fishing over the limit” of traps allowed Class D misdemeanors.

As of now, these violations are civil offenses.

The reason for the change, Kumiega said, is that Marine Patrol officers could not obtain sealed warrants from a judge when the offenses were handled as civil violations.

As criminal offenses, that all would change. Marine Patrol officers would be able to obtain warrants without giving notice to the subject of an investigation.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Approves Addendum I

May 10, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved Addendum I to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring. The Addendum includes management measures intended to stabilize the rate of catch in the Area 1A fishery and distribute the seasonal quota throughout Trimester 2 (June through September), which has 72.8 % of the season’s allocation. The following measures were approved by the Section:

Days Out Program (effective for the 2017 fishing season)

The Section will separately address days out provisions for federal herring Category A vessels and small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a federal herring Category C or D permit.

  • In addition to landing restrictions associated with the days out program, Category A vessels are now prohibited from possessing herring caught from Area 1A during a day out of the fishery.
  • Small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a Category C or D permit will notify states of their intent to fish in Area 1A prior to June 1st.

Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts will make days out decisions by consensus. If a consensus cannot be reached, then the default landing day scenario will be zero landing days.

Weekly Landing Limit (effective for the 2017 fishing season)

The Addendum implements a weekly harvester landing limit for vessels with a Category A permit. The weekly limit will be adjusted throughout the fishing season based on effort. Forty-five days prior to the start of the fishing season, Category A vessels will notify states of their intent to fish in Area 1A, including a specification of gear type. This will provide states with an estimate of effort to calculate the weekly landing limit. For the 2017 fishing season, the notification date is set at May 23rd.

New Fishery Management Plan Tools

The following measures may be considered as potential management tools prior to the start of the fishing year:

  • Herring caught in Area 1A can only be landed by the respective harvester vessel (i.e. no carrier vessels)
  • Herring carrier vessels are limited to receiving at-sea transfers from one harvester vessel per week and landing once per 24-hour period

State Landing Report

NOAA Fisheries has granted access to vessel monitoring system-submitted daily catch report data for select staff in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. This will provide real-time data for the states to implement a weekly landing limit. Therefore, the implementation of a state landing report is not necessary at this time. The Section will include the option to implement a state landing report as part of the interstate fishery management program if it becomes necessary at a future date. The Addendum will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org(on the Atlantic Herring webpage).

The Section also approved continuing the use of the GSI30-based forecast system to determine spawning closures in Area 1A. This method was developed by the Technical Committee, then tested and evaluated for effectiveness during the 2016 fishing season. The modified GSI‐based spawning monitoring system tracks reproductive maturity to align the timing of spawning area closures with the onset of spawning. The modeling efforts to forecast the spawning closures will be made available via a website.

For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Kelp Farming Promises Economic and Ecological Benefits

May 9, 2017 — We tend to think of spring as planting time, but kelp farmers in the Gulf of Maine are in the midst of their annual harvest right now. Growers and ocean researchers say kelp could be a huge win-win-win – improving the local environment, boosting other fisheries, and all while providing a saleable food source.

Ten  years ago, there were no kelp farms in the northeast. Now, there are more than a dozen. So, what gives?

“I think what’s been driving the increase is that the demand for domestically produced seaweed is rapidly growing in the U.S., principally due to American consumers’ increased awareness of the quality of waters where some of their [imported] seaweed may be coming from,” said Paul Dobbins, president of Maine-based kelp distributor Ocean Approved. “And the wild harvest, which has been going on for centuries here along the New England coast, can only provide so much.”

There’s also growing recognition among scientists that farmed seaweed can absorb excess nutrients and carbon dioxide, improving local water quality and boosting nearby fisheries, particularly shellfish. Nichole Price of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and Susie Arnold of Island Institute have been working with Dobbins to measure those benefits.

Read the full story at WCAI

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Days Out Meeting on May 23

May 9, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Atlantic Herring Section members from the States of Maine and New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet at 10:30 a.m. on May 23, 2017 to discuss ‘days out’ measures for the 2017 Trimester 2 Area 1A fishing season, which occurs from June 1 to September 30.  This meeting will take place at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 225 Main St. Durham, NH 03824. Parking spaces for meeting participants will be marked with orange cones.

Federally-permitted Herring Category A vessels must declare into the Area 1A fishery prior to the May 23rd Days Out Meeting. Small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a Federal Herring Category C or D permit must declare into the Area 1A fishery by June 1, 2017.  States will send additional correspondence regarding the notification procedure. 

The 2017 Area 1A allowable catch limit is 31,115 metric tons after being adjusted for a carryover from 2015. The Section set the seasonal split as 72.8% allocated from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% allocated from October 1 – December 31. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per day harvested from Area 1A until June 1, 2017.

 2017 Atlantic Herring Fishing Season Sub-ACLs, NMFS Final Rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-31392

 Please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or aharp@asmfc.org for more information.