Saving Seafood

ASMFC Presents William Goldsborough Prestigious Captain David H. Hart Award

October 28th, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented William “Bill” Goldsborough of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation the Captain David H. Hart Award, its highest annual award, at the Commission’s 75thAnnual Meeting in Bar Harbor, Maine. Bill is the first person to receive all three Commission awards, having previously received an Annual Award of Excellence for Management & Policy Contributions and the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP) Melissa Laser Fish Habitat Conservation Award.

Throughout his 30 years on the front lines of fisheries management and conservation, Bill has remained a thoughtful and persistent voice of reason in his commitment to science-based decision making.  A senior scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation since 1988, Bill has provided an independent, conservation-oriented voice to the fisheries discussion. Bill joined the Commission in 1995 after having served as a member of the Commission’s Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Transition Team. From 1995 through 2004 he was the Maryland Governor’s Appointee and again from 2007 until this year.

During his career, Bill has made significant contributions to the protection and recovery of several key Chesapeake Bay fishery species. He played a central role in the striped bass recovery, beginning with the implementation of the Maryland moratorium in 1985 and continuing through to the reopening the fishery in 1990, having achieved consensus among diverse stakeholders  to move towards a conservation-based approach to striped bass management.  He also led a public blue crab conservation campaign that resulted in a broad commitment to cap effort in the fishery and led to the adoption of bay-wide fishery management plans under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

A passionate advocate for aquatic habitat, Bill made habitat protection and restoration a topic of critical and common concern among fishermen. Regionally, he brought together a diverse group of commercial and recreational fishermen to adopt codes for protecting the Chesapeake Bay.  Coastwide, he has left an indelible mark on the Commission’s Habitat Program as one of the earliest members of the Habitat Committee and its longest serving Chair, having serving in that position for 10 years. Thanks to his leadership and participation, the Committee has developed habitat sections for many of the Commission’s fishery management plans and released numerous publications – all of which have elevated our understanding that healthy aquatic habitats are the foundation of abundant fisheries. As a Steering Committee member, Bill also played an important role in the development and launching of the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership.

Perhaps one of Bill’s most notable and lasting endeavors is his commitment to ecological fisheries management, which the Atlantic Menhaden Board is now pursuing through Amendment 3. In 2005 and 2006, he was instrumental in developing the Chesapeake Bay reduction cap for menhaden and prompting a five-year Chesapeake Bay population research program. Throughout the oftentimes contentious deliberations, Bill’s was the calm voice reminding us to stay the course.

His contributions and composure in the face of challenging decision-making negotiations undoubtedly spring from his concurrent participation in other fisheries management fora, including  his work with the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program where he serves on the Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team, and his tenures as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Fishery Management Workgroup (1987-2001), Aquatic Reef Habitat Workgroup (1993-2000), Fish Passage Workgroup (1987-2000), and the Fishery Management Plan Review Taskforce (1993). From 1996 through 2003, he was a member of NOAA’s Bi-State Blue Crab Advisory Committee. For eight years (2002-2010), he was the NGO representative on NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Steering Committee.

 These are only some of the highlights in the remarkable career of an exceptional ecologist who has found ways to bridge gaps between stakeholders and the environment while deftly negotiating the terrain between what could be ideal and what is humanly possible.

 The Commission instituted the Award in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding efforts to improve Atlantic coast marine fisheries. The Hart Award is named for one of the Commission’s longest serving members, who dedicated himself to the advancement and protection of marine fishery resources.

Fisheries panel, after failed last try, agrees on increase in menhaden harvest

October 28th, 2016 — After failing two months ago to come up with a 2017 quota for commercial harvests of menhaden, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission this week finally settled on a number: 200,000 metric tons, a 6.45 percent increase from this year.

The commission struggled for 3-1/2 hours at its meeting in Alexandria in August to set next year’s quota, with a half-dozen proposals for various limits failing to win enough votes. On Wednesday in Bar Harbor, Maine, the commission’s menhaden management board settled on a number much quicker.

Still, the new limit was criticized by environmental groups, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Chris Moore, the foundation’s senior scientist in Virginia, said in a prepared statement that the fish – a staple in the diets of numerous marine creatures, from striped bass to whales – are “not abundant throughout their geographic range.”

Moore said that keeping the quota unchanged for the small, bony, oily fish “would have helped ensure a healthier menhaden population for all users.”

In most of the states from Maine to Florida under the commission’s watch, menhaden are harvested for bait.

Virginia is the exception. It’s the center of East Coast harvests, with next year’s quota allotting the state nearly 169,000 of the 200,000-ton limit. The overwhelming majority of Virginia’s catches will go to a plant in Reedville on the Northern Neck, where they’ll be reduced into products ranging from fish oil pills to cattle-feed supplements.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

Virginia’s 2017 Harvest of Atlantic Menhaden Will Increase

October 28th, 2016 — At a meeting in Maine this week, Atlantic coast fisheries managers agreed to increase the catch for menhaden, a fish considered crucial to birds, other fish and by commercial watermen to catch crabs. It’s also key to the remaining fish oil plant on the East Coast here in Virginia.

In August, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission members couldn’t decide how much harvest to allow. The tiny schools of fish travel from Florida to Maine., stopping to spawn in places like the Chesapeake Bay. On Wednesday, menhaden management board chair Robert Ballou  made it clear this time a decision would be made.

“Now, if any board member wishes to pursue a different course of action. That can happen and the process can go on and on and on. But my hope is that the board will see fit to proceed in the manner just described.”

Read the full story and listen to the audio at WVTF

ASMFC American Lobster Board Approves Jonah Crab Draft Addendum II for Public Comment

October 28th, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Draft Addendum II to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for public comment. The Draft Addendum considers establishing a coastwide standard for claw harvest to address concerns regarding the equity of the current claw provision. Specific options include establishing a whole crab fishery or allowing for the harvest of claws coastwide. The Draft Addendum also considers establishing a definition of bycatch, based on a percent composition of catch, in order to minimize the expansion of a small-scale fishery under the bycatch allowance. 

The FMP currently establishes a whole crab fishery with the exception of fishermen from NJ, DE, MD, and VA who have a history of claw landings prior to June 2, 2015. Following approval of the FMP, claw fishermen from NY and ME were identified. Currently, these fishermen are required to land whole crabs. As a result, jurisdictions have expressed concern regarding the equity of this provision as some fishermen with a history of claw landings are allowed to continue this practice while others must land whole crabs.

In order to address concerns regarding the expansion of a small-scale fishery, consideration of a bycatch definition was added as a second issue in the Draft Addendum. Addendum I established a bycatch allowance of 1,000 crabs per trip for non-trap gears and non-lobster trap gears (i.e., fish pots, crab pots, whelk traps). Fishermen using these gears are not required to have other species on Board when harvesting Jonah crab. As a result, fishermen harvesting Jonah crab under the bycatch limit may, in fact, directly target Jonah crab by landing 1,000 crabs per trip and nothing else. This does not reflect the intention of the bycatch allowance which is to account for Jonah crab caught while targeting another species.

The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org (under Public Input) by mid-November. It is anticipated that the majority of states of Maine through Maryland will be conducting public hearings; the details of those hearings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Board will review submitted public comment and consider final action on the Draft Addendum at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February.  For more information, please contact Megan Ware at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.         

 

Fishing managers to meet with industry on lobster plan

October 28th, 2016 — Fishing managers will reach out to the members of the fishing industry before seeking public comment on a proposal to rebuild the southern New England lobster population, an interstate panel decided on Thursday.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission determined it was best to take the additional step before possibly releasing the plan to the public in February. The commission has been working on fishing management measures to preserve the lobsters.

Scientists have said southern New England lobsters are in decline while the species is thriving off the coast of Maine. They have cited factors such as warmer temperatures in some ocean waters.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Boston Globe 

Scientists say Maine’s shrimp season should stay shut down due to warming waters

October 28th, 2016 — A scientific committee says Maine’s shuttered cold water shrimp fishery should stay shut down for at least another year.

The shrimp fishery has been shuttered since the end of 2013 because of low populations. Scientists say warming ocean temperatures off New England are inhospitable for the shrimp.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says a scientific committee that studies the shrimp reports the species still faces “poor prospects for the near future.” The committee is recommending the commission extend the moratorium on fishing for the shrimp through 2017.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Boston Globe 

MAINE: Island fishermen learn (more) about aquaculture in Japan

October 27, 2016 — Local fisherman Marsden Brewer and his son, Bobby Brewer, have recently returned from a one-week excursion to Aomori, Japan, where they spent time studying the Japanese methods of growing scallops through aquaculture.

Growing scallops, as opposed to fishing them, has become a topic of interest in the area over the last few years; however, Brewer said it is something the Japanese have been doing for decades.

“They’ve long since brought their fishing industry to its knees as of several years ago, so they had to come up with an alternative way to still use the ocean to feed their families,” said Brewer at his home Tuesday, October 18. “That’s why we went over there, to learn how they do it, because they’ve discovered so many ways of becoming more and more efficient. It’s really quite amazing.”

Brewer said the technique he was most impressed with was a 600-foot-long line that went 15-feet down into the water. Scallops are hung on that line to grow.

“The thing I liked most about that is the line is hung from three buoys. So, if you look at it from above, all you see on the surface are those three buoys. It doesn’t look like a whole system coming out of the water,” he said.

Read the full story at Island Advantages

Consultant sees huge growth potential for Maine aquaculture

October 27, 2016 — With its clean, cold waters, its proximity to large markets and its wide open coastline, Maine’s farmed oyster, mussel and scallop industries are poised to more than quadruple in value over 15 years, according to a new report from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

Right now, Maine produces $24 million worth of oysters, mussels and scallops a year, 4 percent of the $700 million national market. Aquaculture accounts for about a quarter of Maine’s shellfish, worth about $6.5 million a year, according to state data.

But a market analysis prepared for GMRI by The Hale Group, the Massachusetts-based food and agribusiness consultancy, predicts that Maine’s shellfish aquaculture industry will grow to $30 million by 2030, which gave Maine ocean farmers and groups that work with them, like GMRI, reason to cheer.

“The major finding is the significant room for growth in farmed oyster, mussel, and scallop sectors at a scope and scale that fits with Maine’s working waterfront culture,” concluded GMRI in the report that it unveiled Wednesday.

Mussels and scallops show the most promise, according to the market analysis. Demand for Maine’s mussels is expected to grow faster than the industry average, given their market reputation. The domestic supply of scallops, meanwhile, meets just half the nation’s demand, giving Maine scallops a big opening.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Initiates Addendum to Improve Performance of Area 1A Fishery

October 27, 2016 — The following was released by the ASMFC:

Bar Harbor, ME – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Section initiated Addendum I to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring to improve the performance of the Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) Atlantic herring fishery. The purpose of the addendum is to develop additional management alternatives for the days out program. It is in response to the accelerated pace of Area 1A Trimester 2 (June through September) landings in recent years and the increasingly dynamic nature of days out measures to control Trimester 2 effort that have varied across states.

The Section utilizes days out of the fishery to slow the rate of Area 1A catch so the seasonal quota can be distributed throughout each trimester. Currently, the days out program is specific to landing day restrictions. The increase in the number of larger carrier vessels in the area has rendered days out less effective in controlling effort because vessels can transfer catch to large carrier vessels at-sea, allowing harvesters additional days of fishing beyond the days that are open to landings.

In 2016, Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) implemented a series of emergency rules that were more restrictive than Commission measures in an attempt to extend the Trimester 2 quota into September. These rules included a weekly landing limit, restricted landing and fishing days, as well as at sea transfer restrictions. DMR’s measures only applied to vessels landing in Maine. New Hampshire and Massachusetts implemented one of these management measures – three consecutive landing days. The Draft Addendum will explore these measures and potentially others that could be uniformly applied by the Area 1A of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

For more information on Area 1A fishery performance in the 2015 and 2016 fishing year that brought about the need for alternative management measures refer to a white paper, which is available on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/58124582AtlHerringArea1AFisheryPerformance_2015_2016.pdf.

Regulators increase menhaden quota, which could help ease bait fish shortage

October 27, 2016 — Regulators voted Wednesday to increase the annual quota for menhaden in 2017, giving Maine lobstermen a welcome boost in the supply of a popular bait fish, but no relief for Maine fishermen who want a bigger share of the national menhaden harvest.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has struggled to set its quota for the oily forage fish, also known as pogey, with members split between wanting to maintain the annual menhaden catch at 187,880 metric tons and those who say the stock has rebounded enough to raise the quota.

On Wednesday, as the commission gathered for its annual meeting in Bar Harbor, the menhaden board voted 16-2 to increase the annual quota by 6.5 percent, to 200,000 metric tons, with Pennsylvania and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service holding out for keeping the quota unchanged.

Some member states had wanted to raise the quota by 20 percent or 40 percent, saying that government scientists believe there is no chance that even an increase of that size would lead to overfishing of the population, which appears to have rebounded after years of decline.

“Science says the stock’s in good shape,” said Bill Adler of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “I find it difficult that we can deal with overfishing, we can do a good job of cutting things down, but then we have success and we don’t know what to do with it.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald