Saving Seafood

Bait crisis is over, but Maine lobstermen are still feeling the pinch

October 21st, 2016 — The lobster bait crisis that plagued New England this summer is finally over, now that fishermen have begun to catch herring off Georges Bank.

But the price of lobstermen’s favorite bait fish, which rose dramatically when the offshore fleet wasn’t landing enough herring to refill empty bait freezers, has remained high through the end of peak lobster season, typically August through late October. Although there’s been no appreciable effect on consumer prices, lobstermen agree the shortage hurt their bottom line.

“Earlier this year, when prices were at their highest, I paid $170 for a barrel of herring and I usually pay about $110 for that same barrel,” said Jeff Putnam, a lobsterman out of Chebeague Island. “Like a lot of guys, I like to fish herring, but with prices like that, I turned to pogeys, but then pogey prices went up, too. Overall, I would say my bait costs are up 15 percent this year.”

Putnam has fared better than other lobstermen, especially those who fish out of the more isolated wharves or island communities and always have had a harder time securing a steady and affordable source of fresh bait. Prices vary from wharf to wharf, and the impact of bait costs varies from one boat to the next. Terry Savage Sr., who fishes out of the Cranberry Isles Fishermen’s Co-Op, said his bait costs have almost doubled this year,

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald 

PATRICE MCCARRON: Current fisheries science supports increasing menhaden quota

KENNEBUNK — Maine’s lobstermen recently caught a break with the reopening of the state’s menhaden fishery. A key source of local, fresh bait for Maine’s lobster fishery, menhaden has been an increasingly common presence in Maine waters. But the fishery’s reopening is only a temporary patch on a long-standing problem.

Scientists have determined that the menhaden stock is in great shape. But the fishery suffered steep cuts in quota by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the interstate body that manages menhaden, because the stock assessment conducted in 2012 had erroneously concluded that the stock was overfished.

The most recent menhaden assessment, conducted in 2015, found that the opposite was the case: Menhaden is not being overfished and has not been overfished since the 1960s. In short, the fishery is being managed sustainably. When read in conjunction with other metrics from the assessment, including all-time low levels of fishing mortality, it is clear that the menhaden stock is poised for long-term success.

Last year, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in recognition of the sustainability of current menhaden management, raised the coastwide quota by 10 percent. While this increase was a positive development for fishermen, the quota still remains well below what it what it was nearly five years ago.

Read the full opinion column at the Portland Press Herald

Swedish official won’t rule out national lobster ban

October 20, 2016 — A Swedish-backed proposal to ban live American lobster from the European Union as an invasive species has failed, though the possibility remains that the Scandinavian country could pursue its own ban, according to a Swedish diplomat.

“The political basis to do that is not there now,” Andreas von Uexkull, minister counselor at the Swedish embassy in Washington D.C., told the News Service on Tuesday of the decision by Europe’s government.

News emerged Friday that Europe would not ban the bottom-dwelling critters, which are a popular restaurant item. Sweden had sought to ban importation of live American lobsters, fearing they threaten European lobsters.

Uexkull raised the possibility of a regional or national ban of American lobster.

“We’ll see,” Uexkull said of the idea.

He said Norway had also proposed listing the creature as an invasive species, but is not a member of the European Union.

Lobster exports make up a significant piece of the Massachusetts lobster fishery’s business.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Interstate lobster conservation plan up for key vote soon

October 20, 2016 — BAR HARBOR, Maine — Interstate fishing managers will vote next week on whether to send a proposal to try to rebuild the southern New England lobster population out for public comment.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has been working on new management measures to try to preserve lobsters in the waters of southern New England.

The commission is meeting on Oct. 27 in Bar Harbor, Maine, to decide whether to send the management proposal to the public for consideration.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Herring fishing shut down along New England coast

October 19, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Herring fishermen are nearing their quota along New England’s coast and the fishery will be shut down until further notice.

The National Marine Fisheries Service says fishermen in the inshore Gulf of Maine have caught about 90 percent of their quota and the fishery was shut down early Tuesday morning. The inshore fishing zone ranges from Cape Cod to the eastern edge of the Maine coast.

Herring are an important bait fish, especially in the lobster fishery. A shortage of the fish in offshore waters caused a bait shortage in New England during the summer.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Daily Progress

Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission to debate 2017 shrimp moratorium

October 19, 2016 — The Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission will decide in November whether the Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery, which has been closed for the previous three seasons, will remain closed for the 2017 season.

The commission is scheduled to meet Nov. 10 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, first to review the most recent stock status report for northern shrimp and technical recommendations from the shrimp advisory panel. It will then set the specifications for the upcoming season.

Tina Berger, ASMFC spokeswoman, said the 2016 status report has not been finalized, but said she would be surprised if the stock status report revealed anything resembling an extraordinary comeback for the species.

“I haven’t seen the report, but I would be surprised if there was a season,” Berger said. “If there is one, it would probably be a very small one. But again, I haven’t seen the report.”

The stock status reports dating back to 2012 reveal a species in free fall, with record low levels of abundance and biomass and poor recruitment since 2012. Those assessments showed problems with overfishing, warming water temperatures and a dwindling number of spawning females.

The dire state of the fishery and the resulting closures also have given rise to a discussion among New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts about future fishery management options for the beleaguered fishery — including limiting access to what historically has been an open fishery.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Herring Fishing Shut Down Along New England Coast

October 18, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine – Herring fishermen are nearing their quota along New England’s coast and the fishery will be shut down until further notice.

The National Marine Fisheries Service says fishermen in the inshore Gulf of Maine have caught about 90 percent of their quota and the fishery was shut down early Tuesday morning. The inshore fishing zone ranges from Cape Cod to the eastern edge of the Maine coast.

Herring are an important bait fish, especially in the lobster fishery. A shortage of the fish in offshore waters caused a bait shortage in New England during the summer.

Read the full story at Maine Public Radio

MAINE: Ruling soon on how many scallops Mainers can catch this year

October 18th, 2016 — State regulators will make a decision soon about the scope of this year’s Maine scallop fishing season.

Maine scallops are popular in the seafood world because of how big and meaty some of them grow. The scallop fishery has been relatively stable in recent years, with prices high and volume of catch holding around 300,000 to 600,000 pounds of meat per year.

The state has proposed that fishermen be allowed to catch about the same amount of scallops this coming winter as they did in the previous fishing year. The state also wants to close several scallop fishing areas, including the Sheepscot River and Muscongus Bay.

The proposal was the subject of public hearings, and public comment closed on Oct. 12.

 The fishing season runs December to April.

 Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald 

Japan gives visiting Mainers the scoop on scalloping

October 18th, 2016 — A group of Maine fishermen from Cape Elizabeth to Stonington traveled to northern Japan this month to study mechanized techniques for growing scallops.

Funded in part by a grant from the United States-Japan Foundation, the 10-person group traveled to the coastal region of the Aomori prefecture to learn about the machines that the fishing and aquaculture cooperatives there use to grow scallops on vertical lines suspended in the sea, a farming method proven to speed up their growth. The group also learned about shellfish processing and value-added shellfish products.

“We want to get key people there to see what’s possible in scallop farming and to believe it can be replicated in Maine, although at a much smaller scale,” said trip leader Hugh Cowperthwaite, fisheries director for Coastal Enterprises Inc., which promotes rural economic development. “This exchange allows us to make new and deeper connections. Can this industry find its footing and create jobs in Maine?”

This isn’t the first time that Mainers have traveled to Aomori, which is more than 6,200 miles from Portland. The Japanese shellfish community started the information exchange in 1999, with a focus on how to collect wild seed and grow scallops from juveniles to adults. During Cowperthwaite’s first trip in 2010, he learned how Japan has mechanized several of the most labor-intensive steps of scallop farming.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald 

European Union decides it won’t ban imports of American lobster

October 17th, 2016 — The European Union has decided the American lobster isn’t an invasive species after all, averting a ban on the live import of Maine’s iconic crustacean.

The EU’s Committee on Invasive Alien Species told Sweden, the member nation that had sought the ban after discovering American lobsters off its coast, that it would not list Homerus americanus for technical reasons, even though Sweden’s argument had persuaded the forum of EU scientists who study alien species to pursue the listing just one month ago.

Instead, the committee – which is the political side of the alien species issue as compared to the forum, which is the scientific side – told Sweden that it couldn’t find support for an invasive species listing, which would trigger an import ban among member countries, according to an EU Commission source. However, it might one day explore other measures to protect the European lobster that wouldn’t be as disruptive to trade.

American lobster industry officials celebrated the apparent victory Friday, saying the decision had saved a $200 million-a-year export industry.

“This would have had a massive impact throughout the industry, from the fishermen on up to the processors to the restaurants who serve our lobsters and consumers who eat them,” said Annie Tselikis, marketing manager for Maine Coast Co. and a spokesman for the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association. “We are thrilled. We don’t have specifics about the decision, but are thrilled the European market is not in question.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald