Saving Seafood

Public may get to weigh in on lobster conservation plan

September 6, 2016 — BAR HARBOR, Maine — The public might soon have a chance to comment on a proposal aimed at saving part of New England’s lobster population from decline.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is working on new management measures to try to preserve lobsters in southern New England waters. Scientists say those lobsters are in decline while the species is thriving further up the coast in Maine.

The commission is meeting next month in Bar Harbor, Maine, to decide whether to send the management measures to the public for comment. Measures could include things like seasonal closures and changes to the minimum and maximum harvesting sizes of lobsters.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at NH1

September 16 Atlantic Herring Area 1A Trimester 3 Days Out Meeting Changed to a Conference Call

September 2, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section (Section) members from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts are meeting via conference call at 9 a.m. on September 16, 2016 to discuss days out measures for Trimester 3 (October 1 to December 31). The members have deferred discussion of alternative management approaches for Area 1A until the Section meets in October at the Commission’s Annual Meeting. This conference call replaces the previously scheduled in-person meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The 2016 Area 1A sub-annual catch limit is 30,102 metric tons (mt) including carryover of unharvested catch in 2014 and deductions for the research and fixed gear set-aside in 2016. The Section set the seasonal split as 72.8% allocated from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% allocated from October 1 – December 31. The seasonal quota for Trimester 3 amounts to 7,533 mt.

Fishermen and other interested parties are welcome to listen in and participate at the Chair’s discretion. Join via telephone by dialing 1-888-394-8197 and entering the passcode 499811. For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or aharp@asmfc.org.

ME, NJ, and VA Atlantic Menhaden Harvester and Dealer Survey Participants Sought for Socioeconomic Study

September 2, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Arlington, Va. — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission awarded funding to a research team headed by Dr. John Whitehead of Appalachian State University and Dr. Jane Harrison from North Carolina Sea Grant to conduct a socioeconomic study of Atlantic menhaden commercial fisheries. The study is intended to characterize the coastwide commercial fisheries, including bait and reduction sectors and the fishing communities they support.

The principal investigators have sent survey announcements to fishermen and bait dealers in Maine, New Jersey, and Virginia. Virginia fishery participants will receive postcards announcing the surveys while Maine and New Jersey participants will receive an email announcement. Reminders will be sent throughout August and early September. Participation in this survey is highly encouraged, as the data from this study will be used in the development of Draft Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Management Plan in 2017 and subsequent management decisions. The deadline for responding to this survey is September 15.

The full proposal can be found here. For more information, please contact Dr. Jane Harrison, North Carolina Sea Grant, at jane_harrison@ncsu.edu or 919.513.0122.

New Technology Supports Efforts to Restore Maine’s Urchin Fishery

September 1, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

September 1, 2016 – While Maine’s 2016-2017 sea urchin season will be a repeat of last season in terms of the number of fishing days and daily landing limits, harvesters and dealers will be equipped with new technology designed to improve future prospects for this fishery.

Maine DMR is launching a new swipe card system for the sea urchin fishery which will create efficiencies for industry and DMR staff, and will support efforts to restore and sustain this fishery, at one time second only to lobster in landed value.

By automating required weekly dealer reports, previously done on paper, “swipe cards reduce the chance of human error which can occur when transcribing landings information,” said Trisha Cheney, DMR Resource Management Coordinator for Sea Urchins.

Similar to the elver fishery, each time urchin harvesters sell their product, they swipe their card in the dealer’s card reader, and the dealer enters the sales information into a computer loaded with customized reporting software.

Each transaction, including the harvester’s information encoded on a magnetic strip on the back of the card, and pounds and price entered by the dealer, will be uploaded from the dealer computer to a secure server accessed by DMR managers.

“My intent in expanding the use of the swipe card system is to ensure the accurate and timely landings information which is crucial to the successful management of Maine’s commercial fisheries,” said Patrick Keliher, Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner. “This is especially important in a fishery like this, which was once the second most valuable in Maine.”

Beginning in the 1980s, Maine sea urchin landings began to rise dramatically with the development of a market in Japan. The rising demand prompted increased fishing pressure. By 1995 there were 1,840 licensed harvesters who landed 34.2 million pounds valued at more than $35 million, behind only lobster in value for wild harvested fisheries.

However the increasing pressure on the resource resulted in a prohibition on new licenses, which is still in place. In 2015, Maine’s 305 urchin harvesters landed 1.5 million pounds valued at $4.3 million dollars.

“When managers must rely on insufficient or outdated information, it forces them to be more precautionary in their approach,”   said Cheney. “By providing managers with more timely and accurate data, the new urchin swipe card system will improve our understanding of the fishery, allowing for more targeted measures, which could mean more harvesting opportunity in the future.”

“The DMR has had great success with the swipe card system in the elver fishery. This technology has helped Maine ensure the future of that important fishery,” said Keliher. “We anticipate that the swipe card system will also support efforts to restore and sustain Maine’s urchin fishery.”

MAINE: State senate candidate Emery applauds reopening of Atlantic menhaden fishery

August 30, 2016 — ROCKLAND, Maine — Facing a shortage of herring that threatens the Maine’s fishing industry, lobstermen and bait fishermen have been relying on menhaden during the peak of the lobster season. Menhaden, known locally as pogies, is the common alternative bait used by lobstermen.

The annual catch limit had been exceeded in July and an emergency extension of the quota to 3.5 million pounds for New England was instituted. As the catch rapidly approached the temporary “episodic event” quota extension, the Maine Department of Marine Resources closed the pogie fishery.

The week of Aug. 19, Maine DMR reopened the pogie fishery after it determined that, even with the increased catch, fish stocks remain healthy.

Dave Emery, Republican candidate for the Maine Senate in District 12, was a member of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Conservation, and the Environment when he served in Congress. Emery met at F.J. O’Hara & Sons with fishermen and industry experts two weeks ago to discuss the bait issue, along with other issues impacting the industry.

“Better data and more frequent analysis would provide the industry with a more complete understanding of fish population. This is important both to guarantee necessary conservation measures, but also to provide the lobster industry with sufficient bait for the robust lobster market, which is valued at $500 million in Maine,” Emery said.

Read the full story at the Village Soup

ASMFC 75th Annual Meeting Details, Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

August 30, 2016 — The following was released by the ASMFC:

Please find below and attached the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 75th Annual Meeting, which will be held October 23-27, 2016  at the Harborside Hotel in Bar Harbor, Maine. This email contains meeting details, including the preliminary agenda. All of the business meetings scheduled during this week (with the exception of closed sessions) are open to the public, free of charge. However, if you plan on attending any of the Annual Meeting social events, please help us prepare for these events by registering early (see below and attached for more details). Please note the preliminary agenda, which is also available athttp://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-annual-meeting, is subject to change. Bulleted items represent the anticipated major issues to be discussed or acted upon at the meeting. The final agenda will include additional items and may revise the bulleted items provided in the Preliminary Agenda which follows.

Our Maine Commissioners have been working for quite a while now on the meeting details and are looking forward to welcoming you all to Bar Harbor. Surrounded by Acadia National Park and located at the edge of the sea there is a special mystique to Bar Harbor that you have to experience to understand!

ACCOMODATIONS: A block of rooms is being held at the Harborside Hotel (55 West Street, Bar Harbor, ME. Please make your reservations by calling (800)328-5033 as soon as possible to obtain the negotiated room rate of $159.00 plus tax. Hotel reservations must be made before September 26, 2016. Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date.  Please be aware that you must guarantee your room reservation with a major credit card or one night’s advance payment and you must notify the hotel of any cancellation prior to 72 hours before arrival or you will be billed one night’s room plus tax. If you have any problems regarding accommodations, please contact Cindy at 703.842.0740 or crobertson@asmfc.org. 

PLEASE NOTE: The negotiated room rate will be available from October 22nd through the 27th.

GETTING TO BAR HARBOR: Bar Harbor is accessible by automobile, plane or boat! The flights into Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport are not plentiful in the latter half of October, but you can get connecting flights from Boston and Portland into Bar Harbor Airport.  Bangor has many flights daily – even some nonstop flights from Washington, D.C., and it is an hour and 15 minutes from Bar Harbor.  Portland has even more flights from up and down the coast, and the drive to Bar Harbor from Portland is 3 hours.

REGISTRATION:  The meeting registration fee is $200/per participant and $150/per spouse or guest if you register by October 17, 2016. After October 17th and in Bar Harbor the fees will be $225 and $175, respectively. The registration fee covers the Sunday night reception, the Tuesday night dinner, and the Wednesday Hart Award Luncheon, as well event materials. Payment is not required until you arrive at the meeting; however, we ask that you please assist us in planning for the meeting by registering as soon as possible. You may register by returning the fillable registration form (by email to lhartman@asmfc.org, fax (703.842.0741, or US mail to 1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 200A-N, Arlington, VA 22201). Once you have registered, payment can be made in several ways (1) check, cash or credit card at the ASMFC Registration Desk at the Annual Meeting; (2) credit card by calling Lisa Hartman at 703.842.0744; or (3) mail a check to ASMFC (address above).  (Please note all board/committee members attending the Annual Meeting will be reimbursed for the full registration fee. However, the additional $25 for late registration fees will not be reimbursed.)

 

Maine fishermen want scallop harvest to stay the same

August 29, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — Maine’s fishing managers are proposing that fishermen be allowed to catch about the same amount of the state’s beloved scallops in the coming winter fishing season as they did this year.

Maine divides the coasts into three scallop fishing zones. The state Department of Marine Resources says next year fishermen in the zones covering southern and midcoast Maine should be allowed to possess up to 15 gallons of scallops per day.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Central Maine

Maine looks to allow similar scallop harvest this winter

August 29, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — Maine’s fishing managers are proposing that fishermen be allowed to catch about the same amount of the state’s beloved scallops in the coming winter fishing season as they did this year.

Maine divides the coasts into three scallop fishing zones. The state Department of Marine Resources says next year fishermen in the zones covering southern and Midcoast Maine should be allowed to possess up to 15 gallons of scallops per day.

Fishermen in the Cobscook Bay zone would be allowed to possess up to 10 gallons per day. Those limits are the same as 2015-16.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Washington Times

Lobstermen in Maine’s historically open zone vote to close their waters to newcomers

August 26, 2016 — The lobstermen of Stonington and Vinalhaven, the busiest lobster ports in Maine, have voted to close their waters to additional fishermen, preferring that newcomers wait for others to leave before dropping traps there.

Almost three of every four local lobstermen who voted in a referendum this summer supported the adoption of a waiting list system. The majority included many of the small island communities that had previously opposed making newcomers wait for lobster licenses out of fear that it would discourage people from moving to their far-flung communities.

Of the nine districts within the regional lobster zone, only one, the district that includes Matinicus and Criehaven, voted against making newcomers go on a waiting list. Results show that local lobstermen of all ages, license types and business size support the closure.

The election results now go to the local lobster council for consideration Sept. 8. If the council approves the closure, its recommendation will go to the commissioner of the state Department of Marine Resources, Patrick Keliher, who makes the final determination.

Approval would make permanent a temporary closure implemented in June, when the council voted to put the waiting list question to the 936 licensed lobstermen in the zone. It had been the last of Maine’s seven lobster zones to allow newcomers to fish without a wait.

Other regional councils had previously voted to close their fishing zones and make qualified applicants wait, sometimes for as long as a decade, to get their own lobster licenses.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald 

A Restaurant’s Sales Pitch: Know Your Lobster

August 25, 2016 — It was a steamy summer day in New York in 2009 when Luke Holden, an investment banker, had a craving for a lobster roll. Not just any lobster roll, though. He longed for the “fresh off the docks” taste he enjoyed growing up in Cape Elizabeth, Me.

After an exhaustive search on New York’s streets, he came up dissatisfied and disappointed.

“Every lobster was served over a white tablecloth, extremely expensive, drowning in mayo and diluted with celery,” he said. “I wondered why all the great chefs in this city had screwed this up so badly.”

So that year, Mr. Holden decided to open an authentic Maine lobster shack in Manhattan. To replicate that fresh taste that he remembered, he would need to oversee, track and, where possible, own every step in the process.

Today, he owns 19 Luke’s Lobster restaurants, two food trucks and a lobster tail cart in the United States, and five shacks in Japan.

He holds an ownership stake in a co-op of Maine fishermen, which allows him to track where and how the lobsters are caught, and control the quality, freshness and pricing. He also owns the processing plant, Cape Seafood, that packages and prepares the lobsters for his restaurants.

“We’re able to trace every pound of seafood we serve back to the harbor where it was sustainably caught and to support fishermen we know and trust,” Mr. Holden said. “There’s no middleman in that whole chain.”

This might seem obsessive. But in business, it’s called a vertical integration strategy.

Read the full story at The New York Times