Saving Seafood

Bay State joins Maine fight to prevent European ban on North American lobster

May 2, 2016 — Massachusetts is joining Maine to fight a possible ban on North American lobster by the European Union.

All 11 members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation sent a letter Friday to the Obama administration urging it to work with its European counterparts to continue the trans- Atlantic trade of lobsters. The delegation has joined Maine lawmakers to fight concerns raised by Sweden that the American crustacean poses an invasive threat to its own native lobster species.

The Massachusetts delegation voiced its concerns in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Kathryn Sullivan about the impact of a ban by the EU, which accounts for one-fifth of all American lobster exports.

“A permanent ban on the importation of American lobster to the EU could … have devastating consequences for the Massachusetts lobster industry and the New England maritime economy,” the delegation wrote.

The delegation said in the letter that Sweden’s petition to add American lobsters to the European Commission’s list of invasive species is not consistent with its own standards and does not appear to be the correct method to resolve Sweden’s concerns.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Fisheries scientists to address flaws in past forage fish research

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – May 2, 2016 – Dr. Ray Hilborn, a marine biologist and fisheries scientist at the University of Washington, has launched a new initiative aimed at addressing key issues surrounding forage fish science and the impacts of forage fishing on predator species. Dr. Hilborn’s Forage Fish Project is one of several scientific efforts occurring in the next few months to expand the existing body of scientific research on forage fish.

Comprised of 14 renowned fisheries scientists from around the globe, the Forage Fish Project held its inaugural conference last month in Hobart, Australia, where it identified shortcomings in the existing forage fish research. Specifically, it found several issues with work produced by the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force, whose April 2012 report, “Little Fish, Big Impact,” concluded forage fish are vulnerable to overfishing, among other findings.

The Forage Fish Project, which includes two members of the Lenfest Task Force, began work to address these flaws, with the goal of producing an accompanying study later this year.

In Hobart, Project members found that most of the models used in previous forage fish studies, like the Lenfest Task Force report, left out factors such as the natural variability of forage fish stocks, and the extent of size overlap between fisheries and predators. The group also found multiple indications that the Lenfest study greatly overstated the negative impact of forage fishing on predator species.

“Most [food web] models were not built with the explicit intention of evaluating forage fish fisheries, so unsurprisingly many models did not include features of forage fish population biology or food web structure that are relevant for evaluating all fishery impacts,” according to minutes from the Hobart meeting.

Two upcoming fishery management workshops will also evaluate forage species on the East and West Coasts of the U.S., the first organized by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The workshop, which will be held in La Jolla, Calif., from May 2-5, will focus on how to improve stock assessment methods for northern anchovy and other coastal pelagic species. Attendees will evaluate model-based assessment approaches based on routinely assessed pelagic species from around the world, consider non-assessment approaches to estimate fish stocks, and develop recommendations for how the SWFSC should evaluate coastal pelagic fish stocks in the future.

A similar forage fish workshop will be held May 16-17 in Portland, Maine. This workshop will focus on Atlantic herring, with the goal of establishing a rule to specify its acceptable biological catch (ABC), the recommended catch level for any given fish species. An effective ABC rule will consider the role of Atlantic herring in the ecosystem, stabilize the fishery at a level that will achieve optimum yield, and address localized depletion in inshore waters.

Ultimately, these various forage fish workshops and projects are striving to use the best available science to update previous research and determine sound management practices for forage species.

Read the full minutes from the Forage Fish Project conference in Hobart, Australia

Learn more about the upcoming coastal pelagic species workshop in La Jolla, Calif.

Learn more about the upcoming Atlantic herring workshop in Portland, Maine

Maine fishermen’s group doesn’t just want to catch fish

April 29, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — A group representing various parts of Maine’s seafood industry on Thursday will set to crafting a plan to build its future workforce, a problem it and other trades in the state see ahead.

Monique Coombs, who founded and leads the Maine Seafood Network, said the group so far has been loosely organized, but she “wanted to get to the point where we could affect the supply chain in a productive and useful way.”

Coombs said the focus on workforce development came from speaking with the group’s members about common challenges, with training posing a challenge for employers like seafood processors and fishermen alike.

Read the full story at Bangor Daily News

Coast Guard tows Gloucester dragger 90 miles into Portland, Maine

April 29, 2016 — The U.S Coast Guard, with a good Samaritan boat serving as its closer, towed the Gloucester-ported Paulo Marc into Portland, Maine, this morning after the 63-foot boat became disabled due to engine problems, according to the Coast Guard.

The Paulo Marc, owned by a Maine-based limited liability company with David J. Osier listed as the permit holder, was trawling for groundfish about 90 miles off the coast of Maine at about 1 p.m. Wednesday when engine trouble related to a failed reduction gear left it wallowing in the water without power.

“It was pretty hectic for a little while,” Osier said this morning. “I was looking for another boat to tow it in, but that’s become hard because there’s just not that many draggers left out there fishing.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Discover the Deep-Sea Corals of Maine

April 28, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

Scientists with NOAA Fisheries discover deep-sea coral gardens close to shore (25 miles) and shallow (700 feet). Unknown until 2014, these Gulf of Maine spots abound with corals, cod, and a snapping goosefish. Look out!

Atlantic Herring Landing Days for Area 1A’s Trimester 2 and Next “Days Out” Meeting Notice

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

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts set the “days out” effort control measures for the 2016 Area 1A Trimester 2 (June 1 – September 30) as follows:

·         June 1 – 30: Vessels may land herring three (3) consecutive days a week.All other days are designated as “days out” of the fishery (e.g., vessels may not land herring).

·         July 1 – 14: Vessels may land herring four (4) consecutive days a week. All other days are designated as “days out” of the fishery.

·         July 15 – September 30: Vessels may land herring five (5) consecutive days a week until further notice. All other days are designated as “days out” of the fishery.

Landing days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m. Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.

The initial Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) is 30,397 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for a carryover from 2014. The Area 1A sub-ACL will be adjusted after the final rule for the 2016-2018 herring specifications is released. The final 2016 Area 1A sub-ACL will include the following reductions: 8% bycatch, 3% research set-aside and 295 mt fixed gear set-aside. The Section allocated 72.8% of the sub-ACL to Trimester 2.

By starting with three landings days per week and then adjusting to four and then five days during Trimester 2, the allocation is projected to extend through the end of the trimester. Landings will be monitored closely and the directed fishery will be adjusted to zero landing days when the trimester’s allocation is projected to be reached. The Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are scheduled to reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort and adjust landing days as necessary on the following day:

·         Monday, July 11 at 10:00 AM

To join the call, please dial 888.394.8197 and enter passcode 499811 as prompted.

Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until June 1, 2016.  Please contact Ashton Harp at 703.842.0740 for more information.

Ruling coming on monitors for beleaguered cod fishery

April 27, 2016 –PORTLAND, Maine — Federal regulators will soon release new rules for New England’s beleaguered cod fishery, including the role at-sea monitors will play.

At-sea monitoring is a controversial subject in the fishery because the government has shifted the cost of paying for monitors to fishermen. The monitors collect data that informs fishing regulations.

The new cod fishing season starts May 1, and the rules governing it are expected this week.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Fosters

Elvers catch outpacing last year’s

April 26, 2016 — Maine’s money-making elvers fishery, the only significant fishery in the U.S. for the baby eels, is having a much stronger year than in 2015 as favorable weather has allowed fishermen to capture their quarry.

Elvers are sold to Asian aquaculture companies and eventually become food, such as sushi. Much sought-after, they sometimes sell for more than $2,000 per pound, putting them among the most lucrative commercial fish species in the country.

Last year, fishermen caught less than 5,300 pounds of them against a quota of nearly 10,000 pounds. Fishermen, who seek the eels with nets in Maine’s rivers from late March to early June, have already caught more than last year’s entire catch.

“For us, it’s going well,” said Henry Bear, an elver fisherman on the Passagassawakeag River in Waldo County and the Maliseet tribal representative to the Maine House of Representatives. “Far more productive, and the fish are running good.”

Last year’s fishery was impeded by the lingering harsh winter weather. Fishermen this year have already caught more than 5,500 pounds, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

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

Fishermen Worry New Rules Won’t Come in Time to Save N. Atlantic Scallops

April 25, 2016 — A quandary over scallop rules has two groups of fishermen in Maine at odds over the increasingly lucrative shellfish.

Kristan Porter, 46, is an independent fisherman who catches lobsters for most of the year with his boat “Brandon Jay.” But for additional income, for five months each year, he and the two other men on his boat have begun collecting scallops.

But a larger than usual harvest of scallops this year in the northern Gulf of Maine and the competitive price that they demand has brought a larger number of boats than usual. Porter’s boat and others are limited to collect 200 pounds of scallops each trip until the boats reach 70,000 pounds. But other boats that have permits distributed in the 1990s are allowed to haul up to 40 million pounds within the 34 days they are permitted in the area.

The problem is exacerbated as the demand for scallops has evolved from just another mollusk to a delicacy in fine dining.

Read the full story at MyCentralOregon.com

Regulators to put focus on New England scallop fishing

April 22, 2016 — Federal fishing regulators say potential changes to the rules that govern scallop fishing off of New England could be a priority in the coming years.

The rules are a source of tension as fishing boats move into the waters off the northern Massachusetts coast to seek scallops. Scallop grounds off of northern Massachusetts, including Cape Ann, have been especially fertile, prompting increased fishing in that area.

The New England Fishery Management Council passed a motion Wednesday that says changes to management of the northern Gulf of Maine fishing area will be a potential priority in 2017.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times