February 2, 2016 (AP) — Interstate fishing regulators have decided to hold off on starting the process of crafting a plan to try to preserve the dwindling southern New England lobster stock.
A board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Tuesday to postpone authorizing a new management plan for the fishery. A plan could address issues such as trap reductions and closed seasons for lobster fishermen.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at Portland Press Herald
February 1, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
As part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Leadership Program, the Maine Department of Marine Resources hosted visitors from the People’s Republic of China’s State Oceanic Administration on Thursday, January 28, 2016. The visitors included Ms. Danhong Chen with the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (3rd from right), Mr. Jilu Wu with the China Institute for Marine Affairs (2nd from right), and Mr. Antao Wang with the Department of International Cooperation (far right). Discussing Maine and U.S. fisheries enforcement were (left to right) U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant J.G. Pierre Spence, Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher, NOAA Supervisory Enforcement Officer Eric Provencher, U.S. Coast Guard Commander Jamie Frederick, and Maine Marine Patrol Colonel Jon Cornish.
January 29, 2016 — PORT CLYDE, Maine — A Port Clyde fisherman is being credited with saving the lives of two fellow lobstermen after their boat caught fire four miles south of Port Clyde.
Gerry Cushman was out on the water Thursday morning at around 10 a.m. when he heard a distress call from the Miss Lynn.
The mayday call said there was an engine fire.
Cushman realized he was only about three miles away from the boat and he rushed to the area.
When he found the distressed vessel it was engulfed in flames and the two men aboard were at the tip of the boat with the fire just about a foot away.
PORTLAND, Maine — January 29, 2016 — Despite a moratorium on the northern Maine shrimp fishing season for the third consecutive year, a few wholesale buyers, restaurants, and markets could have some Maine shrimp on their hands — and plates — this winter, due to a scientific study currently underway throughout the state.
Fisheries regulators have closed the northern Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery every year since 2014, saying the shrimp population has dipped to an unsustainable low level.
Northern Maine shrimp is now considered by the regulatory committee to be “collapsed,” and a 2015 report indicated that from 2012 through 2015, the Maine shrimp population was the lowest on record during the 32 years that scientists have collected data.
However, this week, some Maine fishermen have been harvesting Maine shrimp from traps and trawlers as part of a sampling project being conducted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Technical Committee— a regulatory panel that manages the fishery — as well as other agencies including the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the School of Marine Science at the University of Maine in Orono.
January 28, 2016 — BOSTON — The following was released by the Office of State Senator Bruce Tarr:
The State Senate today adopted a bill which updates Massachusetts’ lobster laws to permit the processing, sale, and transportation of cooked and frozen in-shell lobster parts.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R- Gloucester) sponsored the measure to end prohibitions on in-state sales and processing of lobster parts to accommodate the growing interest of consumers. The bill, supported by the Massachusetts lobster industry, is expected to cause an expansion of lobster processed in state and a reduction in lobster diversions to Canadian processors.
“This bill will allow more American lobsters currently being harvested and purchased here and subsequently processed in Canada, to be prepared for market in Massachusetts,” said Tarr. “The net effect of modernizing the law will bolster local economic activity for lobstermen, processors, and local restaurants and food stores.”
Tarr expressed appreciation for coastal Senators Mark Montigny (D- New Bedford),Vinny deMacedo (R- Plymouth), Daniel Wolf (D-Harwich) and Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport) for their efforts to strengthen the industry and in championing the bill.
“The time has come to eliminate such outdated restrictions on lobster processing and sales in the Commonwealth. Easing constraints on processing operations will allow a thriving industry to further invest in our local economy through expanding operations and creating new jobs. I commend Senator Tarr’s leadership as the sponsor of this bill and am proud to have partnered with him in seeing this through to passage. It is my hope the House will quickly follow the Senate’s lead to have a bill on the Governor’s desk as soon as possible.” said Senator Montigny.
“I am thrilled that the Senate has taken steps to bring this bill forward with a unanimous vote and I know that the lobstermen will be pleased with the advancements that we’ve made,” said Senator deMacedo.
The lobster industry is a critical part of the Commonwealth’s economy and heritage with more than 900 licensed lobstermen. A similar law in Maine has boosted Maine’s economy, produced local outlets for product sales, and created jobs in the state.
“The action of the Senate today helps consumers, suppliers and lobstermen, I expect that we will see an economic boost for the lobstermen in my district and in other coastal communities in the state as well,” said Senator Rodrigues.
“Our historic lobster industry deserves the opportunity to be more creative and flexible in how they market and sell their popular product,” said Cape and Islands Senator Wolf. “This legislation is a huge help in that regard, and will create economic benefits that will ripple through our coastal communities.”
While the sale of live, cooked, and canned lobster is legal in the state, the legislation expands the industry market with the inclusion of other lobster products. The Senate bill allows Department of Public Health licensed wholesale dealers to process unfrozen lobsters, authorizes the importation of unfrozen shell-on lobster parts and tails, and it allows for the retail of previously frozen raw in-shell tails.
The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries will be responsible for maintaining essential regulations including enforcing minimum lobster shell size standards and processing standards. The lobster fishery adheres to stringent state regulations including trap limits and the release of live juveniles.
The bill now moves to the House for further consideration.
January 27, 2016 — The federal government declared the Northeast groundfish fishery a disaster in 2012. But disaster arguably struck the region’s groundfishing fleet, particularly in Maine, long before that.
In 1982, there were 328 vessels from Maine actively fishing for groundfish. By 2012, the number had fallen to 63 vessels participating in the first true industry that took root in colonial America — fishing for cod, haddock, flounder, pollock, hake and other ocean bottom dwellers. In 2014, 52 Maine vessels held groundfish permits.
The disaster declaration paved the way for Congress to provide disaster aid, and Congress followed suit in February 2014, granting $32.8 million to New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
But the funding the states have distributed so far has largely gone to those who have continued to land groundfish — not the dozens of vessels that have been forced out of the fishery, arguably those most affected by the fishery’s disastrous state. In Maine, 50 groundfish permit holders qualified for $32,500 each in disaster relief because they had caught at least 5,000 pounds of groundfish in at least one of the past four years.
In the coming weeks, Maine has a small opportunity to use its remaining disaster funds in a different way — to help set the groundfish fishery on a sustainable path for the future and make it a viable and affordable option for new and small players, including lobstermen looking to diversify beyond the booming crustacean.
Read the full editorial at Bangor Daily News
SEAFOODNEWS.COM (AP) — January 27, 2016 — Maine fishing regulators are considering changes to the rules governing fishing for baby eels.
Maine’s the only state in the country with a significant fishery for baby eels, called elvers. The elvers are sold to Asian aquaculture companies that raise them and use them as food, including sushi. Maine’s elvers were worth about $875 per pound in 2014, when fishermen caught a little less than 10,000 pounds.
The state Legislature’s marine resources committee is considering changes in the designation of the closed period for elver fishing. It is currently illegal to fish for elvers from noon Friday to noon Sunday during fishing season. A bill would change the closed period to a weekly 48-hour timeframe established before the start of the season.
The committee will consider the bill on Wednesday.
This story from the Associated Press appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.
January 26, 2016—PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishing regulators are trying to broker peace between two of the most economically important fisheries in the Northeast, herring and haddock.
One of the areas where fishermen seek the two species is Georges Bank, a critical fishing ground off the New England coast. Atlantic herring are important as bait and sometimes as food, while haddock are a staple of New England’s fish markets and seafood restaurants.
Herring fishermen often accidentally capture haddock as bycatch, and they are allowed a “catch cap” of the fish in Georges Bank every year. They exceeded it last year, as they have in other recent years, and regulators closed a large section of Georges Bank to herring fishing until May 1, 2016.
Some herring fishermen have requested higher bycatch limits or other changes to the rules, but haddock and other groundfishermen frequently opposed changes. Haddock are an important money-maker for fishermen of bottom-dwelling species because they are much more abundant in Northeastern waters than cod, which have collapsed off of New England.
January 25, 2016—Pete Speeches sees himself as a competitive guy, competing against the unpredictability of nature every time he sets foot on his boat.
So when Speeches and his daughter Erin signed up to be featured on the new season of the popular tuna-fishing reality show “Wicked Tuna,” he wasn’t looking to just get his face on TV or for a career in acting.
He was looking to win.
“I’m not in the habit of not catching fish, I like to be the guy who catches fish,” said Speeches, 54, who fishes out of Portland on a boat named for his daughters, the Erin & Sarah. “I fish hard, in all kinds of weather. I feel like I’m competing against nature every day.”
Speeches and his crew will make their TV debut Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. when the fifth season of “Wicked Tuna” begins on the National Geographic Channel. Eight tuna boat crews will be seen during one complete fishing season (filmed last summer and fall), fishing for bluefin tuna with hand-held rods. Their catches are tallied and ranked, but there is no monetary prize. The winner gets bragging rights only.
January 24, 2016 — It can take years for someone to move off a waiting list to become a commercial lobsterman in Maine, and for years fishermen have been trying to figure out a way to make the licensing process work while protecting the health of the lobster population.
Now a bill that aims to accomplish both goals appears to be headed for a fight when it goes before the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee on Feb. 10.
The bill, if enacted, probably wouldn’t have an impact on lobster prices or consumers, especially in the short term. But it could affect who gets some of the roughly 5,800 commercial lobster licenses available statewide. It also could make a difference in areas where lobstering is the major industry or where the population of lobstermen is older.
“People who live in struggling coastal communities care about this,” said Rep. Walter Kumiega, D-Deer Isle, sponsor of the bill and House chairman of the Marine Resources Committee.
The core issue is how to protect the state’s lucrative lobster fishery, which is in the midst of a boom even as the fishery has drastically declined in southern New England. In Maine the lobster haul reached 123.6 million pounds – worth a record $456.9 million – in 2014, the latest year for which statistics are available.