Saving Seafood

Maine May Adjust In-Season Fishing Days for Elvers

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.

Herring, Haddock Fishermen at Odds as Regulators Seek Peace

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.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times

Portland-based fishing boat captain and daughter to be featured on ‘Wicked Tuna’

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.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Some dislike proposal to ease long waits for Maine lobstering licenses

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.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Maine firm finds new use for lobster shells: bandages

January 20, 2016 (AP) — A start-up company in Maine is developing a children’s bandage coated with a substance extracted from crushed lobster shells that would promote blood-clotting and is resistant to bacterial infection.

The company, Lobster Tough, shipped Maine lobster shells to a processor in Iceland for testing, and so far, the results are promising, said Thor Sigfusson, an Icelandic investor in the company.

Lobster shells usually end up in landfills after the meat is removed, he said. Using lobster shells to create a medical product would create more value for lobsters and boost the industry in Maine, he said.

“My dream will be to use the massive amounts of lobster shells that are being thrown into dumpsters,” he said.

Chitosan, the blood-clotting compound, is currently produced industrially by crushing shrimp shells and washing the solids with acids to remove inorganic materials and proteins. The U.S. Army has used field bandages treated with chitosan processed from shrimp shells.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Concord Monitor

Atlantic Salmon: A Species in Need of a Spotlight

January 22, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

Atlantic salmon are an iconic New England species. In addition to the ecosystem role these fish play, they have been an important indicator of economic health in our region. Atlantic salmon once supported lucrative commercial and recreational fisheries, as well as the small bait shops, gear stores, and amenities for fishermen that contributed to the economy. Before this, Atlantic salmon were important to Native American tribes for historical and cultural reasons. Tribes relied on watersheds and their natural abundance of sea-run fish, including Atlantic salmon, for physical and spiritual sustenance.

In the 1900s Atlantic salmon from Maine were so highly valued that for more than 80 years, the first one caught in the Penobscot River each spring was presented to the U.S. President. The last Presidential salmon was caught in May 1992 by Claude Westfall, who presented a 9.5 pound Atlantic salmon to President George H.W. Bush. Westfall’s was the last presidential salmon. Now there too few adult salmon to sacrifice just one, even for the President.

Read the rest of the story about the iconic Atlantic salmon.

Emergency Regulation Supports Continued Rebuilding Effort in Maine Scallop Fishery

January 22, 2016 — The following is for immediate release from the Maine Department of Marine Resources

The Maine Department of Marine Resources today announced an emergency regulation that will support the continued rebuilding effort in Maine’s scallop fishery. The rule, effective January 23, 2016, will close the Muscle Ridge Area near South Thomaston and the Western Penobscot Bay Area.

Department dredge surveys along with direct industry reports indicate that harvesting activity in both areas warrants this conservation closure.  “Harvesting activity in these areas has triggered these closures by removing more than thirty percent of the harvestable biomass,” said DMR Resource Management Coordinator Trisha Cheney. “We have used this trigger mechanism since 2012 as a method to ensure that a sustainable volume of biomass remains on the bottom,” said Cheney.

 “Combined with the use of limited access areas, where harvesting only occurs one day a week, and rotational closures, which are similar to crop rotations, the DMR’s management approach has resulted in a steady increase in landings and value for Maine’s scallop fishery,” said Cheney.

 The fishery experienced an all-time low in 2005, landing 33,141 meat pounds of scallop meats from Maine waters valued at $272,703.  Working closely with the Scallop Advisory Council and members of the industry the Department has worked to rebuild this once lucrative fishery. The combination of conservation measures appears to be effective as demonstrated by 605,224 meat pounds being landed in 2014 valued at $7,665,815, an eighteen-fold increase in landings and an almost twenty eight-fold increase in value from 2005, while the fishery has experienced a significant increase in active participation in recent years.

 “This season was developed with the understanding that its length far exceeds what the resource can sustain, and that the Department will need to use emergency rulemaking authority during the season to prevent overfishing,” said Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher.  “The industry, through the Scallop Advisory Council, requested that the Department provide a season that extends into April and make adjustments in-season with emergency rulemaking as necessary rather than shorten the season.”

 “The Department was willing to take this approach in part because this fishery is prosecuted in the winter months, and proposing a very limited season could create an incentive to fish in unsafe conditions,” said Commissioner Keliher. 

 “The Department will continue to closely monitor harvesting activity and use the trigger mechanism and emergency rulemaking to ensure that a sustainable amount of scallop biomass remains on the bottom so Maine can provide maximum opportunity and flexibility for industry while continuing to rebuild this important fishery,” said Commissioner Keliher. 

 Maine scallop fishery information including a link to the notice of emergency rulemaking can be found athttp://www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/scallops/index.htm. 

Pass the dogfish nuggets? Seafood industry rebrands ‘trash’

January 20, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Call them fish sticks for millennials. At any rate, Dana Bartholomew is banking on college students warming up to “Sharck Bites.”

Ipswich Shellfish, of Massachusetts, for which Bartholomew oversees sales, is offering that product — nuggets of dogfish coated in a gluten-free, allergen-friendly crust. Bartholomew, who believes so-called “trash fish” such as dogfish are part of the new wave in New England seafood, already has a couple of colleges on board.

Bartholomew’s fondness for dogfish, a species East Coast fishermen catch millions of pounds of every year that sells for just pennies at the dock, is part of a growing trend in fish markets around the country. The industry is putting more emphasis on fish that have traditionally lacked market appeal or economic value as old staples — such as cod, tuna, haddock and shrimp — decline or become the subject of tougher fishing quotas.

“We know we have to make a great-tasting product that supports local fishermen, supports the local industry and economy,” Bartholomew said. “And it’s local — it’s right here.”

New England’s traditional food fish has long been the Atlantic cod, but it has faded in the face of overfishing and environmental changes. Restaurant owners, fishermen and food processing companies said a growing shift to other species is helping to fill that void. Catch of species such as spiny dogfish, Acadian redfish and scup have all increased dramatically since 10 years ago as cod has fallen.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at CNBC

MASSACHUSETTS: Changes in law could buoy lobster sellers

January 21, 2016 — BOSTON, Mass. — Millions of pounds of lobster caught by Massachusetts fishermen are shipped to Canada for processing — mostly because a decades-old law prohibits the meat from being prepared locally.

Legislation set for a vote in the state Senate today, Jan. 21, would lift those restrictions, opening what some in the industry say is a multi-billion dollar market for processed lobster, in one of the few areas of the commercial fishing industry that is thriving.

The proposal sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester allows for the processing and sale of frozen, in-shell lobster parts in the state.

A 1997 state law allows wholesalers to process lobsters into frozen, shell-on tails for distribution outside the state, but they cannot be sold in Massachusetts. The law was intended to curb mutilations of undersized lobsters.

Tarr said Maine, a major player in the lobster industry, eased similar restrictions several years ago and has seen a “significant increase in processing capacity and demand for lobster processing licenses.”

“New businesses have taken root in previously abandoned factories, and this has translated into significant job growth and economic stimulation,” said Tarr, who expects the measure to pass when the Senate meets in formal session today.

The proposal would still need to be approved by the House and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker to become law.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Maine issues emergency closure to scalloping around Vinalhaven, Fox Island Thorofare

January 14, 2016 — AUGUSTA, Maine — The Department of Marine Resources in-season surveys conducted on Jan. 7 and 8, in specific scallop-fishing regions observed significant declines in scallop biomass densities, according to a Jan. 14 news release.They also determined that seed scallops were being illegally taken.

“An immediate conservation closure is necessary to reduce the risk of unusual damage and imminent depletion of the scallop resource in the Vinalhaven and Fox Island Thorofare and the Whiting and Dennys Bays,” said the DMR.

Therefore, DMR is adopting emergency regulations to close these areas Saturday, Jan. 16. In addition, a correction to the South Portland Harbor Targeted Closure will also be included to ensure enforceability of this area.

Vinalhaven and Fox Island Thorofare

In the Lower Penobscot Bay and Outer Islands Rotational Area, Marine Patrol, sea sampling, in-season surveys and direct industry reports indicate that the majority of fishing activity has been focused in the Fox Island Thorofare and around the inshore islands (Leadbetter, Hurricane, and Greens Islands) west and southwest of Vinalhaven.

Strong catches were reported during the first three weeks of the season, with upward of 20 vessels fishing and easily able to reach their daily landings limit by as early as 10 a.m. However, over the following weeks, Catch per unit effort decreased with vessels taking the majority of the day to reach their daily landings limit and the fleet began working in more exposed areas outside of the sheltered islands, indicating that the majority of legal sized scallops had been harvested from these areas.

Read the full story at Penobscot Bay Pilot