Saving Seafood

Lobstermen play waiting game while early prices spike

July 5, 2015 — Maine’s lobster industry is gearing up for another big year as the state’s 4,500 commercial fishermen wait for lobsters to migrate to the coast and shed the hard shells they’ve been carrying all winter.

And wait they must.

Fishermen and consumers probably won’t see those “shedders” until the middle of July – one to two weeks behind schedule – because of colder-than-normal water temperatures, according to scientists. The shortage has led to above-average lobster prices over the Fourth of July weekend, just when the state’s summer tourism season is coming into full swing. The Fourth of July weekend is considered the normal start date for the lobster fishery in Maine.

Fishermen who have traps in the water now aren’t catching much except for a few hard-shell lobsters, and those lobsters don’t seem eager to molt any time soon, said Peter McAleney, who runs New Meadows Lobster, a wholesaler in Portland.

“This winter has really messed us up,” he said. “The dealers and the fishermen are wondering what the heck is going to happen.”

Still, industry veterans say there’s no reason to panic. The lobsters will come again, just like they do every year, said Tom Flanigan, co-owner of Seaview Lobster Co. in Kittery.

“The old saying is: ‘The weather gets better before the lobster catch does,’” he said. “It takes awhile for the water temperatures to warm up and for the lobsters to do their thing.”

Read the full story from the Portland Press Herald

 

Bill to limit Maine scallop harvest comes up short in state legislature

July 3, 2015 — A Washington County legislator says he will try again next year to persuade the Legislature to limit the harvest of Maine scallops.

The fishing industry this year resisted a bill proposed by Rep. Robert Alley, D-Beals, and it later died in committee in April. He had proposed legislation to create a limit of 90 pounds a day per person on wild-caught Maine scallops so future generations, he said, would still be able to harvest them.

Maine scallops are favored in culinary circles, typically fetching several dollars more per pound than other Atlantic scallops. This past scalloping season, they frequently sold for more than $20 per pound. They are harvested by drag boats or divers, and the fishery has been recovering after a collapse in the mid-2000s; the state’s 2014 catch was the most since 2000.

Alley said he will try to sell scallop fishermen and the public on the idea again next year.

“Some of the young kids that are coming out of high school, they don’t have a job, period, and they don’t have anything to look forward to as far as having a job,” said Alley, a lobsterman. “I’m looking out for the kids who want to have a job and stay here.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

Maine elver fishery rebounded despite weather

June 23, 2015 — MAINE — This year’s catch of elvers was valued nearly $3 million over the 2014 catch, but still a far cry from the record levels recorded in 2012.

The 2015 Maine elver harvest season, which ended May 31, recorded $11,389,864 for the season, significantly higher than 2014’s $8,474,302, according to updated data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources. In 2012, the catch of 21,000 pounds of baby eels was valued at $40.3 million.

Total pounds landed in 2015 were 5,242 compared to 9,688 in 2014.

The lower volume of landings was partially attributable to the weather. The cold spring slowed the migration of elvers and the lack of precipitation lowered water levels in streams and rivers, which complicated the catch, according to a release from the DMR. There are 920 active elver harvesters in the state.

Read the full story at Portland Press Herald

 

Spike in Northeast Lobster Price Stings LA Distributor

June 23, 2015 — The days of cheap lobster are over. From Maine to Monterey Park, consumers are shelling out more for the delicacy.

Wholesale prices are up about 20% compared with last year’s, said Chol Pak, president of Los Angeles-based Pacific Fresh Fish Co., which has sold seafood to restaurants in the L.A. area for 33 years.

His company sells Maine American Lobster for $8.95 per pound. Sales are down, he said, because that’s more than most of his buyers want to pay.

William Cheng, manager at NBC Seafood Restaurant in Monterey Park, said that at $16.99 a pound, the restaurant is charging customers $1 more a pound than last year.

“We don’t want to raise the price a lot because then the customers would have to pay more and there is just too much competition,” he said.

One reason for the price increase: An unusually cold winter in the Northeast delayed the summer harvest in Maine. Fishermen must wait until lobsters shed their shells and reach legal harvesting size.

Read the full story at Los Angeles Times

 

Maine DMR Strongly Encourages Online License Renewals before July 16, When Transition to New, More Efficient System Begins

June 22, 2015 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources

The Maine Department of Marine Resources encourages all current license holders planning to renew their license online to do so before July 16, 2015 when the DMR begins transitioning to a new, more efficient system. After July 16, license holders will need to use paper applications or wait until September to purchase a license or permit with the new online system.

Known as LEEDS (Licensing, Enforcement and Environmental Data System) the new system will provide easy-to-use online tools for license application, renewal, and landings reporting. Available 24-hours-a-day, the system will allow new information to be automatically integrated so license holder data is always up to date.

“This inconvenience to our customers will be temporary, lasting less than 60 days,” said Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “It was cost prohibitive to run two systems simultaneously, so we have timed the transition to occur during our slowest license sales period of the year.”

Starting July 16, 2015, the DMR will begin the transition by temporarily disabling the current online license renewal system.  To avoid any inconvenience, DMR is urging all current license holders who renew their license online to do so before July 16, 2015.

Customers and license holders should be aware that the DMR Licensing Division office at 32 Blossom Lane, Augusta will be closed on July 9, 10, and 20, 2015 as the agency transitions from the old system to the new Maine LEEDS system.

New license applications will continue to be available only on paper during the transition, from July 16, 2015 until the new system is launched.   DMR will accept paper license renewals either in person at the Augusta office, or by mail.  Applications can be found on line athttp://www.maine.gov/dmr/license/index.htm.

License renewals and new applications will be available through the new LEEDS system after DMR has conducted internal testing in the coming months. DMR will communicate directly with license holders when the system launch date is confirmed, and will include links to the new online LEEDS system.

Jonah crabs booming in value as managers seek fishery plan

June 22, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — New England lobstermen are catching and selling more of a long-overlooked crab species in their traps, leading regulators to try to craft a management plan for the fishery before it becomes overexploited.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is working on regulations for Jonah crabs, a species common along the Eastern Seaboard that is rapidly growing in market share as an economic alternative to more expensive Dungeness and stone crabs. The crabs are popular with diners and cooks alike for their meaty claws and as a low-cost source of processed crab meat.

Jonah crab catch increased sixfold from 2000 to 2013, with fishermen catching nearly 7,000 metric tons two years ago, federal data show. The crabs also increased more than 700 percent in value in that time, with the fishery worth nearly $13 million in 2013.

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