Saving Seafood

North American lobster industry confronts ‘ropeless’ traps after whale entanglements

June 7, 2023 — An emerging technology to fish for lobsters virtually ropeless to prevent whale entanglements is exciting conservationists, but getting a frigid reception from harvesters worried it will drive them out of business and upend their way of life.

Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to adopt on-demand equipment that only suspends ropes in the water briefly before traps are pulled from the water.

Since the start of the year, four North Atlantic Right Whales have been injured after getting entangled in fishing rope, according to government data, including one filmed in North Carolina trailing a pair of lobster traps that U.S. authorities believe came from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia hundreds of miles away.

Such entanglements have killed at least nine North Atlantic Right Whales since 2017, making it the second biggest cause of death behind strikes from boats and ships, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

That is a large number, given there are fewer than 350 North Atlantic Right Whales remaining, including just 70 breeding females, say regulators, researchers and conservationists. North Atlantic Right Whales who live off the eastern North American coast stretching from Florida to the Canadian Maritimes provinces are now on the verge of extinction

Read the full article at Reuters

MAINE: Rare orange lobster caught off coast of Maine

June 5, 2023 — A rare orange lobster was caught recently off the coast of Maine by a Scarborough fisherman.

The lobster, which has one claw, was caught in Casco Bay by Capt. Gregg Turner and his crew, Sage Blake and Mandy Cyr while fishing on the boat Deborah and Megan, according to a statement by Cyr.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen one and the second time Captain Gregg has,” Cyr said. “It’s pretty exciting.”

The orange lobster is not destined for a pot of boiling water. It has been kept at Turners Lobsters on Pine Point Road in Scarborough while awaiting transfer to its new home at the University of New England’s Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center in Biddeford. Turner and his crew caught a Calico lobster last winter and also donated it to UNE. Students named that lobster “Sprinkles.”

Read the full article at The Press Herald

MAINE: A Lasting Grudge: FDA’s Closure of the Historic Maine Smokehouse

June 1, 2023 — John McCurdy of Lubec, Maine, holds the distinction of having run the last herring smokehouse in the USA. Sit down to talk to him about it, and you’ll find that at age 92, he is still mad about the US Food and Drug Administration shutting him down in 1991. “What happened is, some people in New York City got botulism from smoked whitefish out in the Great Lakes. So, they made a law that all smoked fish had to be eviscerated before they were salted. Well, you know we bought over 100 hogsheads [120,000] at a time, and those boats wanted to unload fast and get back out fishing. There’s no way we could gut those fish.”

McCurdy’ smokehouse was already a labor-intensive business, with 24 people doing everything from brining the fish, loading the smokehouse, moving fish upward in the smokehouse over the course of an 8-week curing process, and then skinning, boning, and packing it. And it was all hand work, “Artisanal” it would be called today. The workers made the boxes for packing, carefully laid the fish in, and nailed the lids on. Nothing in the entire operation was automated; it relied on human beings using their judgment as to how much brine to soak the fish into when the fish were ready. “If they rattle when you bring them down, they’re ready,” says McCurdy. “We sold 15,000 boxes a year. We sold to Mom & Pop stores, 100 boxes here, a hundred there.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Baby eels remain one of America’s most valuable fish after strong year in Maine

May 30, 2023 — Fishermen in the U.S.’s only commercial-scale fishing industry for valuable baby eels once again had a productive season searching for the tiny fish.

Baby eels, called elvers, are often worth more than $2,000 per pound because of how valuable they are to Asian aquaculture companies. That makes them one of the most valuable fish species in the U.S. They’re raised to maturity so they can be used in Japanese food, some of which is sold in the U.S. in unagi dishes at sushi restaurants.

The elvers have again been worth more than $2,000 per pound at the docks this year, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The fishermen are limited to a combined quota of a little less than 10,000 pounds per year and were about through it by early May, the department said. The price was a tick below last year’s, but higher than the previous two.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

MAINE: Don’t make this mistake about Maine women who catch lobster

May 30, 2023 — When Ali Farrell was doing press for her book, “Pretty Rugged: True Stories From Women of the Sea,” reporters would often ask her why she used the “wrong” word when referring to women in the lobster industry.

“One hundred percent of the women I talked to called themselves lobstermen, and some people asked me why I used what they said was an inappropriate word,” Farrell said. “I had to explain to them that female lobstermen aren’t lobsterwomen, or lobster fishers. They are lobstermen.”

Across the board, lobstermen is the preferred term for anyone who works on a lobster boat in Maine. It doesn’t matter what age, background, sexual orientation or gender you are: If you’re working on a boat, you’re a lobsterman. Same goes for sternman, if you’re prepping bait and sorting through the day’s catch.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Troubled American Aquafarms project spawns bill limiting aquaculture in Maine

May 30, 2023 — Legislators in the U.S. state of Maine have proposed a new bill that would put density limits on salmon farms in state waters, a move made in response to the troubled American Aquafarms project.

The new bill, LD 1951, “An Act Regarding Marine Finfish Aquaculture,” would amend state law to add maximum stocking densities for salmon net pens located in state waters. The state’s Committee on Marine Resources unanimously voted ought-to-pass on 25 May on an amended version of the bill requiring salmonid net pens to remain under a density of 30 kilograms per cubic meter.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: New bill proposes limits on certain large-scale aquaculture farms

May 26, 2023 — A legislative committee approved a proposal Thursday aimed at preventing certain oversized aquaculture projects from ever receiving consideration from state regulators.

The bill, first introduced by state Sen. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth, and later amended by the marine resources committee, would prohibit the state from issuing leases for finfish aquaculture farms if the proposed stocking density exceeds 30 kilograms per cubic meter.

Grohoski said the bill is motivated by the proposal from American Aquafarms, which wanted to build a massive salmon farm in Frenchman Bay. The proposal sparked deep opposition from lobstermen, Acadia National Park and conservationists.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources rejected the American Aquafarms application for lack of completeness last year, and the processing facility purchased by the company was recently put up for auction.

Read the full article at Maine Public

Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association testimony from recent BOEM task force meeting

May 26, 2023 — Testimony from MCFA’s Emily Coffin, Seafood and Fisheries Policy Coordinator, at BOEM’s Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting in Augusta on May 10-11.

My name is Emily Coffin, I’m a 5th generation fisherman out of Brunswick and work for the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. We are an industry-founded organization that advocates for fishing communities and we believe in stewarding our marine resources for a sustainable and vibrant fishing future.

I’m here today to express my concern over the data collection approach with respect to the National Centers for Coastal Oceans Science (NCCOS) spatial modeling as well as the equity issues within the greater process of offshore wind development.

BOEM has asked fishermen for their fishing data, which is of high value, but the NCCOS model has not yet provided transparency about how exactly that data will be used. 

If BOEM values community engagement, support from the industry sector, and stakeholder participation, they will make a more significant effort not only to include and invite but seek out fishermen who share their data and answer that effort by returning information on where that data goes and how much it matters.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New England Fishery Management Council asks NOAA to raise haddock limit for upcoming season

May 24, 2023 — The Gulf of Maine is now on a federal overfishing watchlist after a group of scientists found the haddock population is on the decline.

As a result of the population decline showed in the survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has limited the amount of haddock New England fishermen can catch this season.

Now, the New England Fishery Management Council estimating fishing season will close as early as August.

But fishermen said they are seeing an increase in the highly demanded fish this season, not a decrease, and they are questioning the science behind the survey.

In an effort to protect the fish and the fishermen, the New England Fishery Management Council has asked NOAA to increase the limit.

Read the full article at WMUR

MAINE: Historic alewife runs in Maine continue to rebound

May 24, 2023 — Fishermen and regulators call the return of alewife runs in Maine a success story.

In the ’80s, the fishery was all but gone. Dams and overfishing drove the migratory fish, that lives in the ocean and returns to ponds to spawn, out of the playbook for lobstermen bait.

But now with regulations by the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the removal of dams throughout Maine streams, the alewife is now running better than the last few decades.

Read the full article at News Center Maine