Saving Seafood

Dealers scramble to supply lobstermen ahead of gear change deadline

April 12, 2022 — May 1 is the deadline for commercial lobstermen in Maine to trawl up, use weaker rope or insert weak links and mark gear with the state color purple. But will they be ready? 

The new federal gear requirements enacted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are aimed at reducing right whale entanglements with vertical trap lines. Weaker rope or weak links will allow whales to break free of the rope, while the state-specific gear colors will help determine where a whale was entangled.  

“Everyone’s hoping for a good year, hoping for a good price,” said Virginia Olsen, a Maine Lobstering Union Local 207 member who fishes out of Stonington. “We’re just going to do what we do. We’re gonna go to work.” 

But first, enough rope and weak links must come into local fishing gear stores to supply the approximately 4,500 commercial lobstermen in Maine, each of whom can haul up to 800 traps. 

That equals a lot of rope or links – even with the requirement to attach more traps per vertical line than before, depending on the lobster zone and whether the grounds are in federal or state waters. While NOAA has specified approved gear types and brands, many local lobstermen are on waiting lists at gear shops.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

Baby eel value up to pre-pandemic levels despite challenges

April 12, 2022 — Concerns that war in Europe or fickle weather might hold back one of America’s most valuable fisheries appear to have been unfounded.

Baby eels, also called elvers, are one of the most lucrative wild fish species in the U.S. Maine is the only state in the country with a sizeable baby eel fishing industry, and the price for the tiny fish is back up to pre-pandemic levels this spring.

Fishermen are selling the baby eels for $2,110 per pound at docks, the Maine Department of Marine Resources reported Monday. They’ve also already run through more than four-fifths of their quota for the season, which runs from late March to early June.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

 

MAINE: Grant program opens to support seafood dealers and processors

April 11, 2022 — Gov. Janet Mills announced the opening of a nearly $16 million grant program through her Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan to help Maine’s wholesale seafood dealers and processors recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in infrastructure improvements that will make their businesses more resilient to potential future market disruptions, according to a press release.

Applications for the Maine Seafood Dealer and Processors COVID-19 Response and Resilience Program opened April 1 and will close on April 28, 2022. The Maine Technology Institute is administering the program on behalf of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

“This program will not only help Maine wholesale seafood dealers and processors recover from the significant economic challenges of the past two years, but it will also deliver important and timely investments to support the resilience and future prosperity of Maine’s working waterfront and blue economy,” said Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher.

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Press

 

It’s the beginning of seal pupping season in Maine

April 7, 2022 — April marks the beginning of the time of year when harbor seals start giving birth to pups.

Typically, pups can be born as early as the beginning of April, but the season gets into full swing from May to June, according to the Marine Mammals of Maine website.

Baby harbor seals can appear to be stranded and alone on Maine beaches, but the mothers are typically foraging for food nearby and feel as though the babies can be safely left alone, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Seal pups may be left alone by their mothers for up to 24 hours.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

MAINE: Mussel farm lease draws opposition

April 7, 2022 — Who has priority over the waters of Frenchman Bay — the public, lobstermen or aquaculture concerns? While the 120-acre salmon farm proposed by Norwegian-backed American Aquafarms has roused opposition, a separate proposed 48-acre lease site to grow mussel spat in the bay’s eastern region — aptly named Eastern Bay — is raising similar objections.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) held a public hearing on the proposal on March 28 and 29 both online and at Bar Harbor Town Hall.

Opponents say that if approved, the Acadia Aqua Farms proposal will unreasonably affect navigation, produce unreasonable noise and unreasonably affect existing flora and fauna, including a long occupied and beloved eagle’s nest on Leland Point. Acadia Aqua Farms holds that, as proposed, the project meets DMR requirements for aquaculture leases and would not cause unreasonable effects.

The word “unreasonable” is important because DMR criteria for granting aquaculture leases, codified in state law, is that the lease will not unreasonably interfere with ingress and egress of riparian owners, navigation, fishing or other uses, significant wildlife and marine habitats or public use or enjoyment within 1,000 feet of a public or conserved beach, park or docking facility. A project also must not result in unreasonable impact from noise or light.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American 

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Area 1A Days Out Meeting Scheduled for April 26

April 6, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Atlantic Herring Management Board members from the states of Maine, New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet via webinar on April 26, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to discuss days out measures for the 2022 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishing season. Days out measures can include specification of the number of consecutive landings days, weekly landings limits, and restrictions on at-sea transfers. The webinar and call information is included below:

Atlantic Herring Days Out Meeting

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at the following link:https://meet.goto.com/763162445. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. For audio, the meeting will be using the computer voice over internet protocol (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (571) 317-3129 and enter access code 763-162-445 when prompted. The webinar will start at 9:45 a.m., 15 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.

Federally-permitted Herring Category A vessels must declare into the Area 1A fishery at least 45 days prior to the start of the fishing season. Small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a federal Herring Category C or D permit must declare into the Area 1A fishery by June 1, 2022. Vessels should check with each state of landing regarding their notification procedures.

The 2022 Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL) is 1,075 metric tons (mt). The initial specification for the 2022 Area 1A sub-ACL of 1,184 mt decreased by 109 mt due to the catch overage in Area 1A in 2020. After adjusting for the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL), the Area 1A sub-ACL is 961 mt. There is no research-set-aside for 2022.

In October 2021, the Board established the following seasonal allocations for the 2022 Area 1A sub-ACL: 72.8% available from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% available from October 1 – December 31. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per day harvested from Area 1A until June 1, 2022.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0716 orefranke@asmfc.org.

A copy of the meeting announcement can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerringDaysOutMeetingNotice_April2022.pdf.

 

Lobster boats will need tracking devices in federal waters

April 4, 2022 — Maine lobstermen and their counterparts along the East Coast who fish in federal waters will have to install an electronic tracking device on their boats starting next year.

Regulators with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Thursday to require all lobstermen and Jonah crab fishermen who fish offshore to have the devices onboard to collect and transmit spatial data. The unprecedented data from the trackers is intended to help regulators with assessing the health of the lobster and crab stocks, ocean planning and interactions with right whales and other protected species.

But lobstermen from Maine have objected to the idea, fearing the data could be used against them, particularly to aid with the siting of offshore wind turbines.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Island towns asked to ban corporate aquaculture

April 4, 2022 — A nonprofit called Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation is asking the Island towns to pass a moratorium on industrial aquaculture. Gouldsboro has done it already to try to stymie a salmon farm in Frenchman Bay, and a handful of coastal communities are trying to block proposals for other large-scale fish and bivalve farms.

Crystal Canney, the foundation’s executive director, made her pitch in a Zoom presentation to Deer Isle town officials on March 24. She was joined by Jon Lewis, a consultant to the group who worked for many years as a scientist and diver for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

“Maine has opened the door for corporate and foreign money to buy our waters,” Canney said. “I’m concerned we’re going to sell the coast of Maine to foreign corporations.”

The state’s rules and regulations have set the table for corporate domination of Maine’s coastal waters, Canney said. She said Maine law allows a single entity to lease 1,000 acres in 10 increments for 20 years. Leaseholders can transfer the leases without a mandatory public hearing, she said.

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Press

$16 million grant program opens to help Maine’s seafood industry

April 1, 2022 — A $16 million grant could go a long way for Maine’s seafood industry.

The multi-billion-dollar industry took a big hit during the pandemic, but a new grant program could help businesses trying to recover while preparing for the future.

This state grant program is for wholesale seafood dealers and processors, which play a vital role in the state’s overall economy.

For some, like Ray Trombley, this money comes at the perfect time. He has big plans for his small seafood business in Brunswick.

“I want a cooler three times the size of this,” Trombley said. “This whole cooler fills up one to two days.”

Read the full story at WGME

Are the whales leaving? Gulf of Maine research raises questions about new lobstering rules

April 1, 2022 — As the Gulf of Maine’s waters warm, recent studies show the main food source of the endangered North Atlantic right whale is moving north, out of Maine waters. And the whales appear to be following them.

Such findings haven’t escaped the notice of the Maine lobster industry, which has been referencing them in its legal arguments as to why impending new federal restrictions on lobstering gear won’t help save the whales. Its members have pointed to recent studies that suggest the relocation of copepods – small aquatic crustaceans that make up the whales’ preferred diet – is not just a temporary phenomenon but a long-term trend.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service arguing that its 10-year conservation plan to protect right whales, primarily by requiring commercial fishing gear modifications such as using breakaway rope and deploying more traps per line, is not based on the best available science. The new gear restrictions are set to take effect May 1 despite ongoing legal challenges by the lobster industry and repeated protests by government officials.

“(The association is) asking the court to require the agency to develop a new plan based on sound science that would protect both the whale and the lobster industry,” said Patrice McCarron, the group’s executive director.

Read the full story at the Sun Journal