Saving Seafood

American Lobster Draft Addendum XXIX/Jonah Crab Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment: Public Hearing Presentation Now Available

January 11, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board has approved for public comment Draft Addendum XXIX to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Lobster and Draft Addendum IV to the Jonah Crab FMP. The Draft Addenda were initiated in August 2020 to consider implementing electronic tracking requirements for federally-permitted vessels in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries, with the objective of collecting high resolution spatial and temporal effort data.

The collection of enhanced spatial and temporal data via electronic tracking devices in the offshore fishery would support managers in addressing a number of challenges facing the fishery. Electronic tracking data would greatly improve the stock assessment’s ability to estimate exploitation and abundance for American lobster, as the trackers would allow size composition data to be linked to harvest at a finer spatial resolution than what is currently possible. Additionally, the data could improve the models used to assess the location of vertical lines in the fishery and their associated risk to endangered North Atlantic right whales, which could impact federal risk reduction requirements for the fishery. Characterizing the footprint of the U.S. lobster fishery will also be critical to ocean planning efforts to minimize spatial conflicts with other ocean uses such as aquaculture, marine protected areas, and offshore energy development, as well as provide fishery managers tools to help maintain industry fishing grounds. Last, the efficiency of law enforcement efforts could be significantly improved with data to help enforcement officials locate widely dispersed gear in the offshore fishery. 

 

The Commission and its member states from Maine to Virginia will be conducting a series of hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addenda. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most hearings will be conducted via webinar; some hearings will be state-specific and others regionally-focused. Public hearing information, webinar links, and call-in information are below. Please note that in order to comment during the hearings you will need to use your computer or download the GoToWebinar app for your phone. Those joining by phone only will be limited to listening to the presentation and will not be able to provide input. Additional details on participating in the webinar can be found later in this release; this information is particularly important for those that have not used the GoToWebinar platform before.

Date State or Regional Hearing Contact(s)
Wednesday, January 12, 2022

6:30 – 8 PM

 Connecticut and New York Colleen Bouffard (CT), 860.876.6881

Maureen Davidson (NY), 631.444.0483
Thursday, January 13, 2022 

 6:30 – 8 PM

 New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Joseph Cimino (NJ), 609.748.2020

John Clark (DE), 302.739.9914

Michael Luisi (MD), 443.758.6547

Patrick Geer (VA), 757.247.2236
Tuesday, January 18, 2022

6 – 8 PM

 Maine Department of Marine Resources

 

 Megan Ware (ME), 207.446.0932

 
Wednesday, January 19, 2022

6 – 8 PM

 Maine Department of Marine Resources

 

 Megan Ware (ME), 207.446.0932

 
Wednesday, January 19, 2022

6:30 – 8 PM

 New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game

Note: This hearing will be held in a hybrid format. To virtually attend this hearing, please use this webinar registration link. To listen in only, dial1.415.655.0052 and enter 879-685-496.

You can also attend in person at the address below:

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road

Portsmouth, NH 03801

 

 Cheri Patterson (NH), 603.868.1095

 
Thursday, January 20, 2022

6:30 – 8 PM

 Massachusetts and Rhode Island  Nichola Meserve (MA), 617.626.1531

Jason McNamee (RI), 401.222.4700
The Draft Addenda include two options for proposed management programs. The first is status quo or no changes to the current program, and the second is to implement electronic tracking requirements for federally-permitted American lobster and Jonah crab vessels with commercial trap gear area permits for Lobster Conservation Management Areas 1 through 5 and Outer Cape Cod. Under this option, the specified permit holders would be required to install an approved electronic vessel tracking device to their vessel prior to beginning a fishing trip to collect and transmit spatial data. The devices would collect vessel locations every minute, which would allow for the distinction between transiting and fishing activity, as well as the estimation of traps per trawl. The Draft Addenda also describe administrative processes at the Commission, state, and federal levels for successful implementation of the management program to ensure the data collected meet the needs of state and federal partners.

Webinar Instructions

To register for a public hearing webinar please click HERE and select the hearing(s) you plan to attend from the dropdown menu. Hearings will be held via GoToWebinar, and you can join the webinar from your computer, tablet or smartphone. If you are new to GoToWebinar, you can download the software (click here)or via the App store under GoToWebinar. We recommend you register for the hearing well in advance of the hearing since GoToWebinar will provide you with a link to test your device’s compatibility with the webinar. If you find your device is not compatible, please contact the Commission at info@asmfc.org (subject line: GoToWebinar help) and we will try to get you connected. We also strongly encourage participants to use the computer voice over internet (VoIP) so you can ask questions and provide input at the hearing. Those joining by phone only, will be limited to listening to the presentation but will not be able to provide input during the hearing. In those cases, you can send your comments to staff via email, U.S. mail, or fax at any time during the public comment period. To attend the webinar in listen only mode, dial 1-877-309-2071 and enter access code 350-416-497.

The Draft Addenda are available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/LobsterDraftAdd_XXIX_JonahCrabDraftAdd_IV_PublicComment_Dec2021.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Members of the commercial fishing industry and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input either by participating in public hearings, webinars, or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 31, 2022 and should be sent to Caitlin Starks, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Lobster Draft Addendum XXIX). For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks at cstarks@asmfc.orgor 703.842.0740.

Pingree Announces $500K in USDA Funding to Support Growing Aquaculture Industry in Maine

December 10, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree:

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded a $500,000 grant to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) to establish a comprehensive aquaculture workforce training system to support Maine’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry.

“Maine’s aquaculture industry is vital to our state’s economy but needs a skilled workforce to continue to grow and innovate. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute has developed a forward-thinking solution. This comprehensive, collaborative training program will train aquaculturists with in-demand knowledge and skills, helping students to secure good jobs and supporting the workforce needs of this important sector,” said Congresswoman Pingree. “As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, I have long worked to secure funding for these NIFA grants, which have helped to launch many careers in the nation’s food and agriculture sector. This substantial NIFA award will help ensure Maine’s aquaculture industry reaches its full potential now and in the future.”

The funding will:

  • Help GMRI develop and pilot a Maine Department of Labor Aquaculture (ME DOL) Aquaculture Apprenticeship Program where participants will gain valuable experience, receive mentoring, get trained and tested on defined occupational competencies, and learn to use cutting-edge technology at Maine’s most sophisticated commercial shellfish and sea vegetable farms.
  • Develop and administer a series of stackable, credentialed, aquaculture short courses at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) that form the basis of an Aquaculture Certificate.
  • Update the Maine Aquaculture Occupational Standards for Shellfish and Sea Vegetables, Recirculating Aquaculture Systems, and Marine Finfish to ensure that aquaculture workforce training remains relevant to Maine’s rapidly evolving and growing industry.
  • Coordinate program development and delivery between SMCC, Washington County Community College, The Mid-Coast School of Technology (K-9 Career Technical Education High School), and ME DOL Apprenticeship to establish matriculation pathways and dual-credit programs that enable fast-tracked degree completion.

The programming developed will have the potential to be expanded to other community colleges in Maine and throughout the Northeast.

In April 2021, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center in Walpole was awarded $500,000 from NIFA to develop an aquaculture workforce training pilot in partnership with Washington County Community College.

Pingree serves on both the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and the House Agriculture Committee.

 

Maine intervenes over lobstering rules to protect whales

January 5, 2022 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been granted intervenor status in a federal lawsuit brought over new lobstering restrictions intended to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a new set of rules for the lobster fishery last summer with a goal of reducing the entanglement risk for the remaining 336 North Atlantic right whales.

But Maine’s governor said that it’s misguided to impose restrictions on the state’s signature seafood.

“There’s never been a known right whale mortality associated with the Maine lobster fishery, and there have been zero known right whale entanglements associated with Maine lobster gear in almost two decades,” said Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Future of Maine’s lobster industry to be decided in federal court

January 5, 2022 — The new year could bring about big changes for Maine’s lobster industry. Two lawsuits are scheduled to be heard in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., involving a federal proposal to protect North Atlantic right whales. The outcome could determine when, where and how lobstermen can fish off the state’s coastline.

“If you take one of the largest-earning industries away from Maine, we’re already in a position where young people continue to move away because there aren’t enough jobs or good paying jobs and if you go ahead and eliminate more of them, you will lose more and more assets in the state,” says Chris Welch, a full-time lobsterman from Kennebunk.

The 10‐year whale protection plan proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service would close more than 950 square miles of fishing grounds, about 30 miles off Maine’s coast, to traditional lobster fishing.

The proposed regulations also would require lobstermen to make numerous changes to their gear, and to when and where they are allowed to fish based on when right whales are believed to be in the area.

Read the full story at Spectrum News 1

Maine joins lawsuit on right whale regulations

January 4, 2022 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources has joined as an intervenor in the Maine Lobstermen’s Association lawsuit challenging NMFS restrictions on lobster gear to protect North Atlantic right whales.

A Dec. 30 announcement from Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ office said “NMFS acted arbitrarily by failing to rely on the best available scientific information and by failing to account for the positive impact of conservation measures already adopted by the Maine lobster fishery.”

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association lawsuit in Washington, D.C, federal court challenges the NMFS biological opinion on right whales issued in May 2021, the agency’s response to federal court rulings that whale protections so far have failed to meet requirements of endangered species and marine mammal laws.

NMFS has put on new regulations for using lobster traps and their vertical floating lines to buoys that the agency and whale experts see as a serious threat to the survival of the right whale population, estimated at around 360 animals.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

As Maine’s climate changes, scallop farming offers optimism

January 3, 2021 — As rapidly warming oceans continue to drive Maine lobster into more remote waters, some in the state’s fishing industry regard sea scallop farming as the prime candidate to help bring added stability to the industry and offset anticipated revenue losses.

But to fully capitalize on the species, renowned for its delicate texture and taste, the industry must solve a handful of nagging problems. Maine’s scallop fishery has been notoriously unstable over the past few decades, culminating in an outright crash in the mid-2000s from which the commercial fishery still hasn’t fully recovered.

Aside from concerns about overfishing, which Maine regulators have addressed through rotating fishery closures, harvesters also must contend with testing for biotoxins found naturally in scallops, which can add substantially to their cost.

But automation technology and farming techniques borrowed from more mature scallop fisheries as far away as Japan are giving some Maine seafood harvesters cause for optimism. They believe the growth potential for sustainable, farm-raised scallops is nearly limitless in Maine, if they can just figure out the right approach and make it affordable.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Counting Maine lobsters? There’s an app for that

December 28, 2021 — A new digital app that maps lobster fishing activity is expected to help the industry manage interactions with two other users of the ocean — the endangered North Atlantic right whale and the burgeoning offshore wind industry.

Developed by Louisiana technology company Bluefin Data under a contract with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the app, called VESL, is the result of a required increase in the percentage of lobster harvesters who must submit reports.

The app is being provided for free to commercial fishermen and is meant to simplify required harvest reporting for both state and federally licensed fishermen, according to a news release. The required reporting includes location of fishing activity and pounds landed.

“We decided to develop a new app to make it easier for lobstermen to comply with the new reporting requirement,” the department’s commissioner, Patrick Keliher, said in the release.

Read the full story at Mainebiz

Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association files motion to join fight against federal lobster fishing regulations

December 27, 2021 — Maine lobstermen have a new ally in the fight against federal fishing regulations.

The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association filed a motion to join the Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s lawsuit, challenging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 10-year right whale protection plan. The plan requires lobstermen to make significant changes to prevent whales from getting tangled in their gear.

The group filed the motion in Washington D.C. District Court, looking to join the lawsuit as a third party.

Massachusetts lobstermen said they want to get involved because they believe federal actions like this could directly impact their livelihoods.

The court still needs to approve the motion.

Some, including Maine’s lobster unions, have claimed the closure by NOAA falls during the peak fishing season.

According to data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, lobstermen statewide hauled most consistently from July to October last year. They brought in a whopping 20 million pounds in October at peak, before numbers steadily fell back down through January.

Read the full story and watch the video at News Center Maine

 

4 years later, the 4 large fish farms planned for Maine haven’t started construction

December 27, 2021 — This year will be remembered in Maine, at least in part, as when interest in developing four large-scale fish farms on the state’s eastern coastline continued to intensify.

It also will be remembered by some as yet another year during which — nearly four years since plans for the first proposal were announced — none of the four separate projects began construction.

The projects are at various stages of the permitting process, with some being fully approved and others not yet having any permits. All have shied away from announcing specific timetables for when they hope to start to build.

Nordic Aquafarms

The biggest of the four proposals, and the first to be announced, is a $500 million land-based salmon farm near the Little River in Belfast. Nordic Aquafarms plans to produce more than 72 million pounds of salmon per year at the site.

The project received its final outstanding permit this summer, with local, state and federal authorities all giving the green light to move forward with construction.

But Nordic Aquafarms also has encountered fierce opposition, with critics fighting the company in court with a civil suit over the ownership of a strip of intertidal land that is instrumental to the project. This summer, the city of Belfast got involved by pursuing eminent domain in order to get the company an easement to cross the intertidal zone with its intake and outfall pipes to get to Penobscot Bay.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Whale rules, pending lawsuits focus of gloomy Advisory Council meeting

December 23, 2021 — A complicated and potentially grim future is predicted for the commercial lobster industry, with environmental groups, gear changes, the closure of offshore waters to lobster fishing and judicial rulings painting a “doom and gloom” picture, in the words of Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Patrick Keliher. 

“I think there’s going to be a lot of moving pieces,” Keliher told Lobster Advisory Council members and others in virtual attendance at the council’s Dec. 15 meeting.  

Some of those pieces could spell the end of the commercial lobster fishery in Maine, DMR Deputy Commissioner Meredith Mendelson said, as she ran through the current lawsuits aimed at preserving the North Atlantic right whale. If any or all prevail, the lobster fishery will bear the brunt of the results. 

These days, lobstering is all about the right whale population, of which an estimated 336 whales – the lowest number in nearly 20 years – swam in the Atlantic Ocean in 2020. Right whales were listed as an endangered species in 1970 and became protected when the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was later passed. 

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander