Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Weekend farmers market aims to help local shellfishermen

December 10, 2020 — A first-of-its-kind shellfish farmers market promises to get oysters from Wellfleet Bay to the dinner plate in record time.

Shellfishermen will be able to sell their oysters to customers on Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. beginning this weekend at the Wellfleet Marina. The market will run through May 1.

The initiative came after a monthlong effort led by the town’s shellfish constable, Nancy Civetta, with assistance from the Wellfleet Shellfishermen’s Association and Holbrook Oyster. Civetta was able to get approvals from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Division of Marine Fisheries to hold the event.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

International consortium created to study the white shark

December 7, 2020 — Shark research groups and government agencies in the United States and Canada announced Tuesday the establishment of an organization that will unite over a dozen agencies to collaboratively study the white shark.

The New England White Shark Research Consortium joins organizations and universities in Massachusetts—such as the New England Aquarium and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth—with researchers in Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Arizona and Canada.

The group has two primary goals: advance researchers’ current understanding of the white shark, and enhance public education and safety within the region.

Gregory Skomal, the senior fisheries scientist for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (which is a consortium member), said the fatal shark attack of a 63-year-old woman off the coast of Maine this summer prompted the creation of the consortium.

“It really pointed to a need for us to coordinate research here in New England,” Skomal said, noting many people were surprised by the location of the attack even though researchers knew white sharks are historically found in Maine waters.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New regional shark research consortium established

December 2, 2020 — The fatal great white shark attack on swimmer Julie Dimperio Holowach in July in Harpswell, Maine, caught many in the shark research community by surprise.

While it was known that some great whites do travel north into Canadian waters in the summer, there was little in the way of sightings, and just a smattering of attacks on seals.

Holowach was the only confirmed fatality from a shark attack in Maine history, according to Patrick Keliher, state Division of Marine Resources director. Cape Cod, with hundreds of great whites patrolling beaches and daily sightings in the summer months, has had two major attacks on swimmers and a fatal attack on a bodyboarder.

“The incident really did rattle the state of Maine, and justifiably,” said Gregory Skomal, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries shark expert. “A lot of us doing work on white sharks reached out to assist.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘It’s just depressing’: As the pandemic worsens, oystermen struggle to remain afloat

November 23, 2020 — After raking up the last of the overgrown oysters and heaving them onto his small barge, Bruce Silverbrand puttered a mile or so to a shallow bend in Buttermilk Bay, where his daughter dumped the shellfish onto a growing reef of brackish discards.

Forsaking such a valuable delicacy would be unthinkable in normal times, but with environmental advocacy groups buying nearly a quarter of his annual crop to help reconstruct vital coastal reefs, the burly oysterman was happy to unload them, even at a reduced price.

The pandemic has hurt many businesses since March, but it has been particularly painful for the oyster industry. Unlike other seafood harvesters that have managed to sustain their businesses through the pandemic by selling to supermarkets, large institutions, and in some cases directly to consumers, nearly all oysters are sold at restaurants.

“Everybody is suffering through this,” said Silverbrand, who grows 450,000 oysters a year. “We’re trying our best to limp through this and come out on the other side. Some of us will make it; some of us won’t.”

Between March and October, sales from the state’s oyster growers plummeted by 50 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries. Compared with the previous five years, oyster sales have declined 43 percent.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishermen can apply for COVID-19 relief

September 14, 2020 — Massachusetts commercial fishermen should soon be receiving their applications for the $11.8 million in federal fishery assistance funds to help offset economic damage to the industry from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state Division of Marine Fisheries said it began sending out the applications on Wednesday to commercial fishermen at the addresses listed on their DMF-issued permits. Completed applications and appeals must be postmarked no later than Oct. 10.

The $11.8 million set aside for commercial harvesters is part of the $28 million Congress allocated to the Massachusetts seafood industry in March in the $300 million CARES Act to mitigate the financial woes caused by the unrelenting pandemic.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Massachusetts looks to extend commercial fishing season for some species

August 14, 2020 — The unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic has dampened commercial fishing in state waters for striped bass, black sea bass and summer flounder and state fishery regulators are trying to help fishermen make up for the slow start.

The state Division of Marine Fisheries wants to extend the seasons for the commercial harvest of the three species — and give commercial fishermen wider access to remaining quotas — by adding open fishing days to the late summer and fall portions of this fishing season.

“The purpose is to provide active commercial fishermen with additional access to these quota-managed fisheries during the fall,” DMF said in its announcement seeking public comment on the proposed in-season adjustments. “This will let these businesses fish around worsening seasonal weather, which typically has a limiting impact on commercial fishing quotas.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

State Proposes Extending Commercial Fishing for Sea Bass, Striped Bass, Summer Flounder

August 11, 2020 — After a slow start to the summer, the state Division of Marine Fisheries has proposed extensions to the commercial striped bass, black sea bass and summer flounder seasons, hoping to add additional fishing days and adjust catch limits for fishermen as fall approaches.

The DMF is proposing to add Tuesdays and Thursdays to the commercial striped bass season starting Sept. 1. The agency is then planning to add Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting Oct. 2 — which would allow commercial striped bass fishing every day of the week.

A similar change has been proposed for the black sea bass fishery, with DMF planning to add Mondays and Wednesdays in September and expand the season to seven days per week in October. The DMF is also proposing to increase the commercial pot limit from 400 to 500 pounds per week.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

MASSACHUSETTS: Baker Polito Administration Announces Disaster Relief Funding for Fishing and Seafood Industries

August 10, 2020 — The Baker-Polito Administration has announced the distribution of $27.8 million in federal disaster relief funding to mitigate the financial impacts to the fishing and seafood industries from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Division of Marine Fisheries worked with fishing industry stakeholders to develop a plan to distribute the federal fisheries assistance, which has now been approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The fishing and seafood industries are integral parts of the economy, history and culture of Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker.

“Our Administration remains dedicated to supporting these industries, and we look forward to getting these needed relief funds to impacted fishermen and businesses as quickly as possible.”

Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito added, “These funds will be a needed lifeline for the Commonwealth’s fishing and seafood businesses, as well as the families and coastal communities who rely on these industries.”

“The distribution of these CARES Act funds is another important step in our efforts to help those who have been impacted by the pandemic.”

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Massachusetts Begins Distribution Process of CARES Act Funds to Fishing, Seafood Industries

August 5, 2020 — The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries announced on Tuesday that they have begun the process of distributing federal disaster relief aid related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The CARES Act was passed in March with $300 million earmarked for the  fisheries assistance fund. However, at the time of the announcement, there had been no agency named to oversee the disbursement of the fund. Frustrated with the situation, fishermen wrote to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross asking that the Department of Commerce and NOAA “clearly articulate their distribution process for the $300 million in fisheries assistance funds to ensure it is public and transparent.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

MASSACHUSETTS: More seals means learning to live with sharks in New England

July 31, 2020 — Seals are thriving off the Northeast coast thanks to decades of protections, and that victory for wildlife has brought a consequence for humans — more encounters with sharks.

Seals are a favorite prey of large sharks such as the great white. The recent death of swimmer Julie Dimperio Holowach, who was killed by a great white off Harpswell, Maine, might have happened because the shark mistook her for a seal, authorities said.

Swimmers off the New England states have learned to be more mindful in recent years due to a spate of sightings of great whites, the apex predator made famous in the movie “Jaws.” A shark that killed a man off Cape Cod in 2018 was also believed to be a great white.

That was the first fatal shark attack in Massachusetts in more than eight decades, while the death of Holowach on Monday was the first documented fatal shark attack in Maine history.

“They’re not vindictive or mad or angry or preferring human flesh. They just occasionally make a mistake. And it’s tragic when they do,” said Greg Skomal, a shark specialist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. “As we restore top predators, the potential for these interactions could increase.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Bedford Standard-Times