Saving Seafood

How do you get a $450,000 camera off the bottom of the sea?

May 26, 2016 — The following is excerpted from a story published today by the Boston Globe:

Shortly after dawn last Friday, the R/V Hugh R. Sharp was towing a sophisticated array of sensors and cameras along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Then suddenly, the research vessel shuddered.

Within seconds, the line went slack, and the team of scientists and volunteers realized the $450,000 camera system was lost, somewhere off the Virginia coast.

Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said they believe the cable connecting to the camera system, known as HabCam, snagged on the remains of the Bow Mariner, a well-known wreck in the area.

The scientists lost contact with the HabCam as a college student was piloting it. HabCam, which is about 10 feet long and weighs 3,700 pounds, was at a depth of about 240 feet, some 90 miles southeast of Delaware Bay.

The Sharp has only several weeks available in the spring to survey scallops, which last year had a catch valued at nearly $425 million, more than three-quarters of which went to fishermen in New Bedford.

Those representing fishermen said they’re deeply concerned about the prospects for this year’s survey.

“This will create uncertainty in the scallop assessment, meaning there’s a greater chance that we’ll catch too few scallops, which will be a short-term loss, or too many, which will be a long-term loss,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the Fisheries Survival Fund, a trade group that represents scallopers throughout the Northeast.

Some in the fishing industry blame NOAA for allowing a college student to pilot the HabCam. They also raised questions about whether the incident occurred as a result of problems with another NOAA ship, the Henry B. Bigelow, which required unexpected maintenance this spring that delayed its survey of groundfish stocks more than ever before.

“I’m told that because of the Bigelow fiasco, [NOAA] transferred more experienced people from the scallop survey to the groundfish survey to try to make up for lost time,” said Robert Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood, a Washington-based group that represents the fishing industry.

“Since the volunteer wasn’t as experienced, and since the captain was apparently driving directly into the path of a 600-foot sunken tanker, they didn’t react quickly enough,” he added.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

Saving Seafood Executive Director Talks Lost NOAA HabCam

 

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – May 25, 2016 — A $450,000 camera used to survey scallops on the ocean floor was lost Friday when a NOAA-chartered vessel towed it too close to a known ship wreck, as reported yesterday by the New Bedford Standard-Times.

This morning, Saving Seafood Executive Director Bob Vanasse spoke with New Bedford 1420 WBSM morning host Phil Paleologos about the accident, saying it proves the need for changes to the Atlantic scallop survey.

“The Fisheries Survival Fund [which represents members of the Atlantic scallop fleet] has been arguing for some time that the Federal scallop survey should not be done just by one single piece of equipment on one single vessel, but that there should be backups,” Mr. Vanasse said.

Compounding the problem the lost camera will have on this year’s Federal scallop survey is the fact that respected scientist Kevin Stokesbury, from UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology, did not receive government funding for his own survey. Dr. Stokesbury’s surveys, which use cameras dropped into the ocean to take pictures of the seafloor, had previously been funded every year since 1999.

Mr. Vanasse called the loss of NOAA’s HabCam habitat camera last week “a combination of really bad circumstances.” He raised concerns about researchers aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp piloting the expensive HabCam so close to the well-known and charted wreckage of the Bow Mariner, where a cable apparently snagged the sunken ship and detached the camera. He also pointed out that many industry leaders raised concerns that a volunteer worker was piloting the HabCam at the time of the accident.

NOAA researchers are beginning efforts to find the HabCam today, nearly a week after it was lost, and say they will be able to make up for lost time. But scallop industry experts are unconvinced, according to Mr. Vanasse.

“That doesn’t really make sense,” Mr. Vanasse said of the industry perspective. “If they plan to go out for a certain time, they do that because they need it.”

The timing issue is further complicated because NOAA leases the Sharp from the University of Delaware for a limited period of time at high expense. Even if NOAA is able to salvage the HabCam, it will likely take more than a week of valuable time, Mr. Vanasse said.

The lost HabCam is not the first issue NOAA has had a with a research vessel in recent weeks. Earlier this month the R/V Henry B. Bigelow, the ship that surveys for groundfish and many other species on the East Coast, was delayed due to mechanical issues with its generators. The Bigelow was already running more than a month behind before its generator problems. Mr. Vanasse pointed out that Dr. Bill Karp, director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, has been pushing for NOAA to charter commercial fishing boats as backups, including at April’s NEFMC meeting (skip to 31:51 to listen to Dr. Karp).

“We need higher ups at NOAA to listen to what Dr. Karp has been saying about needing backups on the groundfish survey,” Mr. Vanasse said. “And we need everybody at NOAA to pay attention to what the [Fisheries] Survival Fund has been saying about having backups on the scallop survey.”

Listen to the full segment here

Connecticut & Massachusetts Congressional Delegations Advocate for Changes in Fisheries Management to Level the Playing Field for New England Fishermen

May 24, 2016 — The following was released by the office of Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT):

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along with Representatives Joe Courtney (CT-02), John B. Larson (CT-1) Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Jim Himes (CT-4), and Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) sent a letter along with nine Massachusetts delegation members to the U.S. Department of Commerce asking for changes to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), which sets fishing quotas for many fish species caught by New England fishermen. Specifically, the letter asks that MAFMC to work in coordination with the New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC)on a joint management plan for black sea bass, summer flounder, and scup fisheries. Under current laws, mid-Atlantic fishermen harvesting fish off the coast of New England can at times legally take more than ten times that of New England vessels.

“As Members of Congress from states with rich fishing heritage and storied maritime industries, we write today to voice our concerns about the current fishery management structure for the black sea bass, summer flounder, and scup fish stocks,” wrote the delegation members.  “As fluctuations in ocean temperatures shift fish populations northward, New England fishermen are unfairly shortchanged when bountiful stocks managed by a Fishery Management Council outside of their region allocates local states low catch quotas.

“Looking at the current trend of northward movement of fish stocks, we urge the Department of Commerce to direct the MAFMC to work in coordination with the NEFMC on a joint management plan for the black sea bass, summer flounder, and scup fisheries. Until NEFMC member states’ interests are officially considered when negotiating fishery management plans through joint management, our fishing communities will continue to suffer from the existing out-of-date allocation formula.”

Warming ocean temperatures are causing some fish stocks that had formerly been more prevalent in the mid-Atlantic to migrate further north than they had before, including popular targets for fishermen such as summer flounder, black seabass and scup. The changing migration patterns of fish stocks mean that many fishermen from mid-Atlantic states, such as North Carolina, are now regularly venturing further north from their traditional fishing grounds, bringing them into direct competition with New England vessels operating off the coasts of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Fishing regulations for different fish stocks in U.S. waters are managed by a series of Regional Fishery Management Councils. Among the specific items that these councils regulate are the fishing quotas, or amount of a specific fish species that a fishing boat may catch. The mid-Atlantic fishermen, under the jurisdiction of MAFMC, are allowed to harvest substantially more summer flounder, black seabass, and scup than the northeast fisherman who are a part of NEFMC. While New England fishermen are catching more and more of these species in their nets, they are forced to continually throw many of these fish back into the water. The mid-Atlantic fishermen operating in the same area can at times legally take more than ten times the catch of the New England vessels.

Full letter below

May 23, 2016

The Honorable Penny Pritzker
Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20230
Dear Secretary Pritzker:

As Members of Congress from states with rich fishing heritage and storied maritime industries, we write today to voice our concerns about the current fishery management structure for the black sea bass, summer flounder, and scup fish stocks. As fluctuations in ocean temperatures shift fish populations northward, New England fishermen are unfairly shortchanged when bountiful stocks managed by a Fishery Management Council outside of their region allocates local states low catch quotas.

It has long been acknowledged that changes in our oceans’ ecosystems would require greater coordination among Regional Fishery Management Councils established through the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). In fact, in a 2007 report to Congress on council management coordination required by the 2006 MSA reauthorization, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) stated that “issues arise when overlapping species are managed exclusively by one Council.” However, there are several overlapping species that we believe would be most prudently managed jointly by the MAFMC and the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) rather than exclusively through the MAFMC.

Since the aforementioned 2007 report, New England fishermen have consistently voiced their concerns regarding black sea bass, summer flounder, and scup quotas set by the MAFMC. New England states are noticing these fish stocks moving northward into traditional New England fishing grounds, yet state-by-state commercial allocations remain so low that our fishermen continue to throw catch overboard as fishermen coming from as far away as North Carolina can legally take sometimes more than ten times that of New England vessels in the same waters. Using summer flounder as an example, the MAFMC June 2015 summer flounder assessment state-by-state allocations provided New England states a combined quota of less than 25 percent share, while North Carolina had a share of over 27 percent. Furthermore, that same assessment noted that 24 percent of all commercial summer flounder caught in 2014 were in Statistical Area 537—a zone just to the east of Long Island Sound and south of Cape Cod.

Looking at the current trend of northward movement of fish stocks, we urge the Department of Commerce to direct the MAFMC to work in coordination with the NEFMC on a joint management plan for the black sea bass, summer flounder, and scup fisheries. Until NEFMC member states’ interests are officially considered when negotiating fishery management plans through joint management, our fishing communities will continue to suffer from the existing out-of-date allocation formula. We sincerely request that you take these considerations into account look forward to greater coordination among the coastal Atlantic states. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

REP. JOE COURTNEY
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL
SEN. CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY
SEN. EDWARD J. MARKEY
REP. ROSA L. DeLAURO
REP. JOHN B. LARSON
REP. RICHARD E. NEAL
REP. WILLIAM R. KEATING
REP. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO
REP. STEPHEN F. LYNCH
REP. NIKI TSONGAS
REP. JAMES A. HIMES
REP. ELIZABETH H. ESTY
REP. KATHERINE M. CLARK
REP. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, III
REP. SETH MOULTON

Congressmen complain that New England fishermen are being shortchanged

May 24, 2016 — Fishing quotas on black sea bass, summer flounder and scup are unfairly limiting the catch of New England fishermen, U.S. congressmen from the region said in a letter Monday to the U.S. Department of Commerce that complained about the current “out-of-date allocation formula.”

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, was joined by Connecticut’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, in the letter that was also signed by 13 other members of the Connecticut and Massachusetts congressional delegations. They noted that these fish species are heading north, looking for cooler water, yet New England states have been thwarted in cashing in on the bounty.

Read the full story at The Day

Co-owner: New Bedford fish auction could see periodic closures over next month

May 24, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The fish auction that’s been a daily institution on the city’s waterfront for decades could see periodic closures over the next month or so, as a co-owner said Monday that this year’s significant cut to the cod quota is keeping many boats tied to the docks, rather than bringing in fish.

Richard Canastra, co-owner of the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction since 1994, said Monday morning that in his view, “there won’t be” fish auctions on some days between now and July 4, when he expects commercial fishing activity to pick up again.

“There’s not many fishermen fishing anymore,” Canastra said as he stood outside the auction building on Hassey Street. “A lot of the boats are just tied up — they’re not going to fish. Why would they fish if there’s only so much (allowable) cod?”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in conjunction with the New England Fishery Management Council, instituted a 62-percent reduction in the allowable catch for Georges Bank cod this year, in quotas that took effect May 1.

Former New Bedford Mayor John Bullard, now regional administrator for NOAA fisheries, has said the new regulations create “about a 95 percent cut” since 2012 in catch limits for Georges Bank cod, a key species for New Bedford’s fishing industry.

Government documents detailing the quotas say they’re, “intended to help prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, achieve optimum yield” and ensure that fishery management is based on the best data available.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Woods Hole Researchers ‘Listen’ to the Ocean Floor

May 23, 2016 — WOODS HOLE, Mass. — Listening to the noise of the deep sea.

That’s the intent as researchers with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, based at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, recently placed a handful of recording devices along the ocean floor from George’s Bank to New Jersey to listen to the sounds of whales, dolphins and other marine life.

It’s part of a national effort to establish a network to monitor long term changes in ocean noise.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Four rescued miles off Plum Island

May 23, 2016 — NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — Four fishermen were rescued roughly 28 miles off Plum Island on Saturday afternoon after their 25-foot Wellfleet capsized.

The boat was righted by a TowBoat U.S. crew and brought back to its port of origin in Rye, N.H. No one was injured, according to a U.S. Coast Guard official.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

New Bedford fishing vessel disabled off Nantucket, towed back to port

May 23, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Discovery, an 84-foot commercial fishing vessel based in New Bedford, and its crew of seven became disabled early Friday about 100 miles off Nantucket, the Coast Guard reported.

Crewmembers aboard the Discovery contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern’s command center at 2:30 a.m. Friday, reporting they had a disabled rudder and needed assistance.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Cape scallop fishermen cash in on grounds closer to home

May 23, 2016 — HARWICH PORT, Mass. — The scalloping was pretty poor north of Provincetown last month for the crew of Aidan’s Pride; they towed their dredge for hours just to get a hundred pounds.

So the Wellfleet scallop vessel, owned by Aidan Lapierre and captained by Sean Gray, was heading south to Maryland about three weeks ago, hoping for a more bountiful harvest, when it broke an outrigger in rough water transiting the Cape Cod Canal.

It turned out to be a fortunate break, as the delay lasted just long enough that they were still around when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries office in Gloucester approved a plan May 3 to open a scallop-rich spot around 70 miles southeast of Saquatucket Harbor where Aidan’s Pride was tied up Thursday.

Catches in near-shore areas petered out over the past few years for members of what is known as the general category scallop fleet, smaller vessels around 40 feet in length that are only allowed to land 600 pounds of scallop meats a day. They were not able to harvest their allotted quota and petitioned NOAA and the New England Fishery Management Council to open a portion of the so-called Nantucket Lightship closed area exclusively to them because their vessels are not suited to the long trip to prime scalloping grounds on Georges Bank. In addition, the profits from the relatively small amount of scallops they were allowed to catch would quickly be eaten up by fuel costs.

Their only alternative: head south to the Mid-Atlantic.

But a window of opportunity opened after scientific surveys of the Nantucket Lightship area showed there weren’t enough mature scallops available to open it this year. Members of what is known as the limited access fleet — vessels 80 to more than 100 feet long which harvest as much as 17,000 pounds a day and are responsible for 95 percent of the scallop catch — wanted it kept closed to everyone.

“We chose not to go in there because the science said it wasn’t ready,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney representing the Fisheries Survival Fund, which has many of the limited access fleet as members.

“We wanted the scallops to be larger, to get the maximum yield,” he said.

Since 2001, scallops have been managed under a rotational scheme much like letting a field lie fallow. Sampling is done to determine whether an area has enough large scallops to be opened to fishing. Areas with a lot of seed or immature scallops remain closed until they grow large enough for harvest.

It’s an approach that works but allowing someone into an area before it’s ready violates that management principle, Minkiewicz said. Scallopers faced with only being able to land 600 pounds would likely sort through the catch, discarding smaller animals in favor of the large ones that fetched higher prices, he said.

“They’re human,” he said. “We don’t blame them for it, but they will kill a lot more scallops than 300,000 pounds.”

Kevin Stokesbury, principal investigator at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s sea scallop research program, is also opposed to letting general category boats into the Lightship area, saying the dredge would likely kill a lot of small scallops. Surveys and studies by UMass Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology showed a small amount of growth actually doubled the amount of meat available. He agreed with Minkiewicz’s argument that killing off large numbers of young scallops, even if limited by a relatively small quota, could significantly affect future harvests in the area.

“While 300,000 pounds of harvest is not a lot compared to the biomass there, how many small scallops will you have to sort through to get to the few large ones?” he said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

FISHY BUSINESS: Tracking whales with mobile app

May 20, 2016 — SCITUATE, Mass. — The weather is getting better and many people are thinking about getting out on the water. A few sail boats can be seen offshore in the brisk springtime wind and more than a few recreational fishing boats are at mooring in Scituate Harbor.

This is also the traditional time for the North Atlantic right whales to leave their wintertime home in Cape Cod Bay and head for the Great South Channel southeast of Nantucket. This year the right whales are acting differently and scatting more than their normal migration.

Dr. David (Dave) Wiley, research coordinator at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, suggests that the change in behavior is probably due to warmer than normal waters in the Gulf of Maine, a change that is having effects on many species.

We are lucky to have a variety of whales that make their home in the Gulf of Maine or are seasonal visitors. Watching a whale breach or play with other whales is a truly amazing experience that many of us can enjoy simply by boarding a private vessel in Scituate Harbor. Along with the joy and excitement of observing the whales comes responsibility.

Read the full story at Wicked Local