Saving Seafood

University of Massachusetts scientists improving cod counting technology

February 11, 2016 — A new video system designed by UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) scientists to assess the population of cod has passed its first major test, giving the researchers confidence that they can use this new approach to help improve the accuracy of future scientific assessments of this iconic species. Recent stock assessments indicate that the Gulf of Maine cod population is low and struggling to recover. Members of the fishing industry contest those results, suggesting the stock is much healthier than depicted in recent assessments.

“Our goal is to provide all stakeholders in this issue with trustworthy science that leads to smart management of the Gulf of Maine cod fishery,’’ said Dr. Kevin Stokesbury, whose team conducted the test. “We are pleased with the initial results and are looking forward to scaling up our work.”

The Baker-Polito Administration provided $96,720 in capital money through the state Division of Marine Fisheries to fund research tows recently conducted on Stellwagen Bank. This work builds on similar research that Dr. Stokesbury’s team has conducted on yellowtail flounder, which is also facing difficulty. Of special note, Dr. Stokesbury’s approach has been successfully used over the last sixteen years to measure the scallop population of the east coast resulting in improved assessments integral to sustaining that fishery and keeping New Bedford the top-ranked fishing port in the U.S.

“The work by UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology will complement work done by our federal partners by providing additional scientific data that will help us better understand what is happening to the cod stocks in New England,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Improving the data used to make informed decisions is critical to preserving the economic viability of the Commonwealth’s fishing industry.”

The new video system uses an open-end fishing net with video cameras mounted on its frame to capture images of the fish passing through the net. Researchers then review the video to count the different species, and estimate the size of each fish.

The current practice of counting cod involves catching the fish in a net and hauling them onto the deck of the vessel, then counting, weighing and measuring them. Dr. Stokesbury believes this practice is less efficient because the nets are only left in the water for a short period of time (20-30 minutes), while the open-end net can be left underwater for hours at a time collecting a greater amount of data on fish populations across a larger portion of the ocean. In addition, the traditional survey method kills most of the fish that are caught, while the new open-net video method causes no damage to the fish.

The tests were conducted on Stellwagen Bank January 7 -9 aboard the F/V Justice, a New Bedford-based commercial fishing boat captained by Ron Borjeson. Dr. Stokesbury was joined on the excursion by graduate students Travis Lowery and Nick Calabrese, and technician Christa Bank.

The objectives of the test were to determine whether the video camera system design functioned properly; whether the video fish counts matched on-deck fish counts; and whether the system could be used to measure the population of cod in the area.

Eleven 30 minute tows with an open net were conducted, while seven half hour tows were made with a closed net. For closed net tows, the fish were carefully brought onto the boat, counted, measured, weighed, and returned to the sea. Fish survival was high due to the care shown by the research team.

A total of 6,423 fish, representing 21 species, were collected during closed tows, with the three most abundant species being haddock (2,062), yellowtail flounder (1,444) and Atlantic cod (1,096). Cod ranged from 28 cm (10 inches) to over 80 cm (32 inches). Numbers and size of each species observed during open net tows are currently being derived from video footage.

Biological samples of cod were collected for two collaborative research projects related to the genetics and evolution of cod. SMAST, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, University of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute are participating in these studies.

“This experiment was successful beyond what I had hoped for,” Dr. Stokesbury said. “I was impressed with the abundance of cod and other species, particularly yellowtail flounder, winter flounder, and haddock.”

Read the story from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Ocean study demands new approach to fishery regulation

February 11, 2016 — Complexity is the confounding principle in the process of fishery regulation. It has led to confusion, acrimony, litigation and fear among the myriad stakeholders in the Northeast Multi-Species Fishery.

A study released last week by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole tackles complexity in a way that should empower regulators who are trying to balance conservation and economic goals, keeping the fishery profitable and preparing for an uncertain, changing ocean environment.

Regulators — the New England Fishery Management Council in the Northeast fishery — have been spinning their wheels until recently trying to respond to data about fish landings and species biomass without information that accurately depicts the changing environment.

Fish landings and biomass provide irreplaceable data for regulators to include in their decisions, but without scientific measurements on aspects of the broader environment — ocean temperatures, currents, salinity, acidity — it becomes less likely that prescriptions will be effective, and impossible to construct policies with any reach beyond a season or two of fishing. In other words, for fishing regulations to achieve intended goals, regulators cannot ignore the oceanic imbalance that has brought dramatic and rapid changes; their disruption of species’ behavior and biology is far beyond the limits of certainty, beyond the limits of traditional regulation.

Read the full editorial at the New Bedford Standard Times

Maine Coldwater Shrimp Research Survey Harvests Fall Short of Predictions

February 10, 2016 — Maine shrimp lovers are hoping for the best this winter. With the shrimp population in decline over the past few years, and the Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery being closed for the third season in a row to shrimp trappers and trawlers, there won’t be much Maine shrimp in markets, restaurants or on dinner tables again this year.

But thanks to a study being conducted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, four trawlers and two trappers have been selected to collect samples of northern shrimp from the Gulf of Maine.

Marine biologists will use the data to determine the timing of the egg hatch, and the size, gender and developmental stage of the shrimp, according to biologist Margaret Hunter of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). A total catch of 48,500 pounds from the Gulf of Maine is being allowed. Any shrimp not used in the study may be sold by the fishermen.

Each participating trawler is required to conduct five research trips in one region, and is being compensated $500 per trip. Each would be allowed to sell up to 1,800 pounds of shrimp per trip.

The two shrimp-trapping vessels are required to continue hauling until the shrimp have hatched off all their eggs. Each is allowed 40 traps, and may haul as often as necessary during the project, with a 600-pound weekly catch limit. The shrimp may be sold, but there will be no other compensation for the trappers.

Despite the best efforts of local trapper Bill Sherburne, as of yet, the shrimp catch has not met his expectations.

As of Feb. 1, Sherburne said he hadn’t done as well as he had hoped. “It makes a difference where the traps are placed. They don’t come close to shore until the water cools down.”

Read the full story at Boothbay Register

Expert Says Shark Numbers May Double

February 9, 2016 — WELLFLEET — It might not seem it by looking out the window, but the Cape is closing in on another beach season, and members of a working group tasked with improving public safety given an increasing number of great white sharks visiting our shores each summer, are well aware that it’s time to focus on what is doable in the next few months.

With the possibility that the population of great white sharks in Cape waters could eventually double current estimates the sense of urgency is also on the rise.

For the most part, high tech solutions, like drones, are out, and the focus is on education.“We’re going to change human behavior and keep people close to shore,” Leslie Reynolds, chief ranger for the Cape Cod National Seashore, told the group at a meeting Tuesday at the Wellfleet Council on Aging.

Park personnel are in the initial stages of making an educational video they hope to play on community TV access channels, online on town websites, in their own visitor center, at chamber of commerce information booths and elsewhere.

Her staff is working on a sign that would clearly spell out the shark danger to beachgoers in the off-season when lifeguards are no longer on duty, Reynolds said.

She unveiled a new purple flag with a great white silhouette that would fly every day at lifeguard stands warning visitors that sharks could be in the water.

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries shark researcher Gregory Skomal said the numbers of great whites coming to the Cape each year “continues to go up and it will continue to do so in the near future.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

NOAA Issues Climate Warning for Scallops

February 9, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD — “Sea scallops have a high vulnerability ranking,” reads a Feb. 3 announcement from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, which operates in Woods Hole under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “Negative impacts are estimated for many of the iconic species in the ecosystem including Atlantic sea scallop, Atlantic cod and Atlantic mackerel.”

The NOAA study, formally known as the Northeast Climate Vulnerability Assessment, said Atlantic sea scallops have “limited mobility and high sensitivity to the ocean acidification that will be more pronounced as water temperatures warm.”

Water temperatures in Buzzards Bay have risen 4 degrees over the past two decades, for example, according to a recent study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Buzzards Bay Coalition.

Scallops are vital to New Bedford’s fishing industry. NOAA Fisheries announced last October that New Bedford, for the 15th year in a row, was the No. 1 port in the country in terms of dollar value of its catch. Much of that value, which totaled $329 million in 2014, comes from scallops.

The money has big local impacts. Eastern Fisheries captain Christopher Audette, for example, told visitors at an annual buyers’ tour in March 2014 that deck hands on his scallop boat had taken home more than $200,000 in 2013 — and that he had made even more than that.

Harbor Development Commissioner Richard Canastra, who has been instrumental to the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction since 1984, said this week that the scallop industry — and stock — continues to boom in New Bedford.

“The biomass has been increasing over the last 10 years, and there is no sign of it depleting because of the warmer waters,” Canastra said. “They’re talking a few degrees, and that’s not going to make much of a difference in terms of scallop population.”

Chad McGuire, associate professor of environmental policy at UMass Dartmouth, said that while the NOAA findings are not a surprise, they could be another “warning signal” for the industry.

“This study suggests that if you care about one of the largest economic drivers for this region, then you need to care about climate change,” said McGuire, whose work includes fishery management and climate change issues.

“We should be worried that this could greatly affect how many scallops we’re taking in the future,” he added.

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Delving into the deep

February 5, 2016 — Maritime Gloucester has embarked on an ambitious slate of programs for 2016, many designed as teaching tools providing information on a variety of topics within the overarching themes of ocean planning and innovation on the waterfront.

The working museum and maritime education center on Harbor Loop built the schedule — including the MGTalks and HarborLAB series — to provide relevant information to Cape Ann residents from all sides on maritime topics of local interest, ranging from fisheries to ocean exploration, said Melanie Murray-Brown, Maritime Gloucester’s director of program information. 

“We decided that we didn’t want to shy away from controversial topics,” Murray-Brown said Thursday. “We’re not advocating for any particular side on these issues, but providing the information more as a public service.”

The MGTalks series kicks off next Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. at Maritime Gloucester with a free panel discussion on who owns the ocean and balancing interests while managing ocean sprawl.

The panel, including Bruce Carlisle, director of the state’s Office of Coastal Zone Management, and Jack Clarke, a Gloucester resident who is director of public policy and government relations for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, will discuss the formation and goals of the Massachusetts Ocean Plan.

The discussion is expected to include the roles of specific stakeholders and the areas of dissent on issues stretching from sand and gravel mining to the ramping up of the exploration for gas and oil near entry points to the Gulf of Maine by Canadian public and private interests.

John Sarrouf of the Gloucester Conversations project will moderate the panel.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

Coast Guard aids disabled fishing vessel off Maine

February 5, 2016 —  BOSTON — The Jocka, a fishing boat with a crew of four aboard, had to be towed to port by the Coast Guard from 45 miles southeast of Portland, Maine, after the engine became disabled.

“It was a pretty rough night, but they’re almost in and everybody’s OK,” ship owner Terry Alexander said late Thursday afternoon. “They just had to sit it out because of the weather.”

At approximately 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, a crew member aboard the Jocka used a VHF-FM radio to contact Coast Guard watchstanders to report the ship’s engine was disabled and the crew needed assistance, the Coast Guard said in a press release.

The boat is owned by the corporation Jordan Lynn Inc. is which headed by New England Fishery Management Council member and former chairman Terry Alexander. The home address for the corporation is Harpswell, Maine, though Alexander said Thursday the Jocka’s hailing port is Boston. He said none of the crew was from Cape Ann.

Alexander said the boat, which is registered in Massachusetts and permitted for off-shore, non-trap lobstering, experienced general engine failure Wednesday and had to stay out on the water overnight because of the harsh weather conditions made it difficult for the Coast Guard to get a line to the 61-foot trawler.

The crew aboard the 110-foot Coast Guard cutter Ocracoke, homeported in South Portland, Maine, responded to the hail for help. Ocracoke had arrived on-scene at approximately 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, but, as Alexander said, was unable to get Jocka in tow due to the weather, the Coast Guard reported.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

Gloucester, Mass. investment in seafood expo is money well spent

February 3, 2016 — Of all the initiatives begun last year by then-interim Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, the return of the city to the international Seafood Expo North America in Boston was a no-brainer, given Theken’s deep ties to the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association.

By all accounts, the endeavor was a success. The city’s booth stood out amid a sea of sterile, cardboard convention center displays, thanks to the presence of the mayor and Angela Sanfilippo, president of the Fishermen’s Wives, and a bubbling, aromatic pot of redfish soup. That end product — the food people actually put in their mouths — is as emblematic of the Gloucester fishing industry as its hard-working fleet or the Man at the Wheel. Gloucester fishes so people can eat. What better way to bring home the point than with 40 steaming gallons of fish stew?

The end result was an increased awareness of the Gloucester brand, and a series of meetings among city officials, waterfront businesses and potential clients from the United States and abroad. It’s exactly the kind of result one would hope for from a long weekend’s attendance at a trade expo.

Last year’s expo, in fact, is still paying off: On the Monday of this year’s event, the city will play host to potential buyers and trade representatives from more than a dozen countries, including Canada, Turkey, Mexico, Iceland, Taiwan, Morocco, Spain, Indonesia and the Netherlands. Those are real contacts.

Read the full editorial at Gloucester Daily Times

ASMFC American Lobster Board Approves Jonah Crab Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

February 4, 2016— The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Draft Addendum I to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes changes to the incidental bycatch limits for non-trap gear (e.g., otter trawls, gillnets) and non-lobster trap gear (e.g., fish, crab, and whelk pots). For non-trap gear, the Draft Addendum includes options to maintain, increase, or eliminate the bycatch limit, while options for non-lobster traps include establishing bycatch limits of varying size or maintaining no limit on these gears. The intent of the Draft Addendum is to cap incidental landings of Jonah crab while ensuring the inclusion of current participants in the Jonah crab fishery.

  The FMP currently prescribes a 200 crab per calendar day/500 crab per trip incidental bycatch limit for non-trap gear; however, concerns were expressed over the appropriateness of these limits. Data submitted by the New England Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries illustrate while 97-99% of trips from 2010 through 2014 were within the current limit, there were several trips above the limit. Furthermore, current bycatch landings were sufficiently low, accounting for approximately 0.1% of total landings.

 Bycatch limits for non-lobster trap gear were added as a second issue for consideration in the Draft Addendum to address concerns regarding the lack of effort controls on non-lobster traps and the potential for trap proliferation. Data submitted by NOAA Fisheries show between May 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015, 194 trips landed Jonah crab with whelk pots, crab pots, and fish pots. Of these, 80 trips landed 100 crab or fewer and 115 trips landed 200 crab or fewer.  Approximately 45 trips landed between 200 and 500 crab and 40 trips landed more than 450 crab.  Landings from Maryland show between 2012 and 2015, 33 trips landed Jonah crab with fish pots. All of these trips were under 200 pounds. Reports also indicated from 2014-2015, 36 trips landed Jonah crab with whelk pots. Average landings per trip with whelk pots were under 500 pounds; however, there is concern that these whelk pot landings may in fact be rock crab, a closely related species which is often misreported as Jonah crab.

 It is anticipated the states of Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Maryland will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum. The details of those hearings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org(under Public Input) by February 10th. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on April 1, 2016 and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mware@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum I).

New quotas cut deep for fishing industry

February 3, 2016 — Fishermen and fishing stakeholders say the darkness that has descended on the Northeast groundfish fishery over the past three years is only going to grow deeper in 2016, with some fishing stakeholders envisioning the final collapse of the small-boat industry due to slashed quotas for species they believe are abundant.

“With these cuts, we will not have a fishery as we know it anymore,” said Vito Giacalone, the manager of Gloucester-based Northeast Fishing Sector 4 and the policy director at the Northeast Seafood Coalition. “The great shame to this is we’re going to have this entirely detrimental economic impact while the stocks are in great shape and no one in the government is listening. There is just no leadership.”

At the heart of the issue is the expanding difference between what fishermen say they are seeing on the water and the results from NOAA stock assessments used to produce the annual fishing quotas. Call it a watery Great Divide.

“The fish are in great shape and the only real constraint on catch is quota,” Giacalone said. “Fishermen are seeing that across the board on a lot of the species.”

The quotas, set for 2016 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the final groundfish framework, reflect a far different analysis by NOAA and its scientists. They include savage cuts to gray sole (55 percent), Georges Bank cod (66 percent), northern windowpane flounder (33 percent) and Gulf of Maine yellowtail flounder (26 percent).

“We’ve never had a greater gap between what the fishermen are seeing on the water and what the scientists are saying,” Giacalone said. “Never.”

Gloucester fisherman Al Cottone said his personal sector contribution (PSC) for 2016 includes a slight increase in Gulf of Maine cod from the 1,800 pounds he was allotted in 2015, but cuts in several other species such as yellowtail flounder (down 25 percent to 2,400 pounds); American plaice (down 17.6 percent to 2,800 pounds) and gray sole (down 6 percent to 2,800 pounds).

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times