December 14, 2015 — Interstate regulators will hold hearings for fishermen in Gloucester and throughout New England about a plan to amend some of the rules for Atlantic herring fishing.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is soliciting comments about the amended rules. The proposal includes alternatives to the current spawning monitoring program and changes to the requirements about a boat’s condition before it leaves on a fishing trip.
Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times
December 16, 2015 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Maritime historians, climate scientists and ordinary citizens are coming together on a project to study the logbooks of 19th-century whaling ships to better understand modern-day climate change and Arctic weather patterns.
Whaling ships kept meticulous daily logbooks of weather conditions during their often yearslong voyages searching the globe for whales, valued for their light-giving oil, said Michael Dyer, senior maritime historian at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, which is supplying much of the data.
Some logs include information about life on board, such as sailors falling overboard, or being disciplined for stealing or other transgressions, and of course, notations whenever whales are spotted. More important for this project, they include precise longitude and latitude measurements, weather conditions, the presence of icebergs and the edge of the ice shelf.
“If they’re cruising in the Bering Strait and there’s ice, there will be a notation in the logbook that ice fields are present,” Dyer said.
The project, called Old Weather: Whaling, is led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The whaling museum is transcribing and digitizing its own logbooks, as well as original data sources from the Nantucket Historical Association, Martha’s Vineyard Museum, Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, and the New Bedford Free Public Library.“If they’re cruising in the Bering Strait and there’s ice, there will be a notation in the logbook that ice fields are present,” Dyer said.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New York Post
December 16, 2015 — WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — Last Saturday, December 12, on the Ken Pittman Show on WBSM in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Cause of Action Counselor Stephen Schwartz, discussed a lawsuit that the organization filed against NOAA for their at-sea monitoring program. During the interview, Mr. Schwartz explained that the federal requirement that fishermen fund at-sea-monitors is overly intrusive and too burdensome for the fishing industry.
“The federal government is making a huge imposition even when top agencies and regional administrators agree that fishermen can’t afford to fund the observers, and more than half of them would go out of business,” he said.
Mr. Schwartz said that most federal observers do not have the same expertise that fishermen do – fishermen who have made their living on New England waters often in inclement conditions – and present a danger to the fishermen by taking up space on the boats, and preventing them from efficiently collecting data on fish stocks.
“If fishermen were left to their own devices, they would actually protect fish stocks and be more productive,” he said.
Mr. Schwartz and Cause of Action are arguing that NOAA does not have the power to require that the industry fund the observer program, and that the principles of constitutional law involved have the potential to restructure fishing industry regulations in order to not place the burden solely on fishermen.
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Editor’s View] by John Sackton — December 14, 2015 — The New England Fishery Management Council voted to recommend a slight increase in Days at Sea for the 2016 scallop fishery, from 31 days to 34.5 days.
At the same time, they left the allocation in the limited access areas to 51,000 lbs per vessel, the same as in 2015.
On paper this would lead to landings of about 47 million pounds, which is close to what was forecast initially for 2015 as well. However, 2015 landings are falling far short of that number.
The primary reason is the smaller size of scallops. In the past five years, the average count sold on the New Bedford auction has mostly been in the 15 to 16 count per lb. range. This year, industry sources say it is closer to 22 per lb.
The smaller scallops drastically cut into the fleet’s productivity because they are limited by number of fishing days, and by limits on crew size. As a result, landings are down as much as 1/3 from preseason expectations.
Most observers do not expect a quick turnaround, and think 2016 landings will be similar or just slightly above those of 2015.
Graphic from New England Council Meeting showing Mean estimate of Scallop landings in Coming years. (tons of meats)
However, the council’s biologists expect a bumper year crop the recruit to the fishery on both Georges Bank and the Mid-Atlantic, which will lead to sharply higher landings in a few years.
Models suggest that landings will surpass 60,000 tons (132 million lbs of meats) by 2019, if these young scallops survive. That is 3 to 4 times current landings.
The council is also considering a change in the scallop fishing year to begin April 1st rather than March 1st. There is a seasonal factor in scallops size, with the largest scallops caught more frequently in the April-July period.
The days at sea and allocations have to be formally approved by NMFS to go into effect for 2016.
This opinion piece originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.
December 14, 2015 — The aquaculture project Salem State University marine research scientists hope might ultimately produce acres of mussels in a stretch of deep, open waters off the coast of Cape Ann has received the necessary permits to proceed.
Now all the project managers need is … what else? Money.
Mark R. Fregeau, a SSU marine biology professor, said the project he is managing with SSU colleague and collaborator Ted Maney has been green-lighted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and will begin in earnest once they raise about $75,000 needed to begin laying the initial long lines upon which the mussels will grow.
The mussel aquaculture — or more simply, farm — will be located in federal waters, about 81/2 miles due east of Good Harbor Beach, at a site the researchers believe will provide the perfect environment for a deep-water mussel aquaculture that would be the first of its kind in the U.S.
“We’ve been authorized to put out a couple of (experimental) lines and see how they work and what issues might arise,” Fregeau said. “The reality is that until we actually get into the water, we don’t know exactly what we’ll be dealing with. So, it will be rolled out in phases, a couple lines at a time, and that will give us the opportunity to report back to the Army Corps of Engineers and NOAA.”
Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times
December 14, 2015 — New Bedford, MA — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:
The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is pleased to announce its receipt of a $12,000 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Cultural Heritage Grant. The grant will support a project to digitize the cultural heritage of New Bedford’s fishing community. The project is a collaboration involving the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (NBFHC), University Archives and Special Collections at the University of Massachusetts Boston, MIT Sea Grant, the New Bedford Public Library, and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park.
Commercial fishing is often a family activity with skills and knowledge passed from one generation to the next. Consequently, much of this history resides in the photo albums, documents, and artifacts of fishing families. This project will digitize these materials through a day-long public event (tentatively slated for May) in combination with “house calls” to digitally document materials from individuals who are unable to attend the event. The project will be bookended by a variety of public programs which will serve to inspire community participation, evoke memories, and provide an interpretive framework for materials that are brought forward. Digitizing these materials, making them publicly available, and using them to tell the story of the fishing community will create a lasting legacy for families who have spent generations working the water in what is one of the nation’s oldest occupations.
“We are thrilled to receive this funding which will further our efforts to document and preserve the rich heritage of New Bedford’s fishing community. We look forward to engaging active and retired fishermen, shoreside workers, and their families in this project.” (Laura Orleans, Executive Director).
Following the digitization event, UMass Boston will process images and metadata and will provide storage and public access through the University’s online repository. These materials will be included in the Digital Commonwealth and Digital Public Library of America. In addition to UMass Boston’s online repository, the resulting digital collection will be publicly archived as part of digital collections at the New Bedford Public Library, and the Massachusetts Public Library Digital Initiative, and shared as part of digital exhibits on the NBFHC website (currently under development). Those who participate by sharing their photographs, documents, or artifacts will be given a USB drive containing the scanned images of their materials.
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.
December 13, 2015 — AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Interstate regulators will hold hearings for fishermen throughout New England about a plan to amend some of the rules for Atlantic herring fishing.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is soliciting comments about the amended rules. The proposal includes alternatives to the current spawning monitoring program and changes to the requirements about a boat’s condition before it leaves on a fishing trip.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Herald
BOSTON, Mass. — December 11, 2015 — In a new lawsuit, regional fishing interests are challenging the legality of a mandate requiring them to carry at-sea monitors on their vessels during fishing trips and to soon begin paying the cost of hosting those federal enforcement contractors.
South Shore fishermen Thursday threw their support behind the lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Cause of Action on behalf of Northeast Fishery Sector 13, which represents fishermen from Massachusetts and New Hampshire down to North Carolina.
Marshfield fisherman Ed Barrett said shifting the cost burden to small fishing boats would “pull the rug out” from under fishermen.
The lawsuit “puts the issue as out-front as it can get,” said Barrett, who is president of the Massachusetts Bay Ground Fishermen’s Association.
In the suit filed in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire against the U.S. Department of Commerce, the plaintiffs are also seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent fishermen from taking on the costs, estimated at hundreds of dollars per day at sea.
December 10, 2015 (Saving Seafood) — This afternoon, Cause of Action, a government accountability organization “committed to ensuring that decisions made by federal agencies are open, honest, and fair,” held a media call with David Goethel and John Haran, the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the Department of Commerce to overturn the Department’s decision to have the commercial fishing industry pay for the cost of at-sea monitoring.
According to Cause of Action, “a large majority” of the commercial fishing operations in New England “will be forced to shut down if the government forces those who fish for cod, flounder and other ‘ground fish’ to pay out of pocket for at-sea monitoring, a program the government has traditionally funded.” The industry is expected to begin paying for the cost of at-sea monitors sometime in 2016.
According to Cause of Action, NOAA estimates that up to 60 percent of the groundfish fleet will be unable to afford the cost of at-sea monitoring. Among other reasons for the challenge, Cause of Action noted that “Congress has directed NOAA to use its appropriated funding to cover the cost of these at-sea monitors,” and “NOAA is specifically required by statute to implement regulations that allow fishing communities sustainable prosperity and ‘minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities.'”
December 9, 2015 — CHATHAM — The state, town and federal governments are fighting over ownership of the ocean within the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.
Unless something changes dramatically in the next few months, a court will have to decide who can manage fisheries in the area, according to Chatham officials and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claimed ownership and management of the 3,000 acres of water and ocean bottom west of North and South Monomoy islands in its final draft of a new plan meant to guide management of the wildlife refuge for the next decade or more. The comment period on the draft expired Monday and the state attorney general’s office, the state Department of Fish and Game, and the town of Chatham all filed comments, along with an additional two dozen or more letters and emails submitted as of early Monday, according to Elizabeth Herland, Fish and Wildlife project director.
In the comments, the town and attorney general disputed the service’s claim that it was granted ownership and control over the disputed area in a 1944 court decision that established the refuge through a land taking. In her comments, Healey called the assertion erroneous and threatened legal action unless the federal agency revises its stance.
The town is also contemplating legal action, said Jeffrey Dykens, chairman of the selectmen.
“We would like to avoid litigation but we are keeping all our options open,” Dykens said.
Read the full story at Cape Cod Times