July 26, 2018 — A Falmouth-based nonprofit has received a grant through NOAA Fisheries and the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Monkfish Research Set-Aside Program.
The Coonamessett Farm Foundation received a two-year cooperative research project grant to improve the understanding of monkfish biology.
The study will explore non-lethal techniques for determining the sex of the fish and evaluate the maturity stage of Southern New England Monkfish.
July 2, 2018 — Local commercial fishermen say the price per pound they earn for their catch has dropped in recent years as their industry continues to struggle financially.
Fishermen say they have been selling their fish at prices several cents per pound less than in years past, citing strict catch quotas, a decline in businesses that buy their fish and a rise in imported fish as causes for the drop in their earnings.
Hampton fisherman David Geothel said prices for small American plaice, a species of flounder on which he relies in the face of strict cod catch limits, have dropped from $1.40 to $1.50 per pound in previous years to between 40 and 70 cents per pound now. Grey sole, or witch flounder, another species he targets frequently, has gone from $1.50 to $1.80 per pound down to 80 cents to $1.10 per pound.
Jamie Hayward, a gillnetter out of Portsmouth, said he has seen monkfish prices drop by 60 percent from what they were in years past. He and Goethel both said the drop in prices is another blow to fishermen struggling with strict regulations they say are upending their industry. There were once dozens of fishermen in New Hampshire, but now Goethel said less than 10 are actively groundfishing.
“It has potential to be the end, to be honest with you,” Hayward said of the prices and what they could mean for commercial fishing.
May 16, 2018 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) are pleased to announce that 15 projects have been selected for 2018-2019 funding through the Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program.
“The Scallop RSA Program truly has become one of the flagships of the scallop fishery,” said New England Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn. “The collaborative efforts that take place at sea between fishermen and researchers go a long way toward enhancing our understanding of what’s happening with the resource. The results of this RSA work funnel back to the Council and support stock assessments. Without a doubt, the RSA program helps us better manage our – Virginia Institute of Marine Science photo extremely valuable scallop fishery.”
Projects will address research priorities established by the Council, with a particular focus on resource surveys. The awards are expected to generate more than $12 million: $3 million to fund research; and $9 million to compensate industry partners who harvest set-aside quota
“We are excited to be able to work with the New England Fishery Management Council, industry, and scientists to fund sea scallop science through the Research Set-Aside Program,” said NEFSC Science and Research Director Dr. Jon Hare. “The projects funded support surveys, bycatch mitigation, and biological studies, all with the purpose of improving the information used in the management of the sea scallop resource.”
The New England Council established the Sea Scallop RSA Program to address research questions that support management of the scallop resource. The Council sets the research priorities and researchers compete for funding through a federal grant competition managed by NOAA Fisheries.
No federal funds are provided to support the research. Instead, projects are awarded pounds of scallops, which have been “set aside” from the annual fishery quota for this purpose. Successful applicants partner with the fishing industry to harvest their set-aside award to generate funds for the research. There are active research set-aside programs for Atlantic sea scallops, Atlantic herring, and monkfish.
2018-2019 Scallop RSA Award Summary
The awards fall into three categories: scallop surveys (dredge, drop camera, and HabCam); bycatch mitigation; and sea scallop biology.
Scallop Surveys
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) received new awards to conduct dredge surveys in Closed Area I, Closed Area II, and the Nantucket Lightship. Under an existing award from last year, VIMS also will conduct a dredge survey of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. As part of ongoing efforts to better understand scallop survey dredge performance, VIMS investigators received an award to evaluate the hydrodynamic characteristics of both lined and unlined survey dredges in the largest flume tank in the world, located in St. John’s, Newfoundland at Memorial University’s Marine Institute.
The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) received three awards to conduct surveys using a drop-camera array. Through these awards, researchers plan to conduct high-resolution surveys of the Nantucket Lightship, Closed Area I, Great South Channel, and select portions of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will conduct Habitat Camera Mapping System (HabCam) optical surveys throughout the Mid-Atlantic Bight and on the northern flank of Georges Bank. In addition to these surveys, researchers will continue to evaluate dredge effects on habitat and habitat recovery in the Closed Area II Habitat Area of Particular Concern. Coonamessett Farm Foundation will conduct a HabCam survey of the Nantucket Lightship and Southern Flank of Georges Bank.
Bycatch Mitigation
Coonamessett Farm Foundation will continue its seasonal survey on Georges Bank, collecting information on bycatch rates for yellowtail flounder and other species relative to scallop meat yield. These data also will be used to evaluate sea scallop health and meat quality, biological questions about several flounder species, and to examine lobsters for shell disease.
Coonamessett Farm Foundation will continue its loggerhead sea turtle tagging program, receiving funds to tag up to 20 loggerheads with water activated tags. Tag data will be used to evaluate spatial and temporal overlap between loggerhead sea turtles and the scallop fishery.
Coonamessett Farm Foundation also will be testing a dredge twine-top cover net in an attempt to quantify dredge selectivity characteristics.
Sea Scallop Biology
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will investigate sea scallop density-dependence factors that may be affecting growth, mortality, and reproduction of scallops in the Nantucket Lightship and Elephant Trunk areas. In addition, VIMS will conduct a pilot study to extend the current stock assessment model to better account for sea scallop ages with a particular focus on the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Nantucket Lightship areas.
WHOI will receive support to determine if a gonadosomatic index (GSI) can be calculated from Light Field 3D images of shucked scallops collected during fishing operations. The GSI is used to assess maturity and spawning events in many species of fish and shellfish, including scallops. If successful, this could improve the ability to collect and quantify scallop maturation and spawning data during the course of routine fishery sampling procedures.
The 2018-2019 award listings can be found on the Northeast Fisheries Science Center website at: https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/news/scallop-rsa-2018-2019/.
RSA award announcements and answers to “frequently asked questions” also are available at https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/rsa_program.html.
Visit the New England Council’s scallop webpage: https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/scallops.
View the release in its entirety here.
May 8, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) recently implemented or released announcements about several actions that were developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) or have Council involvement. The actions relate to groundfish, skates, monkfish, and Atlantic sea scallops. Here they are at a glance, followed by a list of upcoming New England Council committee meetings and Atlantic herring public hearings.
GROUNDFISH: NOAA Fisheries implemented the following groundfish-related actions in time for the May 1 start of the 2018 fishing year.
SKATES: The New England Council developed Framework Adjustment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan, which contains 2018-2019 specifications and management measures. At the end of April, NMFS announced that the framework would not be in place by the May 1 start of the 2018 fishing year and, as such, the fishery would continue to operate under 2017 regulations until further notice. Framework 5 proposes to allow possession of barndoor skates in the skate wing fishery under certain constraints. IMPORTANT: Possession of barndoor skates currently is prohibited until Framework 5 is implemented. The agency anticipates publishing a proposed rule later this spring. More information about Framework 5 is available at Council action and Skate Framework 5.
MONKFISH: NOAA Fisheries announced that, on June 4, the agency will implement specifications for the 2018 monkfish fishing year. Days-at-sea allocations, possession limits, and total allowable landings will be the same as those implemented in 2017. The specifications are part of Framework Adjustment 10 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan, which was developed jointly by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils for fishing years 2017-2019. NOAA Fisheries approved the framework on July 12, 2017. View the latest permit holder bulletin at 2018 monkfish specs.
SCALLOPS: The Council developed Framework Adjustment 29 to the federal Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. This framework contains management measures and specifications for the 2018 scallop fishing year and default measures for 2019, among other provisions.
SCALLOP AND HERRING STOCK ASSESSMENTS: Members of the New England Council staff and relevant Plan Development Teams are serving on working groups that are preparing benchmark stock assessments for Atlantic sea scallops and Atlantic herring.
UPCOMING MEETINGS: Many of the New England Council’s committees will be holding meetings throughout the rest of May and into June. Follow these links for details.
Learn more about the NEFMC by visiting their site here.
May 4, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — Michelle Wolf is right — the monkfish really are fine.
Federal fishing regulators are allowing fishermen to harvest the same amount of the ugly fish this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration allowed fishermen to catch about 33.8 million pounds of monkfish last year, and says the fishery’s sustainable enough that the number will hold in 2018.
They’re sought by fishermen from Maine to North Carolina and can be less expensive at markets than popular fish such as cod and flounder. Some industry members want to grow interest in monkfish.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Raleigh News & Observer
May 3, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is implementing monkfish quotas for the 2018 fishing year that we announced on July 12, 2017. There have been no overages in 2017, and there is no new biological information, so we are now finalizing the 2018 quotas that were previously announced. The quotas are the same relative to 2017.
As shown in the table below, approved measures include Total Allowable Landings (TAL) in metric tons in both the Northern and Southern Fishery Management Areas, day-at-sea limits, and trip limits.
All other requirements remain the same.
We will provide a similar notice when the 2019 specifications are implemented prior to the May 1, 2019 start to the monkfish fishing year.
For more details, read the rule as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin on our website.
May 1, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is allocating 2018 quotas to 17 of 19 groundfish sectors based on catch limits approved in Framework 57 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.
We are not allocating quota to Northeast Fishery Sectors 7 and 9, as we are still reviewing changes to their sector rosters for fishing year 2018, including related operational and overage payback issues.
We are also approving a new regulatory exemption that allows Day gillnet sector vessels to fish up to 150 gillnets in the Gulf of Maine if at least 50 of those nets are 10-inch or larger mesh and fished east of 70 degrees West longitude. Sectors requested this exemption to allow sector vessels to better target monkfish while on sector trips.
Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register.
March 23, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is proposing allocating 2018 quotas to groundfish sectors based on catch limits recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council.
We are also proposing to grant a new regulatory exemption that would allow Day gillnet sector vessels to fish up to 150 gillnets in the Gulf of Maine as long as at least 50 of those nets are 10-inch or larger mesh and fished east of 70 degrees West longitude. Sectors requested this exemption to allow sector vessels to better target monkfish while on sector trips.
Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope: “Comments on the Proposed Rule to Allocate 2018 Sector Quotas.”
Learn more about NOAA by visiting their site here.
March 20, 2018 — There’s no disputing these are difficult times for New England fishermen, with ever-tightening regulations, a diminishing catch and the added uncertainty brought on by climate change.
Among the dour news, however, there are hints of hope and optimism among those who feel the nation’s oldest industry still has something to offer.
Take, for example, the city of Gloucester’s outreach at the Seafood Expo North America in Boston earlier this month. The show, which attracts almost 22,000 seafood buyers and processors from more than 100 countries, is seemingly made for folks willing to hustle. And Gloucester was hustling.
For the last four years, the city has used the expo as a way to market itself to the rest of the country and across the world. And the Gloucester Fresh branding effort has paid off, most notably two years ago, when the Ninety Nine Restaurant chain agreed to feature Gloucester-landed haddock on its menu.
This year, the Gloucester crew was touting monkfish, an ugly creature that is nevertheless delicious when prepared by Cape Ann chefs, with a VIP tasting for about 75 buyers and processors. Meanwhile, Sal Di Stefano, the city’s economic development director, was pitching lobsters to a pair of South Korean visitors.
“They told me that all they do is buy Canadian lobsters, but they keep hearing more and more about American lobster,” Di Stefano told reporter Sean Horgan.
“We explained that American lobster is better and that Massachusetts lobsters are the best of the American species. Then we had them talk with (lobsterman) Mark Ring and they were thrilled to actually meet a lobsterman. We wouldn’t have had those interactions if we weren’t here.”
These relationships matter. The connection between Gloucester’s ocean-to-table deal with the Ninety Nine chain continues today, even as the local processors supplying the fish have changed.
“Chef George (Tagarelis) and I have been in our restaurants all week long with general managers and kitchen managers training on our brand-new spring menu, which begins April 2 and features ‘Gloucester Fresh’ simply seasoned fresh haddock,” the chain’s president, Charlie Noyes, said last week. “I’m sure our guests at the Ninety Nine will be as excited as we are that we continue to serve this local favorite.”
Indeed, change is everywhere, even at 170-year-old Gorton’s of Gloucester, one of the nation’s oldest continually operating businesses.
Even as it outlasts the competition, Gorton’s, with 425 employees, has remained an iconic part of the seafood industry, with much of its recent success attributed to trying to “connect with customers in unique ways,” Judson Reis, the company’s president, told members of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce earlier this month.
Read the full story at the Gloucester Times
March 15, 2018 — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center’s A Day in the Life speaker series continues tonight, March 15, with SMAST fisheries scientist Crista Bank.
Beginning at 7 p.m., Bank will share her story and discuss the cooperative research she is currently conducting with the commercial fishing industry.
Bank received her bachelor’s degree in marine biology from UMass Dartmouth and spent the first part of her career teaching marine science at outdoor experiential education programs in New England, Southern California and the Florida Keys.
She transitioned to working on board traditional sailing vessels and traveled from the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope, across the Atlantic, and eventually landed in New Bedford working on the Schooner Ernestina where she earned her 100 ton captain’s license.
She continued her science career first as a fisheries observer, and then as a fisheries biologist at the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) working on collaborative research projects with commercial fishermen studying cod, monkfish, and halibut. She received her master’s degree in fisheries oceanography from SMAST in 2016 and continues to collaborate with commercial fishermen from New England to North Carolina.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times