September 15, 2017 — WASHINGTON — A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research project in the Northeast was recently conducted to test the efficiency of different sweep types of fishing nets.
The team targeted summer flounder from Long Island to Nantucket and red hake in the western Gulf of Maine off Cape Ann.
Preliminary results show that smaller fish were caught more often using a chain sweep.
August 15, 2017 — BOSTON — The following was released by SCeMFiS:
The scientists of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) recently completed a survey of the surfclam fishery area southeast of Nantucket Island to provide information regarding surfclam stock status and habitat to ensure continued resource access by local surfclam vessels. Surveys were successfully conducted in 4 days aboard the F/V Mariette sailing from New Bedford, MA.
Chris Shriver of Galilean Seafoods in Bristol, Rhode Island commented – “We believe this survey will assist the federal managers of the surfclam industry to preserve traditional surfclam fishing areas and to assist in opening new areas for the vessels to harvest surfclams so we can supply the public with sustainable and healthy clam chowders and clam strips, while protecting the marine habitat.”
Data will be reported to the SCeMFiS Industry Advisory Board at the Fall 2017 meeting in Cape May, New Jersey, with a final report by Spring 2018 and will be considered by the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center (“NEFSC”) Survey Design Working Group at their September meeting. If necessary, reporting will be accelerated as required to provide input to the New England Fisheries Management Council (“NEFMC”) Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2) decision making process. Data collected from this cruise will contribute both to ongoing efforts to (1) preserve access to the local resource by the small boat surfclam fishermen, and (2) ensure a well informed and scientifically based decision by the NEFMC concerning delineation of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) area closures.
SCeMFiS scientific projects are unique in that they respond directly to the scientific needs of the fisheries managers in collaboration with the commercial fishing industry while upholding strict quality scientific standards and procedures. SCeMFiS partnerships include academia, government agencies, non-profits, trade organizations, and industry members. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) are lead academic institutions and SCeMfiS is part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. Other participating partners include Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Bumble Bee Seafoods Incorporated, Garden State Seafood Association, Intershell International Corporation, LaMonica Fine Foods, Lund’s Fisheries Incorporated, National Fisheries Institute Clam Committee, National Fisheries Institute Scientific Monitoring Committee, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Omega Protein, Seafreeze Limited, Sea Watch International, Surfside Seafood Products, and The Town Dock.
The deaths of dozens of whales may be the result of a migration to less-protected areas because of lack of food in the Gulf of Maine.
August 15, 2017 — The North Atlantic right whale, the world’s second most endangered marine mammal, is having a catastrophic year in the waters off New England and Atlantic Canada, and scientists from Maine to Newfoundland are scrambling to figure out why.
At least a dozen right whales have been found dead this summer in the worst die-off researchers have recorded, a disastrous development for a species with a worldwide population of about 500.
“Just imagine you put 500 dollars in the bank, and every time you put five in, the bank takes 15 out,” says Moira Brown, a right whale researcher with the New England Aquarium who is based in Campobello Island, New Brunswick. “This is a species that has not been doing well, even before we had all the dead whales this summer.”
Canadian authorities have documented 12 dead whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence since June 7, though it’s possible that two carcasses that weren’t recovered after their initial sighting were counted twice. Two more of the rare, slow-moving whales were found dead off Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, bringing this summer’s mortality to between 12 and 14 whales, more than 3 percent of their total population.
Humans appear to have been the immediate cause of at least some of the deaths. Necropsy results have been issued for just four of the whales found off Canada, showing one had become entangled in snow crab fishing gear and three were apparently struck by ships.
The whales deaths have prompted Canadian officials to impose emergency restrictionson shipping and snow crab fishermen in parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence – the vast body of water bounded by New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador and eastern Quebec – and an urgent effort by researchers to figure out what happened.
July 31, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The voluntary vessel speed restriction zone south of Nantucket, MA has been extended and enlarged to protected an aggregation of four right whales sighted in this area on July 28, 2017.
Mariners, please avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside the area.
Nantucket, MA zone coordinates:
This voluntary speed restriction zone is in effect through August 12.
Find out more about all the dynamic and seasonal management areas where speed is restricted.
Learn more about how to reduce vessels strikes of whales.
You can also get recent right whale sightings and the latest acoustic detections of right whales in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston shipping lanes. Or, download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone.
Remember that approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law. Please report all right whale sightings to 866-755-NOAA (6622)
July 24, 2017 — It was 4 a.m. as I crossed a deserted Sagamore bridge but the night sky was already beginning to lighten.
When I turned into the lot on School St. in Hyannis I could see the boat, its white hull splashed with green from the glow of the starboard running light. I clambered aboard.
On the Angenette, a 40-foot wooden dragger built in 1946, Captain Ron Borjeson waited along with his grandson Trent Garzoni. Lost amongst the tourist hordes and tricked-out sportfishing boats crowding the Hyannis docks these are guys you don’t notice anymore — independent commercial fishermen, struggling to pursue their traditional livelihood. Reductions in the catch limits and rising expenses are constant worries. The fluke quota was cut by 30 percent last year and again this year, while just to tie up in Hyannis for the season costs eleven grand.
We headed out to Nantucket Sound just as dawn broke. The inshore squid season ended on June 1. Ron got eighty-six days out of that and now he is into fluke. In state waters, he can take three hundred pounds daily though no fishing is permitted on Fridays or Saturdays.
After steaming for about an hour to the chosen ground we made the first tow. It was quiet except for the throb of the diesel. The sky was clear, the sea sparkled and the breeze was like a caress. On such a morning it was easy to feel the tug of the seafaring life. We hauled back and a representative cross-section of our multispecies New England fishery spilled from the dripping net.
We easily filled two totes with fluke, white side up to keep them pristine. There were baskets for keeping sea bass, conch and scup. There is no limit on scup but if Angenette lands 500 pounds the price is 65 cents per pound and if they bring in 1400 pounds it drops to 50 cents so there you go.
Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford Standard-Times
July 18, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:
The voluntary vessel speed restriction zone south of Nantucket, MA has been extended to protected an aggregation of three right whales sighted in this area on July 16, 2017.
Mariners, please avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside the area (map below).
Nantucket, MA zone coordinates:
41 32 N
40 53 N
070 29 W
069 36 W
This voluntary speed restriction zone is in effect through July 30.
Find out more about all the dynamic and seasonal management areas where speed is restricted.
Learn more about how to reduce vessels strikes of whales.
You can also get recent right whale sightings and the latest acoustic detections of right whales in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston shipping lanes. Or, download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone.
Remember that approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law. Please report all right whale sightings to 866-755-NOAA (6622)
Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov
July 6, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:
NOAA Fisheries announces that a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) has been established south of Nantucket, MA to protect an aggregation of 3 right whales sighted in this area on July 3, 2017. This DMA is in effect immediately through July 18, 2017. Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.
VOLUNTARY DYNAMIC MANAGEMENT AREAS (DMAs)
Mariners are requested to avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside the following areas where persistent aggregations of right whales have been sighted. Please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike for more information.
South of Nantucket, MA DMA — in effect through July 18, 2017
41 32 N
40 53 N
070 29 W
069 36 W
ACTIVE SEASONAL MANAGEMENT AREAS (SMAs)
Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:
Great South Channel U.S. SMA — in effect through July 31, 2017
FOR RECENT RIGHT WHALE SIGHTINGS, VISIT:
www.nefsc.noaa.gov/psb/surveys/
DOWNLOAD THE WHALE ALERT APP FOR iPAD AND iPHONE:
stellwagen.noaa.gov/protect/whalealert.html
Questions? Contact Peter Kelliher at 978-282-8474 or peter.kelliher@noaa.gov.
June 28, 2017 — A voluntary speed restriction zone about 15 miles south of Nantucket has been established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division.
It comes after three right whales were spotted in the area recently.
According to researchers, there are only about 400 North Atlantic right whales still in existence.
Those who approach a right whale closer than 500 yards will be in violation of federal and state law and could lead to criminal charges.
June 20, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:
NOAA Fisheries has established a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone south of Nantucket, MA established to protect an aggregation of three right whales sighted in this area on June 15, 2017.
Mariners, please avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside the area (map below).
Nantucket, MA zone coordinates:
41 17 N
40 47 N
070 24 W
069 44 W
This voluntary speed restriction zone is in effect through June 30.
Find out more about all the dynamic and seasonal management areas where speed is restricted.
Learn more about how to reduce vessels strikes of whales.
You can also get recent right whale sightings and the latest acoustic detections of right whales in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston shipping lanes. Or, download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone.
Remember that approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law. Please report all right whale sightings to 866-755-NOAA (6622)
Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov
May 30, 2017 — A fisheries science center is funding research projects designed to learn more about a pair of valuable ocean clams.
The work will concern the ocean quahog and surf clam, which are clams of high economic value that are fished along the East Coast. They are popular in chowders and other seafood dishes.
The Science Center for Marine Fisheries is funding the research as part of $200,000 it is allocating for a host of fisheries research projects. The science center is a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.
The research will include a project to try to explain changes in the abundance of ocean quahogs. There will also be a survey of surf clams southeast of Nantucket that the science center says will be the first of its kind.