Saving Seafood

Massachusetts: DMF Expands Shellfish Harvest Closures to All Waters South of Cape Cod

October 12th, 2016 — Effective immediately, the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has expanded its recently announced shellfish harvest closures to include all waters south of Cape Cod due to a substantial bloom of a potentially toxic kind of phytoplankton termed Pseudo-Nitzschia.

As a result of the expanded closure, digging, harvesting, collecting and/or attempting to dig, harvest or collect shellfish, and the possession of shellfish, is prohibited in all waters from the Rhode Island border east to Nantucket Sound, including all of Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds and waters surrounding the islands.

This closure complements the state of Rhode Island’s shellfish harvest closures.

Pseudo-Nitzschia can produce domoic acid, a biotoxin that concentrates in filter feeding shellfish. Shellfish containing high concentrations of domoic acid can cause Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) with symptoms that include vomiting, cramps, diarrhea and incapacitating headaches followed by confusion, disorientation, permanent loss of short-term memory, and in severe cases, seizures and coma.

Read the full story at Capecod.com 

Researchers feud over shark studies off Cape Cod

October 5th, 2016 — A battle is brewing on the high seas off Cape Cod between two groups of researchers trying to tag and track the growing population of great white sharks.

In September, OCEARCH, a non-profit that travels the globe studying marine animals, launched a short-term project called Expedition Nantucket in federal waters, between Cape Cod and the island of Nantucket.

But biologists from the state Division of Marine Fisheries, who are in the third year of a five-year study of the oceangoing predators, say OCEARCH’s vessel has come close to state waters, where they are conducting their own research. The state experts fear that OCEARCH’s methods of attracting and capturing sharks could alter the animals’ natural behavior, jeopardizing their work.

“We’re scared to death of introducing any bias into [our own research], so we are being very cautious,” said state biologist Greg Skomal, lead researcher of the shark population study, which is being funded by the non-profit Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Lobster fishermen face a monumental problem

October 3, 2016 — NEWPORT, R.I. — The Newport-based fishing vessel Freedom has been Marc Ducharme’s home away from home since it was built in 1984.

And for the better part of those 32 years, Ducharme, the boat’s captain, and his crews of four to five men have spent their time pulling lobster traps from the waters around three underwater canyons near the edge of the continental shelf, about 125 miles southeast of Nantucket. The crew makes 25-30 runs a year — each lasting about a week — to the lucrative lobster grounds formally referred to as the Northeast Canyons on George’s Bank.

Each trip nets them about 6,000 pounds of lobster, Ducharme said Wednesday, standing in the cockpit of the 72-foot-long vessel docked at the Newport state fishing pier.

“I’ve probably spent more time out there in those canyons than I have on land,” Ducharme said, pointing to the fishing area on a nautical chart.

The time he spends in the 25-mile area where his 1,800 lobster pots are located is growing short, and not just because, at 58 years old, Ducharme is nearing retirement from his sea-faring livelihood.

Using executive authority established by the Antiquities Act of 1906, President Barrack Obama on Sept. 15 designated a 4,900-square- mile area the Northeast Canyons and Seamount Marine National Monument. That area includes the sea canyons, where Ducharme plies his trade. The designation will eventually prohibit all commercial fishing there.

In a last-minute compromise, the Obama administration reduced the proposed size of the monument site and granted a seven-year exemption for lobster and red crab fishermen in the monument area.

Even though he is likely to retire before then, Ducharme is not happy about the eventual ban.

“This is exclusively where I fish, because it’s good,” said Ducharme, who added he catches more than 150,000 lobsters a year. “This (area) has been my life. It’s how I earned my living, how I supported my family. I’m more against the way they went about this.”

Read the full story at the Newport Daily News

WHOI scientists tracking leatherbacks capitalize on moment

September 19th, 2016 — After a summer marked by boat repairs, a paucity of jellyfish and a presidential no-fly zone, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists finally got what they wanted Saturday — an “epic” day of picture-perfect weather and leatherback turtles swimming off the coast of Nantucket.

It was the best possible outcome for engineer Amy Kukulya and biologist Kara Dodge, the duo behind last year’s TurtleCam crowdfunding project. They were able to tag and track a leatherback turtle for four hours and capture huge amounts of data and video of the creature’s feeding habits and behavior. And best of all, the TurtleCam — a modified REMUS-100 autonomous underwater vehicle equipped with video cameras — was able to hone in on the acoustic tag and follow the turtle, just as designed.

“Everything was just exactly how we wanted it to go,” said Dodge.

The TurtleCam project raised nearly $11,000 last summer through Project WHOI, the institution’s crowdfunding site, and a private donor chipped in another $20,000, Dodge said. That helped the team get a turtle tagged in 2015, but more importantly it allowed them to land a $240,000 National Marine Fisheries Service grant to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, their partners on the TurtleCam project. In all, the project is now funded for seven full days at sea, Dodge said.

This year, the acoustic tag attached to the leatherbacks has been upgraded with two suction cups and a video camera to get some turtle-eye views of the sea, Kukulya said. She and Dodge won’t review the footage until today, but Kukulya said she couldn’t resist a quick peek Sunday morning.

Read full story The Cape Cod Times

UPDATE: Coast Guard Recovers Body of Missing Fisherman off Nantucket

June 20, 2016 — The following was released by the U.S. Coast Guard:

BOSTON — Coast Guard rescue crews located and recovered the body of a missing fisherman from the 42-foot boat No Regrets Monday at approximately 1 p.m. near Nantucket.

The search lasted nearly 4 hours and included a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew and 29-foot rescue boat crew from Station Brant Point, a 42-foot rescue boat crew from Station Chatham, an Air Station Cape Cod HC-144 Ocean Sentry crew and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew. Other agencies involved in the search included the Massachusetts State Police, Harwich Regional Dive Team, Nantucket Harbormaster, Chatham Harbormaster, Chatham Fire Department Dive Team, and three good Samaritans.

“Our thoughts go out to the family of the victim and the entire fishing community who is affected by this tragedy,” said Cmdr. Marcus Gherardi, Chief of Response for Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England. “Anytime we are not able to accomplish our goal of saving lives, we are deeply saddened as we also take it to heart.”

Read the release at the U.S. Coast Guard Newsroom

Regulators close scallop fishery southeast of Cape Cod

June 16, 2016 — NANTUCKET, Mass. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is closing one of the key fishing areas off of New England where fishermen seek scallops.

The administration is closing the Nantucket Lightship North Scallop Access Area to scallop vessels that fish under “limited access general category” rules. The closure goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald

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

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

Scientists turn to drones to count growing seal colonies

March 7, 2016 — On a remote island off of Nantucket, scientists are using a tool most commonly associated with war and surveillance to get a look at fuzzy baby seals.

Researchers who want to get a handle on the growth of New England’s gray seal population have been using drones as part of an effort to photograph the animals, which gather in huge numbers on remote islands.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used a pair of unmanned aircraft on Muskeget Island off of Massachusetts to take pictures of seal pups in January. The island is the biggest gray seal breeding colony in the country.

The pictures will help scientists find how many gray seals there are in Northeastern waters, said Kimberly Murray, the coordinator of the seal research program at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

“We need to know how many seals there are before we can know what’s going on, and how to manage them. Or, I should say, manage us,” Murray said.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Coast Guard tows fishing boat over violations

January 8, 2016 — A New Bedford fishing vessel’s voyage was cut short Thursday after the Coast Guard found multiple safety violations, according to a statement from the Coast Guard.

The 83-foot Amber Nicole did not have a life raft, had improperly marked survival suits, and no record of performing mandatory monthly drills, all serious safety deficiencies, according to the Coast Guard statement. The boat was operating about 44 nautical miles off Nantucket with a crew of seven.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times