Saving Seafood

America’s Scallop Harvest Projected to Decline Again in 2022

June 28, 2022 — America’s scallop fishing industry will continue to decline in catch into next year due to a decrease in the availability of the oft-pricy shellfish off the East Coast, federal regulators say.

The decline in scallops is happening as prices for the shellfish, one of the most lucrative seafoods in America, has increased amid inflation and fluctuations in catch. Seafood counters that sold scallops for $20 per pound to customers two years ago often sell them for $25 per pound or more now.

U.S. scallop fishers harvested more than 60 million pounds of scallops in 2019, but the catch has declined since, and fishers were projected to harvest about 40 million pounds of scallops in the 2021 fishing year. That number is projected to fall to 34 million pounds in the 2022 fishing year, which started this spring, according to the New England Fishery Management Council.

Read the full story at U.S. News & World Report

 

NEFMC June 28-30, 2022 Hybrid Meeting – Listen Live, View Documents

June 21, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day hybrid meeting from Tuesday, June 28 through Thursday, June 30, 2022.  This will be an in-person meeting in Portland, ME, coupled with a webinar option for individuals who cannot or prefer not to attend in person.

COVID PROTOCOLS:  The Council continues to follow all public safety measures related to COVID-19 and intends to do so for this meeting.  Please participate remotely if you are experiencing COVID symptoms or do not feel well.  Updates will be posted on the meeting webpage as needed.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m. each day.  The webinar will end shortly after the Council adjourns each day.

HUDSON CANYON:  Under Other Business on Thursday, June 30, 2022, the Council will receive a presentation from the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries on NOAA’s initiation of the scoping process to consider designating a national marine sanctuary in the Hudson Canyon area.  The Council will discuss and approve scoping comments, which are due August 8, 2022.

PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES:  The Council wants to hear from you.  Here’s how you can let the Council know what you think.

  • WRITE A LETTER:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 23, 2022.  Please note that written comments mustaddress items listed on the agenda for this meeting.
  • TALK TO THE COUNCIL:  You’ll be able to address the Council directly through two different avenues:
  1. By commenting on motions at the discretion of the Council chair (if commenting remotely, raise your hand on the webinar and unmute yourself when called upon); and
  2. By speaking during the open period for public comment.  Here are the Guidelines for Providing Public Comment.
  • OPEN PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT:  On Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 2:45 p.m., the Council will offer the public an opportunity to provide comments on issues relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda.  Given the Council’s busy meeting schedule, we ask that you limit remarks to 3-5 minutes.
    • SIGN UP:  Interested in speaking?  If attending in person, fill out the sign-up sheet on the table at the entrance to the Council meeting room.  To speak remotely, email Janice Plante at jplante@nefmc.org to get on the list.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

  • Here are instructions in the Remote Participation Guide for successfully joining and participating in the webinar.
  • THIS IS KEY!  If you want to speak during opportunities for public comment, you need to: (1) register for the webinar; and (2) actually “join” the webinar.  People who call in by telephone without joining the webinar will be in listen-only mode.  Those who take both steps – register and then join the webinar – will see the meeting screen and be able to click on a “raise hand” button, which will let the meeting organizer know you want to be unmuted to speak.
  • We have a Help Desk in case you get stuck joining the webinar or have trouble along the way.  Phone numbers are listed on the Help Desk Poster, or just email helpdesk@nefmc.org and we’ll get right back to you.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone without joining the webinar, dial +1 (562) 247-8422.  The access code is 308-632-643.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.  Remember, you will not be able to speak if you do not first join the webinar as described above.  This phone number provides a “listen-only” option without the webinar component.

AGENDA:  All meeting materials and the agenda are available on the Council’s website at NEFMC June 28-30, 2022 meeting.  Additional documents will be posted as they become available.

THREE MEETING OUTLOOK:  A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is available HERE.

COUNCIL MEETING QUESTIONS:  Anyone with questions prior to or during the Council meeting should contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Tuesday, June 7, 2022 – Research Priorities, Monkfish, Groundfish ABC Control Rules, Climate Plan

June 3, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee will meet by webinar to discuss the Council’s 2022-2026 Research Priorities and several other important issues.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

WHEN:  Tuesday, June 7, 2022

START TIME:  1:00 p.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.  The Remote Participation Guide is posted here.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (631) 992-3221.  The access code is 827-025-783.  Please be aware that if you dial in using this number without joining the webinar at the link above, you will be unable to speak during opportunities for public comment.  Your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review the draft list of 2022-2026 Council Research Priorities and Data Needs and provide feedback;
  • Review the draft 2022 Monkfish Fishery Performance Report and provide comments;
  • Receive an update on the development of acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule alternatives under consideration for the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan;
  • Receive a presentation and provide comments on the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Climate Regional Action Plan; and
  • Consider other business as necessary.

MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting are posted on the SSC June 7, 2022 meeting webpage.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492, ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

MASSACHUSETTS: Mayor Mitchell: Adopting scallop leasing proposal like opening Pandora’s Box. ‘Let’s not go there’

May 26, 2022 — A majority of scallopers, fishing industry stakeholders and elected officials again expressed vehement opposition to a leasing proposal on Wednesday, with New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell warning “don’t open Pandora’s box.”

More than 80 people attended the meeting before a regional fishery management council, about half the turnout of the first meeting. But more supporters provided public comment during the second meeting than did during the first, including Ronald Enoksen and Roy Enoksen of Eastern Fisheries, the world’s largest scallop company according to its website.

At certain points, the supporters’ comments drew booing or interjections from those against it, prompting a representative of the New England Fishery Management Council to remind them to remain respectful.

“I got nothing against anybody and apparently they have something against me. I’ve worked hard all my life. I’m not asking for handouts,” said Tony Alvernaz, who owns five vessels and supports leasing. As he started speaking, another vessel owner asked how much private equity is invested in his vessels.

Ronald Enoksen of Eastern Fisheries prefaced his comments by stating he is very much involved in the business and puts in 12- to 15-hour days, despite working for a corporation.

“We have problems right now. Things are going good, but we don’t know how much longer,” he said. “The water temperature, the pH is changing… the recruitment is not the same as historically it has been… we’re going to lose more bottom to the wind farms,” he said. “We need more, better operational flexibility.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Light

NEFMC June 2022 Webinar Meeting Lineup

May 26, 2022 — The New England Fishery Management Council will be holding a number of committee and advisory panel meetings in June – all by webinar.

While the Council initially intended to hold a few in-person committee meetings, a number of factors led to the decision to proceed in a virtual-only environment.  These included public safety concerns given the rise in COVID-19 transmission rates in certain areas and travel restrictions for some participants.

The Council still intends to hold its June 28-30, 2022 meeting as a hybrid with in-person participation in Portland, Maine and a webinar option.

Here is the meeting lineup.  Information will be posted on each respective webpage as it becomes available.

REMINDER:  Four More Limited Access Scallop Leasing Scoping Meetings Left to Go!

The Council conducted five in-person scallop leasing scoping meetings between April 27 and May 26, 2022.  Two more in-person scoping meetings and two webinar scoping meetings remain on the calendar:

Visit the scallop leasing webpage for more information.

 

America’s biggest scallopers want changes to regulations preventing consolidation

May 26, 2022 — Local scallopers have crowded a series of public meetings this spring to fight a regulatory change under consideration they say could fuel further corporate consolidation in their industry, hurting not only fishing crews and their captains, but the legions of shoreside businesses that service their boats.

The proposed change, in the earliest stages of consideration by the New England Fishery Management Council, would allow boat owners to lease their government-granted access to scallop grounds out to other vessels, potentially opening the door for large commercial fishing operations to circumvent existing ownership caps and increase their already substantial share of the scallop market.

“The bottom line is this proposal is about global control, from the switch to the fish to the dish,” said Alan Cass, a former New Bedford scalloper who began his career as a deckhand and retired as a boat owner. “The resource will be at the mercy of a consolidated effort by these corporations to control ocean-to-table and economically injure the small entities in this industry.”

For nearly 30 years, scallopers like Cass and his son, who followed him into the industry, have gone to sea under a set of regulations that limit both the amount of scallops that can be harvested each year and the share of that harvest that belongs to the industry’s biggest players.

The arrangement, though complex to navigate, has kept a large class of independent fishermen competitive in a global industry alongside corporations with larger fleets and in-house processing and distribution services.

Read the full story at The Public’s Radio

Mayor Mitchell warns of ‘potentially consequential’ impacts if leasing is approved

May 25, 2022 — Mayor Jon Mitchell is “deeply concerned” about the “potentially consequential” impacts leasing could have in the scallop fishery, according to a letter he submitted to a fishery council ahead of its second and final public meeting in New Bedford Wednesday.

“There is no denying that there will be costs and impacts associated with the leasing program,” Mitchell wrote. “The playing field will be tilted on day one, perhaps irrevocably so, and the transformation of the scallop fishery from a ‘community fishery’ to a ‘corporate fishery’ may become all but inevitable.”

He went on to write, “as the most valuable fishing port in the nation, New Bedford has, without a doubt, more at stake in this matter than any community in the nation.”

At the close of his nearly four-page letter, he echoed local state representatives in requesting the council decline to proceed with drafting an amendment for leasing.

“I am hopeful that the Council will decline to proceed with the proposal before it, based on the vigorous opposition presented by New Bedford stakeholders.”

Included in his letter is an 11-page review, commissioned by the New Bedford Port Authority, on the potential impacts leasing could have.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Light

Scallop fishermen debate leasing

May 19, 2022 — Scallop fishermen are sharply divided over a proposal to allow leasing of allocations in their fishery, as the New England Fishery Management Council conducts a series of East Coast scoping meetings to gauge sentiment on the idea.

Mid-Atlantic fishermen get their chance to sound off Thursday, May 19 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Route 72 in Manahawkin, N.J., close to scallop ports like Barnegat Light and Cape May. At a May 11 session in New Bedford, Mass., much of the audience spoke against leasing, warning of negative impacts if rules are changed to allow limited access permit holders to lease fishing allocations.

The Scallopers Campaign, a group representing about 50 permit holders from New England to North Carolina, asked the council in 2021 to consider rule changes that would allow limited leasing of allocation. Advocates for the change say it will allow flexibility in the fishery, and allow operators to adjust to circumstances, such as boat breakdowns, that would otherwise cost them fishing days.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NEFMC Seeks Contractor to Conduct Prototype MSE for Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management

May 18, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council seeks the services of an independent contractor to develop and conduct a prototype management strategy evaluation (MSE) for Georges Bank.  The protype MSE will be based on the ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) strategy in the Council’s example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP).

This is a short-term, temporary contractor role, commencing on or about August 1, 2022 and ending in January 2023.  The intended completion date will depend on the scope and complexity of the work and the MSE proposed by the applicant. The deadline for submitting letters of interest and supporting materials is Wednesday, June 30, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.

The purpose of the prototype MSE is to:

  • Showcase a simplified prototype MSE framework and demonstrate how MSE will be used to evaluate EBFM management strategies for a Georges Bank Ecosystem Production Unit, using what we learn to communicate with the public about MSE for EBFM;
  • Act as an educational dry run from both a development and an operational perspective;
  • Provide an opportunity for the Council and its EBFM Committee to gain experience with the MSE process;
  • Identify and work through the types of decisions to be made during an MSE; and
  • Identify data sources and develop the models and analyses that will support a full EBFM MSE with broader stakeholder participation in the next phase of the Council’s EBFM development strategy.

The prototype MSE results, while intended to be realistic, are not meant to be actionable in a fishery ecosystem plan. Rather, the results will be used as the basis for a full MSE, which is the next step.

Working with Council staff, the Council’s EBFM Plan Development Team, and a limited number of appointed stakeholders, the contractor will:

  • Develop new or expand existing operating models that represent the productivity of and trophic relationships among managed stocks on Georges Bank;
  • Identify and apply existing estimation (assessment) models;
  • Identify management objectives and candidate management procedures (e.g., harvest control rules) based on the Council’s ecosystem cap and ceilings and floors approach for stock complexes; and
  • Provide concise and approachable summaries that show the trade-offs between alternative management procedures to meet multiple objectives.

Complete details about the project background, prototype MSE objectives, statement of work, expected responsibilities and deliverables, desired experience and demonstrated skills, and application submission information can be found in the request for proposals.

‘I don’t want to be a Wal-Mart fisherman’: Scallopers sound off about permit leasing

May 13, 2022 — The New England Fishery Management Council held a scoping meeting Wednesday at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on its proposed Scallop Fishery Management Plan adjustment.

Should it go through, the plan would allow scallopers to lease out portions of their days at sea license to other boats, causing concern among small fisherfolk and portside business-owners alike.

“I was born a fisherman’s daughter and became a fisherman’s wife,” said Evelyn Sklar at the meeting. “And now I’m a fisherman’s mother and a fisherman’s grandmother.

“I hope I can die in peace, because this doesn’t belong in the fishing family industry.”

Permit licensing

The current permitting scheme came into force in 1994 as Amendment 4 to the Scallop Fishery Management Plan. It intended to control access to the fishery as well as equipment used to allow for an overfished population.

The regulations included restrictions on gear, fishing trip duration and catches. Most notably, they created limited-access zones where fishing would be monitored and restricted based on the scallop population.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times