Saving Seafood

At-sea monitoring fees are the latest threat to New Hampshire’s dwindling fishing industry

April 1, 2016 — Working as both a biologist and a fisherman, David Goethel brings a unique perspective to the state and federal fishery management boards he’s an adviser on. 

“I’ve spent all my life acting as a translator because they speak all different languages,” says Goethel, who worked as a research biologist at the New England Aquarium before he became the owner and operator of the Ellen Diane, a 44-foot fishing trawler based out of Hampton. 

But the most recent disconnect between the factions has resulted in Goethel and other groundfishermen filing a federal lawsuit. 

After delaying the regulation for years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is now requiring groundfishermen to pay for the at-sea monitoring program — at a cost of an average $710 per trip, conducted at random. The monitoring is done to ensure that the fishermen adhere to groundfish catch quotas set in May 2010 by the New England Fishery Management Council, under NOAA. (Groundfish include cod, haddock and other common bottom-dwelling species.) 

Read the full story at the New Hampshire Business Review

Marine monuments proposal near Cape Cod stirs debate

April 1, 2016 — In September of 2014, President Barack Obama expanded on a national marine monument created by President George Bush in 2006.

The protection of more than 490,000 square miles of ocean surrounding a group of remote Pacific islands from commercial fishing remains the largest marine reserve in the world.

This week, marine scientists and a battalion of environmental groups made their case for a similar presidential designation of two more national marine monuments, Cashes Ledge, to the north of Cape Cod, and the Coral Canyons and Seamounts Area, a collection of five deep-water canyons and four extinct volcanoes 150 miles southeast of the Cape.

Environmentalists gathered over 150,000 comments, as well as letters from hundreds of marine scientists and more than 50 state legislators from New England states in support of the designations. Proponents believe the change would be relatively painless for the fishing industry.

“When you look at a map of fishing effort, you couldn’t choose anyplace in New England that has less,” said Peter Baker, the Pew Charitable Trusts director for U.S. Oceans Northeast. “Cashes is the last best example of an intact ecosystem.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Northeast Seafood Coalition responds to erroneous statements on Cashes Ledge from Pew Charitable Trusts

The following was released by the Northeast Seafood Coalition:

March 29, 2016 – GLOUCESTER, Mass. – Earlier today, in a webinar releasing a new report regarding the environmental composition of Cashes Ledge, in response to Cape Cod Times reporter Doug Fraser’s question as to whether there is an imminent threat to Cashes Ledge, The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Director of US Oceans, Northeast, Peter Baker stated:

“..the different areas – Cashes Ledge, the coral canyons, and the sea mounts – have different pressures on them, and different levels of imminent pressures that might be put on them. For instance Cashes Ledge, some of the council members, led by Terry Alexander, who is the president of the Associated Fisheries of Maine and was quoted in a press release last week, put up a motion just last year at the NEFMC to open Cashes Ledge once again to bottom trawling. The other guy, Vito Giacalone, who was quoted in that press release, at a public forum in Gloucester just last month, said that the fishing industry is eager to get in and catch the cod that are in Cashes Ledge. So, certainly the leaders of the groundfish industry have made it clear, recently, that they’re eager and working to get back in there and that at every available opportunity they’re going to try and open up Cashes to bottom trawling again. So I’d say, yes, absolutely, there’s an imminent threat to Cashes Ledge.”

The statement attributed to Vito Giacalone of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, and the description of the motion made by Councilmember Terry Alexander are factually inaccurate. There was never a motion or statement made proposing access to Cashes Ledge.

The problem is the terminology used.  “Cashes Ledge” is often used as verbal shorthand to refer to the large, 1400 square kilometer ‘Mortality Closure’ that includes Cashes Ledge and the surrounding areas and is an artifact of the old effort control system created to protect cod.

What we did say, and will maintain, is that once the old effort control system was replaced with a quota system, we want to be able to access the old mortality closures, including the Cashes Ledge Mortality Closure when such access is appropriate and scientifically justified. These portions of the Cashes Ledge Mortality Closure, despite the name, are not located on Cashes Ledge.

The Northeast Seafood Coalition proposed and supports the habitat management areas developed with government science, included in Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 which was adopted by the New England Fisheries Management Council last June, and are pending approval by NOAA.

We collaborated with the Associated Fisheries of Maine, and with the Fisheries Survival Fund, representing the limited access scallop fleet.  We did not develop our own habitat closed area on Cashes Ledge, but rather embraced the habitat management area developed via the government science.

This habitat area is significantly larger than Cashes Ledge itself, in fact, it completely engulfs Cashes Ledge, all of the kelp forest, and all of the areas displayed in the video and photographs circulated in recent months by proponents of a marine national monument. The protected area includes a surrounding buffer of hundreds of square miles.

We never would propose re-entering an area which we agreed to protect, and especially this area that encompasses Cashes Ledge.  It is simply untrue to say that we stated that we are “eager” to fish within the habitat management area on Cashes Ledge.

Did we say we want to preserve the ability to access portions of the mortality closure such as Cashes Basin and other basins that were not identified as important habitat areas by the science? Yes, we did say that.

We have no way of knowing whether Mr. Baker’s statement was made to intentionally mislead, or simply out of a lack of clear understanding regarding the difference between Cashes Ledge, the habitat management area surrounding Cashes Ledge, and the remaining portions of the previous mortality areas that were artifacts of the old system, but we state unequivocally that it is not true to say we ever proposed accessing the Cashes Ledge habitat management area.

Working with Whiting Fishermen to Find Solutions

March 14, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Recently, commercial fishermen who fish for whiting as part of the small-mesh multispecies fishery asked us what it would take to make changes to this fishery. Specifically, whiting fishermen want to open some of the Gulf of Maine exemption areas earlier in the year.

In response, we convened a workshop on February 18 to clarify the reasons for the exemptions for the whiting fishery and the steps necessary for adjusting the regulations, including the data needed to evaluate any potential changes. This collaborative workshop included fishermen, researchers, New England Fishery Management Council staff, state marine fisheries agency personnel, and federal managers.

The whiting fishery is an “exempted fishery,” which means that fishermen are able to fish for specific species without being subject to certain Northeast multispecies regulations, such as mesh size requirements, provided the catch of other groundfish species is minimal. The Regional Administrator, in consultation with the New England Fisheries Management Council, authorizes exempted fisheries. There are currently several whiting exempted fishing areas within the Gulf of Maine (see map below). Vessels may fish for whiting with small-mesh trawls only within the designated exempted fishery areas and according to specific regulations. 

Read the rest of the story on our website.

For more information, contact Mike Ruccio, Sustainable Fisheries Division, at 978-281-9104 or email him at michael.ruccio@noaa.gov

New England Seafood Companies Highlight Traceability Practices in Saving Seafood Video

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – March 8, 2016 – Sustainability and traceability are key themes of this year’s Seafood Expo North America, being held this week in Boston. A new video released today from Saving Seafood highlights how the U.S. seafood industry is focused on sustainable, traceable, and high-quality local seafood.  

Taken from a series of interviews conducted by Saving Seafood at last year’s Seafood Expo, the video features representatives from some of New England’s most prominent seafood companies sharing how they ensure that domestic seafood is fresh, sustainably sourced, and reliably traced.

In recent years, as concerns about seafood fraud have increased, companies cited their ability to closely monitor supply chains, from the minute the fish leaves the water to the moment the final product exits the warehouse as the kind of control and assurance their buyers demand. 

“When you’re dealing with the customer base we have, they want a premium product, MSC certified, and domestic,” said George Kouri, COO of Northern Wind of New Bedford, Massachusetts. “Everything we pack is exactly to the customer’s specification and labeled in accordance.”

One of the largest seafood shows in the United States, Seafood Expo North America brings together leading members of the domestic seafood community, including harvesters, processors, wholesalers, and retailers. While over 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, Expo participants touted several major benefits of purchasing and consuming seafood caught in U.S. waters, chief among them the fact that U.S. law requires domestic fisheries be harvested at sustainable levels.

“For us, we’re able to trace those goods, in the case of scallops specifically, from the individual tow, all the way to the lotted box that ultimately ends up in the possession of our customers,” said John Furtado, the Executive Vice President of Eastern Fisheries, of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Domestically caught seafood, in addition to coming from sustainably managed stocks, also has a clear advantage over imported fish when it comes to being properly labeled and accurately traced, according to many of the interviewees. Another benefit of locally sourced seafood, they say: it’s easier to track.

“Every single species that we are pulling out of the ocean and serving up to our clients, to our chefs, and to our specialty retailers are sustainable,” said Laura Foley Ramsden, co-owner of M.F. Foley, Inc. of Boston, and a former councilmember on the New England Fishery Management Council. “We’re able to go to our customers and inform them about how fisheries in the U.S. are managed, that it’s illegal to be overfishing, and that they are coming from a sustainable resource.”

“We’ve always known where all the fish came from, and where it went,” said Charlie Nagle, President of Boston’s John Nagle Co. “Everything we do is traceable.”

Among the Expo attendees featured in the video are representatives from Northern Wind; M.F. Foley Inc.; John Nagle Co.; and Eastern Fisheries. They each expressed to Saving Seafood the importance of maintaining not only a sustainably sourced product, but also one that is fresh and of the highest quality.

“We have extremely disciplined buying, so that we put people in each of the New England ports every single day looking at the fish, buying fish that’s only 24 to 48 hours out of the water,” said Ramsden. “If you’re that disciplined in your buying standards, you’re going to produce a better tasting, fresher fish that then ends up in plates all across America.”

The video is just a small sample of the many U.S. seafood providers who adhere to some of the world’s highest standards to bring high quality seafood to the domestic market. Saving Seafood is proud to support sustainable seafood providers, and will continue to highlight the stories of successful, sustainable U.S. fisheries.

View the video here

RHODE ISLAND: Loberstermen Dispute Finding That New England Lobsters Are At Record Lows

March 4, 2016 — It’s been months since the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission released its latest report on how lobsters are faring in the Atlantic Coast. But it’s still a hot topic among fishermen in the Ocean State.

The latest lobster stock assessment found lobsters in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank are doing well; but lobsters in southern New England are not. Most southern New England fishermen disagree with that assessment, according to David Spencer, president of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and a lobster fisherman.

“I don’t think all the fishermen are saying that things are tremendous and rosy,” said Spencer, “but I think the biggest disagreement seems to be in the severity of the assessment and fishermen think that the resource is actually a little bit better than that.”

Spencer said most fishermen have seen an uptick in the lobster population in the last couple of years and the assessment doesn’t reflect that progress because it’s based on data through 2013.

The assessment doesn’t include more recent data because it takes time to collect, enter and analyze data, explains Toni Kerns, director of the Interstate Fisheries Management Program at the commission.

Read the full story from Rhode Island Public Radio

NYSDEC Jonah Crab Public Hearing Date Changed from March 23 to April 6

March 1, 2016 – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The states of Maine through Maryland have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The details of those hearings follow.

Maine Dept. of Marine Resources

March 17, 2016; 6-8 PM

Casco Bay Lines Conference Room

56 Commercial Street

Portland, Maine

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

 

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

March 14, 2016; 5:30 PM

New Bedford Fairfield Inn and Suites

185 McArthur Drive

New Bedford, Massachusetts

Contact: Dan McKiernan at 617.626.1536

 

March 15, 2016; 6:00 PM

MA DMF Annisquam River Field Station

30 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Contact: Dan McKiernan at 617.626.1536

 

Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management

March 16, 2016; 6-9 PM

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corliss Auditorium

South Ferry Road

Narragansett, Rhode Island

Contact: Scott Olszewski at 401.423.1934

 

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

April 6, 2016; 6:30 PM

205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1

East Setauket, New York

Contact: Rachel Sysak at 631.444.0469

 

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

April 4, 2016; 2-4 PM

Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce

12320 Ocean Gateway

Ocean City, Maryland

Contact: Craig Weedon at 410.643.4601 ext. 2113

 

The Draft Addendum proposes changes to the incidental bycatch limits for non-trap gear (e.g., otter trawls, gillnets) and non-lobster trap gear (e.g., fish, crab, and whelk pots). For non-trap gear, the Draft Addendum includes options to maintain, increase, or eliminate the bycatch limit, while options for non-lobster traps include establishing bycatch limits of varying size or maintaining no limit on these gears. The intent of the Draft Addendum is to cap incidental landings of Jonah crab while ensuring the inclusion of current participants in the Jonah crab fishery. The FMP currently prescribes a 200 crab per calendar day/500 crab per trip incidental bycatch limit for non-trap gear; however, concerns were expressed over the appropriateness of these limits. Data submitted by the New England Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries illustrate while 97-99% of trips from 2010 through 2014 were within the current limit, there were several trips above the limit. Furthermore, current bycatch landings were sufficiently low, accounting for approximately 0.1% of total landings.

Bycatch limits for non-lobster trap gear were added as a second issue for consideration in the Draft Addendum to address concerns regarding the lack of effort controls on non-lobster traps and the potential for trap proliferation. Data submitted by NOAA Fisheries show between May 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015, 194 trips landed Jonah crab with whelk pots, crab pots, and fish pots. Of these, 80 trips landed 100 crab or fewer and 115 trips landed 200 crab or fewer.  Approximately 45 trips landed between 200 and 500 crab and 40 trips landed more than 450 crab.  Landings from Maryland show between 2012 and 2015, 33 trips landed Jonah crab with fish pots. All of these trips were under 200 pounds. Reports also indicated from 2014-2015, 36 trips landed Jonah crab with whelk pots. Average landings per trip with whelk pots were under 500 pounds; however, there is concern that these whelk pot landings may in fact be rock crab, a closely related species which is often misreported as Jonah crab.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/JonahCrabDraftAddendumI_PublicComment_Feb2016.pdf or via the Commission’s website,www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on April 18, 2016 and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mware@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum I).

                                                               

Fishery council decision endangers scallop stock

February 20, 2016 — I received a letter from Jason Colby, who is a charter-boat captain and sits on the board of directors for non-commercial fishermen here in Massachusetts about the nasty — he calls it “corrupt” — goings-on in the scallop fishery.

He told me how Eddie Welch, a shellfish advisor, had written to him about the problem down on the Cape and wanted to share this with me and the readers. Here are excerpts from his letter:

“A recent controversial decision to open select scallop grounds off the coast of New England to certain select fishing groups undermines sustainable scallop management, and threatens the future health of one of the region’s most valuable resources.

“On Dec. 3, the New England Fishery Management Council allotted one component of the fishing fleet 300,000 pounds of scallops for harvest from an area of the Atlantic known as Nantucket Lightship. This allotment would open Nantucket Lightship too early, and goes against the principles that have made scallop management so successful.

“For the past two decades, the scallop fishery has been a resounding success thanks to a system known as rotational management. Under this system, scallopers are allowed into certain areas to harvest scallops, while other areas are left off-limits to allow the scallops in them to grow and re-populate. This has ensured that the region’s scallop population is healthy and stable, that no areas are fished prematurely, and that scallops are not over-fished.

Read the full opinion piece at Lowell Sun

 

EDDIE WELCH: Scallop regulators threaten fishery by opening Nantucket Lightship

February 18, 2016 — A recent controversial decision to open select scallop grounds off the coast of New England to certain select fishing groups undermines sustainable scallop management, and threatens the future health of one of the region’s most valuable resources. On Dec. 3, the New England Fishery Management Council allotted one component of the fishing fleet 300,000 pounds of scallops for harvest from an area of the Atlantic known as Nantucket Lightship. Proposed by council member and Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance CEO John Pappalardo, this allotment would open Nantucket Lightship too early, and goes against the principles that have made scallop management so successful.

For the past two decades, the scallop fishery has been a resounding success thanks to a system known as rotational management. Under this system, scallopers are allowed into certain areas to harvest scallops, while other areas are left off-limits to allow the scallops in them to grow and repopulate. This has ensured that the region’s scallop population is healthy and stable, that no areas are fished prematurely, and that scallops are not overfished. By creating an exception to this system that favors certain interests, the council is jeopardizing one of the greatest success stories in U.S. fisheries management.

Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford Standard-Times