Saving Seafood

US Commerce Department appoints Regional Fishery Management Council members

June 29, 2018 — The U.S. Commerce Department announced on 27 June that is has made 30 appointments to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration to manage fish stocks.

The councils, established by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, help prepare fishery management plans for each of the eight regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Western Pacific, Pacific, and North Pacific.

Of the councilors appointed, 29 are receiving three-year terms, starting on 11 August, that will run through to 10 August, 2021. One member, Michael K. Goto of Hawaii, is  filling a recently vacated at-large seat in the Western Pacific council and will serve out the remainder of that term through 10 August, 2020.

The council members come from diverse backgrounds, including commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries, environmental organizations, and academic institutions. Appointments take place each year, when the U.S. Secretary of Commerce appoints roughly one-third of the 72 total council members from the eight councils. Appointments are made based on nominations from the governors of the fishing states, territories, and tribal governments.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Fishermen feeling bait price squeeze

June 28, 2018 — “We made no money this spring,” said Bass Harbor fisherman Justin Sprague.

The cost of operations for lobstering continues to increase while the boat price of lobster has hardly budged. The cost of herring, the preferred bait for most Maine lobsterman, has gone up especially sharply.

“We don’t have any margin at this point,” Sprague said. “It’s frustrating, to say the least.”

Bruce Colbeth manages the C.H. Rich lobster wharf in Bass Harbor.

“By the time these guys pay for fuel, bait and stern men, there ain’t too much left for them,” he said. “I remember six years ago you could sell (herring) bait for $26 a bushel. Now it’s doubled.”

Herring bait is sold in trays. Fisherman Chris Goodwin said he paid almost $80 per tray for herring bait the last time he stocked up.

A ton of bait can be divided into about 13 trays, Cody Gatcomb of C.H. Rich explained. A tray of fish bait is equivalent to 1.5 bushels, Colbeth said. He saw a recent 3-cent per pound increase at his operation.

That adds up fast.

At the moment, not considered prime season, C.H. Rich Co. is selling between 350 and 400 trays of herring bait a week, Colbeth said. Once the season begins in July, they can expect to sell up to 800 trays of bait each week.

Some fishermen have reserved barrels of herring bait for the upcoming season in preparation for a possible shortage, Gatcomb said.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

Hearing on Cape Cod for rules to limit herring trawlers

June 19, 2018 — For over 15 years, Cape and other small-boat fishermen in the Northeast have lobbied against the large vessels of the herring fleet, saying they are too efficient at catching fish. They claim these vessels remove such large amounts of herring from an area that there is nothing left to attract cod, striped bass, bluefish, tuna and other species that eat herring close enough to shore for local fishermen to catch them.

These concerns resulted in a proposed regulation from the New England Fishery Management Council, known as Amendment 8 to the herring fishery management plan, which bans these vessels from inshore waters. A public hearing on the amendment is scheduled Tuesday in Chatham.

Right now, these vessels of around 120-150 feet in length, frequently towing huge nets between two ships, can come within 3 miles of the Cape coastline. Fishermen and the public will have a number of options to comment on, including herring trawler bans that extend from 6 to 50 miles from shore. A few months ago, local fishermen and environmental groups were unsure how far offshore they wanted to push large herring trawlers, but recent preliminary reports indicating the herring stock may be in trouble have united many in the fishing and environmental community to press for the maximum: a 50-mile buffer zone. They say this measure not only helps them catch fish in their traditional fishing grounds, but also helps the herring stock recover.

“If you had a bigger zone of 50 miles, you would encompass spawning sites that herring use,” said Peter Baker, director of U.S. Oceans, Northeast, for The Pew Charitable Trusts. “The benefit to the herring fishery is a place, a pretty huge one, where they could live without being chased down by industrial fishing trawlers, the most efficient fishing vessel around.”

A second component of the hearing, hosted by the New England Fishery Management Council, would allow for changes in the annual allowed catch dependent on how the stocks are doing.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New England Fishery Management Council to Host Herring Trawler Forum

June 18, 2018 — Members of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance will meet with federal fisheries managers Tuesday to discuss the impact of big mid-water trawls working of the Cape’s coast.

After decades of lamenting the trawlers’ effect on local fishing, the fishermen will be able to testify in front of managers about how the local ecosystem has suffered from the prolonged presence of the industrial-scaled boats.

They will be advocating for a buffer zone off the coast that not only protects ocean herring, but also river herring and other forage fish that are caught and discarded as bycatch.

Public officials from every Cape town, Barnstable County, and the region’s State House delegation all support a year-round buffer, as do many environmental, scientific and civic organizations.

“Of all the issues facing us as a fishing community, protecting herring and forage fish might be the most important step we could take to rebuild our fishery and revitalize our waters,” said John Pappalardo, CEO of the Fishermen’s Alliance.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Halibut landings up, so Maine halibut landings to go down

June 15, 2018 — Just as in the physical world, it’s a quirk of the regulatory world of fisheries management that when something goes up, something must go down, and it isn’t always the same thing.

Last week, the Department of Marine Resources held a series of public hearings in Ellsworth, Machias and Augusta on a proposed regulation that would shorten the Maine halibut fishing season by 20 days, cut the number of allowable hooks for halibut fishing on each boat and ban possession of halibut by fishermen who have state-issued halibut tags who have been fishing outside the three-mile state waters limit.

DMR imposed those regulations on an emergency basis before the scheduled May 1 start of the 2018 season. Valid for 90 days, the emergency rule pushed the start of the season back 10 days, from May 1 to May 11, and ended the season on June 20 instead of June 30. The proposal under consideration last week would make those changes permanent.

Halibut are one of several groundfish species such as cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder that are subject to annual catch limitations established by the New England Fishery Management Council. For halibut, the council sets an overall landings quota and allocates a portion of that to fisheries in state waters — inside the three-mile limit.

The aggregate total annual allowable catch of halibut for state- and federally-permitted harvesters is currently 104 metric tons (229,281 pounds). Of that, the annual catch limit for harvesters fishing in state waters during the 2018 fishing season is 21.8 metric tons (just under 48,061 pounds).

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

NEFMC Approves 2019-2020 Scallop RSA Priorities; Initiates Framework 30

June 13, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council: 

The New England Fishery Management Council today approved research priorities for the 2019-2020 Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. Once again, the Council ranked resource surveys as “high” on the list of preferred projects.

The Council also initiated Framework Adjustment 30 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The framework will include specifications for fishing year 2019 and default measures for 2020, as well as the addition of “standard default measures” – actions that have become a routine part of each year’s fishery and can be included automatically in each specifications package, barring Council objection.

RSA PRIORITIES – TWO CATEGORIES

More specifically, the Council approved two categories of priorities for the next RSA cycle. These include: (1) “high” priorities; and (2) “general research areas” with no preference in ranking. Survey-related research is at the top of the list with three subcomponents, all of which carry equal weight:

  • 1a: An intensive industry-based survey of each relevant scallop rotational area – Closed Area I, Closed Area II, Nantucket Lightship, Elephant Trunk, and Hudson Canyon – that will provide estimates of total and exploitable biomass to be used for setting catch limits under the fishery’s rotational area management program;
  • 1b: An intensive industry-based survey of areas of importance, such as open areas with high scallop recruitment or areas of overall importance to the fishery, which possibly could cover:
    • The Habitat Area of Particular Concern in Closed Area II and surrounding bottom,
    • The area south of Closed Area II that formerly was part of the Closed Area II extension,
    • Delmarva,
    • Areas off Long Island, and
    • Areas in the Gulf of Maine that recently have been or are likely to be fished;
  • 1c: A broadscale industry-based survey of Georges Bank and/or Mid-Atlantic scallop resource areas, which does not need to be carried out by a single grant recipient.

The other “high” 2019-2020 Scallop RSA priority involves dredge efficiency. The Council is looking for proposals that investigate variability in dredge efficiency across habitats, times, areas, scallop densities, and gear designs to improve dredge survey estimates either through new research or analyses of existing data sets.

Read the full release here

NEFMC Approves Skate Framework 6 to Prolong Wing Fishery

June 13, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Aiming to keep the skate wing fishery open as long as possible within annual catch and landing limits, the New England Fishery Management Council today approved Framework Adjustment 6 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan. The framework reduces – from 25% to 10% – the “uncertainty buffer” that’s used in the specification-setting process. If implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries), the action will result in a 2,631 metric ton (mt) increase in total allowable landings (TAL) over what the Council adopted in Framework Adjustment 5 for the 2018 and 2019 skate fishing years (see flowcharts below).

The Council voted on the 10% uncertainty buffer back at its April meeting in Mystic, CT. Today at its June meeting in Portland, ME, the Council considered other options to prolong the length of the wing fishery, including adjustments to possession limits. However, based on advice from its Skate Committee and Skate Advisory Panel, the Council ultimately determined that modifying the uncertainty buffer by itself was: (1) warranted; (2) the quickest way to ensure that revised specifications are implemented sometime this fall; and (3) the most expedient way to allow the Skate Committee to resume work on Draft Amendment 5, which is being developed to consider limited access in the fishery – deemed to be a high priority by many fishermen.

The Council uses an uncertainty buffer to reduce the likelihood of the fishery exceeding its annual catch limit (ACL). For skates, management uncertainty and scientific uncertainty are included in a single buffer.

The Council initially had selected a 25% buffer because the fishery is subject to complicating factors. For one, the skate complex is made up of seven species – barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, smooth, thorny, and winter skates – and identification between species has been challenging. However, fishermen over time have greatly improved their skills in recognizing and recording skates on a species-by-species basis. Estimates of discards and discard mortality also have improved. These and other noteworthy advancements enabled the Council to support reducing the uncertainty buffer to 10%. The reduction is applied between the ACL and annual catch target (ACT). Following further deductions to account for projected dead discards and state landings, the resulting level of total allowable landings is appreciably higher under the 10% buffer.

Although the Council initiated this action to consider alternatives for prolonging the length of the skate wing fishery, Framework Adjustment 6 also will benefit the skate bait fishery. Both segments of the skate fishery recently have been subject to late-season possession limit reductions that have made it uneconomical to conduct directed fisheries, thereby disrupting markets and business plans.

Many skate fishermen expressed support for simplifying Framework 6 in order to not divert additional time from work on Amendment 5, which went out to scoping in early 2017 and is considering alternatives to convert the skate fishery from open access to limited access.

Read the full release here

MASSACHUSETTS: Herring Hearing Happening June 19

June 7, 2018 — The New England Fishery Management Council is holding a rare public hearing in Chatham next week to consider rules designed to protect one of the most important fish species in our waters: Atlantic herring.

The council is mulling a host of options designed to protect sea herring from overfishing by mid-water trawlers, which can scoop up entire schools in a single haul. While local boats do not take part in large-scale herring fisheries, the species is a critical food source for groundfish like cod, haddock and flounder and other species like bluefin tuna.

The hearing is set for Tuesday, June 19 at 6 p.m. at the community center, one of seven sessions being held between Maine and Pennsylvania to consider the proposed rules. Known as Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan, the proposals cover two major components: a control rule to govern catch limits and proposed area closures to address localized stock depletion and user conflicts.

The control rule would guide regulators in setting long-term catch limits. Locally, the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance has argued in favor of a control rule that focuses not on the commercial value of the sea herring fishery but on the role of the species in the larger ecosystem. Advocates for this approach say it will put a new emphasis on conservation while allowing regulators to consider the biological and ecological requirements of Atlantic herring stocks.

Ten alternatives are being considered for the control rule, encompassing 15 different ways that regulators could evaluate how catch levels affect the ecosystem. Regulators will also need to decide whether the control rule is implemented on a one-year variable basis or every three years with a fixed catch limit.

Read the full story at The Cape Cod Chronicle

NEFMC June 12-14, 2018, Portland, ME, Listen Live, View Documents

June 5, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting from Tuesday, June 12 through Thursday, June 14, 2018. The public is invited to listen-in via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION:  Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring Street, Portland, ME 04101; Holiday Inn.

START TIME:  The webinar will be activated at 8:00 a.m. each day. However, please note that the meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The webinar will end at approximately 6:00 p.m. EST or shortly after the Council adjourns each day.

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

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422. The access code is 454-885-013. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The agenda and all meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at June 12-14, 2018 NEFMC Portland, ME.

COMMENT DEADLINE:  Written comments must be received no later than 8 a.m., Thursday, June 7 to be considered at this meeting.

ATLANTIC HERRING PUBLIC HEARING:  The Council will conduct a public hearing on Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan on Tuesday, June 12 at 5 p.m. or immediately following the close of Council business that day.  The hearing initially was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. but the start-time has been revised to 5 p.m.  The public hearing document and related materials can be found at Amendment 8 hearing. The webinar will remain activated in “listen-only” mode to cover the public hearing for those who wish to hear the presentation.

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.

New England Council Holds Hearings on Herring Rule Changes, Plenty of Input Offered

May 24, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The series of hearings started on Tuesday in Narragansett, RI and will continue in Rockport, ME tonight. If Tuesday’s meeting is any indication, the New England Fisheries Management Council can expect more industry opposition to changes in the Atlantic herring fishery management plan tonight in Rockport.

The issue is about using “acceptable biological catch” or ABC, for setting the sustainable catch limit for herring, a standard used in most other management plans around the country. But using ABC in the control rule, which is set every three years, would limit flexibility compared to how the fishery has been managed in the past, reported Rhode Island Public radio’s (RINPR) Avory Brookins.

“We are going to need the flexibility in setting the (acceptable biological catch) over the coming years as we are expecting a decrease in quota due to poor recruitment in the fishery (recruitment is how many young fish are entering the population each year),” Katie Almeida, fishery policy analyst for the Town Dock, wrote.

Almeida said flexibility is important because recruitment is environmentally driven, the report said.

Another council concern is local depletion of herring stocks with other proposed restrictions.

RINPR quotes the Sustainable Fisheries Coalition, a group made up of commercial fishing companies that participate in the Atlantic herring fishery, as pointing out that “there is currently no evidence that the existing rules are causing localized depletion, or are harming the herring population in any way.”

The changes are part of Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. The Council’s hearings are to solicit comments on two of the major components in the amendment. They include:

(Part 1) 10 alternatives to establish a long-term acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule that “may explicitly account for herring’s role in the ecosystem” plus “address the biological and ecological requirements of the stock;” and
(Part 2) nine primary alternatives to address potential localized depletion and user conflicts, with several spatial and seasonal sub-options designed to help minimizing biological and socioeconomic impacts.

After tonight’s hearing in Rockport, the Council will meet stakeholders in Gloucester on Wednesday, May 30, Philadelphia on Tuesday, June 5 (immediately following the close of business at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting), Portland, ME on June 12, (immediately following the close of business at the New England Fishery Management Council meeting), Chatham, MA on June 19, and a webinar on June 20.

For more information on Amendment 8 and the public hearings, see the NEFMC website here.

This story was originally published by Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.