Saving Seafood

Haul of Atlantic cod, once abundant, reaches new low

May 10, 2022 — One of the oldest fishing industries in the U.S. sank to a new low in catch last year, signaling that efforts to rebuild the fishery still have a long way to go.

New England fishermen have caught Atlantic cod for centuries, but the catch has dwindled over the last decade due to overfishing, restrictive fishing quotas, and environmental changes. The vast majority of the fish come to the docks in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Maine fishermen brought fewer cod to the docks last year than any other in recorded history, state regulators said earlier this month. The state’s catch, which was more than 20 million pounds in the early 1990s, was less than 50,000 pounds last year, state records show.

Cod are the fish of choice for fish and chips in the U.S., but the industry’s collapse has left the country dependent on imports from countries such as Iceland. Russia is another major exporter, but the U.S. banned imports of Russian seafood due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at News Center Maine

 

Cultivating Tomorrow’s Fisherman Across New England

May 10, 2022 — The kids who hung around Perkins Cove, Maine, back in the 1960s wanted to be fishermen. By the time we were 10 or 12 years old, the ocean, boats, and fish had cast their spell on us. We knew who Mickey Mantle and Carl Yastrzemski were, but our heroes parked their pickups by the bait wharf and harpooned bluefin tuna from their boats.

We dreamed not so much of hitting home runs but of chugging into the harbor at night and unloading 600-pound giants in front of awestruck tourists peering down from the wharf.

Quite a few of us wound up fishing, at least for a while. And some of us still do.

But times have changed. And as fishing’s fortunes have declined, so, too has the number of aspiring fishermen.

“It has become painfully evident that our area is suffering from the ‘graying of the fleet,’” says Andrea Tomlinson, founder and executive director of the nascent, New Hampshire-based New England Young Fishermen’s Alliance. The Alliance’s mission is to provide aspiring fishermen with a pathway into the fleet. “This is a project I have been trying to develop for over four years.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Commercial fishermen in four northeastern states sharing $11M in federal assistance

May 10, 2022 — Commercial fishermen in four northeastern states will share $11million of federal government assistance.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced Thursday that the herring industry in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island will get financial assistance to recoup losses in the Atlantic herring industry which was declared a “fishery disaster” by the federal government last year.

Herring are a crucial part of the region’s commercial fishing industry because they are used for bait, which has been in short supply in recent years, according to federal regulators.

Maine will be getting the largest chunk of the funding, or nearly $7.2 million, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which says it will work with the Maine Department of Marine Resources to administer these funds.

“The drastic reduction in Atlantic herring quotas has caused significant losses in primary income and threatened job security for many in the herring industry,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who pushed for the federal relief funds. “This financial assistance provided through the designation is crucial to the survival of Maine’s Atlantic herring fishery.”

New Hampshire is getting $600,000 from the allocation, according to the federal agency, which was welcomed by members of the state’s congressional delegation.

Read the full story at The Center Square

New Hampshire to receive $600K in funding for Atlantic herring fishery disaster

May 9, 2022 — More than $600,000 will come to New Hampshire to help those impacted by the 2019 Atlantic herring fishery disaster.

A scientific assessment in 2020 found herring were overfished, leading to a disaster declaration by the federal government.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, said the funding will help combat economic issues caused by the disaster.

Read the full story and watch the video at WMUR 9

 

Gulf of Maine wind task force to meet May 19

April 13, 2022 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold a Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting on May 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.

The meeting will take place virtually via Zoom. To register for the meeting, please click here.

This task force is an intergovernmental group composed of federal officials and elected tribal, state and local officials from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The upcoming task force meeting will focus on the following topics:

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Area 1A Days Out Meeting Scheduled for April 26

April 6, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Atlantic Herring Management Board members from the states of Maine, New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet via webinar on April 26, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to discuss days out measures for the 2022 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishing season. Days out measures can include specification of the number of consecutive landings days, weekly landings limits, and restrictions on at-sea transfers. The webinar and call information is included below:

Atlantic Herring Days Out Meeting

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at the following link:https://meet.goto.com/763162445. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. For audio, the meeting will be using the computer voice over internet protocol (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (571) 317-3129 and enter access code 763-162-445 when prompted. The webinar will start at 9:45 a.m., 15 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.

Federally-permitted Herring Category A vessels must declare into the Area 1A fishery at least 45 days prior to the start of the fishing season. Small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a federal Herring Category C or D permit must declare into the Area 1A fishery by June 1, 2022. Vessels should check with each state of landing regarding their notification procedures.

The 2022 Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL) is 1,075 metric tons (mt). The initial specification for the 2022 Area 1A sub-ACL of 1,184 mt decreased by 109 mt due to the catch overage in Area 1A in 2020. After adjusting for the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL), the Area 1A sub-ACL is 961 mt. There is no research-set-aside for 2022.

In October 2021, the Board established the following seasonal allocations for the 2022 Area 1A sub-ACL: 72.8% available from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% available from October 1 – December 31. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per day harvested from Area 1A until June 1, 2022.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0716 orefranke@asmfc.org.

A copy of the meeting announcement can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerringDaysOutMeetingNotice_April2022.pdf.

 

Fishermen indicted in federal court for alleged fraud, violation of herring laws

February 3, 2022 — Five Maine fishermen  and one fisherman from New Hampshire, along with a corporation, were charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice in connection with a multi-year scheme to sell unreported Atlantic herring and falsify fishing records, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced in a news release. An indictment was filed January 27 in U.S. District Court.

Glenn Robbins, 75, of Eliot; Ethan Chase, 44, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Neil Herrick, 46, of Rockland; Andrew Banow, 35, of Rockport; Stephen Little, 56, of Warren; Jason Parent, 49, of Owls Head; and Western Sea, Inc., were named in a 35-count indictment returned Jan. 28.

Robbins is the owner and one of the captains of the Western Sea, a 99-foot purse seiner, and a federally permitted Atlantic fishing herring vessel moored in Rockland, according to the indictment.

Atlantic herring is defined as a small schooling fish that serves as a primary bait for Maine’s lobster industry.

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Pilot

Why does the NH Energy Department want more information on offshore wind’s impacts?

December 6, 2021 — Offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine could impact New Hampshire’s economy, environment and energy system, and the state’s new Department of Energy has released a request for proposals to find a consultant to help the state assess what those impacts could be.

Offshore wind development has produced controversy in other places. But the East Coast will likely see a major development of the renewable energy source in the coming years.

Though New Hampshire is likely years away from offshore wind deployment, Granite Staters have shown interest in its potential to create jobs and address the state’s impacts on climate change.

The Department of Energy, along with the state’s Department of Environmental Services, hosted an information session Dec. 2 on the RFP to select the consultant, drawing 25 attendees, according to NHDES. The chosen consultant will then produce an impact report. Funding for the report comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.

State Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, chair of the Commission to Study Offshore Wind and Port Development, said the report could provide information on how the development of offshore wind might impact New Hampshire’s economy, ports, fisheries and environment.

Read the full story at NH Business Review

Directed Atlantic Herring Fishery Closure for Management Area 1A

November 8, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please note there has been a slight change to the notice below:

In order to prevent the waste of Atlantic herring, the closure time has changed from 6 PM to 9 PM today. Several vessels sent messages they had fish on-board when the closure notification was released and they would not make it back to port by 6 PM, thus, requiring them to dump fish without an extension.

NOAA Fisheries and the states of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts project the Atlantic herring fishery will catch 92% of the Area 1A sub-ACL by November 8, 2021. The Area 1A directed fishery will close effective 6:00 p.m. on November 8, 2021 and remain closed until further notice. Vessels that have entered port before 6:00 p.m. on November 8, 2021 may land and sell, from that trip, greater than 2,000 pounds of herring from Area 1A.

During a closure, vessels participating in other fisheries may retain and land an incidental catch of herring that does not exceed 2,000 pounds per trip or calendar day. In addition, directed herring vessels traveling through Area 1A must have all fishing gear stowed.

In accordance with the Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring, the fixed gear set-aside of 30 metric tons will continue to be available to fixed gear fishermen operating in Area 1A west of Cutler, Maine through December 31, 2021. 

Please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0716 or efranke@asmfc.org for more information.

The closure announcement can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerring1A_Closure_Nov2021.pdf

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Fishery Moves to Four Landing Days Per Week Starting November 8

November 4, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts met November 4 via webinar to consider changes to days out measures for the 2021 Area 1A fishery for Season 2 (October through December) following the reallocation of 1,000 metric tons (mt) from the management uncertainty buffer to the Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL) based on catch information from the New Brunswick weir fishery.

The Area 1A fishery will move to four (4) consecutive landing days per week starting November 8 at 12:01 a.m. Fishing for and possessing herring onboard prior to November 8 is allowed in accordance with published state regulations.

Estimates indicate approximately 1,083 mt of the Area 1A sub-ACL remains available to harvest, which accounts for the increase of 1,000 mt based on catch information from the New Brunswick weir fishery, the overage from Season 1 (June through September), the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside, and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL).

Please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

The announcement can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/ChangestoAtlHerringDaysOutSeason2_11_4.pdf