Saving Seafood

Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission to debate 2017 shrimp moratorium

October 19, 2016 — The Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission will decide in November whether the Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery, which has been closed for the previous three seasons, will remain closed for the 2017 season.

The commission is scheduled to meet Nov. 10 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, first to review the most recent stock status report for northern shrimp and technical recommendations from the shrimp advisory panel. It will then set the specifications for the upcoming season.

Tina Berger, ASMFC spokeswoman, said the 2016 status report has not been finalized, but said she would be surprised if the stock status report revealed anything resembling an extraordinary comeback for the species.

“I haven’t seen the report, but I would be surprised if there was a season,” Berger said. “If there is one, it would probably be a very small one. But again, I haven’t seen the report.”

The stock status reports dating back to 2012 reveal a species in free fall, with record low levels of abundance and biomass and poor recruitment since 2012. Those assessments showed problems with overfishing, warming water temperatures and a dwindling number of spawning females.

The dire state of the fishery and the resulting closures also have given rise to a discussion among New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts about future fishery management options for the beleaguered fishery — including limiting access to what historically has been an open fishery.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel to Meet November 10th to Set 2017 Fishery Specifications

October 17th, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Comission:  

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) and Advisory Panel will meet on November 10, 2016 in Urban Forestry Center, 45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, New Hampshire; 603.431.6774. The Advisory Panel will meet in the morning (10-11:30 a.m.) to review the 2016 Stock Status Report and Technical Committee recommendations, and formulate recommendations to the Section for the 2017 fishing season. The Section will meet in the afternoon (1-3 p.m.) to set 2017 specifications after reviewing the 2016 Stock Status Report, as well as the recommendations from the Technical Committee and Advisory Panel.  

For the past three fishing seasons (2014-2016), based on the status of the resource, which is considered at record low levels and experiencing poor recruitment since 2012, a moratorium has been in place for the Gulf of Maine northern shrimp fishery. 

Both meetings are open to the public. The draft agendas for the meetings can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/NoShrimp_Section_AP_Nov2016.pdf. For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.    

Last of the fishermen: NH’s ground fishing captains fading away

October 11th, 2016 — Dozens of commercial fishing boats were once docked along the New Hampshire coastline and trawled through the Gulf of Maine to drag in thousands of pounds of cod.

Today, only about five commercial ground fishermen remain active in New Hampshire. And as they continue to struggle with strict regulations on cod and other species of groundfish, many question the future of groundfishing in the Granite State.

One active ground fisherman, Neil Pike, said “there ain’t one.” He lives in Seabrook and fishes out of Hampton Harbor where he said there used to be 13 other fishing vessels docked next to his. Now, he said there are three and he owns two of them.

“There is no future,” Pike added as he looked out the window of his harborside home where his boats are docked.

Jamie Hayward, 42, a gillnetter who fishes out of Portsmouth, said he once had six or seven crew members and brought in more than twice the amount of income he is making today. Strict cod catch limits and added costs from the federal government, he said, forced him to shrink his business and take up fishing for lobster part-time to keep his business alive.

“There’s a few of us that are surviving on a lot less than what we generated (before),” Hayward said. “There aren’t a lot of people that are catching fish and making money. It’s just not happening.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the nation’s fisheries, cut cod quotas for ground fishermen by approximately 95 percent in the Gulf of Maine over the course of a few years leading up to this fishing year. NOAA researchers say cod stocks are dangerously low and require the restrictions to help them bounce back.

NOAA increased Gulf of Maine cod allocations by 30 percent this year, but fishermen say it is not nearly enough. The number of ground fishermen dropped from nine last year. Dan Salerno, who manages the fishing sector that includes New Hampshire, said the exact number of ground fishermen today is hard to pin down as people change their status throughout the year. Some are waiting to fish their quota until the end of the year and are remaining inactive until then.

Read the full story at The Portsmouth Herald

Part of New England’s herring fishery to be closed

September 29th, 2016 — Herring fishing off part of the New England coast will be shut down for most of October.

The closure begins Sunday and lasts until Oct. 29. It is the product of a spawning forecasting method that interstate regulators approved earlier this year.

Regulators say an analysis of samples necessitates a closure of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area for most of October. The area stretches from the north side of Cape Cod to southern Maine.

Vessels will not be allowed to possess Atlantic herring caught in the area during the closure.

The herring fishery is a key source of bait fish as well as food. The New England fishery struggled with low supply this summer, which resulted in a shortage of bait for some lobster fishermen.

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

University of New Hampshire researcher trying to develop sustainable fish farm

September 27, 2016 — MADBURY, NH — A researcher at the University of New Hampshire hopes to increase local food production through an integrated land-based aquaculture and hydroponic plant production system.

Todd Guerdat, an assistant professor of agricultural engineering, is leading a series of studies at Kingman Research Farm in Madbury.

He and others are taking waste nutrients from fish and using them for plants.

In three greenhouses, they are trying to determine if higher protein diets are more beneficial for plant production.

“The goal is to use all the nutrients from the feed, without having to supplement anything,” Guerdat said.

Researchers are using tilapia because they are efficient, cheap and reliable, but researchers hope is to start using cold water fish such as striped bass.

Guerdat said that if they are successful, more seafood can be raised on the local level.

According to Guerdat, more than half of the world’s seafood is farmed and 90 percent of the seafood Americans eat is imported, resulting in an annual trade deficit of nearly $11 billion.

“We are food insecure when it comes to seafood,” Guerdat said. He said there are companies that are already implementing similar systems, including Victory Aquaponics in Londonderry.

Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader

Atlantic Herring Massachusetts/New Hampshire Spawning Closure in Effect Starting October 2, 2016 through October 29, 2016

September 27th, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Under Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring, Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. In 2016, the Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved a one-year pilot of a new forecasting method that relies upon at least three samples, each containing at least 25 female herring in gonadal stages III-V, to trigger a spawning closure.

Sampling in the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area (Figure 1) began on August 8, 2016; nine samples totaling 654 female herring were collected to evaluate spawning condition. Based on the analysis of the samples, theMassachusetts/New Hampshire (MA/NH) spawning area will be closed starting 12:01 a.m. on October 2, 2016 extending through 11:59 p.m. on October 29, 2016.

Vessels in the directed Atlantic herring fishery cannot take, land or possess Atlantic herring caught within the MA/NH spawning area during this time and must have all fishing gear stowed when transiting the area. Due to landing day restrictions in Trimester 3 (October 1-December 31) vessels will not be allowed to land prior to the onset of the MA/NH spawning closure. Therefore, if a vessel harvests herring from the MA/NH spawning area on October 1, it will be in violation of the Atlantic Herring FMP starting on October 2 at 12:01 a.m. (when the MA/NH spawning closure takes effect).  The Eastern Maine spawning area will be open to the directed Atlantic herring fishery at the start of Trimester 3.  For more information on landing day restrictions in Trimester 3, see the ASFMC memo released on September 21, 2016.

An incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip per calendar day applies to vessels in non-directed fisheries that are fishing within the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area.

For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or aharp@asmfc.org.

Fisherman appeals case over monitoring costs

September 23, 2016 — New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel is looking to the federal appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s ruling that allows NOAA Fisheries to impose the cost of at-sea monitoring on Northeast groundfish permit holders.

Goethel, represented by lawyers from the Cause of Action watchdog group, has filed an appeal with the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, hoping to reverse U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante’s July 29 ruling in Goethel’s lawsuit that granted summary judgment to the federal government.

“NOAA lacks the authority to require industry funding for at-sea monitors. Its decision to do so violates federal statutes and the Constitution,” said Alfred Lechner Jr., president and chief executive officer of Cause of Action as well as a former federal judge. “Our clients had a legal right to their day in court at the time they filed suit. The decision holding otherwise is an error. An appeal from the decision of the district court has been filed.”

The original lawsuit, filed by Goethel and the South Dartmouth-based Northeast Fishing Sector 13 last December in U.S. District Court in Concord, New Hampshire, claimed the federal government violated fishermen’s constitutional rights by mandating they pay for the at-sea monitoring coverage designed to make sure fishermen are adhering to the intricacies of the federal fishery management regulations.

Read the full story at the Newbury Port Daily News

Atlantic Herring Landing Days Set for Area 1A Trimester 3

September 21, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

This release revises the September 16th release by modifying the end time of Maine’s landing period and clarifying that vessels may only land once every 24-hour period.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section (Section) members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts met via conference call on Friday, September 16, 2016 to discuss Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) days out measures for Trimester 3 (October 1 – December 31). Section members, with input from industry, agreed to four consecutive landing days until 92% of the Area 1A sub-ACL is projected to be harvested or until further notice. Vessels may only land once every 24-hour period.

Beginning on October 2, 2016: Vessels in the State of Maine may land herring starting at 6:00 p.m. on Sundays up to 5:59 p.m. on Thursdays.

Beginning on October 3, 2016: Vessels in the State of New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may land herring starting at 12:00 a.m. on Mondays up to 11:59 p.m. on Thursdays.

Trimester 3 landings will be closely monitored and the directed fishery will close when 92% of the Area 1A sub-ACL is projected to be reached. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until the start of Trimester 3. For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or aharp@asmfc.org.

MAINE: DMR to set winter scallop season dates

September 8, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — Labor Day Weekend has just ended and the Blue Hill Fair just closed, but winter is almost here.

On Monday, Sept. 12, the Department of Marine Resources will hold the first of three public hearings on a proposed rule setting the dates for the 2016-2017 scallop season. The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Ellsworth City Hall.

In 2015, dealers reported scallop landings of 452,672 pounds to DMR, worth nearly $5.8 million. Those figures cover landings from Jan. 1 through April 11 — considered part of the 2014-2015 “season” — and December of last year. Landings from January through April of this year will be included in the 2016 statistics even though those scallops were harvested in the “last” season.

As there was last winter, the fishery will be subject to daily possession limits. In zones 1 and 2, from the New Hampshire border to Cobscook Bay, the limit is 15 gallons of scallop meats. In Zone 3 — Cobscook Bay — the possession limit is 10 gallons per day.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

September 16 Atlantic Herring Area 1A Trimester 3 Days Out Meeting Changed to a Conference Call

September 2, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section (Section) members from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts are meeting via conference call at 9 a.m. on September 16, 2016 to discuss days out measures for Trimester 3 (October 1 to December 31). The members have deferred discussion of alternative management approaches for Area 1A until the Section meets in October at the Commission’s Annual Meeting. This conference call replaces the previously scheduled in-person meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The 2016 Area 1A sub-annual catch limit is 30,102 metric tons (mt) including carryover of unharvested catch in 2014 and deductions for the research and fixed gear set-aside in 2016. The Section set the seasonal split as 72.8% allocated from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% allocated from October 1 – December 31. The seasonal quota for Trimester 3 amounts to 7,533 mt.

Fishermen and other interested parties are welcome to listen in and participate at the Chair’s discretion. Join via telephone by dialing 1-888-394-8197 and entering the passcode 499811. For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or aharp@asmfc.org.