Saving Seafood

Fishermen worry as black sea bass stake New England claim

September 25, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – As waters warm off the coast of New England, black sea bass are moving north and, fishermen say, threatening the region’s most valuable aquatic species: the lobster.

The influx of sea bass – among a number of species that are appearing in greater numbers off of Maine and New Hampshire as ocean temperatures climb – has some fishermen and lobstermen saying the best solution is to ease restrictions on catching the newcomers.

The sea bass prey on lobsters, a much more economically important commercial species and a key piece of New England’s culture, and quotas that have drifted downward in recent years should be increased, fishermen said.

“What we need is a major increase in the allowable catch, both commercially and recreationally, because black sea bass are wiping out your lobsters,” said Marc Hoffman, a Long Island, New York, recreational bass fisherman.

Hoffman, who sits on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission advisory panel for sea bass, said the time to raise the quota is overdue. He said it is particularly important in southern New England waters, where fishing managers say the population of lobsters has fallen to the lowest levels on record.

Black sea bass are a sought-after sport fish, but they are also popular as food and are growing in commercial value – federal statistics show black sea bass were worth a record of more than $8.5 million in 2013.

Scientists with the commission say more research is needed to determine just how abundant black sea bass are in New England waters. But about a quarter of the black sea bass caught in 2013 came ashore in New England; the fish is more often caught in the mid-Atlantic states, especially New Jersey and Virginia.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at New Jersey Herald

 

Senator Ayotte, fishermen meet with federal officials

September 18, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Fishermen aired grievances face to face with federal officials they say are ruining their industry, backed in person by U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who arranged the meeting at Pease Tradeport Friday.

Roughly 40 members of the fishing industry, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator John Bullard and a representative from U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s office joined Ayotte for the 2 p.m. roundtable.

Ayotte, seeking to be a voice for New Hampshire fishermen, called the meeting to address regulations NOAA has imposed on the Gulf of Maine fishery. The regulations are meant to help cod stocks rise from disastrously low numbers, but fishermen have said restrictions are strict enough to put them out of business.

Central to the discussion were at-sea monitors NOAA plans to force fishermen to pay for starting Nov. 1. The monitors would watch fishermen on 24 percent of each vessel’s fishing days to make sure they comply with the regulations. The cost is expected to be roughly $700 per day for each vessel, more than fishermen say they gross in a day.

Read the full story at Hampton Union

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Congressional delegation stands with fishermen

September 20, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Fishermen have said this month that the U.S. Congress is their last hope in preventing federal regulations from destroying their industry.

So it was a boost of confidence this week when three New Hampshire congressional legislators took a stand for the fishing industry. They filed legislation, sent letters requesting action and held a roundtable that placed themselves, fishermen and federal officials in the same room to discuss the fate of the fishing industry.

“I think they’re all believable,” said Peter Kendall, a former New Hampshire commercial fisherman. “I think they’re all behind us.”

On Friday, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., held the roundtable meeting at Pease International Tradeport that put fishermen across the table from officials from the federal agency imposing what fishermen say are back-breaking regulations and costs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At the meeting, Ayotte spoke in support of the fishermen, saying those fees and regulations fly in the face of federal law.

Ayotte and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., on Thursday wrote a letter asking the U.S. inspector general to investigate an at-sea monitoring program that fishermen are expected to pay for as soon as Nov. 1. The program will require observers go to sea with fishermen for 24 percent of their fishing days, monitoring their compliance with groundfishing regulations. Cost is expected to be roughly $700 a day, more than fishermen gross in a day’s work, they say.

Ayotte also filed legislation to terminate the observer program unless it was funded by NOAA, which currently covers the cost.

This past Monday, U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., met with commercial fishermen at Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative in Seabrook to promise them he’d file a bill to delay the Nov. 1 deadline, if not kill the program altogether.

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times

 

 

Fisheries Regulation and Catch Limits Round Table With US Senator Kelly Ayotte & NOAA Officials

September 17, 2015 — The following was released by the office of Sen. Kelly Ayotte:

 

United States Senator Kelly Ayotte will hold a round table discussion with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials, New Hampshire fishermen, and business leaders.

When:          Friday September 18, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Where:        1 New Hampshire Avenue – Suite 300 (New Hampshire Room – 3rd Floor)

Pease Trade Port, Portsmouth, NH

United States Senator Kelly Ayotte has asked NOAA officials to come to New Hampshire to hear directly from New Hampshire fishermen and business leaders whose businesses rely on commercial and recreational fishing off New Hampshire’s seacoast.  NOAA has been asked to discuss and answer questions regarding fishing regulations, including catch limits, NOAA’s process for assessing and determining fish stocks, the imposition of fees for monitors on commercial fishing vessels, and NOAA’s application of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.  Following introductory remarks from Senator Ayotte, attendees will have an opportunity present questions or comments to the NOAA officials.

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Commercial fishermen balk at new fees

September 13, 2015 — SEABROOK, N.H. — New Hampshire’s commercial fishing industry could vanish soon, industry members said, as the state’s last nine active boat operators face what they call new back-breaking costs imposed by the federal government.

Commercial fishermen will meet Monday at 4:30 p.m. with U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., at Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative in Seabrook to discuss the new costs, which pay for regulatory observers.

David Goethel, a Hampton-based fisherman, said New Hampshire’s congressional delegation is the industry’s last hope to get federal regulators off its back.

Guinta, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., each expressed concern for the New Hampshire fishing industry as a result of the regulations in the last year.

“The only leverage we have is Congress,” Goethel said.

Regulations have become more stringent in recent years to help Gulf of Maine cod stocks bounce back from what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association called dangerously low numbers. Goethel said the regulations reduced the amount of allowable catch for commercial fishermen by 95 percent over the last four years.

Half the New Hampshire fishermen became inactive this summer because of the regulations, said Dan Salerno, sector manager for fishermen on the New Hampshire coastline. Fishing vessels are divided into sectors by NOAA to keep track of regulations. New Hampshire fishermen fall into Sector 11.

But the new costs scheduled to begin Nov. 1, require fishermen to pay hundreds of dollars a day for 24 percent of fishermen’s days at sea for observers to monitor them while they work. Up until this point, NOAA covered the cost, paying an average of $710 a day for at-sea monitoring, but this year NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator John Bullard announced the cost would be picked up by the industry.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Seabrook honors fishermen lost at sea

August 7, 2015 — The first days of October had been warm in 1851, and seas were calm in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as much of the New England fishing fleet worked in the waters not far from Prince Edward Island.

That picturesque scene would change unexpectedly, when the ocean grew heavy with swells and the winds rose fiercely. What would be known as the “Yankee Gale” struck on the evening of Friday, Oct. 3.

Although vessels and fishing schooners in its path tried to run for safe harbor, most didn’t find it. The gale, accompanied by torrential rains, blew for the next two days, judging from written accounts.

By Monday morning, when the storm finally subsided, records show from 70 to 90 boats were sunk, capsized or wrecked ashore, and 160 men lost their lives, leaving families and friends at home in mourning.

Read the full story from the Newburyport Daily News

Fishing regulators hold hearing in NH on surging crab catch

July 6, 2015 — Interstate fishery regulators are holding a hearing in Portsmouth, N.H., about a plan to manage a species of crab that is becoming increasingly popular and valuable.

Jonah crab catch is growing in volume and value as a cheaper alternative to Dungeness and stone crabs. The Jonah crab catch increased six fold from 2000 to 2013. Massachusetts and Rhode Island fishermen catch the most Jonah crabs. Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut fishermen also catch significant amounts.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WCSH