Saving Seafood

Drop in Maine lobster catch might not be as bad as feared

January 10, 2020 — The state with the largest fishing industry for lobster likely experienced a drop in catch last year, but the dip in harvest was probably not as dramatic as initially feared.

Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, told Maine Public that initial reports show a harvest of about 100 million pounds of lobster. That would be a drop of nearly 20 million pounds from last year, but still a much higher number than the industry was used to in the 1990s and 2000.

The season initially looked like it could produce a substantial drop in catch, but Maine’s lobstermen finished strong, Keliher said. The price for Maine lobster was also strong, he said.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Maine lobster landings ‘are way off,’ down 40% from last year

October 28, 2019 — The state’s year-to-date lobster catch is “way off” this year, according to Maine’s top fishing regulator.

As of the end of September, Maine fishermen had landed less than 50 million pounds of lobster, according to Commissioner Pat Keliher of Maine Department of Marine Resources. That is 40 percent less than what had been landed by September 2018, and 38 percent off from the five-year average.

Keliher told the American Lobster Management Board on Monday that some of the year-to-date decline could be because lobsters molted late this year. The bulk of Maine’s lobster fleet catches new shell lobster, or lobsters whose new shells are just starting to firm up after shedding their old ones.

“Maine lobster landings are down significantly, below 50 million pounds to date,” Keliher told the board. “Our landings are way off. Now that doesn’t mean the sky is falling. That means we certainly had a very big delay in the shed.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Finding consensus on whale protections a tough call in Maine

May 13, 2019 — Federal regulators have given Maine’s lobster industry its marching orders: Find a way to cut the number of surface-to-seabed fishing lines by 50 percent to help prevent the injury or death of even one of the endangered right whales that pass through the Gulf of Maine.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is allowing each lobstering state to develop its own plan to protect the whale, whose numbers have fallen to a little more than 400 in recent years. But it will be hard to find one way to make it work in Maine, where the $485 million-a-year fishery is known for its diversity.

“The devil will be in the details,” said state Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Pat Keliher.

Of the 4,500 people who lobster for a living along Maine’s coast, some fish with single traps at the end of each buoy line while others place multiple traps, from two or three to as many as 30, on a single weighted ground line, with both ends linked to the surface by a single buoy line.

Deciding how many traps to put on a trawl – the gear that connects a line of lobster traps – varies throughout each of the state’s seven lobster zones, depending on traditional fishing practices, shipping traffic, the geography of the ocean floor and the size of the lobster operation.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

ME, NH & MA Schedule Hearings on Atlantic Herring Draft Addendum II

February 20, 2019 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The States of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring. An additional hearing will also be conducted via webinar. The details of the hearings follow.

Maine Department of Marine Resources
March 6, 2019 at 5 PM
ME DMR Augusta Office
Room 118
32 Blossom Lane
Augusta, Maine
Contact: Pat Keliher at 207.624.6553
 
New Hampshire Fish and Game
April 2, 2019 at 7 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095
 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
April 1, 2019 at 6 PM
MA DMF Gloucester Office
Annisquam River Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Contact: Cate O’Keefe at 617.626.1512
 
Webinar Hearing
March 26, 2019 at 6 PM

Webinar link – https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/121211557

For Audio, dial 1.888.585.9008 and 
enter the passcode: 853-657-937

Contact: Kirby Rootes-Murdy at 703.842.0740 

 

The Draft Addendum proposes options to strengthen spawning protections in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine). The Draft Addendum responds to the results of the 2018 benchmark stock assessment, which show reduced levels of recruitment and spawning stock biomass over the past five years, with 2016 recruitment levels the lowest on record.

 Currently, the Board uses a series of closures to protect spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Maine. These closures, which were implemented through Amendment 3, use biological samples to annually project the start of spawning. The closures are initially implemented for four weeks but can be extended by two additional weeks if samples indicate the continued presence of spawning herring. Recent analysis by the Atlantic Herring Technical Committee found that while the current spawning closure system was significantly improved under Amendment 3, the protocol could continue to be strengthened by considering when, and for how long, a closure is initiated. Specifically, the analysis showed, under the current protocol, spawning closures are initiated when there are approximately 25% spawners in the fishery; greater protection could be provided by initiating a closure when a lower percentage of the population is spawning and extending the closure for a longer time. As a result, Draft Addendum II considers extending the length of the spawning closures as well as altering the point at which closures are triggered in order to provide greater protection to the stock.
 
Fishermen and others interested in Atlantic herring management are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum by attending state public hearings, participating in the webinar hearing, or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum is available here. It can also be obtained via the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on April 4, 2019 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Herring Draft Addendum II). For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.                             
PR19-08
A PDF of the press release can be found here
The Draft Addendum can be found here 

ASMFC American Lobster Board Initiates Draft Addendum XXVIII

February 7, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board initiated Draft Addendum XXVIII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Draft Addendum considers reducing the number of vertical lines in the water in response to concerns about the North Atlantic right whale population and the potential impacts of whale conservation measures on the conduct of the lobster fishery.

“With this proposed action, the Board is entering uncertain waters,” stated Maine Commissioner Pat Keliher. “However, as the lead management authority for American lobster, we have a responsibility to ensure the viability of the lobster fishery. Through the active engagement of the states and the lobster industry in our management process, we believe the Board is best suited to navigate the growing challenges facing the lobster fishery.”

A key focus of the Board meeting was the intersection of lobster management and the conservation of protected resources. While the Commission is primarily a forum for the Atlantic coast states to cooperatively manage fish and shellfish species, the Board noted several factors associated with North Atlantic right whale conservation which could substantially impact the economic and cultural future of the lobster fishing industry. These include future recommendations of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team and the anticipated Biological Opinion being developed under the Endangered Species Act. Given the high economic value of the lobster fishery and its social significance to coastal communities, the Board agreed it is important to ensure the implementation of measures to conserve North Atlantic right whales takes place in a way that maintains the sustainability and culture of the lobster fishery.

Draft Addendum XXVIII will propose options to reduce vertical lines from zero to 40%, to be achieved by trap limits, gear configuration changes, seasonal closures, and/or the acceleration of currently planned trap reductions. The Board noted reductions will consider ongoing state and federal management actions, including trap reductions and trap caps, which have already reduced vertical lines. By initiating this action, states can continue to cooperatively participate in the management of this species during ongoing discussions on the conservation of North Atlantic right whales. In addition, those who are most familiar with the intricacies of the lobster fishery, including industry, can provide input on future regulations.

Read a PDF copy of the release here

Right whale extinction threat is being overstated, lobstermen fear

April 9, 2018 — The math of protecting right whales from extinction is scary stuff: The stakes are high, scientific opinion varies and some rescue plans could make it impossible for lobstermen to earn a living.

Getting that math right matters when the futures of right whales and Maine’s lobster industry are so closely intertwined. Right whale numbers have dwindled to about 450 because of deadly ship strikes, fishing gear entanglements and low birth rates, while Maine’s lobster industry is the backbone of the state’s coastal economy, raking in about $434 million from landings in 2017 and generating another $1 billion for Maine in post-dock revenues.

“This will be the largest challenge for this industry,” said Commissioner Pat Keliher of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Those who fish for lobster in Maine and manage the fishery claim that their side of the whale story, and peer-reviewed species projections, are being lost in the extinction din.

Regulators claim they already have a right whale management plan in place and that it’s working. Despite the industry’s size, and the up to 3 million lobster traps in the water, no scientist or whale advocate has ever linked a whale death back to Maine’s lobster fishery, Keliher said. Dead whales have washed ashore in Maine, but they can swim for miles before they die, and carcasses can drift, too. No dead whale has ever been found in marked Maine ropes, officials say.

“None of the mortalities have any relationship back to the Maine fishery,” Keliher said Thursday at a Lobster Advisory Council session on right whale strategy.

Read the full story at the Sun Journal

 

Bill calls for task force to stem the tide of addiction in Maine’s fishing industry

December 5, 2017 — Nine years ago, a young “wrinkler” drowned when he was swept away by the rising tide in Lubec Channel.

Kristopher Fergerson, 27, was picking periwinkles, a small edible snail, with a friend to make ends meet after losing his job as a carpenter. The medical examiner labeled his death an accident, but state Rep. Mick Devin, D-Newcastle, a shellfish commissioner, blamed it on drugs. Toxicology results found morphine, Diazepam and ethanol in Fergerson’s blood, records show. The harvester stayed out too long because he needed money to buy drugs, Devin said.

“That was almost 10 years ago, and you’d hope things would have changed, but it’s only gotten worse,” Devin said. “His death has always stuck with me, but I know that it’s still happening. Fishermen are still dying from drugs. Fishermen in my district are telling me that young guys are using drugs and going out to work on the water every day, and that’s dangerous – for them, for the people they fish with and for our local fishing economy.”

Devin wants the Maine Legislature to create a task force to investigate the high rate of addiction among Maine’s commercial fishermen. Last week, a bill that Devin wants to submit to create that task force got a green light from the Legislative Council, which must approve all bills for consideration during even-numbered years when Maine tries to limit legislative debate to emergency matters. The council voted 6-4 in favor of considering the task force bill.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

At Meeting, Maine Lobstermen Say They Aren’t Harming Threatened Coral Beds

May 30, 2017 — The fragile deep-sea corals that populate the canyon walls and basins in the Gulf of Maine provide habitat for many species of fish as well as baby lobster, crabs and squid. But the New England Fisheries Management Council has concluded that the northeast coral beds are threatened when they are disturbed by commercial fishing operations and is weighing new restrictions that could affect Maine.

The council held a public hearing in Ellsworth Thursday night, where lobstermen spoke in support of a plan that protects coral colonies while still allowing them to haul their traps.

Most of the lobstermen who spoke agree that the coral beds in the Gulf of Maine play an important role in the overall health of the marine ecosystem. And most, such as Cranberry Isles fisherman Jack Merrill, think that Maine lobstermen and the coral beds have been getting along well for decades.

“It is evident to me that the marine corals in these zones appear to be thriving, which means that they are successfully coexisting with the trap fishery that has been there for many years,” he says.

The major coral beds are located off the Georges Banks. There are two areas about 25 miles off the Maine coast that have been identified as coral protection zones: the Outer Schoodic Ridge off the southeast Hancock County coast and Mount Desert Rock off Mount Desert Island.

The area is regularly fished, and Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Pat Keliher says he supports an alternative plan that would prohibit trawlers from working the ocean bottom in the two targeted regions, but would also allow lobster trap fishing in the regions.

“Lobster fishing is the economic backbone of the Down East coastal communities, and each of these proposed coral protection areas represents an important fishing ground for over 50 vessels from approximately 15 communities, and many of these vessels fish these areas throughout the majority of the year,” he says.

Read the full story at Maine Public