Saving Seafood

MAINE: Scallop license lotteries now available

October 15, 2019 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources has opened two license lotteries: one for scallop drag licenses and one for scallop dive licenses. Based on licenses retired in 2018, the department is making available six scallop drag licenses and four scallop dive licenses for the 2019-2020 scallop season.

The license lotteries will remain open until 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 8.

Applicants may apply online at maine.gov/scalloplottery or may complete a paper application at the DMR offices in the Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom Lane, Augusta. The department will not accept paper applications through the mail.

Read the full story at Village Soup

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – October 17-18, 2019 – Groundfish and Scallops

October 10, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet on Thursday, October 17 and Friday, October 18, 2019.  The public is invited to attend in person or listen live via webinar or telephone.  Here are the details.

LOCATION:  Hilton Garden Inn – Boston Logan Airport.

START TIME:  10:00 a.m. on Thursday and 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

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

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 655-0060.  The access code is 335-319-803.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review recent information from the 2019 Groundfish Management Track Assessments, as well as information from the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT), and provide overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for the 2020-2022 groundfish fishing years for the following stocks: Georges Bank (GB) cod; Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod; GB haddock; GOM haddock; Cape Cod/GOM yellowtail flounder; Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder; GB winter flounder; American plaice; witch flounder; pollock; white hake; Atlantic halibut; northern windowpane flounder; and southern windowpane flounder;
  • Review information provided by the Council’s Scallop PDT and recommend OFLs and ABCs for Atlantic sea scallops for the 2020 and 2021 fishing years with 2021 being default specifications; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.
COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 15, 2019.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  The address for mailing comments is:  New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
 
MATERIALS:  Meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website at SSC October 17-18, 2019 documents.
 
QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817,jplante@nefmc.org.

Scallops: NEFMC Receives 2019 Survey Overview, Framework 32 Progress Report

September 30, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its late-September meeting in Gloucester, MA, the New England Fishery Management Council received a presentation on 2019 scallop survey results and a progress report on the alternatives that are under development for Framework Adjustment 32 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The framework contains: (1) specifications for the 2020 fishing year; (2) default specifications for 2021; and (3) measures to mitigate impacts on Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. The 2019 surveys found noteworthy recruitment in the southern portion of Closed Area II and, to a lesser extent, directly south and to the west in areas known as the Closed Area II Extension and Southern Flank. The map above shows aggregations of small scallops with shell heights of less than 60 millimeters (mm).

Six institutions were involved in five different surveys in 2019 that collectively covered the range of the resource. Here are the key take-aways from the survey results.

Read the full release here

Carlos Rafael scallop boats to stay in New Bedford

September 26, 2019 — Eleven scallop boats from the fleet of convicted fisheries violator Carlos Rafael will keep working out of New Bedford under local ownership, a victory for industry advocates.

Charlie and Michael Quinn, the father and son co-owners of Quinn Fisheries, appeared at the docks Tuesday afternoon with New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell to announce they had closed on a deal to buy six of the boats.

The Quinns paid about $40 million, said Michael Quinn. Mitchell, who with other Massachusetts political and industry leaders pushed to keep the boats in New Bedford, said the other five vessels and their permits are also now going to new owners based in the city.

Rafael is serving a 46-month federal prison sentence for tax evasion, falsifying fisheries landing reports and related offenses. The so-called “Codfather” controlled a large share of the groundfish and scallop fleets, until he was brought down by undercover federal agents.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Forced sell-off of Rafael assets begins

September 24, 2019 — A father-and-son team from Massachusetts and other buyers are acquiring scallop fishing boats owned by a disgraced fishing magnate nicknamed the Codfather, signaling the beginning of the former mogul’s forced exit from fisheries.

The sale of Carlos Rafael’s 11 scallop boats, and their associated permits, is part of a civil settlement Rafael agreed to with the federal government that will result in his permanent removal from the U.S. fishing industry.

Rafael, once the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing operations in the U.S., was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for dodging quotas and smuggling profits overseas.

Scallopers Charles Quinn and son Michael Quinn are buying seven of Rafael’s scallop boats and selling one of them, their attorney, Andrew Minkiewicz, told The Associated Press. Court documents state the Quinns paid about $46 million for the boats.

Rafael’s attorney, John Markey, of New Bedford, confirmed the other boats have also sold, but declined to disclose the other buyers or purchase prices.

Read the full story at The Associated Press

Rafael sitting on $46m deal for 7 scallop vessels?

September 11, 2019 — New England’s commercial fishing industry has yet to see any kind of a public announcement regarding who will step up to buy Carlos Rafael’s 30 groundfish and scallop vessels or their 43 related permits, but documents —  copies of which were obtained recently by Undercurrent News — reveal he had a deal lined up almost two weeks ago for nearly a quarter of his fleet.

Whether the deal remains in place, however, remains unknown.

A seven-page purchase agreement, dated Aug. 29 and signed by Stephanie Rafael DeMello, daughter of the imprisoned former New Bedford, Massachusetts-based seafood mogul, show him selling seven of his total 11 scallop vessels, including the Apollo and Athena, and all of their related scallop and groundfish permits to an undisclosed buyer for $45,950,000.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Maine Proposes To Keep Scallop Season Mostly Status Quo

September 10, 2019 — Maine is considering a scallop fishing season that would allow fishermen to harvest levels of the shellfish similar to last year.

The state’s scallop season takes place in the winter and spring and provides some of the most valuable seafood in Maine. The Maine Department of Marine Resources says daily possession limits would remain the same as last season.

The state is also seeking to close some areas along the coast to allow the scallop population to rebuild. That includes eastern Casco Bay and Upper Sheepscot River.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Maine Public

NJ leads country in fishing production

September 3, 2019 — I bet you didn’t know that New Jersey’s commercial saltwater fishing industry generated $6.2 billion in 2018 according to the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration, placing New Jersey fifth in the U.S. in commercial fishing production. That’s a lot of fish, and a lot more than fish.

“The Jersey Seafood industry is a tremendous benefit to the state’s economy with the responsible supply that is landed in our state each year,” NJ Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher said. “New Jersey is among the leaders in the country in several seafood categories because of our hard-working commercial fishermen and successful seasons year after year.”

In 2017, the total seafood catch in New Jersey was 198.6 million pounds placing New Jersey 10th in the country for catch. New Jersey ranks No. 1 in the nation in quahogs landed at 16.5 million pounds, second in sea scallops landed with 11 million pounds, second in Atlantic mackerel landed at 2.8 million pounds, second in surf clam harvest with more than 18.3 million pounds, and second in squid commercial landings at 24.9 million pounds.

Read the full story at My Central Jersey

E-commerce protein provider ButcherBox offers new traceable wild-caught sea scallops with help from Legit Fish

September 3, 2019 — Michael Billings – who heads procurement for the Boston, Massachusetts-based protein delivery company ButcherBox – couldn’t remember exactly what compelled him to call longtime colleague Michael Carroll, the fisheries economist who founded software firm Legit Fish, a while back. Nevertheless, he’s glad he did.

“I don’t even know why, but I just picked up the phone and called [Carroll],” Billings told SeafoodSource, recalling the origin story behind the trailblazing partnership between ButcherBox and Legit Fish, which was christened last month with the launch of fully-traceable, wild-caught sea scallops on ButcherBox’s e-commerce platform.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

How sustainability efforts are helping the New Jersey’s fishing industry

August 29, 2019 — Pete Dolan is the captain of the Ms. Manya, a commercial scallop boat. He’s ready to set sail on a week-long trip — and ideally, when he and his crew return, they will have caught a hefty 18,000 pounds of scallops. Business is booming in the state’s fishing industry, and Dolan claims federal regulations are to thank.

Before those regulations were put in place in the early 1980s, Dolan and his crew would have to spend more time on trips because anyone could go out and catch scallops, which meant supplies were low. But, sustainability efforts from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have created a more favorable scenario.

“We monitor what is landed, and the fishing industry reports what they land. The fishing dealers report what they purchased, and the agency that I work for makes sure there’s not too much fish coming in and there’s not enough that are left in the sea for future generations,” said NOAA port agent Joanne Pellegrino.

Read the full story at NJTV