Saving Seafood

New England Council Update – April 23, 2019

April 23, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has a busy schedule between now and its June 11-13, 2019 meeting in So. Portland, ME. Here is a list of the key Committee and Advisory Panel (AP) meetings that currently are posted on the Council’s calendar.

GROUNDFISH: Several groundfish-related meetings are in the queue.

  • Groundfish Monitoring Review – A sub-panel of the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet in Providence, RI on Wednesday and Thursday, April 24 and April 25 to conduct a review of the groundfish monitoring analyses behind draft Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Meeting materials can be found at SSC Sub-Panel Review.
  • Groundfish Party/Charter Listening Sessions – The Council still has several listening sessions on the calendar to collect public input on whether or not it should pursue limited access in the groundfish party/charter boat fishery. The remaining sessions are scheduled for: April 23 in Narragansett, RI; May 7, 8, and 9 respectively in Chatham, Plymouth, and Gloucester, MA; and May 10 via webinar. The meeting lineup and background information are posted at potential party/charter limited access.
  • Groundfish Committee, Groundfish Advisory Panel, and Plan Development Team – All three of these bodies will meet jointly in So. Portland, ME on Monday and Tuesday, May 20 and May 21 to review the SSC Sub-Panel’s groundfish monitoring review findings and to discuss Amendment 23. Information will be available shortly at joint groundfish meeting.

SKATES: The Skate Committee will meet on Thursday, April 25 in New Bedford to discuss Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex FMP, which proposes to limit access into the fishery. Documents are available at skate limited access. The Skate Advisory Panel met on April 23 in advance of the Committee.

  • Skate Advisory Panel and Skate Committee – Both the AP and Committee will meet again respectively on Tuesday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 22 in Providence, RI. Save the dates.

HABITAT: The Habitat Committee will meet on Thursday, May 9 in Foxborough, MA to discuss: (1) research planning efforts for the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area; (2) a fishing effects model; (3) offshore energy issues; and (4) more. Visit habitat meeting for additional information.

SCALLOPS: The Scallop Committee has several meetings in the pipeline.

  • Scallop Advisory Panel and Plan Development Team – The AP and PDT will meet jointly on Tuesday, May 21 in Providence, RI for a Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program “Share Day.”  Information will be posted as it becomes available at Scallop RSA Share Day.
  • Scallop Advisory Panel – The AP will meet again the following day, Wednesday, May 22, in the same location.
  • Scallop Committee – The Committee will meet on Thursday, May 23, wrapping up this three-day sweep of scallop meetings, all of which will take place at the Hilton Providence

ATLANTIC HERRING:  The Herring AP and Herring Committee will meet back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday, May 29 and 30, respectively.  Save the dates.

ECOSYSTEM-BASED FISHERY MANAGEMENT (EBFM):  The EBFM Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 28 in Quincy, MA and likely will meet again on Monday, June 10.  Save the dates.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:  The Council’s Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 29.  More information will become available as the date draws near.

MEETINGS BY OUR PARTNERS:  The following are additional meetings that may be of interest to New England stakeholders.

  • MAFMC STRATEGIC PLAN MEETING:  The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, April 24 in Narragansett, RI to gather feedback on the development of its 2020-2024 Strategic Plan.  Additional meetings are scheduled for New Jersey, Virginia, and via webinar.  Details are available at MAFMC Strategic Plan.
  • ATLANTIC STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION (ASMFC):  ASMFC will meet April 29-May 2 in Arlington, VA.  Visit the commission’s 2019 Spring Meeting webpage.
  • DOLPHIN WAHOO:  The South Atlantic Council has scheduled two webinars on May 7 and May 9 to gather public comments on whether it should add bullet and frigate mackerel as ecosystem components to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP.  This plan extends along the entire East Coast and includes federal waters off New England.  Learn more at Dolphin Wahoo.
  • COUNCIL COORDINATATION COMMITTEE (CCC):  The CCC, comprised of the leadership teams from all eight of the nation’s regional fishery management councils, will meet May 14-16 in Charleston, SC.  The agenda and webinar links are posted at May 2019 CCC Meeting.
  • NORTHEAST REGION COORDINATING COUNCIL (NRCC):  The NRCC will meet May 16-17 in Charleston, SC.  More information will become available at NRCC.
  • MID-ATLANTIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL:  The Mid-Atlantic Council will meet June 4-6, 2019 in New York City.  Visit MAFMC for more information

ANALYSIS: Unsettled 2019 Scallop Season Start

April 18, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The market for U.S. origin Atlantic sea scallops remains unsettled at the start of the 2019 fishing year which began on April 1, 2019. With consecutive days of landings over the 200,000 lb. mark, the industry is split. Some are taking a step back, allowing for the raw material market to stabilize before adjusting their prices, while others promote discounts with the abundant landings typical of the season opening.

Inventory holdings play a key role when determining price adjustments at the start of the season. Those with healthier inventory levels with product purchased when prices were higher will be slower to discount at the first sign of the market softening.

The graph below illustrates how the most dramatic discounts are typically seen in the first two months of the season, before the market begins to stabilize through the end of the year.

In looking at our current season, while the daily catch rates have been ample, the scallop quality is characterized as ‘medium’, with splits and pieces taking a higher percentage rate than favorable, resulting in weaker boat prices. The weeks ahead will reveal if the 2019 season will follow seasonal trends or create its own path.

The following story was published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

US proposes tariffs on European Union goods, seafood products considered

April 9, 2019 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday, 8 April, it will consider adding new tariffs on products from the European Union, and seafood imports are on the list for potential duties.

The action stems from a World Trade Organization ruling that stated E.U. illegally subsidized airplane-maker Airbus, creating an unfair trade advantage. As a result of that ruling, the U.S. is contemplating tariffs on USD 11 billion (EUR 9.76 billion) in goods from the 28 member nations in the union.

“The E.U. has taken advantage of the U.S. on trade for many years,” President Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning. “It will soon stop!”

The announcement from Office of the U.S. Trade Representative gives a list of nine products from four E.U. members. The products include helicopters, aircraft, fuselages, and associated parts originating from France, Germany, Spain, and Great Britain.

However, a second list of products the Trade Representative is considering includes products from all member nations. The products include salmon fillets, swordfish steaks, crabmeat, clams, scallops, and other seafood items.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: Are scalloping’s days numbered on Nantucket?

April 9, 2019 — Nantucket bay scalloping is a dying profession, town shellfish constable J.C. Johnson said this week, just days after commercial scalloping season came to a close.

Fishermen brought in 13,000 bushels of scallops last season. That number was down by 10,000 bushels this year to around 3,000, making the season’s harvest one of the lowest ever, Johnson said.

Along with the decreased harvest size, the fleet itself is aging, with only a handful of young scallopers now fishing.

“We have a couple younger guys going out, but your veteran guys, Bill Spencer, Herkey Stojak, all those guys who have been scalloping for years are almost done, so what’s going to happen if you don’t have their kids following suit?” he asked.

“Guys that scallop to the end are your veterans, your die-hards, guys who are out there. That’s their business,” he said.

Carl Sjolund has been scalloping off Madaket for the past 50 years. He usually fishes the entire season. This year, however, he pulled his boat midway through January. Even though there were no serious nor’easters or major freeze-ups, he simply was not seeing any adult scallops.

Fish markets were paying scallopers $18 to $22 per pound this year. Last year that price was $12 to $15. Sjolund said the price difference was the incentive to fish this season.

Retail prices at fish markets began at $19 to $23 early in the season. As the season came to a close, the price had gone up to $40.

Blair Perkins did not stick around on the water this year, either. Just a week into the season, he was struggling to reach his limit of five bushels. He took his boat out of Madaket Harbor just 10 days into November. His season was over.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

It’s no April Fools’ joke: 2019-2020 US scallop season kicks off in New Bedford

April 1, 2019 — Ed Anthes-Washburn answered his cellphone on his way to work at the Port of New Bedford, Massachusetts — the US’s most valuable commercial port — on Monday morning by telling Undercurrent News that the 2019-2020 Atlantic scallop season is canceled.

“Didn’t you hear?” the port director asked. Then, with a chuckle, he proclaimed, “April Fools’!” and confirmed that he plans to play this prank all day long.

Contrary to Washburn’s joke, the 2019-2020 Atlantic scallop season has begun in New Bedford, and it promises to be another big one. After landing an estimated 56.8 million pounds of scallops between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, harvesters are loosely projected to harvest 62.5m lbs over the next 12 months.

To make room, US scallop distributors spent last week clearing their inventory, while harvesters were using up the last of their quota from the 2018-2019 season. As Washburn put it, because of the constant work being done to boats and the 60 additional days limited access vessels have to work their quota from the end of the previous season, “The old season never really ends and the new season never really begins.”

Prices were high for the final flurry of 2018-2019 landings.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Fishing Year 2019 Atlantic Sea Scallop Management Measures Go Into Effect April 1

March 27, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The management measures for the Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery for the 2019 fishing year go into effect on April 1, 2019.

Framework Adjustment 30 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan:

  • Sets specifications for the scallop fishery for fishing year 2019, including Days-at-Sea (DAS) allocations, Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs), and sea scallop access area trip allocations. These allocations are similar to those set in the 2018 fishing year. This action also sets precautionary default 2020 specifications, in case we implement the next framework after the April 1, 2020 start of the 2020 fishing year;
  • Allocates effort into three rotational access areas (Mid-Atlantic, Nantucket Lightship-West, and Closed Area 1). Scallop landings allocated to Closed Area 1 are flexible and can be landed from any available access area;
  • Sets a 205,000 lb Northern Gulf of Maine total allowable catch for 2019 that will be split as 137,500 lb for the Limited Access General Category (LAGC) and 67,500 lb for the limited access fleet;
  • Standardizes default specifications for Limited Access DAS and LAGC IFQ allocations; and
  • Standardizes the approach used to set the number of access area trips available to the LAGC IFQ fleet.

Read the final rule as published in the Federal Register, and the permit holder bulletins for the Limited Access and Limited Access General Category scallop vessels available on our website.

Read the release here

Five Questions With: Kevin Stokesbury

March 27, 2019 — Kevin Stokesbury, professor of fisheries oceanography at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology, was chosen for a service award from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea last month. The council, in Denmark, recognized the Stokesbury for his work in restoring scallop stocks in the region. He served as chair of the ICES Scallop Assessment Working Group for five years.

PBN: Where are we in terms of scallop stocks in New England now as opposed to say, 10 and 20 years ago?

STOKESBURY: The scallop stocks of New England are a fisheries success story. For 2018, the stock is estimated at 482 million pounds … with a projected harvest of about 63 million pounds. For the last 10 years the average landings were 50 million pounds valued at $460 million; for the last 20 years the average landings were 46 million pounds valued at $345 million; and from 1970 to 1996 the average landings were 20 million pounds valued at $81 million, based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.

This success is the result of nature providing the right conditions for the scallops to produce large numbers of offspring; scientists and the fishing industry working together to develop new ways to document the number of scallops – their distribution, size and biomass – and agencies being open to new ideas on rotational management and flexible enough to act on the new scientific data.

The results have been a sustainable fishery with reduced environmental impact and economic prosperity.

PBN: One of the things you have been credited with is partnering with fishermen, getting their buy-in to gather information to manage scallop stocks. How would you describe that process?

STOKESBURY: The fishing industry originally approached [UMass Dartmouth professor Brian] Rothschild for help determining the abundance of scallops within the closed areas of Georges Bank. Rothschild had the ability to bring all the different agencies, academics and fishing groups together. The first cooperative dredge survey had already been completed when I came onboard in 1998.

Read the full story at Providence Business News

NOAA official talks ‘damage’ to scallop industry from offshore wind

March 25, 2019 — The federal fishing administrator for the Greater Atlantic region told The Standard-Times Wednesday that although offshore wind will not threaten the overall sustainability of the scallop industry, the damage to it could be significant, especially for fishing grounds off New York. But later in the day, he clarified his comments, saying the “damage” remark does not accurately reflect his position.

Michael Pentony’s initial comments came when asked in an editorial board meeting if offshore wind gives the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cause for concern about the sustainability of the scallop industry, particularly with regard to wind turbines off New York.

He began, “I think it’s difficult to say that we have concerns about the sustainability of a three-to-five-hundred-million-dollar-a-year fishery.”

Asked specifically about damage to the industry, he said, “The damage could be significant, and we definitely have concerns about that. I’m less concerned about the overall long-term sustainability of the fishery, but certainly, we have concerns about the impacts of that particular area and how that could … play out.”

Read the full story at The New Bedford Standard-Times

MAINE: Petition seeks moratorium on large aquaculture leases

March 22, 2019 — Save Maquoit Bay, a group formed to address issues with aquaculture, and lobstermen from around the state have submitted a petition to the Department of Marine Resources requesting an immediate moratorium on aquaculture leases greater than 10 acres in size.

The petition has 189 signatures, 39 more than required to open rulemaking around aquaculture leases, according to a news release.

The petition comes in the wake of an application by Mere Point Oyster Co. for a 40-acre lease in the bay, which is in the north end of Casco Bay, in between Freeport and Brunswick. The application, for a 10-year lease, is to cultivate Eastern oysters, bay scallops and sea scallops.

Mere Point Oyster Co. is owned by Dan Devereaux and Doug Niven.

Supporters of the petition spoke about it at a Tuesday news conference at the State House.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

New England Council Update – March 20, 2019

March 20, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Here’s a roundup of upcoming meetings and new developments that are relevant to the New England Fishery Management Council’s stakeholders.

SCALLOPS:  New Bedford and Chatham, MA are the next two stops on the scoping meeting circuit for Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan.  The New Bedford meeting is today, Wednesday, March 20, and Chatham is up tomorrow, Thursday, March 21.  Both meetings begin at 6 p.m.  Also, a webinar is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m., and more scoping meetings will be held next week in Virginia and New Jersey.  The series caps off in Gloucester on April 3.  Visit the Amendment 21 webpage to see the complete lineup and download the scoping document, press release, and staff presentation.

COMMERCIAL eVTRs:  The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is developing an Omnibus Framework to considerrequiring commercial vessels that carry federal permits for Mid-Atlantic Council-managed species to submit Vessel Trip Reports electronically (eVTRs).  This action, if approved, will apply to New England fishermen who obtain Mid-Atlantic permits for summer flounder/scup/black sea bass, bluefish, mackerel/squid/butterfish, and other species.  The Mid-Atlantic Council has scheduled a webinar for Monday, March 25 beginning at 9 a.m. to collect input from its Advisory Panels.  Details are available at AP webinar about commercial eVTRs.

ATLANTIC HERRING:  The New England Council’s Herring Advisory Panel (AP) will meet for a half-day on Wednesday, March 27 at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield, MA.  The Herring Committee will meet in the same location the following day, Thursday, March 28.  The AP and Committee both will discuss upcoming herring actions, work priorities, 2019-2021 specifications, and more.  The agenda and meeting materials are available at Herring AP and Herring Committee.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:  The Council’s Executive Committee will meet Wednesday, March 27 in Wakefield, MA.  More information will be available soon at Executive Committee meeting.

SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEE (SSC):  The Council’s SSC will meet via webinar on Friday, March 29, 2019 to discuss and comment on the Council’s research priorities.  Learn more at SSC webinar.

GROUNDFISH:  The Council’s Groundfish Advisory Panel (AP) will meet on Monday, April 1 at the Hilton Garden Inn at Logan Airport.  The Groundfish Committee will meet in the same location the following day, Tuesday, April 2.  Both will discuss Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23, the Council’s Gear Standards Policy, and 2019 groundfish priorities.  More information will be available soon at Groundfish AP and Groundfish Committee.

ECOSYSTEM-BASED FISHERY MANAGEMENT (EBFM):  The Council’s EBFM Committee will meet on Thursday, April 4 and again on Monday, April 15.  Both meetings will be held at the Radisson Airport Hotel in Warwick, RI beginning at 9:30 a.m.  The committee will discuss issues related to the development of a draft example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP) for Georges Bank.   More information and related documents will be posted as they become available at EBFM April 4, 2019 and EBFM April 15, 2019.

RECREATIONAL GROUNDFISH:  The Council has scheduled a series of listening sessions to solicit comments and gauge public interest on whether it should develop a limited access program for the recreational groundfish party/charter fishery under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.  The sessions, which include a webinar, will run from April 4 through May 10 from Maine to New Jersey.  For more information and complete details about the times and locations of the listening sessions, read the press release, public notice, and download the background document.

MID-ATLANTIC COUNCIL:  The Mid-Atlantic Council will be discussing several issues relevant to New England stakeholders during its April 8-11 meeting in Avalon, NJ.  The Commercial eVTR Omnibus Framework described above is on the agenda, and the New England Council will be holding one of its Recreational Groundfish Party/Charter Fishery listening sessions in the same location on Monday, April 8.  Take a look at the agenda at MAFMC Avalon, NJ.

NEW ENGLAND COUNCIL:  The full New England Fishery Management Council will meet April 16-18, 2019 at the Hilton Hotel in Mystic, CT.  The agenda and meeting materials will be available soon at NEFMC Mystic, CT.

MONKFISH:  The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) announced that it is implementing 2019 monkfish specifications as recommended by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Councils in Framework Adjustment 10 to the federal Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP).  The Monkfish FMP is a joint plan between the two Councils with New England having the administrative lead.  The framework contains specifications for fishing years 2017-2019.  At the time the framework was implemented, NMFS approved 2017 specifications, along with “projected specifications” for 2018 and 2019.  This week, NMFS said it does not expect 2018 catch limits to be exceeded, so 2019 specifications will go into place on May 1 as initially developed by the Councils.  These include a total allowable landing limit of 6,338 metric tons (mt) in the Northern Fishery Management Area and 9,011 mt in the southern area.  Find out more in the Federal Register notice and permit holder bulletin.