Saving Seafood

Changes in lobster processing rules on Massachusetts Legislature’s plate

May 6, 2019 — Lawmakers are moving toward consensus on an overhaul of Massachusetts’ lobster processing laws.

The plan was recently endorsed by the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries, which concluded it would deliver “economic benefits throughout the state’s seafood supply chain” and give consumers more choice of lobster products to purchase.

The legislation would change state rules to allow for processing and sale of raw and frozen lobster parts that are still in the shell — claws and tails, for example — and permit shell-on lobster parts to be imported for further processing.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Boston.com

ALASKA: Emerging mariculture industry seeks to streamline permitting

May 6, 2019 — Alaska may be famous for its wild fish, but some are working to make room in the state’s waters for more shellfish, kelp, and crabs on aquatic farms.

Mariculture is a hot topic in fisheries right now. Essentially, mariculture can be defined as the cultivation of plants or animals in controlled saltwater environments, but in Alaska, it doesn’t include finfish, as that’s illegal in the state. So mariculture farmers have stuck to primarily kelp and oysters so far, but they’re starting to get more adventurous.

As of December 2018, 58 aquatic farms were operating in the state along with five hatcheries and seven nurseries, though only 41 of the farms documented production in 2017, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Oysters are still the most widely grown product, though kelp is gaining ground; after the first operations for kelp were permitted in 2016, four farms had produced 16,570 pounds of ribbon and sugar kelp by the following year.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce 

SOUTH CAROLINA: One of last SC commercial fishing hubs could close. Land trust seeks funds to save it.

April 29, 2019 — Larry Mcclellan can look from the porch of his century-old farmhouse out across Jeremy Creek where the shrimp boats rock under their hanging nets.

Mcclellan captains one of the boats there and his son captains another. The creek, which leads to the rich Bulls Bay shellfish waters, is his livelihood and his life. The hub of it all, where the boats are moored, is the Carolina Seafood dock.

That’s how integral Carolina Seafood owner Rutledge Leland’s business is to McClellanville, the modest fishing village north of Charleston.

The seafood dock is the cultural heart of the place. And it could be lost.

Mcclellan was among a roomful of town residents who turned out at a Charleston County Greenbelt meeting last week to support an East Cooper Land Trust request for funding to conserve the Carolina Seafood dock as an open space and cultural heritage worth protecting with sales tax dollars, but also as a business.

Read the full story at The Post and Courier 

Climate change’s deadliest effects are unfolding under the sea

April 26, 2019 — Think of the dangers climate change poses to animals, and you’ll likely picture skinny polar bears or cliff-diving walruses (collective sob). But it turns out that our overheating planet is actually wreaking the most havoc on creatures out of our sight: marine life.

Sea animals like crabs, lobster, and fish are dying off at twice the rate of land animals, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday.

The researchers looked at more than 400 cold-blooded animals on land and sea, including lizards, dragonflies, lobsters, and mussels. They found that creatures that people rely on for food (fish, mollusks, shellfish) are among the most vulnerable, especially in the developing world, where many rely on them for a regular protein source.

Read the full story at Grist

NORTH CAROLINA: No wetlands, no seafood

April 24, 2019 — Commercial fishermen are used to overcoming challenges. Whether it’s extreme weather events or a changing market and regulations, we work hard and adapt to carve out a living for our families.

We represent a new generation of fishermen that depends on the productivity of our coastal waters for our livelihoods. We can’t earn a living for ourselves and our families unless the water is clean and capable of supporting fish and shellfish. We also need waters that are not polluted so it is safe for us to harvest and sell our catches to consumers young and old.

But now politicians in Washington are trying to gut the Clean Water Act, removing vital protections for streams and wetlands. Particularly catastrophic, the proposal would cause a dramatic and unprecedented loss of protection for more than half of the nation’s wetlands and millions of acres of wetlands in North Carolina — Southern Pocosins, Carolina Bays and Pine Savannas — are all at risk. Our estuaries and fisheries won’t likely survive the losses, nor will our livelihoods.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NOAA Fisheries Announces Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

April 24, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted limited access general category scallop vessels effective 0001 hr, on April 25, 2019.

As of April 25, 2019, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. The scallop regulations require that we close this area once we project that 100 percent of the 2019 default total allowable catch for this area will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year, March 31, 2020.

If you have declared a trip into the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code, and have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001 hr, April 25, 2019, you may complete the trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

Exemption for Maine and Massachusetts Vessels Fishing Exclusively State Waters

If you have a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop permit, you may continue to fish in Maine or Massachusetts state waters within the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area under the State Waters Exemption program. If you are fishing under an Individual Fishing Quota scallop permit (Limited Access General Category A), any pounds landed under a state waters only trip will still be deducted from the vessel’s allocation.

Exemption for Limited Access Vessels Fishing Compensation Trips Under the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program

This closure does not affect the Limited Access fleet that was allocated a separate Total Allowable Catch of 67,500 lb for the 2019 fishing year under Framework 30 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The Limited Access Total Allowable Catch will be harvested by vessels that are participating in the 2019 scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

For more details, read the notice as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Shannah Jaburek, Sustainable Fisheries Division, at 978-282-8456
Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, at 978-281-9103

Maine Supporting Bill to Try to Save State’s Clam Harvest

April 15, 2019 — Maine’s fishery managers are supporting a proposal designed to improve the clam haul by allowing towns to set limits on the size of clams that can be harvested.

Lawmakers are considering the bill, which would let municipalities set minimum and maximum size limits that are at least as strict as the state minimum of two inches. The bill sponsor, Democratic Rep. Joyce McCreight, says the move would allow towns to protect larger clams that can reproduce more.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S News and World Report

Maine Scallopers Hope for Better Haul as ’19 Season Ends

April 15, 2019 —  Maine’s scallop season is ending for the year amid hopes that fishermen had a stronger season than they did a year ago.

Fishermen harvest Maine scallops with dragger boats or by diving for the shellfish and collecting them by hand. The dragger season is over, and the dive season is finished everywhere except southern Maine, where it officially ends on April 20.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S News and World Report

International Collaboration Sheds Light on Ocean Acidification’s Impact on Shellfish

April 10, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Emilien Pousse has been fascinated by the sea since learning to scuba dive with his father. He wasn’t always as keen on computer programming.

Yet here he is, a post-doctoral researcher from France, working to calibrate a computer model that describes the energy budgets of two commercially important shellfish – oysters and surfclams.

But first, he must know more about the consequences of ocean acidification on the metabolism and shell development of these creatures. He’s in the process of conducting those experiments with shellfish experts at the NEFSC Milford Lab.

Back in France, Emilien pursued his master’s degree with a math professor who required students to learn computer modeling skills. While some students enjoyed it, initially Emilien did not. Despite this, his internship advisor convinced him to apply for a Ph.D. project in the marine ecology doctoral program at Université de Bretagne Occidentale in Brest, France, though the project also involved modeling.

After conducting experiments for his dissertation, Emilien persevered in learning computer programming and discovered the dynamic energy budget theory on which his shellfish model is based.

“Little by little, I understood computer modeling,” Emilien says. When he began to see it as a tool to understand how oysters function, learning became easier. “I needed to learn some new skills to understand computer modeling, but it allowed me to learn more about the physiological processes of oysters and other marine animals,” Emilien reflected.

Oysters are a major industry in France. In 2012, a large bloom of Alexandrium minutum, a toxic algae known to cause paralytic shellfish poisoning, caused the oyster fishery in the Bay of Brest to close for several weeks during the summer and led to considerable economic disruption.

This algal bloom inspired Emilien’s doctoral work, which focused on modeling the accumulation of paralytic shellfish toxins in oysters. His dissertation was part of a multidisciplinary project, which engaged marine biologists, policy experts and researchers studying food safety.

While he was wrapping up his dissertation, a group of collaborators from the Milford Lab, led by lab director and shellfish expert Gary Wikfors, visited the university to conduct an experiment. The lab has a 25-year long (and counting) collaborative relationship with researchers in France. A colleague who had previously conducted research in Milford introduced Emilien to the group. Research chemist Shannon Meseck mentioned that she was looking for a post-doctoral researcher to work on a modeling project with shellfish, which was exactly the opportunity that Emilien had been looking for.

While driving home from that meeting, he weighed whether to apply for the job. The opportunity would mean moving thousands of miles away from home for two years. Ultimately, the excitement of coming to the United States and working with scientists in Milford won out. Emilien knew the project would allow him to grow as a researcher, flex his computer modeling skills, and expand his knowledge to understand the effects of ocean acidification. He was also excited to experience American culture and live close to New York City.

Although Emilien is currently studying the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, a native of the US East Coast, he admits his favorite oyster to eat is the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis. No matter the species, he likes to eat oysters on the half shell, with a little bit of vinegar and shallots. Emilien hopes the results of his research will help shellfish growers plan and be resilient in the face of a changing ocean.

Story originally posted by NOAA Fisheries 

Lawmakers propose new funding to study Oregon’s warming ocean, threats to fishing industry

April 10, 2019 — The Pacific Ocean off Oregon has been ground zero for the impacts of climate change, beginning with a 2007 crisis in the state’s oyster industry.

Since then, acidification and hypoxia events off Oregon’s coast have been increasing, scientists say.

Now, state lawmakers are weighing a bill aimed at understanding and countering those impacts, which have the potential to decimate the state’s crab, shrimp, and shellfish industries.

Senate Bill 260 would allocate $1.9 million from the state general fund toward various projects to monitor and respond to a warming Pacific.

Read the full story at the Salem Statesman Journal