Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: Festival aims to promote and save shrimp industry

August 14, 2017 — SNEADS FERRY, N.C. — The Sneads Ferry community hosted its 47th annual Shrimp Festival this weekend.

The festival started as a way to promote the thriving shrimp industry in our state. However, in recent years, it’s become more of an effort to save the declining industry.

Recently proposed regulations, including how many days a week they can work, what time of day they can work, and how big their nets can be, have many shrimpers fearful for the future and the impact it will have on their livelihood.

Read and watch the full story at Spectrum News

Senators add shrimp to seafood import monitoring program implementation plan

July 28, 2017 — Efforts to include shrimp in the Seafood Import Monitoring Program when it takes effect Jan. 1 of next year advanced in Congress on Thursday, the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) said in a release.

Senate appropriations committee chairman Thad Cochran and commerce, justice and science appropriations subcommittee chairman Richard Shelby added language to the FY2018 commerce, justice and science subcommittee bill to ensure that shrimp is fully integrated into the program on the same timeline as other species, the association said.

Previously, shrimp was expected to be phased in at a later date than majority of other priority species, which have a mandatory compliance date of Jan. 1.

David Veal, ASPA executive director, commended the decision. He said Cochran and Shelby showed they care about the survival of the US shrimp industry and continued economic opportunity and job growth of coastal communities.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Maine Coldwater Shrimp Research Survey Harvests Fall Short of Predictions

February 10, 2016 — Maine shrimp lovers are hoping for the best this winter. With the shrimp population in decline over the past few years, and the Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery being closed for the third season in a row to shrimp trappers and trawlers, there won’t be much Maine shrimp in markets, restaurants or on dinner tables again this year.

But thanks to a study being conducted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, four trawlers and two trappers have been selected to collect samples of northern shrimp from the Gulf of Maine.

Marine biologists will use the data to determine the timing of the egg hatch, and the size, gender and developmental stage of the shrimp, according to biologist Margaret Hunter of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). A total catch of 48,500 pounds from the Gulf of Maine is being allowed. Any shrimp not used in the study may be sold by the fishermen.

Each participating trawler is required to conduct five research trips in one region, and is being compensated $500 per trip. Each would be allowed to sell up to 1,800 pounds of shrimp per trip.

The two shrimp-trapping vessels are required to continue hauling until the shrimp have hatched off all their eggs. Each is allowed 40 traps, and may haul as often as necessary during the project, with a 600-pound weekly catch limit. The shrimp may be sold, but there will be no other compensation for the trappers.

Despite the best efforts of local trapper Bill Sherburne, as of yet, the shrimp catch has not met his expectations.

As of Feb. 1, Sherburne said he hadn’t done as well as he had hoped. “It makes a difference where the traps are placed. They don’t come close to shore until the water cools down.”

Read the full story at Boothbay Register

Does fishing have a future in New England?

December 22, 2015 — Cod have been disappearing from the waters between Massachusetts and Maine, and shrimp populations are so depleted that the commercial shrimp season in the Gulf of Maine has been cancelled for the last three years.

At the same time, lobster are flourishing — alongside a host of species that have never before thrived in New England waters.

Why the wild ups and downs? One reason is that nearby waters are warming much faster than the rest of the ocean, making the environment newly unbearable for some longtime residents — and newly appealing for others. But overfishing has played a role as well, disrupting the balance of the watery ecosystem in unexpected ways.

It’s hard to predict where all this is headed, whether for individual species or local fishing communities. But it needn’t be a story of doom and gloom. These undersea changes may well dampen the prospects of the cod industry, but they will also bring new opportunities.

What’s happening in nearby waters?

Rapid and unusual warming.

Temperatures in the Gulf of Maine have been increasing faster than just about every other blue spot on the planet. According to a recent report in Science, Maine’s waters are in the top 0.1 percent when it comes to rapid warming.

While that team focused on the waters to the east and north of Massachusetts, that superwarm area they reported on actually extends significantly south, surrounding the Bay State.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Shrimpers wanted for research program

December 19, 2015 —  The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is closer to embarking on its planned sampling program for the endangered Gulf of Maine northern shrimp stock and is looking for trawl and trap vessels to help collect shrimp and data.

The commission, which hopes to begin the test-tow portion of the the program in mid-January and the trap portion about a month after that, is looking for a total of four trawl vessels and two trap vessels from New Hampshire, Maine or Massachusetts, according to Tina Berger, spokeswoman for the ASMFC.

Anyone interested in participating in the project should contact Maggie Hunter at the Maine Department of Marine Resources by Jan. 4.

The $10,000 program is designed to catch the northern shrimp, Pandalus borealis, while they are in inshore waters to collect data on the timing of the egg hatch, as well as the size, gender and development stages of the shrimp.

The vessels will be expected to fish approximately once every two weeks until the shrimp no longer carry eggs, which Berger estimated will be some time near the end of March.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times