Saving Seafood

Lora Snyder: Help Harvey recovery by consuming sustainable Gulf seafood

October 6, 2017 — Many of the men and women who work every day to bring some of the best, sustainable seafood to your dinner plate have plenty to worry about – fishing can be hard business.

Fishers and others in the industry deal with a host of ever-changing variables: fuel prices, market fluctuations, fishery health and abundance, competition with imports, long unpredictable hours and one of the more uncertain wild cards – weather. Changing winds can mean the difference between days’ or even weeks’ worth of income.

And now, weather is becoming even more of a concern. Today, stronger and stronger storms that scientists attribute to warming oceans – a result of human-caused climate change – are becoming more common. These days bad weather is an existential threat to the industry.

According to the Chronicle Hurricane Harvey damaged or destroyed 25 percent of the Texas shrimp fleet. Oystermen predicted shortages of upcoming oyster harvests due to the runoff from Harvey’s historic rains. And then came Irma. Tragically, a Florida shrimper lost his life off the coast of Tampa, when the hurricane bulldozed up the state’s Gulf Coast.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have been devastating, but there is a unique way to help your fellow Americans. This is a great time to get better acquainted with our own healthy and sustainable seafood that’s right here in our backyard.

Read the full opinion piece at the Houston Chronicle

Decision soon on whether to keep Maine shrimpers shut down

October 3, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — Fishing regulators will decide in November whether it’s time to reopen Maine’s shuttered shrimp fishery.

An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission plans to meet on Nov. 29 in Portland to determine specifications for the 2018 fishing year. The fishery was shut down in 2013 amid concerns about poor reproduction and declining population.

The shrimp have been largely unavailable to American consumers since the shutdown, though they are also harvested by Canadian fishermen.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the News & Observer

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel to Meet November 29th to Consider 2018 Fishery Specifications

September 28, 2017 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) and Advisory Panel (AP) will meet on November 29, 2017 to consider specifications for the 2018 fishing season. The AP will meet in the morning (10 – 11:30 a.m.) to formulate recommendations for the Section’s consideration, and the Section will meet in the afternoon (1 – 3:30 p.m.) to set the specifications. Both meetings are scheduled to take place at the Westin Portland Harborview, Hotel 157 High Street, Portland, Maine; 207.517.8822.

In 2016, the Section approved a moratorium for the fourth consecutive fishing season (2014-2017) based on the status of the resource, which is considered at record low levels and experiencing low recruitment since 2012. The Northern Shrimp Technical Committee is currently updating the 2017 Northern Shrimp Stock Status Report, the findings of which will form the basis of the Section’s determinations for the 2018 season.  This Report will be included in the meeting materials, which will be available in early November.

For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Shrimp plan changes advance

September 11, 2017 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — Meeting in Portland at the end of August, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section selected several final measures for inclusion in the latest revision to the Fishery Management Plan for northern shrimp.

Known as “Amendment 3,” the latest version of the plan will bring about a number of significant changes to the way the fishery is managed — if indeed the northern shrimp fishery is ever resuscitated. Because fisheries scientists believed that the northern shrimp population had collapsed, commercial shrimp fishing on the Gulf of Maine has been banned since 2014 with only an extremely limited harvest for scientific data collection purposes permitted.

Before the amendment becomes effective, it will have to be approved by the ASMFC. In its recent action, the shrimp section also recommended that the commission approve the amendment at its next meeting, tentatively scheduled to be held in Norfolk, Va., next month.

The newly recommended provisions would make several changes in both the philosophy and the practical measures affecting the management of the shrimp fishery.

The plan’s stated objectives will now call for managing the resource to support a viable fishery and will give individual states more control over the way the fishery is managed.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

TEXAS: Gulf Oysterman Displays Heroics During Hurricane Harvey Flooding

September 11, 2017 — Sitting in his Kemah, TX home on Galveston Bay, Raz Halili was sure the small tropical storm named Harvey hovering off the coast of Texas was of little concern. A week later with his family’s oyster damaged, shrimp boats sunk, fishermen’s homes underwater or destroyed he realized his miscalculations on the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

Halili, a Board Member of the Gulf Seafood Foundation, considers himself lucky. Although the family oyster business, Prestige Oysters, suffered damage to both buildings and docks, his family was safe and houses stayed dry.

Worst Flood in U.S. History

“The small tropical storm that everyone thought was going to be no big deal turned into the worse flooding disaster in U.S. history of our country,” said the Galveston oysterman. “It is just devastating when viewed first hand. But there was a silver lining. In this time of need our community came together to help each other without regard to race, religion or political views. This is Texas spirit and the true character of America.”

While Harvey was dumping more than 30 inches of rain on the Houston area, Halili and his cousins, Gezim Halili, an oyster boat captain for the family business and Fatmir Halili, took to jet skis to perform water rescues as floodwaters rose in Dickerson, Friendswood and Port Arthur.

“We would leave the house in the early morning, do water rescues for more than 12 hours and then come back to relocate our refrigerated trucks from different shelter to keep food from spoiling,” he said. “We didn’t really count the number of people we ferried from their flooded homes to dry land, it was helping in any way we could.”

One of the most harrowing experiences for Halili’s was rescuing a man who had managed to flip his canoe in the middle of a rushing creek while trying to get back to his flooded house in Houston. “We managed to scoop him up, but it’s a great possibility if we weren’t there he wouldn’t have survived,” said the Jet Ski hero.

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Foundation

New Rules for New England Shrimp Fishery — if It Reopens

September 7, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — With the prospect of New England’s shuttered shrimp fishery reopening this winter, new rules are being designed to perpetuate the crustacean’s numbers and prevent another shutdown.

Maine fishermen once caught millions of pounds of the shrimp every year, with fishermen also bringing some ashore in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. But as the Gulf of Maine waters warmed, the catch plummeted from more than 13 million pounds in 2010 to less than 700,000 in 2013. The fishery shut down that year.

A decision on whether to allow the fishery to reopen could come in November.

With that in mind, an arm of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is developing new rules for the fishery to put it in a better position to sustain itself if it does reopen, said Max Appelman, a fishery management plan coordinator for the Atlantic States.

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

 

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Selects Final Measures for Amendment 3 and Recommends Final Approval by the Commission

September 1, 2017 — Portland, ME – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) selected final measures for Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Northern Shrimp and recommended Commission approval of the Amendment at its next Business Session meeting, likely in October in Norfolk, VA. The Amendment is designed to improve management of the northern shrimp resource in the event the fishery reopens (the fishery has been under moratorium since 2014). Specifically, the Amendment refines the FMP objectives and provides the flexibility to use the best available information to define the status of the stock and set the total allowable catch (TAC). Furthermore, the Amendment implements a state-specific allocation program to better manage effort in the fishery; 80% of the annual TAC will be allocated to Maine, 10% to New Hampshire, and 10% to Massachusetts. Fishermen with a trap landings history will continue to operate under gear-specific allocations (i.e., 87% of the state-specific quota will be allocated to the trawl fishery, and 13% to the trap fishery), however, the Section anticipates exploring alternative measures through the adaptive management process that would allow states to modify allocation between gear types on an annual basis. The Section also has the discretion to roll over unused quota from the states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts to Maine by a date determined during annual specifications.

Additionally, the Amendment strengthens catch and landings reporting requirements to ensure all harvested shrimp are being reported, and requires shrimp-directed trawl vessels to use either a double-Nordmore or compound grate system (both designed to minimize the catch of small, presumably male, shrimp). Other changes include the implementation of accountability measures (i.e., penalties if states exceed their quota), specification of a maximum fishing season length, and formalizing fishery-dependent monitoring requirements.

The Section will meet November 29 (location to be determined) to review the 2017 stock status report and set specifications for the 2018 fishing season. For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Hurricane Harvey’s impact on regional seafood sector still being determined

August 30, 2017 — Hurricane Harvey has caused significant damage in Southeast Texas, but experts in the shrimp industry don’t believe there will be a long-term impact on the United States’ Gulf of Mexico shrimp industry.

However, some Houston-area seafood companies suffered damage from the storm and overall losses in Texas could total USD 100 billion (EUR 83.6 billion).

Rockport, Texas-based Global Blue Technologies, a shrimp farm and hatchery, was still assessing the damage to its facilities on Tuesday and SeafoodSource will provide an update soon.

AkerBiomarine’s krill oil plant in Houston suffered minor leaks due to heavy rain, but did not sustain damage, according to a statement the company provided to SeafoodSource.

“Due to severe weather conditions, we did a controlled shutdown of our Houston manufacturing plant on Friday, securing all assets and the site. The top priority in this situation is always the safety of our employees and their families,” AkerBioMarine said.

On Tuesday, the plant was still shut down.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section to Meet August 31st in Portland, ME to Consider Approval of Amendment 3

August 23, 2017 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section will meet on August 31st from 1 – 3:30 PM at the Westin Portland Harborview, Winslow Homer Ballroom, 157 High Street, Portland, ME (Tel: 207.775.2411). The Section will be reviewing submitted public comment and considering final action on Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp.

While the fishery is currently under a moratorium, the Amendment considers measures to improve management of the northern shrimp resource in the event the fishery reopens. Proposed options include state-by-state allocations and accountability measures to better manage effort in the fishery. The Draft Amendment also explores the mandatory use of size sorting grate systems to minimize harvest of small (presumably male) shrimp, as well as reporting measures to ensure all harvested shrimp are being reported. 

If approved by the Section, the Amendment will be forwarded to the Commission’s Business Session for final approval in October at the Commission’s Annual Meeting.

Meeting materials for the Section meeting can be accessed at  http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/NShrimpSectionMtgMaterials_Aug2017.pdf.

A PDF version of the press release can be found here –http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/599da091pr38NShrimpSectionMtg_Aug2017.pdf.

Maine fishermen, scientists combine forces with goal to save shrimp fishery

A new Fisheries Management Plan has been created for the fishery that has been closed since 2014.

August 21, 2017 — For more than 20 years, Dana Hammond made close to half his annual income shrimping. But his shrimping profits began to dwindle in 2013. That season, regulators were alarmed by the lack of shrimp biomass in the Gulf of Maine, and the amount he was allowed to catch was cut 72 percent. The fishery was closed entirely in 2014. It hasn’t reopened since and Hammond, who fishes out of Portland on his boat the Nicole Leigh, has been trying to make up the deficit from his other main source of income, groundfishing.

But Hammond isn’t ready to let shrimping go. It’s an ideal winter fishery for him, allowing him to stay close to shore during rough and cold weather. He’s so vested in the future of the fishery that this summer he went to sea with the Northeast Fisheries scientists who conduct the annual summer survey, the main source of data that determines the status of the fishery every year.

“I didn’t get paid,” Hammond said. “I went anyway because I want to make sure they are doing stuff right.”

Hammond’s goal is to help the scientists be better fishermen – the more they catch, the more likely it is his fishery will reopen. Or better put, the more shrimp the survey finds, the better chance it is that there will be another season for Maine shrimpers. The survey concluded earlier in August and though its findings won’t be available until late October, it is the key to determining whether Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will decide at its meeting in early to mid-December whether to reopen the fishery for the tiny Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) in 2018.

In the event that the fishery does reopen, it will likely follow different rules. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has, with the cooperation and input of local fishermen, developed a new Fisheries Management Plan, updated in consideration of the recent problems in the shrimp fishery. That plan, known as Amendment 3 will be finalized at a meeting in Portland on Aug. 31.

Typically, putting the regulatory side of a fishery in contact with those who do the fishing entails some tension, distrust even, the kind that can make for a combative relationship. The people who make their living on the water don’t want to be told what to do and how to do it, especially not by people who came up in the world of petri dishes and test tubes, not traps and trawls.

But as the Northern shrimp fishery faces the most extreme challenge in a history that spans nearly a century, the relationship between shrimpers and scientists has become, cautiously, more collaborative. The more so the better, from the perspective of fisheries biologist Peter Chase, who oversees the annual survey for the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration’s (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center. He’s used to getting a lot of questions about the survey as soon as he comes ashore in summer – starting with, “did you see a lot of shrimp?” Moreover, he understands the frustrations of the fishermen. Some of them “have been vocal about complaining about our survey,” he said. “Others have been really helpful.” Like Hammond.

“It shouldn’t be an us-versus-them thing here,” Chase said. “I don’t want to put anyone out of business.”

“We want to be in this together,” he added. “This is research that I am hoping will show that the resource is coming back.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald