shrimp Archives - Page 35 of 43

NORTH CAROLINA: Public comment to be taken on petition impacting shrimp trawling

January 16, 2017 — A meeting set for this week will put the issue of resource protection versus gear restrictions on the shrimping industry up for debate.

The five advisory committees to the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission will meet jointly on Jan. 17 at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center to receive public comment on a petition for rulemaking that would, if adopted, impact shrimp trawl fishing in most North Carolina waters.

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation submitted the petition on Nov. 2, and the commission has 120 days from that date to grant or deny the request that calls for stricter regulations for shrimp trawling and the shrimp season as a means to better protect habitat for juvenile finfish.

The petition asks the commission to designate all coastal fishing waters not already designated as nursery areas as special secondary nursery areas, including the ocean out to three miles. It also calls for establishing clear criteria for the opening of shrimp season and defining the type of gear and how and when gear may be used in special secondary nursery areas (SSNAs) during shrimp season.

Jerry Schill, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a nonprofit organization for the state’s commercial fishing industry, said the restrictions sought through the petition would have severe impacts on the state’s shrimping industry.

MASSACHUSETTS: Gloucester fisherman represents state in shrimp study

January 11, 2017 — Joe Jurek is no stranger to the Gulf of Maine northern shrimp fishery, having incorporated shrimping into his annual fishing calendar even after moving to Gloucester about a decade ago to groundfish.

“When sectors started in 2009, we would catch our groundfish quota as quickly as we could and then go fish the other fisheries, including the northern shrimp fishery,” Jurek said Tuesday. “I shrimped long before that, though. You could say it’s kind of my background.”

Jurek, owner and skipper of the 42-foot F/V Mystique Lady, will be the lone Massachusetts representative in the upcoming Gulf of Maine winter shrimp sampling program that will produce the only legal shrimping in 2017 in the Gulf of Maine.

The Mystique Lady is one of 10 trawlers participating in the sampling program, along with eight from Maine and one from New Hampshire captained by Mike Anderson of Rye. Jurek hopes to begin shrimping as soon as this weekend.

“I’m trying to get rolling so I can start Sunday,” Jurek said. “I’m really excited about catching some shrimp and about this program.”

He already has reached out to local lobstermen, providing a map of the area he intends to trawl and asking lobstermen to alert him to the presence of any gear that might be set or soaking in the area.

“If you have gear in the highlighted areas please touch base with me so we can work together,” Jurek wrote on his Facebook page. “And I will make sure I don’t tow thru any gear.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Sea turtles, shrimp fishermen tangled in government’s net proposal

December 29, 2016 — It’s hard to think of two species more beloved on the North Carolina coast than shrimp and sea turtles.

A generations-old low country diet had turned shrimp into a multi-million dollar industry for North Carolina fishermen. Sea turtles, on the other hand, have become the symbol of coastal conservation and a tourist draw at nest-hatchings and aquariums.But to a fishing net, all animals are the same. To protect endangered sea turtles, many shrimp boats in the Southeast are equipped with “turtle excluder devices” (TEDs), barred openings that let captured turtles shimmy out of nets.

TEDs are not required on some shrimp boats, but a rule proposed this month by the National Marine Fisheries Service would put them on more shrimp trawlers from North Carolina to Texas.

The proposal comes after a 2015 lawsuit from environmental group Oceana, which accused the federal government of violating the Endangered Species Act by not regulating shrimp fishing more stringently. Fishermen, for their part, say they are regulated enough and have gone out of their way to help turtle populations recover up and down the coast.

“North Carolina shrimp is our biggest-selling item in all markets, our most important product,” said Joe Romano, a commercial fisherman and co-owner of Wilmington-based Seaview Crab Company. “We have a system to do this and it’s already working.”

Read the full story at the Star News Online

The Hawaiian raw-fish dish poke is having a moment

December 27, 2016 — Pokéworks, which started in New York City and is growing rapidly, with locations across the country, is now bringing Hawaiian raw-fish salad to Somerville. At dinnertime, the line can snake out of the small, brightly lit restaurant with its cheery neon sign and fresh white tile walls.

Poke (pronounced poh-keh) is the latest craze in the world of customizable fast-casual. If you’ve eaten at a Bon Me, or a Chipotle, you know the drill: Pick your protein and build up your bowl or burrito with fixings.

And yes, you can get a “burrito” at Pokéworks, one filled with some combination of raw salmon, tuna, scallops, and shrimp. A machine emblazoned with the Pokéworks logo presses sushi rice (or brown rice, or quinoa) onto a seaweed wrapper. Then the giant sushi roll makes its way down the assembly line, where employees add toppings such as edamame, seaweed, and crab salad before rolling it up in parchment.

An informal poll shows people generally find this concept either delightful or disgusting. We’re mostly curious, so we start with a wasabi shrimp and scallop sushi burrito ($10.95) from the “Signature Works” side of the menu — pre-picked combinations that you have rolled up or spooned over rice, quinoa, or salad greens. The big mouthfuls of unseasoned wet scallops and tiny raw shrimp aren’t appetizing. The roll is augmented with scallions and sweet onion, masago (roe), edamame, and wasabi aioli, but it lacks flavor.

Trawler to be hired for study of imperiled shrimp

December 14th, 2016 — Government fishing managers will hire a shrimp fisherman from Massachusetts to help perform research about the future of the New England shrimp fishery.

The interstate Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries say they want to hire a shrimp trawling vessel to collect samples of Northern shrimp. The fishermen will also be allowed to bring 1,200 pounds of shrimp per week to shore and sell them.

The project will begin on Jan. 15, 2017 and last eight weeks.

Regulators are also hiring shrimp trawlers and trappers from Maine and New Hampshire to collect samples.

Scientists say warming oceans have hurt the shrimp’s ability to reproduce. Regulators shut the fishery down in 2013.

They were previously a popular winter seafood item in New England and elsewhere.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Portsmouth Herald

Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries seeks fisherman to catch shrimp off Massachusetts coast as part of study

December 13th, 2016 — Government officials are looking for a shrimp trawler to take part in a study of the future of the New England northern shrimp fishery.

The study is a joint effort by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries alongside the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

A release by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries details the study, which is intended “to collect northern shrimp samples during the winter period when the shrimp are in inshore waters, to collect data on the timing of the egg hatch, and the size, gender, and developmental stage of the shrimp.”

The chosen vessel will not have to go anywhere new beyond Massachusetts waters; they are expected to fish where they normally would when searching for shrimp. They must provide two random 4.5 pound samples each week but can otherwise sell up to 1,200 pounds of shrimp per trip. No other compensation is offered.

The northern shrimp’s population is considered “depleted” and scientists have pointed to warming oceans as a key factor in their decline. According to an ASMFC release about the ongoing moratorium on northern shrimp fishing, warming ocean temperatures suggest “an increasingly inhospitable environment for northern shrimp and the need for strong conservation efforts to help restore and maintain a fishable stock.”

The New England shrimp fishery was shut down in 2013.

Read the full story at Massachusetts Live

New Hampshire trawler to collect samples of dwindling shrimp

December 7th, 2016 — A New Hampshire shrimp trawler will be selected to help study New England’s dwindling Northern shrimp fishery.

The interstate Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department say they intend to hire one shrimp trawling vessel to collect samples of the species. The fishermen will also be allowed to bring 1,200 pounds of shrimp per week to shore and sell them.

The project will begin on Jan. 15, 2017 and last for eight weeks.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has also announced plans to hire eight shrimp trawlers and five shrimp trappers to collect samples.

Scientists say warming oceans have hurt the shrimp’s ability to thrive off of the New England coast, and regulators shut the fishery down in 2013.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Times

NORTH CAROLINA: Proposed shrimping regulations worry coastal fishermen

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — The N.C. Wildlife Federation submitted a petition earlier in November calling for restrictions on shrimp trawling along the coast, saying more regulations are necessary to protect important nursery areas.

But local long-time fishermen in eastern North Carolina don’t necessarily agree, and the regulations on catching shrimp could have detrimental effects on the industry.

“If the consumer is looking for fresh, local seafood, I think these regulations like this will put fisherman out of business and make the American consumer to have to buy more imports,” said Jack Cox, Blue Ocean Market. “That’s something that we don’t want to do.”

The petition includes restrictions like limiting trawling to three days per week, limiting head rope length to 90 feet and making nets smaller.

“It’s also asking that they limit tow times to 45 minutes and that they open Pamlico Sound on a shrimp count,” said Patricia Smith, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

The count would require 60-count shrimp, or 60 shrimp per pound, in the Pamilico Sound before trawling would be allowed in those waters.

Read the full story at WNCT

NORTH CAROLINA: Anglers angling for tougher rules on shrimp trawlers

November 18, 2016 — KITTY HAWK, N.C. — On a sunny fall day when commercial fishermen would normally be on the water hoping for a big catch, many were crammed into a dimly lit hotel ballroom in Kitty Hawk on Thursday trying to head off proposed rules that could limit future catches.

The state Marine Fisheries Commission is considering a petition from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation to adopt regulations for shrimp trawlers operating in coastal sounds that would reduce the size of their nets, limit how long nets could be pulled in the water, permit shrimping only three days per week and eliminate night-time shrimping.

The goal of the changes, according to Wildlife Federation officials, is to protect fish nurseries.

“We have found doing the research – looking at the science, looking at the data and doing the analysis – that we are losing too many fish to shrimp trawling,” David Knight, a policy consultant for the Wildlife Federation, told the commission.

“It’s kind of crazy that it comes up now because we just passed, last year, the shrimp plan,” commission Chairman Sammy Corbett said.

One of the proposals would cut the length of the head rope attached to the top of a trawler net from 220 feet to 90 feet.

Read the full story at WRAL

Shrimp may be plentiful in Gulf of Mexico, but not Maine

November 18, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — State and federal fisheries regulators have imposed a moratorium on shrimp fishing in the Gulf of Maine for the fourth consecutive season because of “the depleted condition of the resource.”

Meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., last Thursday, Northern Shrimp Section of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission extended the current moratorium on commercial fishing for the 2017 fishing season that would, if fishing were allowed, begin Dec. 1.

The Section also approved a 116,845 pound (53 metric ton) “research set aside” to scientists to continue to collect important biological data about the size of the shrimp population and where the shrimp are located. As a practical matter, that means 15 fishermen chosen by lottery from among those who apply will have a chance to harvest, and sell, a few shrimp. Preference will be given to individuals in the lottery using specific gear designed to limit the catch of small shrimp and who were active in the shrimp fishery June 7, 2011.

According to the scientific evidence, the news for Northern shrimp, and the fishermen who made a living chasing them in winter, is grim.

In 1969, Maine fishermen landed more than 24 million pounds of shrimp. Total landings, including those in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, totaled more than 28 million pounds.

After a steady decline, landings surged to 17.9 million pounds in Maine (21 million pounds overall) during the 1996 season that ran from December 1995 through April 1996.

During the truncated 2013 season, the last before the moratorium, Maine shrimp landings were just over 639,000 pounds.

According to the ASMFC, the latest stock status report for Gulf of Maine northern shrimp indicates that measures of both abundance and biomass volume over the past four years “are the lowest on record” for the 33 years during which the surveys have been done.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American