shrimp Archives - Page 35 of 44

NORTH CAROLINA: Hearing on proposed fishing limits draws a thousand

January 19, 2017 — Commercial fishermen, biologists, conservationists and seafood consumers came out in force Tuesday in New Bern to stop proposed regulations that would restrict commercial fishing in North Carolina’s sounds and estuaries.

Several shrimp boats traveled up the Neuse River and anchored off Union Point Park for Tuesday’s meeting at New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, a meeting that drew about a thousand people, most of them opposed to a petition from the nonprofit N.C. Wildlife Federation to restrict commercial fishing in North Carolina.

Committees of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted at the end of the 7½-hour meeting to recommend denying the petition that would have restricted the number of days commercial fishermen could fish in special secondary nursery areas to three a week (four days per week in the ocean); reduce headrope length on shrimp trawlers to 90 feet from 220 feet in internal coastal waters and 110 feet in the ocean; and calls for a mesh size study on fishing nets to limit the harvest of juvenile Atlantic croaker and spot.

Supporters of the petition said the restrictions were an attempt to increase the bounty of shrimp, croaker and spot by giving juveniles a chance to mature and reproduce for one generation instead of being lost in the bycatch, which generally are fish not targeted by commercial fishermen that nevertheless are caught up in nets.

However, opponents to the petition said there was no science to the studies that looked at the fish populations from 1981 to 2015. Despite the declining numbers of stock being presented, shrimpers said last year was the best catch they could remember and the stock was not declining.

Read the full story at the New Bern Sun Journal

NORTH CAROLINA: Fisheries committees vote against further regulations

January 18, 2017 — NEW BERN, N.C. — Five North Carolina fisheries committees have rejected a proposal to further regulate shrimp trawling after a public meeting that ended with 60 people waiting to speak.

The Sun Journal of New Bern reports (http://bit.ly/2jZDKVo) the committees voted Tuesday to recommend that the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission deny the request from the state Wildlife Federation for more regulations.

The nonprofit conservation group’s petition wanted to reduce the number of days shrimp trawlers could fish, how much they could fish and where they could trawl in North Carolina waters.

So many people spoke against the petition that the chairman of the panel had to stop the public hearing while 60 people were still signed up to speak.

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

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