skate Archives - Page 5 of 6

MASSACHUSETTS: Cape fishermen push dogfish, skate at expo

March 23, 2017 — Chatham fishermen Charlie Dodge, Jamie Eldredge, and Greg Connors walked the crowded aisles of the Seafood Expo North America Monday, one of the largest seafood shows in the world, drawing more than 21,000 attendees and exhibitors over three days.

The men were there to meet wholesale fish buyers and distributors looking to market their catch: skates — a kite-shaped fish related to sharks — and dogfish, a small coastal shark.

Dogfish and skates may not be ready to join heavyweights like salmon and shrimp, but with help from the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, as well as federal and state grants to assist with marketing, they are slowly gaining a foothold in domestic markets.

“It would be way better if it stays within the country,” Dodge said of dogfish, which, like skates is largely exported to Europe and Asia, and fetch relatively low prices, with skates at 23 cents per pound on average in 2015 and dogfish fluctuating between 11 cents and 22 cents per pound. In 2015, cod, by comparison, averaged $1.90 per pound.

Not long ago Chatham was one of the top cod ports in the country, but that stock is considered to be at historically low levels and landings state-wide collapsed from 27.5 million pounds in 2001 to 2.9 million pounds in 2015. Both skates and dogfish are plentiful and considered sustainably managed by organizations like the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Marine Stewardship Council and Seafood Watch. That message — a local, sustainable and affordable fish — has helped convince institutional clients like the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Read the full story at Cape Cod

Cape fishermen push dogfish, skate at expo

March 21, 2017 — Chatham fishermen Charlie Dodge, Jamie Eldredge, and Greg Connors walked the crowded aisles of the Seafood Expo North America Monday, one of the largest seafood shows in the world, drawing more than 21,000 attendees and exhibitors over three days.

The men were there to meet wholesale fish buyers and distributors looking to market their catch: skates — a kite-shaped fish related to sharks — and dogfish, a small coastal shark.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Skate liver oil could boost fishing industry

March 13, 2017 — Two engineers showed up at the Chatham Fish Pier a few winters ago and struck up a conversation with some fishermen who were unloading their catch.

Steve Daly and Bill Hannabach asked for some of the fish because they were doing research for a new business venture. The fishermen obliged and the men took home totes with a variety of species.

“You have two rubes from out of town. They could have easily said get out of here,” said Daly with a grin. “They didn’t know what we were doing. We could have been making fertilizer, we could have been making pottery.”

This week Daly and Hannabach were once again at a Cape Cod dock, this time at Saquatucket Harbor in Harwich, with some of the same fishermen they had met when they first began experimenting with everything from monkfish to dogfish. But now they had with them the results of their foray into the fishing industry, their first product, MassOMEGA: New England’s Wild Fish Oil, set to be launched today and almost totally made from winter skate brought in by local fishermen.

“We have taken some of Nick’s skates, basically pulled the oil out and purified it,” said Daly, standing beside Nick Muto and his 40-foot boat the Dawn T.

Muto had just come in with his crew after close to 30 hours at sea with a hold full of skate.

“It is truly an amazing fish oil. It’s better than cod liver oil. Skates have such a high level of omega-3s. Tuna is a close second, but after that it drops off significantly,” Daly said.

Muto, as many fishermen do, keeps the wings of the skate to sell, but usually throws the bodies, or racks, overboard. But after fellow fisherman Doug Feeney introduced him to Daly and Hannabach, Muto carved up the skate bodies and gave the businessmen a big bag of livers.

The fishermen knew that capitalizing on an under-utilized fish in a sustainable way was important to the small boat fishery as well as the economic health of the wider community. They also knew that fishermen were busy fishing and running a business and lacked outside investment to launch new products.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

NOAA Fisheries Declines to List Thorny Skate as Threatened or Endangered

February 23, 2017 — The following has been released by NOAA:

In response to a petition from Defenders of Wildlife and Animal Welfare Institute to list thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) under the Endangered Species Act, we have now determined that listing is not warranted at this time.

The May 2015 petition requested that we list a “Northwest Atlantic Distinct Population Segment” or a “United States Distinct Population Segment” of thorny skate as threatened or endangered.

In making a determination as to whether distinct population segments of thorny skate exist, we considered the best available information on thorny skate distribution, genetics, and behavior. We considered whether the information supported the distinct population segments as identified in the petition or if other distinct population segments exist.

We determined that the information does not support the existence of any distinct population segments of thorny skate as they mix throughout the North Atlantic. Therefore, we also assessed whether listing the full species was warranted.

Based on a comprehensive status review report, which included an Extinction Risk Analysis, we determined that the species is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, nor is it likely to become so within the foreseeable future, so listing is not warranted at this time.

Thorny skate are at low abundance in U.S. waters compared to historical levels, primarily due to overfishing. However, declines have been halted throughout most of the species’ full range, and the species remains abundant throughout the North Atlantic, with hundreds of millions of individuals in the Northwest Atlantic alone.

Read our determination as filed in the Federal Register today.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov

Skates: RESCHEDULED – Narragansett, RI scoping hearing

February 7, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Due to inclement weather, the New England Fishery Management Council has RESCHEDULED its Narragansett, RI scoping hearing on Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan. The new hearing date is Monday, Feb. 27.

The hearing initially was planned to take place this Thursday, Feb. 9. However, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island with potential snow accumulations of 8” to 12”. Given the forecast, the Council determined it was best to prevent unnecessary travel.

The Feb. 27 hearing will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography in the Coastal Institute Building’s Hazard Room.

Copies of the revised hearing notice, scoping document, and other Amendment 5 materials are available at skates.

Skate Update: NEFMC Reschedules Montauk, Cape May Scoping Hearings

January 17, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has RESCHEDULED its Montauk, NY and Cape May, NJ scoping hearings on Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan. The new dates are as follows:

Cape May — Tuesday, Feb. 21, Grand Hotel of Cape May
Montauk — Wednesday, Feb. 22, Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation

Both hearings were initially scheduled to take place the previous week. However, in order to avoid potential conflicts for stakeholders who are planning to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Feb. 14-16 meeting in Kitty Hawk, NC, the New England Council has decided to hold its Mid-Atlantic region skate scoping hearings the following week.

See the full release at the NEFMC

Skate Scoping Hearings Scheduled: NEFMC Seeks Public Input to Help Shape Potential Limited Access Alternatives

January 10, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Managment Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled six scoping hearings to gather public input on Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan. This action could lead to the development of a limited access program for both the skate bait and skate non-bait/wing fisheries.

The hearings will be held Jan. 24 through Feb. 16 from Portsmouth, NH to Cape May, NJ. The deadline for written comments is March 6.

The skate fishery currently is “open access,” so any vessel may join at will. The Council is considering converting the fishery to “limited access” and establishing qualification criteria, permit categories, permit conditions, and other measures to better manage the fishery.

“In initiating this action, the Council is responding to calls from industry members who wish to see these fisheries maintained,” said Dr. Matt McKenzie, chairman of the Council’s Skate Committee.

Skate fishermen have expressed concern that increasingly strict measures in other fisheries – particularly groundfish – could lead to unrestrained increases in fishing effort on skates by new entrants into the fishery and: (1) cause quotas to be harvested more quickly; (2) trigger reduced skate trip limits; and (3) have negative economic impacts on current participants.

The scoping hearings mark the first opportunity for members of the public to make suggestions or raise concerns about the range of issues the Council should consider in a limited access program under Amendment 5.

“We welcome constructive public comments from all interested stakeholders – either in person or submitted in writing,” said McKenzie.

Qualification criteria may include factors such as: the time period vessels have participated in the fishery; historical levels of landings; and dependence on the fishery. The Council may develop different categories of limited access permits. If so, these categories may treat vessels differently and possibly differentiate between vessels that target skates and those that catch skates as bycatch in other fisheries.

See the full release at the NEFMC

RHODE ISLAND: Assessing Environmental Impacts Of The Block Island Wind Farm

November 28, 2016 — The nation’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island will start producing electricity any day now. It’s a pilot project that will change the way the people on this small island power their homes and businesses. They’ve relied on importing diesel fuel up to this point.

Today we bring you a story about another group that has a stake in this project: fishermen. A small crew of fishermen has been working with scientists to gather data and learn how fishing will or won’t change around the wind turbines.

Every month for the past four and a half years, Captain Rodman Sykes has sailed out toward the Block Island Sound with his crew and a small group of scientists.

They tow a fish net and scrape the seafloor twice in three different locations: within the area of the Block Island Wind Farm and in areas close to it for reference.

“Mostly skates, there’s a sea bass and a few small scup, sea robins, dog fish,” Sykes says aloud as he stands over the fish to inspect them each time his crew brings up the net and releases the catch. “Not much else, but a good sample. So we’ll go on to the next station.”

While Sykes redirects his vessel to the next sampling area, scientists get right to work: sorting fish by species, taking their weight, and measuring their length.

Read and listen to the full story at Rhode Island NPR

New England Fishery Management Council Approves Skate Limited Access Scoping Document; Hears Progress Report on Whiting Amendment 22 Analyses

November 15, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During discussions that addressed two of the last remaining open access fisheries in the region, the New England Fishery Management Council today:

Approved a scoping document for Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to consider limited access in both the skate bait and non-bait fisheries; and
Received a progress report on Amendment 22 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, which will include alternatives to limit access to small-mesh multispecies.

The skate complex is made up of seven species: barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, smooth, thorny, and winter skates. The bait fishery primarily targets little skate, along with a small percentage of juvenile winter skate, while the non-bait fishery primarily targets adult winter skate for the wing market.
Control dates already are in place for both fisheries – July 30, 2009 for the bait fishery and March 31, 2014 for the non-bait fishery. The Council asked the National Marine Fisheries Service to publish the control dates after skate fishermen expressed concern that unrestrained increases in fishing effort by new entrants

Advancing to the next step of the process, the Council is now preparing to conduct scoping hearings early in the new year to give the public an opportunity to raise concerns or make suggestions about the range of alternatives for Skate Amendment 5. The purpose of the amendment is to consider developing a limited access program for the skate bait and non-bait fisheries, potentially with qualification criteria, permit conditions and categories, and other related measures.

Whiting Limited Access Under Consideration in Amendment 22

The Council also received a progress report on Amendment 22, which contains alternatives to potentially limit access to the small-mesh multispecies fishery. Participants in this fishery target red hake, silver hake, and offshore hake. Silver and offshore hake typically are referred to as “whiting.”

The Council held five scoping hearings in December 2015 to solicit initial input on the amendment and now is developing qualification criteria alternatives using a preliminary analysis of fleet history. The Whiting Plan Development Team (PDT), Whiting Advisory Panel, and Whiting Committee still have a considerable amount of work to do before the Council can select alternatives for the draft amendment that will be taken to public hearing. However, the Council took an early look at three alternatives that the PDT will begin to analyze. Two use a five-year, 2008-2012 qualification period – up to the Nov. 28 cutoff for the control date – and one uses a 1996-2012 qualification period. Each alternative has a high- and low-level permit status, potentially having different possession limits. As a first cut, the Whiting Committee identified three sets of qualification criteria representing the cumulative poundage (all five years combined) needed to qualify under the proposals:

First Alternative – 500,000 pounds for the high level permit and 100,000 pounds for the low level permit under the 2008-2012 qualification period;
Second Alternative – 1,000,000 pounds for the high level permit and 20,000 pounds for the low level permit under the 2008-2012 qualification period; and
Third Alternative – 1,000,000 pounds for the high level permit and 200,000 pounds for the low level permit using the 1996-2012 period.

Several hundred thousand dead fish wash up in New Jersey creek

August 24, 2016 — KEANSBURG, N.J. — Several hundred thousand dead fish have washed up in a central New Jersey marina’s creek in the past week, wildlife officials said.

The fish in Waackaack Creek, which peaked Saturday, are peanut bunker — the name describing Atlantic Menhaden after hatching, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Bluefish or skates probably chased them into the creek, officials believe.

“Although the water is tidal, the creek and other surrounding waters where the fish have washed up can get stagnant during certain tides and we believe at this point that the die-off is due to dissolved oxygen levels in the water,” Bob Considine with the state EPA said.

Read the full story at UPI