Saving Seafood

Scallops: NEFMC Receives 2021 Survey Season Overview; Updates on Framework 34 and Other Work Priorities

October 1, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council received a high-level overview of the 2021 scallop survey season when it met by webinar for its September 28-30, 2021 meeting. It also received a progress report on Framework Adjustment 34 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan and short updates on: (1) the Scallop Survey Working Group’s recent meeting; and (2) a project to evaluate the scallop fishery’s rotational area management program.

Scallop survey coverage this year was extensive throughout the range of the resource. Several surveys were conducted on Georges Bank and in the Mid-Atlantic. These were done by three survey partners under the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program (RSA) and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Participating RSA partners included:

• Coonamessett Farm Foundation;
• UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST); and
• The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).

SMAST and the University of Maine also conducted RSA surveys in the Gulf of Maine, including on Stellwagen Bank.

Overall, the survey groups discovered that biomass in the Mid-Atlantic Access Area is down substantially. While blips of pre-recruit scallops occasionally were found, the survey teams did not see signs of another strong incoming year class. Most of the remaining scallops in this area are nine years old, stemming from the exceptional 2013 year class, which has run its course. As such, 2022 fishing activity in the Mid-Atlantic Access Area is expected to be minimal, and the Scallop Plan Development Team (PDT), Scallop Committee, and Scallop Advisory Panel are discussing the possibility of reverting this area to open bottom.

Two Bright Spots

Survey teams did find evidence of recruitment in the New York Bight and Nantucket Lightship West areas. The Council is considering establishing rotational closures to protect concentrations of small scallops in both locations. Closures such as these are the premise behind rotational management. Areas with small scallops are closed to fishing activity to give the animals time to grow to a harvestable size. A few years down the road, the closure areas are reopened and fishing is allowed to take place on larger scallops.

The New York Bight area that’s under consideration for a closure (see blue box in map at right) contains multiple years classes, including many smaller scallops with growth potential that will not recruit to the fishery in fishing year 2022 (see closeup shots below at right). Establishing a rotational closure in the New York Bight would provide an opportunity to improve yields for all scallops, especially the smaller ones, and increase the potential for downstream recruitment to the Hudson Canyon and Elephant Trunk areas in the Mid-Atlantic, as recent research suggests is possible.

Surveys conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Coonamessett Farm Foundation using a Habitat Camera Mapping System (HabCam) showed high densities of very small scallops – less than 35 millimeters in shell height – in the western portion of Nantucket Lightship (see graphics below). HabCam is a towed underwater camera that takes a constant stream of images along the seafloor. It is a survey tool that can help identify new beds of very small seed scallops, also referred to as spat. The Scallop Plan Development Team will analyze establishing a second rotational closure to cover Nantucket Lightship West in addition to the New York Bight. If the new year class of seed scallops in Nantucket Lightship West survives and continues to grow, these scallops should be ready to start contributing to the fishery several years down the road.

Current Biomass

The highest concentrations of harvestable biomass were found in Nantucket Lightship South and within Closed Area II on Georges Bank. These are the areas the PDT will analyze for possible access area fishing in 2022. Most of the scallops in Nantucket Lightship South will be 10 years old in 2022. These slow-growing scallops continue to be available in dense concentrations and, despite their smaller size, have drawn high prices on the market.

Survey teams saw some modest signs of recruitment in Closed Area II in the southeast portion, extension, and Habitat Area of Particular Concern (colored orange above).

As part of its work on Framework 34, the Scallop Plan Development Team is analyzing several possible configurations for Closed Areas II access area trips under two trip limit options – 18,000 pounds and 15,000 pounds – with trading allowed in 9,000-pound and 15,000-pound increments. The PDT also will provide a range of possibilities for open area fishing days. Biomass in Closed Area I is no longer high enough to support an access area trip for the limited access fishery. However, the PDT is looking at two options for this area: (1) reverting it to open bottom; and (2) reserving the area for LAGC IFQ access area fishing and RSA trips. LAGC IFQ is the acronym for the limited access general category individual fishing quota component of the fishery.

Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM)

In the Gulf of Maine, most of the biomass is located on Stellwagen Bank. The portion of the biomass that’s inside the Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area, meaning north of 42ᴼ 20’, is protected by a closure that will remain in place until changed by Framework 34. The biomass on Stellwagen Bank south of 42ᴼ 20’ is open bottom and available for fishing by the limited access and LAGC IFQ components of the fishery.

Framework Adjustment 34 – What’s Next?

Framework 34 includes 2022 fishing year specifications, 2023 default specifications, and other provisions. It also is the vehicle that will put in place measures developed under Amendment 21, which is under review by NOAA Fisheries. The amendment and framework are expected to be implemented concurrently by the start of the new fishing year, which is April 1, 2022.

The Council will take final action on Framework 34 during its December 7-9, 2021 meeting. Between now and then, the Scallop PDT, Committee, and Advisory Panel will hold several meetings to prepare final recommendations for the Council’s consideration. Keep tabs on the Council’s scallop webpage for a list of upcoming meetings.

• Meeting materials used during the Council’s September scallop discussion are posted HERE.

• View the presentation for a quick overview of what’s in Amendment 21 and the timeline for implementation of the amendment and Framework 34.

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

 

How many sea scallops are there and why does it matter?

November 3, 2020 — The following was released by UMass Dartmouth School of Marine Science & Technology:

A study conducted by Dr. Kevin Stokesbury is featured as the cover story in the November 2020 issue of the Ecological Society of America’s Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment journal (Volume 18, Issue 9). The study, titled “How many sea scallops are there and why does it matter?” focuses on the effects of climate change, oceanic conditions along the Atlantic Coast of North America that are changing, as well as surface water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine, which have increased faster than 99% of the global oceans. The research examines the role of the sea scallop as a baseline sentinel species that can be used to measure the impacts of environmental change and anthropogenic developments.

“In Canada and the US, the Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) supports lucrative fisheries, which are founded on an extensive scientific framework focusing on stock assessment,” explains Dr. Stokesbury, professor of Fisheries Oceanography at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology. “The sea scallop is an ideal sentinel species, as it is highly sensitive to changes in marine conditions. We used a drop camera system to estimate the number and size of scallops, as well as the distribution of their reproductive potential, over 70,000 km2 of the continental shelf in 2016–2018, an area that nearly covers the entire range of this species. In total, we estimated that there were 34 billion individual scallops (95% confidence limits: 22–46 billion) within the species’ range.”

Highlights:

  • Estimates of the number of individuals of an abundant marine species are both unusual and scarce
  • A drop camera system was used to approximate the number and size of Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) over an area that encompassed virtually the species’ entire range
  • Photographic quadrats allow for estimation of the sea scallop’s spatial distribution at scales ranging from centimeters to thousands of kilometers, as well as its habitat productivity
  • The sea scallop is an ideal sentinel species to track ocean health and climate change impacts

Dr. N. David Bethoney, executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, collaborated with Dr. Stokesbury on this survey, which was made possible by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awards through the Scallop Research set-aside program, and the sea scallop fishery and supporting industries of Canada and the United States.

Read the full release here

VINEYARD WIND: Notice to Mariners and Fishermen No. 16

August 23, 2019 — The following was released by Vineyard Wind:

We wanted to let you know that the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) are coordinating a lobster ventless trap survey in the northern section of the Vineyard Wind lease area as well as a control area to the east.

The survey is ongoing through October 2019.

View the full notice here.

Trawls are set in East/West direction and are configured in 8 pot strings approximately 1,200 feet long marked with double highflyers and double large Go Deep buoys labeled MLA/SMAST, DA19-017.

We encourage fishermen who may be working in the survey area to contact the captains directly or contact the following:

Beth Casoni – MA Lobstermen’s Association, Phone: 508-738-1245

Crista Bank – FL Vineyard Wind, Phone: 508-525-0421

Vineyard Wind is committed to communicating and working with the local fishermen in the region during all stages of development of the proposed offshore wind farm.

Read the full release here

Vineyard Wind commits to fisheries monitoring

April 8, 2019 — Vineyard Wind has announced that it will adopt research measures recommended by a local university to monitor the effects on fisheries of the 84-turbine offshore wind farm, which when operational could be the first industrial-sized installation in the country.

The company, which intends to begin construction later this year of an 84-turbine wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard, entered into a multi-faceted agreement in 2017 with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology. Part of the agreement was for the school to design an approach to research that would be capable of monitoring the effects on fisheries of the one-time construction of the wind farm. The approach also needed to be capable of handling longer-term, regional studies.

“The fishing industry has raised important questions about the impacts of offshore wind development on the marine environment and on sea life,” the company said in a statement released Friday.

While Rhode Island fishermen in February approved a mitigation package that includes $4.2 million in payments over 30 years for direct impacts to commercial fishermen as a result of the wind farm, as well as the creation of a $12.5-million trust set up over five years that could be used to cover additional costs to fishermen resulting from the project, tensions continue to exist.

“It’s this industry against the world,” Lanny Dellinger, a leader in the Rhode Island commercial fishing community, said at a February meeting. “Look around and see what you’re up against. That’s what we had to weigh as a group. There is no choice here.”

The methodology the school is recommending is based on workshops held in November and December, and pilot projects. The procedures should encompass an array of fish species, and an integration of methods that can support additional and on-going fisheries research; the use of a “nested and modular” study design for both a relatively small construction site as well as a wider region; the creation of a standing committee of commercial fishermen to review findings and make recommendations; and the use of local fishermen to provide vessels to support the studies.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

SMAST studies on wind and fisheries poised to begin

April 8, 2019 — Fisheries scientists at the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology will begin a series of studies this spring to evaluate the effects of large-scale offshore wind farms on fish populations and habitat.

As part of an agreement with a wind farm developer, Vineyard Wind, SMAST scientists will monitor commercially fished species during construction of the company’s 84-turbine project south of Martha’s Vineyard. The school will also launch longer-term research to evaluate the regional fishery implications of offshore wind.

The research will begin later this spring, according to Vineyard Wind. SMAST has already conducted a Vineyard Wind-funded trial of video trawling in the wind energy area.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: SouthCoast Man of the Year: Kevin Stokesbury continues to seek solutions to fishing industry challenges

December 31, 2018 —  It’s pretty well known around these parts that homegrown research proved the ocean held more Atlantic sea scallops than federal regulators thought.

And a lot of folks know that the value of those succulent bivalves has made New Bedford the highest-grossing fishing port in America for 18 years running.

Starting in the late 1990s, Professor Kevin Stokesbury of the School for Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth, working with SMAST founding dean Brian Rothschild, developed a video technique to count scallops on the seafloor without harvesting or killing them.

Along the way, he pioneered a partnership with local fishermen.

Some fishermen say the research saved the New Bedford scallop industry. (Other observers point out that federal regulations protected the species at critical times.)

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times

UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology Seeks Fisheries Input Via Public Workshops

November 6, 2018 — The following was released by Vineyard Wind:

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) will host four workshops with the region’s fishing industry to identify priorities for assessments of impacts on fisheries and ecological conditions that are associated with offshore wind development. These priorities, which focus on effects before, during and after construction, will be used to aid the design of studies of the Vineyard Wind project, which will be the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind project.

The SMAST studies, which are part of a collaborative agreement between the school and Vineyard Wind, seek to further public understanding about the effects of offshore wind development and inform future permitting and public policy decisions regarding wind energy facility siting. The fishing industry has raised important questions about the impacts of offshore wind development on the marine environment and on sea life. The comprehensive research effort by SMAST will help establish a robust body of knowledge to benefit the American offshore wind industry and the fishing community long after the first Vineyard Wind project is completed.

Information that is collected by SMAST will be publicly available to help inform future offshore wind permitting and public policy decisions.

SMAST’s scoping workshops for the fishing sector are scheduled as follows:

New Bedford, MA; Thursday, November 8th, 6-8 p.m.
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST)
836 South Rodney French Boulevard

Kingston, RI; Thursday, November 15th, 6-8 p.m.
Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island
East Farm Campus Building 61B URI

Chatham, MA; Monday, November 19th, 6-8 p.m.
Chatham Community Center
792 Main Street

West Tisbury, MA; Monday, December 3rd, 6-8 p.m.
West Tisbury Library
1042 State Road

Vineyard Wind was selected in May 2018 to negotiate long-term contracts with Massachusetts’ electric distribution companies (EDCs) for construction of an 800-megawatt (MW) wind farm 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard; these contracts have now been signed and are pending before the Department of Public Utilities for approval. Vineyard Wind remains on scheduleto begin on-shore construction in 2019 and become operational by 2021.

The Vineyard Wind project continues to move ahead with public and regulatory review through more than 25 federal, state, and local approval processes. These include Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (federal Environmental Impact Statement), the Army Corps of Engineers, the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board, Massachusetts DEP and CZM, the Cape Cod Commission and local conservation commissions.

Don Cuddy: Mattapoisett company moving fishing tech forward

May 29, 2018 — Sometimes a chat over the fence is all it takes to set great things in motion. Fairhaven resident Karl Edminster was talking with his neighbor, marine researcher Emily Keiley, when she mentioned that SMAST had an underwater cable that had suffered damage on a fisheries survey cruise. She knew Karl’s job had something to do with electrical work. He said he’d take a look.

In fact, Karl is president of Electromechanica, a high-tech design-and build engineering outfit based in Mattapoisett. They spliced the cable.

“But we told them we do more than fix cables,” Karl told me. In fact, the perfectly anonymous space the company occupies in the Mattapoisett industrial park produces an array of highly sophisticated devices for an impressive list of clients.

The damaged cable belonged to an underwater camera system that SMAST researchers were using to assess the health of the sea scallop biomass.

“It had older low-resolution analog cameras and a digital still camera that they lowered and triggered remotely,” Karl said. This meant that scientists could not see the images until the cameras were retrieved.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

MASSACHUSETTS: 50 people who met at SMAST believe they can change the fishing industry

May 25, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — About 50 people assembled inside a classroom at UMass Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology on Wednesday night.

They formed the first Ocean Cluster meetup, merging the worlds of fishing and Internet of Things.

Those in the room believed the collaboration, small at its inception, has the potential to revolutionize the industry.

“This night, while there are only 50 of us here, is exactly how this happens,” said Chris Rezendes of CONTEXT LABS, ImpactLABS and Spherical Analytics.

Those who spoke at the event included: Ed Anthes-Washburn and Eli Powell of the New Bedford Port Authority, Cassie Canastra of BASE New England and the Whaling City Display Auction, Mike Carroll of LegitFish, Jeff Young of Advanced Marine Technologies, Liz Wiley of Spherical Analytics and Kevin Stokesbury of SMAST.

Each discussed the importance data plays in their respective organization.

Canastra and Carroll are working together to allow the fish auction to include blockchain technology for fishermen and purchasers.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Scallop RSA Program: NEFMC and NOAA Announce 15 Awards Selected for 2018-2019 funding

May 16, 2018 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:

 

The New England Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) are pleased to announce that 15 projects have been selected for 2018-2019 funding through the Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program.

“The Scallop RSA Program truly has become one of the flagships of the scallop fishery,” said New England Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn. “The collaborative efforts that take place at sea between fishermen and researchers go a long way toward enhancing our understanding of what’s happening with the resource. The results of this RSA work funnel back to the Council and support stock assessments. Without a doubt, the RSA program helps us better manage our – Virginia Institute of Marine Science photo extremely valuable scallop fishery.”

Projects will address research priorities established by the Council, with a particular focus on resource surveys. The awards are expected to generate more than $12 million: $3 million to fund research; and $9 million to compensate industry partners who harvest set-aside quota

“We are excited to be able to work with the New England Fishery Management Council, industry, and scientists to fund sea scallop science through the Research Set-Aside Program,” said NEFSC Science and Research Director Dr. Jon Hare. “The projects funded support surveys, bycatch mitigation, and biological studies, all with the purpose of improving the information used in the management of the sea scallop resource.”

The New England Council established the Sea Scallop RSA Program to address research questions that support management of the scallop resource. The Council sets the research priorities and researchers compete for funding through a federal grant competition managed by NOAA Fisheries.

No federal funds are provided to support the research. Instead, projects are awarded pounds of scallops, which have been “set aside” from the annual fishery quota for this purpose. Successful applicants partner with the fishing industry to harvest their set-aside award to generate funds for the research. There are active research set-aside programs for Atlantic sea scallops, Atlantic herring, and monkfish.

2018-2019 Scallop RSA Award Summary

The awards fall into three categories: scallop surveys (dredge, drop camera, and HabCam); bycatch mitigation; and sea scallop biology.

Scallop Surveys

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) received new awards to conduct dredge surveys in Closed Area I, Closed Area II, and the Nantucket Lightship. Under an existing award from last year, VIMS also will conduct a dredge survey of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. As part of ongoing efforts to better understand scallop survey dredge performance, VIMS investigators received an award to evaluate the hydrodynamic characteristics of both lined and unlined survey dredges in the largest flume tank in the world, located in St. John’s, Newfoundland at Memorial University’s Marine Institute.

The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) received three awards to conduct surveys using a drop-camera array. Through these awards, researchers plan to conduct high-resolution surveys of the Nantucket Lightship, Closed Area I, Great South Channel, and select portions of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will conduct Habitat Camera Mapping System (HabCam) optical surveys throughout the Mid-Atlantic Bight and on the northern flank of Georges Bank. In addition to these surveys, researchers will continue to evaluate dredge effects on habitat and habitat recovery in the Closed Area II Habitat Area of Particular Concern. Coonamessett Farm Foundation will conduct a HabCam survey of the Nantucket Lightship and Southern Flank of Georges Bank.

Bycatch Mitigation

Coonamessett Farm Foundation will continue its seasonal survey on Georges Bank, collecting information on bycatch rates for yellowtail flounder and other species relative to scallop meat yield. These data also will be used to evaluate sea scallop health and meat quality, biological questions about several flounder species, and to examine lobsters for shell disease.

Coonamessett Farm Foundation will continue its loggerhead sea turtle tagging program, receiving funds to tag up to 20 loggerheads with water activated tags. Tag data will be used to evaluate spatial and temporal overlap between loggerhead sea turtles and the scallop fishery.

Coonamessett Farm Foundation also will be testing a dredge twine-top cover net in an attempt to quantify dredge selectivity characteristics.

Sea Scallop Biology

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will investigate sea scallop density-dependence factors that may be affecting growth, mortality, and reproduction of scallops in the Nantucket Lightship and Elephant Trunk areas. In addition, VIMS will conduct a pilot study to extend the current stock assessment model to better account for sea scallop ages with a particular focus on the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Nantucket Lightship areas.

WHOI will receive support to determine if a gonadosomatic index (GSI) can be calculated from Light Field 3D images of shucked scallops collected during fishing operations. The GSI is used to assess maturity and spawning events in many species of fish and shellfish, including scallops. If successful, this could improve the ability to collect and quantify scallop maturation and spawning data during the course of routine fishery sampling procedures.

The 2018-2019 award listings can be found on the Northeast Fisheries Science Center website at: https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/news/scallop-rsa-2018-2019/.

RSA award announcements and answers to “frequently asked questions” also are available at https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/rsa_program.html.

Visit the New England Council’s scallop webpage: https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/scallops.

View the release in its entirety here.