State and Local

BELFAST, Maine — May 24, 2014 — The National Marine Fisheries Service Saturday closed a large swath of ocean offshore in the Gulf of Maine to fishing for Atlantic herring — the preferred bait of many lobstermen.

But the closure should not have a major detrimental impact on the state’s valuable lobster fishery, according to David Cousens, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. He said Saturday that management area 1B, which begins at the eastern tip of Cape Cod and travels northeast along the Gulf of Maine, is not as productive a place to catch herring as management area 1A, which hugs the Maine shoreline.

“It’s not a big deal,” Cousens said of the herring fishery closure.

Last year, according to figures from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, fishermen brought in 44,579 metric tons of Atlantic herring, or nearly 100 million pounds. At 16 cents a pound, the fishery was valued at $15.39 million — more money than ever before, and double what it was worth in 2009.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

May 26, 2014 — China has lifted a five month-long ban on live shellfish from U.S. West Coast waters.   U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) released a statement Friday saying the ban had been lifted. The ban had particularly affected the Washington and Alaska shellfish industry.

China imposed a ban in December on the import of clams, oysters, mussels and scallops harvested from Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Northern California. China detected high levels of inorganic arsenic in geoducks from Puget Sound. It also found paralytic shellfish poisoning in geoducks harvested in Alaska.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at Alaska Public Media 

 

May 26, 2014 — The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission decided Thursday to open gill net fishing for the first time this year on June 1. An overharvest of red drum fish last fall carried forward penalties into this season.

Norris and his wife missed all of May, one of the prime months for flounder fishing, losing thousands of dollars in income, he said. His medical bills total more than $100,000 a year, exceeding the retirement income and health benefits he has had since leaving the Ford plant 14 years ago.

"When they tell me I can't fish, they give me a death sentence," Norris said.

North Carolina is one of a few coastal states that allow widespread gill net fishing. Recreational groups such as the Coastal Conservation Association want a ban on gill net fishing in North Carolina because endangered sea turtles and game fish such as red drum, speckled trout and striped bass get entrapped and die in the mesh.

Recreational and commercial fishing interests have a long-running – and at times heated – debate over what statistics show.

North Carolina's recreational fishing haul is among the best in the country. The state ranks fourth in the nation in recreational fishing harvest and third in number of angler trips, according to statistics collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service and provided by North Carolina Sea Grant. Red drum harvest was the highest in 2013, according to state statistics.

"We're doing so well in recreational angling even with these fishing gears," said Sara Mirabilio, a fisheries specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant.

Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot

May 24, 2014 — Telephone calls, a social media campaign and airborne advertising banners are all part of a campaign this weekend by environmental activists and fishermen to block a scientific study of the sea floor that will use a seismic air gun to probe layers of ancient sediments.

A research consortium led by Rutgers University said the project is critical to understanding links between sea level and climate changes over the ages — and for the future, to understand where 21st century sea level rise is headed. Like a medical sonogram, reflected sound waves from the sea floor will yield a three-dimensional image of those past changes.

Fishermen contend they are worried that doing the survey in summer will scare fish away and hurt their industry, still struggling with the effects of superstorm Sandy.

Scientists said it's the best time of year for this work.

"But there's more fish and whales and (endangered) sturgeon this time of the year than any other," said Thomas P. Fote of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association. "There's been a danger of shutting down the whole East Coast (fishing) industry over sturgeon."

The study area will affect the Barnegat Ridge, an offshore formation that's important fishing grounds for recreational and commercial fishermen, said James Lovgren, a captain with the Fishermen's Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach.

"It's going to scare fish 20 or 30 miles away," Lovgren said of the booming air gun.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

May 24, 2014 — After an uneasy wait, local shrimpers will take to the water as the inshore brown shrimp season opens this week.

Local processors say they are expecting a mad dash with prices holding high in a season that will likely be shorter than normal. Inshore waters between Freshwater Bayou and the Mississippi River open at 6 a.m. Monday.

“It is going to be derby style this year,” said David Chauvin, who owns David Chauvin's Seafood Co. in Dulac and the Mariah Jade Shrimp Co. in Chauvin. “They know they have 35 days for production at the most. You can bet they are going to put as much effort as they possibly can. They are going to try to pull as many days out at sea as they can.”

Spring winds push shrimp larvae out of the colder, deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico and into the calm marsh and wetlands where they can grow freely, unfettered by the hazards of the open ocean. But one of the coldest winters on record has dampened the growth of Louisiana's inland brown shrimp.

Read the full story at The Houma Courier

 

 

RALEIGH, N.C. — May 26, 2014 —  “Live Crabs, $5.99 per pound” reads the paper sign hanging on the glass door of Saltwater Seafood, which on a good day sells 2,000 pounds of fish and shellfish.

Two years ago, that same North Carolina hard-shell blue crab cost customers just $2.99 per pound.

It’s a sign of a faltering North Carolina commercial fishing industry. A surge in prices has accompanied a drop in the state’s fish and shellfish harvest, which fell in 2013 for the fourth year in a row to the lowest in 10 years, according to a recent report from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

The 50 million pounds of fish and shellfish North Carolina commercial fishermen landed in 2013 is 12 percent less than in 2012 and 21 percent down from the five-year average. But the value, close to $79 million, was 9 percent higher than in 2012 and the highest price per pound in a decade.

Read the full story at the News Observer 

 

May 23, 2014 — Fish and chips aren’t just for Fridays in Lent — especially in SouthCoast, where the vast number of superior seafood joints can leave locals spoiled by a richness of choices.

It also leaves a guy like me — with an incurable taste for fresh seafood — the opportunity to sample some of the freshest fish on the planet. After all, New Bedford has been ranked the No. 1 seafood port in the nation for more than dozen years in a row. And I have hundreds of fish-and-chip options within a half-hour drive from my home in New Bedford.

If I were making this list 15 years ago, my top three spots would have been Yvette’s on Ashley Boulevard, Jerry’s on Nash Road, and Ronnie’s on Belleville Avenue, but unfortunately those places no longer exist.

It’s also a bit tough on the gut to eat 10-plus orders of fish and chips within the span of one assignment, so I’ve assembled a list consisting of some of my old personal favorites, along with some new spots I’ve just recently tried. I’ve also included a few places that are critically acclaimed by local experts whose word is just too good to be ignored.

So bring on the vinegar and tartar sauce; here are my selections for the Top 10 places for fish and chips in SouthCoast.

CAPE QUALITY SEAFOOD, DARTMOUTH
The one restaurant that’s on everyone’s list is Cape Quality Seafood in Dartmouth. The masses’ opinions can’t be ignored. Plus, Cape Quality’s website says the restaurant only uses local seafood, which is obviously a bonus. And at $7.99, you’re not likely to find this dish at a more affordable price.

HORTA'S, NEW BEDFORD
Next is Horta’s in New Bedford’s South End. Mention the words fish and chips to friends, and it’s always first or one of the first names you’ll hear in response. They’re just that good. “My father taught me that Horta’s was the only place to go,” said Emily Saunders of New Bedford. “And he was a reliable source for that type of info, so…”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

ASBURY PARK, N.J. — May 24, 2014 — Jersey Shore beaches are in fine shape overall and beachwater quality is outstanding heading into Memorial Day weekend, New Jersey's top environmental official said Thursday.

"The water quality is excellent," said Bob Martin, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. "Our beaches are in great shape. Virtually all our beaches are open throughout the state…. Please come down to the Jersey Shore, create some great new memories overall."

Meanwhile, officials have removed 301 tons of dead fish — almost all of them menhaden, or bunker — from the Shark River since a fish kill that began last week, according to DEP officials. It's one of the largest fish kills the DEP has ever seen.

An estimated 500,000 to 600,000 fish died after they swam into the river and "there was not enough oxygen" in the water, Martin said at the 12th Annual New Jersey State of the Shore media event at McLoone's Asbury Grille. "It's a natural occurrence," and 80 to 90 percent of the massive cleanup will be completed by Thursday, he said.

Event organizers also announced New Jersey's Top 10 Beaches, an annual project of the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium and the Coastal Research Center at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in Galloway.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — May 22, 2014 — The Fisherman's Market on Blackmer Street in the city's South Terminal closed Saturday, with the Lars Vinjerud family saying on their web site that the store will reopen in a more convenient location.

For four years the store has occupied a first-floor corner of the Oceans Fleet Fisheries scallop processing plant. The announcement said that the space will be reassigned to its wholesale business as the largest of the scallop processors.

Kendra Pratt, manager of the store, which was frequently very busy, will be laid off after the store is dismantled, she said today.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

May 22, 2014 — Crews continued working to remove thousands of dead fish from a section of Marina del Rey, saying other marine life will be endangered as long as the decaying fish remain in the water, it was reported May 21.

The fish — including anchovies, rays, eels, sharks and other species — started floating belly-up Saturday in the marina’s A Basin near Bora Bora Way.

Brian Meux, a marine programs manager at Los Angeles Waterkeeper, said he believes a large school of fish swam into the marina when the tide was dropping amid warm temperatures, leading to a sharp drop in levels of dissolved oxygen in the water.

“What that’s like (is) if we are all here at a big football game and someone just threw a big plastic bag over the whole thing and just trapped us in, we’d all pretty much suffocate too,” Meux said.

Any fish unable to get out of the area died quickly, he said.

Now those thousands of fish are decaying, keeping oxygen levels low and releasing chemicals like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia into the water.

Read the full story at West Side Today