State and Local

AUGUSTA, Maine — February 15, 2014 — Passamaquoddy Chief Joseph Socobasin said Friday the tribe was disappointed that the Department of Marine Resources withdrew its support Wednesday for a tentative agreement with them over the state’s elver fishery because of legal concerns.

Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, on Wednesday told members of the Legislature’s marine resources committee that the department was backing off its support of the proposal because of legal concerns raised by the Maine Office of the Attorney General.

The committee was meeting to discuss possible measures that might be included in a bill, LD 1625, that would lay out rules for the 2014 elver fishing season that starts March 22.

“We were cautiously optimistic” going into the meeting, Socobasin said in a Friday news release.

“By lunchtime, the agreement dissolved before our eyes,” said Vice Chief Clayton Sockabasin, who is also the chair of the Passamaquoddy Fisheries Committee. The Passamaquoddy Fisheries Committee and Passamaquoddy Tribal Leadership entered into good-faith negotiations with the DMR last December. Last week the tribe and the state met with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The commission approved a general proposal for Maine to use a statewide catch quota, rather than a hard cap on fishing licenses, to protect stocks of American eels. Department of Marine Resources officials have promised the commission that Maine will reduce the total statewide volume of the 2014 elver harvest by 35 percent.

The attorney general’s office, however, said that some provisions in the proposal may violate the equal protection clause of the state constitution and, as a result, might be unenforceable if challenged in court. Prohibiting the Passamaquoddys from using fyke nets but allowing nontribal fishermen to use them might not be constitutional, the attorney general’s office has said. The same might be true about penalizing nontribal fishermen who exceed their personal quotas but not imposing penalties on individual Passamaquoddy fishermen, who would have no personal quotas.

Read the full story from The Bangor Daily News

BOSTON — Febrruary 13, 2014 — The following was released by the office of Massachusetts State Senator Bruce Tarr:

Today the Massachusetts State Senate passed an amendment to a supplemental budget filed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) that would fund a vital lobster surveying program at $150,000.

Tarr’s amendment creates a $500,000 reserve fund to be administered by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, of which at least $150,000 will be made available to the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) for a ventless lobster trap survey.  Any remaining money can be expended by DMF, the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Environmental Health or the Department of Public Health’s state laboratory to address concerns associated with bacterial contamination of marine waters and shellfish, in particular Vibrio parahemolyticus (Vp), which is a naturally occurring bacterium in the cholera family and causes gastrointestinal illness in humans.

Since 2003 Massachusetts has participated in a lobster indexing project that utilizes ventless lobster traps, which has proven more accurate than other methods in assessing stocks, and which will not be possible this year without state funding.

“The information that comes from using ventless traps is critical to managing the fishery, negotiating reasonable catch allocations, and developing and implementing rebuilding strategies that make sense,” said Tarr.  ‘Without this funding, the future of our lobster industry will be at risk, and sound management will be imperiled.”

Using ventless lobster traps is considered one of the most accurate methods of stock assessment due to the design of the traps.  A ventless trap prevents most lobsters from escaping, including those that are undersized, so they can be caught and counted, while traditional traps and trawls allow smaller sized lobsters to escape, providing an incomplete picture as to the health of the current stock.

“While Massachusetts is currently unable to move forward with this critical research, our coastal neighbors are continuing with their programs,” said Tarr.  “This puts us at a distinct disadvantage, and one that’s preventable.”

The lobster surveying project is conducted through the partnership of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries with harvesters in the Commonwealth’s lobster fishing industry.  In past years the program received funding through NOAA grants and mitigation funds from marine construction projects, but unfortunately, this year those funds did not become available.

Tarr thanked Senators Dan Wolf (D-Harwich), Thomas McGee (D-Lynn) and Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) for co-sponsoring the amendment and Representative Sarah Peake (D-Provincetown) and Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D-Gloucester) for championing a version of the amendment in the House of Representatives.  He also expressed thanks to Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) for her support on this measure.

The spending bill now awaits action by the House.

View a PDF version of the press release here 

 

MACHIAS, Maine — February 13, 2014 — A small group of fishermen from the Cobscook Bay region gathered Thursday to air complaints about the recent decision of state officials to prematurely close the scallop season.

There are “plenty of scallops around,” said Danny Jodway of Lubec, one of seven fisherman who gathered for breakfast at Helen’s Restaurant and invited reporters to listen to their grievances. Most fishermen can get their limit in roughly an hour, he said.

Department of Marine Resources officials declined to comment on the complaints of the fishermen on Thursday, simply referring to the information the department released last week when announcing the emergency closure that took effect on Feb. 8.

Besides closing Zone 3, which comprises Cobscook Bay and the Saint Croix River, DMR also shut down five other small areas spread out along the coast.

The closures were necessary in order to protect scallop stocks in the affected areas, according to DMR officials, who enacted other emergency conservation measures for the Cobscook Bay region in January.

But the zone to the immediate west remains open for scalloping, noted Joshua Lyons of Lubec, one of the most vocal critics in the group, and scallops may be harvested there five days a week. “How’s that fair?” he asked.

Fishermen who live in the Cobscook Bay region compete during the scallop season with other fisherman to the west in communities like Cutler, Machiasport and Bucks Harbor, the fishermen argued. The Cobscook Bay fishery draws about 70 more boats from outside the region, they said.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

February 13, 2014 — Louisiana plans to use existing and proposed sediment and freshwater diversions as part of a new plan for removing a small share of the fertilizers and other nutrients from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers that are linked to springtime low-oxygen "dead zones" along the state's coastline each year.

The plan also relies on a series of existing programs to voluntarily reduce the release of nutrients from farmlands, urban wastewater treatment plants, rural homes and industries in the state. The plan was developed by the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Departments of Agriculture and Forestry, Environmental Quality, and Natural Resources.

Environmental groups said the plan wouldn't do enough to reduce the problem. 

The dead zone is created each spring when nutrient-rich freshwater from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers triggers blooms of algae at the Gulf's surface. The algae dies and sinks to the bottom, where its decomposition uses up oxygen in the saltier water layer there. The low oxygen levels kill organisms living in bottom sediments and cause shrimp and fish able to escape to move to more oxygen-rich waters.

In recent years, the low-oxygen areas have covered as much as 8,000 square miles of relatively shallow water along the coast, extending at times into Texas and Mississippi. In 2013, it covered 5,840 square miles. 

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune 

 

February 13, 2014 — The buzz at the docks this week was the announcement from the state of the closure of commercial menhaden fishing and speculation about what that means for recreational fishermen.

“At first glance, many recreational anglers will cheer this as a good thing, but the reality of this is that small businesses will suffer,” said Bob Matthews of Fisherman’s Den in Belmar.

The N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife closed the commercial pound net, otter trawl, gill net, and bait net fisheries effective 12 a.m. Thursday on the basis that 2014 quotas had been reached by Wednesday.

However, the principal harvesters of menhaden in New Jersey — the purse seine fishermen — are not shut down and will still be able to ply their trade this year.

For recreational fishermen, who were hoping that menhaden would not be subject to the usual commercial pressures this year, that is not the case.

There is still plenty of uncertainty about how the bait supply to charter and party boats and tackle shops will pan out.

Read the full story from the Asbury Park Press

February 14, 2014 — Though the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) dealt a blow to New Jersey on fluke by including us in a region with New York and Connecticut that results in an 18-inch minimum with four fish during a 128-day season, there was some good news from the recent ASMFC meeting as year-round recreational fishing was permitted for winter flounder.

Unfortunately, anglers won’t be able to take advantage of that opportunity right away because the Division of Fish and Wildlife has to go through the Marine Fisheries Council to make changes in state regulations. Though it intends to change the opening to March 1, the formalities probably won’t be completed before the present March 22 opening.

Actually, there’s no reason to have any dates at all since the ASMFC has opened the entire year. Once in place, a shore fisherman fortunate enough to catch a flounder in the middle of the winter will be able to keep it, as will those party and charter boat anglers who hook the very large flounder that hang around deep water wrecks in the summer.

Extending the recreational season has nothing to do with any improvement in winter flounder abundance. With recreational fishermen restricted to two flounder of at least 12 inches per day, it really doesn’t make any difference how long the season is — even for a species at historic scarcity. That prevents any directed fishery by party boats, and discourages most private anglers due to the cost of fuel and bait when only two small fish can be retained.

Tom Fote, the N.J. governor’s appointee to the ASMFC, points out that the real problem is the 5,000-pound per trip commercial "by-catch" that trawlers are allowed in federal waters. Flounder are concentrated in relatively near-shore ocean waters during the summer, and that so-called "by-catch" provides a good payday while removing more flounder than anglers may catch all year.

In 2012, the recreational landings plus discards for the entire Southern New England-Mid-Atlantic winter flounder stock came to a mere 14,110 pounds (less than 0.1 percent of the angling catch in 1982) while the commercial catch on that stock was 812,402 pounds. In N.J., the Bureau of Marine Fisheries 2013 survey indicated a sharp decrease in all winter flounder indices, and the lowest biomass indices in the last 21 years of the survey.

The closure of directed commercial menhaden fishing in N.J. had tackle shops worried about bait supply, but it appears that a 6,000-pound daily by-catch will be allowed for those involved even though they aren’t fishing for anything else.

Read the full story from The Star-Ledger

HYANNIS, Mass. — February 14, 2014 — Mike Hickey, the state's chief shellfish biologist, could only shake his head in bewilderment and frustration. The plan the state put into place last summer to safeguard diners from oysters contaminated by a virulent bacteria, known as Vibrio p., did not do its job.

The result was an outbreak last summer that closed two major oyster farming areas, in Duxbury and on Martha's Vineyard, and sickened at least 58 people.

At a public hearing Thursday, state fisheries and health officials unveiled a more stringent plan for this summer that requires oysters to be cooled quickly after harvest to inhibit bacterial growth; lays out rules for closing and reopening areas; and tightens regulations governing handling of oysters for cleaning, sorting and transport.

The plan, if approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, would be in effect from May 24 to Oct. 20.

"It's a real challenge for our industry and for our agencies," Julian Cyr, the state Department of Public Health director of policy and regulatory affairs, told 80 shellfishermen gathered at the public hearing on the new measures. "Vibrio is here to stay, and it is one of myriad effects of climate change."

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a bacteria that exists naturally in the wild but can multiply rapidly under the right environmental conditions, particularly in warm water or in an oyster heated by the sun.

People who consume raw oysters contaminated with a high level of Vibrio can experience severe gastrointestinal illness, including fever, chills and diarrhea that might require hospitalization.

Read the full story from the Cape Cod Times

AUGUSTA, Maine — February 12, 2014 — A tentative agreement between state regulators and Maine’s Native American tribes for the upcoming elver season collapsed Wednesday as state officials cited concerns in the Attorney General’s Office that such an accord would violate the state Constitution and be impossible to enforce.

The development raises the already high stakes, with federal regulators threatening to shut down the multimillion-dollar commercial fishery unless the state advances a new management plan and reduces the catch by 35 percent from the 2013 season.

L.D. 1625, a bill advanced by the LePage administration and under review by the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee, is designed to enact that plan and allay regulators’ concerns about the sustainability of the fishery, which is now second in value to the state’s lobster industry.

An agreement with the tribes had been critical to the state’s management plan, which sought to set new limits on the catch without impinging on the sovereignty of the tribes, especially the Passamaquoddies. Last year, the tribe issued 575 licenses, well above the state limit of 200. That led to a clash between law enforcement officers and Passamaquoddy fishermen on the banks of the Pennamaquan River in Washington County.

Last week, the federal Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission gave preliminary approval to the state’s new management plan, which includes a reduction in the harvest to 11,750 pounds statewide, catch quotas for individuals, an electronic swipe card processing system and new penalties that would classify violations as Class D crimes, with $2,000 fines.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald 

 

February 13, 2014 — Meeting at the Capitol in Baton Rogue, the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board took a strong stand against the current preferred alternative recommended by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council on Amendment 28; red snapper allocation.

The resolution introduced by David Maginnis, vice president of Houma’s Jensen Tuna, declared the Board’s strong support for Amendment 28, Alternative 1; retaining the existing allocation of 51% for commercial fishermen and 49% recreational anglers, regardless of the total allowable catch.

The Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council is currently considering Reef Fish Amendment No. 28, Chapter 2 – Management Alternatives. The amendment alters traditional allocation of red snapper between the commercial fishing industry and recreational fisherman.

Two Alternatives are currently before the Council. Alternative 1 is based on an aggregate red snapper quota of 11 million pounds; commercial fishermen would be allocated 5.610 million and recreational fishermen 5.390 million.

The Gulf Council has thrown its support behind Alternative 5; shifting allocation percentages to 75% recreational and 25% commercial for aggregate red snapper quota greater than 9.12 million pounds.

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News

BRUNSWICK, Maine — February 12, 2014 — After considering the livelihoods of local clam harvesters and the need to conserve a shrinking softshell clam population, Brunswick’s Marine Resources Committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to make the smallest reduction possible in the number of commercial shellfish harvesting licenses available this year.

The committee also voted to close the town’s coastal waters to softshell and quahog clam harvesting every weekend until June, and will consider reopening the waters to weekend harvesting in May.

Both measures were in reaction to a severe decline in the town’s softshell clam population, which has been attributed to several factors, most notably by the growing menace of the invasive green crab. The invasive species will be the target of a $39,000 trapping project expected to begin in March.

Commercial harvesting licenses were reduced by 12 percent, from 57 to 50, the smallest possible reduction allowed by the town.

Read the full story from The Bangor Daily News