State and Local

February 13, 2014 — They’ve been in the ocean here since the late 1800s, but there is a growing concern about the continued invasion of green crabs and their impact on the region’s clamming industry.

About 40 state officials, clammers and town officials from across the region — representing Gloucester, Essex, Rowley and Newburyport — gathered at Ipswich Town Hall earlier this week to devise solutions for combating the invasive species, with thoughts ranging from included seeking state grants, discussing ways to control the species’ population and finding a market for the crabs.

“Green crab will eat about anything, especially juvenile shellfish,” said Scott LaPreste, Ipswich’s shellfish constable. “It is our biggest shellfish issue right now,” he said.

LaPreste said Ipswich is responsible for about 30 percent of the state’s clamming industry and typically brings in between $5 million and $10 million per year. Concerns about diminishing clam numbers exist across the East Coast, especially in Maine, he said. There has been about a 30 percent decline statewide in the past 14 years, according to state officials.

LaPreste said there is only a small market for green crabs for bait, though there are talks about finding a better way to market the crabs for other uses. He said there have been no consistent efforts to control the green crabs since the 1960s or ’70s, and milder ocean temperatures are seen as reasons for a possible increase in the crabs.

Read the full story from the Gloucester Daily Times

February 11, 2014 — Reiterating its call for intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court, the state of Florida in a court filing Monday squarely blamed the Apalachicola River’s freshwater woes on decades of Georgia “voraciously” consuming water in the tri-state river basin.

Florida sued Georgia last fall, seeking the court to cap Georgia’s overall water use at levels that existed in 1992. The complaint also asks for the appointment of a special master to “equitably” divide the waters in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint basin, which drains about 20,000 square miles in both states and Alabama. The move came after back-to-back droughts in the region contributed to a historic reduction of freshwater flow and caused the oyster fishery in Apalachicola Bay to collapse. Oysters need a briny mix of fresh and saltwater to thrive.

“For decades, Georgia has voraciously consumed the shared waters of the ACF Basin without legal constraint. The Apalachicola River has suffered, and an Apalachicola Bay fishery has collapsed — all while Georgia increased consumption, refused to negotiate in good faith, and deployed dilatory legal tactics,” Florida’ motion said. “Georgia alone is responsible for its unrelenting consumption of interstate waters and this Court is the only forum in which Florida may seek redress.”

Read the full story at the Tallahassee Democrat

February 12, 2014 — Massachusetts will lose about $34 million in direct revenues because of lower fish landings in 2013 due to the ongoing fishing crisis, and direct and indirect revenue losses to the state’s fishing industry and the communities that host it will be about $103 million, Gov. Deval Patrick said in a letter to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

Patrick’s letter, written in support of the federal provision of $75 million in disaster aid for six declared disasters, including the Northeast Groundfish fishery, maintains that the disaster funds will provide “both immediate relief and targeted investments to ensure our fleet becomes more sustainable in the future.”

Patrick also advanced several distribution strategies, including a “direct subsidy program to fishermen and fishing businesses to provide temporary relief and deal with immediate changes in fishery management” and “support crew and family services.”

The governor also endorsed the concept of loan assistance programs using a long-term, revolving loan fund and stated the need for both shoreside infrastructure support and the implementation of plans to bring more reason and flexibility to fishery management, while helping ensure future stability for the embattled industry.

“I share your belief that this fishery disaster funding should be used to not only begin to remedy the economic harm caused by the fisheries disaster, but also better position our fishery to weather this ongoing resource disaster,” Patrick wrote to Pritzker.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

WASHINGTON — February 12, 2014 — The following was released by the office of New Jersey Congressman Frank LoBiondo:

U.S. Congressman Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ-02), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, today applauded passage by the Committee of his language to place a permanent moratorium from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state regulations and fines governing incidental discharges on commercial fishing vessels and all other commercial vessels less than 79 feet. The “Commercial Vessel Discharges Reform Act of 2013” as introduced by LoBiondo in November was included in H.R. 4005, the “Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act.”

“Starting this December, commercial fishermen, charter and tour boat operators, and owners of other commercial vessels less than 79 feet will have to apply for and receive individual permits from the EPA to discharge from their vessels such things as deck wash, bilge water, and the condensation from air conditioning units. Vessels that operate without these permits could be subject to citizen lawsuits and daily fines that exceed $32,000 per violation,” said LoBiondo. “South Jersey has the second biggest fishing port on the East Coast with the Port of Cape May, supporting thousands of jobs up and down the Jersey Shore. The fines that are scheduled to be levied against our commercial fishermen for incidental charges will be devastating to local South Jersey businesses and our economy.”

In 2006, a federal court in California ruled that the EPA had to regulate the release of ballast water, bilge water, deck wash, rain water runoff and other incidental discharges from vessels under the Clean Water Act. Over 28 states have added additional and often contradictory regulations on top of the federal standard.

Read the full press release here 

 

February 10, 2014 — The owner and CEO of Red’s Best, Jared Auerbach, and Red’s Best are a bit of an anomaly. In a business of old-timers, Jared is a newcomer, spending a few years on commercial vessels before he decided to see how things work on the land side of the pier. Red’s Best is developing innovative technology to change the way fishermen sell to distributors and the way restaurateurs and consumers trace their seafood from boat to plate. And notwithstanding the gloom surrounding some of New England fishing operations, his business is thriving—since beginning six years ago, it’s grown from one employee to about fifty.

“This industry is archaic,” he says as he scrolls through an iPhone app that lets him track in real time where and when boats he buys from will be landing and what species they’ll be offloading. With that information, he can dispatch one of his fleet of Red’s Best trucks right to the port and have fresh fish back in his distribution center just hours after it’s caught. What’s more, he can trace what vessel caught which fish with what gear and code that information to a QR code placed on a label affixed to each shipment, allowing his customers to find out exactly where their seafood comes from. His website displays new seafood arrivals to wholesalers and helps fishermen track their sales history.

All this technology gives Red’s Best a competitive advantage, reducing transaction costs and creating new efficiency in the distribution process. It also let them work more effectively with day boat coastal fishermen, building on the relationships Jared built in his years working on commercial vessels. During the summer months, Red’s Best buys from up to 200 vessels each day, and two thirds of the seafood they sell comes from these regional day boats.

The Red’s Best model charts a new path forward for sustainable, locally sourced seafood. Allowing consumers to easily trace the origin of their fish helps everyone make better choices about their seafood purchases. Buying from the day boat fleet supports fishermen with the best prices, creates a relationship that will result in better seafood harvesting and handling, and encourages stewardship of a public resource. And Jared’s expertise in selling the right seafood to his customers—a process he describes as “matchmaking”—encourages the purchase of seasonal, local fish and helps him sell relatively abundant species like skates.

Read the full story from the Conservation Law Foundation 

 

February 11, 2014 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A bill before the Legislature filed by state Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester would give Bay State groundfishermen, who land 70 percent of the catch in New England, some traction in the seafood marketing business.

The bill emerged out of the state's Seafood Marketing Commission and would brand Massachusetts-landed fish along the lines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture "Buy Local" campaign.

Rep. Antonio Cabral, D-New Bedford, was among those testifying last Friday to the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture on behalf of the bill.

The legislation would establish the new marketing entity in the Division of Marine Fisheries rather than the Department of Agriculture. That is because, Cabral told The Standard-Times, the Department of Agriculture has never dealt with fish.

The idea, Cabral said, is to build up the public's awareness that Massachusetts-caught fish are a healthy, high-quality product.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

February 10, 2014 — Aquaculturists see victory in a pilot program that will allow floating oyster cages in areas of Cape Cod Bay visited by rare turtles and whales.

In the past year, state regulators objected to the equipment because they said the increased volume of rope could entangle the rare animals. Now, the towns of Truro and Provincetown have reached an agreement to allow the cages in a new 50-acre aquaculture tract off North Truro.

"I think this is a win/win for growers and protected species advocates," Truro Shellfish Advisory Board member Scott Lindell said last week in an email to the Times.

Lindell, who directs a scientific aquaculture program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, negotiated with state officials on behalf of local oyster growers who want to use the floating OysterGro brand of equipment.

OysterGro has been used in shallow estuaries and salt ponds in Massachusetts, according to state officials, but its proposed use in open waters in Cape Cod Bay is new. The new "aquaculture development area" tract is a joint experiment of the two towns to encourage local shellfish harvesting by removing barriers for small-business owners, such as federal permits. Each town is in charge of 25 acres.

OysterGro is headquartered in Canada, and has a sales office in New Bedford. The equipment consists of a wire mesh cage attached to a float, which is then roped together with another cage and float combination, and then another and another. The array of floating cages is anchored with rope to the seafloor.

"It would be nice to get to work," North Truro shellfisherman Dana Pazolt said last week about the yearlong wait to use OysterGro in the new tract.

The tract, which is in about 20 feet of water, received its federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Jan. 25, 2013. But state marine fisheries officials raised objections the following month about the potential risks of more lines in the water.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

ELLSWORTH, Maine — February 8, 2014 — In an emergency measure, officials have closed down all of Cobscook Bay and the Saint Croix River to scallop fishing for the rest of the season, as well as five other smaller areas spread out along the coast.

Maine Department of Marine Resources also has decided to add Wednesday to the days of the week during which scallop fishing is not allowed in the waters around the Muscle Ridge Islands off South Thomaston. Fishing in the Muscle Ridge area still is allowed on other days of the week, depending on variables such as the month and fishing method.

Areas outside of Zone 3, which is comprised of Cobscook Bay and the Saint Croix River, that have been closed for the remainder of the season include the Damariscotta River, Muscongus Bay, Somes Sound, Gouldsboro Bay and waters between Great Wass Island in Beals and Moose Neck in Addison.

The closures went into effect on Saturday, Feb. 8 and are being implemented to protect scallop stocks in the affected areas, DMR announced Friday. Fishing in Zones 1 and 2, from the New Hampshire border to the Lubec-Campobello Bridge, remains limited to five days a week and to 15 gallons a day per licensed fisherman. Maine’s scallop season is scheduled to end on March 20.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MOREHEAD CITY, North Carolina — February 8, 2014 — State officials have closed coastal and inland waters to commercial and recreational spotted sea trout fishing after recent cold weather led to fish kills.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries says the waters will remain closed until June 15.

Division Director Louis Daniel issued a proclamation this week closing all coastal waters after cold stun events were confirmed in several coastal rivers, bays and creeks.

Read the full story by the Associated Press at The Seymour Tribune 

 

 

ELLSWORTH, Maine — February 8, 2014 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has agreed to allow Maine to restrict its annual elver harvest with a statewide quota, rather than by a cap on the number of licenses that can be issued throughout the state.

The decision on Thursday by the interstate commission, which regulates fisheries in state marine waters, allows Maine Department of Marine Resources to continue ironing out details of a tentative agreement it has reached with the Passamaquoddy Tribe about the juvenile American eel fishery.

Under the agreement, which would resolve a long-running dispute between the department and the tribe, DMR would not object to the tribe issuing as many dip-net licenses to its members as it wants but the tribe would be limited to a 1,650-pound catch total for the 2014 season and would require its members to use state-issued swipe cards, which will track daily landings statewide, whenever they sell their elvers to dealers.

DMR plans to impose individual catch quotas on fishermen that are based on each fisherman’s catch history over the past three years, which the department has said should significantly inhibit illegal poaching. Passamaquoddys will not have individual quotas.

According to a press release issued Friday by the commission, Maine will be limited to a statewide harvest of 11,749 pounds for the 10-week elver season, which is scheduled to begin on March 22. The statewide quota represents a 35 percent reduction from the more than 18,000 total pounds caught in Maine last year, when there was no statewide catch limit. The commission had told Maine that, to better protect declining American eel populations, the state had to reduce its 2014 catch total by 25 to 40 percent.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News