State and Local

The most lucrative fishery in Maine right now isn't lobster, or scallops, or urchin roe, its the juvenile eel, or "elver" fishery. Fueled by demand from the Far East, the price per pound has soared over the past two years, and the going rate this season has topped over $2,000 per pound. But these prices also create a powerful incentive for poaching. A bill approved by the Maine House of Representatives today aims to put a dent in illegal elver fishing, while paving the way for a few legal fishermen to get in on the game.

Prices for elvers have gone up and down over the years, but they've never been as high as they are now. That's thanks to the demand in Asia, where the juvenile eels are raised for the seafood industry. Europe used to be a supplier, but that market was shut down due to overfishing. That leaves just a few hot spots left. In the U.S., Maine and South Carolina are the only two elver fisheries in the country. Sergeant Rene Cloutier is with the Maine Marine Patrol, which monitors rivers for poachers.

"I guess to put it in perspective, I was at a brook the other day, right in the middle of the day, and in 3 or 4 minutes, I probably saw 20, 25 elvers," said Cloutier. "And last year, the year before, that wouldn't have amounted to anything- I wouldn't have even given that a second thought. But a person could have made 25 dollars there in 5 minutes."

Read the complete story from The Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MOUNT DESERT — March 28, 2012 – It is not normal for nearly 20 scallop draggers to be moored off the public boat ramp at Bartlett’s Landings on the west side of Mount Desert Island.

Nor is it normal for Maine Marine Patrol officers to find so many fishermen violating scallop regulations at one particular site.

But the law enforcement arm of the state Department of Marine Resources has issued roughly a dozen citations this winter to fishermen who have been dragging for scallops at a site on the other side of Bartlett Island, according to marine patrol Lt. Dale Sprowl. He said recently that as many as 30-40 scallop boats from all over the state have been in the area.

Read the complete story from The Sun Journal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 28, 2012- Amid calls for better implementation of regulations and more flexibility, the Mayor's Ocean and Fisheries Council is considering ways to overcome the ongoing difficulties facing the groundfish industry.

"We need more flexibility in the law," said Dr. Brian Rothschild, of UMass Dartmouth's School for Marine Science and Technology, who chaired Tuesday's meeting at the Waterfront Grille.

"But we also need better implementation of the regulations," Rothschild said, lamenting the fact that the management system is such that fishermen bring in only a fraction of the catch they are allocated. Out of 140,000 tons of fish in the total allowable catch, only 32,000 are actually landed annually, he said.

Others at the meeting included former mayor Scott W. Lang, Jim Quigley from Rep. William Keating's office and David Pierce, deputy director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

"Unfortunately, we're not matching our science capacity to our management strategy," said UMass Dartmouth's Steve Cadrin, who serves on the science and statistical committee of the New England Fishery Management Council. "There's going to be a new fishing crisis every year."

Since a comprehensive 2008 assessment of all groundfish stocks, there have been only "piecemeal" assessments done and catch limits are set every year without updated stock assessments, he said.

"So we're using five-year projections and the further out you get, the more uncertain they become," he said. Such projections do not provide a reliable basis for setting catch limits, according to Cadrin.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Standard Times.

 

Baltimore, MD, March 27, 2012 – Maryland is in the early stages of seeking Marine Stewardship Council certification for its blue crab harvest, which one chef predicted would be "huge" in helping sales. The state is seeking the certification as more people become concerned about where their food comes from and how its production affects the environment.

The certification looks at the impact of harvesting on the environment and other species, whether fisheries managers have the ability to monitor the species and whether the harvest is being tracked adequately. Louisiana recently won certification for its crab harvest, and Maryland also has applied for its striped bass fishery.

Deciding among the crab offerings at the supermarket can be daunting. Jumbo lump, backfin or claw? Chesapeake, Gulf or Indonesian?

Competition is tough when it comes to the packaged blue crab meat many associate with the Chesapeake Bay but which often comes from the Gulf of Mexico, Venezuela and the Far East. That's one reason Maryland fisheries officials hope to set their catch apart by touting the state's sustainable fishing methods.

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"Restaurants are really looking for something like that. There are a lot of restaurants that focus on sustainability issues and they really haven't had a blue crab to be able to embrace," said Steve Vilnit, seafood marketing specialist for Maryland's Department of Natural Resources.

Crabs are the Chesapeake Bay's biggest moneymaker, bringing in $52 million in Maryland in 2009, and many chefs believe they are among the world's best. The lower salinity of the upper Chesapeake Bay makes the meat sweeter and more tender, and the crabs hibernate over the winter, storing fat that makes them taste richer than nonhibernating crabs from farther south, said Chad Wells, executive chef at Alewife in Baltimore.

But competition is tough and with prices topping $20 a pound for Maryland's picked crab meat, many buyers look elsewhere for cheaper alternatives. MSC certification would give consumers another reason to buy Maryland crab, and Wells said he thought it would be "huge" in getting it into more supply chains.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe.

New Bedford, MA, March 27, 2012 — Work is under way on the first phase of a long-awaited project to make shore power available to boats and reduce diesel emissions on all of the city's fish piers.

Sixteen pedestals will be installed on Steamship Pier and Coal Pocket Pier in the coming weeks. The contractor is the Cullen Electric company of Duxbury.

"They are moving right along. Right now, they're in the process of putting conduits beneath the piers," said Ed Washburn, interim executive director of the Harbor Development Commission. "They hope to be finished sometime in May before the summer season."

Fishing boats tied to the wharves now rely on onboard generators to keep their batteries charged. Reducing that dependence will cut emissions and save the industry money in fuel and other costs, officials say.

"This is an important clean air initiative that will result in cost savings for the fishermen and reduce carbon emissions," New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said.

As efforts to upgrade the harbor's infrastructure continue, the city in July 2010 secured a $1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fund the work on Steamship Pier and the adjacent Coal Pocket Pier.

"That money came from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act," Washburn said. A study undertaken prior to the work concluded that when all 42 of the planned shore power pedestals are installed, there will be a reduction of approximately 310,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually, the equivalent of about 3,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

When the project is complete, there will be six pedestals on Homer's Wharf, 12 on Leonard's Wharf and eight on Fisherman's Wharf, in addition to those on Steamship Pier and Coal Pocket Pier.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Standard Times.

Portland, ME, March 27, 2012 — Officials at the Portland Fish Exchange have worried that a failing refrigeration system might force them to close the auction facility once the summer's heat arrived.

Those worries are over.

The city will receive a $320,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration to make immediate repairs to the refrigeration system, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, announced Monday.

The money will be used to replace refrigeration equipment that was installed in the 1990s and has developed significant leaks. The funding will also enable the Fish Exchange to buy new equipment to wash totes — the plastic boxes where fish are stored in the facility.

Fish Exchange officials say the refrigeration system is working in the current cool weather, but could fail when warmer weather arrives this summer.

Pingree said federal officials have agreed to process a request to expedite the grant so the Fish Exchange can get the money as soon as possible.

Tom Valleau, who serves on the Fish Exchange's board of directors, said the grant money will keep the exchange in business this summer.

"This is a perishable product," he said. "The three rules of fish are: Keep it clean, keep it moving and keep it cold. If you can't keep it cold, we are not in the game. This is wonderful news."

Ninety-five percent of the fish landed in Maine goes through the Fish Exchange, which closes its annual books at the end of March. The auction house has struggled in recent years with record-low catches. This year, though, the exchange has made a turnaround.

Read the full article at the Portland Press Herald.

 

OAK BLUFFS – Friday, March 23, 2012 – Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Commissioner Mary Griffin, along with officials from DFG's Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), joined local officials, family and friends today to present Vineyard native John T. Hughes with the Dr. David L. Belding Award for his work in marine resource conservation.

“Mr. Hughes’ work is critical to the scientific understanding of the life history of American lobster and greatly benefited long-term research and conservation of one of the most significant fisheries in Massachusetts,” said Commissioner Griffin, who presented the award to Hughes.

Officials also surprised Hughes, who celebrated his 90th birthday today, by renaming the former state lobster hatchery where he worked for 36 years in his honor.

“The Division of Marine Fisheries is pleased to honor John by presenting him with the Belding Award and renaming in his honor the facility he helped build. I congratulate him on behalf of the entire division,” said DMF Director Paul Diodati.

Hughes began his career with DMF in 1948. Hughes, a graduate from the University of Massachusetts and ex-Navy mine sweeper commander, started his tenure with an assignment to work with lobsters at a state lobster hatchery planned for construction in Oak Bluffs in 1949.

By 1951, the DMF lobster hatchery became operational with Hughes as its first manager. He began lobster rearing experiments, gradually improving on techniques previously tried by others and studying the life cycle of this species. His annual production and release of lobster larvae and associated life history studies contributed to the knowledge of this species which also significantly benefited other researchers working on not only lobster biological, but human biological theses. Research specimens generated by this facility were sought after by the scientific community and the facility served as a base for many visiting researchers.

Mr. Hughes became an advocate for lobster resource conservation and a source of knowledge and advice for those interested in developing lobster rearing operations for research or commercial production. He retired from DMF in 1984.

“Congratulations to Mr. Hughes for on his wonderful career and life time achievements that were more than worthy of this prestigious award,” said Sen. Dan Wolf. “Our marine habitats play such an important role in my district, especially on the islands, and I hope that by renaming the hatchery and research facility after someone dedicated to conservation and preservation we will inspire another generation to follow in his footsteps.”

“Renaming this historic hatchery after John ensures that his years of dedication to lobster research will not soon be forgotten,” said Rep. Timothy Madden.  “John’s body of work is a testament to turning a passion into a career and using a career to pursue a passion. The Vineyard is certainly proud the building is being named after a native-son.”

The hatchery – now known as the John T. Hughes Hatchery and Research Facility – was designed for the purpose of lobster propagation to bolster the population in Massachusetts. The technique relied on obtaining large egg-bearing females from offshore fishermen, and rearing the eggs at the hatchery. The offspring were then released into coastal waters during the summer months as young-of-the-year juveniles. Other lobster life history studies were conducted with numerous collaborating researchers.

By the late 1990s, production at the hatchery declined as warming waters in the facility’s Lagoon Pond made maintenance of adult lobsters difficult. Eventually, lobster culturing activities were stopped. The facility transitioned into a field station for several DMF employees on Martha’s Vineyard.

“My siblings, niece and nephews and I are so pleased that dad is being given the David Belding Award, and are thrilled that the hatchery is being re-named in his honor,” said Pat Hughes.

Recently, a new initiative between DMF and the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group has returned part of the field station into a hatchery facility for shellfish more suitable to the conditions at Lagoon Pond. DMF has invested in new infrastructure and other building updates to support the group’s aquaculture activities, specifically the growing of seed shellfish for transplant to flats around Martha’s Vineyard.

The Belding Award was created in 1989 to honor individuals who, in the opinion of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission (MFC), have done the most to promote the conservation and sustainable use of the Commonwealth’s marine resources. The award’s namesake, Dr. David L. Belding, was well known both to medical students and shellfish wardens in the first half of the 20th century, as he conducted two distinguished careers simultaneously in medicine and marine biology. Dr. Belding, who passed away in 1972, left a prodigious life’s work. His research in marine biology, especially local shellfish populations, is continually referred to, even today, and became one of the cornerstones of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). The award was funded in perpetuity by Dr. Belding’s family.

DFG is responsible for promoting the conservation and enjoyment of the Commonwealth's natural resources. DFG carries out this mission through land protection and wildlife habitat management, management of inland and marine fish and wildlife species, and ecological restoration of fresh water, salt water, and terrestrial habitats. DFG promotes enjoyment of the Massachusetts environment through outdoor skills workshops, fishing festivals and other educational programs, and by enhancing access to the Commonwealth's rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.

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March 20, 2012 – Following the completion of a strategic plan in 2009, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association began to reorganize into a non-profit corporation to achieve its mission.  The MLA’s mission is to preserve Maine's lobstering heritage through programs that support a sustainable lobster resource and the fishermen and communities that depend on it. 

In May 2010, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) requested termination of a consent decree entered into in 1958 with the Department of Justice (DOJ), resulting from a 1957 DOJ suit against MLA for alleged price fixing.  The request was made as part of MLA’s reorganization directed by the MLA Board of Directors in order to ensure MLA is strategically positioned to fulfill its mission.

In its request to the DOJ, MLA explained that the industry has changed substantially in the more than five decades since the Consent Decree was entered.  During that time, environmental, economic and fisheries management regulations have fundamentally altered the industry, and MLA’s role, as noted above, has evolved to address these changes.

MLA believes that the terms of the Consent Decree serve no public interest purpose today.  Moreover, they impose on MLA needless limitations on its corporate activities that are unrelated to the antitrust concerns addressed by the Consent Decree.  For example, unless the MLA remains organized in its current structure as a cooperative, the Consent Decree may prevent it from involvement in many fishery management activities that affect the health of the lobster resource, the safety and efficiency of harvesting practices and the imposition of measures to protect endangered marine species.  The MLA plans to reorganize as a non-profit corporation in order to further its education, stewardship, economic development, charitable and management related activities.

MLA also noted in its request to the DOJ that the organization does not play any direct role in the purchase or sale of lobsters, and thus is not involved in any of the practices that gave rise to the 1958 DOJ enforcement action.  Finally, MLA observed that after the Consent Decree is terminated, it would remain subject to all applicable antitrust laws.  In light of these points, MLA requested termination of the Consent Decree as soon as practicable.

In March 2011, in accordance with DOJ procedures for consideration of a request to terminate a Consent Decree, the MLA published the following notice of its intent to seek termination of this Consent Decree in the MLA Newsletter and the Portland Press Herald inviting interested parties to provide the Department of Justice their comments or any relevant information they wish to provide.

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO TERMINATE MAINE LOBSTERMEN'S ASSOCIATION FINAL JUDGMENT

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Maine Lobstermen's Association, Inc. ("MLA"), as successor in interest to one of the original defendants in the Final Judgment entered in United States v. Maine Lobstermen's Association and Leslie Dyer, Antitrust & Trade Reg. Rep. (BNA) ¶ 69,114; at 74,373 (Aug. 5, 1958), (the "Final Judgment"), intends to petition the United States District Court for the District of Maine to enter an Order terminating the Final Judgment.

On October 15, 1957, the United Stated filed a complaint alleging that the Maine Lobsterman's Association and its then-president Leslie Dyer combined and conspired with each other and with others, to fix and establish a minimum selling price for live Maine lobsters sold to lobster dealers, to refrain from catching lobsters until such minimum price was obtained, and to induce and compel all Maine lobstermen to adhere to the terms of the conspiracy charged, all in violation of the Section 1 of the Sherman Act.  After an indictment was returned but before a trial on the merits, the United States District Court for the District of Maine entered the Final Judgment which permanently enjoined the Maine Lobstermen's Association or any of its members from entering into or adhering to any agreement or understanding to fix or maintain the price for sale of live Maine lobsters, or to reduce, curtail or limit the catch of live Maine lobsters.  If the Final Judgment is terminated, the MLA would not be precluded from participating in ongoing fisheries management measures and educational outreach aimed at sustaining the Maine lobster fishery.  The MLA still would be subject to all applicable antitrust laws.

Before determining whether it should join a motion to terminate the Final Judgment, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice invites interested persons to provide the Division with any information or comments relevant to the proposed termination.  Interested persons may submit information or comments to William Stallings, Acting Chief, Transportation, Energy & Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Suite 8000,450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20530.

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CHATHAM, Mass. (March 12, 2012) – Fishermen from Cape Cod support the Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act (FIRRA) introduced inthe U.S. Senate today by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

The proposed legislation would re-purpose a critical funding stream from duties collected on imported fish products. The bill realigns this revenue with the intent of the original law, which established that a large part of these funds be directed to help promote American fisheries and fund the science and research necessary to make them successful and sustainable.

 

The new bill provides that these funds would again be distributed on a local level for fisheries research, stock assessments, and monitoring and data collection, among other needs. These resources would come during a critical period when lack of real-time information is creating instability and hardship in New England's fishery.

 

"It's really encouraging to see our New England Senators take this proactive step for our fishery, and I thank them for their hard work" says Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association president and groundfisherman, Eric Hesse of West Barnstable, Mass. "Today's situation with Gulf of Maine cod underscores the importance of improved cooperative management and greater monitoring resources."

 

"I am not too crazy about the way fisheries management is working," adds Stu Tolley, a groundfish, monkfish and skate fisherman from Chatham, Mass. "Groundfish are going downhill, and there are too many dogfish and seals. If this bill gets money to the regions to fund fishermen's involvement in research – that would be a good thing. The best knowledge and information about our fisheries is going to come from fishermen."

 

"The regional council and fisheries service both need more consistent funding for research and monitoring," says scallop fisherman Tye Vecchione of Chatham, Mass. "If they always have to wonder if they're going to get it, they can't build a long-term plan to work with us. At the end of the day, without this research and better data, it's our businesses and our industry that suffer."

 

The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association is a nationally recognized, non-profit organization that works to develop and implement creative solutions that promote healthy oceans, strong fishing businesses and thriving coastal communities. It is taking action now to make sure there are fish and fishermen for future generations

 

CCCHFA is the leading voice of commercial fishermen on Cape Cod, working with over 120 independent fishing businesses and more than 300 local fishing families. In the 2010-2011 fishing season, these fishermen brought to market more than 2.2 million pounds of groundfish such as cod, haddock, flounder and pollock, 400,000 pounds of sea scallops and over 227,000 pounds of lobsters, among other important Cape Cod seafood. Learn more about our work and how you can help us support our local fishermen at www.ccchfa.org.

 

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The 37th annual Maine Fishermen's Forum took place last week at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, and once again served up an opportunity to look, listen and talk about the state of Maine's fishing industries. Fishermen, federal and state scientists, seafood dealers, environmental organizations, state legislators, and individuals working in the state's many different fisheries industries ate, drank and argued together in a noisy but cheerful atmosphere.

Governor LePage addressed forum-goers on Friday morning before introducing the new Department of Marine Resources (DMR) commissioner, Patrick Keliher, who was confirmed in late January. The governor said his administration is committed to moving the fishing industries of the state forward: "They are economic engines, but more than that they are a lifestyle." He called for better identification and marketing of Maine's lobsters in the face of mislabeling by other states and Canadian provinces.

Commissioner Keliher said DMR's mission is to "sustain the resources and our coastal communities." To do that, he intends to emphasize proactive planning in order to forestall any abrupt dips or changes in the state's fishing industries. "We have a lot we can do to control our own destiny," he said.

Read the complete story from The Free Press.