Saving Seafood

Scientists to Meet Fishers of Cod, Sole About Future of Fish

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishery regulators are meeting with commercial and recreational fishermen around New England and New York to talk about upcoming assessments of key fish stocks.

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center has scheduled the “port outreach meetings” to talk about the assessments of 20 groundfish stocks. Groundfish are commercially significant fish species such as cod, haddock and sole that live near the ocean floor.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News and World Report

Charter boat owners see jump in cancellations as cod ban takes effect

August 14, 2017 — A new rule that recreational anglers in the Gulf of Maine can’t keep cod they catch is putting the squeeze on the charter boat industry, business owners say.

Capt. Don Taylor runs a six-person charter boat out of Rye Harbor. He said he can see the scientific reasoning behind imposing the restriction, but says it is causing people to cancel their reservations — even though they can still keep haddock, cusk and hake.

“I don’t think not allowing us to have one cod per person on a boat is going to make any difference at all. That’s my opinion on it,” Taylor said. “I think they’re going a little overboard, myself, and it’s hurting the charter boat industry.”

Allison Ferreira, who is in charge of communications for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office in Gloucester, Mass., said the reason for the restriction is that recreational fishermen exceeded their cod catch limit by 92 percent last year.

Federal officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use estimates from the Marine Recreational Information Program to determine if a population is being overfished. In addition to getting reports from charter boat captains, they survey individuals who go out on their own boats.

Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader

Using Fishermen’s Ecological Knowledge to map Atlantic cod spawning grounds on Georges Bank

August 11, 2017 — The following abstract is from a research paper on Atlantic cod spawning grounds on Georges Bank. It was written by Gregory R. DeCelles, David Martins, Douglas R. Zemeckis, and Steven X. Cadrin, all from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was published in the July-August 2017 issue of ICES Journal of Marine Science:

The spawning dynamics of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) on Georges Bank and Nantucket Shoals are not well understood. To address this uncertainty, we combined Fishermen’s Ecological Knowledge (FEK) with traditional scientific data to develop a more holistic understanding of cod spawning on Georges Bank. Data from historical reports, trawl surveys, fisheries observers, and ichthyoplankton surveys were used to describe the spatial and temporal distribution of cod spawning activity. We also collected FEK regarding cod spawning dynamics through semi-structured interviews (n = 40). The fishermen had detailed knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of cod spawning, and identified persistent fine-scale (i.e. <50 km2) spawning grounds that were often associated with specific habitat features, including spawning grounds that were previously unreported in the scientific literature. The spawning seasons and locations identified by fishermen generally agreed with information from traditional scientific data, but it was evident that seasonal scientific surveys lack the spatial and temporal resolution needed to fully characterize the distribution of cod spawning activity. Our results will help inform management measures designed to promote the rebuilding of Georges Bank cod, and also provide a basis for further investigations of cod spawning dynamics and stock structure.

Read the full paper at ICES Journal of Marine Science

NOAA Fisheries Announces Catch Limits for 4 Groundfish Stocks and Windowpane Flounder Accountability Measures in Framework 56

August 1, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries announces the implementation of Framework 56 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

Framework 56 sets catch limits for four groundfish stocks for the 2017 fishing year (through April 30, 2018). The changes in these catch limits relative to fishing year 2016 are as follows:

  • Georges Bank cod quota will decrease by 13%;
  • Georges Bank haddock quota will increase by 2%;
  • Georges Bank yellowtail flounder will decrease 23%; and
  • Witch flounder quota will increase 91%.

We set catch limits for the 2017 fishing year for the remaining 16 groundfish stocks last year in Framework 55. The 2017 catch limits for these 16 stocks remain the same as or similar to 2016 limits.

The action sets sector allocations and common pool trip limits based on the 2017 limits and finalized 2017 sector rosters.

Framework 56 also:

  • Creates an allocation of northern windowpane flounder for the scallop fishery;
  • Revises the trigger for implementing the scallop fishery’s accountability measures for both its GB yellowtail flounder and northern windowpane flounder allocation; and
  • Increases the GB haddock allocation for the midwater trawl fishery.

Read the Framework 56 permit holder letter posted on our website.

Finally, this action implements the accountability measures for the 2017 fishing year for the northern and southern windowpane flounder.

Read the permit holder letter for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass vessels regarding the southern windowpane flounder accountability measures posted on our website.

Fishing Partnership Support Services: Pass a price on carbon to protect fisheries and livelihoods

July 31, 2017 — A few years ago, scientists, fishermen and fishing managers concluded that cod stocks were rebuilding off the coast of Massachusetts. This understanding led ground fishermen (those who catch cod and other groundfish) spanning coastal New England to invest their life savings into their fishing businesses.

Soon after, industry experts changed their tune, reporting that drastic changes were underway. With livelihoods and families on the line, cod stocks began collapsing, leaving thousands devastated both financially and mentally. Today, an astounding 87 percent of Massachusetts ground fishermen suffer from mild to severe PTSD after experiencing the financial consequences of the crash, according to a Northeastern University study.

The situation only worsens as fishermen resort to unsafe practices — going farther out to sea in subpar boats, downsizing crews, and working longer hours on insufficient sleep. It is no surprise that New England ground fisherman are 200 times more likely to die on the job than the average worker, and that fishermen have the highest suicide rates among U.S. workers.

With ocean temperatures in the Northeast increasing more rapidly than global averages, sea animal populations are already noticeably shifting. Populations of cod, lobster, sea bass, and many others are decreasing in size or migrating farther north. And in turn, food chains are altered and fishermen struggle to pay the bills.

From cod to fishermen to families, climate change has the power and potential to cause true devastation, and the time to act is now. In Massachusetts, we have the opportunity to confront this issue head-on and cut greenhouse gas emissions through carbon pricing legislation H.1726 and S.1821.

Read the full option piece at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA Fisheries says no more cod fishing for fun

July 31, 2017 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Federal regulators had some bad news for New England’s recreational saltwater fishermen this week.

NOAA Fisheries announced new management measures for the recreational cod and haddock fisheries in the Gulf of Maine.

Effective Thursday, July 27, the regulators banned all recreational cod fishing in the waters between Cape Cod and the Canadian border known as the Gulf of Maine Regulated Mesh Area.

The ban applies to possession of any cod by recreational fishermen.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

NOAA Fisheries Announces Common Pool Area Closure for Georges Bank Cod

July 28, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are closing the Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area for Georges Bank cod to common pool vessels fishing on a groundfish trip with trawl, sink gillnet, and longline/hook gear for the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 2017.

The closure is effective today, July 28, 2017, at 0845 hours. The area will reopen at the beginning of Trimester 2, on September 1, 2017.

The closure applies to the following statistical areas: 521, 522, 525, and 561. See map below.

If you have crossed the vessel monitoring system demarcation line prior to 0845 hours on July 28, and are currently at sea on a groundfish trip, you may complete your trip in all or part of the closed area. If you have set gillnet gear prior to July 28, 2017, you may complete your trip to retrieve that gear.

We are required to close this area because the common pool fishery is projected to have caught 90 percent of its Trimester 1 Total Allowable Catch for GB cod. This closure is intended to prevent an overage of the common pool’s quota for this stock.

For more details, read the notice (pdf) as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin available on our website.

NOAA Fisheries Announces 2017 Recreational Measures for Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock

July 27, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces recreational measures for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock for the remainder of the 2017 fishing year.

These measures are effective immediately.

Gulf of Maine Cod:

No Possession

Gulf of Maine Haddock:

Minimum size: 17 inches

Daily limit: 12 fish per angler per day

Open Seasons: May 1-September 16; November 1-February 28; April 15-30

Read the final rule as published in the Federal Register, and the permit holder letter posted on our website.

HILDE LEE: Cod has special place in nation’s food history

July 11, 2017 — I have a certain curiosity about food, particularly seafood. I am not shy about asking, “Is the fish fresh? When did it come in?”

Thus, one day I got the definitive answer from one a man at one of our local grocery store fish counters. “Yes, the fish is fresh and we get it frozen. I only thaw out what I think will sell daily. Thus, the fish is very fresh.” Well, it may be fresh, but it was frozen. After all, we are not on the seacoast.

I like cod and the various members of the cod family — haddock, hake, pollock and Atlantic cod. The flesh of these fish is usually firm, making it ideal for a variety of dishes — broiled, baked, and stewed. Cod is also a good receiver of sauces, particularly tomato-based ones with herbs.

Just like the bison and the eagle, cod can be considered a symbol of America. It was here even before the first settlers came to New England, where cod was plentiful.

When Giovanni Caboto sailed from Bristol, England, on May 2, 1497, he, like Columbus, was searching for a western sea route to Asia. But Caboto — known as John Cabot, a Venetian navigator sponsored by King Henry VII — returned from his first voyage not with exotic spices, but tales of the sea. He told of the many fishes that could be caught simply by lowering weighted baskets into the water.

Even before Cabot’s reports of great schools of cod along the northern shores of the new continent, fishermen from Scandinavian areas had spent any years fishing the North Atlantic.

By 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold ventured south beyond Nova Scotia seeking sassafras — believed to be a cure for syphilis — but found French and Portuguese fishermen harvesting numerous fish along the Great Banks, an area 350 miles of coast south of Newfoundland. There, the cold Labrador Current and the Gulf Stream joined, creating ideal conditions for a variety of fish. Gosnold named the land, which jutted out to sea, Cape Cod.

Read the full story at The Daily Progress

New England’s Major Groundfish, Except Cod, Enter into MSC Assessment

July 7, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — New England has often been vilified as having some of the worst overfished species in US waters and has long had a contentious fight over fisheries management.

However, three stocks in New England are fully healthy:  haddock, Pollock and redfish. Together the annual catch limit for these stocks totals more than 70,000 tons.  Such a success in rebuilding fisheries is often lost in the attention paid to the failure of the Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine cod stocks to recover.

Now a client group led by Atlantic Trawlers of Maine, which is owned by Jim Odlin, and Fishermen’s Wharf in Gloucester, led by Vito Giacalone, have completed the MSC pre-assessment indicating that the fisheries will be able to meet the criteria, and have started the full assessment process.

The certification is being done by Acoura of Scotland, and the individuals who will carry out the assessment are Dr. Joseph DeAlteris, who recently retired from the University of Rhode Island and has many years of both Certification body and stock assessment experience in New England.

The other reviewer is Dick Allen. Allen has 45 years of experience as a commercial fishermen in New England, a Masters in Marine Affairs, and has been intimately involved in New England fishery management for decades.

The assessment is on a timeline to be completed by December of 2017.

The MSC certification will help expand the supermarket redfish programs, as well as support more sales of haddock and Pollock.

Currently, the harvests in these healthy fisheries are constrained by choke species, including cod.

For example, only around 9% of the Georges Bank Haddock Allowable Catch 51,000 tons was caught in 2016, while the Gulf of Maine haddock with an ACL of 2400 tons saw a catch rate of around 66%.

For redfish, the ACL in 2016 was 9500 tons, with a 43% harvest rate, and Pollock was 17,700 tons, with a 16.7% harvest rate.

The MSC certification is a step forward in further utilizing these fisheries, enhancing their markets, and explaining to customers that some New England and Gulf of Maine stocks are healthy and managed to global standards.

Jim Odlin says that the certification will be available to all companies who wish to contribute equitably to the costs of acquiring and maintaining the certificate, as per MSC policy.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.