Saving Seafood

Former congressman to head Louisiana fisheries

January 19, 2016 — Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which governs commercial and recreational fishing in the state, got a new boss in January. Charlie Melancon, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislator, was appointed to the job by the state’s new governor, John Bel Edwards.

Although much of his non-political work in the past has centered on the state’s sugar cane industry, Melancon said he is confident that other experience, including working closely with fishermen when in Congress, has prepared him well for this new challenge.

“My experience is in sitting down at the table and working through problems, that is what I have always brought,” Melancon said. “Whether it’s dating or a marriage or a political relationship, and that is what I have always brought, sitting down and compromising and finding common ground.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

CFRF New Executive Director Announcement

December 11, 2015 — The following was released by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation:

The CFRF Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Anna Malek Mercer as Executive Director of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation effective immediately. Anna received a Bachelor of Science with a focus in marine biology from the University of New Hampshire in 2008 and a PhD in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography in 2015. Throughout her career, Anna has worked closely with the fishing industry to develop research projects, conduct field work, and communicate and apply results.

Over the past three years, Anna has spearheaded a variety of research projects for the CFRF, with the goal of expanding fishermen’s involvement with scientific data collection and application. Given her background in collaborative research, her knowledge of the scientific process, and her respect for the fishing community, the Board of Directors believes that Anna is uniquely suited to lead the CFRF as Executive Director. 

Upon acceptance of the position, Anna remarked: “I look forward to bringing a new energy to the CFRF’s existing projects and to working with the Board to pursue new initiatives and partnerships. The world of collaborative fisheries research is certainly an exciting place to be and I am committed to ensuring that CFRF continues to be a leader in the field.” 

The CFRF welcomes you to contact Anna at amalek@cfrfoundation.org or (401) 515-4662.

Warmer waters affecting the New England fishing industry

December 9, 2015 — A new study has found the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than almost every other ocean in the world. For the first time, it links warming sea temperatures to the collapse of cod stocks in the region.

For Portland’s fishing community, the first hours of daylight are the most important. At the town’s fish exchange, boats rush to unload their catch, ready to be sorted, and sold.

They are not just working against time.

Today’s landing at the Portland fish exchange was about 40,000 pounds worth. That’s not considered very much. Out of that, just seven boxes worth of cod; that’s about 500 pounds.”

Cod stocks have been declining here for decades. Federal quotas were slashed by 75 percent back in May, to help the species recover.

Now a new study suggests that intervention may have been too late.

Andrew Pershing, chief scientific officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute says, “You assume that if you pull back on the fishing, the stock will have the same productivity that it had in the past.  But our work really shows that the productivity in Gulf of Maine cod was declining pretty rapidly as the waters were getting warm and so by not factoring that in they weren’t able to rein in the quotas fast enough.”

Read the full story from CNN at WWLP

 

Region’s struggling fishermen may get break on monitors

December 8, 2015 — The region’s fishermen, who have railed for months against the possibility of having to pay for the government observers who monitor their catch, may be getting a bit of a reprieve.

The New England Fishery Management Council, which oversees the region’s industry, approved measures last week to alleviate some of the burden fishermen are facing to cover the costs of the observers monitoring their catch.

Earlier this year, federal regulators decided to end the multimillion-dollar subsidy that paid for the program, handing off the cost to the fishermen. The observers, under federal mandates, accompany fisherman on about a quarter of their trips as a way to curb overfishing.

A federal report this year found the new costs could cause 59 percent of the region’s once-mighty groundfishing fleet to lose money. Many of the estimated 200 boats remaining are already struggling, given sweeping government-imposed cuts to quotas of cod and other bottom-dwelling fish.

The council’s recent action, if approved by federal regulators, could reduce by half the number of trips that observers are required to take with the region’s groundfishermen. The new regulations — which the government has estimated could cost fishermen as much $710 per trip with an observer — would reduce that requirement from nearly a quarter of trips to as low as 13 percent.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

 

New York State gives fishing industry extra time to seek Sandy aid

December 7, 2015 — New York State extended the application deadline for marinas, aquaculture facilities, commercial boat operators, harvesters and other fishery industry professionals to apply for superstorm Sandy recovery money.

The new deadline to apply for the Superstorm Sandy Fishery Disaster Grant is Jan. 29 and is open to businesses and individuals that lost more than $5,000 in revenue or gross income as a result of the 2012 storm.

Eligible businesses must have at least $15,000 in annual earnings and be in operation at the time of the application.

The Governors Office of Storm Recovery and state Department of Environmental Conservation will issue up to $3.6 million in grants, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Eighty applications have been filed since the grant program was announced in September.

Read the full story at Newsday

 

New England’s struggling cod fishery to see new quota cut

December 2, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishing managers on Wednesday recommended a shift in the amount of fish New England’s beleaguered cod fishing businesses should be allowed to catch for the next few years, which would reduce the limit for some fishermen.

The New England Fishery Management Council met to consider quotas for several important food fish, including the Gulf of Maine cod, which once was the backbone of the New England fishing industry and is now in decline. The council recommended a slight rise in quota for Gulf of Maine cod along with a steeper quota cut for Georges Bank’s cod.

Tough quotas and low availability have made local cod difficult to find in New England, and when it is available, customers must pay more for it than they would for foreign cod. Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, called the reduction in Georges Bank quota “a substantial cut to the industry.”

Inability to catch cod also prevents fishermen from landing species such as haddock, pollock and hake that live in the same areas, Martens said.

“It’s going to be hard for boats of any size to go out there and run a groundfish business,” he said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Cronicle

 

 

Federal funding for at-sea monitoring likely to extend into 2016

December 2, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are pleased to announce an update on the status of federal funding for at-sea monitors in the New England Groundfish fishery. We have been informed that industry has facilitated an initial agreement among the three at-sea monitoring contract providers that may allow the remaining contract funds remaining to cover at-sea monitors after December 31 across the fleet, until those funds are expended, through sub-contracting arrangements. 

We have continued to track the expenditures of the three at-sea monitoring contract providers through the month of November and, as we anticipated, two of the contract providers have been on target to expend all monies by December 31, 2015. However, the third contract provider continues to spend funds at a slower rate because this company provides observers for only a small percent of the fleet (approximately 2% of the effort). 

Approximately $200K is currently available on this at-sea monitoring provider’s contract. This would allow for approximately 250 to 300 sea days of at-sea monitoring. (A “sea day” is a calendar day that the monitor spends at sea on a covered fishing trip. The rate at which those days will be used depends on how much fishing occurs.)

Following the use of the remaining 250-300 sea days of at-sea monitoring, the industry will be required to begin paying for all at-sea monitoring. We anticipate this occurring in early 2016. 

It is important to note that if the subcontracting arrangement the industry has negotiated is not effective, the transition of costs would occur as previously announced. NOAA cannot compel the companies to enter into such an arrangement, nor would it be equitable for NOAA to continue to cover only a portion of the fleet while requiring the rest of the fleet to pick up observer costs.

Fishing managers to revisit collapsed cod stock, quotas

December 2, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishing managers are recommending a shift in the amount of fish New England’s beleaguered cod fishermen can catch for the next few years.

The New England Fishery Management Council is meeting on Wednesday to consider quotas for several species of important food fish. One of the species is the Gulf of Maine cod, which was once the backbone of the New England fishing industry.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Beaumont Enterprise

 

Can the net transform the world’s fishing industries?

November 30, 2015 — Local fishing communities in Indonesia are beset by a multitude of connected challenges, from illegal fishing to declining fish populations to their own personal safety in the country’s turbulent seas.

But a New York based telecoms company called Tone believes mobile network technology can solve these problems by getting fishermen in remote communities connected to the Internet through an initiative called mFish. Scaled up, they believe their model could address the problem of unsustainable and illegal fishing globally, as well as being applied in many other contexts.

“What we’re trying to do is bridge the digital divide,” says Tone’s Chief Marketing Officer Roald Van Wyk. “People assume technology equals connectivity, but a smartphone is no use if you can’t afford the data.” According to Tone, mobile broadband penetration in the developing world is still just 21%, indicating a huge untapped market which they’re hoping to help bring online.

Tone’s business model is to work with local partners to deliver a range of affordable data plans in countries where far fewer people are locked into long term contracts with mobile carriers – what’s known as ‘unbundling.’ The idea is that consumers get access to various content packages via channels on the Tone platform, some of which are co-branded with local companies to make them affordable. Tone will reinvest 20% of profits into social and environmental initiatives through its foundation.

Read the full story at The Guardian

 

The loss of Greenport, NY’s fishing fleet is another sign of a changing village

November 25, 2015 — Just a few decades ago, Greenport Village looked very different.

Fishermen describe as many as 50 towering fishing vessels crammed into the deepwater port, making pit stops at Claudio’s dock before their offshore expeditions in the Atlantic. The docks were swarmed with fishing crews unloading their stock for sale at fish markets across the East Coast.

But today, the dozens of captains whose boats once fed Greenport’s fishing industry have either fled for other ports or been scuppered altogether.

Greenport is sold to tourists as a fishing village (the village crest features a sailing ship from its whaling heyday). And while many commercial baymen, oyster farmers and charter boat captains still operate out of the harbor, the huge commercial fleet that powered the working waterfront is almost completely gone.

That once-great fleet took its penultimate blow this fall.

Third-generation fisherman Sidney “Sid” Smith III sold his 63-foot fishing boat, Merit, and left the industry in October, leaving just one offshore commercial fleet fisherman operating out of Greenport Village — Mark Phillips.

“Am I happy about selling the Merit? Not at all,” Mr. Smith said while recuperating from back surgery at his Southold home. “To me, it’s a sin to just let something go.”

Mr. Smith — a 61-year-old outspoken captain who’s had his run-ins with state and local officials over his fishing operation — said he’s tired of fighting the trend of a dying industry.

“It was hard work, but it was a good living,” he said. “But I’ve been watching boats disappear, docks disappear, whole businesses disappear.”

Mr. Phillips, who operates out of Greenport Harbor in the 83-footer Illusion, repeated the old saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

He thought the idiom would always apply to Greenport, he said. He’s not convinced anymore.

Read the full story at The Suffolk Times