Saving Seafood

Q&A: CEO of Portland seafood startup is out to show Maine can produce premium fish

November 12, 2020 — Gulf of Maine Sashimi in Portland is the first company launched by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s business development group, Gulf of Maine Ventures.

Funded by a mix of contributions from individual donors, the wholesale distributor launched in June 2019 to create a market solution to the persistent problem of low prices and diminished landings for locally harvested Gulf of Maine fish. By training harvesters in specialized handling practices, the company has created a market for the high-quality, sashimi-grade, sustainable fish.

The company has since grown to cover a range of wild and farmed species. The number of harvesters has grown to more than two dozen, most from Maine.

Gulf of Maine Sashimi recently issued a $1 million convertible note to support its growth over the coming 12 to 18 months and is currently speaking with a number of interested investors.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

MAINE: Portland nears a plan to face changing climate, rising sea level

November 11, 2020 — It’s not just the rising temperatures that should have Mainers concerned, according to experts. Kathy Mills, a scientist with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, last week said there are major concerns for local wildlife and the economy that depends on it.

“What we’re looking at is trying to understand how species shift on the east coast,” said Mills, who specializes in ecosystem changes and how New England fisheries are impacted by climate change.

For Portland, she said, there’s “not great news” ahead in terms of the impacts climate change will have.

“Portland is dependent on lobstering and groundfish fisheries,” Mills said, “and for those species as weather warms, we expect to see declines.”

Groundfish, which includes species like cod and haddock, are expected to decline as a local economic staple, she said. Mills said this doesn’t mean the fish are necessarily in danger of dying out, but rather are being forced into deeper, colder waters, where local fishermen are likely not going to follow.

Likewise, she said GMRI expects the lobster industry to see up to a 30 percent decline in the coming years as waters continue to warm. Herring, another staple of the fishing economy, is also expected to enter a decline.

“These are not necessarily declines in the stock overall, but in the fishing footprint,” Mills said.

But while the traditional fishing staples may disappear, Mills said the warming waters may result in fish not typically seen in Maine coming up the coast from the south. For example, she said they expect to see more Atlantic mackerel, sea scallops, summer flounder, black sea bass, and squid now found in the mid-Atlantic region.

“So there is an opportunity for other commercially valuable species,” Mills said.

She said fishermen here are already seeing black sea bass and squid, and they are expected to become more abundant in the coming years.

“Another species I was surprised to see is the striped bass,” Mills said. “This is a really popular recreational species, so will that become more prominent for the needs on the waterfront?”

Part of GMRI’s role, she said, is to provide information about what species will be relevant to fisheries in the area, and what the needs of local waterfronts might be. For example, she said, perhaps Portland should brace for fewer lobster traps and counter that with more midwater trawl nets.

Read the full story at the Portland Phoenix

Gulf of Maine Research Institute launches new aquaculture knowledge portal

October 29, 2020 — The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) has announced the launch of a new online portal, “The Maine Aquaculturist,” designed to help aquaculture operations in the U.S. state of Maine access resources in the state.

The new portal was created in response to the growing number of aquaculture operations that are either already in business or are planning to establish locations in the state, according to GMRI. In the past few years, companies including Whole Oceans, Nordic Aquafarms, The Kingfish Company, Aquabanq, and American Aquafarms have all announced proposals for either land-based or net-pen aquaculture operations in various locations throughout the state. Those primarily finfish operations are additions onto the existing – and growing – shellfish aquaculture operations in the state, farming oysters in locations up and down the coast.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

GMRI awarded $1.27M to help Maine fisheries overcome climate challenges

October 9, 2020 — The Gulf of Maine Research Institute has been awarded $1.27 million in federal funding to help Maine fisheries and coastal communities in the fight against climate change.

Funding for the Portland-based nonprofit comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office. The new project is one of 79 to receive a total of $48.7 million in competitive awards, announced on Oct. 6.

“Every day, communities and businesses grapple with challenges due to climate variability and change,” said Wayne Higgins, director of the Climate Program Office, in a news release.

“From using machine learning to develop critical atmospheric datasets to creating an experimental system for rapidly assessing causes of extreme events, these new awards will expedite climate science discoveries and build the library of resilience solutions needed to protect all sectors of our economy and environment.”

Read the full story at MaineBiz

MAINE: Growing aquaculture industry looks to workforce training

August 19, 2020 — Maine’s aquaculture industry is small, compared with seafood farming elsewhere in the nation and the world.

But it’s becoming increasingly diversified and industry experts see opportunity for expansion in various sectors.

That means more jobs are on the horizon, according to a new economic report produced by Portland’s Gulf of Maine Research Institute in partnership with the Maine Aquaculture Association and Educate Maine, with support from FocusMaine.

Currently, Maine’s aquaculture workforce exceeds 600 direct employees, plus auxiliary services and supported trades, according to the report.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Monday, August 24, 2020 – Groundfish Issues

August 17, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Monday, August 24, 2020 to discuss two groundfish-related issues.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

START TIME:  9:30 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 930-5321.  The access code is 792-543-455.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review recent stock assessment information from the U.S/Canada Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC), review information provided by the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT), and recommend the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for the 2021 and 2022 fishing years;
  • Review information provided by the Groundfish PDT on possible rebuilding approaches for white hake and review the basis for the range of alternative rebuilding strategies developed by the PDT; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.

COMMENTS:  Written comments must be received by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2020 for consideration at this meeting.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  Additional information is available in the meeting notice.

MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC August 24, 2020 webpage.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

REMINDER – SSC SUB-PANEL PEER REVIEW:  A sub-panel of the SSC will meet via webinar on Friday, August 21, 2020 to conduct a peer review of the report titled Evaluating the Impact of Inaccurate Catch Information on New England Groundfish Management.  The Gulf of Maine Research Institute and collaborators prepared the report specifically for the Council under a Council-issued contract.  Webinar information and all related documents can be found at peer review.

GMRI report lays path to boost Maine’s aquaculture workforce

August 3, 2020 — The aquaculture industry in Maine is steadily growing, with three large farms being built with recirculating aquaculture systems by Nordic Aquafarms, Whole Oceans, and The Kingfish Co., but will the state be able to grow its workforce to meet the demand for skilled employees?

That’s the question asked and addressed in a new 123-page report from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute that identifies the labor needs of Maine’s growing aquaculture industry and charts a course for Maine to establish a comprehensive workforce training system.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAINE: New Economic Report Evaluates Aquaculture Workforce Needs and Education Opportunities

July 27, 2020 — The following was released by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute:

On Monday, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute published a new report which identifies the labor needs of Maine’s growing aquaculture industry and charts a course for Maine to establish a comprehensive workforce training system to meet those needs.

The report — produced by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in partnership with the Maine Aquaculture Association and Educate Maine, with support from FocusMaine — captures the findings of a collaborative project team that included local partners, industry voices, and a team of outside experts drawn from four Scottish consulting firms.

After extensive interviews with Maine aquaculture businesses, including established and prospective land-based operations, marine producers, service providers, and supply chain companies, the team is now sharing their findings across this rapidly-growing sector.

“With so many businesses, NGOs, and individuals invested in the responsible growth of this industry, we knew this project needed to be a true collaboration,” said Gulf of Maine Research Institute Aquaculture Program Manager Chris Vonderweidt, who led the 18-month project. “It’s crucial for all of us to understand what workforce development efforts are required to realize the potential for Maine’s coastal economy and working waterfronts — so it’s exciting to be able to provide some of those answers.”

Workforce Need:

Maine’s aquaculture industry includes a constellation of largely owner-operator scale shellfish and marine algae farms, mid-sized service providers, and largescale finfish production operations. New production models, such as land-based Recirculating Aquaculture Systems, provide yet another growing employment opportunity in this sector.

While the needs of these various business models are wide-ranging and variable, one common need emerged from the study: an expanded pool of well-trained workers.

Today, Maine’s total aquaculture workforce exceeds 600 direct employees, plus auxiliary services, further trades, transport, processing, equipment supply, and retail employment across the value chain.

Based on interviews with existing and prospective business owners, the industry will require an influx of new trained workers in the coming years. By 2022, the aquaculture workforce is projected to include around 880 employees across production and related activities, and over 1,600 across the supply chain. By 2030, the workforce could exceed 1,000 direct employees, and over 2,000 in the total production, supply chain and downstream markets.

Without a deliberate effort to train and develop these workers, Mainers may not realize the full economic benefit of this expanding industry.

“Finding workers with the right skills is a year-after-year challenge for Mook Sea Farm,” said Bill Mook, owner of Mook Sea Farm. “I’m impressed with the proposed system that is founded on industry needs and prioritizes the type of training and experience to produce employees that can enable our continued growth.”

Education and Training Opportunity:

After identifying the scale of the workforce need for Maine’s aquaculture industry, the report goes on to identify opportunities to meet these needs.

The report reveals the importance of practical know-how and on-the-job experience to nearly all the businesses participating in the interviews. Maine’s industry stakeholders believe on-the-job training is valuable, but they also expressed a desire for more programs structured to develop and formalize occupational competencies.

The report identifies Maine’s community colleges and career technical education centers as well-prepared to create learning opportunities that meet industry demand identified through the research.

The report specifically recommends the creation of three vocational hubs across the state to provide vocational training specific to aquaculture: Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, the Mid-Coast School of Technology in Rockland, and Washington County Community College in Calais.

“We are delighted about the opportunity to train and develop Maine students to expand our state and regional workforce in support of our vital waterfront industry,” said Washington County Community College President Susan Mingo.

“SMCC is well-positioned with our oceanfront location, a highly regarded Marine Science degree program and instructors who are experienced in aquaculture and business,” adds SMCC President Joe Cassidy. “We look forward to working with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and people in the aquaculture industry to determine how we can best support this growing Maine industry.”

Among the other recommendations made within the report are a Maine Department of Labor-approved aquaculture apprenticeship program, the development of new occupational standards, and marketing support to promote the new learning opportunities.

For more on this project, including both the full Maine Aquaculture Workforce Development Strategy report and a Summary Report, please visit: https://www.gmri.org/projects/maine-aquaculture-workforce-development-strategy/.

New England Lobster Fisheries Dip into Aquaculture

July 17, 2020 — After years of growth, lobster populations in the Gulf of Maine are declining due to warming waters, according to a study by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Fishers are looking to kelp farming to support their livelihoods and the environment.

“We have seen the lobster population just grow and grow [in past years],” Chris Townsend, a commercial fisher on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, tells Food Tank. But, he continues, “A lobster is very sensitive to temperature. As the water warms, they cannot come back to their traditional grounds where they drop their eggs off.”

The Gulf of Maine is the fastest warming body of water, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, gradual warming initially contributed to a boom in lobster populations, but warming waters, coupled with shell disease – a condition that makes lobsters susceptible to mineral loss – is already resulting in a decrease in lobster stocks.

Townsend has been working along the New England coast for 37 years. He now sells his catch to local fish markets, runs eco-tours, and continues to fish commercially. “You used to be able to go lobstering all the way down to South Jersey. Now the southern limit of lobsters is basically Rhode Island,” Townsend tells Food Tank.

Read the full story at Foodtank

Sparkling waters hide some lasting harm from 2010 oil spill

April 20, 2020 — Ten years after a well blew wild under a BP platform in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 men and touching off the nation’s worst offshore oil spill, gulf waters sparkle in the sunlight, its fish are safe to eat, and thick, black oil no longer visibly stains the beaches and estuaries. Brown pelicans, a symbol of the spill’s ecological damage because so many dived after fish and came up coated with oil, are doing well.

But scientists who spent the decade studying the Deepwater Horizon spill still worry about its effects on dolphins, whales, sea turtles, small fish vital to the food chain, and ancient corals in the cold, dark depths.

The gulf’s ecosystem is so complex and interconnected that it’s impossible to take any single part as a measure of its overall health, said Rita Colwell, who has led the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post