Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Sets Fishing Year 2021 Management Measures for the Common Pool Groundfish Fishery

April 21, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective May 1

We are setting common pool possession and trip limits to ensure that the common pool groundfish fishery is able to fully utilize its available quotas. Effective on May 1, these possession and trip limits were developed based on the common pool sub-Annual Catch Limits set by Framework Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. We also considered preliminary 2021 sector rosters, expected common pool participation, common pool fishing activity in previous fishing years, and that Framework 61 is still being considered for approval. During the fishing year, we will monitor common pool catches, and will adjust common pool management measures, as necessary.

Additionally, Northeast multispecies vessels may not target yellowtail flounder within the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock Special Access Program (SAP) in fishing year 2021. Northeast multispecies vessels are not allowed to fish in this SAP using flounder trawl nets, but may fish in this SAP to target haddock with a haddock separator trawl, a Ruhle trawl, or hook gear. This SAP is open from August 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022.

Lastly, the Regular B Days-at-Sea (DAS) program is closed for fishing year 2021. During this closure, Northeast multispecies vessels may not declare or use regular B DAS.

For more details, read the notice as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin.

Read the full release here

Reminders for For-Hire Vessels and Tilefish Anglers

March 30, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Reporting

As the recreational fishing season gets going, we are reminding all GARFO permitted vessel operators about the current reporting requirements:

  • For-hire (party and charter) vessels that hold federal permits for species managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council must submit their Vessel Trip Reports (VTR) electronically.
  • Vessels issued only a Northeast multispecies (groundfish) charter/party permit may report on paper or electronic VTRs, until later this fall when e-VTRs will be required. You are encouraged to start reporting electronically as soon as possible.

Tilefish anglers on private vessels must submit their VTRs electronically for trips targeting or catching golden and blueline tilefish.

All fishermen can choose from several smart devices and web-based apps to report electronically. For more information and technical support, go to our Vessel Trip Reporting web page. You can also contact your local Port Agent

Upcoming Recreational Cod and Haddock Seasons

The recreational Gulf of Maine cod and haddock season opens on April 1. Read our notice for more information on these fisheries.

Slow Down for Whales

Endangered North Atlantic right whales have returned to Massachusetts waters. We encourage vessel operators to slow down to 10 knots or less to avoid deadly collisions with these whales. In some of these waters, speed restriction measures are in place and enforced. Learn more about federal and state speed restrictions and use the Whale Alert App to stay informed about right whale detections and Right Whale Slow Zones.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact William Duffy,  Analysis and Program Support Division, 978-290-1723

Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Recreational Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock Season Opens April 1

March 22, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Recreational anglers and for-hire vessel operators are reminded that this year cod may be harvested from the Gulf of Maine from April 1 through April 14. Anglers may harvest 1 cod per day with a minimum length of 21 inches during this season.

Additionally, anglers may begin harvesting haddock in the Gulf of Maine on April 1, with a limit of 15 haddock per angler per day, and a minimum length of 17 inches. Fishing for groundfish, including cod and haddock, is prohibited in the “Whaleback” Closure from April 1 through June 30.

The harvest of cod and haddock is permitted year-round outside the Gulf of Maine.

Anglers must release all cod and haddock that do not meet the minimum size requirements, or during seasons or in areas where their harvest is prohibited. Anglers are encouraged to use circle hooks to minimize discard mortality of released fish, and are also encouraged to target haddock or other abundant stocks to minimize unintended cod mortality. Anglers interested in targeting haddock this season are encouraged to use Massachusetts DMF’s Haddock Fishing Guide.

The New England Fishery Management Council has made recommendations for status quo recreational measures for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock for fishing year 2021, starting May 1, 2021. We are still considering the Council’s recommendation, and will make a determination soon.

Anglers can find out more about recreational groundfish regulations, including bag limits and seasons in federal waters, on our website. Other resources for recreational anglers in the Greater Atlantic Region can be found here.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Adjustments to the Possession and Trip Limit for the Common Pool Groundfish Fishery

March 10, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective on March 11, 2021, the new common pool possession and trip limits for Georges Bank (GB) cod, Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod, GOM haddock, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter flounder, American plaice, and witch flounder are summarized in the tables below.  These increases are in effect through the end of the fishing year on April 30, 2021.

New FY 2020 Possession and Trip Limits

This action is intended to provide additional fishing opportunities and facilitate harvest of the common pool quotas.

For more details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register, and our permit holder bulletin.

Questions?

Industry: Contact Spencer Talmage, Regional Office, 978-281-9232

Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Massachusetts sets rules for recreational catches

February 26, 2021 — Massachusetts has set fishing regulations for the upcoming 2021 recreational fishing season, retaining the status quo in state waters on seasons and limits for most species.

The exceptions are the striped bass circle hook requirements, as well as the Gulf of Maine haddock and cod seasons and a pending recommendation on gear restrictions for blue crabs.

The Division of Marine Fisheries expects to announce the new regulations on the three pending measures in late March. It has scheduled a virtual public hearing for March 2 at 6 p.m. Participation requires advanced registration at http://bit.ly/3pRGpBZ.

Here are the 2021 regulations on seasons and limits for a variety of recreational species:

Black sea bass — The season will run May 18 to Sept. 8. The minimum size is 15 inches and the trip possession limit is five fish per angler.

Bluefish — The season runs all year, with no size limits. Possession limits are three fish per day for anglers fishing from the shore or aboard private vessels. The trip possession limit for anglers aboard for-hire craft is five fish.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEFMC Recommends 2021 Recreational Measures for Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock for GARFO’s Consideration

February 18, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Recognizing that COVID-19 will continue to impact angler and party/charter boat fishing in the year ahead, the New England Fishery Management Council voted during its late-January 2021 webinar meeting to recommend that NOAA Fisheries, through its Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), implement status quo recreational fishing measures for Gulf of Maine cod and Gulf of Maine haddock for the 2021 fishing year.

These are the same measures that GARFO implemented on August 13, 2020 during the pandemic to provide additional fishing opportunities for cod and more access to the abundant haddock resource at a time when the recreational fishing community, especially the for-hire fleet, was greatly impacted by the pandemic. In selecting those measures, GARFO considered the Council’s June 2020 request to expand the fall fishing window to help recreational fishermen make up for lost access to the springtime fishery.

The Council received input from both its Recreational Advisory Panel and Groundfish Committee before voting. GARFO will consider the Council’s recommendation, but NOAA Fisheries will make the final decision.

Read the full release here

Bristol Seafood forges supplier relationship with Alaska’s Blue North, invests in Marel’s FleXicut waterjet line

January 13, 2021 — Portland, Maine-based company Bristol Seafood has established a new supply partnership with Blue North, a division of Bristol Bay Alaska Seafoods, according to a 10 January announcement.

Bristol is already the largest importer and producer of Norwegian, line-caught haddock in the U.S., and also provides Alaska cod, among other offerings. The company provides an array of products featuring Alaska cod, including refreshed and frozen fillets, loins, and portions, as well as retail-ready bagged frozen portions. Its value-added My Fish Dish product line also spotlights the popular species.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

COVID-19 HAS HIT COMMERCIAL FISHING HARD

January 4, 2021 — Of those who kept fishing, nearly all reported a decline in income compared with previous years, according to the study in PLOS ONE.

The study, which covers March to June and included 258 fishers, also examined data on fish landings and found that the catch for some species, such as squid and scallops, decreased compared with previous years. The catch for other species, such as black sea bass and haddock, was on par with or higher than previous years, suggesting that many fishermen fished as much as they had been before the pandemic, while earning less income.

“They may have kept fishing to pay their bills or crew, or to maintain their livelihoods or their quotas until markets rebound,” says main author Sarah Lindley Smith, a postdoctoral associate in the human ecology department in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “Most of the fishermen who stopped fishing during the early months of the pandemic planned to resume fishing instead of leaving the industry.”

The pandemic has slammed the fishing industry due to the loss of restaurant sales, disruptions in export markets, and a decline in seafood prices. Before the pandemic, 70% of seafood spending in the United States took place in restaurants, the study notes.

Read the full story at Futurity

Emergency Rule to Increase Carryover for NE Groundfish – Effective 12/31

December 30, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is announcing a temporary rule for an emergency action that increases the maximum level of Annual Catch Entitlement allowed to be carried over in the Northeast groundfish fishery from fishing year 2019 into fishing year 2020.

On July 2, 2020, the New England Fishery Management Council requested that NOAA Fisheries implement an emergency action to mitigate significant adverse economic impacts to the groundfish fishery caused by the state health and travel restrictions, and market disruptions at the end of fishing year 2019.

This action, which is effective tomorrow (December 31, 2020), increases the maximum carryover of fishing year 2019 sector Annual Catch Entitlement for Gulf of Maine haddock, Georges Bank haddock, and American plaice. The action also allows for unused leased-in Days-At-Sea to be carried over from fishing year 2019 into fishing year 2020 by common pool vessels.

For more details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register, and our permit holder bulletin.

Read the full release here

Survey shows extent of covid-19 impact to East Coast fishermen

December 30, 2020 — Up to 40 percent of fishermen from Maine to North Carolina suspended their operations in spring 2020 as the covid-19 pandemic collapsed the seafood market, according to new findings from a Rutgers University study.

“A lot of what we found was that in the early months of the pandemic a lot of fishermen were not fishing, or waiting it out,” said Sarah Lindley Smith, a post-doctoral research associate in the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers, a longtime center of research into the social and community effects of changing fisheries.

An online survey in spring 2020 brought responses from 258 Northeast fishermen and the results are published in the science journal PLOS One. Covering the critical early pandemic weeks of March to June 2020, the researchers also looked at landings reports and found that catches for some species like squid and scallops declined compared with the same time period of previous years.

But some other landings, including black sea bass and haddock, were on par or even higher than earlier years. Alongside their survey results, the researchers say that suggests some fishermen kept fishing hard even as they earned less.

“Groundfishermen were more likely to continue fishing” than those in other fisheries, said Smith. Even as the dominant restaurant market – accounting for 70 percent of U.S. seafood sales – vanished in those early months, local retail demand especially in New England helped keep crews working to find cod and haddock.

Read the full story at National Fisherman