Saving Seafood

One on One with Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher

July 12, 2016 — In the five years since Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher took on the agency’s leadership, he and his team have played a central role in making the state’s commercial fishing industry stronger.

The industry reached an all-time high in value in 2015, earning harvesters just over $616.55 million, a gain of $33 million over the previous record set in 2014. With the economic impact on dealers and related business, the industry has an overall value of closer to $2 billion. Maine products range from the flagship lobster to the elver, or baby eel, which fetched $1,435 a pound in the recent season.

Mainebiz recently talked with Keliher about some of the challenges facing the state’s commercial fishing industry. An edited transcript follows.

Mainebiz: What are today’s pressing concerns for the industry?

Pat Keliher: The changing ocean environment is a major challenge. Water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine are rising and, while it’s been associated with the presence of new commercial species like black sea bass, it’s also been linked to invasive species like green crabs, the decline of species like shrimp and a shift of Maine’s lobster resource up the coast. I’d say that challenge is only going to grow.

MB: How has DMR addressed sustainability in the lobster industry?

PK: We’re planning to invest more department resources in research to ensure we’re not only able to effectively monitor Maine’s valuable lobster resource but also to predict changes that impact the resource and allow us to put forward adaptive management and regulatory changes. As a result of a motion I made in April, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s lobster technical committee will conduct an in-depth analysis of various issues associated with lobster stocks, ocean currents and management measures in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. The goal of this research is to better understand and adapt to the changing ocean environment.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Industry hopes emergency plan can help lobster bait crisis

July 11, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Members of the commercial fishing business are wary but hopeful that an emergency rule will succeed in helping curb a crisis of bait availability that threatens to impact the New England lobster industry.

The lobster fishing industry is facing the bait shortage because of a lack of herring being caught far off of New England. Regulators in Maine say they have found a way to hopefully provide a steady stream of herring over the summer.

Fishermen are still catching herring in Maine’s inshore waters. Maine’s emergency rule limits herring fishermen’s weekly catch. The state says it wants to prevent fishermen from reaching their inshore quota too fast.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at NBC Providence

Maine regulators intervene to mitigate shortage of lobster bait

July 8, 2016 — State regulators are taking steps to avert a crippling shortage of the most popular bait fish used by Maine lobstermen before the height of the season begins next month.

The dozen offshore trawlers that hunt for Atlantic herring in federal waters off Georges Bank are not catching much yet. In an effort to meet the demand for lobster bait, a few of these larger boats have changed their gear and joined the state’s much smaller, traditional purse seine herring fleet that fishes Maine’s coastal waters, said Deputy Commissioner Meredith Mendelson of the state Department of Marine Resources.

But regulators quickly realized that fishermen were running through the inshore fishing quota too fast, threatening to hit their summer limit before peak lobster season begins in August.

Fishermen have landed about 25 percent of the 19,400 metric tons of herring they are allowed to catch inshore during the summer, Mendelson said. At this time last year, fishermen had only caught about 20 percent of the summer quota.

“We’ve been trying to strike a balance,” she said. “We need to keep the inshore fishery open as long as possible, to get it to last through August so there’s no shortage of bait when lobstermen need it most, but we can’t be too restrictive or we run the risk of having a shortage now, or at least until the offshore boats find their herring. So we took some steps, and those didn’t seem to be enough. We were still running through the inshore quota too fast, so we tried some other things, but now industry is telling us there’s not enough bait. It’s a balancing act.”

On Saturday, after meeting with industry representatives this week, the department will issue new herring rules that will loosen some of the fishing restrictions enacted this spring to try to stretch the inshore summer quota and give the fleet the flexibility that it says it needs to supply a steady but moderate supply of bait. For example, earlier this year, herring fishermen were told they could only fish one day a week, and that wasn’t enough time for them to find the fish, especially in bad weather. Now they will be able to fish three days a week and land fish on two of those days.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Emergency rule amid bait shortage coming soon in Maine

July 7, 2016 — AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine regulators say they will issue an emergency rule in the coming days that will address a bait shortage that is affecting the fishing industry.

There is a shortage of herring, which is the most popular kind of bait used in the lobster fishery. Regulators and members of the fishing industry say the problem is that not enough herring are being caught on Georges Bank off Massachusetts.

State Department of Marine Resources deputy commissioner Meredith Mendelson says the agency will issue emergency rules on Saturday in response to the shortage.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald

MAINE: Herring fishermen say fish quota concerns threaten lobster industry

July 6, 2016 — ROCKLAND, Maine — Maine’s huge lobster fishery could run into problems this year because fishermen might face a shortage of bait.

Herring are the primary bait for lobsters, but the people who catch the herring say they’re worried the quota for those fish could be used up too quickly. So the state is imposing new controls.

Herring fishermen say the problem is that herring are not being caught right now on Georges Bank off Massachusetts. That’s typically a prime spot for boats from Massachusetts and other states to pursue herring.

The fish were once the key to a significant Maine sardine canning industry. But the last cannery closed several years ago, and herring are now used for bait and for some animal feed.

Federal regulators have imposed a quota of 19,4 thousand metric tons of herring for the season that runs through September. However, because of the scarcity of fish on Georges Bank, the large out-of-state boats have started coming to Maine to fish.

Owners and operators of the smaller Maine boats that fish closer to shore say they’re worried the summer herring quota will be caught too quickly. Herring fishermen say if the quota is used up they won’t have bait to sell to lobstermen, at a time when the lobster fishing is heating up.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources met with herring fishermen Tuesday afternoon to outline a new plan to limit the number of days they can fish and how many fish they can catch. The state hopes that will stretch the fishery out until late August or September, and make sure there is a consistent supply of lobster bait.

Read the full story at NBC Portland

MAINE: Bait shortage could impact lobster industry

July 5, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Maine regulators are considering intervening to help fix a bait shortage that threatens to affect its signature lobster fishing industry.

Lobstermen typically use herring for bait, and regulators and members of the fishing industry say there’s a shortage of them. The shortage is happening at the time of year when lobster catches usually start to pick up — and just as New England’s high tourist season is arriving.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources met Tuesday afternoon to discuss what role it can play. Meredith Mendelson, the deputy commissioner of the department, tells The Associated Press that it anticipates passing rules at a later date based on Tuesday’s discussion.

The problem is that not enough herring are being caught on Georges Bank, a key fishing area off Massachusetts, members of the fishing industry said. That means there could be heavy pressure on the inshore herring fishery, and they say fishermen could reach their quota for that area before the summer is out.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald

Waters changing off Maine coast

June 30, 2016 — As I gear up to head back out onto the ocean, hoping for another strong lobster season, I’m reminded just how much these waters have changed.

Over the years, I’ve witnessed the impacts changes in our climate have brought to our fisheries — differing molt cycles, lobster migration into deeper, cooler waters and the effects that warming waters have had on shrimp and other species. We’ve all experienced the increased severity of weather events and heard the warnings about an increasingly acidic ocean.

Now we’re also hearing the clamor of those who seek to use ocean space for their industries, including renewable energy production, offshore aquaculture and others. Many of these new users require leases that restrict access for traditional ocean users.

With all of this happening simultaneously, it’s become more important than ever to find a balance between existing and new uses while also protecting everything that our ocean has to offer for future generations.

As more and more people — from recreational fishermen to major businesses — put demands on our ocean and coastal areas, it’s clear that it will require us to make many tough decisions. That’s why I’ve supported the regional ocean planning process as prescribed by the National Ocean Policy.

The process brought together representatives from across six New England states, six federally recognized tribes, nine federal agencies and the New England Fishery Management Council to produce a plan that provides a data portal of information about the region’s ocean and better coordinates and improves ocean management at all levels of government. Last month, this group — the Northeast Regional Planning Body — became the first in the nation to release a draft of its regional ocean plan (neoceanplanning.org/plan/).

I think back to when I served on the Maine Ocean Acidification Commission. At that time, it became clear to me just how much information is still needed to answer all the questions that come with complex ocean issues.

By gathering that needed information and data, we will be able to chart a course to help our coastal communities decide whether to gear up for the economic growth of new ocean uses such as renewable energy or aquaculture, expand efforts toward climate mitigation and remediation or try to retain the qualities and spatial freedom of our wild-caught fisheries. Now, through this plan, we have so much more of that information all in one place.

Read the full story at the Kennebec Journal

New England Officials Dispute Proposed EU Lobster Ban

June 27, 2016 — With struggling fisheries in Connecticut facing warmer waters and competition with other states, across the pond a potential U.S. lobster ban could add additional complications for New England.

The Swedish government has requested that the species Homarus americanus (the American lobster) be listed as invasive. Over the last eight years, 32 lobsters have been found in Swedish waters. Some say the crustaceans pose a threat to the smaller European lobster. The invasive label would effectively bar imports throughout the European Union. Government organizations and fisheries alike are fighting back.

David Simpson, director of marine fisheries at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said it will likely effect Connecticut lobster companies as well. Simpson also questioned the motives of the bans because of the low number of American lobsters found abroad.

“This clearly seems economically motivated, which is a shame,” Simpson said. “They’re using the guy from their environmental protection for economic protection.”

Read the full story at WNPR

An Unlikely Alliance Forms to Save Whales From Deadly Entanglements

June 21, 2016 — An unusual coalition of lobster fishers, marine scientists, and rope manufacturers is banding together to save the whales—and catch more lobsters.

The idea is to come up with buoy lines to mark submerged lobster traps that will break loose when a whale becomes entangled in them, which can seriously injure or even kill the animals.

The effort to find the right balance was launched by the 109-member South Shore Lobstermen’s Association about two years ago after the National Marine Fisheries Service closed a 3,000-square-mile area off the coast of Massachusetts to fishers from February to April, when whales frequent those waters.

Many of the animals are North Atlantic right whales, the world’s most endangered great whale species. According to the Fisheries Service, 83 percent of these whales bear signs of entanglement in fishing gear, which killed or seriously injured an average of 3.4 right whales per year from 2009 through 2013.

Read the full story at Take Part

NOAA recommends millions in grants to study salmon, cod, shrimp, lobster

June 14, 2016 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced its support for more than USD 11 million (EUR 9.8 million) in recommended grants to study or improve the nation’s fisheries as part of its Saltonstall-Kennedy grant competition.

The grants, which still must be approved by the NOAA Grants Management Division and the Department of Commerce’s Financial Assistance Law Division, and are contingent upon adequate funding availability, include projects in seven categories: aquaculture, fishery data collection, bycatch reduction, climate change adaptation, marketing, socio-economic research and territorial science.

All areas of the United States, including overseas territories, have projects that have been recommended.

In Alaska, they include a proposed University of Alaska, Fairbanks study of halibut bycatch management (USD 297,995, EUR 264,877) and an Alaska Department of Fish and Game analysis of pink salmon productivity (USD 249,998, EUR 222,222).

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com