Saving Seafood

3 theories on why lobster babies are disappearing and what they mean for the industry

October 13, 2015 — Where are all the baby lobsters? And if Maine’s baby lobsters are disappearing, does that mean there won’t be any adults in a couple years?

The publication Quartz earlier this month released a long-form research piece on Maine’s lobster boom, which reached another record haul last year with 124 million pounds, a pile of crustaceans worth $456 million and one six times bigger than the state’s lobstermen caught in 1984.

This explosion of lobster over the last couple decades has been well-documented and thoroughly covered.

The adult lobster population off the coast of Maine has skyrocketed as the state’s lobstermen have employed a range of practices to sustain the fishery (see the video above). Lobstermen throw back female lobsters bearing eggs and larger males — the ideal fathers — as part of a multifaceted plan to encourage future generations of lobsters.

By all accounts, this is not a case of lobstermen irresponsibly taking advantage of a freak boom and setting their industry up for future failure.

Read the full story and watch the video from the Bangor Daily News

The enigma behind America’s freak, 20-year lobster boom

October 6, 2015 — Drizzled in butter or slathered in mayo—or heaped atop 100% all-natural Angus beef, perhaps? The question of how you like your lobster roll is no longer the sole province of foodies, coastal New Englanders, and people who summer in Maine. American lobster has gone mainstream, launching food trucks from Georgia to Oregon, and debuting on menus at McDonald’s and Shake Shack.

Unlike almost anything else that gets eaten on a bun, Maine lobster is wild-caught—which typically makes seafood pricier. So how has lobster gone from luxury eat to food-truck treat?

The reason boils down to plentiful supply, plain and simple. In fact, the state’s lobster business is the only fishery on the planet that has endured for more than a century and yet produces more volume and value than ever before. And not just slightly more. Last year, Maine fishermen hauled ashore 124 million pounds of lobsters, six times more than what they’d caught in 1984. The $456 million in value those landings totaled was nearly 20% higher than any other year in history, in real terms. These days, around 85% of American lobster caught in the US is landed in Maine—more than ever before.

Even more remarkable than sheer volume, though, is that this sudden sixfold surge has no clear explanation. A rise in sea temperatures, which has sped up lobster growth and opened up new coastal habitats for baby lobsters, is one likely reason. Another is that by plundering cod and other big fish in the Gulf of Maine, we’ve thinned out the predators that long kept lobster numbers in check. Both are strong hypotheses, yet no one’s sure we really understand what’s going on.

Read the full story at Quartz

Maine fishermen cash in as lobster cracks $4 a pound

October 9, 2015 — It’s a combination that seems to defy the laws of supply and demand – a large catch tends to lower wholesale prices. But that’s not happening this year even with Maine fishermen on track for another huge catch – about four times greater than what was harvested annually from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Industry experts say growing demand for processed lobster meat is allowing the market to absorb the additional catch while maintaining near-record prices paid to fishermen. They also say that Maine’s 4,500 commercial lobstermen, who for the most part fish from July through November, have benefited from some good timing.

The supply of Canadian lobsters available for processors this spring was down because there was so much ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that the fishing season was delayed. That means Maine lobsters were in high demand once the season kicked off in mid-July, a couple of weeks behind schedule.

And when the lobsters finally migrated to Maine’s coastal waters to shed their shells, they came at a steady pace rather than all at once.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Fishermen get a $2,100-per-pound win as feds say American eels aren’t a threatened species

October 7, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — American eels will not be listed under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday, a victory for fishermen who catch the increasingly valuable species.

The wildlife service rejected a petition from the California-based Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy & Reliability to list the eels — prized in Asian cuisine — as threatened.

The petitioners argued that the eels have lost more than 80 percent of their habitat and that the stock is jeopardized by commercial fishing. But the wildlife service issued a report Wednesday saying that “there have been large declines in abundance from historical times,” but the species “currently appears to be stable.”

Fishermen and fishing advocacy groups campaigned against additional protections for eels. Listing them under the Endangered Species Act would have severely limited the ability to harvest them as a commercial species, and they can be of high economic value because of their use in sushi.

Maine baby eels were worth more than $2,100 per pound in 2015, up from less than $100 per pound in 2009. The baby eels, called elvers, are sold to Asian aquaculture companies that raise them to maturity and use them as food.

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

 

Maine Technology Institute awards grants to 4 early-stage companies

October 7, 2015 — The Maine Technology Institute has awarded grants totaling $92,414 to four Maine startups developing products in the aquaculture, information technology and building supply industries.

MTI, a state-backed agency that supports innovative companies, provided Business Accelerator Grants to the following companies:

• Acadia Harvest in Brunswick, developing a land-based aquaculture facility, received a grant of $49,975, which the company matched with $657,685 from other sources;

• Joseph Associates Inc., an information technology firm in Farmingdale, received $22,977, which the company matched with an equal amount;

• Revolution Research Inc., an Orono-based company started by two University of Maine students that is developing new insulation products for the building supply industry, received $15,000, which the company matched with a $224,996 investment raised from other sources.

Read the full story at the Kennebec Journal

 

Feds: Eels prized by fishermen aren’t a threatened species

October 7, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — American eels will not be listed under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday, a victory for fishermen who catch the increasingly valuable species.

The wildlife service rejected a petition from the California-based Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy & Reliability to list the eels — prized in Asian cuisine — as threatened.

The petitioners argued that the eels have lost more than 80 percent of their habitat and that the stock is jeopardized by commercial fishing. But the wildlife service issued a report Wednesday saying that “there have been large declines in abundance from historical times,” but the species “currently appears to be stable.”

Fishermen and fishing advocacy groups campaigned against additional protections for eels. Listing them under the Endangered Species Act would have severely limited the ability to harvest them as a commercial species, and they can be of high economic value because of their use in sushi.

Maine baby eels were worth more than $2,100 per pound in 2015, up from less than $100 per pound in 2009. The baby eels, called elvers, are sold to Asian aquaculture companies that raise them to maturity and use them as food.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at SFGate

 

MAINE: NOAA Allows State Waters Scallop Exemption Program

October 6, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Through a final rule published today, scallop vessels holding both Northern Gulf of Maine Federal permits and Maine commercial licenses may fish inside Maine state waters, even if the Federal Northern Gulf of Maine fishery is closed.

Maine requested this exemption as part of the Scallop State Water Exemption Program, which allows Federal permit holders to be exempted from a few specific regulations when fishing in a state waters scallop fishery where the state’s program does not jeopardize the objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan.

This rule goes into effect on November 6.

This exemption will benefit approximately 40 Federal Northern Gulf of Maine permit holders.

Read the rule as filed in Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-6175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.

Atlantic Sea Scallop. Credit: NOAA

Maine scallop fishery to see cutbacks to ensure conservation

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — October 2, 2015 — A plan to place new restrictions on Maine’s scalloping industry is the right way to ensure that the fishery keeps rebuilding, some fishermen say.

Maine’s meaty scallops, which are harvested by drag boats and cold-water divers, are prized in restaurants and fish markets. Their value per pound surged to an all-time high last year, frequently topping $20 – several dollars more than other scallops.

The fishery is also on the mend, as fishermen caught nearly 4.9 million pounds of the scallops last year, up from less than 700,000 pounds five years earlier. Catches sometimes topped 10 million pounds in the 1990s.

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

Disbursement of Groundfish Disaster Funds (Bin 3)

October 1, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The final installment of groundfish fishery disaster aid, commonly known as Bin 3, has been released to four of the affected states (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut) by NOAA Fisheries. Bin 3 represents the final third of $32.8 million available to assist the groundfish industry. This action allows the states to move forward with the development of individual spend plans for economic assistance to include direct aid to permit holders and crew.  

For more information on the spend plans, contact:

Maine: Meredith Mendelson (207) 624-6553 

New Hampshire: Cheri Patterson (603) 868-1095

Massachusetts: Melanie Griffin (617) 626-1528

Connecticut: David Simpson (860) 434-6043 

New York and Rhode Island continue to work with NOAA Fisheries to develop and complete grant applications to benefit affected fishers and their families.

More information is available on our website.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-6175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.

Credit: NOAA

 

MAINE: State seeks to reduce waiting times for lobster licenses

ELLSWORTH, Maine — September 28, 2015 — Fishermen are used to having to wait until they catch something, but there are many in Maine who don’t think it is right that they should have to wait a decade or more to catch lobster.

The state Department of Marine Resources agrees that the waiting list for lobster licenses in most fishing zones along the coast is too long and, if possible, something should be done to reduce the time it takes to get a license.

At a meeting last week in Ellsworth — one of several DMR has held over the past month along the coast — Commissioner Patrick Keliher told a group of nearly 60 people that he wants to make waits predictable, so that applicants will know roughly how long it will be before they get their license. But, he added, the department wants to avoid increasing the number of active lobster traps in the fishery, which he said already is being “fully exploited” by licensed fishermen.

“What do people on the waiting list want?” Keliher asked the group at Ellsworth High School, most of whom were fishermen with and waiting for lobster licenses. “They want predictability.”

Read the full story from the Bangor Daily News