It was the summer of 1978. Then-12-year-old Mike Kalaman approached the captains of two lobster boats on a pier in Westport. This was a common activity for Kalaman, whose father, a mechanic, secured him a job at a family friend’s fish market to keep him out of “trouble.” The Norwalk teen would run down to the boats tied up near the Westport market and fire away questions about the crustaceans that would be sold that day. “You want to see how this is done?” a captain finally asked him. That was the first day of Kalaman’s nearly 50-year career as a lobsterman. “You could go down to any beach anywhere in the state of Connecticut, at low tide, turn over rocks and find baby lobsters. That’s how prolific they were,” he recalls. Then came the die-off. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:47
Tag Archives: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Regulators delay increase in minimum lobster size till July
Regulators formally delayed increasing the minimum size of lobsters harvested in the Gulf of Maine to July. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the regulatory body that oversees the fishing industry, voted Monday to delay the resolution by six months. The changes were previously slated to take effect in January, but opponents have argued it would give Canadian lobstermen – unimpacted by the change, though they share the waters – an unfair advantage in the market. Lobstermen also have claimed the change could practically eliminate the harvest of some of the industry’s most popular lobster sizes. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 21:06
ASMFC Public Hearings on Summer Flounder Draft Addendum XXXV: Changes to Commercial Trawl Mesh Exemption Programs
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is seeking public comment on Draft Addendum XXXV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass. The Draft Addendum considers changes to two exemptions to the summer flounder commercial minimum mesh size requirements: the Small Mesh Exemption Program (SMEP) and the flynet exemption. Two public hearings have been scheduled: one for the New England and Mid-Atlantic states (MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ) and one for the more southern states (MD, VA, NC). Both hearings will be conducted via webinar. Regardless of your state of residence, you are welcome to participate in either virtual hearing. The public hearing details follow: more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:20
Lobster fishermen say tiny change in legal sizes could disrupt imperiled industry
Gerry Cushman has seen Maine’s iconic lobster industry survive numerous threats in his three decades on the water, but the latest challenge, which might sound tiny, could be the biggest one yet. Lobster fishing is a game of inches, and the number of inches is about to change. Fishing regulators are instituting a new rule that lobster fishermen must abide by stricter minimum sizes for crustaceans they harvest. In addition to causing a dispute between fishermen and regulators, the change has led to confusion about the ramifications for international trade in one of the world’s most popular seafoods. “We don’t need any more, really, on our plate. It’s just a lot going on, one fight after another,” Cushman, 55, a boat captain who fishes out of Port Clyde, said. “We don’t need anything in the marketplace to lower the price of lobsters.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:59
Lobster fishery set for reprieve on size limits
A second delay to implementing minimum gauge and vent sizes for lobsters caught in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and Outer Cape Cod was initiated last week by the American Lobster Board, which operates under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a measure that Maine lobstermen, and Congressman Jared Golden, have hoped and pushed for. The new implementation date would be July 1, 2025, if the measure is adopted by the ASMFC’s American Lobster Board. An earlier delay the ASMFC approved had pushed back to Jan. 1, 2025, the new gauge and escape vent sizes in lobster traps for commercial lobster fisheries in the targeted lobster management areas. When the measure was first approved, it was to take effect based on a “trigger” mechanism. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:52
New regulations on lobstering delayed amid pushback from Seacoast lobstermen
New federal regulations on the lobstering industry are being delayed after months of pushback from local lobstermen. The rules would increase the minimum acceptable size for lobsters that can be caught and require bigger escape vents to be added to traps. Regulators with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission told News9 the goal of the new rules, laid out in policy called Addendum 27, are aimed at protecting the population of younger lobsters and allowing them to grow to a size where they can reproduce and be suitable for harvesting. Starks said the number of those younger lobsters have declined in research counts in recent years, triggering the new regulations. However, local lobstermen have cast doubt on those studies and railed against the rules laid out in Addendum 27. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:18
Golden introduces amendment to block gauge increase for Maine lobstermen
Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today introduced a bipartisan amendment to block for one year a proposed gauge increase in the Gulf of Maine by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Golden submitted his amendment for consideration in the Fiscal Year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) cosponsored the amendment. “Gauge increases are a significant change that must be informed by the best possible science, and both Maine lobstermen and the fishery itself lose when Canada isn’t held to the same standards.” Golden said. “It’s clear that regulators need to work much closer with fishermen to keep the industry sustainable and competitive.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:08
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE for June 24, 2024
MD, VA and NC Public Hearing on Atlantic Cobia Draft Addendum II – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) staff will be presenting Atlantic Cobia Draft Addendum II and having opportunity for public comment. This Draft Addendum considers recreational allocation, harvest target evaluation, and the timeline for setting management specifications. Although this may not directly apply to all readers, I think it is an interesting exercise that will apply to many more of our fisheries in the future. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:19
Maine Lobstermen’s Association letter to ASMFC reiterates its call to delay any gauge increase
Dear Ms. Starks: The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) strongly supports the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) recommendation to NOAA Fisheries proposed in Addendum XXX “that as changes to the minimum gauge size in LCMA 1 are required by Addendum XXVII, the smallest minimum size for foreign imports would match the smallest minimum size in effect for the US industry.” MLA has raised concern with ASMFC through previous comments and letters that the lack of clarity in Addendum XXVII regarding the import of undersize lobster from Canada smaller than the minimum possession size has created significant confusion and angst amongst Maine lobstermen who worry that the import these lobsters would have a significant negative impact on the U.S. boat price. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:06
Lobstermen and Scientists See a Fishery in Flux
While overall the fishery seems stable, some lobstermen are seeing changes that have them worried about its future. Scientists are looking into what role the changing climate may be playing in those changes, but they don’t have definitive answers. “It’s horrible,” said Mike Rego, a lobsterman and owner of the F/V Miss Lilly who operates out of Provincetown. “Last year was the worst year I ever had.” Dana Pazolt, another Provincetown lobsterman who owns the F/V Black Sheep, said that the last four years have been slim for lobsters around the Outer Cape. “You’ve got to hunt for them,” he said. “I can’t tell you why that is.” The surface waters of the Gulf of Maine are warming at a rate of about one degree per decade, faster than 99 percent of the world’s oceans, according to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Meanwhile, in other areas, warming has already had an effect — it played a major role in causing the collapse of the lobster fishery in Long Island Sound in 1999. more, >>CICK TO READ<< 21:20
State backs lobstermen in urging regulators to reevaluate changes to minimum size
The rules, which are set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, will increase the minimum size from 3 1/4 inches to 3 5/16 inches, on the gauges that lobstermen use to measure lobsters and determine whether they are allowed to harvest them. A second increase would take effect two years later, bringing the minimum to 3 3/8 inches. The rules also affect the vents in traps that allow undersized lobsters to escape. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says it is making the changes to preserve the long-term future of the lobster population in the Gulf of Maine, which federal data show has sharply dropped. Lobstermen also question the accuracy of the federal data – saying that it was corrected over a small and abnormal time frame that doesn’t indicate the reality of population trends. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:23
Fishermen call for a delay to upcoming lobster size rules
Congressman Jared Golden is calling on fishery regulators to delay upcoming rules that will change the minimum catch sizes for lobster in certain parts of Maine. Officials have said the changes are necessary after they observed a troubling decline in the juvenile lobster population over a three-year period. The new management measures are intended to allow sublegal lobsters to reproduce before being harvested. But some Maine fishermen are questioning that data, and on Tuesday, many turned out at a meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to express their concerns. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 05:50
Atlantic fisheries body confirms cyber incident after 8Base ransomware gang claims breach
A fisheries management organization for the East Coast is dealing with a cyber incident following claims by a ransomware gang that it stole data. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) — an 80-year-old organization created by Congress and made up of officials from the Atlantic coast states — said this week that its email system is down. The organization was forced to create a temporary email address and provide a phone number people can use to contact the information. Tina Berger, director of communications for ASMFC, told Recorded Future News that they are currently “responding to a cyber incident affecting our systems” but did not respond to further questions about whether they are dealing with a ransomware attack. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:04
Maine researchers, students are sorting through muck and slugs to study baby scallops
People from each of these groups are collaborating with the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership and Colby College in the second year of a study meant to help identify how many young scallops there are off Maine’s coast, and where they’re living. The tiny, two-shelled juveniles, or spat, are uniquely important to fishermen who scoop wild scallops from the ocean floor and aquaculture farmers who raise them in contained areas. Unlike most aquaculture farmers who work with other species, scallop farmers can only grow their bounty from wild spat – the same spat that wild scallop fishermen need to feed the general population. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 12:50
Maine commercial fisheries jump $25M in value, with strong boat price for lobster
Commercial fishermen in Maine had a strong year in 2023. The value of the state’s fisheries increased by more than $25 million over 2022, for a total of $611.3 million at the dock, according to preliminary data released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The department attributed much of the increase to a strong boat price for lobster, Maine’s most valuable species last year. The price paid to fishermen went from $3.97 per pound in 2022 to $4.95 per pound in 2023, netting harvesters an additional $72 million compared to the previous year, for a total value in 2023 of $464.4 million. “The price Maine lobstermen received last year is a reflection of the continued strong demand for this iconic seafood,” said Patrick Keliher, the department’s commissioner. more, >>click to read<< 10:19
Data show fewer baby lobsters but fishermen say ‘eggers’ abound
Lobstermen and the agency that oversees them, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), sparred a little over state data on lobster populations that lobstermen said does not reflect what they see when fishing, when the Zone B Lobster Council met Feb. 21 at the Mount Desert Island High School library. The DMR estimates the number of baby lobsters, called “year of young,” through trawl and ventless trap surveys to project future adult populations and manage the fishery — and to adhere to interstate fishery rules from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an interstate board managing fisheries for 15 states, including Maine. 3 Photos, more, >>click to read<< 12:45
Fishing regulators say no to catching more elvers, a most valuable species
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission needs to set a new quota for next year and beyond because the current management plan is expiring. The commission said Monday its only considering one option for next year’s limit and that is a little less than 10,000 pounds, the same level fishermen have been allowed to catch for several years. The commission is under pressure from fishermen who want the quota raised and from environmentalists who would like to see it reduced. Fishermen who have advocated for removing dams are good stewards of the elvers, said Darrell Young, president of the Maine Elver Fishermen’s Association. Many fishermen run through their quota in just a few days, he said. more, >>click to read<< 20:46
Wide-ranging meeting covers gauge changes, ropeless gear, damage repair – DMR to lobstermen: We need your data
The Maine Department of Marine Fisheries held its January 29 Lobster Zone C Council meeting in Stonington Town Hall, drawing more than four dozen fishermen, marine scientists and local politicians eager to weigh in on a number of policy initiatives. Among the topics: the timeline for changes to gauge and vent sizes that were triggered due to declining juvenile lobster abundance; challenges to Canadian management practices; and plans to spend $17 million allocated last year by Congress to develop better science around lobstering’s impact on North Atlantic right whale mortality. Keliher kicked off the meeting with a discussion of impending gauge-size changes under Addendum XXVII, a management strategy adopt by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to increase protection of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank spawning stock. more, >>click to read<< 07:57
Lobstermen Sue State Agency for Mandating Installation of 24-Hour Electronic Location Monitoring System on Their Boats
A group of five Maine lobstermen are suing Maine Department of Marine Fisheries (MDMR) Commissioner Patrick Keliher over new rules mandating that all federally permitted lobster boats be equipped with a 24-hour electronic location monitoring system. These mandated devices — provided by the MDMR — identify a vessel’s location every sixty seconds while in motion and once every six hours when stationary. Using one of these devices, a boat’s position is able to be accurately determined within 100 meters, or 328.1 feet. According to the lobstermen, this new requirement violates the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, as they allege that it jeopardizes their Constitutionally protected rights to privacy and due process. more, >>click to read<< 11:20
MA Awarded $4.6 Million to Support North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery and Lobster Industry
The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) will receive more than $4.6 million from a congressional appropriation through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to enhance the division’s nation-leading
Maine lobstermen say electronic trackers required by federal regulators violate privacy
Some Maine lobstermen say that new electronic monitoring requirements are violating their constitutional right to privacy. As of Dec. 15, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requires that lobstermen with federal permits install a monitor tracking their boat’s location each minute that it’s moving. But the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation — a nonprofit arm of the Maine Lobstering Union — is now asking the state to delay the requirements until the next fishing season. The foundation outlined its concerns in a letter sent to the Maine Department of Marine Resources earlier this month. more>>click to read<< 09:03
Fishing foundation pushes back against electronic tracking
Three days before a federal electronic tracking requirement took effect for all lobster boats fishing in federal waters, the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation (SMFF), a nonprofit that shares headquarters on Bar Harbor Road with the Maine Lobstermen’s Union and Lobster 207, sent a letter through its attorneys to Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The Dec. 15 deadline to start using electronic “black box” tracking devices has come and gone, but the Foundation is busy raising funds for legal expenses, raising more than $46,000 in its first week toward a goal of $250,000. more, >>click to read<< 10:39
New England’s decades-old shrimp fishery, a victim of climate change, to remain closed indefinitely
New England’s long-shuttered shrimp business, which fell victim to warming waters, will remain in a fishing moratorium indefinitely, fishery regulators ruled on Friday. The industry has been in a moratorium since 2013 in large part because environmental conditions off New England are unfavorable for the cold water-loving shrimp. That moratorium will remain in effect with no firm end date, a board of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Friday. The board stopped short of calling the move a permanent moratorium because it included a provision to continue monitoring the shrimp population and consider reopening the fishery if the crustaceans approach a healthy level. Some U.S. fishermen have advocated trying to save New England’s shrimp fishery with new management approaches. Glen Libby, a former shrimp trawler, said regulators need to gather more data before taking drastic measures to close a historic fishery. more, >>click to read<< 14:20
Maine: Electronic Tracking Requirements for Federally Permitted Lobster and Jonah Crab License Holders
A Concise Summary: This rule-making incorporates the requirements in Addendum XXIX (American Lobster) and Addendum IV (Jonah crab) that were approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) in March 2022. Specifically, for compliance with the Interstate Fisheries Management Plans, this regulation requires all federally-permitted lobster and Jonah crab license holders with commercial trap gear area permits to have approved electronic tracking devices. This requirement applies to all federally-permitted lobster and crab license holders with commercial trap gear for Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMAs) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and the Outer Cape Cod. >>click to read<< 17:49
Decline in young lobsters triggers change in legal catch size
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commissioner approved in May new management measures when the survey of sublegal lobsters declined by 35 percent. The most recent stock survey shows a 39 percent decline. “The fact that we’ve hit the trigger this soon comes as a significant surprise,” DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher said. “When the Board voted on the Addendum in May, it was anticipated that the trigger would not be hit for a year or two.” Keliher had initially broached to the ASMFC a higher trigger of 38 percent than the 35 percent that passed. But at the latest board meeting, he successfully delayed implementing the first size change from June 1, 2024, as initially set in the Addendum, to Jan. 1, 2025. >>click to read<< 08:08
Herring disaster funds should be used to phase out harmful trawling
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is releasing $11 million in disaster relief funds to Atlantic herring harvesters, of which $7 million will go to Maine. These funds should be used to phase out herring trawling by buying back fishing permits in an effort to increase herring stocks and to protect other marine life. U.S. Atlantic herring landings in the 2000s averaged 206 million pounds annually but have since decreased to below 22 million pounds in 2020 and 2021. The New England Fishery Management Council led a process to craft a 10-year rebuilding plan. This dramatic downturn in herring is likely because variables with climate change are reducing ocean productivity resulting in seven consecutive years of low numbers of young fish surviving to maturity. >click to read< 12:58
Lund’s Fisheries’ Jeff Kaelin Appointed to Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission as Gov. Murphy’s Proxy
The Garden State Seafood Association is pleased to announce that Mr. Jeff Kaelin, of Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May, New Jersey has been confirmed by the Senate as Governor Phil Murphy’s proxy to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). This represents the first time in nearly twenty years that New Jersey commercial fishermen have had a representative on the ASMFC. Garden State Seafood Association ‘I am extremely honored to have been chosen by Governor Murphy for this position and thank Senate President Scutari and Senator Testa for supporting me through the confirmation process. It has been a long wait and I’m excited to get to work on behalf of New Jersey,’ said Kaelin. >click to read< 19:00
Menhaden fleet agrees to limit where it fishes in the Chesapeake Bay
The controversial menhaden fleet that supplies Omega Proteins’ Reedville plant is promising to limit areas in Chesapeake Bay where it will set its nets and catches fish. In a memorandum of understanding with the state, Ocean Harvesters said it wants to limit potential areas of conflict with other users of the Bay. Conservationists and recreational fishermen had pushed for limits, with some calling for an outright ban on catching menhaden in the Bay, after two spills of dead menhaden last year washed ashore. >click to read< 08:01
Lobstermen unhappy over proposed changes in legal size of catch
Lobstermen facing new fishing restrictions proposed by the multi-state Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) met March 9 with Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) staff to hear details, ask questions and provide public comments. But the majority of the 30 lobstermen gathered in the Ellsworth High School cafeteria said don’t change anything. The meeting came the day after an online meeting was held that drew about 50 people. Winter Harbor lobsterman Herman Faulkingham said that a multi-state commission shouldn’t regulate individual fishermen in Maine. Jim Hanscom, who fishes out of Bar Harbor and is vice chairman of the Zone B Lobster Council, agreed. >click to read< 11:29
ASMFC Public Hearing on American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVII
The Atlantic coastal states of Maine through New York have scheduled hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum XXVII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster, which considers measures to increase protection of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) spawning stock. Some hearings will be conducted in-person, and some hearings will be conducted via webinar. Additional details on participating in the webinars can be found later in this release. Massachusetts Virtual Hearing on March 15, 6PM The public hearing details are as follows: >Click to read< 12:17
