Tag Archives: New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
The American lobster’s baby bust
The Gulf of Maine is home to one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States. Every year, American lobsters (Homarus americanus) from the gulf fuel a multibillion-dollar industry, buoying fishing communities across New England and across the border into Atlantic Canada. The Gulf of Maine is also heating up faster than almost any other marine environment on Earth. In the gulf, rising water temperatures and shifting currents have already triggered shocking declines in other mainstay catches, such as northern shrimp, and put surprising new species in fish traps. Now, ongoing research led by Joshua Carloni, a marine biologist with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, shows a potentially dire situation brewing for the area’s most valuable species—the lobster. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:36
Volunteer Commercial Vessels Sought for Northern Shrimp Trawling and Trapping Research Sampling
The New Hampshire Fish (NHFG) and Game Department and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) are seeking one shrimp-trawling vessel and captain and one shrimp-trapping vessel and captain to participate in a winter sampling research program for northern shrimp in early 2025. This program will not receive funding from ASMFC or participating states, and participation in the program will be entirely self-funded by industry participants. The selected vessel(s) will be allowed to land and sell northern shrimp, subject to daily catch limits and a total of 26.5 metric tons region-wide research set-aside (RSA) limit. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:04
N.H. Lobstermen Pack Hearing Opposed to Creating License To Take Lobster by Scuba
Lobstermen packed a hearing Tuesday overwhelmingly opposed to a bill that would establish a license to take lobsters by SCUBA in House Bill 442. New Hampshire and Maine do not allow such a practice, but it is allowed in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and other states along the Eastern seaboard. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee scheduled the bill for 15 minutes of testimony but it went on for an hour and a half and heard from more than a dozen speakers, mostly in opposition. >click to read< 08:59
Participants in cooperative winter sampling program for Gulf of Maine northern shrimp announced
The program, coordinated by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, is designed to provide biological data on the shrimp fishery which is closed for the fourth year in a row. These Maine fishermen were chosen from over 60 applicants based on a random drawing of those fully qualified in each region. Preference was given to trawlers willing to participate in a test of a compound grate for harvesting. The sampling program will include the participation of 10 trawlers (eight Maine trawlers, one Massachusetts trawler and one New Hampshire trawler) and five Maine trappers fishing for eight weeks from mid-January to mid-March. Read the story here 08:15
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Hearing to air proposal to reduce take in scallop fishing
CONCORD — A public hearing on proposed amendments to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department marine fisheries rules, as well as proposed rule changes for several Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)-managed species, will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. at the Urban Forestry Center, 45 Elwyn Road in Portsmouth. Department is proposing to: Reduce the daily poundage of scallops that can be taken in a day in state waters from 200 pounds of shucked scallops to 75 pounds, and from 1,666 pounds to 625 pounds for scallops in the shell; change the open season for taking scallops with a dredge to December 1 to April 15; allow limited use of chafing gear on a scallop dredge. more@fosterdailydemocrat 12:08
