Category: July ’12

Maine trappers form new shrimp association

GEORGETOWN, ME – Jan. 19, 2012 turned out to be a pivotal day for Maine shrimp trap fishermen. The Northern Shrimp Section of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) was meeting in Portland for a midseason check to see how fast landings were tallying up against the year’s very small total allowable catch (TAC). …

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Longliners won’t benefit from swordfish revitalization

SAINT PETERSBURG, FL – The good news is that the swordfish are thriving. Two decades of effort by US fishermen paid off with the 2010 stock assessment finding that the North Atlantic swordfish population is completely rebuilt. The bad news is that, despite the resurgence of the resource, there has been chronic underharvest of the …

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Bluefin market report: Cautious optimism as season starts

HARWICH, MA – After a slow start following the June 1 opening of the commercial season, the bluefin tuna fishery was picking up speed in mid- June as Commercial Fisheries News went to press. As of June 8, dealers reported sporadic landings of bluefin between western Maine and Cape Cod with a few early fish …

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GOM gillnetters under Oct/Nov closure to protect harbor porpoise

MYSTIC, CT – Gillnet fishermen will be prohibited from working in a large area of the inshore Gulf of Maine annually during October and November until harbor porpoise bycatch rates drop dramatically or major changes are made to existing rules under the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (TRP). From September 2010 through May 2011, the …

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Sluggish lobster demand; downward price pressure

The June lobster market was a mess. Problem #1 – prices were too high. Problem #2 – too much product was on the market. And problems #1 and #2 were exacerbated by #3 – the extremely early appearance of US shedders. The result: Sluggish movement through the lobster pipeline, and that has consequences affecting all …

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Scallop RSA program funds 13 more projects

GLOUCESTER, MA – The industry funded scallop research set-aside (RSA) program launched in 1998 is celebrating its 14th anniversary this year with another impressive slate of cooperative research projects that will be carried out jointly by scientists and commercial fishermen. In early May, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced that 13 projects had been …

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NMFS, ASMFC ultimately agree on 2012 dogfish quota, trip limit

GLOUCESTER, MA – It wasn’t seamless, but after the dust settled, fishery managers took steps to implement matching spiny dogfish quotas and possession limits in both state and federal waters for the 2012 fishing year. Late in May, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced that it had approved a commercial quota of 35.694 million …

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NOAA Fisheries Navigator – July 2012

Insert to the July 2012 Commercial Fisheries News Contents: NOAA Fisheries Considering Increasing Opportunities to Sustainably Harvest Swordfish Watch for Socio-economic Surveys this Summer High Rate of Harbor Porpoise Take Results in Fall GOM Gillnet Closure Changes Implemented for the Northeast Small-Mesh Fishery FW 47 Sets New Groundfish Catch Limits, Management Measures for ’12 Recreational …

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