Fishermen's Forum Recap

Principal Todd West explains the Eastern Maine Skippers Program during the Fishermen's Forum

The Fishermen’s Forum, held annually in late February/ early March at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine is always one of my favorite times of year. OK, I know, that may sound a bit odd, but just hear me out… The event brings together fishermen, academics, graduate students, nonprofit organizations, and fisheries managers from around the state and New England.  The seminars cover a wide range of topics from annual meetings of various harvester groups like the Maine Lobsterman’s Association to updates on scallop and lobster management at the state level, through the Department of Marine Resources (DMR), to high school students presenting about their own research-- there’s something for everyone! The event is always well attended with bustling exhibit halls and packed seminar rooms. Not to mention it's a great distraction from the long winter we've been having this year! 

The Hurricane Island crew was well represented and spent most of the two days talking with people interested in learning more about our organization and the summer programs on the island. 

One of my favorite presentations was from the Eastern Maine Skippers Program, which organized a seminar updating the community on students' progress made to date and sharing the different flounder traps designed by each school. The audience had the opportunity to provide feedback on which flounder trap they believed would be the most effective. In the spring, the schools will test how well the traps catch flounder, and work to combine their ideas, improve their design, and make a recommendation to the DMR.

I also had the opportunity to present as part of a panel on state scallop management and closed areas. The session was called “Thinking Outside the Box:  Spatial Closures in the Scallop Fishery.” I summarized methods used in a collaborative research project we are doing in partnership with a number of organizations and Midcoast scallop industry members. Look for a blog post on that coming soon... 

Maine Might Make Moves on Ocean Acidification!

On Monday January 13, 2014, the Maine Legislature's Marine Resources Committee gathered testimony about a Legislative Document that would establish a formal commission to study the effects of ocean acidification and its potential effects on commercial shellfish harvested and grown along the Maine coast. You can read L.D. 1602 here. This hearing was well attended by stakeholders from all of Maine's major fisheries, scientists, environmentalists, and others.

If this measure is signed by Gov. Paul LePage, the commission would start by identifying the current gaps in knowledge about ocean acidification and make recommendations about how Maine can combat the negative effects of acidification on tourism, fisheries, and the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.

Check out this article in the Portland Press Herald for more information. The bill was considered on January 13, 2014 by a committee of Maine Legislators. Thanks to Rep. Michael Devin from Newcastle for introducing the measure--this could be an exciting step in the right direction for the health of the ocean!

If you want to get involved in supporting this effort, you can sign a petition here.

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Seal Island's Live Seal Cam

Great news! It is gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) pupping season, and Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge is using a HD camera to give scientists insight into this event. It isn't easy to observe events that happen during Maine's worst weather conditions, and this camera means that scientists can observe seals during the whole pupping season from the comfort of their computer screen and without disturbing these 300-pound pinnipeds. Seal Island has the second largest gray seal colony in the United States, and is not too far from Hurricane Island (although Google Maps wouldn't give me directions...I suppose they are still working on their inter-island transit time). You can read more about gray seals here. Speaking of seals, if you want to come out to Hurricane Island for our Maine SEAL program, I promise you will get to see seals lounging on the ledges to the East of Hurricane Island!

This is a still still taken on January 15. Click the image to visit the video feed which broadcasts live starting at 10am every day.

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New Year, New Calendar

Photo of Lisa Goddard by Charlie Naebeck.

If you are in the market for a super cool science calendar, check out the 2014 Climate Models Calendar, which claims to be "the only calendar on Earth that shares the planet's hottest climate science and the people behind it."

Each month, the calendar features one of Columbia’s renowned climate scientists and includes information about their interests, work, and their favorite dataset, chart or climate phenomenon. The calendar also includes dates of weather and climate events that live in infamy, dates of key scientific meetings…in other words, everything you need to have an awesome year of science!

One of the portraits in the calendar features scientist Lisa Goddard, Director of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society. Lisa's work focuses on improving the reliability and use of climate models, especially those that indicate conditions over the next few decades in different parts of the world.

Scallops certified "sustainable" by the Marine Stewardship Council

Maine's Scallop season opened December 2, 2013, and shortly after the first scallops appeared on dinner plates the fishery was certified "sustainable" in accordance with the Marine Stewardship Council's standards for sustainable, well-managed fisheries.  You can read more about this decision here. 

This certification was granted despite an objection filed by Togue Brawn of Maine Dayboat Scallops, Inc., with the support of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. The objection is in response to a management loophole that exempts the Northern Gulf of Maine management area from regulations aimed at rebuilding and protecting the scallop resource. The objection argues that the management area has no real measures to prevent overfishing, which could make the "sustainable" designation for the whole fishery artificial and short-sighted.

The state's scallop fishery is managed by the Department of Marine Resources, which is a great source of information if you want to learn more about how the fishery works.

If you are interested in different fisheries that may or may not be "ocean-friendly" you can check out Seafood Watch, a program of the Monterey Bay Aquarium that makes purchasing recommendations for different species of fish and shellfish.

Do you think the scallop fishery is sustainable? Does the sustainability of a fishery affect your decision to consume different types of seafood? Post your comments!