Maine DMR Expects 20+ Acoustic Shark Receivers In Ocean Waters This Summer
It may be cold out there, but a few groups are already out there working on next year s, shall we say, shark season here in Maine?
Following the fatal great white shark attack where a woman died off Bailey Island in southern Maine this past year, the Maine Department of Marine Resources began working with the Atlantic Great White Shark Conservancy and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, to figure out approximately how many of the big fish there are and where they are within coastal Maine waters.
For years now, the Atlantic Great White Shark Conservancy based in Chatham, Massachusetts, has been tagging white sharks in the Cape Cod area. Tags pinned to white sharks then communicate with acoustic receivers moored in coastal waters, telling the folks on the mainland where a tagged shark is. This year, the Atlantic Great White Shark Conservancy will also install tiny video cameras within some of th
Oyster farmer Bruce Silverbrand, left, and coastal program manager for the Nature Conservancy, Steven Kirk, at Little Buttermilk Bay in Buzzards Bay. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Standing on a cold, wet beach, Bruce Silverbrand rummages through a metal basket of oysters. He picks out a huge one almost as big as a mitten, with a knobbed and lumpy shell. It’s what people in the shellfish industry call a “big ugly,” though Silverbrand abhors the term. I would never call an oyster ugly these are my babies, he says. He considers the monster in his hand for a moment, turning it over for a good look. This is not a bad looking oyster, really, for a big oyster.
A Final 2020 DMR Update from Commissioner Keliher
As 2020 slowly draws to a close, I’d like to share with you one last monthly update on the work of Maine DMR before we close the books on a year of challenges. Pat.
Policy and Management Bureau
The New England Fishery Management Council met on December 1-3 via webinar. Much of the current work of the Council is focused on identifying specifications for fishing year 2021, including catch limits for the federal scallop, whiting, and spiny dogfish fisheries. The Council did take final action on groundfish catch limits for FY2021 as a part of Framework 61. The Council will continue work on Framework 61 in January when it is slated to take final action on a redfish universal sector exemption.
Patrick Keliher
Patrick Keliher (Photo courtesy Maine Dept. of Marine Resources)
Policy and Management Bureau
The New England Fishery Management Council met on December 1-3 via webinar. Much of the current work of the Council is focused on identifying specifications for fishing year 2021, including catch limits for the federal scallop, whiting, and spiny dogfish fisheries. The Council did take final action on groundfish catch limits for FY2021 as a part of Framework 61. The Council will continue work on Framework 61 in January when it is slated to take final action on a redfish universal sector exemption.
DMR has been auditing the data collected through the CARES Act application process. As we said in a recent email to industry, we received more than 2700 applications and appeals. We have confirmed the eligibility of the majority of applicants and we anticipate that ASMFC will mail checks to this group this week. The arrival of the checks will depend on how the Christmas seas
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Officials in the U.S. state of Massachusetts are proposing a complete ban on lobster fishing in all state waters during periods when the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale is in the region.
The new regulations would prevent lobstermen from setting traps between February and May – and potentially longer if the whales remain offshore, according to The Boston Globe. The regulations would also require lobstermen to use more easily breakable rope, limit the state’s lobster catch, and curtail the use of gillnets in state waters.
The proposal is the latest escalation in efforts to protect the North Atlantic right whale, which is one of the most endangered species on the planet. Current estimates put the total population of the species at roughly 356, with dozens of whales dying in recent years from entanglement-related causes.