Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2010
Commercial Fishing News
MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
and southern stocks, she said. “This is a The reward is $500 if these conditions are met. Funding is being provided by the
Continued from Page 11.
critical question that has proven very diffi- Working with Crista Bank of New NOAA-supported Northeast Consortium
ing out more than 35 statutes, including the cult to answer. It’s important not only for Bedford, MA, a graduate student at the Uni- and by the commercial fishing industry
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation understanding the population’s biology, but versity of Massachusetts-Dartmouth’s through its research set aside program for
and Management Act and the Endangered also important for managing the fisheries that School for Marine Science and Technology, monkfish.
Species Act. Their jurisdiction covers more harvest monkfish.” the team has already tagged 150 monkfish NOAA Strengthens Protection for Harbor
than three million square miles of open ocean, Richards, NEFSC colleague Larry Alade, and hopes to have the rest of the 190 available Porpoises off the Northeastern U.S.
more than 85,000 miles of U.S. coastline, the and researchers at the Gulf of Maine Re- archival tags on fish in the near future. NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced
national’s 13 national marine sanctuaries and search Institute (GMRI) and the University of The electronic tags, about the diameter improvements to fishing rules intended to
its marine national monuments. As part of Massachusetts - Dartmouth began the tag- of a AAA battery but half as long, are surgi- keep harbor porpoises out of gillnets set in
their mission to protect our nation’s marine ging project last year. Two commercial gillnet cally implanted under the skin and record waters off the U.S. East Coast, and to reduce
resources by ensuring compliance with fish- boats, the F/V C.W. Griswold with Captain water temperature, depth and time every 10 the number of these animals that die after
eries laws and regulations, they help to pro- Tim Caldwell from Scituate, MA. and the F/V minutes. The tags can record data for four to encounters with the gear.
tect fish stocks and marine mammals, as well Gertrude H with Captain Ted Platz from New- five years, and will work in water depths up to These changes address the two primary
as the livelihoods of law-abiding commercial port, RI, are collaborating to capture 2,000 meters (about 6,500 feet). A pair of causes of a recent increase harbor porpoise
and recreational fishermen. monkfish for the study. conventional plastic t-bar tags, like those bycatch in gillnets: increased bycatch in
NOAA and Fishermen Cooperate on “This study is going to give us a much used to attach the price tags on clothing, are places where measures to prevent it are not
Research into Monkfish Migration better understanding about monkfish migra- also attached externally around the currently required, and gaps in compliance
$500 Reward Offered for Returning Whole tion patterns, and that’s a great thin. said monkfish’s tail and carry instructions on how with current management measures, such as
Tagged Fish Caldwell, who said the new archival tag will to report a tagged monkfish. improper use of pingers.
Researchers are working with commer- provide much more data than the previous “We try to minimize the time the fish is on To address these problems, the mea-
cial fishermen to put electronic tags on hun- tags he has worked with. “Just getting a few deck, so the tagging process only takes sures announced today expand when and
dreds of monkfish (Lophius americanus) in tagged fish returned will give us a huge about five minutes,” said Larry Alade, a fish- where acoustic net alarms, called
the waters of southern New England and the amount of information.” eries biologist at NEFSC. “We tag fish that are “pingers,”are required on gillnets off New
Gulf of Maine to track where the commercially “As members of the monkfish advisory about 16 -20 inches long, or roughly four to England, add new seasonal management
important fish goes during its lifetime, and to panel, Tim and I see firsthand the difficulty five years old and most likely mature. On our measures off New Jersey, and define areas off
answer other questions about its biology. associated with managing a data-poor stock last trip we tagged 54 monkfish, some of New England that will close to gillnetters if
“Although monkfish is the highest val- like monkfish,” said Platz. “This tagging which were up to 28 inches long. ” harbor porpoise bycatch gets too high. How-
ued finfish in the northeast U.S., aspects of study is a perfect example of the value of Data recovered from the tags can help ever, expanded and more consistent use of
the fish’s basic biology and behavior are cooperative research as a means for obtain- researchers learn more about how migration pingers should reduce bycatch significantly.
poorly understood, such as their migration ing species specific information to aid the patterns differ between males and females Pingers have been required seasonally
patterns, what depths they live in and how fisheries management process. Ultimately, and with maturity state, where monkfish in gillnets off New England since 1998. How-
they use habitat,” said Anne Richards, one of fisheries management can only be as good as spawn, and how ocean currents and tides ever, they are sometimes used improperly,
the study’s lead investigators and a the science upon which it is based.” affect monkfish activity. The study will im- reducing their overall effectiveness. In the
monkfish expert at NOAA’s Northeast Fish- “The longer the tagged fish remain at sea prove understanding of the age and growth Mid-Atlantic region, measures are believed
eries Science Center (NEFSC) laboratory in the more data will be collected, so we hope of monkfish and the validity of methods used to have been less effective in recent years,
Woods Hole, Mass. tagged fish will be returned to us over the next to estimate a monkfish’s age. mostly because some fishing gear was not
Information from the tagged fish could several years,” Richards said. “We need the Monkfish, also known as goosefish, properly modified to reduce the risk of captur-
also help determine whether there is one whole fish with its tags, and details about was not a target of commercial fisheries until ing and retaining harbor porpoises.
monkfish population throughout the north- where and when it was caught, in order to get the late 1980s, but since the mid-1990s has In the Mid-Atlantic, a new management
western Atlantic Ocean or distinct northern the most information we can from each fish.” been the highest valued finish in the north- area is being created off the coast of New
eastern U.S., surpassing traditional ground- Jersey, encompassing waters where high
fish species like cod, haddock and flounders. bycatch has been seen recently. The area will
The scientists plan to expand the study be closed to gillnetting from February 1 to
to include monkfish in the mid-Atlantic re- March 15, and gear modified to reduce the risk
gion down to Cape Hatteras, considered the of bycatch will be required to fish there be-
southernmost extent of their distribution in tween January 1 and April 30 every year when
the Northwest Atlantic. gillnet fishing is allowed.
MARINER'S A WARD
Association of State Maritime Academies.
Continued from Page 9.
He serves as chairman of the Maine Higher
Blue Ribbon Commission on Post Education Council, an organization of
Secondary Education and the Governor’s approximately 35 private and public colleges
Task Force to Create a Seamless Pre- in the state. He is also a member of the Board
Kindergarten through Sixteenth Grade of Directors of the American Bureau of
Educational System. He served as a member Shipping, a leading international
of the capital campaign committee of the classification society devoted to promoting
Katahdin Area Boy Scout Council, and was the security of life, property, and the marine
a member of the Board of Directors of Blue environment through the development and
Hill Memorial Hospital, and the Maine Boat verification of standards for the design,
Building Council. He currently serves as a construction, and operational maintenance
member of the Boards of Directors of the of marine-related facilities.
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