April 2016 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 21. N F M D  R Continued from Page 20.


fi shery was again by far the highest at $495,433,635. When factoring in bonuses paid to harvesters as reported by 11 of Maine’s 19 lobster co-ops, the overall land- ed value of Maine’s lobster fi shery reached $510,680,048. 2015 marked the fourth year in a row


and the fourth year ever in which Maine lobster harvesters landed over 120 million pounds, with landings totaling 121,083,418 pounds. “Maine’s lobster fi shery continues to be a major engine for our coastal econ- omy,” said Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “This past year saw a continuation of steady and historic lobster landings throughout the season. The increase in value refl ects grow- ing demand for Maine lobster. “While this year’s value and landings


are great news for our coastal economy, we also recognize that lobster represents more than 81 percent of the overall value of our commercial fi sheries,” said Commis- sioner Keliher. “It shows that we all must be working hard to build and sustain our commercial fi sheries and to create more diverse opportunity, be it with traditional commercial fi sheries or an expanding the role of aquaculture. This work is critical to ensure we can adapt to changes in landings and value in future years.” Maine’s softshell clam industry re-


tained its second place standing in overall value at $22,536,086, a record for the fi sh- ery. The jump in value came on the strength of a 47 cent per pound increase over 2014. At $2.46 per pound, 2015 landings netted harvesters a 23 percent increase in per pound value over 2014 despite a drop in landings of one million pounds. At $2,171 per pound, Maine’s elver


fi shery was by-far the most lucrative of Maine’s commercial fisheries on a per pound basis. Despite a season in which landings were well below the state quota due to a cold, dry spring that slowed elver migration and challenged harvesting, over- all value increased by nearly $3 million. At $11,422,381, the elver fi shery was Maine’s fourth most lucrative behind herring at $13 million.


DMR offi cials consider 2015 a contin- uation of the successful rebuilding eff ort for


Maine’s scallop fi shery despite a decline in value and meat pounds landed. “We expect- ed 2015 to be lean in terms of landings,” said Commissioner Keliher. “But considering that Maine scallop harvesters landed more than ten times the amount harvested in 2005, this fi shery is on the right track.”


New Approach to Scallop Monitoring Re- sults in Re-Opened Fishing Grounds A new approach to scallop monitoring


in Maine state waters has led to changes in scallop abundance estimates that will result in the reopening of three important fi shing grounds this season. The areas opening are Inner Machias


Rotational Area, Wahoa/Jonesport Reach and Gouldsboro Bay and Dyers Bay, which were closed through emergency rulemaking by the Maine Department of Marine Re- sources on December 13, 2015. The Depart- ment will open the areas the week of March 14 by allowing the emergency regulation to lapse.


“The Maine scallop fi shery has seen


signifi cant advances in both science and management in recent years,” said Maine DMR Science Bureau Director Carl Wilson. “In 2012 the DMR, working closely with industry, implemented rotational manage- ment and targeted in-season closures. These new management tools were developed to continue rebuilding the resource in areas that had been closed for three years, while supporting a sustainable fi shery.” Under the new management strategy,


pre-season dredge surveys were used by the DMR to estimate abundance and harvest- able biomass in areas likely to be subject to heavy harvesting pressure. DMR staff uses estimates of scallop biomass removed from these areas based on port sampling, sea sampling, and industry feedback to make decisions about timing of in-season closures. Closures occur when 30%-40% of the harvestable biomass in an area has been removed. To further improve understanding of


the scallop resource and the impacts of the fi shery, the Department piloted in-season dredge surveys in Cobscook Bay during the 2014-15 fi shing season. Results from the 2014-15 in-season surveys allowed Cobscook Bay to remain open two weeks longer than the pre-season survey originally


While volumes may be high, metha-


produce. Based on lab measurements, he estimates that at least a million tons of the compound is produced in the world’s oceans each year – which could exceed the amount found in the atmosphere. “In our cultures, we were surprised to


see so much methanol being produced,” said Mincer. “The fact that the quantities in the ocean could rival or exceed levels on land indicates that the abundance of methylotrophic microbes – and the overall metabolic demand for methanol – is higher than previously thought.” According to Dr. Brian Heikes, a pro-


fessor and atmospheric chemist at the Uni- versity of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, the fi ndings help shore up previously hypothesized – but unquantifi ed – oceanic sources of methanol. “Up until now, in situ oceanic methanol


sources have been speculative. This study is signifi cant because it shows there is a sys- tem that can make and consume methanol biologically in the ocean in large quantities. That wasn’t fully appreciated before,” said Heikes.


Fast food of the ocean


nol in seawater doesn’t hang around. Like burgers at a fast food joint, high production is quickly off set by fast consumption: most of the methanol is scavenged within a day or two. This, combined with its high solubility, makes the prospect of methanol escaping up into the atmosphere in signifi cant quantities questionable. But according to Mincer, methanol can head towards the ocean fl oor. “We believe that when phytoplankton


die and sink, they emit methanol,” he said. “This can fuel deeper populations of bacteria in the ocean, and helps answer the question of where methylotrophs in the deep ocean are getting the methanol from.” Food source to fuel source


Methanol is a key food source that


energizes ocean microbes, but could it be harvested from plankton to fuel other things? According to Mincer, there may be opportunities to turn the vast resource into biofuel.


“Like terrestrial plants, we believe phy-


toplankton produce methanol enzymatical- ly, so if we can obtain the enzymes involved and use them to digest their biomass, we may be able to extract useful methanol from


supported. “This is a valuable tool that we are using to validate our initial projections,” said Wilson. During the current 2015-16 season,


in-season surveys have been used in Cob- scook Bay as well as Machias Bay, Goulds- boro Bay and western Vinalhaven. After comparing results of the pre and in-season surveys, DMR scientists found discrep- ancies that needed further investigation to fi ne-tune biomass estimates and projections. As a result of this indepth analysis,


Department scientists determined that there remains approximately 13,500 pounds in the Inner Machias Rotational Area and 4,500 pounds in Gouldsboro Bay to be harvested. Corrected projections of harvestable


biomass and in-season surveys both re- vealed that less than the targeted 30% of the harvestable biomass had been removed from these areas, both of which were closed by emergency action in December 2015. As a result, these areas along with Wahoa/Jone- sport Reach and Dyers Bay will temporarily re-open to fi shing the week of March 14. “The in-season surveys allow DMR scientists to better evaluate pre-season esti- mates and to more eff ectively assess the scal- lop resource in specifi c areas,” said Wilson. “This in turn enhances the timeliness and precision of management decisions. This season, the additional analysis has provided Maine scallop harvesters with late season fi shing opportunity.”


Law Changes for 2016 Maine


Elver Season Improve Opportunity for Harvesters


A recently passed bill will improve


Maine elver harvesters’ chances of landing all of the state’s 9,688 pounds of quota. The changes come just in time for the 2016 elver season, which starts on March 22, 2016. “Last year Maine left over 4,400 pounds


of quota in the water,” said Maine Depart- ment of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “That represents more than $9,600,000 in potential income that Maine harvesters could not access. “While a cold, dry spring in 2015 made


it hard for harvesters, in-season closures and the length of the season compounded that problem. This year the management improvements we have put in place will al- low us to provide more fl exibility and better


them. Methanol is a waste product of these organisms, and they can produce a good amount of it. So when those pulses come out, they could be taken advantage of and harvested from cultures.” New questions


While the fi ndings fi ll a number of


important knowledge gaps, Mincer feels the study has opened up a new set of re- search questions that need to be addressed. In future work, he hopes to understand, for example, if methanol can tell us anything about phytoplankton growth patterns, what the “chemical currency” is in terms of what, if anything, microbes give back to the phyto- plankton community, and what the velocity of the methanol consumption loop is in the ocean.


“Sometimes in research you have a


fi nding that’s bigger than you or your lab can tackle,” he said. “If we can answer these questions, we will understand the whole relationship of microbiology in the oceans better and be able to treat this layer of life in the upper ocean like a layer of skin. We’ll know when it’s healthy, when it’s not, and how it functions. Understanding how our planet works at those fundamental levels is critically important.”


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opportunity for Maine elver harvesters.” One provision within the law will elim- inate the 48-hour closures each week while another will lengthen the season by a week. “The 48-hour closures were established


at a time when there was no limit on the amount harvesters could land,” said Com- missioner Keliher. “Because this is now a quota based fi shery, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s technical committee and eel management board voted unanimously to allow Maine to eliminate in-season closures.” “Now, with the quota system and the


ability to monitor the harvest in near re- al-time with swipe cards, both of which we implemented in 2014, we can manage this fi shery with precision. That means better prospects for fi shermen and better protec- tion for the resource.” The new law will also provide an ad-


ditional week of harvesting opportunity. Previously the season went from March 22 to May 31. This year it will last until June 7. “Last year, migration started late because of the cold spring, so there were elvers running strong at the end of the season. But unfor- tunately we had to close it on the statutorily mandated date. The combined success of our quota and swipe card systems allows us to extend the season a week and provide more opportunity for fi shermen,” said Commis- sioner Keliher. This season harvesters will also have


an opportunity to choose their gear type rather than continue to use the type they were previously authorized to fi sh. “While the law will not allow harvesters to choose more gear than they are currently authorized to use, we want to provide people with the fl exibility to fi sh the gear type they prefer.” The new law also authorizes Commis-


sioner Keliher to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with Maine’s tribes if they re- quest a waiver of the requirement to allocate individual fi shing quotas. The agreement would allow tribal members to fi sh under an overall tribal quota, rather than an individual quota. “This compromise acknowledges the unique interests of the tribes while main- taining the important measures that have allowed Maine to protect and preserve this valuable fi shery for all license holders.”


Major Source of Methanol in the Ocean Identifi ed


The work was supported by the National Science Foundation.


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