Fisheries by the numbers

Jeanne O'Rourke | July 30, 2020 | Newsletters

Migrating river herring in May 2020.

Anne Hayden

Senior Fisheries Program Manager

Spring and summer are a crucial time for our fisheries fieldwork. The data collected shows us what is happening in our waters from season to season and year-to-year. The numbers tell us many stories—some positive and some troubling:

River herring—foundational species in freshwater and marine ecosystems—are much more abundant than in decades. Concerted efforts to remove dams and culverts that block passage to upstream spawning grounds have resulted in significant increases in spring migrations in several rivers and streams along the coast. Results on the St. Croix River, the boundary in eastern Maine between the US and Canada, illustrate how far we have come and how much opportunity to expand fish runs remains. Spawning migrations on the St. Croix reached a low point of 900 fish in 2002. The opening of fishways on the mainstem and tributaries—on both sides of the border—has increased the run; 600,000 fish migrated upriver in the spring of 2020. Progress! But to put this in perspective, the potential run in St. Croix watershed, with expanded access to its abundant lakes and ponds, is estimated to be 20 million fish!

Learn more about this amazing little fish!

Another species that is growing in abundance is the invasive green crab—and that’s a bad thing for soft-shell clams and salt marsh habitat. This past winter was relatively mild, meaning that ocean temperatures did not drop as much as usual in the Gulf of Maine, allowing more green crabs to winter over. While the data is not final and surveys will continue until October, it appears that green crab counts were up by as much as 176% in some areas this spring compared to 2019. In a double whammy, fishers working with Manomet are eager to harvest green crabs, most valuable in May through July when they have just molted. With restaurants closed due to the pandemic, there is no market this year for $12 green crab appetizers, which diners loved in previous summers.

As a side note, we wanted to share a beautiful discovery made by one of our green crab fisher partners, Chris Jamison. In early July, Chris found a stunning blue lobster in one of his lobster traps. Relative to the typical lobster, blue lobsters are very rare, making up just one in two million. This beauty was of legal size, so Chris was able to harvest the lobster and donate it to the aquarium where others can view it and learn about rare lobsters. It is now at the Maine State Aquarium in West Boothbay Harbor, where you can visit it just as soon as the Aquarium re-opens following the pandemic. Don’t worry; the color stays true through the annual molting cycle that allows the lobster to grow!

The pandemic appears to have had differing impacts on seafood markets depending on the species—a reflection of the complexity of the seafood supply chain. Lobster prices, already low due to the tariff war with China (28% of Maine’s lobsters were shipped to China in 2017), dropped further this spring as restaurants closed and the economic downturn took a toll on national and international markets. Plus, the hospitality industry including cruise ships—big buyers of lobster—shut down. Oyster prices are also down—you don’t want take-out from a raw bar! One bright spot is the soft-shell clam fishery; prices rebounded quickly this spring as dealers stocked up to supply New England’s popular clam shacks as the weather warmed. Maintaining and expanding the demand for sustainable local seafood keeps fishers on the water where they are the eyes and ears that inform our research and monitoring, and serve as valuable collaborators on the adaptation of our fisheries to climate impacts. Now is an excellent time to order seafood take-out or bring home some fresh fish to cook on the grill! Monkfish kebabs, anyone??

Keep up with our fisheries field work!

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