July 30th, 2024 | EDITION #4 | 207-633-9414 | [email protected]

Fisherman Spotlight

? ? Wayne Seavey comes from a long line of fishermen dating back 150 years. When Wayne was just five years old, his father, Wendell, would wake him up at 3am on summer mornings to take him fishing out of Bass Harbor. At eight years old, Wayne paid $5 for his first lobster license. The following year, he got his first boat ? a 14? wooden skiff that he?d row around the harbor to haul his 25 traps by hand. With the money he saved up that year, Wayne purchased a 6hp Johnson and was on his way. He went fishing any day he could ? weekends, school vacation days; any day that he could get on the water, he would.

? ? Today, Wayne still fishes out of Bass Harbor but with a slightly bigger boat (40?). The boat carries Wayne?s nickname, one he?s had on the island for years ? ?Wendell?s Boy?. Wayne?s father, Wendell, passed recently, so Wayne carries a deep sense of pride in his nickname knowing how much his father was loved and respected in the fishing community and beyond. ?

? ? When asked about one of his favorite memories, Wayne recalled one day when he was eight years old and had gone out handlining and tub trawling with his dad. Back in those days, they would put any fish they caught right on the platform and cover them with a green tarp, so they didn?t bake in the sun. The stench had Wayne throwing up over the side of the boat. His dad had him lay down on top of the nasty mess of fish and guts. His dad told him that the only way he?ll ever get used to the smell is to lay there and ?soak it up!??

Wayne threw up like never before for the rest of the day ? but fortunately, that was the last time he got sick on a fishing boat. The Seavey family loves to tell this story and reflect on Wendell?s ?old school? parenting approach.

? ? Wayne has always loved working on the water, and one of the coolest things he has ever seen was just a few years ago off Mt. Desert Rock when a pod of 7-8 humpback whales began to breach and show off for Wayne and his crew. He gave the whales some space, shut off the engine, and watched for 45 minutes as the whales put on a spectacular show, breaching two at a time, spinning out of the water, and slapping their tail fins on the surface.? ?

? ? In reflecting on his experience fishing, Wayne has some words of advice for the younger generation of fishermen. Back in the day, lobstering wasn?t as good as it is today ? you did it because you loved it, not because there was much money in the business. Today, Wayne marvels at how much money lobstermen can make without much higher education; he sees this as an amazing opportunity and one that he has been grateful for. To the younger generation, Wayne advises, ?Be smart with your money, and you will be able to keep lobstering and living this lifestyle. Don?t spend money before you have it, and don?t count on the next year being the same as this one.

Menhaden Sampling Program

The Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) has become an important pelagic bait fishery over the last few years, supplying our valuable lobster fishery. It is also an important forage species for predators such as seabirds, marine mammals, and a variety of larger fish species. Their life history and impact on coastal Maine waters is outlined in more detail in this recent report. DMR's sampling program collects 10 individual fish per every 300mt of menhaden landed by both commercial and non-commercial fishermen in the state of Maine. These fish are assessed for their length, weight, reproductive status, and age. We use these data

to estimate growth rates, age at maturity, and trends of future generations to get an understanding of population dynamics and fishery health. This allows the department to set reasonable quotas and refine stock assessment models. 2024 sample findings will be completed at the end of the Episodic Event Set-aside fishery.

Figure 1: Average Length & Weight of Menhaden Samples by Month (2023 data).

Table 1: Number of Samples By Gear Type Taken During 2023 State & Episodic Menhaden Fisheries.

General Info

Need Assistance from the Landings Program?

Landings Program staff are available by phone: (207) 633-9414, or by email: [email protected] Monday-Friday from 8:30am-4:00pm

Appointments for in-person office assistance need to be scheduled with the Landings Program in advance. Walk-ins are not accepted at this time. To schedule an in-person appointment, please contact Landings at 207-633-9414 for a date & time. The Landings Program office is located at: 194 McKown Point Rd, West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575.

Need Assistance from the Licensing Dept?

Licensing staff are available by phone:
(207) 624-6550 option 2, or by email: [email protected] Monday-Friday from 8:30am-4:00pm. Harvesters can visit the Licensing Dept. for
in-person help Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday. Wednesday & Fridays are closed for in-person help; however, you can call or leave license applications in the drop-box outside. The Licensing Dept. office is located in the Marquardt Building at:
32 Blossom Ln, Augusta, ME 04330.

Lobster Reporting: Federal Statistical Areas

What Is A Statistical Area and How Do I Report It?

In the figure below, you will find the Statistical Areas (gray numbers) relative to State Zones (black letters). The State of Maine contains 4 main Statistical Areas: East to West they are: 467, 511, 512 and 513. Zone A lies within Statistical Areas 467, 511 and 512. Zones B and C lie within Statistical Area 512. Zone D lies within Statistical Areas 512 and 513. Zones E, F and G lie within Statistical Area 513.

If you are federally permitted and you fish across multiple Statistical Areas during one fishing trip, CLICK HERE for additional guidance on completing your trip reports.

Halibut Tagging Program

DMR has been electronically tagging halibut for over a decade with tags that record depth and temperature as well as tags that can be detected by regional receiver arrays. The data from these tags is used to map where halibut migrate and spawn, and has shown that some halibut migrate over 1,000 miles each year to continental shelf waters over 300 fathoms deep to spawn. The locations where spawning occurs are likely in the Northeast Channel, The Gully (east of Sable Island, Canada), and possibly the Laurentian Channel. Halibut usually begin this migration in the fall, spawn during December-February, and return inshore in the spring.

We would like to remind halibut harvesters about several types of research tags that may be encountered while fishing, with rewards up to $300 for a returned tag.?For any tags captured, please record the date, location (lat/lon or TDs), halibut length and sex (if known). Tag information should still be reported if a tagged fish is rereleased.

Orange Wire Tag on Cheek: tagged by DMR staff. There is a second electronic data storage tag in the gut cavity. DMR offers a reward of $300 for the return of the electronic tag along with required information listed above, in addition to information on the captured fish. The electronic tag records depth and temperature and is used to estimate the path of the halibut from release to recapture. Recaptured data storage tags should be returned to: Maine DMR Halibut, PO Box 8, W. Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575.

?Note: DMR has received several of these tags back after they were found in the guts of halibut that were missing the orange cheek tag; harvesters are advised to keep an eye out for these tags while gutting.

Yellow Wire Tag on Cheek?- tagged by DMR staff and volunteer harvesters. There is no electronic tag associated with yellow cheek tags. Harvesters capturing yellow wire tagged halibut can return the tag with fish information along with their harvester logbook. Rewards for yellow tag returns include fish information, a halibut coffee mug, and/or halibut sticker.

Examples of tags that may be found in the guts:

If you have questions about halibut tagging or biology, or if you are interested in tagging halibut, please contact Bill DeVoe, DMR Marine Resource Scientist, at [email protected]

Landings Program Highlights

Menhaden Reporting

Timeline: Commercial menhaden harvesters must report all landed and retained fish daily via LEEDS, or for federal permit-holders, VESL or NOAA FishOnline by 11:59 PM that evening.
Timeline: Non-commercial menhaden harvesters must submit trip-level landings reports via LEEDS, or for federal permit holders VESL or NOAA FishOnline by 11:59 PM Sunday night of that week. If you did not fish that week (Monday ? Sunday), you must file a negative/did not fish report for the week.
Negative/Did Not Fish reports: If you did not fish for menhaden on a day the fishery was open, you must submit a ?negative? / ?did not fish? report. If you were fishing under another license that day (e.g., lobster/crab), you must still file a negative report for menhaden. If using the VESL app, you must create the did not fish report for menhaden prior to filing a positive landings report.
When retaining your menhaden landings for use as lobster bait, the disposition on landings reports should be "Bait" not "Personal Use".
Menhaden regulations are described in the Maine DMR Regulations Chapter 41

Negative/Did Not Fish Reports:

All harvesters must submit negative/did not fish reports when they did not fish while a license was active.
Negative/did not fish reports should be made according to the landings ?due date? for that license. For example, negative reports are required for lobster if you did not fish for an entire calendar month; negative reports are required for commercial menhaden if you did not fish on a day the fishery was open and recreational menhaden if you did not fish an entire one-week period (Monday ? Sunday).
If using VESL to report a negative for one license and a positive for another for the same day, be sure to file the negative report first, before creating the positive report.
The Landings Program maintains instructions for filing negative/did not fish reports for LEEDS and VESL.

Federal Lobster Permit Holders

As of April 1^st 2024, all fishing activity occurring on a vessel with a federal lobster/crab permit must be reported via a federally-approved reporting option (VESL, NOAA FishOnline or eTrips). For example, if you hold a federal lobster permit and a state menhaden license, landings for both fisheries must be reported using a federally-approved reporting option.
If you start a trip report in VESL upon leaving the dock, be sure to click "SAVE" after you've completed the "Trip Details" section so you do not lose the report after closing out of the app or locking your phone.

New Vessels

If you have acquired a new boat or obtained a new federal permit, please call Licensing (207-624-6550 option 2) to ensure the boat/permit is associated with your licenses. If you use VESL to report your landings, please contact Landings (207-633-9414) to update your boat in the app.

Click the links below to see detailed instructions & additional reporting tips: