Alexa Dayton. MCCF photo.
New director at Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries Alexa Dayton has been hired as the newly appointed Executive Director of the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (MCCF) in Stonington. Dayton brings more than 25 years of leadership experience and a deep understanding of Maine’s character and communities. She has held senior positions with L.L. Bean, Maine Huts & Trails, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and most recently with the University of Maine System. “The MCCF Board is delighted to welcome Alexa Dayton as our new Executive Director. Alexa’s background, experience, connections and excitement about the MCCF mission make her a great person to lead MCCF into its next phase,” shares Jane Osborne, Chair of the Board of Directors. The MCCF, founded by Robin Alden and Ted Ames, works with community and fishery partners from Penobscot Bay to the Canadian border.
Herring.
Herring Quota Down in Gulf of St. Lawrence The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) cut the fall quota for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence herring fishery 2,000 tons in an effort to boost the stock. The total allowable catch for the region dropped from 12,000 to 10,000 tons. DFO stated that the catch reduction for fishermen in parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and all of Prince Edward Island will help reduce pressure on the herring stock. With the number of spawning adults declining, stronger management action is needed to help the herring stock “mature, reproduce and rebuild,” according to the department. The total allowable herring catch for the region was reduced from 22,500 tons in 2019 to 12,000 tons in 2020 and 2021.
NOAA photo.
Good Summer for Puffins Research teams on islands in the Gulf of Maine report a dramatic comeback of seabirds in the Gulf of Maine following a dismal 2021 season. Petit Manan island recorded 96 active puffin burrows, close to the high of 104 in 2009, hatching out more than 70 chicks. a record 1,045 common tern chicks were banded on Ship Island. Metinic Island had the most terns nesting ever recorded. The White and Seavey Islands off New Hampshire had their highest common and roseate tern productivity (the number of chicks fledged per nest) since 2016. South Monomoy Island off Cape Cod saw its common tern numbers soar from 12,600 in 2019 to more than 17,000. Still researchers warn that due to climate change the birds can’t rely on steady access to food or hospitable summers any longer. “They’ve evolved for thousands of years to be accustomed to reliable sites, said Pond Island manager Dallas Jordan. “They’re long-lived birds, so they can handle a bad year here and there. The question is what happens with more bad years.”
Drainage Identified as Possible Cause of Fishing Vessel Sinking The Emmy Rose, which sank in November 2020 with the loss of all four fishermen, likely capsized because of poor drainage of seawater from the rear deck and hatches that weren’t watertight, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported in September. The Portland-based Emmy Rose was headed to Gloucester, Massachusetts, to offload an estimated 45,000 pounds of fish. The NTSB said seawater likely accumulated on the vessel’s rear deck, failed to drain properly and then poured into the vessel through hatches that weren’t watertight, making the vessel less stable. The vessel was more susceptible to capsizing because of its design and modifications, the NTSB said. The vessel was originally built for shrimping in the Gulf of Mexico and was modified for trawling in New England waters.
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