Biosecurity for Alternative Baits
Under Review

by Laurie Schreiber

ROCKPORT—As the lobster industry grapples with a huge deficit of herring bait this year, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is studying biosecurity for other types of bait.

DMR Resources Coordinator Nicholas Popoff discussed the topic at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in early March.

On a broad scale, he said, any bait coming into the Gulf of Maine from outside the gulf poses potential biosecurity risks.

“That said, there’s plenty of bait coming in from outside that’s safe,” he said.

A couple of biosecurity risks given high priority are viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) and white spot syndrome. The latter can generally affect shrimp but can also impact lobsters, he said.

Popoff cited a contamination that occurred in Australia, where non-native pilchard was imported to feed farmed tuna. Due to disease in the non-native pilchard population, the native pilchard population declined by 60 percent and the tuna harvest was temporarily suspended, he said.

The DMR has developed lists of approved and prohibited baits based on risk, he said.

“Generally, when something is risky, you err on the side of caution,” he said. “If it has the potential for harm, generally it’s a prohibited species.”

The DMR has a petition process for baits that aren’t listed but there’s interest in having it brought in, he said. An academic review determines whether it can be brought in.

With this year’s bait deficit, he said, it’s time to take another step and look more closely at risk and whether actions can be developed to mitigate risk.

A potential bait that’s been receiving attention, he said, is carp from Illinois. While there’s a concerning strain of VHS in the region, the carp has never come up positive for VHS, he said. Through a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he said, the DMR is studying potential disease prevalence and processes for documenting disease-free fish.

“We believe this mitigation might help us get a larger alterative bait source,” he said.

But, cautioned one listener, “Does anyone know if this carp is good lobster bait? Let’s not order 10 million pounds until we try it.”

DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher said bait safety is paramount.

“I’d love to say right now we’ve got 50 or 60 or 100,000 metric tons of carp coming in, but we can’t do it without a thorough review,” Keliher said.