Under government management, the observer set-aside funds contributed by scallopers on all landings have been depleted. Any scallop vessel selected to sail with an observer for the remainder of the fishing season must pay the costs for that observer in full. At the New England Fisheries Management Council Scallop Committee meeting on Wednesday, the scallop industry received neither an apology nor an offer of compensation from the National Marine Fisheries Service for this government management failure.
Warwick, RI—At the New England Fisheries Management Council Scallop Committee meeting on Wednesday, the scallop industry waited for an apology from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). They didn’t get one. They also waited for an offer. But none was given. What the audience did hear was what many already knew—that the Fisheries Service didn’t keep an eye on how quickly the observer program set-aside money was being used up.
Now that all the observer set-aside money has been used up, any scallop vessel that is selected to sail with an observer must pay the costs for that observer in full, without compensation. Up until September of this year, and previously since 2000, a scallop vessel with an observer onboard was allowed to harvest either more scallops or fish extra days as compensation for paying the onboard observer.
Those in the audience with industry interests were furious. They wanted, if not an offer then at least an apology. Since the industry has been paying for the Federal observer program since 2000 and now — under government management — the funds have been depleted, they are ask ‘why can’t the government fund the program for the rest of the fishing season?’ During the question and answer period, Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney who represents the Fishermen Survival Fund pointed out that observation is a federal activity, and accordingly this request was not extraordinary.
The sea scallop industry is the only fishing industry in New England that funds its observer program. This is done via a set aside of one percent of the total scallop harvest, which is donated to manage the federal program. Observer programs for all other fisheries are funded by the government. The observers on scallop vessels collect a wide range of data, from yellowtail flounder bycatch off Georges Bank to possible turtle interactions off the Mid-Atlantic.
“We’re appalled by what has happened,” said Ronald Smolowitz, a technical consultant to the Fisheries Survival Fund, and the owner of Coonamessett Farm, one of Cape Cod’s largest organic farms and a supporter of sustainable farming and fishing practices. “The sea scallop industry has one of the best management regimes in the world. And we want to protect that from mismanagement,” he said.
“The Regional Office in Gloucester operated completely blind on this—started managing the set-aside program without consulting anyone. They weren’t listening to the Science Center in Woods Hole, who were trying to tell them what was going on. The Science Center is responsible for the observer program. They know things. But the Regional Office wasn’t listening to them. Nor to the industry. This whole problem should’ve been avoided. It wasn’t. And now the vessels have to pay. Which is completely wrong” said Smolowitz.
At the Crown Plaza—where the scallop committee meeting was held, Regional Office staffer Hannah Goodale, mentioned two words: ‘transparency’ and ‘communication’. She said that NMFS wanted to improve the Regional Office’s communication with the Science Center. She also spoke about making the set-aside program more transparent—for next year—giving the industry information on what is available in the actual set-aside program, as well as the goals of the program.
“I don’t think the Regional Office is going to change their behavior and become more transparent. If they wanted to they could start becoming more transparent today,” Mr. Smolowitz said.
John Lee is a freelance journalist, a fisherman out of Point Judith, Rhode Island, and a contributing writer to Saving Seafood. He may be contacted at john@savingseafood.org.