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U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today cosponsored legislation with Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.), to ensure that fisherman and fishing communities are not subjected to unnecessary and over-broad regulations imposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Under National Standard 8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act, NOAA is currently required to release a fishing impact statement prior to the ratification of any new fisheries management plan or amendment to the existing plan. The bill Senator Snowe is supporting today, the Fishing Impact Statement Honesty (FISH) Act of 2011, S. 238, expands on that requirement by calling for those impact statements to be updated annually to better track the social and economic effect of these regulations on the fishing community. Specifically, the FISH Act requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to select an independent third party to conduct the statement analysis.

As a longtime leader in fisheries management issues, I fought hard to get National Standard 8 into law in the mid-1990s. I could not be more pleased to support Senator Scott Browns legislation to strengthen the socioeconomic impact process and require an independent third party chosen by the GAO to handle the statement analysis,said Senator Snowe. Fishermen in Maine and across the nation have already sacrificed a portion of their livelihood during these challenging economic times so it is critically important that we have clear and accurate data when imposing new or amended fisheries management measures on this vital community.

 

 

 

 

 

BOSTON – United States District Court Judge Rya Zobel today issued a number of orders in the case of City of New Bedford, et. al. v. Honorable Gary Locke, etc. et al.

With some qualifications the judge allowed the various organizations and individuals who have asked to submit amicus briefs. The judge denied the petition of Food and Water Watch to intervene as a plaintiff, but allowed the group to file an amicus brief.

However, the judge denied the plaintiffs' motions for discovery without explanation. The last sentence of her order stated merely "Two motions for discovery by plaintiffs (Docket ## 33 and 39) are denied."  

While Federal Judges are not required to explain their action,  Saving Seafood has asked Judge Zobel's clerk for a statement from the judge explaining her reasoning.

The text of Judge Zobel's order follows:  

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

CIVIL ACTION NO. 10-10789-RWZ CITY OF NEW BEDFORD, et al. v. HONORABLE GARY LOCKE, etc., et al.

ORDER February 4, 2011

The National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS"), on April 9, 2010, published regulations implementing Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan ("Amendment 16") in the Federal Register, 75 Fed. Reg. 18,262. Two groups of plaintiffs representing fishermen, businesses and local governmental entities filed suits in the federal district court in New Jersey and Massachusetts seeking review of Amendment 16. The cases have been consolidated in this district.

All named parties have moved for summary judgment and the court established a briefing and argument schedule. Now pending are motions by additional parties to participate as amici curiae and intervenors, motions for discovery and motions pertaining to the length and number of briefs.

Food & Water Watch, Inc. ("FWW"), a non-profit public interest consumer advocacy organization, moves to intervene as plaintiff (Docket # 37). It asserts that it has been involved in monitoring and commenting on the development of Amendment 16 and that the Amendment "implements a system that threatens to harm the health and livelihood of FWW's members and its general interest in sustainability of the ocean's resources." (Mem. in Supp. at 6, Docket # 38.) The federal defendants oppose primarily on the ground that the motion is late. While the motion unquestionably was filed well after the 30-day statutory limitations period, it may still be viable because this action was timely and FWW sails on plaintiffs' ship. I am not, however, persuaded that its interest will not be adequately protected by the named plaintiffs. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a). Collectively they raise the issues FWW seeks to address. Moreover, the case will be determined on summary judgment; there will be no trial. To the extent FWW desires to advance its views in support of plaintiffs' motions, it may do so as an amicus. FWW may file an amicus brief of no more than 20 pages by February 18, 2011. Its motion to file a reply brief (Docket # 50) is allowed.

The motion of Representatives Barney Frank and John Tierney for leave to participate as Amici Curiae (Docket # 59) is allowed without opposition.

Deval Patrick, as the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Paul Diodati, as the Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries for the Commonwealth, also seek to participate as amici (Docket # 68). Defendants do not oppose the motion but they object that the brief is too long and that the movants have improperly raised grounds for relief beyond the scope of plaintiffs' motions for summary judgment and cited materials outside the administrative record. The objections are overruled, and the motion is allowed.

Two motions for discovery by plaintiffs (Docket ## 33 and 39) are denied.

Plaintiff Locke's motion to file an excessive brief (Docket # 77) is allowed. February 4,

RYA W. ZOBEL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Read the PDF of the Judge's Orders.

 

 

 

 

 

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has joined the bipartisan chorus willing to publicly question President Obama on his Administration's fisheries policy.

Senator Charles Schumer of New York minced no words in criticizing the Obama Administration for refusing to allow fishermen wronged by NOAA from appealing their cases to Special Master Charles Swartwood.  Read Senator Schumer's press release and letter to Secretary Locke.

In a related expression of frustration by a senior Democrat, last Friday, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts wrote directly to President Obama, asking that the President overrule a number of decisions by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, including the decision with which Senator Schumer expressed frustration today, which Governor Patrick described as adverse to the legitimate concerns of his constituents.

Last April, Senator Schumer obtained a commitment from Dr. Lubchenco, to visit with his constituents on Long Island.  Dr. Lubchenco visited Eastern Long Island last August, and Senator Schumer expressed the hope at that time that Dr. Lubchenco would leave New York "with a greater understanding of how NOAA’s enforcement regime affects the bottom line of so many Long Island families and businesses."

While that and other visits by Dr. Lubchenco to the northeast have resulted in similar expressions of hope from elected officials, they have all been followed by expressions of frustration by the same officials who previously welcomed the Obama appointee to their communities.

Last March, Dr. Lubchenco visited Gloucester, Massachusetts and met with fishermen who Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk noted would soon face foreclosures, vessel repossessions and other economic hardships.  A NOAA spokesperson at that time stated that Dr. Lubchenco “wants to strengthen communication between NOAA and commercial fishermen."  However, months after that meeting, Mayor Kirk expressed frustration at the lack of progress made, and joined Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford — America's most profitable seaport — in a lawsuit against NOAA which questioned the legitimacy of actions taken by her agency.

Mayor Lang has repeatedly expressed frustration that the "sector" version of the "catch share" fisheries management system embraced by Dr. Lubchenco and promoted strenuously by the Environmental Defense Fund has resulted in consolidation of the industry which has enhanced profits for larger fishing interests while hurting smaller working families in the industry.  Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has noted that enhancing profits for larger corporate interests while hurting working families is not traditionally a value associated with liberal politics.

Mayor Lang has also expressed frustration that Freedom of Information Act requests for documents from NOAA have resulted in responses in which up to one third of the documents requested have been withheld.  Mayor Lang has publicly noted that his requests were for documents related to fisheries management not national security.

In the summer of 2010, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), John Tierney (D-Mass.) and Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) called for the resignation of Dr. Lubchenco as NOAA Administrator.

On Monday, Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) filed a bill that would require that actions taken by NOAA to regulate fisheries be subject to annual economic impact evaluations undertaken by non-Federal analysts.

Before being appointed by President Obama to her current position, Dr. Lubchenco served as vice-chair of board of the Environmental Defense Fund.  Her deputy, Monica Medina, did legal work as a private sector attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund before joining Dr. Lubchenco at NOAA.  Ms. Medina served as chair of Dr. Lubchenco's Catch Shares task force at NOAA.  

Attorney Medina's husband, Ron Klain, recently stepped down as chief of staff to Vice President Biden.  He accepted a position as president of Case Holdings, the investment company of former AOL chairman Steve Case.   On Monday, the White House announced he White House announced the launch of the Startup America Partnership, chaired by Mr. Case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON – Feb. 1, 2011 – Yesterday, Senator Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts) introduced the Fishing Impact Statement Honesty (FISH) Act of 2011. 

Senator Brown's Fishery Impact Statement Honesty (FISH) Act would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require that economic impact statements on the affect of fishing regulations on communities be produced independently of NOAA and updated on an annual basis.
 
According to Senator Brown, fishing communities throughout Massachusetts are facing economic hardship because NOAA and the Commerce Department refuse to acknowledge that their catch share regulations are strangling the fishing industry.

The Commerce Department must be forced to produce an annual independent fisheries impact statement, so that officials at NOAA and the Commerce Department cannot ignore the situation or tailor the results of the statement to their own purposes.  Senator Brown's bill would require that the analysis be done by an outside neutral third party who would be chosen by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), not by NOAA or the Administration. 

If an independent auditor finds that NOAA regulations are hurting fishing communities, NOAA should be forced to make changes. Under the bill, the Secretary of Commerce is required to publish and implement a plan to address negative economic or social effects on fishing communities identified by the independent economic impact statement.

Read Senator Brown's proposed amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has written directly to President Obama to express his frustration with the Commerce Department and NOAA's handling of fisheries issues related to the Commonwealth.

Governor Patrick observed that "Commerce's intransigence and disrespect toward the working men and women who harvest our seafood" has imperiled the fundamental relationship and trust between regulators and fishermen.  The Governor asked the President to "intervene to set your Department of Commerce and its agencies on a course of cooperation and consideration…"

The text of the Governor's letter follows.

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I write to express my extraordinary frustration with the lack of responsiveness the Commonwealth has experienced with the U.S. Department of Commerce and its agencies on the challenges facing our fishing families in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts fishing industry is a vital part of our history and economy, employing approximately 80,000 people in fisheries and related shore side businesses and generating $4.4 billion in sales. Gloucester is America's oldest seaport and, since 2000, New Bedford has been the number one port for landings value in the United States.

But our fishing communities face severe challenges, and are currently suffering great hardship, as a result of well intended but often ill-conceived and poorly executed efforts by federal regulators to constrain the fishing harvest and rebuild our fish stocks. Over the last decade, the Northeast groundfish fleet has been reduced by nearly 60 percent, and this decline shows no sign of ending. The small fisherman is in danger of disappearing altogether, and with him would go a way of life.

In the face of these challenges, however, we have found the Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Marine Fisheries Service unwilling to partner with us to find creative solutions that can balance the need for a vibrant fishing community with maintaining a sustainable fishery.

We have worked hard to offer solutions and have been repeatedly rebuffed. We were denied the modest funding required for a collaborative groundfish stock assessment to resolve disagreements over the state of our fisheries resource. We were denied a request to raise catch limits within the Department's own conservation limits. We were denied economic assistance to help small fishermen hurt by the poorly planned transition to the new "catch shares" regulatory system. We were denied a simple request to allow for 45 days the consideration of new cases submitted by fishermen who believe they were mistreated by an enforcement system found by the Department's own Inspector General to be out of control.

Government's role as a regulator of our vital fisheries resources depends on fundamental trust between regulators and fishermen. Commerce's intransigence and disrespect toward the working men and women who harvest our seafood, and their representatives in elected office, imperils that fundamental relationship.

The fishing families of Massachusetts deserve better.

I ask respectfully that you intervene to set your Department of Commerce and its agencies on a course of cooperation and consideration with regard to the fishing industry in Massachusetts and the coastal communities that depend on it for sustenance and identity.

Thank you for your personal attention to this matter, which is of such great importance to Massachusetts fisherman and their families, and for your leadership on all the issues that face this great nation.

Sincerely,

Deval Patrick
Governor

cc:  
Gary Locke, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce
Jane Lubchenco, Administrator, NOAA
Eric Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries
Pat Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries – NERO
Senator John Kerry
Senator Scott Brown
Representative Barney Frank
Representative William Keating
Representative John Tierney
Rick Sullivan, MA Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Mary Griffin, MA Commissioner of Department of Fish and Game
Paul Diodati, MA Director of Marine Fisheries

View a PDF of the Governor's letter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mayor aims to focus the attention of Management Council members on the technical details of Governor Deval Patrick's request to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke for an emergency increase in groundfish allocation levels, and for economic aid.

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang is bringing his Oceans and Fisheries Council to this week's meeting of the New England Fisheries Management Council.  New Bedford is the Nation's top fishing port.  The Mayor aims to focus the attention of Management Council members on the technical details of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's request to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke for an emergency increase in groundfish allocation levels, and for economic aid.  The Governor's report had demonstrated that the harsh regulations being enforced by NOAA could be loosened without harming fish stocks.

Secretary Locke refused the Governor's request earlier this month. An estimated 1200 jobs have been lost in Massachusetts as a result of these regulations.  Tomorrow, President Obama will make jobs the focus of his State of the Union address.
The meeting, which will be held at the same hotel as the New England Council meeting, will showcase additional work that has been done in analyzing the Federal Government's raw data since Mayor Lang held a widely-attended Fisheries Summit in New Bedford last January.  The Mayor's Council is chaired by Brian Rothschild, Dean Emeritus of the UMass School for Marine Science and Technology.

At the last meeting of Mayor Lang's Council, Steve Cadrin, a scientist from the UMass School for Marine Science and Dan Georgianna, the economics department chair from UMass Dartmouth gave presentations pointing out errors and flaws they found in the response to the Governor's request from Secretary Locke, and also in an additional letter sent to the Governor by NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eric Schwaab.
Congressman Barney Frank apologized for what he described as the deceptive actions of the Obama Administration, and speaking of the state's efforts on behalf of fishermen, Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environment Rick Sullivan said, "Some fights are worth fighting."

The presentations and speeches from Mayor Lang's January 13 meeting can be viewed here:

http://savingseafood.org/Lang%5FMeeting%5F2011%2D01%2D13/

"The Council needs to include input from industry, and they need to consider scientific and economic data from places other than NOAA," said Mayor Lang.   We believe the School for Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth has a track record for producing better scientific and economic analyses than NOAA Fisheries, and we are bringing that data to the Council."

Members of the New England Fisheries Management Council have been invited to the Mayor's Council meeting, and Mayor Lang is hopeful that they will attend.
"Late last year, I asked the Commerce Department Inspector General to keep an eye on rule making," said Mayor Lang. "I did that because for too long, self-interest, environmental extremism, and undue influence from special interests have shaped Council decisions that are harming fishermen in Massachusetts' largest ports."

Transportation will be available from New Bedford. A bus will depart from New Bedford Harbor Development Commission (the Wharfinger Building, 52 Fishermen's Wharf) at 3:00pm on Tuesday.

This meeting is open to the public and to the media.

When:
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.

Where:
Sheraton Harborside Hotel
250 Market Street
Portsmouth, NH
 
SOURCE New Bedford Harbor Development Commission

 

 

 

 

 

The White House writes that in Tuesday's State of the Union Address, "The President will talk about what America needs to do to create jobs today, make America more competitive tomorrow, and win the future for our children and our country."

Members of the Commercial Fishing Industry who have feelings about how current Obama Administration policies are affecting jobs, competitiveness, and the future for their children and the country, may wish to participate in an online forum to take place immediately after the State of the Union, when, accoding to Mr. Plouffe "White House policy experts will be available at WhiteHouse.gov to discuss the issues the President raised in the speech and to take your questions and feedback."

The link to participate is:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2011?utm_source=email93&utm_medium=image&utm_campaign=sotu

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is featured prominently in the promotional photo on the site, which appears to be from last year's State of the Union Address.

Accoording to Mr. Plouffe's email the White House has "also lined up a series of live online events with President Obama and other senior Administration officials on Wednesday and Thursday to answer as many of your questions as possible.

 

 

 

 

The mayor of New Bedford has announced that the next meeting of his Fisheries Management Council will be held in connection with the next meeting of the NEFMC in on Jan 25th.

The meeting agenda will include a continuing discussion of the technical details associated with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke's response to Governor Patrick. 

The Mayor's Ocean and Fisheries Council, New England Fisheries Management Council members, and congressional staff are expected to attend and will be presented with  analyses of the response by Professor Steve Cadrin and Professor Dan Georgianna. At the last meeting of the Mayor's Council Dr. Cadrin and Dr. Georgianan pointed out  errors in the letters to Governor Patrick from Secretary Locke and NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eric Schwaab.

At the last meeting of Mayor Lang's Council, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank apologized to attendees for Secretary Locke's actions.  Massachusetts Secretary of Environment and Energy Rick Sullivan said "Certain fights are worth fighting… This is one of them."

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 25, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Portsmouth, NH. Details will be forthcoming.

Read about last week's Mayor's Council meeting

 

 

 

 

 

Rules violate national standards due to "unreasonably low" catch limits, inadequate consideration of socioeconomic impacts

BOSTON – January 13, 2011 – Attorney General Martha Coakley today filed on behalf of Governor Deval Patrick a "friend of the Court" brief charging that federal fisheries regulations on the Massachusetts ground fishing fleet violate established national standards by setting annual catch limits (ACLs) unreasonably low and failing to consider the economic and social impacts on commercial fishermen and fishing communities.
 
"These unreasonably low limits set by the federal government are threatening the economic livelihood of our fishing families," said Attorney General Coakley. "The regulations are unjust and unwarranted, and we are seeking to have them recalculated in a scientific manner and with greater consideration for the economic impact on our fishing communities."
 
"We will not stand idly by while our fishing families in the Commonwealth pay the price for a regulatory change that was poorly thought through and poorly implemented," said Governor Patrick. "The court needs to understand that neither science nor fairness justifies the regulations now imposing great hardship on the many small fishing operations in Massachusetts that need relief now."
 
Filed in a lawsuit brought in U.S. District Court by the cities of Gloucester and New Bedford against U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, the state's amicus curiae brief calls for the regulations to be remanded to the Secretary "with instructions that he recalculate higher ACLs," consistent with a report developed by senior staff at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's School for Marine Science and Technology, "so as to enable Massachusetts commercial fishermen to achieve optimum yield."  The report documents that catch limits could be increased by up to 30 percent for most species, and significantly more for some, providing substantial economic benefits to the fishing industry while still remaining within conservation bounds.
 
That report was filed with Secretary Locke on November 5, along with a letter from Governor Patrick requesting economic relief to address $21 million in losses due to inadequate initial allocations of allowable catch and immediate increases in catch limits to capture some or all of $19 million in foregone economic opportunities. Last week, Secretary Locke denied that request, claiming that the Massachusetts report "does not present new scientific data that would justify increasing the catch limits" and "the data provided are insufficient to warrant either a fishery disaster or a commercial fishery failure." In response, Governor Patrick said he was "deeply disappointed" by Secretary Locke's denial, with which Locke failed to raise catch shares within the limits of conservation science and "squandered an opportunity to relieve the economic hardship currently suffered by many fishing families and restore a sense of trust and good will toward the federal agencies who regulate their livelihood."
 
The brief filed by the Attorney General's Office on behalf of Governor Patrick and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Director Paul Diodati notes that while the Commonwealth generally supports the creation of the "catch-share" or sector-based management system in the Northeast Multi-Species Fishery, known as Amendment 16, the Secretary of Commerce's actual implementation of this new fisheries management approach violates several national standards established under the Magnuson Stevens Fisheries Management Act.
 
Specifically, the brief argues that in instituting catch shares the Secretary set annual catch limits that were unreasonably and unnecessarily low by not following the "best scientific information available" and ensuring that the limits allowed for "optimum yield."  The Secretary also failed to develop contingency plans that would allow for recalculating catch limits based on new information.
 
In addition, the brief argues that the Secretary did not adequately consider economic and social impacts upon Massachusetts fishermen and fishing communities, as he is required to do. Rather, the Secretary anticipated negative economic consequences from the transition to the catch shares system under low catch limits, but "did not adequately consider critical and likely economic impacts that now threaten the implementation of sectors, specifically the ability to trade (or sell) catch-share allocation, i.e., quota, between permit holders and/or sectors." According to the brief, "If the Secretary had set reasonable ACLs – or even if the Secretary developed better contingency plans for recalculating ACLs on an ongoing basis – the market would be better able to function, and ultimately, this new sector management system better able to realize its economic promises."
 
Assistant Attorneys General Christine Baily and Daniel J. Hammond prepared the brief.

See also:  Mass. Gov. Files Amicus Brief in Lawsuit Against Secretary Locke and Administrator Lubchenco

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congressman to discuss decision of Secretary Gary Locke

Monday, January 10, 2011 at 9:10 a.m.

Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will join hosts Phil Paleologos and Bob Vanasse on a special edition of WBSM's Saving Seafood hour on Monday, January 10 at 9:10 am.

The Congressman will discuss the decision of Secretary Gary Locke to refuse the request of Governor Deval Patrick for emergency measures including an increase in catch allocations on certain groundfish species, and to provide economic aid.

After Secretary Locke's decision was announced, Congressman Frank said in a statement: "I have already begun discussions with my colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over fisheries, in order to craft legislation to make needed revisions to the Magnuson Act."

Congressman Frank's district includes New Bedford, Massachusetts, the nation's top-value commercial fishing port.

Last month, at a meeting of his Oceans and Fisheries Council, Scott W. Lang, mayor of New Bedford addressed NOAA employees in attendance stating: "This is either a deliberate attempt to contract the industry, which is completely illegal, or it's ineptitude at the highest levels that I've ever seen in government — and I am government."

The show is heard on AM 1420 in Southeastern Massachusetts, on Cape Cod and the Islands.

Outside of the broadcast areas, listen live at www.wbsm.com

To join the show and ask a question, online listeners are invited to call 508-996-0500.

The archived audio will be available at www.SavingSeafood.org