Fishing Industry Alerts

New England's Largest Fishing Ports Join in Legal Effort Against Controversial Sector System and Allocations

After consultation with general counsel for the City of Gloucester, Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford, Mass. State Senator Bruce Tarr, Mass. State Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante, and Attorney Stephen Ouellette, the City of Gloucester has decided to join the federal suit against the government's new catch-share regulatory system.
 
"When it comes to catch shares, one size does not fit all" said Mayor Kirk.  "Taking a single-species program and replicating it in the multi-species complex just won't work without putting the entire groundfishery out of business.  Reports of job and income loss are rolling in, and we are asking the Court to intervene on behalf of fishermen."

With this action, the oldest fishing port in America joins the most profitable fishing port in America in a lawsuit against the implementation of "sectors" in the northeast.  The sector system is a form of "catch share" management. Last December NOAA released a draft national policy encouraging the use of catch shares, which the agency described as "a fishery management tool that aims to end overfishing and rebuild and sustain fishing jobs and fishing communities".  Those claims have come under fire by elected officials, industry, and a number of academics in the northeast.

Named as defendants in the suit are Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco.

Background:

Nations' Largest Port, Fishermen, and Businesses from Six States Sue Feds

New Bedford Mayor calls NOAA leadership "disingenuous and fraudulent", joins lawsuit against NOAA

Largest New England Ports Revolt Against New Federal Regulations

NOAA releases draft national policy encouraging the use of catch shares (Dec. 10, 2009)

 

 

 

 

 

Port Cities to Sue Federal Agency to block Catch Shares and Sector Management.

The Mayors of New England's two largest fishing ports, New Bedford and Gloucester Massachusetts, held emergency public meetings on Friday, May 7, the sixth day of a new regime of federal fishing regulations, to review the progress thus far.

"We're heading for catastrophic failure on every level," said state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, who co-sponsored the debriefing and strategic brainstorming of mostly Gloucester fishermen at City Hall with Kirk and state Sen. Bruce E. Tarr, R-Gloucester.

Richie Canastra, co-owner of the New Bedford-based Whaling City Seafood Display Auction, said he heard not a peep of support for the government system in the two-hour emergency meeting called Friday afternoon by New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang.

New Bedford Mayor Lang described "disingenuous and fraudulent" behavior of NOAA's top officials, citing NOAA Chief Jane Lubchenco's lack of response to a March 22 letter asking for postponement of sector management until it can be understood and problems worked out. When that letter went unanswered, a month later Lang sent another, at which point Lubchenco's office told him on April 20 that it had indeed answered him, and faxed him a letter date-stamped April 16. When that letter arrived in the regular mail, it was postmarked April 20, the day of the conversation, Lang said.

Lang said that New Bedford, the most profitable fishing port in America, will join with Gloucester, the nation's oldest fishing port in a federal lawsuit to block the ongoing switch to commercial fisheries sector management and catch shares.  The lawsuit will aim not only at NOAA's decisions but at the question of whether the agency is violating the terms of the Magnuson-Stevens Act by disregarding the effects of rule-making on the industry and the local economy.

The Secretary of Commerce will meet with 20 New England and New York Senators on Wednesday at the legislator's request to address concerns raised by the lawmakers last month.

Read coverage of the Gloucester Meeting from the Gloucester Times

Listen to Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk describe the Gloucester Meeting during the Saving Seafood hour on WBSM

Read Coverage of the New Bedford Meeting in the Standard-Times

Watch Television Coverage of the New Bedford Meeting and Lawsuit from WJAR-TV10

Read about the upcoming meeting with Commerce Secretary Locke

NOAA's New England Regional Office, in a letter from Regional Director Pat Kurkul to Saving Seafood on Thursday stated that "NOAA Fisheries Service has been in constant communication with fishermen and sector managers over the past year to develop these new management measures.  Since the management measures were implemented last Saturday, we have continued to work closely with the industry to resolve any problems  with new operating, reporting and monitoring systems."   

Read the complete letter from Ms. Kurkul

NOAA has established a hotline for fishermen with questions about the new regulations which will be staffed: (978) 281-9315

Information about the new regulations and sectors management is available at http://www.nero.noaa.gov/sfd/sfdmultisector.html.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayor Carolyn Kirk, Sen Bruce Tarr, and Rep Ann-Margaret Ferrante have called for a public meeting to hear from fishermen on how the implementation of the new fishing regulations is going.

Said Kirk, “every day matters because every day the new system is in place is a day closer Gloucester fishermen are to going out of business. We want to hear directly from fishermen on the impact of the new regulations now that they are seven days into it.” 

Senator Tarr concurs and said, “the clock is ticking as we begin a management program with the potential to end the groundfishery as we know it. We can't afford to wait to determine its impacts, and this meeting will give us an important opportunity to develop a strategy on going forward to protect fishing families and our port.”

“I along with my colleagues intend on watching NOAA's fisheries management experiment closely given that it stands to devastate many of our neighbors, friends and family. I am deeply disappointed that NOAA and the NMFS are not engaged with the industry on this level. I look forward to hearing about the real time impacts, successes and failures of the implementation” said Representative Ferrante.

The meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m., Friday, May 7, at Gloucester City Hall.

Read the press release here.

Map & Directions.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will meet May 12 with the 20 members of Congress from the Northeast who wrote him last week seeking relief from severe fishing limits being imposed on the fishing industry starting May 1.

The exact time and place of the meeting hasn't been set, according to spokespersons for U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., both of whom signed the letter to Locke.

The letter was sent directly to the White House and the Secretary, bypassing NOAA and NMFS. [view PDF of letter].
 
The letter asked Locke to intervene and use what they said is his legal authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to amend fishing allocations on an emergency basis. Despite many pleas from the industry and from Northeast political leaders to NOAA and to Commerce, the federal government so far has changed nothing with regard to catch shares or the new sector management system being launched this weekend.

The fear is that limits for certain "choke" species are set so low that they will be reached very early, forcing whole groups of boats, called sectors, to stop fishing for the year entirely when they are only months or weeks along.

Read the complete story at The South Coast Today [subscription site] 

NOTE: The Standard-Times is a subscription site.  Unregistered visitors are able to read three stories per month, and registered visitors may view ten.  For unlimited access, please follow the subscription instructions on the site.

 

 

 

 

The U.S. Senators of MA, ME, NH, RI, and NY —along with 13 Congressmen— have written to the Secretary of Commerce asking that he implement emergency regulations and increase annual catch limits for 19 fish stocks.

The letter was sent directly to the White House and the Secretary [view PDF of letter].

The letter asks the Secretary to "exercise the authority granted to your office under section 305(c)(1) of the MSA and promulgate an emergency regulation increasing the ACLs of groundfish—especially the five choke stocks—sufficiently to minimize the risk of the failure of the sector management system while still preventing overfishing from occurring.  We further request that you seek ways to reduce the scientific uncertainty that has led directly to the reductions for 2010.  As NOAA has stated many times, the increased monitoring that already will be required as part of the sector management system will greatly enhance the agency’s stock assessment capabilities, and bring desperately needed clarification to the scientific picture of the groundfishery.  Taking these steps to ensure sector management has a better chance to succeed will pay dividends to future fishery management efforts, provide a sense of security to our coastal economies, and improve the relationship between the agency and the community."

 
According to the Members of Congress and the Senate, the following section of the Magnuson Act grants the secretary the authority to take the actions requested:

TITLE III — NATIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
SEC. 305. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITY 16 U.S.C. 1855
97-453, 101-627, 104-297
(c) EMERGENCY ACTIONS AND INTERIM MEASURES.—
(1) If the Secretary finds that an emergency or overfishing exists or that interim measures are needed to reduce overfishing for any fishery, he may promulgate emergency [4] regulations or interim measures necessary to address the emergency or overfishing, without regard to whether a fishery management plan exists for such fishery.
(2) If a Council finds that an emergency or overfishing exists or that interim measures are needed to reduce overfishing for any fishery within its jurisdiction, whether or not a fishery management plan exists for such fishery–
(A) the Secretary shall promulgate emergency⁴ regulations or interim measures under paragraph (1) to address the emergency or overfishing if the Council, by unanimous vote of the members who are voting members, requests the taking of such actions; and
(B) the Secretary may promulgate emergency⁴ regulations or interim measures under paragraph (1) to address the emergency or overfishing if the Council, by less than a unanimous vote, requests the taking of such action.
(3) Any emergency regulation or interim measure which changes any existing fishery management plan or amendment shall be treated as an amendment to such plan for the period in which such regulation is in effect. Any emergency regulation or interim measure promulgated under this subsection–
(A) shall be published in the Federal Register together with the reasons therefor;
(B) shall, except as provided in subparagraph (C), remain in effect for not more than 180 days after the date of publication, and may be extended by publication in the Federal Register for one additional period of not more than 180 days, provided the public has had an opportunity to comment on the emergency regulation or interim measure, and, in the case of a Council recommendation for emergency regulations or interim measures, the Council is actively preparing a fishery management plan, plan amendment, or proposed regulations to address the emergency or overfishing on a permanent basis;
(C) that responds to a public health emergency or an oil spill may remain in effect until the circumstances that created the emergency no longer exist, Provided, That the public has an opportunity to comment after the regulation is published, and, in the case of a public health emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services concurs with the Secretary's action; and
(D) may be terminated by the Secretary at an earlier date by publication in the Federal Register of a notice of termination, except for emergency regulations or interim measures [5] promulgated under paragraph (2) in which case such early termination may be made only upon the agreement of the Secretary and the Council concerned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOAA has postponed its controversial Enforcement forum scheduled for April 26th in Gloucester

NOAA released the following statement:

After consulting with Gloucester, Mass., Mayor Carolyn Kirk, NOAA is postponing its Fisheries Enforcement Forum, originally scheduled for April 26, to a date and format to be worked out with her. We expect that the forum will take place in the next 60 to 90 days.

This postponement does not affect NOAA's Enforcement Summit, scheduled for the Washington, D.C., area on June 22.

The Fisheries Enforcement Forum is the first in a series of efforts to work on effective means of communication with the fishing industry outside an enforcement context. In addition to explanations of the agents’ and attorneys’ distinct roles in the fishery enforcement process – roles that often are confused – topics will include identifying communication mechanisms for effectively discussing enforcement practices and administrative procedures, and whether NOAA should hold forums in other coastal cities.

This forum is different from NOAA’s significant outreach effort on Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies Fisheries Management Plan. The plan, which goes into effect May 1, enables the development and implementation of groundfish fishing sectors in the Northeast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang said Tuesday he will urge the city's fishing industry to boycott a NOAA-sponsored Fisheries Enforcement Forum  intended to repair relationships with federal fisheries law enforcement officials.

Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk  suggested such a boycott last Friday, and was considering organizing an alternative meeting.

Many in the industry are particularly upset that Andrew Cohen, agent in charge of the Gloucester office, is first on the agenda. In a view expressed by industry members and newspaper editorials, Cohen is at the heart of the problem in the Northeast and should have nothing to do with the forum or any reform decisions. Another NOAA staffer whose role in enforcement has been criticized by industry, Charles Julliand, who heads the NOAA office of general counsel in Gloucester, told the Gloucester Times he would also attend but is not on the agenda.

Mayor Kirk told The Standard-Times she has been consulting with NOAA officials to rethink the roster, and said she is somewhat encouraged by the addition of Alan Risenhoover, the interim chief of law enforcement for NOAA.

READ THE STORY: Gloucester & New Bedford mayors urge boycott of NOAA forum

 

 

 

 

 

New Bedford, Massachusetts mayor Scott Lang wrote a second letter to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco on April 20, 2010, urging a delay in implementation of Sector Management.

The letter is a follow-up to his original letter written a month ago that remains unanswered.  The letter was copied to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Eric Schwaab, National Marine Fisheries Service and over 70 members of Congress.

READ THE LETTER:  New Bedford Mayor asks again for Catch Share delay; original letter remains unanswered after a month

 

 

 

 

 

Cooperative research spending cuts and a transfer of funds into a new catch-share line item has sparked debate between NOAA and the fishing industry over the agency's treatment of science and research funds in its 2011 federal budget request.

Those changes led fishing industry insiders to accuse the federal agency of using fisheries research money to fund what they say are untested catch-share programs.

Interested readers are urged to watch the TV documentary and listen to the radio roundtable linked in the additional resources at the end of this article. 

by Jonathan Hemmerdinger
Saving Seafood Contributing Writer

Cooperative research spending cuts and a transfer of funds into a new catch-share line item has sparked debate between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the fishing industry over the agency's treatment of science and research funds in its 2011 federal budget request.

At issue are reductions of $10.4 million from "Cooperative Research" and $6.9 million from "Fisheries Research and Management Programs" in the budget request. At the same time, the agency requested $36.6 million for a new "National Catch Share Programs" line item. NOAA also requested that an additional $17.4 million be transferred into the catch-share category.

Those changes led fishing industry insiders to accuse the federal agency of using fisheries research money to fund what they say are untested catch-share programs.

"If you want to push catch shares, make damn sure you have good science to support it. Removing [funding] from cooperative research is basically disallowing good science to be collected," said Jim Ruhle, who participates in a multi-state and federal cooperative research effort.

NOAA is "cutting true science to fund unproven catch shares," said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the 300-member Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. "They are cutting the very science with which we determine population levels of fish."

Lawmakers also criticized the budget. Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told Saving Seafood the reduction in research funds is “exactly the opposite of what the National Marine Fisheries Service should be doing.” The agency should get “the science right before making this major shift” towards catch shares.

And in a March 3 media release, Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said, “I am deeply troubled that this budget for 2011 does not put nearly enough emphasis on providing an investment in sound fisheries science so our regulators are not forced to use insufficient data to make decisions that affect lives, jobs and entire coastal communities.” A spokesperson told Saving Seafood that Sen. Snowe will send a letter to Senate appropriators asking for an increase to the fisheries research budget for fiscal year 2011.

Funds transferred, said NMFS official

Gary Reisner, chief financial officer of NMFS, said the line-item research reductions are misleading and his agency, for the most part, has not cut science.

Reisner said the additional $17.4 million requested for the catch-shares budget category included $11.4 million in funds transferred out of "Fisheries Research and Management Programs" and into the catch-share category. But Reisner said the transferred funds–$6 million for Limited Access Privilege Programs (catch-share type plans) and $5.4 million for New England sector management–were already being used for catch shares in the past. And he said the money was designated for catch-share implementation and development—not research.

"We took [catch share] money out … and moved" it. There is "no change in science and research activities associated with that transfer," he said.

As for the $10.4 million reduction from cooperative research, Reisner said roughly $6 million—the portion previously used for catch-share cooperative research—was also transferred into the new catch-share budget category. Those funds will be for "the same types of things" in 2011 as they were in 2010, he said.

The remaining $4.5 million cut from cooperative research, however, is a "real reduction" from 2010, Reisner said. But, he added, 2011 cooperative research funding will still be higher than it was two years ago. (Funding jumped in 2010 to $17 million from roughly $11 million, he said.)

We are "still above our long-term levels for cooperative research. With budgets in general, it is two steps forward and one step back," Reisner said.

New England funding

In addition to declining nationwide, funds designated specifically for cooperative research in New England fell to roughly $6 million in the 2011 budget from roughly $10 million in 2010, said NOAA spokesperson Monica Allen.  Congressional sources said those cuts may result in significant program changes, such as the reduction or elimination of trawl surveys in Maine.

Federal funds designated for catch shares in New England, however, increased in the 2011 budget to $22.95 from $18.6 in 2010.

Although Congress hasn’t approved the funds and exact costs are unknown, the agency predicts the $22.95 million will be distributed as follows:

* $6.9 million for at-sea and dockside monitoring

* $2.7 million for improvements to data management systems and implementation of electronic vessel reporting.

* $6 million for cooperative research.

* $7.4 million for administrative costs, including staff and industry outreach expenses, and for economic and social-science analysis.

Julie Wormser of the Environmental Defense Fund said the increase in sector funding is critical to ensure a smooth launch of the new management plan. "NOAA has really recognized this is a big change for New England and has stepped up with federal investment to make it easier," she said.  The federal governing is assuming a lot of the costs to set up the system."

She added, “[Funding] wasn't cut, it was concentrated in New England. We are making out much better under the catch-share" line item.
 
Additional Resources:

WBSM's Saving Seafood hour A roundtable discussion of the benefits of Cooperative Research with Tor Bendiksen – Foreman at Reidar's Manufacturing, designers and builders of innovative gear used on trawlers and scallopers; John Hoey – Director, Northeast Cooperative Research Program, Northeast Fisheries Science Center; Captain Jimmy Ruhle – president of the Commercial Fishermen of America and participant in the Northeast Area Monitoring & Assessment Program.

Cooperative Fisheries Research Documentary An informative 45 minute documentary on cooperative fisheries research — featuring New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang, Professor Kevin Stokesbury and James Gartland.  The documentary was shot on board the North Carolina vessel Darana R in late 2009 during a series of research tows conducted by scientists from the College of William and Mary off the coast of  Massachusetts near Martha's Vineyard. [Video courtesy of New Bedford Government Access Television.]

CFA President Jim Ruhle on the Importance of Cooperative Research Fisherman and cooperative research champion Jim Ruhle spoke to Saving Seafood about his involvement in the Northeast Area Monitoring & Assessment Program, a multi-state and federal effort to collect fisheries data and information for use by government agencies, the fishing industry and researchers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dale Jones, the embattled head of NOAA Fisheries Law Enforcement who was accused of document shredding during an investigation by the Commerce Department's inspector general, has been removed from his position.

Eric Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries announced that effective immediately, he is reassigning Alan Risenhoover, Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, to serve as the interim Director, Office of Law Enforcement.

Congressman John Tierney (D-Mass.) stated it is his "intention to formally request the public release of a new IG report on the unacceptable behavior and work practices of Mr. Jones." Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC)  also called for public disclosure. "If Dale Jones has been fired for shredding documents, as appears to be the case, the agency needs to disclose the circumstances surrounding Mr. Jones' dismissal and whether or not criminal charges will be filed."

Congressmen Barney Frank said "While this not a cause for celebration, it is clearly an improvement."

The Federal investigation came after Northeast fishermen complained of unfair treatment, and state legislators in Massachusetts and North Carolina asked their Federal counterparts to request a formal investigation.  One of NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco's first actions after Senate confirmation was to accede to this request.

The Associated Press reported that the investigation found the appearance of arbitrary enforcement and couldn't account for how fines collected from fishermen were spent.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) called the action "vindication to the thousands of Northeast fishermen who bore the brunt of the egregious mismanagement recently discovered within all levels of NOAA's law enforcement community."  New York fish processor and exporter Marc Agger agreed with Senator Snowe's comments and added "it's great that NOAA is finally cleaning up the office of Law Enforcement.  Now agents who are properly trained in natural resource management can get back to doing their job — protecting our resources.  Most agents are decent and dedicated people who want to do a good job, but they have been given bad orders and worked under poor leadership for the past decade."

There is no word on whether NOAA has changed its previously stated position not to reopen cases prosecuted under Mr. Jones' leadership, however, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) has reiterated his request for "a delay in active prosecutions on NOAA enforcement actions which may be tainted by the problems within the NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement." Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC) thanked NOAA "for taking action on this very serious matter" and echoed Senator Kerry's request noting that "today's announcement makes it even more imperative that the agency immediately suspend all active prosecutions against America's fisherman."

Gloucester attorney Steve Ouellette praised Senator Kerry and Congressman Jones' requests to suspend active prosecutions, but also urged that past wrongs be righted. "if a system has been exposed as being questionable — if not corrupt — you have to ask whether adjudications made under that system were fair.  It is not unusual for an agency to say 'were not going to look backward', but aggrieved U.S. citizens will certainly find it disappointing if their government does not act to remedy harms they've caused."

New Bedford attorney Pamela Lafreniere also had praise for Senator Kerry and Congressman Jones' requests on current prosecutions, and joined Attorney Ouellete in urging a reopening of past cases.  "Sometimes we must look back to move forward," said Attorney Lafreneire.  She continued, "As U.S. Citizens, New Bedford fishermen should have the right to address their past grievances and be entitled to redress for the government's wrongdoings."  She also praised Massachusetts state representative Anne Margaret Ferrante, whose efforts in February 2009 led to the initial request from Massachusetts state legislators to their Federal counterparts that an investigation be opened. 

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS:

Read Mr. Schwaab's statement here:
SavingSeaFood – Dale Jones Removed as Head of NOAA Fisheries Law Enforcement

Read Senator Kerry's statement here:
SavingSeaFood – Senator Kerry comments on Dale Jones removal

Read Congressmen Frank and Tierney's Statement here:
SavingSeaFood – Congressmen Frank and Tierney Applaud Removal of Dale Jones as Director of NOAA Law Enforcement

Read Senator Snowe's Statement here:
SavingSeaFood – Snowe Statement on NOAA's Decision to Appoint New Interim Director at the Office of Law Enforcement

Read press accounts here:
New Bedford Standard Times – NOAA enforcement chief accused of shredding documents removed from post

Gloucester Times – NOAA LAW ENFORCEMENT CHIEF SACKED

Associated Press – Feds' top fisheries cop fired after inquiry spurred by Northeast fishermen