Economic Impact

Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk is set to brief the City Council tonight on the two-day assessment trip to Gloucester next week by the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration as part of regionwide attention to ports suffering under a new federal fisheries regimen.

Eleven EDA representatives will be in Gloucester, a Commerce Department spokeswoman said Monday.

The agency's approach is being modeled on the federal effort in communities on the Gulf of Mexico after the massive April 2010 oil well rupture, agency officials have said.

Among the findings, she said, would be "new and existing resources to leverage" and "economic development strategies."

The teams will "develop a customized report for each community that outlines both short- and long-term solutions for economic diversification and resiliency," Mesidor said.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON — Keith Flett wants to help New England fishermen by making it easier for them to buy and sell fishing rights as part of a new regime of regulations. The launch of his venture, however, has not received the splash he intended.

Fishermen such as David Goethel say they fear the online service will only accelerate an industry consolidation that is prompting families who have fished for generations to sell their boats. Congressmen such as Barney Frank are asking federal officials whether an exchange could be an invitation for fraud. Some fishing groups question whether such a business is even warranted.

Flett, who grew up around the docks at the tip of Long Island in New York, acknowledges he did not expect such resistance on so many levels.

[Read the full story in The Boston Globe]

 

 

 

Since 1997, the Massachusetts fishing industry has been provided with health insurance coverage and services from a plan of its own making, tailored to the unique needs of a culture that demands mortal risk for modest rewards.

But now, the Fishing Partnership Health Plan insurance program is being dissolved, its members — fishermen, shoreside service providers and their families — shifted into MassHealth and similar large quasi-public insurance programs.

"Apples to apples," health insurance will be more expensive, according to a consensus of industry leaders.

A state subsidy of 40 percent of premiums has lightened the load for industry members.

"It will cost more, a lot more," said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, and a member of the board of the Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership, which is made up of many industry groups and is based in Gloucester.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass — State and city officials huddled with the president of Northern Pelagic Group on Thursday in an effort to prevent the local seafood business from closing its doors for good.

The herring and mackerel fishing operation, known by the abbreviated name of NORPEL, shut down on April 5, blaming overregulation for its demise.

At issue is NORPEL's inability to harvest its entire allocation of herring because of a management rule that limits the amount of unwanted haddock or "bycatch" that crews can bring in with the herring. Despite an overabundance of haddock at sea, the herring fleet was restricted by the fishery management council to just .02 percent of the total allowable haddock catch.

The loss of access to Georges Bank herring, combined with poor mackerel landings, resulted in NORPEL's decision to cease its operations.

After Thursday's closed meeting, Mayor Lang said he remained hopeful.

"It was a productive meeting and I appreciate the time that the secretary spent on it. NORPEL presented its case and we will do all we can to resolve these very conflicted issues," Lang said.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MOBILE, Ala. — Houston-based Omega Protein Corp., which operates a fishing fleet and processing plant in Moss Point, on Tuesday received what the Gulf Coast Claims Facility called its largest payment to date.

The company and the GCCF reached a final settlement of $44.8 million in oil spill damages. About $18.6 million of that was paid last year, so the company's final check is for $26.2 million, Omega officials said.

The claims facility generally pays two times a company's demonstrated 2010 loss, so the final payment agreement indicates Omega was able to prove some $22.4 million in damages last year.

Read the complete story from Alabama Live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) has developed a branding program for Gulf of Maine seafood. Developed over two years with input from the seafood industry, conservation entities, managers, scientists, and others, this program seeks to enable market differentiation of Gulf of Maine seafood products that meet criteria around traceability and responsible harvesting practice. The Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested Seafood program is a collaborative place-based branding initiative that can assist the region’s seafood industry collectively accomplish global recognition.

If you’re interested in learning more about this effort, please join the program managers from GMRI for an informational gathering.

Where: The Gloucester Seafood Display Auction, 27 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, MA

When: Wednesday, April 20, 3:00-4:30pm

 

 

 

 

 

(April 14, 2011) When the 2010-2011 commercial scalloping season came to a close March 31, the catch was not what fishermen hoped it would be, but nonetheless better than expected.

Island scallopers hauled in just over 6,916 bushels of the succulent shellfish between Nov. 1, 2010 and the end of March, a far cry from the 18,116 bushels harvested the previous season, but better than early predictions following a dismal recreational scalloping season.

Nantucket’s bay scallop industry has been considered for over two decades to be the last commercially-viable bay scallop fishery in the world, but it is never easy to predict what a season will be like.

A series of surveys conducted through the fall by Dr. Robert Kennedy of the Maria Mitchell Association examined the island’s bay scallop population and concluded, from a scientific point of view, that there weren’t as many scallops on the ocean floor as there had been in the past.

Read the complete story from The Inquirer and Mirror.

 

 

 

 

 

Kassia Perpich, sustainable-food manager at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, suggests some broad rules to remember, such as buying domestic rather than foreign-caught fish.

"Certainly not all of the domestic fisheries are sustainable. But on the whole, the United States has more stringent environmental regulations in place that protect fish stocks and the environment."

Wild salmon from Alaska should be chosen over farmed salmon, Perpich says, but trout from farms in the Midwest are good choices – as are farmed catfish. The farm-raised fish should be kept in closed systems where waste is controlled, she says.

"Catfish, tilapia, rainbow trout, particularly in our region, in the Midwest, that the fish come from what's called a 'closed farm,' so that the fish are farmed in man-made ponds."

Lee Crockett, director of federal fisheries policy for the Pew Environment Group, acknowledges that consumer awareness is important, but stresses that the fishing law's conservation and sustainability measures are making the biggest impact.

"I think that we're going to see in the next couple of years that we are turning the corner and the stocks are rebounding. We're going to have healthier fisheries and more sustainable options for consumers in all parts of the country."

Some fishermen complain that the fishing law inhibits their ability to make a living, while others believe managing the fish populations for the long term is most important. Crockett suggests that there may be a way to subsidize the income people make from fishing.

"If they spend a lot of time on the water, they can be extremely helpful in collecting information about our fish stocks and our oceans, and that information is used to better manage our resources."

Read the complete story from Public News Service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In an April 6 letter from John Whiteside, general counsel, Sustainable Fisheries Association raised the following three issues before the New England Fisheries Management Council Scientific and Statistical Committee meeting on April 12:

1. The SSC should consider social and economic data when setting the scientific uncertainty buffer as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (amended) ("MSA"); 

2. When setting the Acceptable Biological Catch ("ABC"), the SSC should not take a precautionary approach; and

3. When setting the ABC, the SSC should reduce the percentage of discards.

A. The SSC should consider social and economic data when setting the scientific uncertainty buffer as required by the MSA.

The National Standards for Fishery Conservation and Management require the SSC to take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data. (16 U.S.C. § 1851) The SSC should consider events in the skate-wing fishery during the past year in order to fully appreciate how a reduction to the scientific uncertainty buffer makes a positive social and economic impact by increasing Total Available Landings ("TAL").

On September 3, 2010, the skate-wing fishery effectively closed as the trip limit was reduced to 500 pounds per trip. The immediate and direct consequences were:

Approximately 300 people who were working for seafood processors in New Bedford and Gloucester were laid-off. Boats in New Bedford, Gloucester, Chatham, Point Judith and elsewhere, holding federal permits who were actively involved in the directed skate-wing fishery-stopped fishing. Sales people (most of whom receive income based solely on sales) were unable to fill orders for their European customers in the fall when demand for skate-wing is at its highest and tens of thousands of dollars in sales were lost to processors in other countries. Companies with direct co-dependent business relationships who provide vital goods and services to skate-wing harvesters and processors include: fuel; ice; gear; provisions; packaging; trucking; tire recyclers; and many, many others, all either laid-off personnel or reduced their workers' hours.

International air cargo allocations were lost by the processors because they had no product to ship. It is impossible to calculate the domino-effect the loss of jobs and income had on fishing communities struggling with: double-digit unemployment; and business failures and home and boat foreclosures at all-time record-high numbers. What is possible however, is for the SSC to reduce the scientific uncertainty buffer, thereby increasing the TAL and extending the length of the fishing year.

B. When setting the ABC, the SSC should not take a precautionary approach.

The skate fishery is considered to be a data-poor in nature and means to establish the status of the stock is through the survey biomass index with a three-year rolling average o f the biomass. In setting the ABCs for 2011-2013 the SSC will have the results of the surveys that were conducted in 2008-2010.

The Aggregate 2008-2010 trawl survey data clearly show a significant increase in the skate biomass over the prior three-year survey (2006-2008). Additionally, the trawl survey data clearly shows that the two (2) targeted species: winter skate and little skate, are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring on them.

The New England Fisheries Management Council Skate Plan Development Team ("PDT") presented three different calibration methods of the FSV Bigelow for use by the SSC in setting the ABC for the Northeast Skate complex for 2011-2013. The PDT spent months working with the Aggregate trawl survey data to develop the two length-based methods, both of which are unreasonably precautionary and do not have scientific merit.

The impact of the SSC choosing either of the two overly-cautious length-based methods will result in an unnecessary reduction in Total Available Landings ("TAL") from what the Aggregate method would allow.

The reduction in TAL is unnecessary as the biomass nearly doubled for winter skate and little skate from the prior three-year survey as the Aggregate data shows. (See Exhibit "A" letter and attachment from Nancy B. Thompson dated 1113/11)

The members of the Sustainable Fisheries Association respectfully suggest that when the SSC is analyzing the three methods presented by the PDT, the SSC avoid taking a precautionary approach by choosing the Aggregate method in setting the ABC.

C. When setting the ABC, the SSC should reduce the percentage of discards.

National Marine Fisheries Service data shows that 243 of 500 commercial fishing vessels that qualify for sectors were inactive in 2010 and that the New England groundfish landings are down 15% from 2009. It is logical for the SSC to conclude that since fishing efforts have been reduced, the numbers of discards must also have been reduced.

Therefore, the SSe should reduce the percentage of discards due to the decrease in discard rates resulting from numerous factors including reduced fishing efforts, sector management and catch shares and thereby increase the TAL.

Read a PDF of the complete letter with attachments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BARNEGAT LIGHT — Scallopers in New Jersey and else­where on the East Coast are poised for a sea­son of harvesting shellfish for export at unusu­ally high market prices as a result of the earthquake and tsunami devastation in Japan.

Fear developed about contaminated seafood last week after the announcement about radia­tion in the waters off of Japan’s troubled nu­clear plant. But local scallopers say market prices are al­ready rising as China tries to supply its popu­lation without seafood from Japan.

China and Japan are the world’s top two scallop producers, according to statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin­istration. Chile is the top producer after China and Japan.

While experts say radioactive particles are unlikely to build up significantly in fish, the seafood concerns in Japan mean countries like China will put even more pressure on the United States for scallop production.

Read the complete story from The Asbury Park Press.