July 17, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
New federal monkfish fishery management measures (Framework Adjustment 8) to be implemented on July 18. These measures replace management measures that went into effect on May 1. Monkfish catch limits were not changed under this action, and remain the same as those in effect since 2011
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — July 16, 2014 — The following was released by AFT Holdings:
American treaty negotiations with the Pacific Island Nations concluded Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand, with a “No Deal” conclusion, leaving the United States Tuna Fleet without fishing access to the Pacific Ocean in 2015.
Proposed closure in U.S. territories in the Pacific currently under review by the Administration to revise the status to Protected Monument Marine Parks, without consultation with Industry or science, has created an environment of increased pressure to secure fishing access within the remaining ocean.
AFT Holdings, Inc. is a shareholder of Ocean Global and Sea Global, the largest US Tuna Fleet, which operates 12 purse seine vessels navigating the Pacific. The vessels provide more than 100,000 tons of fish per year serving the U.S. canned market. Representatives of Ocean Global and Sea Global participated in the recent treaty negotiations, along with other tuna Industry members, U.S. State and National Marine Fisheries representatives, and noted their extreme disappointment in the outcome.
“The value offered for 2015 access represented a 38% increase over 2014 with 100% of the proposed increase coming from Industry,” said J. Douglas Hines, chairman and general partner of AFT Holdings, Inc. “With an unprecedented 57% increase alone from the U.S, Fleet over 2014 levels, the value for access considering the price of tuna collapsed from 2013 to 2014 makes economics difficult to bear."
"Although we do hope and expect to have an agreement in the next couple weeks it will not be without extreme apprehension and real cost.”
Hines further commented that there is a real concern by stakeholders representing U.S. commercial interest that the U.S. government is not showing a commitment to the Country’s distant water fisheries in the Pacific region. One feared consequence is that China and other nations will further expand their influence through fishing and other commercial interest in the region.
AFT Holdings and its stakeholders are now contacting U.S. Government agencies and Congressional leadership—specifically Hawaiian Senators Schatz and Hirono—in an effort to update and search for bipartisan support that will ensure a future for the United States fleet in the Pacific region.
“The loss of our Country’s influence in the Pacific fisheries has a direct impact on thousands of Americans—from Samoa to Hawaii onto the Mainland in California and even Georgia—who rely on raw tuna material for jobs, as well as a consistent supply for the American consumer,” Hines said.
“Over the past 30 years, from Oceans to shore, many have worked tirelessly to preserve the development and expansion of the U.S.-Pacific interest by working closely with great Americans leaders such as the late Hawaiian Senator Daniel Inouye, and Alaska Senator Stevens. Over the years, thru bipartisan efforts we were successful in maintaining this Country’s presence in the Pacific. Now, to see our hard earned effort ceded to other nations is difficult to accept, which is why our industry remains committed to this fight.”
July 15, 2014 — New rules for managing the spiny dogfish fishery will be implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In the Federal Register of Tuesday, July 15, 2014, NMFS announced final rules governing Amendment 3 of the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan. The new policy takes effect on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014.
The Mid-Atlantic and New England fishery management councils jointly developed the new regulations. If you have any questions, contact Fishery Policy Analyst Tobey Curtis at (978) 281-9273. NMFS, a division of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce, implemented Amendment 3 in 2004.
Changes taking place in August include a research set-aside. The management councils will be able to reserve up to three percent of the annual catch for scientific research aimed at improving the fishery. The new rules also update the definition of “essential fish habitat.” The definitions are updated as are the text and maps of where spiny dogfish are found, based on updated information.
July 16, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is providing 15 more days to comment on the proposed rule to implement special management zones for five Delaware artificial reefs.
The deadline for written comments is now August 19, 2014.
July 13, 2014 — Editor’s Note: This story from the Boston Globe features video footage produced by the Conservation Law Foundation.
For thousands of years, the jagged rocks of a submerged mountain range about 80 miles off the coast of Gloucester have preserved one of the region’s most distinct marine habitats. The frigid waters and glacier-sculpted peaks are home to a billowy kelp forest and an abundant array of life, from multicolored anemones to cod the size of refrigerators.
Fishermen long combed the muddy basins on the periphery of Cashes Ledge and brought home massive hauls of cod, pollock, and other groundfish. But 12 years ago, in an effort to bolster declining fish stocks, regulators cordoned off 550 square miles of the area, making it one of the largest fishing closures from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia.
Now, with fishermen hurting from strict government limits on the size of their catch, the New England Fishery Management Council, which oversees fishing issues in the region, is considering reopening some or all of the area to trawlers.
This prospect — even if the most sensitive areas remain protected — has infuriated environmental advocates, who worry about harming the ledge’s unique biodiversity and further damaging already dramatically reduced cod populations.
“If they open up what is basically a museum of life in the Gulf of Maine, it would be like taking a snowplow through the natural history,” said Jon Witman , a marine ecologist and professor of biology at Brown University, who has been studying the area for years. “To not protect these areas is unconscionable. This is a sanctuary.”
But fishermen argue that the closure is no longer necessary because a quota system now caps the amount of each species that fishermen can catch each year.
They also say the closure causes more damage to the environment than allowing fishing in Cashes Ledge because fishermen spend more time raking the seabed with their dredges and nets in areas where it’s harder to find fish. If they were allowed into waters where there are ample amounts of cod and pollock, they could speed up their catch, burn less fuel, and earn more money, they say.
Read the full story and watch the video at the Boston Globe
July 14, 2014 — Instead of issuing new rules, NMFS opted to go with an official policy, which it adopted on Feb. 19, 2013.
NMFS, part of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce, is announcing in the Federal Register of Monday, July 14, 2014 that it is canceling it plan to write new rules regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) concerning fishery management, as authorized by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act. NMFS first proposed the rule back in 2008 but never finalized it.
Instead of issuing new rules, NMFS opted to go with an official policy, which it adopted on Feb. 19, 2013. The policy is known as the NEPA Compliance for Council-Initiated Fishery Management Actions under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The policy defines what NMFS and the regional fishery management councils are supposed to do. It sets out deadlines and procedures, describes what the agencies need to document and also provides guidance on how the councils and NMFS can work together to comply with NEPA.
Read the full story at Examiner.com
July 11, 2014 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
Pursuant to the passage of LD 1830, An Act To Further the Implementation of the Rockweed Fishery Management Plan, Maine Department of Marine Resources is seeking self-nominations from individuals interested in participating in the Working Group created by the legislation.
A press release was issued in June indicating that the deadline for self-nominations was July 11, however that deadline has been extended to July 25.
The legislation (Public Law 2013 c. 558) specifies that the Commissioner of Marine Resources shall create a Working Group whose purpose is to complete the work initiated by the Rockweed Plan Development Team (PDT). Specifically, the Working Group will aid the Department in developing criteria for areas closed year-round or seasonally to the harvest of rockweed, and identifying such areas for closure through Department rule-making. The Working Group will also recommend a process by which such designations can be maintained and adjusted as necessary.
The Working Group must consist of scientists and other individuals with areas of expertise relevant to the fishery, or to the issues discussed by the PDT in the course of their work, relevant to no-harvest determinations. These include but are not limited to the potential impact of rockweed harvest on sensitive wildlife areas (e.g., shorebird habitat, seal haul out, previously mapped critical areas) and conserved lands. It is anticipated that the Working Group will meet monthly between August and December. The Department is required to report on the progress of the Working Group to the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources in January 2015.
Meetings of the Working Group will be public and there will be ongoing opportunity for public input throughout the process.
Individuals unfamiliar with the work that has been done to date can review the Rockweed Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) at: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/rockweed/DMRRockweedFMPJan2014.pdf
Anyone who is interested in being considered for appointment by the Commissioner to the Working Group should submit their name and qualifications, in the form of a resume or CV, to Deirdre Gilbert at Deirdre.Gilbert@maine.gov, by July 25.
Contact:
Jeff Nichols
Director of Communications
Maine Department of Marine Resources
207-624-6569
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — July 10, 2014 — The National Marine Fisheries Service is working on a draft policy that could incorporate more consideration of marine recreational fishing in management actions.
The agency, or NMFS, has released four draft goals for a new national saltwater recreational fisheries policy. An October hearing is planned to get input from Alaskans.
According to information from NMFS, the recreational fishing policy will provide values to guide fishery management decisions made under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
According to a statement from NMFS, “The effort is about better understanding angler needs, better tailoring our programs and services, and empowering anglers to be responsible stewards.”
In Alaska, marine recreational fishing generated 4,824 jobs, $213 million in income impacts, $558 million in sales impacts and $337 million in value-added impacts in 2012, according to the most recent fisheries economics report produced by NMFS.
That doesn’t reflect the full recreational sector though, as it looks only at durable equipment, for-hire trips, private boat trips and shore trips for the marine recreational sector.
The draft goals look at fostering and enhancing recreational and non-commercial fisheries and public access; integrating saltwater recreational and non-commercial considerations throughout the federal marine fisheries management system; encouraging partnership, engagement and innovation; and enhancing transparency, follow-through and continuity.
In a document on the draft goals, the agency suggested better communication, cooperative research and long-term funding for recreational programs as possible ways to accomplish the latter two goals.
The effort to develop a plan has been supported by the recreational industry.
Both Kenai River Sportfishing Association Executive Director Ricky Gease and SouthEast Alaska Guides Organization Executive Director Heath Hilyard said they support the work the agency is doing to develop a plan.
“I think elevating the issue to have a national policy is important,” Gease said.
The recreational sector released its own report on saltwater recreational fisheries in the spring, “A Vision for Managing America’s Saltwater Recreational Fisheries,” which included a call for a national policy such as the one being developed.
Read the full story at Homer News
PORTLAND, Maine — July 8, 2014 — Federal regulators who shut down the latest shrimping season before it began may now also limit the number of fishermen allowed to catch northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine once the depleted fishery reopens.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission closed the shrimp season for 2014 for the first time in more than 30 years because shrimp populations dipped to their lowest recorded levels. The commission will decide this fall if there will even be a 2015 season.
The commission’s northern shrimp section is now also considering restrictions that could limit the number of licenses to fish for shrimp or the number of vessels allowed in the fishery. The restrictions are in development and will likely be the subject of public hearings this year, regulators said.
The fishery’s estimated biomass plunged from more than 7,000 metric tons in 2011 to about 500 metric tons in 2013, said Marin Hawk, management plan coordinator for the commission.
“We’re investigating the number of vessels and the number of licenses,” Hawk said. “Indicators show the fishery is not at the levels that they would like it to see.”
The number of vessels in the fishery has fluctuated since 2000, with a low of 144 in 2006 and a high of 342 in 2011 — a year after tight new NOAA groundfishing policies went into effect and steered some groundfishermen toward seeking shrimp permits.
Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times
July 6, 2014 — The ban on harvesting red snapper in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico took a pounding about midday Saturday under and around the pavilion along Quintana Canal.
Offshore Division boat captains and their crew members discussed it in increasingly harsh terms after spending three days in the Gulf from below Grand Isle to below Intracoastal City. They were frustrated by the large amount of red snapper they encountered while fishing the 61st annual Iberia Rod & Gun Club Saltwater Fishing Rodeo.
Some said they eventually had to just leave an oilfield structure because they couldn’t catch anything but red snapper. Others decried a scarcity of triggerfish all over and believed red snapper may be dining on the delicacies to the point where they can’t be found in their usual haunts.
Lannie Buteau was a little hot under the collar after a very successful and rewarding trip into the Gulf of Mexico on the Jacques Hebert-skippered Sea Mistress, a 36-foot long Lafco hull (see related story on Page B1). It burned Buteau’s butt that red snapper, obviously more plentiful than ever in this region of the Gulf, had to be released after being caught because the recreational harvest in federal waters is closed.
Read the full story at The Daily Iberian