Management & Regulation

BAR HARBOR — Maine lobstermen are getting some good news about right whales, but not much.

At a workshop session held in the Bar Harbor Municipal Building Tuesday morning, Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) Executive Director Patrice McCarron told a gathering of about 20 fishermen that the population of endangered Northern right whales — only a few years ago calculated to be less than 300 — now numbers 490 animals and that 22 whale calves were born in 2011.

Read the complete story from Fence Viewer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON DC, February 29, 2012 – Currently (as of February 28th), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has not taken any action to close the Southern New England Yellowtail Flounder Area. However, NFMS action is likely, as is the probable closure of the Yellowtail Flounder Area.

It is likely that NMFS will find that the scallop fishery’s yellowtail flounder catch has exceeded 120% of the scallop fishery’s flounder limit. Under Scallop Amendment 15 and Framework Adjustment 23, this would result in a year-long closure of the yellowtail flounder area.

Still unclear is whether the fleet will be able to re-enter the area once Groundfish Framework 47 is implemented.  That will depend on whether NMFS finds the yellowtail catch is exceeding 150% of that limit.

 

NEW BEDFORD — Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser has followed through on his promise to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank to investigate how the trouble-plagued National Marine Fisheries Service comes up with its complex rules.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Director Jane Lubchenco was recently notified in a terse memo that the inquiry will include not only the Northeast but fishery management councils around the nation.

"It's progress," Frank, D-Mass., said through a spokesman Monday. "We will be monitoring this closely."

Read the complete story from The Standard-Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOAA Fisheries Service has extended the deadline for eligible Northeast multispecies permit holders in the common pool to join a sector for fishing year 2012 (May 1, 2012, through April 30, 2013) to April 30, 2012.

Typically, sectors must submit membership rosters to NMFS by December 1 for the following fishing year, with the following exception: Permit holders who purchase a permit after December 1 have the opportunity to join a sector until April 30, the day before the start of a fishing year.

We recently determined that Gulf of Maine cod is overfished and in poor condition, and we are considering implementing interim measures in fishing year 2012 to address this issue. Because any reduction to Gulf of Maine cod would negatively impact some vessels, and because of concern about small trimester quotas for stocks such as Gulf of Maine cod in fishing year 2012, this extension will provide additional flexibility for common pool vessels.

Read the complete notice from NMFS.

 

 

 

 

 

GUESTS:

Richard Gaines, reporter for the Gloucester Daily Times, where he has been the head of their full-time national fisheries desk for four years.

Stephen Welch, small boat fisherman based in Plymouth, Mass.  

Barney Frank, Massachusetts Congressman,advocate for fishermen's rights in Massachusetts  

Niaz Dorry, director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance based in Gloucester, an organization that works on alternative policy and market solutions that protect the ocean and community based fishermen

In 2009, the federal government put into place new regulations for the New England fishery- drastically transforming the historic nature fishing in the waters off the coast of New England. The regulations have had a huge effect on the New England fishing industry- yielding radical consolidation, eliminating small boat fishermen, and pitting big boats, big business against small boats, small business.

The latest threat to New England fisherman is the health of the Gulf of Maine Cod. Four years ago, Gulf of Maine Cod was one of the strongest species in the region, bringing in millions of dollars. Now, data indicate that Gulf of Maine cod has been overfished, with no sign of rebounding for another two years. These findings convinced federal regulators to enforce a steep cut in fishermen’s catch- a reduction that would land a devastating blow to the industry. Fishermen have gotten a reprieve by negotiating a less severe catch limit for this year. But can this industry can stay afloat amidst regulations, environmental realities, and marketplace demands?

Read the story and see the video at WGBH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regional fishery management councils around the country are now facing a 14 percent reduction in their funding and a number of other research programs will be suspended as details of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's budget proposal for fiscal year 2013 emerged thiss week.

With the agency under pressure from the administration to reduce spending, the National Marine Fisheries Service budget will be scaled back to the 2009 level of around $880 million. NOAA has been directed by the administration to identify cost savings this year and to improve its overall efficiency.

"We want to ensure we support fishing in a sustainable manner, but there are some cuts," said Sam Rauch, head of the NOAA's fisheries service, in a conference call with stakeholders Friday afternoon. Rauch warned that most of the NMFS funding was in the "discretionary spending" category. "Every one of our services is valuable to us and we had to make some hard choices," he said.

There was some good news in the proposal for fishermen in the Northeast, where NOAA is seeking additional money for fisheries research, stock assessments and to fund its onboard observer program.

Read the complete story from The Standard-Times.

 

 

 

 

 

The New England Fisheries Management Council has asked NOAA to adopt a one-year emergency rule, trimming the cod catch in the Gulf of Maine 3 to 10 percent. However next year the cuts could be 90 to 95 percent.

“I’ll adapt and go after another stock that has a higher allocation,” reflected Mike Russo, who fishes out of Provincetown. “It’s nothing different than we’ve been doing for a long time. Adapt to new science as it comes out. It’s difficult. You think you’re going into something with stability and then you get the rug hauled out from under you. I’ve been through this before,  in 2008-09 in the Georges Bank fixed gear sector that was as 66-percent cut in cod.”

Russo, who spent 25 years fishing out of Chatham, is president of the fixed gear sector. Sectors are given a quota of fish and manage their allocation internally. This is a new management approach by the federal government that replaces days-at-sea – which tried to monitor time on the sea to keep the catch down.

“For right now it’s our best solution to work in the fishery,” Russo declared. “If there was a better option I’d take it. There is a lot of self-governance included and that was attractive to us. There are rules we go by internally.”

Read the complete story from Wicked Local.

 

 

 

 

 

Over the objections of fishermen and shrimp processors, regulators decided Wednesday to shut down New England's shrimp fishery after Friday because fishermen have reached their catch limit for this season.

As a conservation measure, fishermen were allowed to harvest no more than 4.9 million pounds of shrimp this year from the Gulf of Maine. The catch limit has probably already been exceeded, prompting regulators to shut down the fishery.

In a conference call Wednesday, regulators from Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire who serve on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's shrimp-regulating panel said it was their duty to shut down the fishery to avoid harming the shrimp population and forcing strict regulations next year.

This is the third year in a row that the catch limit has been surpassed, said Ritchie White, who represents New Hampshire on the panel.

Read the complete Associated Press story in The Portland Press Herald

 

 

 

 

 

NOAA's Asset Forfeiture Fund, comprised of fines paid for Magnuson-Stevens Act fisheries violations, remains without controls that deter fraud, a newly published report by the U.S. Commerce Department inspector general has found.

Among key findings is that the fund — which has come to epitomize the past dysfunction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's police and litigating units — is not effectively monitored.

That failure creates circumstances that can still allow the misappropriation of money "without detection," the inspector general found

"NOAA has no assurance that all proceeds from assessed fines, penalties and forfeitures are received and accurately recorded," said the report, which was sent Feb. 8 to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco by Ann C. Eileers, principal assistant IG for audit and evaluation.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times

 

 

 

 

 

As a follow-up to the release of the President's proposed FY2013 budget, we would like to invite you to a constituent briefing this Friday, February 17, at 3:30pm (Eastern) to learn more about what the Administration's FY2013 proposal means for NOAA Fisheries.

Your support for NOAA Fisheries is very important to us, so we want you to have an opportunity to hear more details about the changes that may result from this budget proposal. There will be time for you to ask questions and share your comments or concerns.

Please be sure to call in to the conference line as well as log in online using the information below.
 
BRIEFING DETAILS
DATE: Friday, February, 17, 2012
TIME: 3:30pm – 5:00pm EST
LOGIN for webinar: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/941313521
CALL IN # and passcode: (888) 989-5216; PIN-1234