Management & Regulation

Guest host Arthur King talks to fisherman and member of the New England Fisheries Management Council, Jim Odlin, and operator of the website SavingSeafood.org, Robert Vanasse about the recent changes to the fishery regulations.

Listen to the show at WGAN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEABROOK, N.H. — The federal government's new catch share regulatory system has been almost literally killing off New Hampshire's commercial fishing industry, fishermen and state experts told a panel of federal officials earlier this week.

The controversial method of allocating who can catch fish has cost this state's only fishing cooperative, or "sector," based in Seabrook Harbor, $750,000 in business, fishermen told the visiting panel from the Department of Commerce.

It has cut the number of fishermen landing catches by two-thirds, they said. And it has killed off fishing jobs and exacted a high price on the lives of the men and women of the state's fishing fleet — resulting in a number of attempted suicides and divorces.

The hearing, hosted by a panel from the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration marked a continuation of a tour of New England fishing ports that began two weeks ago in New Bedford and Gloucester.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.

 

 

 

 

 

New "Catch Share" rules destroy communities.

See the video at FOX Business.

 

 

 

 

 

On May 1st, 2010, the New England multi-species groundfish fishery (that’s cod, haddock, flounder, and several others) transitioned to a management scheme known as catch shares, or sectors. The new system is akin to cap-and-trade for fish. Regulators set total catch limits for each population or species of fish. Fishermen are allotted a portion of the allowable catch and can choose to fish their share, or sell or lease it to another fisherman.

While it was widely agreed that the previous system – which restricted fishermen’s days at sea and set daily catch limits – was broken, the catch shares system has been highly controversial in New England. Massachusetts politicians and fishermen – primarily from New Bedford and Gloucester – have called for major overhauls to the system, even filed legal challanges. Meanwhile, fishermen and elected officials from elsewhere around New England have said catch shares offers the best way forward for the region’s fishing industry.

See the interactive timeline from WCAI.

 

 

 

 

 

PANAMA CITY BEACH – For the charter and party boat captains who make their living on the Gulf of Mexico, the issue isn’t the number of fish they can catch, it’s the number of days they can spend on the water.

The Fishery Management Council is currently hearing public comments on proposed regulations for gag and red grouper. Federal officials say red grouper is not overfished, but gag grouper is overfished and must undergo a rebuilding plan.

The most contentious part of the plan seems to be the length and time frame for a gag fishing season.

Read the complete story from the Panama City News Herald.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEABROOK, N.H. — Fishermen on New Hampshire's Seacoast are warning that new fishing regulations could destroy their industry and have already caused them severe emotional stress.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has sent a team to Seabrook to look at the effects of the new regulations.

Many in the fishing industry said they want the federal team to do more than its stated task of creating an economic development assessment report. The team is spending three days in Seabrook and visiting five other New England fishing towns.

The new regulations are known as "catch-share." The team said they are not there to look at possible changes to the rules but rather to see what effects they are having.

Read the complete story and watch the video from WMUR.

Watch the video from Youtube.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEABROOK – May 9, 2011 – The federal government's new "catch share" system has been literally killing off the state's 400-year-old commercial fishing industry, fishermen and state experts told a panel of federal officials yesterday.

The controversial method of allocating who can catch fish has cost the state's only fishing cooperative, located in Seabrook harbor, $750,000 in business, and cut the number of fishermen landing catches by two-thirds. It has killed off fishing jobs and exacted a high price on the lives of the men of the state's fishing fleet — resulting in suicides and divorces.

Several officials from the U.S. Commerce Department heard testimony from fishermen and state experts yesterday as part of an inquiry the federal government is conducting into the catch share system it implemented last year. Seabrook is one of six Northeast landing ports where the meetings are being held.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anglers now have more days to catch one of their favorite fish

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, anglers had to wait another three weeks for the fluke season to start. This year, it's a matter of hours. Even better is the fact that the fluke gear doesn't have to go back into the closet until Sept. 26, 20 days later than last year.

On top of all that good news, the bag limit also went up, allowing anglers to keep eight fish at 18 inches as opposed to last year's six. "Now people from Cape May to the Raritan Bay can start fishing early," Greg Hueth of the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund said. With the black sea bass and blackfish seasons closed, Hueth said, its good to have something to fish for in addition to the blues and stripers.

Read the complete story from The Asbury Park Press.

 

 

 

 

 

Each week on WBSM in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Bob Vanasse of Saving Seafood joins host Phil Paleologos to discuss issues related to the fisheries with news-making guests.

Preston Pate, a current member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and former chair of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, discusses the independent fishery management review of fisheries management in New England the he recentle led.  This study carefully examined the relationships among the Northeast Fishery Management Council, the NOAA Northeast Regional Office and the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

[listen to this latest episode at Saving Seafood Radio]

 

 

Beset with investigations and court challenges, NOAA has responded by digging in on sector management and catch shares and keeping catch limits very, very low. It is shuffling personnel around amid scandals and assigning a delegate, it said, to bridge the gap between NOAA and fishing communities. A special detail of officials is visiting Northeast fishing ports to look at how to mitigate the economic damage that NOAA has largely failed to acknowledge.

Exactly one year after the implementation of sector management, it is impossible to say how the next few years will play out.

One wild card is the federal lawsuit filed last May by New Bedford, Gloucester and many fishing interests to challenge the legality of sector management. The central point is that NOAA failed to obey Section 8 of Magnuson-Stevens, which calls on the agency to examine — and mitigate — the damage that fishing restrictions will have on fishing communities.

The implication is that such a review would make it much harder to justify sector management, so the process was glossed over. The plaintiffs also argued that the new system should have been put to a vote.

Arguments in the case were heard in mid-March, and Judge Rya Zobel's ruling isn't expected for months.

But what happens if Zobel rules in favor of the fishing communities? She asked only one question about remedies in that case: The law's requirement that a referendum be conducted among the fishery before any kind of quota system is imposed. NOAA contends that sector management and catch shares do not constitute a quota system, but the plaintiffs argued that NOAA is playing with words.

Things would hardly end there, though. Whoever wins in federal court will face a challenge in appeals court, in all likelihood. And if a referendum is ordered (which could be years from now), what will it ask? Will it offer options? Would it be take-it-or-leave-it for sectors? Will days-at-sea come back? And who would be eligible to vote? Permit holders alone? What about stakeholders in shore support and fish processing?

Another open question: Why has the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had such a hard time finding a replacement for chief law enforcement officer Dale Jones, who resigned last year in a blizzard of scandal? The six-figure job was advertised once, and then again, the second time without mentioning academic credentials. Rumors are rampant that NOAA has a hand-picked candidate, but no one can be sure.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.