Management & Regulation

TITUSVILLE — Commercial fishing interests gathered at a seafood joint Tuesday to cast doubt on federal fisheries data and spell out the ripple effects a red-snapper ban and other fishing closures are having on the local economy.

“What I’ve seen in the past 10 years is the demise of our industry,” said Jim Busse, president of Seafood Atlantic at Port Canaveral, who’s watched longtime friends have to hang up their fishing gear. “I’ve seen them lose their houses. I’ve seen them get their trucks repossessed.”

Laurilee Thompson, owner of Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant, hosted the event to talk to business leaders and politicians about the danger of new regulations, which fishermen say aren’t necessary or based on solid scientific proof. She pointed out that the day’s lunch was all locally caught seafood.

“Nothing here is imported,” Thompson said.

“I’ve seen overfishing, I’ve been part of it,” said Thompson, a former commercial angler, “and I can tell you now there’s not even 2 percent of the commercial fishing effort as compared to the late ’70s and ’80s.”

Read the complete article from Florida Today

 

 

 

 

 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency that oversees saltwater fisheries, has agreed to spend a year collecting information on alewives and blueback river herring to see if they require federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

"There are 24 active municipal alewife and blueback fisheries in Maine," said Kate Taylor at Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Commercial harvesting will continue in Maine for now because the state has submitted a sustainability plan to ASMFC. Most other Atlantic states have banned fishing for alewives and bluebacks in freshwater because the stocks are not at sustainable levels.

Alewives and bluebacks are sea-run fish collectively known as river herring. Unlike the more common Atlantic herring, a marine species that lives its whole life in the ocean, river herring live as mature fish in the ocean and return to freshwater streams to breed.

The river herring fishery is one of the oldest documented fisheries in North America, dating back over 350 years in some areas, according to NOAA. At one time historic runs from the Carolinas to the Maritimes brought millions of fish right into the backyards of colonial settlers, according to Nate Gray, a fisheries scientist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Read the complete story from The Free Press

 

 

 

 

 

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler on Wednesday asked the interstate agency that manages the fishing of Atlantic menhaden to increase protection for the fish, which scientists say is an integral part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering updates to its management plan for the menhaden and Gansler submitted comments to the commission requesting that the threshold for overfishing be nearly doubled from the current rate.

"The Commission's interstate fishery management plan … for the menhaden has so far failed to adequately protect the menhaden fishery, particularly from overfishing," Gansler said in his comments. "Despite menhaden's historic decline, the Commission has allowed menhaden to be fished down to 8 percent of their maximum spawning potential."

Gansler proposed that the threshold be increased to 15 percent of the species' maximum spawning potential.

Read the complete story from The Baltimore Sun

 

 

 

 

 

Federal regulators say it appeared that cod stocks were rebuilding, but new data indicates that the stock is being overfished again.

Just three years ago it looked like cod levels in the Gulf of Maine were rebuilding. But preliminary data just released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that the stock is being overfished again and cannot be rebuilt by the 2014 deadline set by fisheries managers.

This has led to concerns that the federal government could impose more fishing cuts. "Cod stocks that small boat fleets depend on is not where we thought is was," says Pat Fiorelli, spokeswoman for the New England Fisheries Management Council. "It's been reduced, for whatever the reason–probably be forced to take some kind of action, which is the horribly worrisome part."

Fishermen say they've been working hard to conserve fish stocks so they find it hard to understand why numbers are going down.

Read the story from Maine Public Broadcasting Network

 

 

 

 

 

A big fight is brewing over a little fish — a fish that no one wants to eat but that many regard as the most important in the sea.

Catch restrictions loom on menhaden, which is too unsavory to grace a dinner plate but much sought by commercial fishermen. They catch them in staggering numbers to be ground into animal feed, to extract their heart-healthy oils for humans and to be used as bait to catch other fish, including Maryland's iconic blue crabs.

Menhaden also play a vital role in the Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem, feeding on plankton and serving themselves as food for many of the fish, birds and animals that people do eat or care about.

"They're a keystone species," says biologist Paul Spitzer of Trappe. Besides feeding other fish, menhaden are a staple for seabirds such as ospreys, gannets and common loons. When the fish are scarce, he says, it affects the health and abundance of other creatures as well.

Now, driven by a warning from scientists that menhaden levels are perilously low, an interstate panel that regulates fishing from Maine to Florida is weighing a range of actions that could reduce the commercial harvest of the fish by as much as 45 percent all along the coast, including in Maryland.

The proposal, to be taken up Nov. 9 at a meeting in Boston of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, is being hailed by recreational anglers and conservationists alike, who've long voiced concerns about menhaden levels, and say other animals that depend on them for food, such as highly prized striped bass, are suffering from malnourishment.

"We fished the stock down many decades ago, and have maintained a heavy enough fishing pressure that we've held it at a fairly low level," said William Goldsborough, senior scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and one of three Maryland members on the fisheries commission. It's time to leave more menhaden in the water and give them a chance to increase, he said.

But the proposal before the commission has drawn pushback from commercial fishermen in Maryland and elsewhere, who contend the science shows there's no cause for alarm and any cutback will hurt an already diminished livelihood.

Read the full article at the Baltimore Sun.

Analysis: The article fails to make several points about the menhaden fishery. First, while it quotes several sources that claim menhaden areat "perilously low" levels, it obscures the fact that the past several years of fishing data collected by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) does not indicate any pattern of overfishing. The last stock assessment concluded that menhaden were not overfished, and, as mentioned in the article, the fishery is currently reaching its fecundity target. The article also refers to menhaden as at "8 percent of their historical level." This refers to their Maximum Spawning Potential (MSP) n estimate of a theoretical unfished population. Menhaden fished to 8% of their MSP is not unusual or by itself a sign of an unhealthy fishery; MSP has rarely risen above 10%, and at this level menhaden have traditionally been able to rebuild themselves.

There are also claims made by activists in the article that are in dispute, particularly the role of menhaden in the diets and overall health of other fish, most notably bass. While menhaden are a part of bass diets, they are not irreplaceable. Bass diets are influenced by a number of factors other than the level of fishing, including the location and prevalence of other species. Similarly, the article makes the claim that the lack of menhaden are responsible for mycobacteriosis in bass. However, this is much more likely caused by the "thermal niche/oxygen squeeze" phenomenon. Currently, runoff in the Bay has led to areas of oxygen depletion in the waters bass usually inhabit. This forces them to move to warmer waters where that they are not suited to, leading them to not feed properly and making them more susceptible to diseases.

 

 

BUNKER NEWS: “Calling any one fish the most important fish in the sea might seem a bit hyperbolic. But Atlantic menhaden is so essential to the health of the coastal Atlantic that it is called just that by fishermen and conservationists alike.” (Matt Tinning, executive director, Marine Fish Conservation Network)

“Managers at the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission are finally responding to the public outcry to restore menhaden abundance by proposing new, more conservative fishing levels that would leave more menhaden in the water to play their vital ecological role.”

Tinning’s press release goes on to ask fishers to get involved and let their concern be known before the hearing and vote on Nov. 9. (Public comments can be submitted until 5 p.m., Nov. 2)

Captain Paul Eidman is also hoping you will take time to be heard on this important issue which affects us all. Eidman speaks in fair and well-balanced terms. He emphasized in an interview with me that the main focus of his group Menhaden Defenders is moderation.

As Tinning says, this fish is a mainstay of ecological balance and Eidman, a captain who fishes in the Raritan Bay area of NJ, is seeing what captains here in Cape May area have told me: Fewer peanut bunker to feed the stripers; fewer young; fewer spawning. This seems to be even more evident in the upper regions of the Northeast and the lower areas of the Chesapeake. “Every stage of development of the Menhaden is food for something.” Disregard for anecdotal evidence while waiting for better science to catch up, is a disaster in the making.

Captain Ray told me the schools of Menhaden used to be massive here and provided a tremendous food source. Plus, he added, they are algae feeders and help with water quality, especially in back bays and large areas like the Chesapeake Bay.
“Our back bays used to be boiling with what we call peanut bunker or baby Menhaden. We would see them early in the year and watch them grow from 1 inch to 5 or 6 inches. T

hey were all over the back bays and marina areas…Without this high protein food source for game fish many species have to look for other food sources so they have to eat the young of other fish or their own which isn't good of any species. When you take away one of the biggest food sources for game fish you find the game fish do not grow quite as fast and fat as they should. They turn to crabs and anything else they can find.”

According to Eidman, 80 percent of the bait fish used in New England, comes from New Jersey. A situation complicated by the depleted herring population. Local (Cape May) commercial fisheries now depend on Menhaden for lobster fishing.
Everyone has a stake in Menhaden. The November decision by the ASMFC is critical for all. You can post your comments on Eidman’s Web site www.menhadendefenders.org/

Read the full article at the Cape May County Herald.

Analysis: The sources quoted in the article rely almost exclusively on anecdotal evidence as a counterweight to the best scientific information currently available. The most recent assessment of the menhaden fishery by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) reaches a different conclusion; the menhaden population is judged to not be overfished, and overfishing only occurred once in the last ten years.

Like a fish flip-flopping on a dock, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council may change its mind about summer flounder recommendations for 2012.

A Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) report released last week indicated that the summer flounder stock was rebuilt in 2010.

However, the updated assessment predicts that the threshold fishing mortality rate will be exceeded in 2011 and that overfishing is occurring in the stock.

The new information also suggests that the commercial quota and recreational harvest limit recommended by the Council for 2012 are too high and may need to be reduced substantially.

Read the complete article from The Asbury Park Press

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOAA's assistant administrator Eric Schwaab said Sunday he welcomes the Commerce Department inspector general's "reviews" of rulemaking, which he said comes as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is working to implement reforms recommended by an independent management study of Northeast fisheries.

Schwaab's complete statement follows.

"NOAA is committed to the success of America's fishermen, our coastal communities and the health of the marine resources that support these communities.

"We welcome the Inspector General's review as another opportunity to improve fisheries management, a process involving NOAA, the regional fishery management councils, the fishing industry, the states and other stakeholders. We will work with the Inspector General to assist him in this review, which comes at a time when NOAA is working with the council to put in place reforms recommended by a recent independent management review of Northeast fisheries management.

"We have also just announced that we will engage an independent consulting group to initiate a participatory review and an independent assessment of the actions already underway. This process will involve more opportunity for fishermen and other stakeholders to provide valuable input."

Read the complete article in The Gloucester Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier this week, a long awaited economic study on trends in the New England commercial fishing industry was released and it included the first look at the new "catch share" management system initiated in May 2010.

The report by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center revealed the complex and often indecipherable variables that face fishermen seeking to make a living and regulators who by law are charged with protecting and rebuilding groundfish stocks.

The 97-page report showed the continued decline of the New England fishing fleet with 17 percent fewer active vessels in 2010 than in 2007, 10 percent fewer vessel affiliations (groups of vessels connected by common owners), 48 percent fewer groundfish trips, and fewer crew positions, days, and trips. On the other hand, the remaining vessels and vessel affiliations have increased their share of gross nominal revenues with 20 percent of active groundfish vessels securing 80 percent of those revenues, up from 68 percent in 2007.

While the "catch share" system is under attack politically and by a number of New England fishermen, especially smaller operators (see Seacoast Sunday, Oct. 16), proponents of the system believe it can succeed in the long run and that fishermen are beginning to make the system work to their benefit.

Read the complete story from The Seacoast Online

 

 

 

 

 

Little fish like menhaden are of vital importance to marine ecosystems and the ocean food chain.

View our infographic to learn more about this fish, and take action by asking the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to restore the Atlantic menhaden population to a healthy level.

View the graphic at Pew Environment Group.

Analysis: The graphic, part of Pew's menhaden campaign, leaves out several important facts about menhaden and the overall health of the fishery. First, Pew claims that safe fishing targets have been missed "for the past 50 years." However, this statistic is misleading and does not accurately reflect the level of fishing and its impact on the fishery. A more relevant statistic would be the number of times the stock has been overfished, when the number of fish caught exceeded the mortality threshold. This has been an exceedingly rare occurance, having only occurred once in the last ten years, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The article is also incorrect in stating that 75% of the Atlantic menhaden catch comes from the Chesapeake Bay, as the five-year average of coastwide landings from the Bay is closer to 52%.

Pew also uses the percentage of menhaden in the diet of bass and other species as a way to measure the menhaden population. However, this is misleading, as the diet of bass and other fish depend on a variety of factors that are unrelated to the menhaden fishery. These include water quality and the presence, number, and location of other feed species.