Management & Regulation

NEWPORT, RI – Sept. 30, 2010 –  During the first two of its three-day meeting in Newport, the New England Fishery Management Council addressed several important items of business that will affect the region’s fishermen.
 

 
Skate Emergency Action Requested: Responding to the testimony of concerned stakeholders about the negative economic impacts the skate accountability measure is having on the skate wing fishery, the Council on Tuesday asked National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Regional Administrator Pat Kurkul to take emergency action as a potential remedy to help both fishermen and shore-side businesses. The Council seeks an increase in the skate wing possession limit if it appears that the fishery will be unable to land 100 percent of the skate total allowable landings by April 30, 2011 (end of the current fishing year) while the 500 pound possession limit remains in effect.
 
As background, NMFS, in keeping with the Council’s skate management plan, reduced the skate wing possession limit from 5,000 pounds of wings to 500 pounds on September 3 because the landings for the fishing year, which began this past May, had exceeded an 80% “trigger”. The management concern is that the skate catch would soon exceed the management plan’s total landings limit.
 
The Council also directed its Skate Plan Development Team to estimate and forecast skate discards for 2010 using recently collected groundfish sector data. Based on that information, the plan team would provide recommendations on whether total skate discards have declined enough to allow an overall increase in skate landings. The fishing industry believes skate discards have declined because groundfish sector vessels now use modified gear to target specific groundfish species and avoid skates.
 
Atlantic Herring – Major Issues Highlighted: Although Amendment 5 to the herring management plan is still very much in development, the Council, by unanimous consent, agreed on Tuesday to better target the issues of greatest concern to fishermen and the public — an effective monitoring program for the herring fleet and the protection of river herring populations that are taken as bycatch in the fishery.
 
A number of measures under consideration were eliminated altogether or modified. These related to costly and/or impractical methods of tracking the herring catch and other species taken in the fishery. Importantly, the Council retained a number of proposals that would identify and contain measures to avoid river herring “hotspots”. To further protect river herring — principally alewives and blueback herring — the Council unanimously agreed to develop river herring “catch caps” that would directly limit amounts taken by the Atlantic herring fishery. The Council also will consider measures to protect Atlantic herring when they aggregate in NE waters to spawn. Further action on Amendment 5 is scheduled for January 2011.
 
New Officers Elected: The Council also elected its 2010-2011 officers on Tuesday. Again this year by acclamation, the Council named John Pappalardo Chairman and Rip Cunningham Vice Chairman. Mr. Pappalardo is a fisherman and CEO of the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association, while Mr. Cunningham is a former editor and publisher of Saltwater Sportsman magazine and an active sport fisherman. The Council elected three members to its Executive Committee: Mr. Jim Odlin, a Portland ME fishermen, Mr. Terry Stockwell, Director of External Affairs for the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources and Ms. Sally McGee, New England Policy Director for Environmental Defense.

 

 

 

NEWPORT, R.I. — September 30, 2010 — The New England Fishery Management Council voted on Wednesday against changing some key elements of the rules governing the commercial scallop fishery.

At a meeting at the Viking Hotel, a proposal to allow boat owners to lease their fishing days to other vessels was narrowly rejected with nine council members voting against, seven in favor and one abstention.

Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett who chairs an environmental committee with jurisdiction on state fisheries spoke out against leasing, saying that any departure from resource management would change the council's role to that of "junior economists."

"If you are using the resources of the federal government to decide how this plays out economically, aren't you a little far afield from fisheries management?" he asked.

Another emotionally charged proposal — to allow owners with more than one boat to "stack" their fishing permits on a single fishing vessel — also failed but by a larger margin, with a motion to take no action passing by 11 votes to six.

 

Read the story in the Standard-Times [subscription]

A Report prepared by Dick Grachek for the American Alliance of Fishermen and Their Communities:

Proponents claim Catch Shares will stop overfishing, restore the stocks, create high paying quality jobs, and make the fishermen profitable and safe.  A closer look at Catch Share programs in place for decades shows no data to support these claims.

Further consolidation or reduction of the commercial fishing fleet is a known consequence of Catch Shares and a stated goal by NOAA during their push for implementation.  This fleet reduction will push the independently owned fishing vessel operations and the dockside support businesses beyond their financial “tipping point”; and in turn will cause the small, family owned, independent fishing businesses and their communities to collapse.

Read the complete story from Ahab's Journal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New England Fishery Management Council is scheduled to debate and vote today on a re-engineering of the stable and lucrative $1 billion scallop fishery that would authorize an accumulation — or "stacking" — and leading of permits and could lead to a radical consolidation of the fleet.

Concerned about upsetting the present system that has made his city the nation's No. 1 cash value port, New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang has urged the council to go slow with changes to the scallop fishery, and is asking for a socio-economic impact study and an industry referendum before acting.

The impetus for the amendment to the scallop management plan is the requirement in the 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to put the fishery under catch limits with penalties or "accountability measures."

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOSTON — The head of the federal fisheries service said Wednesday he's begun a review of how New England fish stocks are managed, months after a regional official called the process "antiquated and ineffective."

The review would be done within a year, said Eric Schwaab, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"We know that there are challenges and we know there are always opportunities for improvement," he said.

 Fishermen have long faulted regulators for relying on what they consider flawed or outdated science to make rules they say are unnecessarily restrictive and don't do enough to preserve fishing communities and businesses.

Read the complete story from The Sun News.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Scott Lang, submitted testimony to the New England Fisheries Mangement Council in opposition to a proposal to allow stacking and leasing of scallop permits. New Bedford is the nations's largest fishing port in terms of value of its catch, due in large part to the scallop fishery.

The mayor's testimony follows:

A few weeks ago, we learned that once again in 2009, New Bedford remains the nation's largest seaport in terms of the value of landings.   We have a full-service port, with hundreds of businesses that support commercial fishing.   Last month, when Hurricane Earl threatened, we witnessed hundreds of vessels both large and small, take shelter in our protected harbor, and make use of our facilities. The quarter of a billion dollars in landings of groundfish and scallops makes the continued existence of this port possible.  But the positive effects the fishing industry brings do not stop at the waterfront.

 

The one billion dollar impact of the fishing industry results in employment for over 4,000 people.  Unemployment in New Bedford ranged from 9%-15% during the recent recession.  The fishing industry is our economic backbone.  Every decision you make here at the New England Fisheries Management Council echoes throughout our city and the surrounding towns in our jobs, our tax base, and our economy.

On the question of stacking and leasing of scallop permits, I’d like to add to the thoughtful comments of Paul Diodati, Massachusetts Director of Marine Fisheries. Mr. Diodati made clear, in his letter of September 24, the potential for consolidation of the industry into too few hands, and the negative impacts on those who cannot or do not stack or lease (such as single vessel, single permit owners). You must not take an action that could result in consolidation and monopolization of the fleet.

I question whether the stacking and leasing proposals constitutes an industry-driven management strategy, with broad support.  I reiterate the call I made in my letter of July 13 for an industry-wide referendum before any action on stacking and leasing is taken.

As Mr. Diodati also observed, the Council has been silent on the questions of which values to promote, the future of the fishery, and the look of fishing communities.

As mayor of the nation’s seaport with the most valuable catch – a catch to which the scallop industry contributes in large part – I am here today to make clear to each of you that silence on those issues is unacceptable and inconsistent with National Standard 8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Permit leasing could have serious negative consequences not only on large segments of our fleet, but also on shore side and other support businesses.  It would affect the economy and social fabric of our community.  Your decisions in Council affect more than just our industry.  You affect our unemployment.  You affect our households. You affect our people.

For the council to allow this without analyzing these impacts and articulating clearly its understanding of the potential affect of those impacts, ignores the law, which instructs you to “take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities in order to provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities.”

The resource is not over-fished, which, as I noted in my letter of July 13, calls into question Amendment 15 and the NEFMC move toward capacity reduction via stacking and leasing of limited access permits.  There is no biological or ecological need for this action. 

Until this council has carefully studied the effects stacking and leasing has on communities including the effects on individual households, housing, education, taxes, unemployment, and infrastructure – to name just a few – you have not done your work.

I recognize that each of you was appointed to the Council because of your experience in particular aspects of the various managed fisheries. However, in addition to the deep understanding each of you brings to the table in specific areas, I respectfully suggest that a broader look at the overall fabric of the industry as a whole and our coastal communities is necessary.  An inter-disciplinary understanding of the complex economies of our coastal communities is needed for you to fully understand the impacts of your votes.

Accordingly I invite each of you, at your first opportunity, to visit our port and coastal community – not to revisit aspects of the industry which you know well from your own backgrounds and your work here – but to focus on the socio-economics of the community at large.

I thank you very much for the opportunity to submit my comments to you today, and appreciate your careful consideration of these issues. 

 

 

NEWPORT, Rhode Island – Sept. 29, 2010 – NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Eric Schwaab  announced plans to conduct a regional assessment and  management review of the fishery management process in New England.   The focus will be on the relationships among the New England Fishery  Management Council, the Northeast Regional Office, and the Northeast  Fisheries Science Center and factors affecting the effectiveness of  those three entities in carrying out their responsibilities under  fisheries law.

In making the announcement, Mr. Schwaab did not admit to shortcomings in the regulatory infrastructure, which has been under fire from industry and elected officials, and Fishery Management Council members.  Instead he noted that every organization "no matter how large or how well run" can benefit from such a review, and said that large companies conduct these reviews "not because they believe they are performing poorly" but "to perform better".

Preston Pate, of North Carolina, a current member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management  Council and former chair of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries  Commission has been designated to oversee the effort.  NOAA also plans to hire a management audit organization to work on the effort. 

Last December, New England Fisheries Council Chair John Pappalardo wrote to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke stating "our bureaucracy is often driven by process and protocol rather than by mission and outcome." He said "it has become clear that our region’s bureaucracy is unable to efficiently meet its expanded obligations" and asked the Commerce Secretary for "help in implementing a visionary pilot in New England that is a necessary first step in making these critical improvements."

Speaking of the Noting that "the leaders of each entity have repeatedly acknowledged significant challenges with inter-organizational communication, but these challenges appear to be increasing rather than improving.

Chairman Pappalardo asked that the review be conducted by a management consultant, and include:

•    Extensive interviews with leadership and staff of each organization as well as a wide range of fishery stakeholders to understand their respective views on the performance of the current system and their suggestions for reforms.

•    An objective and thorough evaluation of the internal structure and management practices of each entity.

•    A rigorous assessment of the coordination and communication among the three entities and specific suggestions for necessary improvements.

•    A detailed and public summary of the findings of this initiative as well as the resulting recommendations.

 

Read Mr. Pate's biography from his tenure as director of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

Read a 2004 profile of Mr. Pate from National Fisherman

The text of the announcement follows:

NOAA Assistant Administrator Eric Schwaab today  announced plans by the agency to conduct a regional assessment and  management review of the fishery management process in New England.   The focus will be on the relationships among the New England Fishery  Management Council, the Northeast Regional Office, and the Northeast  Fisheries Science Center and factors affecting the effectiveness of  those three entities in carrying out their responsibilities under  fisheries law. It is expected that lessons learned will be more  broadly applied to other regions.    

 “Every organization no matter how large or how well run can benefit  from constructive guidance as to how it could improve its processes,  said Schwaab. “This is something Fortune 500 companies do all the  time, not because they believe they are performing poorly but because  they want to ensure they do not miss opportunities to perform better.” 

 A critical component of this review will be to conduct a series of  interviews and focus groups to gather information on the current  processes, what is working and what could be improved.  Input will be  sought from members and staff of the New England Fishery Management  Council, NOAA Fisheries Service science and management staff, fishing  industry leaders, the environmental community and state agencies.  

 The end result, anticipated in six to twelve months, will be a series  of recommendations for improvements in coordination, communication and  processes that would enable all three entities to work more  efficiently and effectively to better meet our mission of ending  overfishing and rebuilding sustainable fisheries.   

 “I designated Preston Pate, who is currently under contract with NOAA  to develop a new survey program for the recreational fishery, to  oversee this process,” said Schwaab. “Preston is a respected voice in  fisheries management and is well suited to carry out this task.”  

 Mr. Pate is a current member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management  Council and former chair of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries  Commission.  NOAA also plans to secure the services of an external  organization experienced in management audits to work with Mr. Pate on  this effort. 

 

 

The silvery river herring, once prized by Native Americans for food and fertilizer, is so steeped in New England tradition that scores of places bear its name, from Herring Cove to Alewife Brook Parkway.

In the past two decades, however, herring runs have seen dramatic declines, more than 50 percent in many waterways. Some fishermen and environmentalists are pointing the finger at offshore industrial fishing boats.

Using a football-field-size net strung between two vessels, the New England boats chase a different species called sea herring, but inevitably scoop up some river herring that swim with the sea species.

Earthjustice, an environmental group, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a group of commercial fishermen and one recreational fisherman earlier this month against two government agencies for failing to protect river herring and shad, another river fish that goes to sea, from the big boats.

Read the complete story from The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOAA has the authority to increase catch limits in response to an emergency, according to the Congressional Research Service.

That’s because the Magnuson-Stevens Act, for all it does define, never gets around to defining what constitutes an emergency.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) raised the issue with the CRS, which was chartered almost a century ago to provide research and analysis to lawmakers and their staffs.

The exchange came to our attention via a Web posting by the New Bedford, Mass.-based Project to Save Seafood and Ocean Resources.

“It appears possible,” the CRS said, “that action taken by the Secretary in response to an economic ‘emergency’ could likely withstand judicial review, so long as the Secretary’s determination that the conditions in question constituted an 'emergency' was a reasonable one.”

Read the complete story from Seafood Source.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are a group of fisheries researchers from across New England with expertise spanning marine ecology, fish population dynamics, law, policy and environmental history. We write today to urge U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to maintain the important progress that has been made toward ending overfishing in the northeast multispecies groundfish fishery and elsewhere by adhering to the mandates set out in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) and the subsequent National Standard 1 guidelines (NS1).

Specifically, we urge him to retain the science-based catch limits that have been set for the fishery, preserving and respecting the vital role of science in fisheries management, and more importantly allowing stocks to continue rebuilding as the foundation for productive and sustainable fisheries.

Ecosystems and fish stocks in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank have experienced long-term changes and declines due in large part to systematic overfishing, compromising a range of social, economic and ecological goals and creating a culture of crisis management. A key cause of this trend has been failure to incorporate an adequate degree of precaution in setting and enforcing biologically appropriate catch limits.

Read the complete story from the South Coast Today [subscription site]