In the wake of last week’s demonstration in Martha’s Vineyard by New Bedford Fishing vessels, XM/Sirius Radio’s show "The Young Turks" devotes a segment to fisheries policy. Richie Canastra is the co-owner of the New Bedford and Boston Seafood Auctions. He will be on The Young Turks to talk about how fishing may go the way of the food industry by being taken over by monied interests.
AUDIO: Richie Canastra discusses Ted Kennedy’s legacy in the Fishing Industry on the Montel Williams show
"What Ted has done in the past for us in New Bedford, especially in regard to the scallop industry, means he’ll be greatly missed." — Richie Canastra
In response to Montel Williams’ question "What is the industry’s biggest concern right now?" Richie Canastra, of the Whaling City and Boston Seafood Display Auctions replied "it’s the Catch Share program that NOAA has implemented in 2010. We’re concerned. We want to be allocated enough fish to be profitable. Ted would have been there right beside us, campaigning for us. He lives with us in spirit."
Fishermen target catch shares in protest
Catch shares were on the minds of the New Bedford fishermen and on the signs on the sides of their boats that made a convenient detour into Vineyard Haven harbor yesterday in a dignified protest aimed at President Obama.
The five draggers were on their way to Georges Bank, but the president was on the golf course.
Five other boats also intended to join the armada, but were delayed preparing for the fishing trip that was the purpose of the visit to the Vineyard.
After the tour of the Vineyard Haven harbor, the boats passed through Oak Bluffs harbor on the way to the fishing grounds at Georges Bank.
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.
View a photo gallery of the New Bedford flotilla as it shared its message with President Obama
AUDIO: Captain Dicusses How Proposed Pollock and Monkfish Cuts Might Put Him Out of Business
"We need conservation, but it’s not as bad as they say".
Before leaving for the event at Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Antonio Pereira discusses his concerns about how proposed limit cuts in Pollock and Monkfish combined with the introduction of Sectors and Catch Shares may put even a fully paid-for vessel like his out of business. Interview by Don Cuddy of the Standard-Times.
Listen to the interview by Don Cuddy of the Standard-Times on South Coast Today.
City boats take fishing protest to Vineyard
Faced with an uncertain future and changing regulations, local fishermen cast out for the national spotlight Tuesday afternoon, sending a flotilla of boats to Martha’s Vineyard to coincide with the presidential vacation.
Five commercial fishing vessels based in New Bedford steamed into the harbor at Vineyard Haven, displaying banners with slogans such as "Fisheries Science not Political Science" and "Catch Shares Privatize the Sea."
The projection of New Bedford sea power over the horizon quickly caught the attention of local authorities, according to Richard Canastra of the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction, who helped orchestrate the showing.
New Bedford draggers welcome the president
A flotilla of five commercial fishing vessels sailed from New Bedford into Vineyard Haven Harbor Tuesday afternoon to draw attention to issues facing the fishing industry. The draggers, horns blaring, made two slow circles between the harbor breakwater and Tisbury Wharf before departing for Oak Bluffs on their way to offshore fishing grounds.
One of the vessels had a large banner hanging from the side that said, "Catch shares, corporate shares," a reference to a new regulatory framework known as catch shares. Another dragger carried a banner that said, "Fishing families are working families."
Bob Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood, an industry newsletter, said the parade of vessels was not a protest. “We are welcoming the President,” he said.
Read the complete story at The Martha’s Vineyard Times
View a photo gallery of the New Bedford flotilla as it shared its message with President Obama
EDF Policy Director responds to Vineyard visit
In a statement released on PR Newswire by Environmental Defense Fund media relations in Washington, Sally McGee, the New England Policy Director for EDF commented on the visit of New Bedford vessels to Martha’s Vineyard. Ms. McGee is a member of the New England Fishery Management Council, which recently voted 16-0 in favor of the new management approach for the groundfish fishery (Motion 21a from NEFMC meeting held in Portland, ME, June 25, 2009)
"Today’s demonstration comes at a tough time for fishermen in New England. Many are anxious over a change in fishing policy that is coming after decades of declining fish stocks and complicated rules that have squeezed scores of fishermen out of business. Once we are through this transition process, however, the decline of the groundfish fishery will have been halted, rules will be simpler, and fishermen will be making money once again.
The new rules – called "catch shares" or "sectors" – will give groundfish fishermen a dedicated share of the overall catch. Instead of being forced to fish under ever-increasingly restrictive rules, catch shares will give fishermen in New England flexibility to choose how they meet the scientifically-set catch limit. Catch shares have a history of success in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as two groundfish sectors already on-the-water in New England. Under catch shares, fish stocks recover and fishermen once again become profitable.
The change to catch shares is coming after a lengthy and thorough public process. In fact, the final decision was delayed a full year to allow more time for additional public input. The three-year process showed broad and growing support for catch shares in New England.
The problems with the New England groundfish fishery are deep, severe and centuries in the making. Catch shares will not turn this situation around overnight. The alternatives are far worse however. Without catch shares the fish stocks and the health of the ocean will only decline further. Catch shares offers hope and a track record of success."
Five New Bedford vessels sail to Martha’s Vineyard with a message of concern on Catch Shares
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Ten New Bedford vessels, in port due to Hurricane Bill, will stop at Martha’s Vineyard to greet President Obama with a message of opposition to catch shares on their way back out to George’s Bank. The polite protest was organized by Richie Canastra, owner of the Whaling City Display Auction.
In a statement published on their Saving Seafood web site, the group acknowledges that stocks are rebuilding, and that catch shares may have some benefits, but say the transition to catch shares is too rushed for such a momentous decision.
Delaying catch shares for a year may be a very valid point. Unfortunately the message gets lost in a welter of accusations and opposition to NMFS, so that the plea to delay catch shares is buried in a ten year litany of grievance, from mistakes made in the NMFS trawl surveys to the presence of fishing restrictions, to objections that any vessel may have to leave the fishery for economic reasons. New Bedford, more than Gloucester, has experience with the successful management of the scallop fishery, and knows that restrictions in the short term can lead to huge financial bonuses in the long term. Therefore, they accept the idea that stocks are rebuilding under the current plan – and suggest simply keeping present restrictions in place for another year while issues around catch shares are defined better. This is not an unreasonable position. In Alaska, halibut took nearly ten years to implement; crab took more than four years, and pollock also took four or five years. The plea for a longer time line could be a good solution, if it wasn’t so wrapped up in a rejection of almost all fisheries management efforts.
View a photo gallery of the New Bedford flotilla as it shared its message with President Obama
From Seafood News (subscription site)
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton – Aug 25, 2009 – A number of New Bedford vessels who had been in port due to Hurricane Bill, will sail over to Martha’s Vineyard on their way back out the George’s Bank to greet President Obama, and make a statement about New England Fisheries.
The effort is organized by Richie Canastra, the owner of the Whaling City Auction and founder of the Saving Seafood web site.
‘We hope as the Obamas enjoy their vacation, that they will eat some of our famous New England seafood. And we trust that given the President’s concern for working families, he will remember the fishermen. These small business owners risk their lives at sea to put food on American tables, provide for their families, and create jobs. They pump a billion dollars into the Massachusetts economy every year. And they face an increasingly complex web of federal management measures which restrict their ability to fish.’
Like many in New England, the group in New Bedford is concerned about the move to catch shares.
They say that "last week, preliminary recommendations for the Pollock catch limit suggest a possible cut of 67% from current limits. Pollock is a less desirable relative of cod, often used in fish sticks and breaded cutlets. Because it is hard to avoid catching Pollock when fishing for haddock, cod and other species, and because by-catch will be included in Catch Share hard limits, industry leaders believe this reduction alone may make Catch Share management unworkable."
They also say the change to catch shares as the standard for fisheries management "represents the most significant change in fisheries management in the United States since 1976; a change as dramatic as the 200 mile limit and the establishment of the Hague Line, under which a significant portion of Georges Bank was awarded to Canada" by the World Court after fishermen rejected a proposed U.S. Canada treaty.
"Catch Share management might well improve the regulatory framework that we work under. But the move to Catch Shares in the New England groundfish fishery is taking place so fast, that fishermen are being asked to join sectors by September 1st, even though the rules and regulations and quotas won’t be set until late this year or possibly in 2010. NMFS says that Fishermen may also opt back out of sectors, if the sector allows, until May 1st, 2010.
"We are being asked to take a blind leap into an uncertain future. The government is replacing a system that we know has failed, with one that we hope will work. This change will force an unprecedented social transition for our fishermen without a solid understanding of the consequences."
"We are concerned about a blind rush to meet an arbitrary time frame, which is what we are now being forced by the National Marine Fisheries Service to do. Almost all of the groundfish stocks are rebuilding. The delay of a year or two in implementing catch shares or choosing another path isn’t going to change the rebuilding of these species."
The vessels partipating will carry signs and banners as they sail into the harbor at Vineyard Haven.
Fishing vessels participating in the visit to Martha’s Vineyard include:
F/V Blue Seas
F/V Neves
F/V Sancor
F/V Northern Crusader
F/V Green Acres
F/V Stars of the Sea
F/V Lady Patricia
F/V Sea Explorer
F/V Morue
F/V Mischief
Read SeafoodNews.com (subscription site) http://www.seafoodnews.com/
Fishermen shipping message to Obama
A fleet of New Bedford fishing boats will steam into Vineyard Haven today as a visible reminder to President Barack Obama and the national media of the fishing industry’s contribution to the Massachusetts economy and the difficulties that fishermen face, whether at sea or in navigating their way through an increasingly complex maze of government regulations.
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Five boats, returning to the fishing grounds after waiting out Hurricane Bill, will join the flotilla, which will be led by Richard Canastra of the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction.
"We hope as the Obamas enjoy their vacation, they will enjoy some of our famous New England seafood. And we trust that given the president’s concern for working families, he will remember the fishermen," a press release from the fishermen stated.
Read the complete story at The South Coast Today
View a photo gallery of the New Bedford flotilla as it shared its message with President Obama
Fishermen plan to steam by Obamas
Some New England fishermen plan to steam through waters off Martha’s Vineyard to make a point to the visiting family of President Barack Obama, the New Bedford Standard-Times reports.
The message is that fishermen are having a tough time, the paper says.
See this article at The Boston Business Journal.
View a photo gallery of the New Bedford flotilla as it conveyed its message to President Obama.
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