Maritime Gloucester will be the site of a series of lectures on “Stellwagen at Twenty” to showcase the natural, maritime and human history of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
View the schedule of planned lectures.
Maritime Gloucester will be the site of a series of lectures on “Stellwagen at Twenty” to showcase the natural, maritime and human history of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
View the schedule of planned lectures.
WASHINGTON — 9 March 2012 – As New England fishermen await an interim measure regarding catch limits for the Gulf of Maine cod fishery, three senators from the region used a Wednesday hearing to take aim at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration over the issue.
A recent assessment of Gulf of Maine cod raised the ire of fishermen and others living in coastal communities, as it revealed the fishery to be in crisis — a major reversal from a 2008 assessment that had painted a rosy picture of the fishery's health.
"The struggle we're having right now over the cod assessment underscores the need for better scientific resources our fishermen can trust," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said during a hearing of the Senate Commerce subcommittee with jurisdiction over fisheries. "The difference between the last two assessments was night and day."
Addressing NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Kerry — a member of the subcommittee — added, "The uncertainty is a direct result of the infrequency of assessments, and it underscores the urgency of finally getting appropriate investments in increased research and data collection."
Read the complete story from The Cape Cod Times.
9 March 2012 – Legislation to restore import duties on seafood to fisheries research — money that, over the years has been diverted into NOAA operations — has been filed by U.S. Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Olympia Snowe of Maine.
Companion legislation to the Senate bill filed Thursday is to be filed on March 19 when the House returns to session, according to the office of Congressman Barney Frank whose district includes New Bedford. Congressman John Tierney, whose district includes Cape Ann, is a co-sponsor.
The intent, as expressed Thursday by Kerry, is to realign the 1954 Saltonstall-Kennedy Act to its original purpose.
In 2010, duties on imports were $376.6 million, yielding $113 million that the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act ostensibly meant for fisheries R&D. Instead, Congress appropriated $104.6 million for NOAA operations, leaving only $8.4 million for actual fisheries' uses.
The Kerry-Snowe Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act would require that at least 70 percent of the set-aside money be used for the original purpose — developing the domestic fisheries, which are recognized as among the best managed and most productive.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.
WASHINGTON – 8 March 2012 – Effective immediately, NOAA Fisheries Service is increasing the possession limits for Georges Bank cod and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of the 2011 fishing year, through April 30, 2012.
If a sub-ACL is projected to be exceeded by the end of FY 2011, in-season adjustments to decrease the trip limit would be considered. The rates of harvest of all NE multispecies stocks are updated weekly on the internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov.
Read the complete notice from NOAA.
WASHINGTON — 8 March 2012 – As fishermen in New England anxiously await an interim measure regarding catch limits for the Gulf of Maine cod fishery, three senators from the region used a Wednesday hearing to take aim at chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration over the issue.
A recent assessment of Gulf of Maine cod raised the ire of fishermen and others living in coastal communities, as it presented the fishery to be in crisis — a major reversal from a 2008 assessment that had painted a rosy picture of the fishery's health.
“The struggle we're having right now over the cod assessment underscores the need for better scientific resources our fishermen can trust,” Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., declared during a hearing of the Senate Commerce subcommittee with jurisdiction over fisheries. “The difference between the last two assessments was night and day.”
Read the complete story from Seacoast Online.
March 09, 2012 – Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, will introduce a bill today designed to provide millions of dollars in federal funds to help the commercial fishing industry.
The Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act could funnel more than $100 million annually into improving scientific research and fish stock assessments nationwide.
The money would come from an existing source: the customs duties raised from fish products imported to the U.S. Legislation passed in 1954, known as the Kennedy-Saltonstall Act, directs that 30 percent of all duty paid on fish imports be transferred to the Secretary of Commerce and set aside for fisheries research and other projects.
In practice, that has not been happening, according to Kerry's office, which said that duties collected on imported fish products in 2010 totaled $376.6 million. Of that amount, $113 million went to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But only $8.4 million was used for fisheries research and development. The remaining $104.6 million was swallowed by NOAA's operational budget.
Read the complete story in the Standard-Times
The 37th annual Maine Fishermen's Forum took place last week at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, and once again served up an opportunity to look, listen and talk about the state of Maine's fishing industries. Fishermen, federal and state scientists, seafood dealers, environmental organizations, state legislators, and individuals working in the state's many different fisheries industries ate, drank and argued together in a noisy but cheerful atmosphere.
Governor LePage addressed forum-goers on Friday morning before introducing the new Department of Marine Resources (DMR) commissioner, Patrick Keliher, who was confirmed in late January. The governor said his administration is committed to moving the fishing industries of the state forward: "They are economic engines, but more than that they are a lifestyle." He called for better identification and marketing of Maine's lobsters in the face of mislabeling by other states and Canadian provinces.
Commissioner Keliher said DMR's mission is to "sustain the resources and our coastal communities." To do that, he intends to emphasize proactive planning in order to forestall any abrupt dips or changes in the state's fishing industries. "We have a lot we can do to control our own destiny," he said.
Read the complete story from The Free Press.
NEW BEDFORD — 8 March 2012 – Government attorneys Wednesday doubled down on their arguments in the lawsuit challenging co-op sector management and catch shares in the New England commercial fishery.
In their formal reply to a federal court appeal by New Bedford, Gloucester and a host of fishing interests, Commerce Department attorneys insisted the National Marine Fisheries Service did nothing wrong when it introduced sector management without a referendum among those affected.
Nor, the attorneys argued, did the government sidestep the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act by manipulating the meaning of words such as "permits" and "limited access permit programs."
Magnuson, the government attorneys said, explicitly rules out sectors — which are groups of boat owners who pool their allocations — from any kind of referendum requirement. Since a referendum would require a super-majority, the government is being accused of using semantics to evade a vote on an unpopular idea.
But the lawsuit contends that the term "sectors," — first used in a trial program on Cape Cod several years ago — had a very different new meaning under the new rules.
The new system bears little resemblance to what Congress thought of as sectors at the time, the lawsuit says. The government counters that the differences are minor.
Read the complete story from The Standard-Times.
Read the brief by the Federal Government
Read the brief by the Conservation Law Foundation
Read the original appeal by the Cities of New Bedford and Gloucester et al
8 March 2012 – Sen. John Kerry is urging National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Jane Lubchenco to deliver better scientific research to help the Massachusetts groundfish industry.
In the wake of testimony by Lubchenco at a Commerce Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday, Kerry, D-Mass., asked regulators to collaborate with fishermen and research institutions to improve stock assessments and find workable solutions to fishery problems, particularly on difficult issues such as the catch limit for Gulf of Maine cod.
Read the complete story from The Standard-Times.
WASHINGTON – 7 MAR 2012 – According to documents obtained via Freedom of Information Act request by the Gloucester Daily Times, the chief judge of the court system for NOAA Fisheries appears to have pleaded unsuccessfully with special investigator Charles B. Swartwood III last November to retract his written finding of "at least the appearance" of a judicial conflict of interest in the case against a fisherman.
Congressmen Barney Frank, John Tierney, and Bill Keating have asked the Inspectors General of Commerce and Homeland Security to look into the Judge's meeting with Special Master.
The text of the letter follows:
Dear Inspector General Zinser and Acting Inspector General Edwards:
We are writing to express concern over a document that was recently obtained by a media source from the Commerce Department via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This document summarizes a meeting that occurred between the Coast Guard’s chief administrative law judge who oversaw the court system for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and Department of Commerce Special Investigator Charles B. Swartwood III. We have attached this document for your review, and ask that you thoroughly evaluate it, including determining how this meeting came to take place, who authorized it, and conducting any warranted follow-up actions.
As you aware, there has been a high degree of mistrust between the NOAA fisheries, the U.S. Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge system, and the New England fishing industry. The Department of Commerce announced last year it would no longer utilize the Coast Guard administrative law judges (ALJs), and will refer new law enforcement cases to ALJs from the Environmental Protection Agency. While new cases are being assigned to the EPA ALJs, the Coast Guard ALJs are still adjudicating cases that were assigned prior to the Department of Commerce’s agreement with the EPA. The Federal government’s ability to successfully manage fisheries requires the active involvement and cooperation of the industry. Any appearance of judicial conflict would damage an already fragile relationship between the government and fisherman.
Therefore, we request that you carefully review the attached document. Thank you for your attention on this critical matter, and we look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
BARNEY FRANK
JOHN TIERNEY
BILL KEATING