Saving Seafood

Washington

EDITORIAL: Landmark fishermen’s rally doesn’t need phony NOAA intrusion

By all counts, today should be a landmark day for the fishing industry of Gloucester, all of New England and across the nation.

It's the day that fishermen and their industry allies from here to the Gulf and West coasts are converging on the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

There, they will raise their voices and call for congressional help in an overdue push to reform the Magnuson-Stevens Act and make it flexible and workable for the good of fishermen and fish stocks alike. And they will have support from a growing bipartisan chorus of lawmakers from Massachusetts Democrats such as Congressmen Barney Frank and John Tierney, to Congressmen Walter Jones, R-N.C., and Tim Bishop, R-N.Y., along with U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kristin Gillibrand, both New York Democrats.

Yet, the most conspicuous voice raised so far this week is one that will thankfully not have a platform today. Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tried to have Eric Schwaab, chief of its National Marine Fisheries Service, added to the speaking program — and mercifully, rally organizers said, "no thanks."

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

Pew Environment supports Bluefin CITES listing

The Pew Environment Group has made the following announcement:

Thirty-four Members of Congress just took an important step in protecting one of the most magnificent fish in the ocean.
 
Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Robert Wittman (R-Va.) recently cosponsored a bipartisan letter urging the Obama administration to support international protections for Atlantic bluefin tuna. Since 1970, Atlantic bluefin tuna populations have declined by more than 80 percent. Without protective conservation measures, Atlantic bluefin tuna could face commercial extinction. Thirty-two Members of Congress joined the cosponsors and signed this letter which was delivered to the Obama Administration this past Friday.
 
Bluefin tuna race across the ocean at blazing speeds, dive to depths of 3,000 feet and migrate thousands of miles a year. They’re also one of the ocean’s top predators and one of the world’s largest vertebrates, weighing up to 1,500 pounds. But these fish are too tasty for their own good. Just last month, a 511-poundbluefin sold at Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji fish market for $175,000. Overfishing and the growing demand for high-end sushi have driven this majestic species toward the brink of collapse.
 
Fortunately, a historic moment for Atlantic bluefin tuna could be close at hand. From March 13 – 25, the government of Qatar will host the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha. At this meeting, 175 member countries – including the U.S. – could determine the fate of this great fish. Atlantic bluefin tuna have been proposed for a CITES Appendix I listing. This listing, the highest level of protection – under CITES – for any given species, would prohibit all international trade in commercially caught bluefin.
 
President Obama has the opportunity to call on those U.S. delegates attending CITES to protect bluefin tuna. U.S. support for this proposal, which is endorsed by recreational fishing and conservation organizations, could create the momentum needed for it to pass. 

Read the letter to the Obama administration.

Learn more about CITES and Atlantic bluefin tuna from PEW.

Read a report detailing the domestic economic impacts of a CITES Appendix I listing for bluefin tuna.

LETTER: Current Magnuson Act not viable in real world

To the editor:

If the uninformed or misinformed general public don't know why we, as fishermen, are so upset, allow me to present, for your consideration, a hypothetical analogy for the moment.

Let's suppose that Magnuson-Stevens Act landed on shore regulating a variety of issues. What would be the implications of it implementation, as it is currently interpreted and applied, mean to the general public?

Would we be required, within a 10-year time frame to rebuild native flora and fauna to their historic levels of abundance?

Would neighborhoods be bulldozed and families dislocated to replenish spotted salamanders? Would it be mandated that we bring back wolves, panthers, and other high level predators, to their former niches in the ecosystem?

Perhaps most importantly, consider the indigenous people of this continent: Would we return their traditional lands?

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

NOAA asked to delay prosecutions of fishermen

On the eve of a planned protest on Capitol Hill by thousands of commercial fishermen, five members of the Bay State delegation to Congress have asked the federal government to put prosecutions of fishermen on hold while officials sort out the disarray among fisheries law enforcement.

U.S. Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown, along with U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, John Tierney and William Delahunt, wrote to Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, urging her to delay prosecutions of fishermen working in the Northeast.

They make the case that the prosecutions may be tainted by the actual or perceived problems with the Office for Law Enforcement and the Office of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation.

Read the complete story at The South Coast Today [subscription site]

Read the letter to Lubchenco.

note: The Standard-Times is a subscription site.  Unregistered visitors are able to read three stories per month, and registered visitors may view ten.  For unlimited access, please follow the subscription instructions on the site.

“Just a Regular Guy” takes the helm at NMFS

The West Coast fishing industry rooted for Arne Fuglvog, a commercial fisherman from Alaska who works as a legislative assistant for Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. In July, Fuglvog dropped his name from consideration, citing conflicts presented by the long vetting process.

On the East Coast, fishermen joined U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., in advocating for Dr. Brian Rothschild, a fisheries scientist and former NOAA Fisheries policy advisor who collaborates with the fishing industry in his work at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford, Mass.

Lubchenco finally made the appointment this month, choosing Eric Schwabb to head up the fisheries agency. Schwabb, who has spent the past 23 years working in various roles (most recently as Deputy Secretary) for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Winning the support and trust of commercial fishermen will prove difficult, especially in New England where the industry was surprised and upset by Lubchenco’s decision to overlook Rothschild and appoint someone lacking a background in  fisheries science.

Schwabb, who holds a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in geography and environmental planning, admitted he is “just a regular guy,” not a scientist. But he said his management experience speaks for itself. He has directed Maryland’s Fisheries Service, Forest Service and its Forest, Wildlife and Heritage Service. Outside of state work, he served as the resource director for the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies in Washington, D.C.

“I think he’s got good experience for the job,” said Lee Crockett, fisheries policy director for the Pew Environment Group. “He’s had a long career here in Maryland as a natural resources manager and he’s worked in enforcement. I am more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Read the complete story at Three Beats Word Press.

Cape Cod Fishermen: Catch limits go too far

Chatham fishermen worry that bureaucratic red tape will keep them from catching the fish they say will allow them to survive another year.

Usually, scientific studies showing fish population declines drive harsher regulations. But this year, new rules due to be implemented in May slash the catch of skates and pollock even though the scientists have information that those populations may actually be more robust than previously believed.

In the case of dogfish, the stock is booming and has even been declared "rebuilt" by one major regulatory body, but strict quotas remain in place because of a decade-old numbers dispute between the federal fisheries service and the regional fishery management councils.

"If we can't find a way to get higher skate and dogfish quota, and to get more pollock … we'll see fishing businesses go under in 2010," said Thomas Dempsey, a policy analyst with the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association.

Read the complete story at Cape Cod Times.

Panama City, Fla Fishermen Travel to Washington, DC

Fishermen from around the country are planning to pack the steps in front of the U.S. Capitol this week to demand changes to a federal fisheries law they say is killing jobs and eroding fishing communities. Recreational Fishermen from Panama City, Destin and Mexico Beach will be loading buses Tuesday morning at Captain Anderson’s Marina and begin their journey to our Nation’s Capital. They will spend the night in Richmond and meet protesters from around the Country at the Capital Building for the rally at noon.

Organizers of the “United We Fish” rally expect an estimated 3-5,000 people at the Feb. 24 protest, including a bipartisan roster of congressmen, fishermen and their advocates from up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and a smattering from the West Coast and Alaska. 

Jim Hutchinson Jr. of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, a rally organizer, said the overall goal is changing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the federal fisheries law that was reauthorized in 2007. Hutchinson said the law sets unrealistic fish stock recovery goals based on flawed science, then mandates harsh cuts for failing to meet the goals. “This is about real people having real concerns and being put out of business, being kicked off the water.” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson’s New Jersey-based group started organizing the rally after a closure of the amberjack fishery last year followed other closures it viewed as based on bad science, such as on a healthy black sea bass stock.

Read the complete story at Panama City Beach News.

Fed lawmakers urge halt to NOAA fishing prosecutions

U.S. Senators John Kerry, Scott Brown, and Reps. Barney Frank, John Tierney and William Delahunt from the Massachusetts fishing coast urged a halt to all fishing industry prosecutions while an Inspector General's investigation continues into alleged misconduct by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration enforcement agents and prosecutors.

Kerry and Brown along with Reps. Barney Frank, John Tierney and William Delahunt, wrote to NOAA chief administrator Jane Lubchenco, saying a delay is warranted because pending cases could be "tainted by the actual or perceived problems with the office of law enforcement or the general counsel's office."

"Given the disquieting findings of the January 2010 Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General's review … a hold on these cases seems warranted," the letter from Kerry and the congressmen said. "As you are aware, the IG report found troubling discrepancies in enforcement, fines, and penalties by OLE and GCEL.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

Read the letter to Lubchenco.

Lawmakers fighting tuna trade ban

Bluefin tuna fishermen have gained the support of 15 members of Congress in the fight against a proposed international trade ban on the prized sushi fish, an important summer income source for Massachusetts fishermen out of Gloucester and elsewhere.

A letter released late last week from U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and signed by five members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, acknowledged bluefin was overfished, but said traditional fisheries management was a more effective way to restore it.

The trade ban could have "unintended consequences that would unfairly disadvantage U.S. fishermen and actually hinder swift recovery of the species," the letter said.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.