Saving Seafood

Management & Regulation

NMFS extends sector deadline

The National Marine Fisheries Service — for the second time — has extended the deadline for New England commercial groundfishermen to join one of 16 fishing cooperatives now in the late stages of organization and work under the new catch share system of hard quotas and negotiable rights set to begin May 1.

According to a letter to multispecies permitholders, the fishermen now have until April 30 to decide whether to join a cooperative "sector" and participate in the region's venture into catch share fishing, the new system championed by Jane Lubchenco, who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The previous joining deadline was Nov. 20.

Lubchenco last month announced the national catch share policy, which encourages the policy wherever possible. The draft policy is now in a lengthy public comment phase.

The letter announcing the addition time for fishermen to join sectors and avoid fishing in a common pool of individuals working under restrictive effort controls was posted on Dec. 23 by Patricia Kurkul, the Gloucester-based regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, the fisheries' agency within NOAA.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

Staying true to SouthCoast in Washington D.C.

Robert Vanasse has returned to his New Bedford roots after decades of political involvement in the nation's capital.

The New Bedford native and longtime Washington resident is now executive director of The Project to Save Seafood and Ocean Resources, an advocacy group in Washington for the New Bedford fishing community.

He is, in short, the lobbyist for his hometown's important fishing industry, with the goal of making a local issue one of national importance,.

"He loves his New Bedford roots," said Michelle Jaconi, who studied with Vanasse in graduate school at Georgetown University and was a producer at NBC for 12 years before joining CNN earlier this year.

Vanasse said his interest in politics "was always around in my family, to some degree." His mother moved to Washington at 18, after she graduated from high school. She worked in the Treasury Department, but eventually moved back to her native city, married and gave birth to Robert, her only child, in 1962.

Read the complete story at The South Coast Today.

NOAA Publishes Amendment 16 Proposed Rule; Unexpected Permit Bank Provisions included

NOAA has published the Amendment 16 proposed rule. The comment period ends January 20, 2010.

The proposed rule includes an unexpected new provision allowing that "A state- operated permit bank sponsored by NOAA shall be considered a Sector for the exclusive purpose of transferring ACE to qualifying Sectors."

According to the New England Fisheries Management Council, this issue was not addressed in Amendment 16, a fact that was noted during review of the draft regulations when NEFMC was asked to "deem" them consistent with the amendment, and the changes were added by NMFS.

According to the proposed rule "NMFS is currently working with the Maine Department of Marine Resources on a Memorandum of Agreement that would establish a permit bank operated by the State of Maine and sponsored by NMFS. Allowing a permit bank to lease ACE to Sectors would facilitate the ability of the permit bank to minimize any adverse socio-economic impacts to fishing communities associated with catch- share programs."

Industry groups are currently examining the potential ramifications of this unexpected addition.

Read the complete proposed rule from the Federal Register.

They don’t fish, but some businesses play vital role in area fishing industry

Don Carter works on land, but makes his living off the sea.

Carter, 50, of the Erma section of Lower Township, is one of many people in southern New Jersey who found a niche catering to the fishing industry, starting as a welder and then expanding to all sorts of boat repairs. His Erma-based company, Northeast Industrial & Marine Equipment Supplies, also sells a variety of marine equipment, including winches, pumps, motors, propellers, hydraulic systems and other gear. It is one of several marine supply stores in the Port of Cape May, all supplying year-round jobs.

Carter also is an example of why nobody has a real figure on what the fishing industry is worth to New Jersey’s economy.

The sales value of the seafood has been pegged at about $1 billion per year as it moves from fishermen to retailers, wholesalers and consumers.

Read the complete story at The Press of Atlantic City.

Recreational fishing nets NJ region millions

People don’t come to the New Jersey shore just to eat fish. Many come to catch one — and that adds millions of dollars to the local economy.

New Jersey’s saltwater recreational fishing industry was worth $643.6 million in 2006, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data.

Jim Hutchinson, of the Galloway Township-based Recreational Fishing Alliance, says that earned the state a No. 5 ranking in the nation’s $45 billion-per-year saltwater sport-fishing business.

Anglers paid $140 million in federal and $100 million in state taxes in 2006.

In New Jersey, they landed 48 million pounds of fish in 2008, with 29.5 million pounds released and 18.5 million pounds taken home for dinner. Commercial fishermen harvested 162.4 million pounds during this period.

Read the complete story at The Press of Atlantic City.

OLE Director’s memo praises staff; describes NOAA officials’ December visit to Gloucester office

Dale Jones, NOAA Fisheries Director of Enforcement, in a December 17, 2009 memo obtained by Saving Seafood, described a trip to the Northeast Regional NMFS office in Gloucester with NOAA Deputy Under Secretary Mary Glackin, NOAA Director of External Affairs, Andrew Winer and Assistant General Counsel Mary Beth Ward.  The primary purpose of the visit was to conduct “listening sessions” with the personnel of the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement and NOAA Office of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation.

Director Jones noted that since that the Office of Inspector General was asked by Dr. Lubchenco to conduct a nation wide review of NOAA Enforcement and GCEL operations the review itself and media attention have created a "somewhat uncomfortable environment" for NOAA enforcement employees in Gloucester.

He noted that with regard to the review he does not yet have "any specific decisions or dispositions to report."

He said that he has "great confidence" in the work done by his staff, noting "it is that work and the level of high quality work and integrity that has made [the] agency what it is.  Decision by decision, action by action, over many years, [their] work has proven to be based upon a very sound, reasonable, and reliable foundation."

Director Jones noted that "the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement and [their personnel] have great respect for the men and women of the fishing industry," and that "for the most part, those who are responsible for the more egregious violations are those who are simply looking out for themselves."  He said he raises these points "to acknowledge the fact that there are those who would seek to impede our efforts to stop illegal practices simply because it precludes or minimizes their opportunity to maximize profit at the expense of others and at risk to the fisheries."

He said that "when one examines the individual actions taken by this agency on a case by case basis, there is very clear and compelling evidence to reflect that such actions have been generated by and are supported by factual evidence of violations by the persons investigated and ultimately prosecuted".

He stated that his staff have carried out their duties "within very clearly proscribed parameters in a professional and commendable manner."

Read the complete memo from Director Dale Jones.

New England Fishing Struggles to Attract the Young

Fishermen say that because of years of onerous regulations and the rising, six-figure cost of permits, fewer and fewer young people are becoming boat captains. That's left lots of old salts like Sava doing the grueling job out of both love and necessity.

And they worry about their own safety and the future of an industry that has been vital to New England's economy and its very character since colonial days.

"The door is slamming shut," Sava says.

The National Marine Fisheries Service does not keep statistics on fishermen's ages, but state figures back up the sea captains' observations. Since 2000, the median age of Massachusetts holders of commercial fishing permits — that is, boat owners and owner-captains — has climbed from 46 to nearly 51, according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

Read the complete story at ABC.

Obama Receives Ocean Credit in New Natural Resources Defense Council Review of 1st Year Green Record

According to their website "The Natural Resources Defense Council works to protect wildlife and wild places and to ensure a healthy environment for all life on earth."  The organization lauded President Obama for appointing Dr. Jane Lubchenco as head of NOAA and for moving toward a National Oceans Policy. Read the blog post by Sarah Chasis, Senior Attorney and Director, Ocean Initiative, New York for the Natural Resources Defense Council.