The Monkfish Defense Fund has asked Saving Seafood to remind fishers of the 2009 fiscal year landing limits for monkfish. With many boats catching at their limits, it is important for captains to keep this information in mind. Since the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement is not charged with prevention, but only enforcement, it is incumbent on fishers to monitor their own actions and assure their own compliance with the regulations. All those engaged in the monkfish fishery are reminded to review the summary of regulations on the NOAA website available at this link: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/regs/infodocs/Monkfish_Fishery_Info-final.pdf If you have questions, please contact Mark Agger of the Monkfish Defense Fund at marcagger@gmail.com
OPINION: NOAA must deliver credible limits, science with new fishing regs
It’s official. Eleven months from now, the New England fishing industry will be operating under an entirely new regulatory system — still under the thumb of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Marine Fisheries Service, yet charged itself with managing and coordinating how many pounds of fish individual fishermen get to land within divided groups called "sectors."
Given the justified cries of foul under the former and current regulatory systems — with NMFS charging fishermen double for each day at sea, and keeping tight clamps on who could fish where and when — you might think the new system would draw wide praise within Gloucester’s and other fishing communities.
But it’s not — and there is good reason for that.
First of all, the continued vendetta carried out by NOAA enforcement officials in their blatant and wrongful attempt to shut down the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction continues to fuel, not bridge, the gap of trust fishermen have for regulators who have a stated goal of driving many of them out of the business.
Feds make changes to Mid-Atlantic fishery council
Federal oceans administrator Jane Lubchenco is making changes on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Fishery Management Council, replacing fishermen who have represented three states with new members who have connections to environmental causes.
Christopher J. Zeman, a River Vale attorney who represented the environmental group Oceana on issues including sea turtles and their interactions with the scallop fleet, was named by the Department of Commerce to replace Edward Goldman, a recreational angler from Absecon whose term on the council expired this year. Each year about this time the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration led by Lubchenco names members to the eight regional fishery councils based on nominations submitted by state governors.
For a New York State seat, Laurie Nolan, a commercial tilefish boat owner from Montauk, is being replaced with Peter Schafer, director of retail operations at the Wild Edibles fish stores in New York City. Schafer has promoted selling sustainable fish in those high-end outlets, and worked with writer and activist Carl Safina’s Long Island-based Blue Ocean Institute to distribute shopping guides that tell consumers how their seafood choices affect the marine environment.
NOAA PRESS RELEASE: Secretary of Commerce Names 30 to Fishery Management Councils
The Commerce Department today announced the appointment of 30 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils – important partners with NOAA’s Fisheries Service in determining how ocean fisheries are managed. The councils, established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, create comprehensive plans for marine fish stocks in their regions.
Council members represent diverse interests – commercial and recreational fisheries, environmental concerns and academia. The secretary of commerce selects a total of 72 appointed members to the eight regional councils. Thirty are being named or reappointed for the next term, which begins on August 11.
Each year, NOAA’s Fisheries Service solicits nominations from the governors of fishing states and oversees the annual appointment process. The secretary must select council members from the list of nominees provided by the governors to fill obligatory and at-large seats that have become available due to an expiring term, a resignation or other reasons. Obligatory seats are state-specific, while at-large seats can be filled by a person from any of the states in the region. Council members serve three-year terms, and may be reappointed to serve up to three consecutive terms. Approximately one-third of the terms expire annually.
Read the complete press release.
See also: Saving Seafood – Commerce secretary appoints Port Clyde man to Fishery Management Council,
and Saving Seafood – Regulators Approve Sea Change in Groundfish Rules
Watershed event for commercial fishing
New England fishery managers on Wednesday moved toward a system of assigning catch shares in hopes of rescuing the region’s commercial fishing fleet.
The new approach, which could be finalized this morning, would be a historic shift for the 400-year-old groundfish industry.
"If we stick with what we got now, we’re done. So we might as well try something new," said Glen Libby, a fisherman from Port Clyde.
Not everyone is thrilled with the new plan, though.
Council approves ‘catch-share’ format
The New England Fishery Management Council yesterday took a semi-blind leap into the future by agreeing to convert the region’s fishery from the effort-control regulatory system that’s been in place for more than 20 years, to one based on fishermen’s shares of the catch.
In doing so, the council satisfied the urgings of the Obama administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco, with a push from deep-pocketed environmental groups that have lobbied and advertised heavily to prod the council toward the catch-share format.
The transition, to be implemented in 11 months, will only be partial, however.
Fishery council debates catch sharing program
The New England Fishery Management Council Wednesday moved cautiously through the process of crafting a new form of fish management for the region’s signature species, like cod, haddock and flounder.
The council is moving to what is known as "catch share management," in which groups of fishermen, known as sectors, receive a share of the annual fish quota in exchange for agreeing not to overfish the species and to take steps to minimize the wasteful discarding of fish.
The council, which draws up the plans to sustainably manage fish stocks in federal waters, and the public heatedly debated all morning on one item, eventually approving a measure for determining the size of the share of the quota each fisherman would receive.
Read the complete story at South Coast Today.
Gloucester Auction seeks restraining order to block NOAA action
The Gloucester Seafood Display Auction has formally challenged a potential 10-day closure ordered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, asking a federal judge today to bar fisheries regulators from suspending its operating license.
NOAA had given the auction until today to either mount a legal challenge to the suspension order, which comes out of an alleged violation of a six-year-old probation agreement, or to choose a time between now and July 13 to close its doors. Auction co-owner Larry Ciulla had said when NOAA’s latest order was issued last Friday that the auction, the hub of Gloucester’s and New England’s fishing industry, would not agree to a shutdown in response to NOAA’s latest charge.
In asking a U.S. District Court judge for a temporary restraining order/preliminary injunction against NOAA, the auction argues on procedural grounds that it did not violate its probation, and accuses the agency of seeking "retaliation" for involvement in an investigation by the U.S. Inspector General of its law enforcement tactics.
Tampa Bay fish investigation leads to action
A key member of a U.S. Senate panel is drafting legislation to plug a hole in government oversight that allows seafood merchants to routinely rip off customers by substituting cheap fish for more expensive fillets.
The effort by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) to reel in such fish fraud comes after a Scripps Television Station Group’s investigation found the practice to be pervasive in restaurants in four cities: Kansas City, Mo.; Phoenix; Baltimore and Tampa, Fla.
Snowe said she wants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which currently inspects only 2 percent of imported seafood, to ratchet up its checks.
PRESS RELEASE: NOAA Announces Catch Share Task Force Members
NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco today appointed members to a new Catch Share Task Force, which will assist NOAA and the regional fishery management councils as they consider and implement catch-share management programs. This initiative furthers NOAA’s commitment to the long-term prosperity of America’s commercial and recreational fishermen, and to ensuring healthy, productive and resilient oceans.
Monica Medina, senior advisor to the NOAA administrator, will lead the task force.
“Transitioning to catch shares is a priority for NOAA,” said Medina. “This task force will engage stakeholders to help ensure that the regional fishery councils and NOAA implement catch shares wherever appropriate. We must all work together to end overfishing and rebuild fisheries, to improve the economics of fishing and fishing communities, and to protect the ecosystems that sustain them.”