Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick listens to livid New England fisherman about fishing regulations. See the video at WJAR 10.
Fisherman grills Gov. Patrick
Catch limits and other regulations are set by Federal research vessels that survey fish populations. But Joel Hovanesian, captain of the Excalibur, says the people on board simply don’t know how to fish. "All species that we catch are in very good shape. They’re clueless when it comes to catching fish, and being where the fish are," says Hovanesian. See the video at WPRI 12.
Governor wants facts about fish stocks
Gov. Deval Patrick wants local fishermen and scientists to do for groundfish stocks what they did for scallop stocks: produce a body of scientific evidence that will convince federal fisheries regulators that groundfish are in better shape than their own science shows.
Patrick, who visited the port Thursday to understand how federal regulations are crippling the groundfishing fleet, challenged scientists at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology to come up with a research proposal in 30 days. Upon its receipt, he promised his staff would take an additional 30 days to look for a means of financing the research study, which would focus on the Southern New England winter flounder stock.
"There’s no guarantees, but we’ll go from there," Patrick said.
Federal regulators believe Southern New England winter flounder to be in such bad shape that fishermen are not allowed to catch any as of May 1. Local fishermen contend that the flat, bottom-dwelling fish are healthier than what is reported in stock assessments conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service. They told Patrick that regulations aimed at rebuilding winter flounder and other weak stocks will prove "devastating" to the industry because they hinder fishermen’s ability to harvest healthier stocks.
Fishermen look to NOAA in dogfish fight
East Coast fishermen are making their strongest case yet against federal protections for the fish everyone loves to hate.
Surging populations of spiny dogfish, the small pack-feeding sharks with seemingly bottomless stomachs, have prompted a group of recreational and commercial fishing interests to call on America’s new chief ocean regulator to take steps to beat back the unpopular species.
In a letter to Jane Lubchenco, the recently appointed director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Fishermen Organized for Responsible Dogfish Management describe dogfish as a perfect example of how attempts to rebuild all fish species equally has caused dire consequences for the valuable fish marine economies rely on.
Patrick to take fish fight to Capitol
Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday agreed to take up the cause of the fishing industry and lead a science-based political insurgency right up to the White House to rewrite federal fishery policies that have diminished the size of the fleet in the name of conservation.
Patrick crafted a working plan based on scientific research and the special access he has to President Barack Obama at the end of an impromptu brainstorming session with about 100 of the industry’s leading stakeholders — as well as his own governmental fishing brain trust — in a harborfront restaurant following a tour of what’s left of the state’s once iconic fleet of big boats that venture out on weeklong trips into the open ocean.
Patrick set tight deadlines — a 30-day window for the research proposal from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology — and made urgent the demand for a funding and strategic game plan.
French fishermen lift blockades
French fishermen protesting against EU fishing quotas have lifted their blockade of three Channel ports.
Ferry traffic is resuming between Britain and Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne. The fishermen said they would continue protesting in different ways.
The French government has rejected demands to renegotiate the quotas. But the fisheries minister has offered 4m euros in aid to the fishermen.
Ferry operator P&O has condemned the government for "rolling over".
Chris Laming, director of communications for P&O, said he feared it was "very likely" the strikes could return because of how the French government had handled the situation.
OPINION: Political Science by David Freddoso on National Review Online
One of the most significant promises that President Obama made when he came into office was that science, not politics, would drive his administration’s policies. “We will restore science to its rightful place,” Obama said, and he has repeated this in various ways on various occasions. Although he famously used this pledge to make his case for scientific research that destroys human embryos, he has most often invoked it in the context of his environmental beliefs.
The promise has come with an unmistakable air of superiority and a hint of ridicule for his predecessor. No longer would knuckle-dragging, faith-based government officials ignore science, expecting Christ’s return to solve the problem of human damage to the environment. In an Obama administration, decisions would be based on science, not politics or ideology.
To make clear his serious intentions, Obama chose marine biologist Jane Lubchenco to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal government agency charged with mapping the oceans and conducting and funding a broad range of climate-related scientific research. Lubchenco’s selection cheered environmentalists concerned about the human role in climate change.
Forty percent of global fisheries catch wasted or unmanaged – WWF
Nearly half of the world’s recorded fish catch is unused, wasted or not accounted for, according to estimates in a new scientific paper co-authored by WWF, the global conservation organization.
The paper, Defining and estimating global marine fisheries bycatch, estimates that each year at least 38 million tonnes of fish, constituting at least 40% of what is taken from our oceans by fishing activities, is unmanaged or unused and should be considered bycatch.
“The health of our oceans cannot be restored and fisheries sustainably managed if 40% of the global fishing catch is unused or unmanaged,” says James P. Leape, Director General, WWF International.
Stimulus money will help clean up New Bedford Harbor
Millions of dollars in federal stimulus money will be invested in a massive cleanup of polluted New Bedford Harbor, home of one of New England’s oldest and largest Superfund sites, federal officials announced today.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson came to the Whaling City to unveil the award of at least $25 million, and perhaps as much as $35 million — the single largest portion of the $600 million in stimulus money designated for cleanups nationwide. Four other New England properties in Mansfield, Lowell, Kingston, N.H. and Strafford, Vt. also received millions in funding.
“Today we are finally back on the road to get our harbor back,’’ boomed Sen. Edward Kennedy via telephone at a press conference that included Jackson, Governor Deval Patrick and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank. Kennedy has been a champion of the harbor and pushed hard for the stimulus funds, designed to help jumpstart the ailing economy, to be sent to New Bedford.
Fish panel seeks closer eye on herring boats
A near-unanimous New England Fishery Management Council has asked federal regulators to end the practice of allowing industrial sized, midwater herring trawlers to work without observers in a section of Georges Bank that is closed to groundfishing boats.
The concern is not about the target prey — there’s plenty of herring, maybe too much, an industry group suggests — but of "bycatch," the possibility that the herring boats have landed and could continue to land too much haddock in their big nets.
Gloucester is home to two major herring fishing companies that use industrial-sized boats working in pairs at times to trawl huge nets. Herring are essential bait for the lobster fleet and much is also exported to Egypt and other Third World nations.