State and Local

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — September 13, 2012 — Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee (CHAY'-fee) says the federal government’s disaster declaration for New England fisheries will provide badly needed help to the state’s commercial fishing business, which is facing huge cuts in catch limits for species including cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder.

The declaration, announced on Thursday, opens the door for tens of millions of dollars in relief funds for fishermen, although it does not guarantee it.

Chafee was one of several federal and state authorities to ask the Commerce Department to declare a disaster in the region.

 

Read the full story from the AP here.

 

 

September 13, 2012 — Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) released the following announcement regarding Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank’s issuance of a disaster declaration for the Northeast fishery:

Boston- “Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank’s issuance of a formal disaster declaration for the Northeast groundfish industry comes as welcome news, and now as a region we can take the long-overdue steps to advance proposals to provide financial relief to our fishermen and their shoreside partners.  We are in the midst of a progressive crisis that is rapidly eroding the fishing industry and our ability to harvest fish through domestic capacity.  The crisis that the industry is facing has been increasingly building to the point where it now threatens the industry’s very survival.
 
The survivors of this fishing crisis have endured a long and painful road of neglect and regulatory mismanagement, and many have been forced out of business by having to sell their boats and permits.  If and when money is approved by the members of Congress, the focus must be on preserving the industry from capsizing rather than expediting its end by focusing on consolidation measures and buy-outs.
 
Also, we must not fail in preserving the infrastructure that is so vital to maintaining a healthy industry, which consists of shoreside businesses of many types.  They provide the necessary means to provide such an important protein from trawler to plate, and if we do not protect these heavily invested stakeholders from closure, they, too, will be absent from the industry’s landscape along with thousands of jobs.
 
Although this aid will be certainly welcome when it arrives, the work needed to repair the damage done to this industry is far from over.  Critical changes to fishery management, to the regulatory process and the development of better science are essential to the vitality of this once thriving industry.  Without these crucial improvements, Congress and the Obama Administration would only be prolonging the ultimate demise of this vital industry.
 
I am calling on Congress to begin a substantive and comprehensive conversation with fishing industry stakeholders to expeditiously and overwhelmingly pass emergency federal funds to the industry, and to develop a proposal for where the money will be most effectively applied.” 

 

Read the release here.

 

 

New Bedford, Mass. — September 13, 2012 — The governors of four New England states are asking the federal government for $100 million to provide immediate disaster relief for commercial fishermen. Recent estimates of key groundfish stocks are so low that the catch limits for the next fishing year, which begins May 1, may force many fishermen out of the industry.

On Wednesday, the governors of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine sent a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate stressing the need for urgent action. "Our fishermen cannot afford to wait any longer for critical economic assistance," the governors wrote.

Cuts of 70 percent and more for species such as cod and haddock are projected for the 2013 fishing year.

In August, the Massachusetts congressional delegation called for a disaster declaration on behalf of New England fishermen. The decision rests in the hands of the Secretary of Commerce, according to Richard Sullivan, secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. "We think we have provided more than enough science and data to have that declaration made," he said.

Rebecca M. Blank is currently the acting Secretary of Commerce. Blank took over in June when former Secretary John Bryson resigned, citing health problems.

A draft proposal, recently circulated by Sen. John Kerry's office, outlined the relief measures sought. Around $67.5 million would go to provide economic assistance, including funds to retrain fishermen who lose their livelihoods. The balance would help the industry cover the cost of onboard observers on fishing boats and towards funding more cooperative research.

"We've got a great team effort going with the governors. It's a full-court press right now," Kerry said in a statement Wednesday.

"Their push strengthens my hand to make the case in Washington," he said.

Kerry said he is working on a similar letter with Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and members of the congressional delegations. "Our fishermen didn't cause the problem and they need our help to get through it," he said.

However, Dartmouth's John Haran, who manages Sector XIII, a group of groundfish boats with members from New Bedford to Greenport, N.Y., said fishermen are not looking for money.

"I was at the listening session that John Bullard had in Point Judith last night," he said. Bullard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's new regional administrator, has been meeting with fishermen in New England ports to hear their views. "No fisherman there asked for money," Haran said. "They just want the problem fixed." The problem, he said, is "poor science and overregulation."

In a statement, John Donnelly, a spokesman for Sen. Scott Brown, said the senator believes the solution is "to fix the root cause of the problem — firing Administrator (Jane) Lubchenco, improving the science and the data collected, and reforming the NOAA policies that created this crisis."

 

Read the full story in the New Bedford Standard Times 

 

 

September 12, 2012 — Nearly 10 months after Gov. Deval Patrick filed socio-economic studies to show the federal government the groundfishery was in calamitous decline — caused in part by one of its own agency’s policies — he and three other New England governors announced Wednesday they are asking Congress for $100 million in aid for the industry.

The written request from Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island was made explicitly “contingent” on the U.S. Commerce Department’s acknowledgement that the fishery over which it has presided for nearly four years has devolved into a state of economic disaster — something the Obama administration has refrained from doing.

The catch share program for the groundfishery— a system that encourages buying selling and trading of fishermen’s quota or catch shares as financial commodities — was the brainchild of NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco. Her initial act after taking office was to pressure federal fisheries regulators to approve the re-engineering of the groundfishery without delay.

But NOAA’s own statistics show that the system has driven more and more quota into the hands of larger boats and corporations, with smaller, independent boats forced to the sidelines; in the first year of catch shares, Gloucester’s fleet alone lost 21 of its then-96 groundfishing boats, and the jobs they provided.

In his original filing last Nov. 15, Gov. Patrick explicitly faulted the “catch share” system for making a bad situation worse. The downward spiral was triggered by two decades of conservation and ever-smaller government-mandated catch limits to meet to congressional mandates, and has accelerated by a series of government assessments this year leading to even tighter cuts in catch limits, notably for Gulf of Maine cod.

 

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times.

 

 

Nags Head, NC — Sept. 12, 2012 — During the inaugural Outer Banks Seafood Festival, to be held Saturday, October 20 at the Windmill Point site in Nags Head, a prominent part of the event will be the Outer Banks Catch Education and Heritage Tent.

Folks congregating beneath this canvased roof can revel in fish and seafood displays, fishing gear demonstrations, talk with working watermen, learn from regulatory and advisory representatives, shop local cookbooks, hear storytelling by local fisherman and enjoy hands-on cooking demonstrations by top Outer Banks cooks and chefs.

At the tent, visitors will tour a large area where they will see, hear, touch, and taste various exhibits that showcase the Outer Banks commercial fishing industry. Information will be provided on the health, sustainability, and economic importance of Outer Banks Seafood. This multi-media educational experience will offer something for everyone, including but not limited to:

• Cooking demonstrations by local chefs preparing local seafood;

• Opportunity for attendees to taste free samples prepared before their eyes;

• Demonstrations of the gear used by local watermen in their working apparel;

• Colorful literature from a variety of agency partners;

• Opportunity to see replica commercial fishing boats;



• Examining a photo gallery of local commercial fishing history;



• Meeting local cookbook authors for autographs and information;



• Viewing the results of a community-wide photo contest promoting commercial fishing;

• Information to get involved and become Outer Banks Catch members.

 

Read the full story at the Outer Banks Sentinel

 

 

WASHINGTON — September 12, 2012 — The governors of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island today wrote to Senate and House leadership requesting $100 million in federal disaster assistance contingent upon a federal disaster declaration for New England fisheries from the Department of Commerce. The text of the letter follows.

September 7, 2012

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Senator McConnell, Speaker Boehner and Representative Pelosi:

We write to request, contingent upon the issuance of a federal disaster declaration for the New England groundfish fishery from the Department of Commerce, your support in securing $100 million in disaster assistance for New England fishermen and fishing communities. These funds will be used to provide both immediate economic relief to our region’s struggling groundfish industry, and to make targeted investments that will allow the fleet to survive and become more sustainable in the years ahead.

We have stressed to the Department of Commerce that it is imperative they take immediate and decisive action to provide a disaster declaration for the New England fishery. For decades, our fishermen and their communities have worked cooperatively with our federal partners to comply with fishery management objectives, including those of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which are critical to protecting our ocean resources for future generations and the long-term vitality of the industry. However, this effort to rebuild depleted groundfish stocks, which recent stock assessments indicate are not recovering as quickly as necessary to meet the rebuilding requirements of the law, is severely limiting fishing opportunities and endangering our fleets. Accordingly, our states have made requests for federal fishery disaster declarations, and have documented dramatic changes in our fleets’ fishing opportunities, whether through constriction of the fleet or longer steams to productive fishing grounds, as well as the significant financial losses of our fleet and shoreside services in recent years. Unfortunately, despite the peril of our fishermen, we continue to wait for the Department of Commerce to respond to those requests. Now, the need for disaster relief is more critical than ever as fishermen and related businesses in our coastal communities are bracing for additional, potentially devastating cuts to the New England groundfishery in 2013.

These preliminary numbers, based on a recently released interim report from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), suggest dramatic declines in several major groundfish stocks in the New England fishery. While we understand that this resource disaster is not the fault of our fishermen and that it is necessary and important for NMFS to protect the long-term viability of the stocks, these potential reductions in current Annual Catch Limits (ACL) and restrictions on fishing on Georges Bank, in the Gulf of Maine, and Southern New England waters will be damaging to our fleet at a time when many businesses are already struggling to remain viable. In addition to the direct impact on groundfish catch limits, there will likely be indirect impacts to other fisheries on which these same permit holders and many other New England fishermen are also dependent. Consequently, conditions are now overwhelmingly in favor of a disaster declaration, and we are hopeful the Department of Commerce will act swiftly on all pending requests.

Our fishermen cannot afford to wait any longer for critical economic assistance, and thus we urge you, upon issuance of a federal disaster declaration for our groundfishery, to exercise your Congressional authority and immediately appropriate $100 million in aid for New England fishermen and fishing communities. This funding will be used to mitigate economic losses resulting from requirements imposed by Magnuson-Stevens to rebuild groundfish stocks, and will provide urgent relief for our fishermen and their communities in crisis in both the near and long term.

Each of us will collaborate with our fishermen and the Department of Commerce to develop a detailed spending plan to address the needs of our individual communities and states. We anticipate these funds will provide targeted economic assistance, whether through investments in the safety and sustainability of the fleet, providing job training for fishermen to help deal with changes in fishery management, or temporary financial relief. Additionally, funding will be directed to support sector operating costs and cover at-sea monitoring costs to ensure our fishermen will avoid paying this otherwise out of pocket expense at a time when they are already facing severe economic challenges. Further, a portion of the requested funds will be used for cooperative research focused on improving stock assessments and the systems of data collection for the fishery. The severity of the potential consequences of inaccurate or uncertain science demand that all steps are taken to ensure that the data used to set catch limits is as robust and accurate as possible. With the livelihood of our fishing communities at stake, continued improvement of fisheries science remains a top priority.

As Governors, we remain committed to preserving our historic and economically important fishing industry and coastal communities for future generations. We stand ready to work with you, the Department of Commerce, our New England Congressional delegation, fishermen and the New England Fishery Management Council to mitigate the impact of this disaster on our fishery. We appreciate your help in this effort to provide our fishermen economic relief they desperately need.

Sincerely,

Governor Deval Patrick, Massachusetts
Governor Paul LePage, Maine
Governor Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island
Governor John Lynch, New Hampshire

Cc:
Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank, U.S. Department of Commerce
Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
Senator Thad Cochran, Ranking Member, Senate Appropriations Committee
Representative Harold Rogers, Chair, House Appropriations Committee
Representative Norman D. Dicks, Ranking Member, House Appropriations Committee
Senator John F. Kerry
Senator Scott P. Brown
Senator Olympia J. Snowe
Senator Susan M. Collins
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Senator Kelly Ayotte
Senator Jack Reed
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Representative Michael E. Capuano
Representative Barney Frank
Representative William R. Keating
Representative Steven F. Lynch
Representative Edward J. Markey
Representative James P. McGovern
Representative Richard E. Neal
Representative John W. Olver
Representative John F. Tierney
Representative Niki Tsongas
Representative Mike Michaud
Representative Chellie Pingree
Representative Charles F. Bass
Representative Frank Guinta
Representative David Cicilline
Representative Jim Langevin
Undersecretary Jane Lubchenco, U.S. Department of Commerce
Assistant Secretary Eric Schwaab, U.S. Department of Commerce

 

View a PDF of the original letter

 

 

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — September 9, 2012 — Austin Haycox remembers the day, several years ago, when she first asked her father to let her join him offshore for a day of fishing.

Even easier is remembering the trip, because it was one of those unforgettable days.

"She had never been fishing before, and she got her mom to go with us because she didn't know what to expect," Rick Haycox said. "She goes out and catches three sailfish.

"I couldn't get the girl out of the chair."

Austin, now 15 and a freshman at Norfolk Academy, has parlayed her growing interest in offshore fishing into plenty of success – proving that first trip wasn't just beginner's luck.

Austin has won quite a few junior angler honors with clubs that her family is a member of. She had earned citation awards from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament for dolphin and wahoo.

And she recently did something very few anglers ever do in one outing – catching and releasing eight white marlin out of the 11 caught on the trip.

 

Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot.

 

 

SCITUATE, Mass. — September 8, 2012 — ompetition with larger fishing vessels, catch shares and restrictions, even natural predators were some of the issues brought up by South Shore fishermen during an open forum with new NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Fisheries Service’s Northeast Regional Administrator John Bullard.

The purpose of the Aug. 23 event, held at the NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary headquarters in Scituate, was for Bullard to gain insight into concerns facing local fishermen.
“I’m here to learn about fishing from you guys,” said Bullard, a native of New Bedford.

Bullard, who has been in his present position since Aug. 6, said he is going up and down the New England coast holding informational sessions with fishermen so he can understand what he should be focusing on.

“Fishing is really complicated in many ways,” he said. “Every issue you get into connects to every other issue.  There are a lot of people looking over your shoulder.”

He said early on that he is expecting his is not going to be an easy job. “We need fish and fisheries every day, some days we’re hanging on by our fingernails.”

 

Read the full story at the Scituate Mariner.

 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — September 7, 2012 — Gov. Rick Scott is seeking federal disaster assistance due to the failure of Florida's oyster fishery.

Scott sent a letter Thursday to the U.S. Department of Commerce requesting the declaration of a fishery resource disaster for Gulf of Mexico harvesting areas.

Most of Florida's oysters are taken from Apalachicola Bay in the Panhandle. The fishery failure could affect 2,500 jobs in Franklin County.

Officials suspect drought is a contributing factor. It's reduced freshwater flowing into the bay from Georgia and Alabama through the Apalachicola River.

Another factor may be overfishing due to pressure from closures of oyster harvesting areas in nearby states.

 

Read the full story from the Associated Press here.

 

 

SCITUATE, Mass. — September 6, 2012 — State Rep. James M. Cantwell was joined by 41 colleagues, including Senate President Therese Murray, Speaker Robert DeLeo, Sen. Robert Hedlund and Rep. Garrett Bradley, on Beacon Hill to request that the U.S. Department of Commerce renew a disaster request for direct economic relief for the local ground-fish fleet in Massachusetts.

Both state Senators and Representatives were prompted to request relief from the federal government after the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a report outlining a significant decrease in ground-fish stock across New England. If the data provided by NMFS is accurate, then fishermen will have to decrease their catch by 45-72 percent depending on the specific species. This will prove to be disastrous for fishermen and their families in Massachusetts.

The disaster relief would provide emergency disaster assistance to our fishermen and fishing communities while working to preserve and replenish ground-fish stock, including Massachusetts staples like cod and yellowtail flounder. Disaster relief from the federal government will prove to be critical in helping to protect the thousands of fishermen, their families and businesses across Massachusetts that depend on the fishing industry for their livelihood.

 

Read the full story at the Scituate Mariner.