State and Local

June 8, 2012 — KODIAK — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted Friday to reduce the allowable halibut bycatch by trawlers and longliners by 15 percent, to be phased in over three years with a targeted implementation in 2014.

After nearly two days of public comment from about 100 stakeholders at the Harbor Convention Center, the council passed the measure introduced by Dan Hull of Anchorage by a 10-1 vote. Outgoing member Dave Benson of Washington was the lone dissent.

The 15 percent reduction was the maximum amount under consideration by the council and amounts to about 311 metric tons, or about 685,000 pounds, once fully implemented.

In year one, a 7 percent cut will be implemented, followed by another 5 percent cut in year two and a 3 percent cut in year three. The phase-in was a compromise with the non-halibut trawl and longline fleets to allow them time to adjust to the cuts in the bycatch caps.

Other than a 27.4 metric ton reduction in the rockfish catch share program approved in 2010 that took effect this year, the council had not reduced trawl halibut bycatch since the 2,000 metric ton cap (4.4 million pounds), was passed in 1986.

Halibut bycatch reductions have been sought for years, but the last five years of drastic cuts to commercial halibut harvests and restrictions on the Southeast charter sector have brought the issue front and center and created an enormous amount of pressure on the council to take a decisive and meaningful action.

“This motion shows the council is willing to step up,” said member Duncan Fields of Kodiak, adding the action was “consistent with the conservation requirements” of the Magnuson Stevens Act national standards to minimize bycatch and consider community impacts of management actions.

 

Read the full story on The Alaska Journal

TRENTON, NJ –– June 8, 2012 — “Hooked on Fishing not on Drugs” (HOFNOD) S178, a bill that the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance (CF) has made a priority to become law, was unanimously approved by Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The bill now needs to be passed by the full senate to go to the Governor for his signature.

Animal rights activists testified against the bill claiming it would cause depletion of fisheries, endanger the lives of fish and other animals, and stated it was a poor use of money. They also opposed the bill on grounds they are against the consumption of fish.

Representatives testifying in support of the bill included New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, Jersey Coast Anglers Association, Hudson River Fisherman Association, Manasquan Fishing Club, and more.

Anthony P. Mauro, Sr, Chair, New Jersey Outdoor Alliance stated, “we are thrilled to see the overwhelming support our state legislators are showing for the benefits of getting our kids outdoors, experiencing nature, and turning their attention away from a drug culture.”

Mauro continued, “It is a sad commentary that a few animal rights activists would try to subvert the promise held within this bill. However, it is proof to the 1,000,000 people who fish and hunt in New Jersey that they need to be involved in organizations that represent their interests – and play an active role in them, if possible.”

Bill A638 (HOFNOD) would establish a program within the Division of Fish and Wildlife to encourage children to avoid drug use. HOFNOD is a nationally recognized program developed by the Future Fisherman Foundation which has operated successfully in over a dozen states.

The program’s funding source would be the Drug Enforcement and Demand Reduction Fund (DEDRF) from which there would be a $200,000 appropriation to support the cost of implementing the program. This is a statutory account established to receive fines and penalties from convicted drug offenders that are used to support State authorized drug and alcohol abuse abatement programs.

 

Read the full story at Ammoland.com

D'IBERVILLE, Mississippi – June 6 2012 – This story makes note of the low turnout at a hearing on a proposed rule to require turtle excluder devices on shrimp skimmer trawls.

Bill Richardson, a senior fisheries biologist with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources‚ Shrimp and Crab Bureau, commenting on the sparse crowd, said shrimpers might have been busy in the Sound following the May 30 opening of the season.

"I would think that would have a lot to do with turnout" he said. "We just opened (the season) last week, and if you drive  down the beach you can see where the boats are."

Saving Seafood asked NOAA why the hearing was scheduled when it was, and how fisherman who might like to comment, but who could not make the hearing can participate.

Their response follows:

– The public comment period is open for 60 days, through July 9, 2012.  Public comments on the proposed regulations can be submitted at the public comment sessions or by mail, e-mail, or fax.  All comments, regardless of format (i.e., verbal comments delivered at public hearings, mail, e-mail, or fax), are treated the same.

– The public hearings were scheduled within the statutory 60-day proposed rule comment period.

– The hearings were scheduled during the first half of the 60-day comment period to allow NOAA Fisheries time to address any issues or concerns raised during the hearings before the comment period ends on July 9.

Public comment on the proposed rule may also be submitted in writing until July 9. All
comments will be part of the public record, and are generally posted without change for public
viewing to http://www.regulations.gov. All personal identifying information voluntarily submitted
by the commenter, such as name and address, may be publicly accessible. Confidential
business information or otherwise sensitive or protected information should not be submitted.

To submit comments electronically, visit http://www.regulations.gov and enter docket
number “NOAA-NMFS-2012-0095” into the Search box to reach the web form. Attachments of
up to 10 MB will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats. 

Comments submitted by mail can be directed to:

NOAA Fisheries Service
Southeast Regional Office
Protected Resources Division
263 13th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5505. 

Read the article at Gulf Live.

 

 

June 7, 2012 – Set during an era of U.S. post-industrialization in which numerous factories have been exported, Downeast focuses on Antonio Bussone's efforts to open a processing factory in rural Maine.

Watch the trailer here.

 

 

June 7, 2012 – The Christie administration’s bid to win back an extra seat at the influential Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is stalled over some fishermen’s opposition to the potential designee, Paul Eidman, a Monmouth County charter fishing guide and an outspoken advocate of doing more to reduce fishing pressure at the base of the ocean food chain.

“My main reason for doing this is I’m a forage fish guy,” Eidman said of his conservation efforts, which started with river herring rescue efforts to help spawning fish get around New Jersey river dams. “This particular seat is really important to New Jersey. It’s really important to all fishermen, recreational and commercial, to have a balanced council.”

But Eidman’s founding of the group Menhaden Defenders, part of a coalition that seeks further restrictions on commercial menhaden netting, has commercial fishermen alarmed. His nomination to take back a seat now held by New York is supported by three big recreational groups — the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, New Jersey Outdoors Alliance and the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs.

Eidman supporters make a case that New Jersey’s fishing economy is now three to four times larger than New York’s and worth $7 billion a year to the national economy, so by that measure New Jersey should have more representation. They warn, too, of New York’s lust for a bigger share of annual catch quotas, which could be taken away from New Jersey anglers.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press.

 

 

June 6, 2012 – California created another group of ocean protection zones on Wednesday, putting the finishing touches on a vast network of protected areas that dot the sea from Mexico to the Oregon border.

The Fish & Game Commission voted unanimously to approve the new zones off the state’s far north coast from Point Arena in Mendocino County to the Oregon border, where fishing is restricted or banned outright in areas.

“We are poised to return California’s marine resources to the sustainable abundance we all once enjoyed,’’ said Richard Rogers, a commission member from Santa Barbara, choking up as he cast his vote after more than seven years of work on the project.

The vote was an outgrowth of the 1999 Marine Life Protection Act, which called for a system of marine protected areas along the coast based on scientific study and years of public input.

The idea is that by making certain areas off limits to fishing, or restricting it to certain species in others, struggling marine species will rebound and create a more robust fishery and ecosystem. The approach has been used with success in other areas of the nation and world, including Thunder Bay in Lake Huron and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

California divided its coastline into regions that were evaluated for protection by scientists, fishermen, environmentalists and ordinary citizens. Marine protection areas were previously approved for the central and southern coasts.

Read the full story from the AP at the Boston Globe.

 

 

June 6, 2012 – Well, if this is an indication of how healthy the Gulf of Mexico is, it could be pretty healthy.

According to a report in the Sun Herald, Long Beach Harbor Master Bill Angley estimates that a million young menhaden, or pogy, were popping on the surface of the water in the Mississippi harbor.

Seagulls, pelicans, and other shore birds were enjoying an easy meal, and fishermen were enjoying some easy cast-netting for bait.

“It’s the time of the year when a lot of juvenile pogy follow the shoreline and sometimes circle around into a harbor,” said Lauren Thompson with the state Department of Marine Resources. “Basically you see them everywhere. And remember, everything feeds on pogy.”

Presumably, some bigger fishing were also lurking under the surface munching on the all-important bait fish. Menhaden populations along the Atlantic are in rough shape thanks to commercial overfishing for things like fish oil, Omega-3 supplements.  –Brian McClintock

Read the full story here.

 

 

PORTLAND — Scott Beede is one of 302 people on the waiting list for a Maine lobster license. By his calculations he'll be nearly 80 years old — or dead — by the time his wait is over.

Beede, 50, says the state's 15-year-old licensing system needs an overhaul to give newcomers like him a fair shot at getting a license to fish their own traps in Maine's lobster-rich waters.

In time, he may get his wish. The Department of Marine Resources expects to award a contract next month for the first top-to-bottom analysis of Maine's lobster licensing system. A final report with recommendations will be presented to the Legislature's Marine Resources Committee next January.

Read the complete story from The Portland Press Herald.

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 28, 2012 – North Carolina’s last menhaden plant closed in 2005 and soon certain purse seine fishing operations will be gone from state waters.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries agreed by a split vote at its May meeting to prohibit the use of purse seines deployed from a “mother ship” for the harvest of menhaden within the state’s three-mile jurisdiction.

According to a Division of Marine Fisheries news release on the meeting, commission members noted concerns about the amount of bycatch associated with the large purse seine operations and conflicts that arise with other fishing sector.

DMF Director Louis Daniel is expected to implement the action by proclamation within the next two weeks.

The conservation measure does not prohibit smaller purse seine operations that do not use multiple vessels.

The Coastal Conservation Association has wanted such action for some time and applauded the commission for its decision, which came by way of a 5-4 vote. Commissioners Anna Beckwith, Rob Bizzell, Chris Elkins, Joe Shute and Darrell Taylor voted for it, and Commissioners Mikey Daniels, Bradley Styron, Allyn Powell and Joe Smith opposed.

Read the full story at the Jacksonville Daily News.

 

 

May 24, 2012 – A ban goes into effect today on an industrial-scale method of fishing for menhaden off the North Carolina coast. The ban was approved earlier this month by the state Marine Fisheries Commission. Patricia Smith is with the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

Patricia Smith: The Commission members basically said that they were concerned about the bycatch associated with the use of these nets and these operations. And they'd also gotten quite a few complaints and were concerned about just the conflicts that arise between these operations and recreational fishermen.

The fishing method that's now prohibited involves a large ship deploying several smaller vessels, which use drawstring nets called purse seines to scoop up menhaden. Smith says the nets sometimes catch other fish, including some species the division is trying to protect. Menhaden is used largely for bait, but is also processed into fertilizer and dietary supplements. Smith says that industry has been steadily shrinking in North Carolina.

A bill that would codify the ban in state law has been approved by a legislative committee.

Read the full story at WUNC.