State and Local

Alaska is suing the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to try to overturn a rule meant to restrict fishing in the Western Aleutian Islands. Designed to defend the western population of Steller sea lions, which are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, the regulation is set to go into force on 1 January.

The move to shut down the Atka mackerel and Pacific cod fisheries in the Western Aleutian Islands was planned to allow the sea lions more available fish to feed on.

This Steller sea lion stock has shrunk by 45 per cent from 2000 to 2008, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) one of the major factors responsible for this decline may be lack of food. 

Read the complete story from FIS Worldnews.

 

 

 

 

 

The Massachusetts groundfish and skate fisheries have made their case to the secretary of commerce for emergency action, with the effective and widespread support of the local New Bedford political establishment.

Likewise, the New Bedford and greater Massachusetts sea herring industry is in dire need of emergency action from the secretary to fix a far more simple, and already settled, regulatory issue that the National Marine Fisheries Service northeast regional office has chosen to ignore: the recalculation of the haddock catch cap on Georges Bank herring, based on current federal observer coverage of 100 percent.

This issue was brought to the New England Fishery Management Council and NMFS in June and remains unresolved. The cap is constraining the harvesting of $22 million in sea herring that must be caught before Dec. 31, when the sea herring fishing year expires.

Read the complete opinion piece from the South Coast Today.

 

 

 

 

 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The state of Alaska filed a lawsuit Tuesday in an effort to stop a federal agency's plan to protect endangered sea lions by restricting fishing in the western Aleutian Islands.

Gov. Sean Parnell said the National Marine Fisheries Service failed to make a rational connection between what it found and the conclusion it reached that fishing needs to be curtailed in the far western Aleutians because sea lions aren't getting enough to eat.

"The agency's conclusion that additional fishing restrictions are necessary is not supported by the best available scientific information," Parnell said.

The state asked the court to issue a ruling to prevent NMFS' plan from being implemented Jan. 1.

Read the complete story from The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

The Mayor’s Ocean and Fisheries Council Meeting December 9, 2010 The Waterfront Grille, New Bedford MA

 

Meeting Summary

The Mayor’s Ocean and Fisheries Council met December 9, 2010 at the Waterfront Grille in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The meeting was held to discuss the performance of fisheries management and the current state of the fishery. The emphasis of this meeting was the human component of the system: the community, fishermen and their families. Perspectives from crew members, processors, sector managers and boat owners were presented. In addition, updates on the progress of litigation, skates, herring and closed areas were provided. More than seventy people attended the meeting representing industry, academia and politicians from Rhode Island to Maine.

Responsiveness

A theme that united all of the speakers was responsiveness or, more specifically, the lack thereof. More than five weeks ago the Governor of Massachusetts delivered a request for Emergency Action, and the supporting economic and scientific information, to the Secretary of Commerce. To date there has been no response. The report demonstrated that catch limits could be increased within both sustainable and legal bounds. In addition, the report defined the economic emergency in Massachusetts. Local, state and federal officials have vowed to continue pursuing a response. However, it is clear that if, or when, the response does come it may be too late for many fishermen and their families that have already suffered significant financial and personal losses.

Over a year ago we requested an analysis that would investigate the utility of the closed areas. There has been no response to this request, yet the need for such an analysis is still there.

Common Sense Solutions

It appears in several fisheries there are glaring examples of the disconnect between common sense and fisheries management.

Herring

It is difficult to fathom how Georges Bank haddock could be a choke species; however, for the northeast herring fishery this is a reality. Artificially low haddock bycatch caps threaten to shut down the herring fleet, which has already caught approximately 80% of their haddock allocation. The herring fleet is allocated less than 0.2% of the haddock TAC. It is useful to note that the multispecies fishery catches less than 10% of their haddock TAC. Given the chronic underfishing of the haddock stock, and the potential economic harm a herring shut down would cause, an increase in the haddock cap is justified for the herring industry.

Skates

Since the end of August fishermen have been limited to an incidental trip limit of 500 pounds in the wing fishery; the reduced trip limit was triggered when the catch reached 80% of the total allowable landings (TAL). Since the implementation of the Skate Fishery Management Plan, the wing-fishery has been managed with a 20,000 pound trip limit. During that period the target species little and winter skate have recovered. New information suggests that both of these species have exceeded their biomass targets and are fully rebuilt. The increase in the biomass of the targeted skate species (in the wing and bait fisheries) under the 20,000 pound trip limit suggests that this level of exploitation was sustainable. In light of the social and economic hardship caused by the current skate regulations, and the new survey data, an increase to the trip limit is justified. For more information, a white paper on the reinterpretation of the skate regulations has been attached.

Perspectives

When looking at the aggregate numbers, particularly revenue, it is often concluded that things are looking up for New England’s fishermen; however, this view of the system is an incomplete one.
In New Bedford it appears that while the revenue is up the effects of the new regulations on individual vessels has been varied. While there are some individuals who have thrived under the new system, many of the small operations are struggling to make ends meet. Similar to the story in New Bedford, Rhode Island’s revenues are up if you look at the NMFS overview; however, the situation for most fishermen is bleak. Even vessels that have experienced an increase in revenues this first quarter are playing catch up, unable to break even. Rhode Island, like so many New England ports, was broken before sectors. Rising costs and decreasing quotas have created a situation in which a select few are able to break even.
Beyond the vessels, the infrastructure that supports and is supported by the fishery is suffering. Reduced volume of groundfish, and notably skates, has caused processors to layoff hundreds of employees in Massachusetts alone.
The limited supply has affected the consumer as well. Fish prices are anywhere from 30 to 70% higher than they were last year, making it difficult for many families to purchase fresh, locally caught fish.
Often overlooked are the effects of regulatory changes on members of the crew and fishing families. However, it is here that the most devastating effects are experienced. Fishing is a way of life, a culture. When a family member loses his boat, sells his allocation, or loses his job it affects the entire household and all others depended on the business. The effects of financial hardship and strained families are not limited to those directly involved – the entire community suffers.
A common sentiment among the fishermen that spoke was that they are not looking for a hand-out; they just want to be able to go to work.

Concluding Thoughts

To truly understand the consequences of Amendment 16, or any regulations for that matter, it is critical to analyze all components of the system. From owner to crew, shore-side businesses, communities, and families, we need to ask how this affects them.

 

prepared by:

Emily F. Keiley
ekeiley@umassd.edu

 

 

 

 

UKIAH, California – Dec. 10, 2010 – A crowd of concerned fishermen, environmentalists and others filled the chambers of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors Thursday afternoon to share their complaints, ideas and worries with Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"We've taken such good care of our oceans, we don't really need you," Judith Vidaver of the Ocean Protection Coalition told Dr. Lubchenco   "I suggest you take your programs somewhere else."

According to NOAA, catch share programs include "limited access privilege programs and individual fishing quotas and dedicate a secure share of fish to individual fishermen, cooperatives or fishing communities."

"Catch shares are just one tool, and I believe they are a valuable tool if they are well-dispersed," said Lubchenco.

However, many fishermen who spoke Thursday believe catch shares will mean the end of their livelihoods.

"There are six trawl fishermen in Fort Bragg, and all are concerned (whether) they are going to be able to stay in business," said Daniel Platt of Fort Bragg, while another fisherman from Fort Bragg had similar concerns.

"I take issue with catch shares being described as only one tool. According to the (Pacific Fishery Management Council), that is the tool," said Tom Estes, who said he shares a family fleet with his sons. "The more we talk, the more frightened I get. My son says that this might be the nail in the coffin, and I agree."

Vivian Helliwell described catch shares as "social engineering and market manipulation" that "the little guys always lose out on." She added that they would take the "fishing out of our community," and "mean the end of the fishing industry on the West Coast."

Dusty Dillon, who said he was a property owner in Fort Bragg, provided the crowd with some comic relief when he suggested to Lubchenco that "we've got a lot of empty buildings if you'd like to open a local office. We're trying to revitalize our waterfront."

Other speakers urged Lubchenco to rescind the permit NOAA recently granted to the U.S. Navy to begin five years of "warfare testing and exercises" in the Northwest Training Range Complex, which includes Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

Lubchenco then took 10 minutes to address the numerous concerns raised.

"Thank you for your heartfelt, respectful and passionate comments, which give me hope that we can find solutions for the majority of these issues," she said. "I share many of the concerns that many of you raised, and you've also put new issues on our radar."

As for catch shares, Lubchenco said "I urge you to keep an open mind. The results depend on the design of the catch share program, which is a much more powerful tool for creating sustainable fisheries than the traditional management.

Read the complete story in the Ukiah Daily Journal

 

 

 

Mayor's Ocean Fisheries Council Convenes to tell the Real Story on Recently-Implemented Federal Fishing Regulations
 
Who:       This meeting is open to the public and the media.
When      December 9, 2010 at 2:00pm
Where:    Waterfront Grille, 36 Homers Wharf, New Bedford, MA 02740
Contact:   Stephanie Poyant, 508-979-1410
 
Out of town media and industry members are invited to listen in:
Dial-in Number: (712) 432-1690 Participant Access Code: 1079860#

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Dec. 9, 2010 – The facts are staggering, the groundfish fleet in New England has been cut in half in just 5 short months.   Since catch-shares were implemented in New England in May, 253 boats out of a fleet of 500 are just sitting at the dock. This equates to 3 to 5 jobs per idle vessel, putting as many as 759 to 1,265 people out of work almost overnight.

This is compounded by a transfer of wealth and consolidation of revenue.  55 of the 247 boats fishing are now realizing 61% of the revenue.  The remaining 192 vessels account for only 39% of total revenue.

Under the direction of Administrator Jane Lubchenco, it has become the official policy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to encourage the implementation of catch shares.

The impacts are severe to fishing communities with families suffering from immeasurable harm.  Day by day, there is another job lost, another foreclosure, another household distraught.

On November 5, 2010, Massachusetts  Governor Deval Patrick submitted a report to Secretary Gary Locke providing the scientific statistical data requisite to increasing fishing allocations, information requested by the Secretary as a means for the US Department of Commerce to enact emergency powers that would allow for such increases.  This report, prepared by the Division of Marine Fisheries and the University of Dartmouth, indicates that an additional 14,500 metric tons of ground fish (such as flounder and cod) can safely be brought to market.

Congressman Barney Frank has been instrumental in focusing Administration attention on these issues and in pressuring Secretary Locke to respond to the Governor's request.

The increases requested by the Governor could help stabilize the economic collapse of the fishing industry.  But to date, the agency has been silent.   There is no sense of urgency and the complacency continues to cripple the ground fish industry.

Fishing communities will not accept this silence and demand to be heard.

At 2PM on December 9, 2010, as part of the New Bedford Mayor's Ocean Fisheries Council meeting, the human element will become the focus.  Fishermen greatly affected by the regulations will tell their stories and explain the devastation first hand.   Economic impacts will be presented and a call to the Secretary for action will be made.

Mayor Lang emphasized the need for action, "These regulations are having a dramatic adverse impact on fishing families and communities in New England and along the East Coast.  NOAA is acting as if they are dealing with proofing mathematical equations, not a human crisis.  It is time for the Secretary to act and ensure we do not lose the necessary support infrastructure, and that we preserve fishing families, fishing culture and heritage in our communities."

The Mayor has also called for an investigation of the regulatory process by the Inspector General's Office as a result of the consistent lack of regulatory transparency and the recently published scathing report on the law enforcement branch of NOAA.

Background documents will be disseminated to the media including biographies on testifying fishermen, details of the Governor's report, and economic impact analysis.

New Bedford is the most valuable fishing port in the nation, measured in terms of value of catch landed.

 
===================================

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS
 

 
BIOGRAPHIES OF FISHERMEN SCHEDULED TO SPEAK
 
Antonia Pereira
Antonia Pereira has been a fisherman for the past 36 years. He moved to America from the mainland of Portugal at the age of 16 years old. Perusing the American dream he worked as a deckhand, mate and then captain of a dragger for five years and then purchase the F/V Blue Sea's II. He fished with that vessel for twenty five years, and  earned a good enough living to send his two children to college. Today his vessel is tied up at the New Bedford docks, unable to fish because of the small allocation that he received under the new catch share system.  Last year, he was able to make a good living catching skate wings (250,000.00 lbs) but the new Amendment 3 Skate Wing Plan only allows him 500 lbs per trip.  A good example of the absurdity in the new regulations is the one species on which he was given a large allocation. Based on his history, he was allocated a large amount of haddock under the new system, however the regulations implemented concurrently with the new system have steep penalties for overfishing an allocation. To catch haddock while avoiding all other species requires a special separator trawl.  A seperator trawl requires high horsepower. Mr. Pereira's vessel doesn't have the necessary horsepower so he is no longer able to catch haddock.
Tony was forced to sell his quota to a large horsepower vessel leaving his crew members, Fernando Floha, Manuel Mattos and Laorinho Baltacer unemployed, and his American dream tied to the docks in New Bedford. 
 
Jim Keding
Jim Keding is a fisherman from Plymouth who purchased a fishing vessel several years ago after requesting and receiving from NOAA a letter outlining the vessel's catch history.  When NOAA allocated quotas for this year, they based fishermen's shares on vessel catch history. Mr. Keding has been fishing for 27 years. Last year Mr. Keding caught 73,000 lbs. of fish, and this year he was allocated 15,000 lbs.  When Mr. Keding complained that his allocation did not reflect the history on his boat as outlined in the letter he was sent by NOAA, he Keding was advised that a previous owner of his vessel had sold the boat but kept his history, so the catch history described in their earlier letter – on which he based his purchase decision – was accurate but not valid for the purposes of allocation.  As a result, Mr. Keding's allocation for the current fishing year was set so low that he cannot earn a living.  Mr. Keding raised his dilemma to National Marine Fisheries Chief Eric Schwaab at the Standard-Times forum on November 9th.  Administrator Schwaab promised to look into the matter, but so far his efforts have resulted in only another letter from NOAA explaining in greater depth why their letter outlining the boat's history was simultaneously accurate but not relevant.  Senator John Kerry's office is currently working with Mr. Keding in an effort to redress his situation.
 
Carlos Rafael
Carlos Rafael, nicknamed "The Codfather" for his stature in the New Bedford fishing industry, is originally from Corvo Island, Portugal. He immigrated to the United States in March 1968 and worked in textile mills for a decade, until starting his first business, Portuguese American Seafood, in 1978. The company struggled and soon closed. But Rafael began again, opening Carlos Seafood in March 1980. The company was so successful that by the end of the same year, Rafael was able to purchase his first boat. He built up the business over the years, combining long hours and business know-how. Today, he is the largest vessel owner in New Bedford,. Carlos Seafood supplies many wholesalers, has 316 employees and a fleet of 40 boats and 45 commercial fishing permits, Rafael believes he has achieved his American dream. Unfortunately, the new catch share program has forced him to  downsize to eleven fishing vessels.  He had to lay off 80 fisherman and borrow $1.2 million dollars in order to purchase quota from other fishermen to keep just eleven of his forty vessels fishing this year.

 
ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATIONS FOR EMERGENCY ACTIONS
 
These points are taken from a report prepared by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and submitted to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on November 9, 2010.

This report demonstrates that the transition to catch shares (sector management) under Amendment 16 to  the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan caused unforeseen shifts in the distribution of  quota (and income) resulting in $21 million in direct economic losses and forgone yield of $19 million for  the Massachusetts groundfish fishery.

Catch share management programs, when designed correctly (catch share systems as with any market based system require significant institutional  support for information, transparency, secondary markets, and in the case of highly regulated resource use, monitoring the effects on participants), may help to prevent overfishing, eliminate the race to fish, reduce overcapacity and bycatch, and improve economic efficiency. However, catch share programs may also result in the consolidation of fishing effort, reduce community involvement in local fishing, decrease access by small-scale fishermen to local fishery resources, and create barriers to entry into the fishery by increasing the demand for capital to participate.

While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's review of landings and revenue data available for the first five months (May-September) of the 2010 fishing year shows potential economic health in the ground fishery as a whole, aggregating the data masks significant economic impacts that are happening to individual fishermen or classes of permit holders at the local levels. In addition, revenue alone, is not a sufficient indicator of economic performance as it does not include costs.

The SAFIS data show that total revenue from all species remained roughly constant from 2005 to 2009 at about $40 million for the first five months (May through September) of each fishing year.  Adjusting for inflation using the CPI-U, total revenue fell by about 15% over this period.

During the first five months of the 2010 fishing year more than half of the fleet (253 vessels) had not fished at all, collecting zero fishing revenue from landings of any finfish.

In addition to an increase in the number of inactive vessels, the number of vessels that earned more than $300,000 for this period in 2010 increased from 21 vessels to 41 vessels. These forty-one vessels account for roughly 55% of the total revenues. Stated in different terms, the share of total revenues earned by the top 10% of vessels increased from 57% of the total in 2009 to 64% of the total in 2010. Conversely, the share of total revenues earned by the bottom 75% of vessels decreased from 20% in 2009 to 12% in 2010. This is indicative of consolidation.

The relatively narrow distribution of ACE that resulted from the allocation, based only on catch history (1996-2006), has caused a substantial number of fishermen who were active in the fishery in 2009 to become insolvent. This is due to the fact that their 2010 allocations are well below their 2009 catches and to varying degrees,. It appears that for many vessels the reduced allocation is below a level that would allow them to break-even.

For the intended economic efficiencies and profitability of catch shares to be realized as forecasted in Amendment 16, a high level of quota movement would need to occur from those who were allocated below a break-even point to those who were close to or above the break-even point. For this to happen there would have to be an extraordinary level of liquidity within the fishery. A large number of previously active participants would have to be capable of freezing or liquidating their fishing operations and leasing their quota to someone else. What was not adequately studied (if at all) was the capability of the fishery to do this.  The result is a non-functioning market for trading and leasing quota.

Previously (2009) active fishermen are paralyzed by the lack of quota available for lease because it is not easy to liquidate a vessel and all the associated financial obligations related to a small fishing business. It is not financially feasible for these small businessmen to simply lease their quota to cover expenses let alone earn a living.

The market crafted by government regulation has failed to develop as predicted by Amendment 16 to the economic detriment of the industry.

Only individuals who have secured enough of the initial allocation are able to rationalize the high lease costs by cost averaging, yet they are working at unsafe margins due to a market that is financially incapable of leasing for less. Such market conditions may reduce industry participation to levels too low to maintain current dimensions of fishing communities and infrastructure.

The current ACLs pose substantial economic costs and losses to fishing communities (NEFMC 2009, NOAA 2010)

 

 

 

 

 

Rick Sullivan, the former Westfield mayor who has served as the commissioner of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, is getting a promotion. He will become the state's new environmental secretary, Governor Deval Patrick's office announced this morning.

The current secretary, Ian Bowles, is stepping down, ending a four-year tenure during which he led the administration's efforts on groundbreaking energy initiatives, including Cape Wind and other renewable energy projects, the Globe reported this morning.

Sullivan managed a "highly successful turnaround turnaround of the Department of Conservation and Recreation in the first term," the governor's office said in a statement.

Read the complete story from The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

Environmental officials on Delmarva are urging anglers to be cautious to prevent the spread of a fatal fish disease linked to a recent kill in Virginia.

The largemouth bass virus has been detected in recent years in both the Delaware and Maryland portions of the Nanticoke River, Delaware's largest bass fishery. It has not been implicated in any kills in either state and does not pose any risk to humans.

"It's a concern," said Delaware fisheries biologist Cathy Martin. "Largemouth bass is, of course, a big game fish with huge numbers of anglers. … We're always watching."

The virus was found in Delaware's portion of the Nanticoke most recently in 2006 and in Maryland's Marshyhope Creek, a tributary of the Nanticoke just over the state line, in 2007.

Read the complete story from Delmarva Now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloucester's Jack Flaherty is one of those remarkable fishermen who remains fit and just doesn't seem to age over the equinoxes and solstices.

Flaherty formulated what he calls an interesting "retirement" plan 25 years ago. He has recently been somewhat soured by fisheries regulations and enforcers and even hypocrisy within one of the groundfish sectors, but he still remains positive and has no plans to hang up his boots soon.

Flaherty's 41-year fishing career, which has taken him from Venezuela to Newfoundland, began in 1969 at the ringing in of the new year.

"I came up to Gloucester to attend a New Year's Eve party with an old Cambridge friend stationed at the U.S. Coast Guard base here," he recalled. "At the party, I got talking with a guy from Nahant, Ted Butler, who ran the 86-foot offshore lobster boat Western Ocean," explained Flaherty, who grew up and was educated in Cambridge. "He needed a man on the boat, and he offered me a job that night. I had already been laid off for the winter as a union pile driver."

Read the complete piece from the Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave Marciano fished on the F/V Hard Merchandise of Gloucester.

I would like to take this brief opportunity to express what I am truly thankful for this coming holiday season.

First, I am thankful for the New England Fisheries Management Council members and NOAA Fisheries: Thanks to them, and the supporters of sectors, for the first time in 30 years as a fisherman, I am free from the burden of employment during the holiday season — free from being straddled with any need for holiday shopping and all-around good cheer. This is a gift for sure — to have nothing to do this holiday but stare at the ground in total disgust at what has happened to the fishing industry and how it came to pass.

Second, I would like to thank the politicians down in Washington for rewarding members of the fishing industry for doing what Congress asked of them in rebuilding the fish stocks with the prize of 99 weeks to life of unemployment. I certainly hope that life comes before the 99 weeks is up.

Read the complete letter from the Gloucester Daily Times.