Washington

WASHINGTON — April 30, 2013 — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren released the following statement today following the announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of significant cuts to catch allocations for Massachusetts fishermen:

"These painful cuts will be felt far beyond the docks and will impose economic hardship on our coastal communities.  I am frustrated that the Administration rejected our calls to issue an interim rule that would have balanced protecting the fishing resource with protecting our fishing families' way of life. Without the interim rule, many of our fishermen and related businesses will not survive. The federal government recognizes the impending blow, and it has officially declared the Northeast Groundfish Fishery a disaster, but the House of Representatives has blocked funding for such aid.  Americans have always reached out in a time of crisis to help each other, and right now our hard-working men and women in the fishing industry need that help. I will continue working with other Massachusetts officials to deliver critical help to our fishing communities."

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Seafoodnews.com] — April 29, 2013 — A rally of several hundred fishermen and processors on the Boston Fish Pier this morning heard Massachusetts senators and other congressional and state politicians demand fair treatment of fish harvesters by Washington.

The rally was organized by the Northeast Seafood Coalition.  With cutbacks ranging from 50% to more than 70% for many species quotas due to start May 1st, and the failure of congress so far to authorize federal disaster relief for New England fishermen, the situation is extremely dire.

What most angers the seafood industry here is that they have been whipsawed by the changing scientific recommendations from NOAA in a manner that cannot possibly reflect actual conditions.

Initially stocks were seen as very healthy and easily on track for rebuilding by 2014; then an assessment in 2012 called all of that into question, and suggested cod was critically low. Cod is the linchpin for the regional fishery, and other quotas were reduced as well.

Last year, NMFS agreed to use some flexibility in implementing these measures – and now is resisting calls to use more flexibility this year.  Under the law, they could use an average stock size over the past few years to figure the rebuilding targets, and maybe make the reductions 50% less quickly.  But so far, John Bullard, NOAA northeast regional administrator, has refused to consider these options.

Further, another sore point is the lack of will on the part of Congress to treat New England fishermen the way farmers are treated when there is a disaster through no fault of their own. New England fishermen have not exceeded any catch limit since they have been imposed and have fished strictly according to the scientific recommendations – and for this reason, they strongly feel they deserve federal disaster relief.

All observers agree that the crisis in New England fisheries was not caused by the current fleet overfishing.  Sen. Warren made this point very forcefully.

Finally, so far the New England council and NMFS have refused to treat yellowtail as a transboundary stock, and as a result continue to allocate less quota to New England fishermen than would be the case if the stock was treated as a transboundary stock co-managed with Canada.  This would make this stock not subject to the Magnuson rebuilding timeline.

In summary, New England has been dealt a hand that just doesn’t work as far as fish management goes.  Either they will get some relief, or the cuts of this year will decimate the businesses that have been able to hang on during the previous decade of downsizing.

New Bedford’s fleets generally have enough money and access to other fish to survive.  Also the shore infrastructure in New Bedford – the auction, processing and vessel services, all are driven by the scallop industry.

However, Gloucester and Boston are facing devastation as there simply won’t be enough fish to support the local auctions or vessels still there.  Federal disaster relief would preserve much of this infrastructure over the next 18 months, so it would be in place as stocks again recover.

Vito Giacalone said that fishing here has always gone through cycles, and currently it is in a down cycle, but without attention on the national level, businesses will simply not be here to harvest again as the cycle improves.

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

April 29, 2013 — Gov. Deval Patrick has told Attorney General Martha Coakley that he has briefed a senior advisor to President Obama — Valerie Jarrett — on the “pressing needs of our fishing industry,” including the need for immediately emergency relief from pending drastic cuts in landings that, while not yet posted in the Federal Register, are due to take effect for the groundfishing year that begins Wednesday.

Because of his official position and his friendship with President Obama, Patrick had been urged by Coakley and a large contingent of state lawmakers, led by Sen. Bruce Tarr and Rep. Ann Margaret Ferrante, to appeal to the White House to halt the imposition of a 77 percent cut in the allowable landings of Gulf of Maine cod, the lifeblood of the inshore fleet based in Gloucester, but also found in secondary ports to the north and south.

In his letter sent Friday to Coakley, the governor wrote that he had spoken Thursday to Jarrett, also a personal friend of the president as well as the director of the office of intergovernmental affairs, about the importance of of granting the groundfishing industry “interim” relief for a second year through lesser reductions in allowable landings for Gulf of Maine cod and other stocks.

…

Efforts to reach Jarrett regarding her response over the weekend were unsuccessful. The White House did not respond to a telephone inquiry for reaction to the briefing and plea that Gov. Patrick described in his letter to Coakley. In addition to being a personal friend of the President and a senior White House advisor, Jarrett also headed the first first transition team for President-elect Obama in 2008-2009.

In his letter to Coakley, the governor wrote that he had spoken to Jarrett, senior advisor to the President last Thursday about the “pressing needs of our fishing industry and the outstanding request … for an interim measure to the lessen the impact of the impending dramatic cuts.” Copies of the governors letter was given to the Times by Tarrr and Ferrante.

”I asked that the White House do everything it can to ensure that all federal resources are made available to our fishing industry,” Patrick also wrote.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Read the letter from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley

 

 

WASHINGTON — April 29, 2013 — Letter to President Obama released by the office of Senator Warren requests critical disaster relief funding, assistance with burdensome monitoring costs, and reevaluation of devastating catch share reductions.

On Thursday, April 25th, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and William "Mo" Cowan (D-MA) sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging immediate action to aid Massachusetts fishermen.

In September 2012, the Secretary of Commerce issued disaster declarations for several fisheries, including the Northeast groundfish fishery. The industry currently faces devastating reductions in catch allocations for key fish stocks such as cod for the next several years.

The letter requests three specific actions to mitigate the impact of these cuts.

First, it asks the Department of Commerce to issue an interim measure that would substantially reduce fishing allocations but at an amount that allows the business to remain in operation.

Senators Warren and Cowan also urge President Obama to submit a budget amendment for Fiscal Year 2013 to provide emergency funding for the fisheries disasters. The Senate's Sandy relief act provided $150 million for fisheries disaster assistance and passed the Senate last December; however, the funding was not considered by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The Senate also recently passed a bipartisan amendment co-sponsored by Senators Warren and Cowan in support of this critical disaster relief funding.

The letter also calls on NOAA Fisheries to reconsider the impact of further burdening our fishermen with at-sea monitoring costs, and to commit to continuing to fully cover these costs.

Read the full letter here

 

April 26, 2013 — The following was released by the office of Congressman John Tierney:

WASHINGTON — Congressman John Tierney (D-MA) today released the following statement, again urging action from the White House and Department of Commerce on critical issues facing our fishing industry, including the fast approaching May 1 catch share reductions and the disaster relief that our community so desperately needs.

“Along with others, I continue to press the White House and the Department of Commerce this week, to pursue all possible measures to provide our fishing community with necessary relief in the coming year, including extending the interim action on the pending catch share cuts. As those who work with the Gloucester fishing industry know too well, the impending catch share reductions will be disastrous for our community, especially as Republicans in Congress repeatedly block funding for the emergency disaster declared last year.

“On Monday, I will join Gloucester fishermen and many others in Boston to send a unified message that we need action now on federal disaster assistance, and that short and long-term solutions critical to maintaining our historic fishing industry must be found. I am committed to continuing work with state and city stakeholders to support our fishing industry,” Congressman Tierney said.

April 26, 2013 — Recognizing the suite of economic, environmental, food safety, and food security benefits provided by domestic aquaculture, the President’s increased the fiscal year 2014 request for aquaculture research funding at NOAA.

NOAA plays a multi-faceted role in supporting sustainable marine aquaculture through funding cutting-edge research, developing federal policy and regulation, conducting outreach, and developing international partnerships.  The NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture coordinates and leads efforts to carry out the Department of Commerce and NOAA National Aquaculture Policies in cooperation with NOAA Fisheries’ Science Centers and Regional Offices, the Office of Atmospheric Research’s National Sea Grant College Program, and the National Ocean Service.  

In fiscal year 2013, $5.6 million was allotted for all aquaculture activities at NOAA.  For 2014, the President has requested an increase of $1.1 million.  Half this increase will be used to support NOAA’s National Shellfish Initiative by expanding research with federal and state agencies, tribes, and the shellfish industry to increase production of wild and cultured shellfish in the Pacific Northwest, California, and New England. 

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries 

 

 

April 25, 2013 — The recent NOAA and NOAA Fisheries budget briefings are now available online, along with the 2014 NOAA Blue Book.

The information can be found on the NOAA website.

Click here for Dr. Kathy Sullivan's FY 2014 NOAA Budget Presentation

Click here for NOAA Fisheries' FY 2013/2014 Budget Presentation

Click here for NOAA's FY 2014 Budget Blue Book   

April 25, 2013 — The federal budget sequester is taking big bites out of the NOAA Fisheries Service, according to its acting chief, Sam Rauch.

He told a conference of stakeholders this week that not only did Congress appropriate 5 percent less across the board, it cut another 2 percent from the current year’s budget.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was notified of the extent of the cuts last week, Rauch said.

The cuts will mean furloughs, a hiring freeze, cuts to grants and partnerships, and controls on travel, training and awards.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times 

 

 

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) April 23, 2013 — NOAA Fisheries today announced its FY2014 budget request.

Listen to the presentation from Assistant Administrator Sam Rauch

Listen to the presentation questions & answer session

 

 

 

April 22, 2013 — The $85 billion federal budget sequestration — a stopgap solution to the federal spending cut impasse between the White House and Democratic allies in Congress and conservative Republicans — will force a temporary and likely brief shutdown sometime after May of NOAA’s Northeast regional office, which employs about 200 people in Gloucester’s Blackburn Industrial Park.

Globally, NOAA has 12,500 employees, including hundreds involved in weather forecasting.

The furloughs and the dates have not been finalized, said Allison McHale, a special assistant to Northeast Regional Administrator John Bullard. A NOAA source in Gloucester said the likely duration of the furloughs was four days. Who would be furloughed and whether some employees would be bypassed has not been announced, the source said.

“Continued fiscal uncertainty and tight budgets have required that many government agencies, including NOAA, make tough choices,” NOAA’s director of communications, Ciaran Clayton, said in an email Friday. “Unfortunately, after much serious deliberation, in order to help address current budget shortfalls, we are moving forward with union consultations in order to implement furloughs across the agency,”

“When looking at the budget situation for fiscal 2013, we faced some serious challenges. While we have implemented options to help offset this, including a hiring freeze, unfortunately, furloughs are necessary to help close the gaps,” she said. “NOAA has taken steps to ensure that this step will not impact life- and property-saving missions, or any other critical products or services the American public has come to rely upon.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times