Washington

Congressman Barney Frank, a fishing industry advocate and architect of the House's banking reform bill, told a radio audience Tuesday he was giving the Commerce Secretary until next week to redress fishing industry grievances, or he'll take his appeal directly to the Obama White House.

Frank said he has so advised White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanual, adding if Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke has not produced a satisfactory response to a personal appeal two weeks ago by 13 representatives of a 23 member bi-partisan alliance of East Coast lawmakers, "we'll be going to the White House."

Frank issued his challenge in an appearance on New Bedford's WBSM on the same day the national press began analyzing Frank's possible role in the reconciliation this summer of House and Senate versions of the high-profile banking reform bill.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

Senator Olympia Snowe's office has issued the following release: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmospheres, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) on May 26 announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded the Maine Department of Marine Resources $1 million in federal funding to establish a permit banking program for Maine’s groundfishing industry.

“The establishment of a new permit banking program in Maine is vital to helping to stem the flow of fishing vessels out-of-state that has left Maine with just 70 active groundfish boats, and bolster fishery access and production for Maine’s smaller fishing communities, which have been hit hard by the economic downturn,” Senator Snowe said. “This funding is extremely welcome news that will go a long way in helping to ensure a strong, diverse future for Maine’s fishing industry.”

The funding will establish a pilot permit banking program to buy permits that will help retain access for Maine’s small boat fleets that hail from small coastal communities.  Specifically, the funds will be used to acquire multispecies limited access permits to encourage fishing opportunities throughout the state and prevent additional migration of fishing jobs to ports to the south.

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said Tuesday he will be back in the White House to demand changes in fisheries regulation by next week unless Commerce Secretary Gary Locke takes some action on the matter this week.

Meanwhile, NOAA announced last Monday that as of May 27 there will be sharp reductions in the daily landing limits for five fish species. The limits apply to boats that elected not to join sectors and are still fishing under “days at sea” rules.

Frank told a radio audience that he has already spoken once to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel about the fisheries issue, and he said he told him he would pursue it even as the congressman prepares to convene a financial regulation committee to deal with the nation’s banking crisis.

Frank and many others have been frustrated by the refusal of fishing regulators at NOAA, which is part of Commerce, to relax any of the strict new regulations that were imposed May 1 along with sharp reductions in permit allocations.

“If they set out to discredit the notion of catch shares they couldn’t have done a better job than they’re doing,” said Frank, who last week announced he would write a “friend of the court” brief backing New Bedford’s lawsuit against the Commerce Department.

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The NOAA announcement, said local boat owner Carlos Rafael (who has all of his boats in sectors) confirms what he and others predicted for the boats in the common pool: a fishing derby and a rapid exhaustion of the meager allocations awarded to the pool vessels by the government.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its notice that as of May 18, less than three weeks into the fishing year, the pool boats had already landed one-third of their annual share of winter flounder, 13.7 percent of the Georges Bank haddock, 11.2 percent of the Georges Bank winter flounder, and 24.4 percent of the Georges Bank yellowtail.

Read the complete story at The South Coast Today [subscription site]

NOTE: The Standard-Times is a subscription site.  Unregistered visitors are able to read three stories per month, and registered visitors may view ten.  For unlimited access, please follow the subscription instructions on the site. 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today determined there has been a fishery disaster in the Gulf of Mexico due to the economic impact on commercial and recreational fisheries from the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The affected area includes the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

“We are taking this action today because of the potentially significant economic hardship this spill may cause fishermen and the businesses and communities that depend on those fisheries,” Locke said. “The disaster determination will help ensure that the Federal government is in a position to mobilize the full range of assistance that fishermen and fishing communities may need.”

Locke made the determination under Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.  The declaration was made in response to requests from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour based on the loss of access to many commercial fisheries and the existing and anticipated environmental damage from this unprecedented event.

Read the complete story at The Destin Log.

 

 

 

 

 

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) yesterday announced that he will file an amicus curiae brief in support of the pending lawsuit by the cities of New Bedford and Gloucester regarding the Obama administration’s proposed catch share program. Frank also said that he plans to organize Members of Congress to join the brief.

The catch share program, supported by NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenko, creates a de facto privatization of ocean resources. Where catch shares have been implemented, the inevitable result is the concentration of public trust fisheries into the hands of few big corporate fishing operations.

“The fact that the Obama administration has so far refused our request to increase allocations for this fishing season makes the catch share program completely unworkable,” said Frank. “Catch shares is a controversial and radical change, and to institute this new system while also drastically reducing catch allocations guarantees that it would be devastating to the fishing industry. For this reason, I will support the cities’ lawsuit.”

Frank spoke with Mayor Lang yesterday to discuss the lawsuit and they will continue to work closely on this issue.

Read the complete story at Alter Net.

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier this month, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation in the Senate that would amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to require oil polluters to pay the full cost of oil spills, raising the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. If passed, the law would be retroactive to April 15, 2010, and so would cover the current Gulf oil spill, which took place on April 22.

Senator Menendez has some heavy hitters in the Senate signed on to the bill, including fellow New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg. Companion legislation is also moving through the House, sponsored by New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt (D-12th district); Congressman Frank Pallone (D-6th district, NJ) is a co-sponsor.

Even before the massive disaster in the Gulf, Menendez and Lautenberg have been vocal in their opposition to offshore drilling. At the end of March, the Obama administration announced plans to open up the Atlantic seaboard as far north as Delaware to offshore drilling. Menendez said that he has let the administration know that "off-shore drilling is a non-starter" for him. Senator Lautenberg has also expressed concerns about the threat that such endeavors pose to New Jersey beaches and the tourism trade.

Read the complete story at The Newark Progressive Examiner.

 

 

 

 

 

There actually seemed to be some hope in and around the fishing industry last week going into a meeting between U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and a caucus of more than a dozen congressional lawmakers.

There was hope that, in agreeing to the meeting, Locke might have seen the urgency the lawmakers raised in seeking emergency relief from the absurdly low New England catch limits put in place by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Marine Fisheries Service.

There was a sense this Cabinet secretary might raise the limits which, combined with the NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco's tunnel-visioned rush into a new management system, seems certain to doom scores of small fishing boat businesses and waterfront jobs in Gloucester, New Bedford and elsewhere.

Read the complete editorial at The Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

In a showing of bipartisan support, Congressman Tim Bishop (D-1st), joined a block of 12 House and Senate members in a unified stance in opposition to new regulations proposed for the Northeast fishing industry.

The contingent met with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco Wednesday to discuss the negative impacts the proposed regulations would effect which seeks to divide the total annual catch among members of the fishing industry while simultaneously reducing the annual catch limits for individual species including winter flounder.

"These catch shares and low catch limits could spell disaster for Long Island fishermen," Bishop asserted in his opposition. "Long Island's fishermen have been around for generations and understand the value of sustainability. These limits would drive them out of business. I will continue to fight with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for a fair deal for all Northeast fishermen."

Read the complete story at Hamptons Vue.

 

 

 

 

 

BOSTON—More than a dozen members of Congress from Northeast fishing states met Wednesday with the U.S. Commerce Secretary to ask for emergency increases in fish catch limits, but he didn't commit to any immediate ones.

The meeting in Washington with Secretary Gary Locke came at the request of 23 members of Congress, who wrote to Locke last month before a May 1 switch to a new fishing system.

Under the change, fishermen working in groups called "sectors" may catch a certain amount of each species of groundfish annually, such as cod and flounder. But if the sectors exceed their limit on any species, they must stop fishing for all species.

Read the Boston Globe story in full

 

 

The following is taken from a press release:

Today, Congressman Tierney joined congressional colleagues in a meeting with Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Jane Lubchenco to discuss ongoing issues facing our local fishing families. After the meeting, he released the following statement:

“I joined my colleagues today to reiterate to Secretary Locke and Dr. Lubchenco the urgency and seriousness of the situation facing our fishing community,” said Congressman Tierney, who spearheaded the first congressional hearing on NOAA issues in Gloucester earlier this year. “During the meeting, we urged the Secretary to recognize the negative economic impact of the new catch-share limits and immediately provide local fisheries with more flexibility. In addition, we again asked the Secretary to respond to inquiries regarding unfair and abusive practices of the NOAA's enforcement office, as cited in the Inspector General’s report, pending a complete investigation into the specific cases. While today’s meeting was an important step in providing our fisheries with some relief, we will continue to demand action from Secretary Locke and Dr. Lubchenco until these issues are resolved.”