Washington

The U.S. Senators of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York — together with 13 coastal Congressmen of the Northeast — have written to the Secretary of Commerce asking that he implement emergency regulations and increase the 2010 annual catch limits for the nineteen fish stocks in the northeast multispecies fishery.

The letter was sent directly to the White House and the Secretary [view PDF of letter].

The letter asks the Secretary to "exercise the authority granted to your office under section 305(c)(1) of the MSA and promulgate an emergency regulation increasing the ACLs of groundfish—especially the five choke stocks—sufficiently to minimize the risk of the failure of the sector management system while still preventing overfishing from occurring.  We further request that you seek ways to reduce the scientific uncertainty that has led directly to the reductions for 2010.  As NOAA has stated many times, the increased monitoring that already will be required as part of the sector management system will greatly enhance the agency’s stock assessment capabilities, and bring desperately needed clarification to the scientific picture of the groundfishery.  Taking these steps to ensure sector management has a better chance to succeed will pay dividends to future fishery management efforts, provide a sense of security to our coastal economies, and improve the relationship between the agency and the community."

STATEMENT OF SENATOR KERRY

“This is as tough a time economically as we’ve ever seen for working people and it’s been especially brutal for our fishermen,” said Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.).  “We need immediate action to ease the burden of the new federal fishing regulations on our fishermen and their families.  I look forward to meeting with Secretary Locke and NOAA Administrator Lubchenco to find appropriate ways to increase fishing limits and maintain progress toward a sustainable fishery.  I will also continue to work for federal funding to improve stock assessments, to help our fishermen with the new regulations and to implement a voluntary permit buyback for those who are interested.”

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN FRANK

“Moving to catch shares is a controversial step that will cause some turmoil in the fishing industry under the best circumstances.  Increasing the catch limits would reduce this turmoil,” said Congressman Frank(D-Mass.) .   “I do not understand what argument there is for not taking this step, and I urge those who are seeking acceptance of the catch share decision to recognize that it is in their interest to see that it is implemented with as little harm to fisherman as is possible.”

 

 

According to the Members of Congress and the Senate, the following section of the Magnuson Act grants the secretary the authority to take the actions requested:

TITLE III — NATIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

SEC. 305. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITY 16 U.S.C. 1855

97-453, 101-627, 104-297

(c) EMERGENCY ACTIONS AND INTERIM MEASURES.—

(1) If the Secretary finds that an emergency or overfishing exists or that interim measures are needed to reduce overfishing for any fishery, he may promulgate emergency [4] regulations or interim measures necessary to address the emergency or overfishing, without regard to whether a fishery management plan exists for such fishery.

(2) If a Council finds that an emergency or overfishing exists or that interim measures are needed to reduce overfishing for any fishery within its jurisdiction, whether or not a fishery management plan exists for such fishery–

(A) the Secretary shall promulgate emergency⁴ regulations or interim measures under paragraph (1) to address the emergency or overfishing if the Council, by unanimous vote of the members who are voting members, requests the taking of such actions; and

(B) the Secretary may promulgate emergency⁴ regulations or interim measures under paragraph (1) to address the emergency or overfishing if the Council, by less than a unanimous vote, requests the taking of such action.

(3) Any emergency regulation or interim measure which changes any existing fishery management plan or amendment shall be treated as an amendment to such plan for the period in which such regulation is in effect. Any emergency regulation or interim measure promulgated under this subsection–

(A) shall be published in the Federal Register together with the reasons therefor;

(B) shall, except as provided in subparagraph (C), remain in effect for not more than 180 days after the date of publication, and may be extended by publication in the Federal Register for one additional period of not more than 180 days, provided the public has had an opportunity to comment on the emergency regulation or interim measure, and, in the case of a Council recommendation for emergency regulations or interim measures, the Council is actively preparing a fishery management plan, plan amendment, or proposed regulations to address the emergency or overfishing on a permanent basis;

(C) that responds to a public health emergency or an oil spill may remain in effect until the circumstances that created the emergency no longer exist, Provided, That the public has an opportunity to comment after the regulation is published, and, in the case of a public health emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services concurs with the Secretary's action; and

(D) may be terminated by the Secretary at an earlier date by publication in the Federal Register of a notice of termination, except for emergency regulations or interim measures [5] promulgated under paragraph (2) in which case such early termination may be made only upon the agreement of the Secretary and the Council concerned.

101-627

 

 

 

The Obama administration is launching a significant new effort to reach out to marine recreational fishermen, an economically and politically powerful group that has previously felt shut out by the new administration.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the main federal agency overseeing ocean and fisheries policy, has rolled out a series of new initiatives in the past month aimed at raising the profile of recreational fishing within the agency and calming some of the hostile waters between fishermen and the administration. NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco created a new post for a high-level national policy adviser for recreational fishing, reorganized regional offices to put greater emphasis on sportfishing and created a new advisory panel on the issue.

And in its most visible move, the administration is hosting hundreds of fishermen this weekend in Alexandria, Va., for a national summit on recreational saltwater fishing.

The efforts are an attempt to reach out to a vast group of more than 15 million saltwater recreational fishermen who pump more than $31 billion into the economy each year and who could pose significant challenges as NOAA attempts to rebuild depleted fish stocks.

Read the complete story at The New York Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD — Four congressmen, including two from Massachusetts, on Friday asked the administrator of NOAA to dramatically ramp up her efforts to overhaul the agency's fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, specifically asking that she exclude the No. 2 law enforcement official from the reform effort.

The letter comes days after U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, revealed that the former head of NOAA law enforcement shredded up to 80 percent of his own files while being investigated by the Commerce Department's inspector general last year. That official, Dale Jones, was forced out of the job earlier this month in a hailstorm of criticism, but NOAA has never revealed whether he was fired, transferred or put on leave.

Kucinich, chairman of the House Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, threw a spotlight on Mark Spurrier, Jones' deputy, for questionable conduct in office and during the investigation, including document shredding. He said, "Spurrier's stated reasons changed considerably to explain why he, unlike Jones, director of OLE, did not participate in the inappropriate shredding of documents."

A source confirmed that Kucinich's committee has obtained from NOAA the full report of the inspector general, which documented years of anecdotal reports of arbitrary and even malicious prosecution of fishermen, especially in the Northeast. But the report hasn't yet been released to other members of Congress or the public.

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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Ranking Member on the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard yesterday led a group of 16 U.S. Senators in a letter urging the Chairman and Ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science to increase funding to increase the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)by $47 million to fully invest in the science that supports the nation’s fisheries.

“Science is the foundation upon which sustainable fisheries must be constructed,” said Senator Snowe.  “The level of funding for fisheries science called for in the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2011 is simply insufficient to support the hard-working fishermen who are the backbone of our coastal economy.  Yesterday, the last can of sardines rolled off the production line in a century old fish processing plant and today 128 people are out of work because of it.  The Stinson cannery did not close because the resource is overfished, but because we do not have enough confidence in our stock assessments to know how much fish we can catch.  Continuing to underfund our fisheries science programs will exacerbate this fundamental flaw in the system and cost more employees their jobs.”

The lawmakers said the current budget fails to adequately invest in fundamental fishing programs and, in some cases, reduces funding from the Fiscal Year 2010 levels.  Specifically, the group requested the Subcommittee increase funding in the areas of: stock assessments, cooperative research, fisheries statistics, fisheries observers and survey and monitoring projects.

“These increased investments will result in a higher degree of confidence in our stock assessments, which will quickly pay dividends by reducing the amount of time it will take our fisheries to rebuild, and in some cases, allowing higher catch levels in the very near term,” wrote the lawmakers.

The letter specifically calls for an addition of $10 million to the cooperative research budget. Cooperative research is science conducted in conjunction with fishermen.  This symbiotic effort allows fishermen to better understand the precise needs of scientists, and allows scientists to take advantage of fishermen’s knowledge in what is widely considered a win-win that leads to better data and an improved relationship among industry members, scientists, and regulators.

“As I discussed with Dr. Lubchenco during our NOAA budget hearing last month, if NOAA is serious about rebuilding the climate of trust between regulators and fishermen, cooperative research funding must be maintained,” added Senator Snowe.

Along with Senator Snowe, the letter was signed by her colleagues Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), John Kerry (D-Mass), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.); Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D- R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), George LeMieux (R-Fla.), Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).

Signed copy of the letter is attached.

 

 

 

 

 

Washington, D.C. – Friday, April 16, 2010, U.S. Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) and colleagues Barney Frank (MA-4), John Tierney (MA-6) and Mike McIntyre (NC-7) sent a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Jane Lubchenco regarding her plan to fix the systemic problems with NOAA Fisheries Law Enforcement identified by the recent U.S. Department of Commerce Inspector General investigation.  That plan, laid out in a March memo to Inspector General Todd Zinser, included many proposals to help restore accountability to NOAA law enforcement.  However, Jones and his colleagues believe several elements of the plan need to be improved.  Their letter makes the case that the NOAA personnel most responsible for the problems identified in the IG report should not be involved in crafting reforms; that NOAA’s workforce realignment should be rolled out nationally, not just on a pilot basis in one region; and that pending enforcement cases should be reviewed before further action is taken on them.   

The text of the letter follows:

“Thank you for your March 2010 memo to Department of Commerce Inspector General (IG) Todd Zinser outlining your plan to fix the systemic problems identified in the IG’s recent investigation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) fisheries law enforcement operation.  Your continued attention to this issue is greatly appreciated.  

We believe many of your proposals will improve accountability and transparency in the enforcement of our nation’s fishing laws.  However, we are concerned that elements of your plan do not adequately address major problems identified by the Inspector General, and we respectfully request that you reevaluate those elements.

First, one of the IG’s principal findings was that the workforce composition of the agency’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) should be realigned to better accomplish its mission, which is “primarily regulatory”, not criminal.  The IG found the number of criminal investigators “disproportionate to agency function and operational need, particularly compared with other agencies with similar mission profiles and enforcement profiles (e.g. EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).”  That conclusion was based on the fact that over 90 percent of the OLE workforce are criminal investigators, while only 2 percent of its caseload is criminal.

We believe your plan to address this finding could be improved in the following respects, and we strongly urge you to address these issues:

1.    According to Appendix #9 of your memo to the IG, Mark Spurrier – Deputy Director of OLE, is one of three team members selected to review and realign OLE’s workforce.  Given that OLE leadership under Dale Jones played a key role in creating the existing workforce imbalance and was principally involved in many other issues identified in the IG report, we believe it is entirely inappropriate for Mark Spurrier or any senior OLE officials who worked under Director Jones to play any role in restructuring OLE.

2.   According to your memo to the IG, workforce realignment will be done on a pilot basis in one region, and then based on results of the pilot, expanded nationwide.  Given the severity of the workforce imbalance, addressing this issue on a pilot basis is inadequate.  There is no reason for fishermen in one region to benefit from realignment while the rest of the country suffers under the existing structure.  Realignment should occur simultaneously nationwide.   
         
Second, the IG report found many problems with NOAA Fisheries’ Office of General Counsel (GCEL), but was particularly critical of GCEL operations in the Northeast Region.  This finding confirmed years of anecdotal evidence from fishermen under the jurisdiction of that office.  The IG found Northeast Region fine assessments “inconsistent with those of the other five regions”, and had the appearance of being “arbitrary”.  Specifically, “initial fine assessments totaled nearly $5.5 million, an amount two-and-a-half times greater than the second highest region, and about five times greater than the other four regions.”  Furthermore, the Northeast had “the greatest percentage reduction from assessed to settled fine amounts (approximately $5.5 million assessed to approximately $1.6 million settled – a nearly 70-percent reduction).”  Clearly, NOAA GCEL-Northeast has a problem.

We are encouraged by many aspects of your plan to fix GCEL.  However, we are very concerned that responsibility for crucial reforms has been designated to individuals who led the office most responsible for the existing problems; namely, the Northeast region.  According to Appendix #9 of your memo, several people within GCEL-Northeast are named to lead teams tasked with revising GCEL’s penalty schedules, penalty assessment guidance policies and procedural regulations, and with devising a system of providing explanatory notes to case files.  It would seem inappropriate for these individuals to be involved in these processes at this time until the on-going investigations are complete, and we strongly encourage you to replace them with other qualified GCEL personnel from outside the Northeast region.

Finally, we are disappointed that your plan did not include a commitment to review pending enforcement cases.  Given the depth of problems identified by the Inspector General, there is little confidence that NOAA has prosecuted fisheries cases fairly.  It is imperative that all pending enforcement cases be subject to a thorough review before further action is taken.   At the very least, the most egregious cases should be referred to an independent third party for a thorough review to ensure that the defendants were not unjustly prosecuted.

Again, thank you for commitment to fixing the issues that have plagued our nation’s fisheries law enforcement, and for your consideration of these requests.”

For additional information, please contact Catherine Fodor in Congressman Jones’ office at (202) 225-3415.

Read the letter here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A story that appeared in the Friday, April 16 edition of the Gloucester Times stated that Congressman Barney Frank  petitioned the Obama administration for emergency action on "choke species".

The story stated that the letter from Congressman Barney Frank to U.S. Secertary of Commerce Gary Locke has already been sent; it has not.

The letter cited in the story is in draft form and circulating in the New England groundfishing community as Frank seeks regional consensus on how best to relive the expected economic hardships from a combination of hard catch limits and the consolidation of the industry when a catch share system goes into effect May 1.

 

A political leader of the New England fishing industry yesterday urged the House Appropriations Committee to deny the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the $54 million it seeks to convert America's fisheries to a regulatory system based on tradeable, investor-friendly catch shares.

The consistent profile of the catch share effect is a more efficient and less-labor intensive industry — which, for port economies, translate into job loss and a fear of absentee ownership of the boats and businesses.

Jane Lubchenco, the NOAA chief administrator leading the catch share push, has said there is a need to remove "a sizable fraction" of the boats from the New England fishery to achieve sustainability for the resource and the economy.

"It is very likely," Tina Jackson, told the Appropriations Committee, "that catch shares will collapse not only the industry and the infrastructure supported by it, but will cause massive job losses at a level overlooked by most.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) sent a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Jane Lubchenco thanking her for the announcement that the agency has replaced the Director of the Office of Fisheries Law Enforcement (OLE), Dale Jones.  The announcement came after a Department of Commerce Inspector General investigation found “systemic” problems with NOAA Fisheries Law Enforcement operations, as well as a follow-up IG report on recent revelations that Dale Jones shredded documents sought by the Inspector General.  Congressman Jones stressed to the Administrator that yesterday’s announcement was a necessary but not sufficient condition to restore the public trust in OLE actions.  He again urged NOAA to suspend all active fisheries prosecutions until questions surrounding the circumstances of Dale Jones’ replacement are answered and the agency completely addresses the systemic issues identified by the IG.

The text of Congressman Jones’ letter to Administrator Lubchenco follows:  

“Thank you for Assistant Administrator Eric Schwab’s announcement today that Alan Risenhoover has been reassigned to serve as the interim Director of the Office of Law Enforcement (OLE).  This action was necessary in light of the findings of the Department of Commerce Inspector General’s recent investigation into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) fisheries enforcement practices.  As you know, that investigation uncovered “systemic” problems with NOAA’s law enforcement operation, and I am grateful you have begun to address those problems.

However, today’s announcement is insufficient.  As the IG report made clear, NOAA OLE has a problem with accountability and transparency, and today’s announcement only magnifies those issues.  The announcement made no mention of the now former OLE Director, Dale Jones, or the circumstances surrounding his replacement.  It also made no mention of the Inspector General’s follow-up investigation into recent revelations that Dale Jones orchestrated the shredding of over 100 files sought by the IG; an investigation I understand was completed in the last few days and which you have publicly stated was a prerequisite for agency action to replace Mr. Jones.  This begs the following questions: Why hasn’t the report on the Inspector General’s follow-up investigation been made public?  What is Dale Jones’ current status with the agency?  If Dale Jones was removed for shredding documents, as appears to be the case, is he being criminally prosecuted for those actions?  What documents were shredded, and were they pertinent to any ongoing agency actions against fishermen? 

Until these questions are answered and the agency completely addresses the systemic issues identified by the IG, it will continue to be impossible to trust that NOAA enforcement cases are being pursued in a fair and transparent manner.  Until then, it is imperative that NOAA immediately suspend all active fisheries prosecutions.”

The federal House oversight subcommittee that held a hearing in Gloucester City Hall last month has now made a "formal request" to the U.S. Commerce Department Inspector General for an investigative report on a document shredding incident that apparently cost Dale J. Jones his job as police chief of the nation's oceans, Congressman John Tierney's office indicated yesterday.

Betsy Arnold, Tierney's chief of staff, also said another House subcommittee that held an oversight hearing into the law enforcement system within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had received a response from Jones to a demand for "documents and answers" about the shredding incident, possible misuse of an $8.4 million asset forfeiture fund of fines collected from the fishing industry, and other problems uncovered in a six-month probe.

Schwaab's statement and an internal memo from Risenhoover obtained by the Times did not discuss why members of Jones' team — Deputy Director Mark Spurrier, and assistant Mark Paterni and Todd Dubois — were bypassed for Risenhoover, who according to his own memo to the headquarters staff at Silver Spring, Md., and the 225 agents in eight regions, has no law enforcement experience.

Instead, Risenhoover's memo noted that, in his 20 plus years with NOAA he has worked in habitat, protected resources, legislative affairs, and as deputy chief financial officer and most recently as director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries.

Risenhoover, however, promised "there will be no lapse in our enforcement operations" and a plan to meet all the requirements of the IG's report.

The March 4 letter signed by Kucinich and Tierney had demanded detailed answers to questions in five distinct categories, including the document shredding, the possible misuse of the fines and hiring practices.

The questions in this area involved how and why Jones' team was assembled:

"Is it true that you have hired a number of ex-Maryland police officers in executive positions … including Mark Spurrier, Mark Paterni and Harold Robbins?" the congressmen asked. "Is it true that none of these individuals had fisheries or other natural resource law enforcement experience at the time of their hiring? Is it true that none of those individuals had federal law enforcement training at the time of their hiring?"

Read the complete story from the Gloucester Times 

 

The text of the Risenhoover internal memo follows:

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Alan Risenhoover

To: _NMFS OLE All Hands

 Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2010
Subject: [Fwd: Law Enforcement Program and Operations]

All —

I wanted to get a quick note out introducing myself and provide a little background.  I've been with NOAA Fisheries for a little over 20 years and during that time have worked in a number of areas – habitat, protected resources, legislative affairs, and most recently as the agency's Deputy CFO and Director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries.  As Eric noted in his email yesterday, the Office of Law Enforcement is a critical component in the management of the Nation's marine resources.  To ensure that OLE is continues to play this important role in an effective manner during this transitional period, I plan on focusing on several primary areas in the coming months:

•    Maintain the health of the organization during the transition – provide day-to-day direction, programmatic oversight, and connectivity to agency and NOAA leadership.
•    There will be no lapse in our enforcement operations.  The Nation’s marine statutes – the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Marine Sanctuaries Act, and Lacy Act among others – will continue to be fully enforced.  I will work with each of you to ensure effective, fair, and transparent enforcement operations. 
•    Substantive, timely response to OIG report findings and implementation of proposed NOAA improvements, including:
    o    Enforcement summit
    o    Administration of asset/forfeiture fund review
    o    Workforce management review and implementation
    o    Improved communications and outreach
    o    Process for an annual review of the enforcement program
    o    Reviewing and revising NOAA law enforcement operations manuals
    o    Immediately prioritize and develop a detailed schedule and assignments for meeting all of the requirements of OIG report and March 18 memo
•    Selection of a new Director and an efficient transition to new Director and management team.

I look forward to working with each of you in the coming months and identifying and implementing improvements.

Thanks.

Alan

 

 

 

 

 

 

The emergency economic opportunity program for New England commercial fishing industry sent to the Obama administration by seven members of Congress asks for common sense executive action to break through bureaucratic knots and dubious science that are causing what was described as unnecessary job loss within the fishing industry.

Low-balled hard catch limits are expected to ruin as many as half the family-owned fishing businesses in New England during the coming fishing year which begins May 1.

The bankruptcies would end fishing careers and put on the market their fishing permits at pennies on the dollar just as the catch share system introduces a rudimentary commodities market and privatization of the fishery designed to induce investors into the fishery.

Under these conditions, buyers could expect to buy low and quickly enjoy windfall profits as the stocks are restored and the limits are removed.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.