Washington

For the people of Gloucester, it was the equivalent of a death in the family.

It seemed fated to be that way in the sense that things Kennedy descend on history like things from no other family — in this case, the quintessential sailor adopting himself into America’s most seaworthy city.

From the pre-beginnings of his own political career — when a former Gloucester mayor was assigned to keep the Kennedy family’s dibs on the U.S. Senate seat of his brother John, who’d been elected president, until he was old enough to run for, win and secure it for the next 47 years — right up to the end, which came late Tuesday, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy treated Gloucester as his home away from home.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

Earlier this week, a Microsoft Word document entitled "Letter – to NOAA in support of Catch Shares FINAL.doc" which had been circulating on Capitol Hill, came to the attention of a number of individuals in the fisheries communities.  The document’s properties showed that it was created on April 6, 2009 by Amanda Leland, a registered lobbyist with the Environmental Defense Fund, and last saved by “dreineman” on July 31, 2009.  Since Dan Reineman is currently a Sea Grant fellow for Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif. this suggested a collaboration between Mr Reineman and Ms. Leland, a former Sea Grant fellow for Congressman Farr (2003).  Richard Gaines of the Gloucester Times looked into the lobbying effort, and the possible collaboration, and wrote this story.

The Environmental Defense Fund and a California congressman have undertaken a lobbying campaign on behalf of "catch shares," the policy advanced by national oceans administrator Jane Lubchenco that would privatize the fisheries, converting a commonly held resource into a commodity.

Together, the EDF and Congressman Sam Farr have written and distributed to his House colleagues a letter that holds catch shares out to be nothing short of a panacea for the ailments of a national industry.

EDF also has identified potentially lucrative investment opportunities in catch share futures.

"Research published in the journal Science shows that ‘catch shares,’ a performance-based approach to management, can stop and even reverse, the collapse of fisheries when properly applied," Farr wrote in his recently distributed form letter.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

The southern sea otter and the marine turtle would get federal assistance in their struggles to survive under bills the House passed Tuesday, August 18.

The House voted 316-107 to approve $5 million a year over the next five years for research and recovery programs run by the Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey for the southern sea otters along the coast of California.

In 1977, the southern sea otter was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Currently there are about 2,800 of the marine mammals along the California coast.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree issued the following statement on the appointment of Glenn Libby to the New England Fisheries Council and the New England Fisheries Council meeting in Portland.  (Pingree wrote a letter to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco supporting Libby’s selection to the Council)

“I am very happy that Glen Libby was appointed to the New England Fisheries Management Council.  Glen’s 30 years of experience in the fishing industry and his commitment to sustainability and sustainable fishing will make him a good addition to the Council.

“Over the next few years, the Council must work together to solve the fundamental problems facing the fisheries – overcapacity , misalignment of economic incentives and a highly complex regulatory system.  All Council members must be up for the challenge and to be willing to work towards sustainability.  Glen is a perfect candidate for the job.

Read the complete statement at Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s website.

On June 25, 2009 the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported on H.R. 2847 containing appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.  This included appropriations for the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service.

The report recommends $12,500,000 for "New England Fisheries Assistance" and  $1,060,000 for activities related to National Standard 8.

In addition, on page 33, The Committee expressed deep concern about the potential impact on essential fish habitat of a proposed liquefied natural gas facility in Fall River, Massachusetts and noted "that in April 2009 the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a final interim rule for the 2009 groundfish season that prohibits the retention of any catch of southern New England winter flounder due to concern about the condition of the stock. The Committee has also committed significant resources toward efforts to help restore commercially valuable stocks and the New England fishing industry. Therefore, the Committee expects the National Marine Fisheries Service, in providing comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on any draft environmental impact statement for the proposal, to insist on mitigation measures, including a no action alternative, that will ensure the recovery of southern New England winter flounder."

See the summary of appropriations related to NMFS from the Library of Congress THOMAS website.

See the complete report (NMFS appropriations are on pp 32-34 of the 176 page document).

U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Friday announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded $146,749 to the Maine Department of Marine Resources in Augusta.

The funding will be used to launch a study to examine and asses the socio-economic habits of multiple species of marine life in the Gulf of Maine in order to maintain and preserve these valuable resources.

"As Mainers, we must pledge to be stewards of our beloved rocky shores, the fishing industries that sustain our coastal economy, and the marine life that inhabits our waters," said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. "These vital funds, generously allocated by the Department of Commerce, will contribute to ensuring the strong future of both our coastal communities and livelihoods."

Read the complete story at Trading Markets.

A key member of a U.S. Senate panel is drafting legislation to plug a hole in government oversight that allows seafood merchants to routinely rip off customers by substituting cheap fish for more expensive fillets.

The effort by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) to reel in such fish fraud comes after a Scripps Television Station Group’s investigation found the practice to be pervasive in restaurants in four cities: Kansas City, Mo.; Phoenix; Baltimore and Tampa, Fla.

Snowe said she wants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which currently inspects only 2 percent of imported seafood, to ratchet up its checks.

Read the complete story at ABC Action News.

Commercial fisherman and Wanchese resident Jimmy Ruhle navigated the seas of Washington politics during Capitol Hill Ocean Week.

"I could have used a pair of roller skates to get from one meeting to the next," said Ruhle, president of Commercial Fishermen of America (CFA), in a rare moment of lightheartedness last week.

Ruhle talked with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chief Jane Lubchenco, met with legislative aides in 20 congressional offices, attended the Ocean Week Symposium, and served-up sea scallops at the annual NOAA fish fry at the Commerce Department.

Read the complete story at The Outer Banks Sentinel.

COAST GUARD: Administrative Law Judge Program Contains Elements Designed to Foster Judges’ Independence and Mariner Protections Assessed are Being Followed (GAO-09-489).

This report was requested by several congressional committees (see p.26) in the wake of a July 2007 Baltimore Sun article entitled "Coast Guard denies allegations of bias in judicial process."  The report can be accessed via the GAO website at www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-489  The report focused on three issues:

— First, GAO reviewed the ALJ programs’ structure and the extent that this fostered the independence of judges.  In general, we found that the structure called for by Congress in the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and related Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidelines — which were designed to foster independence — were indeed contained in the Coast Guard’s program.  As part of this objective, GAO reviewed personnel files and verified that the Coast Guard ALJ’s were hired and paid under OPM regulations.

— Second, GAO reviewed the ALJ programs’ procedures and the extent they included protections for mariners and whether complaints and decisions contained certain items related to this.  GAO found that the program did include protections for mariners — such as rights to submit and review evidence, to have a hearing before a judge, to be represented by counsel, and to appeal the case.  In addition, GAO reviewed a projectable sample of almost 200 individual case files over a 3 year period and found that virtually all the complaints and decisions did include the required item — such as listing the rule violated and alleged facts, stating the findings of fact, the decision and order, and the right to appeal.

— Third, GAO reviewed the outcomes of cases, based on a review of more than a thousand individual case files over a 3 year period.  The majority of cases (62%) are settled through negotiation between the Coast Guard and mariners without a hearing.  Only a small amount of cases (3%) go before an ALJ for a decision and order.  Other outcomes include default (11%) where a mariner does not respond to the charges; withdrawal (9%) where the Coast Guard withdraws the charges; voluntary surrender (9%) where the mariner gives up their license; and admissions (7%) where the mariner admits the allegation.

The report also compares the Coast Guard ALJ program with 3 other federal ALJ programs that hear cases related to the possible suspension and revocation of credentials required for employment a particular field.  Specifically, appendix I compares Coast Guard to the USDA, SEC and NTSB.  Because statute requires minimum procedures for these adjudications, each of these agencies is similar. As part of this review, GAO also conducted outreach to several mariners associations and attorneys to obtain their perspectives on Coast Guard ALJ structure and procedures, administrative actions, and ALJ hearing processes.  Because the input GAO received was varied and did not have a consistent message, GAO was not able to draw any conclusions from their input that would allow GAO to characterize mariner views in general. The report and appendices provides a great deal of detailed information on the ALJ program and process (including case outcomes).

See also – Report: Coast Guard law system serves mariners justice.

 

Representatives Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), and Walter Jones (R-North Carolina), wrote to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, expressing their concerns over the rising costs of the federally-mandated scallop observer program.

Among the concerns raised by the two Congressmen:

– Despite the provision of federal funding for observers in most U.S. fisheries, scallopers have been entirely excluded from such assistance, and have been forced to support the rising costs almost entirely on their own.

– Observers cost scallop vessels approximately $775 per day.

– Even when federal assistance has been made available to scallopers, such aid has been limited, and unavailable to most scallopers.

Read the letter from Congressmen Barney Frank and Walter Jones.