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Francis "Chris" Christy, a respected authority on international fish conservation and a deft fly fisherman, died June 19 in his home in Washington. He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 82.

In 1965, Christy co-wrote a book that described some of the earliest warnings on the dangers of commercial overfishing. "The Common Wealth in Ocean Fisheries: Some Problems of Growth and Economic Allocation" suggested the possibility that entire populations and habitats could be devastated by overfishing, which in turn could cause the world industry to collapse.

Christy worked as a fisheries management expert and economist for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization from 1980 to 1989 in Rome. In that position, he advised developing countries such as Malaysia and the Republic of Maldives on building a successful fishing industry that would boost their economy but not hurt the overall fish population.

Read the complete story at South Coast Today.

NOAA today announces the availability of the $3M for the Northeast Region Fishing Gear Exchange Project.  Note that applications for this opportunity are due by 11:59 PM on Thursday, July 30. For further details please read this Federal Register Notice.

The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is issuing a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), reference number EA133F-09-BAA-17093, to solicit cooperative research proposals that address research topics relative to Northeast fisheries. These topics are:

1. Industry based fishery independent fixed gear surveys that will assist in filling data gaps;

2. Enhanced stock monitoring supporting the management transition to Allowable Catch Limits and sectors; and

3. Expanded conservation engineering studies with an emphasis on by-catch reduction and industry assistance in adopting new technology.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), Northeast Cooperative Research Program (NCRP) has identified these research themes and species priorities through a strategic planning initiative that was started in December 2008. A Cooperative Research Coordinating Committee comprising members from the New England Fisheries Management Council, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Northeast Regional Office and Northeast Fisheries Science Center was developed to guide this initiative. Five (5) public workshops were held including two associated with Regional Council meetings, and research themes were presented to the Northeast Regional Coordinating Committee, which generally agreed with the proposed research themes and approaches.

Additional meetings were then held with industry to further refine the themes.

Public access to the BAA package is provided at the Government-wide Point of Entry – Fedbizopps.gov <http://www.Fedbizopps.gov> and by visiting the website: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/StateFedOff/coopresearch/crpc.html. Questions regarding proposal submission may be addressed via e-mail to Timothy.Wampler@noaa.gov and shall refer to this announcement and reference number EA133F-09-BAA-17093. All responsible sources may submit a research proposal that will be considered by the Government. Research proposals submitted through ** 4:30 p.m. EDT August 3, 2009 ** will be considered at this time for Fiscal Year 2009 funding. Only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the government to an award under this announcement. All resulting awards shall be contracts governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and any applicable OMB Circular. Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions are encouraged to apply. This action is unrestricted. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541710, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. The size standard is 500 employees. All potential Offerors are reminded that prior to the award of any contract, the Offeror shall possess a valid Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS), Tax Identification Number (TIN), and be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. Questions on this announcement should be submitted in writing to Timothy Wampler at Timothy.Wampler@noaa.gov.

Mr. Balsiger’s "My View" column (Times, Saturday, July 11) about the need for licensing recreational fisherman seems a bit schizophrenic, in that his reasoning supports two entirely contradictory statements within the same bit of logic.

On the one hand, he says that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will begin charging American recreational fishermen "between $15 and $25 for a registration." At the same time, he says, "That fee will be equal to the cost of administering the program." And he adds, "We’re not looking to make money."

Yet, if he has his way, he stands to make quite a bit of money. There are 4 million to 6 million recreational fishermen in our country right now. At $15 to $25 a fisherman, he’s looking at fresh income of $60 million to $150 million each year, to "administer" an activity carried out by people with fishing poles and handlines who are no threat to fish populations, and who would dearly like the government to leave them the hell alone.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

With over 50 full and part-time jobs on the line at its highly acclaimed Ronald Reagan National Airport restaurant, Legal Sea Foods has filed a legal complaint against the airport authority in an effort to remain in operation in the space they have occupied for the past 12 years. In the complaint, Legal Sea Foods claims that MWAA never put out a RFP for the space they occupy near the north gate at Terminal C.

"We want to stay and continue to build on the success we’ve enjoyed at National Airport for the past 12 years," said Legal Sea Foods President and CEO Roger Berkowitz. "Our loyal employees and customers know we’ve won awards for our customer service and our family friendly atmosphere and have become a favorite for travelers passing through National Airport. We have over 50 full and part time employees there that we’d like to keep working."

Industry members who wish to support Legal’s effort to stay at Reagan should contact Steven Baker. Vice President of Administration and Concessions Manager, Reagan Airport .  (703) 417-8600 extension 3001.

Read the complete story at The Examiner.

The New England Fish Forum’s next conversation will be about Amendment 16, its implications for industry, environment and community, and unresolved issues from the Portland NEFMC meeting. To form the agenda for this meeting, they are collecting lists of issues and concerns from people in the New England commercial fishing community, scientists and managers.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Your opinions, ideas and questions about Amendment 16 and the enhanced sector allocation program are needed!

 

As you know, last week the New England Fisheries Management Council approved a sector/catch share program for groundfish management (Amendment 16). The Council approved 17 new sectors in addition to the existing two Cape Cod sectors. Sectors will develop their own sets of rules but must operate within a Council-provided quota on each sector’s harvest level, based on historic catch levels by each sector member between 1996-2006, using landing data. Fishermen who do not join sectors (fishermen in the “common pool”) will be subject to the current Days-At-Sea management program, closed area system and gear-type specific rules. (For a more detailed summary, see the bottom of this email.)

 

Draft Amendment 16 must still be approved and implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service. It is expected to be submitted to NMFS later this summer, with a proposed rule published in fall or winter and implementation on May 1, 2010.

 

The NEFMC and NMFS both have acknowledged that there are challenges to the success of the approved program, which must be addressed with improved science and more effective monitoring and enforcement.

 

Many of you have your own opinions about challenges that must be addressed for this transition to succeed. You were either at the meeting in Portland or have been following the discussion and rulings from around New England. It is important that these discussions continue in this period of time before NMFS approval. It is especially key that these discussions engage as many people as possible, in as productive and collaborative a way as possible. This is a major period of change in fisheries management that may have greater implications outside of the groundfish fishery. I strongly encourage you to join in conversation with others in your community, as well as with people with whom you may have differences.

 

TAKE A MOMENT TO BRAINSTORM A LIST of issues that were either unresolved or that you think need to be discussed further, and email them to me at the New England Fish Forum. The New England Fish Forum will use your feedback to draft a loose agenda for discussion meetings that will include fishermen and other industry members, scientists, managers and other policy makers in July and August.

 

Email your list to the New England Fish Forum ne.fishforum@gmail.com or to the organizer, Katie Okamoto, at Katie.okamoto@gmail.com. Make your list as specific as possible.

 

Some topics may include:

– Details about enforcement and monitoring

– Informational / scientific needs

– DAS vs. catch share systems for the common pool

– Transitional needs

– Safety concerns

– Bycatch and discards

– Communication among and between sectors and common pool fishermen

– Family and community concerns

 

And spread the word by showing this article to your colleagues.

 

I look forward to hearing from you!

 

Very best,

Katie Okamoto

New England Fish Forum organizer

C: 908 477 4631 << Please call me with questions, advice or to discuss your list by phone!

 
 

See more information about the New England Fish Forum.

 
 
 
 

Below, please find a brief summary of NEFMC actions on groundfish from the June 24-25 meeting.

 

Council Fishery Analyst Tom Nies provided the following brief summary of Council actions that took place on June 24-25 pertaining to groundfish:

 

The approval of draft Amendment 16 included the following elements:

A. Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) were adopted. Actual ACLs will be set in the fall based on Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) figures set by the Science & Statistical Committee in early August.

B. SECTOR FORMATION. Council modified how the potential sector contribution (“PSC”) is calculated for each permit. For almost all stocks, PSC will be based on permit history of landings between FY 1996-2006. Cape Cod sectors are the exception.

C. ENFORCEMENT & MONITORING. Dock-side and at-sea monitoring requirements were established. The levels of dockside monitoring required begin at 50 pct of trips in FY 2010 and declines to 20 pct of trips in future years. Less than 100 pct at-sea monitoring is proposed with details to be coordinated between sectors and NMFS (NERO and NEFSC).

D. Sectors will be allowed to transfer their annual catch entitlement (ACE), which is determined by adding the potential sector contributions (PSCs) of each sector member (based on permit history between 1996-2006).

E. Sector members will be granted universal exemptions from some of the rolling closures in the inshore Gulf of Maine, but not all. 

F. Seventeen new sectors were authorized and modifications made to the existing two Cape Cod sectors. Vessels not joining sectors will be regulated as the common pool.

G. For vessels not entering sectors, effort control option 3A was selected. This option counts days-at-sea (DAS) in 24-hour increments, reduces allocated Category A DAS by 50% from FW 42 allocations, removes differential DAS counting areas, and increases trip limits for many stocks.

H. ACCOUNTABILITY. Commercial fishery accountability measures were adopted. For non-sector vessels, the differential DAS option will be used in FY 2010 and 2011, but will be replaced by the hard total allowable catch (TAC) option in 2012. For sector vessels, the accountability measure is the hard TAC components of the sector policies.

I. FISH. The minimum size for haddock is reduced to 18 inches. The minimum size for halibut is increased to 41 inches. The retention of wolfish is prohibited. Atlantic wolfish was added to the management.

 

In addition, the Council received a report from the Science & Statistical Committee on setting groundfish Acceptable Biological Catches. The Council also directed the Interspecies Committee to draft a proposal to combine and consolidate, to the extent possible, all current Fisheries Management Plans.

 

SOURCES: https://www.savingseafood.org/management-regulation/summary-of-council-groundfish-actions-june-24-25-2.html and http://www.nefmc.org

A sign reading Atlantic Sea Pride Inc. lay covered with muddy footprints outside the company’s South Boston seafood facility yesterday. Inside, bent and blackened metal beams hung from the remains of a top floor. Half-burned foam containers stood stacked in a corner, while bits of charred plastic gave off an acrid odor.

Early yesterday morning, a fire ripped through the building at 400 Dorchester Ave., destroying the business located in a rented space in the rear half of the property. The small seafood restaurant, a retail store, and a wholesale store named World Seafood Processing in the front of were also damaged. After 911 calls from people who smelled smoke, firefighters arrived at the scene at about 1:15 a.m., said Stephen MacDonald, spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. The four-alarm fire raged on for nearly three hours, rolling toward the front of the building, eating away at its corrugated metal roof and walls. MacDonald said officials estimated the damage at $2 million.

One firefighter sustained a back injury and was treated and released from Tufts New England Medical Center, MacDonald said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Once it was determined no one was inside the building, MacDonald said, officials ordered the firefighters to continue fighting the fire from outside, fearing the roof would give way.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe Mobile.

In a recent Associated Press article, a recreational fisherman casting for striped bass on Cape Cod Canal groused at the idea of paying for a license for the privilege to fish.

His comment was: "(The government) didn’t put stripers there. Why should I pay to catch them?"

I understand why fishermen from the Northeast who have grown up fishing without a license or registration would complain about this new requirement. But we don’t want to lose striped bass or any marine species that contributes to the health of the ecosystem.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

The prize catch of Florida’s commercial fishermen and charter boat captains could soon be illegal to catch.  A federal agency is considering a six month ban on catching red snapper off the coast from the Carolina’s all the way to Florida.

Local fishermen in Volusia County say the federal data showing that the snapper is overfished, is flawed. They have formed an organization and have hired their own marine biologist.

Crewmen on the boats leaving out of Ponce Inlet say the red snapper fishing is the best it has ever been, and they’re seeing record takes.

Read the complete story at My Fox Orlando.

With investigators from the Inspector General’s office of the federal Department of Commerce about to probe fishermen’s — and our state and federal lawmakers’ — allegations of overly-aggressive federal enforcement tactics, we’ve taken another step in our coverage of this important, ongoing story. We’ve literally pulled all of this coverage together through a new presentation at gloucestertimes.com. There, as the header notes, you can "follow the fishing industry" and the Times’ coverage of it throughout this extraordinary, landmark period. You can access the page directly at gloucestertimes.com/fishing.

Why, with daily coverage of these issues, have we created this new page? Why do we give this level of coverage to the fishing industry? Why, you may well ask, is your community’s newspaper doing that?

Because we believe that, with a landmark change in the federal regulatory format, with a change at the very top of the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, and with significant challenges to the way regulators carry out their duties, this truly is a crossroads time for the fishing industry.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.