Governor Deval Patrick has written to Rebecca Blank, the Acting Secretary of Commerce, requesting immediate action by the Commerce Department on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' request for economic relief for the Massachusetts groundfish fleet.
Gov. Patrick originally requested the fishery disaster declaration in November 2011. Seven months ago, in January 2012, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco wrote to Gov. Patrick, stating that the Commerce Department would have an answer on the request "soon."
Gov. Patrick writes that, in its initial request, "the Commonwealth documented significant financial losses and dramatic consolidation in the Massachusetts-based groundfish fleet and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco promised rapid evaluation of my request." Since the initial request was made, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has released preliminary estimates of cuts to the groundfishery for the 2013 fishing year ranging from 43 to 73 percent. Gov. Patrick requested that Secretary Blank use her authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to issue a disaster declaration for the fishery to allow for economic aid to be available to the fleet before the cuts are implemented.
Gov. Patrick also emphasized that the current crisis with the groundfish resource, "is not the fault of our fisherman who have been following the federal fisheries management plans". It is becoming increasingly understood that the health of the fishery is influenced by factors other than pressure from the commercial fishery. When NOAA and the New England Fishery Management Council released their estimates for 2013 catch limits, the Northeast Seafood Coalition pointed out, "Year after year, industry has complied with everything the science and management have asked for; but ultimately, the status of several core stocks continues to decline. There are much larger forces at work in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank than just controlling fishing mortality or preventing overfishing on an instantaneous basis."
This echoes a sentiment expressed earlier by Sam Rauch, NOAA's Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, who, in a January 2012 letter to New England Fishery Management Council Chair C.M. "Rip" Cunningham, wrote, in reference to Gulf of Maine cod, "this lack of adequate progress [on rebuilding groundfish stocks] was not due to any failure on the part of the New England Fishery Management Council to take necessary action to meet the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, nor was it due to any failure on the part of fishery participants to act in compliance with applicable regulatory measures. Rather, the lack of adequate progress is due to a new and significantly revised understanding of the condition of the stock since the 2008 assessment was completed."
Similarly, John Bullard, the new head of NMFS' Northeast Regional Office, noted in a Saving Seafood radio interview, "the numbers of fish are depressed not just because of fishing effort, there's something else going on else there beside fishing effort. It's environmental factors." Bullard added, "I don't know whether it's global warming or temperature changes, or chemistry, but it's not due just to fishing effort,
The Governor calls on Secretary Blank to provide aid to the fishing fleet, "much as the federal government rightly comes to the aid of America's farmers during times of crisis." The US Senate has acted on similar lines, with two amendments focused on fisheries relief recently added to the 2012 Farm Bill. The amendments' sponsor, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who said, upon passage of the amendments, that his goal was to make the point, "fishermen from the Northeast who risk their lives to put food on our tables needed to be treated with the same respect as farmers in the Midwest."
The text of Governor Patrick's letter follows:
Office of the Governor
Commonwealth Of Massachusetts
State House
Boston, Ma 02133
The Honorable Rebecca Blank
Acting Secretary
United States Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230
Dear Acting Secretary Blank:
I am writing to urgently request that the Department of Commerce take immediate action on the Commonwealth's November 2011 renewed disaster request for direct economic relief for the Massachusetts groundfish fleet. At that time, the Commonwealth documented significant financial losses and dramatic consolidation in the Massachusetts-based groundfish fleet and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco promised rapid evaluation of my request. Now, the need for a disaster declaration is more critical than ever given the recent preliminary report from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) forecasting potentially devastating cuts to the New England groundfishery in 2013.
NMFS' preliminary numbers suggest groundfish cuts between 43 to 73 percent across multiple stocks, putting the very viability of the historic and economically vital New England fishing fleet at risk. We must take immediate action to prevent a massive consolidation of the fleet and to protect the thousands of fishermen and their families who depend on this industry for their livelihood.
I ask for your leadership now to utilize the authority granted under the Magnuson-Stevenson Act to declare a disaster declaration for the groundfishery so that direct economic relief can be provided to fishermen in Massachusetts. I also urge you to act quickly to ensure that relief is available before any potential cuts in allocation are implemented next year. Without this advance and proactive action, I fear for the viability of our fleet, and the communities and shore-side businesses that depend on the industry.
In addition, it is now clear that this resource disaster is not the fault of our fishermen who have been following the federal fisheries management plans, and I urge you to continue to improve fisheries science to allow for more accurate fisheries management decisions in the future.
Much as the federal government rightly comes to the aid of America's farmers during times of crisis, so too must the federal government support fishermen, who are working hard to put nutritious food on the table of Americans, during this crisis.
I look forward to working with you, fishermen, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, and the New England Fishery Management Council on this important challenge, and I stand ready to assist you to ensure our fishermen are provided the economic relief they so desperately need.
Sincerely,
Deval Patrick
Read the full letter here.