Saving Seafood

This fisherman is determined to fight the rising tide of government quotas

November 10, 2017 — There’s another species in the ocean that is slowly disappearing. This one doesn’t have fins, but orange waders, heavy rubber gloves, and fishing tackle. It’s the commercial fishermen. The industry in which they work, fishermen say, is being choked by unmanageable fines and regulations.

Jim Ford of Lisa Ann Fisheries is one of those still standing. Fewer and fewer boats are going out to sea, to Ford’s dismay. While there used to be dozens of draggers going out of Newburyport, he’s now the only fisherman doing it full-time — pulling a net or trawling the rocky seabed to scoop up his catch.

Ford, 47, disagrees that the sea is being depleted. One of his recent 14-hour runs yielded 1,000 pounds of gray sole (worth about $3 a pound at auction), 300 pounds of monkfish, and some flounder. On his 52-foot fiberglass boat, Lisa Ann III, Ford typically steams out at midnight for a three-hour trip to Jeffreys Ledge with two crewmen on deck and a federal observer — a third-party ombudsman — to monitor overfishing.

This government watchman, a stranger with notepad and pen — and sometimes getting seasick — has spoiled fishing excursions for Ford. The thrill of the hunt, the wild unpredictability of the wind and the waves has turned into a list of quotas, trip limits, and gear restrictions.

He hopes that “some day the marine fishery agencies will figure out there’s more cod and other fish in the ocean then they think there is now. The government doesn’t see what I see out there every day.” Still, fishing policies aside, Ford never fails to get excited when the catch sensor blinks, indicating that there’s plenty of fish in the net. “I love fishing. Otherwise, I’d put my anchor down and call it quits,” Ford said. He spoke with the Globe about why he remains hooked.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

 

NOAA Fisheries offering industry-related loans

March 30, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries is accepting applications from commercial fishermen and those in the aquaculture industry looking for a share of NOAA’s $100 million in lending authority designated for fiscal 2016.

The loans, which run from five to 25 years, have market-competitive interest rates.

Eligible applicants include those working in aquaculture, mariculture, shoreside fisheries facilities and commercial fishermen.

Potential uses for the funds among applicants from aquaculture, mariculture and shoreside fisheries facilities include purchasing an existing facility, improvements to an existing facility, new construction and reconstruction.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Federal government should fully fund fisherman safety programs

December 28, 2015 —  Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in America. Groundfishermen in the Northeast are 37 times more likely to die on the job than police officers, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. They are 171 times more likely to die on the job than that average American worker.

As Massachusetts lawmakers noted in a joint letter to the president earlier this year, “If our school teachers died on the job at the same rate as our fishermen in Massachusetts, we would lose 400 public school teachers each year.”

Because there is no controlling the open ocean and offshore weather is difficult to impossible to consistently predict, fishing will always carry an element of danger.

It can, however, be safer. Only 10 percent of New England’s offshore fishermen have been through safety training. Raising that percentage will save lives.

Congress decided as much in 2010, when it passed the Coast Guard Authorization Act, which among other things required additional safety and survival training for those operating commercial fishing boats more than 3 nautical miles from shore.

The act established two competitive grant programs to help pay for the needed training; $3 million was to be set aside for fishing safety training, with another $3 million for fishing safety research grant programs and safety equipment.

Read the full opinion piece at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Nonprofit Group’s Mission Is To Keep Fishermen Safe

October 16, 2015 — HYANNIS, Mass. — Eighteen fishermen from around New England took to the seas of Hyannis Inner Harbor on Friday for free training put on by a nonprofit group called Fishing Partnership Support Services.

The fishermen donned inflatable immersion suits, put out fires, plugged leaks, and lit flares, supervised and coached by Coast Guard-certified instructors from various companies and organizations involved in fishing safety and equipment.

See a photo gallery from the training event

“You don’t want to be doing this stuff for the first time when you’re out on the water,” said the organization’s safety training coordinator Luis Catala, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard. “This is a great chance for them to practice and learn.”

The nonprofit started doing trainings in 2005 and now offers about 10 a year across New England. It has trained 2,700 fishermen in that time, said Vice President Andra Athos. In addition to the trainings, the group’s other main effort is providing health insurance to commercial fishermen, only 10 percent of whom are insured, through the Affordable Care Act.

“Our mission is to ensure the health and well-being of the commercial fishing community,” Athos said. “That doesn’t mean just fishermen, it also means their families and their communities.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

North Carolina: Weekly Update for Oct. 12, 2015

October 12, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association: 

COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN NEEDED TO REMOVE MARINE DEBRIS

The North Carolina Coastal Federation is currently accepting applications for its annual Derelict Fishing Gear Recovery Project. This project is open to commercial fishermen in northeastern North Carolina.

Watermen are accepted to this program annually to help N.C. Marine Patrol on select days during the “no-potting” period, typically from Jan. 15 – Feb. 7. The collection will take place in selected areas of Marine Patrol’s District 1, which includes the Northern coast from the Virginia state line, Manteo to Swanquarter, including the Outer Banks to Ocracoke. Local fishermen with knowledge of these waters will be given preference. 

To qualify, fishermen must adhere to the following conditions: (1) have a valid Standard Commercial Fishing License (SCFL), (2) guarantee availability for work during the weeks of Jan. 18 and Jan. 25, 2016, (3) attend a mandatory training session to learn how to use project equipment (side-scan sonar and data collection tablets), as well as general project protocol. 

Payment is $400 per boat, per day, and a captain and one mate is required. Three days of work are guaranteed with acceptance to the program. Approximately 12 boats (12 captains and 12 mates) will be accepted for the 2016 cleanup. 

Funded by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, this project is intended to improve habitat and water quality, as well as support commercial watermen. Applications are due Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Applications are available at www.nccoast.org/ and can be mailed to 128 Grenville Street, Manteo, NC 27954 or faxed to 252-473-2402. For more information contact Ladd Bayliss at 252-473-1607 or laddb@nccoast.org.

STATE SEEKS FOR-HIRE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP APPLICANTS

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is seeking members for a For-Hire Stakeholder Advisory Group.  The group will be tasked with studying whether the state should require charter and guide boat operators to submit logbooks summarizing their catch. The division is required to submit findings of the study to the N.C. General Assembly in January.

The Division of Marine Fisheries is no longer considering a requirement for a for-hire logbook at this time. However, the group will be asked for input as to what type of logbook, if any, they might like to see in the future.

By law, the For-Hire Stakeholder Advisory Group is limited to those people who hold a For-Hire Coastal Recreational Fishing License or a Standard Commercial Fishing License and division staff. The membership should represent all major recreational fishing areas on the North Carolina coast.

Those who would like to serve on the stakeholder group should contact Don Hesselman, License and Statistics Section chief with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, at 252-808-8099 or Don.Hesselman@ncdenr.gov by 5 p.m. Oct. 19.

As the timeframe for the study is short, the division has tentatively scheduled a first meeting for Nov. 10. The location and time of this meeting will be announced later. 

NMFS ANNOUNCES PROPOSED RULE TO IMPLEMENT ICCAT ELECTRONIC BLUEFIN TUNA CATCH DOCUMENTATION SYSTEM

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposes to implement recommendations by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to transition the current paper-based bluefin tuna catch documentation program (BCD program) to an electronic bluefin tuna catch documentation system (eBCD system).  Comments are due Nov. 9, 2015.  For more information see the news release.  

NCFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESCHEDULED

The NCFA board meeting scheduled for today was canceled due to inclement weather.  It has been rescheduled for Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. at the Washington Civic Center located at 110 Gladden St. in Washington. As a reminder, members are welcomed and encouraged to attend, however, the board will be discussing the southern flounder management crisis at this meeting, and so we strongly urge all the fishery’s participants who are able to attend. We need your input on this critical issue.  

INTERESTED CANDIDATES FOR SAFMC SEAT EXPIRING IN 2016

Members interested in serving in the obligatory seat for the South Atlantic Marine Fishery Commission, please let Lauren know.  You can email or give her a call at 252-725-2468.

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

–Commercial Scup Winter II quota and possession limits increase effective Nov. 1

DEADLINES:

Oct. 19 – For-Hire Advisory Group Applications

Oct. 29 – NMFS Proposed Rules for Snapper-Grouper, Dolphin and Golden Crab Comments

Nov. 4 – Atlantic HMS SEDAR Pool Nominations

Nov. 9 – NMFS Proposed Rule on ICCAT Bluefin Electronic Documentation Comments

Nov. 19 – Derelict Fishing Gear Recovery Project Applications

Dec. 16 – NMFS Draft Ecosystem-based Fishery Management Policy Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.    

Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. – Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel Meeting, Radisson Hotel Providence Airport, 2081 Post Road, Warwick, RI

Oct. 21 at 10:30 a.m. – Standard Commercial Fishing License Eligibility Board Meeting, Department of Environmental Quality Regional Office, 127 N. Cardinal Dr. Ext., Wilmington, NC

Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. – Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel Meeting via webinar 

Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. – Marine Fisheries Commission Nominating Committee Meeting, Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters, 3441 Arendell St., Morehead City 

Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. – NCFA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington Civic Center, 110 Gladden St., Washington, NC

PROCLAMATIONS: 

No proclamations have been issued.  

 View a PDF of the Oct. 12 Weekly Update

NEW YORK: Commercial fishermen blast new state report

October 1, 2015 — NEW YORK — Commercial fishing advocates Thursday lambasted a new state report that criticizes New York’s top fisheries regulator, saying it failed to address fishermen’s complaints and took too long to complete.

At a rally beside a commercial fishing trawler in Hampton Bays, two state lawmakers joined several dozen fishermen and fisherwomen and an attorney for fishermen in blasting the report as a “whitewash.” They vowed to press for legislation and to take legal action to address their concerns.

The report by the state inspector general, released on Wednesday, said the state Department of Environmental Conservation failed to process years of paperwork that fishermen are required to fill out every time they fish; DEC enforcement officers were improperly directing plea agreements, leading to possible “coercion” of defendants, and that property seized in arrests wasn’t returned after fishermen’s acquittals.

Read the full story at Newsday

 

 

MASSACHUSETTS: State won’t follow Gloucester fishery aid plan

October 1, 2015 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — With one day to spare before the grant period is set to begin, the state finally released details on its plan to distribute the final portion of federal fishery disaster aid to Massachusetts fishermen with federal permits.

It is not the so-called “Gloucester Plan” that would have spread between $6 million and $7 million to federally permitted fishermen who landed at least 20,000 pounds of groundfish in any of the fishing seasons 2012 to 2014.

Instead, according to Katie Gronendyke, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the state will divide the federal assistance among fishermen with a Massachusetts homeport as of April 30, 2015, who either landed at least 10,000 pounds of groundfish in any fishing season between 2012 and 2014 or had an observer aboard their vessel for at least one groundfish trip in 2014.

The plan, according to Gronendyke, will “better target active fishermen in the groundfishery throughout the Commonwealth.”

The full grant of $6.9 million contained in the third phase, or Bin 3, of federal funding being funneled through the state is the final installment of the roughly $21 million in federal fishery disaster funds designated for Massachusetts from the $75 million appropriated by Congress in January 2014.

The state Division of Marine Fisheries, Gronendyke said, is in the process of identifying qualified recipients by auditing federal catch and trip data.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Congressional delegation stands with fishermen

September 20, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Fishermen have said this month that the U.S. Congress is their last hope in preventing federal regulations from destroying their industry.

So it was a boost of confidence this week when three New Hampshire congressional legislators took a stand for the fishing industry. They filed legislation, sent letters requesting action and held a roundtable that placed themselves, fishermen and federal officials in the same room to discuss the fate of the fishing industry.

“I think they’re all believable,” said Peter Kendall, a former New Hampshire commercial fisherman. “I think they’re all behind us.”

On Friday, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., held the roundtable meeting at Pease International Tradeport that put fishermen across the table from officials from the federal agency imposing what fishermen say are back-breaking regulations and costs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At the meeting, Ayotte spoke in support of the fishermen, saying those fees and regulations fly in the face of federal law.

Ayotte and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., on Thursday wrote a letter asking the U.S. inspector general to investigate an at-sea monitoring program that fishermen are expected to pay for as soon as Nov. 1. The program will require observers go to sea with fishermen for 24 percent of their fishing days, monitoring their compliance with groundfishing regulations. Cost is expected to be roughly $700 a day, more than fishermen gross in a day’s work, they say.

Ayotte also filed legislation to terminate the observer program unless it was funded by NOAA, which currently covers the cost.

This past Monday, U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., met with commercial fishermen at Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative in Seabrook to promise them he’d file a bill to delay the Nov. 1 deadline, if not kill the program altogether.

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times

 

 

NORTH CAROLINA: Local legislators cast for answers on flounder issue

September 15, 2015 — RALEIGH, N.C. — Fry it, broil it, stick it in a stew — flounder has as many possible preparations as there are chefs clamoring to serve it.

But the fish’s popularity is cause for concern along the North Carolina coast. Fisheries experts say southern flounder are over fished and need stringent management to save them. Commercial fishermen disagree, prompting state legislators — including three from Southeastern North Carolina — to get involved. The fish fight has erupted into an all-out battle focused on the state’s nine-member Marine Fisheries Commission, now tasked with finding a solution that will pacify policy makers, unburden fishermen and keep the flounder swimming.

“I think this is relatively newer to the legislators, and I think they probably jumped the gun on it,” said commission member Mike Wicker, who is also a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I think they want to represent what their constituency would like them to represent, but I don’t think they’ve had enough time to understand what their constituency wants.”

Read the full story at Star News Online

NORTH CAROLINA: Fish wars swirl around NC’s diminishing southern flounder

September 12, 2015 — Not the prettiest nor the most elusive of fish, the flat, oval-shaped southern flounder is nonetheless a tasty staple along the North Carolina coast, whether it’s caught by fishing rod or purchased in a seafood market or restaurant.

These days the southern flounder is making waves that reach all the way to the state capital, pitting recreational anglers against commercial operators, setting a regulatory commission’s members against one another and their staff, and prompting legislators to wade into a controversy that is the territory of the executive branch. Accusations of political threats and retaliation abound.

The controversy centers on how extensively the flounder is being over-fished. Conservationists and recreational anglers say the fish is so popular that its numbers are in danger of being depleted, and point out that the catch has dropped by 60 percent in the past 20 years. But commercial fishermen say the two groups are being alarmists and are trying to take a shortcut around the process that is in place to regulate fishing.

The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources notes that the smaller catch could be caused in part by stricter regulations. Commercial anglers have succeeded in convincing the environmental agency to reverse its initial support for temporary limits, and have brought a halt to the proposed rewrite of the regulations.

The stakes are large: Ninety-six percent of all the southern flounder that went into commercial markets in the United States in 2013 came from North Carolina waters. Last year, 1.7 million pounds were caught that sold to dealers for $4.8 million.

Read the full story at the The News & Observer