WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) โ October 6, 2015 โ The following editorial appeared yesterday in the Portsmouth Herald in Portsmouth, New Hampshire:
Local fishermen say the looming cost of paying $700 per day, for at-sea monitors, could put them out of business by the end of the year.
Itโs a threat that everyone should take seriously.
โThe day I really have to pay for this is the day I stop going fishing,โ says David Goethel, a commercial fisherman from Hampton.
Stringent federal catch limits have already crippled the 400-year-old fishing industry in New Hampshire to the point where there are now only nine active groundfishing boat operators.
This additional expense, to make sure fishermen are following regulations put forward by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), could be the final nail in the coffin.
Thatโs why we were pleased that last week NOAA delayed the downshifting of the costs to fishermen until Dec. 1. We urge NOAA and our congressional leaders to do what they can to ensure that the delay is permanent because itโs the right thing to do.
NOAA has been footing the bill for the at-sea monitoring program for several years, and rightly so as itโs the federal agencyโs responsibility to ensure that annual catch limits are not exceeded.
At-sea monitors keep track of how vessels are meeting their groundfishing allocations set by NOAA to keep groundfish stocks like cod, haddock and flounder from being destroyed.
NOAAโs current rules state that at-sea monitoring costs were to be instituted in 2012. However, they have delayed implementation because of the โcontinuing economic problemsโ in the industry, according to Teri Frady, spokesperson for NOAAโs Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
While the fishing industry is still in crisis, NOAA is now claiming it canโt afford to foot the bill for the monitors.
We find it hard, however, to believe that an agency with a billion dollar budget canโt afford it.
The real people who canโt afford it are the fishermen, who are already struggling to stay afloat due to the heavy regulations.
The cost for at-sea monitors will likely be near $700 per day for each vessel, a figure based on what NOAA paid in fiscal year 2015.
In an email to congressional staff, NOAA regulators admit the change would be โeconomically challengingโ for many.
Studies by NOAA show that as many as 60 percent of affected boats could be pushed out of profitability if they have to pay those fees.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte was right to question whether this decision to downshift costs violates the law.
By law, according to the National Standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NOAA is directed to sustain both fish stocks and fishing communities.
Forcing fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors may support sustainable fisheries but it will kill the local groundfishing industry.