Greg DiDomenico Archives - Page 4 of 4

New England Fishing Groups Oppose Use of Antiquities Act for Atlantic Marine Monument as Requested by Connecticut Lawmakers

August 4, 2016 — The following was released by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

WASHINGTON (NCFC) – August 4, 2016 – Led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Congressional Delegation today asked President Obama to use executive authority under the Antiquities Act to designate the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts as a Marine National Monument. The Connecticut Congressional Delegation is comprised of Sen. Blumenthal, Sen. Chris Murphy, Rep. John Larson, Rep. Joe Courtney, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Rep. Jim Himes, and Rep. Elizabeth Esty.

Members of the National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC) have previously expressed opposition to the misuse of the Antiquities Act to designate an Atlantic Marine Monument. A monument designation would subvert the open and transparent process for fisheries management currently in place under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and threatens the jobs and livelihoods of hardworking fishermen.

Below are statements from NCFC members on their opposition to an Atlantic Marine Monument designation.

David Frulla and Andrew Minkiewicz, Fisheries Survival Fund (Atlantic Scallops):

“A monument designation, with its unilateral implementation and opaque process, is the exact opposite of the fisheries management process in which we participate. Public areas and public resources should be managed in an open and transparent manner, not an imperial stroke of the pen.”

Jon Williams, New England Red Crab Harvesters’ Association:

“The red crab fishing business I’ve been operating for twenty years is active in some of the areas under the proposal. Not only has our fishery complied with every regulation, but we have expended significant resources and time to ensure the health of the resource we fish. These efforts to both understand and minimize our impact on the environment have been so successful that after forty years of red crab fishing, our fishing grounds are described as ‘pristine’ by the same environmental groups who seek the monument designation. If these habitats are still ‘pristine’ after forty years of fishing, how can a serious argument be made that the area is in imminent danger and in need of immediate, unilateral protection by presidential fiat?”

Greg DiDomenico, Garden State Seafood Association:

“The Antiquities Act was perhaps a necessary tool to protect sensitive areas in 1906, but with our increased technological capabilities, knowledge, and an all-encompassing regulatory system, it is an unnecessary and blunt tool for 2016. It is time that the years of on-the-water experience possessed by the commercial fishing industry be acknowledged, especially in the context of this issue.”

Richard P. Ruais, American Bluefin Tuna Association:

“Given that our fishing gear has no negative impact on deep sea coral, a proposed prohibition on the fishing methods we employ would be arbitrary, completely unnecessary and would result in significant negative economic consequences.”

Statements from more NCFC members on their opposition to an Atlantic Marine Monument are available here.

How safe is the fishing industry in South Jersey?

May 25, 2016 — CAPE MAY, N.J. — The dangers of commercial fishing were illustrated dramatically 6 miles off Cape May on April 28 when the scallop boat Last Stand collided with a 400-foot barge pushed by the tug Dean Reinauer.

Three fishermen aboard the Last Stand donned survival suits, climbed into a life raft and paddled away from the rigging as the fishing boat rolled and sank beneath the waves in just minutes.

Nobody was hurt, and the U.S. Coast Guard based in Cape May rescued the fishermen safely. The Coast Guard is investigating the accident.

“The industry is as cautious as they can be. They are prepared. They’re not careless. They’re not reckless,” said Gregory DiDomenico, president of the trade group Garden State Seafood Association.

DiDomenico said the sinking shows how preparation and training made a difference in a crisis. By comparison, he said, many times more recreational boaters die in accidents each year.

“When you consider all the regulatory measures and Coast Guard inspections and the amount of technology and electronics on board today … they want to come home at the end of every trip,” he said.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

Statement from the Garden State Seafood Association on ASMFC Marine Monument Policy

May 6, 2016 — The following statement was released by Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director of the Garden State Seafood Association, following the passage of the ASMFC motion calling for the president not to declare a marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean:

“The Antiquities Act was perhaps a necessary tool to protect sensitive areas in 1906, but with our increased technological capabilities, knowledge, and an all-encompassing regulatory system, it is an unnecessary and blunt tool for 2016.

The Magnuson–Stevens Act specifically allows for any fishery management plan under the authority of any Council to protect deep-sea corals and other habitat features from physical damage from fishing gear.

It is time that the years of on-the-water experience possessed by the commercial fishing industry be acknowledged, especially in the context of this issue. The intellectual power of the regional Councils, in conjunction with the fishing industry, will result in the most meaningful protections of deep-water corals and habitat while allowing for traditional fishing activity to continue.”

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The Garden State Seafood Association is dedicated to sincere and effective representation in order to protect the interests of New Jersey fishermen and New Jersey’s fisheries dependent businesses.

Garden State Seafood Association Annual Holiday Party & Workshop, Dec 11, Tuckerton, NJ

December 3, 2015 — The following was released by the Garden State Seafood Association:

It’s that time of year again for the GSSA to get festive!

The GSSA is preparing for our annual Holiday Party that will take place on FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11TH at the Tuckerton Seaport

THE DETAILS:

Garden State Seafood Association Annual Holiday Party

Tuckerton Seaport

120 West Main Street, Tuckerton

Visitor Center / Ground Floor

December 11, 2015 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Tickets $60.00 per person available at the event

Appetizer Dinner

Silent Auction

PLEASE BRING NEW UNWRAPPED TOYS FOR TOYS FOR TOTS

The GSSA Board & Staff will all be in attendance, as well as some of our local elected officials!

Be sure to save the date

For more details contact Greg DiDomenico at 609-675-0202

And Heather Larson at 940-642-2806

View a PDF of the GSSA Holiday Party event

View a PDF of the GSSA Fisheries Workshop

Saving Seafood Announces the National Coalition of Fishing Communities

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — November 16, 2015 — The National Coalition of Fishing Communities (NCFC) has been organized to meet the challenges of modern communication for the commercial fishing industry and related business and civic communities. NCFC is a unique partnership of seafood interests, dedicated to transmitting the voices of fishermen and their communities. NCFC will ensure that fisheries managers, scientists, academics and elected officials understand the positions of our members, and address their concerns. We will accomplish this through dialogue, education and outreach.

“This is a very exciting time for us,” says Sarah Garcia, former Harbor Planning Director of Gloucester, Massachusetts and the Director of Outreach and Membership for NCFC. “The strength and diversity of NCFC can make a big impact in the way fishing communities deliver their message in Washington.”

The Coalition will formally launch during the next U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting, to be held in Washington, DC on January 19, 2016, and is currently engaged in a membership drive. Already, over 60 members have signed up, drawn from America’s top commercial fishing ports, leading fishing businesses, and regional associations.

Saving Seafood will provide the communication and media relations in numerous forms and venues, creating the opportunity for our messages to be received. Too often, misleading information about the industry makes its way into print, and the media hear only one side of the story. The NCFC allows its members to make their positions clear, and deliver their messages to a wider audience of media, policymakers, and likeminded industry members.

“Five years ago, Saving Seafood began as a trade news and information organization, aimed at telling the truth about our industry,” said Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director of New Jersey’s Garden State Seafood Association. “They have proven to be capable of helping the industry, and can assist locally, nationally, and globally”

The Coalition is made up of different types of communities. In addition to municipalities with economic, social, and cultural ties to the fishing industry, NCFC includes associations who represent and are supported directly by working commercial fishing families; businesses who are involved in the harvesting, processing, distributing, marketing, and serving of seafood; and individuals in fishing communities across the country who see first-hand the necessity of local knowledge informing policy.

“America’s fishing communities and seafood industry have been maligned by special interest groups working in collusion, who have slandered hard-working Americans with outrageous claims and misrepresentations,” says Saving Seafood Executive Director Bob Vanasse. “We’re aiming to bring the entire supply chain of fishermen, shoreside businesses, processors, markets, and restaurants together to join this effort to move the national conversation in a positive direction.”

Members can join at the NCFC website, fisheriescoalition.org, and choose one of the three membership plans that best suits their needs, with plans for individuals, small business, and corporations starting at $10, $100, and $500 per month levels.

Members receive the NCFC’s newsletter, which contains the most up-to-date information on current events, and through the NCFC mailing list will be connected to a nation-wide effort to make sure their concerns are communicated to policymakers, media and the public, to bring a new perspective to important industry issues that have been overwhelmed by special interest campaigns.

“An umbrella group like NCFC makes it easier for fishing organizations around the country to be vocally involved in the management process,” said Rod Moore of West Coast Seafood Processors Association in Portland, Oregon and a NCFC member. “The Coalition is a platform through which we can speak out about issues that are important to our members.”

Like Saving Seafood, NCFC is committed to the proper implementation of U.S. fisheries management law, which requires that regulators take into account “the social and economic needs of the States.” [Magnuson-Stevens Act (2)(b)(5), Public Law 101-627]

NCFC is founded on the principles of integrating the needs of communities with the goals of conservation, utilizing the best available science, and connecting members of the national fishing community to each other. The Coalition will create a proper understanding of the struggles of our community, and articulate our message.

Join us now to be a part of the movement. Visit http://fisheriescoalition.org/join-us/ to support America’s fisheries and let your voice be heard.

Saving Seafood is a 501(c)(6) Washington, DC – based non-profit that conducts media and public outreach on behalf of fishing communities, and keeps the public informed on fisheries issues. Saving Seafood’s national reach and influence provides fishermen with a recognized voice in the nation’s capital to communicate their concerns and build public awareness of the industry’s priorities.

View a PDF of the release here

Fishermen, Conservationists, and Regulators Honored for Landmark Coral Preservation Efforts

October 29, 2015 – The following was released by the Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA):

TRENTON, N.J. — Representatives from the Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA) are among those being honored for their efforts to preserve 38,000 square miles of Mid-Atlantic ocean habitat, and extend valuable protections to vulnerable coral reefs. Ernie Panacek, President of the GSSA, Richard Robins, Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), and Jay Odell, Director of the Mid-Atlantic Marine Program at the Nature Conservancy, were presented with this year’s Regional Ocean Champions Award, given by the Urban Coast Institute at Monmouth University, at the Institute’s 11th Annual Future of the Ocean Symposium.

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society, and Terry Garcia, the Chief Science and Exploration Officer at the National Geographic Society, were presented with the National Champions of the Ocean Award.

Earlier this year, the MAFMC approved the Deep Sea Corals Amendment, which created a series of “deep sea coral zones,” totaling over 38,000 square miles, to be closed off to fishing gear that comes into contact with the seafloor. These zones protect the fragile coral ecosystems and other notable habitats from potentially harmful disturbances.

“The Deep Sea Corals Amendment presented the Council with an opportunity of a lifetime to conserve sensitive deep sea corals and their associated marine ecosystems in the Mid-Atlantic,” said Mr. Robins. “What was so unique about this action was that we used a participatory approach to defining the protected areas, which allowed a broad range of stakeholders to reach consensus on what those boundaries should be.”

This participatory process brought together Council members, fishermen and industry representatives, scientists, and other stakeholders in a collaborative and cooperative effort.

“The fishing industry has a lot to offer intellectually,” said Mr. Panacek. “When there is mutual respect, meaningful results can be achieved.”

The resulting protections have been widely praised, by environmentalists and fishermen alike. Peter Baker, of the The Pew Charitable Trusts, wrote in a post featured on the Conservation Law Foundation’s Talking Fish blog that the Amendment would “cement a conservation legacy for the Mid-Atlantic.”

Industry representatives, such as GSSA Executive Director Greg DiDomenico, see the open and inclusive process that lead to the Amendment as an example for fisheries managers nationwide, one that demonstrates the value of stakeholder engagement and proves that the fisheries management system established by the Magnuson-Stevens Act works.

“The process in the Mid-Atlantic should be the model for developing targeted habitat protection in New England,” said Mr. DiDomenico. “An open, collaborative process is the best way to build on these efforts.”

The Champion of the Ocean Awards honor those who have “demonstrated sustained leadership in advancing a future in which coasts and oceans are clean, safe, sustainably managed and preserved for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.”

This is the second time this year that GSSA has been honored for its conservation work. Mr. DiDomenico, along with MAFMC Chairman Robins, were recognized as Conservation Leaders by the New York Aquarium in a September ceremony held at the Central Park Zoo.

About the Garden State Seafood Association

The Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA) advocates on behalf of New Jersey’s fishermen and fishing communities. Through closely monitoring regulatory developments, actively participating in the management process, and sharing the latest fisheries news and information with our members, GSSA holds our leaders accountable to the concerns and priorities of New Jersey’s hard working, historic fishing industry.