Gulf of Mexico Archives - Page 126 of 131

At Fishermen’s Forum, industry seeks balance between Mother Nature and politics

March 8, 2016 — Julie Keene is harbor master for the town of Lubec. “I’m an elver fisherman,” she said. ”Last year, we got nothing. I didn’t catch my quota. We’re going to have a good year for eels, maybe, this year. But I’m on a quota system. I can’t fish that much.”

Julie’s frustrations were shared by most during the panel discussion “Questioning our Changing Oceans,” a well-attended forum held during the annual Fishermen’s Forum at the Samoset in Rockport, March 3-5.

Rising ocean temperatures, strengthening weather events courtesy of El Nino, and over-fishing continue to change the landscape of the world’s marine industries.

Crab fishermen in the Bay Area of California struggle to pay rent after the once-abundant Dungeness crab shifted habitat north to Alaska. Gulf of Mexico wetlands are decreasing daily. Southern New England fishermen declare complete devastation in the lobster industry due to climate vulnerabilities, and Mainers are concerned.

Read the full story from the Penobscot Bay Pilot

Jim Gossen Joins SXSW Fishery Bycatch Panel

As the 2016 South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival returns to Austin for the 30th time, the interactive incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity portion will feature five days of compelling presentations and panels from the brightest minds, including the Gulf Seafood Institute’s Texas Board Member Jim Gossen who will join three other presenters on a panel discussion on seafood bycatch.

Who is successfully making bycatch a part of their everyday menu? What are they serving, and why? How can the movement be promoted nationwide? Wherever there is fishing, there is bycatch, the incidental capture of non-target species, and some chefs/fishmongers are working hard to promote the “trash fish” on menus – both for the good of our planet and our taste buds. The panel discussion Hooked on Bycatch: Seafood You Should Be Eating takes place on Saturday March 12^th at 3:30 pm at the Driskill Hotel and will focus on some of the underlining questions about “sustainable seafood”.

While most educated diners want to order “sustainable seafood,” if faced with choosing between a responsibly harvested salmon and a fish they’ve never heard of (Can I interest you in a beautiful ribbonfish this evening?), diners most often rely on what they know and love.

A native of Louisiana with Cajun roots, Gossen has been an innovative and tireless leader for the recovery and improved sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico’s seafood industry. His 44-plus-year career in the restaurant, seafood processing and distribution business includes owning and operating six restaurants in Louisiana and Houston and founding Louisiana Foods Global Seafood Source, Texas’ largest seafood processing and distribution Company.

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News

Gulf Businesses and Fishermen Supportive of Federal Management Absent from Small Business Hearing

March 3, 2016 — The following was released by the Gulf Fishermen’s Association:

On Thursday, March 3, the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing about “the impacts of federal fisheries management on small businesses,” but fishermen and small businesses that rely on federal fisheries management were left out of the conversation.

Attached you will find a letter with signatures that represent more than 1,000 Gulf of Mexico coastal businesses, restaurant owners, associations and fishermen who support federal management of Gulf fisheries. These fishermen and other small-business owners want committee members to know that our jobs and livelihoods depend upon healthy fish populations.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the law that provides for the management of marine fish in federal waters, is working. In the Gulf of Mexico, gag and red grouper and king mackerel have been removed from the overfished list (meaning the population is no longer unsustainably low) since the law’s last reauthorization. Last year, Gulf fishermen enjoyed the largest ever red snapper quota. As those populations have increased, so has the public’s access to those fisheries. And Gulf businesses have thrived because of the MSA’s conservation and management provisions.

“Our Association’s members own small businesses that operate on the Gulf Coast, and depend on reliable access to sustainable fisheries,” said Capt. Will Ward, board member of the Gulf Fishermen’s Association. “But Senator Vitter’s proposals to expand unsustainable state management, either by redrawing maritime boundaries or transferring management responsibility whole sale, would jeopardize all of our members’ livelihood and those of countless other fishermen and coastal business owners. It was very disappointing and unwarranted that our voices were not represented at today’s Small Business Committee hearing.”

Gulf Fishermen’s Association and many others in the Gulf strongly oppose efforts that would undermine the progress we’ve made in rebuilding American fish populations and our fishing industries, including legislative proposals to extend Gulf state maritime boundaries or those that would transfer management of Gulf red snapper to states.

For more information or to request an interview with a licensed Gulf of Mexico fishing captain or small-business owner, please contact Capt. Will Ward.

Read the letter from the Gulf Fishermen’s Association

GSI Responds to Impact of Federal Fisheries on Small Businesses Hearing

March 4, 2016 — The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Chaired by Louisiana Senator David Vitter, recently held a hearing on “The Impacts of Federal Fisheries Management on Small Businesses”. In a letter to Chairman Vitter and Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Gulf Seafood Institute urged committee members to keep in mind the myriad benefits this landmark legislation has had on Gulf coast fisheries.

Witness at the hearing included; Ms. Pam Anderson, Operations Manager at Capt. Anderson’s Marina in Panama City, FL, Mr. Hughes Andry, Regional Manager of Sportco Marketing, Mr. Brad Gentner, President of Gentner Group Consulting, Mr. James Hayward, President ofXI Northeast Fisheries Sector and Dr. Joshua Wiersma, Managerof Northeast Fisheries for the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Thousands of fishermen and millions of consumers nationwide depend on robust, sustainably‐managed Gulf of Mexico U.S. fisheries,” said Harlon Pearce, GSI’s President and NOAA Marine Advisory Committee member. “Commercial, charter-for-hire and recreational anglers in the Gulf of Mexico are a regional economic powerhouse; protecting the public’s access to these resources for every American must be paramount.”

Read the full story from the Gulf Seafood Institute

As Onerous Fees go into Effect that Threaten New Hampshire’s Fishing Industry, Sen. Shaheen Provides an Opportunity for Industry Leaders to Send a Message to Washington

March 3, 2016 — The following was released by the Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen:

Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the lead Democrat on the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, invited two prominent industry leaders in the New England fishing industry to testify at a committee hearing today. Through her leadership on the committee, Senator Shaheen was able to make New Hampshire’s struggling fishing industry a major focus of Thursday’s hearing. James Hayward and Dr. Joshua Wiersma both spoke to the enormous threat that new federal at-sea monitoring fees and existing catch limits pose to New Hampshire’s fishermen. As of the first of this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forcing New Hampshire fishermen to pay for an at-sea observer program, which monitors catch sizes for conservation purposes. The program, which was previously paid for by NOAA, will cost fishermen an estimated $700 per day on fishing trips.

“Fishing is an integral part of New Hampshire’s economy and heritage,” said Shaheen after the hearing. “Our struggling small-boat fleet needs relief from onerous federal regulations so New Hampshire’s fishermen can continue to make a living. Catch limits and at-sea monitoring fees threaten the very existence of our fishing industry. I’m very pleased that Mr. Hayward and Dr. Wiersma took the time to inform the Senate of their first-hand experience in our region’s fishing industry.”

During the hearing Mr. Hayward and Dr. Wiersma delivered a dire warning to the Senate.

Mr. Hayward: “Time is crucial and the road we’re headed down right now is not a good one. It’s pretty much the end is near and if things aren’t changed soon, at least to some extent, the fleets going to look a lot different in thirty six month. I can assure you of that.”

Shaheen: “Will we still have any fishing in New Hampshire if we don’t see some changes from NOAA?”

Mr. Hayward: “What will happen is the infrastructure will be gone and when that’s gone, the boats will leave. The ones that want to remain will be forced out because they will have no place to offload, market or sell.”

That interaction can be watched here.

At a separate hearing today on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Shaheen confronted the Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker with the testimony she had just heard from Mr. Hayward and Dr. Wiersma. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Their interaction can be watched here.

Background information on Senator Shaheen’s invited witnesses:

James Hayward, President of XI Northeast Fisheries Sector, Inc.

James Hayward is a second generation commercial fisherman. He is primarily a day boat gillnet fisherman operating in the Gulf of Maine ranging from 20 to 120 miles from port. He currently owns two fishing boats located in Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire. He owns and manages Heidi Seafood Services, the only federally licensed groundfish dealership at the State facility in Portsmouth Harbor. He is president of the community’s groundfish sector, XI Northeast Fisheries Sector, Inc., as well as treasurer of New Hampshire community supported fisheries, New Hampshire Community Seafood. He is also a board member of the Northeast Seafood Coalition and the Northeast Sector Services Network, and a member of the Seafood Harvesters of America.

Dr. Joshua Wiersma, Manager, Northeast Fisheries, Environmental Defense Fund

Dr. Wiersma has over 15 years of experience working with commercial fishermen in New England to improve their business conditions. His doctoral research, which examined the value of collaborative research to New England fishermen, led him to work directly for the ground fishing industry after graduation. Initially hired by the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership as a Fisheries Economist, he then worked for the Northeast Seafood Coalition as their Sector Policy Analyst where he helped to create the twelve Northeast Fisheries Sectors. He went on to manage New Hampshire’s two ground fishing sectors for the next five years. Over this time, he also co-founded and was the Executive Director of New Hampshire Community Seafood Association, a successful community supported fishery cooperative that offers fresh, local, underutilized fish to the New Hampshire public through a type of fish share model. He is now the Manager of Northeast Fisheries at Environmental Defense Fund, where he continues to work with fishermen to shape effective fisheries management, to improve fisheries science and data collection, and to develop better seafood markets and other business opportunities.

Gulf Council to Convene Law Enforcement Tech Committee

March 2, 2016 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of its Law Enforcement Technical Committee (LETC), formerly known as the Law Enforcement Advisory Panel (LEAP). The LETC will meet jointly with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Law Enforcement Committee (LEC). The meeting will convene Wednesday, March 16, 2016, from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk Hotel, 217 N. St. Mary’s Street in San Antonio Texas.

The committees are scheduled to discuss enforcement implications of the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama 9-mile Reef Fish Boundary and the Offshore Aquaculture Fishery Management Plan.

The committees will also review the following draft Council amendments:

Reef Fish Amendment 36A – Red Snapper IFQ Modifications
Draft Reef Fish Amendment 43 – Hogfish Stock Definition, Status Determination Criteria, and Annual Catch Limit
Framework Action Addressing Circle Hook Requirement when Fishing for Yellowtail Snapper
Shrimp Amendment 17B – Optimum Yield, Number of Permits, Permit Pool, and Transit Provisions
CMP Amendment 26 – Reallocation of King Mackerel

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

BRAD KENYON: Don’t mess with success in Gulf States fisheries management

March 1, 2016 — Under federal fisheries management, red snapper populations in the Gulf of Mexico are recovering and the boating and fishing industries have grown. But on Thursday, a U.S. Senate committee will hear a proposal that could gut a decade of recovery and growth for both. The idea floated by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., would create a piecemeal system by extending the state waters of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi from 3 miles to 9. In addition, his plan would loosen some of the stronger tenets of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act — like science-based rebuilding timelines and annual catch limits.

The other gulf states’ gains would be Florida’s loss, particularly for anglers in the Tampa Bay area who must travel at least 30 miles offshore to find 60-foot waters where the red snapper population flourishes. In effect, those other three states’ extensions would create enough extra state-water fishing pressure that the stock’s rebound would be imperiled. To keep the fish populations from plunging, the government would have to severely limit the number of days for fishing in federal waters. As a practical matter, Florida fishermen would have far fewer days to catch snapper.

On Thursday, Vitter will argue before the Senate Small Business Administration Committee that the 3-mile limits hurt small coastal businesses across the gulf that rely on healthy fish populations and liberal access to them. He is wrong. And as a small boat dealership and marina owner, I know something about this.

Read the full opinion piece at Tampa Bay Times

“Missing Redfish” Documents Blackened History of Gulf Icon

February 28, 2016 — Before the current Gulf red snapper controversy that has lasted what seems like an eternity, the Gulf of Mexico’s most hotly contested fish was red drum, or redfish. In his latest work, author Robert Fritchey brings to life the history of a recreational fishing organization that influenced fishery management and the politics of the Gulf states in a way that resulted in taking fish off Americans’ dinner plates and placing them on the hooks of private anglers.

Missing Redfish: The Blackened History of a Gulf Coast Icon ($9.99), from New Moon Press, chronicles the transformation of a universally shared source of nourishment and recreation into an engine for the consumption of goods and services related to sport fishing.

Fritchey, from Golden Meadow, LA, is the author of Wetland Riders. In his latest e-book recently released on Amazon Kindle,Barnes & Noble’s Nook Press and Apple iTunes, he documents how politics, policies and bad science and fishery management by both federal and state agencies led to the Coastal Conversation Association’s (CCA) takeover of a species gone missing years before Cajun Chef Paul Prudhomme blackened his first redfish.

“Our wildlife and fishery resources are held in public trust, which in essence means they are owned by everyone,” Fritchey told Gulf Seafood News. “When everyone has a say in how these valuable resources are to be utilized, a babel of conflicting and emotional claims arises. And in Gulf fisheries, so it has.”

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News

LOUISIANA: Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance fights NOAA over aqua farms

NEW ORLEANS, La. — February 25, 2016 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) decision to approve industrial offshore fish farming last month in federally protected waters in the Gulf of Mexico is a strong concern in a “delicate and restricted estuarine system,” according to a leading non-profit fisherman’s organization.

Eric Brazer, deputy director at the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, told the Louisiana Record that there are strong concerns with constructing an aquaculture facility of unprecedented size.

“We’ve already seen the catastrophic damage of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in this sensitive ecosystem,” Brazer said. “It will likely take generations to understand the true ecological and economic cost, the latter of which is already on the order of billions of dollars.”

Finalized in January, the plan for the aqua farms will permit up to 20 industrial facilities, which will see approximately 64 million pounds of fish produced every year in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the same amount of wild fish currently caught in the Gulf of Mexico annually, meaning that farmed fish would double offerings and flood the market.

Brazer said that it will be future generations who suffer as a result.

“It is our commercial fishing and charter businesses in the Gulf of Mexico, and those of the next generation, that will be the ones carrying the entire burden of risk that comes out of this new aquaculture industry,” he said.

A suit was filed against NOAA by a number of Gulf fishing groups, including Brazer’s organization, in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Louisiana on Feb. 12. The suit alleges that NOAA has no authority to undertake the offshore fish farming, and that allowing aqua farms is a threat to native and endangered species, the ecosystem, and the fish we eat.

Read the full story from the Louisiana Record

Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance fights NOAA over aqua farms

February 25, 2016 — NEW ORLEANS — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) decision to approve industrial offshore fish farming last month in federally protected waters in the Gulf of Mexico is a strong concern in a “delicate and restricted estuarine system,” according to a leading non-profit fisherman’s organization.

Brazer said that it will be future generations who suffer as a result.

“Unlike the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which cover 41 million and 64 million square miles, respectively, the 600,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico are nearly completely surrounded by land,” Brazer said. “The Gulf effectively acts like a closed system with finite limits on nutrient loading and effluent.”

For 365 days of the year, commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico make sacrifices in order to build a sustainable fishery that can deliver Gulf red snapper to American seafood consumers. Collectively, the fishermen have invested millions of dollars into the fishing and seafood supply businesses, Brazer said.

Read the full story at the Louisiana Record

News for the Gulf of Mexico Region