Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act Archives - Page 6 of 6

ASMFC Urges President to Minimize Potential Economic Harm from Atlantic Marine Monument Designation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Saving Seafood) – May 4, 2016 – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has taken a formal position on the possibility of a Presidential proclamation of an Atlantic Marine Monument.

The Obama administration, at the urging of major environmental groups, is considering creating a National Monument in the New England Canyons and Seamounts region via the Antiquities Act. Few specifics have been released about what the monument would look like, but it could have significant negative impacts on fishermen in the affected areas.

The ASMFC’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board unanimously (with three abstentions) approved a resolution today drawing a line in the ocean (see map), in close proximity to the Atlantic canyons and seamounts off of Georges Banks, and urging that the creation of a monument only take place in a region seaward of that line. The ASMFC resolution urges that management of waters under Federal control from the coastline to that line be managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The resolution states:

That it is the preference of ASMFC that the current New England Fishery Management Council coral management process continue without a Presidential proclamation on the issue;
That should the President decide to designate a deep-water marine monument off the New England coast prior to the end of his Presidency, it should be limited to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected, as required by the Antiquities Act;
That the area be limited to depths greater than approximately 900 meters and encompass any or all of the region seaward of the line (see map) out to the outer limit of the EEZ;
That only bottom tending fishing effort be prohibited in the area and that all other mid-water/surface fishing methods (recreational and commercial) be allowed to continue to use the area;
That the public and affected user groups be allowed to review and comment on any specific proposal prior to its implementation.

The motion was initially crafted by members of the ASMFC Rhode Island Delegation, in consultation with other regional fisheries organizations. ASMFC’s Lobster Board, where the resolution originated, gave its unanimous approval to the proposal at its meeting on Monday.

In a letter this week to the ASMFC American Lobster Management Board requesting guidance on the monument issue, Board Chairman David Borden wrote about the potential consequences a monument would have for commercial and recreational fisheries in the area.

“The economic impacts of a potential Monument designation would undoubtedly be significant depending on where the boundaries are set. These economic impacts would be felt coast wide as the fishing fleets working in and around the canyons hail from ports across New England and the Mid-Atlantic.”

Specifically highlighted are the potential impacts on the offshore lobster and crab fisheries, which would be hurt by the prohibition on fishing in the monument area, or by being displaced into nearby fishing grounds. Lobster and Jonah crab revenue from Southern New England are estimated at $38 million per year. A monument designation could also hurt the lobster stock by pushing fishermen from areas where lobster is abundant into areas where lobster is more depleted. Concerns were also voiced about potential negative impacts of the proposal on whales and protected species.

Additionally, many of the States represented on ASMFC have major interests in finfish, pelagic longline, squid, and red crab fisheries, or have large recreational fisheries. “All of these fisheries could be directly affected by a closure or indirectly affected by a redirection of effort.”

According to ASMFC Chairman Doug Grout the ASMFC leadership plans to meet with representatives of CEQ next week to discuss ways to mitigate impacts on commercial and recreational fisheries.

About the ASMFC
In the early 1940s, recognizing that they could accomplish far more through cooperation rather than individual effort, the Atlantic coast states came together to form the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. An Interstate Compact, ratified by the states and approved by the U.S. Congress in 1942, acknowledged the necessity of the states joining forces to manage their shared migratory fishery resources and affirmed the states’ commitment to cooperative stewardship in promoting and protecting Atlantic coastal fishery resources.

Read a letter from ASMFC Lobster Board Chairman David Borden to the ASMFC Lobster Board

Read a letter from Blue Water Fishermen’s Association Executive Director Terri Lei Beideman to the White House

Environmentalists spar with Obama administration over fish catches

April 7, 2016 — WASHINGTON — A proposed federal rule that would give regional councils more say in setting catch limits on fish has sparked rare friction between the Obama administration and environmental groups.

The proposal, years in the making, could take effect this summer. It would provide the eight councils “additional clarity and potential flexibility” to comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.

Groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and Earth Justice say the change could roll back nearly a decade of progress in rescuing once-overfished populations.

Since Congress updated Magnuson-Stevens in 2006, the number of stocks labeled as overfished or subject to overfishing has dropped to the lowest level in 20 years of tracking.

“We would go backwards from what is now a pretty successful rule,” said Lee Crockett, director of U.S. Ocean Conservation for the Pew Charitable Trusts. “This adds more flexibility to what was pretty clear guidelines, and our experience has been that when flexibility is provided to these fishery management councils, it’s not a good thing.”

The councils, which include state officials, environmental activists and industry representatives, determine catch limits on dozens of stocks, including cod off New England, red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and salmon in the Pacific.

They follow science-driven guidelines — first issued in early 2009 in the waning days of the Bush administration — that are enforced through the “National Standard 1” regulation, which the proposed rule would modify.

Read the full story at USA Today

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