Management & Regulation
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NOAA cuts 'common pool' limits in half |
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The federal government has abruptly cut by 50 percent the fishing opportunities for the small number of groundfishing permitholders who are not part of the new "catch share" system, and are fishing out of the so-called common pool. The president of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction described the action announced Wednesday as providing the coup de grace to the few fishermen still struggling to remain viable under the old Days at Sea regulatory rules. And the executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, which warned against the instability in empowering mid-year adjustments, agreed. "Just another slash or nail in the coffin for anyone who remained in the common pool," said the coalition's Jackie Odell. The seafood coalition, the largest industry group in New England with members in New York as well, advised the government last winter against allowing mid-season adjustments. "Through no fault of their own," the coalition said in public comment, "vessel owners have no choice but to participate in the common pool. The vessel owners deserve to be given a reasonable and fair opportunity ... to survive in the groundfish fishery. This includes providing common pool fishery participants with some reasonable measure of certainty for planning their annual fishing operations. |
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Fishermen decry skate catch limits |
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A National Marine Fisheries Service decision this week to reduce the trip limit for skate wings to 500 pounds for the remainder of the 2010 fishing year has riled Bay State fishermen who say the move is unnecessary and will cost lots of jobs. "We employ probably 30 people for the skates and we're going to have to let them go now," said Louis Juillard who manages the fish division of Marder Trawling Inc., a fish house in the South End of New Bedford. "Normally the skate fishery never closes and we take between 30 to 40 million pounds of wings every year." But the 2010 allocation provided for a total catch of just over 20 million pounds of skate wings this year, with the stipulation that landings would be reduced when 80 percent of that total was reached. The fishing year began on May 1 and, according to the letter that skate permit holders received, the National Marine Fisheries Service is "projecting" that this figure has already been reached. But fishery regulators are making a big mistake, Julliard said. "They don't realize that they are hurting people. If need be, we're going to sue the government because that's the only way we can be heard." |
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Passamaquoddys vow they still will fish in federal waters |
| "We are not going to knuckle under. It has come down to our survival," said Fred Moore, a member of the tribal council, a former representative in the Maine Legislature and a commercial fisherman. At issue is the tribe's contention that it is exempt from U.S. fishing regulations. The Passamaquoddy Tribe has been in discussions with the National Marine Fisheries Service over its rights to fish in federal waters. Moore said the tribe has been forced to fish in federal waters out of economic necessity and is trying to cooperate with the fisheries service in observing U.S. fishing regulations. | |||
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New Bedford Mayor, Fishing Industry Leader Appear on Fox Business Channel |
| The mayor of New Bedford, Scott Lang, joins Richie Canastra, owner of Whaling City Display Auction, to speak with FOX Business News about current conditions in the fishing industry. | |||
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Dogfish actions explained |
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There has been a great deal of controversy over the recent announcements by NOAA Fisheries concerning dogfish. This year, an action was taken that resulted in an increase of about 20% in the 2010 quota over the 2009 quota, and kept the trip limit at 3,000 pounds/trip. For more on that action, click on this link. As the recent actions have been controversial, Saving Seafood asked NOAA Fisheries to explain the current situation. Their explanation follows: |
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BOSTON HERALD: Fishing for help
It shouldn’t be the Wild West out there on the high seas, but as one sign in the flotilla said, “Fishing families are working families.” That is a message Obama and his underlings should remember.
