Economic Impact

When the National Marine Fisheries Service reduced the catch quota for groundfish to achieve full recovery of overfished stocks within the mandated 10-year deadline, a fisherman named Powell began having serious doubts he could make it through the summer.

For Powell, the problem is compounded by the government's inaccurate record of his 10-year catch history, the sole determining factor in determining his share of the quota.

Powell has his own records, plus dealer records, that prove he caught about 1.2 million pounds of fish in the four years between 1996 and 1999. But the government computer shows no fishing at all for Powell during these years.

Without those years, he is short about 120,000 pounds of his proper annual share. The shortage is worth, by conservative estimate, about $120,000 — which could mean the difference between fishing with his crew or putting the boat up.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON—The BP oil spill has hammered the fishing and tourism industries along the Gulf of Mexico. But it appears the economic damage to the rest of the nation will be limited.

Analysts say the spill will reduce economic growth by only about one-half of 1 percentage point this quarter, and even less during the second half of the year. Even for an economy as large as the United States' — $14.6 trillion — a $73 billion cut is barely a nick.

Here's why:

— Spending on tourism is moving elsewhere. Beachgoers who might have headed for Pensacola, Fla., for example, are looking toward Atlantic coast sites such as Myrtle Beach, S.C. Gulf hotel rooms going unused by tourists are being booked by cleanup crews.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A sold out Commercial Marine Expo, a major marine trade show, held in New Bedford for the first time this year helped put the city on the conference and trade show map, according to city officials.

The expo brought thousands of pepole, mainly in the marine trades, to State Pier and was highly praised by attendees. It was the first year the show, formerly named the Fish Expo Atlantic, was held in New Bedford, having moved there from Providence.

Show director Ted Hugger told the Standard-Times that the city turned out to be perfect for the show.

"People kept saying this is where it ought to be," he said. "You look out at any of the doors here and all you see is fishing boats."

About 2,500 and 3,000 attendees visited the expo over the two days it ran, an increase over past shows.

Read the complete story at The South Coast Today [subscription site]

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BOSTON — Although fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico have been soaked by the BP oil disaster, Massachusetts's fishing industry is unlikely to see a surge in demand, a state environmental official said Tuesday.

"We're not expecting an economic effect either positive or negative," said Division of Marine Fisheries director Paul Diodati, who said he's heard suggestions that New England could be asked to fill commercial demands once met by states along the gulf. "We're not anticipating filling any major niches that have been caused by this."

Diodati, speaking at a hearing held by the Legislature's Environment Committee, said Massachusetts's shrimp industry has been inactive since early May and that Canada, in any case, would supply the bulk of the world's coldwater shrimp. He added that Massachusetts doesn't have "good substitutions" for other species harmed by the gushing oil. Other gulf states, he noted, have been "absorbing" the market demand for shellfish caused by the closures of oyster beds in Louisiana.

After the hearing, committee co-chairman Rep. William Straus, D-Mattapoisett, dismissed the notion that Massachusetts could gain from the Southeast's woes.

"I wouldn't view it by any means, the tragedy of what's occurring in the gulf, as an opportunity for us that we would want to take advantage of," he said. "I think we do pretty well in marketing the product that we have now, that which is out there commercially that comes in at our ports — New Bedford, Gloucester, Boston — really goes to market pretty well right now. I think seafood demand is pretty high as it is."

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

New federal regulations have curtailed the effort of New England groundfishery fishermen. 

Under new federal regulations over a half of sector fishing based on allocated catch shares. After about 12 percent of the fishing year, only two stocks – cod from the eastern side of Georges Bank, and Georges Bank yellowtail –  have given up close to 12 percent of the year's allocation, according to data released Friday by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

NMFS report states high interest because of the new economic and regulatory system, which gives sector members a proportion of a total allowable catch for each stock. The individual fishermen's and sectors' catch shares can also be bought, sold or traded, essentially converting the fishery into a commodities market. Experts believe that new system would discourage the fishermen's effort to fish

Read the complete story at World Fishing Today.

 

 

 

 

 

The red snapper fishery remains closed to both commercial and recreational fishermen throughout federal waters (3 to 200 miles offshore) in the South Atlantic region.  Measures taken by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council during its meeting in Orlando, Florida this past week may determine how long the closure stays in place as well as other regulations impacting fishermen who target the 73 species that make up the snapper grouper management complex.  The additional regulations could be implemented by December of this year.

 Members of the Council, in a 9-4 vote, approved Amendment 17A to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan to end overfishing of red snapper and rebuild the South Atlantic stock during its meeting in Orlando.  The amendment is designed to meet the Congressional mandates of the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act and must be approved by the Secretary of Commerce before regulations become effective.

Management Measures in Amendment 17A

Management measures that may be implemented later this year through Amendment 17A include 1) a continuation of the closure of the red snapper fishery; 2) a new area closure off of northeastern Florida and southern Georgia, where fishing for all snapper grouper species in water depths of 98 – 240 feet would be prohibited (with the exception of spearfishing and use of black sea bass pots); 3) a requirement for the use non-stainless steel circle hooks when fishing for snapper grouper species north of 28 degrees N. latitude; and 4) the development of a fishery-independent monitoring program to help track the rebuilding and recovery of red snapper.

Read the complete story at Ahab's Journal.

 

 

 

 

 

Fishermen's effort throughout the New England groundfishery has been severely curtailed under a series of new federal regulations, with most stocks taken in only small numbers over the first month and a half of sector fishing based on allocated catch shares, the first official landings data shows.

After about 12 percent of the fishing year, only two stocks — cod from the eastern side of Georges Bank, and Georges Bank yellowtail — have given up close to 12 percent of the year's allocation, according to data released Friday by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Otherwise, catches are between 7.9 percent and 0.1 percent of allocation — confirming signs that the fleet has held back from fishing in the first weeks under the new Amendment 16 and catch share management format.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

There are potential problems for North Carolina created by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but it is difficult to say what the effects on the state’s coast might be, a panel of experts said Monday evening.

J.P. Walsh, geology professor at East Carolina University, led a panel discussion at the Tipsy Teapot on the oil spill. The discussion, attended by about 65 people, was part of Go-Science’s Science Café series.

Walsh said the oil spill most likely will affect North Carolina as the oil slick circles in the loop current and joins the Gulf Stream, which runs along the East Coast.

Walsh presented a model that shows oil from the spill dispersing into the Atlantic Ocean.

Read the complete story at The Daily Reflector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Jersey's environmental chief told lawmakers on Monday that the BP oil spill would not affect the state's tourism and fishing industries this summer.

Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Robert Martin told an Assembly panel that oil would not reach the Jersey Shore until October or November, in the unlikely event that it touches the area at all.

Last month, the DEP formed a gulf spill team to monitor the potential effect on the region of the oil rig explosion on April 20 that has unleashed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. But Martin told the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee that a series of unlikely events would have to occur for the oil to reach New Jersey, which has at stake $38 billion tourism and $2 billion seafood industries.

Factors that would increase the likelihood of New Jersey's being affected include nearby waters becoming dramatically warmer; alternately, hurricanes could push oil in the state's direction, he noted.

Read the complete story at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

 

 

 

 

 

The Gulf oil spill probably won't steal shrimp from your plate, but it may take a bigger chunk out of your wallet to get them there.

Though much of the Gulf of Mexico remains open to commercial fishing, Louisiana's biggest seafood item is down to just 30 percent of normal production, according to the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board.

Combined with an already-tight global shrimp market, the spill is likely to mean much higher prices.

"For the consumer, it's going to be harder and harder for people to afford to buy it, especially in this economy," said Hal Ambos of Ambos Seafoods, an importer, exporter and wholesale distributor in Savannah, Ga.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.