Management & Regulation

Leaders of the recreational and commercial fishing industry today announced plans for a boat protest against federal policies on Thursday, outside Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard, where President Obama and his family are summer vacationing.

The protest was organized after a bipartisan, bicameral coalition of federal lawmakers — including the core of the president's congressional base on banking and health care issues — have given up hope of working productively with Obama's top appointee for oceans and fisheries, Jane Lubchenco, who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Boats from Gloucester and New Bedford, the hub ports of New England, Pt. Judith, R.I., and New York and New Jersey are expected, according to Tina Jackson, president of the American Alliance of Fishermen.

Read the complete story from the Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GLOUCESTER, MA – August 18, 2010 – After a quarter of the new fishing year — with interest piqued by the region's introductory experience with catch shares — reaction to the preliminary landing and sales figures in the groundfishery is mixed.

The government, which is pushing the catch share system and a business model with cooperatives working on a total allowable catch from allocations for each of the fish stocks, sees smart fishing and increased value in certain numbers.

Those landing figures show that the 13 species and 20 overall stocks have brought a 17 percent increase in value at the wharves despite landing volumes that are down by about 11 percent.

"Fishermen are doing what they do best," fishing judiciously, said Maggie Mooney-Seus, spokeswoman for Patricia Kurkul, the regional administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Daily Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WGBH, "Boston's NPR station for news and cultiure" presents an in-depth, four-part series on New England Fisheries.

Listen to the series by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Herring Oversight Committee will meet to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Dates: The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 9:30a.m. and Thursday September 2, 2010 at 9 a.m.

Addresses: Meeting address: The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801: Telephone: (603) 431-2300; Fax: (603) 433-5649.

Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.

For further information contact: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.
Supplementary information:

The items of discussion in the committee's agenda are as follows:

1. Wednesday, September 1, 2010 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The Committee will review/discuss report from Herring Advisory Panel. They will also continue development of catch monitoring alternatives for inclusion in Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP); alternatives may include management measures to: improve quota monitoring and reporting; standardize/certify volumetric measurements of catch; address vessel-to-vessel transfers of Atlantic herring; address requirements for catch monitoring and control plans (CMCPs); address maximized retention; maximize sampling and address net slippage; address at-sea monitoring; address portside sampling; require electronic monitoring; and address other elements of catch monitoring in the Atlantic herring fishery. Other business may also be discussed.

2. Thursday, September 2, 2010 beginning at 9 a.m.

The Committee will continue agenda from September 1, 2010 meeting to develop catch monitoring alternatives for inclusion in Amendment 5; discuss outstanding issues and other elements of Amendment 5. They will also develop management measures and alternatives to address river herring bycatch for consideration in Amendment 5. They will review/discuss management measures under consideration to address interactions with the mackerel fishery. The Committee will develop recommendations for Council consideration regarding management alternatives for inclusion in Amendment 5 Draft EIS (catch monitoring program, measures to address river herring bycatch, access to groundfish closed areas, interactions with the mackerel fishery, protection of spawning fish). Other business may be discussed.

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take final action to address the emergency.

Read the complete agenda from GovPulse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 12, 2010 – A government plan to impose a five-year moratorium on lobster fishing in the Southern New England area, which includes the waters off Long Island, might have been shelved for the time being, but fishermen say alternatives aimed at cutting their harvest by half or three- quarters, would destroy the industry nonetheless. 

Citing reproductive failure and other effects of a steady rise in ocean temperature since 1999, scientists with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recommended the drastic fishing ban in early June. The Southern New England industry, which includes lobstermen from Cape Cod to North Carolina, responded with a mix of bewilderment and anger.

Last month, state and federal representatives, including State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., and Senator Charles Schum­er, were successful at getting federal managers to agree to look at less draconian options.

Read the complete story from the East Hampton Star.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEATTLE – NOAA's Fisheries Service on Tuesday approved a new approach to managing the harvest of certain West Coast fish that it says will lessen competition among fishermen and reduce overfishing.

NOAA officials said the new catch-shares system – expected to take effect early next year – allows fisherman to better plan their season and fish more efficiently while reducing bycatch.

"Catch shares can stop the race for fishermen to get out on the water and catch as many fish as fast as they can until a quota is reached," said Will Stelle Jr., NOAA Fisheries Service Northwest regional administrator.

The new system sets an overall catch limit for a fishery and divides the total catch into shares controlled by individual fishermen. Fisherman can catch their shares whenever they want without worrying about competitors, and ideally while doing a better job of conserving.

The system was developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and has the support of the trawl fishing industry.

Read the complete story from the AP at The Seattle Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Truth,” directed by Dana Neugent of the University of Rhode Island’s Feinstein Providence Campus, is a damning documentary against a government bureaucracy that doesn’t understand the colossal problems their regulations have imposed on the fishing industry, regulations that fishermen say are often imposed up to five years after the data the regulators base it on has changed. One fisherman complains that the rules have resulted in a replenishment of certain fish, but the restrictive regulations have not been adjusted to reflect that replenishment.

 

Going down to the sea in ships has never been more difficult for New England’s fishermen thanks to over-regulation by the federal government.

That’s the position taken by a large number of men who make their living fishing the North Atlantic, as well as of several fishing experts, in “Truth: Fishing Crisis or Government Mismanagement” which will be screened Sunday as part of the FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival program.

Read the complete story from The Providence Journal.

 

 

 

 

 

Department: Department Of Commerce
Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Sub Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Job Announcement Number: NMFS-NER-2010-0060

SALARY RANGE:
    $124,336.00 – $155,500.00 /year
OPEN PERIOD:
    Thursday, August 05, 2010 to Thursday, September 02, 2010
SERIES & GRADE:
    ZP-0480-5/5
POSITION INFORMATION:
    Competitive Service; Career/Career Conditional Permanent; Full-Time
PROMOTION POTENTIAL:
    5
DUTY LOCATIONS:
    few vacancies – Gloucester, MA
WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED:
    – All U.S. citizens.

JOB SUMMARY:
NMFS is dedicated to stewardship of our nation's living marine resources, and the habitat on which they depend, through scientific research, management and enforcement. NMFS provides effective stewardship of these resources to benefit the nation, through domestic and international programs supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, while providing safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the public.

See the entire job description from USA Jobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Effective immediately, the trip limit for pollock is removed.

-In order to slow the catch of witch flounder to ensure a more stable supply of fish throughout the fishing year, as of 0001 hours local August 9, 2010, there is a 130 lb/trip limit for witch flounder.

-This action also corrects upwards the landing limit for all stocks of cod for limited access Handgear A vessels to 100 lb/trip. An inseason action, which was effective on July 30, 2010, changed common pool cod landing limits and incorrectly specified the new Handgear A cod limit as 75 lb/trip.

For more information please see the permit holder letter and graph detailing current regulations.

 

 

 

 

 

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Red Crab Committee in August, 2010 to consider actions affecting New Englandfisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this joint group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

Dates:
This meeting will be held on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 9 a.m.

Addresses:
This meeting will be held at the Four Points Sheraton, 407 Squire Road, Revere, MA 02151; telephone: (781) 284-7200; fax: (781) 289-3176.

Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.

For further information contact:
Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

Read all about the meeting from Govpulse.