Management & Regulation

Last week brought some good news for lobstermen.

And bad news for the rest of us.

Once again, fisheries regulators are bowing to the outcry of a particular sector, in this case the lobster industry.

Read the Cape Cod Times editorial in full

 

 

As of 0001 hours July 30, 2010, for federal multispecies fishery permit holders fishing in the common pool, NOAA Fisheries Service will be reducing the Gulf of Maine cod trip limit and requiring the use of specialized gear when targeting Georges Bank yellowtail flounder in U.S./Canada area to help ensure a continual supply of fish from these stocks throughout the fishing year.

View the full document [PDF]

 

 

 

CHATHAM – July 27, 2010 – Recent decisions in lawsuits against the federal government have led some to conclude that federal fishery regulators are not doing enough to verify that herring boats are accurately reporting what they catch.

Herring fishermen can catch 100,000 pounds of fish in a single tow. Although the majority of their catch is herring, there have been incidents where other species have been caught in the large nets that frequently are towed between two vessels.

This week the New England Fishery Management Council is grappling with how to ensure they are getting a true picture of just how much and what species are being caught by herring fishermen.

Read the story in full from the Cape Cod Times.

 

 

 

 

 

WARWICK – July 23, 2010 – Faced with angry and skeptical fishermen from along the East Coast, a regional regulatory group Thursday backed off on a proposal that would have banned lobster fishing from Cape Cod to North Carolina for the next five years.

Instead, the American Lobster Management Board voted to direct its staff to do a study on the impacts of taking no action and of reducing fishing exploitation by 50 and 75 percent. The vote doesn’t mean a moratorium won’t be reconsidered, but it does mean there probably won’t be any new regulatory efforts for at least several months while the reports are prepared.

The decision came at the end of an emotional daylong meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel during which lobstermen took every opportunity to tell the board that its information on a lobster collapse was old and wrong.

Read the complete story from The Providence Journal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, August 26, 2010

6:00 – 8:00 pm

Portsmouth Public Library

2nd floor meeting room

175 Parrott Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801

Speakers:

Mike Armstrong, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Elizabeth Fairchild and Hunt Howell, University of New Hampshire

Chris Gurshin, Normandeau Associates, Inc.

Anne Hawkins and Tom Nies, New England Fishery Management Council

The New England Fishery Management Council is developing Framework 45 to the Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.  Discussions are preliminary, but one objective is to further protect spawning cod aggregations, particularly those targeted by recreational and commercial fishermen in Ipswich Bay (particularly in the Whaleback Area), Massachusetts Bay, and in Fishing Blocks 132 and 133.  We will discuss the management actions currently being considered and showcase collaborative fisheries research on cod and winter flounder aggregations in these areas that may help inform decisions.

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, July 26, 2010

6:00 – 8:00 pm

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, NH

Speaker: Erik Chapman – NH Sea Grant Climate change is a hot topic that we hear about virtually every day.  We hear that deserts are expanding, oceans are warming, the polar ice caps are melting, and the number of dramatic storm events are increasing.  But we also know that life on this planet has adjusted to changes in climate in the past.  This leads to an important question as we consider the future of our fisheries:  How does climate change influence fish and lobster populations and what can we expect for them over the next several decades?  Furthermore, what can we do to prepare for these changes?  This will be the topic of a talk which will be followed by a discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Joint Groundfish/Scallop Committee will meet to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Dates:
The meeting will be held on August 10, 2010 at 9 a.m.

Addresses:
The 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 upcoming meeting from Govpulse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lobstermen repeatedly told the board and its government scientists that their data was old and wrong. There was no disaster in lobster populations, just in government regulatory efforts, they said.

"I'm seeing lobsters the size of crickets, up to two and three pounds. All kinds are out there," said Michael Marchetti, former president of the Rhode Island Lobstermen's Association. "Instead of looking to us as the only source of reducing lobster mortality, look to us to help augment production (by throwing back females)."

Read the complete story from the Providence Journal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A proposal to ban lobster fishing over a vast stretch of the East Coast was killed Thursday after lobstermen said it would do "almost biblical" damage to the industry.

The board that advises the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on lobster rules voted instead to consider lesser reductions in the catch — or no new restrictions at all.

The vote by the American Lobster Management Board came after lobstermen said a possible five-year ban on lobster fishing from south of Cape Cod, Mass., to North Carolina would destroy their businesses just as the species is rebounding.

See the complete story from NPR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOAA will re-open 26,388 square miles of Gulf waters to commercial and recreational fishing on Thursday. The reopening of a third of the overall closed area was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.

Since mid-June, NOAA data have shown no oil in the area, and United States Coast Guard observers flying over the area in last 30 days have also not observed any oil. Additionally, trajectory models show the area is at a low risk for future exposure to oil, and fish caught in the area and tested by NOAA experts have shown no signs of contamination.

“Today’s decision is good news for Gulf fishermen and American consumers,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “Following the best science for this re-opening provides important assurance to the American people that the seafood they buy is safe and protects the Gulf seafood brand and the many people who depend on it for their livelihoods.”

Read the complete story from ABC WMBB News 13.