State and Local

March 19, 2014 — The National Marine Fisheries Service used sub-standard methods of data collection and violated the rule of federal law when it failed to consider alternatives to its preferred catch limits or how those alternatives would affect fishing communities, Massachusetts has charged in its most recent filing of its lawsuit against federal fishing regulators.

Those charges are at the heart of the lawsuit the state filed last May 30 against then-Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and her department’s fishing regulators — NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service — in the wake of unprecedented cuts in the 2013 available catch limits for cod and other species historically elemental to groundfishermen from Gloucester and elsewhere.

The suit, filed by Attorney General Martha Coakley, contends that those Draconian cuts — 77 percent in the allowable landings of Gulf of Maine cod — were based on questionable science and instituted without proper regard for the adverse economic they would create for fishermen and fishing communities.

The federal government has until March 28 to file its final reply brief and then the case will move to oral arguments before U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns renders his judgment.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times 

March 17, 2014 — Two groups representing North Carolina commercial fishermen have fired a shot across the bow of state and federal agencies, sending a notice of intent to sue federal and state fisheries managers over protection of sea turtles under the Endangered Species Act.

The North Carolina Fisheries Association and Carteret County Fisherman’s Association, represented by attorney Stevenson Weeks, filed notice to sue on March 5. They cite ESA violations on the part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servies and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as the N.C. Department of, Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

The group’s letter charges that the state and federal agencies had knowledge of significant turtle takes in the recreational hook-and-line fishery and other resource users, yet focused their conservation and regulation measures almost solely on commercial fisheries, arbitrarily and capriciously assigning the full burden of the species recovery to commercial fishermen. The letter said commercial fishermen are highly regulated, while recreational hook-and-line fisheries and recreational boaters are involved in interactions with sea turtles, yet they remain unregulated – a violation of the ESA.

While the letter said the commercial fishing groups are simply seeking an assessment of sea turtle populations and a level at which they could be considered as “recovered” – plus equal sharing of responsibility for the recovery – they seek to hold recreational fishermen and boaters hostage to force federal and state agencies to comply.

Jerry Schell, acting executive director of the N.C. Fisheries Association, wrote in his March 8 NCFA weekly update, “I suffer from a long memory when it comes to the Endangered Species Act and the protection of sea turtles. It began with (turtle extruder devices). Shrimpers were asked to come up with a solution to protect sea turtles. And they did. It wasn’t an easy process, and it wasn’t cheap, but they did. The same is true for the pelagic long-line fishery. They came up with circle hooks after a lot of work, and that resulted in losing 25-percent of their swordfish catch. And now we add the estuarine gill-net fishery with observers, closed areas and other restrictions. During all of this, the fishermen see lots and lots of turtles in increasing numbers. On one hand that’s a good thing. But with more turtles, guess what? There’s the possibility of more interaction.

Read the full story at North Carolina Sportsman

PORTLAND, Ore., — March 14, 2014 —  A judge has ordered federal fish managers in Oregon to release fewer young salmon into the Sandy River this year to ensure that hatchery fish don't harm wild fish — but has left other hatchery operations intact.

Federal Judge Ancer Haggerty ordered Friday that the National Marine Fisheries Service allow releases of no more than 200,000 coho smolts into the Sandy this year — 100,000 fewer than planned.

But the judge did not order a complete temporary shutdown of hatchery releases as requested in the lawsuit filed by two Oregon nonprofit groups, nor did he require an environmental review of the hatchery. He also did not further reduce releases of fish other than the coho from the hatchery.

"It's less than what we sought, but it's still … protective of wild fish, though it doesn't go as far as we think it should," said Dave Becker, the attorney who represented the Oregon City-based Native Fish Society in the lawsuit.

Read the full story at The Republic 

March 16, 2014 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

Dredging and bottom surveying of the federal channel in Portland Harbor is ongoing in the area from the green can #3 off of the Portland Pipe Line Pier #2 to the Veterans Memorial Bridge. This work will continue until March 27th. The area is being worked with two large barge mounted cranes with 28 and 56 yard buckets. This project is nearing its completion and these barges will move from location to location in the dredge area at a moment’s notice. The Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Portland Harbor Commission request lobstermen keep their gear clear of the entire area until the completion of the work. For more information contact the Portland Harbor Master at 207-772-8121.

March 16, 2014 — The Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission announced on Monday it has approved new regulations affecting the commercial striped bass fishery, which are expected to be implemented prior to the start of the season. Usually, most of the space in this column is reserved for recreational fishing, however the new sweeping changes are big news and many recreational saltwater fishermen get their commercial licenses to be able to sell the striped bass they catch.

Opening day of the season has long been a bone of contention among Southeastern Mass. anglers as it typically opens after the first week of July, when most of the migrating fish have left Buzzards Bay and are off Cape Cod. Local anglers will be happy to hear that the new opening date is June 23, with the fishery to remain open until MarineFisheries projects that the quota — approximately 1.15 million pounds for 2014 — has been landed.

The new open fishing days are Mondays and Thursdays only. It is illegal to harvest striped bass for commercial purposes on all other days of the week.

The daily possession and landing limits for commercial fishermen have been lowered and are now based on the type of commercial fishing permit held. Fishermen holding a commercial lobster or boat permit with a striped bass endorsement will have a daily limit of 15 fish for the boat. Validation of a registered vessel is required to obtain a commercial lobster or boat permit. This limit applies to the permit holder regardless of the number of striped bass endorsements held or trips taken in a day. It also applies to the vessel regardless of the number of striped bass endorsement holders onboard or trips taken in a day.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times 

DENNIS, Mass. — March 14, 2014 — Move over, snowy owls. The latest creatures to captivate binocular-toting beachgoers could be the biggest draw of them all.

At least a dozen rare and enormous North Atlantic right whales have been observed feeding in Cape Cod Bay closer to shore than normal in the Mid-Cape area, mainly off Dennis beaches. During high tides, curious nature enthusiasts have descended on sandy spots such as Mayflower Beach this week to catch a glimpse of the massive mammals in the distance.

Charles "Stormy" Mayo, a senior scientist for Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, said right whales typically feed a mile or more out at sea in this area, so the ability to spot them from shore presents a "very special opportunity."

The right whales are there for the delicious seafood, but if the food moves, so could they. It's unclear how long the giants of the deep will stick around off the Dennis coast.

"There's a very dense concentration of plankton that has been really wafted in by currents up close to the shore, and the right whales have followed it in as they always do — into the shallow waters close to the Dennis shore," Mayo said.

North Atlantic right whales — which are about 56 feet long and weigh up to 70 tons — call Cape Cod Bay waters home during the winter and spring seasons. There are only 510 North Atlantic right whales in the world, according to the Provincetown center.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., — March 13, 2014 — The following was released by the New Bedford Ocean Explorium and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute:

The Ocean Explorium will open its doors for the second complimentary Family Science Night on Thursday, March 20, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.  "Life Without Sunlight" is the theme for this event, related to the exhibit "Life, Smoke, and Fire – Underwater:  Deep Sea Vents Explored" which includes artifacts from expeditions to the deep sea floors.

Visitors will have an opportunity to meet Woods Hole Chief Scientist Dr. Stefan Sievert.  Dr. Sievert will place a call to the research vessel Atlantis, working in the Gulf of Mexico, to speak with Dr. Dorsey Wanless, Geology and Geophysics Postdoctoral Fellow.

During the previous Free Family Science Night, Dr. Sievert was the aboard the Atlantis and took the telephone call from his colleagues.  Visitors to the Ocean Explorium can ask questions of the scientists on-board the research vessel.

The Ocean Explorium's own Explorer in Residence, Rhonda Moniz, will also be on hand.  Ms. Moniz is founder and director of operations for Benthic Exploration, a company that specializes in marine technology including ROV, AUV, side scan, and sub-bottom profiling technology.

There will be hands-on activities and special Science on a Sphere® presentations.  Find more information about the research expedition at http://divediscover.whoi.edu/; find more information about the Ocean Explorium and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution outreach collaboration at http://divediscover.whoi.edu/sos.

Family Science Night is made possible through funding from the National Science Foundation.

March 13, 2014 — Despite a pool of more than $75 million in federal appropriations for fisheries disaster relief from Hurricane Sandy and other storm damage, New Jersey, at $1.5 million, has received a pittance compared with other regions, according to state legislators and anglers associations.

Marine industry losses in both commercial and recreational fishing because of Sandy have been estimated at $121 million in New Jersey and $77 million in New York, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The two states have been told to split $3 million allocated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service for the recovery, officials told the Inquirer. NOAA has not indicated how funding disbursements were determined.

But one of the six places NOAA is distributing money for declared disasters in 2012 and 2013, Alaska — removed by 4,600 miles from where Sandy made landfall in Brigantine, N.J., on Oct. 29, 2012 — will receive $21 million of the funds for issues with its salmon fisheries. States in New England directly affected by Sandy — Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island — will receive the largest share, $33 million, for depleted fish stocks.

Read the full story here