NEW BEDFORD, Mass., — September 3, 2013 — The following was released by the office of New Bedford, Massachusetts Mayor Jon Mitchell:
Mayor Jon Mitchell today urged the organization responsible for setting catch limits for fish species shared between the United States and Canada to negotiate a Georges Bank yellowtail flounder quota for the 2014 fishing year that does not result in further harm to the fishing industry.
In a letter to its members, the Mayor called on the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC) to reach a quota of no less than 500 metric tons for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. “Georges Bank yellowtail is by-catch for the scallop fishery, which brings in approximately $400 million in direct annual revenue to New Bedford,” said the Mayor. “Taking into account the groundfish and scallop fisheries’ ancillary businesses, Georges Bank yellowtail is tied to nearly $1.3 billion in annual economic activity in Greater New Bedford,” he explained.
The TMGC is a government–industry committee comprised of representatives from Canada and the United States tasked with developing guidance in the form of harvest strategies, resource sharing and management processes for Canadian and US management authorities for the cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder transboundary resources on Georges Bank.
Previously, the organization recommended a 57 percent reduction in the yellowtail quota for the 2013 fishing year. Their recommendation was based on the 2012 TRAC assessment, science that was widely viewed as uncertain and flawed.
“Unfortunately, there are even greater concerns about the 2013 TRAC assessment for Georges Bank yellowtail,” said the Mayor. “As Mayor of the number one fishing port in the United States, I appreciate the importance of conserving the fisheries for the long-term, as well as the difficulty of conducting assessments. Nevertheless, we must not allow unreliable scientific determinations to threaten the lifeblood of our fishing communities.”
Mayor Mitchell urged the TGMC members to “work to ensure that future TRAC assessments are conducted in a manner that renders them sufficiently reliable for giving catch advice.”
The text of the letter follows:
September 3, 2013
Mr. Terry Stockwell
Director of External Affairs
Maine Department of Marine Resources
21 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333,,0021
Mr. Thomas D. Dempsey
Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance
1566 Main Street
Chatham, MA 02633
Mr. Terry Alexander
67 Grover Lane
Harpswell, ME 04079
Ms. Mary Beth Nickell-Tooley
43 Norton Pond Road Lincolnville, ME 04849
Dear Mr. Stockwell, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Dempsey, and Ms. Nickell-Tooley:
In anticipation of the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC)'s meeting on September 10 and 11, 2013, I write to urge that you negotiate a quota of no less than 500 metric tons for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder ("Georges Bank yellowtail") for the 2014 fishing year.
As you know, Georges Bank yellowtail is critically important to New Bedford's economy. In addition to being part of the ground fish fishery, Georges Bank yellowtail is by-catch for the scallop fishery, which brings in approximately $400 million in direct annual revenue to New Bedford. Taking into account the groundfish and scallop fisheries' ancillary businesses, Georges Bank yellowtail is tied to nearly $1.3 billion in annual economic activity in Greater New Bedford.
For the 2013 fishing year, the quota for Georges Bank yellowtail was slashed to 500 metric tons from 1150 metric tons in 2012. This 57% reduction generated significant criticism because it was based on a 2012 TRAC assessment that was widely viewed to have a high degree of uncertainty and to be methodologically flawed. In light of the assessment's flaws, both the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC) recommended that the 2013 quota be set at 1150 metric tons. However, NOAA did not adopt their recommendations because the TMGC had set a lower quota of 500 metric tons.
A year later, there are even greater concerns about the 2013 TRAC assessment for Georges Bank yellowtail. In an August 12, 2013 letter to the SSC chair, Dr. Jake Kritzer, Dr. Steve Cadrin of the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at UMass Dartmouth stated that he could not "accept the 2013 TRAC assessment of Georges Bank yellowtail flounder as a reliable basis for fishery management decisions." And in a detailed letter to Dr. William Karp, the Director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, attorneys for the Fisheries Survival Fund explained that the 2013 TRAC assessment "increased in uncertainty, the assessment process did not meet NMFS' own guidance for best available scientific information, and accepting the assessment contradicts NMFS' own guidance regarding retrospective patterns."
Given the problems with the 2013 TRAC assessment – problems that should have been identified and addressed over the past year – I urge that at your upcoming meeting with the Canadian representatives of the TMGC, you negotiate a Georges Bank yellowtail quota of no less than 500 metric tons. This quota would be consistent with the SSC's August 21,2013 recommendation that the Georges Bank yellowtail quota not exceed 500 metric tons, and it would ensure that New Bedford's fishing industry is not further harmed based on uncertain and flawed science.
At the same time, I ask that you work to ensure that future TRAC assessments are conducted in a manner that renders them sufficiently reliable for giving catch advice. As mayor of the number one fishing port in the United States, I appreciate the importance of conserving the fisheries for the long-term, as well as the difficulty of conducting assessments. Nevertheless, we must not allow unreliable scientific determinations to threaten the lifeblood of our fishing communities.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jon Mitchell
Mayor
cc: Members, New England Fisheries Management Council
For more information:
Read the press release on FSF's letter to NEFSC Director Dr. Bill Karp
Read the FSF letter to NEFSC Director Dr. Bill Karp
Read Dr. Steve Cadrin's letter to the NEFMC's Scientific and Statistical Committee
View Dr. Cadrin's presentation on the Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder Assessment
Read the New Bedford Standard-Times story by Steve Urbon on NOAA's August 12 forum