GLOUCESTER, Mass. – July 16, 2012 — Last week, United States Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Tim Bishop blasted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for failing to properly notify the Long Island, New York fishing industry that a closure of the squid fishery was imminent, costing local fishermen thousands of dollars in haul preparation costs that cannot be recovered. A week ago Friday, NOAA sent out notification to a limited universe of fishing interests, via fax, notifying them that the 90 percent of the Longfin Squid fishery had been harvested and would be closed the following Monday. Word of the impending closure did not reach many in the industry until days later, after many boats were at sea, having purchased fuel, ice, and provisions for up to five days.
Today, NOAA Fisheries' Northeast Regional Office mailed a letter of apology to affected fishermen. The apology will be posted to their website tomorrow.
The text of the apology follows:
The longfin squid fishery was closed on July 10 as our catch projections showed that 90% of the Trimester II quota would be caught. We announced the closure on the afternoon of July 6, but two of our primary means for providing the information to industry did not work. I have heard from fishermen that the poor communication caused confusion, inconvenience, and, in some cases, unnecessary expenses. I apologize for the poor communication and am committed to improving.
Typically, when we have time-sensitive news to announce, we place paper copies of the permit holder letter in the mail, air messages over National Weather Service Radio and Coast Guard Broadcast, and email constituents who have opted to receive emails from us at nero.noaa.gov. We do not typically send VMS messages for longfin squid closures because VMS is not required for longfin squid permit holders.
These notification methods are obviously not foolproof, and our communication leading up to the July 10 closure have prompted us to troubleshoot and rethink how we pass time-sensitive information to the fleet. We seek your help. We will investigate the costs and utility of using VMS to notify vessels of longfin squid closures.
We'd also like to hear any ideas you may have for improving our fleet notifications about other time-sensitive actions. Contact the Sustainable Fisheries Division at 978-281-9315 if you have suggestions.
Sincerely,
Daniel S. Morris
Acting Regional Administrator