WASHINGTON – March 29, 2011 – On March 26, all seven Southern Fishery Management Area Monkfish Advisors wrote to Richard B. Robins, Jr., chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council to raise their concerns about the "decisions made at the last Monkfish Advisory Panel meeting – primarily those concerning the imposition of catch shares in the fishery – and the manner in which those decisions were reached"
The text of their letter follows:
March 26, 2011
Richard B. Robins, Jr.
Chairman, Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council
800 North State Street, Suite 210
Dover, DE 19901-3910
Dear Chairman Robins:
As members of the Monkfish Advisory Panel who attended the last AP meeting, we thought it critical to bring to your and the full Mid-Atlantic Council’s attention our collective evaluation of the decisions made at the meeting – primarily those concerning the imposition of catch shares in the fishery – and the manner in which those decisions were reached.
It appeared to us as if the various motions had been prepared beforehand and were very hard to follow, particularly in a Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA) context. This was a definite departure from the AP meetings we have become used to, as was the announcement at the start of the meeting that the chairman of the New England Council had requested that votes be recorded for all motions. Up until now the Advisory Panel has operated on a strictly consensus basis. If consensus has not been reached on an issue, the issue has been passed over.
The vote that is most troubling to us was the one that recommended the examination for both management areas of a full range of options including catch shares and sectors. It was particularly troubling because the vote on it was tied and the tie was broken by the Chairperson, who is from Maine and is committed to catch shares and sectors.*
Another issue that is critical to the participants in the monkfish fishery in the SFMA is definite and continuing separation of all aspects of the Northern and Southern components of the fishery. Since the plan first went into effect, fishermen in the SFMA have had fewer DAS and lesser trip limits than those in the Northern area. Hence, we all have catch histories that are much smaller than those of our Northern colleagues who were allowed to fish for monkfish with far fewer encumbrances than we accepted. This has been and continues to be acceptable to us because it has been instrumental in maintaining the character and the stability of the fishery and has obviously contributed heavily to the better condition of our fishery. If, regardless of what form of management regime is adopted, catch histories and the attendant division of the harvest among the participants do not remain in the area in which they were earned, the Mid-Atlantic industry could lose a significant part of the monkfish harvest to the boats, the docks and the processors/exporters from up North.
We are sure that no one involved in monkfish management would wish to add us to the ranks of fishermen who were penalized for accepting reasonable conservation measures, but such a penalty could easily be an unintended consequence of future management actions.
This all reinforces our resolve to work with the Mid-Atlantic Council through its visioning process on a management program for the SFMA that is totally separate from that put in place in the North. That is the only way that we can foresee that will allow the Mid-Atlantic Council to optimize the fishery for the fishermen, the docks, the processors/exporters and the economy of the Mid-Atlantic states without being dragged inextricably into the New England groundfish sector morass that we have had nothing to do with.
On a related note, it has been brought to our attention that in 2010 the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association received over half a million dollars from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation “to provide expertise and support to ensure appropriate and durable implementation of sectors for groundfish, expansion of catch shares into other bottom-dwelling fisheries, and regulations and design elements for sectors that address sustainable fishing communities” and that the Environmental Defense Fund received 2.2 million dollars from Moore to, among other things, implement “good catch shares for monkfish through an exemplary and inclusive design process.” AP member Thomas Dempsey is employed by the CCCHFA and AP member Ted Platz is a consultant for Environmental Defense Fund, which has spent tens of millions of foundation dollars in its efforts to force catch shares on U.S. fishermen. At the last AP meeting Ted and Tom were the most outspoken AP members promoting catch shares in the monkfish fishery. We feel that it is extremely important that these connections be made public. Without such disclosure, it is too easy to assume that they are speaking for or acting solely for themselves or for the fishermen they represent. Obviously, that may not be the case.
Thank you,
SFMA Monkfish advisors
Timothy Froelich
Rick Mears
Chris Hickman
Chris Walker
Michael Johnson
Kevin Wark
Dan Mears
cc MAFMC Staff, MAFMC Members, John Pappalardo
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*From Ms. Raymond’s statement on behalf of Associated Fisheries of Maine (AFM) on Monkfish Amendment 6 –
"However, the current management plan could be improved to address the economic needs of businesses and communities historically dependent on the resource, to promote efficiency, to align with groundfish management, to address the discard issues inherent in trip limit management, and to decrease impacts on habitat and protected species" and "AFM strongly supports allocations based on landings history only, as this best addresses the economic needs of those businesses and communities most dependent on the resource" (emphasis added).