February 28, 2020 — A group of New Jersey fishermen have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block a ruling that would require them to pay to carry independent monitors on their vessels during their fishing trips.
The suit, filed on Wednesday, 19 February, in the District of Columbia, came after the U.S. Department of Commerce approved an amendment sought by the New England Fishery Management Council to improve clarity regarding landings data in the Atlantic herring fishery.
February 25, 2020 — New Jersey herring fishermen are going to court challenging a new rule forcing them to pay for at-sea monitoring, which they say will cost more than $700 a day for observers and cut their revenue from herring trips by more than 20 percent.
A half-dozen vessels associated with Lund’s Fisheries, based near Cape May, N.J. are named in the lawsuit filed last week against the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA and the Department of Commerce.
Cape Trawlers, H&L Axelsson and Loper Bright Enterprises contend regulators have no statutory authority from Congress to impose industry-paid monitoring in addition to a separate, federally-funded observer program.
“The regulation also has the potential to modify other New England fishery management plans to allow for standardized implementation of additional industry-funded monitoring programs in the future,” Lund’s Fisheries said in a joint announcement with the Cause of Action Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based legal and free-market advocacy group.
A final rule published in the Federal Register Feb. 7, to take effect March 9, would require Atlantic herring trawlers with areas A and B permits to pay toward a 50 percent at-sea monitoring coverage target for the first time.
Originating with the 2018 Industry-Funded Omnibus Amendment approved by the New England council, the potential for levying new monitoring requirements had been in the background since being okayed by the Department of Commerce.
February 24, 2020 — A group of US Atlantic herring trawlers linked to major New Jersey scallop and squid supplier Lund’s Fisheries have sued the US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) arguing that a new rule requiring them to pay for the cost of at-sea monitoring violates federal laws.
The lawsuit, filed Feb. 19 in a Washington, D.C., federal court, alleges that NOAA’s Feb. 7 publication of a “final rule” that will pave the way for industry-funded monitoring claims that the rule exceeds the agency’s authority granted under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the main legislation that regulates fishing in US federal waters.
The lawsuit further claims that the rule improperly infringes on “Congress’s exclusive taxation authority” and violates three other federal laws — the Anti-Deficiency Act, the Miscellaneous Receipts Act and the Independent Offices Appropriations Act, all of which regulate how the government collects and spends money.
The rule, according to the lawsuit, could cost herring harvesters as much as $700 per trip for the monitors, third-party observers hired by the vessel owner.
February 21, 2020 — Keenly aware of a looming bait shortage, Friendship lobsterman Chad Benner decided last fall to invest $15,000 to buy the custom-made net needed to join Maine’s growing menhaden fishery in 2020.
He planned to use some of the menhaden, also called pogy, to bait his lobster traps and sell the remainder to lobster fishermen on the hunt for an affordable alternative to Atlantic herring, which is hard to come by since its depleted numbers triggered steep cuts in how much herring can be caught.
But Benner’s plan was put in jeopardy last month when Maine announced that it wanted to place a two-year freeze on the menhaden fishery, closing it to newcomers while the state enacted a licensing system and made a pitch for a bigger share of the East Coast menhaden quota.
“I put my money down back in November, and now they are saying I can’t go fishing?” Benner said on Tuesday to state lawmakers who oversee the Maine Department of Marine Resources. “I’ve got a kid to support, and a family. I won’t even be able to sell (the net) because nobody could get a license.”
Stories of those who had hoped to jump into menhaden fishing, and pleas from lobstermen in search of affordable bait, persuaded state lawmakers to keep the menhaden fishery open while the state works out details of its proposed licensing system.
February 20, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Commerce violated federal administrative law by requiring at-sea monitors for herring fishing and making the industry pay for them, a group of New Jersey fishermen say in a new federal lawsuit.
The Secretary of Commerce’s approval of a final rule, and a related omnibus amendment, is arbitrary and capricious, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday by the fishing company Loper Bright Enterprises Inc. and others in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
February 18, 2020 — Cape Ann fishermen and other stakeholders will have a chance to weigh in on a plan to better manage the New England fishery for Atlantic herring next month.
Interstate fishing regulators are holding a hearing at 6 p.m. March 2 at the state Division of Marine Fisheries’ Annisquam River Station, 30 Emerson Ave. in Gloucester. Other hearings will be held March 3 in Wakefield and Portsmouth, New Hampshire; March 9 in Augusta, Maine, and by webinar on March 12.
Herring are important economically because they serve as key bait for the lobster and tuna industries. They’re also used as food for human consumption. But perhaps most important, the fish is a critical part of the marine ecosystem because it serves as food for whales, seals and larger fish.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said in a statement that a recent assessment of the herring stock found downward trends in the health of the population.
February 13, 2020 — Interstate fishing regulators are holding a series of public hearings in March about plans to try to better manage the fishery for Atlantic herring.
Herring are the subject of a major fishery on the East Coast, as the fish are used as food for humans and as bait for species such as lobsters. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said in a statement that a recent assessment of the herring stock found downward trends in the health of the population.
February 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
If you would like to provide IFM services to Atlantic herring vessels in IFM years 2020 – 2021 (April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022), you must submit an application by March 12, 2020. We will review your application in accordance with the IFM provider regulations that are being implemented through the New England IFM Omnibus Amendment.
Refer to the posted bulletin for more information on what to include in an application.
Approvals will cover IFM years 2020 – 2021. If we receive any applications under this announcement, final decisions will be communicated to providers and published in the Federal Register after the omnibus measures in the New England IFM Omnibus Amendment become effective on March 9, 2020. There will be a future opportunity to apply for a one-year approval to provide IFM services to herring vessels in IFM year 2021.
Questions?
Contact: Maria Vasta, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9196
February 11, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic coastal states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum III. The details of those hearings and the public hearing webinar follow:
Maine Department of Marine Resources
New Hampshire Fish and Game
February 7, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The final rule implementing the Industry-Funded Monitoring Omnibus Amendment recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council published today. This amendment allows industry-funded monitoring in any fishery managed by the Council to better assess catch and reduce uncertainty around catch estimates.
This amendment also establishes industry-funded monitoring in the Atlantic herring fishery. Specifically, it establishes a 50-percent coverage target for at-sea monitoring coverage aboard vessels issued Category A or B herring permits, and allows herring midwater trawl vessels to purchase observer coverage to access Northeast Multispecies Closed Areas. Additionally, herring vessels have the option of using electronic monitoring and portside sampling, administered via an exempted fishing permit, instead of at-sea monitoring to meet the 50-percent coverage target. Coverage requirements may be waived on a trip-by-trip basis under certain circumstances.
Category A and B herring vessels will begin paying sampling costs associated with industry-funded monitoring as early as April 2020. We will soon be providing herring vessels with detailed instructions on how to comply with industry-funded monitoring requirements, including notification, coverage, and monitoring service provider requirements.
For more details, please see our fishery bulletin. You can also check out this useful fact sheet about the IFM Amendment.