Cape Cod Archives - Page 34 of 41

MASSACHUSETTS: South Shore lobster fishermen seek exemption from closure

June 9, 2016 — Finding ways to share the seas with important marine creatures, such as right whales, while keeping business afloat is a priority for local lobstermen and fishermen.

Representatives from local fishermen’s associations may have a solution they hope can lead to an exemption in a federally mandated closure that grounds local fishermen from Feb. 1 to April 30.

The closure encompasses nearly 3,000 square nautical miles, including parts of Massachusetts Bay and the waters around Cape Cod. It was first implemented in 2015 and affects fishermen who use vertical lines, such as lobster fishermen.

The goal behind the closure is to protect the right whale from possible entanglements. Since before the closure began, the fishermen have been looking for a compromise so they can help protect the endangered species without hurting their livelihoods.

“The commercial lobstermen want to coexist with the right whale. I don’t want to kill the whale, and I want to catch lobsters. We need to come up with a plan to make everyone happy,” said John Haviland, a Marshfield fisherman and president of the South Shore Lobster Fisherman’s Association.

The solution that may be the key to an exemption is a type of sleeve local fishermen have been trying out for about two years.

The sleeves wrap around the vertical lines, which are cut into 40-foot segments. Though the lines themselves break at around 4,000 pounds of pressure, the sleeves break with about 1,700 pounds of pressure—about the strength of the whale.

Read the full story at the Marshfield Mariner

MASSACHUSETTS: South Shore ground fishermen skeptical of plan to use digital cameras for monitoring mandate

June 9, 2016 — A program to get New England fishermen using video technology instead of human monitors to track their adherence to catch limits and document fish discarded from boats is getting mixed reviews in South Shore fishing ports.

Longtime commercial fishermen from Marshfield and Scituate said the project to equip some groundfishing boats with digital cameras comes with numerous pitfalls, including cost burdens and concerns about how video footage would be used.

Beginning this week, up to 20 groundfishermen from the Maine and Cape Cod will use three to four cameras to document fish handling on their vessels. At the end of each fishing trip, boat captains will send hard drives to third-party reviewers, who will view the footage and determine how much fish was discarded.

The Nature Conservancy is overseeing the project and hailed it Tuesday as a “new era in fisheries monitoring” that would be less costly than the current federal mandate, which requires having human monitors aboard boats on a percentage of fishing trips – at a cost to the fishermen of more than $700 a day.

Last December, South Shore fishermen threw their support behind a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Cause of Action on behalf of Northeast Fishery Sector 13, which represents fishermen from Massachusetts and New Hampshire down to North Carolina. The federal lawsuit challenges the legality of the federal mandate and came in the aftermath of news that government funding to cover the cost of monitors was running out.

Christopher McGuire, The Nature Conservancy’s marine program director, said his group has begun working with National Marine Fisheries Service personnel in hopes of winning approval for the video-monitoring program.

If video monitoring can deliver verifiable data at an affordable cost, McGuire expects federal approval to come within two years.

South Shore fisherman Ed Barrett questioned whether there would be any cost savings, saying the camera equipment would cost thousands of dollars.

“Then someone has to sit in a cubicle and watch the video,” said Barrett, who lives in Marshfield. “ In a multi-species complex like we have in New England, it’s impossible for the video to pick out which fish are being discarded.”

Read the full story at the Patriot Ledger

New Bedford Standard-Times: Cooperation pushes fishery advocacy to next level

June 6, 2016 — Last Thursday, House Natural Resources Committee Chair Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) joined Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) and Mayor Jon Mitchell in New Bedford, Mass., to discuss issues relevant to the local seafood and fishing industries. The National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC), which helped organize Rep. Bishop’s visit, hopes to continue working with the Natural Resources Committee and its staff to arrange bipartisan visits to all the seaports where NCFC members conduct their business.The following editorial about Rep. Bishop and Rep. Keating’s visit to New Bedford was published yesterday by the New Bedford Standard-Times:

Geography is both a blessing and a curse for commercial fishermen in the U.S. They have access to rich fishing grounds along thousands of miles of seacoast, but the distance between the fish they catch and the American consumer prevents a full understanding of the lives of fishing communities.

The visit to New Bedford’s waterfront Thursday by the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, was more than a step in the right direction, it’s proof of treading the right path. The committee is responsible for ocean issues, including the current reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

City support

The National Coalition for Fishing Communities was formed with city-directed grant money, and the Harbor Development Commission’s membership in the coalition emphatically states the city’s commitment and leadership. Their advocacy is often first to be heard, which means they’ll wait longest for remedy.

Advocacy

Saving Seafood’s years of advocacy in Washington on behalf of the Port of New Bedford and the East Coast has enabled the creation of the coalition. More than two dozen municipalities, businesses, and associations from around the country are represented: Alaska, Hawaii, West Coast, Gulf Coast and East coast. Members from Rhode Island, Long Island, New Jersey and around New England had their voices heard by the chairman on Thursday. An industry with such diversity had its voice heard on national issues and discovered new resources to address local issues more effectively.

The coalition’s website says: “We are committed to the tenets of National Standard Eight of the Magnuson-Stevens Act,” which is summed up in the balancing of the sustainability of both the ocean environment and the fishing community. For the record, The Standard-Times is similarly committed.

Good government

There seems little good to be done recounting the sins of either fishermen or government agents, but it is instructive when considering the case of an alternative for the monument designation proposed to protect corals in fishing grounds south of Cape Cod. Industry representatives cooperated at the White House Executive Office level, the Council on Environmental Quality, to produce an alternative that satisfies preservation and fishing goals alike.

In addition, the CEQ’s counsel can influence how frequently deference might be claimed by regulators, nudging court decisions more in line with the statutory balancing act of National Standard 8.

The chairman’s visit to New Bedford is a recognition that there remain injustices and inequities in the administration of Magnuson-Stevens; reaching out leads to better decisions.

Bipartisanship

Chairman Bishop’s congressional district in Utah borders on the Great Salt Lake, which sees millions of pounds of brine shrimp eggs landed each year. The industry can move more than a billion dollars through the economy annually, but its fortunes are fickle. The lake’s changing salinity affects shrimp reproduction, which can shut the season down if severe enough.

The chairman may have seen the workers in his district reflected in those at the display auction in New Bedford on Thursday, icing down Gulf of Maine flounder. Or at Northern Wind, where workers use machines to process vast amounts of scallops, the port’s signature harvest.

The only “politics” surrounding the chairman’s visit was of the traditional variety: How can we get the people’s business done? New Bedford’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Keating could readily see eye to eye on the issues of fishing communities as they toured the New Bedford waterfront together.

Managing ocean resources may never be easy, but cooperation is what gets the people’s business done, moving toward National Standard 8’s goal of a sustainable balance between humanity and the environment.

Read the editorial at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Rep. Bishop Discusses Federal Policy Reforms with Regional Fishing Leaders in New Bedford

From left: Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA), Mayor Jon Mitchell, and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) talk with representatives of New Bedford’s seafood industry on Thursday, June 2. (Photo: House Committee on Natural Resources)

June 3, 2016 — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) spent the day touring the United States’ highest grossing commercial fishing port in New Bedford, Massachusetts and meeting with Mayor Jonathan Mitchell, Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) and local fishing leaders. June 1, 2016 marks the one-year anniversary of the House passage of H.R. 1335, legislation reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This legislation tailors federal fishery management plans to allow more flexibility and local input while also supporting a more robust domestic seafood industry.

Despite bipartisan support in the House and backing from Democratic elected officials in many of the nation’s coastal fisheries communities, the bill waits for action in the Senate.

“I thank Mayor Mitchell, local fishermen and area residents for the warm welcome during today’s visit. I’m also thankful that Congressman Keating was able to join me during this educational experience.

“Today’s trip to New Bedford was another reminder of the challenges facing America’s fisheries and how lackluster policies from Washington are a root cause of the problem. As we heard today, the science and data used to regulate the industry is inadequate, outmoded and must be reformed.

“Threats from Washington of a unilateral national marine monument designation off the coast of Cape Cod is another major concern for these communities. This will only worsen access and do irreparable damage to the fishery industry in the Nation’s top grossing port and others.

“I look forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to modernize our fishery laws and bring hope to our coastal communities that rely upon a robust and enduring fishing industry.”

The trip included a tour of a shipyard, seafood processing plant and the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

The House Committee on Natural Resources has jurisdiction over federal fisheries laws.

Click here for additional information on the H.R. 1335.

Fishermen from Maine to Cape start monitoring landings by camera

June 3, 2016 — A program to get New England fishermen using video technology instead of human monitors to track their adherence to catch limits and document fish discarded from boats is getting mixed reviews in South Shore fishing ports.

Beginning this week, up to 20 groundfishermen from the Maine and Cape Cod will use three to four cameras to document fish handling on their vessels. At the end of each fishing trip, boat captains send hard drives to third party reviewers who view the footage and count the amount of fish that was discarded.

The Nature Conservancy is overseeing the project and hailed it Tuesday as a ‘‘new era in fisheries monitoring” that would be less costly than the current federal mandate that requires a percentage of fishing trips to carry at-sea monitors on their vessels at a cost of more than $700 a day.

Last December South Shore fishermen threw their support behind a lawsuit filed by the non-profit Cause of Action on behalf of Northeast Fishery Sector 13, which represents fishermen from Massachusetts and New Hampshire down to North Carolina. The federal lawsuit challenges the legality of the federal mandate and came in the aftermath of news that government funding to cover the cost of monitors was running out.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Seafood Industry Airs Views During Congressman’s Visit to New Bedford Waterfront

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell (left) and Rep. Rob Bishop (right) discuss fishing issues in New Bedford on Thursday, June 2. (Photo: House Natural Resources Committee)

June 3, 2016 — The following is excerpted from a story published today by the New Bedford Standard-Times:

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A congressman from the Mountain West got a full dose of a New England coast Thursday, as seafood and fishing industry representatives aired their views on several contentious issues — including the ongoing marine monument debate — during a whirlwind tour of New Bedford’s waterfront.

U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, visited the city to get a firsthand look at the highest-value commercial fishing port in the country. Numerous industry leaders from across the region took the opportunity to speak to the committee chairman, particularly about the push for monument status in the New England Canyons and Seamounts, about 100 miles southeast of Cape Cod.

Eric Reid, a general manager with Rhode Island frozen fish business Seafreeze, told Bishop during a noontime forum at the New Bedford Whaling Museum that economic impacts from monument status, which would restrict commercial fishing, could cost $500 million and “countless jobs.”

Reid unfurled a map of ocean waters on a Whaling Museum table and pointed out to Bishop where he felt commercial fishing businesses could, and could not, survive if a monument status was put in place. Reid suggested a line of demarcation in the Canyons and Seamounts area, where bottom-fishing would be allowed north of the line but not to the south.

“We can protect the industry, and we can protect the corals,” Reid said, urging that “pelagic” fishing, or fishing that occurs well above ocean floors, be allowed in both zones.

Bishop called the map an “extremely good” start to alternative proposals for which he could advocate as the issue unfolds in coming months, during the final stretch of President Barack Obama’s administration.

Bob Vanasse, a New Bedford native and executive director of Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization Saving Seafood, said Bishop’s visit hopefully was the first of many lawmaker visits facilitated by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC). Saving Seafood launched the coalition last fall, with members that span the country and include New Bedford’s Harbor Development Commission.

“We want to bring these members of Congress who have jurisdiction over the fishing industry, to visit the ports that their laws regulate,” Vanasse said. “This is the kind of communication effort that the National Coalition is about.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford-Standard Times

MASSACHUSETTS: South Shore ground fishermen skeptical of plan to use digital cameras for monitoring mandate

June 1, 2016 — A program to get New England fishermen using video technology instead of human monitors to track their adherence to catch limits and document fish discarded from boats is getting mixed reviews in South Shore fishing ports.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

NOAA fisheries center won’t relocate to New Bedford

May 31, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — NOAA won’t be relocating its Northeast Fisheries Science Center from Woods Hole to New Bedford or anywhere off Cape Cod, the agency decided this week.

After 50 years in its location, the Science Center is bursting at the seams, and NOAA is seriously considering rebuilding it at another location.

Mayor Jon Mitchell and about 50 other community leaders wrote to NOAA earlier this year, stating that moving the researchers closer to the fishing fleet that relies on their work would go a long way toward repairing the damaged relationship that the fishermen have with their regulators.

Drew Minkiewicz, attorney for The Fisheries Survival Fund, a nonprofit scallop industry group, said, “They should have looked harder. It doesn’t seem like they thought about it too much.” He said that the city offers “synergies with places like SMAST (The UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology).

Bob Vanasse of the industry group Saving Seafood said, “I do think the mayor was correct in moving the science center to a major seaport with the most economic value. It would have been a good move. It would have been good to have scientists in close proximity to the fishermen who rely on them.”

“I’m not surprised, though. I thought it was a long shot,” he said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA Eyes Possible Move from Woods Hole

May 27, 2016 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is zeroing in on a new home for its Northeast Fisheries Science Center, a mainstay in the culture and economy of Woods Hole. The federal agency said last week that it has narrowed its search to Barnstable County, which includes all of the Cape, and would keep the center closer to research partners in the area.

NOAA began assessing its Woods Hole complex more than a year ago, in light of dwindling office and laboratory space and other concerns. As a first step, a feasibility study is expected to be completed this summer or fall, although a final decision about whether and where to relocate is likely years down the road.

But NOAA representative Teri Frady told the Gazette that the process is moving forward.

“The analysis thus far has reviewed many locations across the region and based on needs and partnerships, Barnstable County has been selected as the best fit for a potential facility re-capitalization,” she said in an email.

The original list had included New Bedford, Narragansett, R.I., and Groton, Conn. In recent months since the plans emerged, officials in New Bedford and elsewhere have lobbied for NOAA to come to their towns, while the Falmouth selectmen have pleaded for the science center to stay put.

But it may not be as simple as picking up and leaving, said Bill Karp, the center’s director of science and research.

“There are a number of different options on the table,” Mr. Karp told the Gazette. “One possibility is that we would maintain some presence on the waterfront in Woods Hole, and then have a second facility upland. But there is a lot of moving parts to this.”

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

Cape scallop fishermen cash in on grounds closer to home

May 23, 2016 — HARWICH PORT, Mass. — The scalloping was pretty poor north of Provincetown last month for the crew of Aidan’s Pride; they towed their dredge for hours just to get a hundred pounds.

So the Wellfleet scallop vessel, owned by Aidan Lapierre and captained by Sean Gray, was heading south to Maryland about three weeks ago, hoping for a more bountiful harvest, when it broke an outrigger in rough water transiting the Cape Cod Canal.

It turned out to be a fortunate break, as the delay lasted just long enough that they were still around when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries office in Gloucester approved a plan May 3 to open a scallop-rich spot around 70 miles southeast of Saquatucket Harbor where Aidan’s Pride was tied up Thursday.

Catches in near-shore areas petered out over the past few years for members of what is known as the general category scallop fleet, smaller vessels around 40 feet in length that are only allowed to land 600 pounds of scallop meats a day. They were not able to harvest their allotted quota and petitioned NOAA and the New England Fishery Management Council to open a portion of the so-called Nantucket Lightship closed area exclusively to them because their vessels are not suited to the long trip to prime scalloping grounds on Georges Bank. In addition, the profits from the relatively small amount of scallops they were allowed to catch would quickly be eaten up by fuel costs.

Their only alternative: head south to the Mid-Atlantic.

But a window of opportunity opened after scientific surveys of the Nantucket Lightship area showed there weren’t enough mature scallops available to open it this year. Members of what is known as the limited access fleet — vessels 80 to more than 100 feet long which harvest as much as 17,000 pounds a day and are responsible for 95 percent of the scallop catch — wanted it kept closed to everyone.

“We chose not to go in there because the science said it wasn’t ready,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney representing the Fisheries Survival Fund, which has many of the limited access fleet as members.

“We wanted the scallops to be larger, to get the maximum yield,” he said.

Since 2001, scallops have been managed under a rotational scheme much like letting a field lie fallow. Sampling is done to determine whether an area has enough large scallops to be opened to fishing. Areas with a lot of seed or immature scallops remain closed until they grow large enough for harvest.

It’s an approach that works but allowing someone into an area before it’s ready violates that management principle, Minkiewicz said. Scallopers faced with only being able to land 600 pounds would likely sort through the catch, discarding smaller animals in favor of the large ones that fetched higher prices, he said.

“They’re human,” he said. “We don’t blame them for it, but they will kill a lot more scallops than 300,000 pounds.”

Kevin Stokesbury, principal investigator at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s sea scallop research program, is also opposed to letting general category boats into the Lightship area, saying the dredge would likely kill a lot of small scallops. Surveys and studies by UMass Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology showed a small amount of growth actually doubled the amount of meat available. He agreed with Minkiewicz’s argument that killing off large numbers of young scallops, even if limited by a relatively small quota, could significantly affect future harvests in the area.

“While 300,000 pounds of harvest is not a lot compared to the biomass there, how many small scallops will you have to sort through to get to the few large ones?” he said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times