Saving Seafood

South Carolina taking steps to protect flounder population

June 21, 2021 — South Carolina has joined a number of states in an effort to protect and improve flounder populations.

Gov. Henry McMaster signed bill H.3957 on June 15 that would change size and creel limits on flounder harvested in South Carolina waters. The bill also increases the cost of saltwater fishing licenses for residents and non-residents with the extra money used for the development and implementation of a flounder stocking program.

“This is something we’ve really needed and we appreciate the legislature for stepping up with these changes,” said Scott Whitaker, executive director of CCA (Coastal Conservation Association) South Carolina.

Read the full story at The Post and Courier

North Carolina Fisheries Association Files Motion to Intervene in CCA Lawsuit

February 5, 2021 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

On Thursday, January 28, 2021 the North Carolina Fisheries Association filed a motion to intervene as a party-defendant in the lawsuit filed against the State of NC by the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) of North Carolina.

On November 10, 2020 the CCA filed a lawsuit alleging that, by allowing the use of gillnets and shrimp trawls, the State has violated the NC Constitution and/or the public trust doctrine by failing to protect our coastal fisheries resources.

Among their many allegations, the CCA claims the State of NC has shown a bias towards the fishing industry by “allowing the commercial fishing industry to dictate or exert a disproportional influence on the States coastal fisheries resources management policies and plans.”

They assert that this alleged bias has, in part, resulted in the mismanagement of our marine resources, violating the public trust doctrine and recreational angler’s constitutional rights.

The CCA’s view – that recreational fishing is a constitutional right which cannot be infringed upon, while commercial fishing is a narrow, limited privilege afforded only by statute – is not a view shared by the NCFA.

We believe all stakeholders, recreational, commercial, and consumer have a right to access our marine resources and a duty to protect them for future generations.

With this in mind the NCFA felt obligated to protect the interest of our members and those who rely on commercial fishermen as their source to access NC seafood.

Along with our motion to intervene we have filed a proposed motion requesting the dismissal of the CCA lawsuit against the State.

Regardless of the outcome of these motions the NCFA will address, in court or publicly, each false claim put forward by the CCA.

If you would like to contribute/donate to NCFA to help with this lawsuit, please make checks payable to:
NCFA Legal Fund
PO Box 86
Morehead City, NC 28557

Motion to Intervene

Affidavit of NCFA Executive Director John Glenn Skinner

Motion to Dismiss

North Carolina facing lawsuits from recreational fishing groups over marine management

November 18, 2020 — The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is facing lawsuits from two recreational fishing groups, alleging the agency exhibits “abject failure in properly managing the state’s coastal fisheries resources.”

The lawsuits have been filed by the North Carolina Coastal Fisheries Reform Group (NCCFRG) and most recently, by the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina (CCA).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

North Carolina state fisheries under legal attack

November 12, 2020 — The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is fielding attacks from two recreational fishing groups, alleging the agency exhibits “abject failure in properly managing the state’s coastal fisheries resources.”

The lawsuits have been filed by the North Carolina Coastal Fisheries Reform Group (NCCFRG) and most recently, by the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina (CCA).

Both actions take aim at the state’s “public-trust responsibilities to manage coastal fish stocks in a way that protects the public-trust rights of the public.”

According to Glenn Skinner, executive director of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, these attacks on the state’s fisheries agencies and the commercial industry are nothing new, but he has noted a change.

“While none of this is surprising, the number of attacks has definitely increased,” says Skinner. “There seems to be an effort to ‘go for the throat’ lately on multiple fronts. Attacks such as these mirror a lot of what’s gone on in other states, especially regarding the CCA.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Chinese Customs finds traces of COVID-19 on Indonesian, Russian seafood packaging

September 21, 2020 — China’s Customs authorities have announced the discovery of traces of COVID-19 on the packaging of seafood originating from Indonesia and Russia.

A shipment of frozen hairtail shipped by Medan City, Indonesia-based Pt. Putri Indah was held by the General Administration of Customs after its packaging was found to contain traces of the novel coronavirus. In response, China has announced that imports from the firm will be barred for a week, according to the Announcement No. 103 from the Chinese Customs Administration.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Lingering North Carolina Fisheries Association issues persist into 2019

January 25, 2019 — Captain George’s was the venue for the recent 2019 North Carolina Fisheries Association’s Annual Meeting, which addressed issues that included conflicts with special interest groups, shrimp trawl bans and aquaculture in the sounds.

The NCFA is the primary organization promoting, providing education and, in recent years, defending North Carolina’s commercial fishing industry.

NCFA board presided over an extensive agenda, discussing and taking comments from the dozen or so NCFA members attending on a wide range of legislative, regulatory and other issues the organization faces in 2019.

As board Chairman Brent Fulcher worked his way through the agenda, many of the same concerns facing the NCFA this year are the same, unresolved issues that were on the board’s plate five, 10, and even 20 years ago.

Primary among them were the continuing challenges of well-financed efforts of special interest groups claiming to represent recreational fishing interests.

For those who have followed these issues in the past, the actions of the Coastal Conservation Association, a national group with state chapters active in virtually every state, was once again behind several initiatives seen as a threat by the NCFA to their industry.

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice

OREGON: Kitz for the kill: Ousted gov. back to fight gillnets

October 26, 2018 — Oregon’s former Gov. John Kitzhaber apparently loves to hate Columbia River commercial fishing.

In 2012, the Coastal Conservation Association successfully wooed Kitzhaber, convincing him propose that the state ban salmon gillnetters from the main stem of the Columbia River with the hopes that despite years of testing to the contrary, they would miraculously find seine nets to be more selective than gillnets in taking wild salmon (as opposed to hatchery salmon).

Before he resigned from office in 2015 (an investigation led to citations from the Oregon Ethics Commission for using his office for personal gain and failure to disclose potential conflicts of interest), Kitzhaber championed a ban and struck a deal in 2013 with the joint commission that has managed the river with Washington’s fisheries counterparts for 100 years.

In 2017, the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission threatened to withdraw from the joint agreement but ultimately compromised to bring the states back into co-management.

Five years after the 2013 agreement, the joint commission is conducting a comprehensive review, and Oregon officials are threatening again to make a (gasp!) data-based decision to allow the use of gillnets on the main stem of the Columbia River.

Enter Kitzhaber: drumming up support for his ill-advised and poorly implemented plan of old with PSAs on gillnetskill.com.

The flip side of the Kitzhaber deal — as is often the case with CCA plans — was to transition the commercial quota to the recreational fleet. The result was a high mortality rate among the fish they had hoped to conserve by reallocating those “protected” fish to the sport sector. Imagine that!

Data gathered over several years indicate that gillnets do not have the effect on fish that advocates of the Kitzhaber plan estimated, or that other types of gear were more selective.

Yet here we are again, dodging the mudslingers in another fish fight. Science is on our side, but the lobbying dollars may not be.

This story originally appeared on National Fisherman, it is republished herewith permission.

Jessica Hathaway: Outboards overboard

June 26, 2018 — In the coming weeks, the House is likely to vote on Rep. Don Young’s (R-Alaska) Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, or H.R. 200.

This revision and reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act garnered a lot of support in the industry but has since been amended to include anti-commercial-fishing language that all but assures the slow creep of commercial quota to the sport fleet in favor of a tourism-based economy.

“It’s time for the federal policies that govern U.S. fisheries to account for the impact the recreational and boating industries have on the economy,” said Martin Peters, Government Relations Manager for Yamaha Marine Group in a press release.

A band of charter fishermen out of Galveston, Texas, is publicly protesting Yamaha Marine Group because the company has actively been lobbying for the amendment, which weakens the commercial fleet’s access to reef fish quota on the Gulf Coast.

“We had turned the corner and rebuilt these fisheries,” Scott Hickman, owner of charter fishing company Circle H Outfitters of Galveston, Texas, told the Daily News in Galveston. “Now, companies like Yamaha are funding bad legislation that would roll back the conservation aspects of the act.”

Yamaha’s advocacy cemented the company’s alliance with recreational fishing interests and the Coastal Conservation Association. But the push to strip the commercial fleet of its quota reportedly has broader support among other members of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, as well.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

But Sea Lions Seem So Cute…

June 26, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources: 

We’re seeing another busy week unfold for us at Nat. Resources this week, as the Rules Committee officially announced that a vote for H.R. 2083, the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act, is set for tomorrow. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), the bipartisan bill provides states and tribes the necessary tools to humanely manage sea lions that have migrated outside their historic range and pose an imminent threat to fish species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

But Sea Lions Seem So Cute…

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Sea lions pose a significant threat to ESA-listed salmon and steelhead, and while the world took notice of last year’s viral sea lion attack, tribal, subsistence and commercial fisheries have long felt the effects of the hearty appetite of non-native sea lions across the Columbia River watershed. Endangered salmon have become the victims of conflicting federal laws that make it illegal to responsibly manage the obvious predator: sea lions.

Broad Member & Stakeholder Bipartisan Support

The bill enjoys a strong bipartisan backing, with U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) as an original cosponsor, and a significant list of local and regional groups voicing support, including the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, the Columbia Intertribal Fish Commission, the Coastal Conservation Associations of Washington and Oregon, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, and more than 100 local and recreational fishing businesses.

Learn more about the House Committee on Natural Resources here.

 

Coastal Conservation Association Supports Legislative Effort To Eliminate Shark Finning

June 8, 2018 — The following was released by the Coastal Conservation Association:

Coastal Conservation Association has joined forces with leaders in the marine science world to support the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act (HR 5248) as part of the ongoing effort to eliminate the vile practice of shark finning around the world. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida, would require any nation seeking to export shark, ray or skate products to the U.S. to receive certification from NOAA that it has management and conservation policies in place comparable to those in the U.S. Furthermore, the exporter must show that there is no overfishing of those species and that a prohibition on shark finning is enacted and enforced.

“We at OCEARCH applaud the support of CCA for this bill, which provides an effective, sensible and science-based solution to end shark finning around the world,” said Chris Fisher, Founding Chairman of OCEARCH. “As an advocate for bringing together diverse stakeholders, OCEARCH is pleased to see CCA join the growing coalition of organizations in support of this bill. With this support, CCA is demonstrating their leadership in promoting the conservation of our precious marine resources in a data-driven, centrist way.”

While the U.S. has policies in place against shark-finning, in which sharks captured with industrial commercial gear like trawls and longlines have just the fins removed before being thrown overboard to a slow death, many countries still turn a blind eye to the practice. The Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation seeking to close any loopholes that may allow the practice to continue.

“As an apex predator, sharks play a critical role in maintaining the health of the marine ecosystem and we simply cannot afford to allow this egregious and wasteful method of fishing to continue,” said Patrick Murray, president of CCA. “Research shows that sharks travel the globe and need global solutions to ensure their health and sustainability. We greatly appreciate the work of Rep. Webster, Rep. Corey Booker of New Jersey, who is sponsoring similar legislation, and others who are making a difference in this fight.”

Read the full release here