Saving Seafood

All New England Senators Renew Push To Ban Offshore Drilling Off Region

May 3, 2019 — All 10 U.S. senators in coastal New England reintroduced a proposal Friday to bar oil and gas drilling from the region’s shores.

The group said President Trump’s administration was stalling on the release of a new draft of its five-year offshore leasing plan. The group of senators, led by Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, said that means the Atlantic continental shelf off New England is still at risk of being opened up to drilling.

The senators said drilling off New England would be bad for the economy, tourism, wildlife and the environment. New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan said the region’s coast needs to be “off limits.”

The senators said tourism, fishing and recreation generate more than $17 billion for New England annually, according to the National Ocean Economic Program, and it would harm the five coastal states to jeopardize that revenue with drilling.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WBUR

Fish council explores monitoring alternatives

April 19, 2019 — The New England Fishery Management Council continues to work on an amendment to improve monitoring within the groundfish fishery, with a particular emphasis on generating more options within the dockside monitoring alternatives.

Meeting for three days this week in Mystic, Connecticut, the council approved several additions and modifications to the original range of groundfish monitoring alternatives, with an eye toward completing a draft environmental impact statement in time to schedule public hearings later this year.

The council also requested its Groundfish Committee “expand the number of options to determine monitoring coverage levels based on catch” and explore an additional alternative for “vessel exemptions based on fishing location.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23: NEFMC Approves Alternatives for Development

April 18, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its mid-April meeting in Mystic, CT, the New England Fishery Management Council approved a wide range of alternatives that will be further developed for consideration in Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23. This step paves the way for the Groundfish Committee, Plan Development Team, and Groundfish Advisory Panel to continue working on these alternatives and advance the amendment to the next level of analyses.

The Council also dealt with three other groundfish-related issues. In short, the Council:

  • Modified its policy on gear standards in order to facilitate the use of new gear when accountability measures (AMs) are triggered;
  • Received an update on its Groundfish Catch Share Review, which covers fishing years 2010-2015; and
  • Received a quick overview of the ongoing listening sessions being conducted to solicit public comment on whether the Council should develop a limited access program for the recreational party/charter boat fishery under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (groundfish plan).

Read the full release here

Dams still biggest impediment to Atlantic salmon recovery

April 16, 2019 — Addressing the problems caused by dams is still the biggest challenge facing the recovery of the Atlantic salmon.

That’s at the core of a presentation a federal fisheries biologist is scheduled to deliver to a regulatory board on Tuesday in Connecticut. Dan Kircheis of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be speaking to the New England Fishery Management Council during its meeting in Mystic.

Atlantic salmon were once abundant in U.S. rivers, but now they only return to a handful in Maine. They’re on the endangered species list in America. Kircheis will be talking about a recovery strategy for the fish on Tuesday.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Connecticut Post

More fluke could be coming for Connecticut fishermen

March 20, 2019 — Three members of the state’s Congressional delegation — U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy — have announced that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be recommending changes to the management plan for summer flounder that will dramatically increase the quota for the state’s commercial fishermen.

Fishermen have been fighting for decades to obtain more fish under a system that they call unfair and skewed in favor of fishermen from the mid-Atlantic states.

Courtney, Blumenthal and Murphy had written a letter to MAFMC and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, urging the agencies to increase quotas for Connecticut fishermen.

Read the full story at The Day

 

Don’t let wind industry disrupt fishing industry

March 14, 2019 — As owner of Empire Fisheries, one of Connecticut’s largest commercial fishing companies, I testified recently at a hearing before the General Assembly’s Energy and Technology Committee on two bills (SB 875 and HB 7156) in support of the state’s plan to procure clean energy from offshore wind turbines in federal waters.

While in support of the bills, I cautioned, as many other fishermen have, that any authorization from the state for procuring wind energy must first guarantee protections that keep fishermen, fish and the ecosystems they rely on, safe. At a minimum, the legislation should require that before any procurement authorization, Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection commissioner consider the latest science at the time of a proposal, to avoid or mitigate impacts to wildlife, natural resources, ecosystems and traditional or existing water-dependent uses, like commercial fishing. The DEEP should start collecting information about the needs of fishing fleets and develop criteria for the wind energy developers to ensure that this traditional water-dependent use is not compromised.

We need to first find the balance that protects our fisheries and fishermen to ensure that one renewable resource, wind energy, does not displace another, fishing.

Read the full story at The Day

NOAA Fisheries Announces 2019 Bluefish Specifications

March 11, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today we filed a final rule approving and implementing the 2019 specifications for the Atlantic bluefish fishery recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council in cooperation with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The final 2019 specifications are fundamentally the same as 2018, with only minor adjustments to the final commercial quota and recreational harvest limit to account for most recent full year of recreational catch data (2017), and a 4.0 million lb of quota transferred from the recreational to the commercial sector rather than 3.5 million lb in 2018.

Table 1 (below) provides the commercial fishery state allocations for 2019 based on the final 2019 coast-wide commercial quota, and the allocated percentages defined in the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan. No states exceeded their state-allocated quota in 2018; therefore, no accountability measures need to be implemented for the 2019 fishing year.

Table 1. 2019 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations.

State Percent Share Quota Allocation (lb)
Maine 0.67 51,538
New Hampshire 0.41 31,956
Massachusetts 6.72 517,828
Rhode Island 6.81 524,874
Connecticut 1.27 97,626
New York 10.39 800,645
New Jersey 14.82 1,142,264
Delaware 1.88 144,801
Maryland 3.00 231,426
Virginia 11.88 915,857
North Carolina 32.06 2,471,746
South Carolina 0.04 2,714
Georgia 0.01 732
Florida 10.06 775,558
Total 100 7,709,565

For more details please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register and our permit holder bulletin.

Questions?
Fishermen: Contact Cynthia Ferrio, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9180
Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Proposed law allows Connecticut fishermen to cast wider net

February 19, 2019 — Two bills that could have a big impact on Connecticut’s multi-million dollar commercial fishing business were the subject of an Environment Committee public hearing last week.

One of the bills would require the commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to allow fishermen who are licensed in more than one state to engage in dual landings of fish.

The legislation would allow commercial fishermen to take one day’s catch and bring them across state lines — to Rhode Island and New York — not just Connecticut.

Fishermen in Connecticut are not allowed to cross state lines with their catch. That means they have to make multiple trips even if they carry commercial fishing licenses in neighboring states.

The other bill would “prohibit the possession and trade of shark fins in the state.” The aim is to protect sharks from skinning for trade but commercial fishermen are worried that the bill may lead to a complete ban on shark fishing.

The dual landing fishing bill is sponsored by Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton.

“This is a very important bill for commercial fishermen,” Somers told the committee. “They have been faced with unfair quotas compared to other states.”

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Massachusetts Joins Several States to Support Offshore Drilling Bans

January 9, 2019 — Legislators from several states, including Massachusetts, announced a collaborative effort to protect their regions from offshore drilling.

More than 225 lawmakers from coastal states have voiced their opposition to the Trump Administration’s proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket State Representative Dylan Fernandes joined legislators from Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, New Hampshire and Rhode Island to announce legislative initiatives in each state to block offshore drilling in state waters now and in the future.

Connecticut legislators could not participate on the conference call but will also introduce a ban bill.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

How Climate Change Is Affecting New England, And What’s Yet To Come

January 7, 2019 — Climate change is expected to hit the Northeast pretty hard, affecting crops, ski resorts and fisheries on the coast. Here are some of our latest New England reports on climate change — from inland floods in New Hampshire, to a Connecticut forest, to a salt marsh north of Boston where there’s an invasive plant that just won’t quit.

The federal government recently released a lengthy climate assessment with a chapter focused on the Northeast. Our friends at WBUR put together a few New England takeaways you should know.

First, climate change is affecting our health, bringing warmer temperatures that are actually rising faster in the Northeast than elsewhere in the continental U.S. That can mean more deaths from extreme heat, plus more troubles with ticks, asthma and allergies.

Warmer seasons will spell some trouble for some businesses — from fruit farmers to ski resorts. On the flip side, the changes could be a boon to some growers, and they’ll see a longer growing season.

And the report says fisheries will be affected by climate change, as Northeast ocean temperatures are rising 3 times faster than the global average. That means there will be fewer of some species, like northern shrimp, surf clams and Atlantic cod. Other species will increase, like black sea bass.

Read the full story at New England Public Radio