Conservation Law Foundation Archives - Page 6 of 6

Advancing fishing rule aims to protect deep-sea coral in New England waters

May 31, 2017 — Fishing trawlers bring in an average of $6.4 million annually to Bay State ports from fish scooped off seabeds 600 meters or more below the surface of New England waters.

In an effort to save coral on the ocean floor, the New England Fisheries Management Council is advancing a proposed restriction on draggers and trawlers fishing at those depths.

The waters off New England do not get that deep until beyond George’s Bank and lobstermen that fish on the bank do not set traps at that depth, according to council staff. The proposed rule would exempt the relatively small red crab fishery.

The council’s Habitat Committee signed off Tuesday on the proposal, which affect fishing operations in a roughly 25,000 square mile area. If it is passed by the full council it would need to go through the National Marine Fisheries Service, also known as NOAA Fisheries, before it would go into effect.

Environmental groups Wild Oceans, Earthjustice, Pew Charitable Trusts and Conservation Law Foundation urged the council’s scientists to study an alternative proposal, which they said would protect more coral than the plan the council advanced. The council agreed to study the conservation groups’ proposal.

“There could be changes at any point in time. Ultimately when the full council votes on this June 22, we’ve got this preferred alternative going in. That hasn’t changed. But other things may be brought up,” said Habitat Committee Chairman John Quinn, a Dartmouth resident and former state rep.

Read the full story at the Boston Business Journal

MASSACHUSETTS: A National Marine Monument for New England? Maritime Gloucester Talk

March 23, 2016 — A National Marine Monument for New England. Should the President designate the Cashes Ledge Closed Area and the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts as the first Marine National Monument in the Atlantic? Come and hear experts Vito Giacalone from the Northeast Seafood Coalition and Peter Shelley of Conservation Law Foundation tackle the issues and the controversies surrounding Presidential action. A Panel with Vito Giacalone, Volunteer Chair of Governmental Affairs, Northeast Seafood Coalition and Peter Shelley, Senior Counsel, Conservation Law Foundation Massachusetts, with moderator, Sean Horgan, Gloucester Daily Times. Recorded at Maritime Gloucester on 3/3/2016

Watch the full video at Cape Ann TV

NPR: Conservationists Push for a National Undersea Monument

October 22, 2015 — WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — October 22, 2015 — The following is an excerpt from a story by Heather Goldstone, originally published October 19 on NPR affiliate WCAI. It also appeared on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

Editor’s Note: In the article, the Conservation Law Foundation’s Priscilla Brooks comments that the Antiquities Act is “how we’ve gotten many of our incredible national parks – the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone.” However, Yellowstone National Park predates the Antiquities Act of 1906 by 34 years, having been established in 1872 by an act of Congress.

The ocean off New England’s coast is known for lobster and cod, but there are also lush kelp forests and rare deep-sea corals. Environmentalists want President Obama to declare those natural riches a marine national monument – the first of its kind in the Atlantic. Fishermen say the plan not only threatens their business, it silences their voices.

…

Environmentalists are pushing President Obama to declare a marine national monument covering Cashes Ledge, the canyons, and everything in between – six thousand square miles in all. Shank agrees that some protection is needed, but he’s not convinced a monument is the way to go.

“Maybe I’m too much of a nerd scientist,” he jokes. “I just want to see us be informed about what we’re doing.”

By law, fishery managers are required to involve scientists, fishermen, and the public in crafting regulations. Fishermen don’t always like the result, but they have a say, and decisions can usually be revisited. The president, on the other hand, can declare a monument and permanently shut down fishing without any public process at all. Steve Welch of Scituate, MA, helped shape the current rules for Cashes Ledge. Standing outside a recent fishery management meeting, he says the president shouldn’t have that power.

“This is not what America is about,” Welch says. “We might as well have a dictator in the White House.”

Fishermen from twenty six states have signed a petition opposing a presidential proclamation, and the House is considering a bill that would require state and congressional approval for ocean monuments. But monument supporters point to our national parks as living proof that executive action is warranted.

“We learned a century ago that giving the President the authority to protect special areas has been a huge boon for the public,” says Priscilla Brooks, Vice President and Director of Ocean Conservation for Conservation Law Foundation. “That’s how we’ve gotten many of our incredible national parks – the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone.”

Read the full story and listen to the audio at WCAI

Obama admin mulls marine monument off New England

September 17, 2015 — The Obama administration appears to be considering a marine monument off the coast of New England, with federal officials holding a “town hall” meeting on the idea earlier this week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration organized the meeting in Providence, R.I. More than 100 people attended — with some estimates exceeding 300 — to debate the protection of deep-sea canyons and underwater mountains 150 miles offshore.

Environmental groups proposed the monument just two weeks ago, urging President Obama to use the Antiquities Act to permanently protect almost 5,000 square nautical miles (Greenwire, Sept. 1). Such requests are not unusual as Obama nears the end of his term and ramps up his use of the act.

But this time, the proposal came from a coalition of some of the largest conservation groups. Among them: the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, the Conservation Law Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts and Environment America. Other groups also voiced their support.

Within days, NOAA announced a town hall to “discuss permanent protections” off New England. The agency has been vague on details; it has not specified that the discussion will inform the White House for a possible marine monument.

But the agency is not proposing a marine sanctuary, according to spokeswoman Ciaran Clayton. Such sanctuaries, which are created and managed by NOAA, can take years to materialize.

“NOAA hasn’t proposed anything,” Clayton said in an email before Tuesday night’s public meeting. “We’re holding this town hall because there’s been interest from a number of groups on many types of protections. The public meeting is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide input.”

Read the full story at E&E Reporter

AP: Proposal to Protect Offshore Sites Draws Support, Opposition

September 3, 2015 (AP) — Environmental advocates say the federal government should extend permanent protection to two underwater sites off the New England coast by making them national monuments.

Fishing advocacy group Saving Seafood said Wednesday it opposes more restrictions on the areas, already closed to fishing and monitored by federal regulators.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage wrote President Barack Obama last week saying he opposes the proposal, which he said would hurt the state’s economy.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

A Simple Map Shows Cashes Ledge Habitat Is Already Protected

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — September 2, 2015 — Yesterday, Saving Seafood released an analysis explaining how the proposal to use a National Monument designation to protect Cashes Ledge, as advocated by the Conservation Law Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Geographic Society, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, overlooks existing protections and overrides the current, successful system of open, democratic management. In short, we called the proposal “a solution in search of a problem,” one that removes the public from the management of public resources.

Read the full Saving Seafood analysis here

The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) today provided Saving Seafood with an updated map (see below), one that is clear, simple, and easy to understand. It delineates the protections the Council voted for last June in Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2), which are currently being evaluated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for final approval. In light of this evening’s public event at the New England Aquarium which will describe the uniqueness and value of this region, Saving Seafood is sharing this map so that all interested parties can be fully aware of the protections already in place, additional protections currently in progress, and of the decade of work by numerous scientists, fishermen, regulators, environmentalists, elected officials, researchers, academics, and career government staff at the Council and the Agency that has gone into developing them.

As we noted in our analysis, the NEFMC and NOAA have successfully protected Cashes Ledge over the last decade though a collaborative, consultative process that built a consensus among the scientists, fishermen, regulators, and other valuable New England stakeholders. The Council has also ensured that the region remains protected well into the future with the recent approval of Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2), and is working to extend similar protections to the New England Canyons and Seamounts through their in-progress Deep-Sea Coral Amendment.

These developments support Saving Seafood’s conclusion that the process as it exists is working, and the a National Monument designation would only circumvent and undermine the public management of these areas that have been so beneficial to Cashes Ledge and other unique habitats.

See the updated map below:

Conservation groups eye protection for Cashes Ledge

August 31, 2015 — National groups this week plan to call for sprawling areas in off Cape Ann, Cape Cod and Rhode Island to be declared the first “marine national monument” on the Eastern Seaboard.

A January 2009 presidential proclamation established three Pacific Marine National Monuments — the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll, which is on the Samoan archipelago 2,500 miles south of Hawaii and is the southernmost point belonging to the United States.

Now the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and partners such as the National Geographic Society, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Natural Resources Defense Council are seeking protections for the Cashes Ledge Closed Area, about 80 miles due east of Gloucester in the Gulf of Maine, and the New England Canyons and Seamounts off Cape Cod — areas CLF describes as “deep sea treasures.”

A CLF official told the News Service on Monday that the Cashes Ledge area covers 530 square nautical miles in the Gulf of Maine, and the New England Canyons and Seamounts encompasses 4,117 square nautical miles, for a total of 4,647 square nautical miles of protected areas.

The designation, according to CLF press secretary Josh Block, “ensures that this area remains permanently protected from harmful commercial extraction, such as oil and gas drilling, commercial fishing and other resource exploration activities.”

Read the full story from the Gloucester Daily Times

Saving Seafood Analysis: Campaign for New England Marine Monument a “Solution in Search of a Problem”

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — September 1, 2015 — An analysis released today by Saving Seafood examines a proposal from several environmental organizations to extend “permanent” protections to the Cashes Ledge region of the Gulf of Maine and the New England Canyons and Seamounts, by asking President Obama to declare the area a National Monument. The analysis notes that these efforts are largely duplicative of area closures already in place in this region, none of which are poised for opening. Saving Seafood further concludes that such a unilateral move would undermine the democratic and collaborative processes that to date have been highly effective in preserving and protecting the area.

Read the analysis from Saving Seafood here

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and partners including the National Geographic Society, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Natural Resources Defense Council intend to ask that these areas be declared the eastern seaboard’s first Marine National Monument, according to emails sent by CLF to State House News Service. A sold out event scheduled for Wednesday, September 2 at the New England Aquarium, featuring National Geographic and the CLF, is expected to discuss this proposal. Last Friday, Maine Governor Paul LePage wrote to President Obama opposing the designation of areas within the Gulf of Maine as a national maritime monument, as reported by the Portland Press Herald.

Such a designation would be both duplicative of, and possibly damaging to, the current management of Cashes Ledge, according to the Saving Seafood analysis. Closures already in place, developed through an open, democratic and collaborative process under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, already prohibit fishing of federally managed species in the area. These prohibitions have been in place for over a decade, the analysis notes, and have been extended into the foreseeable future with the recent passage of Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2. The Council is actively working on extending similar protections to the New England Canyons through the Deep-Sea Coral Amendment.

A petition being circulated by CLF and promoted by National Geographic notes that a “trawl could strip clear the kelp forest on Ammen Rock,” but as noted in the Saving Seafood analysis, current protections for these areas – including regulations passed as recently as June of this year – already protect areas such as Ammen Rock and the kelp forests. Saving Seafood notes that none of these areas are being considered for opening to fishing.

The Saving Seafood report also cautions against proposals to create “permanent” protections for these areas that would circumvent the process already in place to manage New England’s marine habitats. It notes that the New England Fishery Management Council has responsibility for managing Cashes Ledge and other habitat areas. Through a deliberative, consultative effort involving input from scientists, public officials, regulators, and other stakeholders, the Council has consistently protected the unique habitats on both Cashes Ledge and other areas in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank.

According to the analysis, efforts to circumvent these procedures in pursuit of ostensibly “permanent” protections, such as a National Monument designation via the Antiquities Act, would undermine the open and democratic management process that has already resulted in the long-term protection of Cashes Ledge. Upending the regulatory process that has worked so well for so long is likely to do more harm than good, the report concludes.

Read the analysis from Saving Seafood here

Environmental Groups Seeking National Monument in Cashes Ledge, Permanent Fishing Closures

Editor’s Note: The Conservation Law Foundation has advised Saving Seafood that this event was free and open to the public, but is now sold out. Reports indicating that the event is private or “closed to the public” are inaccurate.

August 31, 2015 — National groups this week plan to call for sprawling areas in the Gulf of Maine and off Cape Cod and Rhode Island to be declared the first “marine national monument” on the eastern seaboard.

A January 2009 presidential proclamation established three Pacific Marine National Monuments – the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll, which is on the Samoan archipelago 2,500 miles south of Hawaii and is the southernmost point belonging to the United States.

Now the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and partners like the National Geographic Society, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Natural Resources Defense Council are seeking protections for the Cashes Ledge Closed Area in the Gulf of Maine and the New England Canyons and Seamounts off the Cape – areas CLF describes as “deep sea treasures.”

A CLF official told the News Service Monday that the Cashes Ledge area covers 530 square nautical miles and the New England Canyons and Seamounts encompasses 4,117 square nautical miles, for a total of 4,647 square nautical miles of protected areas.

Read the full story from the Cape Cod Times