Saving Seafood

Fisheries officials seek count of booming seal population

December 19, 2016 — NANTUCKET, Mass. — Fisheries officials in Massachusetts are seeking a head count of the booming seal population that’s drawn great white sharks to Cape Cod waters in greater numbers.

The Cape Cod Times reported earlier this month that state Division of Marine Fisheries Director David Pierce said determining the size of the gray seal population size is “extremely important” for ecosystem management in New England at the recent Nantucket Seal Symposium.

But National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials warned the count could cost as much as $500,000.

New England fishermen have been calling for a seal population count for years to gauge its impact on cod, haddock, flounder, striped bass and other important species.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Governor Baker reshapes state fisheries board

May 27, 2016 — State environmental officials quietly replaced the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission members last Friday, after a disagreement last year over who should serve as the division’s director. The board blocked Governor Charlie Baker’s choice for the job, later choosing longtime division official David Pierce as director.

The Baker administration did not issue a press release on the personnel moves, and longtime fishing boat captains and several industry activists said they were unaware of the changes until contacted this week by the Globe.

Daniel Sieger, assistant secretary for the environment, said the administration was motivated by a desire to bring in new blood and said there were no concrete policy goals associated with the move.

“There’s people that have provided their viewpoint on that board for a long time, and we thought it was a good time to provide some additional perspective,” he said. All of the commissioners who were dismissed were serving past the length of their terms.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe