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Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Members Call on ASMFC for a Fair and Equitable Reallocation Process

February 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

As the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) undertakes a performance review of the Atlantic menhaden fishery, members of the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) are urging the Commission to consider, as part of its decision-making, the importance of historic landings records and the impacts to the fishing industry of the recently implemented ecosystem-based management.

The call came in a letter to ASMFC Menhaden Board Chair A.G. “Spud” Woodward, signed by several organizations in the menhaden bait and marine ingredient industries, representing several states including New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland.  The signatories of the letter include New Jersey’s Lund’s Fisheries, Virginia’s Omega Protein, Reedville Bait, and Kellum Maritime, and Delmarva Fisheries Association based in Maryland.

While it is currently unclear whether the ASMFC will initiate an action to revisit current menhaden quota allocations, the letter asks the Commission to recognize in any possible decision factors such as changing patterns in landings, strong demand for menhaden products, and the need to ensure that the fishing industry has a fair opportunity to harvest their quota.

Specifically, the letter highlights the disparity between how the quota is currently distributed among states and where the harvest is occurring, impeding efforts to fully harvest the quota. The letter asks that if the Commission pursues quota reallocation, that it recognizes the few states that have already sacrificed some of their historical quota share, and that it ensures that the burden of any new cuts is fairly distributed throughout the stock’s range. Traditionally, both current use and a state’s fishing history are key determinants in resource allocations made by the Commission.

“Since the menhaden quota was established in 2012, cuts have come almost entirely at the expense of New Jersey and Virginia fishermen,” said Wayne Reichle, President of Lund’s Fisheries. “Now that the Commission has decided to reduce the quota for ecological reasons, the conservation burden needs to be fairly shared throughout the fishery, not by taking allocation from the two states with the largest historical fisheries.”

The menhaden fishery has changed significantly since the ASMFC passed Amendment 3 to its menhaden Fishery Management Plan in 2017. The Commission has adopted Ecological Reference Points (ERPs) to better account for the role that menhaden play in the ecosystem and has instituted a 10 percent cut in the coastwide quota. Also, a significant new bait fishery has developed in Gulf of Maine states, which join Virginia and New Jersey as a top harvesting region.

According to the letter, these changes have resulted in “a significant mismatch between the total menhaden catch allocation (TAC) and its actual use.” For this reason, the Coalition urges the Commission to focus any possible reallocation decisions to ensure the fishery can reach its optimum yield. It argues that “provid[ing] a reasonable opportunity for the bait and marine ingredients fisheries to fully harvest the amount of menhaden [the Commission] has determined to be sustainable” is particularly important as fishing communities have suffered economic harm by pandemic-related reductions in demand for other seafood products.

The ASMFC’s Menhaden Board takes up its review of this fishery tomorrow afternoon.

The Baltimore Sun is wrong about Maryland’s oyster rules

September 30, 2019 — Recently, the Editorial Board of The Baltimore Sun weighed in on the issue of oyster management in the Chesapeake Bay, simultaneously insulting the hard-working men and women of the seafood industry and suggesting that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is unwilling to protect the oyster (“Dwindling supply of Maryland oysters requires stronger response,” Sept. 17). As chairman of the Delmarva Fisheries Association, I take issue with both of these positions and several others blithely laid out for the members of Maryland’s General Assembly to devour with their oyster shooters and clam strips.

It does nothing to represent our side, the side that’s busy trying to make a living ensuring city folks have fresh, local seafood for their fundraising fêtes. For the record, DNR did not “cave” to watermen and seafood processors. They worked with stakeholders from the legislative, scientific, academic, seafood, business and nonprofit community to arrive at a plan to act now to use a multi-pronged strategy to increase the biomass of our iconic bivalve. We proposed several ways to reduce harvest pressure, one of many stressors to the oyster population, as did others. Ultimately, DNR came up with a plan for the coming season that left no one 100% satisfied. It’s called compromise. They are using an adaptive management strategy that will allow them to monitor scientifically what is working and what’s not and then modify their approach until they’ve arrived at a suite of actions that increase the oyster population.

Read the full story at The Baltimore Sun

MARYLAND: 2019 Chesapeake Environmental & Economic Summit

January 3, 2019 — The following was released by the Clean Chesapeake Coalition & Delmarva Fisheries Association:

The Clean Chesapeake Coalition (CCC) and Delmarva Fisheries Association (DFA) are teaming up to host an informational summit for new and returning Maryland General Assembly legislators. Three panels will focus on the economic and environmental challenges that face working farmers and watermen of Maryland amid ongoing Chesapeake Bay water quality improvement efforts. For too long, those who rely on the bounty of the land and water have been demonized when discussion turns to environmental issues. Despite the fact that these groups form an integral part of the fabric of our economy, culture and heritage, their members are often left out of the conversations about public management and regulations that affect their livelihoods. CCC & DFA are joining together to share with our State representatives and local officials sustainability plans that are based on scientific research, demonstrated success and concern for the welfare of all of the inhabitants around the nation’s largest estuary. We advocate for solutions that bring stakeholders together to engage their skills and resources in efficient and fiscally responsible ways.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

11:00 Welcome – Opening Remarks -Honorable Boyd K. Rutherford, Lt. Governor

11:15 Panel 1: Agricultural Issues including BMPs, State-Funded Farming Initiatives, Poultry Regulations

12:00 Light Food and Refreshments

12:30 The Conowingo Factor video showing

12:45 Panel 2: Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay including MDE’s WQC for Conowingo Dam relicensing, MES’s Conowingo Sediment Characterization and Innovative Reuse Project, Clean Water Commerce, Phase III WIPs

1:30 Panel 3: Sustainable fisheries management including recent Oyster Stock Assessment, shell replenishment, oysters as BMP for pollution reduction

2:15 Recognition Awards

National Coalition for Fishing Communities: An Open Letter to America’s Chefs

October 31, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

Members of the National Coalition for Fishing Communities have long believed that the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) is one of the great success stories in fisheries management. Originally co-sponsored in the House over 40 years ago by Reps. Don Young (R-Alaska) and Gerry Studds (D-Massachusetts), the MSA has become a worldwide model, and is one of the reasons the U.S. has some of the best-managed and most sustainable fish stocks in the world. The bill is named for its Senate champions, Warren Magnuson (D-Washington) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

But we are concerned by a new “nationwide #ChefsForFish campaign targeted at the new 2019 Congress, to launch after the elections in early November,” being organized by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which the Aquarium calls the “next phase” of its “defense” of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The Monterey Bay Aquarium described this campaign in an October 25 email sent to its “Blue Ribbon Task Force chefs.” The email asked this network of chefs to support the “Portland Pact for Sustainable Seafood” (attached).

On the surface, the Portland Pact matter-of-factly states sound principles:

  • “Requiring management decisions be science-based;
  • Avoiding overfishing with catch limits and tools that hold everyone accountable for the fish that they remove from the ocean; and
  • Ensuring the timely recovery of depleted fish stocks.”

However, in the last Congress, the Monterey Bay Aquarium used similar language to falsely characterize legitimate attempts to pass needed improvements to the MSA as betraying these principles. In fact, these changes would have made the landmark law even better.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has repeatedly called on Congress to reject efforts, such as H.R. 200, which passed the U.S. House in July, and was sponsored by the now Dean of the House Don Young, that would amend the Act to introduce needed updates for U.S. fisheries management. If the chefs being asked to sign onto the Portland Pact were to talk to our fishermen, they would know how important these reforms are for the health of our nation’s fishing communities.

Any suggestion that the original co-sponsor of the bill would, 40 years later, act to undermine America’s fisheries, is inappropriate. In fact, most of the “fishing groups” that opposed Congressman Young’s bill, are financially supported by environmental activists and their funders.

No legislation, no matter how well designed is perfect or timeless. In fact, Congress has twice made significant revisions to the MSA, first in 1996 with the passage of the Sustainable Fisheries Act and in 2007 with the MSA Reauthorization Act. Like many other valued and successful laws, the Magnuson-Stevens Act is both working well, and in need of updates.

We agree that “management decisions be science-based.” One of the most significant issues with the current MSA is that it requires that fish stocks be rebuilt according to rigid, arbitrary timeframes that have no scientific or biological basis. Bills like H.R. 200, officially the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, would instead require that stocks be rebuilt according to an appropriate biological timeframe determined by the regional councils that manage the stocks.

H.R. 200 would also introduce other important measures that would better allow the councils to adapt their management plans to fit changing ecological conditions and the needs of fishing communities, which will become increasingly important as our coastal areas experience the effects of climate change.

American fishermen, like many American chefs, are committed to sustainable fishing and healthy oceans. Our businesses need sustainable, abundant fish stocks for us to make a living, and we all want a thriving resource that we can pass down to the next generation. We would never endorse a law that would threaten the long-term survival of our environment or our industry. That is why we endorse changes to the MSA that would ensure both.

We ask that any chef who is considering signing onto the Monterey Bay Aquarium letter to Congress first consult the local fishermen who supply them with fresh, quality products to learn how this law affects their communities.

NCFC members are available to connect chefs with seafood industry leaders, who would be happy to discuss how the MSA can be updated to help both fish and fishermen.

Sincerely,

Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries
Kathy Fosmark, Co-Chair
CA

Atlantic Red Crab Company
Jon Williams, President
MA

California Wetfish Producers Association
Diane Pleschner-Steele
CA

Delmarva Fisheries Association
Capt. Rob Newberry, Chairman
MD, VA

Fishermen’s Dock Co-Op
Jim Lovgren, Board Member
NJ

Garden State Seafood Association
Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director
NJ

Hawaii Longline Association
Sean Martin, Executive Director
HI

Long Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association
Bonnie Brady, Executive Director
NY

Lunds Fisheries, Inc.
Wayne Reichle, President
CA, NJ

Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance
Rich Fuka, Executive Director
RI

Seafreeze, Ltd.
Meghan Lapp, Fisheries Liaison
RI

Southeastern Fisheries Association
Bob Jones, Executive Director
FL

Viking Village
Jim Gutowski, Owner
NJ

West Coast Seafood Processors Association
Lori Steele, Executive Director
CA, WA, OR

Western Fishboat Owners Association
Wayne Heikkila, Executive Director
AK, CA, OR, WA

PRESS CONTACT

Bob Vanasse
bob@savingseafood.org 
202-333-2628

View the letter here

 

MARYLAND: New seafood industry group lobbies against oyster project

MARYLAND – March 22, 2016 –A new group has emerged to speak for the seafood industry in contentious Chesapeake Bay fisheries issues, and it’s already being heard in Maryland on oyster restoration.

The Delmarva Fisheries Association formed last year with the stated intent of bringing together watermen, restaurant owners, packing houses, oyster farmers and boat captains.

Capt. Robert Newberry, the association’s president and founder, used to oyster in the Upper Bay and is now a charter boat captain and a hunting guide. He said he wanted to form a group that would unite the seafood industry.

One of their first priorities, he said, was getting Maryland’s governor to take a closer look at the oyster reef construction project in the Tred Avon, which is part of an effort to restore bivalves in three of the state’s tributaries that will cost tens of millions of dollars. All three have been designated sanctuaries, off-limits to commercial harvesting.

See the full story at the Bay Journal

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