Saving Seafood

Feds threaten shutdown of N.J. fishery as showdown escalates

June 2, 2017 — Call it the Great Flounder War of 2017.

A simmering battle between New Jersey recreational fisherman and the federal agency governing fishing along the Atlantic Coast has now escalated — with potentially disastrous consequences for the fishermen.

In a teleconference on Thursday morning, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) officially found New Jersey to be out of compliance with federal regulations. The decision follows months of wrangling between the two sides, casting shadow over the opening of summer flounder (sometimes called fluke) fishing season.

The matter is now headed to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross for a final decision. If Ross agrees with the recommendation, both recreational and commercial fluke fishing could end up banned altogether in the Garden State.

The clash began in February, when the ASMFC announced stricter rules for fishing fluke coast-wide in order to address overfishing worries. The ASMFC called for a a 19-inch minimum on fishes caught, with a three fish limit per trip over a 128-day season.

New Jersey’s Marine Fisheries Council immediately pushed back and created its own rules as a compromise: a shorter fishing season (104 days from May 25 to Sept. 5 — 24 fewer days than were allowed in 2016), but an 18-inch minimum.

Read the full story at NJ.com

Sen. Luther Strange to Trump: Extend federal red snapper season

May 31, 2017 — U.S. Sen. Luther Strange joined a growing list of lawmakers on Wednesday requesting immediate action from President Donald Trump’s administration to extend this year’s recreational red snapper season.

Strange’s request comes on the eve of the beginning of the recreational season within federal waters. The season is scheduled to run from Thursday through Saturday, making it the shortest recreational season ever for red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico’s federal waters.

Federal waters extend beyond the nine-nautical mile boundary that is currently controlled by the five Gulf states.

“Recreational red snapper fishing generates hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity every year in Alabama, and those who participate deserve to be able to enjoy their hobby for more than a mere three days each year,” said Strange in a statement posted on his Senate website. “I have urged the President to take action, and I look forward to working with him, as well as (Commerce) Secretary (Wilbur) Ross, to make sure that the voices of recreational anglers are heard.”

Read the full story at AL.com

Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, testifies before House Appropriations Committee

May 30, 2017 — Those watching Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross testify before the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies on the president’s budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 may at times have been able to anticipate his answers.

As the secretary fielded questions from worried Democrats regarding agencies and programs the White House proposed to eliminate or to drastically cut, his responses remained consistent. Whether answering queries about the elimination of the Sea Grant Program, the Minority Business Development Agency, or the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, Secretary Ross was unwavering in his answer that tradeoffs had to be made to fund the administration’s priorities, “and with the big increases in defense and military and national security, cuts have to be made somewhere.”

Secretary Ross did highlight two areas of focus within NOAA: weather research and fisheries. He referenced the agency’s prioritization of weather research at the National Weather Service and the National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service. When Chairman John Culberson (TX-7) pressed the secretary on how he would reduce the $30 billion price tag for the three biggest weather satellite programs over the next 15 years, Secretary Ross shared the complexities of the issue, from the dangers of “catastrophic failure” to the need for forecast accuracy and reliability to bulk buys and problems in the private sector. He praised the agency, saying they had done “a pretty good job balancing all of these variables.”

Mr. Ross also highlighted the role of fisheries, saying he’s “obsessed with the problem that we have a $13 billion … trade deficit, in fish and fish product … so that’s one of the areas we’re going to be focusing very much on.” Representative Steven Palazzo (MS-4) raised a controversial issue, asking the secretary about the shortened three-day season for recreational red snapper fishers in Gulf waters. Secretary Ross pledged he would request the underlying data the agency used to make the decision and would work “to balance the needs of the recreational [fishers] with the needs of the commercial [fishers].”

Both sides of the aisle acknowledged the critical importance of the Department of Commerce to the U.S. How the department could continue to successfully function to support our nation’s economy, workforce, and national security with the cuts proposed in the president’s budget request remains an open question.

Read the full story at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership

NFI urges cut in U.S. tariffs to boost exports

May 23, 2017 — The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) encouraged the reduction of tariffs on United States seafood exports at public hearing before regulators in Washington, D.C., on 18 May.

Meanwhile, the American Shrimp Processors Association urged more restrictions on seafood imports from other countries in order to cut the United States’ significant overall trade deficit.

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative asked for public comments on an executive order, “Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits,” which impacts U.S. trade deficits with 13 countries: Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“Addressing the U.S. goods trade deficit with any one of the 13 nations/blocs of nations identified by the department should focus on opening markets for American seafood, reducing overseas tariffs, and eliminating non-tariff barriers,” NFI President John Connelly said at the hearing. “Fully 95 percent of world’s consumers and nearly 80 percent of consumer purchasing power lie outside of the United States, and both numbers are likely to rise in the future.”

For example, per capita seafood consumption in Japan is 300 percent higher than in the U.S., and U.S. seafood exports to Japan were USD 681 million (EUR 608 million) in 2016, Connelly said.

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership would have immediately eliminated and phased out Japan duties on U.S. roe, surimi, and cod,” Connelly said. “This would have allowed domestic fishermen, and particularly fishermen on the Pacific coast, to exploit opportunities in a country that already has a high opinion of the U.S. harvest, and in the process would help narrow the U.S. trade deficit with the nation’s closest Pacific Rim ally.”

In addition, implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, a recently signed trade deal between Canada and the European Union, has placed U.S. exporters at a competitive disadvantage, according to Connelly.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Interior, Commerce Departments Seek Comments in Marine Monuments Review

May 8, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Department of the Interior announced Friday the public would be allowed to weigh in on several monument designations made under the Antiquities Act — including several marine monuments.

The Department of Commerce, in consultation with the Department of Interior, will review public comments related to marine monuments, all but one of which are in the Pacific Ocean. This action is related to President Trump’s executive order 13795, relating to offshore energy and monuments review.

The marine monuments slated for review include:

  • Marianas Trench, listed in 2009, at 61 million acres, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands/Pacific Ocean;
  • Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, listed in 2016 at 3.1 million acres, in Atlantic Ocean;
  • Pacific Remote Islands, listed in 2009 at 56 million acres;
  • Papahanaumokuakea, listed in 2006 and expanded in 2016 at 89.6 million acres, in Hawaii/Pacific Ocean; and
  • Rose Atoll, listed in 2009 at 8.6 million acres, in American Samoa/Pacific Ocean.

A public comment period is not required for monument designations under the Antiquities Act; however, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and President Trump both strongly believe that local input is a critical component of federal land management, Zinke said in a press release Friday.

“The Department of the Interior is the steward of America’s greatest treasures and the manager of one-fifth of our land. Part of being a good steward is being a good neighbor and listening to the American people who we represent,” Zinke said in the statement. “Today’s action, initiating a formal public comment process finally gives a voice to local communities and states when it comes to Antiquities Act monument designations. There is no pre-determined outcome on any monument. I look forward to hearing from and engaging with local communities and stakeholders as this process continues.”

In making the requisite determinations, the secretary is directed to consider the requirements and original objectives of the Antiquities Act, including the size of the monument; whether the areas are appropriately classified as landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures or other objects of historic or scientific interest; the effects of a designation on the available uses of the areas; the effects of designation on the use and enjoyment of non-federal lands within or beyond the monument boundaries; the concerns of state, tribal and local governments, including the economic development of affected states, tribes and localities; and the ability of federal resources to properly manage designated areas.

Comments may be submitted online after May 12 at http://www.regulations.gov by entering “DOI-2017-0002” in the Search bar and clicking “Search,” or by mail to Monument Review, MS-1530, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

Zinke Signs Offshore Energy Orders, Protesters March

May 2, 2017 — U.S. Secretary of the Department of the Interior Ryan Zinke signed two secretarial orders relating to offshore energy development at this week’s Offshore Technology Conference (#OTC2017) in Houston.

The first order, Secretarial Order 3550, implements President Donald Trump’s Executive Order signed last Friday and directs the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to develop a new five-year plan for oil and gas exploration in offshore waters. The order calls for full consideration to be given to leasing the OCS offshore Alaska, mid- and south-Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico. It also directs BOEM to work with the Department of Commerce’s National Marine Fisheries Service to expedite authorization requests for seismic surveys, particularly for new or resubmitted permitting applications in the Atlantic to understand the extent of America’s energy potential.

The Secretary’s order directs prompt completion of the Notice to Lessees No. 2016-N01 dated September 12, 2016 and ceases all activities to promulgate the proposed “Offshore Air Quality Control, Reporting, and Compliance Rule.” It also directs BOEM and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to review a host of other rules and report progress within 21 days.

The second, Secretarial Order 3551, establishes a new position – Counselor to the Secretary for Energy Policy – to coordinate the Interior Department’s energy portfolio that spans nine of the Department’s ten bureaus.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

BREN SMITH, SEAN BARRETT, AND PAUL GREENBERG: What Trump’s Budget Means for the Filet-O-Fish

April 25, 2017 — Consider the pollock.

It is the most voluminously caught fish in the United States, accounting for a quarter of everything Americans catch. As such it is the major bulwark against the United States’ multibillion-dollar seafood trade deficit — the second-largest deficit in our trade portfolio, after crude oil. And it is, today, the main component in the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish, or the “fish delight,” as Donald Trump likes to call it.

Now consider the president’s budget for the people who make his preferred sandwich possible.

If Congress seriously entertains the White House’s suggestions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — a popular target for conservatives, who see it primarily as a source of pesky climate-change research — and the National Marine Fisheries Service it oversees will lose 17 percent of its funding. This despite Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’s desire to “try to figure how we can become much more self-sufficient in fishing and perhaps even a net exporter.”

As the three of us consider this statement, a common wry fisherman’s response comes to our lips: Yeah, good luck with that, buddy.

Because of repeated sacrifices made by American fishermen working with NOAA over the past 40 years, the United States now has the most robust and well-managed wild fisheries in the world. Federal observers oversee 80 percent of the large trawlers fishing for pollock, ensuring that this largest of fisheries maintains an impeccable set of management tools.

But in spite of all of our success, only around 9 percent of the seafood available in American markets comes from American fishermen. In fact, the last traditional fishing communities in the United States are fighting for their very existence. Fair-trade local fishermen remain unable to compete in our domestic marketplace, which is overwhelmed and flooded with cheap, untraceable imported seafood.

Read the full opinion piece at the New York Times

Rep. Don Young Unveils Young Fishermen’s Development Act

April 14, 2017 — Alaska Congressman Don Young, a longtime leader in national fisheries policy and legislation, this week unveiled his newest bill –  H.R. 2079, the Young Fishermen’s Development Act – to address the longtime decline in younger Americans entering the commercial fishing fleet  – or “graying of the fleet.” Young’s legislation would create the first ever national grant program through the Department of Commerce to support training, education, and workplace development for the nation’s next generation of commercial fishermen.

“This innovative new program is only one effort to preserve fishing heritage and encourage new participation in the industry,” said Congressman Don Young. “Young commercial fishermen are facing bigger challenges than ever before – new barriers to entry, limited training opportunities and a lack of support. This legislation is about supporting the livelihoods of fishing communities in Alaska and across the nation. I’m proud to stand with our young fishermen by introducing this important piece of legislation.”

Congressman Young introduced H.R. 2079 with Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) to create a completive grant program – modeled closely after the successful Department of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program – to provide meaningful resources for younger generations of Americans entering and progressing in the fishing industry.

“The fishing industry is vital to the Sixth District and to our entire region, but we’re at a crossroads,” said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA). This legislation will help to sustain the fishing industry by ensuring that our young people not only have a future in fishing, but are also empowered with the training and resources necessary to thrive in the 21st-century economy. I’m grateful to Congressman Young for his collaboration on this bill and broader efforts to support our young fishermen.”

Read the full story at Alaska Business Monthly

 

Flounder season uncertain as New Jersey continues to fight cuts

April 14, 2017 — New Jersey’s fight against approved summer flounder measures hangs in the balance, and a meeting next month could prove critical for flounder fishermen.

The state’s Marine Fisheries Council met Thursday evening at the Galloway Township branch of the Atlantic County Library in part to discuss its strategy in opposing a federal regulatory commission’s decision to cut this year’s summer flounder catch by 30 percent.

“I’m getting questions every day,” said Dick Herb, the council’s chairman. “We just don’t know what’s going to happen there.”

“There’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes,” he added.

Earlier this year, the state council voted to go out of compliance with the federal measures, which could trigger a pivotal decision by new Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross following a federal regulatory meeting in May, Herb said.

Ross could decide to shut down recreational and commercial flounder fishing in New Jersey, or he could study the issue and allow fishing to continue, among other options, according to Herb.

“He can do what he wants to do,” Herb said. “I think we’re going to have to move awfully quickly when we get some movement on this.”

In February, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved the new reductions, which would limit New Jersey recreational fishermen to three fish at 19 inches in the Atlantic Ocean and three at 18 inches in the Delaware Bay.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

Fishermen Nationwide Sign Letter of Support for Commerce Secretary’s Fishery Goals

WASHINGTON — March 22, 2017 – The following was released by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

Earlier this month, shortly after being confirmed as Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross addressed Commerce Department staff and outlined his priorities for the Department. Among the top priorities listed was “obtaining maximum sustainable yield for our fisheries.” 

The Secretary had previously expressed his desire to boost domestic seafood production prior to his confirmation. In a February story featured in Politico, Secretary Ross is quoted as emphasizing the need to “figure out how we can become more self-sufficient in fishing and perhaps even an net exporter.”

In response to Secretary Ross’ early interest in working with U.S. fisheries, the National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC) organized a letter of support for the Secretary’s goals. The letter was signed by over 350 members of the fishing industry from across the country. The NCFC would like to thank Commerce Secretary Ross for pledging to support the nation’s fishing communities.

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Secretary Ross,

As members of our nation’s fishing communities, we want to express our gratitude for making the attainment of maximum sustainable yield in our fisheries a priority for the Commerce Department. We are also most appreciative of your publicly stated goal to increase domestic seafood production, which is a priority of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities.

It is most encouraging that we have a Secretary of Commerce who understands the importance of sustainably harvested seafood. As you know, the U.S. fishing industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, and is a vital economic engine for our coastal communities. The industry is ready and willing to work with you and your department to achieve the goals you have set forth for American fisheries, and we want to build a successful relationship between the Commerce Department and commercial fishermen. 

We know it is within our means to sustainably increase harvests and achieve maximum sustainable yield. A vibrant fishing industry will pay dividends not only to the coastal communities, but also to the millions of consumers who rely on the nutritional benefits of domestic sustainable seafood.

Read the letter here