Doug Grout Archives - Saving Seafood

ME, NH & MA Schedule Hearings on Atlantic Herring Draft Addendum II

February 20, 2019 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The States of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring. An additional hearing will also be conducted via webinar. The details of the hearings follow.

Maine Department of Marine Resources

March 6, 2019 at 5 PM

ME DMR Augusta Office

Room 118

32 Blossom Lane

Augusta, Maine

Contact: Pat Keliher at 207.624.6553

New Hampshire Fish and Game

April 2, 2019 at 7 PM

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

April 1, 2019 at 6 PM

MA DMF Gloucester Office

Annisquam River Station

30 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Contact: Cate O’Keefe at 617.626.1512

Webinar Hearing

March 26, 2019 at 6 PM

Webinar link – https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/121211557

For Audio, dial 1.888.585.9008 and
enter the passcode: 853-657-937

Contact: Kirby Rootes-Murdy at 703.842.0740

The Draft Addendum proposes options to strengthen spawning protections in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine). The Draft Addendum responds to the results of the 2018 benchmark stock assessment, which show reduced levels of recruitment and spawning stock biomass over the past five years, with 2016 recruitment levels the lowest on record.

Currently, the Board uses a series of closures to protect spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Maine. These closures, which were implemented through Amendment 3, use biological samples to annually project the start of spawning. The closures are initially implemented for four weeks but can be extended by two additional weeks if samples indicate the continued presence of spawning herring. Recent analysis by the Atlantic Herring Technical Committee found that while the current spawning closure system was significantly improved under Amendment 3, the protocol could continue to be strengthened by considering when, and for how long, a closure is initiated. Specifically, the analysis showed, under the current protocol, spawning closures are initiated when there are approximately 25% spawners in the fishery; greater protection could be provided by initiating a closure when a lower percentage of the population is spawning and extending the closure for a longer time. As a result, Draft Addendum II considers extending the length of the spawning closures as well as altering the point at which closures are triggered in order to provide greater protection to the stock.

Fishermen and others interested in Atlantic herring management are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum by attending state public hearings, participating in the webinar hearing, or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum is available here. It can also be obtained via the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on April 4, 2019 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Herring Draft Addendum II). For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

PR19-08

A PDF of the press release can be found here

The Draft Addendum can be found here

Coastal leaders speak out against offshore oil drilling plans

Many states want to be left out of new oil leases entirely

February 23, 2018 — Politicians and fishing industry representatives from across the country have been speaking out against a proposal from the Department of Interior that would end an Obama-era ban and open up coastal states for offshore drilling operations.

“I find the whole thing to be really quite alarming,” said Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, who requested an interview with the Providence Journal to speak out on the proposal. “This might happen if we don’t oppose it loudly enough.”

The New England Fishery Management Council voted to urge federal regulators to take the whole Atlantic coast out of consideration during its first meeting of 2018.

“Spills don’t happen all that often, but there clearly have been a number of cases that we all know about… where those activities have resulted in some significant impacts to our marine resources,” said Doug Grout, chief of New Hampshire’s Marine Division.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

New England Council Unanimously Reelects Dr. John Quinn as Chair and Terry Stockwell as Vice Chair for Another Term

October 3, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council in late September expressed full confidence in its leadership team when it unanimously affirmed the reelection of Dr. John Quinn of Massachusetts and Terry Stockwell of Maine to serve as Council chair and vice chair, respectively, for another term.

This marks Dr. Quinn’s second consecutive year as chairman. Prior to that, he served three years as Council vice chair under Stockwell. The two switched leadership positions during 2016 but continued to work together as a team to direct the Council’s management and policy initiatives.

“I am honored to be reelected by my colleagues as chairman,” said Dr. Quinn. “We have a lot of very complex and important issues facing us in the year ahead, and I am looking forward to collaborating with my fellow Council members and various stakeholders to attempt to solve some of the problems confronting the industry.”

Dr. Quinn is Director of Public Interest Law Programs at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) School of Law. He also is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and represented many fishing interests while practicing law in private practice for over two decades in New Bedford before joining UMass.

Stockwell is beginning his first term on the Council as a secretarial appointee. He previously served as the state of Maine’s designated fisheries official to the Council but retired from state service in June following a 21-year career at the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher now sits at the Council table in that capacity. Stockwell was appointed in August to fill the seat previously held by Mary Beth Tooley of Maine, who had served three consecutive terms on the Council, the maximum allowed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

In another show of confidence in leadership, the Council reelected the same slate of members to serve on its Executive Committee for the 2017-2018 Council year:

Doug Grout, chief of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Division, was elected to serve his fifth consecutive term on the Executive Committee;
Peter Kendall of New Hampshire also was elected to serve a fifth consecutive term; and
Terry Alexander of Maine was elected to serve his second consecutive term.

Dr. Quinn and Stockwell also serve on the Executive Committee in their roles as Council chair and vice chair.

Read the release at the New England Fishery Management Council

Candidates for New England Fishery Management Council Undergo Public Interview in New Hampshire

January 12, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — DURHAM, N.H. — The New England Fishery Management Council has four vacancies to fill, one from Maine, two from Massachusetts, and one from New Hampshire, currently held by Peter Kendall.

To assist in filling that vacancy, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Fisheries Division will host a candidates’ interview night on Tuesday, February 7, at 7:00 p.m., at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, N.H.

Potential candidates must be prepared to present their qualifications at the session. Interested candidates should contact Doug Grout, Chief of Marine Fisheries for the N.H. Fish and Game Department, at (603) 868-1095.

Candidates will be interviewed by the Advisory Committee on Marine Fisheries and representatives of the New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen Association and Coastal Conservation Association – New Hampshire. The public is also invited to attend the session and will be provided an opportunity to ask questions of any candidate.

The process of filling council seats requires the governor of each New England state to submit names to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for consideration. The State of New Hampshire uses a public process to recommend individuals for the Governor to consider for submission.

At most other regional management councils, names of potential nominees are submitted to the governor with the candidate’s application and support letters. After reviewing all applicants, the governor submits three choices for each seat, in order of preference. New Hampshire may be the only state that includes a formal public interview/town meeting format as part of the process.

According to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Secretary of Commerce appoints the voting state specific, or obligatory, members and at-large members to the councils. The agency’s website states: “On the Secretary’s behalf, the NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator for Fisheries solicits nominations from governors and facilitates the annual appointments process. The appointments process begins each year in mid-January with nominations due from governors by March 15.

“In late June, the Secretary announces the appointee selections, and new council members take their seats on August 11. Terms expire each year on August 10 for approximately one-third of the 72 obligatory and at-large members.

“The ideal council appointee candidate is knowledgeable in fishery conservation and management, or the commercial or recreational harvest of fishery resources through occupational experience, scientific expertise, or related training.”

The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) is one of eight regional councils established by federal regulation in 1976. NEFMC is charged with conserving and managing fishery resources from three to 200 miles off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

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

ASMFC Urges President to Minimize Potential Economic Harm from Atlantic Marine Monument Designation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Saving Seafood) – May 4, 2016 – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has taken a formal position on the possibility of a Presidential proclamation of an Atlantic Marine Monument.

The Obama administration, at the urging of major environmental groups, is considering creating a National Monument in the New England Canyons and Seamounts region via the Antiquities Act. Few specifics have been released about what the monument would look like, but it could have significant negative impacts on fishermen in the affected areas.

The ASMFC’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board unanimously (with three abstentions) approved a resolution today drawing a line in the ocean (see map), in close proximity to the Atlantic canyons and seamounts off of Georges Banks, and urging that the creation of a monument only take place in a region seaward of that line. The ASMFC resolution urges that management of waters under Federal control from the coastline to that line be managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The resolution states:

That it is the preference of ASMFC that the current New England Fishery Management Council coral management process continue without a Presidential proclamation on the issue;
That should the President decide to designate a deep-water marine monument off the New England coast prior to the end of his Presidency, it should be limited to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected, as required by the Antiquities Act;
That the area be limited to depths greater than approximately 900 meters and encompass any or all of the region seaward of the line (see map) out to the outer limit of the EEZ;
That only bottom tending fishing effort be prohibited in the area and that all other mid-water/surface fishing methods (recreational and commercial) be allowed to continue to use the area;
That the public and affected user groups be allowed to review and comment on any specific proposal prior to its implementation.

The motion was initially crafted by members of the ASMFC Rhode Island Delegation, in consultation with other regional fisheries organizations. ASMFC’s Lobster Board, where the resolution originated, gave its unanimous approval to the proposal at its meeting on Monday.

In a letter this week to the ASMFC American Lobster Management Board requesting guidance on the monument issue, Board Chairman David Borden wrote about the potential consequences a monument would have for commercial and recreational fisheries in the area.

“The economic impacts of a potential Monument designation would undoubtedly be significant depending on where the boundaries are set. These economic impacts would be felt coast wide as the fishing fleets working in and around the canyons hail from ports across New England and the Mid-Atlantic.”

Specifically highlighted are the potential impacts on the offshore lobster and crab fisheries, which would be hurt by the prohibition on fishing in the monument area, or by being displaced into nearby fishing grounds. Lobster and Jonah crab revenue from Southern New England are estimated at $38 million per year. A monument designation could also hurt the lobster stock by pushing fishermen from areas where lobster is abundant into areas where lobster is more depleted. Concerns were also voiced about potential negative impacts of the proposal on whales and protected species.

Additionally, many of the States represented on ASMFC have major interests in finfish, pelagic longline, squid, and red crab fisheries, or have large recreational fisheries. “All of these fisheries could be directly affected by a closure or indirectly affected by a redirection of effort.”

According to ASMFC Chairman Doug Grout the ASMFC leadership plans to meet with representatives of CEQ next week to discuss ways to mitigate impacts on commercial and recreational fisheries.

About the ASMFC
In the early 1940s, recognizing that they could accomplish far more through cooperation rather than individual effort, the Atlantic coast states came together to form the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. An Interstate Compact, ratified by the states and approved by the U.S. Congress in 1942, acknowledged the necessity of the states joining forces to manage their shared migratory fishery resources and affirmed the states’ commitment to cooperative stewardship in promoting and protecting Atlantic coastal fishery resources.

Read a letter from ASMFC Lobster Board Chairman David Borden to the ASMFC Lobster Board

Read a letter from Blue Water Fishermen’s Association Executive Director Terri Lei Beideman to the White House