Saving Seafood

Solons shaking sabers over right whales

May 7, 2018 — The plight of the North Atlantic right whales certainly remained in the news last week, as a group of U.S. senators from New England, including Edward Markey of Massachusetts, hinted at a possible trade action against Canada if our neighbors to the north don’t impose stricter protections for right whales.

Then U.S Rep. Seth Moulton and other members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation got in on the rattling of cutlery with a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Munchin urging them to require Canada to “apply for and receive a comparability certificate” for any of their commercial fisheries implicated in the incidental killing of North Atlantic right whales.

Or else.

“If Canada cannot secure a comparability finding for those fisheries then the (Marine Mammal Protection Act) requires the National Marine Fisheries Service, in cooperation with the Department of the Treasury and Department of Commerce, to impose a ban on the importation of commercial fish or products from fish harvested in those fisheries,” the letter stated.

The diplomatic grumbling served as a backdrop to the seasonal return of the right whales to Massachusetts — including a feeding fest on Friday off the rocky cliffs that separate Long Beach from Good Harbor Beach chronicled in the Saturday pages of the GDT and online at gloucestertimes.com.

(And thanks to Marty Del Vecchio for generously sharing his great images with us for that story.)

Residents and workers in the area reported seeing up to about a dozen of the imperiled marine mammals, with some of them venturing within 25 feet of the rocks in a galvanizing display of nature in the raw.

The best line of the morning belonged to Anthony Erbetta of Marblehead, who was working with his buddy Nick Venezia, also of Marblehead, on restoring and renovating a cliffside home on High Rock Terrace.

Told that they were right whales, Erbetta said: “Right whales, left whales. I really don’t think we should get into whale politics.”

Actual good news on whales

It may not involve the right whales, but according to a piece in the New York Times, humpback whales are forging a comeback in the southern oceans near Antarctica.

The piece reported a new study shows that humpback whales that live and breed in those waters have been hard at work making little humpbacks, “with females in recent years having a high pregnancy rate and giving birth to more calves.”

The higher levels of whale recruitment represent a stark contrast to the condition of the humpback populations in the 19th and 20th centuries, when they were hunted nearly to extinction.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

Opposition to offshore drilling hardening in Massachusetts

March 19, 2018 — BOSTON — Opposition to a Trump administration proposal to allow oil and gas drilling in coastal waters, including those off the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts, continues to grow on Beacon Hill.

Just this week, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced she’s considering taking legal action against the administration to protect “the people, economy and natural resources of Massachusetts from the grave risks posed by unprecedented oil and gas leasing.”

“Despite concerns from the fishing industry, clean energy developers, marine scientists and thousands of residents up and down the coast that depend on a healthy ocean, this administration has repeatedly ignored the serious economic and environmental risks of offshore drilling,” Healey said as she filed comments with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management opposing the plan.

Healey isn’t alone.

Fellow Democratic attorneys general from a dozen coastal states, including neighboring Rhode Island and Connecticut, have also written Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke protesting the drilling plan.

Other critics include Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and the state’s entire Democratic congressional delegation as well as members of the fishing and tourism industries and environmental groups.

Zinke continues to defend the plan, which faces fierce opposition in states along the entire West Coast and much of the East Coast. Florida was dropped from the plan after the state’s Republican governor and lawmakers pointed to risks to the state’s tourism business.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

 

Sens. Blumenthal and Murphy seek ban on New England offshore drilling

January 16, 2018 — U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy Connecticut joined their New England colleagues in backing a bill that would ban offshore drilling along the New England coast.

The New England Coastal Protection Act, which was introduced by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, came in response to an action by the Trump administration that would open offshore oil and gas leasing to approximately 90 percent of the U.S. coastlines. The plan was amended to exclude the Florida coastlines following a complaint filed by Rick Scott, the state’s Republican governor. Blumenthal and Murphy joined a group of 22 senators in a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke demanding their states be granted the same consideration as Florida.

“President Trump’s disastrous and irresponsible proposal has the potential to devastate economies and environments up and down the New England coast,” said Blumenthal in a statement. “Our coastline should be protected as a vital tourism, fishing, and environmental resource – not exposed to the dangers of oil spills or drilling pollution. President Trump’s blatant effort to benefit Big Oil must be met with renewed determination from Congress to protect our waterways for future generations.”

Read the full story at Westfair Online

 

Obama sections off part of Atlantic Ocean

September 15, 2016 — President Obama will designate a section of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Cod on Thursday as a national monument, banning commercial fishing in the area by 2023 in an effort to protect the region’s ecosystem.

The move, which the president will formally announce at the Third Annual Our Ocean Conference in Washington, won praise Wednesday from environmental groups but drew condemnation from the fishing industry.

But on Wednesday, the Southern Georges Bank Coalition, which has representatives from local fisheries and industry groups including the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, criticized the new designation off the Cape.

In a letter to Christina W. Goldfuss of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, attorneys for the coalition wrote that “millions of dollars of lost revenue are at stake” for local fisheries, and they questioned the legality of the move.

Some elected officials in Massachusetts have raised concerns about the plan, including Mayor Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, whose city is home to a commercial fishing port.

“While I believe the industry generally was in a position to manage the implications of the so-called ‘sea mount’ area of the monument, the inclusion of the ‘canyons’ area would have benefited from more industry input,” Mitchell said, adding that “these types of decisions should be subjected to the more robust regulatory processes under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which has successfully led to the protection of sea canyons . . . without unduly burdening the commercial fishing industry.”

His concerns were echoed by Senator Edward J. Markey, who called the president’s action an “important milestone” for conservation but said he was “concerned that the impacts of this marine monument designation on the fishing community in New England were not fully minimized.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

Reps. Moulton, Keating, Lynch Lead Delegation to Protect Massachusetts Lobster Industry

May 2, 2016 — The following was released by the office of Congressman Seth Moulton:

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressmen Seth Moulton (D-MA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), and Bill Keating (D-MA) led an effort to protect the Massachusetts lobster industry in response to the Swedish government’s petition to classify the American lobster as an invasive species. The petition ultimately seeks to ban the import of live American lobsters from the United States to the European Union (EU).

Moulton, Keating, and Lynch were joined by the entire state delegation in sending a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Ambassador Michael Froman, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrator, Kathryn Sullivan. The letter notes that the EU’s alien species regulations must offer robust scientific evidence in support of any species ban, and argues that this is not the case for the American lobster. The letter can be viewed here.

“The Sixth District is home to the largest and most active lobster fleet in Massachusetts, and the lobster industry is a critical part of our history and local economy,” said Congressman Seth Moulton. “This effort to ban U.S. exports of American lobster is not based in science. In fact, studies conducted by leading marine scientists refute Sweden’s assertions that American lobster meet the criteria to be banned by the European Union. This ban would not only have a detrimental impact on the livelihoods of hardworking men and women in the lobster industry, but it would also hurt the entire Massachusetts economy. I’m grateful that our entire delegation stands united to ensure our lobster industry continues to thrive, and I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress and the Administration to advance a collaborative and transparent dialogue on this issue.”

“The lobster industry is as important to our local economy as it is to our history,” said Congressman Bill Keating, who represents Massachusetts’s South Shore, South Coast, and Cape and Islands. “I will continue working with my Massachusetts colleagues to oppose efforts to list the North American lobster as an invasive species, including by working directly with our European counterparts in my role as Ranking Member of the Trade Subcommittee on the Foreign Affairs Committee.”

“I respect Sweden’s commitment to protecting the environment from invasive species, but their proposal to halt imports of North American lobsters is not based on sound scientific reasoning,” said Congressman Stephen F. Lynch. “The evidence they have presented is inconsistent with E.U. standards and I hope the State Department, the United States Trade Representative, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will continue to work together to advocate for the continued trade of live American lobsters with the E.U. A ban could have serious effects on our hardworking Massachusetts lobstermen and their families.”

“From the decks of Massachusetts lobster boats to the plates of European diners, we need to ensure American lobster continues to benefit families and businesses on both side of the Atlantic,” said Senator Edward J. Markey. “The current effort by Swedish authorities to reclassify American lobsters an invasive species and ban their importation into the European Union would undermine a centuries-old relationship and have enormously negative impacts on the Massachusetts lobster industry. Any decision by the EU Commission on the American lobster should be informed by scientific principles and current standards. American lobster is one of our most delectable exports, and we should ensure that Europeans can continue to enjoy it for years to come.”

“Lobsters are a big part of the Massachusetts economy, and I’m very concerned about any attempt to block imports of American lobsters. A ban on live lobster imports is not in line with the EU’s standards or with the research conducted by New England’s leading marine scientists on how best to protect the environment,” Senator Elizabeth Warren said. “I’ll keep working with the congressional delegation to support our local lobstermen and to keep the markets open for Massachusetts’ lobsters.”

“The European Union markets are extremely important to our commercial Lobstermen here in the Commonwealth,” said Beth Casoni, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “We are appreciative and encouraged by the efforts being put forth by Congressmen Moulton, Keating, Lynch, and the entire Massachusetts Delegation to bring a resolve to this matter.”

Baker and Mass. congressional delegation urge federal officials to pay for ground fishing observers

August 19, 2015 — In an effort to reduce the financial burdens on the region’s struggling fishermen, Governor Charlie Baker and the state’s congressional delegation urged federal officials this week to pay for a controversial program that requires observers to monitor fishermen who catch cod, flounder, and other bottom-dwelling fish.

In a letter sent to the secretary of the US Department of Commerce, which oversees the nation’s fishing industry, Baker and the delegation expressed “serious concern” about a decision this year by the National Marine Fisheries Service to require the region’s fishermen to pay for the observer program.

Fishermen insist they can’t afford to pay for the observers, especially after major cuts to their quotas. The Fisheries Service estimates that it costs $710 a day every time an observer accompanies a fisherman to sea, and the agency’s research has suggested that requiring fishermen to cover those costs would cause about 60 percent of their boats to operate at a loss.

“To shift the cost of this ineffective program onto the fishery just as the industry begins to rebuild is not only imprudent, but irresponsible,” Baker and the delegation wrote. “This equates to an unfunded mandate that could lead to the end of the Northeast Groundfish Fishery as we know it.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe