Saving Seafood

Environmentalists, fishermen question new cod fishing rules

March 22, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Environmentalists and commercial fishermen both say they are fearful of proposed changes to the federal rules that govern New England’s beleaguered cod fishing industry.

The rules govern an industry that has fed New England for centuries and is now in steep decline. Most codfish sold to consumers in the region now come from foreign countries such as Norway, Iceland and Russia.

Cod is closely associated with fish and chips.

Regulators who typically split New England’s cod into two stocks want to slightly raise the Gulf of Maine quota but more dramatically cut the Georges Bank quota for the coming fishing year. The catch limit would rise 30 percent, to 500 metric tons, in the Gulf and fall nearly two thirds, to 762 metric tons, on Georges.

The quota cut on Georges Bank also would make it difficult for fishermen to pursue other, higher-quota species such as haddock and pollock, said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. Fishermen also must stop fishing for other species when the cod quota is met.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Seattle Times

 

West Coast Catch Share Program Failure Keeps Vessel Off Fishing Grounds for 2016 Season

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [SeafoodNews] By Susan Chambers – March 21, 2016 — Criticism that the West Coast catch shares program is underperforming came to the forefront recently at the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Sacramento.

West Coast trawlers have been operating in fear of a “disaster tow” or “lightning strike” of a choke species since the beginning of the individual quota program in 2011. And for the F/V Seeker, a disaster tow of 47,000 pounds of canary rockfish – a species at the time listed as overfished — in November 2015 will prevent it from fishing for all of 2016.

The Seeker’s misfortune is an extreme example of the program’s failure, particularly for those fishing in the non-whiting sector.

Jeff Lackey, who manages the vessel, testified to the PFMC the vessel is in a bind and already has made plans to fish in Alaska for most of 2016 and return to fishing off the West Coast in 2017. The Seeker fishes in both the non-whiting shoreside sector and in the whiting mothership sector.

The Seeker is a victim of several features of the current regulatory system in the West Coast individual quota program.

First, current vessel limits prohibit the Seeker from acquiring enough quota to solve its deficit.

Second, canary rockfish was listed as overfished for more than a decade but an assessment accepted by the council in 2015 shows canary rockfish has been rebuilt.

And third, the PFMC’s management process operates on a two-year cycle, with no way to change annual catch limits (ACLs) mid-cycle.

“[The F/V Seeker] is not the only one,” Pete Leipzig, director of the Fishermen’s Marketing Association, told the Council. Other trawlers have come up against vessel limits for other species that have prevented them from fishing for some time, but none have been confronted with the extremity of the Seeker’s situation.

The vessel limits were designed to prevent consolidation of the fleet. Bycatch of choke species have prevented many vessels from capturing target fish. Fear of a disaster tow — one so extreme that a quota pound deficit cannot be covered in the existing fishing year — has limited trading of quota as fishermen hoard these species to cover their fishing operations for the year.

The biennial management cycle only complicates matters. Several years ago, the PFMC instituted two-year management cycles to streamline the management and regulations process, with stock assessments being conducted in off-year cycles. For instance, the council and the National Marine Fisheries Service set annual catch limits for 2015 and 2016 at the same time. Stock assessments are done and presented to the council for acceptance in odd years.

The council accepted the canary rockfish assessment in 2015. ACLs could double for the species were it not for the two-year management cycle.

There is no mechanism to allow the council or NMFS to increase the 2016 annual catch limits for canary in 2016. If higher ACLs would have been allowed this year, the Seeker’s deficit could have been covered and it would be fishing this year.

The Seeker is a member of the Newport, OR based Midwater Trawlers Cooperative. The organization proposed a solution to the Seeker’s problem: use an alternative compliance option that was eliminated during the development of the catch shares program. It would have been available for overly restrictive events, such as the Seeker’s, but still hold fishermen accountable. The council opted not to move forward with examining that option at this time.

This is the new reality of the West Coast individual quota program: rebuilding species will be encountered more frequently and fishermen could be held to conservative annual catch limits for a year or more if they experience an infrequent disaster tow and have insufficient quota to cover their deficit.

“As the regulations are currently written, any vessel that experiences the same situation would likely have to sit out of the shoreside trawl program for several years … This seems overly punitive and raises equity concerns,” Heather Mann, executive director of the MTC, wrote in a public comment letter to the council.

Although the Council took no action to try to remedy the situation in March, the issue is sure to come up again as the Council begins the five-year program review in June.

Between 2011 and 2015, the non-whiting shoreside quota program has harvested only between 20 and 35 percent of its annual quota. The industry has identified several dozen changes it would like to see implemented in an effort to make the program work.

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

Law Changes for 2016 Maine Elver Season Improve Opportunity for Harvesters

March 15, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

A recently passed bill will improve Maine elver harvesters’ chances of landing all of the state’s 9,688 pounds of quota. The changes come just in time for the 2016 elver season, which starts on March 22, 2016.

“Last year Maine left over 4,400 pounds of quota in the water,” said Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “That represents more than $9,600,000 in potential income that Maine harvesters could not access.

“While a cold, dry spring in 2015 made it hard for harvesters, in-season closures and the length of the season compounded that problem. This year the management improvements we have put in place will allow us to provide more flexibility and better opportunity for Maine elver harvesters.” 

One provision within the law will eliminate the 48-hour closures each week while another will lengthen the season by a week.

“The 48-hour closures were established at a time when there was no limit on the amount harvesters could land,” said Commissioner Keliher. “Because this is now a quota based fishery, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s technical committee and eel management board voted unanimously to allow Maine to eliminate in-season closures.”

“Now, with the quota system and the ability to monitor the harvest in near real-time with swipe cards, both of which we implemented in 2014, we can manage this fishery with precision. That means better prospects for fishermen and better protection for the resource.”

The new law will also provide an additional week of harvesting opportunity. Previously the season went from March 22 to May 31. This year it will last until June 7. “Last year, migration started late because of the cold spring, so there were elvers running strong at the end of the season. But unfortunately we had to close it on the statutorily mandated date. The combined success of our quota and swipe card systems allows us to extend the season a week and provide more opportunity for fishermen,” said Commissioner Keliher.

This season harvesters will also have an opportunity to choose their gear type rather than continue to use the type they were previously authorized to fish. “While the law will not allow harvesters to choose more gear than they are currently authorized to use, we want to provide people with the flexibility to fish the gear type they prefer.”

The new law also authorizes Commissioner Keliher to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with Maine’s tribes if they request a waiver of the requirement to allocate individual fishing quotas. The agreement would allow tribal members to fish under an overall tribal quota, rather than an individual quota. “This compromise acknowledges the unique interests of the tribes while maintaining the important measures that have allowed Maine to protect and preserve this valuable fishery for all license holders.”

The West Coast Challenge

March 9, 2016 — Fisheries on the West Coast of America have come under intense pressure after closures and a dramatic fall in stock levels. Adrian Tatum looks at the challenges over the last few years.

Sometimes when something is broken it seems almost impossible to fix. Commercial fishing on the West Coast of America is far from broken but parts of it do need fixing.

Nearly a year ago its commercial sardine fishery was closed after the population of Pacific sardines had fallen to alarming levels. In April last year, scientists made a recommendation for full closure after the population was estimated to be below 150,000 tonnes. It has been a dramatic decline, as in 2007 there were 1.4 million tonnes.

The sardine fishery has not only been a major revenue source for West Coast fishermen, but many other species of fish such as tuna also rely on a plentiful supply for food. Scientists believed that by closing it last year it would give the population a chance to recover. But just last month, it was revealed that the sardine population has not recovered, and is in fact still declining at a fast rate. Scientists from the National Marine Fisheries Service say that by the summer, the population is likely to be 33% lower than in 2015.

Bycatch reduction

Like most fisheries around the world, West Coast fishermen are facing up to a bycatch reduction plan. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is considering a plan which would allocate individual bycatch caps to groundfish vessels in the Gulf of Alaska rather than targeting specific large species. Back in 2011, the council passed a series of salmon and halibut bycatch reductions which angered fleet owners and fishermen. Now many Gulf of Alaska fishermen feel the recent changes will have a ‘crippling’ affect on its groundfish fleet.

Approximately 85% of the North Pacific groundfish fisheries are rationalised. This means fish quotas are assigned to individual vessels or fishing cooperatives. It is widely believed by some experts that this is the best way to ensure minimal bycatch, meaning vessels can fish without a time limit and are therefore more likely to avoid some of the endangered species such as salmon and halibut. But this process can also have a negative effect on the industry. Recent years have seen rationalisation being applied to the Bering Sea crab fishery where the number of boats fishing for crab fell by two thirds in just one year, with the loss of over 1,000 jobs.

Read the full story at World Fishing & Aquaculture

Maine DMR to pay out last of $3 million in federal aid

March 8, 2016 — AUGUSTA — The Department of Marine Resources will soon be making the third and final payment of federal disaster relief funds to 32 eligible Maine-based fishermen who hold federal Northeast Multispecies (groundfish) permits. The payment will total $1.02 million.

To qualify, Maine groundfish permit holders must have landings of more than 5,000 pounds in any one fishing year from 2010-2013. In addition, permit holders must have landed a minimum of 5,000 pounds of groundfish in either fishing year 2013 or 2014. Fishing years run from May 1 to April 30.

“The intent of these criteria is to focus disaster relief efforts on permit holders who have historical dependence on groundfish and have had continued reliance on the groundfish fishery during the disaster years,” DMR Deputy Commissioner Meredith Mendelson said recently.

According to Meldelson, the department understands that the Maine groundfish industry saw declines in many years preceding the disaster declaration by the secretary of commerce. The declaration was made based on what were, at the time, prospective revenue losses from the major reduction in Gulf of Maine cod quota available for the 2013 fishing year. DMR’s allocation of relief funds reflects the impact of that specific reduction.

The payments allocated to eligible permit holders were based on a formula developed by DMR after several outreach meetings with industry. Those payments, ranging from approximately $9,100 to $44,044, will reflect landings in fishing years 2013 and 2014 individually and combined.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

 

SLADE GORTON: NOAA must monitor all fishing boats

March 4, 2016 — What is happening in the waters of the Northeast — the disappearance of cod, the warming of the ocean, and the gradual decline of a way of life that has been a staple of our economy and culture for centuries — is a national disaster, and it needs a national response. There is no silver bullet, but one critical step above all others can put the New England groundfishery on the path to recovery: Congress and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration must move immediately to monitor every boat at sea.

The recent arrest of New Bedford fishing boat owner and wholesaler Carlos Rafael, for allegedly evading federal fishing quotas, clearly indicates the need to protect honest fishermen, and our fish species, with better monitoring.

Unfortunately, the opposite is happening. NOAA is planning to reduce the number of observers when they are needed most, so that only 10 percent of boats will carry an observer on board. This action, driven by conflict over whether fishermen should pay for the monitoring program, will move the fishery in the wrong direction.

My interest in saving fishing in New England is both personal and professional. As a Gorton, I am the descendant of people who made their livelihoods at sea, catching and selling cod for generations. Slade Gorton & Co. is headquartered in Boston. As a former US senator from Washington state, I worked countless hours on complex policy questions meant to help the fishing industry.

Read the full opinion piece at the Boston Globe

Maine DMR to Issue Third Round of Federal Disaster Relief Funds for Groundfishermen

March 1, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

The Maine Department of Marine Resources will soon be issuing the third and final payment to thirty-two Maine-homeported commercial Northeast Multispecies (groundfish) permit holders who are eligible to receive direct assistance under federal disaster relief funding.

To be eligible, Maine-homeported groundfish permit holders must have landings of over 5000 pounds in any one Fishing Year from 2010-2013. In addition, permit holders must have landed a minimum of 5000 pounds of groundfish in either Fishing Year 2013 or 2014. 

“The intent of these criteria is to focus disaster relief efforts on permit holders who have historical dependence on groundfish and have had continued reliance on the groundfish fishery during the disaster years,” said Maine DMR Deputy Commissioner Meredith Mendelson. “We know that Maine’s groundfish industry has seen declines in many years preceding this disaster declaration.  However, the Secretary of Commerce’s declaration was made based on what were, at the time, prospective revenue losses from the major reduction in Gulf of Maine cod quota available for the 2013 fishing year. Accordingly, our allocation of relief funds reflects the impact of that specific reduction.”

The amounts allocated to eligible permit holders were based on a formula developed by the Maine Department of Marine Resources after several outreach meetings with industry. Amounts issued will reflect landings in Fishing Years 2013 and 2014 individually and combined.

Awards under this formula will range from approximately $9,100 to $44,044.

The funds are a portion of the $3.3 million allocated to Maine from the $75 million allocated by U.S. Congress to help with six fishery disasters, including the disaster declared in 2012 by the Secretary of Commerce as a result of significant quota cuts for key New England groundfish stocks.

Of the $75 million, $32.8 million was allocated to the Northeast groundfish industry. The allocation of those funds was negotiated among the state fisheries agency directors and announced in June, 2014.

The agreement split the $32.8 million evenly, allocating a third of the funds to each of three areas. $11 million was paid out as direct aid to permit holders in the northeast who have landed a minimum of 5000 pounds of groundfish stocks in any one fishing year since 2010.

In October, 2014, fifty-two of Maine’s federal groundfish permit holders received $32,500 each. In 2015, the DMR distributed $640,005 to help Maine’s groundfish fleet and related shoreside industries by rebating dealer landings and handling fees. 

New England cod fishermen face new cost, fear future

February 29, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Some of New England’s embattled cod fishermen say they might go out of business because of a new cost the federal government is about to impose on them on Tuesday.

Fishermen of important commercial species such as New England cod and haddock must pay the cost of fishing monitors under new rules scheduled to take effect Tuesday. The monitors, whose services can cost more than $700 per day, collect data to help determine future fishing quotas.

The federal government had been paying the bill, but fishing regulators say there isn’t enough money to do so anymore because of other obligations within the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Fishermen, advocates for the industry and a host of New England politicians have said the cost will sink a fleet already struggling with tight catch quotas and dwindling cod populations. Some fishermen also say a cutback in fishing by New England’s fleet could make popular food species, including flounder, hake and pollock, less available to consumers.

‘‘Somebody’s got to catch it,’’ said Terry Alexander, a Harpswell, Maine, fisherman who is trying to manage the new cost. ‘‘We’re going to have to figure our way around it. The law is the law.’’

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

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford fish fraud case underscores need for greater NOAA monitoring

February 29, 2016 — BOSTON — Fraud charges against the owner of a prominent New Bedford fishing company highlight the need for greater enforcement of fishery regulations, according to an environmental group.

Carlos Rafael, owner of 40 fishing vessels in New Bedford and Gloucester as well as Carlos Seafood, was arrested on Friday on charges his organization lied about the species of fish landed, and he smuggled cash out of the country.

Among other allegations, federal authorities said Rafael told undercover agents he had assistance from a local law enforcement officer who helped him move cash through the airport to Portugal.

Accused of circumventing federal quotas by labeling dabs and other fish as haddock – where Rafael said he has a 15-million-pound quota – Rafael regularly shipped the mislabeled fish to a buyer in New York City, according to federal officials.

“Because it is nearly impossible to monitor what fishing vessels do out at sea, commercial fishing vessels are required to comply with various reporting requirement,” the 18-page affidavit by Internal Revenue Service Special Agent Ronald Mullett states.

Rafael told undercover agents posing as Russian mobsters interested in buying the business that co-defendant Debra Messier had “been in the life” with him for 30 years and everyone in the company “knows the scheme,” according to the complaint.

According to the affidavit in support of a criminal complaint Rafael was previously convicted of tax evasion in the 1980s, acquitted of price-fixing in 1994 and convicted of making false statements on fishing vessels’ landing slips in 2000. Messier is his bookkeeper and both live in Dartmouth, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. According to the Boston Globe, Rafael was held without bail pending a detention hearing on Wednesday and Messier was released from custody on $10,000 unsecured bond.

Read the full story at Taunton Daily Gazette

MASSACHUSETTS: Federal agents raid New Bedford seafood wholesaler

February 26, 2016 — Federal agents swarmed Carlos Seafood in New Bedford Friday morning arresting the owner Carlos Rafael and his book keeper Debra Messier.

The two are accusing of selling fish off the books. They are facing federal charges of conspiracy and submitting falsified records to the federal government to evade federal fishing quotas.

This isn’t the first time Rafael has been in trouble. In fact, over the last 20 years he’s been the subject of multiple federal investigations.

Rafael, sometimes referred to as the “Cod Father,” owns 40 fishing vessels in New Bedford and Gloucester.

“My immediate concern is what’s going to happen next week and the week after to the fisherman who have to go out to sea and the livelihood of the folks who are in his processing plant,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.

A court affidavit reveals that undercover IRS agents first began their investigation into Rafael in May of 2015. The agents posed as a broker and Russian immigrants involved in crime. They told Rafael  they were interested in buying his business.

Read the full story at ABC News

View a PDF of the affidavit of agent Ronald Mullet in support of a criminal complaint charging Carlos Raphael