Saving Seafood

At-sea monitor meeting to be held online, not in person

September 2, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council dispensed with the suspense on Monday when it announced its September meeting, initially set for Gloucester, will be conducted online via webinar.

The three-day meeting, scheduled for Sept. 29 to  Oct. 1, is expected to include the council’s final action on the highly contentious measure — Amendment 23 — to establish future monitoring levels for sector-based vessels in the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery. The council hopes to post the remainder of the agenda by the end of this week.

The September meeting was scheduled for the Beauport Hotel Gloucester on Commercial Street. But that was before the dawning of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent indoor and outdoor gathering restrictions that have forced all but one of the council’s public meetings and hearings online.

The current Massachusetts indoor gathering restrictions call for no more than eight individuals per 1,000 square feet of space, with the gathering not to exceed 25 individuals in any single enclosed space.

Those restrictions would have limited an in-person meeting to the council’s 18 voting members, a handful of non-voting members and legal counsel. The public and even some council staff presenters would have been forced to participate via online webinar.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Council meeting not a signal of normalcy

August 31, 2020 — The pandemic has kept us all closely tethered to home for the past five months, so it was nice for us here at FishOn to go over the bridge and up the line last Wednesday to cover an actual in-person event. No Zoom. No webinar. Just journalism in the great outdoors of Wakefield.

We covered the last public hearing conducted by the New England Fishery Management Council on the ever-contentious Amendment 23 — the measure to set future monitoring levels for sector-based groundfish vessels in the Northeast fishery.

The council, which is expected to take final action on the measure at its September meeting, did a good job of hosting the public hearing meeting under a tent in the parking lot of the Sheraton Four Points hotel.

Folks were masked and properly socially distanced. Capacity was 50 and about 20 fishing stakeholders attended the meeting, so there was plenty of room. Under the tent, it felt like junior high school detention (or so we understand) where they separate all the troublemakers as far apart as possible.

“It was a pretty big effort,” said Tom Nies, the council’s executive director said about a half hour before the scheduled start of the hearing. “The hotel was helpful. But we’re still working on some details.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Fisheries: Groundfish and Sea Scallop Peer Review

August 26, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The management track stock assessment peer review meeting for multispecies groundfish and small mesh stocks and Atlantic sea scallops begins at 9am on Monday, September 14, 2020 and runs through Friday, September 18, 2020. The review will be held remotely, and the agenda and connection information are available on our website.

Management Track Stock Assessment, NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Questions?

Contact Michele Traver, Assessment Process Lead, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

NEFMC: In-person meeting on at-sea monitors Wednesday

August 26, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council will stage its first in-person meeting in about five months on Wednesday when it hosts the final public hearing on the measure to set future at-sea monitoring levels in the Northeast groundfish fishery.

The public hearing, to be held outside under a tent, is set for 3 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points hotel in Wakefield, just off Route 128. The in-person hearing will be limited to 50 individuals to comply with the state’s outdoor gathering restrictions.

Those interested in attending must pre-register on the council website. The council extended the registration until noon Wednesday. The hearing also will be simulcast online via webinar.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Treading Water: The Fight to Keep New Hampshire Fisheries Afloat

August 21, 2020 — Andrea Tomlinson often worries about the future of New Hampshire commercial fishing.

“Our local fishermen are in danger of becoming extinct,” she says.

As the manager of NH Community Seafood, a fishing cooperative aimed at protecting and expanding New Hampshire’s seafood industry, Tomlinson has seen up-close the struggles of the state’s fishing businesses. Each year, additional challenges and burdensome regulations are piled upon the shoulders of small fishermen. In the 1990s, there were about 100 groundfish boats that called New Hampshire waters home. By 2019, there were only eight. The lobster fishing industry is facing similar decline.

Commercial fishing has turned into big business. Small-scale, locally owned fishing operations have considerable difficulty competing with consolidated national fishing companies. John Borden, the captain of a local lobster boat, says he and fellow fishermen are up against stiff competition.

Read the full story at New Hampshire Magazine

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Monday, August 24, 2020 – Groundfish Issues

August 17, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Monday, August 24, 2020 to discuss two groundfish-related issues.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

START TIME:  9:30 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 930-5321.  The access code is 792-543-455.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review recent stock assessment information from the U.S/Canada Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC), review information provided by the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT), and recommend the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for the 2021 and 2022 fishing years;
  • Review information provided by the Groundfish PDT on possible rebuilding approaches for white hake and review the basis for the range of alternative rebuilding strategies developed by the PDT; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.

COMMENTS:  Written comments must be received by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2020 for consideration at this meeting.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  Additional information is available in the meeting notice.

MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC August 24, 2020 webpage.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

REMINDER – SSC SUB-PANEL PEER REVIEW:  A sub-panel of the SSC will meet via webinar on Friday, August 21, 2020 to conduct a peer review of the report titled Evaluating the Impact of Inaccurate Catch Information on New England Groundfish Management.  The Gulf of Maine Research Institute and collaborators prepared the report specifically for the Council under a Council-issued contract.  Webinar information and all related documents can be found at peer review.

Praise for Reduction in Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishing Capacity Reduction Buyback Loan

August 14, 2020 — Politicians are praising the recent news that NOAA Fisheries has reduced the outstanding principal balance on the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishing Capacity Reduction Buyback Loan. The loan has been reduced by nearly $6 million.

In 2000 the West Coast groundfish fishery was declared an economic disaster. In response, Congress authorized a $46 million buyout to reduce overcapacity. $36 million in funds was provided in the form of a loan that the remaining fishing vessels agreed to repay based on a 3.5%-5% fee on ex-vessel revenue over 30 years. Interest started accruing in March 2004, but NMFS did not implement a repayment system until September 2005. Vessels could not make any loan repayments during this time, which added $3.8 million in interest. And now, because of that error, those remaining vessels now owe over $13 million more than they would have if NMFS had immediately implemented a repayment system. The Pacific Coast groundfish industry has made payments of  more than $34 million towards the loan, but as of December 2019 still owed $22.4 million.

Read the full story at Seafood News

NEFMC Plans Outdoor In-Person Hearing for Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23

August 13, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Barring severe weather or changes in outdoor gathering restrictions issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New England Fishery Management Council will hold an outdoor, in-person public hearing for Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 beginning at 3:00 p.m. It will take place under a large tent on the grounds of the Sheraton Four Points in Wakefield, MA.

NOW’S THE TIME: This is the last public hearing the Council will hold on Amendment 23 before taking final action during its September meeting. If extenuating circumstances prevent the Council from holding the hearing in person, the hearing will be conducted by webinar on the same day at the same time.

Read the full release here

September 8-11 and 14-18, 2020 PFMC Meeting Notice (Online) and Agenda Now Available

August 11, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet September 8-11 and 14-18, 2020 online only, to address issues related to groundfish, Pacific Halibut, salmon, highly migratory species, coastal pelagic species, ecosystem, and administrative matters

Please see the September 8-11 and 14-18, 2020 Council meeting notice on the Council’s website for further updates and details regarding webinar participation; schedule of advisory body meetings, our E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines. There will be no meetings schedule during the weekend of September 12‐13, however, the meeting will continue daily on Monday, September 14 at 8 a.m. through Friday, September 18, 2020. Meetings of advisory bodies will also be conducted by online meetings based on the schedules in the agenda. There will be one opportunity for public comment daily in each of the online meetings.

Instructions for how to connect to the online meetings will be posted on the Council’s September 2020 Meeting webpage prior to the first day of the meeting.

Please note that the evolving public health situation regarding COVID‐19 may further affect the conduct of the September Council and advisory body meetings. Pacific Council staff will monitor COVID‐19 developments and will determine if there is a need for additional measures. If such measures are deemed necessary, Council staff will post notice of them prominently on our website (www.pcouncil.org). Potential meeting participants are encouraged to check the Pacific Council’s website frequently for such information and updates.

For further information

NOAA cancels surveys, angering fishermen

August 10, 2020 — A week after announcing the Aug. 14 redeployment of at-sea monitors aboard Northeast groundfish vessels, NOAA Fisheries said it is canceling four fisheries and ecosystem surveys over COVID-19 safety concerns for its staff.

“After much deliberation, we determined we will not be able to move forward with these surveys while effectively minimizing risk and meeting core survey objectives,” NOAA Fisheries said in a statement.

The cancellation of the surveys further angered fishing stakeholders already incensed by what they regard as NOAA Fisheries’s insensitivity toward health concerns of commercial fishermen in the push to redeploy at-sea monitors while the pandemic continues.

“NOAA doesn’t have anybody working in its offices and has canceled much of its on-the-water field work out of safety concerns for its staff,” Jackie Odell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, said Thursday. “Data is very important. Monitoring is very important. But at some point, NOAA has to understand that the lives of fishermen and their families don’t come second. That has to be a top priority.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times