groundfish Archives - Page 60 of 76

Despite recent tweaks, New England fishermen want more changes in law

January 13, 2017 — Despite tweaks to fishing guidelines in 2016 aimed at increasing regulatory flexibility, some New England groundfishermen and recreational fishermen still support a move to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Act, sources told Undercurrent News.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA’s) recently made changes to a guideline known National Standard One (NS1), but there will still likely be a push from east coast fishermen to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Act as Republican president-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The effort intends to bring more “flexibility” to fishery management, sources told Undercurrent News.

In October of 2016 NOAA made changes to NS1, which aims to prevent overfishing while achieving the optimum yield from each fishery.

Changes were first proposed in January 2015, and the final rule passed in October 2016 giving regional councils more latitude to set catch limits, a change that was opposed by environmental groups.

Call for flexibility

Fishermen, particularly on the US east coast, have been critical for several years of what they say are rigid timelines that give regulators ten years to rebuild stocks deemed overfished.

Some sources told Undercurrent that the lack of flexibility sometimes forces regulators to severely — and some say, unnecessarily — cut quotas when fisheries are nearing the 10-year mark. If a fishery has shown improvement and is nearing its goal, they claim, it makes no difference in the long run whether they reach that goal in the allotted ten years or sooner.

“I think that it’s possible that those new guidelines acted as a relief valve for that pressure. I don’t know that you’re going to get as much pressure to create flexibility in the act that you would get two years ago,” Shannon Carroll of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council told Undercurrent.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NOAA seeks comment on groundfish permitting rule

December 27, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would limit the number of permits and the amount of groundfish allocation one individual or entity could own in the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery.

According to NOAA Fisheries, the rule is designed “to promote diversity in the groundfish fishery and enhance sector management” by preventing excessive consolidation in the fishery by capping the number of limited access permits and the amount of a sector’s annual catch entitlement any one entity may own.

The final proposed rule, which the NEFMC submitted to NOAA in August, would limit any ownership entity from possessing more than 5 percent of all limited access groundfish permits in the fishery.

Currently, there are approximately 1,373 limited access permits operating in the fishery, so a 5 percent cap would limit any single ownership entity to owning approximately 69 permits.

“As of May 1, 2014, the most permits held by any entity is 55,” NOAA Fisheries said in the publication of the proposed rule. “Therefore, if approved, this alternative is unlikely to restrict any entity.”

The New England Fishery Management Council began work on the rule, also known as Amendment 18, in 2011.

“Subsequently, the stock status for many groundfish stocks declined and the associated annual catch limits were significantly reduced,” according to NOAA Fisheries’ summary of the proposed rule that was published Tuesday in the Federal Register. “As a result, some groundfish fishermen were concerned that implementing an accumulation limit could be problematic if it reduced flexibility and prevented them from obtaining additional quota necessary to maintain viable fishing operations.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Fisheries council sets up 2017 priorities

December 20th, 2016 — The New England Fishery Management Council has set its management priorities for 2017, including potential revisions to the management of Atlantic halibut and an examination of the implications of groundfish catches in non-groundfish fisheries.

The list of priorities, which largely charts the council’s expected — perhaps more accurately, hopeful — course in the upcoming year, was approved by the full council after about three hours of discussion at its November meeting.

The prioritization of issues, according to NEFMC Executive Director Tom Nies, is a valuable tool for providing the council with the structure to address pressing issues while also retaining the flexibility to delve into other issues as they present themselves to the council.

“The process is very helpful in focusing the efforts of the council on major tasks and still give it the flexibility through the rest of the year to change course as we have to,” Nies said.

The list of priorities would see the council:

Consider of possible regulatory changes to the northern Gulf of Maine scallop management area;

Improve the Gulf of Maine cod and haddock recreational management process;

Initiate actions to resume landings of the rebuilt barndoor skate stock;

Coordinate long-term wind power issues with other regulatory agencies, and;

Conduct a comprehensive review of council operations.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times

Fishermen Team Up With Scientists To Make A More Selective Net

December 14th, 2016 — Some New England fishermen are pinning their hopes on a new kind of trawl net being used in the Gulf of Maine, one that scoops up abundant flatfish such as flounder and sole while avoiding species such as cod, which are in severe decline.

For centuries, cod were plentiful and a prime target for the Gulf of Maine fleet. But in recent years, catch quotas have been drastically reduced as the number of cod of reproductive age have dropped perilously low.

For many boats, that turned the formerly prized groundfish into unwanted bycatch. And for fishermen, it can be tough to avoid cod while trying to catch other fish. The stakes are high.

“Say tomorrow I go out, have a 10,000 set of cod and I only have 4,000 pounds of quota, essentially your sector manager — the person that oversees this — would shut me down,” says Jim Ford, whose trawler is based in Newburyport, Mass.

Not only that, Ford would be forced to “lease” cod quota allowances from other fishermen to cover his overage. The cost of such leases, he says, can quickly outweigh the value of the cod that’s inadvertently caught.

“And I would pay a ridiculous price. And then you’re shut down, you can’t even go fishing,” he says.

But instead of joining the growing number of New England fishermen hanging up their nets, Ford has worked to modify the nets themselves. This summer he joined a net-maker and scientists at Portland’s Gulf of Maine Research Institute to design a trawl net that targets profitable species while avoiding cod.

Read the full story from NPR at WLRH

Court splits cases for fishing mogul, deputy

December 14th, 2016 — Federal authorities prosecuting New Bedford fishing magnate Carlos Rafael released a small trove of documents this week that made at least one thing pretty obvious: It didn’t take long for accused co-conspirator Antonio Freitas to drop Rafael into the bag once the law showed up.

The documents were attached to the government’s response to separate-but-similar motions by Rafael and Freitas to be tried individually.

They included partial transcripts from recorded conversations between Rafael and the undercover agents in which Rafael appears to talk about his family joining him in the alleged cash smuggling.

U.S. District Court Judge William Young on Monday granted the motions to sever the trials of the two defendants, with Rafael scheduled to go first on Feb. 6 in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Freitas, a Bristol County sheriff’s deputy, is set to be tried following the completion of Rafael’s trial.

Prosecutors have charged Rafael with one count of conspiracy and 25 counts of making false statements to fishing regulators about the species of groundfish he landed in New Bedford and fish he was selling off the books.

They’ve also charged Rafael and Freitas with one count each of bulk cash smuggling.

“The cash smuggling is where the co-defendant, Antonio Freitas, comes in,” the government wrote in its response to the motions.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times

East Coast fishermen file appeal over cost of government-required ‘at-sea monitors’

December 12th, 2016 — David Goethel built his life off the profits of cod, trolling the waters of New England for 30 years netting the region’s once-abundant signature fish.

“My slice of the American Dream was paid for from fishing,” Goethel said from behind the wheel of his 44-foot fishing trawler on a windy Friday afternoon in December. “Cape Cod house, two cars, four college educations – it all came out of the fish hole in this boat.”

But a controversial federal mandate is threatening to put him out of business, he claims.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, requires groundfishermen — those who catch cod, haddock and other common bottom-dwelling species — to carry on board “at-sea monitors.” The observers, hired by three for-profit companies, are third-party workers whose task it is to observe fishermen’s compliance with federal regulations and ensure annual quotas are not exceeded.

The dispute lies in the cost of the monitors and who should pay for them: Fishermen are billed on average $700 a day when a regulator is present.

NOAA, meanwhile, says monitors were placed on fishing boats like Goethel’s only 14 percent of the time in 2016 — and claims the fishing industry supported this system of regulation in 2010 when a vote went before the New England Fishery Management Council, an advisory board to NOAA that sets the rules.

Read the full story at Fox News

Bering Sea groundfish looks strong as warming Gulf sees cuts

December 12, 2016 — Bering Sea fish stocks are booming but it’s a mixed bag for groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska.

Fishery managers will set 2017 catches this week (Dec.7-12) for pollock, cod and other fisheries that comprise Alaska’s largest fish hauls that are taken from three to 200 miles from shore.

More than 80 percent of Alaska’s seafood poundage come from those federally-managed waters, and by all accounts the Bering Sea fish stocks are in great shape.

“For the Bering Sea, just about every catch is up,” said Diana Stram, Bering Sea groundfish plan coordinator for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

There are 22 different species under the Council’s purview, along with non-targeted species like sharks, octopus and squid. For the nation’s largest food fishery — Bering Sea pollock — the stock is so robust, catches could safely double to nearly three million metric tons, or more than six billion pounds!

But the catch will remain nearer to this year’s harvest of half that, Stram said, due to a strict cap applied to all fish removals across the board.

“That means the sum of all the catches in the Bering Sea cannot exceed two million metric tons,” she explained.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

New Net Aims to Help Maine Fishermen Land Fewer Cod

December 9th, 2016 — Some fishermen are pinning their hopes on a new kind of trawl net at use in the Gulf of Maine, designed to scoop up abundant flatfish such as flounder and sole while avoiding species such as cod, which regulators say are in severe decline.

For centuries, cod were plentiful and a prime target for the Gulf of Maine fleet. But in recent years catch quotas have been drastically reduced as the number of cod of reproductive age dropped perilously low, according to regulators.

For many boats, that turned the formerly prized groundfish into unwanted bycatch.

But, for fishermen, it can be tough to avoid cod while trying to catch other fish. And the stakes are high.

“And I would pay a ridiculous price. And then you’re shut down, you can’t even go fishing,” he says.

Read the full story at Maine Public Radio

Monkfish Specifications Expected to Rise in FY 2017-2019

November 15, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Monkfish total allowable landing (TAL) limits for the 2017-2019 fishing years are on track to increase under Framework Adjustment 10 to the federal Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). So are: (1) days-at sea allocations and trip limits for the Southern Fishery Management Area; and (2) incidental catch limits for monkfish C and D permit holders working under groundfish days-at-sea in the Northern Management Area.

The New England Fishery Management Council approved the framework today at its meeting in Newport, RI. The Mid-Atlantic Council, which jointly manages monkfish, is scheduled to take action at its Dec. 12-15 meeting in Baltimore, MD. The National Marine Fisheries Service must approve the framework before the new days-at-sea allocations and trip limits can be implemented.

The New England Council adopted the following allocations for days-at-sea:

Northern Fishery Management Area: status quo, 45 monkfish days-at-sea; and
Southern Fishery Management Area: 37 monkfish days, a 15% increase from 32.

Monkfish days-at-sea allocations have not been restricting fishing effort in the northern area, where the majority of fishermen catch monkfish while groundfish fishing. Therefore, the Council decided to leave monkfish days-atsea at status quo in the north – 45 days – and instead raise the incidental landing limit for Category C and D monkfish permit holders working under a groundfish day-at-sea. The Council took this step to help northern area fishermen better utilize the available TAL. In 2015, for example, only 71% of the TAL was harvested in the north.

Read the full release as a PDF here

Last of the fishermen: NH’s ground fishing captains fading away

October 11th, 2016 — Dozens of commercial fishing boats were once docked along the New Hampshire coastline and trawled through the Gulf of Maine to drag in thousands of pounds of cod.

Today, only about five commercial ground fishermen remain active in New Hampshire. And as they continue to struggle with strict regulations on cod and other species of groundfish, many question the future of groundfishing in the Granite State.

One active ground fisherman, Neil Pike, said “there ain’t one.” He lives in Seabrook and fishes out of Hampton Harbor where he said there used to be 13 other fishing vessels docked next to his. Now, he said there are three and he owns two of them.

“There is no future,” Pike added as he looked out the window of his harborside home where his boats are docked.

Jamie Hayward, 42, a gillnetter who fishes out of Portsmouth, said he once had six or seven crew members and brought in more than twice the amount of income he is making today. Strict cod catch limits and added costs from the federal government, he said, forced him to shrink his business and take up fishing for lobster part-time to keep his business alive.

“There’s a few of us that are surviving on a lot less than what we generated (before),” Hayward said. “There aren’t a lot of people that are catching fish and making money. It’s just not happening.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the nation’s fisheries, cut cod quotas for ground fishermen by approximately 95 percent in the Gulf of Maine over the course of a few years leading up to this fishing year. NOAA researchers say cod stocks are dangerously low and require the restrictions to help them bounce back.

NOAA increased Gulf of Maine cod allocations by 30 percent this year, but fishermen say it is not nearly enough. The number of ground fishermen dropped from nine last year. Dan Salerno, who manages the fishing sector that includes New Hampshire, said the exact number of ground fishermen today is hard to pin down as people change their status throughout the year. Some are waiting to fish their quota until the end of the year and are remaining inactive until then.

Read the full story at The Portsmouth Herald