Saving Seafood

Rep. Moulton Letter Spurs Reforms to NOAA At Sea Monitoring Program

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

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) commended the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for incorporating significant reforms to the At Sea Monitoring Program in advance of the start of the fishing season this Sunday. Moulton led a New England delegation letter to NOAA in January to put pressure on NOAA to incorporate these reforms to the ASM program.

“With the start of the 2016 fishing season beginning on Sunday, these reforms are essential to the effective and efficient implementation of the At Sea Monitoring program and the viability of the New England fishing industry,” said Moulton. “NOAA’s reforms to the At Sea Monitoring program make it more cost-effective while still reliably monitoring the groundfish catch. I am grateful to NOAA for listening to the concerns of the New England Fishery Management Council, and I am committed to continuing to work with all involved to ensure that fishing communities throughout New England are equipped to thrive.”

Today, NOAA announced its Framework 55 New England Groundfish Rulemakings, which sets catch limits for the 2016-2018 fishing years, adjust the groundfish At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) program, implement sector administrative measures for 2016; and establish recreational measures for cod and haddock. Notably, Framework 55 also reduces ASM Council Requirements in certain New England Groundfish Sectors/Fisheries.

“NSC deeply appreciates that many Members of Congress in the northeast region recognized the crucial need to evolve the at-sea monitoring program and, under Congressman Moulton’s leadership, co-signed a letter of support for these reforms to NOAA fisheries that have now been approved by the Secretary of Commerce,” said Jackie Odell, Executive Director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition. “Although NSC opposes industry funded at-sea monitoring requirements, the issue of who is funding the program is independent of the collective responsibility to improve the program and seek efficiencies. Changes that have been approved to the program under Framework 55 take advantage of the incremental benefits of additional years of data and knowledge gained since the inception of the program, while meeting the same statistical standards required. Approval of these modifications reflects sound and responsible fisheries management.”

NOAA Fisheries Announces Groundfish Catch Limits for Commercial and Recreational Fisheries

May 2, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

We are announcing the commercial groundfish annual catch limits for the 2016 fishing year (May 1, 2016-April 30, 2017).

2016 catch limits will increase for 10 stocks, but will decrease substantially for some stocks. The catch limits are available in the rule filed with the Federal Register today.

We are adjusting the sector at-sea monitoring program to make it more cost-efficient while ensuring sector catch is still reliably monitored. The target sector at-sea monitoring coverage level is 14% for 2016, as compared to 24% for 2015.

We are increasing recreational fishing opportunities for Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod and haddock.

Recreational GOM 2016 Cod Measures:

Season: Open Aug 1-Sep 30

Per Day Possession: 1 fish

Minimum Size: 24 inches

Recreational GOM 2016 Haddock Measures:

Season: Open Apr 15-Feb 28

Per Day Possession: 15 fish

Minimum Size: 17 inches

Read the final rule for Framework 55 and the final rule for recreational measures as filed in the Federal Register for further details. The fishery bulletins for the commercial and recreational rules (scroll to page 11) are available as pdfs on our website.

At-sea monitoring fees are the latest threat to New Hampshire’s dwindling fishing industry

April 1, 2016 — Working as both a biologist and a fisherman, David Goethel brings a unique perspective to the state and federal fishery management boards he’s an adviser on. 

“I’ve spent all my life acting as a translator because they speak all different languages,” says Goethel, who worked as a research biologist at the New England Aquarium before he became the owner and operator of the Ellen Diane, a 44-foot fishing trawler based out of Hampton. 

But the most recent disconnect between the factions has resulted in Goethel and other groundfishermen filing a federal lawsuit. 

After delaying the regulation for years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is now requiring groundfishermen to pay for the at-sea monitoring program — at a cost of an average $710 per trip, conducted at random. The monitoring is done to ensure that the fishermen adhere to groundfish catch quotas set in May 2010 by the New England Fishery Management Council, under NOAA. (Groundfish include cod, haddock and other common bottom-dwelling species.) 

Read the full story at the New Hampshire Business Review

N.H. Fishermen Say Burden of At-Sea Monitoring Fees Could Break Industry

April 1, 2016 — New rules that took effect last month shift the costs of at-sea monitoring to local fisherman.

Critics say these new fees threaten the very existence of New Hampshire’s dwindling fishing industry and will put people out of business. There’s now a lawsuit pending on the issue.

Jeff Feingold, editor of the New Hampshire Business Review, joined NHPR’s Morning Edition to talk about the issue.

Let’s start with some background – what are these fees all about?

Back in 2010, they put these new rules together that limited the amount of ground fish that could be caught; that’s cod, haddock, and other fish, a lot of what commercial fishermen are looking for.

See the full story at NHPR

Number of New Hampshire groundfishermen continues to decline

March 30, 2016 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The number of New Hampshire boats fishing for groundfish has continued to decline, with only five full-time groundfisherman left in the state.

Fishermen have been catching haddock, cod and flounder off the coast and selling it in New Hampshire for centuries. But fishermen said that quotas and regulations over the past decade that are meant to protect groundfish have made it almost impossible to make a living.

The regulations have also affected other fishermen. At Tuesday’s regional meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council, some complained they were unable to catch herring to use as bait because they were in the same area as regulated groundfish.

Read the full story at WMUR

Feds Propose Deep Cuts In Cod Quotas

March 28, 2016 — The new fishing year begins in May and federal regulators are seeking public comments for proposed catch limits for the region’s groundfish industry. The proposed regulations, particularly for Georges Bank cod, have southern New England fishermen worried.

The proposed rules include catch quotas for 20 groundfish species, including cod, haddock, and flounder. Jennifer Goebel, public affairs officer for the regional office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said quotas are based on stock assessments.

“This year the stock assessment for the Gulf of Maine cod showed a slight increase and so we were able to make some increases on that,” she said.

But the cod from Georges Bank, a popular fishing spot for Rhode Island fishermen, is severely depleted. Goebel said regulators are proposing a 62 percent cut from what fishermen were able to catch last year.

Read the full story at Rhode Island Public Radio

MASSACHUSETTS: Proposed exemption good for Cape Cod fishermen

CHATHAM, Mass. (March 24, 2016) — When a fisherman is getting just pennies to the pound for fish, paying an additional $710 for someone to ride along and count each one can really cut into the bottom line.

“We couldn’t afford the $700,” said Chatham fisherman Jan Margeson. “It would have put you into a negative day.”

Margeson and other Cape Cod fishermen who pursue relatively low value species like skate and dogfish argue they use nets with such a large mesh that almost all other species simply swim right through and escape.

The observers they are occasionally required to carry are intended to double check the amounts of groundfish, like cod, haddock and flounder they are catching along with dogfish and skates. But Cape fishermen say they don’t catch any of the groundfish and feel the observers, known as “At-Sea Monitors,” are unnecessary and expensive.

Newly proposed regulations released for public comment this week confirm what Cape fishermen have been saying for years, by granting them an exemption to the requirement to carry the monitors on nearly all their fishing trips for skate and dogfish, which became the dominant species landed in Cape ports after the decline of groundfish, especially cod, in recent years.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford fishermen face ‘devastating’ cod cut

March 23, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The city’s commercial fishing industry — battered by last month’s arrest of magnate Carlos Rafael on federal conspiracy charges, last week’s drug raids on the waterfront and ongoing monitoring costs — took another punch to the gut this week, as government regulators proposed new cuts to cod catches that could take effect May 1.

“Those cuts will be devastating to the groundfishing fleet of New Bedford, and the whole New England coast,” said John Haran, manager of groundfish Sector 13.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in conjunction with the New England Fishery Management Council, released a proposed update Monday to the federal management plan for the northeastern fishery.

The proposal includes updated catch quotas and fishing limits for the fishery’s 20 groundfish stocks — including cod, flounder, haddock and more — for the next three years. The 2016 groundfish year starts May 1.

The proposal includes a new, 62-percent reduction from last year in the allowable catch for Georges Bank cod, a key species for the New Bedford fishing industry.

“Our fleet is entirely concentrated on Georges Bank West cod,” Haran said, referring to boats not only in his sector, but also in New Bedford-based sectors 7, 8 and 9.

“We also fish for Georges Bank East cod, but not as much,” said Haran, who is running for Select Board member in Dartmouth.

The proposal allows a total catch limit of 762 metric tons of Georges Bank cod in the 2016 fishing year. The total catch limit for Georges Bank haddock, by comparison, is 56,068 metric tons — an increase of 130 percent from a year ago.

Haran said the problem is that cod is a “choke species,” because once a crew reaches its quota for cod, it can no longer fish for other species, such as haddock, because everything is caught at the same time.

Read the full story at The New Bedford Standard-Times

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

 

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Groundfish Catch Limits and Modifications to the At-Sea Monitoring Program

March 23, 2016 — We are seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would set 2016-2018 catch limits for all 20 groundfish stocks, adjust the groundfish at-sea monitoring program, and adopt several sector measures.

Catch Limits

The new catch limits proposed for all 20 groundfish stocks are based on stock assessments conducted in late 2015.

The proposed allocations for Gulf of Maine cod, Georges Bank cod, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder, and witch flounder could limit the operation of the groundfish fishery. However, these reductions are necessary to prevent overfishing for these stocks, which are all at historically low levels.

Based on the proposed allocation increases for Gulf of Maine haddock (150 percent) and Gulf of Maine cod (30 percent), we are proposing trip limit increases and season extensions for the recreational groundfish fishery in a separate action.

At-Sea Monitoring

The 2016 fishing year (May 1, 2016, through April 30, 2017) is the first full year that sectors will be responsible for the costs of at-sea monitoring. We worked with the New England Fishery Management Council to develop a set of reasonable modifications to the at-sea monitoring program to make the program more cost-effective while still reliably meeting monitoring groundfish catch.

The proposed changes include:

  • Elimination of the coverage requirement for certain sector trips with low groundfish bycatch;
  • Adjustment of method  NOAA Fisheries uses to set the annual coverage level to use more years of discard information and stock health to predict coverage levels; and
  • Reduction of the target at-sea monitoring coverage level of 14 percent for the 2016 fishing year (down from 24 percent for 2015).

Read the release at NOAA Fisheries