Saving Seafood

Groundfishermen worry looming $600 cost shift could hurt industry

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — February 24, 2016 — New England fishermen say that they have already been gutted by limits set by the National Marine Fisheries Service over how much of certain species of groundfish remain off our shores. Now, a looming cost shift is threatening the industry entirely.

Back in 2000, there were about 100 groundfishermen in New Hampshire, using small commercial boats catching the cod, haddock and flounder that we equate with New England seafood.

In 2016, most have switched over to lobster and scallops. Many of them were forced out by limits and quotas.

David Goethel is one of only nine groundfishermen left in the state. But he’s worried something else could wipe out groundfishing completely.

“I lost 95 percent of my cod quota in the last four years and I’m fishing for things that are less value and then I’m going to have to pay for these monitors on top of that. It simply does not add up,” said Goethel.

Read the full story from WMUR

New Hampshire Sen. Ayotte Questions NOAA on At-Sea Monitoring and National Standard Eight

February 24, 2016 — The following was released by the Office of Senator Kelly Ayotte:

This week during a Senate Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee hearing, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte questioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs Samuel Rauch on the administration’s recent announcement that it would require New England fishermen to pay for its at-sea monitoring (ASM) program beginning March 1, 2016.

“I look at your budget: $5.4 billion for 2015, and you can’t find $3.78 million to fund at-sea monitoring, which is consistent with what many of us have written in the 2015 appropriations bill for NOAA,” asked Ayotte. “I can’t believe that we have a system where we’re going to put iconic fishermen out of business. The large folks – they’re going to be fine. The small fishermen – they’re done.”

Ayotte has long been a strong and consistent voice for New Hampshire’s small boat fishermen in fighting against onerous federal regulations. In September, she introduced legislation to terminate NOAA’s independent third-party ASM program unless NOAA fully funds the program using dollars within the its existing budget. Ayotte and Senator Jeanne Shaheen also previously called for a full investigation into NOAA’s ASM program for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery, which includes New Hampshire’s coastal region.

Also in September, Ayotte hosted a roundtable discussion in Portsmouth with NOAA officials, fishermen, and business leaders to discuss concerns regarding fishing regulations, federal catch-share limits, NOAA’s process for determining fish stocks, the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the imposition of fees for at-sea monitors on commercial fishing vessels.

Read the release from the office of Senator Kelly Ayotte

Fishermen get face-to-face meeting with NOAA official

October 29, 2015 — HAMPTON, N.H. – Fishermen had a rare meeting Saturday with the federal administrator whose agency has put what Granite State fishermen call backbreaking regulations on their industry.

While no promises for action were made by the official — Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association — those who met with her said they appreciated the hour and a half sit-down she gave them at the Ashworth by the Sea Hotel.

Sullivan took notes, asked questions and heard right from the mouths of the fishermen their fears that recent regulations will make New Hampshire the first state to have its groundfishing industry completely wiped out.

“I said (to Sullivan) I felt that I’m very patriotic, I love my country, but I feel my government has completely failed us in New Hampshire and in the fishing industry, and the public process has been non-existent,” said Ellen Goethel, Hampton marine biologist and wife of commercial fisherman David Goethel. Both met with Sullivan, as well as Portsmouth commercial fisherman Erik Anderson, Fish and Game’s Marine Fishery Division Chief Doug Grout, state Sen. Nancy Stiles (R-Hampton) and state Rep. Renny Cushing (D-Hampton).

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., organized the 4 p.m. meeting. Shaheen contacted the NOAA administrator when she learned Sullivan would be attending a summit at the Ashworth Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25.

Ellen Goethel said it was important for Sullivan to hear about the economic impact the regulations have had on the fisheries in New Hampshire, supported by information gathered by Grout.

Grout said the gross income for New Hampshire’s groundfishermen was reduced roughly 69 percent between 2009 and 2014, according to analysis provided by NOAA. That’s a bigger impact on groundfishermen income than in any other state, the analysis showed.

Also discussed was the core of the problem for struggling fishermen in New Hampshire – whether the science behind the strict regulations is accurate.

Grout told Sullivan there was an apparent disconnect between what NOAA’s scientists were reporting for cod stock levels and what fishermen are seeing on the water.

Read the full story at Portsmouth Herald

Senator Ayotte, fishermen meet with federal officials

September 18, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Fishermen aired grievances face to face with federal officials they say are ruining their industry, backed in person by U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who arranged the meeting at Pease Tradeport Friday.

Roughly 40 members of the fishing industry, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator John Bullard and a representative from U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s office joined Ayotte for the 2 p.m. roundtable.

Ayotte, seeking to be a voice for New Hampshire fishermen, called the meeting to address regulations NOAA has imposed on the Gulf of Maine fishery. The regulations are meant to help cod stocks rise from disastrously low numbers, but fishermen have said restrictions are strict enough to put them out of business.

Central to the discussion were at-sea monitors NOAA plans to force fishermen to pay for starting Nov. 1. The monitors would watch fishermen on 24 percent of each vessel’s fishing days to make sure they comply with the regulations. The cost is expected to be roughly $700 per day for each vessel, more than fishermen say they gross in a day.

Read the full story at Hampton Union

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Congressional delegation stands with fishermen

September 20, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Fishermen have said this month that the U.S. Congress is their last hope in preventing federal regulations from destroying their industry.

So it was a boost of confidence this week when three New Hampshire congressional legislators took a stand for the fishing industry. They filed legislation, sent letters requesting action and held a roundtable that placed themselves, fishermen and federal officials in the same room to discuss the fate of the fishing industry.

“I think they’re all believable,” said Peter Kendall, a former New Hampshire commercial fisherman. “I think they’re all behind us.”

On Friday, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., held the roundtable meeting at Pease International Tradeport that put fishermen across the table from officials from the federal agency imposing what fishermen say are back-breaking regulations and costs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At the meeting, Ayotte spoke in support of the fishermen, saying those fees and regulations fly in the face of federal law.

Ayotte and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., on Thursday wrote a letter asking the U.S. inspector general to investigate an at-sea monitoring program that fishermen are expected to pay for as soon as Nov. 1. The program will require observers go to sea with fishermen for 24 percent of their fishing days, monitoring their compliance with groundfishing regulations. Cost is expected to be roughly $700 a day, more than fishermen gross in a day’s work, they say.

Ayotte also filed legislation to terminate the observer program unless it was funded by NOAA, which currently covers the cost.

This past Monday, U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., met with commercial fishermen at Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative in Seabrook to promise them he’d file a bill to delay the Nov. 1 deadline, if not kill the program altogether.

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times

 

 

Shaheen Presses Federal Agency Leader Not to Shift Burdensome Fees to NH Fishermen

WASHINGTON — September 17, 2015 — The following was released by the office of U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH):

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today advocated for New Hampshire fishermen in a phone call with Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Shaheen specifically urged the Administrator not to force New Hampshire fishermen to pay expensive new fees – more than $700 per trip – to cover the cost of the agency’s at-sea observer program, which monitors catch sizes and collects data in the region. NOAA announced last month that fishermen will be responsible for these fees starting October 31 of this year.

“New England’s fishing industry is in crisis, with many of New Hampshire’s remaining fishermen fighting for survival,” said Shaheen. “These fees will cut into incredibly thin margins and could be the tipping point for many of our fishermen. I’ve made it crystal clear to Administrator Sullivan that these fees threaten the very existence of New Hampshire’s fishing industry.”

As a Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen included provisions in Fiscal Year 2016 legislation directing NOAA to alleviate this problem and to develop new technology that would be more efficient and cost-effective. In the call with NOAA’s administrator today, Shaheen was asking for NOAA to continue funding the program while that work proceeds.

Today Shaheen also sent a letter with U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) to the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce, calling for an investigation into the costs and operation of NOAA’s at-sea monitoring program.

Sens. Shaheen, Ayotte Dispute Fees for NH Fishermen

September 17, 2015 — The following was released by the office of Sen. Kelly Ayotte:

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) sent a letter to the Department of Commerce Acting Inspector General David Smith calling for a full investigation into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) at-sea monitoring program for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery, which includes New Hampshire’s coastal region. On August 4, 2015, NOAA announced it would end its funding the program on October 31, and will require individual fishermen to fund the ASM program instead.

“As you may know, the New England fishing industry has been devastated in recent years by severe cuts to catch quotas,” wrote the Senators. “In this moment when the fishery can least afford it, NOAA announced on August 4, 2015, that it would end its funding for the ASM program on October 31, 2015. This move will cost individual fishermen an estimated more than $700 per trip and will force many out of business entirely.”

Earlier this year, Senators Shaheen and Ayotte pushed for prompt action by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to deliver on New Hampshire’s request for federal fishery disaster funds. In April, OMB announced that NOAA had released $2.3 million in disaster relief funds to New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine. The Senators have also led bipartisan efforts to obtain similar funds for New Hampshire fishermen who had been negatively impacted by rigorous catch limit requirements.

The full text of the letter is below.

The Hon. David Smith
Acting Inspector General
Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20230

Dear Acting Inspector General Smith:

We write to request an investigation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) at-sea monitoring (ASM) program in the Northeast Multispecies Fishery.

As you may know, the New England fishing industry has been devastated in recent years by severe cuts to the fishery’s catch quotas. In this moment when the fishery can least afford it, NOAA announced on August 4, 2015, that it would end its funding for the ASM program on October 31, 2015.

This decision will cost individual fishermen an estimated $700 per trip and could force many out of business entirely. We have also heard disturbing reports of fishing sectors being told by NOAA that they are required to sign specific contracts by arbitrary deadlines, or they will lose their access to the fishery.
With New Hampshire’s commercial fishing industry already suffering due to onerous federal regulations, we are deeply concerned about the destructive impact that this new and sudden fee will have in our state. Based on concerns raised by our constituents, we are requesting an investigation into the ASM program that answers the following questions:

• How does NOAA determine with which companies to contract for fishery observers? Does the agency have to disclose potential conflicts of interest in this process?
• How are the costs of these fees and contracts determined? What percentage of the contract is a profit for observer companies?
• What legal basis enables NOAA to require fishing sectors to sign specific observer contracts and to set specific deadlines by which observer contracts must be signed?
• What options do fishermen have to negotiate the details of contracts they are required to sign?
• How do the ASM costs in the Northeast fishery compare with similar programs in other regions of the country?
• How do observer fees compare to per-trip revenue, particularly for fishermen with smaller vessels? How do these ratios in the Northeast compare with those for similar-sized vessels in other regions of the country?
• What is the estimated state-by-state economic impact of these new fees on the region’s fishing industry? How does this impact differ across vessel sizes?

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. The survival of New Hampshire’s 400-year-old fishing industry is at stake. We look forward to your timely response.

Read the legislation to terminate at-sea monitoring program