Saving Seafood

Lobstermen, scientists concerned about sea level, temperature rise

November 10, 2016 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Lobstermen and scientists are concerned about rising sea temperatures and sea level rise in the state’s Seacoast region.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, went out on a lobster boat out of Portsmouth harbor Aug. 30 to talk to fisherman about concerns they have for the potential for temperature rise in the waters and how it could impact the state’s prized, $23 million a year fishery.

Waiting for her on the dock as she returned were officials from the Rockingham County Planning Commission to discuss a related issue: sea level rise and its impacts on the seacoast.

The two go hand in hand because they are both linked to climate change.

The largest high tide of the year, the King Tide, is expected on New Hampshire’s seacoast Nov. 15.

It will give residents a glimpse into the future, where high water could be the norm. Hopefully, there will not be a weather event late that morning which would possibly impact low-lying structures.

Scientists predict that the average high tide in New Hampshire could rise by two feet in the next 35 years and be six feet higher by the year 2100 due to climate change.

These tides could damage homes, infrastructure and the tourist economy of the state.

Both Shaheen and her Republican counterpart, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, together worked successfully last month to fight off an effort by Sweeden to ban the import of the American lobster. The European Union rejected Sweden’s request on Oct. 14.

Read the full story at WMUR

NOAA to reimburse fishermen 85 percent for at-sea monitoring costs

June 23, 2016 — HAMPTON, N.H. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will reimburse New England fishermen for 85 percent of the cost of at-sea monitors in 2016, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s office announced Wednesday.

NOAA is expected to launch a program July 1 through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission where fishermen will be reimbursed for costs they pay this year to the at-sea monitors, according to Shaheen’s office. Fishermen have said the costs, which began this year, are too much for them to pay and could sink their already weakened industry.

Shaheen’s staff said NOAA is paying for the reimbursement program through extra funds left over from the 2015 fiscal year and does not intend to cover costs for at-sea monitors in 2017.

At-sea monitors – third-party workers hired to observe fishermen’s compliance with federal regulations – must join commercial fishermen on 10 percent of their trips and cost fishermen an estimated $700 per day, officials have said.

NOAA paid for at-sea monitoring until May 1 when it began mandating fishermen cover the cost. The agency has received pushback from the fishing industry and New England’s congressional delegates who say it is unfair for fishermen to fund their own policing.

NOAA officials said they were withholding comment until Thursday.

Shaheen, D-N.H., said Wednesday she is happy fishermen will get relief this year from the costs. She and U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., have been vocal about their opposition to NOAA forcing fishermen to pay for the at-sea monitors.

Read the full story at the Portsmouth Herald

Fishing advocates praise allocation of funds for electronic monitoring

April 22, 2016 — SEA BROOK, NH — Advocates for electronic monitoring technology in the commercial fishing industry are pleased that the Senate Appropriations Committee has secured federal resources to help defray costs associated with regulating catch sizes.

On Thursday, U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D- NH) announced that $3 million has been set aside for the development and installation of this technology. Fishermen hope it will replace the current model of in-person monitoring, which costs them approximately $700 per day every time they bring a person out.

Josh Wiersma of the Environmental Defense Fund said appropriating the money is a step in the right direction.

“I think this is a big step forward,” Wiersma said.

Wiersma testified on the subject before the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in Washington, D.C., this March. He has worked to make electronic monitoring programs a reality for some time, saying that the current in-person monitoring mandated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration leads to inaccurate results, and fishermen don’t have room for monitors on their boats.

Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader

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

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

Kelly Ayotte Supports NH Fishermen Challenging At-Sea Monitoring Program

Editor’s Note: Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein addressed Senator Ayotte’s press release by stating that “Cause of Action, on behalf of the fishermen we are representing in this matter, applaud Senator Ayotte, and thank her for her support. We appreciate any help we can get on educating the public about this unlawful regulation that would devastate the fishing industry and would put good, hard-working people out of work.”

WASHINGTON — December 10, 2015 — The following was released by the office of U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.):

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) today expressed support for New Hampshire fishermen who filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the legality of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) at-sea monitoring program:

“I support New Hampshire fishermen in their fight against NOAA’s at-sea monitoring fees. I continue to believe that NOAA should fully fund the at-sea monitoring program and Senator Shaheen and I have also called for a full investigation of the program. Going forward, I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure the survival of New Hampshire’s historic and iconic commercial fishing industry.”

In September, Ayotte introduced legislation to terminate NOAA’s independent third-party at-sea monitoring program for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery unless NOAA fully funds the program using funds within its existing budget. She also sent a letter, together with U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), to the Department of Commerce Acting Inspector General David Smith calling for a full investigation into NOAA’s at-sea monitoring program for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery, which includes New Hampshire’s coastal region.

Also in September, Ayotte hosted a roundtable discussion with NOAA officials, New Hampshire fishermen, and business leaders at the Pease Tradeport in Portsmouth. She invited NOAA officials to New Hampshire to hear directly from fishermen and business leaders about concerns with fishing regulations, federal catch-share limits, NOAA’s process for determining fish stocks, the imposition of fees for “at-sea monitors” on commercial fishing vessels, and NOAA’s implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Ayotte is a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard.

Read the original release from the office of U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)

NEW BEDFORD STANDARD-TIMES: Fishery management needs balance

September 30, 2015 — The requirement that the cost of at-sea monitors be paid by the fishermen who participate in the Northeast Multispecies Fishery is mere weeks away from being phased in.

Study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggests as many as 60 percent of affected boats could be pushed out of profitability by the requirement, based on estimates of monitors costing $700 per day.

Republican U.S. Rep. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire hosted a roundtable mid-month with NOAA representatives and fishermen to address the issue.

“We’re supposed to take into account that we don’t destroy the fishing communities,” Rep. Ayotte said, according to Sept. 18 report by the Portsmouth Herald. “(Requirements to protect fishermen) are being ignored in all this.”

She was referring to National Standard 8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which says measures used to manage the fishery must “take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data,” consistent with the prevention of “overfishing and rebuilding of overfished stocks.”

The requirement for consistency, above, might explain why Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator John Bullard told Rep. Ayotte that “eliminating overfishing” supersedes all other priorities.

The Standard-Times is having a very difficult time trying to understand why a policy that will have such a clear negative impact on fishermen is being instituted when the beneficial impact on the resource — the fishery — is so unclear.

Read the full editorial from the New Bedford Standard-Times

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.