Saving Seafood

Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization Heads to House Floor

July 11, 2018 — Today, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 200, also known as the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility on Fisheries Management Act.” The bill would update and reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the primary law governing fisheries management in the United States.

Members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities from across the country have previously written in support of the bill, believing that it “allows for both sustainable fisheries management, and the long-term preservation of our nation’s fishing communities.”

According to the letter, the bill has several provision that would “create flexibility without compromising conservation.” They include:

“1) Eliminating the 10-year time requirement for rebuilding fisheries and replacing it with a biologically based time frame is essential and allows the Regional Fishery Management Councils (RFMCs) to determine the optimal path and duration for stock rebuilding.

2) Modifying requirements for annual catch limits (ACLs) to allow RFMCs to consider ecosystem changes and the needs of fishing communities when establishing ACLs. In light of changing environmental conditions and the role of the environment in fisheries recruitment, these considerations make both scientific and common sense.

3) Using the term “depleted” instead of “overfished” throughout the Act is a simple yet very important change that will allow the Secretary to more accurately characterize stock condition not based solely on fishing mortality. The term “overfished” is perceived negatively and can unfairly implicate the industry for stock conditions resulting from other factors.

4) Maintaining the requirement for a transparent referendum process before any new Catch Share program can be implemented in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions will ensure the industry has a role in determining its future.”

Yesterday, Gulf Coast Coalition members reiterated this support in a second letter, signed by the Florida Keys Commercial Fishing Association, Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance, and Southeastern Fisheries Association.

Coalition members also submitted a letter yesterday to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) opposing a last-minute amendment to the bill added by Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Alcee Hastings (D-FL). According to the letter, the amendment would have the practical effect of requiring fisheries managers to implement significantly reduced quotas on fish stocks in order to meet more aggressive rebuilding targets. Coalition members believe that this change will ultimately hurt fishing communities.

“We believe [the amendment] would actually undermine the MSA, impede reforms that are desperately needed, and attack jobs in coastal communities around the country, including in California and Florida, the home states of Mr. Huffman and Mr. Hastings,” the letter states.

Members also believe that this change is unnecessary, noting that current rebuilding policies have led to successful and sustainable fisheries management in much of the U.S. They specifically cite NOAA’s 2018 report to Congress, which stated that “overfishing remains near all time lows and we reached a new milestone with the number of overfished stocks at the lowest level ever.”

MAFMC: Vacancy Announcement: Assistant Plan Coordinator

July 11, 2018 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is seeking candidates for the position of Assistant Plan Coordinator. The Assistant Plan Coordinator will assist the Executive Director and other members of the Council staff in the identification and analysis of issues pertaining to the science and management of marine fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic region (New York through North Carolina). The candidate will also assist in the analysis of proposed fishery management measures and the development of Council documents that comply with the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other applicable statutes. Applications must be received or postmarked by August 10, 2018.

View the announcement linked below for complete details and application instructions.

REP. DON YOUNG: Partisanship shouldn’t undermine our fisheries

July 10, 2018 — Partisan rancor may be standard operating procedure for most of Washington, D.C., but let’s not allow it to unravel the progress we’ve made for our country’s vital fisheries. As my colleagues and my state know, I’ve been on the front lines for the fight for our fisheries for over 40 years – and I have no intentions of letting up.

After creating an initial framework, former Rep. Gerry Studds (D-MA) and I collaborated with former Sens. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Warren Magnuson (D-WA) to enact the original Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) in 1976. This act promotes the conservation, management and stewardship of our fishery resources in the federal waters of the United States. Under the law, eight Regional Fishery Management Councils are tasked with the formidable mission of managing fisheries in federal waters along the coasts of the U.S. Without this act, access to commercial fishing wouldn’t exist.

MSA is serious business, and a true testament to how bipartisan efforts can improve policies that impact millions and affect our economy. Ignoring the way traditional fisheries’ management legislation succeeds discards the many years of hard work, collaboration and compromise required to achieve reauthorizations in the past.

Read the full opinion piece at Anchorage Daily News

Federal fisheries law could see changes

July 5, 2018 — The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill this week that has pitted sport-fishing interests against environmentalists.

It’s called the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, or H.R. 200. Also referred to as the Modern Fish Act, a vote on the bill was delayed about a week ago.

Its author, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, says the measure would update and improve the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law that guides federal fisheries regulators.

Young and supporters of his bill contend contend federal regulations, improper science and poor management decisions have hampered anglers’ access to U.S. fisheries.

“America’s fisheries are governed by an outdated regulatory scheme and inflexible decrees imposed by distant bureaucrats,” House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said after the panel advanced the measure in December. “Fishermen and biologists on the ground should be partners in the formation of management plans, not powerless onlookers.”

Read the full story at the Daily Comet

Should a community’s population be a factor to set fish quotas in western Alaska?

July 5, 2018 — Rep. Don Young is trying again to renew the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The nation’s fundamental federal fisheries law hasn’t been reauthorized since 2006. Young’s bill would allow more flexibility for regional fisheries management councils, but for villages near the mouth of the Kuskokwim River it is notable for what’s not included.

Since the 1990s, towns and villages along the western Alaska coast, from Norton Sound to the Aleutians, have had a stake in the lucrative Bering Sea fisheries, through the Community Development Quota program. The communities, divided into six CDQ groups, are allocated a portion of the fishing quota, which they can fish themselves or lease to the fishing industry.

By most measures, the program has been a success. In total, the six CDQ groups have amassed more than a billion dollars in cash and assets. The larger groups spend more than $30 million a year to help their regions, with service programs, job training, scholarships and local employment.

But the largest group, called Coastal Villages Region Fund, says it’s getting a raw deal. The group is known as CVRF and serves the Kuskokwim Delta, including villages from Scammon Bay to Platinum. More than 9,000 people live in that area, amounting to 35 percent of the total CDQ beneficiary population. However, they say they are allocated just 15 percent of the fish in the CDQ program.

Art Severance, corporate counsel for CVRF, said other groups have far fewer people and get the same or even more fish.

Read the full story at KTOO

Congress is considering big changes to longstanding federal fisheries regulatory act

July 2, 2018 — Eric Brazer likens federal fisheries management to a bank account held jointly by commercial fisherman, charter fishermen, restaurants and others who depend on a specific fish for their livelihood.

If one user overdraws the account, there is nothing left for the others, said Brazer, deputy director of the Galveston, Texas-based Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, which includes commercial snapper and grouper fishermen from around the Gulf.

Brazer’s organization is one of many groups keeping a close eye on two bills being debated in Congress. A House bill by Rep. Don Young, an Alaska Republican, and a Senate bill by Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, could lead to significant changes in the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Destin Mayor Gary Jarvis, former president of the Destin Charter Boat Association, has been in regular contact with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, and other members of the Florida Congressional Delegation over the two bills.

Jarvis said the association doesn’t want want to see a major overhaul of Magnuson-Stevens.

“It is a legacy piece of legislation that does need to be revised from time to time,” he said. “But they are attempting to gut some things in the Magnuson-Stevens Act to change how fisheries are managed.”

Jarvis said charter fishing brings more than $175 million a year to the regional economy.  For the economic benefits to continue, there must be sufficient numbers of red snapper, triggerfish, amberjack, grouper and other popular fish species, Jarvis said.

“The Magnuson-Stevens Act has clear-cut management tools and what is happening is political maneuvering to weaken these existing rules,” he said.

Jarvis said he fears charter fishermen won’t be given a designated share of the catch limits. He also likened catch limits to a joint bank account.

“What is happening is that they are trying to make it easier for one user group to overdraw the account,” he said.

Read the full story at the Pensacola News Journal

US Commerce Department appoints Regional Fishery Management Council members

June 29, 2018 — The U.S. Commerce Department announced on 27 June that is has made 30 appointments to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration to manage fish stocks.

The councils, established by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, help prepare fishery management plans for each of the eight regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Western Pacific, Pacific, and North Pacific.

Of the councilors appointed, 29 are receiving three-year terms, starting on 11 August, that will run through to 10 August, 2021. One member, Michael K. Goto of Hawaii, is  filling a recently vacated at-large seat in the Western Pacific council and will serve out the remainder of that term through 10 August, 2020.

The council members come from diverse backgrounds, including commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries, environmental organizations, and academic institutions. Appointments take place each year, when the U.S. Secretary of Commerce appoints roughly one-third of the 72 total council members from the eight councils. Appointments are made based on nominations from the governors of the fishing states, territories, and tribal governments.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US Congress delays vote on Magnuson-Stevens Act renewal

June 28, 2018 — U.S. Congress delayed taking action this week on a bill that would reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

H.R. 200, which would have extended the fishery management law until fiscal year 2022, has been held up in Congress by more than two-dozen amendments to the bill. Instead of a vote this week, multiple seafood industry and environmental representatives told Seafoodsource they now expect a vote after the House of Representatives returns from its Fourth of July break.

At a House Rules Committee hearing regarding the bill on Monday 25 June, lawmakers introduced 27 amendments to it.

What the delay means for the bill’s chances remains unclear. However, both the bill’s advocates and its opponents will use the time to continue their full court press on lawmakers.

The bill, formally titled the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act,” would extend the MSA through the 2022 fiscal year. However, in its current form, it would also make substantial changes to the act.

Among those who support the bill are members of the East Coast and West Coast of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities. They say the bill will create a fisheries management program that is both flexible and conservation-focused.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Eleven of 27 Amendments Proposed for Magnuson Reauthorization Bill HR 200 Could Go to House Vote

June 28, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — An anticipated House of Representatives floor vote on H.R. 200, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, was delayed Tuesday. More than 25 amendments were proposed for the bill reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. It went to the Rules Committee instead.

The Rules Committee held a hearing Monday night and passed a rule to provide a structured amendment process for floor consideration. The rule included 11 of the 27 amendments.

H.R. 200, sponsored by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, was the primary bill proposed to re-authorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It garnered both strong support and strong opposition.

Opponents blanketed Capitol Hill offices and committees with reasons why the bill should not pass. At the same time, many Democratic lawmakers proposed amendments or changes, some that could fundamentally change Young’s original bill.

Outside supporters and lawmakers were also busy lining up votes and proposing amendments to the bill.

By Monday night, 27 amendments had been submitted: 16 from Democrats and 7 from Republicans; four were bi-partisan. Five were revised amendments and four were submitted late, after the 10 a.m. Monday deadline.

California Democrat Jared Huffman led the opposition to H.R. 200. Both he and Young were the invited witnesses to the Rules Committee hearing Monday evening.

Young, one of the creators of the first Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, said he recognizes the successes this bill and subsequent reauthorizations have made over the years and that he, better than anyone, understands what else is needed to protect fish stocks while helping communities. “This legislation is dear to my heart,” Young said during the Rules Committee hearing.

Young also referred to recent lawmakers proposing changes to the bill as “Johnny-come-latelys” who don’t understand the fundamentals of the language that protects the stocks while balancing communities’ needs. The proposed bill was made with the suggestions from regional Councils and scientists, Young said.

Huffman countered that several provisions in the bill would roll back fish stock protections and the current language doesn’t prevent overfishing. He also noted that all previous bills reauthorizing the Fishery Conservation and Management Act were bipartisan; this one isn’t he said. It passed out of committee on party lines, Huffman added.

To that end, Huffman proposed four amendments, one considered a substitution for the entire bill. That particular amendment was not included in the committee’s final rule

By the end of the hearing, the Rules Committee passed a rule that included 11 of the 27 amendments — also along party lines. If that rule also passes the House, only those 11 amendments can be considered when H.R. 200 comes up for a floor vote again.

Those amendments, in order, include:

1. A revised manager’s amendment by Young and Rep. Garret Graves, R-La. It revises some sections and adds a new section regarding the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program;

2. An amendment to create an industry-based pilot trawl survey for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council regions (Reps. Joe Courtney, D-Conn. and Lee Zeldin, R-NY);

3. A provision for a voting representative from Rhode Island on the MAFMC (Reps. Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, D-RI);

4. An amendment ensuring rebuilding plans are successful in rebuilding overfished fish stocks (Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Alcee Hastings, D-Fla.);

5. Waiving compensatory mitigation requirements for maintenance dredging projects in certain waterways (Reps. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., and Daniel Webster, R-Fla.);

6. Requiring the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the resource rent of Limited Access Privilege Programs in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Council areas (Rep. Garret Graves, R-La.);

7. A plan to establish fully operational electronic monitoring and reporting procedures for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery (Rep. William Keating, D-Ma.);

8. A requirement for NOAA to conduct a study on all fees it charges the lobster industry and report those findings to Congress (Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine);

9. Lifting the ban on striped bass fishing in the Block Island transit zone between Montauk, NY and Block Island, RI (Rep. Zeldin, R-NY);

10. Directing the Secretary of Commerce to use funds collected from penalties and fines for monitoring, in addition to traditional enforcement activities (Rep. Keating); and

11. Rewarding the elimination of lionfish from US. waters by allowing individuals to exchange lionfish for tags authorizing fishing for certain species in addition to the number of such species otherwise authorized to be taken by such individuals (Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.)

Some of the amendments that didn’t pass muster in the Rules Committee included refinancing a Pacific Coast groundfish buyback loan; two amendments related to sharks and shark finning; a prohibition on offshore drilling In essential fish habitat areas on Atlantic and Pacific coasts; additional funding for stock assessments; two amendments related to aquaculture; and more.

The earliest the committee’s rule and H.R. 200, with the 11 amendments, is likely come up on the House floor for a vote is the week of July 11. However, it may be delayed again if appropriations bills are ready in the next week and a half.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

Big group of seafood distributors join opposition to Magnuson-Stevens update

June 28, 2018 — Opponents to representative Don Young’s bill to update the Magnuson-Stevens Act are continuing to make noise as the bill waits its turn for a vote on the floor of the US House of Representatives. The latest to sound off: Sea Pact, a coalition of 10 large US and Canadian seafood distributors, including Fortune Fish & Gourmet, in Chicago, Illinois, and Santa Monica Seafood, in Los Angeles, California.

The group called on Congress Tuesday to reject Young’s bill, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, HR 200, saying it “risks the United States’ competitive advantage in the marketplace and weakens the sustainability of our fisheries”. It is urging lawmakers instead to “focus on supporting new market opportunities for sustainable U.S. seafood”.

Sea Pact does not say which particular provisions it takes issue with in the bill. Other opponents, including several advocacy groups, have noted their dislike of the flexibility HR 200 would give regional fishery management councils in following the acceptable catch limits recommended by their scientific advisory panels  and the top statutory authority the bill would give MSA over other laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News