Saving Seafood

East and West Coast NCFC Members: ‘H.R. 200 Will Create Flexibility Without Compromising Conservation’

June 25, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Today, East and West Coast members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC) submitted a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in support of H.R. 200, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, which would update the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The letter, which was also sent to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Emeritus Don Young, and other top Congressional officials, states that H.R. 200 will “create flexibility without compromising conservation.”

“We want a Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) that allows for both sustainable fisheries management, and the long-term preservation of our nation’s fishing communities,” the groups wrote. “We firmly believe that Congress can meet these goals by allowing for more flexibility in management, eliminating arbitrary rebuilding timelines, and adding other reforms that better take into account the complex challenges facing commercial fishermen.”

The letter does not include support from the NCFC’s Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic members, which supported the legislation from the beginning, but withdrew their support due to a late change to the Manager’s Amendment that would negatively impact their region. The NCFC’s East and West Coast members continue to support the bill on its overall merits, but share the concerns of Gulf and South Atlantic fishermen over this late alteration.

Organizations affiliated with the NCFC do not accept money from ENGOs, and represent the authentic views of the U.S. commercial fishing industry.

The letter signers represent the American Scallop Association, Atlantic Red Crab Company, Atlantic Capes Fisheries, BASE Seafood, California Wetfish Producers Association, Cape Seafood, Garden State Seafood Association, Inlet Seafood, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Lund’s Fisheries, North Carolina Fisheries Association, Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, Seafreeze Ltd., Town Dock, West Coast Seafood Processors Association, and Western Fishboat Owners Association.

Read the full letter here

 

U.S. House set to vote on key fisheries bill Tuesday

June 25, 2018 — A hotly debated bill that would revamp the key law that governs how the federal government manages fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere off the nation’s coast is headed for a vote Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives.

It’s called the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, or H.R. 200. It’s also referred to as the Modern Fish Act.

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

“Reauthorizing the MSA will ensure a proper balance between the biological needs of fish stocks and the economic needs of fishermen and coastal communities,” Young said after the House Natural Resources Committee approved his bill in December. “MSA has not been reauthorized since 2006. It is long past time for this Congress to act and support our nation’s fisheries.”

Sport-fishing groups support the bill, saying it would give greater flexibility to states and regional boards to manage fisheries off their coasts and could lead to greater access for anglers.

Read the full story at the Daily Comet

JEFF CRANE: Bipartisan solution is hooked on facts, not fiction

June 25, 2018 — The spirit of bipartisanship is alive and well on Capitol Hill – at least when it comes to federal marine fisheries management. The House leadership of the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, which includes Reps. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Austin Scott (D-Ga.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas), have come together in the interest of what is best for the American public in supporting Rep. Don Young’s (R-Alaska) H.R. 200, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act. For the first time since the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) was passed in 1976, we are on the verge of truly recognizing the significance of recreational fishing in the nation’s principal fisheries law that will benefit 11-million saltwater anglers.

Among other things, H.R. 200 provides federal fisheries managers with the tools to effectively manage recreational fisheries, provides for better science to guide fisheries management decisions and further ensures our marine resources are managed for abundance, long-term sustainability and to the greatest benefit to the nation. H.R. 200 has been amended several times based on bipartisan feedback, as any good legislation should be, yet we still find ourselves up against the “never let the facts get in the way of a good story” scenario.

Specifically, I’m speaking to the fiction of the misinformed rhetoric that passing these bills will roll back the conservation gains made thus far under the current MSA, or somehow lead to less seafood on the menu at popular restaurants. Several chefs have repeated this mistruth in newspapers around the country in an unfounded fear that they will somehow lose their seafood supply. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, H.R. 200 would help ensure chefs in coastal communities throughout the country continue to have a strong customer base of recreational fishermen who travel to the coast, eat at restaurants, rent hotel rooms and buy supplies, all for the opportunity to catch a few fish.

Read the full opinion piece at The Hill

Magnuson-Stevens update up for floor vote next week

June 22, 2018 — A bill that would update the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA) — changing the US rules around annual catch limits (ACLs) and stock-rebuilding programs — is set to take a major step toward final passage next week.

The US House of Representatives’ Rules Committee has scheduled a discussion about procedures, meaning the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act (HR 200) is headed for a vote by the full lower chamber. The vote could happen as soon as Tuesday, though a date has not yet been picked, a House staffer told Undercurrent News.

The bill, introduced by Alaska representative Don Young, a Republican, was passed by the House Committee on Natural Resources by a 23-17 vote in December and now has 11 cosponsors, including two Democrats, Texas representatives Gene Green and Marc Veasey.

Natural Resources Committee chairman Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican, had described the measure as one of his top two priorities.

“America’s fisheries are governed by an outdated regulatory scheme and inflexible decrees imposed by distant bureaucrats,” Bishop said after the December vote. “Fishermen and biologists on the ground should be partners in the formation of management plans, not powerless onlookers. This bill provides flexibility so we can better meet local needs, expand economic activity and conserve ecosystems.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

ALASKA: Coastal Villages study renews fight over CDQ quota allocations

June 21, 2018 — A new study reaffirms that large and long-standing inequities still exist in a federal program aimed at improving the economic situation in Western Alaska.

Coastal Villages Region Fund commissioned the report conducted by the Seattle-based research firm Community Attributes Inc., which concludes the fisheries allocations in the Community Development Quota Program prevent the groups representing the poorest regions in Western Alaska from fully achieving their mission.

Coastal Villages is the CDQ group for 20 villages on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, which is one of the most economically depressed regions not only of Alaska, but the country as well.

The Western Alaska CDQ Economic Needs Report notes that Coastal Villages serves 35 percent of the population meant to benefit from the program, yet has access to just 24 percent of the pollock, about 18 percent of the crab and 17 percent of the Pacific cod quota dedicated to the CDQ Program.

Those fisheries quotas are allocated amongst the six CDQ groups that cover residents within 50 miles of the Bering Sea coast in an area starting north of Nome on the Seward Peninsula south and west through Bristol Bay and out the Aleutian chain.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

Florida: Bob Jones Retires from the Southeastern Fisheries Association

June 7, 2018 — TALLAHASSEE, Fl. — The following was released by the Southeastern Fisheries Association:

After 54 years serving as the leader of the Southeastern Fisheries Association, Executive Director Bob Jones is retiring from SFA by the end of 2018. The SFA Board of Directors has begun the process to search for qualified candidates to be the next leader of the SFA organization. The SFA Board of Directors and Jones will continue to lead the organization during this transition.

The open and honest interaction Jones has had with all the seafood industry stakeholders gave credence to the impact Southeastern Fisheries Association has on saving the commercial fishing culture because of the importance of producing seafood for the United States of America.

SFA is responsible for establishing the Florida Seafood Marketing program in 1965. It is funded through a self-imposed fee on wholesale seafood dealers and fishermen. SFA won the legislative battle to keep king and Spanish mackerel available to the market and was the prime mover establishing the Tortugas shrimp nursery off Key West setting aside 3,000,000 acres where no trawling is allowed so juvenile shrimp can mature. SFA was a founding member of the Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation that managed over 200 projects assisting the industry. Jones was a 1976 original member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. He served as vice-chairman 1976-1980 and chairman in 1981. He served on the US State Department’s Ocean Affairs Advisory Committee when the Magnuson-Stevens Act was created.

Jones plans to stay involved with the seafood industry in the area of food safety, consumer fraud and promoting equal access to the nation’s fisheries for non-fishermen, especially seniors.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Bob for his open and honest interactions in the seafood industry over the past 54 years,” said Mr. Peter Jarvis, SFA President. “Under Bob’s leadership, SFA has maintained respect for seeking the truth and presenting the facts. We are deeply grateful to Bob for his contributions to the fishing industry and his love of the Rule of Law”.

For additional information, visit www.SFAonline.org

 

Fishermen call for defense of science-based fishery management

June 7, 2018 — Fishermen from across the United States have set up shop in Washington this week for Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2018, and the message they’re sending to lawmakers is: Defend science-based fishery management policies.

Ocean Week is an annual conference where stakeholders meet in the nation’s capital to discuss policy issues that affect the oceans and Great Lakes. The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation organizes the event and brings together stakeholders for high level discussions on these issues.

This year’s conference comes the Magnuson-Stevens act comes up for reauthorization. Some lawmakers have taken the opportunity to propose changes to fishery management policies, such as allowing states to have more flexibility and say in managing their plans.

However, one group of commercial fishermen are hoping that federal officials stick to science-based management plans. They note NOAA Fisheries’ most recent report to Congress that indicates the number of stocks on the overfished list is at 35, an all-time low. In addition, 44 stocks have been rebuilt since 2000.

“This latest report reaffirms that the Magnuson-Stevens Act is working,” said John Pappalardo, FCC President and CEO of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “But there is much work to do, and reversing course would be a grave mistake. Congress must continue to invest in fisheries science to ensure we have the data on which to base important management decisions and resist shortsighted efforts to undermine key Magnuson-Stevens Act accountability provisions.”

Among the meetings that took place on Wednesday 6 June was a roundtable meeting held by U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, with seafood industry leaders.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Scott Bennett: Modern Fish Bill Threatens Fishery Protection Policies

May 16, 2018 — Connecticut in the springtime means one thing — fishing season. The coastal communities awaken from a long winter, the energy from fishermen builds to a crescendo, the tackle shops start to buzz and the docks come alive with hopes of what the new season will bring. As a manager of a tackle shop, it is my favorite time of year.

In my 40 years in the industry, I’ve seen good fishing years and bad ones. This year is shaping up to be a good one, but there are troubling signs on the horizon. Some folks in Congress are pushing changes to the overarching legislation that governs our federally managed fisheries, and these changes threaten to undermine our prosperity and take us back to when fishing wasn’t so good. Contrary to its name, the proposed Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017 or Modern Fish Act, is a big step backward and goes against what’s right for our marine resources. It would make it easier to reverse hard quotas on fishing that have helped restore stocks of species that were overfished.

Coastal communities and small businesses like mine, which are the backbone of Connecticut’s fishing industry, rely on abundant fish populations. So it is crucial that when conservation rules work well, like the policies that protect and rebuild fisheries under the existing Magnuson-Stevens Act, that we support an abundant fishery by keeping the law in place.

Read the full editorial at the Hartford Courant

 

NOAA Fisheries Announces New Habitat Management Measures for New England Fisheries

April 4, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries has approved measures of the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2. This amendment updates the Essential Fish Habitat designations required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act with the latest scientific information, and minimizes the effect of fishing on that habitat while balancing the economic needs of the fishing industry.

The approved measures include:

  • Revisions to the essential fish habitat designations for all New England Fishery Management Council-managed species and life stages;
  • New Habitat Areas of Particular Concern to highlight especially important habitat areas;
  • Revisions to the spatial management system within the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and the southern New England area to better align with scientific advice on how and where to protect essential fish habitat while balancing the economic needs of the fishing industry;
  • Establishment of two Dedicated Habitat Research Areas, seasonal spawning protection measures, and a system for reviewing and updating the proposed measures.

The approved measures are effective on April 9, 2018.  

Two important notes:

Closed Area I North will remain closed until April 15 to protect spawning. This closure applies to all fishing vessels, except vessels in transit, vessels fishing with exempted gears, vessels fishing in the mid-water trawl exempted fishery, charter and party vessels, private recreational vessels, and scallop dredges.

The Spring Massachusetts Bay Spawning Closure will be closed April 15-30. This closure applies to all vessels, except vessels without a federal northeast multispecies permit fishing exclusively in state waters, vessels fishing with exempted gears or in the mid-water trawl purse seine exempted fishery, scallop vessels on a day-at-sea, scallop vessels in the dredge exemption area, transiting vessels, and charter/party and private recreational vessels.

For more information, read the permit holder bulletin. Also, see the map of the final approved habitat areas below. The dashed lines show the boundaries of the existing closed areas and habitat closures.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region by visiting the site here.

 

Don Cuddy: Proposed Magnuson Stevens changes are reasonable

April 2, 2018 — I am wondering how much commercial fishermen know about acting? At a guess I’d say probably as much, or as little, as most actors know about commercial fishing, even award-winning ones. This thought arose following the recent appearance in these pages of an opinion piece on fishery management by a member of the acting profession in an attempt to wield political influence.

The thespian in question is also an Oceana board member, a well-funded environmental group antithetical to America’s oldest industry. This group has been known to advance claims which fail to resonate with real scientists. One particularly misleading report ‘Wasted Catch,’ launched by Oceana on a credulous public in 2014, drew a letter of censure from all eight of our nation’s regional Fishery Management Councils. Among other things the letter stated:

“While we acknowledge that there are no laws requiring Oceana reports to accurately represent the best available scientific information or to undergo peer review, to do so would be in the best interest of all involved parties. This is why we suggest that you retract the report until it is reviewed and corrected.” http://www.mafmc.org/newsfeed/wasted-catch

The Magnuson Stevens Act which governs fisheries in federal waters requires reauthorization and it is currently under review. Changes proposed in a bill now before Congress were denounced by this Oceana advocate as “counter factual, anti-science, anti-conservation.”

The frothy plea to our congressman is for maintenance of the status quo in fishery management. And the argument carries weight because it comes from a well-known actor? Well sir, Nature isn’t listening. And the modest proposals in H.R 200, intended to remove some of the onerous provisions burdening our fishermen, have generated a predictable response from environmentalists who dismiss realities which do not fit their agenda. Change is needed.

The act as written, for example, calls for rebuilding all stocks to maximum sustainable yield simultaneously and imposes timeline to achieve that. I called my friend Dave Goethel for his take on that. “That ignores Nature. It’s a biological impossibility,” he said. “Something will always be overfished. The reason haddock are up and cod are down now is because they occupy the same ecological niche.”

Dave is a working commercial fisherman with a degree in marine biology who served two terms on the New England Fishery Management Council. He doesn’t act but he has been fishing for 50 years. Fishermen, he said, are simply hoping to introduce a little flexibility on these rigid rebuilding timelines which were imposed more or less arbitrarily when the act was written.

Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford Standard-Times