Saving Seafood

Sen Sullivan to NOAA: ‘Meaningful Changes’ Needed for Marine Sanctuaries and Monuments

September 6, 2017 (Saving Seafood) — In a letter last month to NOAA Acting Administrator Benjamin Friedman, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) called for “meaningful changes” to marine sanctuary and marine national monument designations, particularly in the form of greater stakeholder engagement.

In his letter, Sen. Sullivan, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, called the concept of marine sanctuaries and monuments “well-intentioned” but wrote that they had caused challenges for coastal communities across the country, including Alaska’s “robust commercial fishing industry.”

“Fisheries restrictions imposed outside of the process utilized by Regional Fishery Management Councils on these areas are problematic for the communities who rely on access to commercial fisheries,” Sen. Sullivan wrote.

Sen. Sullivan expressed concern that the National Marine Sanctuary Act, while requiring stakeholder engagement, does not require that this engagement be taken into consideration when designating a sanctuary. “This can lead to communities feeling betrayed by the agency when the established sanctuaries are unrecognizable to the localities who spent years working with NOAA to form a mutually beneficial designation and management structure,” he wrote.

Sen. Sullivan also called into question the process by which the president can unilaterally establish national monuments with no stakeholder consultation under the Antiquities Act. He criticized recent presidents for using the national monument process as a “political tool” to “limit access to economically viable resources.”

“This action is often taken at the request of non-affected parties such as environmental groups,” he wrote. “This is problematic when monuments are established without the use of best-available science, absent stakeholder engagement, and inattentive to the economic consequences for local communities.”

On August 24, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke completed a review of national monuments ordered by President Donald Trump. While Secretary Zinke’s full recommendations have not been made public, the AP reported that they include changes to a “handful” of monuments.

Read the full letter here

 

MAFMC Overwhelmingly Rejects Hudson Canyon Sanctuary Proposal

Image courtesy of Hudson Canyon Cruise 2002

April 14, 2017 — On Wednesday, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted 15-4 in opposition to a proposal by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to name the offshore Hudson Canyon a National Marine Sanctuary. The proposal was widely opposed by both commercial and recreational fishermen.

“The proponents of the sanctuary nomination will eventually claim that commercial fishing in the sanctuary is a threat,” said Garden State Seafood Association executive director Greg DiDomenico, who testified in-person at the MAFMC meeting. “They will use the authority under the Sanctuaries Act to address those threats and restrict commercial fishing. In addition, they want to conduct science, and educate and organize a constituent base, all things that they can accomplish without making the Hudson Canyon a sanctuary. It’s that constituent base that they will use later to harm the commercial fishing industry.”

The American Bluefin Tuna Association (ABTA) praised the MAFMC’s decision to oppose the sanctuary nomination. In a press release today, ABTA wrote, “Notwithstanding statements made by the WCS at the meeting that sanctuary status would not affect fishing in the area, great concern was expressed by the Council for the fact that the Marine Sanctuary Act provides for a sanctuary to have ultimate statutory authority over fishing […] The MAFMC should be applauded for a bold decision taken at the appropriate time.”

The following is excerpted from an article published yesterday by The Fisherman:

In their official nomination, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and their Coney Island Aquarium staff outlined their specific reasons for nominating the offshore Hudson Canyon as a National Marine Sanctuary.

“Many people, whether they are ocean enthusiasts or have never set foot in salt water, will never make it out to the Hudson Canyon itself because of its distance offshore and accessibility being restricted to a half-day boat trip,” the letter says, adding “WCS has the unique opportunity to bring the wonder of the deep sea directly to millions of visitors each year through interactive exhibits within our parks.”

For thousands of coastal fishermen who don’t mind the “half-day boat trip” to the Hudson to tangle with mahi, tuna and billfish, there was good news on April 12 when the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) voted 15-4 in opposition to the WCS pitch to designate the Hudson Canyon as a restricted area of the ocean.

While claiming to have “community-based support for the nomination expressed by a broad range of interests,” the WCS marine sanctuary plan had actual fishermen and fishing industry leaders incensed.

In a letter of opposition on behalf of coastal fishermen, Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) executive director Jim Donofrio noted that regardless of the WCS’s intention, recreational fishermen would not have any legal protection under the federal sanctuary law.

Read the full story at The Fisherman

Read a press release from ABTA here

Read a letter from ABTA to the MAFMC here

Congressmen MacArthur, Smith, and LoBiondo Announce Major Victory for New Jersey Fishing Community

February 3, 2017 — Washington, D.C. — The following was released by the office of Representative Tom MacArthur:

Today, Congressmen Tom MacArthur (NJ-03), Chris Smith (NJ-04), and Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) announced a major victory for New Jersey’s fishing industry. After congressional opposition led by Congressman MacArthur, the Baltimore Aquarium has withdrawn their nomination for the Baltimore Canyon to be named a national marine sanctuary, a controversial designation which could have prohibited or restricted fishing access near South Jersey.

“This is a big win for our fishing industry and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to protect New Jersey’s fishermen,” said Congressman Tom MacArthur. “Too often, our commercial and recreational fishing industry has been stifled by too many regulations from nameless, faceless and unelected bureaucrats in Washington D.C. This will make sure that a burdensome designation won’t stand in the way of our fishermen’s success.”

“With our recreational and commercial fishing industry under constant attack from Washington bureaucrats, this is certainly welcome news for our region,” said Congressman LoBiondo. “I remain committed to fighting against such arbitrary restrictions on our fishermen and appreciate Congressman MacArthur’s leadership on this critical economic issue for South Jersey.”

“If implemented, a reduction of this magnitude will have harsh and immediate economic consequences for families and businesses along New Jersey’s 130 mile shoreline—many still struggling to fully recover from Superstorm Sandy. The impact will be felt not only in fisheries and fishing communities, but by the local businesses that rely upon the industry, the governments that depend on the revenue generated by these activities and other industries—such as tourism—that are a staple along the Jersey Shore,” said Rep. Chris Smith. “The Delegation is working on a full court press that we hope will delay, and ultimately severely alter, the implementation of this devastating decision.” 

In December, Congressman Tom MacArthur (NJ-03) along with Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-03), Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2), Congressman Lee Zeldin (NY-01), Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), and Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) sent a letter to the NOAA Administrator against the potential designations of Baltimore, Hudson, and Norfolk Canyons as Marine Sanctuaries.

The original letter can be viewed here

MARYLAND: Sanctuary request withdrawn

February 3, 2017 — The Baltimore National Aquarium’s sponsorship of a proposal to have Baltimore Canyon declared an Urban Marine Sanctuary ended Wednesday with a letter from aquarium CEO John C. Racanelli notifying federal officials that it is withdrawing its nomination.

The letter to John Armor, director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in Silver Spring, ends months of disagreement between the aquarium and local fishing interests, who feared that granting the canyon limited protected status now might lead to heavier restrictions  later that would prevent them from fishing those waters.

Roughly 60 miles off the coast, the 28-mile-long canyon has long been one of the locations favored by anglers in the pursuit of marlin and other gamefish, hence the jittery initial response from the industry locally when the aquarium announced its plan in October with assurances that fishing would not be affected.

Read the full story at Ocean City Today 

New camera can help assess cod stocks in Gulf of Maine

January 26, 2017 — Researchers from UMass Dartmouth say they have successfully tested an underwater video-survey system that they hope will provide an accurate method to assess Atlantic cod stocks.

In collaboration with fishermen, the research team recently placed high-resolution cameras in an open-ended commercial trawl net on Stellwagen Bank in the Gulf of Maine, known as one of the world’s most active marine sanctuaries.

The cameras captured images of cod and other groundfish as they passed through the net. Periodically, researchers from UMD’s School for Marine Science & Technology closed the net for short periods to collect length, weight, and take other biological samples from some of the fish. The fish are unharmed and are returned to the sea.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

Urban Sanctuary Designation Sought For Popular Offshore Fishing Canyon

November 1, 2016 — OCEAN CITY, Maryland — The National Aquarium on Monday announced it is seeking the public’s support in its effort to nominate the Baltimore Canyon off the coast of Ocean City as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary.

The Baltimore Canyon, a 28-mile long and five-mile wide submarine canyon off the coast of Ocean City lies at the center of the resort’s multi-million dollar fishing industry and contains fragile deep sea corals rarely seen anywhere in the world along with habitat for countless species of marine life. The National Aquarium has launched a petition drive to have it designated as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary, presenting a unique opportunity to connect an urban population to the ecological treasure using cutting edge deep sea exploration technology.

“The Baltimore Canyon is not only a fascinating ecosystem, but also a natural classroom and living laboratory that we can use to expose our children to a new world, our next frontier,” said National Aquarium Chief Conservation Officer Kris Hoellen. “We hope that with a groundswell of support from our community, we can designate this untapped aquatic treasure as our nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary. It is time to invest in our deep seas and in Baltimore.”

Created millions of years ago, the canyon offers unprecedented ecological and educational value, according to the National Aquarium. In addition to protection from man-made threats, the National Aquarium hopes to gain special recognition for the Baltimore Canyon as the first Urban National Marine Sanctuary offering a groundbreaking opportunity for the public to connect and engage with the deep sea. The National Aquarium hopes to create a virtual high-tech system to connect discoveries from researchers in the canyon back to scientists, students and institutions on the mainland.

The National Aquarium is in the first states of the designation process with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Marine Sanctuaries. The first step is the petition drive to gain public support for the designation although the process could take as long as three years. If NOAA deems the Baltimore Canyon worthy of the designation, other steps would include an environmental impact assessment after which a series of public hearings would be conducted.

Read the full story at The Dispatch

Water, Power and Oceans: A Year in Review – Protecting and Promoting Fishing Access

December 21, 2015 — The following was released by the House Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans:

Through conducting oversight of the Obama Administration’s actions and through key marine resource management reforms, Subcommittee Republicans remain dedicated to preserving American’s access to our domestic offshore waters.

In June, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1335, the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act.” This bill, introduced by Rep. Don Young (AK-At Large), makes key reforms to the Magnuson- Stevens Act – the primary law regulating federal fisheries management. H.R. 1335 increases transparency in federal fisheries agency decisions, empowers regional decision-making, and improves recreational fishing data and access through requiring state data into federal assessments. The bill also ensures access to marine resources by affirming that the Magnuson-Stevens Act shall remain the ultimate authority over federal fisheries management even within the bounds of a Marine National Monument or Marine Sanctuary. Hundreds of organizations support the bill, which is pending in the Senate.

Despite National Park Service estimates on low fish availability, Chairman Bishop and his crew caught 48 fish in 70 minutes in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Source: House Natural Resources Republicans

Gaps in fisheries science and management decisions are not the only issues impacting access to marine resources. This past year alone, the Administration has entertained a series of executive actions and agency rules that inhibit fishing access, often without even securing the support of local entities or states.

This was apparent in June when the National Park Service released the final General Management Plan for Biscayne National Park in Florida, which included 10,502 acres in state waters that would be closed to all commercial and recreational fishing – despite opposition from the State of Florida and others. In August, the House Committees on Natural Resources and Small Business held a joint oversight field hearing in Homestead, Florida to review the plan.

Highlighted in this hearing was H.R. 3310, a bill introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL- 27) that aims to avoid future situations like the one in Biscayne National Park by preserving a state’s right to manage the lands and waters within their jurisdiction. The text of H.R. 3310 was incorporated into H.R. 2406 in October by an amendment offered by Rep. Amata Radewagen (American Samoa). A number of fisheries organizations supported the amendment and H.R. 3310. You can find more information about this amendment and the markup here.

The Administration is considering additional ideas to close off further access. In September, the Subcommittee held an oversight hearing on a proposal being considered by the Administration to create the first Marine National Monument in the Atlantic, off of the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. During this hearing, Subcommittee members heard of a September 15 Town Hall meeting hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which one witness characterized as a “charade,” as so few details regarding Representatives Lee Zeldin and Tom the proposal  had been made public at that time. Full Committee Chairman Bishop and Subcommittee Chairman Fleming and others subsequently sent a letter to NOAA and the Council on Environmental Quality echoing bipartisan requests for additional information regarding the proposal as well as additional opportunities for local input. Three months after the Town Hall meeting, the Administration has yet to release any additional information, including coordinates or maps, of the designation under consideration.

Representatives Lee Zeldin and Tom MacArthur and Chairman Rob Bishop in Long Island, New York. Source: House Natural Resources Republicans

The economic impacts of the potential Marine National Monument were also discussed at a December oversight field hearing in Long Island, New York, where the Natural Resources Committee and Rep. Lee Zeldin (NY-01) heard firsthand about the impacts of federal decision-making on public access and regional economies. This hearing highlighted the crucial reforms to federal fisheries management made by H.R. 1335 and the assurances that these provisions would give to the recreational and commercial fishing industries. Witnesses from the local commercial, recreational, and charter-for-hire industries expressed their support for reforms within the bill that increase transparency in federal decision-making and require greater incorporation of state and regional input.

The Subcommittee has also held hearings on specific bills aimed at regional fisheries issues in 2015. During a July 23 legislative hearing, the Subcommittee heard from fishermen, tribes, and the Administration about two necessary bills introduced by Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler (WA-3) to preserve fishing access on the west coast: H.R. 564, the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act of 2015, and H.R. 2168, the Dungeness Crab Management Act. To assist the recovery of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed salmon in the Columbia River watershed and to protect tribal ceremonial, subsistence and commercial fisheries, H.R. 564 authorizes the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to issue expedited permits authorizing states and tribes to lethally take non-ESA listed sea lions under certain conditions. Fishermen and tribal leaders testified that this additional authority was necessary as sea lions have inhabited the lower Columbia River and have been ravaging ESA listed species of chinook, steelhead, coho, and chum salmon. During this hearing, the Subcommittee also heard unanimous support from the panel of witnesses for H.R. 2168, a bill to make permanent the long standing tri-state (Washington, Oregon and California) Dungeness crab management authority in place since 1980. H.R. 2168 passed the House of Representatives on October 6 and is pending in the Senate.

Sea Lion eating ESA listed Salmon in the Lower Columbia River. Source: Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

The Subcommittee also held a hearing on H.R. 3094. As introduced by Rep. Garret Graves (LA-06) and others, the bill transfers the management authority of the red snapper fishery in federal waters from NOAA to a new authority comprised of a representative of each of the five Gulf of Mexico States in response to concerns over federal accountability, decisionmaking and access. The Subcommittee heard from a wide array of witnesses representing different user groups, including States, recreational industry, commercial and charter fishermen, and restaurants.

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