Saving Seafood

Shutdown leaves NOAA behind schedule on East Coast fisheries management

January 29, 2019 — The administrator of a federal fisheries office says the government is behind schedule on actions related to oceans management because of the long shutdown.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is charged with regulating fishing and marine issues for the U.S. government. Michael Pentony, the administrator of its Greater Atlantic Region Fisheries Office, said Monday the office is “behind schedule on many, many critically important actions.”

Pentony said fishing boats haven’t been able to fish because they could not get permits. He said there also weren’t enough resources to fully monitor protected ocean resources. Some fisheries have also been unable to operate at full capacity.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Bangor Daily News

Statement from the GARFO Regional Administrator on the Government Shutdown

January 28, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On behalf of all the staff here at GARFO, let me say how happy we are to be back to work! This has been a trying time for our staff, our families, and our communities. While we are thankful the shutdown is over and we’re able to get back to serving the American people, we are now coming to grips with the full effect and impact of the shutdown on the people, communities, industries, and resources we serve.

We recognize and understand this shutdown didn’t just affect our federal staff and contractors; it also had, and continues to have, significant impacts on many of our partners and stakeholders. Fishing vessels have been unable to fish because they couldn’t get permits or transfer quota; projects couldn’t move forward without the required consultations; and there were inadequate resources to fully monitor and assess our protected resources.

Several fisheries have not been able to operate at full capacity because we haven’t been able to finalize the regulations that would increase quotas or fully restore the expected specifications. Some of these actions are past due, and some are due very soon. Frankly, we are behind schedule on many, many critically important actions. While our dedicated staff would like to get everything done on time, we simply will not be able to. The impacts of a shutdown of this scope and duration cannot be remedied quickly.

We will have three priorities as we ramp back up to full and normal operations: Getting fishermen fishing; completing consultations so federally permitted projects in your communities can move forward; and ensuring that adequate monitoring and protections are in place for our protected resources.

What does this mean? At least initially, some actions will not be prioritized and, even for our highest priorities, it will take staff time to work through the significant backlog of time-critical work that has accumulated over the last month. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work as quickly as possible to address all the priority actions that would have been completed during the shutdown, and on the actions that are needed in the coming weeks.

We are in this together!

Respectfully,

Michael Pentony

Read the full statement here

Rep. Bill Keating: End in sight for groundfishing ban in New Bedford

May 10, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Bill Keating sees a finish line in sight to get New Bedford’s groundfishing boats back to work.

The Democratic U.S. representative spoke with NOAA’s regional administrator Mike Pentony on Wednesday and came away with the belief that the operational plans in Sectors VII and IX would be approved soon, potentially as soon as a few weeks.

“There’s great progress now on the road to beginning to fish,” Keating said. “And that’s good news.”

Keating said the rule-making process would be finalized for each sector by the end of the month. NOAA released its final rule allotting quota to sectors or fishing divisions at the end of April for the start of the 2018 fishing season. Sectors VII and IX were not provided quota.

After the rule is finalized, a comment period is required.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Massachusetts: New Bedford Port Authority, NOAA weigh in through public comments regarding offshore wind

May 7, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The New Bedford Port Authority, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and NOAA all filed written public comments regarding Vineyard Wind’s Environment Impact Statement.

The deadline to file public comments was April 30.

All three agencies cited concerns regarding offshore wind’s presence within an important region for commercial fishing as well as marine life that could be affected beyond the acute area.

“Commercial and recreational fishing are essential components of the existing landscape that must be preserved in the development of the project,” NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator Michel Pentony said in NOAA’s public comments.

It appeared in one of 31 total pages submitted by the three organizations.

While each submission differed in length and topics, the three strung similar themes together.

Each called for more research into an array of areas from which method the turbines will be constructed to how the ocean will return to its original state after decommission.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Federal, state and local agencies express serious concerns over impact of offshore wind on Northeast fishermen

May 4, 2018 — WASHINGTON — In three letters submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), agencies representing New Bedford, Massachusetts, the state of Massachusetts, and the federal government outlined serious concerns over a proposed wind farm off Massachusetts. The Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office of NOAA Fisheries, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), and the New Bedford Port Authority (NBPA) Fisheries Advisory Committee on Offshore Wind submitted their comments as BOEM begins drafting an environmental impact statement for a plan submitted by Vineyard Wind LLC.

Michael Pentony, the Northeast Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries wrote in his comments to BOEM that “commercial and recreational fishing are essential components of the existing landscape that must be preserved in the development of the project.” Mr. Pentony recommended that the Vineyard Wind project include analyses of the environmental impact, economic consequences, and long-term effects of wind energy development on the region’s fisheries.

This includes measuring the impact of wind turbine construction on the area’s essential fish habitats, the effects it will have on local fish populations, and how construction will affect commercial and recreational fishing operations. Mr. Pentony similarly called on Vineyard Wind to study any adverse economic impacts the project may have on regional fishing communities. He also urged developers to consider construction in alternative locations, and to not construct in areas where objections have already been raised.

“It is encouraging that NOAA is making clear the need to use the same type, level, and quality of information to locate, build, and operate offshore wind farms as the Councils and NMFS use in fisheries management decisions,” said David Frulla, an attorney representing the Fisheries Survival Fund. “NOAA emphasizes in great detail these wind energy installations will be ocean-altering, both individually and cumulatively.  These projects raise valid concerns regarding historic livelihoods, essential fish habitat, and fish populations, not to mention endangered and threatened species.”

Dr. David Pierce, director of the Massachusetts DMF, noted in his comments that commercial and recreational fishing in Nantucket Sound “provides tens of millions of dollars in revenue to the local economy, and is an integral, indeed historic, part of life in many Cape Cod and Island towns.” Dr. Pierce wrote that DMF remains concerned that the assumption that the wind energy area will be open to fishing is an “oversimplification.”

He also noted that Vineyard Wind’s plan does not adequately characterize all species potentially affected by the project, nor does it describe effects of oceanographic changes or the resulting impact on larval patterns and settlement of scallops or food patch dynamics for marine mammals. Additionally, for some species in the wind development area, impacts of electromagnetic fields are poorly studied, Dr. Pierce wrote.

The NBPA advisory committee, comprised of fishing interests from Maine to North Carolina, noted in its letter that commercial fishermen have approval from NOAA to fish in Vineyard Wind’s lease area, and that, as part of the lease agreement, the project cannot unreasonably interfere with their fishing activities. The committee wrote that Vineyard Wind’s plan struggled to identify all fisheries that would be impacted, and that there has been little coordination with fishing interests on cable routes or transit lanes. They also expressed concern over the size and scale of the project and lack of a detailed mitigation plan for fisheries financially impacted by the installation of wind turbines. They called for more independent study to measure impacts on individual fisheries, the impact of the diversion of fishing effort outside the lease area, the impact on right whales, and the impact on navigation.

 

The Turning Tides of New England Fisheries

April 5, 2018 — Andrew Applegate’s family has been in the fishing business since his ancestors moved from Cranbury, New Jersey, to the Sandy Hook area around 100 years ago. Along with some commercial fishing, Applegate’s father ran a couple of large party fishing boats out of Atlantic City, and through the decades the family caught whatever was available. But now, Applegate is part of a New England fishing community forced to depend on fast-changing marine species they’ve never seen in the region before, and give up on others that are dying out.

The Gulf of Maine has witnessed its cod stocks collapse but its lobster population explode. To the south, in contrast to their current success north of Cape Cod, lobsters have suffered shell-wasting disease and poor productivity down into the Mid-Atlantic. And black sea bass is being found in northern New England when 20 years ago that would’ve been unheard of, says Michael Pentony, regional head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Atlantic fisheries division. In the face of such changes, those involved in fisheries management are trying to prepare for a murky future. Reliable and more timely data paired with flexible regulations could, they hope, allow those in the business to adapt as fisheries change in the coming years.

These changes are forcing some to disregard historical knowledge gathered in logbooks by generations of fishermen who recorded where to catch certain fish at certain times of the year, says Ben Martens, the executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

“Now you just have to throw those out. They don’t work anymore. And every year is completely different from the year before,” Martens says. “Sometimes we have water that’s too warm; this year we had cooler water. We’re seeing a lot more turbulence in what’s happening in our planning and in our business stability.”

Read the full story at Ozy

Sector IX vessels make a move to lease quota

March 30, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Fifty-five vessels have left Sector IX, but they still can’t fish. However, they can lease their groundfish quota.

The 55, including four Carlos Rafael vessels subject to forfeiture, were submitted to be included in Sector VII for the 2018-19 fishing season, according to NOAA and Sector VII.

The move comes after six months of negotiations with NOAA in trying to get an operational plan approved, which would have lifted the groundfishing ban.

Had a move not been made, the vessels would have remained in Sector IX without the ability to lease quota. Three Sector IX vessels will remain in the sector.

The deadline for vessels to change sectors was Monday.

“What are we supposed to do,” Sector VII President Richie Canastra said. “The enrollment was Monday where you have to choose your sector for the 2018 and 2019 fishing season. No answer (from NOAA) was there yet. So those vessels and the permits owned by Carlos went to Sector VII.”

Canastra said the vessels affected by NOAA’s ban can only return to fishing with authorization from the agency or if they are sold to an independent party.

“It’s really straight forward. None of this was done to try to pull the wool over someone’s eyes or being sneaky,” Canastra said. “I just think it’s the right thing to do. I really believe the people in the industry will understand it’s the best move for everyone.”

The shift in sectors also included the additions of Richie Canastra as President, Tor Bendiksen as Treasurer and Cassie Canstra as Clerk to Sector VII.

In a letter from NOAA’s Regional Administrator Michael Pentony to the Chair of the New England Fishery Management Council John Quinn, he confirmed that the vessels would be allowed to transfer quota. He also confirmed that all vessels owned by Rafael would be inactive, unless they are sold to in independent party.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Annual Catch Entitlements for Groundfish Sectors for Fishery Year 2018

March 23, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

NOAA Fisheries is proposing allocating 2018 quotas to groundfish sectors based on catch limits recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council.

We are also proposing to grant a new regulatory exemption that would allow Day gillnet sector vessels to fish up to 150 gillnets in the Gulf of Maine as long as at least 50 of those nets are 10-inch or larger mesh and fished east of 70 degrees West longitude. Sectors requested this exemption to allow sector vessels to better target monkfish while on sector trips.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope: “Comments on the Proposed Rule to Allocate 2018 Sector Quotas.”

Learn more about NOAA by visiting their site here.

 

NOAA leader looks to cultivate culture of collaboration

March 1, 2018 — As debuts go, Mike Pentony’s first day on the job as the regional director for NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office was a corker.

The federal government marked his ascension on Jan. 22 as only the federal government can — shutting down all but the most essential government services as a consequence of the usual congressional mumbley-peg.

“My first action was to come in and proceed with the orderly shutdown of government operations,” Pentony said recently during an interview in the corner office on the uppermost floor of GARFO headquarters in Gloucester’s Blackburn Industrial Park.

The respite was short-lived. The shutdown lasted a day. When it was over, the 53-year-old Pentony began his new job in earnest as the leader of the regional agency that manages some of the most historically productive — and at times contentious — fisheries in the United States.

It is, as his successor John K. Bullard would attest, a monumental task, working on a canvas that stretches geographically along the Eastern seaboard from Maine to North Carolina and west to the Great Lakes.

But the geographical sweep pales in comparison to the scope and density of the regulations Pentony is charged with enforcing.

There is the crisis of cod in the Gulf of Maine, the alarming demise of the North Atlantic right whales, the malfeasance of cheaters such as New Bedford fishing kingpin Carlos Rafael and a myriad of other issues that affect every fishing community within his purview.

There is incessant wrangling over habitat protections, the usual tug-of-war between environmentalists and conservationists on one side and fishermen on the other. It is a drama with a disparate cast of characters and Pentony is convinced the only way to address extraordinarily intricate problems — usually requiring even more intricate responses — is by forging a collaborative spirit.

“I want to try to develop a culture, not just within GARFO and the agency, but within the region, both mid-Atlantic and New England, where we’re all partners with a collective goal of healthy fisheries and healthy fishing communities.” Pentony said. “The problems and challenges are so huge that we’re only stronger if we’re working together.”

He also understands, given the varying degrees of conflict that exist among fisheries stakeholders, that achieving that collaboration will be far more difficult than contemplating its benefits.

“There’s always going to be people that find it easier to stand outside the circle and throw stones than to get inside the circle and work,” Pentony said. “If they stand outside the circle and just shout about how everything is wrong, that generally doesn’t do much to solve the problem.”

Campaign of engagement

Pentony served under Bullard as assistant regional administrator for sustainable fisheries starting in 2014. He was asked what advice his predecessor gave him.

“He told me there are a lot of people cheering and hoping for your success,” Pentony said. “Not just me personally, but if I’m successful, then the regional office can be successful and the agency can be successful. And if you tie that success to our mission, then our success would mean healthy, sustainable fisheries, healthy and sustainable resources and healthy and sustainable fishing communities.”

Pentony made his fishery management bones as a staff member at the New England Fishery Management Council prior to joining NOAA Fisheries in 2002. That experience, he said, instilled in him a solid faith in the ability of the council system to ultimately arrive at the best decision once all implications are considered.

“I’ve been involved with the council process for 20 years,” Pentony said. “It’s not perfect. But I have a ton of respect for the work and effort council members put into being informed and working through what I think is unique in the federal regulatory process. We have this incredibly unique process that engages stakeholders.”

Pentony didn’t even wait for his first official day in the big chair to begin his own campaign of engagement.

The Friday before his official starting date, he traveled to the Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative in Seabrook, New Hampshire, to meet with David Goethel — a frequent critic of NOAA Fisheries — and other New Hampshire fishermen to give them a sense of how he plans to approach the job.

Later that day, he had lunch in Gloucester with Vito Giacalone and Jackie Odell of the Northeast Seafood Coalition. He’s also traveled to Maine to breakfast with Maggie Raymond of the Associated Fisheries of Maine and met with New Jersey fishing companies and processors while in the Garden State on personal business.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

NMFS Northeast Administrator Michael Pentony taking on whale crisis

February 23, 2018 — In January, Michael Pentony was named to replace John Bullard as the new Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Office. Pentony has been with NOAA since 2002 and was most recently the Assistant Regional Administrator for the Sustainable Fisheries Division. Prior to joining NOAA, he was a policy analyst for five years at the New England Fishery Management Council.

Supervising recreational and commercial fisheries, as well as overseeing the welfare of marine species like whales and seals in 100,000 square miles of ocean from the Canadian border to Cape Hatteras and the Great Lakes is no easy task. Pentony inherited a region of tremendous potential but beset by problems both environmental and regulatory.

“The number one issue right now is the right whale crisis,” Pentony said in a phone interview Thursday. “It will occupy our resources and energy for the next several years until we can reverse the trend. That’s going to be a significant challenge.”

NOAA has the unenviable task of managing fisheries so that fishermen get the maximum sustainable yield out of commercial species while being legally bound to protect and restore the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Pentony’s agency has been named in two recent lawsuits that homed in on its management of the New England lobster industry, one of the primary culprits responsible for whale deaths through entanglement in buoy lines.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency. We have to take action and look at all possible avenues,” Pentony said. “We have a lot of faith in the (Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team) process…Right now everything has to be on the table because it’s such a crisis.”

At the same time, lobsters, which are critical to the economy of many small coastal communities, particularly in Maine, are showing some signs that their boom years may be coming to an end. “Hopefully, lobster in the Gulf of Maine is not going to be a problem like we’ve seen in Southern New England lobster. It’s something we are keeping an eye on,” Pentony said.

A large part of the decline of the lobster population to the south of Cape Cod was warming waters due to climate change. Pentony said a warming ocean and its effect on stock abundance, prey, water currents, temperature gradients, increased susceptibility to disease, impacts many species. Many are on the move, seeking cooler water, perhaps in habitats that provide less food or inadequate protection from predators. Others require management changes that could take time.

Black sea bass, for instance, appear to be moving north into the Gulf of Maine where they were rarely seen in numbers. But the bulk of the quota is held by southern states. Unless higher quotas are negotiated for New England fishermen, they could find their fishery on other species restricted by a limit on black sea bass while losing out on selling the bass they do catch.

“That’s a climate change issue and a management conundrum,” Pentony said. “We have management challenges on stocks that are in poor shape, but even on a healthy stock we have these challenges.”

Pentony would like to see the expansion of aquaculture, both shellfish and finfish.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times