National Coalition for Fishing Communities Archives - Page 5 of 6

Big changes likely for national monument just outside Gulf of Maine

December 14, 2017 — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke may have decided Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument in northern Maine should be left as it is, but he’s proposing major changes to another monument established just last year in the Atlantic ocean, on the far side of the Gulf of Maine.

Zinke has recommended that commercial fishing activity resume in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument and two other marine monuments in the Pacific.

The marine monument, which encompasses nearly 5,000 square miles, lies outside the Gulf of Maine, roughly 100 to 200 nautical miles southeast of Cape Cod along the edge of the continental shelf. It was created by then-President Barack Obama in September 2016.

Since President Donald Trump ordered a review this past spring, Zinke has been reviewing the status of 27 monuments, five of them marine monuments, that were created by prior presidents.

Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument in northern Maine, also created last year by Obama, was among those under review. Last week, Zinke recommended that no changes be made to the northern Maine monument.

As part of the same report, which was released Dec. 5, Zinke recommended that fisheries in the three marine monuments should be subject to the same federal laws that apply to fisheries nationwide.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Commercial Fishermen Across the Country Support Barry Myers to Lead NOAA

Fishermen Praise AccuWeather CEO for “Proven Record of Success”

December 13, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

Representatives of 71 commercial fishing companies and organizations and 31 fishing vessels from around the country have signed a letter urging the Senate to confirm Barry Myers’ appointment to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The letter of support, produced by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities, was delivered late last month to members of the Senate Commerce Committee and Senators representing the states of the letter’s signers.

Mr. Myers currently serves as chief executive officer of the weather forecasting company AccuWeather. He was nominated to serve as the next NOAA Administrator and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere by President Donald Trump on October 11, and participated in a Senate confirmation hearing November 29.

“As CEO of AccuWeather, Mr. Myers has a proven record of success, working alongside scientists,” the fishing groups wrote. They praised his work as a fellow at the American Meteorological Society and a recipient of the prestigious AMS Leadership Award. They also complimented Mr. Myers for his service on an environmental working group of NOAA’s Science Advisory Board, under presidents from both parties.

The letter points out that, despite employing some of the nation’s best scientists, NOAA has been “plagued with ongoing mismanagement,” including abuse of power and misuse of funds at NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement; accuracy and credibility issues with NOAA’s collection and use of fisheries data; and long-running budget and hiring issues at the National Weather Service.

In light of these many issues, the fishing groups wrote, “While science remains one of the most vital elements of NOAA, new leadership with strong proven managerial experience is needed to right the ship after years of mismanagement.”

The groups also cited two experts in the field who have called for improved management at NOAA. David Titley, former NOAA COO under President Obama and a professor of meteorology at Penn State, said, “I think Barry would bring very practical, pragmatic expertise and management acumen to NOAA.” Cliff Mass, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Washington, said, “No NOAA Administrator has been willing to make the substantial, but necessary, changes,” and speculated that someone from the private sector might bring a “fresh approach.”

The letter was signed by fishing groups representing 15 coastal states: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington.

Zinke urges commercial fishing in 3 protected areas

December 7, 2017 — Much of the attention to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s review of national monuments has focused on sites across the West, but recommendations he made to President Trump show that a trio of marine monuments could also see significant changes.

In a report Interior released yesterday, Zinke advised that commercial fishing be introduced to three ocean sites: Rose Atoll, Pacific Remote Islands, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts marine national monuments.

Advocates for fishermen cheered the recommendations, asserting the restrictions had created an “economic burden” for their industry.

“The marine monument designation process may have been well intended, but it has simply lacked a comparable level of industry input, scientific rigor, and deliberation,” said New Bedford, Mass., Mayor Jon Mitchell in a statement released by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities.

He added: “That is why I think hitting the reset button ought to be welcomed no matter where one stands in the current fisheries debates, because the end result will be better policy and better outcomes.”

In the report, Zinke criticized restrictions on commercial fishing in the three monuments, discounting the industry’s impact on areas such as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts near the Massachusetts coast.

Read the full story at E&E News

NCFC Members Reaffirm Support for Interior Department’s Marine Monument Recommendations

December 5, 2017 — The following was released by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

Following today’s official release of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s recommendations to alter three marine national monuments, members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities are reiterating their support for these recommendations, which will lessen the economic burden on America’s fishing communities while still providing environmental protections for our ocean resources.

In September, NCFC members expressed initial support for the changes when a draft of the recommendations were reported in the press. Because the final recommendations are identical to those initially reported, NCFC members stand by their initial statement, which is reproduced below:

Secretary Zinke’s recommendations to President Donald Trump would allow commercial fishing managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) in the recently designated Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. He also recommended revising the boundaries or allowing commercial fishing under the MSA in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument. NCFC members in the Pacific hope that the White House will extend these recommendations to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, and appreciate the open and transparent process by which Secretary Zinke reviewed these designations.

Marine monument expansions and designations have been widely criticized by commercial fishing interests as well as by the nation’s eight regional fishery management councils, which in a May 16 letter told Secretary Zinke and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that marine monument designations “have disrupted the ability of the Councils to manage fisheries throughout their range.” Fishing industry members believe these monuments were created with insufficient local input from stakeholders affected by the designations, and fishing communities felt largely ignored by previous administrations.

“The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument was designated after behind-closed-door campaigns led by large, multinational, environmental lobbying firms, despite vocal opposition from local and federal officials, fisheries managers, and the fishing industry,” said Eric Reid, general manager of Seafreeze Shoreside in Narragansett, R.I., who has been critical of the Obama Administration’s process in designating the monument. “But the reported recommendations from the Interior Department make us hopeful that we can recover the areas we have fished sustainably for decades. We are grateful that the voices of fishermen and shore side businesses have finally been heard,” Mr. Reid concluded.

“There seems to be a huge misconception that there are limitless areas where displaced fishermen can go,” said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association. “Basically with the stroke of a pen, President Obama put fishermen and their crews out of work and harmed all the shore-side businesses that support the fishing industry.”

“The fisheries management process under the existing Magnuson Act is far from perfect, but its great strength is that it has afforded ample opportunities for all stakeholders to study and comment on policy decisions, and for peer review of the scientific basis for those decisions,” stated Mayor Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the nation’s top-grossing commercial fishing port. In March, Mayor Mitchell submitted testimony to Congress expressing concern over marine monuments. “The marine monument designation process may have been well intended, but it has simply lacked a comparable level of industry input, scientific rigor, and deliberation. That is why I think hitting the reset button ought to be welcomed no matter where one stands in the current fisheries debates, because the end result will be better policy and better outcomes,” Mayor Mitchell concluded.

Fishermen in the Pacific are also supportive of the Interior Department’s review, but remain concerned about the effects of the Papahānaumokuākea Monument, which was omitted from the version of the recommendations being reported. “We are appreciative of Secretary Zinke’s review, and his reported recommendations to support commercial fishing in the Pacific Remote Islands Monument,” said Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longline Association. Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet supplies a large portion of the fresh tuna and other fish consumed in Hawaii. “However, we hope that the White House will extend these recommendations to the Papahānaumokuākea Monument, where President Obama closed an area nearly the size of Alaska without a substantive public process. The longline fleet caught about 2 million pounds of fish annually from the expanded area before it was closed to our American fishermen. That was a high price to pay for a presidential legacy,” Mr. Martin continued.

The recommended changes come after an extensive and open public comment period in which the Interior Department solicited opinions from scientists, environmentalists, industry stakeholders, and members of the public. As part of the Interior Department’s review process, Secretary Zinke engaged with communities around the country affected by monument designations. This included a meeting with local fishermen in Boston who explained how the designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Monument has negatively impacted their livelihoods.

Critics of the monument designation include the regional fishery management councils; numerous fishing groups on the East Coast; and mayors from fishing communities on both coasts.

Additionally, fishery managers in Hawaii have been critical of expansions of both the Papahānaumokuākea Monument and the Pacific Remote Islands Monument. In an April 26 letter to Secretary Zinke, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council stated that marine monuments around Hawaii “impose a disproportionate burden on our fishermen and indigenous communities,” and noted that they have closed regulated domestic commercial fishing in 51 percent of the U.S. exclusive economic zone in the region.

Florida charter fishermen applauded the review, and a return to the process of established law that guides fishery management. “Destin, Florida was founded by commercial fishermen before the turn of the 20^th century, and continues to be a major port for commercial and charter fishing fleets,” said Captain Gary Jarvis, president of the Destin Charter Boat Association. “To our fishing community, it’s extremely important to address closures of historical fishing grounds through the Magnuson-Stevens mandated regional council process.”

Curiously, although President Obama’s September 2016 monument designation prohibited sustainable low-impact commercial fishing, it allowed other extractive activities including recreational fishing, and even far more destructive activities such as the digging of trenches for international communications cables.

NCFC members supporting the Interior Department’s reported recommendations include:

Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association
Destin Charter Boat Association
Fisheries Survival Fund
Garden State Seafood Association
Hawaii Longline Association
Long Island Commercial Fishing Association
North Carolina Fisheries Association
Seafreeze Shoreside
Southeastern Fisheries Association
Western Fishboat Owners Association
West Coast Seafood Processors Association

Learn more about the National Coalition for Fishing Communities here.

NCFC Member Grant Moore Joins Sen. Lee, Chairman Bishop on Antiquities Act Panel in Washington

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – October 4, 2017 – Grant Moore, president of NCFC member the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, joined Utah Senator Mike Lee and House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop in a Heritage Foundation panel today on Capitol Hill to discuss national monuments and the Antiquities Act.

At the panel, “National Monuments and the Communities They Impact: Views Beyond the Beltway,” Mr. Moore criticized last year’s designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument by President Barack Obama, which he said lacked sufficient industry input and public deliberation. The monument designation affects fisheries worth more than $100 million, he said.

“We’re not opposed to monuments,” Mr. Moore said. “We’re opposed to the process in which it was done. It was not transparent. It was not open. If we hadn’t stumbled upon what was happening, we would have had a signature and we wouldn’t have had a say at all.”

Mr. Moore complimented Chairman Bishop for meeting with fishermen and listening to their story in a visit to New Bedford, Mass., last year arranged by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities. He also praised another meeting organized by the NCFC earlier this year in which Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met with fishermen in Boston as part of his review of national monuments.

Secretary Zinke has reportedly recommended to President Donald Trump that commercial fishing be allowed in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Monument. The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, based in Newport, R.I., was one of eleven NCFC member organizations that publicly voiced its support for the Secretary’s reported recommendations. At today’s panel, Mr. Moore praised these recommendations, but called them a “Band Aid” that would not prevent the Antiquities Act from being misused to create large national monuments in the future.

“We need to reform the Antiquities Act so it’s not abused,” Mr. Moore said. “Nobody should have the power with the stroke of a pen to put people out of business. Nobody. It has to go through a public process.”

In his remarks, Senator Lee also called for changes to the Antiquities Act. “What’s needed is a wholesale reform of the Antiquities Act to return its monumental power back to where it belongs – to the people who reside closest to the proposed monuments,” he said. “Local residents must have ultimate say over whether their communities can be upended in this way.”

Chairman Bishop discussed the original intent of the Antiquities Act to save endangered antiquities while leaving the smallest footprint possible. But with national monuments now frequently encompassing hundreds of millions of acres, he argued that they are no longer leaving the smallest footprint possible.

“What started as something noble and grand turned into something far different, far less, and it is time now to reform it and make it useful again,” Chairman Bishop said. “The Antiquities Act desperately needs some kind of reform because it is being abused today.”

Watch the full panel here

NCFC Members to Testify at House Hearing on Fishery Bills

September 25, 2017 — Tomorrow at 10:00 AM, two members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities will testify before a House Natural Resources subcommittee on four bills affecting fisheries and fisheries management. Jon Mitchell, the Mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts and head of the NCFC member New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, and Mike Merrifield, of the Southeastern Fisheries Association, will join other witnesses at tomorrow’s hearing.

The following information on the hearing was released by the House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans:

On Tuesday, September 26, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1334 Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

H.R. 200 (Rep. Don Young), To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide flexibility for fishery managers and stability for fishermen, and for other purposes.
H.R. 2023 (Rep. Garret Graves), To modernize recreational fisheries management “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017.”
H.R. 3588 (Rep. Garret Graves), To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide for management of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, and for other purposes. “RED SNAPPER Act.”
Discussion Draft of H.R. ____ (Rep. Jared Huffman), To amend and reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and for other purposes.

Witnesses:

The Honorable Jonathan Mitchell
Mayor
City of New Bedford
New Bedford, Massachusetts

Mr. Chris Macaluso
Director, Center for Marine Fisheries
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Washington, DC

Ms. Susan Boggs
Co-Owner
Reel Surprise Charter Fishing
Orange Beach, Alabama

The Honorable Wilbur Ross (Invited)
Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC

Mr. Ben Martens
Executive Director
Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association
Brunswick, Maine

Mr. Mike Merrifield
Southeastern Fisheries Association
Tallahassee, Florida

Mr. Chris Blankenship
Commissioner
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Montgomery, Alabama

More information on the hearing, including a link to a live stream of the proceedings, can be found at the House Natural Resources Committee website.

East and West Coast NCFC Members Testify on Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization at Senate Hearing

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — September 12, 2017 — Two members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC) testified before a key Senate Subcommittee today on the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The hearing was convened by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, and was the third in a series of hearings on the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Lori Steele, Executive Director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association

Lori Steele, Executive Director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association based out of Oregon, and Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director of the Garden State Seafood Association based out of New Jersey, discussed the state of U.S. fishery laws and the needs of commercial fishermen.

In written testimony submitted to the Subcommittee, Ms. Steele said in part:

“Based on my prior experience with the New England Council and currently with the seafood industry on the West Coast, I feel confident the next MSA reauthorization can build on lessons learned from our past experiences in order to truly fulfill one of the fundamental and original goals of the MSA, emphasized in National Standard 1, the Act’s guiding principle – to prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery. From its beginning, the MSA has conserved, protected, rebuilt, and sustained marine resources in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). As we move forward with this next reauthorization, we have an opportunity to better conserve, protect, and sustain the people, the economies, the culture, and the communities that rely upon healthy and abundant fisheries.”

Read Ms. Steele’s full testimony here

In written testimony submitted to the Subcommittee, Mr. DiDomenico said in part:

“We believe there are four main threats to the domestic fishing industry that are consistent with the concerns of this Subcommittee. They are as follows: (1) the status of the implementation of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), specifically the 2006 Amendments which were interpreted to be overly precautionary and limit management flexibility; (2) the growing efforts of the environmental industry to curtail commercial fishing access via use of the Antiquities Act, National Marine Sanctuary designations, and marine planning created pursuant to the National Ocean Policy; (3) the chronic inability to estimate and manage recreational fishing mortality; and (4) the potential for unfair implementation of catch shares.”

Read Mr. DiDomenico’s full testimony here

NCFC Members View Interior Department Review of National Monuments As Step In the Right Direction

Responsibly and sustainably caught Atlantic red crab, harvested from the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Monument region, and landed in New Bedford, Massachusetts, being served at Luke’s Lobster in Washington, D.C.

August 24, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC):

This afternoon, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke delivered his recommendations to President Trump on changes to existing national monuments. While the details of the Secretary’s recommendations have not been made public, the AP reported today that they pertain to a “handful” of monuments, and include boundary adjustments and restoration of public access for uses such as fishing.

In March, Mayor Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the nation’s top-grossing commercial fishing port, submitted testimony to Congress on behalf of the NCFC expressing concern over marine monuments. The mayor released the following statement in light of Secretary Zinke’s findings and recommendations today on national monuments:

“The fisheries management process under the existing Magnuson Act is far from perfect but its great strength is that it has afforded ample structured opportunities for all stakeholders to study and comment on policy decisions and for peer review of the scientific basis for those decisions. The marine monument designation process may have been well intended, but it has simply lacked a comparable level of industry input, scientific rigor, and deliberation. That is why I think the decision to step back and reassess how best to proceed on marine monument designations ought to be welcomed no matter where one stands in the current fisheries debates. We are now presented with an opportunity to integrate the monument designation process with the proven processes established under Magnuson, and that will lead to better policy and better outcomes for all stakeholders.”

Robert Vanasse, Executive Director of Saving Seafood and the NCFC, released the following statement:

“We appreciate Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s comments to the Associated Press regarding his report to the President on the review of national monuments created by prior administrations. We are encouraged by his statement that in certain national monuments, public access for uses including fishing would be maintained or restored. We agree with the Secretary that regions inside monuments can be protected ‘by keeping public access to traditional uses.’ The Secretary’s review has been professional, open, and transparent. The Secretary and his staff have been respectful and courteous. They have listened and paid attention to the concerns of our members whose interests were damaged by actions of previous administrations. The vitriol aimed at the Secretary and his staff, and the inaccurate mass e-mail campaigns from numerous groups who oppose a thoughtful review of these monuments has been unfortunate. We look forward to seeing the Secretary’s recommendations in full after they are reviewed by the White House, and we are hopeful for a return to the management of fisheries under the Magnuson-Stevens Act in the regions contained in these marine monuments.”

The following members of our National Coalition for Fishing Communities will comment upon the release of the Secretary’s full recommendations:

Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association
Destin Charter Boat Association
Fisheries Survival Fund
Garden State Seafood Association
Hawaii Longline Association
Long Island Commercial Fishing Association
North Carolina Fisheries Association
Seafreeze Shoreside
Southeastern Fisheries Association
Western Fishboat Owners Association
West Coast Seafood Processors Association

National Coalition for Fishing Communities Members Testify on Magnuson-Stevens Act

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – June 19, 2017 – Two members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities testified at the hearing, “Exploring the Successes and Challenges of the Magnuson-Stevens Act,” held by the Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. Jeff Kaelin, head of Government Relations at Lund’s Fisheries, Inc. in Cape May, New Jersey and a member of the Garden State Seafood Association, and Mr. Sean Martin, President of the Hawaii Longline Association in Honolulu, Hawaii, offered testimony.

Mr. Nick Wiley, Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Tallahassee, Florida, was the third witness for the Republican majority.

Mr. Charles Witek, a Recreational Angler and Outdoor Writer from West Babylon, New York, tesitfied at the invitation of the Democratic minority.

In March, New Bedford, Massachusetts Mayor Jon Mitchell delivered written testimony to the Subcommittee on behalf of the NCFC, expressing concerns over the increasing use of marine monuments to manage fisheries in place of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). According to the mayor and NCFC members, this has undermined the more transparent and collaborative management process established by the MSA.

The following additional information was provided by the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans:

On Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on “Exploring the Successes and Challenges of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.”

Policy Overview:

Recreational and commercial fishing industries are significant drivers of the U.S. economy. Together, the U.S. seafood industry and the recreational fishing industry generate $208 billion in sales impacts and contribute $97 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product. Additionally, these industries support upwards of 1.6 million U.S. jobs.
Unfortunately, in recent years, access for commercial and recreational fishing has eroded due to poor science, overbearing regulations, and abuse of Marine Protected Areas – such as Marine National Monuments and Marine Sanctuaries – that often prohibit various fishing activities.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), nearly 90 percent of federally managed fisheries that our commercial and recreational fishermen are not being allowed to harvest at maximum sustainable levels.
This hearing will begin to explore issues facing a number of federally managed recreational and commercial fisheries and identify possible solutions, including potential areas to update the federal fisheries framework via reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Read the Subcommittee’s full memo here

Ray Hilborn study disputes previous findings on forage fish

April 3, 2017 — A new study has been published today by a scientific group led by University of Washington fisheries researcher Ray Hilborn that disputes previous findings on the impact of human and natural predation on forage fish such as anchovies, sardines and herring.

The study, published in the scientific journal Fisheries Research, found that human fishing for forage fish does not have as great an impact on the food chain as previously thought, given that humans typically catch fish of much larger size than those typically hunted and eaten by non-human species. The study also decouples the link between the size of forage fish populations and the populations of species that predate on forage fish.

“What we found is that there is essentially no relationship between how many forage fish there are in the ocean and how well predators do in terms of whether the populations increase or decrease,” Hilborn said in a video explaining the study’s findings.

The study was co-authored by the University of Washington’s Ricardo O. Amoroso and Eugenia Bogazzi, Olaf P. Jensen of Rutgers University, Ana M. Parma of the Centro Nacional Patagónico, Cody Szuwalski of the University of California Santa-Barbara and Carl J. Walters of the University of British Columbia. It was funded in part by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities and was supported by the IFFO, the marine ingredients trade group.

It takes particular fault with the methods used by a 2012 study on forage fish by the Lenfest Ocean Program, which is managed by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

“The Lenfest conclusion that predators rise and fall with their prey populations is simply not true. It’s not empirically true,” Walters, one of the authors of the original Lenfest study, said. “One of the things we did in this study was collect together a lot of time-series patterns of predator abundances and forage-fish abundances, and we just didn’t see the correlation, nor have other scientists who have looked at this objectively.”

Predators “have developed some strategy of how to cope with the natural variability” of forage fish populations, according to Amoroso, the study’s second author.

Read the full story at Seafood Source