Saving Seafood

Fishermen considering legal steps to alter marine monument in Northeast US

September 22, 2016 — Fishing organizations, including those representing lobster fishermen in the Northeast United States, have expressed outrage over U.S. President Barack Obama’s designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument on 15 September.

Several groups representing the fishing and seafood industries are investigating the possibility of taking legal action in the hopes of altering the monument’s boundaries or challenging the president’s authority to declare national monuments through executive order under the legal umbrella of the Antiquities Act.

“We’re looking forward to working with Massachusetts’ congressional delegation, and also meeting with the governor next week to get continued support to challenge the monument, even to the point of getting the attorney general’s office to look at the legality of the executive order,” Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts’ Lobstermen’s Association said. “My understanding is that no presidential executive order has been overturned, but it has been amended.”

Casoni said that about 100 members of her association fish in the area designated for the monument, with many hundreds more fishing there from other parts of the U.S. While the monument’s designation allows lobster and crab fishing to continue in the monument’s area for seven more years before the fishery is closed off, Casoni said the loss of a “highly valuable area” will be another harsh blow for New England fishermen.

“We’re not giving up this fight,” she said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Quit crabbing: Obama creates major no-go zone for fishermen in the Atlantic

September 16, 2016 — President Barack Obama has created a 4,900 square mile no-go zone for commercial fishing and other activity off the coast of New England as the first-ever Atlantic marine monument, a move loudly hailed by many environmentalists, but drawing strong protests from the fishing industry as well as causing discomfort among some prominent Democratic politicians whose constituents  are affected.

According to the White House, the newly protected zone, which focuses on a section of the lip of the continental shelf near the fishing grounds of Georges Bank, “includes three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains known as ‘seamounts’ that are biodiversity hotspots and home to many rare and endangered species.”

But the area now known as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is also the site of  rich lobster and crab fisheries and other commercial fishing activities that are overseen by regional fisheries management councils and are considered to be well-managed, sustainable activities. Some of the fisheries have self-imposed  restrictions that are tougher than those laid out by the regulators—and also fish at sea levels far above the ocean bottoms that the marine preserve claims to protect.

Under the monument designation, commercial fishermen have 60 days to depart from the area. Lobster and crab fishermen have been given a seven-year phase-out  provision. Recreational fishing will continue to be allowed.

As he did last month in creating a new Pacific marine preserve that is now the largest marine set-aside in the world, Obama used the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allows creation of the protected area by decree  rather than the normal legislative process—a procedure that has drawn as much criticism from fishing communities as the creation of the preserve itself.

In a press release, the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association declared that “We find it deplorable that the government is kicking the domestic fishing fleet out of an area where they sustainably harvest healthy fish stocks.  Declaring a monument via Presidential fiat under unilateral authority of the Antiquities Act stands contrary to the principles of open government and transparency espoused by this President.”

Ray Hilborn, a fisheries scientist who is an expert on global fishing stocks, concurs. He told Fox News, “There is simply no need for arbitrary declaration of Marine Monuments.  We have a legal framework that can protect habitats, and rebuild fish stocks that relies on scientific analysis and consultation.  If there is a real threat these areas can be closed by the fisheries management councils.  Bypassing science and consultation is a very dangerous trend.”

Read the full story at Fox News

Contention Over New Marine Monument Off Georges Bank In New England

September 16, 2016 — President Obama announced the creation of the first national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument sits off Cape Cod. The newly protected marine environment that has been called an “underwater Yellowstone”.

It is almost 5,000 square miles, the size of Connecticut, a submerged ecosystem of oceanic canyons, vivid corals and teeming marine wildlife.

Obama created the monument by executive order. Oil and gas exploration and drilling are immediately banned in the area, as well as most commercial fishing. That is why many in the New England fishing industry are protesting Obama’s declaration.

Guest

Tim Shank, associate scientist with tenure at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, which tweets @WHOI. Shank is attending the sixth International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals at the Long Wharf Marriott in Boston.

Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company, based out of New Bedford, and president of the New England Red Crab Harvesters’ Association.

Listen to the full story at WBUR

Presidential Proclamation — Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument

September 16, 2016 — The following was released by the White House:

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

For generations, communities and families have relied on the waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean and have told of their wonders. Throughout New England, the maritime trades, and especially fishing, have supported a vibrant way of life, with deep cultural roots and a strong connection to the health of the ocean and the bounty it provides. Over the past several decades, the Nation has made great strides in its stewardship of the ocean, but the ocean faces new threats from varied uses, climate change, and related impacts. Through exploration, we continue to make new discoveries and improve our understanding of ocean ecosystems. In these waters, the Atlantic Ocean meets the continental shelf in a region of great abundance and diversity as well as stark geological relief. The waters are home to many species of deep-sea corals, fish, whales and other marine mammals. Three submarine canyons and, beyond them, four undersea mountains lie in the waters approximately 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod. This area (the canyon and seamount area) includes unique ecological resources that have long been the subject of scientific interest.

The canyon and seamount area, which will constitute the monument as set forth in this proclamation, is composed of two units, which showcase two distinct geological features that support vulnerable ecological communities. The Canyons Unit includes three underwater canyons — Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia — and covers approximately 941 square miles. The Seamounts Unit includes four seamounts — Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever — and encompasses 3,972 square miles. The canyon and seamount area includes the waters and submerged lands within the coordinates included in the accompanying map. The canyon and seamount area contains objects of historic and scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government. These objects are the canyons and seamounts themselves, and the natural resources and ecosystems in and around them.

The canyons start at the edge of the geological continental shelf and drop from 200 meters to thousands of meters deep. The seamounts are farther off shore, at the start of the New England Seamount chain, rising thousands of meters from the ocean floor. These canyons and seamounts are home to at least 54 species of deep-sea corals, which live at depths of at least 3,900 meters below the sea surface. The corals, together with other structure-forming fauna such as sponges and anemones, create a foundation for vibrant deep-sea ecosystems, providing food, spawning habitat, and shelter for an array of fish and invertebrate species. These habitats are extremely sensitive to disturbance from extractive activities.

Because of the steep slopes of the canyons and seamounts, oceanographic currents that encounter them create localized eddies and result in upwelling. Currents lift nutrients, like nitrates and phosphates, critical to the growth of phytoplankton from the deep to sunlit surface waters. These nutrients fuel an eruption of phytoplankton and zooplankton that form the base of the food chain. Aggregations of plankton draw large schools of small fish and then larger animals that prey on these fish, such as whales, sharks, tunas, and seabirds. Together the geology, currents, and productivity create diverse and vibrant ecosystems.

Read the full proclamation at the White House

Tarr: Marine monument punishes fishermen

September 16, 2016 — Creating the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument is a needed response to dangerous climate change, oceanic dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices, President Barack Obama said Thursday.

But state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, said the designation “singled out commercial fishing for more punishment.”

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains about 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod.

Gov. Charlie Baker said he is “deeply disappointed” by Obama’s designation of an area off the New England coast as the first deep-sea marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, a move the Swampscott Republican’s administration sees as undermining Massachusetts fishermen.

The monument area includes three underwater canyons and four underwater mountains that provide habitats for protected species including sea turtles and endangered whales.

Fishing operations

Recreational fishing will be allowed in the protected zone but most commercial fishing operations have 60 days to “transition from the monument area,” according to the White House. Red crab and lobster fisheries will be given seven years to cease operations in the area.

Tarr said the designation marked a missed opportunity to “balance conservation and support for commercial fishing.”

“In New England, we have one of the most highly regulated fishing industries in the world, and we have had a steady decline in the amount of area available to fish, and it should be a last resort to take away more area as opposed to trying to carefully draw the lines of this monument area,” Tarr told the State House News Service.

The marine protections will hurt red crab, swordfish, tuna, squid, whiting and offshore lobster fisheries, according to the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, which said industry representatives offered White House aides alternative proposals that would have protected coral habitat while still allowing fishing in some areas.

“The Baker-Polito Administration is deeply disappointed by the federal government’s unilateral decision to undermine the Commonwealth’s commercial and recreational fishermen with this designation,” Baker spokesman Brendan Moss said in an email. “The Commonwealth is committed to working with members of the fishing industry and environmental stakeholders through existing management programs to utilize the best science available in order to continue our advocacy for the responsible protection of our state’s fishing industry while ensuring the preservation of important ecological areas.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

National monument in waters off Cape Cod causes rift

September 16, 2016 — The establishment of the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean drew mixed reactions Thursday, with environmental groups hailing the new protections that some New England fishermen denounced as a threat to their livelihood.

The designation bans commercial fishing in an expansive ecosystem off Cape Cod in a concerted effort to protect the area from the impact of climate change, President Obama said as he announced the designation at the Our Ocean Conference in Washington, D.C.

But fishermen said the area should remain open, asserting that decades of commercial fishing have not damaged the ecosystem. They accused the Obama administration of ignoring their recommendations for compromise measures.

One proposal would have allowed fishing in the area as far down as 450 meters and kept the area open to red crab fishing, said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association. An average of 800,000 pounds of lobster are taken from the monument area every year, he said.

Denny Colbert, who runs Trebloc Seafood in Plymouth with his brother, said he sends two vessels to the area to catch lobster and Jonah crabs.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I’m going to have to find another place to go.”

Bill Palombo, president of Palombo Fishing Corp. in Newport, R.I., said lobster and red crab are plentiful in the area.

“It’s going to be devastating for us,” said Palombo.

The designation prevents access to the main source of red crab in New England, said Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “The red crab industry is primarily fished in these canyons,” she said. “I don’t see them going anywhere else. That’s where it is.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

ABTA: Atlantic Marine Monument Says U.S. Doesn’t Support Its Own Sustainable Fisheries

September 15, 2016 — The following was released today by the American Bluefin Tuna Association, in response to President Obama’s decision to designate a new Marine National Monument off the coast of Cape Cod:

The American Bluefin Tuna Association (ABTA) represents 27,000 commercial, charter/headboat and recreational fishermen who fish for Bigeye, Yellowfin, Bluefin and Albacore tuna. ABTA is deeply saddened to hear of President Obama’s decision today to designate a marine monument in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts. All of the aforementioned fish species are found and fished by our fishermen within the newly designated monument.

ABTA’s fishermen have the distinction of employing the most sustainable fishing methods of any oceanic fishery in the U.S.  ABTA’s commercial fishery is the U.S.’s only artisanal fishery, as defined by the United Nations Fish and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) and by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). ABTA fishermen catch one fish at a time, using handgear, with negligible bycatch and its commercial fishermen have the highest record of compliance with fishery regulations of any such fishery in the world.

ABTA’s takeaway from the Administration’s decision to designate an Atlantic marine monument:

  1. This decision sends a message to the world that the U.S. does not support its own sustainable fisheries; that the U.S. is more interested in promoting the concept of marine protected areas internationally than it is in protecting its own fishing economy and food supply. Implicit in this action is the message that the U.S. does not trust the body of law that we have created and the democratic institutions we have empowered to enact that law in the stewardship of our oceans.
  1. This decision will most definitely result in the U.S. having greater difficulty in utilizing its fishing quota, as set by ICCAT, for certain species fished in this region; in particular, swordfish. There is a very real threat that the U.S. will have to surrender some or all of its unutilized swordfish quota to another ICCAT-member country who may not maintain sustainable fishing practices. This decision will also result in an unnecessary increase in fish imports.
  1. The proposed prohibition on all forms of fishing in the monument is simply punitive and completely unnecessary. The Canyons and Seamounts region is in very deep water, from 1,500 to 15,000 ft in depth. Much of the fishing in this region uses surface and sub-surface fishing gear, sustainable fishing methods in which the fishing gear never comes into contact with deep sea coral found on the sea floor. Prohibiting these forms of fishing is tantamount to prohibiting commercial airline flights over Yellowstone National Park for fear that trees will be knocked down.
  1. The notion that creating a marine monument will contribute to the sustainability of the marine species found there is a myth. All of the marine species harvested in this region are from healthy fish stocks and are sustainably managed by NOAA. Most of the marine species that are harvested in this region are highly migratory, highly fecund pelagic species whose habitat is the entirety of the tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions of the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas. These species do not preferentially inhabit this region for long periods of time. They swim in and out of the region constantly during certain months and migrate to the east Atlantic, West Africa or the east coast of South America regularly.

A negative message

Abandoning the open, democratic and thoroughly science-based process by which we undertake to establish protections for important marine attributes in favor of a monument established by executive fiat sends a negative message to those U.S. fishermen and shoreside industries who would needlessly pay for this monument by loss of income. It also sends a negative message to the majority of our fishermen who are committed to adhering to the processes and respect for regulation promulgated in accordance with the Magnuson Stevens Act. The decision is a clear denouncement of the democratic institutions that are charged with safeguarding the public interest as it pertains to oceanic marine matters. U.S. fisheries, in particular those fisheries that are found in the proposed area, are already the most highly regulated such fisheries in the world.

Absent strong, verifiable scientific support for such an action, creating a marine monument based upon vague and unsupported concerns “for the future”, can be likened to such expressions as “better safe than sorry” or “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. These are fairly vacuous guidelines for safeguarding the environment and for public policy in general.

David Schalit, Vice President

American Bluefin Tuna Association

Obama Closes Ocean Waters South of Cape Cod

September 15, 2016 — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will declare the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean today, barring uses including commercial fishing in nearly 5,000 square miles of waters southeast of Cape Cod.

Obama’s designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument — in an area also known as New England Canyons and Seamounts — follows at least a year of concerns and opposition from advocates of the commercial fishing industry, including local elected officials.

Marine monument debates over the past year have involved balancing the preservation of marine life, ocean health and sustainable fisheries with potential oil and gas exploration, unsustainable fisheries, mineral mining, fishing-reliant regional economies and more.

Jon Williams, president of Atlantic Red Crab Co. on Herman Melville Boulevard, said in November 2015 that a monument designation “would be a big hit for the company,” which employs about 150 full-time workers in New Bedford and fishes several times a year in the affected areas.

Mayor Jon Mitchell acknowledged potential challenges for the commercial fishing industry Wednesday night.

“While I believe the industry generally was in a position to manage the implications of the so-called ‘seamount’ area of the monument, the inclusion of the ‘canyons’ area would have benefited from more industry input,” Mitchell said. “I appreciate that the White House sought out more input than is required, but these types of decisions should be subjected to the more robust regulatory processes under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which has successfully led to the protection of sea canyons in other parts of the Atlantic without unduly burdening the commercial fishing industry.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New England Fishermen Troubled by Marine Monument Designation

September 15, 2016 — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Thursday that creating the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument was a needed response to dangerous climate changes, ocean dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices.

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. It’s the 27th time that Obama has created or enlarged a national monument.

Supporters of the new monument say protecting large swaths of ocean from human stresses can sustain important species and reduce the toll of climate change. Fishermen worry it will become harder for them to earn a living as a result of Obama’s move.

“We’ve been fishing out there for 35 years. It’s a big blow to us,” said Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

White House officials said the administration listened to industry’s concerns, and noted the monument is smaller than originally proposed and contains a transition period for companies like Williams’.

Williams said his company will survive, but the changes designed to address some of his concerns don’t sway him about the merits of the monument.

“I think the entire New England fishery is upside down over this,” Williams said.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Obama sections off part of Atlantic Ocean

September 15, 2016 — President Obama will designate a section of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Cod on Thursday as a national monument, banning commercial fishing in the area by 2023 in an effort to protect the region’s ecosystem.

The move, which the president will formally announce at the Third Annual Our Ocean Conference in Washington, won praise Wednesday from environmental groups but drew condemnation from the fishing industry.

But on Wednesday, the Southern Georges Bank Coalition, which has representatives from local fisheries and industry groups including the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, criticized the new designation off the Cape.

In a letter to Christina W. Goldfuss of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, attorneys for the coalition wrote that “millions of dollars of lost revenue are at stake” for local fisheries, and they questioned the legality of the move.

Some elected officials in Massachusetts have raised concerns about the plan, including Mayor Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, whose city is home to a commercial fishing port.

“While I believe the industry generally was in a position to manage the implications of the so-called ‘sea mount’ area of the monument, the inclusion of the ‘canyons’ area would have benefited from more industry input,” Mitchell said, adding that “these types of decisions should be subjected to the more robust regulatory processes under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which has successfully led to the protection of sea canyons . . . without unduly burdening the commercial fishing industry.”

His concerns were echoed by Senator Edward J. Markey, who called the president’s action an “important milestone” for conservation but said he was “concerned that the impacts of this marine monument designation on the fishing community in New England were not fully minimized.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe