Saving Seafood

New York files suit over low commercial fluke quota

January 15, 2019 — New York State has filed suit against the Trump administration to officially contest the state’s “unfair” share of the federal quota for fluke,  state Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday.

The suit follows release of December 2018 allocations for fluke that the state said remained disproportionately small and based on “inaccurate and outdated” fishing data, James said in a statement.

Cuomo had first said the state would sue in 2013, but as recently as last year refrained from doing so as it attempted other remedies, including a petition filed with the federal government. “The message is loud and clear: we will fight this unfair quota until New York’s access to summer flounder is consistent with national standards,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Hundreds of  Long Island commercial fluke fishermen have for decades decried New York’s share of the commercial fluke quota, which stands at just 7.6 percent, compared  with 21.3 for Virginia and 27.4 for North Carolina.

Read the full story at Newsday

Recreational fishing rules to be overhauled under new law

January 14, 2019 — The rules that govern recreational marine fishing in the U.S. will get an overhaul due to a new law passed by Congress, and the country’s millions of anglers and the groups that stake their livelihoods on them hope the changes will bring better management.

The new standards are part of a suite of changes that proponents call the Modern Fish Act that were approved by the House and Senate in December. Supporters of the new rules have said they will boost an industry that contributes billions to the economy, though some members of the fishing industry felt deeper rule changes were warranted.

The passage is a “big step toward implementing science-based methods” and “marks the first substantial update to the federal fisheries management system in more than a decade,” said Nicole Vasilaros, senior vice president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, a boating industry trade group.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post

MASSACHUSETTS: Ripple effect of shutdown felt across Cape Cod

January 14, 2019 — Brewster Natural Resources Director Chris Miller was in Washington, D.C., this week at an environmental conference where half the speakers he had hoped to hear — all federal environmental and science agency employees — were absent.

While many stories have focused on the shutdown’s financial effects on employees, it is also hurting those who depend on the federal government for funding and expertise.

The New England Fishery Management Council, which formulates management plans for the billion-dollar Northeast commercial fishing industry, depends on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists and fishery management personnel for analysis and input. But NOAA headquarters in Gloucester and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole are closed, and the council has had to postpone any decisions at their upcoming meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and postpone most advisory committee meetings until the shutdown is resolved.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

New England Council Update – January 8, 2019

January 11, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

This is an important update regarding New England Fishery Management Council meetings during the partial government shutdown.

IS THE COUNCIL IMPACTED BY THE SHUTDOWN: The Council staff is at work and conducting business as usual. However, most of our federal partners at the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) are on furlough during the shutdown.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS: Since many GARFO and NEFSC scientists and fishery management specialists are key contributors to the Council’s Plan Development Teams (PDTs) and provide critical input and analyses during Committee meetings, the Council is rescheduling or modifying the agendas of several meetings where NOAA Fisheries representatives were expected to provide pivotal presentations, reports, and/or analyses.

WHAT ABOUT THE COUNCIL’S JANUARY 2019 MEETING: The Council’s January 29-31, 2019 meeting in Portsmouth, NH will proceed on schedule. The Council will not be taking final action on any agenda items during this meeting. If the partial government shutdown remains in place, the Council will conduct as much business as possible given the federal furlough. The agenda and additional information can be found at NEFMC January 2019 meeting.

GROUNDFISH: Groundfish PDT meetings have been revised or postposed. The Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP) meeting that was scheduled for Tuesday, January 15, 2019 has been postponed. The Groundfish Committee will meet on January 15 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Danvers, MA beginning at 10:00 a.m. under a revised agenda. All groundfish-related meetings and agenda updates will be posted on the Council’s groundfish webpage. Check back frequently during the shutdown.

RECREATIONAL WORKSHOPS: GARFO and Tidal Bay Consulting were scheduled to host three workshops to collaboratively brainstorm short- and long-term approaches for possible future recreational fisheries management strategies that could be shared with the Council, Groundfish Committee, and RAP. The January 8 Recreational Fishing Workshop in Portsmouth, NH has been postponed. The January 10 workshop in Narragansett, RI and the January 12workshop in Plymouth, MA also may be postponed. Interested parties are encouraged to continue checking the workshop registration page at the dates above for more developments.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: The Council’s Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Wakefield, MA. Meeting details will be available shortly at Executive Committee.

SCALLOPS: The Council’s Scallop Advisory Panel (AP) will meet on Thursday, January 17, 2019 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston beginning at 9 a.m. Learn more at Scallop AP. The Scallop Committee will meet the following day, Friday, January 18, 2019, at the same hotel. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Meeting materials will be posted in the near future at Scallop Committee.

EBFM: The Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) PDT meeting that initially was scheduled for January 9, 2019 has been rescheduled for January 18. The revised meeting notice and agenda are available at EBFM PDT. The EBFM Committee will meet for two days, Wednesday and Thursday, January 23-24, 2019, at the Boston Marriott Quincy in Quincy, MA. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. both days. Visit the EBFM meeting webpage for more information.

NEW ENGLAND COUNCIL UPDATES: Any further updates to the Council’s January PDT and Committee meetings will be posted on the Council website. Visit the homepage at www.nefmc.org and click on the fishery management plan or Committee you are interested in.

COUNCIL PRIORITIES: During its December 2018 meeting, the New England Council adopted 2019 priorities for each of its fishery management plans, committees, and other responsibilities with partner agencies. View the list at NEFMC 2019 Priorities.

BOEM: Also of interest to New England Council stakeholders, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has postponed a January 8 meeting in New Bedford and a January 9 meeting in Narragansett, RI that were intended to gather public comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Vineyard Wind. Check the Vineyard Wind Website for updates on these two meetings, as well as the January 15 and 16 meetings currently scheduled for Hyannis and Nantucket, MA respectively.

US fishing councils stay open, but hamstrung by shutdown

January 11, 2019 — As the partial shutdown of the US federal government threatens to enter its fourth week, the eight advisory fishery management councils remain open but their activities have been curtailed.

That’s because, as staff for several of the councils explained to Undercurrent News, the grants the councils receive from the federal government have already been allocated, whereas federal agencies, such as the US Agriculture, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development departments remain shuttered because they still require their funding for 2019 to be authorized.

Outrage continues to build as President Donald Trump refuses to sign any fiscal 2019 appropriations bills that don’t include $5.6 billion for the building of a wall on the US’ southern border. In addition to reports of trash not being picked up in national parks, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) isn’t doing the required inspections of scales for weighing fish on boats or monitoring equipment. Special permits that some boats need are not being issued.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Shutdown hooks fisheries

January 10, 2018 — The real-world implications from the partial shutdown of the federal government, which entered its 19th day on Wednesday, are starting to be felt by the fishing industry and other stakeholders.

In Gloucester, the shutdown effectively has shuttered the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office on Great Republic Drive, impeding fishermen from dropping off documentation in person, contacting NOAA Fisheries personnel by telephone or email, and leaving other regulatory groups scrambling without essential input and participation from many NOAA Fisheries staffers.

So, while the New England Fishery Management Council remains at work, it is being hampered by lack of access to its federal management partners at GARFO and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole.

“Since many GARFO and NEFSC scientists and fishery management specialists are key contributors to the council’s plan development teams and provide critical input and analyses during committee meetings, the council is rescheduling or modifying the agendas of several meetings where NOAA Fisheries representatives were expected to provide pivotal presentations, reports and/or analyses,” the council said in a release detailing the impact of the shutdown.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

By Land And Sea, The Shutdown Takes Its Toll On Hawaii

January 8, 2019 — On New Year’s Eve, a deadly fire broke out aboard the cargo ship Sincerity Ace in remote waters about halfway between Japan and Hawaii, killing at least four of the vessel’s crew members.

The Hawaii-based U.S. Coast Guard personnel who helped rescue the survivors by dropping life rafts, rations and other supplies from two HC-130 Hercules planes did so having no idea when they’d receive their next paycheck.

They still don’t know.

“If there’s a threat to the safety of life and the environment, we’ll be there,” Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir said Friday. “But the government shutdown does cause limitations to the service, and the longer it goes on the more impacts we’ll begin to see.”

As that partial government shutdown stretches into its third week, an analysis by the website Wallet Hub found Hawaii — and its large per-capita share of federal employees — among the states most heavily hit.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

Trump took shot at fishery management councils in signing of Modern Fish Act

January 7, 2019 — Despite earlier resistance from commercial fishing and ocean conservation groups, little uproar was registered after US president Donald Trump signed the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018 (S. 1520), also known as “the Modern Fish Act”, last week. The parts of the bill most objected to were removed.

However, the president’s brief comments – in a statement released after his signing of the bill – are raising a few eyebrows as well as questions about what actions might be taken next at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Trump suggested his administration has concerns about both the increasing authority and makeup of the country’s eight fishery management councils (FMCs).

“The power of these councils,” he said, “has steadily increased over time, raising constitutional concerns related to the manner of the appointment and removal of their members and of members of certain scientific and statistical committees that assist them.

“Keeping with past practice of the executive branch, my administration will treat the plans promulgated by the council as advisory only; the adoption of the plans will be subject to the discretion of the secretary of Commerce as part of the regulatory process described in section 304 of the Magnuson‑Stevens Act [MSA],” he said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Will Modern Fish Act do anything for New Jersey fishermen?

January 4, 2019 — One of the last actions taken by Pres. Donald Trump in 2018 was to sign the Modern Fish Act into law.

The act amended some of the recreational fishing management rules in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, or MSA, the principal body of fisheries’ laws. The MSA however, didn’t receive a full reauthorization, which is something the fishing industry will try to accomplish this year with the new Congress.

As its full name the “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act,” may imply, the act was geared for the recreational fishing industry.

Except for where commercial fisheries relate to recreational access in mixed-used fisheries in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, such as red snapper, commercial fishing was basically left out.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

West Coast fisheries science halted by government shutdown

January 3, 2019 — The federal government shutdown has scientists nationwide locked out of their labs, and many of them study fish. It’s work that is central to fishing seasons along the west coast.

“I love my U.S. federal job at @NOAAFish_NWFSC but it’s immensely frustrating to have #shutdown be such a common disturbance,” tweeted NOAA Stock Assessment Scientist Ian Taylor. “Last time it was short, science got done, and U.S. #pacifichake catch was ~300,000 tons in 2018. Now 2019 assessment needs to happen yet here we go again.”

Taylor works at a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility with a now-closed entrance gate and a sign blaming the closure on the government shutdown. It’s filled with offices of scientists working on research that ranges from toxic algae to whales to analysis that sets fishing seasons, like Taylor’s work.

Read the full story at KING