Saving Seafood

Industry tackles the role of fish monitors

October 12, 2020 — Commercial fishermen invest a great deal in their businesses, both in terms of money — boats, equipment and crew to name a few expenses – as well as time — marketing, selling and scouting, again to name just a few tasks.

They also invest in the industry’s future, weighing in on myriad edicts that make commercial fishing one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country.

So when Congressman Jared Huffman, D-California, took his Magnuson-Stevens Act listening tour to New England – albeit virtually on account of the pandemic – Captain Eric Hesse was there. Hesse, representing the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, was appreciative of the chance to share thoughts.

“We all have things we think about and we muse about as we spend our time on the water and certainly accountability in New England’s groundfishery is one of those big issues for me,” Hesse said, sitting at his computer late last month, pictures of his boats in the background.

Accountability – keeping strict tabs on the catch – has been talked about for decades. Hesse, who has monitoring cameras on his boat for every trip, believes that 100 percent coverage would drive better science and help bring back the iconic cod fishery. Others disagree on the need for full coverage either through human observers or cameras.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Electronic monitoring long-awaited boon for Cape fishermen

October 12, 2020 — More than a decade of advocacy by local fishermen finally paid off when the New England Fishery Management Council at its meeting last month approved the use of video cameras on fishing vessels to monitor catches.

Electronic monitoring is a critical part of the council plan known as Amendment 23 that passed Sept. 30 and set a target of covering 100% of all fishing trips to catch bottom-feeding species such as cod, haddock and flounders that are collectively known as groundfish.

“The Council has known for quite a while now that we needed to improve the groundfish monitoring program,” council spokesperson Janice Plante said. “We’d had some issues in the past with unreported or misreported catches. We know there’s an incentive to illegally discard certain stocks, especially those with low catch limits.”

Plus, just 31% of groundfish trips were required to be covered by human observers riding on fishing vessels tracking the number of discarded and caught fish and Plante said the council knew that sometimes fishermen fished differently on observed trips and unobserved trips.

“These are all things the Council wanted to address by improving the catch monitoring program,” Plante wrote in an email.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

New Electronic Monitoring Outreach Materials Available for Groundfish Sectors

October 9, 2020 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:

On September 30, 2020, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to approve Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, including two options for sectors to use electronic monitoring, instead of human at-sea monitors, to meet their third-party sector monitoring requirements.

Under an electronic monitoring program, cameras and gear sensors are placed on your vessel to monitor catch and discards, and collect catch information. There are two different kinds of electronic monitoring programs for sectors in Amendment 23: Audit and Maximized Retention. We created a fact sheet and an infographic in order to help groundfish sectors understand the similarities and differences between these two programs as they consider which monitoring tools they would like to use in future fishing years. The fact sheet and infographic are now available on our northeast groundfish monitoring program webpage.

Questions?

Electronic Monitoring: Contact Claire Fitz-Gerald, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9255

Amendment 23: Contact Mark Grant, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9145

Media Inquiries: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

New England’s Groundfish Fleet Will Be 100% Monitored, Not Yet Clear Who Will Ultimately Pay

October 8, 2020 — In an historic vote one week ago, the New England Fisheries Mainagement Council adopted Amendment 23 which will require human observers or electronic monitoring on all trips made by the groundfish fleet.

“After more than three-and-a-half years of hard work on developing measures to improve the groundfish monitoring program, the New England Fishery Management Council … overwhelmingly voted to submit the amendment to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) for review, approval, and implementation,” the Council announced in a press release yesterday.

Read the full story at Seafood News

NEFMC Adopts 100% Groundfish At-Sea Monitoring Target; Industry to be Reimbursed if Funds Available

October 6, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

After more than three-and-a-half years of hard work on developing measures to improve the groundfish monitoring program, the New England Fishery Management Council took final action on September 30, 2020 on Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The Council overwhelmingly voted to submit the amendment to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) for review, approval, and implementation.

The Council supported the following measures for this action.

  • 100% Monitoring: The Council adopted a target at-sea monitoring coverage rate of 100% for all groundfish sector trips for the first four fishing years following the effective date of Amendment 23. This target rate is intended to establish a baseline of accurate and precise catch information for the fishery until a subsequent Council action modifies the coverage level.
    • The Council recognized that waivers for at-sea monitoring coverage may be granted “in limited circumstances and for good cause only,” such as when at-sea monitors are not available.

Read the full release here

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Tuesday, October 13, 2020 – Groundfish Issues, Stock Assessments

October 6, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 to discuss issues related to groundfish.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422.  The access code is 632-479-325.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review information from the Fall 2020 Management Track Stock Assessments for groundfish and consider information provided by the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT);
  • Recommend the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) levels for Georges Bank winter flounder, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder, Gulf of Maine winter flounder, Acadian redfish, ocean pout, Atlantic halibut, wolffish, northern windowpane flounder, and southern windowpane flounder for fishing years 2021-2023
  • Discuss white hake rebuilding plan options developed by the PDT; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENT:  The Peer Review Report for the Fall 2020 Management Track Stock Assessments is posted HERE.

COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Friday, October 9, 2020.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  Additional information is available in the meeting notice.

MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC October 13, 2020 webpage.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

Monitor measure leaves many unhappy

October 6, 2020 — We here at FishOn have a couple of parting thoughts on the New England Fishery Management Council passage last week of Amendment 23 that will mandate observer coverage aboard 100% of Northeast groundfish vessel trips when it goes into effect in 2022. And then, we promise, we’ll shut up about it.

In the heel of the hunt, no one seemed all that satisfied with the measure except the council, which found enough common ground to obtain its preferred alternative for 100% monitoring coverage and still provide some financial breathing room for fishermen.

Conservation groups were happy with the 100% coverage, but also tres miffed with the minimum coverage rate of 40% that would kick in if federal funds can’t carry the freight at 100%.

“Forty percent just won’t do it,” Gib Brogan of Oceana stated flatly.

The industry was relieved that affordability became a driving force finally, but many fishing stakeholders remain wholly unconvinced that the council made its case for the need of the far-reaching amendment in the first place.  And they hated on the proposal’s draft environmental impact study the way we hate on eggs.

And saving the best for last, the plan depends hugely on the sustained munificence of — gulp — the federal government to succeed. Are we the only ones that think that leaves us a couple of legislative Crazy Ivans away from reigniting the whole issue?

OK, we’re zipping it on monitoring. For a spell.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Maine scallop fishermen secure important access to northern Gulf of Maine resources

October 2, 2020 — Three years ago, the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) began working with fishermen and local businesses to improve scallop management and give a voice to scallop fishermen on important regulatory issues. As a result of the work from these efforts, at a virtual meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council Oct. 1, the Council voted in favor of regulations that protect both the scallop resource and the smaller Northern New England scallop fishing businesses.

The outcome of the meeting ensures that there will be a scientifically set limit on scallops harvested from the Gulf of Maine and meaningful investments in science and accountability to ensure the resource continues to grow.

The Council also voted to set aside a portion of catch specifically for the federally permitted smaller fishing businesses from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The scallop set aside will allow for preferential access for the small boats within this area and create stability for the small-boat fleet moving forward.

Read the full story at the Wiscasset Newspaper

Council OKs At-Sea Monitoring For All NE Groundfish Trips

October 2, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council on Wednesday approved a 100% target for the at-sea monitoring of sector-based groundfish vessels, but stipulated that the requirement will be contingent upon federal funding, at least for now.

The council voted via webinar to approve Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. If the measure is approved by NOAA Fisheries, it could go into effect in early 2022. Under the amendment, the monitoring of fish landed and discarded at sea could be done with either human monitors or video cameras.

The vote capped three years of discussion and months of public hearings on how to best improve groundfish fishery regulation in New England. Environmental groups such as the Conservation Law Foundation charge that strong oversight is needed to maintain a sustainable fishery. Fishermen for the most part have expressed grave concern about the cost, which could be as high as $700 per vessel per day.

The measure as passed states that the monitoring program will be contingent upon full federal funding for the first four years of the program. In year five, the federal funding target would be reduced. A review process was also put in place.

Read the full story at WBSM

Regulators Move to Increase At-Sea Monitoring of Groundfish Catch in New England Waters

October 2, 2020 — New England fishing regulators have approved a plan that would significantly increase at-sea monitoring for groundfish trips, as a way to help inform scientists and stocks managers about what’s being caught in area waters.

The plan calls for in-person observers or video monitoring on up to 100 percent of trips made by fishermen who target cod, flounder, haddock, and other groundfish.

For the first four years, nearly all costs are expected to be covered by the federal government and other organizations to avoid financially burdening fishermen. But if the full costs aren’t covered beyond that point, the monitoring level could drop back to the current 40 percent, paid for, at least in part, by fishermen. The new plan calls for reevaluation of costs and other considerations in the fifth year.

The plan was endorsed by the New England Fishery Management Council but still requires additional federal approvals before taking effect.

Read the full story at CAI