September 27, 2018 — Federal officials revealed Wednesday that most of the New England fishing cooperatives that catch cod, haddock, flounder and other groundfish failed to meet the minimum standards for having observers on their boats.
Known as sectors, these cooperatives are groups of fishermen who come up with their own fishing plan and enforcement measures to manage their shares of the overall quota.
National Marine Fisheries Service regional administrator Michael Pentony sent letters to 14 of 19 sectors informing them that they were below the required 15 percent of their trips accompanied by fishery monitors and federal observers. Ten sectors were below 10 percent. Observers count and identify the fish caught and discarded, which helps scientists estimate impacts on fish populations.
“We are not trying to point fingers or lay blame,” Pentony told the New England Fishery Management Council at their meeting Wednesday, calling it a systemic problem.
“This report illustrates in bold type the core failure that has left the New England groundfish fishery in crisis: it is essentially unmonitored,” Johanna Thomas, director of the Environmental Defense Fund, wrote in an email. “This is not fair to fishermen, who need to have trust that decisions on their fishing activity is based on good information, and who need to know that there is a level playing field, that everyone is playing by the rules.”
Conservation Law Foundation senior attorney Erica Fuller said her organization has advocated for 100 percent observed trips either by humans or onboard cameras.
“Understanding budget constraints, NMFS should do everything in its power to get effective coverage that can provide accurate data and rebuild overfished stocks,” Fuller said.
The outcry for better observer coverage was especially intense following the arrest and conviction of New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael, known as “The Codfather,” who was able to illegally catch, process and sell fish, escaping detection for many years.