Saving Seafood

Northeast Ocean Plan is solidifying

July 6, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — The new Northeast Regional Ocean Plan currently being developed will not create any new regulatory authority, Maine Department of Marine Resources Deputy Commissioner Meredith Mendelson told a group at the Ellsworth Library last week.

The hearing, one of three in Maine, was held to solicit comment from the public and from “stakeholders” on what it anticipates is a near-final draft of the Northeast Ocean Plan. The public comment period began May 25 and ends July 25.

Six years ago, President Obama signed an executive order establishing a National Ocean Policy that called for the creation of nine regional boards to develop plans “to better manage the nation’s oceans and coasts.”

Four years ago, the Northeast Regional Planning Board was formed to develop a strategy for the waters off New England. The board includes representatives of nine federal agencies with authority of one sort or another over activities in the ocean, six federally recognized tribes, the New England Fishery Management Council and all six New England states.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

U.S. Commerce Department announces 2016 regional fishery council appointments

June 28, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The U.S. Commerce Department today announced the appointment of 19 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA Fisheries to manage ocean fish stocks. One at-large seat on the Mid-Atlantic Council will be announced by the Secretary at a later date. The new and reappointed council members begin their three-year terms on August 11.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act established the councils to prepare fishery management plans for their regions. NOAA Fisheries works closely with the councils through this process and then reviews, approves and implements the plans. Council members represent diverse groups, including commercial and recreational fishing industries, environmental organizations and academia. They are vital to fulfilling the act’s requirements to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks and manage them sustainably.

“U.S. fisheries are among the most sustainable in the world, and NOAA Fisheries is grateful for the efforts these individuals devote to our nation’s fisheries management and to the resiliency of our oceans. We look forward to working with both new and returning council members,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “Each council faces unique challenges, and their partnership with NOAA Fisheries is integral to the sustainability of the fisheries in their respective regions, as well as to the communities that rely on those fisheries.”

Each year, the Secretary of Commerce appoints approximately one-third of the total 72 appointed members to the eight regional councils. The Secretary selects members from nominations submitted by the governors of fishing states, territories and tribal governments.

Read the full release and list of council appointments

Government’s Northeast Regional Ocean Plan nears completion

June 23, 2016 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — Six years ago, President Obama signed an executive order establishing a National Ocean Policy that called for the creation of nine regional planning boards to develop plans “to better manage the nation’s oceans and coasts.”

Four years ago, the Northeast Regional Planning Board was formed to develop a plan for the waters off New England. The board includes representatives of nine federal agencies with authority of one sort or another over activities in the ocean, six federally recognized tribes, the New England Fishery Management Council and all six New England states.

Since then, the Northeast board has worked to draft a plan that will promote “healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems,” effective decision-making and “compatibility among past, current and future ocean uses.”

On Monday, the board held a hearing at the Ellsworth Library to solicit comment from the public and from “stakeholders” on what it anticipates is a near-final draft of the Northeast Ocean Plan. The public comment period began May 25 and ends July 25.

Monday’s hearing was one of nine scheduled throughout New England during the month of June. The first was held in Rockland on June 6. The final hearing — and the third in Maine — is scheduled for June 30 in Portland.

The current schedule calls for the Northeast board to meet in September after staff members have incorporated public comments to approve final version of the plan. The final step will be for the National Ocean Council to review and approve the plan which is subject to revision at five-year intervals.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

MASS. STATE REP. BILL STRAUS: Baker has the right to change board’s makeup

June 9, 2016 — To the editor:

On May 24, your paper published an article regarding the action of the Baker administration in replacing seven of the nine members of the state’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission.

All seven members whom Gov. Baker replaced were serving as hold overs whose statutory terms had long expired; five of them had begun on the panel as appointees of Republican governors going back to 1991.

I believe the new appointees reflect a diverse experience in fisheries and no one quoted in your article could credibly assert that the new members aren’t qualified for this panel.

Read the full letter at the Gloucester Times

2016-2017 Monkfish Research Set-Aside Awards Announced

June 7, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries is pleased to announce, in coordination with the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, the selection of two cooperative research proposals submitted to the 2016-2017 Monkfish Research Set Aside (RSA) Program.

Overall, five researchers from four different institutions have been awarded grants to investigate monkfish biology to help improve the stock assessment for one of the Greater Atlantic Region’s highest valued commercial finfish. The researchers will work on two projects involving dozens of commercial fishing vessels, supported by awards valued at approximately $3.77 million.

Both grant recipients propose to build on previous research in an effort to identify monkfish stock structure through genetic studies and to estimate growth and movement of juvenile monkfish. These projects address the monkfish RSA program goals for stock structure/stock identification and implications for stock assessment and fisheries management.

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rules for Northeast Skate Fishery

June 6, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region:

Today, NOAA Fisheries proposes, and opens for public comments, new management measures for the northeast skate fishery.

These were developed through Framework Adjustment 3 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan at the recommendation of the New England Fishery Management Council.

The proposed measures are:

  • New quotas for the skate wing (8,372 mt) and bait (4,218 mt) fisheries for the 2016 and 2017.
  • All skate trip limits are proposed to remain unchanged from current levels.
  • Splitting the skate wing fishery quota into two seasons (May through August and September through April) to allow the directed fishery to be temporarily closed in-season if the seasonal quota is reached.

Read the proposed rule as filed in the Federal Register.

The comment period is open until 5pm on June 21.

Please submit your comments online or by mailing them to:

John Bullard, Regional Administrator
NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930

Please mark the outside of the envelope “Comments on Northeast Skate Fishery Proposed Rule.”

Statement from the New England Red Crab Harvester’s Association on ASMFC Marine Monument Policy

June 1, 2016 — The following statement was released by Jon Williams, President of the New England Red Crab Harvester’s Association, in response to the passage of the ASMFC motion calling for the president not to declare a marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean:

“Never in the history of New England commercial fishing have we seen the entire industry and its regulatory bodies unite behind a single cause. 

Yet with its recent unanimous vote on the marine monument designation, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission joined industry leaders in sending a clear message to the Obama administration: the current monument process poses a serious threat to effective ocean management, and would have disastrous environmental and economic impacts.

The ASMFC deserves the highest praise for both its strong regulatory record over these last decades, and for its current commitment to conservation efforts. The Atlantic Red Crab Company stands with the commission in our belief that allowing outside groups with far less expertise to take over ocean management is an entirely unnecessary threat to our fragile ecosystem.

We hope the Obama administration understands the importance of such unity within the commercial fishing community, and that it allows the ASMFC and NEFMC to continue their regulatory and conservation efforts.”

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Ocean Planning Update: Draft Northeast Ocean Plan and Public Comment Meetings

May 26, 2016 — The following email was released yesterday by the Northeast Regional Planning Body:

Earlier today [May 25, 2016], the Northeast Regional Planning Body (RPB), a group composed of representatives from six New England states, six federally recognized tribes, nine federal agencies, and the New England Fishery Management Council, announced the rollout of its Draft Northeast Ocean Plan. The Draft Plan is available at the RPB website: neoceanplanning.org. The RPB is seeking input on the Draft Plan in multiple ways: people can provide comment online or in writing (see the website for details) or by attending one of the following public meetings (please note: there have been a couple of schedule changes to this list, so please check the website for further updates):

Monday, June 6 – Maine

Location: Rockland Public Library, 80 Union Street, Rockland, ME

Time: 5PM to 8PM

Wednesday, June 8 – Connecticut

Location: Conference Room, Marine District Headquarters, 333 Ferry Road, Old Lyme, CT

Time: 7PM to 9PM

Monday, June 13 – Massachusetts

Location: Maritime Gloucester, 23 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, MA

Time: 6PM to 8:30PM

Tuesday, June 14 – Massachusetts

Location: Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, 100 Cambridge Street, 2nd Floor, Hearing Rooms C & D, Boston, MA

Time: 2PM to 4:30PM

Wednesday, June 15 – Massachusetts

Location: New Bedford Public Library, 613 Pleasant St., New Bedford, MA

Time: 6PM to 8:30PM

Monday, June 20 – Maine

Location: Ellsworth Public Library, 20 State Street, Ellsworth, ME

Time: 5PM to 8PM

Monday, June 27 – New Hampshire

Location: Portsmouth, NH DES Office 222 International Drive, Suite 175

Time: 6PM to 8:30PM

Wednesday, June 29 – Rhode Island

Location: TBD

Time: 6PM to 8:30PM

Thursday, June 30 – Maine

Location: Portland, ME TBD

Time: 5PM to 8PM

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you—

John Weber

 

On behalf of:

Betsy Nicholson, RPB Federal Co-lead

Grover Fugate, RPB State Co-lead

Richard Getchell, RPB Tribal Co-lead

Saving Seafood Executive Director Talks Lost NOAA HabCam

 

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – May 25, 2016 — A $450,000 camera used to survey scallops on the ocean floor was lost Friday when a NOAA-chartered vessel towed it too close to a known ship wreck, as reported yesterday by the New Bedford Standard-Times.

This morning, Saving Seafood Executive Director Bob Vanasse spoke with New Bedford 1420 WBSM morning host Phil Paleologos about the accident, saying it proves the need for changes to the Atlantic scallop survey.

“The Fisheries Survival Fund [which represents members of the Atlantic scallop fleet] has been arguing for some time that the Federal scallop survey should not be done just by one single piece of equipment on one single vessel, but that there should be backups,” Mr. Vanasse said.

Compounding the problem the lost camera will have on this year’s Federal scallop survey is the fact that respected scientist Kevin Stokesbury, from UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology, did not receive government funding for his own survey. Dr. Stokesbury’s surveys, which use cameras dropped into the ocean to take pictures of the seafloor, had previously been funded every year since 1999.

Mr. Vanasse called the loss of NOAA’s HabCam habitat camera last week “a combination of really bad circumstances.” He raised concerns about researchers aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp piloting the expensive HabCam so close to the well-known and charted wreckage of the Bow Mariner, where a cable apparently snagged the sunken ship and detached the camera. He also pointed out that many industry leaders raised concerns that a volunteer worker was piloting the HabCam at the time of the accident.

NOAA researchers are beginning efforts to find the HabCam today, nearly a week after it was lost, and say they will be able to make up for lost time. But scallop industry experts are unconvinced, according to Mr. Vanasse.

“That doesn’t really make sense,” Mr. Vanasse said of the industry perspective. “If they plan to go out for a certain time, they do that because they need it.”

The timing issue is further complicated because NOAA leases the Sharp from the University of Delaware for a limited period of time at high expense. Even if NOAA is able to salvage the HabCam, it will likely take more than a week of valuable time, Mr. Vanasse said.

The lost HabCam is not the first issue NOAA has had a with a research vessel in recent weeks. Earlier this month the R/V Henry B. Bigelow, the ship that surveys for groundfish and many other species on the East Coast, was delayed due to mechanical issues with its generators. The Bigelow was already running more than a month behind before its generator problems. Mr. Vanasse pointed out that Dr. Bill Karp, director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, has been pushing for NOAA to charter commercial fishing boats as backups, including at April’s NEFMC meeting (skip to 31:51 to listen to Dr. Karp).

“We need higher ups at NOAA to listen to what Dr. Karp has been saying about needing backups on the groundfish survey,” Mr. Vanasse said. “And we need everybody at NOAA to pay attention to what the [Fisheries] Survival Fund has been saying about having backups on the scallop survey.”

Listen to the full segment here

Co-owner: New Bedford fish auction could see periodic closures over next month

May 24, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The fish auction that’s been a daily institution on the city’s waterfront for decades could see periodic closures over the next month or so, as a co-owner said Monday that this year’s significant cut to the cod quota is keeping many boats tied to the docks, rather than bringing in fish.

Richard Canastra, co-owner of the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction since 1994, said Monday morning that in his view, “there won’t be” fish auctions on some days between now and July 4, when he expects commercial fishing activity to pick up again.

“There’s not many fishermen fishing anymore,” Canastra said as he stood outside the auction building on Hassey Street. “A lot of the boats are just tied up — they’re not going to fish. Why would they fish if there’s only so much (allowable) cod?”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in conjunction with the New England Fishery Management Council, instituted a 62-percent reduction in the allowable catch for Georges Bank cod this year, in quotas that took effect May 1.

Former New Bedford Mayor John Bullard, now regional administrator for NOAA fisheries, has said the new regulations create “about a 95 percent cut” since 2012 in catch limits for Georges Bank cod, a key species for New Bedford’s fishing industry.

Government documents detailing the quotas say they’re, “intended to help prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, achieve optimum yield” and ensure that fishery management is based on the best data available.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times