NEFMC Archives - Page 90 of 99

ASMFC Urges President to Minimize Potential Economic Harm from Atlantic Marine Monument Designation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Saving Seafood) – May 4, 2016 – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has taken a formal position on the possibility of a Presidential proclamation of an Atlantic Marine Monument.

The Obama administration, at the urging of major environmental groups, is considering creating a National Monument in the New England Canyons and Seamounts region via the Antiquities Act. Few specifics have been released about what the monument would look like, but it could have significant negative impacts on fishermen in the affected areas.

The ASMFC’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board unanimously (with three abstentions) approved a resolution today drawing a line in the ocean (see map), in close proximity to the Atlantic canyons and seamounts off of Georges Banks, and urging that the creation of a monument only take place in a region seaward of that line. The ASMFC resolution urges that management of waters under Federal control from the coastline to that line be managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The resolution states:

That it is the preference of ASMFC that the current New England Fishery Management Council coral management process continue without a Presidential proclamation on the issue;
That should the President decide to designate a deep-water marine monument off the New England coast prior to the end of his Presidency, it should be limited to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected, as required by the Antiquities Act;
That the area be limited to depths greater than approximately 900 meters and encompass any or all of the region seaward of the line (see map) out to the outer limit of the EEZ;
That only bottom tending fishing effort be prohibited in the area and that all other mid-water/surface fishing methods (recreational and commercial) be allowed to continue to use the area;
That the public and affected user groups be allowed to review and comment on any specific proposal prior to its implementation.

The motion was initially crafted by members of the ASMFC Rhode Island Delegation, in consultation with other regional fisheries organizations. ASMFC’s Lobster Board, where the resolution originated, gave its unanimous approval to the proposal at its meeting on Monday.

In a letter this week to the ASMFC American Lobster Management Board requesting guidance on the monument issue, Board Chairman David Borden wrote about the potential consequences a monument would have for commercial and recreational fisheries in the area.

“The economic impacts of a potential Monument designation would undoubtedly be significant depending on where the boundaries are set. These economic impacts would be felt coast wide as the fishing fleets working in and around the canyons hail from ports across New England and the Mid-Atlantic.”

Specifically highlighted are the potential impacts on the offshore lobster and crab fisheries, which would be hurt by the prohibition on fishing in the monument area, or by being displaced into nearby fishing grounds. Lobster and Jonah crab revenue from Southern New England are estimated at $38 million per year. A monument designation could also hurt the lobster stock by pushing fishermen from areas where lobster is abundant into areas where lobster is more depleted. Concerns were also voiced about potential negative impacts of the proposal on whales and protected species.

Additionally, many of the States represented on ASMFC have major interests in finfish, pelagic longline, squid, and red crab fisheries, or have large recreational fisheries. “All of these fisheries could be directly affected by a closure or indirectly affected by a redirection of effort.”

According to ASMFC Chairman Doug Grout the ASMFC leadership plans to meet with representatives of CEQ next week to discuss ways to mitigate impacts on commercial and recreational fisheries.

About the ASMFC
In the early 1940s, recognizing that they could accomplish far more through cooperation rather than individual effort, the Atlantic coast states came together to form the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. An Interstate Compact, ratified by the states and approved by the U.S. Congress in 1942, acknowledged the necessity of the states joining forces to manage their shared migratory fishery resources and affirmed the states’ commitment to cooperative stewardship in promoting and protecting Atlantic coastal fishery resources.

Read a letter from ASMFC Lobster Board Chairman David Borden to the ASMFC Lobster Board

Read a letter from Blue Water Fishermen’s Association Executive Director Terri Lei Beideman to the White House

Regulators to put focus on New England scallop fishing

April 22, 2016 — Federal fishing regulators say potential changes to the rules that govern scallop fishing off of New England could be a priority in the coming years.

The rules are a source of tension as fishing boats move into the waters off the northern Massachusetts coast to seek scallops. Scallop grounds off of northern Massachusetts, including Cape Ann, have been especially fertile, prompting increased fishing in that area.

The New England Fishery Management Council passed a motion Wednesday that says changes to management of the northern Gulf of Maine fishing area will be a potential priority in 2017.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

New England Fishery Council Honors Steve Correia of Fairhaven, MA

April 20, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Former Massachusetts state fishery scientist Steven Correia received the New England Fishery Management Council’s (NEFMC) Janice Plante Award of Excellence for 2016 at its meeting today in Mystic, CT. While the now-retired Fairhaven resident was employed by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries for over 30 years, Steve was honored by the NEFMC for his extraordinary contributions to federal fisheries management.

The annual Janice Plante Award of Excellence, first awarded to Janice herself in 2015 for her outstanding news coverage of New England’s fisheries, was established to pay special tribute to those who have displayed outstanding commitment and contributions of time and energy in service to the Council fishery management system.

For the last 26 years Steve served the NEFMC in various ways. He was a member of the technical teams that provide the scientific underpinnings of the Council’s management actions. To that end, he was a charter member of the Scallop Plan Development Team, or PDT, beginning in 1991 and served on the Groundfish PDT from 1994 through 2015, during one of the most challenging periods faced by the New England Council.

But he also was a key contributor to nearly all of the Council’s major PDTs at one time or another. The standing joke among his colleagues was that Steve was the most valuable Council employee who was not on the NEFMC payroll. He was Chairman of the Multispecies Monitoring Committee from 1997 through 2001 and during other periods was a member of the Atlantic Herring, Monkfish, Red Crab, and Dogfish PDTs, always bringing ideas, analysis, and integrity to the job.

During the development of the Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) as we know it today, he was influential in designing effort controls to reduce fishing pressure on fish stocks of concern and stock rebuilding programs, harvesting “sector” rules, and methods to establish and account for catch limits. As a member of the Scallop PDT, Steve participated in the development of the rotational management system and the early scallop closed area access programs. He also helped develop measures to protect river herring and shad that were eventually included in the NEFMC’s Herring Fishery Management Plan.

Steve frequently contributed to the stock assessments supporting each fishery management plan. Through his long experience, he was able provide key perspectives to management challenges, often helping less experienced Council staff better understand the context of management choices. He also served on the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee in 2011 and several years on its Research Steering Committee.

He touched nearly every management decision made by the Council since at least 1990. His hard work and technical skills were valued by every PDT chair and significantly improved the analyses that supported Council actions. During his many years of service Steve Correia was an invaluable asset to both staff and the Council alike.

From left: NEFMC Chairman Terry Stockwell, Correia, and Dr. David Pierce, Director, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

BOB KEESE: Small-boat fishermen seek to protect fishery

April 9, 2016 — Ron Smolowitz accuses small-boat scallopers of “gaming the system” to access the Nantucket Lightship fishing area (“Working the system makes the system unworkable,” My View, April 2).

As Smolowitz knows, in December New England Fishery Management Council scientists sent a memo saying there weren’t any conservation concerns with limited fishing there. The proposed access was so small it wouldn’t make sense for Smolowitz’s big-boat fishermen, catching 17,000 pounds per trip, to fish there. But small-boat fishermen can catch only 600 pounds a day, so the proposed access gives us 500 trips — which makes a huge difference for our families and community.

Read the full opinion piece at Cape Cod Times

At-sea monitoring fees are the latest threat to New Hampshire’s dwindling fishing industry

April 1, 2016 — Working as both a biologist and a fisherman, David Goethel brings a unique perspective to the state and federal fishery management boards he’s an adviser on.

“I’ve spent all my life acting as a translator because they speak all different languages,” says Goethel, who worked as a research biologist at the New England Aquarium before he became the owner and operator of the Ellen Diane, a 44-foot fishing trawler based out of Hampton.

But the most recent disconnect between the factions has resulted in Goethel and other groundfishermen filing a federal lawsuit.

After delaying the regulation for years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is now requiring groundfishermen to pay for the at-sea monitoring program — at a cost of an average $710 per trip, conducted at random. The monitoring is done to ensure that the fishermen adhere to groundfish catch quotas set in May 2010 by the New England Fishery Management Council, under NOAA. (Groundfish include cod, haddock and other common bottom-dwelling species.)

Read the full story at the New Hampshire Business Review

Marine monuments proposal near Cape Cod stirs debate

April 1, 2016 — In September of 2014, President Barack Obama expanded on a national marine monument created by President George Bush in 2006.

The protection of more than 490,000 square miles of ocean surrounding a group of remote Pacific islands from commercial fishing remains the largest marine reserve in the world.

This week, marine scientists and a battalion of environmental groups made their case for a similar presidential designation of two more national marine monuments, Cashes Ledge, to the north of Cape Cod, and the Coral Canyons and Seamounts Area, a collection of five deep-water canyons and four extinct volcanoes 150 miles southeast of the Cape.

Environmentalists gathered over 150,000 comments, as well as letters from hundreds of marine scientists and more than 50 state legislators from New England states in support of the designations. Proponents believe the change would be relatively painless for the fishing industry.

“When you look at a map of fishing effort, you couldn’t choose anyplace in New England that has less,” said Peter Baker, the Pew Charitable Trusts director for U.S. Oceans Northeast. “Cashes is the last best example of an intact ecosystem.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Northeast Seafood Coalition responds to erroneous statements on Cashes Ledge from Pew Charitable Trusts

The following was released by the Northeast Seafood Coalition:

March 29, 2016 – GLOUCESTER, Mass. – Earlier today, in a webinar releasing a new report regarding the environmental composition of Cashes Ledge, in response to Cape Cod Times reporter Doug Fraser’s question as to whether there is an imminent threat to Cashes Ledge, The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Director of US Oceans, Northeast, Peter Baker stated:

“..the different areas – Cashes Ledge, the coral canyons, and the sea mounts – have different pressures on them, and different levels of imminent pressures that might be put on them. For instance Cashes Ledge, some of the council members, led by Terry Alexander, who is the president of the Associated Fisheries of Maine and was quoted in a press release last week, put up a motion just last year at the NEFMC to open Cashes Ledge once again to bottom trawling. The other guy, Vito Giacalone, who was quoted in that press release, at a public forum in Gloucester just last month, said that the fishing industry is eager to get in and catch the cod that are in Cashes Ledge. So, certainly the leaders of the groundfish industry have made it clear, recently, that they’re eager and working to get back in there and that at every available opportunity they’re going to try and open up Cashes to bottom trawling again. So I’d say, yes, absolutely, there’s an imminent threat to Cashes Ledge.”

The statement attributed to Vito Giacalone of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, and the description of the motion made by Councilmember Terry Alexander are factually inaccurate. There was never a motion or statement made proposing access to Cashes Ledge.

The problem is the terminology used. “Cashes Ledge” is often used as verbal shorthand to refer to the large, 1400 square kilometer ‘Mortality Closure’ that includes Cashes Ledge and the surrounding areas and is an artifact of the old effort control system created to protect cod.

What we did say, and will maintain, is that once the old effort control system was replaced with a quota system, we want to be able to access the old mortality closures, including the Cashes Ledge Mortality Closure when such access is appropriate and scientifically justified. These portions of the Cashes Ledge Mortality Closure, despite the name, are not located on Cashes Ledge.

The Northeast Seafood Coalition proposed and supports the habitat management areas developed with government science, included in Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 which was adopted by the New England Fisheries Management Council last June, and are pending approval by NOAA.

We collaborated with the Associated Fisheries of Maine, and with the Fisheries Survival Fund, representing the limited access scallop fleet. We did not develop our own habitat closed area on Cashes Ledge, but rather embraced the habitat management area developed via the government science.

This habitat area is significantly larger than Cashes Ledge itself, in fact, it completely engulfs Cashes Ledge, all of the kelp forest, and all of the areas displayed in the video and photographs circulated in recent months by proponents of a marine national monument. The protected area includes a surrounding buffer of hundreds of square miles.

We never would propose re-entering an area which we agreed to protect, and especially this area that encompasses Cashes Ledge. It is simply untrue to say that we stated that we are “eager” to fish within the habitat management area on Cashes Ledge.

Did we say we want to preserve the ability to access portions of the mortality closure such as Cashes Basin and other basins that were not identified as important habitat areas by the science? Yes, we did say that.

We have no way of knowing whether Mr. Baker’s statement was made to intentionally mislead, or simply out of a lack of clear understanding regarding the difference between Cashes Ledge, the habitat management area surrounding Cashes Ledge, and the remaining portions of the previous mortality areas that were artifacts of the old system, but we state unequivocally that it is not true to say we ever proposed accessing the Cashes Ledge habitat management area.

Working with Whiting Fishermen to Find Solutions

March 14, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Recently, commercial fishermen who fish for whiting as part of the small-mesh multispecies fishery asked us what it would take to make changes to this fishery. Specifically, whiting fishermen want to open some of the Gulf of Maine exemption areas earlier in the year.

In response, we convened a workshop on February 18 to clarify the reasons for the exemptions for the whiting fishery and the steps necessary for adjusting the regulations, including the data needed to evaluate any potential changes. This collaborative workshop included fishermen, researchers, New England Fishery Management Council staff, state marine fisheries agency personnel, and federal managers.

The whiting fishery is an “exempted fishery,” which means that fishermen are able to fish for specific species without being subject to certain Northeast multispecies regulations, such as mesh size requirements, provided the catch of other groundfish species is minimal. The Regional Administrator, in consultation with the New England Fisheries Management Council, authorizes exempted fisheries. There are currently several whiting exempted fishing areas within the Gulf of Maine (see map below). Vessels may fish for whiting with small-mesh trawls only within the designated exempted fishery areas and according to specific regulations.

Read the rest of the story on our website.

For more information, contact Mike Ruccio, Sustainable Fisheries Division, at 978-281-9104 or email him at michael.ruccio@noaa.gov

New England Seafood Companies Highlight Traceability Practices in Saving Seafood Video

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – March 8, 2016 – Sustainability and traceability are key themes of this year’s Seafood Expo North America, being held this week in Boston. A new video released today from Saving Seafood highlights how the U.S. seafood industry is focused on sustainable, traceable, and high-quality local seafood.

Taken from a series of interviews conducted by Saving Seafood at last year’s Seafood Expo, the video features representatives from some of New England’s most prominent seafood companies sharing how they ensure that domestic seafood is fresh, sustainably sourced, and reliably traced.

In recent years, as concerns about seafood fraud have increased, companies cited their ability to closely monitor supply chains, from the minute the fish leaves the water to the moment the final product exits the warehouse as the kind of control and assurance their buyers demand.

“When you’re dealing with the customer base we have, they want a premium product, MSC certified, and domestic,” said George Kouri, COO of Northern Wind of New Bedford, Massachusetts. “Everything we pack is exactly to the customer’s specification and labeled in accordance.”

One of the largest seafood shows in the United States, Seafood Expo North America brings together leading members of the domestic seafood community, including harvesters, processors, wholesalers, and retailers. While over 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, Expo participants touted several major benefits of purchasing and consuming seafood caught in U.S. waters, chief among them the fact that U.S. law requires domestic fisheries be harvested at sustainable levels.

“For us, we’re able to trace those goods, in the case of scallops specifically, from the individual tow, all the way to the lotted box that ultimately ends up in the possession of our customers,” said John Furtado, the Executive Vice President of Eastern Fisheries, of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Domestically caught seafood, in addition to coming from sustainably managed stocks, also has a clear advantage over imported fish when it comes to being properly labeled and accurately traced, according to many of the interviewees. Another benefit of locally sourced seafood, they say: it’s easier to track.

“Every single species that we are pulling out of the ocean and serving up to our clients, to our chefs, and to our specialty retailers are sustainable,” said Laura Foley Ramsden, co-owner of M.F. Foley, Inc. of Boston, and a former councilmember on the New England Fishery Management Council. “We’re able to go to our customers and inform them about how fisheries in the U.S. are managed, that it’s illegal to be overfishing, and that they are coming from a sustainable resource.”

“We’ve always known where all the fish came from, and where it went,” said Charlie Nagle, President of Boston’s John Nagle Co. “Everything we do is traceable.”

Among the Expo attendees featured in the video are representatives from Northern Wind; M.F. Foley Inc.; John Nagle Co.; and Eastern Fisheries. They each expressed to Saving Seafood the importance of maintaining not only a sustainably sourced product, but also one that is fresh and of the highest quality.

“We have extremely disciplined buying, so that we put people in each of the New England ports every single day looking at the fish, buying fish that’s only 24 to 48 hours out of the water,” said Ramsden. “If you’re that disciplined in your buying standards, you’re going to produce a better tasting, fresher fish that then ends up in plates all across America.”

The video is just a small sample of the many U.S. seafood providers who adhere to some of the world’s highest standards to bring high quality seafood to the domestic market. Saving Seafood is proud to support sustainable seafood providers, and will continue to highlight the stories of successful, sustainable U.S. fisheries.

View the video here

RHODE ISLAND: Loberstermen Dispute Finding That New England Lobsters Are At Record Lows

March 4, 2016 — It’s been months since the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission released its latest report on how lobsters are faring in the Atlantic Coast. But it’s still a hot topic among fishermen in the Ocean State.

The latest lobster stock assessment found lobsters in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank are doing well; but lobsters in southern New England are not. Most southern New England fishermen disagree with that assessment, according to David Spencer, president of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and a lobster fisherman.

“I don’t think all the fishermen are saying that things are tremendous and rosy,” said Spencer, “but I think the biggest disagreement seems to be in the severity of the assessment and fishermen think that the resource is actually a little bit better than that.”

Spencer said most fishermen have seen an uptick in the lobster population in the last couple of years and the assessment doesn’t reflect that progress because it’s based on data through 2013.

The assessment doesn’t include more recent data because it takes time to collect, enter and analyze data, explains Toni Kerns, director of the Interstate Fisheries Management Program at the commission.

Read the full story from Rhode Island Public Radio