Saving Seafood

NEFMC to decide on at-sea monitoring levels later this month

September 16, 2020 — Now two years and change in development, the New England Fishery Management Council measure that could determine the fate of the Northeast groundfish fishery is set for final action on the middle day of the council’s upcoming three-day meeting.

The agenda for the council’s Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 meeting, originally scheduled for Gloucester and now consigned to a webinar, sets aside all of Sept. 30 for groundfish-related issues — including the highly contentious Amendment 23, which will set future monitoring levels aboard sector-based Northeast commercial groundfish vessels.

The council is considering four alternatives: Putting monitors on 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of all sector-based groundfish vessels trips. It has designated 100% coverage as its preferred alternative.

In January, NOAA Fisheries set the target level for 2020 at-sea monitoring at 40% of all sector-based groundfish trips. It’s highly unlikely the agency will hit that target this year after the COVID-19 pandemic kept monitors off boats for about five months.

The council’s preferred choice of 100% monitoring levels helped establish an obvious and stark divide between the fishing industry and conservationists, as if they needed the help.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Fishermen, Dealers, Processors – Join USITC Roundtable on Impacts of Imports and Illegal Fishing

September 15, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Dear fishermen, seafood dealers, processors, and other fishing industry stakeholders,

This message is about an important discussion you may want to participate in.  A flyer for the event is attached.

WHAT’S THIS ABOUT:  The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) will host a virtual roundtable to gather input from New England and Mid-Atlantic fishing industry stakeholders on two topics: (1) the impacts of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on the U.S. fishing industry; and (2) the impacts of seafood imports on U.S. products and markets.

WHEN WILL THIS HAPPEN:  The roundtable is being held alongside the New England Fishery Management Council’s next meeting.  The roundtable itself will take place on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. or shortly following the close of Council business that day.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE:  All stakeholders are encouraged to join the discussion.  Anyone who fishes for, sells, or processes seafood in New England or the Mid-Atlantic region may be able to provide helpful information to the USITC as it works to brief Congress on IUU fishing and impacts of imports on U.S. fisheries.

HOW DO I JOIN THE ROUNDTABLE:  To participate:

  • Visit this link and select “join from your browser.”  You will be asked to provide your full name and an email address.
  • If you are accessing the videoconference via a Webex application, copy and paste 199 705 4058into the box for the meeting number/access code and Y7Byi8h6Hu2 for the password.
  • Also, if you think you may join the roundtable discussion, email the USITC’s Daniel Matthews at daniel.matthews@usitc.gov to let him know you’re interested.
WHAT DOES THE USITC WANT TO KNOW FROM ME:  Anything related to impacts on U.S. fishermen from seafood imports or illegal fishing!  Here are some examples of questions the commission is interested in. 
  • Competition with Imports:  How is the squid fishery off the East Coast impacted by squid imports?
  • Demand Trends:  Have groundfish buyers, whether sourcing supply for U.S. markets or key export markets, required increased traceability in recent years?
  • Pricing Trends:  Do imported scallops directly compete with U.S. markets and influence the price U.S. fishermen receive for their product
  • Substitutability:  Do Atlantic cod and haddock imports reduce demand for U.S.-caught cod and haddock?
  • Supply Chains: Do U.S. squid processors process both domestic and imported product?

QUESTIONS:  Email the USITC’s Dan Matthews at daniel.matthews@usitc.gov with any questions you have about the upcoming roundtable.  He is happy to help.

MORE USITC INFORMATION:  At the request of Congress, the USITC is conducting the following investigation.  All related documents are available at the links below.

Cities take council to task over monitoring recommendation

September 8, 2020 — You may have noticed that we’ve written a bit lately about the monitoring measure — Amendment 23 — being considered by the New England Fishery Management Council to set future monitoring levels for sector-based groundfish vessels.

It’s a hot item. Conservationists are all for it. Local fishermen say it could spell the death knell for the industry. The council is expected to take final action on the measure at its September meeting.

The cities of Gloucester and New Bedford — the state’s historic commercial fishing fiefdoms — weighed in. Not surprisingly, they are fervently against the council’s preferred option, which would put monitors on every trip by every sector-based groundfish vessel — at an average cost of about $700 per day per boat.

“Monitoring in any fishery is an important component to fisheries management,” the city of Gloucester stated in its comments to the council. “But the New England Fishery Management Council’s preferred alternative of 100% at-sea monitoring on the groundfish sector program is excessive and in complete disregard of the socio-economic disruptions and extreme hardships that will be imposed on fishermen, their groundfish sectors and their communities.”

And it goes on from there.

So there you go. The battle lines are drawn.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Lawmakers Oppose 100% At-Sea Monitoring Plan for Fishing Boats

September 4, 2020 — In a new letter to regulators, a group of Massachusetts lawmakers say a proposal to require at-sea monitors on every commercial groundfishing boat for every trip could put independent fleets and vessel owners out of business.

“We should be supporting this industry. Not drowning it in burdensome increased costs and regulations. I stand with our local fishermen, and urge the Council to reject this ill-advised proposal,” said Senator Mark Montigny today.

The New England Fisheries Management Council is considering Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. It would require groundfishing vessels to implement 100-percent at-sea monitoring or a blend of at-sea and electronic monitoring. The goal is to improve catch accountability, but fishermen argue the proposal would be too costly without accomplishing the stated goal.

Since the commercial groundfishery was declared a federal disaster in 2012, revenues have declined, the letter states. Businesses do not have the revenues to absorb the added costs. Piling more costs on the industry at this time will favor larger vessels and those with larger catch allocations, forcing smaller vessel owners out of business, the lawmakers argue.

Read the full story at WBSM

At-sea monitor meeting to be held online, not in person

September 2, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council dispensed with the suspense on Monday when it announced its September meeting, initially set for Gloucester, will be conducted online via webinar.

The three-day meeting, scheduled for Sept. 29 to  Oct. 1, is expected to include the council’s final action on the highly contentious measure — Amendment 23 — to establish future monitoring levels for sector-based vessels in the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery. The council hopes to post the remainder of the agenda by the end of this week.

The September meeting was scheduled for the Beauport Hotel Gloucester on Commercial Street. But that was before the dawning of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent indoor and outdoor gathering restrictions that have forced all but one of the council’s public meetings and hearings online.

The current Massachusetts indoor gathering restrictions call for no more than eight individuals per 1,000 square feet of space, with the gathering not to exceed 25 individuals in any single enclosed space.

Those restrictions would have limited an in-person meeting to the council’s 18 voting members, a handful of non-voting members and legal counsel. The public and even some council staff presenters would have been forced to participate via online webinar.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Scallops: Tune In – Wednesday, September 2 – Last Webinar Hearing for Amendment 21

September 1, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold its last webinar hearing on Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan on Wednesday, September 2, 2020 beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Let us know what you think!  Time is running out.  The public comment deadline is Friday, September 4.  The Council will be taking final action on Amendment 21 during its late-September webinar meeting.

This amendment includes proposed measures for: (1) the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Management Area; and (2) the Limited Access General Category (LAGC) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) component of the fishery.

PREVIEW THE PRESENTATION:  It’s on-demand!  Just fill in your name and email address HERE and it’ll start to roll.

SKIM THE DOCUMENTS:  Take a look at the public hearing document, the press release, and all other related information in the Amendment 21 library.

JOIN THE WEBINAR:  Register HERE to participate on Wednesday, September 2.

STREAM IN-PERSON WITH MAINE DMR:  Want company?  The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) will be streaming the hearing in Augusta and helping fishermen navigate the webinar to provide comments.

  • In a bulletin to industry members, DMR said, “For those who would like technical assistance in connecting to the webinar or do not have computer access and/or reliable internet, ME DMR will be providing a space for fishermen to participate in the September 2nd public hearing webinar.”
  • DMR added, “Staff will have the webinar public hearing streaming at our Augusta office complex (32 Blossom Lane) in the Deering Building, Room 101 (building is to the left of the DMR office); you just have to show up to comment.”
  • Anyone interested in this option must RSVP.  Call or email Megan Ware at (207) 446-0932;megan.ware@maine.gov.  Read the bulletin for additional details.  Masks and social distancing will be required

SCALLOP ASSESSMENT:  The Fall 2020 Scallop Management Track Stock Assessment will undergo peer review during a September 14-18, 2020 meeting.

UPCOMING MEETINGS:  Visit the New England Council’s scallop webpage for more information about the upcoming September 23, 2020 Scallop Advisory Panel webinar and September 25, 2020 Scallop Committee webinar.

Council meeting not a signal of normalcy

August 31, 2020 — The pandemic has kept us all closely tethered to home for the past five months, so it was nice for us here at FishOn to go over the bridge and up the line last Wednesday to cover an actual in-person event. No Zoom. No webinar. Just journalism in the great outdoors of Wakefield.

We covered the last public hearing conducted by the New England Fishery Management Council on the ever-contentious Amendment 23 — the measure to set future monitoring levels for sector-based groundfish vessels in the Northeast fishery.

The council, which is expected to take final action on the measure at its September meeting, did a good job of hosting the public hearing meeting under a tent in the parking lot of the Sheraton Four Points hotel.

Folks were masked and properly socially distanced. Capacity was 50 and about 20 fishing stakeholders attended the meeting, so there was plenty of room. Under the tent, it felt like junior high school detention (or so we understand) where they separate all the troublemakers as far apart as possible.

“It was a pretty big effort,” said Tom Nies, the council’s executive director said about a half hour before the scheduled start of the hearing. “The hotel was helpful. But we’re still working on some details.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Fish council hears comments on 100% monitoring option

August 28, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council returned to a semblance of normalcy on Wednesday, holding its first in-person, public meeting of any kind since the COVID-19 pandemic struck about five months ago.

In some ways, the public hearing on Amendment 23 — the measure to set monitoring levels for Northeast sector-based groundfish vessels — was unexplored terrain.

The ninth and final public hearing on the measure was the first al fresco meeting in the history of the council. Capacity was limited to 50, but there was more than enough space. About 20 attendees joined a handful of council staff under the tent in the parking lot of the Sheraton Four Points hotel, next to Route 128.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEFMC: In-person meeting on at-sea monitors Wednesday

August 26, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council will stage its first in-person meeting in about five months on Wednesday when it hosts the final public hearing on the measure to set future at-sea monitoring levels in the Northeast groundfish fishery.

The public hearing, to be held outside under a tent, is set for 3 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points hotel in Wakefield, just off Route 128. The in-person hearing will be limited to 50 individuals to comply with the state’s outdoor gathering restrictions.

Those interested in attending must pre-register on the council website. The council extended the registration until noon Wednesday. The hearing also will be simulcast online via webinar.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEFMC Seeks Applicants for Whiting and Herring Advisory Panels

August 19, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is soliciting applicants to fill one vacancy on its Whiting Advisory Panel and another vacancy on its Herring Advisory Panel (AP). The appointments will run through December 2022. The application deadline is Friday, September 4, 2020.

Advisory panel members reflect a wide range of expertise covering different gear types, user groups, geographic locations, and social and economic perspectives.

“We’re looking for applicants who understand the whiting and herring fisheries and are ready to commit to an active role on an AP,” said Council Executive Director Tom Nies. “We recognize that being an AP member can be challenging and sometimes time-demanding, but the Council benefits from the expertise of its AP members and genuinely appreciates their involvement in the development of our actions.”

Read the full release here