Saving Seafood

Regulators to decide whether to keep Maine shrimp ban

December 7, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire – Fishing regulators are ready to decide if a moratorium on fishing for Maine shrimp will be extended into next year.

Fishermen haven’t been able to catch the shrimp since 2013. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section is scheduled to meet on Monday in Portsmouth to decide if that will continue.

The commission’s Northern Shrimp Technical Committee says prospects for shrimp recovery are poor for the near future. It is asking the Northern Shrimp Section to extend the moratorium.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

New England States Schedule Hearings on the Public Hearing Document for Draft Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Herring FMP

December 4, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

New England states of Maine through Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Public Hearing Document for Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled hearings follow. 

Maine Department of Marine Resources

Wednesday, January 6th at 1 p.m.

Marquardt Building

Conference Room 118

32 Blossom Lane

Augusta, ME

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game

Tuesday, January 5th at 7 p.m.

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road

Portsmouth, NH

Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Tuesday, January 5th at 2 p.m.

Annisquam River Station

30 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester, MA

Contact: David Pierce at 617.626.1532

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Monday, January 4th from 6 – 9 PM

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corless Auditorium

South Ferry Road

Narragansett, RI

Contact: John Lake at 401.423.1942

 

Draft Amendment 3 was initiated to propose management measures in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) which reflect changes in the stock structure, integrate recent data into management decisions, and respond to changes in the fishery. The Public Hearing Document proposes (1) alternatives to the spawning monitoring program (protocol, default start dates, area boundaries, and length of the closure period); (2) removing the fixed gear set‐aside rollover provision, and (3) requiring a vessel’s fish hold to be emptied before leaving on a fishing trip.

Today’s rebuilt herring population is comprised of a broader range of age classes with older and larger fish compared to the population during overfished conditions. Analysis of more than a decade’s worth of data suggests larger herring spawn first and the timing of the start of spawning varies from year-to-year. Proposed alternatives to the current spawning monitoring program address inter-annual differences and provide additional measures to more adequately protect spawning fish in the areas where they spawn.

At the request of the fishing industry, the Public Hearing Document includes an option to adjust the fixed gear set-aside rollover provision. Currently, the set-aside of 295 mt is available to fixed gear fishermen through November 1, after which the remaining set-aside becomes available to the rest of the Area 1A fishery. The November 1 date was set because, typically, herring have migrated out of the Gulf of Maine by that time. Anecdotal evidence suggests herring are in the Gulf of Maine after November 1, therefore, fixed gear fishermen requested the set-aside be made available to them for the remainder of the calendar year.

Members of industry also suggested a requirement for fish holds to be empty of fish prior to trip departures. This provision would allow for full accountability and encourage less wasteful fishing practices by creating an incentive to catch herring which meet market demands. The New England Fishery Management Council included a complementary provision in its Framework Adjustment 4 to the Federal Atlantic Herring FMP.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Public Hearing Document either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The document is available here and can also be accessed on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 20, 2015 and should be forwarded to Ashton Harp, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at aharp@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Amendment 3). For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Panel says moratorium on Maine shrimp fishing should stay

November 24, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A key panel says Maine shrimp are still depleted and fishing regulators’ moratorium on fishing for them should remain in effect in 2016.

Fishermen haven’t been able to catch the shrimp since 2013. They were previously sought by commercial fishermen from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and were a popular winter item at fish markets.

The interstate Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Technical Committee says prospects for shrimp recovery is poor for the near future. The committee is asking the Northern Shrimp Section to extend the moratorium at a Dec. 7 meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Herald

Decision on 2016 Maine shrimp season due Dec. 7, outlook bleak

November 13, 2015 — Interstate fishing regulators say they will meet next month to decide if there will be a fishing season for Gulf of Maine shrimp next year, though they say prospects are bleak.

The fishery is currently shut down over concerns about its low population. Fishermen haven’t been able to catch the popular food species since 2013. A panel of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will make a decision about the coming season on Dec. 7 in Portsmouth, N.H.

The fishery was formerly a popular winter fishery for fishermen who spent the warmer months trapping lobsters.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel to Meet December 7, 2015

November 12, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel will meet on December 7, 2015 at the Urban Forestry Center, 45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The Advisory Panel will meet in the morning from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. to review the 2015 Stock Status Report and develop  recommendations for the 2016 fishing season for Section consideration. The Section will meet in the afternoon from 1 – 4 p.m. to set specifications for the 2016 fishing season after reviewing the 2015 Stock Status Report, as well as the recommendations of the Northern Shrimp Technical Committee and Advisory Panel. The Section also will receive an update from Maine on the development of its proposal to address over-capacity in the fishery.

Both meetings are open to the public. The draft agendas for the meetings can be found at  http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/NShrimpSectionAP_Dec2015.pdf. For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org.

Fishermen get face-to-face meeting with NOAA official

October 29, 2015 — HAMPTON, N.H. – Fishermen had a rare meeting Saturday with the federal administrator whose agency has put what Granite State fishermen call backbreaking regulations on their industry.

While no promises for action were made by the official — Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association — those who met with her said they appreciated the hour and a half sit-down she gave them at the Ashworth by the Sea Hotel.

Sullivan took notes, asked questions and heard right from the mouths of the fishermen their fears that recent regulations will make New Hampshire the first state to have its groundfishing industry completely wiped out.

“I said (to Sullivan) I felt that I’m very patriotic, I love my country, but I feel my government has completely failed us in New Hampshire and in the fishing industry, and the public process has been non-existent,” said Ellen Goethel, Hampton marine biologist and wife of commercial fisherman David Goethel. Both met with Sullivan, as well as Portsmouth commercial fisherman Erik Anderson, Fish and Game’s Marine Fishery Division Chief Doug Grout, state Sen. Nancy Stiles (R-Hampton) and state Rep. Renny Cushing (D-Hampton).

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., organized the 4 p.m. meeting. Shaheen contacted the NOAA administrator when she learned Sullivan would be attending a summit at the Ashworth Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25.

Ellen Goethel said it was important for Sullivan to hear about the economic impact the regulations have had on the fisheries in New Hampshire, supported by information gathered by Grout.

Grout said the gross income for New Hampshire’s groundfishermen was reduced roughly 69 percent between 2009 and 2014, according to analysis provided by NOAA. That’s a bigger impact on groundfishermen income than in any other state, the analysis showed.

Also discussed was the core of the problem for struggling fishermen in New Hampshire – whether the science behind the strict regulations is accurate.

Grout told Sullivan there was an apparent disconnect between what NOAA’s scientists were reporting for cod stock levels and what fishermen are seeing on the water.

Read the full story at Portsmouth Herald

Rep. Frank Guinta calls for NOAA to stop at-sea monitoring or pay for it

October 8, 2015 — A New Hampshire congressman is turning up the heat on the at-sea monitoring issue, filing a bill that would terminate the current at-sea monitoring program for fishing sectors in the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery until NOAA agrees to fully fund it.

U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta’s bill would exempt fishermen from having to “comply with the independent, third-party monitoring program” required by the NOAA unless the federal fisheries regulator “fully funds the program with funds appropriated from the administration.”

The goal of the legislation, Guinta said, is to preclude the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from shifting the cost of at-sea monitoring — estimated at $710 per day per trip — from its budget to the federal permit holders — of which, he said, there remain only nine active groundfish sector boats working out of New Hampshire ports.

“I really question why the federal government would force their financial obligation onto the boats,” said Guinta, who represents New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District and is a member of the House Financial Services Committee. “It’s unfortunate what the federal government is doing. If they require it, they should at the very least pay for it.”

Guinta also questioned why the at-sea monitoring is so expensive and why NOAA contracts the services out to third-party operators rather than performing the tasks with its own staff.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

PORTSMOUTH HERALD: NOAA monitoring fee will kill local fishing industry

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — October 6, 2015 — The following editorial appeared yesterday in the Portsmouth Herald in Portsmouth, New Hampshire:

Local fishermen say the looming cost of paying $700 per day, for at-sea monitors, could put them out of business by the end of the year.

It’s a threat that everyone should take seriously.

“The day I really have to pay for this is the day I stop going fishing,” says David Goethel, a commercial fisherman from Hampton.

Stringent federal catch limits have already crippled the 400-year-old fishing industry in New Hampshire to the point where there are now only nine active groundfishing boat operators.

This additional expense, to make sure fishermen are following regulations put forward by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), could be the final nail in the coffin.

That’s why we were pleased that last week NOAA delayed the downshifting of the costs to fishermen until Dec. 1. We urge NOAA and our congressional leaders to do what they can to ensure that the delay is permanent because it’s the right thing to do.

NOAA has been footing the bill for the at-sea monitoring program for several years, and rightly so as it’s the federal agency’s responsibility to ensure that annual catch limits are not exceeded.

At-sea monitors keep track of how vessels are meeting their groundfishing allocations set by NOAA to keep groundfish stocks like cod, haddock and flounder from being destroyed.

NOAA’s current rules state that at-sea monitoring costs were to be instituted in 2012. However, they have delayed implementation because of the “continuing economic problems” in the industry, according to Teri Frady, spokesperson for NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

While the fishing industry is still in crisis, NOAA is now claiming it can’t afford to foot the bill for the monitors.

We find it hard, however, to believe that an agency with a billion dollar budget can’t afford it.

The real people who can’t afford it are the fishermen, who are already struggling to stay afloat due to the heavy regulations.

The cost for at-sea monitors will likely be near $700 per day for each vessel, a figure based on what NOAA paid in fiscal year 2015.

In an email to congressional staff, NOAA regulators admit the change would be “economically challenging” for many.

Studies by NOAA show that as many as 60 percent of affected boats could be pushed out of profitability if they have to pay those fees.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte was right to question whether this decision to downshift costs violates the law.

By law, according to the National Standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NOAA is directed to sustain both fish stocks and fishing communities.

Forcing fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors may support sustainable fisheries but it will kill the local groundfishing industry.

Read the full editorial from the Portsmouth Herald

“New England Fishermen Preservation Act” From Rep. Guinta to Cancel Federal Fees

October 1, 2015 — WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — The following was released from the Office of Congressman Frank Guinta (NH):

With his New England Fishermen Preservation Act (H.R. 3661) today, Congressman Frank Guinta continued his effort to stop federal fees that could extinguish New Hampshire’s fishing industry. Just nine Granite State operators still fish the Gulf of Maine, where National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regulations have reduced their catch by 95 percent, report members of Seabrook’s Yankee Fishermen’s Co-op.  

New fees, averaging over $700 per vessel every few days, could cost fishermen in the region thousands of dollars monthly. “These are small, family businesses,” said Rep. Guinta (NH01), a member of the House Financial Services Committee. “Many are struggling to stay afloat, due to heavy regulations that seem to change from week to week. Fishermen up and down the Northeast could be sunk, when NOAA finally makes good on its threat.”

Rep. Guinta explained that under his bill “NOAA will continue to pay the costs of monitoring fishermen at sea, as the agency has for years.” Currently, NOAA pays contractors to accompany crews but has proposed shifting payment to fishermen themselves. The agency has shifted deadlines several times, recently from the end of October to December. In an email to congressional staff, NOAA regulators admit the change would be “economically challenging” for many.

“It’s economically challenging that an agency with a several-billon dollar budget is demanding fishermen pay its operating costs,” responded Rep. Guinta.

The New England Fishermen Preservation Act exempts Northeast fishermen from compliance with monitoring rules, until NOAA funds the program. Earlier this Congress, Rep. Guinta introduced the bipartisan Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act, which would re-direct existing federal money to U.S. fisheries and strengthen local control.

Read Rep. Guinta’s New England Fishermen Preservation Act here

New Hampshire fishing industry gets more $1M in federal aid

October 2, 2015 — More than $1 million in federal funding has been released to help struggling New Hampshire fishermen and fishing communities.

The money released from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will assist the commercial ground-fishing industry and for-hire fishing vessels. It is in addition to the more than $2 million in fishery disaster funds that have been released to New Hampshire in the past two years.

Read the full story at WMUR