Saving Seafood

Statement from the Northeast Seafood Coalition on FY 2020 Appropriations and At-Sea Monitoring Funding

January 3, 2020 — The following was released by the Northeast Seafood Coalition:

Calendar year 2020 has begun with some positive news for commercial groundfish fishermen.

Thanks to the hard work of Senator Shaheen and fellow members of Congress, full funding has once again been secured through the FY 2020 federal appropriations legislation to cover at-sea monitoring (ASM) expenses for commercial groundfish fishermen!

Even better, for the first time, this legislation includes specific directives for NOAA Fisheries to improve the quality and utility of ASM and other fishery dependent data for the purpose of improving groundfish stock abundance estimates, along with the necessary funding to support implementation of these directives. 

It has become clear that the future of the groundfish fishery depends on improving the apparent limitations of current stock assessments given their disconnect with the observations of fishermen on the water.  It is likewise clear that until an understanding of true stock abundance is achieved, the groundfish fishery will not be sustainable under the financial burden of ASM expenses.   

Consequently, securing this funding and these Congressional directives has been among the top priorities of the Northeast Seafood Coalition (NSC), and so we are profoundly grateful to Senator Shaheen for her effective leadership and enduring commitment to our fishery.

Our work is not over.  Senator Shaheen’s appropriations legislation also directs NOAA to submit to her Committee a ‘spend plan’ for these funds.  It is critical that NOAA Fisheries strictly adheres to the intent and directives of Congress and does not seek to misuse these funds to pursue their own objectives.  NSC will be watching this closely.

Finally, it is critical that NOAA Fisheries and the New England Fishery Management Council understand that there is absolutely nothing in Senator Shaheen’s appropriations legislation suggesting that it was intended to support any specific measures to revise the monitoring program as are being contemplated within ongoing development of Amendment 23.   NSC will be vigorous in objecting to any misrepresentations of Congressional intent in this regard.

For additional information contact Jackie Odell, Executive Director, Northeast Seafood Coalition, Cell (978) 836-7999, jackie@northeastseafoodcoalition.org

New England Council’s January 2020 meeting lineup

January 2, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a number of committee meetings over the next few weeks before it gathers in Portsmouth, NH at the end of January for its first full session of the New Year.  Here’s the lineup, along with a couple of additional items of potential interest to stakeholders.  Agendas and documents will be posted on the Council’s website as meeting materials become available.

SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEE (SSC):  The SSC will meet on Friday, January 10, 2020at the Hilton Garden Inn – Boston Logan Airport beginning at 9:30 a.m. to review acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for four groundfish stocks that the Council remanded to the SSC for further consideration.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:  The Council’s Executive Committee will meet on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at the Four Points Sheraton in Wakefield, MA to discuss administrative matters related to Council business.

GROUNDFISH:  The Council has three groundfish-related meetings on its calendar.

  • Groundfish Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP) – The RAP will meet on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Four Points Sheraton in Wakefield, MA to: (1) develop recommendations for the Groundfish Committee on 2020 recreational measures for Gulf of Maine cod and Gulf of Maine haddock; and (2) receive an overview of the Council’s 2020 groundfish priorities.
  • Groundfish Advisory Panel (GAP) – The GAP also will meet on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 in the same location beginning at 12:30 p.m. to discuss the same agenda items as the RAP.
  • Groundfish Committee – The Groundfish Committee will meet on Thursday, January 23, 2020beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Four Points Sheraton in Wakefield, MA to review and discuss the RAP and GAP recommendations and the Council’s groundfish priorities.

HABITAT:  The Habitat Committee and Habitat Advisory Panel will meet jointly on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at the Four Points Sheraton in Wakefield, MA beginning at 10:00 a.m.  Several items are on the agenda, including: (1) a review of the Council’s habitat-related research priorities; (2) potential development of comments on an Exempted Fishing Permit for the Great South Channel if the notice publishes prior to this January 22 meeting; (3) offshore wind updates; (4) updates on the development of habitat policies for aquaculture, submarine cables, and floating wind projects; and (5) a Northeast Regional Habitat Assessment update.

WHITING:  The Small-Mesh Multispecies (Whiting) Committee and the Whiting Advisory Panel will meet jointly on Monday, January 27, 2020 at the Portsmouth Harbor Events and Conference Center in Portsmouth, NH beginning at 1:00 p.m. to discuss issues and develop recommendations on a Council action to rebuild southern red hake.

  • 2020 Red Hake Stock Structure Working Group – On a related note, the Red Hake Stock Structure Working Group will meet January 6-8, 2020 at the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford, MA to prepare the red hake assessment and ensure the terms of reference have been fully addressed in the reports and documents provided to the Stock Assessment Review Committee.

NEW ENGLAND FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL:  The full Council will meet January 28-30, 2020at the Portsmouth Harbor Events and Conference Center.

MREP ON THE HORIZON:  A Marine Resource Education Program (MREP) Fisheries Science Workshop will be held February 25-27, 2020 in Woods Hole, MA.  The workshop is being organized by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

SCALLOPS ON THE HORIZON:  Two scallop-related meetings are on the Council’s calendar for February.

THREE MEETING OUTLOOK:  A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is availableHERE.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

MAX SULLIVAN: Seabrook: Fishermen deserve voice in offshore wind plans

December 20, 2019 — Selectmen are abandoning a task force looking at offshore wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine, demanding their local fishermen have more direct inclusion.

The board voted unanimously Dec. 6 to send a letter to the New Hampshire Office of Strategic Initiatives announcing it would suspend its participation in the recently formed Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force for the Gulf of Maine.

The task force is charged with considering the various impacts of offshore wind turbines, which are hoped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while producing thousands of jobs across New England. Fishing communities like in Seabrook have expressed strong concerns about the turbines’ impact on the ocean and the fish they harvest for a living.

Seabrook selectmen said they value the fishing heritage in their town where many New Hampshire fishermen dock their boats. They said in their letter to the OSI they wanted fishermen to have a direct seat on the task force, which is comprised of elected officials from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.

“It is our firm belief that due to potential impacts to the fishing industry this task force should have representation from that industry,” selectmen said in a letter to Matthew Mailloux, energy adviser for the OSI. “Without a voice for fishermen we feel that the potential impacts to their livelihood may not be fully understood, or addressed, by this task force, as currently constituted.”

Read the full opinion piece at Sea Coast Online

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Offshore Wind Task Force Meeting Draws Crowd; Sununu Pushes For Quick Development

December 13, 2019 — Northern New England began an ambitious planning process for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine Thursday.

More than 200 stakeholders packed into the first meeting of the new regional wind task force at UNH.

They say the new industry will take years to develop – but it could be a powerful way for Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire to fight climate.

The big turnout surprised organizers with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. One facilitator said he’d never been to a standing-room-only task force meeting before.

Governor Chris Sununu was energized as he kicked off the day-long event. He says he intends to see offshore wind development succeed in the Gulf of Maine as quickly as possible.

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

States express support for offshore wind in Gulf of Maine

December 13, 2019 — Leaders in states bordering the Gulf of Maine expressed strong support Thursday for offshore wind, setting the region up to become the next battleground over the resource as some members of the area’s influential fishing industry voice objections.

Officials from Massachusetts and Maine, along with New Hampshire’s Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, said Thursday at the first meeting of the Agenda for the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force for the Gulf of Maine that they were optimistic =offshore wind could help them reduce greenhouse gas emissions while producing thousands of jobs across New England.

Led by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the task force must weigh concerns from commercial fishermen, environmentalists, coastal communities and other stakeholders before deciding where leases on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Maine might be allocated and where they wouldn’t be allowed. There are also technical challenges, since the deep waters of the gulf may require floating platforms.

So far, there are no federal leases in the gulf, and the first offshore wind farm is still six to 10 years from operation. Still, officials estimate offshore wind could eventually be a critical energy source in New England.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

New Task Force Will Consider Leases For Offshore Wind Energy Developers In The Gulf Of Maine

December 12, 2019 — A new task force will convene for the first time Thursday to consider how and where to lease potentially vast swathes of the Gulf of Maine to offshore wind-energy developers. The outcome could have big consequences for Maine’s fishing industry, and for the state’s role in the next wave of renewable energy development.

An earlier round of auctions awarded leases in federal waters off southern New England, where several large-scale wind projects should soon start churning out thousands of megawatts of electricity — a big down payment on state commitments to ramp up the use of renewable energy.

Now, at New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu’s request, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is starting a new process to designate the best areas for offshore wind projects farther north — in the Gulf of Maine. Analysts say investments could be worth billions of dollars, with thousands of jobs in the offing.

“This is a really significant opportunity for our energy future and economy,” says Dan Burgess.

Burgess directs Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ energy office, and he is leading the state’s delegation to the intergovernmental task force that will advise the Bureau Of Ocean Energy Management. The panel also includes representatives from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, tribal governments and the feds.

Read the full story at Maine Public

Herring fishing to be limited for months

December 11, 2019 — Federal fishing regulators are limiting the amount of herring that fishermen can catch off New England until the end of the year. The fish is used for food and bait.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it’s implementing a 2,000-pound herring possession limit per trip in the inshore Gulf of Maine until Dec. 31. The inshore Gulf of Maine’s an area that touches coastal Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

The agency says it’s taking the step because 92% of the catch limit in the area has been harvested.

NOAA says no herring fishing is allowed in the area from Jan. 1 to May 31, so the fishery won’t be able to fully resume in the inshore gulf until June.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

New Hampshire Preparing for Offshore Wind Development

December 10, 2019 — Governor Chris Sununu signed an executive order preparing for future offshore wind development by establishing four advisory boards focused on informing New Hampshire’s next steps, while calling on state agencies to report on key studies.

Sununu says his order will ensure an open and transparent process involving diverse stakeholders to balance existing offshore uses with a new source of clean energy. “This will require enhanced coordination between state agencies, new studies, and continuous engagement with the public,” he says. “Most of all, it’s imperative that we go through this process the right way from day one to maximize all the potential benefits of this new industry.”

The first federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting for the Gulf of Maine is December 12, 2019 at the University of New Hampshire.

The executive order establishes four advisory boards to work with stakeholders, and advise New Hampshire members of the BOEM Task Force throughout the process.

Read the full story at Business NH Magazine

Gov. Sununu signs order on offshore wind development

December 5, 2019 — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has signed an executive order preparing the state for future offshore wind development.

The order signed Tuesday establishes four advisory boards focused on fisheries and endangered species, workforce and economic development, offshore industries and infrastructure.

“New Hampshire recognizes the tremendous potential that offshore wind power has to offer,” Sununu said in a statement. “With today’s executive order, New Hampshire will ensure that this is an open and transparent process involving diverse stakeholders to balance existing offshore uses with a new source of clean energy.”

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Warming waters spell more bad news for Maine’s shrimpers

November 21, 2019 — New England shrimp are still in bad shape despite a fishing shutdown that is unlikely to end soon, new data show.

The region’s shrimp fishing industry, long based mostly in Maine, has been shut down since 2013 because of concerns about the health of the population. Recent surveys off Maine and New Hampshire say signs are still poor, scientists with the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said.

A big part of the problem is that the shrimp thrive in cold water and the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than most of the world’s oceans. The mean average summer sea bottom temperature was about 42 degrees Fahrenheit from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and it rose to 45 degrees this year, said Dustin Colson Leaning, a fishery management plan coordinator for the Atlantic States.

That small difference makes it harder for young shrimp to thrive and join the population, he said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News