Saving Seafood

Nominations Sought for Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee

October 17, 2017 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries 

Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee nominations accepted through November 27, 2017.

NOAA Fisheries is seeking nominations to fill current and pending vacancies on the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) due to term limits. MAFAC advises the Secretary of Commerce on all living marine resource matters that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. The Committee draws on its members’ expertise and other sources to evaluate and make recommendations to the Secretary and NOAA on the development and implementation of agency regulations, policies, and programs critical to the mission and goals of NOAA Fisheries.

MAFAC members represent the wide spectrum of commercial, recreational, subsistence, and aquaculture fisheries interests; tribes; seafood industry; protected resources and habitat interests; environmental organizations; academic institutions; consumer groups; and other living marine resource interest groups.

Nominees should possess demonstrable expertise in one of these fields and be able to fulfill the time commitments required for two in-person annual meetings and between-meeting subcommittee work. Membership is balanced geographically across states and territories, ethnically, and on the basis of gender, in addition to the range of expertise and interests listed. Individuals serve for a term of three years. Members may serve a second consecutive term, if re-appointed.

A MAFAC member cannot be a federal employee, a member of a Regional Fishery Management Council, a registered federal lobbyist, or a state employee.  Membership is voluntary, and except for reimbursable travel and related expenses, service is without pay. The committee functions solely as an advisory body (complying fully with the Federal Advisory Committee Act) that reports to the Secretary.

Full nomination instructions and guidelines are described in this Federal Register notice.

For questions or more information, please contact Jennifer Lukens, Executive Director of MAFAC, jennifer.lukens@noaa.gov or Heidi Lovett, heidi.lovett@noaa.gov.

ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board Approves 2018 Fishery Specifications

October 17, 2017 — NORFOLK, Virginia — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved a spiny dogfish commercial quota of 38,195,822 pounds for the 2018 fishing season (May 1, 2018 – April 30, 2019). The Board maintained a 6,000 pound commercial trip limit in state waters (0-3 miles from shore) in the northern region (Maine through Connecticut). The quota and northern region trip limit are consistent with the measures recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. States in the southern region (New York to North Carolina) have the ability to set state-specific trip limits based on the needs of their fisheries.

2018 marks the third year of the current federal 3-year specifications cycle. It is anticipated the stock assessment will be updated in 2018 to inform development of fishery specification recommendations, including the commercial quota, for 2019 and beyond. Additionally, the Board intends to discuss issues raised by the Advisory Panel (and other fishery participants) in more detail prior to setting 2019 specifications. The timing of the next benchmark stock assessment for spiny dogfish is less certain, however, the Board supported the Council’s recommendations to conduct a benchmark stock assessment in 2019, or soon after.

The 2018 spiny dogfish commercial quota allocations (in pounds) for the northern region and the states of New York through North Carolina are provided below. Any overages from the 2017 season will be deducted from that region’s or state’s 2018 quota allocation. Similarly, any eligible roll overs from the 2017 season will be applied to that region’s or state’s 2018 quota allocation.
For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740

David Goethel: NOAA Fisheries rule should alarm taxpayers

October 16, 2017 — NOAA Fisheries has discovered a devious way to increase their budget without the checks and balances guaranteed by our forefathers, and the courts have let it stand.

I have been involved in a lawsuit with NOAA Fisheries over who pays for at-sea monitors (ASM) for the last three years. These are basically our own personal state police men who ride along on the boat and watch and record everything fishermen do at sea. Fishermen have been forced to sign contracts with for-profit third-party companies that provide this service for $710 per day. Recently, the Supreme Court refused to hear our case, effectively ending our pursuit of justice. Readers should be concerned, not only because this job-killing regulation effects their ability to obtain local seafood, but also because the loss leaves in place a precedent that will allow regulatory agencies to tax citizens by passing regulations while bypassing Congress.

Readers should forget most of what they learned in civics class and anything they see on courtroom television. You do have equal access to justice but it comes at a very high price. Taking this case through the legal system probably cost in excess of half a million dollars. Regulatory agencies make shrewd calculations about who can afford to sue over an action. They assume large corporations and environmental non-government organizations (NGOs) will sue and regulations are tailored accordingly. Absent a group like Cause of Action (COA) providing pro-bono counsel to someone like me, I and by extension ordinary citizens, are effectively blocked from seeking justice by the cost.

Read the full op-ed at Foster’s Daily Democrat

After criminal case, Carlos Rafael faces more losses

NOAA has yet to determine fines and penalties in civil case involving Carlos Rafael

October 16, 2017 — So far, New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael has lost a fraction of his fishing empire after pleading guilty to 23 counts of false labeling and identification of fish, as well as cash smuggling, conspiracy, falsifying federal records and tax evasion. He was found guilty and sentenced to nearly four years in jail last month.

But there could be millions more in fines and penalties as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration decides what civil measures to impose on Rafael. Fishermen and environmental groups have been lobbying for that money to go toward restoring the fishery, and many would like to see it pay for better monitoring of what fishermen catch at sea and land on shore.

“We’re looking ahead to the civil phase and hope there will be some visibility (public input),” said Johanna Thomas, a senior director for the Environmental Defense Fund. “We agree that the money from (criminal) and civil cases go to funding the monitoring system.”

But how that happens is still a bit of a mystery.

At the time of his sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge William Young required that Rafael pay a $200,000 fine and $108,929 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury for the smuggled money and tax evasion. This past week, Young also determined that Rafael would forfeit four fishing vessels that participated in Rafael’s scheme to get around a lack of quota in certain species. Rafael also forfeited 34 of what Young termed “permits.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Groundfishermen: ‘It feels like we’re just forgotten’

October 16, 2017 — HAMPTON, New Hampshire — New Hampshire fishermen say temporary federal aid for at-sea monitor coverage is barely holding their industry afloat now that a court battle over the cost appears to have ended.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is currently covering 60 percent of the cost for third-party at-sea monitors to observe commercial groundfishermen’s compliance with federal regulations. That coverage is projected to end May 1, 2018, when fishermen will be expected to cover the entire cost, according to NOAA spokeswoman Allison Ferreira. Groundfish include New England seafood staples like cod and haddock.

Hampton fisherman David Goethel said he would probably sell his boat and stop fishing if NOAA stops funding its portion of the cost. He and other fishermen filed a federal suit arguing it was unfair for fishermen to pay for monitors required by NOAA. Judges at the district and circuit court levels ruled the fishermen filed the suit too late to be considered on its merits, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to have the case heard this month.

Read the full story at Fosters’s Daily Democrat

American Samoa Demand Answers From Fisheries Management Council Conference

October 16, 2017 — PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — Due to the many concerns from members of the House Agriculture, Marine & Wildlife and Forestry Committee, on the issues of Federal regulations that affect fisheries in American Samoa, the director of the Department of Marine Wildlife Resource, Va’amua Henry Sesepasara, asked House members to make sure they voice all questions and frustrations to members of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) when their annual conference convenes next week.

Va’amua and Christine Lutu-Sanchez, who is president of the Tautai Longline Fishing Association and also one of the two American Samoa representatives on the WPFMC, appeared before the Committee last Friday, to discuss issues pertaining to fishing in American Samoa, and how federal regulations affect fishing in the territory.

However, one of the main issues discussed during the hearing, had to do with money that American Samoa fishing boats are paying for fishing licenses, and money that fishing boats pay in fines if they are caught fishing illegally inside the territory’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Rep. Vesi Talalelei Fautanu Jr. believes all these monies should come straight to American Samoa, instead of going to federal agencies that work together to enforce regulations on the seas; and other reps reminded Va’amua that all new revenues must be sent to the Fono for appropriation before DMWR can use them.

Va’amua confirmed that all monies from fishing vessel fines and licenses go straight to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — and American Samoa through DMWR must send them a proposal to notify them what project they want to use the funds on, before the territory can access the funds.

Read the full story at the Pacific Islands Report

Civil penalities from NOAA could be next for Carlos Rafael

October 13, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Judge William Young’s judgment filed Wednesday appeared to be the finish line to Carlos Rafael’s case. Young, though, by ordering the forfeiture of four vessels and every permit associated with the Bull Dog, the Olivia and Rafaela, the Lady Patricia and the Southern Crusader II began a new ripple effect throughout the commercial fishing industry revealing some questions but very little answers.

It’s likely NOAA will take center stage now that the Department of Justice has closed its case. NOAA can bring civil penalties to Rafael.

The Environmental Defense Fund released a statement after Young’s ruling calling for NOAA to “pursue civil remedies to further aid the victims of Carlos Rafael’s crimes.”

They can range from fines to indefinite bans within commercial fishing.

NOAA issued indefinite bans to James G. Spalt and Peter Spalt, former Cape Cod scallopers, in 1996 to go with a more than $4 million fine. More than 20 years later, they remain outside the industry with no way to return.

The allegations levied toward the Spalt brothers included some of the same offenses Rafael pleaded guilty to, but also expanded beyond falsifying fishing quotas.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 13, 2017

October 13, 2017 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13th!!!

OCTOBER IS SEAFOOD MONTH!

Seafood month got a great kickoff in North Carolina with last Saturday’s Fisherman’s Village on the Morehead City waterfront, and on Sunday morning at the Blessing of the Fleet.

For a message from Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, or NMFS, click the link below.
Message from Chris Oliver about Seafood Month

FROM THE DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES:

Advisory committee meetings to focus on cobia management measures – Three advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet on separate dates in October to discuss issues related to the cobia fishery.

The advisory committees will be asked to provide input to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission on management measures contained in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Draft Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia (Georgia to New York). The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board will meet Oct. 19 to vote on this plan.

The draft plan includes size, bag and vessel limits to complement federal measures. Most notably, the draft plan includes several proposed options for state-specific recreational harvest targets that will give individual states more flexibility in developing management measures to best suit their needs.

Currently, the recreational annual catch limit for Georgia to New York is managed on a coastwide basis. This has resulted in federal closures and significant overages, disrupting fishing opportunities and jeopardizing the health of the stock.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will discuss North Carolina’s recreational cobia management measures at its Nov. 15-16 meeting at the Doubletree by Hilton Garden Inn Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk.

For more information, contact Steve Poland, cobia staff lead with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, at 252-808-8159 or Steve.Poland@ncdenr.gov.

CALENDAR

Oct 15 – 19; ASMFC Annual Meeting; Waterside Marriott; Norfolk, VA

Oct 24; 6:00pm MFC Northern Advisory Committee; Dare County Complex; Manteo, NC

Oct 25; 6:00pm MFC Southern Advisory Committee; Cardinal Drive; Wilmington, NC

Oct 26; 6:00pm MFC Finfish Advisory Committee; DMF District Office; Morehead City, NC

Nov 8; Noon; NCFA Board of Directors; Civic Center; Washington, NC

Nov 15-16; NC Marine Fisheries Commission; Kitty Hawk

Dec 4 – 8; South Atlantic Council; Doubletree; Atlantic Beach, NC

Dec 6; Noon; NCFA Board of Directors; Civic Center, Washington, NC

Dec 11 – 14; Mid Atlantic Council; Westin Annapolis; Annapolis, MD

Commercial Closure for Vermilion Snapper in South Atlantic Federal Waters on October 17, 2017

October 13, 2017 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in South Atlantic federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m. on October 17, 2017. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of vermilion snapper in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational fishery is open.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

  • The 2017 July-December commercial catch limit is 431,460 pounds whole weight. In addition, the unused portion of the January 1 through June 30, 2017, commercial catch limit was added to the July 1 through December 31, 2017, commercial catch limit. Commercial landings are projected to reach the July-December commercial catch limit by October 17, 2017.  According to the accountability measure, harvest should close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

AFTER THE CLOSURE:

  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.
  • The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for vermilion snapper does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m. on October 17, 2017, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=383bc195ccbeab4fd6bec1c24905df34&node=sp50.12.622.i&rgn=div6#se50.12.622_1190.

Access this and other Fishery Bulletins from NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office by clicking here.

Trump nominates AccuWeather CEO to run NOAA

October 12, 2017 — President Trump has chosen Barry Myers, the CEO of the private weather forecaster AccuWeather, to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In that role, Myers, who has served as the chief executive of AccuWeather since 2007, would head the agency charged with executing a broad portfolio of responsibilities ranging from providing severe storm warnings to managing the nation’s fisheries.

If confirmed by the Senate, the nomination would install a business executive at an agency more recently headed by scientists. Former President Obama’s last NOAA administrator Kathryn Sullivan, for example, was a geologist and former astronaut.

Ray Ban, the co-chair of the weather industry advocacy group the Weather Coalition, praised Myers’  success in growing AccuWeather’s business, and said he would bring that expertise to the Trump administration.

“[I]n an administration that places high value on business acumen, Barry brings a strong track record in growing one of the most successful companies in the weather industry,” Ban told The Washington Post.

Read the full story at The Hill