Saving Seafood

MAINE: DMR seeks nomination

February 7, 2017 — The Department of Marine Resources is seeking recommendations from fisheries associations and individuals for Gov. Paul LePage’s nomination of a person to fill an at-large seat on the New England Fishery Management Council currently held by a Maine resident.

Recommendations should be submitted to this department by Feb. 20 to provide nominees with adequate time to complete the required paperwork. Call 624-6553, fax 624-6024 or email your recommendations to Amy Sinclair at amy.sinclair@maine.gov.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

MAINE: State seeks more authority in investigations of suspected lobstering violations

January 3, 2017 — Legislation is being drafted to make it easier for Maine Marine Patrol officers to secretly install tracking or surveillance devices on boats.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources is drafting legislation that would expand the authority of Marine Patrol officers to covertly install electronic surveillance devices on the boats of fishermen suspected of violating state fishing regulations.

The proposal is similar to one that faltered in the Legislature two years ago and is a response to ongoing concerns that some lobstermen are fishing more traps than allowed or engaging in other tactics to skirt Maine’s strict fisheries laws. The proposal also coincides with high-profile turf wars or personal disputes between lobstermen last year that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost or damaged equipment.

The language of the bill has not been released, and DMR officials declined to provide specifics until the legislation has been finalized, consistent with a LePage administration policy. But in a general outline, DMR spokesman Jeff Nichols said the proposal would ease restrictions on Marine Patrol officers when they want to install electronic tracking or surveillance equipment on boats as part of investigations.

It was unclear last week whether the Marine Patrol would be required to obtain a warrant from a court before deploying surveillance devices, a question that could dictate whether the proposal raises constitutionality concerns among fishermen. But it appears the department is seeking to make it easier to track vessels of fishermen suspected of violations of fishing laws, whether civil or criminal.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Connecticut Lawmakers, Proposed Atlantic Monument Met With Opposition From Commercial Fishermen

August 5, 2016 — The following is excerpted from a story published yesterday by the Hartford Courant:

A plan announced Thursday that would designate a unique undersea area 150 miles off the New England coast as the nation’s first Atlantic marine national monument was met with immediate opposition from commercial fishermen.

Connecticut’s congressional delegation, as well as environmental and educational groups, want President Barack Obama to preserve the “New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts” area, which lies along the continental shelf.

The proposal would dramatically restrict commercial fishing in that area and is drawing fierce opposition from commercial fisherman like Stonington’s Bobby Guzzo, who owns and operates two boats.

“That’s just the government trying to take all our water,” Guzzo said Thursday from aboard his fishing vessel. “I’m dead set against it.”

Joseph Gilbert’s Empire Fisheries operates four fishing boats out of Stonington, and he also has problems with the proposed undersea sanctuary. “Fishermen are conservationists, too,” Gilbert said, explaining that he believes the proposal “is well intentioned” but simply “goes too far” without considering the impact on commercial fishing operations and supplies of fish for consumers.

“A lot of these areas are protected already,” Gilbert said.

Commercial fishing groups such as the National Coalition for Fishing Communities argue that there already exist federal laws and regulatory commissions that are set up to protect valuable marine resources like those within the proposed marine sanctuary.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which is responsible for regulating fishing in the region, is also opposed to creation of a protected marine monument off New England’s continental shelf. Commercial fishing organizations warn that the plan would hamper fishing for red crab, swordfish, tuna, as well as off-shore lobster fisheries.

Jon Mitchell, mayor of New Bedford, Mass., New England’s most important fishing port, has also objected to the proposal, as has Maine Gov. Paul LePage.

Read the full story at the Hartford Courant

Governor LePage Sends Letter of Support for Maine Lobster to European Union

June 9, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

Governor Paul R. LePage today released a letter to Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General for Environment of the European Commission, strongly encouraging the EU to deny the Swedish government’s attempt to have American Lobster listed as an invasive species.

Governor LePage reiterated a major point included in a response to a Swedish government risk assessment by a team of biologists from Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Virginia. “The risk of establishment is minimal, and a prohibition on import is not the appropriate measure of response at this time,” wrote Governor LePage.

His letter also highlighted weaknesses in the Swedish government’s risk assessment submitted to the European Union earlier this year. “The risk assessment study provides inadequate scientific basis for the petition and as such it should be denied,” wrote Governor LePage.

The Governor acknowledged the European Union’s interest in addressing risks to its marine resource, and stressed Maine’s shared commitment. “Like the EU, we take the risk of any possible ecological threats to our fisheries very seriously and fully appreciate that the European Union is seeking to protect the health of its own marine resources.”

Governor LePage underscored the need for solutions that will allow the continuation of trade that benefits the US, Canada and the EU. “Consumers are seeking a premium live product from Maine and North America,” wrote Governor LePage. “The US and Canada have developed a fishery that can provide this to Europe in a timely manner. Appropriate traceability and accountability within the supply chain can maximize benefits and minimize risk to EU importers, consumers and the environment.”

Read the full letter as a PDF

Maine raises age for lobstermen to complete apprenticeship

April 11, 2016 — Maine fishing regulators says a change in state law will make it easier for students who want to become lobster fishermen to get into business.

The state has extended the age by which Maine residents must fulfill apprenticeship requirements to get a lobster fishing license without first going on a waiting list.

The old rules state that students had to finish the apprenticeship by age 18.

See the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald

Enviros Push for “National Monuments” Off Northeast Coast that Could Ban Recreational Fishing

November, 2015 — A coalition of environmental groups including the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Conservation Law Foundation, and the National Resources Defense Council, is pushing hard to create a half-dozen “marine national monuments” in the Atlantic Ocean that would prohibit commercial fishing and could ban recreational fishing as well.

The coalition is encouraging President Obama to use his authority to designate the monuments through the Antiquities Act of 1906, which was created to “protect the objects of historic and scientific interest” and is supposed to be limited to “the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” Through the Act, a president can unilaterally create these areas without any public or congressional oversight or input. A number of presidents have exercised this privilege in the past, yet most monuments have been designated on land or in the Western Pacific Ocean.

At the time of this writing the areas under consideration are not completely clear, but appear to include at least three canyons – Lydonia, Gilbert, and Oceanographer – along with four seamounts to the south, as well as Cashes Ledge some 50 miles offshore in the Gulf of Maine. Other canyons and seamounts are also reportedly under consideration.

It is clear to many of us, however, that the coalition’s intent in creating these monuments has little to do with historical or cultural preservation. As Maine’s Gov. Paul LePage put it, the monuments designations “would serve only one purpose – excluding commercial fishing from certain segments of the ocean.”

The recreational sector, however, needs to be very careful – and skeptical as well. At least one attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has suggested that recreational fishing would likely be allowed in the monuments, in order to garner support from sport fishermen, and indicated that it would be a real “win” for the recreational sector if just the commercials were prohibited in these areas.

But the rec sector isn’t taking the bait. “Just because a couple of environmental groups claim they wouldn’t oppose recreational fishing in the monuments doesn’t mean that sport fishing would be allowed once the final regulations are drafted in D.C.,” explained Frank Blount, chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council’s (NEFMC) Groundfish Committee and a party boat fleet owner in RI. “There’s no way to predict what the language in any monument designation will entail. We need to oppose the whole idea, right from the get-go.”

One of the biggest problems with the Antiquities Act of 1906 is that it strips away the open, democratic processes that protect these areas yet can allow sustainable and appropriate fishing activity. The open federal Fishery Management Council system is the vehicle by which this is best accomplished, and in fact the NEFMC has already implemented strong protections for Cashes Ledge, where most commercial fishing is already now prohibited. And in June, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted to protect 38,000 square miles of marine habitat in order to protect deep-sea corals.

A marine monuments designation, in contrast, would nullify these existing management actions, and deny the public any input into what new restrictions might, or should, be enacted. “Instead, it all becomes purely political,” says Jim Donofrio, the RFA’s Executive Director. “Whoever has the most influence on the administration and the president will get what they want in the way of restrictions in these areas. This is no way to manage our publicly-owned marine resources. We already have a transparent process via the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It’s certainly not perfect, to be sure, but it at least allows for public participation.”

Read the full story at Making Waves, the official publication of the Recreational Fishing Alliance

Maine isn’t doing enough to protect the Gulf from the effects of climate change

October 30, 2015 — When the Maine Legislature’s commission on ocean acidification reported its findings – that the state’s fisheries and aquaculture industries were threatened by this baleful byproduct of global warming – officials here were not exactly spurred to action.

Acidification, driven by increased carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and freshwater runoff from extreme rainfall in river basins, has been implicated in failures at oyster hatcheries and mussel farms, and has been shown to weaken clams and other shell-building animals vital to Maine’s fishing and aquaculture industries. But bills introduced in the last session – one each by a Democratic marine scientist and a Republican lobsterman – to implement many of the panel’s findings were withdrawn, one for lack of resources, the other for lack of support from Gov. Paul LePage’s administration.

“I could see the bill wasn’t going to go anywhere and that the governor was going to veto it,” Rep. Mick Devin, a Democrat from Newcastle, says of legislation he sponsored to allow the commission to continue its work for another three years.

Patricia Aho, who was the commissioner of environmental protection until she resigned in August, opposed Devin’s bill, saying the status quo was sufficient. “Since the issues of climate change and ocean acidification are inextricably linked, we think it will be more efficient to consider this issue in the broader context of climate change and adaptation programs,” she said in written testimony to legislators.

Devin’s bill and another one sponsored by Rep. Wayne Parry, a Republican from Arundel, were carried over to the next legislative session. Parry’s bill would have put a bond issue on the ballot that would borrow $3 million to fund several of the expert committee’s recommendations: collecting data, monitoring waterways, and performing tests in coastal waters to better assess the impact of acidification on wildlife and commercial fish species. It was withdrawn after failing to make it to the top of an informal list of bonding priorities drawn up by legislative leaders.

Read the full story at Portland Press Herald

 

Maine trade groups head to China

October 16, 2015 — The state of Maine, whose biggest exports to China are seafood, especially lobsters, and wood, is sending a trade delegation headed by its governor to China at the end of this month in search of deals for the state’s services industry.

Governor Paul LePage, the Maine International Trade Center (MITC), and the US Commercial Service will be joined by a delegation of about two dozen people from the food, environmental and educational sectors on a week-long trip to East Asia from Oct 24 to Oct 31, where they will visit Shanghai. Then those in the seafood sector will head to Qingdao on China’s east coast for a fishery tradeshow.

China is Maine’s second-largest export market after Canada. Last year’s those exports totaled $183, down from the $247 million in 2012, the last time the state went on a trade mission to the country. As of August 2015, the state’s exports to China totaled $141 million.

Wood products, which include wood pulp-related goods and paper goods, make up the majority of Maine’s exports to China, followed by seafood.

Read the full story from China Daily

Greens’ hopes for quick win on New England monument fade

September 30, 2015 — One month ago, environmental groups were strategizing over their latest bid: Get the Obama administration to create its first marine monument off New England.

They had talks with fishing groups, lawmakers and think tanks. At the end of August, they exchanged emails over their progress — and in one, the president of the Conservation Law Foundation warned everyone to keep quiet about the possibility of a breakthrough at the upcoming Our Ocean Conference in Chile.

“I hope no one is talking about Chile to the outside world,” CLF Interim President Peter Shelley wrote. “It’s one of the few advantages we may have to know that it could happen sooner rather than later.”

The email showed up in response to a public records request that Saving Seafood filed with the office of Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s. The advocacy group — which represents fishermen opposed to the monument — sent the emails to Greenwire yesterday, asserting that they confirm “rumors” of an impending monument announcement from the White House.

Such an announcement would certainly make waves. The proposed monument is small and sees little activity today, but it is near prime fishing grounds. House Republicans have also added the proposal to their arsenal of criticism over the White House’s use of the Antiquities Act (E&E Daily, Sept. 30).

Read the full story from the E&E Reporter

Over 1,500 Coastal Residents Join Federal, State, and Congressional Leaders in Opposing Atlantic Marine Monument

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – September 25, 2015 – A letter delivered this week to the President and other top Federal officials has been signed by more than 1,500 fishermen and other residents from coastal communities opposing recent calls to create a marine national monument along America’s Atlantic Coast. The letter’s signers join a growing list of citizens, stakeholders, governors, Senators, Members of Congress, and local leaders speaking out publicly against the monument campaign. The letter’s signers call the measure an unnecessary use of Executive authority that undermines the public management of natural resources, which are being successfully managed through public processes.

READ THE LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT AND TOP FEDERAL OFFICIALS

Saving Seafood has published the letter online today, which was produced jointly by the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) and the Northeast Seafood Coalition (NSC). In addition to President Obama, the letter was also delivered to Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, and NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Eileen Sobeck.

According to the letter, a recent campaign to designate an Atlantic marine national monument, specifically in the Cashes Ledge area of the Gulf of Maine and around the New England Canyons and Seamounts, circumvents and diminishes the public management procedures that currently manage these areas. In the view of the signers, a process that is open and collaborative, and considers the input of scientific experts, fishermen, and other stakeholders, is best way to successfully manage marine resources.

The signers also contend that these proposals do not properly take into account the existing protections already in place in many of these areas. They note that Cashes Ledge has been closed to most forms of commercial fishing for over a decade, and that the New England Fishery Management Council recently took steps to extend these protections into the future with the approval of Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2. The Council is set to further examine additional habitat protections for the region when it considers the Deep Sea Coral Amendment later this year. To the signers of the letter, these are clear signs that the current management process is working.

The letter joins increasingly vocal opposition to a national monument designation. Maine Governor Paul LePage, as well as Maine Senator Susan Collins and Congressman Bruce Poliquin, have all written to the Obama Administration opposing any monument in the Gulf of Maine. Sefatia Romeo Theken, the Mayor of Gloucester, Massachusetts, home to the nation’s oldest fishing port and its historic groundfish fishery, has also written a letter in opposition. Jon Mitchell, the Mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the nation’s most valuable port and home to the Atlantic scallop fishery, is one of the signers of this week’s letter. Legislatively, Congressmen Don Young and Walter Jones recently introduced the Marine Access and State Transparency Act, which would prevent the President from declaring offshore national monuments.