swordfish Archives - Page 9 of 10

Foreign Fishermen Confined to Boats Catch Hawaiian Seafood

September 8, 2016 — HONOLULU — Hawaii’s high-quality seafood is sold with the promise that it’s caught by local, hard-working fishermen. But the people who haul in the prized catch are almost all undocumented foreign workers, confined to American boats for years at a time without basic rights or protections.

About 700 men from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific Island nations make up the bulk of the workforce in this unique U.S. fishing fleet. A federal loophole allows them to take the dangerous jobs without proper work permits, just as long as they don’t set foot on shore.

Americans buying Hawaiian seafood are almost certainly eating fish caught by one of these workers.

A six-month Associated Press investigation found fishing crews living in squalor on some boats, forced to use buckets instead of toilets and suffering running sores from bed bugs. There have been instances of human trafficking, active tuberculosis and low food supplies.

“We want the same standards as the other workers in America, but we are just small people working there,” said fisherman Syamsul Maarif, who didn’t get paid for four months. He was sent back to his Indonesian village after nearly dying at sea when his Hawaiian boat sank earlier this year.

Because they have no visas, the men can’t fly into Hawaii, so they’re brought by boat. And since they’re not technically in the country, they’re at the mercy of their American captains on American-flagged, American-owned vessels, catching choice swordfish and ahi tuna that can fetch more than $1,000 apiece. The entire system contradicts other state and federal laws, yet operates with the blessing of U.S. officials and law enforcement.

“People say these fishermen can’t leave their boats, they’re like captives,” said U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni in Hawaii. “But they don’t have visas, so they can’t leave their boat, really.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press

“Good Catch!” Campaign Bolsters New England’s Sustainable Seafood Businesses

August 10, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

BOSTON — According to new independent research, seafood consumers in New England are significantly more likely than national consumers to purchase fresh fish at a seafood counter, 58 percent and 40 percent, respectively. New England consumers’ affinity for fresh seafood is renowned, and the region benefits from a concentration of certified sustainable fisheries, which work to protect fish stocks, ecosystems and local fishing communities. However, consumer awareness of the abundant sustainable seafood offerings from area sellers remains low. To address this, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an international non-profit dedicated to safeguarding the seafood supply, will launch a campaign to educate New England consumers about identifying sustainable seafood products.

MSC will take its “Good Catch!” campaign directly to consumers this month with events at Whole Foods and Big Y grocery stores, which feature MSC at their fresh fish counters, in greater Boston, Springfield and Great Barrington, as well as at Green Fest and the Quincy Farmers Market.

“As consumers are developing greater awareness of their impact on the world, they are demanding more ways to validate that the products they buy support their values,” said Brian Perkins, MSC Regional Director – Americas. “You should have confidence that what you are buying really is what it says it is and that it originates from a sustainable source. The blue MSC label ensures that the seafood was caught wild, using methods that don’t deplete the natural supply or come at the expense of other ocean life.”

IMPACT ON LOCAL FISHING INDUSTRY: The fishing industry – at the heart of many New England communities – has seen first-hand the consequences of unsustainable fishing. Sustainable fisheries in New England, and globally, are the most important players in addressing these problems. The MSC certification program helps these fishing communities prove to the marketplace that their seafood supplies are healthy. In New England, the US Atlantic sea scallop; Maine Lobster; US North Atlantic swordfish; US Atlantic spiny dogfish; US Acadian, redfish, pollock and haddock fisheries are MSC certified.

“The fishing industry is vital to New England’s economy, and operating them sustainably ensures that our industry will continue for generations to come,” said Doug Feeney a commercial fisherman and member of the Cape Cod Fisherman’s Association. “Consumers want to know that the seafood they buy is responsibly sourced – MSC certification allows us to let local shoppers know that what they’re buying really does come from our sustainable sources.”

Consumers wishing to learn more about sustainable seafood can look for the MSC booth throughout August outside Whole Foods stores in the Boston area, Big Y stores in Springfield and Great Barrington, Green Fest, and the Quincy Farmers Market. Visit msc.org/goodcatch for information.

“By purchasing seafood that they know comes from a sustainable source, consumers help protect our oceans and ensure that seafood can be enjoyed for many generations to come,” said Perkins. “They have the power to impact the health of the ocean and the continuation of the fishing industry simply by the products they choose.”

About the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization. Our vision is for the world’s oceans to be teeming with life, and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations. Our ecolabel and certification program recognizes and rewards sustainable fishing practices and is helping create a more sustainable seafood market. The MSC ecolabel on a seafood product means that it comes from a wild-catch fishery which has been independently certified to the MSC’s science-based standard for environmentally sustainable fishing, and it’s fully traceable to a sustainable source. More than 280 fisheries in over 35 countries are certified to the MSC’s Standard. These fisheries have a combined annual seafood production of almost nine million metric tons, representing close to 10% of annual global yields. More than 20,000 seafood products worldwide carry the MSC ecolabel. For more information, visit www.msc.org.

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

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel Meeting September 7-8, 2016

August 4, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) intends to hold a meeting of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel (AP) on September 7-8, 2016, at the Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The AP meeting and webinar will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Wednesday and Thursday, September 7 and September 8, 2016.

On Wednesday, September 7, 2016, the conference call information is phone number 1-888-469-2188; Participant Code: 7954019; and the webinar event address is: https://noaaevents2.webex.com/noaaevents2/onstage/g.php?MTID=eec1bb32466dd8905125c5db01b539623; event password: NOAA.

On Thursday, September 8, 2016, the conference call information is phone number 1-888-469-2188; Participant Code: 7954019; and the webinar event address is: https://noaaevents2.webex.com/noaaevents2/onstage/g.php?MTID=e9fcef19f3c43ce6255dfad07807a71f4 ; event password: NOAA.

Participants are strongly encouraged to log/dial in 15 minutes prior to the meeting. NMFS will show the presentations via webinar and allow public comment during identified times on the agenda.

The intent of this meeting is to consider alternatives for the conservation and management of all Atlantic tunas, swordfish, billfish, and shark fisheries. We anticipate discussing the results of the 2016 dusky shark stock assessment and the Amendment 5b timeline; Draft Amendment 10 on Essential Fish Habitat, including potential Habitat Areas of Particular Concern; implementation updates for Final Amendment 7 on bluefin tuna management; and progress updates on various other rulemakings, including archival tag requirements, blacknose and small coastal shark management; domestic implementation of recommendations from the 2015 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas; and potential changes to limited access vessel upgrading requirements and Individual Bluefin Quota program inseason transfer criteria. We also anticipate discussing recreational topics regarding data collection and economic surveys, as well as progress updates regarding the exempted fishing permit request to conduct research in pelagic longline closed areas. Finally, we also intend to invite other NMFS offices to provide updates on their activities relevant to HMS fisheries.

New Atlantic Marine Monument Poll Presents Misleading Picture of the Issues

July 12, 2016 (NCFC) — Yesterday, a poll released by the Protect New England’s Ocean Treasures Coalition claimed that 80 percent of Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents support national monument designation for certain ocean areas. However, the survey questions selectively presented information to respondents, withholding information about existing protections in the proposed monument areas.

The poll, conducted by Edge Research, a suburban Washington, DC polling company with a specialty in ocean conservation issues, consisted of phone interviews with 400 residents in Massachusetts and 403 residents in Rhode Island. Respondents were presented with questions that minimized the economic impacts of a potential marine monument.

When asked about the monuments, respondents were told, “protecting these areas would prohibit the fishing activity in these limited areas and could result in a small adverse economic impact on commercial fishing.” [emphasis added]

But according to fishermen themselves, the economic impact of a marine monument could in fact be devastating – potentially costing the industry millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. The affected areas are important grounds for the valuable red crab, swordfish, tuna, and offshore lobster fisheries. This has led the affected fisheries, as well as virtually the entire New England fishing industry and its regulatory bodies, to unite in opposition to the current monument proposals.

The pollsters also repeatedly asked whether respondents supported federal protections for the areas in question, without mentioning the protections already in place under the current management system. These protections include the prohibition of federally managed fisheries from using bottom-tending gear in Cashes Ledge, one of the areas under consideration.

Several leading fisheries management bodies have made it clear that they support the current public and transparent process for habitat and fisheries management. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission passed a resolution in May asserting its preference for using the current process, under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to develop protections for the proposed monument areas.

Also in May, the Council Coordination Committee, comprised of all eight regional fishery management councils in the U.S., stated its support for the “public, transparent, science-based process and management” of fisheries required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing fisheries management in the country. Marine protections enacted under this process are not mentioned as a potential alternative in the poll.

The press release accompanying the poll states that Edge Research “is recognized as the chief pollster for ocean issues.”

The Edge Research principal named in the release, Lisa Dropkin, is described as having “conducted research for a host of conservation organizations, including The Ocean Conservancy, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Environmental Defense Fund, and World Wildlife Fund.” She also chairs Green Media Toolshed, “an application service provider supporting media communications for environmental organizations,” which lists among its goals strengthening the “ability of conservation groups to influence national, regional and local media.”

In June 2015, Edge Research “partnered with the David & Lucile Packard Foundation to conduct new research on American Millennials’ attitudes towards oceans, ocean conservation, and pathways for engaging this next generation of ocean leaders.”

There is no indication on the Edge Research website that they have ever done work for the commercial fishing or maritime shipping industries.

The Protect New England’s Ocean Treasures Coalition, which is advocating for a Marine National Monument in the North Atlantic Ocean, is composed of Center for American Progress, Conservation Law Foundation, Earthjustice, Environment America, Mystic Aquarium, National Geographic Society, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, New England Aquarium, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

About the NCFC
The National Coalition for Fishing Communities provides a national voice and a consistent, reliable presence for fisheries in the nation’s capital and in national media. Comprised of fishing organizations, associations, and businesses from around the country, the NCFC helps ensure sound fisheries policies by integrating community needs with conservation values, leading with the best science, and connecting coalition members to issues and events of importance.

West Coast groups unite to fight offshore monuments that prohibit commercial fishing

July 7, 2016 — The following was released by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

A collection of more than 40 West Coast commercial and recreational fishing groups, working in conjunction with the National Coalition for Fishing Communities, has written to the White House, the Secretaries of Commerce and Interior, and officials in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, opposing the proposed designation of marine monuments off the coast of California that prohibit commercial fishing.

The letter is in direct response to a recent proposal calling on President Obama to declare virtually all Pacific seamounts, ridges, and banks (SRB’s) off the California coast as National Monuments using his executive authority under the Antiquities Act. If enacted by executive order, the new monuments would permanently close virtually all of California’s offshore SRB’s to commercial fishing.

“[This proposal] was drafted and advanced behind closed doors with no public peer-reviewed scientific analysis, no [National Environmental Policy Act] analysis, and virtually no public engagement,” the letter to the White House states. “The initial justification for this proposed action is filled with sensational, inaccurate statements and omissions. The economic analysis for the proposed closures grossly understates the importance and value of the identified [SRB’s] to fisheries and fishing communities.”

“Fisheries provide healthy food for people, and our fisheries are a well-managed renewable resource,” the letter continues, noting that California already has the most strictly managed fisheries in the world.

Among the areas proposed for monument status are Tanner and Cortes Banks in southern California, which are critically important for many fisheries including tuna, swordfish, rockfish, spiny lobster, sea urchin, white seabass, mackerel, bonito, and market squid.

The proposal also called for the closures of Gorda and Mendocino Ridges in northern California, which are important grounds for the albacore tuna fishery.

As the letter states, closure of these important areas to commercial fishing would cause disastrous economic impacts to fishermen, seafood processors and allied businesses, fishing communities and the West Coast fishing economy. Even more important than the value of the fisheries is the opportunity cost of losing these productive fishing grounds forever.

Unilateral action under the Antiquities Act would also contradict the fully public and transparent process that currently exists under the federal Magnuson-Stevens Act. Such a designation would also conflict with the President’s own National Ocean Policy Plan, which promises “robust stakeholder engagement and public participation” in decision-making on ocean policy.

“We ask you stop the creation of these California offshore monuments under the Antiquities Act because monument status is irreversible, and the Antiquities Act process involves no science, no public involvement nor outreach to the parties who will be most affected by this unilateral action – no transparency,” the letter concludes.

Read the full letter here

East Coast Fishing Groups Unite in Opposition to Atlantic Monument

June 2, 2016 — The following was released by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

UPDATE: A previous version of this release mistakenly omitted a statement by the American Bluefin Tuna Association. Additionally, since the original release, the American Scallop Association has endorsed the ASMFC resolution. The release has been updated to reflect these changes.

WASHINGTON (NCFC) — The most valuable fishing port in the U.S. – New Bedford, Mass. – and eight major fishing groups from Florida to Massachusetts are backing an Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) resolution opposing current proposals for a monument off the coast of New England. The fisheries most likely to be affected by a National Monument designation inside the continental shelf, including the valuable red crab, swordfish, tuna, and offshore lobster fisheries, have all come out in support of the ASMFC resolution.

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, is in New Bedford today, where he will hear from regional stakeholders about the negative effects a monument would have on commercial fisheries.

Multiple environmental groups have been pushing the Obama Administration to use executive authority under the Antiquities Act to designate an offshore monument in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, the ASMFC unanimously approved a resolution urging the Administration to forgo a monument designation and instead allow the current management process protecting ocean ecosystems to continue. If the President decides to create a monument, the ASMFC resolution asks that it be seaward of the continental shelf, only prohibit bottom tending fishing, and that any plan be available for public review before it is implemented.

In a letter to the White House, the American Bluefin Tuna Association (ABTA) expressed concern that a monument designation would eliminate all forms of fishing in the protected areas. “Given that our fishing gear has no negative impact on deep sea coral, a proposed prohibition on the fishing methods we employ would be arbitrary, completely unnecessary and would result in significant negative economic consequences,” ABTA wrote.

A monument declaration may have devastating economic impacts on New Bedford as well. The mayor of New Bedford, Jon Mitchell, has come out strongly against a monument and praised the ASMFC resolution in a statement, saying he “applauds the ASMFC for asking the White House not to establish a marine monument off the coast of New England.”

East Coast fishing groups that may also be severely impacted by a monument designation, including many members of the National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC), are lending their strong support to the ASMFC resolution. One fishery that could suffer if it is prohibited from fishing in a monument area is the red crab fishery, valued at over $15 million.

“Rarely in the history of New England commercial fishing have we seen the entire industry and its regulatory bodies unite behind a single cause,” said the New England Red Crab Harvester’s Association in a statement. “Yet with its recent unanimous vote on the marine monument designation, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission joined industry leaders in sending a clear message to the Obama administration: the current monument process poses a serious threat to effective ocean management, and would have disastrous environmental and economic impacts.”

The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), which represents members of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery, supported the ASMFC resolution in a letter to the White House. FSF argued that a monument designation would contradict the President’s own Executive Order 13563, which states in part that regulations should be based on the best available science, involve public participation, and include coordination across agencies.

“Public areas and public resources should be managed in an open and transparent manner, not an imperial stroke of the pen,” FSF wrote.

Other groups that have publicly supported the ASMFC plan are the Garden State Seafood Association, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Southeastern Fisheries Association, North Carolina Fisheries Association, and American Scallop Association. All of these groups are members of NCFC, which provides a unified voice for fishing groups and businesses. Similarly, the Blue Water Fishermen’s Association, which is not an NCFC member, wrote to the White House opposing an Atlantic Monument.

NOAA Announces Gulf Red Snapper Harvest to Open June 1

April 29, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries has announced the recreational season for the harvest of red snapper in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico will open at 12:01 a.m. June 1, 2016. The bag and possession limit is two fish per person at a 16-inch minimum total length.

Last year, NOAA Fisheries, through the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council), made the decision to split the recreational red snapper quota into two distinct components – private anglers and charter vessels and headboats (for-hire). Each component has its own quota allocations based upon NOAA’s recreational red snapper harvest estimates. Private anglers will have a 9-day federal season running through June 9th closing at 11:59 p.m., and charter vessels / headboats will have a 46-day federal season, closing July 16th at 11:59 p.m.

The “Louisiana-only” season

The season for the recreational harvest of red snapper in Louisiana state waters is currently open, will remain open during the federal season, and will continue to be open after the federal season closes. LDWF monitors real-time red snapper harvest during 2016 through the LA Creel program.

Recreational Offshore Landing Permit

The Department reminds anglers that a Recreational Offshore Landing Permit is required in order to posses certain species, including red snapper. Anglers may obtain or new the permit, free of charge at https://rolp.wlf.la.gov.

The permit is required for any angler possessing tuna, billfish, swordfish, amberjacks, groupers, snappers, hinds, wahoo, cobia and dolphin, except for anglers under 16 years of age or anglers fishing on a paid-for-hire trip where the captain holds a permit.

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

CALIFORNIA: Marin group’s bill to phase out gill nets moves forward in Legislature

April 28, 2016 — A West Marin environmental group is sponsoring legislation to end the use of drift gill nets off the state’s coast, saying they inadvertently scoop up and kill other species, including federally-endangered leatherback sea turtles.

Marin’s Turtle Island Restoration Network has sponsored Senate Bill 1114, which would phase out the use of gill nets in favor of another method that better targets what the gill nets seek: swordfish. The change would prevent turtles, whales, dolphins, sharks and pinnipeds from being taken, the group says. The bill was approved by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water earlier this month, the first stop during its journey in the Legislature. An appropriations committee is expected to take it up next month before more votes.

“Despite the fact that Pacific leatherback sea turtles are the largest sea turtles on the planet, they are no match for the driftnet fishery,” said Peter Fugazzotto, Turtle Island’s program manager. “This deadly fishery has been operating at too high of a cost to marine wildlife.”

Read the full story at the Marin Independent Journal

CALIFORNIA: South Bay lawmaker will introduce bill to phase out controversial drift gill nets

California (March 24, 2016) — Drift gill nets, fiercely contested fishing gear used to snag swordfish and thresher sharks in deep waters off Southern California, would be largely banned under legislation authored by a South Bay state lawmaker.

Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat whose district includes much of the Los Angeles County coastline, is drafting the final language of a bill that would halt state permits for drift gill nets and create a new state permitting system for alternative swordfish-catching gear that California fishery managers and researchers still are testing for commercial use.

Senate Bill 1114 would allow about 20 permitted fishers to continue using the nets but otherwise would grant new commercial swordfish-hunting permits only for deep-set buoy gear. Allen expects to release the bill’s final language Monday and introduce it to a Senate committee in April.

Read the full story at the Daily Breeze