Saving Seafood

Disaster Declared for West Coast Fisheries

January 23, 2017 — SEATTLE — Nine West Coast salmon and crab fisheries have been declared a disaster, allowing fishing communities to seek relief from the federal government.

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker declared the disaster on Jan. 18.

Nine salmon and crab fisheries in Alaska, California and Washington suffered “sudden and unexpected large decreases in fish stock biomass or loss of access due to unusual ocean and climate conditions,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

The fisheries include Gulf of Alaska pink salmon, California Dungeness and rock crab, and several tribal salmon fisheries in Washington.

Read the full story at Courthouse News

Red snapper talk dominates Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting

July 21, 2016 — Red snapper again dominated the most recent Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting, and what proponents of separation of the recreational sector into for-hire/charter and private-angler groups called an “experiment” apparently will be become standard operating procedure.

The biggest news was the council backed a proposal by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to establish an Ad Hoc Advisory Panel for Recreational Red Snapper Management set to meet for the first time in January 2017.

This year marked the second year of sector separation (Reef Fish Amendment 45), which granted charters 47 percent of the annual recreational red snapper take from Gulf waters, and there was a three-year sunset provision at the outset. The most recent council vote extended the sunset provision to 2022. This, and all other actions like it, are sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce for review.

Read the full story at The Advocate

East Coast fishermen spar with federal government over cost of at-sea monitors

July 14, 2016 — Every year, the federal government spends millions monitoring New England commercial fishermen to ensure they ply their timeless maritime trade in accordance with the law.

Now, a judge is set to rule on who should foot the bill for the on-board monitors: the government or the fishing boat owners. The East Coast fishermen say sticking them with the bill would be the “death knell” for their  industry and is illegal on the part of the federal government.

Fishermen of important New England food species such as cod and haddock will have to start paying the cost of at-sea monitors soon under new rules. Monitors — third-party workers hired to observe fishermen’s compliance with federal regulations — collect data to help determine future fishing quotas and can cost about $18,000 a year, or $710 per voyage.

The Cause of Action Institute, a legal watchdog representing a group of East Coast fishermen, sued the federal government in December in U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H., seeking to block the transfer of payments from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the fishermen.

“It is unlawful for NOAA to force struggling fishermen to pay for their own at-sea monitors,” said former federal judge Alfred Lechner, the institute’s president and CEO. “The significant costs of these regulations should be the responsibility of the government.”

The lawsuit was filed against the Department of Commerce on behalf of David Goethel, owner and operator of F/V Ellen Diane, a 44-foot trawler based in Hampton, N.H., and Northeast Fishery Sector 13, a nonprofit representing fishermen from Massachusetts to North Carolina.

It called the transfer of payments the “death knell for much of what remains of a once-thriving ground fish industry that has been decimated by burdensome federal overreach.”

“Fishing is my passion and it’s how I’ve made a living, but right now, I’m extremely fearful that I won’t be able to do what I love and provide for my family if I’m forced to pay out of pocket for at-sea monitors,” Goethel said when the suit was filed last December.

Read the full story at Fox News

New Pacific Fishery Management Council Members Appointed

July 1, 2016 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the appointment of Marc Gorelnik of California and the reappointment of Herb Pollard, of Idaho, to the Pacific Fishery Management Council on Monday. Nominations were submitted by the governors of the two states and approved by the Secretary. The appointments go into effect on August 11.

Mr. Gorelnik, a trademark and copyright attorney, will fill the California at-large seat on the Council, replacing Mr. Dan Wolford. Mr. Gorelnik received a J.D. from the King Hall School of Law at UC Davis in 1993. Prior to entering the field of law, he was a project engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company’s Santa Barbara Research Center, and earned degrees in physics and scientific instrumentation from UC Santa Barbara. He currently lives in northern California and has worked on fishery issues on behalf of California recreational anglers for several years. Mr. Gorelnik currently serves on the Council’s Salmon Advisory Subpanel, which advises the Council on decisions that affect commercial and recreational salmon fisheries. He is Chairman of the Coastside Fishing Club and is a member of the Coastal Conservation Association and the Golden Gate Salmon Association.

Mr. Pollard currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Council and will begin serving as Chair in August. He is currently serving his second term representing the Idaho Obligatory seat. Mr. Pollard was born in Lakeview, Oregon, and spent his early life in Lakeview and Klamath Falls, graduating from Lakeview High School in 1962. He attended University of Oregon for two years, before transferring to Oregon State University where he graduated with a BS Degree in Fisheries Science in 1967. Herb earned an MS in Fisheries Management from University of Idaho in 1969, and immediately started work for Idaho Department of Fish and Game as a Fishery Research Biologist. After a 28 year career with IDFG, including stints as Regional and State Fishery Manager, Anadromous Fishery Coordinator, and Regional Supervisor, he spent 10 years with NOAA Fisheries, dealing with Endangered Species Act consultations and regulations regarding fishery management, fish hatcheries, and harvest issues that impact listed salmon and steelhead in the Snake and Columbia River basins. Currently Mr. Pollard is working as an independent contractor consulting on fishery management issues. In addition to a professional career as a Fishery Biologist, he is an avid and expert recreational angler and has written and spoken extensively about recreational fishing.

Sen. Rubio fishing for review of red snapper ban

June 28, 2016 — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who chairs the Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, called Monday for the U.S. Department of Commerce to review the decision to close the South Atlantic to red snapper fishing for a second consecutive year.

“The economic benefit to my home state of Florida, along with other states that fall under the South Atlantic, cannot be overstated,” wrote Rubio, a candidate for re-election, in a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Acting Inspector General David Smith.

Read the full story from the News Service of Florida at WWSB

U.S. Commerce Department announces 2016 regional fishery council appointments

June 28, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The U.S. Commerce Department today announced the appointment of 19 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA Fisheries to manage ocean fish stocks. One at-large seat on the Mid-Atlantic Council will be announced by the Secretary at a later date. The new and reappointed council members begin their three-year terms on August 11.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act established the councils to prepare fishery management plans for their regions. NOAA Fisheries works closely with the councils through this process and then reviews, approves and implements the plans. Council members represent diverse groups, including commercial and recreational fishing industries, environmental organizations and academia. They are vital to fulfilling the act’s requirements to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks and manage them sustainably.

“U.S. fisheries are among the most sustainable in the world, and NOAA Fisheries is grateful for the efforts these individuals devote to our nation’s fisheries management and to the resiliency of our oceans. We look forward to working with both new and returning council members,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “Each council faces unique challenges, and their partnership with NOAA Fisheries is integral to the sustainability of the fisheries in their respective regions, as well as to the communities that rely on those fisheries.”

Each year, the Secretary of Commerce appoints approximately one-third of the total 72 appointed members to the eight regional councils. The Secretary selects members from nominations submitted by the governors of fishing states, territories and tribal governments.

Read the full release and list of council appointments

Connecticut Congressional Members Call For Federal Probe Into “Unfair” Commercial Fishing Quotas

June 15, 2016 — Members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation are stepping up the pressure to reform federal rules for this state’s commercial fishermen, calling Tuesday for a U.S. Commerce Department investigation into “unfair quotas.”

U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2, demanded that the department’s inspector general investigate a quota system they said disadvantages Connecticut fishing operators and is putting them under “extreme economic hardship.”

Connecticut’s delegation and those from other New England states have frequently criticized the existing federal quota system.

Read the full story at the Hartford Courant

Congressmen complain that New England fishermen are being shortchanged

May 24, 2016 — Fishing quotas on black sea bass, summer flounder and scup are unfairly limiting the catch of New England fishermen, U.S. congressmen from the region said in a letter Monday to the U.S. Department of Commerce that complained about the current “out-of-date allocation formula.”

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, was joined by Connecticut’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, in the letter that was also signed by 13 other members of the Connecticut and Massachusetts congressional delegations. They noted that these fish species are heading north, looking for cooler water, yet New England states have been thwarted in cashing in on the bounty.

Read the full story at The Day

MASSACHUSETTS: South Shore fishermen support lawsuit over at-sea monitors

BOSTON, Mass. — December 11, 2015 — In a new lawsuit, regional fishing interests are challenging the legality of a mandate requiring them to carry at-sea monitors on their vessels during fishing trips and to soon begin paying the cost of hosting those federal enforcement contractors.

South Shore fishermen Thursday threw their support behind the lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Cause of Action on behalf of Northeast Fishery Sector 13, which represents fishermen from Massachusetts and New Hampshire down to North Carolina.

Marshfield fisherman Ed Barrett said shifting the cost burden to small fishing boats would “pull the rug out” from under fishermen.

The lawsuit “puts the issue as out-front as it can get,” said Barrett, who is president of the Massachusetts Bay Ground Fishermen’s Association.

In the suit filed in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire against the U.S. Department of Commerce, the plaintiffs are also seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent fishermen from taking on the costs, estimated at hundreds of dollars per day at sea.

Read the full story at Marshfield Mariner

Fishermen suing feds over legality of at-sea monitoring

December 10, 2015 — A New Hampshire fisherman has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration challenging the legality of mandated at-sea monitoring for the Northeast groundfish fleet.

David Goethel, owner of the 44-foot fishing trawler Ellen Diane out of Hampton, and Northeast Fishing Sector 13, are the named plaintiffs in the suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Concord, New Hampshire. The suit also has the backing of Cause of Action, a non-profit governmental watchdog organization.

The suit also names as defendants Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA Assistant Administrator Eileen Sobeck and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Last week, NOAA said it only has enough money left to fund at-sea monitoring until the end of 2015 and will shift the cost of the monitoring, estimated at $710 per vessel per monitoring day, to the fishermen sometime early in 2016.

The suit comes about a week after the New England Fishery Management Council voted to ease the level of monitoring on groundfish vessels from the current 24 percent of all trips to about 13 percent as a means of alleviating the economic impact of absorbing the at-sea monitoring costs.

Read the full story from the Gloucester Daily Times