Saving Seafood

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