Saving Seafood

Trump shrinks two huge national monuments in Utah, drawing praise and protests

December 4, 2017 — SALT LAKE CITY — President Trump on Monday drastically scaled back two national monuments established in Utah by his Democratic predecessors, the largest reduction of public lands protection in U.S. history.

Trump’s move to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by more than 1.1 million acres and more than 800,000 acres, respectively, immediately sparked an outpouring of praise from conservative lawmakers as well as activists’ protests outside the White House and in Utah. It also plunges the Trump administration into uncharted legal territory since no president has sought to modify monuments established under the 1906 Antiquities Act in more than half a century.

His decision removes about 85 percent of the designation of Bears Ears and nearly 46 percent of that for Grand Staircase-Escalante, land that potentially could now be leased for energy exploration or opened for specific activities such as motorized vehicle use.

Trump told a rally in Salt Lake City that he came to “reverse federal overreach” and took dramatic action “because some people think that the natural resources of Utah should be controlled by a small handful of very distant bureaucrats located in Washington. And guess what? They’re wrong.”

“They don’t know your land, and truly, they don’t care for your land like you do,” he added. “But from now on, that won’t matter.”

Conservatives have long sought to curb a president’s unilateral power to safeguard federal lands and waters under the law, a practice that both Democrats and Republicans have pursued since it was enacted under Theodore Roosevelt. The issue has been a particular flash point in the West, where some local residents feel the federal government already imposes too many restrictions on development and others, including tribal officials, feel greater protections of ancient sites are needed.

Even before Trump made the announcement as part of a day trip to the state, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Craig Uden was hailing the resized designations. While grazing has continued on both monuments, as well as on others, Uden said ranchers could not have greater input into how they are managed.

“We are grateful that today’s action will allow ranchers to resume their role as responsible stewards of the land and drivers of rural economies,” he said.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Rep. Bishop Statement on Appointment of Kathleen Hartnett White as CEQ Chair

October 13, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Kathleen Hartnett White to chair the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) released the following statement:

“Kathleen Hartnett White is a great choice to help the administration realign priorities at CEQ. Over the past eight years, this executive office has attempted to use the National Environmental Policy Act as a tool to stonewall any project with a federal nexus. I look forward to working with her on a long overdue streamlining of NEPA and other efforts to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of the administrative state to people.”

Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan say no to Coast Guard cuts proposed by White House

March 13, 2017 — WASHINGTON — Alaska’s Republican senators won’t support proposed major budget cuts for the U.S. Coast Guard, they told the White House Office of Management and Budget in a letter following reports of major cuts in President Donald Trump’s draft budget.

Several national outlets have reported on a draft White House budget request to Congress that includes $1.3 billion cut from the Coast Guard’s $9.1 billion budget. The Coast Guard cut is reportedly aimed at helping pay for a wall on the southern border shared with Mexico.

Alaska Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker were the only three Republicans among 23 senators to sign the letter. The rest were Democrats.

Cutting into the Coast Guard budget could mean a far lower chance of bolstering the dwindling U.S. fleet of icebreakers, at a time when shipping traffic is increasing in the Arctic. Senators warned this is not the time to “kick the can down the road” on the Coast Guard’s aging fleet.

“We strongly urge you to refrain from any such cuts. The Coast Guard budget has suffered a steady decline since 2010, which resulted in negative impacts to Coast Guard missions, infrastructure, delays in necessary recapitalization efforts, and has generally constrained Coast Guard operations,” the senators wrote in a letter to OMB Director John Mulvaney.

Sullivan’s office was involved in crafting the letter, which was ultimately released by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.

Read the full story at Alaska Dispatch News

White House to eject its environmental advisers from their longtime main headquarters on Friday

February 24, 2017 — The following is an excerpt from a story published yesterday by the Washington Post:

The White House on Friday will move its Council on Environmental Quality out of its main headquarters at 722 Jackson Place, a red brick townhouse it has occupied since it was established nearly half a century ago.

Although some White House CEQ staffers will remain in adjoining townhouses, the shift means the council will lose its main conference room. While the influence of CEQ waxes and wanes depending on which president is in office, it traditionally plays a key role in executing the White House’s overall environmental agenda and coordinating key decisions among different agencies.

The number of staffers also varies widely at different times, and includes employees detailed from other agencies. Shortly after being established under Richard Nixon, it had 54 staffers: its first chair, the late Russell Train, recalled in an oral history interview with Bates College that it had the same number of employees as the Council of Economic Advisers “and I was told we couldn’t have any more than they did.” At the end of former president Barack Obama’s term, the number of career staffers was about 15 out of the roughly 50-person staff, and earlier in his term the total staff reached 60 employees.

Under several administrations, including Obama’s, Clinton’s and Nixon’s, the council has steered federal decision-making in a more environmentally-friendly direction. “We really put the environmental impact process into effect and was able to bring the various agencies somewhat to heel who didn’t want to comply,” Train recalled in the 1999 Bates interview.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Last plea to Obama on offshore drilling limits

November 17, 2016 — WASHINGTON — Oil and gas exploration in the U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean may put some legacy economic interests at risk, a consortium of area businesses said.

More than 10,000 business and hundreds of thousands of families tied to commercial fishing sent a letter through an Atlantic Coast business alliance to President Barack Obama urging him to hold off on expanding access to potential drillers.

Energy companies use seismic surveys to get a better understanding of the oil and gas reserve potential and some groups have expressed concern that action could have a detrimental impact on marine ecosystems. Seismic research could interfere with normal communication patterns for some marine species, though contractors said the impacts are temporary.

The consortium said in their letter to the White House that seismic work could disrupt the 1.4 million area jobs and the $95 billion in economic activity tied to regional fishing, tourism and recreation.

Read the full story at UPI

Rick Robins Recognized by White House as Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood

October 14th, 2016 — The following was released by Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council: 

Last week former Council Chairman Rick Robins was recognized by the White House as one of twelve “Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood.” These individuals were selected by the White House for their leadership and contributions to the ongoing recovery of America’s fishing industry and our fishing communities.

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. A statement from the White House noted that “After decades of decline, we are witnessing the economic and ecological recovery of America’s fishing industry.  Overfishing has hit an all-time low, and many stocks are returning to sustainable levels. The U.S. fishing industry contributed nearly $200 billion annually to the American economy in 2014 and supports 1.7 million jobs… President Obama and his Administration want to honor America’s fishers and our coastal communities for their efforts.”

Richard B. Robins, Jr. is the owner of Bernie’s Conchs Seafood Market and Ocean Perfect Seafoods, Inc. He served as Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council from 2008 through August of 2016, where he led the Council through a historic stakeholder-driven visioning and strategic planning process for the management of marine fisheries. Under his leadership, the Council completed an amendment to establish a nearly 38,000 square-mile area, named for the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, in which deep sea corals will be protected from the impacts of fishing gear. Robins also led the Council in the development of an amendment to protect unmanaged forage species and spearheaded the Council’s efforts to address the impacts of climate change on fisheries. In August 2016 Robins received the MAFMC Award of Excellence for his distinguished service to the Council and outstanding contribution to the conservation and management of our nation’s marine fisheries resources.

Robins was recognized along with eleven other honorees during a ceremony on Friday, October 7. Learn more about the White House Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood at https://www.whitehouse.gov/champions#section-sustainable-seafood. 

12 “Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood” chosen by White House

October 7, 2016 — U.S. President Barack Obama has announced his choices to be the first ever “Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood.”

The special awards, established this year as a way to “honor America’s fishers and our coastal communities for their efforts… [in leading] the way to the United States becoming a global leader in sustainable seafood management,” will be handed out on Friday, 7 October at a special ceremony at the White House in Washington D.C.

The awardees are:

  • Robin Alden, the founding Executive Director of Penobscot East Resource Center, Maine’s center for coastal fisheries in Stonington, Maine. She led a path-breaking effort to bring shared management to Maine’s lobster fishery, now recognized internationally as a model for sustainable fisheries. Robin is the former Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, responsible for Maine‘s marine and anadromous fishery management and enforcement and for aquaculture in the state. She was also the publisher and editor of both Commercial Fisheries News and Fish Farming News and a public member of the New England Fishery Management Council.
  • Linda Behnken, the Executive Director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, which represents longline fishermen in securing sustainable access to healthy halibut, sablefish and rockfish stocks. Linda was a commercial fisherman for 34 years and served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. During that time, she also served as an industry advisor to the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, the National Academy of Science Individual Fishing Quota Review Panel, and co-chaired the Council’s Essential Fish Habitat committee. Linda participated in the last two re-authorizations of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and was an active advocate for the Sustainable Fisheries Act amendments. She is also a founding member of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, which is a cutting-edge financing tool to help new and young break into Alaska’s fisheries and connect communities with their natural resources.

See the full list of awardees at Seafood Source

White House Announces Sustainable Seafood Champions of Change

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Seafood News] – October 5, 2016 — The White House will recognize a dozen individuals from around the country as “White House Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood” on Friday.

The fishing industry is critical to the economic health and well-being of communities across the country, supporting 1.8 million jobs and contributing more than $200 billion to the economy in 2014, according to a White House press release. However, marine ecosystems are under threat from multiple stressors, including climate change and ocean acidification and the need for innovation in sustainable fisheries has never been greater,, according to the press release.

Local leaders serve as the backbone of communities, working to build resilient coasts and striving to protect the at-risk towns whose futures depend on the recovery of fisheries.

“The administration applauds the hard work, collaboration and sacrifice by many across the country to become responsible stewards and safeguard our seafood security,” according to the press release.

Friday’s program will feature remarks by Managing Director of the Council on Environmental Quality, Christy Goldfuss; Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan; and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce, Bruce H. Andrews.

The 12 Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood include:

Brad Pettinger, Brookings, Ore.: Brad Pettinger is the director of the Oregon Trawl Commission, a state commodity commission. He has worked collaboratively in the Pacific Fishery Management Council process to improve the management of west coast groundfish fisheries. Under Brad’s leadership, all three Oregon trawl fisheries — Pacific whiting, Oregon pink shrimp and several species of rockfish — have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as well-managed and sustainable fisheries. Brad’s work has been instrumental to recovery of many rockfish species, which will provide sustainable, healthy, delicious seafood for local communities.

Linda Behnken, Sitka, Alaska: Linda Behnken is Executive Director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, which represents longline fishermen in securing sustainable access to healthy halibut, sablefish and rockfish stocks. Linda was a commercial fisherman for 34 years and served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Linda participated in the last two re-authorizations of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and was an active advocate for the Sustainable Fisheries Act amendments. She also is a founding member of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust,  a cutting-edge financing tool to help new and young fishermen break into Alaska’s fisheries and connect communities with their natural resources.

Christopher Brown, Point Judith, R.I.: Chris Brown serves as President of the Seafood Harvesters of America and spends around 200 days per year aboard his fishing vessel the Proud Mary. Under Chris’s leadership the Harvesters champion accountability, stewardship and sustainability in fishing practices, fisheries science and fisheries management. Chris also serves as President of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association and is the founder and executive director of the Rhode Island Fluke Conservation Cooperative.

Brown said in a press release he will use this opportunity to deliver a strong message in support of fishing families, accountable fishing practices, effective fisheries management, sound science and the bedrock principles that support the seafood industry.

Robin Alden, Stonington, Maine: Robin Alden is the founding Executive Director of Penobscot East Resource Center, Maine’s center for coastal fisheries in Stonington, Maine. She led a path-breaking effort to bring shared management to Maine’s lobster fishery, now recognized internationally as a model for sustainable fisheries. Robin is the former Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Jason DeLaCruz, Largo, Fla.: Jason DeLaCruz is the President of Wild Seafood Co., which provides high quality sustainable fish to eco-minded customers. He also is the Executive Director of Gulf Wild, a company dedicated to setting the standard for genuine, responsibly caught, traceable and reliable wild domestic seafood, and the Vice President of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance.

Byron Encalade, Pointe-A-La-Hache, La.: Byron Encalade is President of the Louisiana Oysterman Association. He engages in harvesting seafood, oysters and shrimp and in transporting seafood along the Gulf Coast states. Byron has been a leader in his community by pushing for the sustainable management of oyster grounds.

Monica Jain, Carmel, Calif.: Monica Jain is the founding director of Fish 2.0, a social enterprise that brings entrepreneurs and investors together to grow the sustainable seafood sector. Fish 2.0 works with businesses developing technologies or processes that reduce waste in seafood supply chains and create value-added products from waste.

Bun Lai, Woodbridge, Conn.: Bun Lai is the owner and chef of Miya’s Sushi, the world’s first sustainable sushi restaurant. Miya’s also offers the world’s only invasive species menu, featuring dishes made of foraged ingredients that are threatening to the region’s indigenous species. He is also the owner of two fishing boats that serve as laboratories for sustainable seafood production. He is a Seafood Watch Ambassador.

Alan Lovewell, Moss Landing, Calif: Alan Lovewell is the CEO and Co-founder of Real Good Fish, a community-supported fishery that connects local fishermen with local consumers with weekly deliveries of sustainable seafood. Real Good Fish’s new program, Bay2Tray, brings local seafood to public school children through their school lunch program, and brings local fishermen into their classroom to engage in experience-based learning around ocean health.

Dr. Kevan Main, Sarasota, Fla.: Dr. Kevan Main has been a senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory since 2001. Dr. Main and her team are developing sustainable ways to produce marine and freshwater fishes and invertebrates for food and to restore declining fisheries.

Luka Mossman, Hilo, Hawaii: Luka Mossman is part of the Conservation International Hawaii program, where he serves as the Fisheries Outreach Coordinator. The Hawaii program works to merge traditional knowledge with Western science, conservation tools and strategies for changing how people and business value local, sustainable seafood.

Richard Robins, Suffolk, Va: Richard B. Robins Jr. is the owner of Bernie’s Conchs, LLC and Ocean Perfect Seafoods Inc. He also served as chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council from 2008 through August of 2016, where he led the Council through a historic stakeholder-driven visioning and strategic planning process for the management of marine fisheries.

The Champions of Change schedule includes a Thursday evening Washington, D.C., reception to highlight great seafood and the work of the honorees; a Friday morning sustainability roundtable with senior advisers at the White House; a meeting with Commerce Secretary Pritzker and CEQ director Goldfuss; then remarks from the honorees and a moderated panel.

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The event will be live streamed on the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/live at 1 p.m ET on Friday, Oct. 7. Follow the conversation at #WHChamps.

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

 

Presidential Proclamation — Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument

September 16, 2016 — The following was released by the White House:

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

For generations, communities and families have relied on the waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean and have told of their wonders. Throughout New England, the maritime trades, and especially fishing, have supported a vibrant way of life, with deep cultural roots and a strong connection to the health of the ocean and the bounty it provides. Over the past several decades, the Nation has made great strides in its stewardship of the ocean, but the ocean faces new threats from varied uses, climate change, and related impacts. Through exploration, we continue to make new discoveries and improve our understanding of ocean ecosystems. In these waters, the Atlantic Ocean meets the continental shelf in a region of great abundance and diversity as well as stark geological relief. The waters are home to many species of deep-sea corals, fish, whales and other marine mammals. Three submarine canyons and, beyond them, four undersea mountains lie in the waters approximately 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod. This area (the canyon and seamount area) includes unique ecological resources that have long been the subject of scientific interest.

The canyon and seamount area, which will constitute the monument as set forth in this proclamation, is composed of two units, which showcase two distinct geological features that support vulnerable ecological communities. The Canyons Unit includes three underwater canyons — Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia — and covers approximately 941 square miles. The Seamounts Unit includes four seamounts — Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever — and encompasses 3,972 square miles. The canyon and seamount area includes the waters and submerged lands within the coordinates included in the accompanying map. The canyon and seamount area contains objects of historic and scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government. These objects are the canyons and seamounts themselves, and the natural resources and ecosystems in and around them.

The canyons start at the edge of the geological continental shelf and drop from 200 meters to thousands of meters deep. The seamounts are farther off shore, at the start of the New England Seamount chain, rising thousands of meters from the ocean floor. These canyons and seamounts are home to at least 54 species of deep-sea corals, which live at depths of at least 3,900 meters below the sea surface. The corals, together with other structure-forming fauna such as sponges and anemones, create a foundation for vibrant deep-sea ecosystems, providing food, spawning habitat, and shelter for an array of fish and invertebrate species. These habitats are extremely sensitive to disturbance from extractive activities.

Because of the steep slopes of the canyons and seamounts, oceanographic currents that encounter them create localized eddies and result in upwelling. Currents lift nutrients, like nitrates and phosphates, critical to the growth of phytoplankton from the deep to sunlit surface waters. These nutrients fuel an eruption of phytoplankton and zooplankton that form the base of the food chain. Aggregations of plankton draw large schools of small fish and then larger animals that prey on these fish, such as whales, sharks, tunas, and seabirds. Together the geology, currents, and productivity create diverse and vibrant ecosystems.

Read the full proclamation at the White House

Obama’s Atlantic Monument Hurts Lobster, Red Crab, and Other Fisheries

September 15, 2016 — President Obama will designate a national monument Thursday covering thousands of square miles in the Atlantic Ocean, pleasing environmental groups but flying in the face of opposition from state officials and fishing organizations.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument will cover 4,913 square miles off the coast of New England — an area nearly the size of the state of Connecticut — the White House announced Thursday. It will include “three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, and four underwater mountains known as ‘seamounts’ that are biodiversity hotspots and home to many rare and endangered species,” it said.

Robert Vanasse, executive director of fishing advocacy group Saving Seafood, slammed the declaration, saying White House officials never seriously took the concerns of locals into account.

“It’s just really obvious that the fix was in from the start,” Vanasse told BuzzFeed News. “I believe the sound waves hit their eardrums but I don’t believe they were actually listening.”

Though the exact parameters of the monument were not available late Wednesday, Vanasse said the designation could potentially cost the offshore lobster community $10 million a year. He also said red crab, squid, and other fishing industries could take significant hits by a monument designation.

According to the White House, fishing within the monument will be phased out; red crab and lobster fisheries will have seven years before having to leave, and other commercial fishers will have a 60-day transition period.

Vanasse praised the gradual change — because it’ll give the industry time to fight the designation.

“The fact that they have some time is going to be a good thing because we can fight this and we’ll be fighting it with a different administration,” he said. “I imagine that we will see a legal challenge.”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News