The Fishery Conservation Transition Act, introduced July 15 by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) as S.3594, has been designed to preserve the crucial conservation standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) while providing federal fisheries managers some much-needed tools to address critical fisheries issues. In particular the AFCTA provides marine fisheries managers the time, resources and specific direction to address current deficiencies in procedures mandated by the MSA. Under current provisions of the MSA, NOAA does not have the tools to address overfishing without resorting to drastic and disruptive closures, such as the total closure of fishing for all bottom species when only one species may require additional regulation... Read the rest of the article at Salt Water Sportsman.
The 11th Annual Boston Fall Boat Show will be held from October 1 to the 3rd at the World Trade Center. Visit the web site for more details.
By Mike Deehan, Special to the Reporter Jul. 22, 2010 After a disturbing incident on July 4 that left one boy hospitalized, Boston and State Police, in collaboration with state and local officials, have set a “no tolerance” policy for criminal activity along the Dorchester and South Boston waterfront. All public beaches from Castle Island to the mouth of the Neponset River will close at 11 p.m. According to a letter signed by city and elected officials announcing the increase in law enforcement supervision, anyone on the beaches or in closed parking lots after that hour will be considered trespassers. “I’m pleased with the response so far. I’m hoping that the response will continue,” said Savin Hill resident and neighborhood activist Bill Walczak. Officials decided on the plan at a meeting held at BPD District C-11 headquarters on July 8. Both C-11 and C-6 captains attended the meeting where they were joined by representatives from the MBTA Police, State Sen. Jack Hart, Savin Hill State Rep. Martin Walsh, South Boston State Rep. Brian Wallace, City Councillor Maureen Feeney, and Dorchester Neighborhood Coordinator Lauren Smyth, representing the mayor’s office. According to Walsh, the meeting lasted for about an hour and all parties agreed on on the plan. “They’re not down there to enjoy the water, to enjoy the facilities. They’re down there to cause havoc,” Walsh, who called the July 4 incident the “last straw,” told the Reporter. Walsh said that new signs clearly stating the hours of operation for beaches and parks in the area will be posted soon... Read the rest in the Dorchester Reporter.
The disclosure that federal fishing police misspent millions of dollars reaped from fines has worsened relations between the government and New England fishermen as regulators orchestrate the most fundamental overhaul of fishing rules in the region’s history... Read the rest at The Boston Globe.
NEW BEDFORD — Jarrett Drake turns on the ignition — vroom — and the satisfying thrum of the boat’s motor suddenly swallows the quiet of early morning. It’s 5:06 a.m.
Drake, 40, a lobsterman from Marion, starts early so he has enough time to haul in his roughly 400 traps before sunset. Caffeinated soda and peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches keep him going during 15-hour days, the tedium interrupted by the thrill of reeling in a trap teeming with lobsters.
But in recent years those moments have been fewer and fewer, he said. And now, because of the dwindling lobster population, a multistate commission will begin deciding this week whether to ban all lobstering from south of Cape Cod to North Carolina for five years...
Much of the New England fishing industry is going through the wrenching transition from every-man-for-himself to a system of sharing the region’s allowable catch of depleted species. Making this work will require trust between boat crews and federal fisheries regulators. Two reports detailing questionable practices by the regulators leave their boss, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Jane Lubchenco, no option but to clean house where needed and insist on the highest standards. New England fishermen have long complained of overzealous enforcement of the complex rules governing allowable catches, and a recent report by the inspector general of the Commerce Department backed them up... Read the rest of this editorial from the 7/19/2010 Boston Globe.
The U.S. Secretary of Commerce has officially approved a sixfold increase in the catch limit of a key fish stock. Gary Locke said Wednesday he was raising the limit on pollock from six to 36 million pounds. Fishermen had pressed hard for the change. Under a new management system, fishing stops on all species if the limit is reached on one. Fishermen said the pollock limit was so low it would be too quickly reached... Read the rest in the Boston Herald.
In a poorly argued editorial on July 14, 2010, the editors of the Boston Globe suggest that the recent accidents involving licensed captains in Boston & Philadelphia show the need for the government to start requiring all boaters to go through "safety" training. No doubt to be followed by state licenses. Aren't enough of us running up on sand bars? Maybe the captain who ran aground 3 miles east of Deer Island could teach the course, since he won't be piloting ships anytime soon. Read the beginning of the editorial below: Boston Globe EditorialFOR A state with 1,500 miles of coastline and many lakes and rivers, Massachusetts is surprisingly lax about requiring safety education for boaters. Flotillas of commercial and recreational craft ply the waterways each day, usually without running into each other or running aground. But recent accidents in Boston and Philadelphia show the need for vigilance and safety training — not just by commercial captains but by everyone who operates motorized watercraft... Read the rest of this editorial from The Boston Globe.
BIOLOGISTS WHO monitor fisheries in the Atlantic are getting ahead of themselves with a recommendation to impose a five-year ban on lobster fishing south of Cape Cod down to Virginia. There should be ways to protect the stock while still allowing for some commercial activity.
Lobster stocks in southern New England are down by more than half from their peak of 35 million a decade ago. This isn’t a mere fluctuation in an industry known for its ups and downs. The consensus of both scientists and fishermen is that warmer water, possibly the effect of climate change, is the chief culprit. Predators might also play a role. But the bottom line is that stressed lobsters are leaving inshore waters for deeper, cooler water offshore. And scientists from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a multi-state governmental body, don’t want the lobsters pursued — even though there’s no guarantee that a moratorium will result in a significant rebound of the stock...
Read the rest of the editorial at The Boston Globe.
Public Comment Accepted Until October 1
Washington, DC – Atlantic coastal states from Maine through North Carolina have scheduled their hearings togather public comment onDraft Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The dates, times, and locations in Eastern New England of the scheduled meetings follow:
Maine Department of Marine Resources
September 14, 2010; 6:00 PM
Town of Yarmouth Log Cabin
196 Main Street
Yarmouth, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at (207) 624-6553
New Hampshire Fish and Game
September 13, 2010; 7:00 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: Doug Grout at (603) 868-1095
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
August 16, 2010; 6:00 PM
Holiday Inn
55 Ariadne Road
Dedham, Massachusetts
Contact: Jared Silva at (617) 626-1534
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
August 17, 2010; 6:00 PM
URI, Narragansett Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium
215 South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Mark Gibson at (401) 423-1935
The Draft Addendum proposes two changes to the striped bass management program: (1) an increase in the coastal commercial quota, and (2) revising the definition of recruitment failure based on Technical Committee advice.
The proposal to increase the coastal commercial quota is intended to improve equality between the commercial and recreational fishery sectors. Although Amendment 6 established management programs for both fisheries based on the same target fishing mortality rate, the implementation of state-specific quotas for coastal commercial harvest (and not for recreational harvest) has prevented the commercial and recreational fisheries from responding equally to changes in striped bass population size. Since 2003, coastal commercial harvest has decreased by 3.6 percent, while recreational harvest has increased by 13.7 percent. Under the option, the Board would select a percent increase to be applied to the coastal commercial allocations assigned in Amendment 6.
The Management Board voted to include a second issue in the Draft Addendum based on information presented at the meeting. As part of its review of the juvenile abundance indices, the Striped Bass Technical Committee recommended to the Management Board a revision to how striped bass recruitment failure is defined. Juvenile abundance indices are an important component of the striped bass monitoring program and are used to determine periods of recruitment failure which can trigger management action under Amendment 6. Adopting the proposed recommendation would result in a fixed value to determine recruitment failure in each surveyed area rather than a value that changes from year to year. Use of either the Amendment 6 definition or the Technical Committee recommendation for recruitment failure does not result in any necessary changes to the current management program.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum, either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. The Draft Addendum can be obtained via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 1, 2010 and should be forwarded to Nichola Meserve, FMP Coordinator, 1444 Eye Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at nmeserve@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Addendum II). For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at (202) 289-6400 or nmeserve@asmfc.org.
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