Prevailing winds

If the winds of change are as powerful as the ones that blew through Maine last night, fishermen may be able to convince their Congressmen to vote for House and Senate bills aiming to add flexibility to the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Here in southern Maine alone, Thursday night’s heavy rains and whipping winds led to flooded streets and plenty of downed tree limbs and power lines. The storm, which brought wind gusts topping 60 mph, left some 100,000 homes and businesses without electricity.

The blustery storm followed the more metaphorical winds that began whipping up when the fishermen’s rally organized by United We Fish hit Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. We’ll have plenty of rally coverage in the May issue of NF we’re working on now. And check out the rally photos on our Facebook page.

Not only did the rally draw an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 commercial and recreational fishermen from all over the country, it attracted 20 lawmakers, too.

That indicates there is political support for the House and Senate bills. One reason that support is there may be because the politicians realize jobs are at stake.

Politicians may or may not understand commercial fishing. But they do understand they must keep Americans working.

In a down economy, when political leaders are working to create jobs, it’s hard to imagine them backing any policies that would unnecessarily eliminate jobs and harm coastal communities.

Now, the real post-rally work begins. Fishermen must call, e-mail or fax, their Congressmen and Senators and/or meet with them face to face — and make them commit to voting “yes” on the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act.

They should. After all the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act is really a jobs bill. The slogan was true when Bill Clinton first ran for president, and it remains true today:

It’s still the economy, stupid.

And Congress shouldn’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

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Cannery closure highlights problems

Bumble Bee Foods’ decision to close the nation’s last herring cannery is an excellent example of why U.S. fishermen are heading to Washington, D.C., for the fishermen’s rally on Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Bumble Bee, which acquired the former Stinson Seafood cannery in Prospect Harbor, Maine, in 2004, announced its decision to shut the cannery down Wednesday afternoon. Bumble Bee cites federal herring catch limit reductions as the main reason for the closure.

When Bumble Bee acquired the plant in 2004, the harvest limit was 180,000 metric tons. Today, it’s half that.

The 2010 harvest limit is controversial. The revised Magnuson-Stevens Act gives science the greatest weight in determining catch levels. Given that and the need to take into account “management uncertainty” about the biomass numbers, fishery managers believed they had no choice but to make significant harvest cuts.

But industry advocates argue that the stock assessment data doesn’t warrant such severe reductions. Now the Prospect Harbor plant, which employs 128 people and has been operating for more than a century, will close its doors on April 18.

Bumble Bee says it will provide severance pay and job placement counseling to the cannery workers who are losing their jobs. But the impact of the closing on the town of Prospect Harbor is going to be significant.

The closing is a real hit to that town’s economy. How many towns have an extra 128 jobs in their back pocket?

But Magnuson-Stevens doesn’t let managers give the socio-economic impact regulations have upon fishermen and fishing communities the same weight as scientific data regarding stock health. That imbalance must be addressed.

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February march is an important one

The Feb. 24 fishermen’s march on Washington, D.C., may not have the impact or garner the attention that the 1963 civil rights march on Washington did. But it’s important nonetheless.

Thousands of commercial and recreational fishermen will head to Washington to gather on the steps of the Capitol at noon to protest federal fisheries management actions that they say are crippling the nation’s coastal fishing communities. The New Jersey-based Recreational Fishing Alliance is organizing the rally through United We Fish.

Is it a stretch to say that commercial fishermen in this country feel marginalized? That they think NMFS doesn’t value their input regarding fisheries management issues? That they believe their industry, which is older than the country itself, is being choked by regulation? Or that they believe the Magnuson-Stevens Act has evolved into a weapon that is used against them?

In an East Hampton (N.Y.) Star Feb. 4 article about the fishermen’s march, Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, may have best summed up their feelings. She said she was disturbed about NMFS’ recent decision not to renew its contract with the Cornell Cooperative Extension to collect biological samples and landing statistics.

“It seems to crystallize a disconnect that is endemic to NMFS. itself, a lack of respect for the fishing communities, and no input or voice by fishermen into a regulatory process that we are governed by daily,” Brady said.

The Feb. 24 march would seem an excellent opportunity for fishermen past and present from all over the country to go to Washington and make their discontent known to NMFS, our elected leaders, and the American public, and campaign for meaningful change.

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Target hits bull's-eye with salmon decision

Wild-caught Alaska salmon has gained a new Target audience.

Word is that the Minneapolis-based discount store chain, aiming to give its customers a more eco-friendly option, is switching to selling wild salmon instead of the farmed variety. It announced Tuesday that it “has eliminated all farmed salmon from its fresh, frozen and smoked seafood offerings in Target stores nationwide.”

That includes Target-owned brands Archer Farms and Market Pantry as well as national brands. It even extends to sushi; any sushi featuring farm-raised salmon will be made with wild-caught salmon by the end of this year.

Target says it made the decision in consultation with the Monterey Bay Aquarium “to ensure that its salmon offerings are sourced in a sustainable way that helps to preserve abundance, species health and doesn’t harm local habitats.” The aquarium considers wild-caught Alaska salmon as a “Best Choice” and Target notes the Alaska fishery is Marine Stewardship Council certified.

OK, cynics, you can quip that Target’s decision is more about looking like a good eco-friendly citizen to what it refers to as its “guests” (read: customers) than it is supporting America’s commercial harvesters. 

But the bottom line is Target customers will not only be able to shop green, but get high quality salmon that’s darn tasty and an excellent source of protein. And that opens yet another domestic market door for Alaska’s salmon harvesters. Plus it raises the profile of U.S. fishermen amongst consumers. Target’s decision is good news all the way around for fishermen. 

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Enforcement report prompts revisions

Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser has completed his nationwide review of NOAA’s fisheries law enforcement practices, and found them lacking.

So now what?

Well, Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator, said in a press statement Thursday that she’s directed the agency’s enforcement and legal offices to take steps to promote “greater transparency in law enforcement, ensure fairness in penalties and improve lines of communication with commercial and recreational fishermen.”

Her direction comes on the heels of Zinser’s report, which, among other things, states that the agency’s law enforcement operation lacks organization, guidelines and oversight.

Other than that, though, things are great…

The report also found that criminal investigators make up 90 percent of the Office of Law Enforcement's staff even though 98 percent of its cases concern non-criminal infractions, and that heavy fines are issued without consistency and without review.

Lubchenco had requested that the Inspector General conduct the review in June 2009 after complaints from the fishing industry, senators and congressmen about NOAA fisheries law enforcement reached a crescendo. Northeast fishermen have been particularly critical of the agency’s enforcement tactics, which they say have been unnecessarily heavy-handed.

Now NOAA must rebuild a relationship with fishermen that because of enforcement actions has become unnecessarily adversarial. To that end, Lubchenco says NOAA will convene a national summit on enforcement policies and practices (no date has been set yet) “in order to hear from constituents and experts in the field.”

Commercial and recreational fishing representatives as well as folks from the environmental community, academic institutions and outside experts from law enforcement will take part in the summit, she says. Lubchenco further states she will work to implement the recommendations that emerge from the summit.

If NOAA is serious about working to improve its fisheries law enforcement practice, that’s good news. But fishermen, the related businesses and fishing communities that have been most impacted by the adversarial approach, will be the final judges of whether those practices actually improve.

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The not-so-sweet science

Science above all else, we are told, is driving the train when managing the health of our nation’s fish stocks. But it’s getting hard to tell exactly what role science is playing these days.

Take the Atlantic scallop situation for example. Scientists have determined that the scallop population isn’t overfished nor is experiencing overfishing. But the New England Fishery Management Council set the 2010 quota at a level far lower than what the council’s Science and Statistical Committee had recommended.

Council officials said they based the 2010 quota on estimates of high fishing mortalities in 2008-09. The 56 million pound quota, council officials say, is well within the allowable biological catch total of 65 million pounds.

But the scallop industry asserts that the SSC recommended that the ABC could be safely set at 80 million pounds. The council decision to cut the quota and the fleet’s fishing days by nine, industry advocates say, will result in a revenue loss of some $40 million to the fishery.

This of course ignited an uproar, and politicians jumped into the fray, this week persuading John Pappalardo, the council chairman, to schedule a review and possible reconsideration of the scallop situation at the council meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., in late January.

In addition to the scallop situation, there’s a bill that’s been introduced in Massachusetts to ban commercial striper fishing. Again, striped bass isn’t overfished nor is overfishing occurring. The commercial fishery only landed 3.3 metric tons in 2008 versus 12.3 by the recreational sector.

So you can see the urgent need to ban the commercial fishery…

Commercial fishermen have long understood that good science will lead to better fisheries management. But the precautionary approach to management has taken hold to a point that it’d be hard to fault a fisherman for thinking that it doesn’t matter what story the data tells, commercial harvesters won’t be allowed to catch fish.

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Of fish and forecasting

Whether it’s predicting weather or trying to assess fish populations, forecasting is a tricky business.

As the clock winds down on 2009, the snow is beginning to fly in earnest. It’s looking like we’re going to get socked with a snowstorm that will last into the new year by a day or two.

A couple of days ago, the weather forecasters told us it was looking like the snow probably wouldn’t descend upon us until late Friday-early Saturday. Mother Nature has accelerated her timetable, which will likely make New Year’s Eve festivities quite the adventure.

You could get ticked at the TV meteorologist, but weather forecasting ain’t easy. Mother Nature doesn’t often accommodate our desires, hence forecasts are bound to be wrong a fair amount of the time. 

By the way, being a weather forecaster is the best job ever. You can be wrong the majority of the time, and not only keep your job, but be paid decently, too.

Likewise, fish don’t readily accommodate federal stock rebuilding timetables. And it’s equally difficult for marine scientists to accurately assess fish populations when the little buggers have the nagging habit of constantly swimming around.

Here’s an area where weather forecasting and fish forecasting differ, though. My guess is far more dollars are devoted to studying the weather than they are to getting a more accurate handle on the health of fish stocks.

As for the likelihood that more federal dollars will be allotted for improving stock assessments? To quote Mr. Dylan, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

Here’s wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

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Post-holiday tuna

For those of you overdosing on butter, flour, sugar and all the other delicious ingredients Christmas treats have to offer, I thought I'd suggest a recovery meal of sorts.

This quick and easy tuna niçoise is made with oil-packed canned tuna. I remember when all tuna came this way, and now it's making a comeback to regular grocery shelves.

I use:

Green leaf lettuce
Grape tomatoes
Pickling cucumbers
Boiled eggs
Red potatoes, steamed
Haricots vert, steamed and chilled (regular green beans will do, but these skinny French beans are worth it if you can find them)
Artichoke hearts, quartered (I like the cans from Goya, not marinated)
Italian or Greek olives (whatever you prefer)
Newman's Own balsamic vinaigrette (I also like a zesty Italian)
Tuna packed in olive oil

Serve with a crusty bread if you must, but this meal is hearty and satisfying, especially after days of overindulging!

Merry Christmas!

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It’s the thoughts that count

 Like manna from heaven, a few ideas for improving U.S. fisheries management have miraculously popped into my head.

So what are these momentous thoughts that have wound their way into my wee pea brain? I’m glad you asked.

Well, for one, while adding flexibility to the Magnuson–Stevens stock rebuilding timetable (as proposed in House and Senate bills now wending their way through Congress) is a great idea, it’s only a start. It should also be amended to give greater weight than Magnuson currently does to the socioeconomic consequences of proposed regulations upon fisheries and coastal communities.

Here’s another thought. When, as seen recently in the Northeast herring and scallop fisheries, harvest quotas are significantly slashed because regulators must take into account uncertainty about the scientific data used to set catch limits, something must change.

It’s not enough to be satisfied that the data being generated is “the best available science,” and then require managers to take scientific uncertainty into account — basically because they’re afraid the data is weak. Trying to manage fisheries without solid scientific data is a big problem.

And it’s up to Congress to fix that problem. If saving the oceans is as big a priority as our federal officials say it is, then it’s time Congress properly funded fish stock assessments. 

Whining that Congress can‘t possibly set aside money in a down economy to fund fisheries research is forbidden. The tough economic times don‘t seem to be slowing spending down in Washington for anything else. Hence there’s no reason not to pony up for something as vital as stock assessments that would greatly improve the quality of fisheries management.

There you have it. You offer me a penny for my thoughts, and I give you my two cents worth.

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February: march!

As many of you may have seen on our home page and in our news updates this week, February brings an opportunity to count your voice and face among many other fishermen in a march on Washington.

Though the original release posted an earlier date, the protest is now scheduled for Feb. 24, which prevents it from falling during Congressional recess.

Fishermen from all walks will be gathering to urge for flexibility in the Magnuson-Stevens Act's rebuilding guidelines for overfished stocks.

As noted in our editor and publisher's Fish eNews mailing today (sign up here if you would like to receive Jerry Fraser's weekly editorial), Northeast fishermen may be well on their way to garnering some flexibility with Senate passage of a bill that allows for some wiggle room near the Hague Line, which divides Canadian and U.S. fishing grounds.

This little victory adds impetus to the agenda for the march.

Now is the perfect time to be heard and be relevant.

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