Looking forward to fighting back
Thursday,30 December,2010 14:15:29
The end of the year is often a time of reflection and looking forward. This year I keep coming back to groundfish catch shares — looking back on the East Coast mess, looking forward to the West Coast's implementation.
I hope that when it’s implemented that this system works better on the West Coast than it has in New England. NMFS announced in late December that it’s briefly delaying the scheduled January implementation to prevent over-issuing quota shares. NMFS says doing so will keep early 2011 West Coast harvests low enough that it won’t be necessary to require more drastic management action later.
However, I am wary of the lack of restrictions on permit-buying. If non-fishermen buy catch shares simply to put the quota out of commission, then I think we need to change the phrase "catch share." Perhaps "catch stops" or "community killers."
If catch shares are really the panacea to overfishing, as the Environmental Defense Fund would have us believe, then why do we need to keep any part of the catch out of fishermen's hands?
NMFS is turning to catch shares regardless of how they affect fishing communities, so the least the agency can do is ensure that the limited quotas are available for actual fishermen to fish them, not for NGOs to put them out of commission, completely bypassing the management process.
If we want to put an end to fishing in this country, we're on the right track.
If not, then 2011 needs to be the year of fighting back.
Thank you for your time.
Jessica Hathaway
Editor in Chief, National Fisherman
www.nationalfisherman.com
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Halibut on the brink?
Monday,13 December,2010 08:31:13
This week, North Pacific halibut fishermen got some bad news with the release of preliminary recommendations to cut the overall quota by 19 percent.
However, fishermen in Area 2C, near Petersburg, Alaska, were devastated by a proposed cut of 47 percent, from 4.4 million pounds to 2.33 million. Area 3A, considered the breadbasket of the fishery, is seeing a 5.63 million pound recommended cut, as well. Meanwhile, Canadian fishermen who share a coastline with those in Area 2C will likely see a quota increase.
It strikes me as inexcusable to cut anyone's livelihood by 47 percent — especially in this economic climate — short of catastrophic or imminent stock failure.
Ultimately, this slashing is a recommendation based on stock surveys. The International Pacific Halibut Commission may not enforce the full 47 percent cut. But that doesn't eliminate some of the questions that arise when the commission staff goes from trimming back quotas to slamming on the brakes.
Quotas should be based on data, but that should not be the only determination. These cuts absolutely will put people out of business. So the question is, is it worth it? How do you weigh the risk of fishing a declining stock against the risk of putting people out of work? How likely is the stock to stay down? Do we know what's keeping it down? Are we cutting back on fishing because it's the easy target? Is that the right approach?
Some would say yes, unequivocally, because it's the easy thing to control. And while I believe meeting in the middle is the only fair way to get things done in an inherently unfair world, I also believe you shimmy your way to the brink if the line toward the middle is redrawn year after year.
If a strictly managed fishery with an annual stock survey requires a nearly 50 percent reduction in quota, then something besides fishing is causing a shift in the ecosystem.
It remains to be seen what the IPHC will decide in the coming weeks and how it will address the inconsistency of American and Canadian quota recommendations. At very least I hope the guidelines the commission uses to determine the quotas will be more transparent.
Thank you for your time.
Jessica Hathaway
Editor in Chief, National Fisherman
www.nationalfisherman.com
For cod's sake
Thursday,2 December,2010 15:21:52
It's rare these days that a move by NMFS brings clarity and reason to the New England groundfish fishery.
However, yesterday the service did just that.
After banning midwater herring trawlers from groundfish spawning areas and then allowing them back into those areas with a gaping loophole that permitted the boats to dump catches before the observers could inspect them, NMFS has reached a happy medium.
The decision, the result of a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice, will allow midwater trawlers to fish the grounds, provided their catch — every catch — is observed and documented.
"This rule will make it so midwater trawlers fishing in Closed Area I are held to rigorous standards like those that groundfish fishermen face every day," Ben Martens, policy analyst for the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, told the Provincetown (Mass.) Banner.
The only remaining loophole is simply the time it may take to act if it is observed that the trawlers are indeed catching too many cod in this critical habitat.
Thank you for your time.
Jessica Hathaway
Editor in Chief, National Fisherman
www.nationalfisherman.com