EDFish

Gulf fishermen, EDF request $100 million to help fishing communities recover from oil spill

By / Bio / Published: May 24, 2010

Click here to view the full letter.

As the BP-Deepwater Horizon Oil Well Disaster continues to spill massive amounts of oil into the ocean—jeopardizing the multi-billion dollar fishing, tourism and other ocean-related industries in the Gulf—EDF is partnering with Gulf fishing organizations to recommend several urgent initiatives to mitigate the devastating ecological and economic consequences for the Gulf region and beyond.

The Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance and the Gulf Fishermen’s Association joined us in signing a letter that is being distributed today to Congress and the President to provide guidance for responding to the growing crisis.

In the letter, we advocate for at least $100 million in funding for direct assistance to adversely affected commercial and recreational fishermen and fishing communities, to improve fisheries science, and to make fisheries more resilient to harm caused by human activities.

First and foremost, we urge BP and its business partners, Congress, and the Administration to ensure that all possible means are applied to regain control of the oil well, ensure that the dispersants used are the safest and most effective available, and that damages are cleaned-up as quickly as possible.

Once the spill is stopped, the short- and long-term measures below are needed to begin the long process of helping ocean resources and coastal communities recover.

Short-term: Institute a fishing community recovery program.

  • LOSS RECOVERY: Help commercial and recreational fishermen and fishing-related businesses recover lost income including commercial fishing operations, seafood dealers and retailers, charter vessels and guides, bait and tackle shops, marinas, and others harmed.
  • SEAFOOD SAFETY: Help the commercial and charter boat fishing industries implement seafood and catch traceability and verification systems to ensure that commercial fishermen and charter vessels harvest fish from waters declared safe and healthy by federal regulators.
  • PUBLIC INFORMATION: Assist the commercial and recreational fishing industries to rebuild business by providing assistance to develop a public information and media campaign to highlight the real, versus perceived, impacts of catching and consuming Gulf fish to ensure consumer confidence.
  • FISHERIES BASELINE INFORMATION: Accelerate stock assessment and data collection efforts for commercial and recreational fisheries to expand and enhance baseline data on the present status of key fisheries affected by the oil spill.

Long-term: Increase fishery and community resilience through better science and management.

  • SCIENCE AND DATA: Improve science and data collection for commercial and recreational fisheries by providing significant additional funding to measure the long-term impact of the oil spill on fish stocks and track the pace of their recovery, and engage fishing vessels in research that contributes to better fishery science and enhanced seafood safety.
  • FISHERY MANAGEMENT: Increase fishing business resilience to natural and manmade disasters by accelerating fishery management reforms that achieve compliance with fishery management goals.

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Senator Shelby Makes Right Call Requesting Gulf Fishery Disaster Designation Addressing Oil Spill

By / Bio / Published: May 19, 2010

Fishing businesses across the Gulf, such as these charter boats in Alabama, are facing major economic challenges from the oil spill.

Yesterday U.S. Senator Shelby requested a Gulf of Mexico fisheries disaster declaration from the Secretary of Commerce in the face of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

EDF fully supports this action and encourages U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to grant the request.

The Gulf coast economy is closely tied to the well-being of its oceans. The uncontrolled oil spill severely threatens ecosystems and, by extension, the Gulf’s multi-billion dollar fishing and tourism industries.

By granting Senator Shelby’s request, Secretary Locke can help provide much needed federal assistance to affected Gulf fishermen and fishing communities.

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South Carolina Fisherman Wants Catch Shares, Not Closures

By / Bio / Published: May 19, 2010

A recent op-ed by Chris Conklin in The Sun News of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, voiced frustration over the cascading closures now hitting the Southeast. Conklin comes from a fishing family and wonders if he’ll be able to stay in the fishing industry unless catch shares are instituted. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is considering a number of options – including catch shares – to reduce fishing closures and get fishermen back on the water.　

Conklin points to the success of the red snapper catch share in the Gulf of  Mexico.  Not too long ago, Gulf red snapper fishermen were in a similar situation to fishermen in the Southeast. Now, they are now enjoying the third successful year of a catch share. They have a year-round season and dockside prices are higher. These fishermen will likely receive more fish this year because fish population rebuilding is going so well.

Even as Gulf commercial fishermen deal with the worsening oil spill, the flexibility they have to fish throughout the year lets them plan their businesses in the face of natural or man-made problems better than those not under a catch share.

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New England Groundfish Sectors: Things to Look for 2 1/2 Weeks In

By / Published: May 18, 2010
Julie Wormser, New England and Mid-Atlantic Regional Director for EDF Oceans program.

Julie Wormser, New England and Mid-Atlantic Regional Director for EDF Oceans program.

New England groundfish sectors, a kind of a catch share management system, are entering their third week of operation.  It’s far too early to pass judgment, but here’s what we’re watching for: 

1) The ability of individual fishermen to maximize their profits and minimize their costs, and

2) The total 2010 harvest of groundfish compared to annual catch limits (ACLs).

An article from SeafoodNews.com that we cited last week discussed these two measures, but was criticized for comparing the first week of landings versus last year’s harvest.  However, since fishermen fishing under sectors no longer have any time constraints to their harvests, weekly landings are not a meaningful measure of success or failure. 

More important and interesting were the article’s insights into fishermen’s ability to selectively harvest strong stocks and avoid weak stocks, and fishermen’s ability to maximize catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) by landing all legal species that they catch rather than being required to dump good fish overboard.

A key way fishermen are successfully avoiding weak stocks is through their knowledge of fish behavior and life cycles and through the use of conservation gear such as the Ruhle trawl.

Using this gear, one fisherman in the Rhode Island sector reported landing 8,500 lbs of haddock and only 120 lbs of cod and 140 lbs of yellowtail on a one-day trip to Georges Bank.  That’s a strong stock/weak stock ratio of between 60 and 70 to one.  He said it was the best day of fishing he had had in years. 

Another vessel fishing on Georges Bank, as reported in the SeafoodNews.com article, reported a strong stock to weak stock harvesting ratio of 140:1 haddock to yellowtail and 25:1 haddock to Georges Bank cod. 

Finally, the SeafoodNews.com article reported a six-figure harvest in one trip by one New Bedford sector vessel; we have heard about several others of the same magnitude.

Unquestionably the fact that sectors are being implemented at a time of low catch limits is causing a great deal of stress for a significant number of groundfish fishermen.  It is all the more impressive and hopeful to see these kinds of conservation and business benefits emerging so soon under the new system.

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Fishery Research Accelerated by Oil Spill

By / Bio / Published: May 17, 2010
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz0VZEjXztM 

EDF staff recently had the privilege to participate in a university-fishing industry research expedition conducted by graduate students from the University of West Florida, on Captain Gary Jarvis’ boat, the Back Down 2, in Destin, Florida.

Underwater surveys explored reef fish populations and their habitat. They were originally scheduled throughout summer, but have been sped-up to serve as baseline samples in case the oil spill spreads as far as Alabama and Florida. These may be particularly important given this weekend’s news that large plumes of oil have been found at deep depths offshore.

The researchers have several objectives including exploring fish population structure and habitat and examining fish tissue and stomach contents. Their methods include use of a Remotely Operated Vehicle to view the underwater environment to identify, measure and count fish. The researchers were also studying how varyingly skilled anglers catch fish on different sizes of circle hooks.

Cooperative research has many benefits

Cooperative research trips like this one are good for science and fishing businesses. UWF researchers chartered boats out of ports in Alabama and Pensacola in the week prior, and have scheduled several additional trips with Captain Jarvis and others.  The research rapidly provides much needed data on the health of fish stocks, and provides an opportunity to help charter businesses struggling with lost business from the oil spill.

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New England Auction Managers Question Reports of Positive First Week Under Catch Shares

By / Published: May 17, 2010

As published by John Sackton on SeafoodNews.com:

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS, May 12, 2010 – New Bedford, Boston, and Gloucester Auction owners question reports that suggest the first week of New England Fisheries under catch share managment were good.

In a May 11, 2010 report on the first week of landing reports under catch shares, Seafood News reported that offshore boats are thriving under new catch share rules in New England with regional landings up 4% in the first week.

While Seafood News’ reporting of the numbers is accurate, the owners of the New Bedford, Boston, and Gloucester Seafood Display Auctions told Saving Seafood that the positive numbers mask the current realities and challenges facing fishermen.

Larry Ciulla of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction told Saving Seafood that dayboats are not fishing. He noted that in a typical year, the first week of the fishery brings in 150,000 – 200,000 lbs. of grounfish, but this year only 30,000 lbs. were landed during the first week. He also noted that many vessels went out during the last week in April to use up allocations under the old system, and landed that product during the first week of May.

Richie Canastra of the New Bedford and Boston auctions also said that many vessels went out at the end of April with the specific intention of fishing under the old rules. He noted that vessels go out at the end of April and come in during early May in order to supply restaurant and market demand for seafood that spikes over Mothers’ Day weekend.

Both Mr. Ciulla and Mr. Canastra pointed out that none of the boats that landed during the first week of May had fished entirely under the Sector regime. All of the landings reported during the first week of May included fish caught in April under the old system. The first landing of fish caught entirely under the new system at the Gloucester auction occurred during the day on May 11. At the New Bedford Auction, the first vessel landing with product caught entirely under the new system was expected late overnight on May 11-12.

Both Mr. Ciulla and Mr. Canastra indicated that an accurate comparison of data between this year’s landings under the new system and last year’s landings under the former system cannot be made until a full week has lapsed during which all landings are of catches caught under the new system.

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