EDFish

EDF Wants to Get It Right: Helping Fishermen and the Fishing Industry

I believe in US fishermen and our fisheries.  My brother and uncle both worked in fish houses and on fishing docks.  I have sorted fish alongside NOAA fish scientists on research cruises in the Gulf of Maine.  Even now, a great afternoon for me is talking with fishermen – maybe about fishing but about everyday stuff, too. 

Here’s one thing I also believe: Fishermen get a rough deal from nearly every quarter.  I’ve watched them struggle with ups and downs in the economy, with regulations that aren’t working and with public opinion that casts them as the bad guys in stories about ocean declines.  All the guff fishermen take is as big a pile of crap as the notion that I am interested in some kind of sell-off of New England fisheries.

There is a story being circulated in the Gloucester Times that is playing on – and distorting – very real concerns, concerns that I share, about the recession and unethical financial dealings.  Although the allegations about EDF are not true, we strongly share the author’s core concern: What’s the best way to evolve from today’s declining fisheries to ones that have lots of fish and jobs? 

One thing we’re going to need, for sure, is money.  From the fishermen’s point of view, where’s the best place to get that money?  One option is government. Some places, like New England, are blessed with powerful senators who can bring home the bacon.  Others aren’t so lucky.  In any event, government money always comes with strings.  Banks are another option.  But is there anyone out there who believes fishermen are getting the best possible deal from the government or the banks?  Fishermen tell us they’d welcome more choices because more choices mean a better deal. 

That is why we at EDF are working with fishermen to help them establish their own funds to purchase quota.  That is why we’ve set up the California Fisheries Fund to make loans to fishermen that banks won’t make.  That is why we help advise the Sea Change Investment Fund that directly invests in building markets for sustainably caught fish to benefit fishermen.  That is also why I will talk to anyone, anytime – including investors at the Milken Institute – about the incredible opportunity there is to work with fishermen to restore both fisheries and fishermen’s livelihood.

What I’m out there telling the wider financial community is that fishermen are good business partners.  Alerting new communities of investors to the risks and potential profits of catch share fisheries increases the number of options fishermen have for the financing they are going to need to evolve their fisheries.  And, obviously, the more options fishermen have, the better deal they will be able to negotiate within the bounds of the rules set up for each fishery.  Defining these fishery-specific rules well is important.  They can include such things as accumulation caps, owner on board, fishery association by-laws or whatever else is appropriate for each fishery. 

If you hear something that strikes you as wrong here, let me know.  EDF wants to get it right when it comes to helping fishermen and the industry.  I want to get it right.  If you have ideas about better things to try than simply more of the same that hasn’t worked over the past decades, please let us at EDF know.  Our minds are wide open.  There is room for improvement everywhere – including ideas EDF puts forward.

A lot needs to change (regulations, enforcement, financing, and marketing) to bring back our fishing communities.  Working together and pulling in the same direction, we can do it. 

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Good Advice for Seafood Lovers

Tim Fitzgerald is an oceans scientist for EDFEver stare at the seafood counter and wonder where all that fish comes from? Maybe not, but I do, and a new article in Martha Stewart’s Body+Soul magazine wades through some other issues that might be on your mind – overfishing, fish farming, omega-3s and mercury.

Although the article sugar coats a few things (e.g. wild fish generally being a safe, sustainable option – not true), it contains some good advice. First and foremost – get to know the people that sell you fish. They can be your best ally in making good choices and are often a wealth of knowledge.

Second, don’t be afraid to ask questions like, ‘Where is this fish from?’, ‘Is it farmed or wild?’, etc. This will help steer you in the right direction.

Third, its OK not to know all the answers. The seafood market is a big, confusing place. Luckily EDF’s Seafood Selector has done the hard work for you, and provides clear guidance on what fish are healthy for you and the oceans. Its available online, in print, and optimized for mobile devices.

Our oceans are in trouble, and seafood lovers are on the front lines of the crisis. Making smart choices at the fish counter (and in restaurants) can go a long way towards revitalizing our critical marine ecosystems.

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Fishermen Voices: Willy Phillips – North Carolina

The health and abundance of our oceans have a huge impact on many, from the environment to seafood consumers to the fishermen and coastal communities that rely on the seas for their livelihoods. EDF works diligently with all stakeholders, including fishermen, to end overfishing, protect our oceans, and bring back fish stocks to abundance.

Well designed catch shares are the solution to overfishing and many fishermen agree. We hear their stories all the time, and we intend to share them with you regularly through our “Fishermen Voices” feature on EDFish.

In the interview below, fisherman Willy Phillips of Columbia, NC shares some of his story following his visit to Congressional representatives in D.C. to advocate for catch shares.

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New Decisions Make Pacific Groundfish More Grounded

Trawl boat on the water.Just last week our fisheries policy guru, Shems Jud, attended the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Spokane, WA.  After a six year process, this meeting was the last opportunity for the Council to develop and decide on unfinalized components of the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) or catch share program for the trawl sector of the Pacific Groundfish fishery.

A few positive highlights to report from the meeting:

  • Most importantly, implementation of the program will not be pushed back and is still on track for the target date of January 1, 2011.
  • The precedent-setting Adaptive Management Program (AMP), a tool that promotes social, economic and conservation goals by pro-actively dedicating ten percent of the fish quota to a “public trust” like pool, will be implemented in year three of the program.
  • The carry over provision—which works like a cell phone plan’s roll-over minutes, but for your fish quota—will remain in the fishery’s management plan.

The program is nearing the finish line now after more than a five year stakeholder design process. Last November, the Council made a historic decision by voting unanimously for a catch share management system in the groundfish trawl sector, one of the four major sectors of the fishery.  Instead of managing just a single stock, this complex catch share will manage the largest number of species of any fishery in the U.S.  In addition, there are unprecedented features to the program, including the AMP and providing for fishermen to fish their quota using other gear types.

Next Steps?  NMFS still has to draft a regulatory package that lays out the specifics about how the catch share will actually work.  This proposal will be reviewed by the Council in September in a process called “deeming”.  In the coming year, the three West Coast states will work with NMFS on making sure the new infrastructure and staffing are in place in preparation for the fishery to transform to catch shares on time by 2011.  And finally, this landmark decision will need the signature of Gary Locke, the Secretary of Commerce.

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New England Fishery Management Council Votes Unanimously for “Sector” Catch Shares

Julie Wormser is the New England regional director for Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans program.

Yesterday represented both a figurative and literal sea change in the way New England groundfish stocks will be managed.  Not only did the council vote to move the fishery toward a fishing cooperative-based catch share system called “sectors,”  each of the major issues was decided by a wide majority, representing a new consensus.  The final vote to approve 19 sectors to fish under a New England-designed catch share system was unanimous.  Other key votes included:

  • Significantly increasing random dockside monitoring of the fleet to 50% in 2010, dropping to 20% in subsequent years,
  • Putting a “hard” total allowable catch limit both on sector participants (in 2010) and on non-sector participants still fishing under days-at-sea (in 2012)
  • Opening up “rolling closure” areas to sector participants that had been closed as effort controls.  Areas closed to protect cod spawning aggregations will remain off limits.
  • The allocation formula that translates current fishing permits to sector allocations was based solely on catch history, with an adjustment to keep the allocation formula for cod for the two existing Cape Cod sectors intact.

The meeting was marked not by drama but by legitimate debate about what decisions were the “fairest” to fishermen and what controls were needed to make the new system work.  Speakers from the council and the audience alike repeated the sobering fact that there are not enough fish to go around and that the decision to go to sectors represented the best way forward for a struggling industry and resource.  Council members worked hard and constructively to set the oldest commercial fishery in the United States on the right track.

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Today’s Boston Globe Editorial Captures the Moment

Julie is the New England regional director for Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans program.

Julie Wormser, NE Regional Director for EDF Oceans program.Today’s lead editorial in the Boston Globe captures the urgency of this moment in New England as the region’s Fishery Management Council votes this week on a new catch share system.  It’s a tense time for New England fishermen.  Many are facing the biggest change in fishing management in their lives.  On top of that, they’ve been stressed for years by declining stocks and rules that made it difficult to turn a profit.  The “catch shares” that the council is expected to approve are the best chance to turn this situation around.  There’s plenty of more work ahead but the federal government is putting up to $35m on the table to help fishermen pay for the first two years of this transition.

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