EDFish

Southeast fishery closures make the New York Times

By / Published: February 10, 2010

SEfishingboat-sm Southeast fishermen recently finished the first month of closures on many popular fish. Many fisheries won’t open again for several months and reality is sinking in across the region.

The New York Times is even taking notice. When a region’s fishery woes make ink in one of the most prominent papers in the nation, you know it’s a big deal.

It’s apparent that closures aren’t working for fishing businesses, restaurants or local economies. Fishermen can’t make a living when they can’t fish. Businesses that rely on local fish must turn to far off places to get it. What’s not as apparent is that closures aren’t even very good for the region’s ecosystem, because they force fishermen to fish harder on other species that aren’t closed. This can cause market gluts and an early end to the fishing season for many species, which just multiplies current problems.

However, in all the sobering news coverage that’s come out lately, outlets are overlooking a solution that’s good for fish and fishing businesses.

Southeast fishermen need catch shares, which allow fishermen the flexibility to fish when the weather and prices are good and improve collection of fishery data, all while rebuilding fish populations.

The good news is that the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is already exploring this solution. In fact, the Council has scheduled a catch shares workshop for March 1 preceding the Council’s next regular meeting. If you’re interested in learning more about the best solution for Southeast fisheries, I encourage you to attend. The meeting is open to the public.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged Catch Shares, closures, New York Times, South Atlantic | Read 3 Responses

Maryland Watermen Keep Open Mind Towards Future and Catch Shares

By Kate Culzoni / Published: February 4, 2010

Kate Culzoni speaks to watermen at the East Coast Commercial Fishermen's & Aquaculture Trade Exposition in Ocean City, Maryland.

Over a half a foot of snow couldn’t keep watermen away from the East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s & Aquaculture Trade Exposition in Ocean City, Maryland this past weekend. The state’s biggest fishing association, the Maryland Watermen’s Association, organized a weekend full of events and seminars highlighting issues on watermen’s minds. Environmental Defense Fund had the honor of participating in this event by organizing a seminar called “Co-Managing the Future of Your Fishery – Experiences and Lessons from Fishermen across the Country.”

To bring some context to the subject, we brought in fishermen from around the nation including the President and Treasurer of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, David Krebs and Buddy Guindon. We also tapped the expertise of Alaska halibut fisherman, Mark Lundsten and New England fisherman and catch shares expert, Dick Allen. These fishermen led a panel discussion on their experiences and lessons going from traditional fisheries management systems to catch shares management.

Gulf fishermen and Maryland watermen talk at the East Coast Commercial Fishermen's & Aquaculture Trade Exposition in Ocean City, Maryland.

The President of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, Larry Simns, opened the session requesting something from the 50 or so watermen in the audience. “Whether you are for or against catch shares, we all need to keep an open mind and see how at least parts of this system can help the future of our fisheries,” Simns stated.

Maryland watermen asked many questions and raised concerns about catch shares but repeatedly said they were maintaining an open mind about the solutions that catch shares can offer to fisheries.

Posted in Mid-Atlantic / Tagged Catch Shares, Maryland | Read 2 Responses

New Gulf Grouper Catch Share Already Proving Good for Fish & Businesses

By Heather Paffe / Bio / Published: February 3, 2010

grouper On Jan. 1, 18 Gulf of Mexico commercially-caught grouper and tilefish species were added to the region’s individual fishing quota (IFQ) program, a type of catch share. This newly expanded program is a big conservation victory. Now, 19 valuable Gulf fisheries are being managed under a tool proven to rebuild struggling fish stocks.

This move is good for small and large fishing businesses. A year-round fishing season is just one of many benefits. See National Fisherman’s article on how the new IFQ program is already making a difference.

Unfortunately, grouper fishermen in the Southeast aren’t faring as well under traditional management. They’re in the middle of a four month fishing closure. This isn’t just hard on fishermen, it’s hard on local restaurants and other businesses too. Southeast fishery managers should consider catch shares to eliminate these devastating season closures and bring fish populations back to health quickly.

Finally, we want to congratulate the fishermen, Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council and others who worked so hard to add grouper and tilefish to the Gulf’s IFQ. We are excited to see the progress that these fisheries will make in the coming year.

Posted in Gulf of Mexico / Tagged Fishery Council, Grouper, Gulf of Mexico, IFQ | Read 2 Responses

NOAA’s New National Catch Shares Program: An investment that makes (dollars and) cents

By Amanda Leland / Bio / Published: February 2, 2010

Amanda Leland, EDF Oceans Program - National Policy Director

Amanda Leland, EDF Oceans National Policy Director.

Yesterday NOAA released its budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year 2011. While the National Marine Fisheries Service budget request was decreased by 1.5%, it included a key feature: the creation of a new National Catch Shares Program, which would provide significant resources—over $50M—to those fisheries wanting to transition to catch shares.

This federal investment comes at the right time because under conventional management fishermen struggle to make ends meet and fish stocks continue to decline. Well-designed catch shares, on the other hand, can end overfishing while increasing fishermen’s profitability and wages and decreasing government costs. NOAA’s announcement is a welcome shift in fisheries policy that will quickly accrue benefits to fishermen, fish populations, and the federal budget’s bottom line.

Fishermen are increasingly embracing catch shares because they boost profitability, wages, and safety. Catch shares enhance fishery economics with optimized catch limits (as overfished stocks recover and science improves), increased efficiency of fishing operations, and higher dock-side prices. On average, fisheries in North America have realized an 80% increase in revenues five years after catch share implementation. In contrast, for many prized species the alternative to catch shares is closures, which will push fishermen off the water and have a devastating economic impact on coastal communities.

As fisheries grow economically, catch shares can transition management costs to fishermen, reducing and stabilizing the overall federal investment needed to support fishing jobs. For example, fishermen are required to recover 100% of program costs in the Alaska crab catch share. That catch share has increased the overall value of the fishery because populations are recovering (so catch limits are increasing), and dock-side values have increased. The economic increase has resulted in a surplus for management costs in 2009.

At the same time, as fisheries stabilize under catch shares, the federal government’s costs for disaster relief could substantially be reduced, which has averaged some $70 million annually over the past decade (not including salmon).
NOAA should be applauded for charting a new course and making an investment today in the solution that will help fishermen, fish populations, and the federal treasury recover.

Now we need Congress to support NOAA’s budget request.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged Catch Shares, Fisheries, NMFS, NOAA, President's Budget | Read 5 Responses

Local Seafood is Key to Florida Keys Culture

By Kate Culzoni / Published: February 1, 2010

Kate Culzoni with a spiny lobster at the Florida Keys Seafood Festival A few weeks ago, I attended the 5th Annual Florida Keys Seafood Festival in Key West where I learned what Florida Keys culture is all about – seafood, sun and fun. As I enjoyed the fresh lobster tails and crab claws, I was able to speak with the actual commercial fishermen who catch Caribbean spiny lobster, stone crab and a variety of sumptuous reef fish.

Fish houses, which act as fish buyers, retail markets and restaurants, are often a lifeline for fishermen needing financial assistance and are the heart of the fishing industry in the region. I used some of my time touring the operations and observing how fish from the nearby reefs become delicious seafood fare in restaurants.

Key West has a vibrant and diverse culture. Only 90 miles from Havana, the Cuban influence can be seen everywhere. As I walked the historic docks, I practiced my Spanish with Cuban American fishermen. “A donde se van a pescar?”

Talking with fisheries managers, academics and state of Florida researchers also educated me on the complexity of fisheries and some of the challenges facing the living marine resources in the Florida Keys. Of particular interest to me was the spiny lobster fishery, which is unique because spiny lobster’s tail meat is the only commercially valuable part, unlike the cold water American lobster that has meat-filled claws and tails.

Spiny lobster is valuable to the Keys’ culture and national economy, however, research reveals some discontent with the current management system. Growing concerns over proposed new regulations, the high cost of doing business, and illegal poaching and black markets have some commercial fishermen wondering how they can even survive in the spiny lobster fishery.

After listening to fishermen’s stories and ideas at the Seafood Festival, which is sponsored by the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, I have a much better understanding of the adverse impacts of the spiny lobster management system. This year I’ll be spending more time researching and analyzing this fishery and working closely with the fishermen on potential management improvements. I’ll keep EDFish readers abreast of my findings.

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