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Selected tag(s): Fishing

New England Sectors Will Ultimately Serve the Fishermen and the Fisheries Better

By / Bio / Published: May 14, 2010

New England is going through a sea change this month. Fishermen who catch groundfish (cod, haddock, flounder) are shifting away from decades of failed management, which has led to the decline of fish populations and the loss of thousands of jobs. On May 1st, a type of catch share called sectors began for the groundfish fishery.

There are numerous benefits to fishermen who operate under sectors, as compared to traditional fishery management systems, such as a Days-at-Sea program:

  • Now fishermen have the freedom to decide how, when and where to fish.
  • Fishermen can keep a higher percentage of the fish they catch and are no longer legally forced to discard large amounts of economically valuable fish.
  • For the first time in decades, fishermen have the flexibility to create and follow an actual business plan.
  • For the first time, now fishermen can cooperate and time their landings so that they get a higher price for their fish and avoid market gluts.
  • The days of dangerous “derby-style” fishing are over. Fishermen don’t have to race the clock anymore and can develop innovative ways to avoid bycatch and fish more selectively.
  • Under sectors, fishermen are allowed to fish in portions of the Gulf of Maine Rolling Closure Areas and Georges Bank Seasonal Closure Area which were previously completely off limits to them.
  • Under sectors, fishermen no longer have to worry about “cod jail,” when they had to wait out the clock on the other side of the demarcation line to land their fish.

The transition to catch shares, particularly timed with new MSA requirements of annual catch limits and accountability measures will be challenging for many in New England’s fishing industry. Yet catch shares are an improvement from the alternative — the old days-at-sea system –which is broadly agreed to be broken.  This new system of management will take some getting used to but ultimately will serve the fishermen and the fisheries better.

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Most Fishing Unaffected By Oil Spill in Gulf So Far

By / Bio / Published: May 8, 2010

The federal government has underscored what many fishermen, wholesalers, and restaurant owners have been telling us – that the oil spill has yet to impact their operations.  While everyone in the Gulf is worried about the impact of the spill, now and into the future, most fishermen across the Gulf spent this week in business-as-usual mode.  The one big exception are many shrimp fishermen in southern Louisiana who are facing severe restrictions.

We’ll have updates starting next week from the Gulf where our staff have been meeting with fishing businesses.  The good news is that seafood is still flowing across the docks and many recreational fishermen who planned to head out on local boats will still be able to go.  Definitely check with your captain before canceling a trip.

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Catch Shares Address Community Impacts in Ways Conventional Fisheries Management Can’t

By / Bio / Published: May 3, 2010
Johanna Thomas, EDF Oceans - Pacific Coast Regional Director

Johanna Thomas, EDF Oceans - Pacific Coast Regional Director

At the end of the day, all fishing communities have one thing in common: they all depend on healthy, productive fish stocks. Catch shares management help fishing communities by maintaining fish stocks or bringing them back, while increasing the quality and profitability of fishing jobs.  They can also include tools and mechanisms that benefit communities, things you won’t find under traditional management.

Today more than 60 federal fish stocks are overfished or undergoing overfishing.  As a result, thousands of fishing jobs have been lost. Under conventional management, fishermen in these underperforming fisheries face closures, ever-increasing limits on harvest levels, and dwindling seasons.  When fishing is allowed they are often forced into a dangerous and inefficient race for the fish.

For example, under conventional management, the West Coast trawl fishery has been on a downward economic spiral.  Plants have closed, infrastructure has been lost, and ports have become shadows of their former selves.  An estimated 15% of the fleet has left the fishery due to lack of fishing opportunity in the last five years; fishermen have been leaving the industry, creating worsening economic conditions for communities that have historically relied on groundfish landings.   Under status quo management, a few major players have bought up a large number of permits, consolidating ownership and leading to fewer owner-operators on the water.  

In contrast, catch share programs can include ways to deliver the benefits of a healthy fishery to communities, including fair allocation, limits on consolidation, and opportunities for new entrants.  Catch shares can also include ways to conserve the resource so that the fishery will deliver benefits into the future.

Specifically, the forthcoming Pacific groundfish catch share includes:

  • Strict ownership caps for each species in the plan to ensure that no individual fishermen or entity can accumulate excessive amounts of quota.  There are also caps on the amount of species quota that any entity can control through business arrangements.
  • An Adaptive Management Program that will be used to stabilize fishing communities and maximize benefits of the program while protecting against unanticipated consequences.  For example, the adaptive management quota can help traditional fishing ports maintain access to landings of groundfish. The program takes 10% of the trawl total allowable catch and dedicates it to a public trust pool.
  • In addition, the Pacific Fishery Management Council is developing guidelines for community fishing associations and collective fishing arrangements.  These programs will provide communities with the opportunity to maintain access to groundfish, opportunities that do not exist under status quo management. 
  • Room for new entrants – Quota is divisible down to the single pound level, meaning that young fishermen can buy in slowly, one pound at a time. Likewise, as some fishermen leave the fishery, permits will become available for purchase. In addition, quota from the Adaptive Management Program mentioned above could be leased or loaned to new entrants to enable them to enter the fishery at reduced cost.

Current management is failing to make fishing a profitable livelihood for the fishermen that rely on the resource. This in turn is putting our fishing communities in danger, and catch shares are coming at a time when many fishing ports are already extremely vulnerable.  Catch shares provide the means for communities to benefit from a productive and renewed fishing fleet.

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Innovative Fisheries Management Tools Can Help Further Protect Glover’s Reef and Other Areas in Belize

By / Bio / Published: April 29, 2010
Conch diver in Belize

Conch diver in Belize.

Erik Olsen presents a balanced perspective on management and conditions a Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve in Belize in “Protected Reef Offers Model for Conservation” (New York Times, Science, April 27, 2010) and “On Patrol with the Reef Ranger” (New York Times, Green Blog, April 27, 2010).  The Government of Belize has worked well with NGOs and fishermen to establish and maintain this reserve, no easy task when resources are limited.  The abundant sea life and recovering sharks and rays are evidence of excellent performance at this site.

But, Glover’s Reef and other areas in Belize are under increasing pressure from overfishing.  Indicators of this include an unsustainable increase in the number of fishermen, the decline in catch of targeted high-value species such as lobster and grouper, and an increase in the catching of parrotfish – a species critical for maintaining the health of the reef.  The question for managers, conservationists, and fishermen is how to integrate sustainable fisheries management with the marine reserve to prevent and even reverse overfishing in the reserves.

Community meeting of fishermen in Belize.

Community meeting of fishermen in Belize.

In response to the threat of overfishing, Environmental Defense Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, Belize Fisheries Department and Belizean fishermen communities have partnered on an initiative to protect and restore fisheries at Glover’s Reef and elsewhere in Belize through the implementation of innovative, incentive-based tools for fisheries management. 

One of the major causes of overfishing at Glover’s Reef is that it is an open access fishery.  While this creates an opportunity for all to catch fish, it is also encouraging fishermen to catch too much fish too quickly.  As fish populations get depleted, the health of the reef suffers and fishermen livelihoods become vulnerable.  To solve this problem fishermen must either agree to end the competition and cooperate to sustainably harvest fish (cooperative fishing); or incentives can be put into place to encourage such behavior by empowering fishermen with secure shares of the catch or access to fishing grounds (catch share management). 

This initiative builds on the science and management work already underway at Glover’s Reef – the catch data collection that is critical to the implementation of a catch share program, and monitoring the overall ecosystem health of the atoll.  Cooperative fishing and catch shares will also enable local community groups to play a more central role in the management of their fisheries, including implementing the enforcement and monitoring necessary for sustainable management.

Glover’s Reef is a jewel, and a critical space for the livelihoods of fishermen and health of Belize’s Barrier Reef and the Mesoamerican marine ecosystem.  Linking good fisheries management with MPAs is a critical step to ensure that current and future generations enjoy and benefit from its resources.

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Statement of Sally McGee, EDF New England Fisheries Policy Director and NEFMC member, on Today’s Council Actions

By / Published: April 28, 2010
Sally McGee, EDF New England Fisheries Policy Director

Sally McGee, EDF New England Fisheries Policy Director

Today, Sally McGee, EDF’s New England Fisheries Policy Director released the following statement on today’s NE Council actions.

“I am pleased to support recommendations today for modifications to the skate and the red crab fisheries which will increase flexibility and likely lead to increased profitability for many New England fishermen.

“Consistent with New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) recommendations, the Council has recommended that the National Marine Fisheries Service should increase the skate wing possession limit from 1900 to 5000 pounds.  This will help reduce discards and add a revenue stream for some groundfishermen while maintaining a sustainable catch level.  The SSC has also identified and prioritized skate for research and assessment of age, growth, maturity, discards and bycatch over the next several years so we will continually better our understanding of these important species.

“Also, the new red crab analysis by the SSC provided an opportunity to increase the Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) to more accurately reflect the state of the fishery.  Consistent with the best science available, I was glad to join a unanimous vote in favor of increasing the ABC to 1775 metric tons for fishing year 2010.  It is very encouraging that this new analysis, provided by the Council’s scientific advisors, shows us that increasing the ABC for this stock will allow fishermen to catch more crab while maintaining the long term sustainability of this fishery. 

“The skate and red crab management measures before the Council today are precisely the kind of actions that the NEFMC should take to support New England fishermen and fisheries.”

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Last Stop – Sea Breeze, NC

By / Published: April 23, 2010
Queen Quet with Gullah Geechee fishermen and other listening session attendees in Sea Breeze, NC.

Queen Quet with Gullah Geechee fishermen and other listening session attendees in Sea Breeze, NC.

During the past few months the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition and EDF have held listening sessions with African-American fishermen in the South Atlantic – from South Carolina to Florida and Georgia. The sessions provided us with the opportunity to listen and document the concerns of these fishermen working in commercial and subsistence fisheries.

Our series of listening sessions concluded last weekend in Sea Breeze, North Carolina. Fitting of its name, Sea Breeze once hailed as a popular beach destination for African-Americans in the Wilmington area. Members of the community recollected that on any given Friday night, Sea Breeze was alive with the sound of music and smell of cooked seafood. Our gathering was certainly reminiscent of the past, as local fishermen gathered around a feast of fresh seafood to discuss the important role fishing has played in their lives and how that has changed over time.

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee nation and founder of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, led the meeting of nearly 30 participants. Although many do not continue to fish today, everyone in the room indicated they used to fish at one point in their lives. “Fishing was natural because the whole family did it,” explained attendee Mrs. McQuillan.

Only four men in attendance still remain in the commercial fishing sector with the years of experience varied among them. Fishing partners Luther McQuillan and Joe Farrow have been fishing for 60 and 70 years – a way of life that began when they were mere children. According to the four fishermen, Southeastern staples like shrimp, oysters, clams, and crabs were some of the more sought-after fish, in addition to croaker, mullet, red drum, and whiting.

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