EDFish

Selected tag(s): New England

New National Fishing Policy Announced Today Focused on Catch Shares

By Diane Regas / Bio / Published: May 19, 2009

Diane Regas is Associate Vice President for EDF’s Oceans program.

Diane Regas, Associate Vice President - EDF Oceans Program The top government official for the nation’s fisheries today took a giant step in the right direction for the U.S. fishing industry and the oceans. At a speech in Boston, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that she was creating a task force to develop a new policy on catch shares to ensure that they are fully considered when fishery management councils amend management plans.

Recent scientific studies have shown that catch shares perform dramatically better than conventionally-managed fisheries. The bottom line is that the new policy is likely to dramatically increase the number of fisheries managed by catch shares and that’s great news for the oceans and fishermen.

In her speech, Dr. Lubchenco said that NOAA would move “forward to implement more catch share programs” and that “all of the (fishery management) councils will see increases in their allocations in the 2010 (budget) request” for catch shares. She also announced a new task force to develop a nation-wide catch share strategy.

Here’s the full text of Dr. Lubchenco’s speech this morning:

Comments by Dr. Jane Lubchenco at the Council Coordination Committee Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts – Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

Posted in New England / Also tagged Catch Shares, Fishery Management, Jane Lubchenco, Magnuson Stevens Act, NOAA, Overfishing | Read 3 Responses

Boston Globe Op-Ed by Peter Baker and Robert Johnston Raises Key Point

By / Published: May 19, 2009

Julie Wormser, NE Regional Director for EDF Oceans program. Yesterday’s Boston Globe op-ed by Peter Baker and Robert Johnston, and the economic report on which it’s based, make a key point that I think is the cause of a lot of the conflict and distrust between fishermen and fisheries managers.

The underlying economics of any effort-based regulation–such as the current “days-at-sea” system for New England groundfish–mean that the average profitability of the fishing fleet is zero at the target catch level regulators set. This drives fishermen with capital to be more productive than the fleet average, and fishermen without access to capital are driven out of the fishery. Overfishing continues and regulators are forced to continually clamp down on fishing effort.

Under sectors, a form of “catch shares,” the underlying economics are to maximize profitability–both of individual boats and the fleet as a whole. Regulators set an annual catch limit, allocate portions of that catch limit in this case to fishing cooperatives, and fishermen are free to fish when and how they can make the most money per fish. It takes pressure off fishermen to catch as much fish as they possibly can just to break even.

Posted in New England / Also tagged Catch Shares, Fishing, Sectors | Comments are closed

New England Fishery Management Council Member Supports Catch Shares

By / Published: May 15, 2009

Julie Wormser, NE Regional Director of EDF Oceans Program By Julie Wormser, New England Regional Director – Environmental Defense Fund Oceans Program.

I want to share Dave Preble’s terrific op-ed that was just published in the New Bedford Standard-Times, Prosperity for New England Fishermen. He wrote it just as groundfish fishermen in New England are preparing to fish under “sectors,” a fishing cooperative based form of catch shares.

I first met Dave at a New England Fishery Management Council meeting last summer. He sits on the Council and is one of the most thoughtful voices on that body. Born into a fishing family, Dave has been involved in both commercial and recreational fishing and fishery management for over 45 years. He has taught me quite a lot about how public policy decisions affect both fish and the fishing communities that depend on them.

Posted in New England / Also tagged Dave Preble, Jane Lubchenco | Comments are closed

A Turning Point for New England Groundfish Fishery: Jane Lubchenco sends a clear message

By / Published: May 12, 2009

Julie Wormser, New England Regional Director for the Environmental Defense Fund oceans program, writes about her attendance and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco’s presence at the New England Fishery Management Council meeting on April 8th.

April 8, 2009, Mystic, CT —Sally McGee, Emilie Litsinger and I got to witness something pretty wonderful today. Jane Lubchenco came to the New England Fishery Management Council meeting to announce the immediate release of $16 million to the groundfish fishery to help move the fishery to “sector” catch share management by providing funding for cooperative research to help fishermen get through a tough fishing year with very strict limits on fishing effort.

This came on the heels of Monday’s announcement of a final Interim Rule for groundfish that was a significant improvement both over the draft rule and a threatened legislative alternative introduced by some members of the New England congressional delegation.

The meeting started at 8:30 am, with the room unusually full for that early hour. The previous days had been crackling with speculation around the region about the reason for her visit. After brief introductions, Dr. Lubchenco thanked everyone for allowing her the time to speak to them. She described the main components of the new fishing rules and then said that she came to the council meeting with two clear messages.

First, that NOAA would commit $16 million this year toward a new future for New England’s fisheries (in this case, groundfish, but also more broadly). Second, she put the room on notice—Council members, agency staff, industry and other stakeholders—that we all needed to step up and move away from crisis management toward a lasting solution—catch shares.

“We need a rapid transition to sectors and catch shares,” she explained. “Catch shares are a powerful tool to getting to sustainable fisheries and profitability. I challenge you to deliver on this in Amendment 16, to include measures to end overfishing. I will commit the resources to my staff to do their part to ensure Amendment 16 is passed in June.

Posted in New England / Also tagged Catch Shares, Fishery Council, Groundfish, Jane Lubchenco, NOAA | Comments are closed