Tag Archives: at-sea monitoring costs
A rare victory for New England commercial fishermen
The New England fishing industry is enjoying a rare victory over federal regulators as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced earlier this week that it would pick up the cost of at-sea monitoring of boats this year. What’s more, NOAA will reimburse fishermen for some of their out-of-pocket expenses from 2017. While that’s good news, there is still work to be done. There is no guarantee the new policy — less a promise of change than a one-time concession tucked in the federal budget — will continue past this year. And beyond the cost, the expensive, inefficient at-sea monitoring program, which spreads a limited number of monitors among a large number of vessels for an undetermined number of trips, must be able to provide accurate information regulators and fishermen can trust. >click to read<07:34
NOAA/NMFS to Reimburse Sector At-Sea Monitoring Costs
NOAA/NMFS will pay for all at-sea monitoring costs for fishing year 2018. Any groundfish sector trip beginning on or after May 1, 2018 that was selected for at-sea monitoring coverage is eligible for reimbursement. NOAA will also reimburse industry for an additional 25 percent of their at-sea monitoring costs in fishing year 2017 using remaining prior year funds, bringing the total reimbursement for 2017 to approximately 85 percent. This reimbursement was provided for by Congress through an FY18 funding increase for groundfish at-sea monitoring. >click to read<12:54
NOAA/NMFS to foot at-sea monitoring costs – Thank You Senator Shaheen!
Timing may not be everything but it sure counts for a lot. Just ask New Hampshire groundfisherman David Goethel. Goethel, who had persevered through cascading years of escalating regulation, slashed fishing quotas, a failed lawsuit and, more recently, the prospect of paying the full cost of at-sea monitoring, was ready to get out of commercial groundfishing. “I had planned to sell my boat this summer,” Goethel said Wednesday, referring to his 44-foot, Hampton, New Hampshire-ported Ellen Diane. “I was done.” Last week, following a full year of working behind the scenes with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Goethel got the news he and other groundfishermen wanted to hear: >click to read<08:24
