Tag Archives: Mike Pentony
NOAA/DFO Officials on Risk Reduction and Protections for North Atlantic Right Whales
In December, NOAA Fisheries held another productive biannual engagement with officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to discuss ongoing efforts by both countries to protect and recover North Atlantic right whales,,, While this was the last of the 2021 biannual meetings with Canada on this topic, it was my first as the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries. Both of our countries face the same challenge >click to read<,-Read about her background, >click here< 10:53
Council delays vote on at-sea monitoring
Meeting solely via webinar, council members voted 12-5 to postpone final action on Amendment 23 beyond its June meeting, when it expected initially to vote. The amendment will set at-sea monitoring levels in the Northeast Multispecies groundfish fishery. Many of those voting for the postponement expressed concern that fishermen have enough on their plate managing the economic and social impacts of the pandemic without having to deal with the complexities of the amendment and the need to develop public comment. “My day job is working with commercial groundfishermen and I can assure all of you, when I’m on the phone with them, it’s COVID-19 related, not Amendment 23-related,” said council member Libby Etrie. >click to read< 16:10
Coronavirus: NOAA Fisheries is temporarily waiving requirement for vessels to carry a fishery observer or at-sea monitor.
As part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NOAA Fisheries is temporarily waiving the requirement for vessels with Northeast fishing permits to carry a fishery observer or at-sea monitor. The waiver will be in effect through April 4, and future extensions of this waiver will be evaluated weekly.
For details, please read the letter from the Regional Administrator Dear Partners and Stakeholders: As part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NOAA Fisheries is temporarily waiving the requirement for vessels with Northeast fishing permits to carry a fishery observer or at-sea monitor. The waiver will be in effect through April 4, and future extensions of this waiver will be evaluated weekly. >click to read the rest< 15:56
Maine lobstermen tell federal regulators: We’re not killing the whales
The Maine Lobstering Union accuses the agency of caving to environmental organizations when it should be defending the industry. Kristan Porter, a Cutler lobsterman who heads up the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said the modeling tool the agency had come up with to determine risk had been sharply criticized by a team of independent scientists during a peer review conducted late last year. Stonington lobsterman Julie Eaton urged regulators to stop playing dangerous games with fishermen’s lives and livelihoods. We don’t want to see any animal go extinct, but blaming us for the right whale’s decline is like blaming Mexico for the plight of the polar bear, she said. >click to read< 09:47
NOAA calls for monitors on all groundfish trips, calls for Public Comments on proposal
The draft amendment to set at-sea monitoring coverages aboard all Northeast groundfish vessels has led an adventurous existence in the three years the New England Fishery Management Council has dedicated to developing the contentious measure. There was last year’s partial shutdown of the federal government that delayed the rule-setting process. The council, in March 2018, also chose to tap the brakes on the development of the measure known as Amendment 23, >click to read< 20:28
Our View: New NOAA administrator right to emphasize collaboration
Mike Pentony took over as the regional administrator for NOAA’s Northeast fisheries division about a year ago and he’s received good marks from some quarters of the local fishing industry since that time.Pentony, an engineer and environmental manager by education, has worked in the North Atlantic fishery for most of his adult life. First as a policy analyst for the New England Fishery Management Council and later for 12 years as a team supervisor in NOAA’s sustainable fisheries division. As assistant regional administrator since 2014, Pentony oversaw 14 fisheries management plans for 42 species valued at nearly $1.6 billion annually. >click to read<15:41
Warm and Fuzzy. Pentony: NOAA patching up relationships with fishermen
We took a break from hoops last week to check out most of the video of NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator Mike Pentony’s 90-minute sitdown with the editorial board of the The Standard-Times of New Bedford, a fine news organization that does a standup job covering the fishing industry in America’s most lucrative fishing port. The discussion was interesting on a number of levels. Among the most compelling was Pentony’s take on the “evolution of perspectives” that has shaped the relationship between NOAA Fisheries and the Northeast commercial fishing industry. “It’s fair to say that six to 10 years ago, the relationships between the industry at large and the agency were in trouble, were a real problem. Maybe at an all-time low, I don’t know. But certainly, with my experience, it was a real struggle,” Pentony said. >click to read<18:17
NOAA official talks ‘damage’ to scallop industry from offshore wind
Michael Pentony’s initial comments came when asked in an editorial board meeting if offshore wind gives the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cause for concern about the sustainability of the scallop industry, particularly with regard to wind turbines off New York. He began,”I think it’s difficult to say that we have concerns about the sustainability of a three- to five hundred million dollar a year fishery.,,, >click to read<10:07
Whale protection, trawl limits entangle Zone C lobstermen
October is a peak month, according to the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, for feistiness in Maine’s population of hornets and wasps. Lobstermen too, judging by last week’s meeting of the Zone C Lobster Management Council at Deer Isle-Stonington High School.,, While the trawl rule was at the forefront of last week’s debate, lurking just below the surface was a technical memorandum issued late last month by the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center. >click to read<11:49
New Bedford Port Authority, Mass Division of Marine Fisheries, NOAA weigh in through public comments regarding offshore wind
The New Bedford Port Authority, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and NOAA all filed written public comments regarding Vineyard Wind’s Environment Impact Statement. The deadline to file public comments was April 30. All three agencies cited concerns regarding offshore wind’s presence within an important region for commercial fishing as well as marine life that could be affected beyond the acute area. >click to read<10:43
Despite sector shuffle, New Bedford fishermen will still be…
Whispers filled the convention room at the Hilton Wednesday as the dozens in attendance attempted to count the raised hands, which signified votes of the New England Fishery Management Council. The three attempts to accurately tally the votes only added to the drama of a discussion that involved a groundfishing ban that’s affected New Bedford since November. In the end, the vote didn’t provide a resolution for those fishermen out of work and the shoreside business affected by the ban. <click to read<18:27
Hitting the Trail: NOAA’s GARFO leader looks to cultivate culture of collaboration
As debuts go, Mike Pentony’s first day on the job as the regional director for NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office was a corker. The federal government marked his ascension on Jan. 22 as only the federal government can — shutting down all but the most essential government services as a consequence of the usual congressional mumbley-peg. “My first action was to come in and proceed with the orderly shutdown of government operations,” Pentony said recently during an interview in the corner office on the uppermost floor of GARFO headquarters in Gloucester’s Blackburn Industrial Park. The respite was short-lived. The shutdown lasted a day. >click to read< 23:52
