Greater Atlantic Region – Our New Community Resilience Website!
We have been working with our Northeast Fisheries Science Center and other partners to address issues of community resilience and to develop ways to support our regional fishing communities. Part of this effort is our new website (click here) that contains information on how we define community resilience, our near and long-term goals, recent workshop proceedings and next steps, as well as links to our partners, data portals, and other resources. Learn how we are supporting our communities as they face regulatory, environmental, and economic challenges from a changing climate, ocean acidification, and other impacts. If you have questions, email NMFS, GAR, Community [email protected]. 11:11
The balls of these bastards.
National Marine Fisheries Disservice, destroying fisherman and their communities on a scale never seen.
JUST SENT THIS TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS ON THEIR SITE:
Who, exactly, is the leader of this “Community Resilience” presence in NOAA?
The “new web site” advertised in FisheryNation has lots of platitudes but seems to be only trying to put positive spin on GARFO and NEFSC’s same old attitudes, actions, and inactions.
It is full of “WE” statements but doesn’t identify who that is – again, the same old GARFO & NEFSC organization? Or is there truly a new sheriff in town who will take rapid, positive action to make preservation of these Communities the highest priority in NOAA?
If whoever receives these emails has both
the inclination and power to actually do anything, I recommend
reconsideration of the many things fishermen have been pleading for over
the past few decades – things that will absolutely have a positive impact on their communities’ resilience. A few examples:
Take quota away from non-fishermen – NOAA cannot continue to saddle the few remaining working fishermen with paying for the retirement program of non-fishers, many of whom merely bought up some permits rather than having any history of fishing.
Give working fishermen modest quotas for bycatch that do not penalize them for the movement of species resulting from climate change.
Make a serious effort to transform the determination of local stock levels through the use of fishers experience and data rather than the woefully inadequate research tows now performed.
Reverse current policy for dealing with risk and uncertainty by favoring “community resilience” over modest impacts on fisheries.
Transform NOAA culture to consider “community resilience” a major constituent of all activities rather than a PR gimmick.
—
Dave Sullivan
Director of Management Support
Gulf of Maine Ocean Resource Alliance (GOMORA)
Gloucester, MA
978-281-1510
Mailto: [email protected]