Monthly Archives: September 2012
NOAA holds firm on shutdown to protect porpoises. Fishermen insulted by regional administrator Bullards they can sell their quota response.
Bullard rejected the proposed alternative proposed by the coalition, writing that switching to the coalition alternative offered fishermen or the harbor porpoises little to gain.
Moreover, he warned in his letter to Odell, a recent harbor porpoise stock assessment showed the “population has declined,” implying that more radical actions than the “consequence” closure would be expected. Read more.
The queer minded catch share advocates have such a disingenuous reply to those effected by a successful MMPA that now has the small gillnet fleet facing extinction. These fishermen should be placed on the Endangered Species list, and protected. This issue galvenizes their demise. The NOAA answer? They can sell their quota. Isn’t that special.
I had reservations about Mr. Bullard, and his endorsement in the press from EDFers, and Gang Green, but thought I could give him the benefit of the doubt. Reading of the meetings along the coast with fishermen and others in the press, along with this decision to follow the NOAA status quo, reaffirms my initial internal reaction. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Like evertything else, the concequence of the MMPA, is the rebuilding of the marine mammal populations to the point they are everywhere in huge abundance. The notion of looking at the ocean as a fish tank like the Boston Aquarium where everything is just so, may be appealing, it is also unrealistic. But then, what view point would be expected of the rose colored glasses wearing econut extremists disingenuous claim to be environmentalists. They are opinionists.
I believe the two fishermen in this article are the true environmentalist, living, and breathing within the ocean environment, trying to survive the consequences of the success of a MMPA that was enacted with no balance benchmarks, that has now become another tool to eradicate fishermen from harvesting our common resource, for us.
ABOLISH CATCH SHARES NOW! BH
Fisherman survives day at sea adrift in fish bin, “I’m Ryan Hunter Harris and I’m not going to die here.”
SITKA, Alaska (AP) — A fisherman who spent a night adrift in a 4-by-4 foot plastic fish bin after his boat sank off Alaska says he gave himself pep talksand sang
“Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” to keep his spirits up.
His fellow crewmember managed to get into a survival suit and washed ashore on a beach after his own night afloat.
A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted Ryan Harris, 19, of Sitka, from his plastic “lifeboat” on Saturday,
more than 24 hours after the boat sank on Friday, the Daily Sitka Sentinel (http://is.gd/bgoPcT) reported Monday.
Two hours before Harris’ rescue, crewmate Stonie “Mac” Huffman of Sitka was rescued from a beach about 25 miles northwest of Sitka.
Industry silenced locals on coastal planning- “onslaught of massive, unplanned development from federal Outer Continental Shelf oil leasing” By LISA WEISSLER
In developing Alaska’s coastal management program, it soon became clear that coastal communities wanted an effective voice in decisions that could affect their livelihood and quality of life. They wanted a program that would accommodate the great variation in Alaska’s coastal resources and uses. They wanted local control. Read more
Kodiak memorial held for lost fisherman
KODIAK, Alaska – As mourners prepared to release balloons into the air above Kodiak on Wednesday, the clouds parted and the rain stopped. Then, incredibly, a rainbow appeared.
It was a perfect ending to the memorial service for Jaime Gallegos, 31, who disappeared at sea after the fishing vessel Advantage sank on Friday. Three other men were rescued from the Advantage, but one, boat captain Leif Bolan, died after the rescue. The family of Leif Bolan announced that a memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday in St. James the Fisherman Episcopal Church in Kodiak..
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – Kodiak memorial held for lost fisherman
Fed probe of NOAA rules due in November – By Richard Gaines GloucesterTimes.com
The U.S. Commerce Department’s inspector general expects to make public in November a procedural review of how NOAA and its regional fishery management councils make rules governing the fishing industry. 
The review of procedures that go into the setting rules and regulations for fisheries was undertaken in January at the request of Congressmen John Tierney and Barney Frank, and amid concerns that non-governmental environmental organizations were given undue influence over fisheries mandates and limits.
“Our review of fishery management councils and rulemaking will be conducted in phases and result in interim reports produced at several intervals,” said Ann C. Eilers, the principal assistant inspector general for audit and evaluation, in a release dated Jan. 10. “In this phase of the review, we will evaluate the role of NOAA and the fishery management councils in the fishery rulemaking process and the transparency of the rulemaking process.”
”We are anticipating having a report ready for the public in November,” Clark Reed, spokesman for the inspector general, said Friday in a telephone interview.
The impetus for the request by Tierney and Frank, they said in a letter to Inspector General Todd Zinser dated Aug. 17, 2011, was the “high degree of mistrust” that existed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its subsidiary agencies by the fishing industry. Read more http://www.gloucestertimes.com/topstories/x1709876008/Fed-probe-of-NOAA-rules-due-in-November
WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH NOAA? – Dick Grachek
WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH NOAA?
Or: Trouble in the Un-Regulated Community
At the risk of stating the obvious: NOAA’s stock assessments are clearly inadequate.
When they are used as a basis for fisheries regulations, the entire management process becomes destructive to both the fish and the fishing industry.
We need a far more comprehensive research and management philosophy if we are to ever come close to realistic assessments and sound management.
The Extinction Delusion
Delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary. (From Wikipedia)
This extinction-of-the-week approach to management is looking more ridiculous and destructive than ever. We owe it to the fish and to the fishermen to throw out this crisis-mentality management regimen which requires that researchers devote themselves to finding data that will support the crisis predisposition.
Is there a species that swims in the ocean that has not been found to be in dire need of stringent regulation? Now it’s Abalone! What happened to the “endangered” Sturgeon? Have they now recovered? And please don’t overlook the Wolffish, Cod, Haddock, Pollock, Yellowtail, Black Back Flounder, Fluke, Sea Bass, Dogfish, Skates, Red Snapper, Grouper? There must be a lament at NOAA headquarters that goes something like, “…so many species and such precious little time to find evidence of their endangerment!”
Then there’s always the Butterfish shortage which apparently is the only vehicle that NOAA could find in order to squelch fishing for the abundant Loligo Squid. Butterfish are sometimes found with Loligo Squid; however, NOAA’s Butterfish extinction watch ignores the fact (well known to fishermen) that, should they suddenly decide to surface, one could walk on the floating rafts of Butterfish from Cape Cod to Louisiana. But, there’s no need to let reality get in the way of a good campaign-to-save-a-species, even if the claimed fish scarcity is pretty much confined to the reality that exists as a construct in one of the SSC’s eccentric computer models. Scarce Butterfish is certainly not a reality that can be found in the ocean.
So, what can be done? Effective management of the fisheries is not an impossible endeavor; but a total overhaul of the attitude and thinking regarding our fisheries is essential.
Pages 2-5 will be in the comment section to save front page space!
Bay Area enviros target use of drift gill nets – litigation threat from Oceana, Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network
SANTA CRUZ – Calling them “curtains of death,” Bay Area environmentalists have put the federal government on notice that they intend to sue to halt the controversial use of drift gill nets for commercial fishing. Sometimes more than a mile long, the nets are used in the waters off California to catch shark and swordfish. But because they can sweep up unintended catch – including rare and endangered species such as sperm whales and leatherback sea turtles – environmentalists have long criticized their use. “Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is eliminate drift gill nets from being used off the California coast altogether,” said Dr. Geoff Shester, California program director for Monterey-based Oceana. “These are the lions and tigers of our blue Serengeti, but here we are allowing this fishery to continue.” The litigation threat comes from Oceana and the San Francisco-based Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network – groups that have pushed aggressively for everything from fishery changes to marine habitat protections to designation of the endangered leatherbacks as California’s official marine reptile. In operation since 1980, the drift gill net fishery has long been under fire from environmentalists. While allowed under federal law, both Oregon and Washington have banned them along their coasts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was too early to comment on the potential suit, which would be filed under the Endangered Species Act. “We’re still evaluating it,” NOAA spokesman Jim Milburn said. In announcing the suit, environmentalists said they are concerned that two endangered sperm whales were caught by a drift gill net in December 2010. Based on,,,,,,,,Read More http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_21483913/bay-area-enviros-target-use-drift-gill-nets
Reduce commercial fishing permits through attrition – J.B. Friderici – Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Wasilla, Alaska
Posted: Thursday, September 6, 2012 9:40 pm To the editor:
The Aug. 24, 2012, edition of the Frontiersman published a column by Howard Delo about fishing and the lack of Cook Inlet salmon. His conclusion that the Cook Inlet commercial fishing industry is over-capitalized is correct. I agree that the reduction in the number of permits is desirable. Rather than a permit buyback program, we should seek other ways to reduce the number of permits. A buyback program implies fisherman have property rights in permits. This is not correct since under the Alaska Constitution the fish belong in common to the people of the state of Alaska. Commercial fishermen are not entitled a preference over other Alaskans, to say nothing of the permits held by non-Alaskans. We should make permits nontransferable. We should institute a requirement that a permit be fished each year with some minimum catch and enforce the requirement the permit holder be on the vessel while fishing. The only penalty for violation is cancellation of the permit. This would reduce the number of permits through attrition without anyone getting paid. J.B. Friderici Willow
Washington State Awarded $22 Million for Salmon Recovery – Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board has received a $22 million federal grant to continue the state’s salmon recovery efforts in Washington. “A healthy Washington state economy is reliant on healthy salmon populations,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire. “Salmon support jobs and small businesses – especially our mom-and-pop tackle shops, restaurants, fishing guides and hotels. This grant not only will help Washington keep people employed, it will help our efforts to restore and protect our natural resources, making Washington a better place for all of us to live.” Of the $22 million, $15 million will be awarded by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board as competitive grants for projects statewide that will restore and protect the rivers, streams and bays that salmon need to recover. “The grant process is very competitive and works from the ground up,” said Kaleen Cottingham, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office, which administers the federal grant and supports the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. “Local communities wrote salmon recovery plans, which were approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Local watershed groups, called lead entities, select projects based on the priorities in those plans and community needs. State scientists review the projects to make sure they will be effective. The process helps us ensure we are investing in projects that will do the most to recover salmon.” Read more http://www.lakestevensjournal.com/county-state/article.exm/2012-09-06_washington_state_awarded__22_million_for_salmon_recovery
The federal Department of Commerce’s NOAA administers the fund and will competitively award the $65 million for Fiscal Year 2012 among the states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and California, and to the west coast tribes.
“We are pleased to continue this investment in salmon recovery in the Northwest,” said Will Stelle, NOAA’s Northwest regional administrator. “In addition to improving our environment, salmon restoration projects generate jobs on par with dollars spent on infrastructure projects like roads and highways.”
BP to investigate new tar balls, oil on Louisiana coast – By Jimmy Isaac
GRAND ISLE, La. (CNN) – BP said Wednesday it is heading to the Louisiana coast to test whether tar balls and oil found on shore after Hurricane Isaac are from the company’s 2010 Gulf oil spill. State officials reported tar balls and a large oil mat along the Gulf shore south of New Orleans, and the U.S. Coast Guard reported finding three oiled birds in the area on Monday. BP spokesman Ray Melick said the area is one where BP teams were already helping with cleanup from the 2010 spill before Isaac arrived. As soon as they’re given the all-clear, they will return to do more cleanup and test whether the new oil is from their spill or another source. “There’s a lot of oil out there that may not be ours,” Melick said. The area is near Fourchon Beach and Grand Isle. Certain areas are still closed to recreational and commercial fishing because of the BP spill, state officials said. People on Grand Isle said they were hopeful Isaac would stir up the waters and move leftover oil out of the area so it could help revive the fishing waters off the coast http://www.cbs19.tv/story/19475707/bp-to-investigate-new-tar-balls-oil-on-louisiana-coast
Apalachicola Bay-Franklin County Oysterman: “We’re going to lose everything we’ve ever worked for”
“I don’t know how families are going to survive,” said his wife and fellow oysterman, Betty Shiver. For the oystering couple, making a decent living these days seems down right impossible. They say the Apalachicola Bay, known for its big beautiful oysters, isn’t producing. The cause? Perhaps a lack of fresh water, over harvesting, or even possible remnants of the BP oil spill. They just don’t know, but their situation grows dire. “A lot of people, all they do is depend on this bay out here oystering and if it’s not here they can’t make it, and it’s not here and everybody knows it’s not here,” said Mr. Shiver. Read More
News analysis: More NOAA appeal talk fails truth test ! (who knew?!) CLF Shyster in Denial.(yeah.that too.)
By Richard Gaines, Heading altered by Bore Head
The lead attorney for the government was not the only one whose statements before the second highest court in the land this week ran contrary to documented evidence.
Justice Department lawyer Joan Pepin, defending the legality of the federal government’s conversion of the Northeast groundfishery into a commodities market, was joined in that realm by her co-counsel, Peter Shelley, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation.
Appearing Wednesday in Boston before the First U.S. Court of Appeals, Pepin introduced a claim — contradicted by records and comments from the New England Fishery Management Council — that federal fishery regulators had already put into place a system to prevent industry consolidation that would destabilize the way of life and underlying culture of the ports, Gloucester and New Bedford and beyond from New Hampshire to North Carolina. A check of record and talks with council officials confirmed that’s not the case, as the Times reported Friday.
Following Pepin, Shelley said the New England Fishery Management Council, the arm of the federal fishery regulatory system, had adopted fishery consolidation as its official policy.
But Patricia Fiorelli, spokeswoman for the council — a part-time, 16-member panel charged with researching and writing policies for approval by the federal government — said Friday that “the council does not have a policy supporting consolidation.”
Shelley’s argument to the three-judge panel on Wednesday also condescended to scoff at concerns held and expressed by many plaintiffs — including Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk, former New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang, Congressmen Barney Frank and John Tierney and others — that major environmentally-rooted nonprofits and foundations, including the Walton Family Foundation, which operates as an adjunct to and with endowment from Wal-Mart, had gained improper influence over federal fisheries polices.
“The plaintiffs (believe),” Shelley argued, “(that) some dark force of privatization was at work — nothing could be farther from the truth. This is not Wal-Mart vs. the corner pharmacy.”
Yet the common fear among many plaintiffs that Wal-Mart, through the Walton Family Foundation and in concert with a Wal-Mart corporate partner, the Environmental Defense Fund, has achieved a controlling position in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is grounded in documented fact.
The catch share policy instituted by NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco after her appointment by President Obama and confirmation in 2009 was precisely the policy that was advocated in a policy paper written in 2008 by Lubchenco and a team of scientists and politicians. And The Walton Foundation was lead underwriter for the paper, “Oceans of Abundance,” which warned that overfishing was so depleting the oceans that jellyfish would be masters of the seas by the
middle of this century.
Lubchenco at the time was vice chairwoman of EDF board of directors; the paper has since been widely discredited in both scientific and academic spheres.
One of the appeal plaintiffs’ attorneys, Gloucester fisheries lawyer Stephen Ouellette, alluded to the concern across the industry that the catch share system creates a business model that invites external investment. The worry, he said, is over the future erosion of the local ownership feature that has defined the groundfishery for centuries.
“There is a large political movement seeking to force a catch share system on all the fisheries,” Ouellette said. READ MORE!
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x550068870/News-analysis-More-NOAA-appeal-talk-fails-truth-test
NOAA lawyer’s claims don’t match record
BOSTON — The attorney for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration argued to the US. First Circuit Court of Appeals that there was no need to put the catch share management program under the authority of a federal judge to limit rampant consolidation of the fleet because the regional arm of the agency was already doing that.
“The problem is being taken seriously; it is being addressed,” Joan Pepin, a U.S. Justice Department attorney, told the three-judge panel Wednesday. “The process has been under way since the end of last year. It’s called Amendment 18.”
The comment was made in discussion with Chief Justice Sandra L. Lynch, near the end of the hour long oral argument over the suit by New Bedford, Gloucester and widespread fishing interests against NOAA for introducing a radical re-engineering of the groundfishery without considering the socio-economic implications or giving fishermen the chance to vote on whether to create this new world which made fishing more efficient but also powered consolidation.
Moments later, then in discussion with the plaintiffs’ lead attorney James F. Cavanaugh Jr., Judge Lynch adopted Pepin’s description of Amendment 18.
“You asked for an order that in effect (NOAA) would have to do a study and consider consolidation and consider whether they have to modify this program,” the judge said, distilling and rephrasing the redress sought by the plaintiffs. “As I understand it, they’re doing that, so what’s the difference?”
Cavanaugh said he was not aware from the record that NOAA was addressing consolidation.
“No?” said the judge. “Amendment 18.”
“Amendment 18?” a non-plussed Cavanaugh said.
The fact that Amendment 18, as Pepin and Judge Lynch described it, didn’t ring a bell with Cavanaugh should not have been surprising. Pepin’s characterization of a directed effort, known as Amendment 18, that was addressing a clearly defined problem — consolidation of the groundfishery — was inaccurate, a check of records shows. Amendment 18 — the genesis of which traces to 2010 but has not yet made it on the agenda of the New England Fishery Management Council for official consideration as a possible action — is an idea whose time has yet to come…………..Read more
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/topstories/x1709874696/NOAA-lawyers-claims-dont-match-record
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From savingseafood.org
New Bedford / Gloucester Fishing Litigation Documents
http://newbedford-ma.gov/fishinglitigation.html
September 6, 2012 — The Office of New Bedford Mayor Jon MItchell has created a reference website with all documents pertaining to the appeal of CITY OF NEW BEDFORD, et al., vs HON. GARY LOCKE, et al.http://newbedford-ma.gov/fishinglitigation.htmlAUDIO: New Bedford, Gloucester and Industry Appeal Against NOAA Heard in Federal Court
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Peter Shelley’s (as usual) bogus arguments on the AUDIO: Federal Court Appeal Against NOAA – Thanks Dicky
This is regarding CLF lawyer Peter Shelley’s intervention in the Amendment 16 Lawsuit Appeal Oral Arguments Hearing on September 5, 2012. In general, the defendants’ arguments were embarrassingly lame and disingenuous, but discussed below is a particularly outstanding contention of Shelley’s and deserving of a mention.,,,,,,,,,Read more in the comment section.
From Savingseafood.org
Audio of the proceedings follows:
1 – James F. Kavanaugh, Jr. representing New Bedford, Gloucester, and the numerous named individual plaintiffs
2 – Stephen Ouellette, representing the American Alliance of Fishermen and their Communities, New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen’s Association, Richard Grachek and David Aripotch
3 – Patrick Flanigan, representing James Lovgren
4 – Joan Pepin, representing the Federal Defendant-Appellees
5 – Peter Shelley, for the Conservation Law Foundation, an intervening defendant.
6 – James F. Kavanaugh, Jr. closing statement
Industry sponsors sardine survey along the Northwest Coast – Amount of fish is tied to profits and number of jobs for fishery
Tired of what they saw as incomplete surveying that led to an underestimated sardine population – and commercial harvest guideline – each year, processors in the Pacific Sardine Fishery (California, Oregon and Washington) started hiring their own scientists, chartering boats, renting airplanes and taking a hands-on role in the yearly surveys. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Read more
Runnin’ thru the archives, Dr. Bill Wattenburg Interviews Agenda 21Rep. Sam Farr About Out of Control Govt Agency NOAA.wmv
KSCO Radio Host Bill Wattenburg takes Congressman Sam Farr to Task- NOAA is Out of Control! EDF whore Farr gets busted lying about agenda 21! Priceless. 7 videos
http://bore-head007.newsvine.com/_news/2012/01/26/10243615-ksco-radio-host-bi…
Plea to New NOAA Regional Administrator: Save Us Some Cod
ELLSWORTH — When John Bullard came to Ellsworth last Thursday, he had had been the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service’s Northeast regional administrator for just three weeks and four days.http://fenceviewer.com/site/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=76663:plea-to-new-noaa-regional-administrator-save-us-some-cod&Itemid=938
Coalition pushing for seal control measures
Krogh describes the increase of the seal population of the Cape and Islands as an “infestation.” Along with Peter Howell and Guy Snowden, Krogh founded the Seal Abatement Coalition,,,,,,,Read More. Oil up the gun’!
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120902/NEWS/209020327/-1/NEWSLETTER100
Fishing appeal on fed docket- Catch share challenge
A three-judge panel of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston is due to hear arguments today in a suit alleging the federal government’s re-engineering of the Northeast groundfishery into a quasi commodity market trading in catch shares beginning in 2010 was illegally introduced by denying industry the referendum promised by federal law.Read more.http://www.gloucestertimes.com/topstories/x1884284835/Fishing-appeal-on-fed-docket
Fisherman’s head was lodged between boat, pier
A commercial fisherman was injured attempting to tie the fishing vessel “Sao Jacinto””Due to the severity” of the man’s injuries,MedFlight was called read more.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120902/NEWS/209020328/-1/NEWSLETTER100
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission agrees to implement Congressman Walter Jones’ request to improve transparency
September 4, 2012 — The following was released by the office of Congressman WalterJones.http://www.savingseafood.org/washington/atlantic-states-marine-fisheries-commission-agrees-to-implement-congressman-walter-jones-request-to-improve-transpa-2.html
Stricken fisherman tangled in Massachusetts state regulations
FAIRHAVEN, Mass. — September 3, 2012 — A lifelong fisherman who suffered a stroke and can no longer work says he has been unable to sell his boat or his state fishing permit, even with interested buyers, because of state regulations.
Gig Harbor-based boat sinks off Alaska; 1 dead, 1 missing
KODIAK, Alaska – A fishing boat based out of Pierce County has sunk off the coast of Alaska, leaving one person dead and another missing.—-The U.S. Coast Guard says the 58-foot fishing vessel Advantage, based in Gig Harbor, went down shortly after midnight on Friday.
A Proposal for NOAA – Sean Cosgrove (CLF)
Why does this current groundfish crisis seem so familiar? As the populations of New England’s cod, haddock and flounder have continued to decline, it’s not surprising that the number of fishing boats chasing them have declined. The business of consolidation within any,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
John Bullard, NOAANational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. MPBN Radio Interview – August 29, 2012
Three Days left to Comment on Proposed Rule on National Standard 1: Deadline is Sept. 15
September 10, 2012 — A reminder that the deadline for comment on the Proposed Rule on National Standard 1, which was originally scheduled for August 1, has been extended until Sept. 15. There are five days left to comment.
http://www.savingseafood.org/regulations/five-days-left-to-comment-on-proposed-rule-on-national-standard-1-deadline-is-sep-2.html
Fisheries of the United States; National Standard 1 Guidelines https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/05/03/2012-10683/fisheries-of-the-united-states-national-standard-1-guidelines
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