Daily Archives: December 14, 2012

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE SPECIAL MASTER CONCERNING APPLICATIONS FOR REVIEW OF NOAA ENFORCEMENT ACTION

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Somethin’ just ain’t right! Fisheries institute revamp removes Rothschild

DARTMOUTH — A revamp of the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute will mean that acclaimed marine scientist Dr. Brian Rothschild at UMass Dartmouth will be out as co-director after 10 years. UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman on Wednesday announced the changes, which were proposed by the UMass President’s Office. It will consolidate the institute at the UMass School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford. It is now part of the president’s office…..The new arrangement would place the SMAST dean, Dr. Steve Lohrenz, as co-director along with Paul Diodati from Marine Fisheries. Lohrenz will be the conduit between the state and the UMass campuses.

Rothschild would be out, and that has some of his colleagues angry.

“I don’t understand the argument,” said Dr. Dan Georgianna, a professor of economics who has worked closely with Rothschild at UMass Dartmouth. “The MFI has published 200 review publications. The MFI has been very successful in the scallop fishery and in groundfish. It’s been very successful.” Now, “the person who caused the success is being replaced. I think it’s going to result in a decline in fisheries science. It’s going to affect the fishing community. Brian’s got a zillion awards.”…….  When contacted, Rothschild said he would not comment for now.

Rothschild has been especially high-profile in public in recent years. He serves as chairman of the mayor’s Fishery Advisory Council, and was deeply involved in the fight against the switch to catch shares and sector management in the Northeast fishery.

He has also been highly critical of government-sponsored fishery research methods.

He has published five books and more than 100 papers and has affiliations with researchers at institutions around the world.

In addition, he has been suggested as a replacement for outgoing NOAA administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121214/NEWS/212140357/-1/NEWS

BREAKING NEWS Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank To Release Swartwood II Today Updates as they arrive.

Senator John Kerry stated “The release of this second report is an important step. I’d heard so many horror stories from our fishermen which is why I requested this investigation three years ago. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an investigatory process like this go back eighteen years to right wrongs and dig into the history of multiple Administrations. Obviously it’s again confirmed and exposed the stories so many fishermen brought to me in the first place, and while it can’t undo the damage that was done to peoples’ livelihoods, I still believe that getting the truth out and providing economic relief and reparations is key to repairing the  damage in the relationship between our fishermen and enforcement authorities.

“Special Master Swartwood has done a great service by shedding light on what happened in a very dark chapter in New England. It would’ve been inexcusable to just sweep it under the carpet. Secretary Blank’s ongoing efforts to provide reparations to fishermen who were abused is very important, as is her determination to make sure that the culture at NOAA has changed and never, ever reverts back to the ugliness of this period.”

The following was released by the Department of Commerce

Rhode Island PolitiFact Meter Shows The Pew Environment Group “Facts” are MOSTLY FALSE!

liars-all-arounds“In recent years, menhaden numbers along our coast have plummeted by 90 percent.”

Pew Environment Group on Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 in a newspaper advertisement

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is scheduled to vote today, Dec. 14, on whether to cut the catch limit for Atlantic menhaden.

Environmentalists say the menhaden population, a crucial part of the Atlantic ecosystem, has dropped to dangerous levels. Menhaden are an important food source for tuna, cod, striped bass, whales, dolphins, ospreys and eagles.

“Governor Chafee: When this little fish disappears we’re in big trouble.”

Our ruling

The Pew Environment Group said that “in recent years, menhaden numbers along our coasts have plummeted by 90 percent,” a very specific number. It says overfishing must be halted to rebuild the population.

The estimated number of menhaden is clearly well below the estimated population for the late 1980s. But it’s currently at levels seen in the 1960s.

If you want to claim a 90-percent drop, you have to compare the 2008 population to a very specific — and very exceptional — year, 1982.

We don’t consider a 30-year-old benchmark to be “recent.”

Because the statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, we rate it Mostly False.

http://www.politifact.com/rhode-island/statements/2012/dec/14/pew-environment-group/pew-environment-group-says-atlantic-menhaden-popul/  About PolitiFact Rhode Island

Predator, prey balance needed in fisheries management Carmine Gorga, Ph.D.

To the editor:

Congratulations to Matt Mullin, deputy regional director, New England Oceans Program, Environmental Defense Fund! He is the first member of the fisheries “establishment” who has publicly admitted to the need to account for the “predator and prey balance” (Letter, the Times, Nov, 14). This is a very important communication.

There is now hope that sooner or later even the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Marine Fisheries Service will eventually look at stocks of fish as existing in a web of interrelationships with each other, rather than in linear formation as they were depicted in ancient biology books. There is now hope that overfishing will no longer be attributed to the pitiful family fishing fleet!

Just imagine a world in which NOAA and NMFS acknowledge their boundaries, a world in which they leave the family fishing fleet alone. A world in which they get up the gumption to go after the large, often subsidized, national and international corporations, at times culprits for the devastation of the fisheries. Just imagine a world in which NOAA and NMFS call for a balanced management of pelagics (mid-water fish) and bottom fish!

Carmine Gorga, Ph.D.

Middle Street,

Gloucester

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/opinion/x1839366821/Predator-prey-balance-needed-in-fisheries-management

U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee-$64 billion disaster assistance bill-includes $150 million-Northeast groundfishery and three other states

The bill’s impetus was relief for the superstorm Sandy disaster, but lawmakers have added a variety of other disaster relief measures, including farm drought relief. http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x1839366712/Some-Sandy-relief-for-fishermen