Tag Archives: NAMA
Local Spotlight: Craig Pendleton
Ever since he was a nine-year-old boy standing on a dock in Camp Ellis, Craig Pendleton has been constantly scanning the horizon, looking for the next opportunity that lies ahead. Pendleton began his career in commercial fishing when he was just nine years old, working on his uncle’s lobster boat during the summer. By the time he was 12, he was earning more money during the summer than his mother earned from her year-round job as a clerk at Percy’s Pharmacy. From his start as a kid working on a lobster boat, Pendleton eventually became a respected source of information and the proverbial go-to-guy for people like Senator Olympia Snowe, Governor John Baldacci and Senator Angus King when it came time to talk about maritime and commercial fishing issues. >click to read< 08:45
The Lunacy of Global Seafood Supply Chains
Like all global supply chains right now, this one feels unstable and unsustainable. Most of the seafood we eat in America, even in Gloucester, the country’s oldest seaport, comes from overseas. Most of what local fishermen catch is sent elsewhere. “The models aren’t designed to feed local and regional markets,” Tolley says. Those famous fish sticks bearing the logo of a Gloucester fisherman? By the time they reach your frozen foods section, they’ve made an exhausting global journey, exported for processing, then reimported. Nearly 500 commercial boats fished out of Gloucester a decade ago. Today, there are two dozen. This reflects both the decades-long collapse in groundfish stocks—the cod and haddock that once abounded in the cold waters off Cape Ann—and ever-more-aggressive federal measures limiting who can fish and for how much. >click to read< 09:07
Groups March in Washington, DC During Oceans Week To Oppose Offshore Fish Farms
Today, (6/9/18) hundreds of people join together in a March for the Oceans in Washington, DC. Preventing development of industrial ocean fish farms is a prominent issue for participants, wearing pins and carrying signs with the hashtag “#dontcageouroceans”.,,, Worldwide, ocean finfish aquaculture has caused a wide range of problems, including fish escapes; deaths of sharks, seals and other marine life; and changes in ocean ecosystems. Marianne Cufone, Executive Director for the Recirculating Farms Coalition said, “Industrial open water finfish farming is an outdated and unnecessary practice. It poses serious risks to our oceans and public health.” Now, Capitol Hill legislators are developing a new initiative for industrial aquaculture in U.S. waters. Opponents are collectively rising to protect fishing communities, public health and our oceans. >click to read<12:58
Mayday Mayday: Democratic Control Over Our Fish is Going Down
Fishermen and the public came to the Council meeting to provide input on the fleet diversity amendment to the New England groundfish Catch Share policy only to be shut down by the Chair of the Council. When I asked the Council Chairman Terry Stockwell if he could allow time for the group of fishermen, students, and hospital representatives to testify he said “no”. Not only did he insist “no” in response to my plea that he consider how far folks had traveled – in some cases 4 to 5 hours – instead of listening and being a public servant, he called me an “asshole” publicly. Read the rest here 12:50
It’s time to listen to the fishermen who are asking for more ecological protections for the fish, not less.
A quick overview of why this is necessary: In 2010, the council established groundfish “sectors:” groups of fishermen governed by an overall catch cap or limit, that allows annual trading of fishing quota. When they created this new management system, the council also eliminated inshore fishing protections that were part of the old system. The new regulations and lack of inshore protections resulted in a perfect storm of heavy fishing pressure concentrated in a very small area, followed by a stock collapse and numerous nearshore fishermen who, with nowhere left to fish, were put out of work. Read more here 14:26
“The big boats are taking over and they’re killing the little guys off,” Small fishermen’s plight discussed at forum in city
PORTSMOUTH — Participants in the Who Fishes Matters Tour fisheries forum Monday night discussed ways to improve the beleaguered catch share system of fisheries management. Read more
Maritime Gloucester hosts fleet diversity forum – the “Who Fishes Matters Tour;”
For the workshop series, a team of fisheries experts from British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and France will join the region’s fishermen and fishing communities to develop alternatives that will ensure a diverse fishing fleet and protect the fish and the fishermen, NAMA and the resource center said in a prepared statement. The groups have titled the workshops the “Who Fishes Matters Tour;” in addition to Gloucester, there will be workshops in Rockport, Maine, Portsmouth, N.H., on Cape Cod and at Point Judith, R.I. Read more
