Tag Archives: New England Fishery Management Coucil
Fishery council executive directors warned Biden admin about dangers wind energy projects pose to fishing industry
In an Aug. 22 letter to former Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Amanda Lefton, the three officials, who respectively lead the New England, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, expressed concern about current processes for approving offshore wind development. They also made a series of recommendations to help the federal government mitigate impacts on fisheries. “As we have stated in several past comment letters to BOEM, we are very concerned about the cumulative impacts of multiple wind energy projects on the fisheries we manage,” they stated in the letter. “The multiple wind energy projects planned along the east coast will have cumulative and compounding effects on our fisheries.” >click to read< 08:32
New England: Offshore Wind (OSW)Mitigation & Compensation Management Concerns
I ask that you please disseminate my following comments that I would like the Council to consider, regarding my thoughts on developing a recommendation for the Mitigation and Compensation Program. Their knowledge and understanding of the fishing community will go a long way in realizing the importance in getting this program developed to the best of the abilities of all concerned. >click to read< By Jim Kendall
NEFMC votes to set a future target of 100% monitoring coverage on sector based groundfish vessels
The council, deliberating online via webinar on Amendment 23, overwhelmingly approved the motion for its preferred alternative of 100% coverage level for sector vessels in the Northeast Multispecies groundfish fishery. But the motion, crafted through a morning and afternoon of rulemaking on the fly, included a valuable caveat for fishermen: The region’s commercial groundfish harvesters likely won’t have to pay the full costs for the monitoring for the first four years the amendment is in effect or as long as supporting federal funds last. According to the approved measure, the commercial fishing industry will receive federal reimbursements, or money from other federal mechanisms, for 100% of their electronic monitoring costs and 100% of their at-sea monitoring costs in the first four fishing years the amendment is in effect. >click to read< 07:41
NOAA FOIA Response Suggests Refusal to Search Council Member Email Accounts for Records on At-Sea Monitoring Amendment
Earlier this month, Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) filed an administrative appeal of a final response by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) to CoA Institute’s Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request concerning NOAA’s efforts to expand industry funded at-sea monitoring—specifically, to the herring and mackerel fisheries—and to lay the foundation for industry funding across all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic. NOAA’s processing of the request suggests that the agency failed to search email accounts belonging to members of the fishery management councils even though they are subject to public disclosure. Based on the limited records that were disclosed, NOAA’s search appears improperly limited to its own employees. >click to read< 15:00
The New England Fishery Management Coucil will meet in Mystic CT. April 18 thru 20, 2017
The New England Fishery Management Council will be meeting in Mystic CT at the Hilton Hotel. To read the final agenda, click here Register click here to listen live via webinar. 12:32
