Tag Archives: observer coverage
NOAA adds Insult to Injury with Observer Coverage – Governor Baker will push for Industry Inclusion in Assessments
With a crystalline portrait of America’s oldest seaport serving as the backdrop, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday attacked NOAA’s plan to force fishermen to pay for at-sea observers on their boats and reiterated his pledge to help convince the federal fishing regulator to consider science other than its own. “Under the federal rules, there’s currently one source of truth and that source of truth is designed and delivered by NOAA,” Baker said. “NOAA operates under a standard that’s called ‘best available information’ and at this point in time the only best available information is theirs.” Read the rest here 20:57
US wants struggling fishermen to pay for observers
Now, with federal funding for the controversial program set to run out this fall, the region’s long-beleaguered fishermen are being told they have to pay for the observers themselves — or they can’t fish. “This could be the final hit that pushes us into bankruptcy, causing the collapse of the whole fleet,” said Phil Lynch, 45, a Scituate fisherman who has persisted while the number of groundfishing boats in the region has plummeted by more than 70 percent over the past decade. “The guys still left will be gone.” Be sure to read the comments at the bottom. Read the rest here 15:23
Observer coverage more likely on lobster boats with state, federal permits
Massachusetts is slated to have more 
than Maine, where there are far more lobstermen fishing. According to NMFS, Massachusetts-based lobster boats are scheduled for 266 sea days of monitor coverage in 2015, compared to 218 for Maine. Together, lobstermen from the two states are scheduled for 78 percent, or 484 of the 619, of the sea days of coverage slated for 2015 in lobster fisheries from Maine to Maryland. “Massachusetts has a lot of activity because there are a lot more fishermen who hold other federal permits,” Read the rest here 17:59
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton gets backing from Keating, and Lynch for observer coverage from NOAA’s Asset Forfeiture Fund
On Thursday, the freshman Democrat from the Massachusetts 6th Congressional District announced he and two other New England representatives (Reps. William Keating, D-Mass., and Congressman Stephen Lynch of South Boston , secured an appropriations commitment to allow (force) NOAA to continue paying for observer coverage on commercial fishing boats. That amendment mandates that money contained in NOAA’s Asset Forfeiture Fund will be used for fishery research and stock assessments; at-sea and shoreside monitoring; Read the rest here 08:07
That Peter Shelley. He’s got all the answers! – Why can’t the US be more like the Canadians?
You don’t usually hear much Canada envy from New England’s fishing industry. But last week, commercial fishermen Vito Giacalone, Richie Canastra, and Jimmy Odlin wrote to the Boston Globe to praise Canada’s haddock regulations, which they say have allowed Canadian fishermen to catch a far larger portion of their haddock quota—93 percent between 2004 and 2011, compared to United States fishermen’s 11 percent over the same period. These fishermen say United States haddock fishery regulations,, Read more here talkingfish 17:19
Fallout follows after New England plan for protecting herring is shelved after much ado
(AP) — A plan to protect the important Atlantic herring from what many believe is its biggest threat has been shelved indefinitely after years of work devising it – and even after winning support from the very vessels being targeted. Last month, federal regulators at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rejected a measure that would have required independent catch observers aboard every trip taken by mid-water trawlers, which can scoop herring out of sea hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time. read more here
NMFS pressures N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission over observer coverage, commercial license fees and permit fees could go up!
Carteret County News-Times – The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission doesn’t want to take chances with funding for the state’s federally required observer program through a state budget line item; if the program doesn’t get funding, fisheries will close for lack of a federal permit related to taking sea turtles and Atlantic sturgeon, both protected species. continued
Alaska – Better alternatives to fisheries observer program story – dwarfed by the public comment!
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) recently approved a restructured observer program that extends observer coverage to Alaska’s small boat fleet. With the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) taking over observer deployment, the industry-funded restructured program increases the cost of an observer day from the current $400 to approximately $1,000.
The Great King Salmon Mystery – You may be wondering why you failed to that king salmon this year? Some are calling it a king salmon crisis but few if any will attempt to answer the mysterious question as to where all of our king salmon have gone to. It’s not a salmon crisis when your neighbor fails to catch a king, it’s a crisis when you fail to catch one. If you ask the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, they will claim that our freshwater rivers and streams are producing plenty of baby king salmon. The mystery…. Read More
