Tag Archives: petition
Petition: Stop Imported Seafood, Save Our Local Fishermen and Seafood Industry!
As a concerned citizen, I am deeply troubled by the detrimental impact of imported foreign seafood on our local fishermen and seafood industry. It is disheartening to witness the decline in our local seafood prices and the subsequent struggles faced by our hardworking fishermen. This petition aims to raise awareness about this issue and urge relevant authorities to take immediate action. Growing imports of foreign seafood have flooded our markets, causing a significant drop in demand for locally caught fish. This has resulted in devastating consequences for our local fishermen who rely on their catch as their primary source of income. In the 1980s, shrimpers were receiving close to $7 per pound at the dock; however, today they are barely earning $.80 per pound. >>click to read and sign the petition<< 10:41
New South Wales: Stop the prawn farming, save the commercial fishermen
I’m Elih Brooks. 5th generation baker fisherman in Yamba. I currently work on ocean trawlers catching king prawns on the FV Little River. I’m starting this petition to help our river fishermen as they haven’t been able to get to work this season or for at least 2 years at this rate, mainly due to prawn farming. Some of these fishermen are family friends and it hurts me to see how much they’re struggling and everyone else is literally in the same boat. These people are like the rest of us, they have mortgages, families to provide for and so much more it’s disgusting to see that our government isn’t doing nothing about it and I want to change that with these signatures so please help our FISHERMEN !!! >click to sign the petition< 10:46
Fisherman Launches Petition Against Release of Pilgrim Water
Bourne resident Ryan Collins, whose father and grandfather were fishermen, continues the family tradition. He has now become an advocate as well. Collins has collected more than 214,000 signatures on a petition asking the owners of the former Pilgrim nuclear plant not to release radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. He said he has been listening to concerns from his fellow fishermen as well as family, friends, and neighbors about Holtec Decommissioning International’s proposed solution to disposing of the water from various systems at the shuttered plant. “Everyone I am speaking to is against it,” he said. Eight weeks ago, he started his online petition at Change.org. >click to read< 11:29
Ocean City not relenting in battle against offshore wind farm
Ocean City is not giving up its fight against a proposed offshore wind energy farm seeking state permission to run an underground transmission line through town to connect with the land-based power grid, Mayor Jay Gillian told local residents Saturday. “We still have a long way to go with this,” City Council President Bob Barr said he is beginning to sense that the project’s developer, the Danish energy company Orsted, may be growing concerned about the money it will ultimately have to spend to build the wind farm. “Right now, they’re burning through money like it’s nobody’s business,” Barr said of Orsted. “Eventually, they’re going to have to fish or cut bait on this.” Barr also said that Orsted does not want to have to spend a lot of time bringing the project online. He suggested that the longer Orsted has to wait, the more it may have second thoughts about developing the project. > click to read < 13:27
Shortsighted Petition about whale regulations in Mass draws response from Maine
Enviro groups have filed a petition with the NMFS seeking immediate emergency action requiring the commercial fishing industry to protect endangered right whales from entanglement off the coast of Massachusetts. Members of Maine’s Congressional delegation responded in opposition to that petition with a letter to the Department of Commerce, calling it shortsighted. The petition suggests ropeless fishing could be used, and even though it targets Massachusetts, Maine’s commercial fishing industry is watching, according to Mike Dassatt, who is on the board of the Downeast Lobsterman’s Association,, “We need to be supporting Massachusetts because here in Maine, it would put way too many people out of business,”,, >click to read< 07:15
The Conservation Law Foundation petition’s NOAA to prohibit Atlantic cod fishing
The petition, filed with NOAA regional offices in Gloucester and with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in Washington, invokes the first article of the Magnuson Stevens Act, the law governing federal fisheries, which stipulates that overfishing must end immediately and that the fish stock be rebuilt as quickly as possible. (MMPA has wrecked that!) “There’s a fairly damning record of the agency (NOAA Fisheries, also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service) approving (New England Fishery Management) Council plans it should have known were not likely to end overfishing, and were not likely to put cod stocks on any rebuilding timeline,” said Peter Shelley, (who supports him) senior counsel for the foundation. >click to read< The image is cod, destroyed and wasted by seals, 08:35
North Carolina: Petition seeks to introduce new rules to commercial fishing industry
A petition by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) could have a major impact on the commercial fishing industry. The petition seeks to:
Limit shrimpers workweek from five days (Monday-Friday) to three (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). To designate areas as shrimp trawl management areas. Reduce the size of nets allowed and restrict gear in these newly designated areas. The federation says the reason for the petition is to reduce the amount of by-catch. By-catch is the anything in the net that’s not your intended species. It’s common for shrimpers to catch juvenile fish in their nets while shrimping. >click to read< 12:07
Congress : National Marine Fisheries Service, Destroying Fishermen and their Communities, The fifty million dollar question.
6/14/2018 – Please read, and sign the Petition By Joel Hovanesian, Thank you. Fisheries observers work aboard commercial fishing vessels during fishing trips. They collect information on catch, both kept and discarded, as well as biological data and information on gear and fishing operations over a range of commercial fisheries. These data are used extensively by researchers and fishery managers to better understand the condition of fishery stocks, fishing businesses, and fishing operations. These are NOAA’s words. The reality of the situation is far different. While many fishing businesses have been destroyed by the policies of the National Marine Fisheries Service and many more just hanging on we need to look at the reality of what is truly going on and questions need to be asked. >click to read and sign the petition< 21:00
Sign This Petition – MAKE COMMERCIAL FISHING GREAT AGAIN
1-Millions of jobs depend on reforming the Magnuson-Stevenson Act by passing HR 200. 2-Repeal Marine Monuments on our fishing grounds. 3-Say NO to wind turbines on our sacred fishing grounds. 4- Do all federal trawl surveys on industry boats and support increased cooperative research. 5- Restore all of the Saltonstall Kennedy money to the fishing industry>click to read, sign this petition<10:23
World’s largest sea turtle could come off ‘endangered’ list
An arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has received a petition from a fishing group asking that the Northwest Atlantic Ocean’s leatherback sea turtles be listed as “threatened,” but not endangered, under the Endangered Species Act.,,, NOAA officials have said the agency has reviewed the petition from New Jersey-based Blue Water Fishermen’s Association and found “substantial scientific and commercial information” that the move might be warranted. The agency now has about eight months to make a decision about the status of the turtles. >click here to read< 13:56
‘Tis the Season, Mullet Season that is!
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and with its passing marks the beginning of the most anticipated season of the year, Mullet Season. The fall run of the spawning roe-filled lowly little mullet is what put the small village of Cortez on the map as the largest mullet fishery in Florida.,,, That annual bonanza at the end of the year has become increasingly difficult in the past 20 some years since Article X Section 16, or the “Net Ban” was passed in a Constitutional Amendment that banned the use of entanglement nets in the inshore and near shore waters of Florida. click here to read the story 08:36
Kodiak fishermen may soon be able to sell fish from their boats
“I’m glad that we’re doing this. It will give the smaller fisherman a chance to make a little more coinage. It makes us feel more like a fishing town where you can go down to the fisherman’s boat and buy his catch.” Last year, the council was presented with a petition with 67 signatures asking for this change to the city’s code. Currently, in Kodiak, a person isn’t allowed to go to a fishing boat to buy fish or any other kind of fresh seafood. “I think this is the type of example we’ve talked about in terms of economic development and ways that a municipality can help facilitate business, growth and development.” click here to read the story 21:31
Maine coastal villagers say cables from offshore wind project will wreck their way of life
Opponents of an offshore wind project slated for development off Monhegan Island will take their fight to a new level Tuesday, when they plan to file a petition designed to prevent cables delivering electricity from the project to the mainland from passing through St. George. The group Preserve Our Remarkable Town, or PORT, says it has collected more than 300 signatures from residents of St. George, which includes the villages of Tenants Harbor and Port Clyde, who fear the the project will harm the local fishing industry and undermine the quality of life and property values in their communities. click here to read the story 19:39
Dear Secretary Ross.
Dear Secretary Ross, As members of our nation’s fishing communities, we want to express our gratitude for making the attainment of maximum sustainable yield in our fisheries a priority for the Commence Department. We are also most appreciative of your publicly stated goal to increase domestic seafood production, which is a priority of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities. It is most encouraging that we have a Secretary of Commerce who understands the importance of sustainably harvested seafood. As you know, the U.S. fishing industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, and is a vital economic engine for our coastal communities. The industry is ready and willing to work with you and your department to achieve the goals you have set forth for American fisheries, and we want to build a successful relationship between the Commerce Department and commercial fishermen. We know it is within our means to sustainably increase harvests and achieve maximum sustainable yield. A vibrant fishing industry will pay dividends not only to the coastal communities, but also to the millions of consumers who rely on the nutritional benefits of domestic sustainable seafood. Please click here and sign the petition. 09:39
Local restaurant owners upset about North Carolina Wildlife Federation shrimping petition
The North Carolina Wildlife Federation brought forward a petition to protect juvenile fish, but many are arguing it puts their livelihood at risk. The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission voted to approve a petition that would regulate where, how and when shrimpers could work. The final verdict has made a lot of people in the business upset. Fulcher Seafood in Oriental employees more than 200 people. Christina Fulcher-Cahoon said the new restrictions would jeopardize their large employee base and the seafood industry completely. While the petition was approved, this is merely the first approval. It must go through several steps before it is actually enforced. There is a chance the petition will not make it through all of these steps and will never go into affect. Video, read the rest here 14:11
Petition: All Against Changes to Current Nantucket Sound Mobile Gear Regulations
This petition has been created to bring awareness to the state of Massachusetts from the people who would like regulations of Nantucket Sound mobile gear to remain at their current status. The town of Nantucket is currently petitioning the right to fish inside of three nautical miles from the coast with mobile gear. This will greatly impact the permit holders, long standing fishermen, and their families who have fished these waters for decades. There is no environmental proof that this closure will have any impact at all. The squid fishery is an ecofriendly industry that supports many fishermen, families, and shore side operations and should remain this way. Throughout the years, Massachusetts has continuously managed mobile gear within Nantucket sound successfully and drastic changes to its regulations will have a detrimental impact on the Fishing Community. Please sign the petition! Click here 17:04
Sandy Semans Ross – My view: N.C. Wildlife Federation petition is short on science and facts
The Outer Banks Catch is a nonprofit focused on providing fact-based education to consumers about the commercial fishing industry and communities, and the habitat and water quality needed to maintain a robust fishery. With that mission comes a responsibility to correct erroneous statements whether made in the press or, such as in this case, in petitions for rule-making before the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission. The petition filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) is based on the work of Jack Travelstead, an employee of the Coastal Conservation Association, and former Division of Marine Fisheries director, Louis Daniel, now contracted with NCWF. The document, amendment and submitted public comments contain few statements that Outer Banks Catch could provide to the public and stand behind their legitimacy. It requests designating all inland waters and three miles out into the ocean as a huge special secondary nursery area, thus prohibiting almost all shrimp trawling. Read the op-ed here 09:19
BIG DAY AHEAD: North Carolina Shrimpers to argue against proposed industry restrictions
The public will have a chance to speak during a meeting in New Bern that could lead to commercial shrimp trawling restrictions in North Carolina. Multiple media outlets report five advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet jointly Tuesday at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center. The committee members will discuss a petition was filed by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation that would designate fishing waters in the sounds and three miles into the ocean as primary nursery areas to protect habitats for juvenile fish. Another change would be to limit the days and hours when shrimp trawling is allowed. Commercial fishermen say the proposed regulations would further threaten the shrimping business in North Carolina. link 07:41
North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission to decide shrimp trawling regulations
The New Year will begin with a decision that could impact the livelihood of area commercial fishermen. The five advisory committees to the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission will meet jointly on Jan. 17 in New Bern to receive public comment on a petition for rulemaking that would, if adopted, impact shrimp trawl fishing in most North Carolina waters. The petition asks the commission to designate all coastal fishing waters not already designated as nursery areas as special secondary nursery areas, including the ocean out to three miles. It also calls for establishing clear criteria for the opening of shrimp season and defining the type of gear and how and when gear may be used in special secondary nursery areas (SSNAs) during shrimp season. The petition is being opposed by the North Carolina Fisheries Association,,, Read the rest here 11:42
NOAA Clarifies Commercial Shark Fishing Regulations to another special interest group
An online petition signed by thousands of outraged divers aimed at preventing the upcoming shark fishing season in the Atlantic region has drawn the attention of the federally run National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. On Tuesday morning, officials from NOAA’s Fisheries Department hosted a conference call for DivePhotoGuide and other various news outlets in hopes of reducing the ire in the underwater community sparked by the petition, “STOP Commercial Shark Fishing Set for January 1, 2016!” The petition blew up on social media and has amassed more than 12,000 signatures in its first week. Read the article here 12:09
Bristol Bay fishermen petition the State to intervene regarding sockeye salmon prices.
An online petition that went live Nov. 3 had more than 821 signatures from fishermen and other supporters as of Nov. 10, asking the State of Alaska to intervene regarding sockeye salmon prices. Erick Sabo started the. He wrote it up this summer, but waited to open it up for signatures until fall had come, and nothing had changed about the summer’s low prices. “I hate to see fifty cents, I can’t believe it,” he said. “I’ve been in a state of shock and depression since I put the boat up. And even though we’re at this terrible level, I think it is bringing people together.” Read the rest here 15:06
Stop Wall Street Fisheries and Protect Main Street Fishermen – Please sign this Petition
My name is Ed Snell and I am a fisherman based in Portland, Maine. We have allowed a system that has monetized access to fish and paved the way for very few entities to ‘own’ the right to catch and sell fish stocks. This means that fishermen without much (or any) fish quota are forced to lease quota from other permits, often for prices that approach and sometimes exceed the market price for that fish. In other words, fishermen are fishing at a loss, because others control their legal ability to go fishing. Please read the rest, and sign the petition. Thank you. 16:25
National Marine Fisheries Service deny petition from radical environmentalists to ban cod fishing
A group of radical environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace petitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service to shut down the fishery until it shows rebuilding progress. The agency said in a denial published in the Federal Register on July 10 that the current restrictions on cod fishing will “provide sufficient protection” to rebuild the stock. The denial also states that the fisheries service intends to monitor updated information about the cod stock,,, Read the rest here 18:02
Dear Greenpeace USA, We are in receipt of your petition, and are responding,,,
Wrecking the Planet, one campaign at a time!
We are in receipt of your petition, and are responding on behalf of member companies Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, and StarKist. We’ve reviewed your petition and attached letter and have found several inaccurate aspects and outright misinformation that we would appreciate you address. While we always welcome feedback from consumers, it does concern us that some of the petition’s signatories appear to come from communities of questionable provenance like “Jerrabomberra, North Carolina”. It is our sincere hope that you have vetted and authenticated,,, Read the rest her 20:01
PETITION: Chair of the New England Fisheries Management Council Terry Stockwell – Stop Failing the Fish and the Fishermen.
Dear Mr. Stockwell, The New England Fisheries Management Council has failed the fishermen. Since the New England Catch Share policy began in 2010, fishermen and allies have identified problems such as , inappropriate scale of fishing on inshore areas, lack of access for the next generation of fishermen, and lack of transparency. Over the past five years the Council prioritized the Amendment 18 in order to solve these problems. Fishermen and allies worked together to offer various solutions to the Council and yet still, the Council has failed to address these problems. Read the rest, SIGN THE PETITION here 18:55
Enviros Petition for Immediate and Permanent Rule Making to Prohibit Fishing for Gulf of Maine Cod
Today’s petition, filed under the Administrative Procedure Act, urges the Fisheries Service to follow the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requirement to rebuild overfished species. The called for the Fisheries Service to prohibit fishing for Gulf of Maine cod, allowing catch only incidental to other targeted fish, and reduce such bycatch to levels that allow the cod population to rebuild. Read the rest here 13:33
Another Species, Another Center for Bio Diversity Petition To Prohibit Pacific Bluefin Tuna Fishing
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the receipt of, and request public comment on a petition for rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. The Center for Biological Diversity, a non-governmental organization, has petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce to promulgate regulations to prohibit fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna and to identify specific reference points used to determine if overfishing is occurring or if the stock is overfished. Read more here 12:27
Fight the Big Box Boats; Save Family Fishermen and the Fish – Sign this petition Sponsored by Ron Borjeson
My name is Ron Borjeson. I’m a second generation fisherman and I’ve fished for 42 years. Over the past 15 years, together with my fellow fishermen, we have taken conservation measures to bring back the fish. Now, new policies are allowing the biggest boats to take it all away and, in the process, the stocks are decimated.
A policy called Catch Shares is squeezing out family fishermen like myself who have spent years taking conservation measures to restore overfished species, ensure a more healthy ocean, and provide access to a healthy source of food from the ocean. http://www.change.org/petitions/fight-the-big-box-boats-save-family-fishermen-and-the-fish?utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=11927086
