“The federal government must do more to address the critical problems facing the commercial fishing industry in the Northeast,” said Delahunt. “It is our belief that swiftly adopting these recommendations will save jobs without negatively impacting our fisheries resources while at the same time helping to preserve one of our nation’s oldest industries.”
As New England’s fisherman continue to struggle to survive in what is one of the worst economic climates for their history, Delahunt and his colleagues are urging the federal government to take additional steps to help fishermen adjust through the challenging transition to a catch shares fisheries management system.
In part, the letter outlines the following four solutions that can help fishing businesses and coastal communities.
First, the letter asks that NMFS fast-track the incorporation of the most recent skate assessment results and adjust catch limits appropriately. Currently, NMFS is preparing to implement changes to the existing skate management plan that will, based on outdated information, reduce the daily trip limit drastically- from 10,000 lbs to 1,900 lbs. The most recent stock assessments, however, indicate that this reduction is unnecessary, as the skate resource is able to support current harvest levels.
Dave Murdoch, one of the youngest commercial captains in Chatham, participated in a recent trip to DC to raise awareness of the issues in the Congressman’s letter. He explains, “If no one fixes the skate plan this year, I lose my business. It’s that simple. All we’re asking for is to be allowed to harvest the stocks that are healthy, and the most recent science tells us that the skate stocks are much better than they thought.”
Secondly, the letter urges NMFS to immediately evaluate the current stock assessment and incorporate any potential quota increases into the FY2010 allocations. Atlantic pollock is one of 19 Northeast Multispecies Fishery that is transitioning to catch shares in 2010, In June, NMFS is planning to re-evaluate the pollock assessment based on new scientific information suggesting the stock can support higher harvest levels. But because the fishing season begins on May 1, this delay could result in an unnecessarily low pollock quota.
“The success of our fleet in 2010 is going to depend on how well we can manage our ‘choke stocks’ like pollock. If at the end of the assessment, the scientists tell us there’s more pollock out there to be caught, then we need NMFS to make those fish available as soon as possible. Waiting a year is just not an option.” said Jim Nash, a commercial groundfish fisherman planning to fish this year with one of 17 recently approved harvesting cooperatives, or Sectors.
In addition, Cape Cod yellowtail flounder is, like pollock, a “choke species”, meaning a stock which has a very low annual quota and which will likely limit the ability of fishermen to target healthier stocks. The letter recommends that NMFS assemble a team of scientists to review the stock assessments and compare them to the results of the UMASS Dartmouth, School for Marine and Science Technology survey.
The last issue raised is in relation to spiny dogfish biomass which is at or near record highs. However, the existing fishery management plan does not contain an approved biomass target, while the proxy target exceeds historical biomass levels in the Northwest Atlantic. The ecological and socioeconomic impacts of this increasing biomass have not been adequately quantified, even as the Georges Bank ecosystem has shifted as this apex predator has dominated. These ecosystem changes have had substantial negative impacts on commercial groundfish stocks in New England. The letter requests that NMFS immediately assemble a team of scientific advisors to review the most recent ecosystem data on spiny dogfish stocks and determine an appropriate biomass target.
Life-long commercial fisherman Ken Tolley of Chatham also traveled to the Capitol in support of these proposals. Tolley said, “I appreciate all the help we’ve had from Congressman Delahunt and his staff. For me personally, the biggest issue is dogfish. We’ve never seen dogfish numbers this high, and I don’t think we’ll ever see the cod and flounder come back until we get better dogfish management. The first step has to be setting a reasonable biomass target.”