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by Janice M. Plante
BARNEGAT LIGHT, NJ - Ducking storms but still getting in some decent fishing time, at least half a dozen pelagic longline vessels were on the Grand Banks in late September, participating in an experimental fishery to reduce the incidental take of sea turtles.
At least 10 boats in total -- all with a history of working these distant, international waters -- are expected to take part in the experiment before it's over. The final day of allowable fishing is Nov. 30, pushing the edge of when vessels want to be out on the Grand Banks anyway.
"So far so good," said Terri Beideman, assistant executive director of Blue Water Fishermen's Association.
"At least the boats are out fishing, which was our first goal. Up to now, there have been relatively few glitches. It's going as well as can be expected, which I think is a relief to everyone," she said.
On July 15, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) shut down the Grand Banks to all pelagic longlining by emergency action because a biological opinion concluded that "the continued operation of the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles."
Court challenge
That conclusion and the emergency closure is being challenged in court by Blue Water and a small coalition of vessel owners and support businesses.
The plaintiffs requested a preliminary injunction to prevent the closure -- technically known as the Northeast Distant Statistical Reporting Area -- from taking effect pending the outcome of the overall lawsuit.
But on Aug. 20, US District Court Judge Nancy Gertner denied that request.
Writing for the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Gertner said that she was "sympathetic to the plight of the longline fishermen who are being adversely affected by the closure," but it appeared that the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act left her "no option but to decline preliminary injunctive relief."
Gertner explained that one particular section of the act "forbids this court from staying enforcement of an administrative rule pending review on the merits."
The case itself is still proceeding through the normal legal system. The emergency closure is scheduled to remain in place until Jan. 9, 2002.
Experiment
In light of Judge Gertner's decision, NMFS went forward with an experimental fishery -- and that gave some of the boats displaced by the closure a chance to get back to traditional fishing grounds.
After going through mandatory dockside workshops to cover turtle handling techniques and experimental gear set-up, participating vessels headed out to sea, each with at least one observer.
The first boats left the dock at the end of the first week of September. Despite some jockeying to skirt one nasty tropical depression or developing hurricane after another, the longliners were reportedly catching a few fish, with a low percentage of turtle interactions.
Participants believe that, once the numbers are all calculated, NMFS will find the percentage of turtle interactions to be significantly lower than previously estimated. And with 100% observer coverage, the numbers won't need to be put through any controversial extrapolations.
Quota transfer
On Sept. 5, NMFS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it had adjusted the 2001 North Atlantic swordfish quota to account for an underharvest during the 1999 fishing year.
According to NMFS, the 1999 quota -- after being adjusted for a 1998 underage -- was underharvested by 549.8 metric tons (mt) dressed weight (dw).
"Because the 2000 fishing year ended on May 31, 2001, the carryover amount will be applied to the current fishing year (June 1, 2001 through May 31, 2002)," said NMFS.
NMFS took the extra tonnage and increased the 2001 directed fishery quota by 249 mt dw, bringing the total allowable catch up to 2,282.2 mt dw. The extra quota was divided equally between the two semiannual fishing seasons, which start on June 1 and Dec. 1 respectively.
The remaining 300.8 mt dw 1999 overage was added to the 2001 incidental catch quota, raising it to 600.8 mt dw.
But the extra incidental tonnage probably won't stay there for long. At the 2000 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the US agreed to transfer 400 mt whole weight (which equals about 300.8 mt dw) of its own North Atlantic swordfish quota to Japan to help that country meet "higher than anticipated incidental catch rates of swordfish in its bigeye tuna fishery."
Japan was candid about its overharvesting problems, and US fishermen, appreciative of the honesty, supported the deal.
NMFS now has to figure out the paperwork.
"In order to accomplish this transfer, NMFS will have to reserve a portion of the 2001 North Atlantic swordfish quota," said the agency. "This reserve quota will be proposed in an upcoming rule-making and the public will be provided with an opportunity to comment."
