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by Janice M. Plante
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John Boreman
(Peter K. Prybot photo)
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GLOUCESTER, MA - In the latest effort to understand the effects of uneven trawl warps on the 187' Albatross IV, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sent the Albatross back to sea on Oct. 28 to tow two different nets side-by-side with the 80' Sea Breeze, a Newport, RI-based commercial fishing vessel.
The Sea Breeze and Albatross steamed into the Northeast Fisheries Science Center dock in Woods Hole early in the morning on Nov. 6, their trip cut two days short by bad weather.
Meanwhile, top-level center scientists had gathered in Gloucester, ready to present raw data from the experimental cruise to the New England Fishery Management Council.
Wendy Gabriel, chief of the center's fisheries and ecosystems monitoring and analysis division, explained how the "trawl calibration experiment" was designed.
According to Gabriel, the job of the Sea Breeze was to serve as a barometer for species presence and composition to show scientists "how available the fish are."
As the Sea Breeze fished, the Albatross covered the same towing distance, alternating between a properly rigged "control" net and a purposely offset "treatment" net.
The "control" set-up involved:
- A newly constructed net inspected by industry;
- Doors approved by industry;
- Even trawl warps certified on the day of sailing; and
- Backstraps fitted with swivels.
The "treatment" set-up involved:
- Net #14, the one used during the Sept. 25-28 trawl observation video cruise witnessed by six commercial fishermen;
- Door-pair #37, also used during the video cruise;
- Trawl warps offset to match the documented error on the Albatross, which was first discovered on Sept. 3; and
- Backstraps with no swivels, intentionally twisted.
The plan was to intensively sample four selected sites, which, due to impending weather, ended up being limited to three: one in the northwest sector of Closed Area I where the bottom maxed out at roughly 80 fathoms; another about 16 nautical miles east of Nauset in 108 fathoms; and the last in the northeast corner of Closed Area I in 45 fathoms.
The Albatross towed one of its two nets for 24 hours and then switched to the other, repeating the same tows.
The research vessel towed at 3.8 knots, the Sea Breeze at 3 knots, with the towing direction selected by Sea Breeze captain Phil Ruhle Jr., who co-owns the vessel along with his father, Phil Ruhle, who was witnessing events aboard the Albatross.
Gabriel stressed that none of the data had been analyzed, so no one should draw any conclusions from the charts and tables she presented to the council and audience.
"This is very much a work in progress," she said.
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The nets from the trawl calibration cruise aboard the Albatross IV. Above, the "control" net showing
a small amount of bottom indication in the 20' center section of the net. Below, the offset net
shows no bottom indicators whatsoever, making it appear that any tow made with that net never made
contact with the bottom.
(Phil Ruhle photos)
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Absence of species
Gabriel and the center's Acting Science and Research Director John Boreman, however, did field council and audience questions, and Maine council member Barbara Stevenson, who had the tow-by-tow information from the cruise in hand, immediately raised her biggest concern.
Stevenson said she understood that commercial fishing vessels catch way more fish than research vessels and that research vessels are designed to merely sample the available biomass - not catch enormous volumes of it.
But on several tows during this cruise, the Sea Breeze caught many, many pounds of various species at times when the Albatross didn't catch any at all, she said. The Albatross should have at least been able to pick up that the species was there.
"My analysis shows a very significant difference in just presence/absence," she said.
Stevenson expressed particular concern over skates because on Nov. 5, the day before Gabriel's presentation, the council had adopted a new fishery management plan for skates based on past Albatross survey data.
The net used by the Albatross was specifically designed to catch cod, not elasmobranchs or flatfish, said Stevenson.
"We need to have gear that catches some relatively consistent ratio of what's out there," she said.
Center assurance
Boreman assured the council that the center was continuing to assess its survey protocol and would be establishing an advisory group to assist in the effort.
"We intend on continuing our experimental work," he said. "We're trying to understand the effects of trawl warp offsets in cooperation with the fishing industry and other stakeholders."
Boreman encouraged industry to stay involved, despite the inevitable problems both sides at times have communicating with each other.
"Having the cooperation of the Sea Breeze these past few weeks has been tremendous for us," he said.
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Matt Stommel (Peter K. Prybot photo)
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Industry frustration
Despite this good will expressed by the center, several fishermen in the audience got up to voice their ongoing frustration.
Woods Hole fisherman Matt Stommel, who first reported the trawl warp mismatch to science center personnel, said, "The only thing we do know is that the wire on both the Albatross and the Delaware was mishandled. I think we're faced with at least six years of sloppy surveys."
Given this situation, Stommel said he believed it was impossible for the science center to go back to older data to make comparisons with the eight Albatross surveys between the winter of 2000 and the spring of 2002 when it was documented that the Albatross cables were miscalibrated.
Point Judith, RI fisherman Fred Mattera thanked Stommel for "his tenacity in sticking with" the trawl warp issue.
"This is exactly what we've been saying all along. There are inconsistencies," he said.
In explaining why fishermen were so angry, Mattera said, "When I make a mistake, I pay for it. When you make a mistake, we all pay for it."
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Fred Mattera (Peter K. Prybot photo)
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Efforts recognized
Several council members, however, were quick to recognize the efforts of NMFS and its science center over the past two months.
"Truly the center has done a tremendous amount of work in a short period of time," said Massachusetts council member David Pierce. "For that, we're all very appreciative. I certainly see a very sincere and frank attempt to be open."
Maine council member John Williamson added, "What we're seeing is that the line between industry and the scientific team is blurring." He urged fishermen to stay involved and continue asking questions.
Worthwhile trip
A few weeks following the calibration cruise, Phil Ruhle of the Sea Breeze reiterated the point made by Stevenson about the total absence of some species in the Albatross catch, which he believed to be the biggest revelation of the trip.
"We don't want to compare it to the thousands of pounds we caught," he said. "That's not the point. The problem is what they didn't catch."
Ruhle said he almost backed off from participating in the calibration cruise when he, his son Phil Jr., and his North Carolina-based brother Jimmy where sitting in a room with science center personnel discussing the experiment.
There the Ruhles learned that a NMFS press release had just been issued titled "Groundfish Data Collected with Mismarked Gear Stands Up in Statistical Analysis" - and they were deeply disturbed.
But those present, including Gabriel, gave adamant assurances that they had yet to reach any conclusions.
"They said their minds weren't made up and that this was an ongoing project," said Ruhle. "We had to take them at their word, and then we decided to go ahead."
Ruhle said he recognized the high stakes involved for both industry and the science center but added, "I think this press battering that's going on back and forth is taking its toll on both sides."
To Kessler: Give us more time
"Whereas, NOAA Fisheries recently discovered incorrect marks on the cables used by the... Albatross IV to tow bottom trawls for surveys that are a critical source of information used to estimate abundance of New England groundfish...
"Whereas, research regarding the potential impacts of improperly marked trawl survey gear is continuing...
"Whereas, NOAA Fisheries would like to undertake further independent peer review of the scientific information on which management of the groundfish fishery is based...
"...the undersigned parties hereby agree... the deadline for implementation of a fishery management plan amendment that complies with the overfishing, rebuilding, and bycatch provisions of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (Amendment 13) shall be extended until May 1, 2004."
- Excerpted from the Nov. 5 "Joint Stipulation with Proposed Order" filed by attorneys for plaintiffs Conservation Law Foundation, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, and The Ocean Conservancy and defendants Commerce Sec. Donald Evans, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Marine Fisheries Service
"In addition to questions about recent trawl surveys, on Oct. 25, 2002 the council received information on stock status that differed from that presented to the court less than six months ago.
"A (recent) groundfish stock assessment meeting concluded... that two stocks of groundfish needed major reductions in fishing mortality...
"In March 2002, the National Marine Fisheries Service told the court one of these stocks could support an increase in fishing mortality and the other needed only a slight decrease.
"For six months the council developed management measures based on this advice only to find out less than two weeks before a major decision at the November council meeting that this information was in error.
"This affects the design of measures and the biological, social, and economic analysis necessary to support the action.
"Such a drastic change begs the question of the reliability of the advice provided to the council and argues for an additional independent review of the assessments prior to making decisions that will drastically restrict the New England fishing industry."
- Excerpted from the Nov. 14 letter submitted to Judge Kessler by New England Fishery Management Council Chairman Tom Hill.
