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Feature Articles
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It's your future; speak out now
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This article is reprinted with permission of Commercial Fisheries News, the Northeast's fishing newspaper for over 30 years, ©2003 Compass Publications Inc. Commercial Fisheries News is published monthly; annual subscriptions are $21.95. To subscribe or request a sample issue: call (877) 263-4496; fax (207) 367-2490; e-mail (cfoster@fish-news.com); or click on the hot link.
-Editor, CFN
The most critical time for industry members to provide input into Amendment 13 to the groundfish plan is right now.
The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled nine public hearings from Maine to New Jersey between Sept. 9-30 (see list below), and what people say will - really will - influence the direction of this fishery come May 1, 2004, the date the amendment must be implemented.
Fishermen up and down the coast have gotten a taste of what's to come. Many states have held informational meetings, trying to get people up to speed on at least the major proposals in the unwieldy document. The sessions have been trying, to say the least, and very sobering.
While the New England council is developing Amendment 13 under court order driven by environmental coalition lawsuits, federal law under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is dictating the magnitude of the measures.
Barring congressional intervention, the council can't deviate much from the stock rebuilding objectives without facing more legal consequences.
But can some of the measures be phased-in? It's an option that people can study. Now more than ever, creative thinking is in order.
Goals
According to the council, the amendment is intended to rebuild overfished stocks, end overfishing, reduce unused effort, address administrative issues, maintain flexibility in the fishery, reduce bycatch, and minimize impacts on fish habitat and protected species like whales and turtles.
The amendment covers 12 groundfish species - 20 stocks total - all in various conditions. Most are on the increase, and some are in very good shape, as the council makes clear in its documents.
But others, especially the two cod stocks, white hake, and several flatfish stocks, including Cape Cod, Southern New England, and Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder, and American plaice, need biomass increases and reductions in fishing mortality to reach levels required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the ongoing litigation tied to that act.
Hard to do
What's so tough about this multispecies fishery is that harvesting healthy stocks while leaving behind those that need rebuilding has always been, in some areas and at certain times, extremely difficult.
And that's why Amendment 13 turned out to be such a monstrosity - with proposals for different gear types for different species in different areas during different times of the year.
Making matters worse, the economic impacts hit different sectors of the industry in different ports unevenly due to the nature of the fishery. Draft Amendment 13 plainly states, "There is no single alternative that has the least economic impact on all sectors of the industry."
The New England council is painfully aware of this fact. And at its last meeting in July, it was obvious that many council members genuinely didn't know which way they would go.
For this reason alone, turnout at the hearings is important. Weigh in. The council is listening. We believe members are eager for input. -Editor
Public Hearing Schedule
The following public hearings have been scheduled by the New England Fishery Management Council for Amendment 13 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.
- Gloucester, MA - Sept. 22, Tavern on the Harbor, 4 pm;
- Portsmouth, NH - Sept. 23, Yoken's Comfort Inn, 2 pm with recreational issues addressed at 7 pm;
- Ellsworth, ME - Sept. 24, Holiday Inn Ellsworth, 5 pm;
- Portland, ME - Sept. 25, DoubleTree Hotel, 4 pm; and
- Fairhaven, MA - Sept. 30, Holiday Inn Express, 4 pm.
Copies of important Amendment 13 documents can be obtained by calling the council office at (978) 465-0492 or downloading them off the council web site at www.nefmc.org.
Written comments can be e-mailed to comments@nefmc.org. Or, mail comments to: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water St., Newburyport, MA 01950. Label your correspondence "Comments on Groundfish Amendment 13." The comment deadline will be posted on the council web site.
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