Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS June 2010


Commercial Fishing News NOAA Hosts Recreational Saltwater


Fishing Summit


NOAA Administrator, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, and NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator, Eric Schwaab hosted more than 100 recreational constituents in Alexan- dria, Virginia at 2010 Recreational Saltwater Fishing Summit on April 16 - 17. The Summit - the latest in a string of recent actions taken by Dr. Lubchenco and the Agency to meet commitments outlined in her recreational fishing engagement initia- tive - sought to strengthen the relationship between NOAA and the recreational saltwa- ter fishing community.


The Summit’s facilitated discussions brought to light a range of issues including the quality of recreational catch and effort data, catch share programs, and representa- tion on regional fishery management coun- cils - as well as possible recommendations to address them.


For its part, NOAA pledged to work with its advisory bodies, regional offices, and constituents to build an action agenda that follows through on the progress made at the Summit.


“Resolving issues facing our fisheries today will require partnerships between re- source managers and users,” said Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “I commit that NOAA Fisheries will focus on addressing the issues of concern to the recreational fishing community with the utmost disciplined attention.”


NOAA, Fishermen, and Seafood Dealers Prepare for New Era in Northeast Ground- fish Management


In Portsmouth, NH, NOAA’s Fisheries Service met with local fishermen to answer questions about new groundfish rules. The meeting is the latest event in a year-long multi-million dollar effort by NOAA to ready the industry for major changes that become effective on May 1, 2010, and are for many an entirely new way of doing business. “We are undertaking a new direction in fishery management in the Northeast,” said Patricia Kurkul, NOAA’s Fisheries Service Northeast Regional Administrator. “The level of both collaboration and detail required is unprecedented for fishery management in our region,” she continued. “These meetings allow us to work closely with fishermen to ease the transition, anticipate problems, and set up ways to work through any issues that arise as the new measures come on line.” Beginning in May 2010, the groundfish fishery will operate under a dual management system. Vessels may fish together in groups called sectors, or may fish under the existing system of restrictions on the number of days


MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS


a vessel can fish, catch per trip, and area that can be fished. For the first time, all catch will be governed by quotas on landings and on discards.


Since April 2009, NOAA, sector partici- pants and seafood dealers have worked to- gether to prepare necessary documents and ready the data reporting systems, equipment, and people that are needed to monitor catch limits. Direct contacts have been made with the majority of the 1500 vessels and 600 seafood dealers affected by the new rules, through more than 200 one-on-one meetings, nine collaborative workshops, and regular, ongoing dialogue to further define industry and agency roles and responsibilities begin- ning May 1.


During March, meetings similar to the one in Portsmouth today were held in New Bedford and Gloucester, Mass., Portland, Maine, and Point Judith, R.I. NOAA’s Fish- eries Service Northeast regional office will host a telephone “town hall” conference call on April 14 to provide another opportunity for the industry to ask questions and talk to NOAA staff about the new measures. During the fishing year, NOAA will hold regular meetings with sector representatives to share lessons learned, to identify and implement any more efficient methods found for reporting or managing information, to help sectors with data quality control, and to respond to emerging needs. NOAA will also be working closely with the New England Fishery Management Council to conduct a second set of outreach meetings with the broader fishing community to track how things are going in late May and early June. In all, $47.1 million has been committed to get the new management underway and to support the industry for the first year. This includes direct grants to sectors to cover planning and organizational costs, training support, covering monitoring costs both dock-side and at sea, developing new tech- nologies to ease monitoring and reporting tasks, and cooperative research to improve gear and fishing methods so that more of the available catch can be landed.


Scientists Link Climate Change and Atlantic Croaker Fishery


A new climate-population model devel- oped by NOAA scientists to study rising ocean temperatures and fishing rates on one East Coast fish population could also fore- cast the impact of climate change and fishing on other fisheries. The model is one of the first to directly link a specific fish stock with climate change.


In a paper in the March 2010 issue of the journal Ecology Applications published by the Ecological Society of America, NOAA


researchers forecast the future of the Atlantic croaker fishery in the mid-Atlantic under various climate and fishing scenarios. Atlan- tic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) is a coastal marine fish inhabiting the east coast of the United States with an $8 million annual commercial fishery. Previous studies have shown a strong link between croaker abun- dance and winter temperatures.


For various temperature and fish popu- lation scenarios over the next 90 years to 2100, the researchers forecast that at current levels of fishing, the spawning population of Atlantic croaker would increase between 60 and 100%, the center of the population would shift 50 to 100 kilometers (roughly 30 to 65 miles) northward, and the maximum sustain- able yield would increase 30 to 100%.


NOAA Requests Comment on Fish Imports and Marine Mammals NOAA is requesting public comment on options for implementing parts of the Marine Mammal Protection Act that address the in- cidental catch of marine mammals in foreign fisheries, including species such as whales and dolphins.


The Federal Register notice describes the options the United States is considering for assessing whether foreign fisheries whose products are exported to the United States meet U.S. standards to protect marine mammals while fishing. The notice also de- scribes options for working with countries to reduce their fisheries’ effects on marine mam- mals through capacity building, training, and technology transfer.


“A large portion of the fish Americans consume is imported,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “With this notice, we are looking for ways to lessen the effects of fishing on marine mammals worldwide, and to level the playing field for our own fishermen, who take many protective measures when fishing to ensure the survival of marine mam- mal species.”


Commercial fishermen in the United States must comply with the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other laws and regulations that often specify what kind of fishing gear they can use, as well as how, when, and where fishing can take place, in order to reduce the number of marine mammals killed or injured by fishing gear. However, marine mammals are found around the world and interact with a wide variety of fisheries. International collabora- tion through exchange of technology and information may help control and minimize effects on marine mammals.


In this initial phase, NOAA is looking to gather as much information on the subject as possible. If NOAA moves forward in creating


regulations on this subject, the public will have opportunities to comment. Members of the public are invited to comment by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on June 29 via electronic comment at http:// www.regulations.gov, fax at 301-713–2313 or mail to: Director, Office of International Af- fairs, Attn: MMPA Fish Import Provisions, NOAA’s Fisheries Service, F/IA, 1315 East- West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910


NOAA Report: Swordfish, Three Other Stocks Fully Rebuilt; None Added to Overfishing List


Four fisheries stocks, including Atlantic swordfish, have now been rebuilt to healthy levels, according to a report to Congress from NOAA’s Fisheries Service issued. Three stocks were removed from the overfishing list – those fished at a level that would threaten the stocks. For the first time since the report was issued in 1997, no stocks were added to the overfishing list. In Status of U.S. Fisheries, NOAA scien- tists reported that 85 percent of the stocks examined (212 of 250 stocks) were free from overfishing, or not fished at too high a level. The report also examined whether stocks are overfished – a fish population too low to ensure a maximum sustainable harvest – and found that 77 percent of the stocks examined (157 of 203 stocks) were not overfished. “By working with our regional fishery councils and commercial and recreational fishermen, we are getting closer every year to ending overfishing in our waters,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “With annual catch limits coming into effect this year, we expect our progress to accelerate.” The report shows a continuing trend of year-over-year national improvements. This year’s report matches last year’s for the most stocks reported rebuilt – Atlantic scup, At- lantic black sea bass, and St. Matthew’s Island, Alaska, blue king crab and Atlantic swordfish. Four more stocks – Winter skate and sailfish in the Atlantic, and bocaccio and darkblotched rockfish in the Pacific – had populations at an overfished level in 2008, but began rebuilding in 2009.


Atlantic scup, Gulf of Maine thorny skate, and Gulf of Mexico pink shrimp, which were previously fished at too high a level, were found to be free from overfishing now. Two stocks of Alaskan king crab with a previously unknown status were also found to be free from overfishing.


Canary rockfish, two stocks of coho salmon, and petrale sole populations, all found in the Pacific, declined in 2009 and are now considered overfished. Fish stocks de-


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