Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS August 2011
Commercial Fishing News New England Fishery Management
Council submits Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery Management Plan for review, seeks public comment through August 22 The New England Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery Man- agement Plan for review by the Secretary of Commerce. NOAA Fisheries is requesting comments from the public on Amendment 3, which was developed by the Council to bring the management plan into compliance with the annual catch limit (ACL) and accountabil- ity measure (AM) requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Public comments must be received on or before August 22, 2011.
Releasing mako sharks: “there’s an app for that”
NOAA Fisheries’ Atlantic Highly Mi- gratory Species Management Division just released a new app for Android phones that allows anglers to report live releases of shortfin mako sharks in real-time simply by using their Android mobile devices. The “Release Mako” app uses GPS to fill in loca- tion coordinates on shortfin mako live re- leases and submits information via email, allowing fishermen to put their mako on the Shortfin Mako Shark Live Release Interactive Web Map. By submitting this live release information through the app and putting their mako on the map, fishermen will be able to see how they are making a difference in the con- servation of shortfin mako sharks and en- courage others to do the same.
The application was designed using Google App Inventor. It’s the very first fed- eral government tool of its kind. To download the application, visit the Android Market or visit the NOAA Fisheries Release Mako website.
NOAA Fisheries proposes to adjust North and South Atlantic swordfish quota for 2011 to comply with ICCAT
recommendations; seeks public comment through July 25
NOAA Fisheries is proposing to adjust the North and South Atlantic swordfish quo- tas for the 2011 fishing year to account for 2010 underharvests and landings. This pro- posed rule incorporates International Com- mission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) recommendations which ex- tend the previously established baseline quotas for North and South Atlantic sword- fish through the 2011 fishing year. Without this rule, the United States would be out of compliance with ICCAT recommendations.
MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
Comments on this proposed rule may be submitted by July 25, 2011.
NOAA Fisheries proposes to update Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) requirements in Atlantic highly migra- tory species fisheries; seeks public comment through August 1 NOAA Fisheries is proposing to update Vessel Monitoring System requirements in Atlantic highly migratory species fisheries. Updates include:
• Replacing currently required Mobile Transmitting Unit (MTU) Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) units with Enhanced Mobile Transmitting Unit (E-MTU) VMS units; • Implement a declaration system that requires vessels to declare target fishery and gear type(s) possessed on board; and • Requiring that a qualified marine elec- trician install all E-MTU VMS units. This proposed rule would remove dated MTU VMS units from service in Atlantic highly migratory species fisheries, make At- lantic highly migratory species VMS require- ments consistent with other VMS-monitored Atlantic fisheries, provide the NOAA Fisher- ies Office of Law Enforcement with enhanced communication with highly migratory spe- cies vessels at sea. This rule would affect all highly migratory species pelagic longline, bottom longline, and shark gillnet fishermen who are currently required to have VMS onboard their vessels. Comments on this proposed rule must be submitted by August 1, 2011. NOAA Fisheries will hold three pub- lic hearings for this proposed rule in July 2011:
• July 7, 2011 – 6:00-8:00 pm, NOAA/ NMFS Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; • July 11, 2011 – 5:00-8:00 p.m, Manteo Town Hall, 407 Budleigh St., Manteo, NC 27954;
• July 13, 2011 – 2:00-5:00 pm, Hilton New Orleans Airport, 901 Airline Drive, Kenner, LA 70062;
• July 26, 2011 – 1:00-4:00 p.m., Peabody Institute - West Branch, 603 Lowell Street, Peabody, MA 01960;
• July 28, 2011 – 3:30-6:30 pm, Atlantic County Library System, Brigantine Branch, 201 15th St. South, Brigantine, NJ 08203.
NOAA Fisheries proposes electronic dealer reporting requirements for Atlantic highly migratory species, seeks public comment through August 12
NOAA Fisheries has proposed several electronic dealer reporting requirements for Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and bigeye, alba- core, skipjack, and yellowfin tunas to ensure timely and accurate reporting, which is criti-
cal for quota monitoring and management of these species. The proposed requirements include:
• Federal Atlantic swordfish, shark, and tuna dealers must report commercially-har- vested Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and big- eye, albacore, skipjack, and yellowfin tunas to NOAA Fisheries through an electronic reporting system. (At this time, Atlantic Highly Migratory Species dealers would not be required to report bluefin tuna through this electronic reporting system, as a sepa- rate reporting system is currently in place for this species.)
• A dealer would only be authorized to receive commercially-harvested Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and bigeye, albacore, skipjack, and yellowfin tunas if the dealer’s previous reports have been submitted by the dealer and received by NOAA Fisheries in a timely manner. Any delinquent reports would need to be submitted by the dealer and received by NOAA Fisheries before a dealer could receive commercially-harvested At- lantic sharks, swordfish, and bigeye, alba- core, skipjack, and yellowfin tunas from a federally-permitted U.S. vessel.
• All first receivers of commercially-har- vested Atlantic sharks, swordfish, and big- eye, albacore, skipjack, and yellowfin tunas by federally-permitted U.S. vessels must obtain a corresponding Federal Atlantic swordfish, shark, and/or tuna dealer permit. First receivers must report the associated catch to NOAA Fisheries through the elec- tronic reporting system.
Written comments must be received on or before August 12, 2011. NOAA Fisheries will also hold eight public hearings on this proposed rule in July 2011.
Groundfish Dockside Monitoring Funds Redirected to Defray Sector Costs NOAA announced that it plans to redi- rect roughly $1 million in federal funding for its groundfish dockside monitoring program to help sectors defray some of their costs. In the groundfish fishery, individual vessels can form groups called sectors and each sector is allocated a share of the year’s allowable catch. Individual sectors then man- age their respective harvests as a group, according to an annual plan.
By providing funds directly to sectors, managers and members can determine how best to use the money to develop their re- spective operations. Sectors may use funds for approved operating costs such as sector manager salaries, office space rental and communications costs.
Effective September 19 until the end of the 2011 fishing year and for the entire 2012 fishing year, there will be no centralized NOAA funded dockside monitoring pro- gram. Any sector that chooses to continue
dockside monitoring, after September 19, may do so on a voluntary basis at their own cost.
To ensure a smooth transition for sec- tors and dockside monitoring providers, NOAA will provide funding for a 50 percent coverage rate for sector vessels through September 18.
While NOAA has decided not to cen- trally fund dockside monitoring for sectors during the 2011 and 2012 fishing years, as it did in 2010, the requirement for the fishing industry (both common pool and sectors) to pay for dockside monitoring beginning in 2013 technically remains in place. The New England Fishery Management Council can recommend that this requirement be elimi- nated or further modified. The Council is a multi-stakeholder body that develops fish- ery management plans in the Northeast.
NOAA tackling international challenges at Kobe III meeting
NOAA officials played a critical role in the international tuna management meeting known as ‘KOBE III’, which was held July 12- 14, 2011, in La Jolla, CA. The Kobe III meeting brought together all five regional tuna fisher- ies management organizations from the Pa- cific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans and adja- cent seas. These international organizations are charged with coordinating scientific re- search and developing conservation and management measures for highly migratory species, including tunas, swordfish, billfish and some sharks. The organizations also take action to adopt measures to protect bycatch species such as sea turtles and seabirds. A key focus of Kobe III was the consid- eration of global tools to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It was also a critical opportunity for the United States and its international partners to reach agreement on methods and approaches for implementing science-based management, improving the coordination of data collection and monitoring programs, and encouraging the use of fishing practices that reduce bycatch.
NOAA announces aquaculture initiative to enable domestic seafood production and create jobs in coastal communities On July 11, 2011, NOAA’s administrator announced the Aquaculture Technology Transfer Initiative, a new initiative to help meet our country’s growing demand for sea- food, while creating jobs and restoring healthy ecosystems. As part of this initiative, NOAA will work with its partners in the private sector, academia, government and communities to advance technology, moni- tor performance indicators, and showcase best practices and market-based standards. The initiative will be implemented with the
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