January 2012 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 13. Commercial Fishing News MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
Manning and Jason Link from the NEFSC’s Woods Hole Laborator; James Gilbert from the University of Maine, Orono; and Andrew Gilbert and Allan O’Connell, Jr. from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Re- search Center.
Legislation drafted by NOAA to protect U.S. fishermen from unfair competition Bill would keep vessels with illegally caught seafood out of U.S. ports A bill introduced in Congress would prevent pirate fishing vessels from entering U.S. ports to offload their illegally caught seafood. This pirate fishing is often called illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The Administration bill, which imple- ments an international agreement the United States helped negotiate, would benefit U.S. fishermen, seafood buyers, and consumers by keeping illegal seafood out of global trade. It is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who introduced it in the Senate, and is co-sponsored by Sens. Begich, Snowe, Whitehouse, Murkowski, and Rockefeller. Illegal fishing deprives law-abiding fish- ermen and coastal communities around the world of up to $23.5 billion in revenue every year, and undermines efforts to monitor and sustainably manage fisheries. Since seafood caught through IUU fishing enters the global marketplace through wide-ranging ports mostly outside the U.S., keeping that seafood from entering the global market requires an international solution and the cooperation of multiple countries.
This legislation arises from the first bind- ing global agreement to focus on combating IUU fishing, the agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. This international accord is recognized glo- bally as a landmark agreement. As a leader in the negotiation of the agreement, the U.S. was one of the first countries to sign it, an act that expresses an intention to ratify the agree- ment. The agreement will take full effect when 25 parties to the agreement ratify it. Three countries – Norway, Sri Lanka, and Burma – along with the European Union have already ratified it, and 18 more countries and the U.S. have expressed an intention to ratify. Countries that ratify the agreement have four basic obligations: Designating ports through which foreign fishing vessels may enter; Conducting dockside vessel inspec- tions in the designated ports, following es- tablished standards; Blocking port entry and access to port services to vessels known to or believed to have been involved in IUU fishing, particularly those on the IUU vessel list of a regional fishery management organi- zation; and Sharing information, including inspection results, with the governments of
vessels found involved in IUU fishing during an inspection.
U.S. law already prohibits foreign- flagged fishing vessels, even those operat- ing legally, from landing their catch at most U.S. ports. However, in addition to fishing vessels, the agreement and implementing legislation extends to both transport and other support vessels, which may be carrying IUU fish transferred to them at sea. The implementing legislation, intro- duced as the Pirate Fishing Elimination Act, follows the November 14 transmission of the agreement itself from President Obama to the Senate. Congressional approval of the agree- ment and its implementing legislation will ensure continued U.S. leadership in the glo- bal battle to stop IUU fishing and will allow the United States to encourage broad ratifica- tion of the agreement worldwide. NOAA has taken a number of steps to combat IUU fishing and prevent illegal sea- food from entering the global marketplace. In September, NOAA and the EU signed a his- toric statement pledging bilateral coopera- tion to combat pirate fishing. The U.S. also identifies countries engaged in IUU fishing through the U.S. High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protect Act and participates in international fishery management organiza- tions to address IUU fishing.
NOAA releases regional saltwater recreational fishing plans designed to improve fishing, stewardship and science NOAA released the first regional saltwa- ter recreational fishing action plans designed to help improve fishing opportunities and address recreational fishing priorities in each of the nation’s six coastal regions and for the angling community that fishes for tunas and other highly migratory species.
Saltwater angling is a treasured national pastime that provides significant benefits – jobs, income and sales - to our nation’s economy. In 2010, saltwater recreational fish- ing contributed $50 billion in sales to the U.S. economy and supported 326,000 jobs in fish- ing and across the broader economy. The new action agendas mark the first time NOAA has both national and regional strategies in place to address the priorities of the nation’s estimated 11 million saltwater anglers who took approximately 73 million fishing trips in 2010. The plans are based on goals and objectives identified by partici- pants at the 2010 Saltwater Recreational Fish- ing Summit.
A few examples of top priorities in the six regions include:
Hawaii and the Pacific Islands: A project to increase the number of fish available in the future by improving the survival of fish
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MISS FORTUNE of Pemaquid docked at South Bristol in Early December.
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