Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS April 2015


Commercial Fishing News MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS


Northeast Consortium/NEFMC Announce Funded Collaborative Research Projects


NEWBURYPORT, MA – Following a 2014 request for proposals (RFP) to conduct collaborative research on New England groundfi sh stocks, the Northeast Consor- tium, under contract to the New England Fishery Mana-gement Council (NEFMC), announces projects that have received fund- ing. Awards have been made to four groups that each involve partnerships among fi sh- ermen, scientists, and other stakeholders who have organized to address outstanding fi sheries research questions in the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England areas. Details are provided below. Northeast multispecies fl atfi sh bycatch avoidance program; the co-principal inves- tigators are Steven Cadrin and Catherine O’Keefe, both of UMass Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology. The project’s focus is the development of real time bycatch avoidance approaches to be used by groundfi sh fi shermen for Georges Bank fl atfi sh during the 2015 fi shing year. Small Mesh Fishery Bycatch Reduction in the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Windowpane Stock Area; the principal in- vestigator is Emerson Hasbrouck Jr. of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension Marine Program. The project’s focus is to determine the performance of fi shing gear outfi tted with a large mesh belly panel to avoid windowpane flounder bycatch in Southern New England’s small mesh fi sh- eries.


Determining the post-release mortal- ity rate and “best capture and handling” methods for haddock discarded in the Gulf of Maine recreational fi sheries; the four


co-principal investigators are John Mandel- man of the New England Aquarium, Micah Dean and William Hoffman of the MA Division of Marine Fisheries, and Douglas Zemeckis and Steven Cadrin of the UMass – Dartmouth School of Marine Science and Technology. The project focuses on the use of passive acoustic telemetry and condition indexing to estimate post-release mortality and derive best capture and handling tech- niques for haddock discarded by the recre- ational rod and reel fi sheries in the Gulf of Maine.


Assessing recreational haddock discard mortality on Jeffreys Ledge through an industry-led collaborative mark/recapture tagging program; the principal investigators are Lester Eastman Jr. and Philip Eastman of Eastman’s Fishing Fleet. The focus of this project is to develop a discard (release) mor- tality estimate for the recreational haddock fi shery in the Gulf of Maine that could be used in future haddock stock assessments. The NEC oversaw an open compe- tition which produced the above results, including a merit-based process and fi nalist recommendations from an advisory panel consisting of scientists, researchers, fi sher- men, and management representatives. The distribution of the $450 thousand in awards and project oversight also will be conducted by the NEC. Projects are expected to begin as soon as possible.


In a continuation of the 2014 partner- ship established between the NEFMC and the NEC, a supplemental Council-funded/ Consortium RFP seeks new collaborative research proposals that improve the un- derstanding of groundfi sh spawning. The deadline is today. For more information about this second RFP, please refer to the


NEC’s website www.northeastconsortium. org.


Presidential Task Force Releases Action Plan to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud The Presidential Task Force on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud, co-chaired by the De- partments of Commerce and State, released its action plan. This plan articulates the aggressive steps that federal agencies will take both domestically and internationally to implement the recommendations the Task Force made in December 2014. The plan identifi es actions that will strengthen enforcement, create and expand partnerships with state and local govern- ments, industry, and non-governmental organizations, and create a risk-based traceability program to track seafood from harvest to entry into U.S. commerce. The plan also highlights ways in which the United States will work with our foreign partners to strengthen international gov- ernance, enhance cooperation, and build capacity to combat IUU fi shing and seafood fraud. This includes the Administration’s work to secure historic and enforceable en- vironmental provisions in the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership, a regional trade agreement that includes countries that together account for approximately one-quarter of global marine catch and global seafood exports. “The Obama Administration is com- mitted to working to ensure that America’s fi shing industry remains the heart and soul of coastal communities across the country,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews. “The steps the United States has taken to be a leader in environ- mental stewardship are paying off. Howev- er, our nation’s fi sheries remain threatened by illegal, unreported, and unregulated fi shing and seafood fraud, which negatively affects our markets. The Task Force’s new strategic plan will aggressively implement recommendations to guarantee that U.S. fi shing fl eets remain competitive in the global economy.”


According to NOAA, in 2013, U.S.


fi shermen landed 9.9 billion pounds of fi sh and shellfi sh worth $5.5 billion. Globally, IUU fi shing causes signifi cant economic losses, fueling traffi cking operations while undermining economic opportunities for U.S. fi shermen and others engaged in legal fi shing.


“Illegal fi shing and seafood fraud affect


the American public and people around the world,” said State Department Under Secretary Cathy Novelli. “The plan we are releasing today puts us on course to tackle these complex global challenges, with a new traceability program at its heart. It also gives new urgency to our work towards the strongest possible international tools – in- cluding ratifi cation of the Port State Mea- sures Agreement, which will ensure illegal fi sh cannot reach the global market. We are


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working closely with our partners in the United States and around the world to bring the full range of resources to the table.” “The U.S. is a global leader on building sustainable fi sheries and the seafood in- dustry is an incredibly important part of our economy,” said Kathryn Sullivan, PhD, NOAA Administrator.


“IUU fi shing and


seafood fraud undermine economic and environmental sustainability of fi sheries and fi sh stocks in the U.S. and around the world. These actions aim to level the playing fi eld for legitimate fi shermen, increase consumer confi dence in the sustainability of seafood sold in the U.S., and ensure the vitality of marine fi sh stocks.”


Some key actions include: International: Conclude in 2015 the


Trans-Pacifi c Partnership (TPP) negotia- tions that include commitments to combat IUU fi shing and fi rst ever provisions to eliminate harmful fi sheries subsidies. Work with Congress to enact implementing leg- islation for the Port State Measures Agree- ment and receive commitments from at least 14 additional foreign countries to join the Agreement; Work with international gov- ernments, Regional Fisheries Management. Organizations, and others to advance best practices for: the monitoring, control, and surveillance of international fi sheries; the implementation of port State controls; and, compliance monitoring.


Enforcement: Implement a strategy to optimize the collection, sharing, and analy- sis of information and resources to prevent IUU or fraudulently labeled seafood from entering U.S. commerce by September 2015. Implement recommended adjust- ments to U.S. tariff codes to properly iden- tify seafood products in trade by December 2015. Prioritize combating seafood fraud and the sale of IUU seafood products for joint federal/state enforcement operations and investigation and prosecution of cases in 2015.


Partnerships: Enhance collaboration with interested stakeholders on specifi c IUU fi shing or seafood fraud concerns including through an annual, public, in-person forum of interested stakeholders and the creation of a public web portal to relevant information held by agencies. Traceability: Defi ne the types of infor- mation to be collected along the seafood supply chain from harvest or farm to entry into the U.S. market and the ways in which this information will be collected by October 2015. With input from our partners through a public engagement process, identify the species to which this system will fi rst apply based on how at risk they are of being the product of IUU fi shing or seafood fraud by October 2015. Finalize rulemaking to collect additional information on species at risk as a requisite of entry into U.S. com- merce by September 2016. Determine how information within the traceability system – including species, geographic origin, and means of production – can be shared with


This is the 42-foot lobster boat APRIL & KRISTI, which was built by Willis Beal for a West Jonesport fi sherman in 1990. She is the largest boat Willis built and really did not fi t in his shop. The boat to her bow is SIZE MATTERS, a Libby 41, both at Jonesport Shipyard.


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