Fishing interests wary of Commerce nominee
By Steve Urbon
NEW BEDFORD — President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the next secretary of commerce raised concerns among fishing interests today.
When Dr. Brian Rothschild, dean emeritus of the UMass School of Marine Science and Technology, heard that nominee John Bryson was a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, his reaction was, “Oh, wow.”But the NRDC was founded 40 years ago, and today Bryson is better known for being chairman and CEO of the power company Edison International until he retired in 2008.Today he is a senior adviser to the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravits Roberts & Co. and since 1995 he has sat on the board of directors of the Boeing Co. and since 2000 at Walt Disney.In a prepared statement, President Obama said, Bryson “understands what it takes for America to succeed in a 21st century global economy. John will be an important part of my economic team, working with the business community, fostering growth, and helping open up new markets abroad to promote jobs and opportunities here at home.”Apart from the boilerplate, there was immediate concern among fishing interests about Bryson’s personal attitude toward commercial fishing, given that NRDC has long been involved in litigation to tighten fishing restrictions.Read the rest here.
Obama Commerce pick sets up showdown on trade with Senate GOP
By Daniel Strauss and Sam Youngman
President Obama’s nomination Tuesday of John Bryson as secretary of the Department of Commerce immediately triggered battles with congressional Republicans on trade and the environment.By nominating a former CEO who has extensive ties to corporate America as secretary of Commerce, Obama continued his aggressive courtship of the business community, which began almost immediately after Democrats lost their House majority last year.Yet Senate Republicans quickly warned that Bryson’s nomination would be stuck until the administration sends Congress legislation implementing three trade deals, with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.Other Republican lawmakers took Bryson to task for his work with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which he co-founded at the beginning of his career. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) called him a “green evangelist,” while Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) warned he might place a hold on the nomination.Read the rest at The Hill.
Endangered species listing for Atlantic bluefin tuna not warranted
| After an extensive scientific review, the NOAA announced last week that Atlantic bluefin tuna do not currently warrant species protection under the Endangered Species Act. The entire NOAA press release follows below:After an extensive scientific review, NOAA announced today that Atlantic bluefin tuna currently do not warrant species protection under the Endangered Species Act.NOAA has committed to revisit this decision by early 2013, when more information will be available about the effects of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill, as well as a new stock assessment from the scientific arm of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the international body charged with the fish’s management and conservation.NOAA is formally designating both the western Atlantic and eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stocks of bluefin tuna as “species of concern” under the Endangered Species Act. This places the species on a watchlist for concerns about its status and threats to the species.“NOAA is concerned about the status of bluefin tuna, including the potential effects of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill on the western stock of Atlantic bluefin, which spawns in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “We will revisit the status of the species in early 2013 when we will have a new stock assessment and information from the Natural Resource Damage Assessment of the oil spill. We will also take action in the interim if new information indicates the need for greater protection.”NOAA’s status review, released with today’s decision and peer-reviewed by The Center for Independent Experts, indicates that based on the best available information and assuming countries comply with the bluefin tuna fishing quotas established by ICCAT, both the western and eastern Atlantic stocks are not likely to become extinct.The status review team also looked at the best available information on the potential effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill on the future abundance of the western stock of bluefin tuna and found that it did not substantially alter the results of the extinction risk analysis. While the NOAA team found that the presently available information did not favor listing, it also recognized the need to continue to monitor the potential long-term effects of the spill on bluefin tuna and the overall ecosystem. New scientific information is expected in a 2012 bluefin tuna stock assessment and as part of the Natural Resources Damage Assessment of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill.“Based on careful scientific review, we have decided the best way to ensure the long-term sustainability of bluefin tuna is through international cooperation and strong domestic fishery management,” said Eric Schwaab, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “The United States will continue to be a leader in advocating science-based quotas at ICCAT, full compliance with these quotas and other management measures to ensure the long-term viability of this and other important fish stocks.”NOAA conducted the status review of Atlantic bluefin after determining on Sept. 21, 2010, that a petition for listing under the ESA from a national environmental organization warranted a scientific status review.To read the status review report on Atlantic bluefin tuna, the federal register notice and other information on bluefin tuna, please go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2011/05/bluefin_tuna.htmlNOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Find us onFacebook. |
Fishermen end strike, net bountiful harvests of market squid
Local Flavor: About half of the dozen boats fishing squid in Monterey Bay this spring are residents of the Monterey and Moss Landing harbors, according to Monterey Harbormaster Steve Scheiblauer. Above, fresh catch at Monterey Fish Company.Glowing boats bob in the night off Pacific Grove’s coast, their lights luring lusty Loligo opalescens from the depths.The romantic sight marks the return of Monterey Bay’s 150-year-old market squid fishery after an unofficial fishermen’s strike threatened to delay this year’s harvest.When the squid season began April 1, local fishermen held back in hopes of pressuring processors to bump the price of calamari from $500 to $600 per ton, according to David Haworth, vice president of the California Wetfish Producers Association.Blame it on gas prices: Boat captains, who aren’t unionized, negotiated with the four local squid processors in hopes of recovering some of their increased fuel costs. But the processors, who ship squid to Europe and China, are feeling the squeeze too.“Our costs are up because of ocean freight being higher,” says Sal Tringali of the Salinas-based Monterey Fish Company. “The fuel’s killing us.”Fishermen and processors were still at an impasse in early May. But some of the captains couldn’t pass up a good squid year, even at $500 per ton. Once they’d broken the liquid picket line, Haworth says, the other boats resumed fishing too.The catch has been good: Royal Seafood founder Joe Pennisi says his son, Gino, recently unloaded 200 tons in a single evening.“When there’s quantity,” he says, “you don’t worry about the price so much.”Read the rest in the Monterey County Weekly.
Where farmers, fishermen agree
Brett Baker
Thursday, May 5, 2011Here's something that would surprise anyone tracking the heavily politicized debate over California's water, fish and farms: Many of the state's farming and fishing communities generally agree on a sustainable plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.These united farming and fishing communities have mutual interests and goals. They know that the delta's agricultural economy and California's king salmon runs all depend on a healthy delta; and a healthy delta, in turn, requires adequate freshwater flows.You probably wouldn't know about this alliance from reading the newspaper, however. But the 250 people attending the Farms & Salmon Summit in Antioch on April 27 served as a testament to our common views - and to common sense. And there are thousands of others like us across the state and the West.Read the rest from The San Francisco Chronicle.
Congress Defunds Wasteful Catch Shares Program
Washington, DC – In a big victory for commercial and recreational fishermen, the U.S. Congress on April 14 voted to defund the “catch shares” program, a controversial and wasteful fisheries management fiasco.Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch, said the program has been “blocking access to fish for thousands of smaller scale fishermen, destroying their livelihoods and our coastal and fishing communities.”The widely-contested “catch shares” program on the East and West Coasts, a pet project of Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator and also under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, serves to privatize public trust resources by concentrating ocean fisheries in a few corporate hands.This amendment, offered by Representative Walter Jones of North Carolina, is part of the FY2011 budget that President Barack Obama signed into law on April 15.Read the rest of the story here.
Budget measure blocks new catch share programs
By Steve Urbon
surbon@s-t.com
April 20, 2011 12:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — As a budget amendment blocking catch share management from spreading in America's fisheries makes its way to President Barack Obama's desk, new concerns have cropped up about the arrival of private brokers of fishing allocations.
The measure in the budget prohibits the Commerce Department from funding the implementation of fisheries catch share programs such as the one imposed in the Northeast one year ago. It was introduced by U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., and backed by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., among others.
The language in the amendment was softened somewhat in the budget deliberations. Originally, it stopped funding for even the study of new catch share systems. Now it simply prohibits their approval.
"This is a shot in the arm for fishermen and a shot across the bow of the National Marine Fisheries Service," said Jones in a prepared statement. "The last thing our government should be doing in these economic times is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to expand programs that will put even more Americans out of work. NMFS would be wise to take heed of the opposition of fishermen, the public and the Congress to their catch shares agenda; we're not going away."
Catch shares and sector management are being blamed (or credited) with sharply reducing the size of the groundfish fleet in the Northeast and the rapid consolidation of catch into the top 10 percent of the boats. The measures are being challenged in federal court in a lawsuit filed by New Bedford, Gloucester and other fishing interests.
Read the rest on SouthCoastToday.com.
Thousands of dead fish scooped from Ventura Harbor
By Tony Barboza
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 19, 2011
Officials were trying to determine Tuesday what caused thousands of sardines to turn up dead in Ventura Harbor, another puzzling case of fish that died off after apparently using up all their oxygen. Harbor master Scott Miller said he arrived Monday morning to find patches of dead sardines floating on the surface of the southwest corner of the harbor.Other fish bobbed near the surface, appearing to gasp for air.After deploying aerators to stir up oxygen below the surface, a dozen volunteers used nets to scoop about 6 tons of fish carcasses from the water before dumping them offshore, he said.
Read the rest of the story on LATimes.com.