01-29-2006, 12:31 PM
New England fishermen again facing severe cuts
By Jay Lindsay, Associated Press
BOSTON — New England’s fishermen are again facing onerous new cuts in their time at sea as regulators decide next week on more restrictions to help struggling fish stocks recover.
Fishermen absorbed major cuts under rules enacted in May 2004. But now more reductions are needed after an assessment of fish populations last year showed alarming declines in the amount of flounder and cod — commercially important species that have been the focus of years of rebuilding efforts.
The specifics will be decided at the New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Portland, Maine, which starts Tuesday.
Gloucester fisherman Vito Giacalone said he expects the new cuts to be at least as damaging to the fishing fleet as the 2004 restrictions, called Amendment 13, though those changes received far more public attention. Fishermen loudly protested the last round of cuts, calling them “a death sentence” for the industry.
“The problem with crying wolf so many times over the years is that it waters down a legitimate cry,” said Giacalone, who works for an industry group, the Northeast Seafood Coalition.
Chris Zeman of the environmental group Oceana said the council’s approach of controlling fishing by limiting fishing effort is ineffective because fishermen just figure out ways to work more efficiently. He advocates strict quotas that stop fishing when catch limits for vulnerable species are reached.
“The system needs to be more reliable,” Zeman said. “It needs a backstop.”
Last year’s stock assessment indicated the cod population had fallen by 20 percent between 2001 and 2004. It also indicated the yellowtail flounder population had been overestimated by 77 percent — a result that renewed persistent criticism by fishermen that the science is deeply flawed. Regulators say the science has passed rigorous scrutiny.
According to New England Fishery Management Council figures, the catch of Gulf of Maine cod must be reduced by 32 percent to reach targets set in Amendment 13 for fiscal year 2006. The yellowtail flounder catch must drop by 46 percent in the Gulf of Maine and 55 percent in the fishing area south of New Bedford.
In addition, the winter flounder catch must drop 46 percent in Georges Bank, east of Cape Cod, to meet the 2006 goals.
The council is considering a 750-pound limit per day-at-sea on winter flounder, a fishery that’s never had such a restriction.
Various cuts in fishing days are being considered, ranging from an 8 percent cut to a 40 percent cut, which would drop the maximum days-at-sea from about 52 to about 32.
Regulators also want to close a loophole that’s allowed fishermen to stretch the 24 hours of an allotted day-at-sea over multiple fishing days.
For example, fishermen can now catch the 800-pound daily trip limit for Gulf of Maine cod in 12 hours, then use the remaining 12 hours on a different day to catch another 800 pounds.
To close the loophole, the council is considering counting any trip in the Gulf of Maine as a minimum of 24 hours, regardless of the trip’s length.
Giacalone said if that new counting measure is enacted, major cuts in fishing days become unlikely, but it would devastate New England’s fleet of small boats that take short “day trips” to fish.
He said those boats would be forced to chase the cod on every trip to sea, rather than use some time to chase less valuable species that are key supplements to their income.
The change would also force fishermen to work through fatigue and bad weather to be sure they catch their cod limit without wasting a day-at-sea, he said.
“There’s nothing good about (it),” Giacalo
[signature]
By Jay Lindsay, Associated Press
BOSTON — New England’s fishermen are again facing onerous new cuts in their time at sea as regulators decide next week on more restrictions to help struggling fish stocks recover.
Fishermen absorbed major cuts under rules enacted in May 2004. But now more reductions are needed after an assessment of fish populations last year showed alarming declines in the amount of flounder and cod — commercially important species that have been the focus of years of rebuilding efforts.
The specifics will be decided at the New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Portland, Maine, which starts Tuesday.
Gloucester fisherman Vito Giacalone said he expects the new cuts to be at least as damaging to the fishing fleet as the 2004 restrictions, called Amendment 13, though those changes received far more public attention. Fishermen loudly protested the last round of cuts, calling them “a death sentence” for the industry.
“The problem with crying wolf so many times over the years is that it waters down a legitimate cry,” said Giacalone, who works for an industry group, the Northeast Seafood Coalition.
Chris Zeman of the environmental group Oceana said the council’s approach of controlling fishing by limiting fishing effort is ineffective because fishermen just figure out ways to work more efficiently. He advocates strict quotas that stop fishing when catch limits for vulnerable species are reached.
“The system needs to be more reliable,” Zeman said. “It needs a backstop.”
Last year’s stock assessment indicated the cod population had fallen by 20 percent between 2001 and 2004. It also indicated the yellowtail flounder population had been overestimated by 77 percent — a result that renewed persistent criticism by fishermen that the science is deeply flawed. Regulators say the science has passed rigorous scrutiny.
According to New England Fishery Management Council figures, the catch of Gulf of Maine cod must be reduced by 32 percent to reach targets set in Amendment 13 for fiscal year 2006. The yellowtail flounder catch must drop by 46 percent in the Gulf of Maine and 55 percent in the fishing area south of New Bedford.
In addition, the winter flounder catch must drop 46 percent in Georges Bank, east of Cape Cod, to meet the 2006 goals.
The council is considering a 750-pound limit per day-at-sea on winter flounder, a fishery that’s never had such a restriction.
Various cuts in fishing days are being considered, ranging from an 8 percent cut to a 40 percent cut, which would drop the maximum days-at-sea from about 52 to about 32.
Regulators also want to close a loophole that’s allowed fishermen to stretch the 24 hours of an allotted day-at-sea over multiple fishing days.
For example, fishermen can now catch the 800-pound daily trip limit for Gulf of Maine cod in 12 hours, then use the remaining 12 hours on a different day to catch another 800 pounds.
To close the loophole, the council is considering counting any trip in the Gulf of Maine as a minimum of 24 hours, regardless of the trip’s length.
Giacalone said if that new counting measure is enacted, major cuts in fishing days become unlikely, but it would devastate New England’s fleet of small boats that take short “day trips” to fish.
He said those boats would be forced to chase the cod on every trip to sea, rather than use some time to chase less valuable species that are key supplements to their income.
The change would also force fishermen to work through fatigue and bad weather to be sure they catch their cod limit without wasting a day-at-sea, he said.
“There’s nothing good about (it),” Giacalo
[signature]
![[Image: 23_29_111.gif]](http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_29_111.gif)
[/url] 