The New England Fishery Management Council delayed a decision yesterday on drastic cuts to the ailing groundfishery, amid impassioned testimony from fishermen who said the deep cuts would spell the end of their livelihood.
"[The fishery] has been declared a disaster . . . this will make it a reality," said Frank Mirarchi, a Scituate draggerman. "This means the boats will fail and the families will fail. This will be the end of an era." Mr. Mirarchi was referring to a proposal on the table to cut the catch allotments for cod and yellowtail flounder by as much as 80 per cent. The proposal follows the formal declaration of the groundfishery as a federal disaster by the acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce in September. The declaration is expected to lead to relief funding from the federal government in the coming year for the fishery.
Stock assessments for New England groundfish are at an all-time low, and fishery managers say drastic action is needed.
But during a daylong meeting of the council Thursday in Wakefield, the latest assessments came under blunt questioning by fishermen.
The meeting was broadcast live on the web.
"I have tried desperately to put faith in the science. I don't have the faith now. I wish I did," said Christopher Brown, president of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen's Association. "The last straw was a week ago when Doug Butterworth, [who was hired by the fishing industry to represent it and dispute the recent stock assessments] was bullied. He was harassed and distracted . . . it was beyond contempt."
Dr. William (Bill) Karp, science and research director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, apologized for the treatment of Mr. Butterworth. "It is not acceptable to me as it is not acceptable to you. The lack of respect, the lack of respect. It is something that I will continue to follow up," Mr. Karp said.
Nevertheless the Woods Hole scientist said he strongly backs the position that yellowtail flounder are in trouble.
"It is true for these stocks and other stocks," Mr. Karp said. "We have to look for a better way," he said, calling for some kind of method to integrate the assessments of fishermen who are out on the water every day with the scientific assessments of stocks, taken through samplings at sea and computer modeling.
Read the full story at the Martha's Vineyard Gazette>>
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Over 500 lots of seafood processing equipment formerly owned by Adak Seafood will be sold at auction on Tuesday, June 18, starting at 10 a.m. Hawaiian-Aleutian Daylight Time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Anchorage Alaska.
The equipment is located in a recently updated 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art processing facility in Adak, Alaska. Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Hilco Industrial, which conducts 75 machinery and equipment auctions in a wide range of industries annually, will conduct the auction.
Adak Seafood opened originally as Ada Fisheries in Anchorage in 1986. The facility, updated in 2005, is located on the island of Adak, the southernmost city in Alaska near the western end of the Aleutian Islands. The facility processed cod primarily, as well as halibut, blackcod, crab and pollock, Hilco says.
Alaska fisherman and commercial fisheries activist Kevin Adams was elected chairman at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors meeting on May 9 in Anchorage.
The governor-appointed board consists of seven members: five seafood processors and two industry representatives actively engaged in commercial fishing. Adams was appointed to fill a harvester seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2004.
With 38 years of fishing experience in Bristol Bay, Adams has long been an active member in the Alaska fishing industry, ASMI says. He has worked for both the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and the Bering Sea Fisherman's Association, and represents Alaska fishermen on numerous boards.
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