ME Fishermen Taking NGO Bait Hook, Line, and Sinker?
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Editor's Note: Is this a good idea? Or is this elite enviro groups using Maine fishermen's misfortune to get fishermen to help the enviros gain the upper hand in controlling the Gulf of Maine?
www.workingwaterfront.com
Posted: July 7th, 2009 | ENVIRONMENT, MARINE
Online Exclusive
A Step Toward Saving Maine’s Fisheries
Conservation groups collaborate to purchase fishing permits for research
by Kerry Crisley
The Nature Conservancy, Island Institute.., Penobscot East Resource Center purchased two fishing permits [to] make...available to fishermen involved in collaborative research projects.
Michael Tetreault, executive director Nature Conservancy/Maine. "The basic solution is: we [make] fishing permits, ...available to fishermen doing research on more sustainable fishing practices.”
The research will be used to gather data on distribution and abundance of groundfish species, to develop gear configurations/fishing practices that minimize bycatch/reduce impacts on sensitive marine habitats.
http://www.workingwaterfront.com/online-exclusives/A-Step-Toward-Saving-...
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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree congratulates Maine groups for plan to purchase fishing permits
Embargoed until 12:00 p.m.
July 7, 2009
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree issued the following statement on the announcement by The Nature Conservancy, Penobscot East Resource Center and the Island Institute to purchase finishing permits for research.
“I want to congratulate these organizations for putting together this project. It’s going to preserve and increase access to the fisheries for Maine communities and make essential research possible. We’ve experienced a significant decline in the Maine fishing fleet so I’m also happy to see these fishing permits coming back to the state.”
Last month Pingree wrote to New England Fisheries officials, urging the adoption of “permit banks” as a way to help Maine communities maintain access to the fishery.
For background, I’m attaching the press release that these three organizations sent out earlier.
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A Step Toward Saving Maine’s Fisheries
Conservation groups collaborate to purchase fishing permits for research
July 7, 2009 (BRUNSWICK, Maine) – Gulf of Maine seafood has fed people for thousands of years and still plays a critical role in providing for New Englanders. But marine systems in this corner of the Atlantic have been radically altered over the years. Now, as fisheries decline and some fishermen are forced to abandon their livelihoods, The Nature Conservancy, Island Institute and Penobscot East Resource Center are collaborating with fishermen on a novel plan to keep boats in the water and begin to restore the Gulf’s bounty.
Today, the three groups announced that they have purchased two fishing permits, and will make those permits available to fishermen involved in collaborative research projects. The organizations are covering the costs of the research, including the permits, fuel, fishermen’s time, and time for research supervision scientists.
“I think that making sure we do something to improve the condition of the Gulf of Maine is one of the most important conservation issues of the day,” said Michael Tetreault, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Maine. “The basic solution is this: we acquire some interests in fishing permits, and make them available to fishermen doing research on more sustainable fishing practices. The cost to underwrite this work doesn’t fall on the fishermen, it falls on conservation organizations.”
“Right now, eastern Maine fishermen have no access to groundfish: we lost that when we lost the fish, over 15 years ago,” said Robin Alden, executive director of the Penobscot East Resource Center. “Penobscot East sees permit banking as the only way to restore the right to fish when these stocks recover.”
“Maine’s island and remote coastal economies are heavily dependent on the lobster fishery,” said Rob Snyder, the Island Institute’s vice president of programs. “Permit baking is critical to these communities because it will allow fishermen to experiment with conservation-oriented gear that will help bring diversified fishing opportunities back to our coast.”
How permit banking works:
Now that The Nature Conservancy, Island Institute and Penobscot East Resource Center purchased groundfish permits, the access associated with those permits (days at sea and/or catch history) will be made available to local fishermen for research. The research will be used to gather data on distribution and abundance of groundfish species, and also to develop gear configurations and fishing practices that minimize bycatch and reduce impacts on sensitive marine habitats.
Eventually, the sustainable practices identified through the research will be presented to scientists, fishing communities and fisheries managers so that they may put the findings into practice themselves.
“This is wonderful because finally we’ll get some information to help us understand why we’ve lost our fish east of Penobscot Bay – a necessary first step towards what I remember - landing and selling local fish the length of the coast,” said Ted Ames, a fisherman and co-founder of the Penobscot East Resource Center.
Groundfish in the Gulf of Maine
Cold, nutrient-rich waters enter the Gulf through a narrow channel and rise to the surface of the coastal shelf, creating one of the world’s richest habitats for cod, haddock, flounder and other groundfish. However, over the years conditions in the Gulf have deteriorated. Now, these once-abundant stocks are among the most depleted in the nation.
“Fishermen are tired of not seeing fish. They want to do whatever they can to bring them back,” said Glen Libby, president of Midcoast Fisherman’s Association, one of the groups that will use the permits to conduct the research. “But they need to be able to afford to bring them back.”
Libby and other fisherman in Port Clyde have been testing other innovative ways to sustain local fisheries, like starting a community-supported fishery (CSF). “Local, sustainably-caught fish has a value on the market that can earn fishermen more for the fish we catch,” said Libby. “This research is a key step to helping us use those sustainable practices to earn a better living.”
“Collaborative research has been one of the bright spots in the groundfish fishery over the past decade” said Geoff Smith, the Conservancy’s marine program director in Maine. “However, the recent requirement for fishermen to use their limited days at sea to do the research has had a chilling effect on the program. We purchased these permits so we can work directly with fishermen on research projects that will ultimately improve gear selectivity and reduce impacts on sensitive marine habitats.”
For more information, or to watch a video “Can we save Maine’s fisheries?” go to nature.org/fishing.
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Editor's Note: Is this a good idea?
It's hard to know. Collaborative research is a no-brainer. For too long, the valuable data and resources the fishermen bring to the table was routinely dismissed by regulators and scientists as anecdotal. So, I agree wholeheartedly that collaborative research is good, I just hope that it's not the bait used for further refining of the fleet. I'll keep watching this with my fingers crossed and cynicism in check.
It's hard to know.
Not really. I would no more trust The Nature Conservancy than I would the Taliban. Both have well-documented histories, and one need only check into them to know.
I'm with M.. If the nature conservancy could get all the fishing permits , they could conserve nature couldn't they!
Not a good idea, if they want to buy permits then they should have a boat. Permits can be hard to come by and most are sold with the boat. If Starkist were buying the permits people would be screaming, The Nature Conservancy is just as bad if not worse than any corporation. He who controls the permit controls the fishing.
Keep your eye on the prize. Remember these words:
Non-extractive Marine Reserve
Michelle:
The TNC does have a checkered history, but they have done some good things in the process. Here in Maine, for example, TNC was instrumental in securing passage of the Plum Creek Plan by becoming the largest of the conversation framework partners. All of that land, will remain open-- in perpetuity-- for traditional public access (hunting, snowmobiling, fishing, hiking, etc) and provides for continued sustainable forestry practices. Without TNC's assistance, the Plum Creek plan would have failed miserably and those trying to survive in the Moosehead region would have been left withering on the vine, to a greater degree than they already are.
I am not going to close my mind to possible benefits. I have intimate knowledge of collaborative reserach and Maine's fleet. As I said before, I will watch this closely and learn more before I determine whether it's a good thing. If you have made up your mind, bully for you
Bad idea. ENGOs have co-opted the fishing industry in the name of "conservation." Through a very smart strategic process of forcing nominations by liberal state governors, they have placed their people on - and now control - the New England Fishery Management Council and many of its committees. They control the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association through its director, and NOAA is in charge of fisheries.
The whole catch share/sector scheme now being rammed down fishermen's throats is promulgated by the Environmental Defense Fund, which has touted catch shares to hedge funds as a great investment vehicle (in essence, turning fishermen into sharecroppers) and, to a lesser extent, the Pew Charitable Trusts, which works through a variety of proxy organizations. Even the much ballyhooed Port Clyde Fishermen's group is tied at the hip to ENGOs and getting even more coopted as the months pass.
In the northeast, the big dogs among the ENGOs are EDF and the Pew. Think on that the next time you hear a Pew sponsor tag on Maine Public Radio.
eagleisland, you're entirely right about the Pew Foundation. And Michelle is right on concerning TNC. Now we see the forest industry being courted with the newly announced Great Maine Forest Initiative. The group that planned this scheme included NRCM and Sierra, but precious little input from landowners. They don't want a federal park these days, just lots and lots of conservation easements with areas already mapped for wind power, water conservation, et al. Stay tuned.
Going green is the new RED
Editor's Note: Rep. Michael Michaud cosponsored the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 (HR 1584) which the group below favors.
unitedwefish.blogspot.com
Saturday, January 2, 2010
FISHERMEN TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON
"United We Fish" To Seek Congressional Support On February 24
December 16, 2009 - In a historic show of solidarity, recreational and commercial fishermen will gather together on the steps of the Capitol on February 24, 2010 from noon until 3 p.m. in an organized demonstration against the unintended negative impacts of the Magnuson Stevens Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the federal fisheries law which was revised in January of 2007. Coordinating the march under the flag of United We Fish, rally organizers are hoping to see a large show of force in defense of coastal communities.
http://unitedwefish.blogspot.com/2010/01/fishermen-to-march-on-washingto...
ww.gloucestertimes.com
Momentum builds for United We Fish March
By Richard Gaines, Staff Writer
February 06, 2010 05:43 am
[C]ommercial/recreational fishermen from ports on three coasts are preparing to braid themselves together...this month in a mass appeal for congressional relief.
[T]he United We Fish March on Washington is expected to draw 2,000 to 3,000 fishermen, primarily from Atlantic ports, as well as...Gulf ports and...the West Coast, organizers say.
They will...meet...noon Wednesday, Feb. 24....
[C]o-sponsors of the flexible fisheries reform bill include Michael Michaud, D-Maine....
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_036223742.html?keyword...
Penobscot East Resource Center is guess who?
Former Maine Commissioner of Marine Resources Robin Alden and her husband Ted Ames of Stonington, ME. this pair have been making a lucrative living off the grant money chain for some time. While not sure how much of their activity is motivated by self interest, they certainly have been able to remain in the limelight, and gravy train, since she left her state position.
IMHO the downfall of commercial fishing in Maine began with her appointment by Angus King.
Maine fishermen were foolish enogh to believe her becaue she was part of a Maine fishing family.
The fools took the carrot, hook line and sinker, to their peril.
Just keep watching.
wC
"IMHO the downfall of commercial fishing in Maine began with her appointment by Angus King."
I was at the Gulf of Maine Conference right after Angus got reelected. At that conference the environmental industry was celebrating their victory. They were discussing their long term goals. You didn't see it on the program schedule, but those in the know understood which break-out sessions to attend to discuss making the Gulf of Maine a "non-extractive marine reserve". That means no fishing, with or without a license; no clamming, no harvesting seaweed; Kids couldn't even pick up sea shells along the shore.
They had a giant map up on the wall, about 12 by 15 feet of the Gulf of Maine watershed. It includes all of Maine, some of New Hampshire and all of New Brunswick that drains toward the St. John River. You see, they don't just want to control the Gulf of Maine, they want to control the entire watershed. Even enterprising progressives are jumping on the gravy train. These are the only jobs Obama is creating.
It is my opinion that all the NGOs and other non profits that seem to be popular for yuppies to start up not only don't pay taxes to support the state, but they produce nothing but grief and solicit for grants and other tax payer funding. Am I wrong or is something going on here?
You nailed it Kenny. Some of the progressive foundations are not funding local progressives as much has they used to. The foundations no longer need to because so many progressives have been elected to local and state positions.
Lawmakers push for new study of fishing mandate
By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer
February 18, 2010 05:52 am
...Snowe/Barney Frank yesterday released a letter asking...the National Academy of Sciences to weigh in on the "economic and ecological consequences" of committing to...full recovery of all fish stocks...as required by federal law.
"We would like to see an independent, scientific analysis of the Magnuson-Stevens Act's 10-year rebuilding timeline mandate..," Snowe and Frank wrote to Jane Lubchenco, who heads [NOAA]...a week before...fishermen...are planning to meet...in Washington, D.C.
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_048225102.html?keyword...
Meantime, the new NOAA budget slashes $50 million for cooperative research and shovels it into their ill-advised "sector" scheme.
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Maine's cod
Something new
Nov 19th 2009 | PORT CLYDE, MAINE
From The Economist print edition
A brave attempt to save local fish
[T]he government...stopped issuing new permits and...imposed a tangle of ever-increasing restrictions...mak[ing] it difficult to stay in business. Roughly 600 boats are active in the New England fleet, half the number of 2001.
...Gulf of Maine cod are still at barely half the desired population... [prompting] regulatory overhaul. Fishermen are...banding together to form “fishing sectors”, which are given an annual quota from...New England Fishery Management Council, a federal body.
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14...