Massachusetts anglers, along with party and charter boat operators, continue to fight a proposed 55-square-mile “no recreational bottom fishing” zone contained in the New England Fishery Management Council’s (NEFMC) “Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2” scheduled for implementation in 2015.
Many of the alternatives in the draft document are sensible and reasonable, and will help protect cod, haddock and other bottom fish, particularly in areas where these species spawn. But the managers of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) have been pushing the NEFMC to include a 251-square-mile Sanctuary Ecological Research Area, known as SERA II, at the lower portion of the Western Gulf of Maine Closed area, which has been closed to commercial groundfishing since 1994 but has been open to recreational fishing.
The proposed 55-square-mile “reference area” is sited at the southern end of the SERA II, and would be closed to recreational fishing, including party and charter vessels, for five years or even longer. Dr. Craig MacDonald, SBNMS’s superintendent, says the closure is to “assess what effect recreational fish removals have on the stocks.” He claims the SBNMS wants to “see what happens if all bottom fishing is stopped. Maybe the fish sizes will go up.” Ironically, lobster traps would still be allowed in the area, even though traps account for a huge number of cod annually.
Over the past two seasons this particular area has become extremely important to the for-hire fleet, as draggers working under the new “sector” rules have decimated the cod that have historically populated Stellwagen Bank. “We have to run 40 miles out to this (the reference) area just to find some pollock and redfish in the deep water,” explains Capt. Tom Depersia of Bigfish Charters out of Green Harbor. “That’s a long run, but there aren’t any fish left on top of the bank. If they close this area we’ll have no place to go, period.”
Back in September the RFA drafted a letter of opposition to the reference area and circulated it among New England RFA members and the region’s for-hire fleet via the two largest industry organizations, the Northeast Charterboat Captains Association and the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association. Many member drafted similar letters and sent them to Tom Nies of the NEFMC, Paul Diodati of the MA Division of Marine Fisheries, the Regional Administrator for NMFS John Bullard, and to Dr. MacDonald.
The NEFMC’s Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP), which I chair, will be meeting in late January to develop a formal position on the proposed SERA II and its no-fishing “reference area.” The operators in the for-hire sector that depend on groundfish have been continually squeezed over the years with ever-shorter seasons as well as restrictive bag limits and minimum fish sizes. To remove an important 55-square-mile tract of ocean bottom simply in the name of “further research” is at this time totally inappropriate and unnecessary, and RFA will continue to oppose it.
There will be public hearings on the proposed Omnibus Habitat Amendment sometime in 2014. We will let RFA member know as soon as these are scheduled. In the meantime, much more information on the amendment is available at www.nefmc.org.
Fisherman Magazine readers can email letters expressing their opinions to: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; and [email protected].
The following is a sample letter for submission:
Mr. Tom Nies
New England Fishery Management Council
50 Water Street
Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950
Fax: 978-465-3116
RE: Proposed Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary Ecological Research Area
Dear Mr. Nies:
Regarding the proposed habitat protection measures being considered by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), I strongly oppose any changes to the Western Gulf of Maine closed area and strongly support Alternative 1, No Action.
Any additional closed areas for the charter/party and recreational anglers will create an adverse effect on a sector that is already operating under rules with strict bag limits, minimum size limits, a hard TAC and a five-and-a-half month closed season on GOM cod.
The type of research that the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary wishes to conduct in the proposed 55-square-mile “reference area” is unnecessary. There has been plenty or research conducted all over the word on unfished populations and the resulting fish sizes and stock structure, so there is likely very little new we will learn by closing this area to recreational bottom fishing. Furthermore, this proposed closure clearly does not justify the future socioeconomic impact on the recreational fishing sector.
As a saltwater angler, I do not personally fish for profit, though my fishing participation supports many local businesses, from tackle shops and for-hire captains to owners of restaurants and lodging facilities. If the SERA II and the “reference area” is put into place, anglers will be forced to transit greater distances up to 40 NM to find a few cod and haddock for the dinner table. We are already fishing over 28 NM from port, which has severely restricted our angling opportunities…this latest proposal will have a devastating impact on our recreational fishing community.
I would also point out that since catch share management was implemented, a concentration of large draggers fishing 24/7 on the bank in the winter and spring has forced the charter/party and recreational anglers to fish east of Stellwagen Bank in order to locate cod and haddock. A simple analysis of the past two years of vessel trip reporting data would clearly indicate this change in fishing location, much of which is now taking place in the proposed “reference area.”
Our recreational sector always seems to be left out of focus when it comes to spotlighting NEFMC issues and initiatives; in reality, the socioeconomic importance of recreational fishing cannot be ignored in this critically important vote. I strongly support Alternative No. 1, No Action, and ask that the NEFMC recognize the significance of our recreational fishing industry in supporting this winnable solution.
Respectfully signed,
(sign name)_______________________________________________________
(print name) ______________________________________________________
(address, city, state)________________________________________________
