Will aid revive R.I. fishery?

A COD FISH lies on board the Emulate II fishing trawler. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/SUZANNE PLUNKETT
A COD FISH lies on board the Emulate II fishing trawler. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/SUZANNE PLUNKETT

Ever-wary local fishermen welcome the Sept. 13 U.S. Department of Commerce declaration of the New England groundfish fishery as a national disaster, but they wonder if any federal money that follows to Rhode Island will get to those who need it before it’s too late.
“The possibility of monies being appropriated for this questionable groundfish closure, if in fact it finds its way to Rhode Island, needs to be directed to an institution that represents an overwhelming majority of the fishing community,” said Richard L. Fuka, president of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance. “Currently there is no such institution that can fill that job description. My concern, as the leader of the state’s largest commercial-fisheries organization, is the Rhode Island fishing community not having a voice in directing any money in the proper direction.”
Robert J. Ballou, assistant to the director of the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, understands Fuka’s concerns.
“There is no pot of money that has already been set aside, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Ballou told Providence Business News last week. “I don’t think anyone expects the federal government to start cutting checks as a way to address the problem. I think [fishermen] are hoping for a very solid, balanced, comprehensive investment in the fisheries that will enable them to move forward by helping with [their] costs.”
Quotas for several species such as cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder are expected to be cut by 70 percent in 2013, leaving some independent fishermen on the doorstep of disaster.
The disaster declaration allows Congress to provide monetary relief for fishermen and their communities. The declaration is viewed by fishermen as acknowledgement that the current catch-shares system of regulating groundfish and enforced since May 1, 2010, has caused economic stress in the states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The question remains how much will be appropriated and how will it specifically be used to assist fishermen. A letter to Congress, co-signed by the states’ four governors, requested $100 million in assistance.
According to the governors’ letter, each state will develop a detailed spending plan to address their needs. Funds will provide assistance through investments in the safety and sustainability of the fleet, provide job training for fishermen to help deal with changes in fishery management, or temporary financial relief. The aid also will support sector operating costs and cover at-sea monitoring costs. Some funds will be used for research focused on improving stock assessments and the systems of data collection for the fishery. With the livelihood of some fishing communities at stake, the improvement of fisheries science remains a top priority for many in the industry. “It is important to know what creates these disaster declarations,” said Geir Monsen, vice president of Seafreeze Ltd. in North Kingstown. “It is not scientists going out to sea and counting how many fish there are of different species. It is using old data and changing mathematical models that are used for calculation of biomass of individual species. In other words, the disasters are all created in computers. I like to call the stock assessments computer fish. They come and go with the push of a button.
In the fishing village of Galilee, in Narragansett, the prospect of government assistance is welcome, but not in the form of the government buying boats, taking them out of the water and retraining workers for different jobs.
Fishermen say they want only to fish, a refrain Ballou has heard before. “DEM stands ready to assist in any way we can,” he said.
Tina Jackson, co-founder of the Rhode Island-based American Alliance of Fishermen and their Communities, was more guarded about the news. “The simple fact that bail-out monies are being asked for is proof positive that the groundfish catch-share program is an utter and complete failure,” said Jackson, a Republican challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Donna Walsh for the House seat representing Charlestown, South Kingstown, Westerly and New Shoreham.
“Before wasting another dime of taxpayer’s money, catch shares should be scrapped and a full return to days-at-sea, with the amount of days each boat had, is the appropriate step to take, or give all permit-holders the option to return to days at sea,” Jackson said.
Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service released 2011 figures that showed landings across the United States hit a 17-year high, as 10.1 billion pounds of fish and shellfish were landed, a commercial value of $5.3 billion.
However, Rhode Island saw the landings of fish drop from 2009 to 2011, even as high prices drove up the value of the catch. Total pounds of fish caught in 2011 were 77.2 million, a decline from 83.9 million pounds landed in 2009. However, the value of the fish harvested in 2009 and 2011 were $61.8 million and $76 million, respectively. Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee issued a request on Aug. 24 to the Department of Commerce, seeking the declaration. The following day, the state’s four congressional delegates followed suit. Chafee’s request came months after previous requests made by the governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, reflecting the importance of the New England groundfish fishery to all of New England.
While controversial in its effectiveness, catch shares have been used by many nations and in most cases result in the consolidation of the fishing fleet. NOAA adopted a national catch-share polity in November 2010, and according to the NMFS Northeast Regional Office in Gloucester, Mass., the number of active fishing boats in New England dropped 10.3 percent between 2010 and 2011, and by 20.3 percent between 2009 and 2011, based on May-October data of each year. Vessel crew positions are also down, by 13.2 percent over the two years, and 9.8 percent from 2010 and 2011.
NOAA estimates that by May 1, 2013, there will be cuts of approximately 70 percent for cod, haddock and American plaice, or sole. Yellowtail flounder stock cuts are predicted to have fallen by approximately 50 percent, or a staggering 94 percent less than 2011.
The council said that cod and yellowtail flounder caught in Georges Bank, east of Cape Cod and south of Nova Scotia, would probably need to be reduced by an estimated 70 percent and 51 percent, respectively, in 2013.
According to Jackson, 51 boats registered in Rhode Island that used to catch groundfish no longer do so; 49 remain.
Her own boat has felt the impact as well, for fishing has become more of a part-time venture, as it has for many fishermen forced to seek other sources of revenue.
Fuka is one of the state’s fishermen who’s already been forced by tough economic times to make a new career choice. Now 55, he formed the alliance in 2007, at about the same time he decided to leave the fishery, instead opting for his own marine-construction business. He has, however, maintained his 25-year-old boat and permits just in case the fishery should rebound. •

No posts to display

2 COMMENTS