CharlieTuna
01-11-2010, 09:53 PM
Governor joins push vs. scallop limits
By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer
Gov. Deval Patrick has joined the push to have cuts in this year's scallop fishing limits — projected in a new scientific study to cost boats 25 percent of revenues — be up for reconsideration by the federal fishery policy-making council at its upcoming meeting.
Patrick called but did not immediately reach John Pappalardo, chairman of the New England Fisheries Management Council, last Friday after a meeting in New Bedford, the scallop capital of the nation, with industry leaders and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.
However, the two men did speak later in the weekend. From the conversation, a private meeting was set for late yesterday in the governor's Statehouse office, according to governor's spokeswoman Kimberly Haberlin.
"Given the questions about the science underlying these cutbacks, the governor is disappointed that this matter is not on the council's upcoming agenda and is urging the council to reconsider," Haberlin said yesterday. "The governor will continue to press this issue at all levels, and is exploring other options to get this decision reversed."
Frank, meanwhile, told the Times Friday that Pappalardo should resign or be fired if he declines the governor's request.
Frank and New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang have led a growing protest movement against the decision by the council last November to reduce the catch of scallops which are recognized as a healthy stock.
The study by a scientist at University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth found that the cutbacks would cost the state's economy in excess of $40 million.
The council, on a 10-7 vote decided to try to hold the catch to 47 million pounds although government science says there are 300 million harvestable pounds and that 65 million could be caught without endangering the health of the stock.
The council meets again late this month in Portsmouth, N.H.
The scallop decision was the third in recent months — pollock and herring were the others — cited as unnecessarily cautious and potentially harmful to the fishing industry.
The pollock catch limit, which — like the herring figures, more gravely affect Gloucester — was set at barely one third of the last year's and the herring cutback was 23 percent — a small upward adjustment from the initial limit after lobster industry protests against the planned cutbacks in the essential lobster bait.
The tight pollock catch limit has been described by industry leaders as a "circuit breaker" for the entire groundfish industry centered in Gloucester.
The governor made a cell phone call to Pappalardo, who did not answer, while with Frank during a day-long set of meetings Friday in New Bedford.
Efforts by the Times to reach Pappalardo, who is employed by the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, were unsuccessful.
The New England Council, which has offices in Newburyport was closed for the weekend. The council is the federal body that sets policy for and manages the New England fishery.
After his private Friday meeting with the governor, Frank told the Times he believed Pappalardo should resign or be fired for refusing the governor's request to have the January meeting of the council rethink its decision to scale back scalloping.
"I'm appalled that Pappalardo didn't put (scallops) on the agenda," Frank told the Times. "I told the governor it was outrageous. The governor was unpleasantly surprised.
"If he doesn't (agree to reconsideration), he (Pappalardo) should resign," Frank added.
Since the November decision by the council — which was not supported by research from the independent Science and Statistical Committee — protests and complaints have rained down on Pappalardo, the council, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.
In late December, 16 members of the U.S. Senate and Congress — including Frank and John Tierney, who represents Gloucester and Cape Ann — implored Locke to intervene to loosen the restrictions on scallops set by the council, which is a body of largely gubernatorial appointees from coastal states.
Among the appointees are representatives of the industry and environmental groups. Pappalardo's group, the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association is a bit of both. Notwithstanding its name, the group receives much investment from environmental groups.
Days later, the Fisheries Survival Fund submitted a letter to Jane Lubchenco, who heads NOAA, from more than 1,000 fishermen, retail and wholesale seafood dealers and other scallop dependent businesses and their employees, asking for relief from the scallop catch cutback.
Signers included Gloucesterites as well as people from as far away as North Carolina.
In late December, Lang wrote to Locke that the council's "arbitrary and capricious" decision to cut scallop fishing might have been influenced by environmental interests. Of those, he named were Pappalardo's Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, EDF and the Pew Environment Group.
In addition to its involvement with the hook fishermen's association, EDF has a representative on the New England Council, Sally McGee, who is chairwoman of the Scallop Committee. It was on her motion that the council voted to reduce the 2010 scallop catch.
The scientific study predicting losses in boat revenues from the action was done by Daniel Georgianna, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's School of Marine Science and Technology.
Research by the same school a decade ago upended government findings that the scallop stock was weakened and required strict catch controls.
Georgianna noted in his study that catches were controlled in the special zones noted for the concentration of scallops but in the rest of the waters along the East Coast was were catches were higher than expected. Georgianna said that result suggested that the stock was even healthier than expected.
"As closed area trips have fixed trip limits," he wrote, "the overages of landings were due to much higher than predicted landings per day in the open areas." So, he concluded, "the excess of actual over-predicted landings may indicate reasons for increasing catch limits."
In an October letter to Lubchenco, Frank wondered why certain waters had been kept closed to scallop boats even after scientific evidence that scallops there were dying of old age.
Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-700, x3464, or via e-mail; at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com
By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer
Gov. Deval Patrick has joined the push to have cuts in this year's scallop fishing limits — projected in a new scientific study to cost boats 25 percent of revenues — be up for reconsideration by the federal fishery policy-making council at its upcoming meeting.
Patrick called but did not immediately reach John Pappalardo, chairman of the New England Fisheries Management Council, last Friday after a meeting in New Bedford, the scallop capital of the nation, with industry leaders and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.
However, the two men did speak later in the weekend. From the conversation, a private meeting was set for late yesterday in the governor's Statehouse office, according to governor's spokeswoman Kimberly Haberlin.
"Given the questions about the science underlying these cutbacks, the governor is disappointed that this matter is not on the council's upcoming agenda and is urging the council to reconsider," Haberlin said yesterday. "The governor will continue to press this issue at all levels, and is exploring other options to get this decision reversed."
Frank, meanwhile, told the Times Friday that Pappalardo should resign or be fired if he declines the governor's request.
Frank and New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang have led a growing protest movement against the decision by the council last November to reduce the catch of scallops which are recognized as a healthy stock.
The study by a scientist at University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth found that the cutbacks would cost the state's economy in excess of $40 million.
The council, on a 10-7 vote decided to try to hold the catch to 47 million pounds although government science says there are 300 million harvestable pounds and that 65 million could be caught without endangering the health of the stock.
The council meets again late this month in Portsmouth, N.H.
The scallop decision was the third in recent months — pollock and herring were the others — cited as unnecessarily cautious and potentially harmful to the fishing industry.
The pollock catch limit, which — like the herring figures, more gravely affect Gloucester — was set at barely one third of the last year's and the herring cutback was 23 percent — a small upward adjustment from the initial limit after lobster industry protests against the planned cutbacks in the essential lobster bait.
The tight pollock catch limit has been described by industry leaders as a "circuit breaker" for the entire groundfish industry centered in Gloucester.
The governor made a cell phone call to Pappalardo, who did not answer, while with Frank during a day-long set of meetings Friday in New Bedford.
Efforts by the Times to reach Pappalardo, who is employed by the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, were unsuccessful.
The New England Council, which has offices in Newburyport was closed for the weekend. The council is the federal body that sets policy for and manages the New England fishery.
After his private Friday meeting with the governor, Frank told the Times he believed Pappalardo should resign or be fired for refusing the governor's request to have the January meeting of the council rethink its decision to scale back scalloping.
"I'm appalled that Pappalardo didn't put (scallops) on the agenda," Frank told the Times. "I told the governor it was outrageous. The governor was unpleasantly surprised.
"If he doesn't (agree to reconsideration), he (Pappalardo) should resign," Frank added.
Since the November decision by the council — which was not supported by research from the independent Science and Statistical Committee — protests and complaints have rained down on Pappalardo, the council, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.
In late December, 16 members of the U.S. Senate and Congress — including Frank and John Tierney, who represents Gloucester and Cape Ann — implored Locke to intervene to loosen the restrictions on scallops set by the council, which is a body of largely gubernatorial appointees from coastal states.
Among the appointees are representatives of the industry and environmental groups. Pappalardo's group, the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association is a bit of both. Notwithstanding its name, the group receives much investment from environmental groups.
Days later, the Fisheries Survival Fund submitted a letter to Jane Lubchenco, who heads NOAA, from more than 1,000 fishermen, retail and wholesale seafood dealers and other scallop dependent businesses and their employees, asking for relief from the scallop catch cutback.
Signers included Gloucesterites as well as people from as far away as North Carolina.
In late December, Lang wrote to Locke that the council's "arbitrary and capricious" decision to cut scallop fishing might have been influenced by environmental interests. Of those, he named were Pappalardo's Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, EDF and the Pew Environment Group.
In addition to its involvement with the hook fishermen's association, EDF has a representative on the New England Council, Sally McGee, who is chairwoman of the Scallop Committee. It was on her motion that the council voted to reduce the 2010 scallop catch.
The scientific study predicting losses in boat revenues from the action was done by Daniel Georgianna, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's School of Marine Science and Technology.
Research by the same school a decade ago upended government findings that the scallop stock was weakened and required strict catch controls.
Georgianna noted in his study that catches were controlled in the special zones noted for the concentration of scallops but in the rest of the waters along the East Coast was were catches were higher than expected. Georgianna said that result suggested that the stock was even healthier than expected.
"As closed area trips have fixed trip limits," he wrote, "the overages of landings were due to much higher than predicted landings per day in the open areas." So, he concluded, "the excess of actual over-predicted landings may indicate reasons for increasing catch limits."
In an October letter to Lubchenco, Frank wondered why certain waters had been kept closed to scallop boats even after scientific evidence that scallops there were dying of old age.
Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-700, x3464, or via e-mail; at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com