DarkSkies
05-01-2010, 05:15 PM
Sent in by Finchaser, thanks.
SEN. SCHUMER HELPS SECURES NY FISHING SUMMIT
NOAA Administrator Lubchenco Pledges To Address Black Sea Bass
New York, NY - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) met with NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco earlier this week and secured her commitment to visit Long Island this summer to meet with local fishermen to hear firsthand the economic impact that imprecise and inflexible fishing restrictions is having on the industry. During their one-on-one meeting in Washington, Sen. Schumer said he also received Dr. Lubchenco's pledge take a hard look at expanding the black sea bass season later in 2010. NOAA Fisheries officially closed the recreational black sea bass fishery in October of 2009 because of statistical findings that Sen. Schumer called outdated and imprecise. "I am pleased Administrator Lubchenco has accepted my invitation and agreed to meet with members of the Long Island fishing community this summer to explore how we can improve imprecise and inflexible regulations," said Senator Schumer. "It's vital Administrator Lubchenco see firsthand the impacts that overly restrictive regulations have on families and businesses in Long Island."
Sen. Charles Schumer attends the New York Sportfishing Federation show in Freeport, NY in February (pictured here with the RFA's Jim Hutchinson, Jr. and The Fisherman's Fred Golofaro).http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs053/1102181706823/img/100.jpgEarlier this month, NOAA hosted an 'invite only' recreational fishing summit in Alexandria, VA at which the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) was an active participant. However, the RFA believes that a leadership conference inside the Beltway shouldn't be the only method of interaction between the federal government and members of the recreational fishing community. "There were 5,000 fishermen in DC on February 24 of this year rallying on behalf of our coastal communities, and NOAA responded with a pre-written press release distributed along the outskirts of our event," said RFA Managing Director, Jim Hutchinson. Hutchinson is also president of the New York Sportfishing Federation.
"Ms. Lubchenco and her staff at NOAA won't learn anything about America's fishermen by standing on the outside looking in, the real fishermen aren't at these private conferences and national trade only events," he said.
According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey,New York ranks eighth among coastal states in terms of overall retail sales in saltwater fishing, as anglers spent more than $373 million on saltwater tackle in 2006 alone. Sen. Schumer noted that overall economic contribution of sport and commercial fishing combined with that of the entire seafood industry pumped an estimated $11.5 billion into New York's economy in 2000, yet today, however, the fishing industry in New York is reeling. The senator noted Montauk's popular "Viking" fleet as experiencing more than 30% in lose business while tackle and bait shops are on the verge of closing doors, and coastal downtowns are losing ancillary business. He has continued to press the federal fisheries service to quickly scrap the "fatally flawed" recreational harvest collection data and begin using existing license and industry data for making fairer assessments of coastal stocks.
"The bottom line is that we need better science and more precise data to guide the decisions that govern when our fishing community can fish because right now we have outdated methods and imprecise data based on inflexible regulations," Senator Schumer said, adding "that leads to bad decisions that unfairly impact our fishing community."
At his meeting with Dr. Lubchenco, Schumer secured a commitment to fully explore an expansion of the sea bass season. Recent data on sea bass catches proved that original estimates from 2009, which resulted in significantly lower catch quotas for 2010, were inaccurate. Newly released estimates now support a recreational black sea bass season which could last throughout the rest of this year, and Administrator Lubchenco committed to active consideration of expanding the sea bass season based on this recent evidence.
"We've come a long way in the past eight months since the recreational black sea bass fishery was completely shut down last fall," said Hutchinson. "With some intense lobbying by RFA representatives in the Mid-Atlantic region, we've gone from a scant 60-day recreational season to the very real possibility of a season running from May 22 to December 31, with only about a two-week closure somewhere in the middle," he said. "On behalf of New York's recreational fishermen, the Federation and the RFA would like to sincerely thank Sen. Schumer for following up on his continued pledge to represent our fishing community at the federal level."
Sen. Schumer has also sponsored legislation in the Senate to help reform the federal fisheries law in order to provide managers with limited flexibility when managing fisheries like black sea bass, a stock which has been fully rebuilt to over 100% of its target. Sen. Schumer's Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act (S1255) is co-sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and would in part allow economic hardship considerations to be included in a list of conditions to provide greater access to fisheries that would otherwise be off limits under the confines of the federally mandated 10-year rebuilding periods.
"Fishing is a Long Island tradition that has been passed down for generations and without relief, could become a part of the Island's history," Schumer said. "The fishing community has made many sacrifices and stocks are improving, so restricting families and others from fishing is just plain wrong."
"It's my hope Administrator Lubchenco will leave with that understanding when she visits this summer," Sen. Schumer said.
RFA FIGHTING WINDMILLS IN NEW YORK
Special Fluke Season Blows Into Long Island on Saturday
As reported today in Newsday, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has approved plans to join two other utilities in studying an offshore project to create windmills off the Rockaways and Western Nassau County. The agreement approved by the LIPA trustees on Thursday called for a $4 million study with costs shared by LIPA, Con Edison and the New York Power Authority. The studies would focus on creating a 100-turbine windmill field from 13 to 17 miles off the beaches of Queens.
As reported in both Newsday and News 12 New York, the RFA's Jim Hutchinson said the region's anglers "will have some serious concerns about access rights," particularly with regard to protecting the "very productive, historic fishing grounds" where LIPA is currently to construct the windmills.
"Fishermen will be actively engaged in this feasibility study, LIPA has recognized that publicly and I trust our concerns will be well-represented all along the line," Hutchinson said.
For News 12 video, visit www.news12.com (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103353102302&s=10015&e=0011lBnqh8HBl0kABDGG42iLINz_ukpIveeesLtCf1VZ6116 Nkr3e6STPoJ2aDiv_RvWARZKhFxjzhzyqWvogCOy_sujORDvya KuezNBDyvMFIHKENWOK7QNQ==) and click on the photo of the wind turbines.
http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs053/1102181706823/img/60.jpgAlso reported in today's Newsday (www.newsday.com (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103353102302&s=10015&e=0011lBnqh8HBl3mjStDKK3AWnrACf8ytll7GKr8ou9yB0pBf Ji8zZzHpgLuAHzJUmW1lDW37TtgN1REfgdMSUYsBpSuqHwdfBa p2CtfwpBFRo1j8wk8Yc402w==)) is information about the Research Set Aside (RSA) program in New York. To raise money for scientific data collection, the federal fisheries service essentially sells a portion of the total summer flounder quota to be used within the recreational and commercial sector.
This year, a handful of New York for-hire boats were able to purchase some of this RSA quota, and will be allowed to fish for fluke during the closed season. Starting Saturday, May 1 and continuing up until the regular season opener in New York on May 15th, those fishermen aboard vessels possessing an RSA permit will be allowed to keep four fluke from 17 to 20 inches in length.
Last week, the New York Marine Resource Advisory Council (MRAC) voted to approve an actual slot limit for fluke under the closed-season RSA program, which allows keeper 21-inch fluke to remain offlimits for recreational RSA harvest until the opening day on May 15. "It's a unique idea that was presented at MRAC to keep those doormats safe until the regular season opens, and it also establishes the first of what many of us hope would be a successful future campaign of a real slotfish management for fluke," said Hutchinson.
A few years ago, only commercial fishermen were taking advantage of the RSA allotment of fish. With some in the recreational fleet now able to take advantage of this specialized program for data collection through winning bids, individual anglers can now reap the rewards of an earlier fluke season with a more conservation-friendly fluke limit of 20 inches and under.
SEN. SCHUMER HELPS SECURES NY FISHING SUMMIT
NOAA Administrator Lubchenco Pledges To Address Black Sea Bass
New York, NY - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) met with NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco earlier this week and secured her commitment to visit Long Island this summer to meet with local fishermen to hear firsthand the economic impact that imprecise and inflexible fishing restrictions is having on the industry. During their one-on-one meeting in Washington, Sen. Schumer said he also received Dr. Lubchenco's pledge take a hard look at expanding the black sea bass season later in 2010. NOAA Fisheries officially closed the recreational black sea bass fishery in October of 2009 because of statistical findings that Sen. Schumer called outdated and imprecise. "I am pleased Administrator Lubchenco has accepted my invitation and agreed to meet with members of the Long Island fishing community this summer to explore how we can improve imprecise and inflexible regulations," said Senator Schumer. "It's vital Administrator Lubchenco see firsthand the impacts that overly restrictive regulations have on families and businesses in Long Island."
Sen. Charles Schumer attends the New York Sportfishing Federation show in Freeport, NY in February (pictured here with the RFA's Jim Hutchinson, Jr. and The Fisherman's Fred Golofaro).http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs053/1102181706823/img/100.jpgEarlier this month, NOAA hosted an 'invite only' recreational fishing summit in Alexandria, VA at which the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) was an active participant. However, the RFA believes that a leadership conference inside the Beltway shouldn't be the only method of interaction between the federal government and members of the recreational fishing community. "There were 5,000 fishermen in DC on February 24 of this year rallying on behalf of our coastal communities, and NOAA responded with a pre-written press release distributed along the outskirts of our event," said RFA Managing Director, Jim Hutchinson. Hutchinson is also president of the New York Sportfishing Federation.
"Ms. Lubchenco and her staff at NOAA won't learn anything about America's fishermen by standing on the outside looking in, the real fishermen aren't at these private conferences and national trade only events," he said.
According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey,New York ranks eighth among coastal states in terms of overall retail sales in saltwater fishing, as anglers spent more than $373 million on saltwater tackle in 2006 alone. Sen. Schumer noted that overall economic contribution of sport and commercial fishing combined with that of the entire seafood industry pumped an estimated $11.5 billion into New York's economy in 2000, yet today, however, the fishing industry in New York is reeling. The senator noted Montauk's popular "Viking" fleet as experiencing more than 30% in lose business while tackle and bait shops are on the verge of closing doors, and coastal downtowns are losing ancillary business. He has continued to press the federal fisheries service to quickly scrap the "fatally flawed" recreational harvest collection data and begin using existing license and industry data for making fairer assessments of coastal stocks.
"The bottom line is that we need better science and more precise data to guide the decisions that govern when our fishing community can fish because right now we have outdated methods and imprecise data based on inflexible regulations," Senator Schumer said, adding "that leads to bad decisions that unfairly impact our fishing community."
At his meeting with Dr. Lubchenco, Schumer secured a commitment to fully explore an expansion of the sea bass season. Recent data on sea bass catches proved that original estimates from 2009, which resulted in significantly lower catch quotas for 2010, were inaccurate. Newly released estimates now support a recreational black sea bass season which could last throughout the rest of this year, and Administrator Lubchenco committed to active consideration of expanding the sea bass season based on this recent evidence.
"We've come a long way in the past eight months since the recreational black sea bass fishery was completely shut down last fall," said Hutchinson. "With some intense lobbying by RFA representatives in the Mid-Atlantic region, we've gone from a scant 60-day recreational season to the very real possibility of a season running from May 22 to December 31, with only about a two-week closure somewhere in the middle," he said. "On behalf of New York's recreational fishermen, the Federation and the RFA would like to sincerely thank Sen. Schumer for following up on his continued pledge to represent our fishing community at the federal level."
Sen. Schumer has also sponsored legislation in the Senate to help reform the federal fisheries law in order to provide managers with limited flexibility when managing fisheries like black sea bass, a stock which has been fully rebuilt to over 100% of its target. Sen. Schumer's Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act (S1255) is co-sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and would in part allow economic hardship considerations to be included in a list of conditions to provide greater access to fisheries that would otherwise be off limits under the confines of the federally mandated 10-year rebuilding periods.
"Fishing is a Long Island tradition that has been passed down for generations and without relief, could become a part of the Island's history," Schumer said. "The fishing community has made many sacrifices and stocks are improving, so restricting families and others from fishing is just plain wrong."
"It's my hope Administrator Lubchenco will leave with that understanding when she visits this summer," Sen. Schumer said.
RFA FIGHTING WINDMILLS IN NEW YORK
Special Fluke Season Blows Into Long Island on Saturday
As reported today in Newsday, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has approved plans to join two other utilities in studying an offshore project to create windmills off the Rockaways and Western Nassau County. The agreement approved by the LIPA trustees on Thursday called for a $4 million study with costs shared by LIPA, Con Edison and the New York Power Authority. The studies would focus on creating a 100-turbine windmill field from 13 to 17 miles off the beaches of Queens.
As reported in both Newsday and News 12 New York, the RFA's Jim Hutchinson said the region's anglers "will have some serious concerns about access rights," particularly with regard to protecting the "very productive, historic fishing grounds" where LIPA is currently to construct the windmills.
"Fishermen will be actively engaged in this feasibility study, LIPA has recognized that publicly and I trust our concerns will be well-represented all along the line," Hutchinson said.
For News 12 video, visit www.news12.com (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103353102302&s=10015&e=0011lBnqh8HBl0kABDGG42iLINz_ukpIveeesLtCf1VZ6116 Nkr3e6STPoJ2aDiv_RvWARZKhFxjzhzyqWvogCOy_sujORDvya KuezNBDyvMFIHKENWOK7QNQ==) and click on the photo of the wind turbines.
http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs053/1102181706823/img/60.jpgAlso reported in today's Newsday (www.newsday.com (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103353102302&s=10015&e=0011lBnqh8HBl3mjStDKK3AWnrACf8ytll7GKr8ou9yB0pBf Ji8zZzHpgLuAHzJUmW1lDW37TtgN1REfgdMSUYsBpSuqHwdfBa p2CtfwpBFRo1j8wk8Yc402w==)) is information about the Research Set Aside (RSA) program in New York. To raise money for scientific data collection, the federal fisheries service essentially sells a portion of the total summer flounder quota to be used within the recreational and commercial sector.
This year, a handful of New York for-hire boats were able to purchase some of this RSA quota, and will be allowed to fish for fluke during the closed season. Starting Saturday, May 1 and continuing up until the regular season opener in New York on May 15th, those fishermen aboard vessels possessing an RSA permit will be allowed to keep four fluke from 17 to 20 inches in length.
Last week, the New York Marine Resource Advisory Council (MRAC) voted to approve an actual slot limit for fluke under the closed-season RSA program, which allows keeper 21-inch fluke to remain offlimits for recreational RSA harvest until the opening day on May 15. "It's a unique idea that was presented at MRAC to keep those doormats safe until the regular season opens, and it also establishes the first of what many of us hope would be a successful future campaign of a real slotfish management for fluke," said Hutchinson.
A few years ago, only commercial fishermen were taking advantage of the RSA allotment of fish. With some in the recreational fleet now able to take advantage of this specialized program for data collection through winning bids, individual anglers can now reap the rewards of an earlier fluke season with a more conservation-friendly fluke limit of 20 inches and under.