Dr. L visits NY
Recreational Fishing Alliance (NY) Contact: Jim Hutchinson, Jr. / 888-564-6732
For Immediate Release August 16, 2010
NY FISHING INDUSTRY MEETS FEDERAL OFFICIALS ON LONG ISLAND
NOAA Meets With RFA & Allies At Request of Sen. Charles Schumer
Forest Hills, NY - On Thursday, August 12, the Long Island fishing community was granted it first opportunity to meet personally with the woman in charge of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Dr. Jane Lubchenco. About two dozen representatives of the New York fishing industry including representatives from the recreational fishing sector were invited by Sen. Charles Schumer to participate in the meeting with Dr. Lubchenco at Oakland's Restaurant overlooking Shinnecock Inlet in Hampton Bays.
"It was an appropriate location seeing as how the docks were loaded with boats which used to be out on the water fishing in previous summers," said Jim Hutchinson, Jr., Managing Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance. "Then when you look out on the jetty which used to be lined with fluke fishermen this time of year and see only about five or six anglers, you know things are way off."
Sen. Schumer told the crowd gathered that the current summer flounder regulations in New York had "put the industry on death's door," and urged the NOAA Administrator to work to secure the best available science for the entire recreational industry. "Nobody wants to see overfishing, but they want to see the science done in a rational way," the senator said in his opening remarks. He went on to support the Mid Atlantic Marine Fishery Council's (Council) Science and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Monitoring Committee (MC) newly recommended acceptable biological catch recommendations of between 32 and 34 million pounds of fluke which are being presented before the Council this week.
"We need more quota for 2011," Sen. Schumer told Dr. Lubchenco, who pledged to do what she could to support the senator's request. The SSC and MC also issued recommendations for increasing the allowable catch of porgy in 2011 from anywhere between 15 percent to nearly 200 percent.
In Dr. Lubchenco's opening remarks, she said her administration was "guided by scientific information....guided by the rule of law, Magnuson Stevens." Hutchinson was then asked to follow-up and open the session by addressing some of the immediate needs of New York's recreational sector. "First, we stressed to Dr. Lubchenco the need to see maximum total allowable landings for 2011 as Sen. Schumer requested, which can provide assistance to our fishing community by allowing us highest overall quota recommended at the Council meeting," Hutchinson said. "That will certainly provide some much-need relief for our New York anglers in 2011."
On the topic of science and data collection, Dr. Lubchenco announced the release of a new memo of understanding by NOAA Fisheries recognizing that New York's angler registry information from the new saltwater license would be synched up with the federal government database later in the fall, a point that Hutchinson added wasn't exactly good news, but rather an admission of failure by NOAA. "Dr. Lubchenco claimed to be guided by Magnuson Stevens, yet that federal law required this angler contact information be made available to federal fisheries surveyors as of 2009, not this coming fall," he said.
"By Dr. Lubchenco's own account, we're not going to see any improvement to our recreational harvest data for at least another year, which means NOAA Fisheries is in violation of federal law," Hutchinson said. From a biological perspective, RFA believes there's no reason not to allow for substantial increase in quotas in 2011 for summer flounder and scup.
"In light of what we just heard from NOAA's chief regarding another season of missing angler data, getting maximum allowable catch is the fairest approach considering the noted lack of improved science," Hutchinson said. "We're bound by a fatally flawed system once again," he said.
