INFO ABOUT BFT MEETING IN BOSTON TOMORROW

[cappyD]

Im sure many of you are already attending these meetings and reading the subsequent posts on this topic. Just wanted to post this article to create some more awareness as to the seriousness of the situation. There is a meeting in Boston tomorrow. The info is below. The thriving Cape Cod Bay/Stellwagon Bank fishery is a strong argument on our behalf. EVERYONE should write letters..even if you saw fish and didnt necessarily catch them! Write a letter if you can't make it..the adress is at the end of the article---D



The National Marine Fisheries Service’s Office of Protected Resources will host two listening sessions with bluefin tuna fishermen in New England this week as part of its review of a petition to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna as an endangered species. The first meeting takes place at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 6, at Mariner’s House, 11 North St., Boston (617-227-4201). The second will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 7, at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, Maine.

In May of 2010 the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna as an endangered species, and on Sept. 21 NMFS concluded that listing it as such may be warranted, triggering a status review. NMFS has until May of 2011 to complete the status review, which will determine whether or not it will pursue a proposed rule to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna as endangered.

Fishermen who attend the listening sessions are asked to limit their comments to the status of the bluefin stock as they see it and not to address the economic hardship that may arise from an endangered listing. A spokesperson for NMFS said the agency is not allowed to consider economic hardship as a criterion for listing something as endangered.

Questions attendees may consider include the following: What are your general impressions of the abundance and distribution of Atlantic bluefin tuna over time? If you have experienced a decline or increase in bluefin tuna catches, what do you attribute this to (abundance, distribution, availability, gear changes, regulatory effects, etc.)? Are there particular areas where you typically encounter larger numbers of bluefin tuna? If so, where are they (e.g., inshore or offshore)? Do these areas change on an annual basis? What is the average size of bluefin tuna being caught by different gear types or fisheries?

Written comments may also be sent to: National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional Office, Protected Resources Division, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

[LuckyLady]

Added a sticky just remind me to take it down

[cappyD]

I am planning to be there with a group. One thing to really keep in mind is that the argument isnt about the economic hardship that will take place as a result of the closure. Thats not what this is about. Its about the fish, and the fact that there was a very strong showing of them in our waters in 2010. Bring in your fishing logs...back it up with FACTS. The NMFS doesnt really care about our bills and how we need the industry to survive. We all do, but this has to be fought with scientific data and if fishermen collectively represent and vocalize a strong local population of bluefin tuna, its going to help. If youre an active offshore charter captain/commercial fishermen, please try and be there as you are the types of people who can provide this NEW data.

[LuckyLady]

Well I appreciate you taking the time to post the info and attend..

This may be a dumb question but where are and how are they basing their numbers.

I have been out of fishing just a tad for the past year but it appears that you are correct.

I know the bays and oceans are different in a sense but does any of it have to do with the wide spread recognition of pollution and contaminated waters.

Barnegat bay has been done for years and its my home waters and for many many years now its a waste to even fish it. I remember fishing with my dad when I could barely even walk and the fishery then is not the fishery now.

I know the ecosystem is all connected in more ways then one.

Hoping someone can summarize what is in fact going on in their brains.

[cappyD]

They are basing ALL of their argument on SPECULATIVE evidence. The oil spill in the gulf "will surely have an impact"...."the oceans are being depleted of bluefin tuna at an alarming rate" I think toquote it exactly...82 percent decrease of stocks over the passed 40 years....and so on and so on....but NO evidence to back it up. Its all speculative.

The way things are established in the fisheries management by NMFS and ICCAT, the only real and legitimate understanding on population asessment is the ICCAT SCRS(Standing Committee on Research and Statistics. If you want to talk bluefin tuna populations this is the most tangible and real data asessment there is. Its far from perfect. This is what they should be looking at for tangible evidence, and when doing so, there is NO evidence substantiating a collapse in the bluefin stocks.

I went to the meeting today. I was very impressed by the turn-out...lots of concerned faces...as they should be. I was un-impressed by the layout/structure of the meeting and space. There were two young women acting as facilitaters for the meeeting, one was directing people to speak and the other was taking notes...2 people. Nothing against them as they were simply doing there job. But there was an awful lot of monotony and rambling, and it really hit me today how unorganized we are as a group and how scary this situation really is. It would have been better if the meeting was more organized, but the positives are that it was a good showing.


The scary part is Dr Jane Lubchenko is very radical and has already pulled some mind boggling political "stunts". She wants the fishery shut down. She is getting people to listen, and some of the media is getting onboard with this thing. Heres a blurb from a major newspaper advertisement

At the November meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Paris, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, ordered the US delegation and NOAA staff to abandon the current rebuilding plan for western bluefin tuna and to fight for reductions in the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for U.S. fishermen. In doing so, she ignored numerous members of Congress, an unprecedented coalition of commercial and recreational fishermen, and the proven success the current plan has achieved. Most importantly, she ignored the hard sacrifices fishermen in the western Atlantic have endured in order to rebuild the stock over the last two decades.


If Greg Skomal is worried...Im worried. It was nice to hear the concern from fishermen but I would have liked to also hear more from scientists like Dr Molly who after 2 and half hours today at the meeting, had still not gotten a chance to speak. Her data is huge and VERY signifigant. I couldnt stay until the end, but there also were some very good points made. Eric Stewart, Ralph Pratt, Kevin Glynn and a few others brought some very good points to fruition. There are some big HOLES in the allegations/argument that bluefin are "endangered". Kevin brought up the fact that the years 2008 thru 2010 havnt been included in their argument...why? because there's proof of a exponential GROWTH in fish stocks during these years! Why would they want to show that? But what scares me even more is who is going to argue this point on our behalf? Greg Skomal said that his office at the dept of marine fisheries is submitting a letter.

One guy today brought the real question to the table...how can fishermen be collectively represented? The only thing I would have liked to ask is if theres a way we can organize catch data and present it....COLLECTIVELY. The way stock asessments are expedited needs to be revolutionized anyway...dock and phone surveys by college kids hired by Quantech is not gonna cut it anymore. Its a joke. Fishermen need to write their concerns down on paper and GET THEM IN. 100 people in a room is only a step in the right direction. Write it down. Thats really the only way I saw myself being able to help this cause, and you can help too. Document your releases...even if you have to go back a few years. We can send letters/fish reports and catch data to the Gloucester Office to: National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional Office, Protected Resources Division, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. But this is no joke. I sent my catch data in already.

Hope this helps. Theres a lot to learn and Im simply a few pages into chapter 1.

[Captain Greg Sears]

We have until Jan 18th to supply NMFS with documentation showing how "ludicrous" it would be to place BFT on an endangered species list. Your comments should be related to your observations and rebut against the five criteria's used to place BFT on The ESA. criteria's ABCDE

If all the members of the SFC write a comment and send hard copy by fax or mail to the proper authorities listed below. This will help immensely in our quest to fight this petition.

PLEASE NO COMMENTS ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU HATE NMFS OR THEIR POLICY. only send semi scientific observations and evidence regarding bluefin tuna and the locations you fish. You may provide a summary of your observations and how it effects BFT. You may also provide observations regarding the five criteria used to place BFT on ESA.

ESA Petition for Bluefin Tuna - Listening Sessions in January

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources hosted three listening sessions with bluefin tuna fishermen during January 2011. These meetings where designed to give bluefin fishermen an opportunity to present information to be considered in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) status review that is now underway. A summary of information provided at these meetings and written comments will be reflected in the final status review report. The attached list of questions, provided by Kim Damon-Randall, is intended as a guide for discussion.

Anyone interested in participating should contact Kimberly.Damon-Randall@noaa.gov. A
If you have any questions, please contact Kim Damon-Randall at the email address above. She can also be reached at 978-282-8485, x 6535.

Questions for the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Listening Sessions
1. What are your general impressions of the abundance and distribution
of Atlantic bluefin tuna over time?
2. If you have experienced a decline or increase in bluefin tuna catches
what do you attribute this to (abundance, distribution, availability,
gear changes, regulatory effects, etc.)?
3. Are there particular areas where you typically encounter larger
numbers of bluefin tuna?
4. If so, where are they (e.g., inshore or offshore)?
5. Do these areas change on an annual basis?
6. What is the average size of bluefin tuna being caught by different gear
types or fisheries?
7. Has this changed over the time that you have been fishing for bluefin
tuna?
8. What other information can you share with us that you believe is
relevant to the review of the status of bluefin tuna? (Please focus your
response on pertinent information on the status of the species that
needs to be considered in the status review and not on the petition). criteria's ABCDE on Kuldruff comments. ESA petition.

Thanks for supporting our endeavors to stop this ESA petition.

Please Pass this on .............and on ............and on..........

[LuckyLady]

VITAL REC BLUEFIN SURVEY - 2 DAYS LEFT FOR YOU TO COUNT !!!

[amarshall]

NC meeting

NMFS continues hearings on petition to list bluefin tuna as endangered

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [WCTI12.com] By Katie Jeffries - January 21, 2011 - CRAVEN COUNTY,NC, A valuable fish could soon be off the market and fishermen are wondering where that would that leave them.

They are sharing their concerns with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA.

Wednesday night's meeting was supposed to be for NOAA to gather data from fisherman about bluefin tuna, but many fisherman made it a point to emphasize that putting bluefin tuna on the endangered species list would spell disaster for them.

In an industry struggling to stay afloat, Eastern North Carolina's fishermen are waiting to find out if their livelihood will be banned.

'It would destroy a number of fishing families and it would destroy a number of coastal businesses dependent on the fishery,' says Rich Ruais with the American Bluefin Tuna Association.

The Center for Biological Diversity asked the government to put bluefin tuna on the endangered species list. But the fishermen at the meeting say if the government does that, the only thing that will be an endangered species is them.

Fishermen like David Schalit, who first began fishing bluefin tuna when he was 8-years-old with his grandfather.

'We have fisherman in the fishery who have been fishing for bluefin for 3 generations, so that's all they know,' says Schalit.

NOAA contends it is currently just trying to gather the best available data from the men at the helm to see if bluefin tuna needs to be added to the endangered species list. If it is, no more fishing of the valuable fish would be allowed.

'But it wouldn't shut down all fisheries that interact with bluefin tuna, we would consult on those fisheries, but some incidental take would be allowed,' says Kim Damon-Randall an Endangered Species Coordinator.

The only shared point is that both groups want to see the species thrive.

The final decision will be made on May 24th.