must read

[horsemackeral]

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/fishi...l-on-fish-plan



September 4, 2011
Stellwagen chief snubs panel on fish plan

By Richard Gaines Staff Writer The Gloucester Daily Times Mon Sep 05, 2011, 10:45 AM EDT

The superintendent of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary has signaled his intention to present his proposal for an "ecological research area" with an expected ban on fishing to the Sanctuary Advisory Committee on the same day he submits it the to federal government, according to emails provided to the Times.

Because of the intense use of the sanctuary, which northernmost edge sits just outside Gloucester Harbor, in commercial and recreational fishing, opposition to any loss of access to the use of Stellwagen has been building, while Stellwagen Superintendent Craig MacDonald keeps his plan to himself.

"Stellwagen is the bread and butter of the small day-boat fleet in Gloucester," said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, the region's largest industry group.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regulates fishing in and outside the sanctuary, which rests within the 200-mile U.S. exclusive economic zone. And the New England Fishery Management Council is in the midst of a comprehensive review and reform of the closed areas, where fishing is barred, that will include MacDonald's still-secret plan.

The review of closed areas notably includes the Western Gulf of Maine Closed Area, a thin, vertical rectangle on either side of Cape Ann, and multiple set-asides amounting to 6,300 square miles — or nearly one-third — of Georges Bank. It is mandated statutorily and had been greeted with hope by the fishing communities.

The closed areas were originally put in place to help manage fishing effort under the days-at-sea system. But now that fishing is largely converted to a system in which most boats work with "catch shares" of an guaranteed allocation, the rationale for closed areas is no longer clear, Odell said in a telephone interview.

The Stellwagen Sanctuary Advisory Committee meets in Dedham on Sept. 14.

An ad hoc subcommittee of the panel met with MacDonald two weeks ago, but MacDonald rebuffed repeated efforts to tease from him any information about the size and location of his proposed "ecological research area" within the sanctuary's 843 square miles.

The expectation is that fishing would be barred at least in some section, since the sanctuary's general purpose is to examine the impact of fishing on the habitat.

The determination of any no-fishing zone in the sanctuary must be made by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

According to the emails released to the Times at its request by the council, MacDonald as of "right now" (Monday) will present the "sanctuary ecological research area" proposal to the Sanctuary Advisory Committee on Sept. 14, wrote Assistant Superintendent Ben Cowie-Haskell to Michelle S. Bachman, the staff member of the council in charge of closed areas and habitat studies.

"We will also send a hard copy and electronic version to the (acting) chairman (Rip Cunningham) and executive director Paul Howard (of the New England Fishery Management Council) on Sept. 14," Cowie-Haskell wrote.

He indicated MacDonald was anxious to get the proposal into consideration as quickly as possible.

The council notified MacDonald last week his proposal could not be considered at the September council meeting.

Howard, however, then emailed Cunningham a plan to have the proposed research area included in the September "meeting binder," allowing council members to refer the matter to the Habitat Plan Development Committee and Habitat Committee "to review and make recommendations to the full council at the November meeting."

In an email to staff last week, Howard said Cunningham agreed with the plan.

The Stellwagen research area proposal will be considered as part of an omnibus Habitat amendment to a full range of fishery management plans for the Northeast that has been undergoing research and scoping for years.

Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-7000 x3464, or at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.

[Captain Greg Sears]

Craig MacDonald is not a friend to any fisherman including recreational... His intentions are self proclaimed ... The Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary NOAA office in Scituate is a rogue unit with the intentions of closing Stellwagen Bank to fishermen. The Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association has been aware of this issue and others and has been working to stop it. The area they propose to close would consist of the GOM sliver including most of the east side of the bank out to wild cat. The proposal asks to stop all fishing and possibly transition through this area. Time to start writing letters to your local government officials again.. Use the US Postal service to send your letters maybe we can save a few jobs at the same time... This guy (Craig Macdonald) is sneaky and is avoiding opposing views and documentation..

[horsemackeral]

Craig MacDonald is not a friend to any fisherman including recreational... His intentions are self proclaimed ... The Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary NOAA office in Scituate is a rogue unit with the intentions of closing Stellwagen Bank to fishermen. The Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association has been aware of this issue and others and has been working to stop it. The area they propose to close would consist of the GOM sliver including most of the east side of the bank out to wild cat. The proposal asks to stop all fishing and possibly transition through this area. Time to start writing letters to your local government officials again.. Use the US Postal service to send your letters maybe we can save a few jobs at the same time... This guy (Craig Macdonald) is sneaky and is avoiding opposing views and documentation..

Greg,

thanks for the information. I should have figured the guys on this site are in the know.... I am late to the party, again.

hope all is going well for you guys in PEI !

cb

[MarkP]

macdonald is the worst kind of fish-o-crat; an agenda-driven zealot who is a sneaky little **** and will resort to anything to achieve his goal of shutting down fishing on the Bank. IMO, it's bigger than that. If he succeeds there, he'll be emboldened and seek to expand this idea of mpa's to other areas. Slippery slope at its worst and has nothing behind it from a scientific standpoint. He needs to be gone asap...

MarkP