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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 4
December 2009
RI-based fishermen’s foundation gets $6.5 million
SAUNDERSTOWN, RI – The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF), a nonprofit started in 2003 by a small group of Southern New England fishermen, is ramping up its collaborative research and other programs thanks to a recent infusion of significant federal funding.
Late in September, US Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the CFRF would receive a total of $6.5 million in two awards through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS):
$3.5 million “to engage in research and outreach activities designed to help local fishermen address the challenges facing the industry;” and
$3 million to administer a rope exchange program to help lobstermen in Lobster Conservation Management Areas 2 and 3 comply with sinking groundline regulations to protect whales.
“The CFRF deserves great credit for bringing together a broad range of stakeholders to develop practical solutions (for problems) facing the fishing industry,” Reed said in a statement. “This federal funding will support Rhode Island’s fishing industry, a vital component of the local economy, by ensuring that fishermen have the research and tools to weather the current economic storm and flourish over the long term.”
Gearing up
The $6.5 million appropriation was a huge jump from the foundation’s last federal award in 2008, which totaled $1.32 million. But the CFRF appears to be well positioned to handle it.
The foundation’s executive director, Peg Parker, is widely respected for her organizational, outreach, and political skills, and she is supported by a dedicated board of directors made up of highly experienced industry people.
“We’re very fortunate to have Peg,” said CFRF President David Spencer. “She hit the ground running and helped us to be able to offer research opportunities to many more fishermen.”
Late in October, Parker, who works only part-time for the CFRF, was immersed in talks with teams of lawyers and accountants to prepare for the challenge of properly administering the federal grants.
“We’re trying to make sure we have our act together as we move forward on managing this money,” she said.
Transparency in how the federal funding is spent is especially important to the foundation at this point, according to Fred Mattera, a Point Judith vessel owner, safety trainer, and CFRF board member.
“Now that we’re getting this kind of money, we really have to do things right,” he said.
Practical approach
The foundation’s board is committed to keeping administrative overhead costs low and involving as many fishermen as possible in the collaborative research projects it funds.
Noting that, as a CFRF board member, he will not be eligible for any funding, Mattera said, “We wanted to try to spread it around and give others an opportunity. We’ve brought in quite a few fishermen who’ve never been involved in projects before.”
Spencer added that the foundation is in a unique position to do something like this.
“It’s run by fishermen and people in fishing related businesses,” he said. “We’re taking a practical, commonsense, more business-like approach to collaborative research.”
The board of directors has come up with daily vessel rates based on horsepower to use as a guide for reimbursing fishermen for their time and the use of their equipment.
“While the emphasis is on research, fair compensation is important,” Spencer said. “We don’t want to see people get rich, but we don’t want to see them lose money for participating.”
Collaborative research
Of the $3.5 million award for collaborative research, Parker explained that $1 million was being added to the pool of money the foundation already had for the RFP it issued on Sept. 2. The additional money will allow the CFRF to expand the number and extent of the projects it will fund.
That RFP had two specific research subject areas: projects related to spiny dogfish, such as improving stock assessments, supplementing NMFS trawl surveys, and determining the role of spiny dogfish in the ecosystem; and an extension of the foundation’s existing Southern New England Collaborative Research Initiative, which includes projects related to fisheries resource sustainability, ecosystems, and the socioeconomic well-being of Southern New England fishermen and fishing communities.
The deadline for proposal submissions under that RFP was Oct. 16. The foundation contracts with the Rhode Island Sea Grant Program to handle the application process and to set up external and internal panels to review all proposals. Final award decisions will be made by the CFRF board of directors and should be announced early in February.
Winter flounder bycatch
Additionally, $1.2 million is going into a conservation gear engineering research program specifically aimed at reducing winter flounder bycatch.
“There are two ways to look at the bycatch problem – gear research and alternative fishing strategies,” Parker said.
Explaining the idea of alternate fishing strategies, she said fishermen might be able to identify areas of concentrations of winter flounder so that other fishermen can avoid them or scientifically test the effects of towing nets for different lengths of time or at different depths.
“We wanted to allow enough room so that fishermen could think like that,” she said.
Current low winter flounder quotas are resulting in discards and interfering with other fisheries, added Mattera.
“The guys are catching flounders all over the place,” he said. “If we can’t retain them, we have to figure out how to minimize bycatch.”
Outreach
Funding also is being dedicated to extensive efforts to talk to fishermen and draw them into collaborative research.
Late in the summer, CFRF held three meetings in different Rhode Island ports – Point Judith, Newport, and Sakonnet – to explain the foundation’s goals and gather ideas.
“We made the effort to reach out, get the word out,” said Spencer. “Some of the guys have ideas but may not want to participate in projects directly. Some don’t have specific ideas but are interested in having their boats used as research platforms. We’re trying to include as many people as possible.”
Parker added that while the focus initially was on Rhode Island, the plan is to expand those outreach efforts.
“There should be an ongoing dialogue about research needs and priorities as well as about the research that has been done,” she said. “We’re going to invest a significant amount of time having ad hoc meetings here with fishermen and reaching out beyond Rhode Island to places like Montauk, NY and Cape Cod for their input on research needs.”
Sharing info
The foundation is planning to expand its board of directors and create an advisory board. It also will strive to make sure that foundation-sponsored research is widely shared.
“We want to make sure research is shared with all interested parties – managers, fishermen, scientists, anyone who is interested,” Parker said.
Additionally, the collaborative research funding will be used to provide financial assistance to help fishermen invest in gear that has been proven to meet bycatch reduction goals. And money is being dedicated to start a “student assistance program.”
“We’re seeing a die-off here at the University of Rhode Island in terms of departments, professors, and students coming into the field,” said Parker. “We want to sponsor a competitive student assistance program to allow students to come on board, use their skills, be mentored at an academic institution, and work with NMFS scientists.”
Rope exchange
The $3 million rope exchange program is officially called the “Groundline Exchange Conversion Plan – 2009.” It is specifically for fishermen holding an Area 3 lobster permit and for trap/pot fishermen residing in the state of Rhode Island and fishing in Area 2.
The plan, which the CFRF is administering, was approved by NMFS and is based on eligibility criteria developed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for Area 2 and by the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association for Area 3, with input from lobster industry members and rope suppliers.
The vast majority of the funding will go to Area 3 permit holders who have been prescreened and, if eligible, invited to apply for the assistance.
“About 140 businesses and individuals initially qualified,” Parker said. “We’re trying to move as quickly as we can and as efficiently as we can because we know fishermen really need this assistance.”
For more information on CFRF and its collaborative research and rope exchange projects, visit the foundation’s web site at <www.cfrfoundation.org> or contact Parker by phone at (401) 515-4662 or e-mail at <pparker@cfrfoundation.org>.
Lorelei Stevens
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