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Commercial Fisheries News Volume 32 Number 6 April 2005 Fleet Visioning Project surveys now available ROCKPORT, ME – The Fleet Visioning Project went into high gear in early March, launching a survey of stakeholders throughout the region in a mammoth effort to create a “common vision” for the future of the groundfish fleet. The survey forms are being widely distributed through industry associations and in places frequented by fishermen, as well as through a mass mailing to as many industry members as possible. The forms are also available online at <www.fleetvision.org>. The surveys are the first step in an intensive eight-month undertaking to develop the fleet-wide vision. But the difficulty of the task became soberingly apparent on March 5 during a seminar at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. “Not to be critical, but something that needs to be pointed out is that the vision in Maine will be different from elsewhere,” said Dana Rice of D. B. Rice Fisheries in Birch Harbor, who’s also a member of the New England Fishery Management Council. “We can participate in the process and get our vision across, but what seems to be right to us may not pass muster because of this big-tub theory we have,” he said. “I can see it failing just because it won’t be able to accommodate geographical differences in the Gulf of Maine.” Robin Alden, executive director of the Penobscot East Resource Center, asked, “Who is this for? There are people who don’t fit the definition of groundfish. If you just reach out to the groundfish fleet, you’re not going to capture those other people.” Who stays, who goes Whether there’s room for these “other people” is a fundamental question being asked by the visioning project. Over 1,200 commercial fishing vessels currently hold groundfish permits, but, as the project plainly pronounces, the National Marine Fisheries Service believes a fully rebuilt groundfish resource can sustainably support only 300 to 500 boats. If this is true, then the project wants to know: How should the downsizing take place? What should the composition of the fleet look like in terms of vessel sizes, capacity, gear types, and geographic distribution? Fisherman Ted Ames of Stonington said, “In Maine, landings have all ended up going to one or two ports, but there are other ports that traditionally landed 10% or so of the fish. “Why not include them?” he asked. “Why are those enterprises being eliminated? Where is the decision being made that we need an industrial fleet of 300 boats?” Urgency factor Glenn Delaney of the Northeast Seafood Coalition questioned whether the visioning project could really make a difference given that the New England Fishery Management Council will be casting votes at the end of March and throughout the summer and fall that will alter the course of groundfish management. “The council is making decisions that could completely pre-empt everything you’re doing,” Delaney told project director Liz Rettenmaier. At the end of March, the council is expected to take final action on groundfish Framework Adjustment 41. This framework will provide access to the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program to nonsector vessels. The council is also working diligently on Framework 42, a major regulatory action that will adjust groundfish regulations at the start of the 2006 fishing year. Delaney believes these frameworks and previous council actions, such as the creation of sectors, are moving the industry down the road of stock allocation. “Sectors are a definitive allocation of a specific stock to a selected group of people,” said Delaney. “Once you jump into that game of allocating stocks, you can’t go back,” he said. “It’s almost impossible to reverse. Everyone is going to have to scramble to preserve their slice of the pie.” Rettenmaier acknowledged that many circumstances were beyond the project’s control. “The wheels are not stopping for us. We are very mindful of that,” she said. But Rettenmaier also pointed out that the council’s executive director, Paul Howard, is a member of the project’s steering committee. In this capacity, Howard could serve as a valuable conduit between the two bodies, she said. Participation needed Craig Pendleton, coordinating director for the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, expressed frustration over the difficulty of getting key players involved in the project. “There is a group of us who want a very diverse fleet,” he said. “But if we can’t get a majority of the people to come and put their two cents in, then we will die the silent minority. We’ve got to get them in the room. Then we can go to the council and say, ‘We have 3,000 people in this process.’” Rettenmaier acknowledged, “Engaging everyone is going to be very important and very difficult.” Ames emphasized the need to ask for input from beyond the boundaries of the existing groundfish fleet, especially in Maine. “This is a state of 10,000 commercial fishermen and the whole fleet is hanging on lobsters,” he said, “If you want a good response from the state of Maine, you’re going to have to tap into that. I bet an easy third would say, ‘Give me a couple of months of groundfishing.’ That’s the fleet we historically have been.” Questions According to Rettenmaier, the project’s goal is to gather all of these points of view and answer some fundamental questions such as: “What happens when groundfish stocks are fully rebuilt?” “Does it mean more fish for everyone who’s out there fishing right now or does it mean there’s room for expansion?” she asked. “The process starts with: ‘Why do you fish? Why do you want to be involved? Why are you still in the game after you’ve taken out additional mortgages?” Rettenmaier said. “The project is that opportunity to say, ‘This is where we want to go.’ If we don’t ask ourselves these questions, the path is already set.” Dana Rice feared her words were true. “If we don’t commit ourselves to participating in this process now, then the 1,200 permits we have will be going in the direction of 300. I think this is the last chance to change the train,” he said. Janice M. Plante |
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