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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 10
June 2006
Industry, New England council seek change in
5 kg weight
MYSTIC, CT – At the strong urging of industry, the New England Fishery Management Council has asked the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to process a “technical correction” to regulations describing the procedure for measuring trawl nets.
More specifically, the council voted on April 4 to request that an 8 kilogram (kg) weight (about 17.6 pounds) be used for measuring all trawl mesh over 120 millimeters (mm) – just over 4 1/2" – instead of the 5 kg weight (about 11 pounds) that’s currently applied. The weight hangs from a “spade” or “wedge” and the pull or pressure from the weight itself is supposed to determine where the spade ultimately rests in the mesh.
Concern over net measuring practices escalated last fall when fishermen worried that “shrinkage” and enforcement practices were resulting in a seemingly higher than usual number of net violations.
The shrinkage problem appears to have been limited to a batch of particularly “tight” mesh brought over in containers received from Europe in 2005, and manufacturers have worked hard to track down the problem and resolve it.
But the measuring procedure was another thing, and it came to a head after industry members learned that European net manufacturers measured mesh with an 8 kg weight – not a 5 kg weight as used by Northeast region enforcement officials – to determine whether the webbing met minimum size requirements.
On Jan. 10, fishermen, net manufacturers, and enforcement officials met in New Bedford to measure 6-1/2" mesh nets using both the 5 kg and 8 kg weights.
Twine retailers conducted the demonstration, and Maggie Raymond of Associated Fisheries of Maine, who has led the drive for a regulatory change, said, “There was a clear difference.”
European standard
Many fishermen, particularly in New Bedford and Southern New England, purchase nets from Euro Fishing Gear or from retailers who buy codends from Euro Fishing Gear.
Euro Fishing Gear sources product from its parent company, Euro Net in Portugal, which follows measuring procedures developed by the European Committee for Standardization to certify trawl mesh openings.
These European standards stipulate that a 5 kg weight be used to measure mesh greater than 50 mm (2") up to 120 mm (4.8"). But for mesh greater than 120 mm, the European committee calls for an 8 kg weight.
“It’s our position that the way the nets are measured for enforcement should be consistent with the way they are measured when they’re manufactured,” said Raymond.
Although many other countries, including Canada and members of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), use a 5 kg weight, New England council member Phil Ruhle of Rhode Island said in April that he didn’t think people should be swayed by this fact.
“They’re also staying with 5" to 5-1/2" twine,” he said. “They’re not going with the bigger twine. We’re at 6-1/2".”
Massachusetts council member Rodney Avila, chairman of the council’s enforcement committee, agreed.
“We used to use lighter webbing, but now we have to use a heavier constructed webbing with 6-1/2" codends. We need to measure it properly,” Avila said.
Public outreach
The council asked its attorney, Gene Martin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of General Counsel, if the change from 5 kg to 8 kg could be made in-house by NMFS.
“I think it can be done as a technical correction, but it probably will go through proposed and final rule,” said Martin. This means the public will have a chance to comment on the proposed change.
If the change is implemented, Avila asked if the NMFS Office of Law Enforcement and the Coast Guard could hold a workshop so fishermen could see exactly how the 8 kg weight would be used. The full council voted to support this request.
“The workshop could be more like an outreach session with manufacturers, enforcement, the Coast Guard, and fishermen so people would walk out of the room with no misconceptions,” said Avila.
Janice M. Plante
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