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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 12
August 2010
New gillnet pinger rules take effect Sept. 15
GLOUCESTER, MA – For any gillnetter who needs a reminder, here it is. New rules to protect harbor porpoises, including new area management measures and pinger equipment and training requirements, come online Sept. 15.
The rules were supposed to go into effect on March 22 but the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) delayed them after hearing fishermen’s concerns that they wouldn’t be able to obtain the necessary pingers or training by that date.
However, the situation has changed over the last four months. Pinger manufacturers have ramped up production and states have conducted outreach meetings from Maine to Long Island, NY to explain the new requirements and offer training.
John Higgins, NMFS’s Northeast gear liaison, who attended the state meetings, said in mid-July that he had certified 20 new fishermen and talked personally with more than 100.
“I’m hearing good reports from the fishermen about the new pingers. They’re holding up,” he said.
Right now, gillnetters are primarily using two kinds of pingers. One, manufactured by Airmar, uses a D alkaline battery that lasts for about a year. The other, manufactured by Fumunda, also uses a replaceable battery and has the added feature of being water activated so that it’s silent on deck, saving battery life.
NMFS decided to amend the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan last year when it concluded that fishermen were not complying with the existing regulations and putting the marine mammals at risk.
In February, the agency published the final rule, which:
Expanded the pinger season in Massachusetts Bay to include the month of November;
Created two new seasonal pinger areas – the Stellwagen Bank Management Area and the Southern New England Management Area;
Established a “consequence closure area strategy” for New England under which NMFS can close areas with historically high levels of harbor porpoise bycatch if compliance doesn’t improve; and
Emphasized that vessel operators must receive pinger training before using pingers on gillnet gear and carry proof of training onboard.
There also are new rules in the Mid-Atlantic area. However, they don’t involve pinger requirements.
Enforcement
Higgins pointed out that, in addition to training fishermen on pinger use, he has been talking to enforcement authorities.
“I’ve met with every enforcement agency and trained agents to use pinger detectors,” he said.
NMFS has provided all the states with the devices, which can detect the presence of working pingers down to 100 fathoms.
“They don’t need to haul the nets to see if they’ve got pingers,” Higgins said. “The skills and tools available for enforcement are better than ever.”
That should be incentive enough to convince fishermen to comply with the regulations, but Higgins pointed out that everyone benefits from broad compliance.
“If the harbor porpoise takes aren’t below a certain number over a two-year period, the consequence areas kick in, which would mean closures of some areas,” he said. “Fishermen want to stay under that number.”
Higgins stressed that gillnetters should call him if they have any questions at all about: the new rules; how to use pingers; how to get training; where to get pingers; gear modification requirements; or anything else. He can be reached at (207) 677-2316.
Lorelei Stevens
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